Shalom,

I loe today's "My Utmost For His Higest" by Oswald Chambers. It addresses something that I realized early on in my walk with the Lord JESUS that some never see!

Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?

Do you also want to go away? —John 6:67

What a penetrating question! Our Lord’s words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, “Do you also want to go away?” We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.

Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.

In John 6:70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to 

I remember when I was first born again that some of the meetings we went to put so much emphasis on doing works for JESUS and very little on actually loving Him! They would ask how many people you led to the Lord recently and it became so much about working and little to nothing about loving! In order to really LOVE JESUS we have to get to know Him! THAT is what HE really desires of us! If He has our whole heart, then everything else will fall into place! Make intimate fellowship with JEUS the most important part of your day! I guarantee that you will be more excited for living everyday with HIM as your #1! Here are Hillsong Kids again with just that song! 

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today we read Mark 11 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. Verses 22-24 are very powerful reminders of just what we have availoable to us as born again believers in JESUS!

22 And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly]. 23 Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. 24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].

One translation of verse 22 says to have the faith OF God! Or, in other words, the GOD kind of faith! Faith as GOD Himself has that belives that the Word that He speaks WILL come to pass. We can have that same assurance of faith when we speak HIS Word! There are two very important TRUTHS expressed here! First, WE can have what WE say, when what we say is GOD'S WORD! AND, WE can have what WE pray for, when we pray according to the Word of God! The bottom line? KNOW the WORD of GOD so that you can both SAY it and PRAY it! THAT is how we get the GOD kind of results! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Say The Word":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

How do YOU start out your day when you wake up? What you do in the first moments after you open your eyes, even before your feet hit the floor, will have a lot to do with how the rest of your day will turn out! I LOVE the beginning of today's reading in Psalms from our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan! Psalm 66:1-4:

1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth; 2 Sing forth the honor and glory of His name; make His praise glorious! 3 Say to God, How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves to You [with feigned and reluctant obedience]. 4 All the earth shall bow down to You and sing [praises] to You; they shall praise Your name in song. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

From the moment you wake up, be speaking to the One, True God by Holy Spirit Who lives IN you! Praise Him for Who He is! Thank Him for what He has already done! Worship in His Presence and then walk into the rest of your day EXPECTING something GOOD to happen to you! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Shadow Step":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I really love today's "My Usmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers! We all have had those glorious times when we KNEW that we were in the presence of God and life felt SO GOOD! But maintaining that awareness of His presence requires our daily diligence during those times when everything good isn't always obvious! This lesson is very good for that!

Taking the Next Step

…in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses. —2 Corinthians 6:4

When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.

Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ in John 13:1-17.

AMEN! I encourage you to keep this message somewhere where you can refer to it whenever things begin to seem either mudane or to hard! Back to the basics is ALWAYS the right place to start! Here is Hillsong with "Good Grace":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share THIS vital message from Joseph Prince's "Grace Inspirations" devotional:

GOD IS NOT JUDGING YOU

Romans 8:33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Some people see God as a judge who has exacting demands on man. When they fall short or when things go wrong in their lives, they think that God is judging them.

My friend, the truth is that if you are a believer, God does not bring any charge against you. Instead, He justifies you because of the blood of His Son. In fact, God’s Word goes on to say that the One who has the right to condemn you, chose instead to die for you and is risen at the Father’s right hand to be your righteousness (see Romans 8:34)!

But what the devil tries to do is to get you to believe that God watches you with a critical eye and punishes you when you do wrong. He has deceived many sincere Christians into believing that if they have done something wrong, bad things have a right to come upon them and their families. And when these things happen, he convinces them that they are suffering God’s judgment because of their wrongdoings. In the meantime, these sincere Christians struggle with condemnation because they think that they are the cause of their problems.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Ever since the cross, where Jesus was judged in your place for every one of your wrong actions, thoughts and words, God no longer judges you, His child. You need not accept condemnation because Jesus took all your punishment at the cross.

So when you start to feel condemned for your actions or when you experience negative circumstances, say, “It is written: It is God who justifies me. I am completely forgiven and made righteous before Him. I refuse to accept any condemnation and I reject every symptom of the curse that I am seeing in my circumstances!”

Then, simply stand on the truth of God’s Word, and watch Him deliver and bless you!

