Understanding the Roadblock

Today's Prayer

Father, thank you for your comforting promise that you will never leave nor forsake me. In times like today, I need that assurance. You are my Rock and my Salvation. I trust you, even when I feel like I cannot trust anyone else. I look up to you, because I know you will always be there for me, even if the whole world forsakes me. Thank you, so much, for your love and dependability. You are awesome! With love and appreciation in my heart, amen.

Understanding the Roadblock

  "And Joshua said, 'Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!'" - Joshua 7:7

Have you ever felt like you were doing what God wanted you to do, but your plans were totally frustrated? This was how Joshua felt.

The Lord had been with the people of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. They defeated every enemy because of God's blessing and protection. They had just taken the city of Jericho. The next battle was the city of Ai. They scouted the enemy and determined it would require only 3,000 men to defeat them. They attacked, and soon the reports came back that they were being routed. Joshua could not understand this. He cried out to God asking why this was happening.

The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated My covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction" (Joshua 7:10-12).

Whenever we open ourselves up to sin, we become liable. God removes His protective shield from our lives in order for the sin in our lives to be purged out. He often uses the enemy of our souls to accomplish the task. If you feel you are being thwarted in some way, examine your life to see if there is any sin that is the cause of the problem. Adversity is not always due to sin, but it can be. Ask Him. He will show you. As with Joshua, God immediately answered this prayer when Joshua asked. He desires for His children to live in a right relationship with Him.

Via Os Hillman

 

Be Blessed!!

 

Dawn

The Identity of the Word

14) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15) (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17) For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. —John 1:14-17


To the Jews in New Testament days, the term Word referred to the Word of God. The Word was the revelation that came from God. They had the written Old Testament. So the Word meant God’s revelation of Himself. It is brilliant that John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, didn’t coin some new term. His audience knew there was a Word. John made the connection: The Word is Jesus!

But because we don’t have the background, John’s language doesn’t click for us like it did in the first century. Hopefully now the point will be clearer to you when John says in John 1:14, “And the Word (the revelation of God; the rational principle by which everything exists, who is Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Isn’t Christianity revolutionary? Because Christianity says, Oh yeah, there’s a Word all right! Not unreachable or unknowable as the Greeks taught! Certainly the Source of all rational thought who created all the order in the universe. And His name is Jesus!

Jesus Christ is the Word of God who “became flesh.” That’s the headline of the Gospel—that God didn’t leave us in our sin but He came to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.

Now John tells us his role as an eyewitness: “We have seen his glory.” But John means more than just seeing Jesus, the man. We saw and we recognized “his glory.”

Glory is God’s fingerprint; His signature. Glory is anything in the universe that indicates there is a God—whether it’s a beautiful mountain-scape or the stars at night or the human eye. Jesus’ life exuded glory!

John goes on to say, “Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Now notice John didn’t focus on Jesus’ love and kindness, though He certainly had those traits. And he didn’t highlight Jesus’ obvious wisdom.

John, Jesus’ closest friend, reports, “The glory of Jesus was; He was “full of grace and truth.” Nothing He did with truth diminished His grace. And nothing Jesus did with grace diminished truth. He was full of grace and truth. That’s what I’m going for every day. I’m spending the rest of my life on that point. That’s the glory of Jesus—full of grace and full of truth.



Journal

Do I gravitate more toward grace or truth?

In what ways do I need to adjust so I’m seeking to have my life be marked by both grace and truth?



Prayer
Eternal Father, it doesn’t surprise me that Your Son was full of grace and truth, because He is the exact and full image of You. Because He emptied Himself, You have recognized His special role and given Him a name above every name. I gladly bow at His feet. And while I live on this earth I want to follow where He leads, longing to have Him generate His grace and truth in my life. In Jesus’ strong name, Amen.

(Via James MacDonald)

Be Blessed!

Dawn

Strength in Troubled Times

47) Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48) He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49) But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.  ~ Luke 6:47-49



Where will you turn in a time of crisis? When tragedy hits? When disaster strikes? Will it be your favorite magazine? The morning newspaper? The evening news? You will need something to give you strength and direction in your time of need—and you cannot find a better resource than the Word of God.

As one writer said, "One gem from that ocean is worth all of the pebbles from earthly streams." Just a single pebble from the ocean of God's Word can make all the difference when tragedy or hardship strikes. How many in their affliction have found comfort from the Scripture?

Trusting in what God has said through the Bible can sustain us and give us direction and hope and comfort when we most need it. Little platitudes or clever sayings don't help, but the Word of God does. It has been said that "he who rejects the Bible has nothing to live by. Neither does he have anything to die by."

Things go in and out of style, but the Word of God never goes out of style. It never goes out of date, unlike this morning's newspaper. The Word of God always will be relevant.

That is why C.S. Lewis once said, "Everything that is not eternal is eternally out of date."

I urge you to get a good foundation in this Book, because it is only a matter of time until hardship strikes you. It happens in every life, without exception. But if you have a good foundation in the Word of God, then you will be ready for difficulty when it comes. Don't wait until then to try and catch up.


Get that foundation now.     (Via Greg Laurie)   Be Blessed!   Dawn

Having Ears to Hear

Have you ever known someone who would call you on the telephone, talk what seemed like a thousand words a minute, and then, when he finished telling you what he needed to say, would hang up? Even before you had a chance to say a word, you heard a click.

