"Fuel For The Fire"

"Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth".  Proverbs 26:20 

If you have ever built a fire you know that in order for the fire to continue burning it has to have a fuel source.  If you don't keep putting wood, gasoline or some other flammable material on it it will die out.  It doesn't matter how big the fire is nor how long it has been burning, it will not sustain itself without replenishing the fuel source. 

 

Spiritually speaking we have a "fire" in us-- a fire of passion for the Lord; a fire of desire for the things of God; a fire of praise to God.  That "fire" has to be constantly rekindled as well.  If not it will wane or die out.  How do we keep the "fire" of the Lord burning in our lives?  We have to keep adding fuel to it.  

 

The fuel that keeps our spirits alive and burning brightly is spiritual in nature.  That fuel is prayer.  It is also Bible reading, studying and application.  It is being around other Christians and sharing the Word, testimony and revelations of the Lord.  It is keeping full of the Holy Spirit.  It is also praise and worship.  When we neglect these things, we are not putting fuel on the fire of our spiritual life in Christ.  When we do these things periodically, or spend only a little time adding them, we are letting the fire get low.  The fire within us must be fed regularly in order to keep it burning brightly.

Have a great day.  Don't let the fire go out. 

 

"It Will Tell You"

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:  the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life".  John 6:63 

In the words of Jesus we find life, but we also find out about the things that pertain to our lives.  Not only are His words life giving, but they teach us about life.  They teach us how to live our lives.  They tell us the meaning of life.  They tell us how to make it through this life.  They tell us how to navigate through life. They tell us how to handle the trials, obstacles, heartaches, temptations and problems of life.  They instruct us on how to have right relationships with others.  They will help us with our attitudes concerning others and the problems that we face.  They will give wisdom, courage, strength, joy, contentment, satisfaction, victory, fulfillment and purpose to our lives if we will listen to, heed and follow them. 

 

Whatever you want to know about life, go to God's word-- it will tell you.  Whatever you need to know about living your life, go to God's word-- it will tell you.  Whatever problem in life you are facing and you don't know what to do, go to God's word-- it will tell you.  If you just don't seem to be making it through life and don't know how to, go to God's word-- it will tell you.  Whatever you need to know about living life, go to God's word-- it will tell you.  

 

Have a great day.  God's word will tell you everything you need to know about life and how to make it through life.

"Not So Sweet"

"Truly God is good..."  Psalm 73:1a

 There is a children's prayer that has been memorized and quoted for years-- "Thank You for the world so sweet.  Thank You for the food we eat.  Thank You for the birds that sing.  Thank You, God for everything".  The truth is that the world is not "so sweet". 

 

It is filled with violence, pain, grief, suffering, lack, heartache, poverty, sickness, hunger, destruction and death.  The world is a place where people are taken advantage of; hurting people hurt other people; evil men wax worse and worse; hate and violence are rampant; there are wars and rumors of war; and it is a "dog eat dog" world most of the time. 

 

While the world is not always a "sweet place", one fact remains-- God is good.  The fact that the world is increasing in violence and evil does not negate the truth of the goodness of God.  God was good at the beginning-- and all He created was good (Genesis 1) -- and He will still be good at the end.  He will be good even when things aren't good.  He will remain good even when things don't remain the same and the condition of the world gets worse and worse.  To coin a phrase-- God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. 

 

So in a "topsy-turvy" world when things aren't good, you can look to and trust in the goodness of God to see you through.  You can anchor your hope in Him.  You can put your faith and confidence in Him.  No matter how "unsweet" the world becomes, He will always remain good.

 

Have a great day.  In this not so sweet world, God is still good.  

 

"Jesus Said It"

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me".  2 Corinthians 12:9 

"And He said unto me".  Who is He that spoke to Paul?  If you have a red-letter Bible, you will notice that this verse is written in red.  That means the words spoken there are the words of Jesus.  Jesus Himself was the One who said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness".  It wasn't the words of an angel sent from God.  It wasn't the words of a prophet, a disciple or an apostle. It was none other than Jesus Himself! 

 

Jesus said to Paul in his time of trial, confusion, unrest, and weakness that His grace was sufficient and His strength would be perfected in Paul's weakness.  Paul needed to hear it from Jesus Himself-- and he did.  Today, Jesus Himself is speaking the same thing to you.  I don't know what you may be going through, but Jesus does (just like He knew what Paul was going through).  I can't hear your prayers, but Jesus does (He heard Paul's and replied with these words). 

 

Jesus is still speaking today.  He is speaking by His word and by His Spirit.  You may be in a place of weakness, great trial, temptation, grief, pain, or confusion.  Your whole world may be turned upside down.  You may feel as though you can't go on and you are not going to make it.  You may feel as though the weight you are bearing is more than you can endure.  Your problem may be hanging on and hanging on with no evidence of resolve to it.  But take heart, Jesus knows and He is speaking the same thing to you that He spoke to Paul in his time of need-- "My grace is more than enough for you.  My strength will be manifested in your weakness".

 

Have a great day.  Jesus Himself is saying to you, "My grace is sufficient for you: My strength is made perfect in your weakness". 

 

"Gold Star Mentality"

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works".  2 Timothy 3:16,17 

When I was a child growing up in church, we would get a little gold star each week beside our name on a list if we could quote our memory verse.  As a child it was exciting to see the gold stars filling up the line.  (That was my reason for memorizing the verse-- to get the gold star.) 

 

Unfortunately, many adult "Christians" still have that same mentality.  They read the Bible with a "gold star" mentality.  They think that just because they did their Bible reading for the day that fulfilled their religious duty and met the "requirements".  But that is not the reason why we read God's Word.

 

We read it in order to grow spiritually-- it is "bread" to our spirit.  We read it to renew our minds-- so that we won't be conformed to this world but have the mind of Christ.  We read it to have spiritual insight and understanding-- so that we may know what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of the Lord.  We read it so that we will be equipped to fight spiritual battles-- it is our weapon.  We read it, and hide it in our hearts, to give us power to resist temptation-- so that we will not sin against God.  We read it so that we might be transformed-- transformed into His image. 

 

The word is not supposed to only be read.  It is supposed to be practiced.  It is supposed to be taken to heart.  Jesus said that the truly wise person would read it and do what it says.  In other words, God gave us His Word in order to teach us how to live.  Therefore, it is meant to be lived out, and applied, in our daily lives.

 

Have a great day.  If you only read the Bible so that you can say you have fulfilled your religious duty for the day you are missing the whole point.  You read it so that you can be transformed on the inside to be more like Jesus.