AMEN! NO ONE loves you more than God does! NO ONE! Here is Hillsong with "Our God Is Love":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I really like today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers!

Could This Be True Of Me?

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself. — Acts 20:24

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the commonsense basis.

What do I really count dear? If I have not been gripped by Jesus Christ, I will count service dear, time given to God dear, my life dear unto myself. Paul says he counted his life dear only in order that he might fulfil the ministry he had received; he refused to use his energy for any other thing. Acts 20:24 states Paul’s almost sublime annoyance at being asked to consider himself; he was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Practical work may be a competitor against abandonment to God, because practical work is based on this argument – “Remember how useful you are here,” or – “Think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude does not put Jesus Christ as the Guide as to where we should go, but our judgment as to where we are of most use. Never consider whether you are of use; but ever consider that you are not your own but His.

AMEN! We will never be rewarded for the outward appearances of the calling that God has placed on our individual lives! We will only and ever be rewarded for faithfulness and obedience! From the seemingly smallest assignment to one of enourmous impact, we will be rewarded the same because it is our faithfulness and obedience and NOT our results that God is looking for! So, let's make sure that we are spending time every day in His presence and inobedience to His plans and purposes and we will NOT have to wait until Heaven to hear: "Well done" from HIM! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "No Reason To Hide":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I was really blessed by THIS from today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers:

His Commission to Us

Feed My sheep. —John 21:17

This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).

Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— “Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ‘Feed My sheep.’ ” Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.

AMEN! Here are Hillsong Kids with "My Number One!":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We read Psalm 61 in today's Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan and I want to share the entire Psalm here:

To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. [A Psalm] of David.

1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.

2 From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].

3 For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary.

4 I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear, revere, and honor Your name.

6 May You prolong the [true] King’s life [adding days upon days], and may His years be to the last generation [of this world and the generations of the world to come].

7 May He sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God; O ordain that loving-kindness and faithfulness may watch over Him!

8 So will I sing praise to Your name forever, paying my vows day by day.

I have always loved this song and here is Hosanna Music with their version:

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" devotional by Kenneth E. Hagin is what I want to share here!

By Thy Words

"For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matthew 12:37). 

Jesus Himself made the above statement. Words are much more important than many people realize. Do you remember Job and his three so-called "friends" who came to comfort him? 

Job's cry to those who came as comforters and stayed as tormentors was, "How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?" (Job 19:2). Words make us or break us. Words heal us or make us sick. According to the teaching of the Bible, words destroy us, or words make us full of life, happiness, and health. Words that we spoke yesterday make life what it is today. That agrees with what Jesus said in Mark 11:23, "He shall have whatsoever he saith." 

Those things which you say are words. In fact, you could read that last phrase like this: "He shall have the words that he speaks."

Confession: By my words I shall be justified. I know that I shall have whatsoever I say. I shall have the words that I speak. Therefore, I speak words full of life, happiness, and health. I speak words that make, rather than break!

AMEN! Here is  Hillsong with "Look To The Son":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share from Jerry Savelle's devotional again!

DETERMINED TO WIN

Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:35-36 NKJV)

Once you’ve made the decision to believe and act on what the Word of God says about your situation, you need to understand something: the manifestation of God’s answer may either come quickly, or it may take some time. The question is, are you determined to stand until your breakthrough arrives?

The Greek word translated as determined means “a firmness of purpose.” It also means “to give definite aim or direction; an unwavering resolution; to set boundary.”

The Word of God is either true, or it isn’t. God can either be trusted, or He can’t. Well, God’s Word is true and He can be trusted. So why waver? Make a firm resolution in your heart and mind that you are not going to compromise or be moved by what you see, hear, or feel.

Once you determine that the only thing you will allow to move you is the Word of God, you’ll see the wholeness that you are believing for.

Confession: Father, I determine to do Your will and live according to Your Word. My trust is in You alone, and I refuse to be moved by anything else. I hold on to my confidence, knowing I will receive all You have promised me.

