Know the Right Savior

21) Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22) On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” 23) And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” —Matthew 7:21-23

Sometimes, the people with the most exposure to the Gospel are the least likely to think they need the Good News. Oh, they may say that Christ is their Savior because it’s the right thing to say, but a personal relationship may be lacking. Because they have such knowledge of how they should live according to biblical principles, many times they think they are saved when in fact, they are not. It is very possible to live so “above” others morally that we don’t see how desperately we need a Savior. Why? Because people become their own savior without even realizing it.

You can speak the right language and not know your Savior. You can know the right biblical answers and not know your Savior. You can look and act the part of a Christian, bringing others to know their Savior, and still not have the right Savior.

It is just our natural bent to want to be our own savior. That’s why these verses in Matthew can be so convicting. Every time we read them, it should stop us in our tracks and make us evaluate just who or what is our savior. We must be mindful that how we live is a testimony or witness to who we serve.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:1, “To walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” The keys words are worthy and called. How we act is hugely important for the reputation of the Lord who called us. We wear His name on us at all times. If you are a parent, think of how you feel when your kids do something that is just awful. What’s goes through your mind? Right or wrong, you probably think of how their behavior makes you look. It’s no different with how our behavior can sling mud on the reputation of our Heavenly Father. This is one reason why behavior matters.

Now go back to the verses above. Read them slowly and ask yourself if how you live is for your own reputation or for that of God. If you call yourself a Christian, why you act the way you do, whether it’s good or bad, reflects on the true nature of that relationship. You just might need to know the right Savior.



Journal: What motivates me to live like I do?

What excuses do I give myself to act sinfully? Does my bad behavior ever make my Father look appealing to others?

Prayer –

 Dear Father, I truly want You to be my heavenly Father.

 I want to be desperate for Your grace all the days of my life.

I want to be motivated by an intense desire to see Your will lived out through me.

Help me not to make myself my own savior, and alert me when I begin to.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Via Trent Griffith)

Be Blessed!

Dawn



Give Thanks!

I think we forget this sometimes.......

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

In Lansing, Michigan, during the winter, we don’t get many sunny days. But last year God blessed us with one of those beautiful days, and it seemed that almost everyone was thanking God, except me. As I left my office, a man said, “What a wonderful day we’re having. This is a gift from God!” To which I replied, “Yes, but we’re getting snow later this week.” What ingratitude!


In his letters, the apostle Paul helped his readers to develop a theology of gratitude. He wrote about thanksgiving more often than any other New Testament author. From the 23 times he used the word, we learn a few lessons about thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was always directed toward God and never toward people. People were gifts from God, and Paul thanked God for their growth, love, and faith (1 Cor. 1:4; 1 Thess. 1:2).

Thanksgiving is given through Jesus for everything (Col. 3:15,17). Paul believed followers of Jesus could be thankful for everything because God is sovereign, and He is working things out for the believers’ good (1 Thess. 5:18).

May we intentionally be aware of God’s gifts all around us, and respond with gratitude. In response to God’s gifts, it’s natural to say, “Thank You, Lord.”

Lord, for days that are sunny or gray we simply

want to say, Thank You! And for the daily grace

You give us in Your Son, may we always be faithful

to say, Thank You! You are so good to us.

Gratitude is a natural response to God’s grace.

 

(Via Marvin Williams)

 

Be Blessed!

Dawn

 

 

 

5 Things to Do Instead of Complain

Interesting Reading!!


Scripture of the Day: “Do all things without complaining and disputing…”  -Philippians 2:14 (NKJV)

I’ve been speaking to a lot of organizations around the country and one thing I keep hearing from leaders and employees is that complaining is at an all time high. I’m not surprised. There are usually two main reasons why we complain. 1) We complain because we feel powerless. 2) We complain because it’s a habit. The economy has shaken a lot of people’s foundations and we feel powerless which leads to a rise in habitual complaining.

But complaining isn’t something new. Think about the Israelites who had spent years as captive slaves and within a short time of being freed they start complaining. They complained about being hungry. They complained about not having enough water. They complained about living in the wilderness. They even said it would be better to be back in Egypt as slaves rather than be free in the desert. Four hundred years of slavery, and they didn’t appreciate the freedom and blessing they have been given.

