Saturday, February 2, 2019

February 2

The Greek word ‘meno’ is used eleven times in John 15. It means ‘abide.’ Ten of those times, Jesus was telling His disciples to abide in Him. Abide means to remain at home, stay where you are, don’t wander off! Hmm... I wonder if He wants us to stick with Him? I have a three year old grandson, and he is quite a handful! You cannot take your eyes off of him for a second, because he will wander off. At that point, he is no longer under our protective cover. What happens to a mom when she can’t see her little one? She panics and starts screaming for them. We are adults, we can understand what it means to ‘abide,’ and you can bet we understand that command! If you move out from under His protective cover, your consequences will be yours to deal with. He will call to you to try and bring you back to Him, but you have to be listening. When He tells us to abide in Him, that’s exactly what we need to do!


Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:4

Friday, February 1, 2019

February 1

There are going to be times when we disappoint ourselves. The key to dealing with it is to find out where things went wrong. Were our expectations set too high, or are we doing something that’s causing the problem? For instance, I’d been following a diet plan that cuts out all sugar and anything that turns into sugar in my body. I was doing pretty well, and had lost eleven pounds, but within a twenty-four hour period, I gained back almost five pounds! I stayed well within the parameters that I had set, so what went wrong? What I realized is that I had added something back to my diet that causes me inflammation! I will never eat another peanut again! Now that I know that peanuts are not my friend, I will do whatever it takes to avoid them. We never want to sabotage our own advancement. Compare this to areas of your life where you may not be seeing fruit, and survey your actions to see if you need to prune an unproductive limb.


“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:1-2 

Thursday, January 31, 2019

January 31

When I graduated from the Bible Training Centre for Pastors, we were required to come up with a mission statement. My mission is, “Training believers to break bonds and live free.” Not only is this my mission, but if you read your Bible, you will realize that it was also the desire of Jesus and His disciples. Break the chains that bind you to this world, and begin living a whole life, bound only to Jesus. The problem with that mission is, I can only tell you so much. You can’t read a devotional and become free, you have to want it, and you have to take the steps to free yourself from your own prison. The only way to know what it means to be free is to have a relationship with the Lord; and the only way to know Him is to read His love letters to you, trust Him, and keep your communication open with Him. Today, ask the Lord to show you where you are still bound, He’ll show you. Then ask Him to help you become free from that bondage.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:17

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

January 30

You can love people without accepting their sin. Jesus loved people, but He called out their sin and told them to stop. Sin leads to brokenness. True love will not allow you to stay in a broken state, but will encourage you to improve yourself, and will help you align with the precepts of God. True love sees what’s broken inside of you, and gives you guidance to help you mend. Jesus is the cure for the pain caused by sin! When you became a Christian, all of your sins were washed away, but somehow you tend to linger in the past, and keep rehashing the pain it caused. If you knew how good it felt to let all of that go, you would search for it and not stop until you found that freedom. You can’t do it alone. It takes the help of the Holy Spirit revealing your area of captivity, and then guiding you in prayer to release it to Jesus. He took all of that burden off of you, but sometimes you keep trying to carry it yourself. Just let Him take it, He’s stronger than you are. 

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1


So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

January 29

No weapon formed against me shall prosper! I’m so glad to put 2018 in my rear view mirror! It seemed as though the whole year was tainted by one little gnat that kept buzzing around my head. The outcome wasn’t great, but the consequences were not that bad. The gnat was able to live for another day and may come back to try and do some damage again, however, knowing who I am and knowing who my Father is, that enemy won’t be able to hurt me beyond what God allows. That gnat is not my enemy! My enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour! But, those who align with him will suffer the same fate, and we already know what happens to him. Look past your problems, remember your memorial stones, the things where God has shown you that He’s with you, and have faith that He will get you through this hard time too. 


no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.” Isaiah 54:17

Monday, January 28, 2019

January 28

To those who identify as Christians: Do we follow the will of men, or do we obey the commands of the Lord? Far be it from me to allow man to dictate and rule over me, and cause me to bring sin before the Father. In all things we should desire what is right in the eyes of the Lord, and turn our backs on sin. The sin of this world runs rampant. What is bad is looked upon as good, and what is good is looked upon as bad. We are living in a mixed up world where the good things that God has set before us are frowned upon, mocked, and regarded as evil. Woe to all who call evil good, the fiery pit of Hell is waiting for you. These are the days that the Lord has warned us about. Here is another warning: stop the madness, repent and turn from your sin and the acceptance of evil, or you will suffer the same consequences as those who commit the act. Calling yourself a Christ follower and accepting evil as good, shows that you do not have the Holy Spirit! No Holy Spirit, no salvation. These words will fall to the ground of those who are already dead.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20


Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:12-13

Sunday, January 27, 2019

January 27

Lessons learned from our girls shooting day: 
1. Most of the girls had zero knowledge about guns, and needed the help of the men, not all, but most. Ladies, our Christian brothers are an important part of our world, don’t neglect to acknowledge that truth.
2. You can’t be afraid to choose, and pick up your weapon of war, don’t leave it sitting on the table, the enemy will devour you. 
3. Don’t just choose the easiest weapon to use, step out of your comfort zone and pick up something with some kick! 
4. We need one another when our weapons of war fail. 
5. A revolver is more reliable than an automatic. 
6. The fellowship is so much sweeter than the activity. 
7. The main lesson is that no weapon alone will help you when the enemy is coming after you. You need the big gun for that! One that won’t jam in an emergency situation. We need the help of our God, who can move heaven and earth in defense of His kingdom. We can put on all of our armor, but it will do us no good if we forget that all important piece of equipment, the Holy Spirit! 


Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-11