AMEN! GOD can ALWAYS be trusted! ALWAYS! Psalm 118:8 says this:

8 It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Learn to trust in God and His Word as your final and full authority! You will NEVER be disappointed when you do! Here is Hillsong Young and Free with "Trust":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

In today's Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan we read Psalm 59 where David is calling out to God because of the threats that King Saul had placed on his life. I have always taken encouragement from the Psalms of David where he never makes light of the problems he faces, but ALWAYS ends with encouraging himself in the LORD by repeating the promises of God and his complete faith in God to deliver! Look at verses 16-17:

16 But I will sing of Your mighty strength and power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning; for You have been to me a defense (a fortress and a high tower) and a refuge in the day of my distress. 17 Unto You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my Defense, my Fortress, and High Tower, the God Who shows me mercy and steadfast love.

AMEN! THIS is going to be my continual declaration before the Lord! Along with THIS statement:

"If God is FOR me (and He IS!) then it doesn't do ANYONE, any good to be against me"! 

AMEN! Never let fear of what the enemy SAYS he will do ever deter you from trusting completely in YOUR LORD to deliver you! EVERY TIME! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Not Today!":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" devotional by Kenneth E. Hagin is another very good lesson for every born again believer!

Is Your Profit Showing?

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all (1 Timothy 4:15).
If your profiting is to appear to all, then it is to show! Why is godliness profitable? Why is living for God, being God's child, walking in fellowship with God, keeping God's commandments, profitable?

It is because God has made some promises to His faithful children. Notice the word "promise" in yesterday's text: "having promise of the life that now is" (1 Timothy 4:8). God has made us promises in this life. Our profiting is because of these promises.

And when our profiting (which is due to God's promises) appears to all, we are able to show the world there is a God in the Church - just as when Israel was walking with God, she could show the earth "there is a God in Israel" (1 Samuel 17:46).

Confession: I will meditate upon God's promises and give myself wholly to them, that my profiting may appear to all.

AMEN! ALL of the promises of God find their AMEN in HIM and in US (2 Corinthians 1:20)! Let's dare to SHINE as our God means for us to (3 John 2)! HE gets all the glory for every good thing! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "What a Beautiful Name":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I really like the way Jerry Savelle addresses the topic of our attitude towards God and His Word in his devotional for today!

SEEK HIM FIRST

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

Simply put, to be righteous means to be in a state of right standing with God. And without that sense of right standing, which is ours because of what Jesus did at the cross, we can never truly know Him.

There are those who study the Bible to find some “secret formula” or “get-rich-quick” scheme so that their needs will be met. Truth be told, when you study the Bible so that you can know Him, you’ll discover that your relationship will put you in a position to have your every need met.

This is why Jesus said to first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness; everything else would be added. The revelation that God wants to bless us is valid. However, some people have no desire to seek and know God; they only want what He will give them.

Others have never really entered into a knowing relationship with God. They know about Him, but they don’t know Him. And because they don’t know Him, they tend to believe things about Him that simply aren’t true.

I hear Christians say, “I don’t know God’s will for my life.” And I always tell them, “When you get to know Him, you’ll know His will for your life."

Make the decision to seek God first, to study His Word so that you will know Him more intimately. When you seek Him to know Him, everything else you need will always follow.

Confession: Today I choose to set aside any “things” that I may have been seeking. I commit to seek God first, to know Him more intimately as I trust that the other things I have need of will be added to me.

AMEN! HE wants us to really KNOW Him intimately! He desires fellowship with us, which is why He planned for our Salvation in the first place! When WE desire HIS presence as much as HE desires ours, we will know Him more than we ever thought possible, and His Word will come alive! I challenge you today to make your fellowship with JESUS, by His Spirit Who lives IN you your #1 priority of every single day! You will NEVER regret that decision! Here is Hillsong with "Closer":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's devotional from Andrew Womack's website for today is another very good message!

The Best Sinner

Matthew 5:20, 'For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.'

What did Jesus mean? Since the Pharisees fasted twice each week, does this mean we have to fast three times each week? Since they paid tithes on everything including spices, does this mean that anyone who fails to tithe is doomed to hell?

No! Definitely not. The Pharisees' righteousness was based on their actions. Jesus is advocating a righteousness that is based on faith in what He did for us.

Trusting in our own actions will never grant us access to God. We may be better than others, but who wants to be the best sinner that ever went to hell? We have all sinned and come short of perfection which is what God requires (Romans 3:23).

The only one who was ever good enough to earn right standing with God is Jesus. And His righteousness is offered as a gift to anyone who will put their faith in Him as their Savior.