Here’s the thing, God doesn’t want us to be complainers, He wants us to live with a spirit of joy and thanksgiving.

“Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord…” – Numbers 11:1 (NKJV

“Do all things without complaining and disputing…” -Philippians 2:14 (NKJV)

So today I want to encourage you to adopt a No Complaining Rule and go on a complaining fast. Not because it will make everyone around you happier, although it will, but because it will help you experience more of the peace and joy that God wants for you, and it will help you build strong, positive relationships with others.

Believe me; I know a lot about complaining. I use to be a professional complainer and found that it not only sabotages your happiness but the morale of your team and family.

To help you break out of a “complaining” rut here are five things you can do instead of complain. These tips will help you realize you are not powerless. You have the power to choose your beliefs and actions. And in your focus on the positive instead of the negative you'll find the faith, strength and confidence to take on life’s challenges and identify the solutions to your complaints.

1. Practice Gratitude. Research shows that when we count three blessings a day, we get a measurable boost in happiness that uplifts and energizes us. It's also physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. If you are focusing on gratitude, you can't be negative. (Psalm 118:24)

2. Praise Others. Instead of complaining about what others are doing wrong, start focusing on what they are doing right. Praise them and watch as they create more success as a result. Of course, point out their mistakes so they can learn and grow, but make sure you give three times as much praise as criticism. You can energize and engage your coworkers by encouraging them and their work. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

3. Focus on Success. Start a success journal. Each night before you go to bed, write down the one great thing about your day. The one great conversation, accomplishment, or win that you are most proud of. Focus on your success, and you'll look forward to creating more success tomorrow. (Philippians 4:8)

4. Let Go. Focus on the things that you have the power to change, and let go of the things that are beyond your control. Give it up to God and trust Him with the outcome. You’ll be amazed that when you stop trying to control everything, it all somehow works out. Surrender is the answer. (Proverbs 3:5)

5. Pray. God wants to hear from you. He wants to have a personal relationship with you on a daily basis. Take your worries to Him and He will help you. If you’re a skeptic, also know that scientific research shows that daily prayer reduces stress; boosts positive energy; and promotes health, vitality, and longevity. When you are faced with the urge to complain or you are feeling stressed to the max, stop, be still, plug-in to the ultimate power of God and recharge. (Philippians 4:6)

(Via Jon Gordon )


Be Blessed!   Dawn

Some Thanksgiving Thoughts

Thanksgiving is finally upon us. And that means Christmas is closely following. Often we put so much of our focus on Christmas, we miss this important American Holiday.

 

I like that fact that thanksgiving is not about buying presents or decorating trees and homes, etc., but it's about getting together with family and friends and doing what we all love—eating! And more importantly, it's about giving thanks.

 

 

Thanksgiving was established by President Washington on November 26, 1789. It is a religious holiday started by the Pilgrims. The first Thanksgiving lasted three days, during which the Pilgrims feasted with their Indian guests.

 

 

 

The Bible says to us as believers:

 

Psalm 106:1 – "Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

 

 

Hebrews 13:15 – "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name."

 

 

 

Yes, praise and worship can sometimes be a "sacrifice" because we don't want to give it. That may be because we are down or depressed, or things aren't going all that well. Or it may be that hardship or tragedy has hit your life and you don't want to thank God.

 

 

But the Bible does not say, "Give thanks unto the Lord when you feel good," but rather, because "He is good!" So, I encourage you to give thanks in this special holiday time.

 

May God bless you, and I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

 

(Via Greg Laurie)

 

Be Blessed!

Dawn

 

Are You Teachable?

A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. —Proverbs 17:10


I believe that God speaks to us through His Word, His Spirit, and His people. In the times of my life when I’ve needed some course correction, most often I’ve heard His Word coming through someone who cared enough and loved me enough to sit down with me and say, “There’s something you need to change.”


Are you a teachable person? Proverbs 17:10 says, “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.” In other words, you can get more ROI (Return on Investment) from a wise person in one gentle conversation than you can gain from a fool by whacking him with a board a hundred times. Which are you?

