SPEAK UP!!!

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) Many believers either know this verse or know of it. This is a very popular passage in the Scriptures but, even though it is very popular few follow it. I know I didn’t. I believed that this command was to be followed by the Missionary or the Pastor. Thankfully, by God’s grace, mercy and patience with me I know longer reject this command or any part of His Word. If we say we believe that the Bible is the Word of God then we have to accept ALL of it as His Truth.

When sharing the gospel keep in mind you have the Holy Spirit with you. You are not alone. We also have to power of the Bible. There is power in the Word of God! It changes people forever! The gospel in and of itself is powerful and can cut to the heart that is willing to receive. The very first sermon with the gospel message ever given was by Peter. He was speaking to a large group of people from many different parts of the world. They all had one thing in common. They were all Jewish or Jewish converts. They all knew that Jesus had been crucified. They all knew that something was very different with Peter and the others standing with him. They mocked them just like people mock believers today. “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel…” Acts 2:14-16 By the end of his sermon there were three thousand who were converted on what we call the day of Pentecost!

That was an amazing day. It is amazing when one or three thousand come to Christ. The Bible says there’s a celebration in heaven every time someone comes to Christ. It is amazing to be a part of it! Are you part of it? Do you share God’s Truth with others? Have you spoken up? If you have, AMEN! If you have yet too don’t wait any longer, speak up!

Please keep in mind that you do not have to take any courses or be trained on how to share Christ with others. You can start doing so immediately. If you would like a helpful guide there are various tools that can help you. There’s the “Romans Road” at http://christianity.about.com/od/conversion/qt/romansroad.htm. There are also apps that can be downloaded on your Smartphone to help you. Of course, all of these help tools are great for you but, nothing beats the guide of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Thank you for reading this post! My dear friend I am praying for you. May God continue to bless you!

Waiting

The definition for praying, according to the Oxford on-line dictionary is, “Address a solemn request or expression of thanks to a deity…Wish or hope strongly for a particular outcome or situation.” I was curious about how many Americans pray. The Washington Post had an article posted about this entitled, “Most Americans Believe in Higher Power, Poll Finds, by Jacqueline L. Salmon (Washington Post Staff Writer, posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2008; Page A02). It stated that most “Americans believe that angels and demons are active in the world, and nearly 80 percent think miracles occur…The study detailed Americans' deep and broad religiosity, finding that 92 percent believe in God or a universal spirit…More than half of Americans polled pray at least once a day.” 

I wonder how many of those that pray are willing to accept one of the three answers the Lord gives to prayer which are, “yes,” “no,” or “wait.” Of the three answers the one that everyone seeks most if not all of the time is the “yes” answer. The Lord knows best. He knows when “yes” is for your best and when it is not. He also knows when “wait” is the best answer for the time being. Are we willing to wait though? Are we willing to remain obedient when God’s answer of a “yes” or “no” is not being given as quickly as we would like?

The Bible is full of stories of people that were unwilling to accept a “wait” answer and the consequences they received for their disobedience. I’ll share one example about Abraham. God promised him a son by his wife Sarah even though they were an elderly couple. They were unwilling to wait for their son which brought on a lot of bad consequences. Did they ever receive their promised son? Yes, twenty years later. “Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said...” Genesis 21:1-2 (TLB)

The Bible is also full of people that did wait on the Lord. Hebrews 11 is known as the “Hall of Faith.” It lists those that lived in obedience and how their faith is the reason why they were successful. Can you imagine what would have happened to them if they had not waited on the Lord? Would Joshua and the people of Israel had been as triumphant when going into the Promised Land? Would Esther have been killed by her husband, the king, and in turn the people of Israel annihilated had she not waited for the appropriate time to speak to the king? Would Gideon and his 300 men have been successful if they had not waited on the Lord? What would have happened to Mary, the mother of Christ, if she had not waited on the Lord? She was an unwed teen-aged mother. She would have been stoned to death had her secret been let out. 

“Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14 (NASB) I know I have had a hard time waiting on the Lord many times in my life but, my dear friends let me share this Truth with you. Every time I have waited on the Lord for His answer, the right answer, it was always attached with His blessings, love, peace and joy. When I chose not to wait what I received were headaches, frustrations, anxiety and heartaches. How about you? May we always wait on the LORD. May we live our lives in obedience, waiting…waiting for God’s answer. 

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Thank you for reading! My dear friends I pray these words may be of a blessing for you. I am praying for you. God bless!

Here We Go Again

Have you ever found yourself wondering why in the world you just said what you said again? You know, like a word you’ll say out of bad habit. How about a reoccurring conversation sometimes even with…God? Have you found yourself in the same mess you thought was over with and thought to yourself, “Haven’t I been here before?” Why is it that we seem to find ourselves in the same mess over and over again? We tend to think that we cleaned it up somehow and we’ve moved on but, no it’s not over yet. When you least expect it, WHAM!!! THERE IT IS AGAIN! It can be an old behavior like compulsive shopping or it can be a curse word you haven’t said in a really long time. It could be a complaint you’ve given time and time again or someone complaining to you about the same thing again! Have you been there?

