"Close The Door"

"Neither give place to the devil." Ephesians 4:27

 

When I was growing up, we played outside a lot. That meant we were constantly in and out of the house. Sometimes we would forget to close the door. When we did, we would always hear our mother say, "Close the door, you are letting the flies in". This morning I want to talk about "closing the door so the flies won't come in".

 

It is interesting that satan is sometimes called Beelzebub. The Aramaic form of the word means "lord of the flies". So we need to learn how to "close the door" to our lives so that he doesn't come in and find a place to "reside". We have to keep the door closed to our hearts and minds so that he won't be able to build a "stronghold" there. 

 

What opens the door? Disobedience opens the door. Yielding to the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life and the lusts of the eyes will open it. (Matthew 4) It is opened by not keeping your mind renewed with God's word, by not being continuously filled with the Spirit, by not filling yourself with praise. You can't have a "spiritually empty house", it has to stay filled with Jesus. (Matthew 12:44,45)

 

Once you know what opens the door, then you also know what will close it. Obedience always closes the door. Not yielding to temptation keeps the door closed. Staying full of the Spirit, walking in the Fruit of the Spirit, setting your affections on things above, following Jesus, hiding His word in your heart, keeping His praise in your mouth, and drawing near to the Lord keeps it closed.

 

Is the door open in your life? Are you letting the "flies"-- anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, greed, pride, fear, deception, ungodly mindsets, etc.-- in? Or is the door closed?

 

Have a great day. Close the door, or the flies will come in.

 

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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.

"Standing Before The Lord"

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God..." Revelation 20:12a

 

Regardless of what you believe, even if you don't believe it, we will all stand before the Lord God one day and give an account of our lives. Every man, woman, boy and girl ever born since Adam to the last person born will stand before Him-- no one will be excluded. Among the great crowd that stands before Him, I see four different categories of people. 

 

1) Those who didn't believe that He is real and exist.

2) Those who believed He was real but did nothing with that belief- they had a "head knowledge" of Him only.

3) Those who were religious in deed and action, but did not have a relationship with Him.

4) Those who love Him with all their heart, soul, strength and mind and serve Him out of loving devotion.

 

1) Those who didn't believe that He is real and exist. They either didn't know or refused, like the atheist, to acknowledge Him. On that day they will have no excuse for not believing He was real because the creation declares His existence. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

 

2) Those who believed, but only with a "head knowledge". They believed He was real and that He exists, but they never did anything with that belief. They did not turn to Him, serve Him, love Him, follow Him or make Him Lord over their lives. They only believed with head knowledge, but there was no heart acknowledgment. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)

 

3) Those who were religious in deed and action, but did not have a relationship with Him. These went to church, they gave alms, they sang in the choir, they even taught Sunday School, they joined the church, they did all the religious practices, but they did not know Him. They did the work of the Lord without knowing the Lord of the work. They are like the rich young ruler who kept the commandments, who was "good" by religious standards, yet he loved another "god" -- his riches. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:21-23)

 

4) Those who love Him and serve Him with all their heart. These are the ones who believed in Him, received Him as Savior, loved Him with all their heart and followed Him. They draw near Him with their hearts and not just their mouths. They know Him and are known by Him. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." (Matthew 25:31-33) On that day when we stand before Him, there will be a great distinction/separation between these groups of people. To those of the first three groups He will say, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment. (vv. 41,46) But to only those in the last group He will say," Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (v.34)

 

Which groups are you in? 

 

Have a great day. We will all stand before the Lord one day and give an account of our lives. When you stand before Him, will you hear Him say, "Well, done, enter into the Kingdom"; or "Depart from Me into everlasting fire"?

 

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

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.

"It's War"

"...a time of war..." Ecclesiastes 3:8

 

I think that many times we forget that we are involved in a "spiritual" war. For many of you that is what is going on in your life at this moment. You have been feeling pressed on every side. Things are not going right. Your mind is constantly bombarded with thoughts it should not be thinking. Your home is in a state of uproar. You're having problems on your job. You are going through difficulties. You are being easily offended. You are depressed, anxious, discouraged even to the point where you feel like "throwing in the towel". There is confusion and distraction. You don't know why this is happening. You can't figure it out or put your finger on the source. Let me put my finger on it-- it is "spiritual warfare".

 

Life as a Christian is not just a life of blessings. You have a very real enemy who is not happy that you are living for the Lord, and he is out to destroy you. He has schemes, plans, devices and weapons that he uses to wage war against your soul. He has you in his "cross hairs" with one goal in mind-- to kill you. 

 

When you look at the life of Job, who came after him to attack him? The devil. Job was attacked in his prosperity and material possessions. He was attacked in his health. He was attacked through his emotions, his feelings, in his mind, through his spouse, through his friends and in every way from every side. Job was in spiritual warfare. Don't forget that you are in a battle. Don't lose focus that there is a real enemy out there wanting to destroy you. Don't just think this is a natural occurrence. It is spiritual. 