If you’re not sure how you rate on the teachability meter, take this five-point quiz:


1. I know I’m teachable when people give me input. When people feel free to give you a word of improvement, it’s a good sign that you’re teachable. Nobody wants to risk cleaning up a meltdown if the person can’t receive a difficult word. Don’t try to tell him he’s not headed in the right direction because he’ll bite your head off. The fool is always deeply persuaded that what he is doing is right. A teachable person will receive input.

2. I know I’m teachable when I see measurable growth and character development in myself. If you’re changing for the good, then you’re teachable. If you’re not the same person you were last year at this time, godly instruction has produced results in your life and there’s growth because of it.

3. I know I’m teachable when I don’t have to answer a critic with a defense. More often than I ever want to be, I’m in the uneasy position of giving people input. As hard as that is, I love to sit down with a person who can hear a difficult word with an open heart and without defensiveness. It’s been my repeated observation that those who are receptive to criticism flourish!


4. I know I’m teachable when I don’t have to criticize back. The classic symptom of an unteachable person is that they will listen to what you say, all the while framing their comeback, “Now let me tell you something . . .” Can you keep your defenses down and pride in check?

5. I know I’m teachable when I’m learning new ways to grow. If people have been telling you the same stuff for years, you’re not teachable. If you’ve grown out of those old issues and are now on to new lessons, you’re on the right track.



Are you teachable? Ask someone who knows you well for their honest evaluation. And take their response to heart.



Journal:

• What evidence of being teachable do I have?

• Where is there room for improvement?

Prayer – Almighty Father, I can point to many times in my life where I have not been teachable. The worst part is, most of the time I don’t realize it because of my blind pride. Please forgive me for willfulness, Father, and continue to put people in my life that will rebuke me in love and keep me on the path You have chosen for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.   (via James MacDonald)
Be Blessed!
Dawn

The Woman and Her Silent Tears

This one is near & dear to my heart yall!  ENJOY

Even though you are surrounded by people, you still feel left out of the game. You are wondering if anybody knows how hurt you are or how hard it is within the lonely dark room of your heart. Thoughts about the past hurt you and the fear of your future taunts you. This is for women who are asking God if He really cares. This is for those who have questions about ‘why it happened to them’, and why they are being treated this way. This is for you.


The Bible tells us of two women who went through similar situations. Women who were used for someone’s happiness or need and then discarded. They were outcasts. They were not included. They were not loved but left lonely in the wilderness. As we read about their lives, we see how God was not a silent spectator of what was happening. He reached out to them.

One of them was Leah, Jacob’s first wife. She knew Jacob loved Rachel. She knew he was working for her and the sweat and blood poured out was for her sister. She knew that Rachel had captured his heart and that her sister was more desirable to him than her. But she became a victim of her father’s greed. Laban who wanted to make Jacob work so that he could become richer. Laban for the sake of a society that believed the elder daughter should be married first, forced Leah to marry Jacob in a game of trickery. Leah married a man who did not love her.

The night of the wedding, she knowingly stepped into disaster. Hoping against all hope she would have desired that after that night, Jacob would begin to love her. Much to her dismay Leah found the next day that Jacob was still very much in love with Rachel. She could not woo him. I can imagine what she would have gone through when Jacob decided to work another seven years for her sister. Jacob was doing anything he could for her sister. All his sweat and blood was for her. The way she named her children shows how desperate she was for love, for closeness and for respect.

Many of you also have been in similar situations or have seen women used for the need of others, pushed into a life they did not want to – women who are treated with less respect anywhere other than the bedroom and kitchen – Women who are crying out to God asking if He is there?

Leah also would have had the same questions. She would have spent nights crying alone asking if God really saw what was happening in her life why He would let her go through all this. Did God even care?

Yes God did care. Genesis 29:31 says, when the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than, Leah, He made it possible for Leah to have children but not Rachel. We see here that through it all, God was watching Leah. He knew how much she was despised and God was on her side. God gave her so many children and blessed her. Through her sons came priests and kings. Through her descendants came the Savior of the world.

We believe and worship a God who sees. He will always be on the side of the oppressed. He knows what we go through and He sees our pain and answers our prayer (Genesis 30:17).

