Simple Thoughts

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"...

Contentment: A Thought Now Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:6-11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content; Philippians 4:11 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty not riches – Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal...

Some thing they are spiritually hungry when they have a newly awakened interest in the things of God. But awakened interest is not yet hunger. Buying a book on a Kingdom topic is good, but it is not yet hunger. Hunger is when we cannot live without more, when we make radical alterations to our lifestyle in order to pursue God. A good way to measure the reality of our hunger is to measure the extent to which we rearrange our lives, our time, our money and our comforts to pursue that for which we hunger. -Dana Candler “The Rewards of Fasting” http://ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000036187 (Free e-book online) You say you are hungry. You say you are desperate. Really? Are you? Is it just a feeling that goes away? Or is it a deep inner longing that says you cannot go on with life as normal? You must have more. You must have Him. Mark 5 describes a woman who was truly desperate. She had a flow of blood for twelve years. She had spent all she had on doctors and they didn’t make h...

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...