Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It tells you Who God is, how much He loves you, the good that He has stored up for you – if you will just fear Him, and it tells you what’s coming. He even teaches you the fear of the LORD and gives you an undivided heart to fear His Name. (Psalm 86:11) David prayed it, because God put it in his heart to pray, because God wanted to do it, and was about to. I love that God tells us what’s coming, so we can be fully prepared for it, so we can overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, His Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit that He has given us. Have you ever thought about the greatest temptation you can face? Remember God said, no temptation has overtaken you, except what happens to everybody, and God is faithful, every time temptation comes, He will provide a way out, so you can stand up under it. (I Cor 10:13) The first way out is His Word. It tells you what the way out is! And it reminds you that He even gives you the power to choose it. (Titus 2:11-12) So what is the greatest temptation you can face? Fear. It’s the quickest thing that tries to come on you, it is always lurking. Fear of lack – that you won’t have enough, fear of loss either money, or job, or possessions, or friends or loved ones, fear of rejection – that those closest to you will leave you, fear of failure – that you’re just not good enough, or strong enough, fear of enemies – too powerful for you, fear of disaster or calamity, that you have no control over. Fear of bad things happening to you, fear of death, fear of punishment. Fear might just be the greatest temptation. It is so easy to fear the future, or fear the dark clouds rising in your life, or over your nation. God said, He has not given you the spirit of fear. It’s just a spirit that tries to come on you. God said, The Spirit He has given you is the Spirit of love, and a sound mind. Love for God is affection and obedience. Love for others is preference. them over you, their needs not just yours. A sound mind is a mind at rest, a mind of discernment, a mind of peace, a mind of clarity, and faith, and hope. A mind unmoved by every wind or word from the enemy and from the fearful. A mind unphased by what is happening around you, because you know Who holds the future, and Who promised to be with you, protect you, feed you, and lead you, Who will never forsake you, and Who will fulfill the purpose He has for you, the purpose for which you were created. Praying that you will review the PRISM Topic – Fear Not, and the PRISM Topic – Do Not Fret. The way out for that greatest temptation is always the Word. And as is most often the case. The best time to use your ‘way out,’ is before you need it. So when you do need it, you’re already using it. So what could you be tempted to fear today? God said, “Fear Not.” That’s not the Spirit He has given you. Your Spirit is love and a sound mind, immovable, unphased. It remains that way by the Word of God planted in you. Praying that His Word is your greatest desire today. That you will come back to it again and again. That you will live there and never leave. He goes before you, He surrounds you, He goes with you, He will level the path in front of you, Victory belongs to Him. He has victory for you – overcoming every temptation, and completely fulfilling the purpose He has for you today! Praying that you live in His Word – it’s the way out that He has provided for you! Love you all, dad
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Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It tells you what to do, that’s good for you. and even what to think. And it also reveals the vital importance of it. Have you ever noticed, that what you think is real? Even more real than what you are going through. Your life really is determined by your thoughts, far more than your circumstance. God said Proverbs 23:7 – As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Your life is really how you think. What you think is what it is, more than what happens. Two people were sharing recently about their childhood. One revealed their lifelong emotional struggle with being poor as a child, eating rice and beans. They had spent their life determined not to be in that position ever again. The other was somewhat puzzled… they shared that they too, ate rice and beans when they were young. In fact that’s all they really ate. Yet they didn’t think they were poor, they thought everybody ate rice and beans. Two people can live the exact same life, one thinks they’re rich, the other thinks they’re poor. And they both become right. Your life is really what you think. That’s why God tells us in His Word what to think so your life can be good. Your life can be bad or good if you think it is, So, what do you think? God tells us a few things about what to think. First, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. (Romans 12:3) If you aren’t humble, pride will come, and then disgrace, (Proverbs 11:2) because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6) Second, If you think you are standing, be careful lest you fall. (I Cor 10:12) Don’t let your