a glimpse of heaven's love

John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." I may have posted a similar posting before regarding this subject, but it bears repeating.  I actually was in need of this same subject personally, so I know it is most beneficial. The verse I quoted at the top tells us how the devil wants to defeat. us.  The battleground is in our minds.  If Satan can get us thinking destructive or damaging thoughts, then he's won half the battle.  Christ, on the other hand, desires for us to be strong and live a victorious Christian life.  It is true, we can be very weak and fearful--in and of ourselves--but with Christ, we can be victorious!! 2 Corinthians 12:9.  "And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest...

Satan loves to get us down and discouraged, or if nothing else, at least to distract us.  Satan is the Master Deceiver:  He is the Father of Lies.  Why?--because he knows the end of the story!  His end is in "the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Rev. 20:10) --And because he knows his end, he wants to take as many as he can with him!  But if we know Christ as our personal Saviour, the most he can do is get us down, or discouraged, or distract us.  And why does he want to do that?--so that we aren't of any use to Christ.  (not a good place to be in--don't go there!)  So today I want to talk about the five F's to avoid! Fear For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound   mind.  (2 Tim. 1:7)  Those are key components to the workings of Christ.  We need to stand upon them.  Don't a...

Psalm 27:14 "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee."   Isaiah 30:15b "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."        James 1:4-5 "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.      If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." __________________________________ What do all of these verses have in common?   They all have an ingredient of waiting upon the Lord or patience .   And why are these such good qualities to have?   Many times in our fleshly natures, we tend to just do what we think is best, or worse, we tend to think we can just do it ourselves.   Those are both very poor responses....

"James 1:3-4  "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." I love the book of James.   He is so practical.  I may have used this verse before…you'll forgive me if I use it again.  It makes for a good stepping off point!  Many times God is at work in our lives…it may be to reprove us and call us back to Himself, or it may be He knows He can produce more fruit if He can just get our attention.  I don't know where this will find you in your spiritual walk today; but I do hope you will stay to listen. Trials…that is God's time to put your faith to the test!  Will you turn to God and trust , or will you high-tail it outta of there and run the other way?!  Know that when your faith is being tested--no matter the trial or temptation--it is the time to trust God; but you must allow the testing to bring about its intended purpose--tha...

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass, jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.  She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully.  Three times, even.  The total had to be exactly perfect.  No chance for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise.  Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster.. no good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it! "And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.  "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply...

When I think of the subject of maturing or growing, I think of the passage in James 1.  Verses 3-4 say this: "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."   We need to realize that in order for us to mature or grow, we're going to have to go through testing or trials.  God knows that is the only way we're going to grow and mature…and He knows just what it'll take to get our attention, and produce the fruit that He desires.  When we're put under God's pressure cooker, our faith is forced to show what it's really worth.  How true, how strong our faith really is, is going to show forth.  On the other hand, it is in times such as this that we exercise our faith as well.  If we remain faithful, our faith and character is strengthened.  God works through a su...

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is the vehicle whereby we trust God.  Faith believes what God says and acts upon it.  In other words, faith is our transporter!  Without faith, we have nothing.  We must believe God and trust.  And the second part of that verse says our faith is what glorifies God .  Our faith shows to the unbelieving world what God is all about.  Our faith is the evidence of God at work.  Faith is the initiating force.  Faith can be likened to a seed.  Without the seed, nothing grows.  But if that seed germinates or sprouts, and it is watered and fertilized, you'll find it will blossom into something quite beautiful.  Faith is like that.  If we will but believe God and act upon it, then that faith will grow and strengthen and flourish into something beautiful for the Lord. Biblical faith means having trust,...