Jesus offers us a righteousness by faith that is so far superior to the self righteousness that the Pharisees had that there is no comparison. This is the righteousness that we need and which is available to us only through faith in Christ.

AMEN! HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS is free to us! Thank You, JESUS! Here is Hillsong with "King of Kings", which is all about the ONE Who gives us this RIGHTEOUSNESS when we choose HIM!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

The devotional for today on our Spoken Word Church website is another very important message!

Release Mercy

What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you. What you sow today determines your harvest tomorrow. Sow kindness. Be slow to criticize and quick to forgive.

The greatest gift love produces is a a non-judgmental climate. Give love out freely today.

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:" (Luke 6:37)

Amen! Walking in love NEVER fails! Count on it! Here is Hillsong with "Desert Song":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We read Psalm 54 inour Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today. This Psalm is a Psalm of David, who was a ture worshiper of the Lord and would call on Him conintually when he was in trouble! 

1 Save me, O God, by Your name; judge and vindicate me by Your mighty strength and power. 2 Hear my pleading and my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For strangers and insolent men are rising up against me, and violent men and ruthless ones seek and demand my life; they do not set God before them. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! 4 Behold, God is my helper and ally; the Lord is my upholder and is with them who uphold my life. 5 He will pay back evil to my enemies; in Your faithfulness [Lord] put an end to them. 6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks and praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. 7 For He has delivered me out of every trouble, and my eye has looked [in triumph] on my enemies.
Allow the TRUTH of the underlinged words to get deep into your heart so that YOU, too, can call on the Lord to delvier YOU during times of testing, trials and temptations! He is WELL ABLE to save you in every situation!AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Jesus Is My Super Hero":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

At 12:10 pm today I will be celebrating 65 years on planet earth! Having found out some very interesting things concerning my ancestry and the details of my birth, I have appreciated THES verses more this year than EVER! 

Psalm 139:14 I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well.

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

I especially love The Passion Translation for Psalm 139!

You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside
and my intricate outside,
and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.
14 I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!
Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking.
It simply amazes me to think about it!
How thoroughly you know me, Lord!
15 You even formed every bone in my body
when you created me in the secret place,
carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something.
16 You saw who you created me to be before I became me!
Before I’d ever seen the light of day,
the number of days you planned for mewere already recorded in your book.

AMEN! Never lose sight of the TRUTH that GOD loves you more than anyone else ever could! He ALWAYS wants His best for you!Let's give HIM our best! Here is Hillsong with "Oceans - Where Feet May Fail":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I am sharing THIS from today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. Why? Because I LIKE it! 

Do You Really Love Him?

She has done a good work for Me. —Mark 14:6

If what we call love doesn’t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love.

Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things— things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him. Have you ever create

d what Mary of Bethany created in the heart of the Lord Jesus? “She has done a good work for Me.”

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “…but perfect love casts out fear…” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.

Amen! God is NOT looking for more workers! HE is seeking more worshipers! Those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth! I once heard Pastor Bob Yandian say that you can teach a faithful person the skills needed to fulfill a position, but you cannot teach an unfaithful person to be faithful! Let's put first things first and love the Lord our God with everything that is within us! THEN go about doing what He has called us to do! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Desert Song":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I was really blessed reading THIS from Andrew Womack today!

Drawn By His Power

Mark 1:37, 'And when they had found him, they said unto him, All [men] seek for thee.'

Mark  1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44

This is an amazing statement. Jesus' ministry was only a few months old and the masses of people were already seeking him out.

This is even more astonishing when you realize that Jesus had not used any of the conventional methods of publicity. In fact, Jesus had already rejected publicity during His first ministry in Jerusalem (John 2:24-25). There was no natural explanation for Jesus' success.

God is the one who promoted Jesus. And He used supernatural means to do it. It was not the slick techniques of Madison Avenue that brought the crowds--it was the awesome manifestation of God's power.

Just the day before, Jesus had cast the demon out of a man at the synagogue in Capernaum (Mark 1:21-28). This caused the whole city to gather at Peter's house and Jesus healed every one of them (Luke 4:40).

Jesus' display of the miraculous power of God was the spark that the Holy Spirit used to light a fire in the hearts of these people. Jesus had this power because of His intimate relationship with His father. It is no accident that He was praying while all men were seeking Him.

