Battle Ready: Day 1
Your obedience is not only your defense against all the schemes of the devil, it is also your offense against the power of darkness.
All posts tagged: Holiness
Day #7: I am the temple of the Holy Spirit
Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. Jim Rohn 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,” I can’t help but notice the question in the verse above. Do you not know? Obviously, Paul’s hearers didn’t know because they were living in such a way that prove they didn’t. So he had to remind them that, indeed, their bodies were the temple of the Holy Spirit. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we become the place of God’s dwelling. He comes by His Holy Spirit and makes a home within us. What that means is, now that He has come to dwell inside of us, we must allow him to clean house so He can actually reside. We can no longer bring in other tenants that are incompatible with the Holy Spirit’s presence because our bodies are now temples of the Holy Spirit. Dig Deeper: …
What goes in, Comes out
Tonight, the Season Premiere of most Fall TV Shows begin. I want to take the time, in this post, to encourage smart choices in what we watch this Fall. It is imperative that we avoid the seduction and not fall into sin this Fall by what we watch on TV. We must do everything to avoid the very appearance of sin and evil. Remember, whatever goes in will eventually come out. Above all else, we must guard our hearts, so that they stay tender toward the Lord. Time is very precious, therefore, don’t waste it. There is nothing wrong with watching TV, but the 5 to 7 hour the average American puts into it, and the wrong kinds of programs, can sap all of one’s energy for spiritual things, dry up one’s spirit, and lead to all kinds of temptations. Let common sense and the word of God guide us in our choices of what to watch. Also let us be responsible with the time He has given us as well. Here are a few verses from …
That I may discover God’s highest and best usage for my life
The world is yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I’ll try my utmost to be that man. DL Moody Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, …
5 demons you will have to fight as long as you are married
I believe in happily ever after. But the road to get there is not necessarily paved with gold. “Any mature, spiritually sensitive view of marriage must have at its foundation, mature love and not romanticism.” True marriage thrives on a willingness to work hard and a resolve to fight for all the promises that marriage holds. In this post, I highlight five obstacles to happily ever after: 1. Unhappiness A sense of happiness is very essential to the overall health of your marriage. Without it, the doors swing wide open to infidelity, anger, and divorce. The problem with happiness though, it comes and it goes. Finding a way to bring it back by intentionally working on the things that make you happy is key to a successful marriage. Gary Thomas asked a very powerful question in his book Sacred Marriage that I think is a starting point to understanding happiness in marriage. He asked, “What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?” I believe if we are seeking holiness in our marriage it will produce the happiness we so …
The Pulpit and the Pew Mini Series
Allow me to introduce a six part mini series entitled, “The Pulpit and the Pew: 6 Cultures bringing the American Church to its knees.” Here is an outline of the 6 parts. I am going to devote three parts to the pulpit and three parts to the pew. Here is and idea: The Pulpit: 1. The Culture of Swagger without Substance 2. The Culture of Pastoral Notoriety 3. The Culture of pastoral Isolation The Pew: 1. The Culture of Hooking up 2. The Culture of Shacking up 3. The Culture of Cozying up Part 1: The Culture of Swagger without Substance Today, all around America, there is a lot of swag going on in pulpits of every denomination and every church. We even have what some call – “hipsters and celebrity pastors.” There is a culture of swagger in the pulpit but there is not enough substance to back it up. Every preacher has a style and it’s okay to have style. Unfortunately, style doesn’t change lives, never has never will. Seth Godin, the one …
holy, holy, holy VS happy, happy, happy
I have never met anyone who doesn’t dream about being happy. There is this thing inside us that long for a happy life. I don’t think happiness is a bad thing to want. Our loving heavenly Father planned for our happiness. The very idea of “Shalom” in the Bible – “nothing missing – nothing broken” speaks to that fact that God provides for our happiness. However, I also think most of go about looking for happiness The wrong way. We seek to fill that God-Shape Vacuum (that only He alone can fill) with things that don’t satisfy. First Things First Most people do not know better, so they go about seeking happiness the wrong way. They go for pleasures of all kinds, but it leaves them empty and longing for more. They go for status, fame and money, but soon realize that these things just can’t deliver true happiness. They go for self-help books that only scratch the surface of how to find true happiness. Jesus said, “seek first the kingdom of God and His …
10 Promises that godliness holds for this Life and the life to come
1 Timothy 4:8 Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. What is godliness? Godliness is active obedience to God. It springs not from works, legalism or a religious spirit, but from a reverent awe or fear of God. There are a few things in this world that bring value and enrichment to our lives. Godliness is at the top of that list. Godliness holds promises for all areas of life. It releases incredible blessings when possessed in increasing measures in areas of the family, business, relationships, finances and leisure. By it (godliness), God raises nations to greatness (Prov. 14:34). In this post I want to share with you the value, the power and the promise that godliness holds for this life and the life to come. A godly person: 1. Will Attract Strong Help from God For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward …
Call & response: A Spiritual Dialogue
A call to Hear Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! This a call for the elderly and for the young – every man, woman, boy, and girl. He doesn’t want any to be left out. He is calling Hindus, Buddhist, and Muslims. He is calling the entire world to hear what He has to say through His Son Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” If you hear His voice don’t harden your heart! A call to Awake Awake, you drunkards, A spiritual slumber has swept over the nations. The eyes of many Christians are heavy. Jesus is calling the church to come alive. He wants to bring revival. He wants to raise up those dry bones and breathe life into them so that they can live again. Ephesians 5:14 says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Are you asleep? Could you not …
Integrity is not a Cantaloupe, it’s a Grapefruit?
Integrity – what is it? Some times we say things like, integrity is being truthful, holy, pure, obedient to God, trustworthy, who you are and who you are supposed to be when no on is looking. But the word Integrity is from the latin “integer” and it means “unity.” What that means is, a person of integrity does not live a divided life. There is no difference between who you are Monday through Friday and what you are on Sunday. There is no difference between who you are on the job and who you are at home. Integrity must invade every part of your life. In most of the circles today, I often hear a lot of people say, “you either have integrity or you don’t.” How true is that assessment? Could that statement be misleading? Is there a better way to explain integrity? According to Fred Smith, the author of Leading with Integrity, integrity can be compared to a Cantaloupe and a grapefruit. You can have it in one area of your life, but it …
Walter Bright 
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