mind lull you into complacency. Be on your guard, you have an enemy of your soul. Don’t be naïve, just know that greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. (I John 4:4) Third, Paul said, (in Philippians 3) I think of everything as loss compared to the value of knowing Christ, and becoming like Him… He said I do not think I have already attained this, or have arrived at my goal… I just press on – I keep going to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of me. Paul’s thinking was that the greatest value is to be like Christ, not gain the things of the world. He thought differently. Fourth, God said to count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds. (James 1:2) God said, Think of trials as joy not inconvenience or suffering. So what do you think? Do you think this trial that you now face is joy? Do you take joy in this trial? God is giving you this joy so you develop perseverance, which turns to character which produces hope. If you choose to think of this trial as joy, you’ll always be joyful. Your life will be full of joy – because of how you think. One woman, got healed from a disease that had plagued her for twelve years. Because she thought, if I just touch the end of His garment I will be healed. Everyone didn’t think that, but she did. She was right. How she determined to think, became her life. Finally, God not only tells us how to think, but what to think on… So what do you think? Are you deceiving yourself, do you think you are standing when you could easily fall? Do you think of yourself more highly than should? Or do you think of others more highly than yourself? Do you overlook faults in others? Do you think of trials as joy? This trial? Do you consider things as though they are, that are not yet? Does your faith affect your thoughts, or do your thoughts limit your faith? (Proverbs 23:7 – For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.) So what do you think? Your life is determined by your thoughts more than your circumstance. Your thoughts about your life, are right. They can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. So what does God say to think? He gives a great place to start. Philippians 4:8 – Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think on these things. That means if it’s not, - don’t think about it. So what do you think? Praying that you will decide to think like God thinks, and like He tells you to think. So the God of peace will be with you, and your life will be everything that He has for you! Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It tells us what we should be after, and what we should not. Have you ever noticed that we define life by comfort. If things are going well, we think life is good. What are things going well? No threats, no lack, we’re comfortable. If we are comfortable that’s what we are most after. Some have higher aspirations, they love money and therefore never have enough. But most people are content in their comfort zone. And they strive to stay there... What they are used to, what they have grown comfortable with. And when things make us uncomfortable, then we start to pray, then we start to seek God! Are we after His will and His best? Yes, as long as it’s comfortable. What we really want is our comfort. But as a parent with your own children… “I’m interested in your holiness, not your happiness. I’m interested in your character, not your comfort.” If that’s what you as an earthly father or mother truly want for your own kids, how much more your Heavenly Father who knows the future, who understands eternity, and knows the rewards that could be yours. Some things that lead to God’s best, are not comfortable at all. Sometimes, downright stretching. Are you comfortable in some things that God doesn’t want you comfortable in? Are there some habits, activities or relationships that God wants you to move on from? That don’t yield the fruit He wants for you? God often leads us out of our comfort zone to develop our character, to hone our holiness. He wants for us the rewards of eternity, not just the comforts of earth. Are you after what God is after for you? Are you willing to be uncomfortable, to walk in His purpose, and His true blessing? Every basic discipline of life is uncomfortable. You’d rather sit on the couch than go to the gym, and that’s just in the physical realm, that will soon fade. There are more important things, that’s just one thing. By far, it’s better to choose discomfort that God leads you in - that yields fruit and reward, than choose comfort which will eventually evaporate, that’s not for long anyway. What have you grown comfortable with? Is this what God really has for you? Have you asked Him? Maybe it’s something that you don’t even realize. Is it His best? Does it bear fruit? Of course, but what kind of fruit does it bear? And are you yielding a harvest? He wants it to be a good harvest - one hundred fold. Every time God leads you to discomfort, it’s usually temporary – for a greater reward. God gives every good and perfect gift. He gives us all things for us to enjoy. But if you learn to desire character over comfort, and holiness over