"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
(John 4:14)
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Gentleness. Goodness. Faith. Meekness. Temperance. Powerful forces the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit. They're the character traits of God Himself and when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in you, He brought them with Him, so they could become your character traits too.
They're designed to bubble up inside you, to gush forth like a powerful stream constantly protecting and cleansing you from the inside out.
Have you ever noticed that you can't put any trash in the mouth of a flowing fountain? When it's shooting that water up, the force of its own outflow protects it and keeps it clear of any impurities from the outside. Well, the spiritual fountain within you works the same way. When you're allowing the forces of love and joy and peace and gentleness and all the others to flow out, the devil can't get any of his junk in.
How do you keep the Spirit flowing? You pump your heart so full of the Word of God that the forces of eternal life start bubbling out. Just a little at first...and then stronger and higher.
Choose to keep those forces streaming out of the fountain of your heart. Refuse to let selfishness and sin stop the flow. You have a fountain filled with unbeatable LIFE forces inside you and it's ready to come forth. Let it flow!
By- KCM
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Don't Let the Devil Put One Over on You
"When he [the devil] speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
(John 8:44)
Some people find it difficult to believe God's promises because they've seen so many things in the natural world that seem to contradict them. They've seen faithful tithers go broke. They've seen sick Christians fail to receive their healing.
In reality, it would be more accurate to say that they think they've seen those things. Because, you see, there's a deceiver at work in the world. A deceiver who's busily doing the same thing he's been doing ever since the Garden of Eden: tricking mankind into believing God's Word isn't true.
And, after working on it for thousands of years, he's a master at it. Think about that the next time he tries to make things look as though God's Word is not going to work for you, when he makes it look like all hope is lost. Say, "I don't care about appearances. I believe the Word and I refuse to doubt it."
Let me show you what I mean. Have you ever seen a magic show where someone crawls inside a box and then is sawn in half? You can see it with your own two eyes. The guy's feet are sticking out one end of the box and his head is poking out the other, and the box is plainly cut in two. Then the magician slides the two halves back together and the sawed-apart fellow jumps out of the box in one piece.
Now tell me, did you really believe, even for a moment, that fellow was truly cut in half? Of course not! You knew that you'd seen a trick, a deception, something that appeared one way when, in reality, it was a different way altogether. You may not have known how it was done. You may not have been able to explain it. But you knew a person couldn't be sawn in half, then put back together, so you refused to believe your eyes.
That's exactly the way you need to be where the Word of God is concerned. You need to learn to trust it and rely on it to such an extent that when Satan shows you something in the natural world that appears to contradict it, you just say, "Well, I saw that, but I'm not going to be gullible enough to believe it. I'm just going to stick with the Word."
If you'll do that, the father of lies will never be able to put one over on you.
By - KCM
(John 8:44)
Some people find it difficult to believe God's promises because they've seen so many things in the natural world that seem to contradict them. They've seen faithful tithers go broke. They've seen sick Christians fail to receive their healing.
In reality, it would be more accurate to say that they think they've seen those things. Because, you see, there's a deceiver at work in the world. A deceiver who's busily doing the same thing he's been doing ever since the Garden of Eden: tricking mankind into believing God's Word isn't true.
And, after working on it for thousands of years, he's a master at it. Think about that the next time he tries to make things look as though God's Word is not going to work for you, when he makes it look like all hope is lost. Say, "I don't care about appearances. I believe the Word and I refuse to doubt it."
Let me show you what I mean. Have you ever seen a magic show where someone crawls inside a box and then is sawn in half? You can see it with your own two eyes. The guy's feet are sticking out one end of the box and his head is poking out the other, and the box is plainly cut in two. Then the magician slides the two halves back together and the sawed-apart fellow jumps out of the box in one piece.
Now tell me, did you really believe, even for a moment, that fellow was truly cut in half? Of course not! You knew that you'd seen a trick, a deception, something that appeared one way when, in reality, it was a different way altogether. You may not have known how it was done. You may not have been able to explain it. But you knew a person couldn't be sawn in half, then put back together, so you refused to believe your eyes.
That's exactly the way you need to be where the Word of God is concerned. You need to learn to trust it and rely on it to such an extent that when Satan shows you something in the natural world that appears to contradict it, you just say, "Well, I saw that, but I'm not going to be gullible enough to believe it. I'm just going to stick with the Word."
If you'll do that, the father of lies will never be able to put one over on you.
By - KCM
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A Living Example of Love
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. - Romans 5:5
Don't ever worry about not having enough love inside you. The Word says God's love is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. God's love is in you. What you need to do is make a decision to let it flow.
Pray this prayer today.
"In Jesus' Name, I make a fresh and strong commitment today to live the life of love, to let the tenderness of God flow through me and heal the wounded hearts of those I meet.
"Father, teach me to love even when things go wrong. To be patient and kind when the children are underfoot. To overlook the spiteful words of an angry spouse. To rejoice when someone at the office gets the raise that I thought I needed. Teach me to talk in love, to lay gossip quietly aside and to take up words of grace instead.
"Lord, Your Word says that Your love is already inside me...that it has been shed abroad in my heart. So today, I resolve to remove every obstacle that would keep that love from flowing freely into the lives of others. I put resentments behind me, and I forgive all those who've done me wrong.
"In the days ahead, cause me to increase and excel and overflow with Your love. Cause me to be what this world needs most of all...a living example of love. Amen."
By - KCM
Don't ever worry about not having enough love inside you. The Word says God's love is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. God's love is in you. What you need to do is make a decision to let it flow.
Pray this prayer today.
"In Jesus' Name, I make a fresh and strong commitment today to live the life of love, to let the tenderness of God flow through me and heal the wounded hearts of those I meet.
"Father, teach me to love even when things go wrong. To be patient and kind when the children are underfoot. To overlook the spiteful words of an angry spouse. To rejoice when someone at the office gets the raise that I thought I needed. Teach me to talk in love, to lay gossip quietly aside and to take up words of grace instead.
"Lord, Your Word says that Your love is already inside me...that it has been shed abroad in my heart. So today, I resolve to remove every obstacle that would keep that love from flowing freely into the lives of others. I put resentments behind me, and I forgive all those who've done me wrong.
"In the days ahead, cause me to increase and excel and overflow with Your love. Cause me to be what this world needs most of all...a living example of love. Amen."
By - KCM
Saturday, August 8, 2009
A Legend in Your Own Mind
"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
(Romans 12:3)
Do you want to know one of the secrets of staying in the will of God, of keeping yourself from getting off track?
Don't overestimate yourself!
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." How many times have we seen that borne out! How many times do we see believers get into trouble because they get an overblown idea of themselves. They begin to think they're so smart that they have it all figured out.
Then, the next thing you know, they're thinking they have to straighten everyone else out. Instead of just letting Jesus be Head of the Church, they feel like they have to step in and do the job.
Once that happens, it's just a matter of time before they're flat on their faces in failure. Why? Because the Bible says God resists the proud! (1 Pet. 5:5).
Don't put yourself in a position where God has to resist you. Rate your own abilities soberly. Adopt an attitude of humility. Keep a watch on yourself, and when you catch yourself getting puffed up with your own greatness, repent and remember that every good thing you enjoy and every bit of success you've had has come by the grace of God and by His power.
Look back on your life and see how many times you could have lost what God had given you. See how many times, when you were floundering around making every mistake imaginable, His tender and precious mercy pulled you through.
Don't become a legend in your own mind. Instead, humble yourself beneath the mighty hand of God, and let God do the exalting--that prevents some very painful falls.
By - KCM
(Romans 12:3)
Do you want to know one of the secrets of staying in the will of God, of keeping yourself from getting off track?
Don't overestimate yourself!
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." How many times have we seen that borne out! How many times do we see believers get into trouble because they get an overblown idea of themselves. They begin to think they're so smart that they have it all figured out.
Then, the next thing you know, they're thinking they have to straighten everyone else out. Instead of just letting Jesus be Head of the Church, they feel like they have to step in and do the job.
Once that happens, it's just a matter of time before they're flat on their faces in failure. Why? Because the Bible says God resists the proud! (1 Pet. 5:5).
Don't put yourself in a position where God has to resist you. Rate your own abilities soberly. Adopt an attitude of humility. Keep a watch on yourself, and when you catch yourself getting puffed up with your own greatness, repent and remember that every good thing you enjoy and every bit of success you've had has come by the grace of God and by His power.
Look back on your life and see how many times you could have lost what God had given you. See how many times, when you were floundering around making every mistake imaginable, His tender and precious mercy pulled you through.
Don't become a legend in your own mind. Instead, humble yourself beneath the mighty hand of God, and let God do the exalting--that prevents some very painful falls.
By - KCM
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Spiritual Armor for Spiritual War
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. - Ephesians 6:12
Most believers are so earthly minded (or carnally minded) that they never even realize the actual source of the enemy's attacks. They blame circumstances and people. They waste their energy fighting natural conditions instead of supernatural causes.
We need to wake up to the warfare that's going on in the heavenly realm!
We can get a glimpse of it in Daniel 10:12-20. There, we find that Daniel had been fasting and praying for 21 days, awaiting a word from the Lord. Then, an angel appeared to him 21 days later with the answer. What took him so long? He was fighting the enemy in the heavens.
That confuses some people. They say, "Devils fighting in heaven? I thought God reigned in heaven!" What they don't understand is that the Bible teaches there are three different areas called heaven:
1. The heaven where God resides.
2. The stellar heavens (what we call "outer space").
3. The heavens around this earth (the atmosphere surrounding this planet).
This last heaven is where spiritual war takes place. (That's why Ephesians 2:2 calls Satan the prince of the power of the air.) The air is where wicked spirits operate. From there, they attempt to rule the nations assigned to them.
And rule them they will unless the prayers of God's people keep them from it.
God has an army marching in this land. If we band together, we can prevent the wickedness in high places from ruling our nation. The time has come for us to pray. So, put on your full armor and take your place in the ranks of the faithful in intercession for our country and the nations of the world!
By - KCM
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