Day 242 - Everyday Choices

"Everyone has choices and issues they deal with though and none are exempt for any reason. We all have to fight the good fight and put the flesh under."

There are people who think that because I am a pastor that I don't deal with any issues. Like my father in law taught our church we as pastors are anointed to preach and teach the Word of God, but, we are no more anointed that anyone else to live the Word of God. We have to hear it, believe it and apply it just like everyone else. 

I often am shocked, even though I should know better, when I see people who have everything going for them and they are still struggling with issues that they should know better. But the truth is that we all stumble in many things like the book of James tells us. We all need to follow diligently the Word of God. 

As long as we are living in the flesh we will be fighting with it. The flesh wars against the Spirit. That is where we choose to walk in the Spirit and put the flesh under God's control. Once we make the choice the battle ensues. Thoughts and feelings will come, the devil will attack. If we stay the coarse and follow the Word then we will come out victorious. How could we not when God is on our side? 

How do you deal with battling the flesh? How do you deal with spiritual warfare? 

Day 212 - Trimming Our Sails

"It looks like we are going back into a mode of church growth and aligning ourselves for momentum. Trimming our sails and catching the wind if you will. It takes work on our part to find where the Spirit is moving and direct our lives and ministries to be moved in the direction He is leading."

Sailing has so many parallels to life. Throughout the Bible you will find nautical terms. One of the most famous is the one in Hebrews that says we have this hope as an anchor for our soul. 

Even if you haven't sailed I'm sure you can imagine a boat in the water with a sail on it. The wind moves and if the sail is set up right then the boat is pushed by the wind. The better you catch the wind the faster the boat moves. 

Momentum in our lives is a lot like that. As we align ourselves with the word of God and get in position to catch what the Spirit is doing it will move us in the direction of our goals. If we fight against God we will have no momentum. In fact in sailing terms, when you are facing the wind and go nowhere, it is called being 'in irons' or we would say in handcuffs or jail. You aren't able to do anything as long as you are working against the wind. Similarly you wont do anything when you work against God!

Find out where God is moving and get in line with it. Close in and set your course. Stay faithful and close to Him. As you do you will have a Godly momentum that cannot be stopped. 

Have you experienced adjusting your life to catch the momentum of God? How can we make those adjustments and sustain momentum?

Day 180 - Lazy Bones

"I did not want to get out of bed this morning. It was really comfortable. Thankfully my inner man is stronger than the flesh and I was able to get up and get ready."

Apply those words to anything. The lazy bone will show up at work, at play, any time, anywhere. It could be more than just getting out of bed. Maybe it is getting out of debt. Or maybe it is getting out of sin. The natural tendency is to want to lay there because it is so comfortable. 

What makes the difference is the inner man. If you have been renewed in your inner man then you no longer are a slave to sin. You don't have to be ruled by the flesh. You just have to get your soul and spirit working together against the flesh. When your mind links up with your flesh they will overpower your spirit. But when you get mind and spirit together they will overpower the flesh and you will get out of bed, debt, sin, or whatever else. 

We can get comfortable with the bed we are lying in. It is time to roust ourselves from sleep and get going on God's will! 

How can we strengthen the inner man? What scriptures show how to deal with the flesh? 

Day 154 - The Dinner Course

"Jess made an omelet this morning for me that was delicious. Then for lunch I made fish and salad. Then we had quesadilla and cereal for dinner."

I have noticed that on social media if you want to start a conversation and get people commenting all you have to do is post a picture of your food. People are passionate about food. Some people skip breakfast and some, like me, love breakfast. Some eat to live and some live to eat. 

Whatever your preference you are what you eat. It becomes a part of you and gives you the energy to do life. What you eat can hurt you or heal you. It is important to put good things in!

Similarly our spiritual life is governed by what we put in. Not only that we have to be consistent at it. A good meal in the morning and afternoon with a terrible meal for dinner is not going to cut it. You have to finish what you started. Consistency is what makes the difference. 

Make sure to consistently put in truth (whatever God says), goodness, grace, pure things, beauty, praiseworthy things, and anything healthy. There are multiple lists in the Bible of things that we can feed our souls and strengthen our spirits with. 

Just reading the dinner I had last year makes my stomach turn. We must have been tired or lazy. In any case that is the exception and not the rule. 

What do you like to eat? What spiritual food do you regularly eat? 

Day 141 - The Deadly Duo

"How the lies of the devil and insecurity of the flesh can cripple us!"

There is a deadly duo that can hinder our efforts and halt us in life. Lies and insecurity. One is demonic the other is fleshly. They feed off each other like cancer cells bringing pain, sickness and try to choke life right out of us.

We don't often know which one came first like the proverbial chicken and the egg (even though we all know the answer to that one). Did the lie come first and then insecurity flooded in or was it our insecurity that opened the door for the lie? Whichever way it happens we are in bad shape if we allow it to continue.

The good news is that we already have the tools to help us overcome. The devil is defeated and every lie is demolished by the truth. Jesus defined truth for us when He was praying to the Father and said "Your word is truth". Light overcomes darkness, Jesus beat the devil and the truth of God's Word overcomes every lie. Not only that but we now are no longer living according to the flesh. Insecurity based on natural ability, looks, education etc. no longer applies. We now can be confident in our position in Christ. It is His strength, ability and power that will take us through every tried and we are ultimately and eternally secure in Him. We wage a spiritual warfare and live life in the spirit now so we are secure in His Spirit.

Don't be crippled by lies and insecurity. Declare the truth of God's Word over your life and confidently live out His promises every day!

What scriptures do you go to when you realize the lies of the enemy are trying to invade your thinking? How can we build confidence in our position in Christ?

Day 124 - Gravity

"It was like gravity; people just came rushing to the altar."

My brother in law was ministering on this day last year. Before he got into the message the Spirit called out for people to give their hearts to the Lord and get saved. He called out in one of the services that there were ten more people and ten people came like they were being pulled from orbit into the atmosphere. It was like gravity. 

There is an old movie that they were adding mass to a planet in order to make it into a star. The more they added the more the core heated up and eventually it would set ablaze and light up. Momentum is like that. When God is doing something He blesses and increases and makes it come alive with light and a glow everyone can feel the warmth from. 

Even our lives, as we shine forth the goodness of God, will attract others. We are to set ourselves on fire and let others come and warm up to the glow of God's goodness  in our lives. 

What attracts you to God like gravity? How can we shine the light of God's goodness to others?