happiness. You will get both. If you desire the opposite, you will get neither. Praying that you will seek God daily. That your PiVAT before dinner will have you clearly hearing what He has planned and ordained for you today, whether it’s comfortable or not. Praying that you like Paul, will count all things here as worthless compared to knowing Christ and walking in the purpose He has created you for, and created for you. When your comfort is in Him, not comfortable things, you will know the God of all comfort, and the One who brings you to one hundred fold harvest. It’s always worth it. Praying that you will ask, and obey quickly. You will see what God will do! That’s a testimony worth any step He asks you to take. Praying that you will be willing to sacrifice comfort for character, and happiness for holiness. Praying that you will always know and do what God has called you to do in this day and hour. It’s how you hear “well done,” and the life that’s coming is worth any sacrifice that He calls you to down here. Praying that you will know the God of all comfort, even when it’s uncomfortable. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It tells you who God is, how much He loves you, it tells the story of others before you. What they did well so you can do it too, and what they did poorly – that’s not for you. One of the most influential men in the Bible. David. He was a type of Christ, and His line is from where the Messiah would come. God said this about David. Acts 13:22 – I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, he will do eveything that I want him to do. Wow. Thanks God. That’s the definition, of a Heart After God. He will do everything I want Him to do. That’s why PiVAT is vital in your walk with God. It gives you a chance, to get a heart like David. What gave David a heart after God? There were other things that David did – that developed his heart so that when God told him to do something, he heard it, and did it. We would be wise to do the same. So what did David do? #1 He loved God’s Word. #2 He hated evil doers – he cut them off, he had nothing to do with them. #3 He was skilled. – first with a sling, then with a harp, then with a sword, then with men. #4 He most wanted, what God wanted. That’s why Goliath was in his sights the moment he heard him disrespect the LORD, the God of Israel. #5 He repented quickly, he didn’t hide his sin, he admitted it and turned from it. #6 He was a worshipper, He not only loved God’s Word – the commands which give life, but He loved God’s presence. The more He spent time there, the more he longed to remain there. He sang songs to Him. He didn’t care what other people thought about him. He wasn’t worried about his reputation. He danced before the LORD with all his might, even when his own wife held him in contempt. That just exposed her, not him. #7 He declared. He was always declaring to himself and God, who God was, what God said, and what he will do in response to it. What started as a declaration became a regulator of his own actions. #8 - He guarded his heart. He was practically wise. I will set before my eyes no unclean thing, the deeds of faithfulness men I hate, they will not cling to me. #9 – He chose wise counselors - While most Kings killed the prophets who said what they didn’t like, David chose Nathan as one of his inner circle. And just because He was king, didn’t mean he thought he was right all the time – he humbled himself under the counsel of others. #10 He had courage. Because His trust was in the LORD. Whether facing the lion, or the bear, Goliath, or vast armies. His courage defined him because His trust was in the LORD. #11 – He would not touch God’s anointed. He didn’t slander, or raise a hand against them. Not even when well intending friends pointed out that He was the rightful King. And this was a perfect opportunity that God gave him! He would not raise his hand or his mouth against whom God had placed in authority. He left the timing up to God. Praying that you will do what David did, so you will gain a heart like David’s heart. So you do everything God wants you to do. Praying that you develop a hunger and thirst for God’s Word. It is life and success for you. Praying that you will have nothing to do with those who do evil, no matter how nice they are, or nice to you. Praying that you will get highly skilled in something, that God wants you to become skilled in. Praying that your greatest desires are always what God wants. Praying that you will be quick to repent, that you will long for His presence because you choose to spend time there. Praying that you will learn to declare – like David declared, that you will guard your heart, and guard your eyes, that you will surround yourself with obeyers – as your counselors. Praying that you will walk in courage – because your trust is always in the LORD, and praying that you will never touch God’s anointed. So God can honor you, and bless you, and lift you up in due time. Praying that you will learn to do what David did, so you can gain a heart like David’s heart. A heart after God – so you will do everything He wants you to do. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It gives good counsel. It says to consider your ways, be careful so you don’t fall. Have you ever considered what will trip you up? Wrong place, wrong time? That doesn’t just happen, it is inevitable when certain conditions exist. Every time you don’t do PiVAT – to seek God’s Plan for you today - you won’t know what God has for you this hour. So you will clearly do something else instead. If you don’t know what God told you, all you have is what you want, less than God’s best - which really is what the devil told you, that you just thought was you. Lacking God’s plan for you today, will trip you up. What else will trip you up? Not turning from evil – will trip you up. Not moving your feet. Joseph ran, most people linger. Run, don’t linger. What else? Isolation will trip you up. If you aren’t exhorting one another daily, you are easy pickings for the enemy. The lions and the wolves separate their prey – they don’t attack a herd, they isolate one, and their meal is guaranteed. What else will trip you up? Not guarding your heart will trip you up. How do you guard you heart? It’s not merely declining to do something less than God’s best – its first filling your heart with His Word. Overdose, over-seed, over compensate. PRISM will help you. Fill your heart and mind and eyes and ears with good, and bad will become distasteful. What else will trip you up? Pride will trip you up – guaranteed. Pride cometh before a fall – when pride comes – your crash is guaranteed. God gives another secret, you don’t stop pride, by ceasing to be prideful, you stop pride by choosing humility. Humble yourself, and let God life you up. Praying that you will never get tripped up, but that you would Get God’s plans so you always do the best He has chosen for you. Praying that you will move your feet, and turn from evil instantly. Praying that you will exhort one other daily – which is God’s Divine – “Trip Up Prevention.” That will have you overcoming daily by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony. Praying that you will guard your heart – by loving His Word. That you will overseed your heart with what guarantees success. Praying that you will choose the low place, to humble yourself – so God can lift you up in due time. Praying that you will never get tripped up, that you will walk in the conditions God says will get you lifted up. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word, It tells you what’s good. It gives whole counsel. Not well-intended, but a little off… as the counsel of the world always is. This is full truth, full stop. No deviation, the whole counsel of which – will change your life forever, and not only change it, fully establish it in success. I love that God’s Word says more than one thing about something. PRISM Topics will help you learn what He thinks is good. What’s Good? This has become a common greeting in the current culture. Actually a valuable start. Why not focus on the good? Clearly God is good. In fact, He’s the only One who is truly Good, and everything He does and gives is good. Jesus said, there is no one good but God. The Bible reveals that God is a Good God – a Good Father, full of mercy and compassion, who always gives what is good. Every good gift comes from the Father, He has stored up good for those who fear Him. Have you ever noticed when it comes to good – and the good we desire from God – we always think of good in terms of what we can get – usually for our pleasure or enjoyment. God says what is good, and what is not. There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Sometimes ‘seems good’ - isn’t. And what we don’t think is good at all, sometimes is the best thing that could happen to us. God says a few interesting things about what is good. Part of the good that He has for you – is not what you get – it’s what you do – that is good. Psalms 34:4 – Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. This is the fear of the LORD. Psalms 37:3 – Trust in the LORD and do good; that’s how you will live in the land, and surely you will be fed. Ecclesiastes 3:12 – I know there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good in one’s lifetime. Here’s what’s good… Matt 5:44 – But I say to you, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven… Luke 6:33 – And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. Psalm 52:9 I will praise you forever for what you have done, and I will wait on your Name before your saints, for it is good. Psalms 54:6 – I will freely give sacrifices unto you, I will praise your name O LORD, for it is good. Not just is His Name Good, it’s good when you these things. Be patient, wait for Him to make His Name great in this thing that you are facing. Freely give sacrifices. Be a giver – as He directs you - this is good. Psalms 73:28 – It is good for me to draw near to God, I have put my trust in the LORD God, that I may declare the things He has done. The closer you are to him, the more you will trust, and the greater your testimony. Here’s one. Psalm 119:71 – It is good for me that I have been afflicted, it has taught me to learn your decrees. Not what you’d think, but it’s