How do you give?

This scripture below always makes me think:

Luke 21:1-4

1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Just picture this scene in your mind. Jesus watched all the rich folks putting their money into the treasury of the temple. I would imagine it was a big show as they made sure everyone knew that thier portion they were putting in was a great amount. In reality though it wasn't all that much because they were rich and it was for show not for worship. Then out of the corner of His eye Jesus sees this poor widow woman approach the treasury. No big show except maybe the tears running down her checks as she may have been wondering where her next meal may come from. But she knew as she worshipped with her offering that God would provide as He always had! Wow what a picture!

Jesus gives her praise in this scripture. She was showing true faith. So here is the question for us this morning. How is our giving? Do we give out of our abundance or do we give out of faith which will cause us to worship???

Have a blessed weekend!

Tom

Guard your thoughts!

Have you ever heard anyone say, "I can't help what I think." ? I have and probably thought the same thing at some point in my life. Well guess what? We can controll what we think. Read the verse below:


Proverbs 4:23
23 Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.

God would not warn us to do something that we can not do. Here God is telling us to guard out thoughts. Now we can not do anything about the initial thoughts that pop in our head. Satan is good at bring thoughts into our head that are not godly. But here is the key. We can control what we continue to think think about. Here is an example. A beautiful woman walks by and you notice her. Now you have a choice to control your thoughts or to continue on to sin. If you are going to contol your thoughts you praise the Lord for the beauty of His creation and move on. If your are going to give into sin you continue to stare and start to undress her with your eyes. Now when you give the devil an inch he will take a mile. Next you will start to have thoughts of how she might be in bed...I think you get the point. God is so good to us. He has given us His word and instucted us in every way of the traps that are out there for us. Oh how God loves us and wants us to live Godly lives.

Notice in the latter part of verse 23 it says our thoughts are the source of true life. Now think on this. The Bible also tells us to develope the mind of Christ. So if we put these two things together....true life comes when our thoughts are lined up with the mind of Christ. That should give you something to chew on for the rest of the day!!!

So are you guarding your thoughts or are you allowing Satan to control them?

God bless you my friends!

Tom

Youth and God's word.

I want to give you a shocking statistic. Barna reports that 83% of teenagers in our country believe moral truth depends on circumstances. Do you know what that means? It means that they don't believe that the Bible is the complete truth! Only 6% believe that moral truth is absolute!

Basically what this means that our young folks don't believe the Bible teaches correctly of how our morals should be. You know why? Media!!! They devil has used the media to get into our kids minds and train them to think sex is ok outside marriage, murder is ok, abortion is a woman's choice, God is not the only way, and the list goes on and on! My friends as parents and teachers of the word we are failing our kids! We must teach them God's word is the final sorce and only way! Period! I bet some of you are thinking well I bet churched kids are different. Look at this statistic....only 9% of born again teens believe in moral absolutes! This should make us want to cry! How sad and we are failing miserably.

Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.


My friends it is not just our teens who are questioning the word of God. We have churches full of people who question the turht of God's word. The proof is in how people are living their lives. If we truly believe God's word we live differently than the rest of the world. Look at the average member of the church....are they any different than your neighbor who doen't believe???

Think on what is being said here my brothers and sisters! We need revival in a mighty way and a return to the correct belief about God's word as being the ultimate truth. In all ages....0-100!

Pray, pray, pray!

Tom

Temptation lurks!

In our Sunday school study we looked this verse and discussed it some and it has made me do some thinking about how important prayer is in our lives. Here is the verse:

Mark 14:37-38 (New King James Version)
37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

For a little refresher...Jesus had asked the disciples to join Him in praying. Jesus went off by himself and asked God to remove the cup from Him but that He did not His will done but the Fathers. The cup is referring to dying on the cross for our sins. It was Jesus deepest time of need and He wanted His friends to be in prayer also. Jesus came back three times and found them sleeping!!! Wow some friends huh?

Now what I want us to pick up on today is Jesus telling Peter to "watch and pray lest He enter into temptation". Now think on this. I believe Jesus is warning Peter of things to come in his life. For in a short time Peter who told Jesus He would never deny Him will do exactly that not only once but three times. Did you ctach that? How many times did Jesus come back to see them sleeping? Three! How many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three! You see as Jesus says in the latter part of verse 38 our Spirits are willing, but the flesh is weak! The Spirit God has sent is willing to do the right thing...always! The problem is our flesh is weak! This is why we must be in prayer as the Bible says without ceasing. Temptation is lurking waiting to pounce on us at every corner!

