How many Fish will your Net Catch?

Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men ~ Matthew 4:19 ~

Share the good news with someone today, you never know who it might effect. 

God's House

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands ~ Acts 17:24 ~

Many people act differently at church compared to when at home, school, or work because they think of church as God's house. But God says's He does not live in temples built by hands. God cannot be contained in a building, He is everywhere. As a Christ follower God also lives in your heart. Jesus said "Worship in Spirit and Truth" If you truly love Jesus and want to worship Him, be honest, sing songs of praise, act justly, love mercy, be kind, love people, if you truly want to worship God, don't worship only at church, worship everywhere, all the time, worship Him with your life!

Love the Lord your God

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ~ Psalm 34:11-18 ~

  Cry out to God in times of trouble. Love God, Love People, Do Good, Watch what you Say, Be broken over your sins & confess them to God. Have Faith like that of a Child.

Curds & Honey

Therefore God will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right ~ Isaiah 7:14-15 ~

Isaiah is predicting the birth of Jesus hundreds of years before he was born. Isaiah explains that Jesus would grow up a normal child including eating the regular food that children of those days ate, but when Jesus became old enough to know right from wrong he would refuse evil and do good. It is asked "If a child dies will they go to heaven?" This verse also tells us that until we are able to determine right from wrong we are not held accountable for sin. Romans 4:15 tells us "... where there is no law there is no transgression." (or sin) A baby does not know right from wrong so it cannot be held responsible for sin. Once we become old enough to know the difference we have a choice to make, and are held responsible. God knew we could never perfectly keep the law so in His grace and mercy He sent Jesus to take our punishment upon himself and save us from His wrath. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" Believing in Jesus means more than simply believing he existed, It is saying "I truly believe Jesus is God, came to earth as a man, died for me, rose from the dead and reigns as King. And because I believe, I will obey"

Does your house need repair?

A roof sags because of laziness. A house leaks because of idle hands
~ Ecclesiastes 10:18 ~

The house pictured above was once a brand new home. lack of maintenance caused it to fall apart and it is now close to or beyond repair. 1 Peter 2:5 says's "you also... are being built into a spiritual house... " If we do not work on being holy our spiritual houses will fall apart as well. If we say we believe in Jesus but then never do anything more, that would be like building a home and never doing any repairs, eventually it will break down. So is this talking about my actual physical body? 1 Timothy 4:8 helps with this by saying "...physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" God wants us to work towards being like Jesus. You don't build a house overnight, you do a little at a time, so everyday work a little towards making your spiritual house beautiful on the inside, and the out. Read the Bible, Pray, Go to Church, Confess your Sins, eat healthy, get good sleep, and exercise a little. But most importantly Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and by the grace of God you will have a house that will stand up against the fiercest storms and last for eternity.

Bitter Sweet

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water when they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. ~ Exodus 15:22-25 ~

A human can only last about 3 days without water before they die. For the Israelites, it had been 3 days. The Israelites looked to a man for help and saw no way of escape, but Moses looked to God. Psalm 121:2 tells us "My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth" God will always provide what we need, exactly when we need it, if we just call on him and trust Him. So if there is something bitter (or bad) in your life, call on the Lord, trust Him with all your heart and at exactly the right time, in exactly the right way, God will make it sweet (or good) The scriptures tell us in Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose" Remember the help or blessing will be according to His purpose and His plans, not ours, for it is all for His glory. This scripture is why my email address is what it is "HealingWatersof Marah" When I cried out to Jesus, turned my life over to Him and surrendered my will to His will, God took some really bitter (bad) things in my life and made something good out of it (He made it sweet and healing) My email is a daily reminder that Jesus saved me, for me to trust God, obey His commands, and the sacrifice Jesus made for me, to God be the glory! 

Blah, Blah, Blah

The more talk, the less truth;  the wise measure their words ~ Proverbs 10:19 ~

Did you ever just know someone was lying to you because they couldn't stop talking, trying to make an excuse but the more they talked the worse they made it? People that are telling the truth tend to talk less as they know they don't have to defend themselves. In fact the Bible tells us to simply "let your yes be yes and your no be no" Wise people also think about what they are going to say before they say it. Talking can get you into trouble especially you say something hurtfu,l even if you didn't mean it. So think before you speak otherwise you might regret it.

God's has a plan for your Life

 "...we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~ Ephesians 2:10 ~

God created you in Christ Jesus with a plan and a purpose in mind. God planned it before the beginning of time & nothing catches Him by surprise. What a great feeling of confidence that we can go to God everyday and ask Him "God, what have you prepared in advance for me to do today that will bring You glory and honor?" How cool is it, that you are not subject the world around you, circumstance or chance, but God is in complete control of every little detail, just surrender to His will and rest in His hands.

To God be the Glory

 “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends" ~ 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 ~

God does not approve of anyone who brags about themselves.  Don't brag about how good you are or the things you have because everything comes from God who gives as He chooses and sees fit. And He who gives, can also take away. So if your going to brag, brag about the Lord.



You Can Do It!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ~ Hebrews 12:1 ~

There are a whole bunch of great people that have gone before you that are cheering you on! Moses, Abraham and David to name a few. David beat the giant Goliath against all odds and wants you to know that if you have faith in Jesus there is no giant you face that is too large for you to conquer.  Giants today come in all kinds of forms such as sickness, doubt, finances, addictions and more but there is nothing too big or too hard for you to conquer through Christ Jesus! So whatever race your running, just pace yourself, don't give up, keep going, put your faith in Christ and throw off everything that slows you down, especially sin. Know that I am cheering you on as well and I believe in you too. And don't forget, the God that called you will keep you.

This is Discipling

What Do You Want To Do Today?

He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come

 ~ Luke 11:2 ~

What do you want to do today? I don't care, what do you want to do? Ever have that conversation with a friend? Well, Jesus said when you talk to God humble yourself before Him as he is Holy and is worthy of praise and then ask Him 'what do You want me to do today?' Doing what God wants us to do is not only being in His will, it is also the best possible thing for us as He has a perfect plan for not only our lives but for each day. So lay down Your own plans each day and say "Holy Father, not my plans but Yours!''

Extreme Makeover

Ephesians 4:24 "..put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness"

My 13 year old daughter Jenna recently wrote 'I have learned not to judge others which makes a huge difference in life... the real meaning of family is when everyone works together and encourages each other...and I no longer down look down at people who are different than me and have stopped making side comments about them" This is a perfect example of putting on the new self. Before we come to Christ or rather Christ comes to us and fills us with his Holy Spirit, we are slaves to unholy thinking and behaviour, sure we try to be good but most often we fail. When we follow Jesus as our lord and Saviour the Bible says "we are a new creation," and it starts in our mind, our way of thinking. It is however up to us to put it into effect. So don't delay, put on the new self today because as the verse tells us "you were created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

O' What a Happy Soul am I

Today I wish to share a poem. This poem was written about a hundred and fifty years ago by a 8 year old blind girl by the name of Fannie Crosby. 

"O' what a happy soul am I.  Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be. How many blessings I enjoy that other people don't. To weep and sigh because I'm blind, I cannot, I wont."
To be content means to be satisfied with what you have. Paul was beaten, stripped, run out of town, homeless, and hungry more often than not and he says's in Philippians 4:11 "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances" It's OK to have desires and dreams, and it's OK to achieve them, we just do not put them above God, and regardless of whether we achieve them or not, we praise God in spite of our circumstances because we know our real blessing is not found in material things but in abiding in Jesus and being reunited with God. Jesus tells us in Luke 11:28 "Blessed are those who hear God's word and obey it" Fanny Crosby went on to write over a thousand poems, many which are used as hymns even today, she had multiple books published and at least 4 biography's written about her. And don't forget she started it all as a little blind girl.

What shall I wear today?

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ~ Colossians 3:12 ~

Let's see, what shall I wear today? Let me look through the closet...anger? No, I don't look good in anger. How about jealousy? No, Jealousy is not a good color for me. I could always wear a bad attitude but that went out of style a long time ago. Oh yes, how did I overlook it, the perfect outfit!...I'll put on mercy, everyone loves mercy, especially when it's tenderhearted, and I could wear it with kindness, humility, gentleness, and I can't forget the perfect accessory to go with the perfect outfit, patience! The Bible tells us to "clothe" ourselves with these things, Ephesians 6:11 tells us to "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil". Are you seeing a pattern here. The Bible uses words like "clothe yourselves" & "put on" to demonstrate the fact that we have to make the effort. God will do the work in us, He will enable us, but we have to be willing, able & ready. So each day make a choice of what you will wear that day, do not let circumstances decide for you, you decide, you choose. What shall you wear today?