good. So consider the trials as joy, learn His Word so you can overcome. This is good. Not the toys God gives, but the victory He gives. Lamentations 3:26 – It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:27 – It is good for people to learn discipline when they are young. It is good to learn to submit to the LORD when you are young. What if you’re not young anymore? You still are, you’re younger than you will be – now is the best time to start. Learn to submit to God’s will so the good that He has will overflow in your life. Romans 14:21 – It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that would cause your brother to stumble. You have freedom in everything, but not everything you can do, you should do. Be considerate of others – God said this is good. Gal 4:18 – It is good to always be zealous in doing what is right, Praying that you will let God shape your definition of Good. Not just the gifts, but the things to do that are good. Praying that you will Praise Him forever, that you will wait on His Name, that you will be patient, draw near to him, that you will consider trials a joy - a part of his good, that you will learn His Word that you will wait quietly for His salvation, that you will learn submission to Him before you get any older, that you will do nothing that will cause your brother to stumble, and that you will always be zealous in doing what is right. That’s what’s good. Praying that you will desire not just the gifts but everything He says – that’s good. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It reveals behind the scenes, it reads between the lines, it uncovers what is under the covers, it exposes truth and lies, and brings sight to the blind. Have you ever had a bad day? Everybody does. But how many do you have? Have you ever noticed… they tend to come in clumps. One bad day can become two and then three – very easily. Why is that? Have you ever considered… What makes a bad day? Ninety-nine percent of the time, bad days come when you’re out of rhythm. When you are off-schedule, when you neglect the habits that God told you to do in this season, to prepare you for the next, and to bear fruit every day, along the way. If you did PiVAT before dinner, got up when God told you – spent time in His Word, adding wisdom and strength, stewarded his money, his house that you live in, and the body he gave you, and then hit the ground running doing each hour what God assigned you to do. That’s never a bad day. If you do the things that God told you to do every day. A bad day hardly ever happens. Now something bad might have happened today. But you will rarely consider it a bad day. That’s not a bad day, that’s just that a bad thing, or a couple of bad things that happened. One or two bad things that happen – don’t make it a bad day… Your day was good, and that bad thing – you’re just bringing it before the LORD and trusting Him to work it out, to tell you what your part is… what to do next, and leave the heavy lifting to Him. Most bad days are one hundred percent preventable. But if you are out of rhythm, bad days become the norm. One bad day becomes a bad next day, and before you know it, you’re talking about a dry season in your life, you’re talking about a slump that you’re in, you’re just going through a hard time… Things are just hard right now. No, you’re just not obeying. You’ve left that path that He has chosen for you. Remember, He said I will instruction you and lead you in the way you should go, (Ps 32:8) the way chosen for you? (Ps 25:12) Your Way is first what you do every day, so you can then do what He told you to do for today. Praying that bad days become a thing of your past. And that any bad thing that happens, is just your next testimony about to happen. That you will learn to count it all joy! God is the Master-turner. He’s a turn-around artist, an expert, and He is Supreme in power. What the devil intended for evil, God is about to turn for your good. (Gen 50:20) Even failure is God revealing what you can improve, so your strategy is His strategy, and your effort is fueled by His grace. And your habits, those little things that He told you to do every day begin to build skills, and train your reactions to be Grace-fueled, love-demonstrating, faith filled, gravity defying, mountain moving, obstacle overcoming habitual responses that forge a new DNA of victory in your life every day. Praying that you’ll never have a bad day. You don’t have to. Jesus took that bad day for you. So your every day can be a good day. And any bad thing that may happen, be of good courage He has overcome the world. Praying that your habits will define your day, not just something that happened that day. He’s got it, you do what He told you to do, don’t miss, don’t neglect. Keep going, run that race with perseverance that He has set before you. The more you sow the habits He has for you - His Plan, His Word, His Presence, Always Praising, Always Praying, and doing with full diligence and great joy - His assignment for you today in this hour… Bad days won’t apply to you. You’ll walk in the Good that He has stored up for those who fear Him. If you walk in His way, you’ll walk in his good. That’s a good day – every day. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
A fleeting thought recently caught my attention… Who did King George hate the most? Thomas Jefferson? John Hancock? Benjamin Franklin? He hated them, I’m sure. But who I believe he hated the most… Thomas Paine. Because he planted in the hearts of the people the righteousness of their cause, and gave them a belief that the impossible was possible, and even if it never succeeded, it was worth it. The power of the pen, is the greatest power that a human has, the power to influence. (The only weapon more powerful – is prayer.) That’s why demagogues and tyrants and their supporters first silence anyone who stands up to them, who tells the truth that exposes them. If you can move the hearts and minds of men, you can change the world. You can save a nation, you can give birth to freedom. Or even give birth to it again. Would God raise up Thomas Paine’s, and Patrick Henry’s, and George Washington’s, and Massachusetts Minute Men, in this generation, just like He raised up Abraham Lincoln in his. So that what God created America to be – does not perish from the earth. What about you? What are you influencing? And what have you accepted as truth? What have you come to believe? Are you influencing people in what is right? Or what is accepted by the masses of sheep who have grown to love their delusion, and then demand to impose their ignorance on others? If you have influence, but not truth, you are destroying, not building, bringing division, not unity. What is false is the true divider, not what is true. Truth can always stand under the weight of scrutiny. Anytime voices are silenced, beware. Tyranny is on your doorstep. Anytime sin becomes normal, and opposing it becomes a crime, tyranny is at your door, and slavery is soon behind it. The test of any ruler or government is how they wield power. In George Washington’s day, his supporters wanted to make him King. They believed that their preferences merited absolute power. George Washington rejected it. He knew the grave danger of choosing again, the very tyranny that they had so recently won their freedom from. These are just the kingdoms of this world. There is a far greater Kingdom, one which will last eternally, whose Leader is not selfish nor power hungry, plays no favorites, treats everyone the same, is entirely righteous and just, and fair, and even loves every single person enough to send His own son to die in their place (even the ones who hate him) so they can live forever with Him. Praying that you will pray for yourself, for your family, for your community, and for this nation. That God’s truth will prevail, that the wicked who oppose it will be removed. God said when the righteous rule the people rejoice, when the wicked rule, the people groan. (Prov 29:2) Praying that what you believe, is what God says is true and right and just and fair. That what you stand for, is what God stands for, and what God stands against, that you stand with Him. Praying that love would always be what drives you. Love, which always conquers sin, and hate, and deception, will be what guides and compels you – The love of God, for every person, even those who hate Him, or hate you. That the good news of the Savior of the world, who loves us with an everlasting love, will be your greatest influence, and what you influence with the most. Praying that this nation in this generation will choose George, not King George. That God would save America. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It’s opposite, not what you would think. It’s different, from what most people do. It’s unnatural, not what people are prone to. It’s confusing, if you’re trying to understand it with your mind, instead of your spirit. God said some things that He says, the secrets, the deep things, are foolishness to some people, because they cannot understand them. Why? Because these are spiritually discerned, you cannot understand them with your mere mind. (I Cor 2:14) God’s Word is the mind of Christ, and heart of God, the way to prosper, and the protection from danger. It’s the wisdom of the ages, the exposure of fallacy, the establisher of truth, and the hope of all eternity. Praying that you will love God’s Word! It’s an acquired taste. It never yields zero return. The more you are in it, the more you will learn to love it. The more you come back to it, the more you will gain from it. The more you read it and hear it and say it and do it, the more your mind will be transformed, and your life will be established. I love that it sometimes gives parables, that you have to read two or three times, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal, so you can understand what is clouded by mere human assumption, or presumption. I love that it sometimes gives you straight commands. Simple instruction, a yes or no decision, a do it or not dilemma. I Timothy 6:11 - By you, O man of God, flee these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. What a powerful distinction, and a valuable reminder. What are you chasing? Most people chase money. There life decisions are determined by it. How to gain it, how to keep it, how to keep from losing it. They measure themselves by it, they measure others by it. Everything they do revolves around it. God says, "Not so, for you." Most people pursue fame, recognition, the praise of men, rather than the praise of God. Most people pursue pleasures, the things that gratify their natural body and it’s desires. God said, "But you, O man of God, O woman of God." That’s a big ‘but.’ That’s an opposite. Get ready, this is going to be different. But you, flee from all of these things. The things that come naturally, the things that everyone is chasing, is not what I have for you. They chase things they will never catch, or if they do, they can’t hold on to. If you will chase what I tell you – I will give you all that they are chasing and never catching or keeping… But you, who have a heart after God, stop chasing those things, and chase this. Pursue righteousness – that’s doing what is right. Treating others fairly, justly, as more important than yourself. Pursue Godliness – things that are Holy, not unholy. Things that please God, not displease Him, things of the spirit, not of the flesh. Pursue faith – calling things at are not yet, as though they are already. You pursue faith with your mouth, not your feet. It starts with your mouth. Say what He says, and you’ll get what He promises. Pursue love. Love for God is obey, Love for others, is preference. Love is not just obey, you can obey someone or something you hate, for fear of punishment. But love for God, cannot be love without obeying. This is love for God, to obey his commands. What He tells you to do. In His Word, and His Word in your spirit. Pursue patience. Endurance, perseverance, Wait on Him, and rejoice, and build faith, while you are waiting. And Pursue gentleness. Humility, not pride, kindness, not selfishness. Praying that you will flee from these things. The love of money, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh. Praying that you will chase what God says… Doing what is right, separating yourself from the profane, speaking the word of faith, loving God with all your affection and obedience, and loving others like He loves them. Praying that you will endure with great patience, that you will wait on the LORD, and renew your strength. And praying that gentleness and kindness will flow out of the humility that you choose every day, the mark of Christ. So what are you fleeing from today? and what are you chasing? Praying that you will chase what God says to pursue. Love you all, dad Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It tells you the good, the bad and the ugly. What will bring blessing, what will bring curse, and what will lead to destruction. I love that it not only tells you what, it tells you what for. Two interesting words. What – the subject of conversation. What are we talking about? And For – designating receivership, a present for Mommy. But when used together – they pertain to purpose, the reason. What for? One very important thing in your life is faith. The evidence of things unseen, the substance of things hoped for. So what do you need faith for? #1 To please God. Without faith it is impossible to please him. (Heb 11:6) You need faith to please God. #2 To believe that He exists. You can see the evidence all around you, it’s undeniable, but you need faith to believe that He exists, and #3 That He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. That it’s worth it, that in seeking Him, you will find him, and that finding Him is worth it. So what do you need faith for? #4 To move mountains. They won’t move without faith. God moves them, but He uses your faith to do it. “According to your faith, be it unto you.” (Matt 9:29) If you want to live a life beyond the natural, beyond human limitations, if you want to see in your life – the supernatural invade the natural. You gotta have faith. You need faith to move mountains. #5 You need faith to obey. Obeying is love for God. Jesus said, if you love me, you will obey what I tell you. (John 14:15) The Bible says, This is love for God to obey what He tells you. (I John 5:3) That’s what His commands are – what He tells you. You have to have faith to obey. You have to have faith that He said it, that He means it, that when you ask Him, He will tell you, that what He told you – was really Him, and that if you do it, it will be worth it. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because you can’t obey without it. And without obeying what He says, you won’t be able to see what He can do. You need faith to obey. [The first step of obeying - is to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and your LORD. Savior means His Sacrifice covers your sin, and makes you holy in His sight. How else will you live in heaven for eternity? Nothing less than Holy will be in heaven, it’s impossible, God is sinless, there is no darkness in Him. And you are Holy only through Jesus. No darkness can be in His presence. That’s why He said, I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me. He is the doorway to eternity in heaven, to live with God forever, you have no chance without Him. That’s receiving Him as Savior, but also to receive Him as LORD – the ‘boss-a-me.’ You have to let Him take over, He gets the driver’s seat in your life from now on, you move over. He directs your life, not you. He can’t be Savior without being LORD. That’s why if you confess with your mouth – Jesus is LORD – that’s a commitment, not a recitation, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved! That means eternity in heaven, and a supernatural life of God’s good – right here on earth. The second step of obeying – is to receive the gift the Father promised. The Gift of the Holy Spirit – so you get the power you need to overcome sin that comes so naturally. It’s the secret super-power to lead the supernatural life that He has for you. The third thing you need to obey, is to know His plans for you today. PiVAT will help you. How else will you know what to do, what He told you? Unless you ask? It’s the conversation before dinner with Him that reveals His plans for you, so you can walk by faith, because you know where to walk.] What is faith for? To please God, to believe He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek him, you need faith to move mountains and you need faith to obey, which is love for Him. So if that’s the What For of faith, how do you get faith? First the good news. You already have it. You don’t need more, you just need to use what God gave you. He said He has given every person a measure of faith. Your measure, not someone else’s. He’s given you what you need for your life – your measure of faith. Enough for everything you will ever face. Now - you just have to use it. You aren’t lacking faith, it’s just that your faith is small. Have you ever seen pictures of a body builder before they started lifting weights? They looked like a ninety pound weakling, all skin and bones, or just a little fat kid, all fat, and no muscle. They didn’t get a new body, or another body, the body they had just started to change, it started to grow – until it got ripped. It grew because they fed it and exercised it! Just like your faith. How do you get faith? Feed it. #1) God’s Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) PRISM keeps you in His Word – so your faith gets buff. Then speak it! What you say you get, if you hear the word of faith and speak it out of your mouth, you hear it again, but you establish it in the atmosphere, and establish it in your life. How do you get faith? #2) Pray in the Spirit. God said build yourselves up in your most holy faith – praying in the Holy Spirit. (Jude 1:20) It’s how you grow your faith. This is a wonderful irony. The very thing that you choose to do, pray in the Spirit (in your heavenly language) It requires faith to believe that what you are doing, that the sounds that are coming out of your mouth, which your natural mind doesn’t understand, is really having an impact), that the Holy Spirit will really take over and pray the will of your Father in Heaven - through your own voice – even though your mind doesn’t understand. What takes faith to even choose to do and continue doing, is the very thing that builds your faith. #3) Obey – Obey gets you faith (it gets your faith bigger). If you don’t obey you won’t see what God will do. Every time you obey, and see what God does, it builds your faith, because what you have faith for, you see come to pass. That just builds your faith for next time. Every time you obey you are exercising your faith. First, faith that that’s what He told you, Faith, that it was really him, not just your brain, Faith that you heard Him correctly, Faith that if you do it, it will bring results, that it will make a difference). Obeying is using your faith, and obeying increases it even more. #4 Testimony. Every time you give your testimony, of what God did when you obeyed, it grows your faith. God said, Tell somebody! It’s more for you than it is for them! It’s how you overcome, it’s how your faith grows. And #5 Get a Daily Call – It starts your every day with the testimony you overcome with, and when you hear their testimony – of what God did when they obeyed, it only grows your faith even more. Praying that you review the PRISM Topic – Faith. It’s important – that’s the Word of faith that comes by hearing it… Praying that you will remember what for – when it comes to faith. That you will believe, and obey, so you see mountains move, so you please God. Praying that you will remember when it comes to faith – you already got some! All that you need. You just need to work out. To build your faith. Praying that you will Read God’s Word, Pray in the Spirit, Obey what He tells you, Give your testimony, and Walk with another – so you overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. So your faith can grow! So God can do those things in you which He has ordained to come by faith. Praying that the what for – will help you get more. Love you all, dad |
AuthorKelly Kamentz - Jesus follower, husband, father, and friend, helping others surrender time, thoughts, money, and testimony, to fulfill their purpose! Archives
December 2023
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