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Comment by ALCEDES JONES on April 26, 2011 at 8:28pm

	Seeing Potential in Others TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out” (Ephesians 6:18, The Message) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria It’s easy to be someone’s friend when they’ve got it all together, when they’re walking in blessing and prosperity. Anybody can believe in people after they’re successful, after they graduate, after they’re promoted, after they get their big break. But, people need our support the most before they get their breakthrough. They need us to look past their faults and failures and see their potential. Most times, people just need a little “push” of encouragement to keep them moving forward. We should always put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and see things from their perspective. You may have some good advice that could save them a lot of heartache and pain. Don’t keep it to yourself. Pick up the phone. Help them win. Maybe you excelled in a college course that they’re struggling in. Don’t sit back and think, “Too bad. They’ve got to learn it the hard way.” No, you are the hands and feet of Jesus. When you help others rise higher, you are fulfilling His mission. Today, share your love, support and encouragement. Invest life in others, see their potential, and together, you’ll rise higher into the blessing God has for you! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father God, thank You for giving me influence with the people in my life. Thank You for equipping me to help others rise higher. Reveal to me the potential You have deposited in the people around me and show me ways to help them so we can win at life together. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Comment by Ruth McD on April 25, 2011 at 9:41am

Spiritual Side Dishes: What Comes with Your Meal?
Jack Klumpenhower
4/25/2011

What spiritual food do you have with your dinner? Or alongside your breakfast?
Christians have long recognized that mealtimes make an excellent opportunity to get some spiritual nourishment in the course of a day. We all eat, so why not use the occasion to feed our souls along with our stomachs? It’s not a must-do rule to use mealtimes this way. But it makes sense.

Jesus explained this when he fasted for forty days in the desert. The devil tempted him to feed himself by turning stones into bread, but Jesus replied: “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, NLT). Even for a terribly hungry person, spiritual food is as necessary as something to eat.

So whether you eat alone or with others, here are four ways to feed your soul at the same time. Christians have practiced each of these for centuries. Think of them as spiritual side dishes.

Pray. This is the most familiar spiritual side dish. We’ve learned to “say a blessing” when we eat. Sometimes this carries connotations that we must bless the food before it’s fit to consume. But the more common idea in the Bible is that we bless God, meaning we praise him. We pause to acknowledge what he’s given us, and to thank him for it: “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me” (Psalm 103:2, NLT). Jesus thanked God before feeding the five thousand (see John 6:11), but a blessing can also come after eating: “When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God . . . ” (Deuteronomy 8:10, NLT).

Read the Bible. There’s no more direct way to feed on God’s Word than regular Bible reading. In simpler days, many Christian homes had Bible reading at every meal. Today, most of us feel too busy for that, but this is our loss. Imagine the benefit of regular doses of God’s Word as we go about our daily business. Perhaps we could learn to pray like Psalm 119:103, “How sweet your words taste to me” (NLT)

Sing songs of praise. Seriously. Americans in particular have largely forgotten the practice of singing at the table, except at birthday parties. But a song is a joyful way to celebrate God’s goodness. Jesus sang a hymn with his disciples as part of his final meal with them before his death (see Matthew 26:30). The Bible commends singing as a daily activity for God’s people: “Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves” (Psalm 96:2, NLT).

Eat together. This last one is more of a setting than a side dish, but it’s important in our busy world. Whether with family or friends, we need to make opportunities to eat with fellow believers. Every one of the Old Testament feasts that celebrated God’s goodness was eaten in groups. And the only meal Jesus commanded his followers to eat regularly is the communion meal—again, a group event. The early church not only worshiped together, but “shared their meals with great joy and generosity” (Acts 2:46, NLT). Shared meals are in themselves a celebration of God’s goodness.

I don’t want to make any of this feel like a rule or ritual that quickly becomes empty of meaning. But we all know the value of establishing good habits. Remembering to feed on Jesus whenever we get hungry is one of those helpful habits.

Feed on Jesus. Yes, Jesus himself talked that way. He said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh” (John 6:51, NLT).

Jesus offered up himself. He died for us, that we may live. There is such nourishment in knowing this that if we feed on it day by day, hour by hour, we will surely grow into people who love him deeply. We will be well-fed believers, healthy and strong, alive forever.

Try it for breakfast. Have it for lunch and dinner. You may find it so filling it becomes, for you, the main course.

Comment by ALCEDES JONES on April 22, 2011 at 3:56pm

By Mary Fairchild, About.com Guide

How to Spring Clean Your Spirit

While you're cleaning out closets and sweeping under the furniture, think about this: Spring cleaning, while worth the effort, will only last for a season, but spiritual cleansing could have an eternal influence. So don't just dust behind those book shelves, dust off that favorite Bible and get ready for a spiritual spring cleaning.

1) Cleanse Your Heart - Get Spiritually Healthy:

The Bible encourages us to draw close to God and allow our hearts and bodies to be cleansed. This is the first step in our spring cleaning project. We can't clean ourselves. Instead we must draw near to God and ask Him to do the cleansing.

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.(KJV)

Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.(NIV)

2) Clean Out Your Mouth - Deep Clean Inside and Out:

Spiritual cleansing requires deep cleaning -- it is housekeeping that goes beyond what others see and hear. It's a cleansing from within -- inside and out. As your heart gets clean, your language should follow. This is not just talking about bad language, but also negative talk and pessimistic thoughts that contradict the Word of God and faith. This includes the challenge to stop complaining.

Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.(NIV)

Philippians 2:14
Do everything without complaining or arguing...(NIV)

3) Renew Your Mind - Take Out the Garbage:

This is one of the biggest areas of struggle for most of us -- removing the garbage from our minds. Garbage in equals garbage out. We must feed our minds and spirits the Word of God instead of the garbage of this world.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.(NIV)

2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.(NIV)

4) Repent from Hidden Sin - Clean Out Your Spiritual Closets:

Hidden sin will destroy your life, your peace, and even your health. The Bible says to confess your sin - tell someone, and reach out for help. When your spiritual closets are clean, the heaviness from hidden sin will lift.

Psalm 32:3-5
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—and you forgave the guilt of my sin. (NIV)

5) Release Unforgiveness and Bitterness - Get Rid of Old Baggage:

Any sin will weigh you down, but long kept unforgiveness and bitterness is like old baggage in the attic you just can't seem to part with. You are so familiar with it, you don't even realize how it is hindering your life.

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore ... let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress...(NLT)

Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.(NIV)

6) Involve Jesus in Your Daily Life - Let the Son Shine In:

What God wants most from you is relationship - friendship. He wants to be involved in the big and small moments of your life. Open your life, let the light of God's presence shine into every part, and you'll have no need for a yearly spiritual cleaning. Instead experience daily, moment to moment refreshing of your spirit.

1 Corinthians 1:9
God ... is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.(NLT)

Psalm 56:13
For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.(NLT)

7) Learn to Laugh at Yourself and at Life:

Some of us take life too seriously, or we take ourselves too seriously. Jesus wants you to enjoy yourself, and learn to have some fun. God made you for His pleasure!

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.(NIV)

Psalm 126:2
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."(NIV)

Comment by Jaun D. on April 21, 2011 at 11:40am

As a baby Christian, I really need this one... I feel weak sometimes against temptation, and in the days I fail to attend Church, having knowledge of the Bible will truly help... Especially to a busy person who can't fit everything on her planner, those things above are useful. Thank you :D

Comment by ALCEDES JONES on April 21, 2011 at 8:06am

JUST HAD TO SHARE THIS  

The Christian Response to Disappointment

Learn How to Respond to Disappointment as a Christian

From Jack Zavada

The Christian life can sometimes feel like a roller coaster ride when strong hope and faith collide with an unexpected reality. When our prayers aren't answered as we desired and our dreams become shattered, disappointment is the natural result. Jack Zavada examines "The Christian Response to Disappointment" and offers practical advice for turning disappointment in a positive direction, moving you closer to God.

The Christian Response to Disappointment

If you're a Christian, you're well-acquainted with disappointment.

All of us, whether new Christians or lifelong believers, battle feelings of disappointment when life goes wrong. Deep down, we think that following Christ should give us special immunity against trouble. We're like Peter, who tried to remind Jesus, "We have left everything to follow you." (Mark 10:28).

Maybe we haven't left everything, but we have made some painful sacrifices. Doesn't that count for something? Shouldn't that give us a free pass when it comes to disappointment?