As you seek to touch others with the new life that you've found in Christ, let God confirm His Word with the miraculous manifestations of His power through you.

AMEN! Dare to believe that YOU are exactly who GOD says that you are in His Word! You HAVE what GOD says that you have in His Word! You CAN DO exactly what God says you can do in His Word! AMEN! Hdere is Hillsong with "Who You Say I AM":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share agaion from Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems From The Greek - Volume 2:

Fight the Good Fight of Faith!

Fight the good fight of faith.… — 1 Timothy 6:12

Many believers have the misconception that walking by faith means they should be able to effortlessly glide all the way to God’s destination for their lives with no hiccups or struggles along the way. But the Bible teaches quite the opposite in First Timothy 6:12. In that verse, the apostle Paul wrote, “Fight the good faith of faith….” According to this verse, the path of faith often requires a fight to see it through to completion.

The word “fight” is the Greek word agonidzo, which refers to a struggle, a fight, great exertion, or effort. It is where we get the word agony — a word often used in the New Testament to convey the ideas of anguish, pain, distress, and conflict. The word agonidzo itself comes from the word agon, which is the word that depicted the athletic conflicts and competitions that were so famous in the ancient world. It frequently pictured wrestlers in a wrestling match, with each wrestler struggling with all his might to overcome his opponent in an effort to hurl him to the ground in a fight to the finish.

The very fact that Paul would use this word, a word that was very well known in the world of his time, alerts us emphatically that when we step out to do something by faith, it often pushes us into a previously unknown fight. It throws us into some type of agony — anguish, conflict, pain, distress, or a struggle. It isn’t that God wants us to struggle. Instead, this is a fight that results from:

The flesh that resists the will of God.

The mind that struggles to understand what God has told us to do.

Circumstances that seem to stand in the way.

People who oppose us.

The devil himself who throws his weight against each step of faith we take.

The point you must see is that Paul recognized when we step out in faith, we don’t just effortlessly glide to the destination God is directing us toward. We must fight the good fight of faith to reach the victorious position that allows us to one day hear those cherished words, “Well done!” from our Commander-in-Chief. But rather than shrink from the match that is before us, the apostle Paul urges us to give this fight our best effort! He tells us, “Fight the good fight of faith…” The word “good” is from the Greek word kalos, which denotes something exceptional, of the highest quality, outstanding, or superb. In the context of a fight, it pictures one who has given his best effort to the struggle in which he is engaged; hence, he is one who is doing a first-rate or first-class job at resisting his opponents.

Then Paul repeated the word “fight” a second time in this verse. He wrote, “Fight the good fight of faith.…” This second usage of the word “fight” is also from the Greek word agon — the same word he used when he referred to a “fight” at the first of the verse. It conveys the idea of one who is giving his complete concentration to the conflict and is totally focused on engaging the conflict at hand and achieving victory, regardless how long it takes or how much agonizing effort is required. It is the picture of total commitment to victory.

This is a far cry from simply gliding to God’s destination for your life with no hiccups or headaches along the way! As Paul told us in this verse, anything that is done by faith will require a fight of some sort in order to win. So if you are experiencing a struggle along the path to your personal victory — if you’ve been fighting off some very real mental or spiritual assaults along the way — don’t be taken off guard or by surprise. The Holy Spirit warned in advance through the apostle Paul that you must commit yourself to giving the pursuit of God’s will for your life your very best effort and to doing whatever is necessary to finish the goal set before you!

God is calling upon you to stand up and fight — giving your concentrated efforts to stand firm for what you believe. Fight in a manner that is noble, admirable, and worthy of the reward that awaits you. And remember — the greater reward usually requires a greater fight. Keep this in mind as you press forward to be first-class in your determination to overcome every obstacle and resistance along the way. Stay in the fight until you can shout, “The fight is finished and victory obtained!”

I don't know a soldier anywhere who wouldn't be excited if they KNEW that they could not be defeated! This 'fight' that we are in is one that has already been won FOR US by the KING of all kings and the LORD of all lords! JESUS! There is nothing left to be done except to occupy our place in this earth until JESUS comes for us. To occupy means to be busy DOING what God has already called us to do! Let's get busy! Amen! Here is Hillsong with "No Reason To Hide":

Shalom in Him!