That’s why the other woman ‘Hagar’ called the Lord who spoke to her in the wilderness as ‘the God who sees me.’ Well, she was also used by her mistress, treated badly and chased away as an outcast. But when she was running away into the wilderness, God saw her, reached out to her and blessed her descendants. Even to this day we see that her descendants are blessed.

He is a God who sees your emotions, your silent tears; sees how people treat you. He knows when you feel left out; He knows when you don’t feel loved. He will always answer when you call. He will always be on your side. He will bless you and make you a blessing to many. For the outcast, who was on her knees, He was the God who sees and today He is at your side holding your hand and He will keep you close to His heart. Though your family may hurt you, friends abandon you, He will never leave you nor forsake you.

So be encouraged women of God! You are never alone. He is the lifter of your head. When I read about God, the way He works the things He sees in a heart, the details He notices, the way He administers justice, the way He always sides the oppressed, the way He reaches out, the way He is in control over all, it fills me with hope. Not once has God left a child in pain. He has always come to their rescue. We have a Savior who walks through hell or the darkest night to reach out to an outcast who cries for help.   (Via Mrs. Merilyn Jemimah Amirtharaj)   Be Blessed!   Dawn  

The Way That Seems Right

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. —Proverbs 16:25

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. —Proverbs 3:7

Not a day goes by that you and I don’t make decisions that turn the direction of our lives. We base some of our choices on what we know for sure; others are judgment calls. Proverbs 16:25 has a built-in alarm system that warns us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” When you base your decisions on what seems right to you, flags should fly up all around when you read this verse. Its caution is so specific and so current that we need to take every word seriously.

Notice, “There is a way . . .” not there was a way. This warning is not leftover from when you were in high school. Nor is it talking about your future. This flag is for your life today, wherever you are. If you’re 25 or 45 or 65, there is a way that seems like the way to go and you’re always looking right at it.

“There’s a way that seems right to a man . . . ” Are you pondering a decision, maybe even taken several steps in a certain direction, that just feels like the right decision because it’s smooth and sunny and fun and fast? Make no mistake about it, most likely it is the wrong way.

Remember when Jonah ran from God? He went down to Joppa and found a boat waiting in the harbor that took him in the opposite direction from where God told him to go. It must be right; the boat was just waiting there for me. Satan can put a lot of wrong ways right in front of the person who is willing to consider them. You’ve got to go find the right way. The wrong way will usually come after you.

The problem is all of this only “seems right to a man ” because our minds are darkened by sin, our hearts are impatient for pleasure, and our wills are weighed down with the old nature and the inclination to sin. Don’t trust what seems right to you—that’s leaning on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Trust God with everything you’ve got, ask Him for wisdom, and He will make the path of your life plain and straight. He’ll make it so you don’t have to waste a lot of time going down roads that just seem right. He will lead you to a path you know is right in God’s eyes.

Journal:

When I look back at choices I made, did I decide based on asking God for wisdom or what seemed right to me?


What happened?

Prayer – Father, I know I need to trust You in everything. I also know that I go my own way more than I should. Help me to pursue Your will for me and even more than this, to pursue You with all I am. I know if I’m pursuing You, I’m on the right path. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

  (James MacDonald)
Be Blessed   Dawn

The Way We Were

I have been amazed at the testimonies of some people, when they tell me the way they used to be.

I've looked at them and thought, There is no way they used to be that way. Jesus Christ has so radically changed them.


Isaiah 61:3–4 promises that God "will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. . ." (NLT).


For the person who has made a mess of his or her life—a pile of ashes, so to speak—God says, For those who mourn because of the wrongs they have done and the sins they have committed, God says, "I will bring joy out of it."


Only God can do that. Only He can take a tangled mess of a life, turn it around, and transform it in such a way that you wouldn't even know that individual used to be a very different person. As Paul wrote: "When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 TLB).

That's the best news ever for the person being transformed, but the change in that life also gives great hope to others, who may still despair over the condition of their lives.

If you come to Christ and say, "Lord, here I am. Forgive me of my sin," He can transform you and change you. He can take your mistakes and your sins, turn them around, and even use them for His glory. When you commit your life to Christ, putting the broken, stained, twisted pieces into His hand, He will transform it into a thing of beauty.
  (Via Greg Laurie)   Have a Blessed Weekend!   Dawn