 

Stop whining, crying and bemoaning your situation. Stop rolling over and "playing dead". Stop fearing the enemy. Don't just sit back with the attitude "Que Sera Sera (Whatever will be will be)". Fight back. Get up and fight the good fight of faith. Get up and fight the enemy (remember the enemy is NOT flesh and blood). Use the mighty weapons that God has given you- put on the full armor of God. Bring those raging thoughts captive. Pull out the sword of the Spirit (God's word- the scriptures). Pray in the Spirit. Put on the garment of praise and break the enemy's hold on your emotions. We tend to focus on the fact that we are heirs and joint-heirs, accepted in the beloved, blessed of the Lord, blessed with all spiritual blessings, children of God-- we focus on all the "good and pleasant" things. But we forget that we are also mighty warriors dressed for battle. We are soldiers in the Lord's army. We take the Kingdom by force. And as we do, we are more than conquerors. We are victorious. We have power over all the powers of the enemy. We are over-comers. We win! Job was victorious in his spiritual battle. Why? "For I know that my redeemer liveth. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold." (Job 19:25,27) He kept his focus on the Lord. It did get hard, and he did wonder why, and he did suffer, but he trusted God would be with him and see him through to the very end. Know that the Lord is with you in your battle and He has given you the victory through His Son Jesus. 

 

Have a great day. Have you forgotten that we are in "spiritual warfare" and much of what is happening to you is an attack of the enemy? Get up and do battle. 

 

For further reading:

John 10:10

Ephesians 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.

"Thankful For Mondays"

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

It is Monday here and many woke up this morning complaining because of it. Monday is the "back to the grind stone day". It is probably the most hated day of the week because for most it means having to go back to work- their weekend is over, no more "fun and games", no more spending their time doing what they want to do. 

 

Let's get refocused this morning. Instead of complaining because it is Monday be thankful. Thank the Lord you have a job. So many people are unemployed and don't know how they are going to provide for their families. Be thankful that you have the strength and health to go to a job. Let's also get refocused and remember that life is not one big "weekend". Be thankful for the times of rest and enjoyment that the weekend brings. But the weekend is only two days and the rest of the week consist of five. There is a lesson that we can learn from that. Life consist more of work and responsibility, duty and commitment than it does of rest, relaxation and fun. How nice it would be if life was one big weekend, but it isn't. 

 

The point I am trying to make this morning is-- just be thankful! Be thankful for what you have and what you can do. Be thankful for the times of labor. Be thankful for the times of rest. Be thankful for the weekend and be thankful for the week. Life consist of both and both play an important part in our lives. They each help to make us into the people that the Lord desires for us to be. He gives us both. So be thankful for both and enjoy both by doing whatever you do as unto Him.

 

Have a great day. Be thankful for Mondays and the whole week as well as the weekends. 

 

For further reading:

Colossians 3:23

Romans 8:28

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

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.

"Interpreting God's Plan"

"And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." Genesis 37:9

 

The dreams that Joseph had were a vision of God's destiny and plan for his life. The dreams of the wheat, sun and moon bowing down before him represented that he would be in some sort of authority. I wonder if when he had them he automatically thought-- "in fourteen plus years I am going to be a ruler in Egypt, second in command, next to Pharaoh. I am going to rule the entire nation and everyone will have to answer for me." I really don't think that was what he thought. He probably did ponder it and try to figure if out-- just like we do when the Lord speaks to us or shows us something about our lives. His "interpretation" of the dreams, I am sure, was definitely not what God's interpretation was. Joseph's interpretation probably centered around his home land, his father, blessings, etc. Never in his wildest imagination would he ever have thought he would wind up where he did. 

 

When God reveals something to us, it usually doesn't mean what we think it means. We usually have one interpretation and God has another. What God says He is going to do through our lives doesn't always mean He is going to do it the way we think. And it doesn't always mean what we think it means. Paul knew he was going to stand before kings and preach the gospel, but at first he probably didn't realize it would be in chains. Years ago the Lord let me know that this ministry would be "world-wide". I thought that meant that He was going to send me physically around the world. Several years later He showed me that it is a "world-wide" ministry through the Coffee Break and Internet. I have been contacted by people from all over the world that receive the devotional. (So daily I get to "preach" to the nations.) 

 

So when God gives us a glimpse (like He did Joseph) into His plan for us, we don't need to try to figure out what He means, and how He means it. We don't need to have any preconceived ideas about it. We just need to trust Him and let Him unfold His plan before us and bring to pass what He intends. 

 

Have a great day. When God shows us something about His plan for our lives, don't try to figure it out, don't have any preconceived ideas about what it means, because usually we are wrong and it doesn't mean what we think it means. 

 

For further reading:

Genesis 37:1-10

 

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

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.