Scripture is so awesome and alive! So much to learn! So let me ask you are you sleeping or are you praying...taking temptation on head to head for the Spirit is willing...the question is are we???

Pray my friends....pray!

Interesting Question!

I was doing some reading and come upon this question:

TO a missionary sharing Christ: "Do you want me to become a Christian because you love me, or do you love me so I will become a Christian?

I have read this over and over now and am trying to figure out the anwswer. So what would you say? I believe after much thought and consideration, it should be both! I believe from scriture we can see where both should be a part of our life. Let me show you.

The first question is fairly easy "Do you want me to become a Christian because you love me?" The answer to this is the second greatest commandment according to Christ. Love your neighbor as yourself. Because of our love for others it should be natural for us to want them to be a Christian and have eternal life.

The second question is a little more difficult to answer. "Do you love me so I will become a Christian?" I believe this question can be answered in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a:


1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails.

Now this don't directly answer the question, I believe it does in a round about way. Here is why I say this. You see in this passage that God's word tells us that love is the most important gift He gives us. God also tells us that love never fails. So what I pull from this scripture is when we love, God will do amazing work through the Holy Spirit through us. With that being said what is the greatest gift God wants to give? Salvation! When we show others love we should have in mind bringing them to Jesus so they can be a Christian!

Our desire in life as Christians should be for others to come to Him for a personal relationship no matter how you word it!!!!

Have a great weekend and worship the King!

Tom

Now just do it!!!! #33 (Last of series)

Well my friends today's devotion will end this series on the Holy Spirit. Feel free to come back and look back over many of the thoughts shared on the Spirit. It has been a wonderful reminder and refresher to me and I hope and pray it has done the same for you.

James 4:17
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

This verse is pretty simple huh? But when we apply it to the Holy Spirit and being obedient it becomes very difficult. I say this because when we review all the things we have learned about the Holy Spirit, it is work and takes effort to listen and obey with all of our lives. For example, remember the fruits of the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

We need to do these! If we don't God said in James it is sin! They should be very apparent to others. Ask yourself...am I more kind and faithful than a Mormon? Do you have more self-control than a Muslim. Do you have more peace than a Buddhist? More joty than an Atheist? If the Holy Spirit dwells in us we should be super naturallly charged up and this fruit shoud be evident to those we come in contact with daily!!! Notice in the verse it doesn't say fruits it says fruit meaningall theses characteristics of the Spirit should be all wraped up together as one. We don't pick which one we want to do we do them all as the Spirit leads!!!

You see my friends if we are in Christ, we have the power throught the Holy Spirit to be radically different for the Glory of God. It is time for the church to rise and quit trying to run the church on our strength which as we have seen brings the church to a slow death and put the church back in the hands of God where it belongs so the Spirit can move and change peoples lives! From what I read in the scriptures when we rely on God, the Spirit will do unexplainable things which in turn brings people to God in Worship.

So as the old slogan says it is time for us to just do it. Let go and let the Spirit of God lead us and transform us into God's children and worship God with everything we have! How about it are you ready for the adventure? I can promise you, you won't regret it!!!

Thank you Jesus for sending the Holy Spirit to help us, we would be lost with out Him!

Tom

Spirit Filled Church #32

Let us think about our own church this morning. Well I guess we will have to think about other churches too some..haha. Can the things that take place on a typical Sunday morning at your church happen every Sunday or do some things that take place only happen because the Holy Spirit has done some super natural moving? Interesting question huh? I have been to some churches that I would say fall into both of what is asked here. You see we can be in a big danger of filling our churches with dynamic speakers and singers who are very talented and can draw a crowd but the Holy Spirit is no where to be found. I believe God would rather see 10 in chruch and the Spirit moving in a mighty way then 2,000 and the Spirit no where to be found, don't you?

I don't usually ask you to read a whole chapter but to grasp waht I want to say you may need to if you haven't read this story in some time:

1 Kings 18

1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.” 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”
8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9 So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here”’! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ He will kill me!”
15 Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.”
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Elijah’s Mount Carmel Victory

20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”
25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.
27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
The Drought Ends

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”
So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

The prophets of Baal had some awesome worship..very passionate. They cried out, they prophesied from morning to evening, and maybe even had great time fo fellowship if you want to call it that BUT nothing happened! No Spirit moving.

