Tuesday, September 4, 2012

"Get Out Of The Pit"

"Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die." Jeremiah 38:10


Have you ever been in a pit? I am not talking about a literal, physical one like Jeremiah was thrown into by his accusers and enemies. I am talking about a pit that the "accuser" and "enemy" of our soul tries to throw us into. It is the pit of despair, the pit of discouragement, the pit of fear, anger, bitterness, addiction, grief or the pit of regret and condemnation.

A pit is not a place of death not life. The men in the scripture went to the king asking to take Jeremiah out of the pit because they knew he would die if he stayed there too long. He would die for lack of food and water. (verse 9). When we are in the pits that I described above, we are in a place of death-- a slow death. Life is being pulled out of us and we aren't aware of it until death begins to take a hold of us. Many times people have been in the pit for so long that it begins to feel natural and they start settling in as if it is their home. They don't even realize that their life is slipping away from them.

Because Jesus is Life and the pit is a place of death, He has come to set the captive free-- free from the pit; free from death. If you are in a pit, whether you have been in it for a long time or have just gone into it, Jesus is offering you a way out. He is stretching out His hand to you- like He did Peter when he was drowning. His hand is not short that it cannot save. He can pull you out regardless of how long you have been in it. He can, and desires to, pull you out and give you freedom from the pit and put you in a place of abundant life. He is reaching out to you this morning, will you grab a hold of His hand.

Have a great day. The pit is a place of death, but Jesus is reaching into the pit to lift you out and give you life.

For further reading:
Isaiah 59:1
Psalm 40:2
John 10:10
Luke 4:18

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
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
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.


Friday, August 31, 2012

"Feeling Empty?"

 
".... but be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:18b

Do you ever have that empty feeling spiritually? Where it feels like you have nothing in you spiritually- no word, no praise, no nothing? You feel dry and... well, just empty. When something is empty, it is because there is nothing in it. When the water pitcher is empty, it is because there is no water in it. When the gas tank is empty, it is because there is no gas in it. The container is void of what should be in there. When we are spiritually empty, that is not the case. It is not because there is nothing spiritual in us. It is because it is filled with something else more.

We either walk in the spirit or in the flesh. We either mind the things of the spirit or the things of the flesh. We either feed ourselves with spiritual things or things of the flesh. It is all about flesh and spirit. When we aren't full of one, it is because we are full of the other.

We don't get spiritually empty. We have just been feeding the flesh more than we have been feeding the spirit so the flesh is the "predominate" one at the moment. It is crowding out the spirit making us feel empty and dry. Because this works both ways, when we are feeding our spirit more than our flesh, we feel spiritually full.

So when you get that empty feeling, check yourself. Have you been spending more time feeding your flesh-- watching too much television, playing too many games, overeating, being constantly entertained? Are you neglecting the feeding and care of the spirit-- prayer, worship, Bible study, fasting? I am sure you will find, for the most part, that is the cause of your emptiness.

Have a great day. Which ever you feed- your flesh or your spirit- you will find that it leaves the other with an empty feeling.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
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
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.







Wednesday, August 29, 2012

"Your Reputation"

"He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me." Numbers 22:5

The he in this verse was the king of Moab and the people that he was referring to were the Israelites. This heathen king had heard about the Israelites and recognized who they were- God's people. Their fame had reached Moab. He had heard what their God did to Pharaoh when He brought them out of Egypt. He feared them because they were a threat to him, so he called the prophet to come and curse them because he knew they were a force to be reckoned.

Does the enemy/devil know you? Does he recognize who you are- a child of God? Does he fear you because Jesus is seen in you? Does he know that you know who you are in Christ? Does he see you as a threat because you know that you have power and authority over him? Does he know that you aren't easily deceived, that you are bold in your walk with the Lord, that you are strong in your faith? Does he know that your profession lines up with your actions- that you aren't Christian in name only?

The most important thing is that the Lord knows who you are. But the enemy also needs to know who you are. The king of Moab knew the Israelites reputation and was afraid of what they would do to him and his rule. The enemy doesn't fear those who don't have a reputation- a reputation of standing strong in the Lord, of walking in power and authority, of praying, of being light and salt, of being uncompromised in their stand for the Lord and of being unwavering in their faith. Does the enemy know your reputation?

Have a great day. Do you have a reputation that causes the enemy to fear?

For further reading:
Luke 10:19
1 John 4:4
Matthew 11:12
Acts 19:15


<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
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
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.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

"Applying It"

"For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me." Psalm 18:22

It is one thing to read God's Word and to hear it preached and another to apply it to your life. God's Word is like bread to our souls, but if we aren't "eating" it we will be hungry. It is like "water" for our spirits to drink, but if we don't we remain thirsty. It is a "light" but if it is not used we will keep stumbling in darkness.

God doesn't intend for us to listen to sermon after sermon, teaching after teaching and walk away talking about "how good" the message was only. His intension is that we make it part of our being-- like air. The Psalmist said that God's Word was before Him- He read it, heard it, thought about it- and he didn't neglect to put it into practice.

Do you know what God's Word says but yet you are ignoring what it says to do? Are you reading the scriptures but that is as far as it goes? Are you forgetting what they say when it comes to what you want to do if they are in opposition? Do you just "enjoy" sermons or apply them to your life? Do you read the Word but just so that you can feel justified that you have fulfilled some religious obligation or duty? Is reading it just another habit? It has to be more. It is more. If this describes you, then you need to make it more in your life.

Have a great day. It is not about just knowing what God's Word says, but about doing what it says.

For further reading:
Psalm 119:105
James 1:22,25
Romans 2:13

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
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
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.


Monday, August 27, 2012

"I Know He Is Faithful"

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." Revelation 19:11

Recently we talked about how unsearchable God is and that we will never be able to know all there is to know about Him. Even when this mortality puts on immorality and we behold Him face to face, He will be revealing Himself to us throughout eternity. What we know about Him now is only because He allows us to know it.

When we talked about this before, the one thing we said that we do know about Him is that He never changes. We don't have to worry or wonder what kind of mood He will be in or if we can trust Him today like we did yesterday.

This morning I want to address something else about this wonderful Lord that we can know-- He is faithful. The word faithful means: worthy of trust; true to one's word or promises; reliable. All these describe the Lord God.

He is worthy of your trust today because He is faithful in His love for you- it is unconditional and never ends. He is worthy of your trust because He is true to His word- He keeps His promises, He has never broken one and never will, He will do what He says He will do. He is worthy of your trust because He is reliable. You can count on Him, He won't leave you or forsake you. He won't run out on you when the going gets tough, He won't turn His back on you when you are in need and He won't neglect you.

So, again, though we won't ever know all there is to know about Him, we can know that He is faithful-- He always has been and always will be, therefore, we can put our trust in Him.

Have a great day. While we will never know all there is to know about God, we do know that He is faithful-- so we can trust Him.

For further reading:
Deuteronomy 7:9
Psalm 36:5; 119:90
Lamentations 3:23

 
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
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
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.