"Little Things"

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Song of Solomon 2:15

Watch out for "little foxes", they are what spoils the vine. It's those little things that give us the most trouble and can cause the most damage. It doesn't always have to be something "big".

One little nail can cause a flat tire and keep you from going anywhere. One drop of poison can kill you. One piece of rotten meat can contaminate the whole plate. One small cut can develop into an infection that can make you very ill. A single sting from a bee can put some in the hospital. A spider bite can kill you if it is from a poisonous spider. Little termites can destroy a house. 

Likewise, one wrong move, one evil thought, one glance in the wrong direction, one bad choice, one wound from a friend, one unkind word can steal, kill and destroy our lives. So we must be on guard and guard against even the smallest things.

If a mouse gets into your house it can cause a lot of destruction. And it can get in through the smallest of openings. All it needs is enough room to get its nose in and then it can squeeze its entire body in through it. Close all "small openings" by casting down that thought, by releasing that offense, by getting that hurt healed... just don't give place to those small foxes and those "little" pitfalls the devil has laid for you.

Have a great day. Watch out today for those "little" things that have the ability to destroy.

For further reading:

1 Peter 5:8
2 Corinthians 10:5
1 Corinthians 5:6
Galatians 5:9

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or

Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable." Psalm 145:3

What a good way to start the day off-- remembering how GREAT our God is. We often forget that He is a great God. We tend to let the situation shroud that fact. Everything in society and daily living tries to convince us that He is not that great or that there are other things that are greater.

A bad report from the doctor tries to convince us that the sickness or disease is greater than God's ability to heal it. The economic downshift, or loss of a job, makes itself seem bigger than God's ability to provide. Problems in our relationships try to make us believe that this is greater than His ability to reconcile. Catastrophe wants to appear bigger than God. Politicians present themselves as greater than God by having all the answers.

Let me remind you this morning, there is NOTHING that is greater than the Lord. The Red Sea (obstacles that stand in the way) was not greater than God. Pharaoh's army (the powers that be) was not greater than God. The fiery furnace was not greater than God (He delivers from its power). Death isn't greater than Him- He conquered it and rose on the third day. It doesn't matter what area your problem is in, it is not greater than God. The enemy is not greater, the circumstance is not greater, the threats are not greater, the situation is not greater, there is nothing greater than Him in heaven, earth and beneath the earth. There is nothing greater in power, wisdom, might and ability than the Lord.

Have a great day. Let me repeat-- there is nothing greater than the Lord. Meditate on that and keep it in the forefront of your heart and mind each and every day.

For further reading:

Psalm 145; 48:1
1 Chronicles 16:25

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or

Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Purpose and Plan"

"And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir." Genesis 15:4

God had a purpose for Abraham- to give him an heir and make a great nation from him. How was God going to do that? Abraham thought his wife would get pregnant right away. When she didn't and was getting old, they thought He was going to do it through Sarah's servant Hagar. I am sure that from the time the Lord gave Abraham the promise until the promise was fulfilled in Isaac, they wondered how God was going to do it.

I want to talk about God's purpose and His plan. God's purpose is His will- what He wants to happen. God's plan is the avenue and means by which He brings His purpose into being. God's purpose was to give Abraham an heir, but God's plan was to give it to him through Sarah after she passed the age of child bearing.

We can know God's purpose but not always know His plan. God's purpose is to save mankind. His plan for accomplishing it was to send His Son Jesus to die on the cross.

It is not the purpose that we have trouble with, it's the plan. We get the two confused. Let me give you a personal example. As you know I have a vision to open a ministry center where we will feed, clothe and shelter the homeless and reach people for Christ. I know without a doubt that this is God's will and purpose. But I don't know His plan for bringing it to past. I keep wondering is He going to do it this way or that way. Will He take me through this route or another one? I have looked at many places and the door has closed to each one. Am I discouraged? No, because I know God's purpose. I am just trying to let Him lead me into His plan for bringing His purpose about.