Then Elijah prayed, The Spirit moved, God sent fire from heaven. Remember this....other than praying it is God who moved through the Spirit...nothing Elijah could have done to manipulate this situation. That is what we should be desiring ion our churches!!!!

Check out v39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” I love this..the people arn't saying what a great message preacher!!! They are stunned by the movement of God and are praising Him!!! AWESOME!!!

So how about is God moving at your church or do people leave talking about the people who are charge? Let us make sure worship is about the moving of the Spirit of God not about us...amen?

Pray for each other!

Tom

Sorry!!!!

Sorry for no devotion today...I been sick and will try to get back at it in a day or two. Thanks for your faithfulness of reading these!!!


Tom

WHO YOU LOVIN' ON?

A good friend of mine posted this and I wanted to share as the devotion today....thought provoking I thought!

WHO YOU LOVIN' ON?

So, we've passed yet another glorified holiday, better known as Valentine's Day that had retailers foaming at the mouth. Purchases of chocolate, cards, flowers and jewelry were making the cash registers sing louder than the Vienna Boys Choir. All of these things wrapped in pretty paper, red-tinted cellophane covered with decorations of hearts and love themed graphics....doesn't it make your heart thump wildly like the Energizer Bunny after a case of Red Bull?

As I sat in the second row at Second Baptist Church this past Sunday, I glanced down at my bulletin to notice that today's message was going to be on our love for Christ. Ok, nothing new as far as topics go, but what was going to be said today? Brother Eddie started into the message and perhaps it was a message spoken many times about our love of Jesus, but it stirred my mind a bit.

First off, I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. It should be every day that you tell your spouse that you love them, show them that you love them, do unexpected things for the love of them. That's my opinion on the purposed holiday of V-Day. But what am I doing on a daily basis for Jesus Christ? After all, he loves us every day, shows His love everyday and even does unexpected things for me every day. Do I necessarily see all of those things? No, but I don't need to. My heart is filled with the faith and love that I receive UNCONDITIONALLY every day. He doesn't get mad if I didn't do laundry last night or made a bad meal....that's why it's called unconditional! Ok, so how am I returning that love? Hmmm, let's see:

I do pray, yet not enough. I do read the Bible, yet not enough. I do believe in His words, but don't adhere enough. I am compassionate, but not enough. I think you see my point. Is what we are giving to Jesus Christ really enough? Or are we so focused on the world and all that it offers to us, to get what WE want? What is in the want category for you? For me? That's really for you to decide in your own time.

As another Valentine's Day passes, take time to look at your List of Love Priorities...who is on top? You? Your spouse? Or Jesus Christ, who gave His life for you and me? Hmmm...Oh, look! One of those somewhat less than appetizing NECCO candy hearts just fell into my lap. And what do you know...it says I LOVE YOU! Hmmm...wonder who sent THAT heart to me?

Blessings - Jason

Awesome Jason...thanks!

It takes two to tango! #31

Check out these verses:

Philippians 2:12-13

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

This verse has always intrigued me. It almost sounds contradictory. In verse 12 Paul tells us to work out our own salvation but then turns around and says in verse 13 it is God who works in us! If you look at it it is not contradictory at all. It teaches us a simple truth that is throughout the Bible. That truth is this....God will work in us through the Holy Spirit but we have a responsibility to work also! Pretty simple huh? Could God force us to do His will....absolutely He could but that is not Love and God is Love! He has given us free will to do as we choose. Many times in my life I haved wished I didn't have this free will because I have blown it so many times. BUT that is where some more good news comes in....I serve a forgiving, loving God who when I fail picks me up, dusts me off, and tells me to get in there and try it again. As I was writing this I pictured learning to ride a bicycle. When dad or mom was teaching us we would fall and they would pick up, make sure we were ok, and encourage us to try again! Why? Because they love us!

So we see here this morning it does take two to tango. God works in us through the Spirit and we work out our Salvation by being obedient and doing God's will in our life. Let me tell you my friend this will be the most beutiful dance you will ever have!!!

Side note....we do not work to obtain Salvation but we do work to prove our Salvation....read James for more details!

Have a great weekend brothers and sisters!