You already know the answer to that. As we’re each struggling with our own private setbacks, godless people seem to be thriving. We wonder why they’re doing so well and we’re not. We fight our way through loss and disappointment and wonder what’s going on.

Asking the Right Question

After many years of hurts and frustration, I finally realized that the question I should ask God isn't "Why, Lord?" but rather, "What now, Lord?"

Asking “What now, Lord?” instead of “Why, Lord?” is a hard lesson to learn. It's hard to ask the right question when you’re feeling disappointed. It's hard to ask when your heart is breaking. It's hard to ask “What now?” when your dreams have been shattered.

But your life will begin to change when you start asking God, "What would you have me do now, Lord?" Oh sure, you’ll still feel angry or disheartened by disappointments, but you’ll also discover that God is eager to show you what he wants you to do next. Not only that, but he’ll equip you with everything you need to do it.

Where to Take Your Heartaches

In the face of trouble, our natural tendency is not to ask the right question. Our natural tendency is to complain. Unfortunately, griping to other people rarely helps solve our problems. Instead, it tends to drive people away. Nobody wants to hang around a person who has a self-pitying, pessimistic outlook on life.

But we can't just let it go. We need to pour our heart out to someone. Disappointment is too heavy a burden to bear. If we let disappointments pile up, they lead to discouragement. Too much discouragement leads to despair. God doesn’t want that for us. In his grace, God asks us to take our heartaches to him.

If another Christian tells you that it's wrong to gripe to God, just send that person to the Psalms. Many of them, like Psalms 31, 102 and 109, are poetic accounts of hurts and grievances. God listens. He'd rather have us empty our heart to him than keep that bitterness inside. He is not offended by our discontent.

Complaining to God is wise because he's capable of doing something about it, while our friends and relations may not be. God has the power to change us, our situation, or both. He knows all the facts and he knows the future. He knows exactly what needs to be done.

The Answer to 'What Now?'

When we pour out our hurt to God and find the courage to ask him, "What do you want me to do now, Lord?," we can expect him to answer. He will communicate through another person, our circumstances, instructions from him (very rarely), or through his Word, the Bible.

The Bible is such an important guidebook that we should immerse ourselves in it regularly. It's call the Living Word of God because its truths are constant yet they apply to our changing situations. You can read the same passage at different times in your life and get a different answer--a relevant answer--from it every time. That is God speaking through his Word.

Seeking God's answer to "What now?" helps us grow in faith. Through experience, we learn that God is trustworthy. He can take our disappointments and work them for our good. When that happens, we come to the staggering conclusion that the all-powerful God of the universe is on our side.

No matter how painful your disappointment may be, God's answer to your question of "What now, Lord?" always begins with this simple command: "Trust me. Trust me."

Comment by rosary flasius on April 21, 2011 at 1:52am

"You are already clean because of the word(BIBLE) which i have spoken to you. john 15:3

my brothers and sisters you are already clean when you hear bible, what a simple way to cleane, this only need for us to take paradise by Him, so if any one of you did't get salvation, READ BIBLE EVERY DAY AND GO SPRITUAL CHURCH TO HEAR LORD'S WORDS and get clean, we will be in paradise one day and will meet each other VERY sure., because that is the promise for Us from lord. we praise our loving lord for precious sanctification without money or something. golry to our loving lord, amen

your younger brother
rosary plasius

Comment by Ruth McD on April 20, 2011 at 4:34pm

Thanks for the Bible Reading Highlights Record. It will help me in my Bible reading, what I learn from the Word.

Comment by Deli on April 20, 2011 at 12:46am

yesterday i attended miracle service in church.My pastor was preaching on ephessian 6...Brethen be strong in the Lord,devil is out there roming like lion luking fo the soul to destroy...i think as christian we need to be sober and vigilant in sprit and pray day and nite so that devil and his agent they wont have access in our lives cause really we are living in end tym...

Comment by ALCEDES JONES on April 19, 2011 at 4:22am

Christianity for Realists
The Myth of a Problem-free Life

From Jack Zavada
See More About:



Everyone has different expectations from Christianity, but one thing we should not expect is a problem-free life.

