March 15, 2009
Today at our church we were blessed to have Susie McIntyre as our guest to sing and to challenge us. She is the sister of Reba McIntyre. I'm not much into country music, but I was into Susie's testimony and challenge. The Spirit of the Lord annointed her presentation as she touched on one of the most hush-hush sins of believers. Is there sin among us? Oh, yes. And interestingly enough, the more spiritual we become, the more subtle the sin and the less it is addressd. So what was the sin?
Abuse - spouse abuse! Surprised? I wasn't. As I sat there listening to her touch this sensitive nerve, I was so aware of spouses around me being touched by the Spirit of the Lord either because they are victims of abuse or because they are abusers. She talked not only of physical abuse, but mental and spiritual abuse. She brought up the old saying, " Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," revealing this saying for the lie that it is. Her neice wrote a song about this that is on her newest album. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but they will heal. Words cut like a knife in my inner heart that none can see but they never heal." When we wound someone with our words, dear friends, only God himself can bring about the healing needed for that person. For hurting words become a tape played over and over in the victim's mind. And try as they may, they cannot free themselves from the tape. Only the Lord can set us free by speaking blessing into our lives.
Our words are either a blessing or a curse. "The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell," James 3:6. "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be," James 3:10. So the next time you are tempted to say something nasty to the ones you love, remember you are heaping a curse upon them. God will set them free, but what about you?
Lord, we repent of words spoke in haste and without love. Cleanse us and forgives us. Amen
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Musings of the Day #4
March 14, 2009
Are you feeling helpless in the current situations we find ourselves in? You are not alone. But you there are answers for you, for our families, and for our country. But let's begin with you and me. Where is our focus? What is our main concern? If you answer that it is on the economy and on the lost retirement plans, and where our country is headed, may I suggest that is the WRONG answer? God's Word reminds us that we should not look to men or even to horses and chariots of men for they cannot save us. A friend of mine in Germany is a prophet. He accurately as a Christian foretold the fall of the iron curtain, and several wars in modern day former Soviet republics. He has warned that we in America are sitting on the cusp of what Germany sat on when Hitler took power. Now hear me, I am not saying that we have that kind of president. What I am saying is that this gentleman says the economic situation is similar. The Germans chose economy over standing up for right and wrong. He believes we will make the same wrong choice and suffer the consequences.
But it is not too late. We can make the right choice and do the right thing. So what is that choice?
I put my FAITH in God above everything else - economy, prosperity for me and mine, and my personal comfort. That is the right choice. The Christian Science Monitor had an article recently that stated that the evangelical church of America is far more interested in their personal needs and prosperity than they are in their faith. And they have the view point that if I am a Christian, God owes me. No, my friend. We owe a debt to the Lord for He died for us that we might be saved.
My heart cry is this: Turn back to the Lord with your whole heart. Put Him first. Put your faith in Him as your main goal. Don't make the wrong choice! The times are on the brink of turning to a change none of us want. "Seek the Lord, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you," Matthew 6:33. But be sure you focus on the seeking and His righteousness, NOT on all these things in the last part of the verse. All things will follow only if we truly seek Jesus.
Are you feeling helpless in the current situations we find ourselves in? You are not alone. But you there are answers for you, for our families, and for our country. But let's begin with you and me. Where is our focus? What is our main concern? If you answer that it is on the economy and on the lost retirement plans, and where our country is headed, may I suggest that is the WRONG answer? God's Word reminds us that we should not look to men or even to horses and chariots of men for they cannot save us. A friend of mine in Germany is a prophet. He accurately as a Christian foretold the fall of the iron curtain, and several wars in modern day former Soviet republics. He has warned that we in America are sitting on the cusp of what Germany sat on when Hitler took power. Now hear me, I am not saying that we have that kind of president. What I am saying is that this gentleman says the economic situation is similar. The Germans chose economy over standing up for right and wrong. He believes we will make the same wrong choice and suffer the consequences.
But it is not too late. We can make the right choice and do the right thing. So what is that choice?
I put my FAITH in God above everything else - economy, prosperity for me and mine, and my personal comfort. That is the right choice. The Christian Science Monitor had an article recently that stated that the evangelical church of America is far more interested in their personal needs and prosperity than they are in their faith. And they have the view point that if I am a Christian, God owes me. No, my friend. We owe a debt to the Lord for He died for us that we might be saved.
My heart cry is this: Turn back to the Lord with your whole heart. Put Him first. Put your faith in Him as your main goal. Don't make the wrong choice! The times are on the brink of turning to a change none of us want. "Seek the Lord, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you," Matthew 6:33. But be sure you focus on the seeking and His righteousness, NOT on all these things in the last part of the verse. All things will follow only if we truly seek Jesus.
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