Well my friend the Bible teaches us that the Lord likes to refine us. “Like a refiner of silver he will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away…refining them like gold or silver, so that they will do their work for God with pure hearts.” Malachi 3:3 (TLB) As believers in Christ we are to always be moving forward with growth and maturity. This is why the Lord will have us revisit the things which need to be worked on so that we will change for the better. Old behaviors that are anything but godly are to be changed. The way we speak and the actions we take are to be more Christ-like as the days, weeks, months and years go by. We are not to stay stagnant. God wants us to be an evolving Christian. With His help through His powerful Holy Spirit we are to be evolving into the men and women we were created to be. I thank God for His grace, mercy and His patience with us! For without Him there is no way we can ever change for the better.

I leave you with Romans 12:1-3 from the Message Bible. “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.“ Amen

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Thank you for reading! May God continue to bless you! I'd love to hear back from you! Please feel free to comment. 

 

I Do

After months and months of planning. After all of the preparations were done. After the exhaustive rehearsals were completed. There was one last thing to do. All stayed as still as they could to hear the answer? “I do,” I said full of happiness and love on my wedding day. Those same two words, “I do,” they need to be said to Christ daily.

Every day we have a choice we need to make. The same choice Jesus made for us, to carry the cross. “And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 (NASB) What does carrying the cross mean? “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG)

What is your cross? It can be the struggles you’re facing today. It can be the circumstances that seem to be weighing you down. It can be the loss of a loved one, the loss of a marriage, the loss of your home. Your cross can be the ridicule of others for the faith you have in Christ. Your cross is what you carry even though it is heavy, burdensome or unfair. Just like Jesus, we are to keep on going to the goal. What is that goal? To bring glory to God. To tally as hard as you can for the Kingdom. It is for the lost souls that are watching. For the ones who are lost and are desperately trying to find the Way. It is for you too. To grow you, mold you, mature you.

My dear friends. Today I said “I do,” to Christ. “I do” accept to live for you, sweet Jesus and to show without shame or fear of any kind that I live for the One and Only. Have you?

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Thank you for reading my dear friends. I pray these words are of a blessing. If you or someone you know would like to read this or any of my other devotionals in Spanish please visit www.ministerioreflejandolaverdad.blogspot.com

 

 

God bless you!

Do you do it?

There are several things a typical Christian knows they should do. They know they should pray daily. They know they should to go to church. They know they should read the Word of God. So, how many really do take the time to read and study the Word? According to the article, *“80% of Churchgoers Don’t Read Bible Daily…” by Jeremy Weber on CT, Christianity Today, there was a survey conducted by “LifeWay” that found that out of “2,900 Protestant churchgoers” only “19 percent personally read the Bible every day.” That’s only 551 out of 2,900 people!

Why is it that so few believers take the time to read the Bible every day? We live in a society that’s always on the go. This means that many expect everything to be fast, easy, and as effortless as is possible. Generally people will take the time to do what they really want to do. So, do you do it? My dear friend, do you believe that it is worth your time to spend in the Word? In fact the more time you invest in studying the Word the better it is for you. 

Why is it important to invest time in the Word? There are many reasons why but, let’s focus on three reasons. One, there is power in the Word. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 (NIV) “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NASB) Two, it teaches us. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) Third, so that you may know the One who set you free more intimately. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJV)

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Thank you for reading! May God bless you and yours. If you or someone you know would like to read more of my writing in Spanish you can visit my Spanish blog at www.ministerioreflejandolaverdad.blogspot.com

*Article information: “80% of Churchgoers Don't Read Bible Daily, LifeWay Survey Suggests

Transformational Discipleship study reveals low level of "Bible engagement."”

By Jeremy Weber (posted 9/7/2012 10:50AM)  http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2012/september/80-of-churchgoers-dont-read-bible-daily-lifeway-survey.html

How precious is it really?

Just how precious is it really? The Word of God. The reason we read the Scriptures? Is it because, we’re told we should read it? Do we read it because, it’s the Christian thing to do? Do we read it because, it’s something we check off on our to-do list? The reason for me is mainly because, it’s the Word of God and it’s the way I can get to know Him better. “But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (MSG)

It’s His love letter to us. “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NIV) “God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.” Psalm 36:5-6 (MSG)

Reading His Word is spending time with the One and Only. Time in the Word is time well spent. It is life changing and life giving. You fall more in love with Jesus every time you read it. You can’t help but want to spend more and more time in the Scriptures because, it’s when you hear His heartbeat for you. My dear friends the Word of God is precious!

Thank you for reading! May you have a blessed day! 

Do you know Him?

This question is asked by many but, many do not know the answer. Many of those that do know the answer rarely share the answer. How about you? Do you know Him? If you know Him do you share who He really is with others? My fellow believers our daily challenge is to share Him! '"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20. I pray that you not only take the time to watch this very moving praise report of who our King is but, that you are also moved to share this clip with your friends/family. God bless you my dear friends. I love you. God loves you even more.