Sadly, this is how many people treat God. They don’t stay on the line long enough to hear from Him. They pray to Him in a flurry of words, expressing needs and desires, but they miss the most important part of prayer: worship and listening for God’s still, small voice.

Prayer is a two-way form of communication. One of the reasons many avoid spending silent time in prayer is because they are afraid to hear what God has to say to them. They are sure that if they listen, He will say something that they don’t want to hear.

Someone has called American Christianity “decaffeinated Christianity.” If you think about it, decaffeinated Christianity won’t keep you awake at night. It won’t disturb you. It won’t motivate you, and it certainly won’t change you!

God is a gentleman. He will never force you to listen for His voice. He will never coerce you into meditating on His Word or taking time to pray. However, He will continue to draw you to Himself. Sometimes this is pleasant; other times it is not.

Allowing us to experience disappointment and frustration is one of the ways God gets our attention. If you feel as though you have been running away from God and prayer, ask yourself, “Isn’t it time I stop running and avoiding the Lord?” Great things come to us when we stop rushing and begin seeking God with a humble, obedient heart.







Prayer: Lord, please forgive me for rushing through prayer and not stopping to hear Your voice. I pray You would help calm my mind and heart to hear You each day. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.



“The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him” (Proverbs 15:8).

Selfish Christianity

26) Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27) Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”  ~ John 6: 26-27



Think honestly about this question: Which interests you more—who Jesus is or what He can do for you? I’m afraid that too many of us are more concerned about what the Lord can give us than we are about getting to know who He is.

But this is nothing new—Jesus had the same problem when He walked on earth. The crowds often sought Him out for what He could do for them. Even though their needs were quite often legitimate, Christ knew their motives.

There is a fine line between selfishly trying to use the Lord to get what we want and humbly coming to Him with our needs and struggles. Some of the issues we bring to Him are so pressing and urgent in our minds that our desire for Him to take action in the way we want becomes greater than our willingness to submit to His will. At times, what we call “faith” is really a demanding spirit.

We must remember that our earthly needs will come to an end, but Jesus Christ will remain forever. If our prayers have dealt only with presenting our requests to the Lord, then we are missing a great opportunity to get to know the One with whom we are going to spend all eternity. Let’s invest time in pursuing intimacy with the great God who created us. Then we can enjoy all the benefits of that relationship forever.

How much of your communion with God is devoted to your needs—even legitimate ones? Are you spending any time getting to know the Lord? Although God delights in our prayers and tells us to pray about everything, He also wants us to come to Him just because we enjoy being with Him.     Be Blessed!   Dawn  

A Righteous Judge

"The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." — Psalm 19:9


When it comes to God's judgment, sometimes people will say they believe in a God who is not judgmental. That sounds good, but here is what they are really saying: "I believe in a God who doesn't care about right and wrong." To put it more bluntly, they are saying they believe in a God they just made up in their heads.

If God really is loving, then God also will be just. That is what the Bible tells us. The love of God makes Him a righteous judge. Know this: No one will be in heaven who deserves to be there. Nor will there be anyone in hell who does not deserve to be there. No one will be in heaven who went there unwillingly. And no one will be in hell who didn't go there willingly.

God won't force anyone to go to heaven. He won't say, "Get up to heaven right now!" You don't have to go if you don't want to. On the other hand, no one will be in hell who did not go there willingly.

I like the way J. I. Packer summed it up: "Scripture sees hell as self-chosen. . . . Hell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose. Either to be with God forever, worshipping Him, or without God forever, worshipping themselves."

How could a God of love send people to hell? He doesn't. He won't. If you end up in hell, then you went there willingly because you rejected His offer of forgiveness. You rejected Jesus Christ and all that He did for you. But if you ask God to forgive you of your sin, He will remove it from you and give you a change, a transformation in your life. You will be born again.
  (Via Greg Laurie)   Be Blessed!   Dawn

The Pastor's Son

This was just too good not to share!

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts.  This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring rain.

The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, 'OK, dad, I'm ready.'  His Pastor dad asked, 'Ready for what?'  'Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out.'  Dad responds, 'Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring rain.'  The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, 'But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?'

Dad answers, 'Son, I am not going out in this weather.'  Despondently, the boy asks, 'Dad, can I go? Please?'  His father hesitated for a moment then said, 'Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son..'
'Thanks Dad!'

And with that, he was off and out into the rain.. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract .

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the doorbell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him.

Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch!

He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.   Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, 'What can I do for you, son?' With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, 'Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that * JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU * and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.'

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave.  She called to him as he departed. 'Thank you, son! And God Bless You!'

Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, 'Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?'

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.  As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, 'No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live.

So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and broken-hearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.'

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly...

I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.' I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!

The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU .' Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand..

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them anymore.

You see-- -I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God's little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell..'

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated....   he took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son.... Except for One.

Blessed are your eyes for reading this message.

Don't let this message die, read it again and pass it to others. Heaven is for His people!

Remember, God's message CAN make the difference in the life of someone close to you.

If you love JESUS, please Spread His word, and share His goodness and faithfulness.

Matthew 10:32 says:

'Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven '   Be Blessed!   Dawn