Sunday, April 8, 2012

Rev 3:25-ff

Revelation 3:25-ff

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Same chapter vs. 19 says "Those whom I love I reprove and discipline, so be zelous and repent."

For all of our condordances, books, sermons, exc. It is odd how at times we over complicate a very simple concept. It may take a man a whole life time of reading the bible to accept the free gift of salvation. Yet, at the same time it is our Lord who is knocking and saying, "Hey I'm right here just open the door." When I read this verse it it practically brings me to my knees spiritually every single time. Imagine not having food for a month. Your brother has a basket full of food and is at the door. Your bed is right on the other side of the door. All you have to do is reach over and unlock the door. So many people are starving to death in the spirit. Our Lord is the one who has the food. Many of us are sitting next to our: friend, brother, sister, exc. We could help by telling them to go answer the door. To say it plainly, God is the only one that can save them, but we can remind them that they need to eat.

May God bless you and your family on this resurrection Sunday.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Battlefield Of The Mind. A book review of Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer: Battlefield of The Mind
I received a teaching once that basicly said that when you get right down to it the Devil really only has two methods for tempting us: 1. Pressure 2. Pleasure. The Devil has three maxims which allows him to pull this off : 1. You (your own thoughts, bad habits, exc.) 2. The environment (Government, religious oppression, the systems of the world, exc.), and 3. Other people. Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield Of The Mind" is mostly geared at the one maxim each of us have the most control over (You, yourself, your thoughts, and YOU).

Joyce masterfully explains how that old Advesary The Devil works by waiting for the right moment (he`s not only a parasite but he`s also a predator). He waits to see where your weak, when your most vulnerable moment is, and he waits for that moment to attack. The Bible says "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you." Perfect example is Luke chapter 6, The devil waits for Jesus to be 40 days and nights in the wilderness before he attacks. He didn't come the first day to attack him when our Lord was at his strongest. Oh no, our advesary doesn't play fair; he bides his time and waits for your weakest moment and attacks. Jesus resisted him and the devil fled from him (for awhile). Best thing is we have victory through our risen Lord this very day if we claim it. Joyce does a great job of illustrating this in this book(though I don't know if she used the Luke example I used above or not).

I really got a lot of insight from this book. For example, one of the concepts in the book (in my own words) was "what comes out of your mouth had to originate in your brain." Sounds simple enough , but Joyce had a masterful way of describing every thought we commonly have today and referring it to biblical passages. About half way through the book I began to realize that the grumbling, griping, complaining, and various other human emotions and thoughts I have are not uncommon to our time. The children of Israel went through these same emotions and they are all recorded in Gods Word. I used to ponder how stupid these people must have been, but now I can see myself in them. It really was a humbling experience! Many of us make the same mistake over and over again and ask God, "Why don't you do something?" Truth is God has always been willing to help us. We are the ones who get in God's way by not bringing our thoughts into the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Read this book and find out how you can change and train your mind to shut the door on The Devil and how to allow God to do what he's always been willing to do. BLESS YOU!!!

Hebrews 13:5b "for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

P.S. This book comes in many formats. There's the traditional version, teen version, devotional version, exc. It doesn't matter which one you use. Just read one of them. You will be blessed.