It just isn't realistic, and you won't find one verse in the Bible to support that idea. Jesus is blunt when he tells his followers:

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV)

Trouble! Now there's an understatement. If you're a Christian and you haven't been ridiculed, discriminated against, insulted or mistreated, you're doing something wrong. Our trouble also includes accidents, illness, job layoffs, broken relationships, financial setbacks, family strife, the deaths of loved ones, and every kind of nastiness that unbelievers suffer as well.

What gives? If God loves us, why doesn't he take better care of us? Why doesn't he make Christians immune from all the pains of life?

Only God knows the answer to that, but we can find our solution in the last part of Jesus' statement: "I have overcome the world."
The Major Cause of Trouble
Many of the world's problems come from Satan, that Father of Lies and Dealer in Destruction. In the past couple decades, it's become fashionable to treat that fallen angel like a mythological character, implying that we are too sophisticated now to believe in such nonsense.

But Jesus never spoke of Satan as a symbol. Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert. He constantly warned his disciples to beware of Satan's traps. As God, Jesus is the supreme realist, and he recognized the existence of Satan.

Using us to cause our own problems is Satan's oldest ploy. Eve was the first person to fall for it and the rest of us have been doing it ever since. Self-destruction has to start somewhere, and Satan is often the small voice that assures us our dangerous acts are all right.

There's no doubt: Sin can be enjoyable. Satan is doing everything he can to make sin socially acceptable in our world. But Jesus said, "I have overcome the world." What did he mean?
Exchanging His Power for Our Own
Sooner or later, every Christian realizes that their own power is pretty puny. As hard as we try to be good all the time, we just can't make it. But the good news is that if we allow him, Jesus will live the Christian life through us. That means his power to overcome sin and the problems of this world is ours for the asking.

No matter whether our problems are caused by ourselves (sin), others (crime, cruelty, selfishness) or circumstances (illness, traffic accidents, job loss, fire, disaster), Jesus is always where we turn. Because Christ has overcome the world, we can overcome it through his strength, not our own. He is the answer to the problem-filled life.

That doesn't mean our problems will end as soon as we surrender control to him. It does mean, however, that our unbeatable ally will bring us through everything that happens to us: "A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all ..." (Psalm 34:19 NIV)

He doesn't spare us from them all, he doesn't shield us from them all, but he does deliver us. We may come out the other side with scars and losses, but we will come out the other side. Even if our suffering results in death, we will be delivered into the hands of God.
Confidence During Our Problems
Each new problem calls for renewed trust, but if we think back on how God has delivered us in the past, we see that unmistakable pattern of delivery in our lives. Knowing God is on our side and supporting us through our troubles can give us a sense of peace and confidence.

Once we understand that trouble is normal and to be expected in this life, it will not catch us off-guard as much when it comes. We don't have to like it, we certainly can't enjoy it, but we can always count on God's help to get us through it.

A problem-free life is a myth here on earth but a reality in heaven. Realistic Christians see that. We don't view heaven as pie-in-the-sky but rather our reward for trusting Jesus Christ as our Savior. It's a place where all will be made right, because the God of Righteousness lives there.

Until we reach that place, we can take heart, as Jesus commanded us. He has overcome the world, and as his followers, his victory is also ours.

Jack Zavada, a career writer and guest contributor for About.com, is host to a Christian lessons h lives. His articles and ebooks offer great hope and encouragement. To contact him or for more information, visit Jack's Bio Page

Comment by ALCEDES JONES on April 18, 2011 at 4:05am

	The Same Spirit TODAY’S SCRIPTURE "And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11, AMP TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit of God makes His home inside of you. That's the same Spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That resurrection power can bring back health, strength and life to your physical body, and it can bring back life to your hopes and dreams. In fact, it can bring life to any area that may seem dormant on the inside of you. The next time you feel overwhelmed by sickness, challenges or despair, remember, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. You may have been burdened by an addiction, fear or worry, but there's nothing that can stand against the power of God. Rise up and declare by faith, "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. I am restored and healed in the name of Jesus! No weapon formed against me can prosper!" As you rise up in faith and declare the Word of God, you are activating His power within you, and you are moving forward in the victory He has for you! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father in heaven, thank You for filling me with Your power by the Holy Spirit. I choose to feed my faith by declaring Your Word over my life so that I can tap in to every blessing You have for me. In Jesus' Name.Amen.

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