Simple Thoughts

In a world that throws temptation at us around every corner, we must stand strong. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” None of us are above being tempted, and none of us are too good to give in to that temptation. There is only one who was tempted and still was without sin, and that is Jesus. But 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that God gives us a way of escape. So when we are tempted, we should take a lesson from Jesus and use the Word of God to combat the enemy. Our sword is the Bible. I challenge you to memorize verses that are applicable to the temptation that you are going through. Also, put a copy of that verse somewhere you will always see. Mine is up at my cubicle at work. Maybe yours would be in your locker or on your mirror. Make a point EVERY DAY to look at that verse and begin the day by deciding that you will not give into temptation today. Take it one day at a time. And make a conscious decision every day to stan...

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. -Philippians 4:8 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. -Romans 12:2 We are not supposed to look like the world. We are supposed to be holy, set apart. We are supposed to think on the things which are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. We are supposed to renew our minds. How do we do all of that? I think everyone would agree that what you feed your mind, soul, and spirit will eventually reveal itself and grow in your own life. So, we should be careful what we watch, read, listen to, etc. What about movies? I am not going to hit on movies like Saw V right now, t...

There is being a line drawn in the sand. “And Elijah came to all the people and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But he people answered him not a word.” -1 Kings 18:21 I was talking with a senior in high school yesterday about her relationship with God. She admitted to me, voluntarily, that she knew she was sitting on the fence again and she needed to choose. So many people have one foot on the God-side -- worshipping on Wednesday nights, sometimes reading the Bible to know what is going on in Discipleship, praying to look holy at prayer meetings, and doing all of the above to maintain the appearance that they are on-fire for the Lord – and the other foot on the world-side – occasionally looking at pornography, lying to their parents, hanging out with “the wrong crowd,” watching movies or television shows that do not glorify God, and cursing or taking the Lord’s name in vain, doing all of the above to still ...

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." -Galatians 6:9 "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." -James 5:7-8 Do not grow weary. Be patient. Wait. But the key to being able to do this... Do not lose heart. Establish your heart. In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus reveals to us that the key to continuing in ministry and enduring in these upcoming dark days is Intimacy with God. We must establish our hearts. We will get burnt out quickly without the oil of intimacy to keep our lamp lit. If you find yourself already getting burnt out as I often have, take inventory of your life. Do you have a regular prayer time? A scheduled quiet time with God? When we have the quiet prayer moments...

"The pride of your heart has deceived you..." Obadiah 3 Pride. The thing that most people do not think they have, but they really do. The deceitful thing about pride is that it fools us into thinking we are okay--we have arrived--we don't need anyone's help or even God's help. But pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). When you have pride, you decide that you don't really need to watch where you are going or what you are doing, so inevitably, you will fall. You will fall and great will be your fall because you were too prideful to admit you needed the Lord. To admit you couldn't do this on your own. I Corinthians 10:12 says, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." Often, everyone else can see pride on a person but that person. We all see pride in each other but somehow miss it in our own hearts. Why? Because it is deceitful. If you knew pride was there and realized ...

Amos 7:1-3 THUS the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king's mowings. And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: "O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand,For he is small!" So the LORD relented concerning this. "It shall not be," said the LORD. In this season of revelation where God is revealing things to us through dreams and visions, we must remember that these things are not given to us to feel cool or tell your friend you had a cool dream/vision. God is giving us these dreams and visions because he is searching for a person to stand on the wall and stand in the gap-- to pray and to intercede for the situation that you have been made aware of (see Isaiah 59:16 and Ezekiel 22:30). Use the revelation as direction in your prayer life. As God reveals something, PRAY! He is looking for an intercessor. He is looking for a pra...

I have always struggled with intimidation. I was especially intimidated when leading praise and worship or speaking in front of a crowd. Recently, the Lord has shown me that the reason I would always hesitate in leading praise and worship or speaking in front of crowds when asked was because I was intimidated. Then I realized that of course the enemy wants to keep me intimidated, because then I won’t fulfill the calling that God has for my life. So many people within the church as a whole walk around intimidated. Whether it is because they are afraid of failure, afraid someone else could do it better, or afraid of being mocked, afraid of being replaced, or afraid of trying something new, so many of us are too afraid and intimidated to truly walk confidently in our calling. I came to a realization. It is NOT about me! If it was about me, I would have a reason to be intimidated. If it was about me, then there is a possibility that I can screw something up. If it was about me, then someon...

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:11-13 The prophet, Jeremiah, sent these words to the captives that King Nebuchadnezzar took from Jerusalem to Babylon. God’s message to the captives was that they were going to be in captivity for a time, but that time would not be forever. God would rescue them. While in captivity though, they were instructed to pray for peace in their dwelling place. The captives were also promised that God had not forgotten them. God had a future and a hope for their lives. “Call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to You.” Even in captivity, the Lord reminded them that He would listen to their prayers. “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” God loves h...

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. -Mark 16:14-20 Okay, so the accompanying signs that confirmed the words that the disciples spoke were: -Casting...

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, a...

Psa 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. Lam 3:25 The LORD [is] good to those who wait for Him, To the soul [who] seeks Him. Hsa 12:6 So you, by [the help of] your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually. Psa 39:7 And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope [is] in You. Rom 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for [it] with perseverance. Hab 2:3 For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. Quote from book “Unrelenting Prayer” by Bob Sorge: You may wait on God a long time, but when God finally chooses to act on your behalf, He will act decisively and change everything dramatically and suddenly. Habakkuk would have resolved the tension with the same answer. I can imagine him saying, “…When the Promise of God tarries, wait for it to be fulfill...

I Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I Thess. 5 BUT concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation...

And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." – Luke 9:61-62 People were healed, demons were cast out, and the wind and the waves had obeyed this man. He was Jesus – fully God and fully man, and He was acquiring quite a following of people. While Jesus was traveling, three different people all told Jesus that they wanted to follow Him. One person told Jesus he would follow Him. Jesus answered him about the cost and sacrifice of the ministry. Jesus told another person to follow Him, and he wanted to first bury his father. Then another said he would follow Jesus if he could just say goodbye to those at his house. To the man who wanted to say goodbye, Jesus responded, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." That seems a little extreme...