Tom

Impossible to sin! #30

This is a very simple devotion today. Read this verse:

Galatians 5:16

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Did you know that if we are walking in the Spirit it is impossible to sin? That is exactly what this verse is telling us. If we are in tune with the Spirit, he will warn us of sin and we will be obedient. Now here is the rest of the story. We may have the Spirit in us but we may not listen to His counsel and choose to sin. Just stop for a moment and think about this simple teaching.

Again if we are in step with the Spirit we will listen and obey thus we will not sin. This does not mean that you are not a Christian if you sin, it does mean that you are ignoring or supressing the counsel of the Holy Spirit.

So here is the question this morning for each one of us....are we walking hand in hand with the Spirit or are we choosing when we want Him and when we don't????

I am praying for you today!

Tom

Security #29

Praise God some more good news from His Word this morning! I want to ask you something this morning. Have you even been insercure in your faith? To be honest I have been from time to time. I tend to think the devil is good at placing things in our life to make us question our security in the Lord. Satan wants us to question if God is really with us in hard times. Satan wants us to question if Jesus really died for us. Satan wants us to question is God really does love humanity and the list can go on and on. BUT! God's word deals with that! Read the verses below:


Galatians 4:6-9
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?

God shows us in His Word we have no reason for insecurities! The Spirit cries out from our hearts "Father" showing us our close as you can get relationship with God. Stop and think about that for a moment. Then thank God for providing that fatherly love! Then verse 7 tells us we are no longer slaves but a son and an heir to God through Christ! Now if that don't take care of your insecurities I don't know what will!!!! An heir of God! That is beyond my comprehension to fully grasp the magnitude of that. Verse 8-9 basically say why in the world would we ever want to turn back to the weak elements of the world and be in bondage as slaves. That is a very good question!

So this morning I want us to realize and not forget we are secure in the mighty arms of God our Father! Doesn't that feel so good! Close oyur eyes and picture that! Now don't let Satan turn you back to being a slave!

Thank you Father for security. Help me to keep my eyes on you, for then I will not be turned!

Tom

Spirit leads to love! #28

Can you imagine what this world would be like if the church would love like the Bible teaches? It would change the world! This morning though I want us to think about ourselves. We are a part of the church if we are saved. If each one of us would take care of me in the love compartment than the church and the whole world would be a better place. Look at these verses of how the leading of the Spirit and love are tied together.

Ephesians 3:16-19
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

We know that as soon as we are saved God grants us with the strength of the Spirit as shown in verse 16 and I want you to catch this part in verse 17 "that you, being rooted and grounded in love." Now I don't know about you but I had to stop and ask myself...Have I allowed the Spirit to root and ground love into my life so I can bloom or share it into others lives? My answer was yes in some I have and no in others I haven't. By the way that is not the right answer....I should be loving all no excuses are accepted by God! Matter of fact He tells us to love our enemies! Now that brings me to the verses in Corinthians that pretty well sums up being led to love by the Spirit...check these out:

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Paul tells us point blank in these verses....we may have power in the Spirit....tounges of men and angles, prophetic powers, understanding all mysteries and all knowledge, so much faith one can move mountains, but if we don not have love, it is of no use!!! WOW!!! Stop and think about that! So many Christians wish they had this gift or that gift but God is telling us here if we don't have the one gift (love) all can have through the Spirit we have nothing!!!

So this morning remember the Spirit leads us to love. How are you doing in the love department? My friends let us make sure we desire the most important gift of the Spirit...love!

Tom

p.s. I just had a thought pop in my mind...I know that could be dangerous! haha I should have saved this devotion for Valentines Day!!!

A Battle! #27

Our life with the Holy Spirit guiding us is a battle. You see when we have the Spirit dwelling in us we still have the old flesh wanting us to fullfill it's desire at the same time. We must be on guard at all times. Look at this verse:

Galatians 5:17
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

You see how Paul explains to us that weare in a battle? The works of the flesh are things like fighting, uncontrolled anger, back bitting, and idolatry. The works of the Spirit are love, self control, joy, faithfullness. You see how they are exact opposites?? Paul goes on to say in Galatians that those who belong to Christ overcome the flesh. Look at this verse:

Galatians 5:24
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

You see the Spirit leads us to holiness and it is not easy but it is possible. Growing in holiness is a lifelong process and we must continually work twards holiness with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So if we are in Christ we should be denying our fleshly deises and following the Spirt's fruits!

