Be Amazed at the Love of Jesus!

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And the angel said:
Why are you so amazed? I will explain the mystery about this woman and about the beast she is sitting on, with its seven heads and ten horns.

The beast you saw is one that used to be and no longer is. It will come back from the deep pit, but only to be destroyed. Everyone on earth whose names were not written in the book of life before the time of creation will be amazed. They will see this beast that used to be and no longer is, but will be once more.

Revelation 17:7-8

If you are not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ you will be amazed at power displayed by Satan. Before Jesus returns there will be someone called "the beast" who will come back from the deep pit and cause men to stand in awe.

Believers in Jesus need to understand that just because someone displays supernatural power does not mean that he is from God.

The pursuit of miraculous power does not always take you to the Cross. Satan is a supernatural being and still has power to display in an attempt to draw you away from Jesus!

I believe that the greatest evidence of the truth of God's Word and of the reality of Jesus Christ is love rather than miracles. Because of Jesus I can love the unlovely. Because of Jesus I can love those who are lost, and because of Jesus I can even love my enemies! When I walk in the Love of Christ all fear is gone and I am at perfect peace.

You may be amazed because of manifestations of supernatural power, but I am amazed by supernatural love. Because of Jesus I can love and be loved beyond reason. The love of Jesus is an ocean filled with joy that never ends. We are walking on the shore of that ocean here on earth with out toes occasionally touching the water, but when Jesus comes we will be fully immersed forever!

Be amazed at the Love of Jesus! Amen.

Marry a Woman!

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The Lord God said, “It isn't good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him.”

So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would giveof them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names. None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. So the Lord God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, the Lord made a woman out of the rib.

The Lord God brought her to the man, and the man exclaimed,
“Here is someone like me!
She is part of my body,
my own flesh and bones.
She came from me, a man.
So I will name her Woman!”

That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.

Genesis 2:18-24

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden it was because they believed the lie of Satan and rejected the Word of God. God had said that eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would cause them to die. Satan told them that God was lying. We all need to understand that believing a lie always has consequences.

God says that marriage is something that happens between a man and a woman. Satan says that is a lie.

When my children were small and one of them would say "I love that car," another child would taunt by asking this: "Why don't you marry it!" It was foolishness and they are knew it, but they thought it was fun for the moment.

When the world talks about a man marrying anyone or anything other than a woman it is also foolishness. God created us to breathe air. How foolish it would be to decide that I will no longer breathe air, but instead I will breathe water like a fish. God created man to need sleep every day. What if I were to decide that God was wrong and I will never sleep again? You may miss a night or two of sleep, but if you do it long enough you will die because God made you to need sleep.

Marriage is just one of the areas where Satan is lying about God's truth. Look for others and be alert!

"Lord, how foolish of me to question Your Word. You speak truth with every breath you take. You are the standard by which everything and everyone is judged. Lord, show me and help me to see the lies of Satan that I have accepted in my heart and then flood my heart and mind with Your Word that I may be everything You created me to be! Amen."

Surrender to God!

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Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”?

In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say,
“God opposes everyone
who is proud,
but he is kind to everyone
who is humble.”

Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you.

James 4:5-7

I think every time I have heard someone teach on the verse "Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you" the focus of the teaching has been on resisting the devil. That is a good thing, but don't forget that this verse first encourages us to surrender to God.

You can only surrender to someone with whom you are at war. And truly your flesh is at war with God. Even when your spirit wants desperately to do the right thing your body leads you into sin over and over again.

So what happens when you surrender to God and become His prisoner of war? Your Captor immediately controls every part of your life. As a prisoner you have no life of your own. You are not free to roam outside of the confines of your prison. It may sound depressing, but when you are a prisoner of God your incarcerated life is the most gloriously free existence a man or woman can have! Sin no longer has it's grip on your heart and you have the hope of a future that has no equal.

We, of course must resist the devil here on this earth, but don't forget to surrender to God.

"Lord, I once again today surrender to You. May my life this day be controlled by Your Spirit and not by my own fleshly desires. And Lord, help me to see the glorious and eternal freedom of being Your prisoner! Amen."

Christian Deodorant!

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I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.

In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone. For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads them to a better life. But for people who are lost, it has a bad smell and leads them to a horrible death.
No one really has what it takes to do this work.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Body odor, sometimes called simply B.O. is usually offensive to others and has spawned an entire product line of deodorants. If you have enough money to afford a deodorant, in most western countries you would use one.

In these verses in 2 Corinthians Paul talks about Christian Body Odor. For those who are being saved it is a wonderful smell and very deble. But for those who are lost it is a bad smell that leads them to death.

Body odor can be wonderful as well as bad. A baby not only recognizes his mother by sight and sound, but also by smell. When I was a boy I remember burying my face in my father's pillow because it smelled like him.

The world has developed a product line of Christian deodorants. They are designed to keep you from being offensive to the world because of your faith in Jesus.

You are wearing Christian deodorant when you try to keep the world from being offended by your Christianity. When you try to get the world to like you so that they will believe in Jesus you are simply globing on the deodorant.

