Romans 8v34-39 Galatians 2v20
Oxymoron you say or a mirror image of the truth? I have lived my whole life and never felt satisfied/contempt. I ate what I wanted, went where I wanted, answered to no one but my flesh and never once was I happy. Until…. You can fill the blank I don’t want to sound religious. Yup the day I died, I began to live. I was satisfied with my life even though it was not mine. How so you might say? I knocked everything the bible told me to do, simply because I did not see how it would benefit me. Then I heard the old saying “don’t knock it till you try it”. Once I did, my life’s never been the same (neva4gotten). I eat with gratitude now because I acknowledge that it’s because of God I have something to eat. I go where He wants me to go and through what He wants me too, my life has not been the same since I’ve died. Try it! Its easy just give up your life.

In 1 Corinthians 1:21, Paul gives us an interesting insight into how you and I please God.

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

God’s methods are astounding. To bring men and women into His family through the foolishness of preaching! When people hear the gospel preached and believe it, God is pleased.

Now how is the gospel preached? Through your life and mine. Every one of us has been entrusted by God with some gift to communicate the gospel. Perhaps you have been entrusted by God with unusual wealth. Or maybe a marvelous singing voice, or the ability to communicate, or perhaps the skill to assimilate facts.

Whatever it is, God has put something in each of us that somehow fits into His great master plan of winning this lost world to Jesus Christ.

God has chosen to use these weak, fallible vessels to share the simple gospel message that the world is separated from Him because of sin. In His mercy, God reached down to the human race when He sent His own Son, Who willingly gave up His life on the cross and died for our sins. The price was paid. God’s eternal justice was satisfied. And the Holy Spirit raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

That is the message our world so desperately needs to hear today! God is pleased when you share that “foolishness.” So however God has gifted you, use that gift today to present a living Jesus to our dying world!

by: Bayless Conley

In Psalm 118:8-9, we are told this,

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

There are a lot of applications to this passage, but let me talk to you about just one. And that is this: You do not want to trust the state of your eternal soul to any man.

Ma’am, maybe your husband prays. Maybe he has a “real deal” relationship with God. Do not expect that to gain you any merit or to somehow get you to heaven. You have to have a relationship with the Lord yourself.

Sir, perhaps you have a praying wife. She is on fire for God. Do not expect that to get you a seat at the marriage supper of the Lamb. You must be born again. You have to be trusting in the Lord yourself. You have to have your own living, breathing, walking, talking, relationship with the Savior, or you will not get in!

When I was in my early twenties, there was a plethora of gurus and eastern mystics people were following. Some of my friends gave up all of their earthly possessions and became disciples of certain “holy” men.

But you know what? If you follow a man, when he perishes, you will perish just like him. Psalm 146:3-4 says,

Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.

If you put your trust in men, you will perish just like they do. But if you put your trust in God through His Son, Jesus Christ, you will gain eternal life.

Put your trust in God alone!

Psalm 107:20 says,

He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

God has given us His Word for our benefit, and yet so many Christians ignore it to their hurt.

It is like the story of the woman a preacher went to visit one day. She lived in a dilapidated house. As long as he had known her, she had struggled with poverty. Twenty years earlier she had been the housekeeper for the wealthiest woman in town, but the wealthy woman had died. So this housekeeper moved into an old shack.

As the pastor was visiting her, he noticed a document framed on the wall. He said, “Do you mind if I borrow this for a few days?” She replied, “Well, you can borrow it, but please bring it back. Although I can’t read, it is very important to me. It is the only thing that the lady left me when she died. It is very valuable to me. It reminds me of her. So make sure you bring it back.”

He took it and had it investigated and authenticated. It was the will of the woman who had died, and in the will she left her housekeeper a fortune. The housekeeper could have had any house she wanted in the whole city and had servants of her own, but due to her ignorance, she lived in poverty and had a rough go of it all those years.

That woman reminds me of a lot of Christians. They don’t read their Bible, but they admire it because it reminds them of God. They haven’t taken time to find out the inheritance that belongs to them as believers.

God’s Word is a light to our path. It is our guidebook for life. It is bread for our spirit. It is our strength. It is our refuge in troubled times.

Cherish God’s Word.

Job 29:21 NIV
“Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
Job 33:33 NIV
“But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

As we read the two verses the most important word that i want to outline is SILENCE. We take Job as a great example, God allowed the enemy to take everything Job earned to see if he would still be faithful to Him. Yet Job went on blaming God for the situation he was facing. God heard all of Job’s points and let him talk. Then God had to silence Job in order for Job to understand why God allowed him to sustain such hardships. It isnt a bad thing that we always seek something from God or ask for his help, but at times God wants us to be silent and listen to him speak. Many times we as children of God must seek him in times of need, troubles and so forth, yet we must learn how to hear God because that is the only way we can gain the wisdom He is trying to sow in our lives just as Job 33:33 states. If we take the acronym PRAY when broken down P-praise R-repent A-ask Y-yield. Yielding is a very important phase in prayer because this is when God speaks to you and lets you know what He has in store for you. This word SILENCE also applies to our everyday lives. At times we may encounter situations in which God or the enemy tests us to see how we will respond. Small situations such as getting into an argument with a friend or family member where the other party may be hot headed and wants to escalate the situation, but if were in one accord with God and we trully follow his teachings, we should be able to yield ourselves and be silent. By simply putting that act into practice we will notice a sudden change in the other individual, they will give up and go about their business. Pastor Norman Vincent Peale states “an effective technique in developing a peaceful mind is the daily practice of silence. Begin to listen for the deeper sounds of harmony and beauty that are to be found in the essence of silence”. He is basically stating what God stated to Job, we need to be silent and hear Him out. From personal experiences I use to be like the average christian always asking, seeking, etc.. but the moment in silenced myself and learned to listen, God moved in such miraculous way that He sowed wisdom unto me that ive never encountered before. I want to challenge everyone who read this blog to practice the art of silence and listening and see how God can move in your lives at this hour.