So how are you doing in this? Are you in the battle? Are you winning or losing? You can win! Let the Spirit lead and you will win!!! And when you win we are pleasing God with a life of holiness!

Have a great weekend!

Tom

Attention...I don't want it. #27

When the Holy Spirit is working in one's life there is something in his life that is clear to see .....humility! If anyone is claiming to be working in the Spirit but wants to be praised by man the Spirit is not working in him the devil is! Look at this verse:

Matthew 5:16 (New King James Version)
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

So as this verse teaches...who is to receive the glory of your good works? God!!! Not us! It really irritates me to see some of the T.V. preachers put on a show like they do and draw attention to themselves. It is a very dangerous thing to do as we serve a jealous God. Those who do such a thing will answer for it one day.

After I preach I usually will greet the people as they leave the church and they will tell me things like "you did a great job" and my response is "give God the glory". It really bothers me for people to tell me that. I know they do it out of kindness and to encourage me but I don't deserve any credit what so ever...for I am nothing and God is everything! Attention is something none of us should be after, and to use the Holy Spirit to try and get it makes it even worse!

So may all of us give God the glory in everything....for He alone is worthy. Proper use of the Spirit brings attention to God not us!

Praise the Lord today.....Tom

How much do you love the church? #26

I want to ask you a question this morning. How much do you love the church. Grade your self on a scale of 1-10. Be honest. Do you ever say to yourself "I love these people so much and I want to serve them with all I have and help them draw closer to God?" Do you even care about the church? The Holy Spirit has given us the power to serve the people around us. We should use those gifts to serve the church. If you don't know what those gifts are look them up in your Bible or go back to one of the first devotions of the Holy Spirit series where we talked about them. For an example of how our love for the church should be read these verses:

Philippians 1:23-25
23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,

Paul had a deep desire to go to heaven but his love for the church and for them to progress in the joy of the faith was more important than for him to go to heaven. The Spirit energized him in this way! Now ask yourself again. How much do I love the church?

You see the Spirit is in us to gloify God and one of the main ways we do that is by loving the church through our service and the using of our gifts! I will be honest with you this morning. I have been slapped around a little this morning, knowing I need to do better! I get lazy sometimes. Thank you Jesus for your Word to get us back on track.

I am praying for you....Tom

Why do you want the Spirit? #25

I think it is safe to say all of us Christians want the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But here is the question for this morning. Why do we want the Spirit? Could it be that we just want the supernatural powers that come along with the spirit for our own uses??? I know that sounds crazy but think about it and then read these vereses:

Acts 8:9-25

9Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into[c] the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

20Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

24Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."

25When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.


We can see here Simon wanted the Holy Spirit for the wrong reason. You see the Holy Spirit is not for our personal benefit if you really sit down and think about it. The whole purpose of the Spirit is to help us bring glory and honor to God. So this morning I want you to ask yourself " Why do I want the Spirit?" Is it for power? Is it for your own benefit or purposes? Or is because you want to be all God wants you to be? Let's make sure we are not being like Simon...that could lead to big problems...amen?

God bless you all.....Tom

Set me free!! #24

This devotion is a great way to start off the week. Check it out!


Romans 8:2
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

One of the most awesome deeds of the Holy Spirit is here in this verse. Let me explain. Before Christ I was a sinner. I liked to get drunk, smoke, and use language that is not appropriate. I had an attitude and I didn't care what others thought. I really thought I was something. Then one day I met Jesus Christ and asked Him to be Lord of my life and the Holy Spirit came and dwelled in my body. A miracle happened when the Spirit came into my life. Over night a great change happened in my life. I quit drinking, over time I quit smoking, my language changed immediately, and I had a brand new attitude. I cared about people! So what happened? The Spirit set me free! It was a miracle to me but to the Spirit it is everyday work. To let you know how much I changed I went back to my high school reunion and was nominated for most changed...not because of my looks but because of the way I now live my life!

This verse goes onto say the Spirit also sets us free from death....once you accept Christ, death no longer has a hold on you! You are going to live for eternity in heaven! Wow! Thank you, thank you Jesus!

So this morning let me ask you something. Are you set free from sin and death? You can be. It is as simple as asking Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life. Don't delay do it today!!

Have a great week!

Tom