When you are not wearing Christian deodorant you will smell good to your brothers and sisters, but the world will be offended. When you are wearing Christian deodorant you will smell good to the world, but you will offend the true believers in Jesus.

Get rid of all the Christian deodorant in your life and let the odor that comes from you as a believer do the work for which God created it! Amen.

Meet Your Maker!

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When I was in trouble, [Lord],
I prayed to you,
and you listened to me.
From deep in the world
of the dead,
I begged for your help,
and you answered my prayer.

You threw me down
to the bottom of the sea.
The water was churning
all around;
I was completely covered
by your mighty waves.

I thought I was swept away
from your sight,
never again to see
your holy temple.

I was almost drowned
by the swirling waters
that surrounded me.
Seaweed had wrapped
around my head.

I had sunk down deep
below the mountains
beneath the sea.
I knew that forever,
I would be a prisoner there.
But, you, [Lord] God,
rescued me from that pit.

When my life was slipping away,
I remembered you—
and in your holy temple
you heard my prayer.

Jonah 2:2-7

Do you find it hard to pray? Are there distractions every time you bow your head and begin to address the Lord? Do you want to become a man or woman of prayer who comes to the Lord with great earnestness and passion?

Here is the easiest way to improve your prayer life. Run away from God, let yourself be thrown overboard in a storm and be swallowed by a great fish. I can pretty much guarantee that the prayer you utter from the belly of the fish will be the most urgent and sincerest prayer you have ever prayed!

Great trouble turns even the weakest in faith into men and women of prayer. Cries of "Oh God" are often heard when lives are threatened by some imminent danger.

When the threats of this life are crashing down would you rather turn to a stranger or a friend for help? There are many stories of men who did not know God, but called on Him in a time of tragedy and were lifted up by the One who created the universe. But if you already know the Lord when the trouble comes, His peace can sweep over your heart as you calmly wait to be rescued or spirited away to Heaven!

People sometimes speak of death as the time when "you meet your Maker." Jesus wants you to "Meet Your Maker" now so that when you see Him face to face there will be no fear. It is a fearful thing to die without knowing Jesus. But if you know the Lord then passing from this life to the next will simply be the final act of trust and resting in His love.

"Lord, help me to pray now like Jonah did from the belly of the great fish so that when trouble comes I will already know You. Lord You are and have always been my only hope! Help me to pray in the sunshine as if the storms were raging and pray in the daylight as if it were dark like midnight. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen."

The Holy Spirit’s Breeze!

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Her sufferings will frighten them, and they will stand at a distance and say,

“Pity that great
and powerful city!
Pity Babylon!
In a single hour
her judgment has come.”

Every merchant on earth will mourn, because there is no one to buy their goods.

There won't be anyone to buy their gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, sweet-smelling wood, fancy carvings of ivory and wood, as well as things made of bronze, iron, or marble.

No one will buy their cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and other humans.

Revelation 18:10-13

God's judgment on one nation can bring economic turmoil to the whole world. The financial storms that are brewing today have the potential to bring great trouble to the every nation on earth.

The wisdom of this world will try to fix the situation with sound fiscal policy. Strong and honorable leaders who make responsible decisions cannot stop the free fall toward destruction if it is part of God's judgment. There is, however an answer, but there is only one answer.

If the Spirit of God moves across the face of the earth and the hearts of men repent and are revived with the Love of Jesus then there is great hope. The spark that can set the world on fire may be in your heart today. Let the breeze of the Holy Spirit blow on your heart until it breaks into a flame and then with more wind a blazing fire!

When a town, a nation, a people or the whole world turns to Jesus there is always one person who is the first to turn. Ask God to let that person be you. Let Him radically control your life so that you will spread the fire of His Spirit to everyone you meet.

"Lord, may Your Spirit blow on me, that the spark You put in my heart may become a blazing fire which will spread Your love around the world! Amen!"

God Helped Me!

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When you become successful, don't say, “I'm rich, and I've earned it all myself.”

Instead, remember that the [Lord] your God gives you the strength to make a living. That's how he keeps the promise he made to your ancestors.

But I'm warning you—if you forget the [Lord] your God and worship other gods, the [Lord] will destroy you, just as he destroyed the nations you fought.

Deuteronomy 8:17-20

There is an active controversy going on in the United States about how people become successful in business. One side says that everyone owes their success to some other person or to the government, while the rugged individualist American says "I built that business all by myself!"

The outcome of a Presidential election may rest on the resolution of the issue as voters take sides and listen to commentators tell them what they should think.

I will not be surprised if I hear these verses from Deuteronomy 8 quoted as the debate rages on. But truthfully, both sides have missed the mark. You can be successful without the help of any other human being or government, but you cannot succeed without Divine support. Remember that God gave you strength to make a living and be a success! Without God you would not be able to draw your next breath.

Every successful man who denies God will suffer the consequences. Give credit to God for your success and He will reward you with blessings beyond your fondest imagination.