Most people give up and stop pursuing God's promise and purpose because they keep missing the "plan". They may have thought, even more than once, that God was going to fulfill His plan a certain way and when He didn't they want to give up because they think they missed God. No, you haven't missed the purpose/will because it hasn't changed. You just missed the plan He has for accomplishing the purpose. 

 

It is the purpose that God has made known to us and that is what we hold on to by faith. The discouragement and the feeling of giving up comes because we don't always know His plan for fulfilling His purpose. There too lies faith-- faith that He will lead us into His plan for fulfilling His purpose. Don't confuse the two, or when the plan doesn't line up with how you thought He was going to do it, you will mistake it for the purpose and give up.

Have a great day. God's plan and purpose are not the same. Don't give up on the purpose just because you missed the plan.

For further reading:

Genesis 15
Proverbs 3:5,6

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or

Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." Psalm 119:89

 

Many things change in life. We change the way we think, our opinions, our viewpoint and our convictions. Fads and fashions change from generation to generation. Even within the walls of the church doctrine seems to be changing. When I was growing up, there was a certain mindset-- you loved God, your family and your country. It seems as though we have developed a completely opposite mindset. 

 

While we change our minds and the way we think or view things, there is something that stays the same-- God' word. It does not change. God's word is eternal and it is forever settled. Its meaning does not change. Its precepts and principals do not change. If it says you reap what you sow, then you reap what you sow-- whether you lived a thousand years ago or are alive now.

God's word is relevant for today, it is not outdated. Just because society changed its way of thinking does not mean that the Bible did. If it said do not kill, steal or commit adultery, it still means for us to abide by that today-- regardless of how smart we think we are that we don't need these "old-fashioned" rules.

The commandments and rules that are guidelines for our lives have not changed, nor ever will. But the comfort, hope and guidance that we find within its pages never changes either. King David found hope in God's word thousands of years ago. The early church found hope in His word thousands of years ago. I found hope and comfort in God's word a decade ago, and I am still finding it in there today. 

 

I am so thankful that His word never changes. That fact gives me assurance that every time I go to it seeking help, I will always find it-- and you will too. Look in its pages, it has the answer to all your problems. And those answers fit today's needs just like they did yesterday.

 

Have a great day. The Word of God is not outdated and it has not changed. It still offers the help you need within its pages just like it did yesterday and thousands of years ago. 

 

For further reading:

Psalm 119:160
saiah 45:23
Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33

 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or

Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastesbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Light Hiding Places"

"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light." Luke 11:33

 

 

Exactly! Who would light a candle then put it under something or stick it out of sight where it can't be seen. Lights are meant to shine, not be hidden or subdued.

 

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we become "lights" that shine in darkness. The light that we now have, and are, is meant to be seen. But we often "hide" them under something so that others are not seeing them. Why would we do that? What causes us to not let them shine? What are we hiding them under?

 

Some hide their lights under guilt. They made a mistake now they don't feel that their light should be seen. They feel hypocritical. Some are hiding their lights under popularity. They want to be popular with others, they want to be liked, they want to be included, but if they shine too brightly they will be rejected in certain circles so they try to "tone down" the light by putting it where it is not as evident. Others hide their lights under "comfort". If their lights are shining, and others are seeing it, it might cost them something-- themselves. They don't want to be bothered. They don't want to get up and have to do anything. They want to do what they want to do when they want to do it. If that is the case, they are hiding it under selfishness as well. Some hide it under compromise. They want to have a little light and a little darkness. Some hide it under ambition. They will never reach their goal or fulfill their dream if their light is getting in the way.

There are many other places and baskets that we could hide our lights under-- bitterness, unforgiveness, lusts, fear and so on. The question is not whether we can hide our lights-- we can. It is not a question of where our lights can be hid. The question is, "Are you hiding your light?" If so, do you know where and under what it is hid? Then the next question is, "Is what you are hiding it under worth it?"

Have a great day. Is your light hidden under something this morning?

For further reading:

Philippians 2:15

Romans 2:19

Ephesians 5:8

1 Thessalonians 5:5

2 Peter 1:19

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or

Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry