The Crowns of Life...

The Crowns of Life...

Have you ever given any thoughts of God's reward system? There is one you
know. In James 1:12 (NIV) it says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under
trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the Crown of Life
that God has promised to those who love Him."

Our prize is the gift of mercy that is freely given by God. We are employed
in His army and serve his Kingdom and should always be in training. Ever
wonder how the Roman army conquered the know world at the time? They never
stopped training. They knew that their victories were not totally dependant
on sheer numbers and courage alone. It was their constant training that
kept them alert and ready to meet the enemy at all times. We as soldiers in
God's army should be no less prepared to go into battle for souls at any
time and in any place. And we are in constant battle for victory over the
devils schemes and souls. Our battle is for the souls that have not yet
come to the knowledge of God's love and mercy. You were there once. And
there was a battle going on in your life and spirit, and it was some soldier
of the living God that was prepared for that moment and stepped in and
pulled you out of your crisis and helped you turn your life over to Jesus.
The best way to repay a kindness as great as that is to enlist in God's army
yourself and send yourself to the front line of the battle every day. To
many of us find a personal relationship with Christ and retire into smug
resolve. Smug in our knowledge that we are saved. We tend to think that
others will find their way to Christ and that someone else will be there for
them just as someone was there for you. Well, to whom much is given, much
is expected.(Luke 12: 47-49NKJV) In order to "earn your keep", so to speak,
you must enlist in this army and do your part for the Kingdom of God.

Although we do not strive to serve God simply in order to win a prize
(crowns), how will you feel on that day when you stand before the Almighty
and, in overwhelming awe, you, as all of us, place your crowns at His feet,
and you find that you only have one crown to lay before him? P L I N K.
What a hollow little sound that will make. Here you are before the
magnificent author of your salvation and all you have to show for it is the
one crown you won for staying the course of your Christianity. A freebie
from God. I would want to crawl away and hide for all eternity.

So the solution is that we all keep our eyes on the prize,(Philippians 3:14)
but focus our daily walk with Jesus, we will all be victorious and not come
to the wedding feast empty handed. There is nothing more amazing than
introducing a lost soul to Jesus Christ. You won't have to look far. There
is probably one right next to you........Patti

Our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit

Our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus left this earth
after His resurrection, he told his disciples not to despair. He told them
that His Father would send "another", the "comforter".(John 14: 26 NKJV)
Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit. He told them that the Holy Spirit
would teach them and dwell within them forever. The Holy Spirit is a very
sweet spirit. A gentle spirit. And He is very easily offended by our
transgressions and He will leave as long as we are in a state of sin or
unrighteousness. We hear every day of people that do drugs and drink and
entertain men and women when their children are present. We are always
appalled at stories where gentle innocent children are exposed to the sins
of parents. Would you want your child to see you doing drugs? Would you
want to expose him or her to no only the danger of the drugs themselves, but
to the people that are associated with dealing in drugs? Would you want
your child to be at the mercy of you if you were so drunk that you could not
be responsible and care for them? Of course not! Stories of things like
this shock our senses. And yet I see Christians, who are fully aware of the
true and powerful blessings that the Holy Spirit can impart to us, still
continue to live with one foot in the world and one foot in their walk with
Christ. Jesus told us to "come out from among them" (2 Cor 6:17 NKJV), and
to not touch what is unclean and that He would receive us. You cannot serve
God and reap the blessings of God and remain in the world. You cannot do
these things and expect the Holy Spirit to stay with you. He will and does
leave.

You CAN go into a bar, and sit down and have a soda and witness to those who
are lost and offer them eternal life through Jesus Christ. You can do this
because the Holy Spirit will be with you to give you the words you will need
to reach those you come in contact with. However, you CANNOT go into a bar
and start drinking and expect the Holy Spirit to remain with you. You may
be talking about Christ, but you have gone "back among them", and there, in
that place and state, you are on your own and your wonderful anointing is
gone. You are not doing yourself or anyone else any good.

Wake up every morning and say "good morning Holy Spirit" and thank Him for
His presence. Ask Him to enlighten you and guide you through the day and to
bring you closer to God. Ask Him for revelation and enlightenment and
peace. It is His pleasure to give you this. Keep your temple clean. You
would not love to live in a filthy house and neither does the Holy Spirit.

We do so much "in the world" to insure our own comfort and well being. We
bathe, and brush our teeth, and wash our hair and wash our clothes and shine
our shoes and put cologne on. How much more then as Christians should we
keep our spiritual house and selves clean? Take an inventory of the state
of your spiritual house. Is it cluttered? Is it a mess or just down right
filthy? Then clean house because company is coming. The best guest you
will ever have stay with you. He will be such a wonderful guest, you will
never want Him to leave again......Patti

God is everything to me....

God is everything to me.....

No matter how I try sometimes to work things out on my own, it just never
works out. I must walk daily with my Savior. He is a free gift from God
and so I want to accept this free gift of salvation and love and guidance to
it's fullest every day.

When I say he is everything I mean:

He is my Shepherd - He leads me through every circumstance every day.
He is my Provider - He takes care of my physical and material needs every
day.
He is my Strength - He enables me to work through even the toughest trials.
He is my Counselor - He speaks to me and imparts wisdom to my daily
decisions.
He is my Shield - He puts a hedge of protection around me every day of my
life.
He is my Comfort - He forgives me and encourages me to do better every day.
He is my Father - He blesses me with His holy presence through the Holy
Spirit.

Know that God will never leave you nor forsake you. And when you are going
through a trial, and you think that He is not there, remember this: When
the student is taking a test, the teacher never speaks. He will be just
outside the classroom of your heart waiting to give you an embrace and tell
you, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"

Talk HIS talk, and He will walk YOUR walk!

If You Want to be Great in God's Kingdom....

If You Want to be Great in God's Kingdom....

If you want to be great in God's Kingdom, then you must learn to be a
servant to all. Now there is a statement that will grate on a lot of folk's
last nerve! But it is true. Since the catch phrase which started in the
60's, "Do your own thing baby!", the world has taken on a very self centered
attitude. "Hey, I have a job lined up for this weekend, would you like to
help?" More than likely you will get the response, "I don't know, what's in
it for me?".

In a kinder and gentler era, love of your fellow man was something to strive
for and to be proud of. Where has that gone? Shame on us! The Bible is
full of stories of Christ's kindness to His fellow man, not to mention the
supreme sacrifice of giving His life for us all. The Sermon on the Mount
gave us God's opinion on how we were to behave toward one another and in
general.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall
be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the son's of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is
the kingdom of heaven.

You don't have to be a rock star. Not if you are looking towards a home in
heaven. To achieve the above try this:

Be humble and see Heaven.
Be where you know you should be and not "one of the IN crowd" and be mocked.
Your comfort is in Christ
Be quiet and understated in your words and actions and help others without
boasting. You will be blessed and inherit the earth in the end.
Be obedient to God's word no matter how unpopular it is. God's rewards are
greater than man's and they will satisfy you.
Be kind and attentive to other's sufferings and you will get kindness in
return. God will see to it.
Be modest in dress and actions and in speaking. The whole world may approve
of you, but does God? Seek His approval.
Be slow to anger. There is always a way to avoid anger even if it means
walking away. Your best example is your brother, Jesus.
Be the one that they call a "Jesus Freak", because heaven will be full of
them!

Set it and Forget it!

Set it and Forget it! We should set a time each day to confess our sins. I
do this every morning when I pray. I don't ever want to carry yesterday's
sins into today for today will have troubles of it's own! We try and try to
be good Christians and faithful servants of Christ, but sometimes life can
just unravel all our efforts to maintain peace and composure in our lives.
You could also end each day with asking God, through the blood of Jesus
Christ, to forgive your sins.

Even when we confess our sins we tend to carry them into the new day anyway.
God is faithful to forgive our sins. In 1John 1: 8-10 it says "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness". I have spoken before of God's
INTEGRITY to His own word. God cannot lie. When He forgives our sins He
removes them from His mind as far as the East is from the West. They are
remembered no more.(Psalm 103:12KJV) So don't carry yesterdays garbage into
your new day. Through the blood of our precious Savior, if we confess our
sins, we start each day a new and pure person in God's sight.

The devil loves it when he can get you to dwell on the sins you have
committed. He loves to give you a guilty conscience and tell you that you
might as well give up on being a Christian because you are no good. A no
good sinner. Well, I have good news for you. The devil is a liar!! He
comes only to kill, steal and destroy. But carry these scriptures with you
and the next time you start to remember your sins know that God has no idea
what you are talking about. He has forgiven you. And you can tell the
devil that you are forgiven and victorious through the precious Blood of
your Savior, Jesus Christ. And you can remind him that you know from
reading the bible what you are worth in your Heavenly Father's eyes. And
you can tell the devil you also know his future. His future is separation
for God and chains in the pit are waiting for him. He will leave you and
you will have peace that surpasses all understanding through Christ
Jesus.(KJV Romans 5:1)

So strive for perfection, but know that you are flesh and the flesh is
carnal and will never be perfect. That is exactly why God send His Son to
die for our sins. If we are faithful to repent, He is faithful to forgive.
SET aside a time at the start or finish of each day to confess your sins and
short comings to God and apply the blood of Jesus on them and then FORGET
IT! God has. And when the enemy tries to remind you of your sins just ask
him, "What sin?"............Patti

The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music translates into "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" in
the Bible. (KJV-Psalm 95:1-3, Psalm 98:3-5,Psalm100:1-3) So many churches
are concerned with how they look and act these days. They virtually stifle
the Praise and Worship that brings the Holy Spirit into any service in any
church. God is not partial to any church or denomination. He will be where
2 or more are gathered in His name. But He loves our worship. We are made
in God's image. Do you love praise? Do you like being congratulated? Do
you like someone singing your praises for a job well done? How much more
then do you think God enjoys praise from us, His very creation?

If you work day after day, doing your best for your boss and your co-workers
and month after month there is noting but silence as to your performance.
No one puts you in for a promotion, no one suggests that you should have a
raise, and no one seems to think that you should be paid for your overtime,
and at the least no one says, "great job". Just how long do you think that
you will want to remain at that place and give your very best for people
that don't even care? I hear people complaining that they call on God all
the time (and that usually means when they are in trouble) and they pray all
the time (usually some meaningless memorized prayer) and God never is there.
Well, to those people I can only say that if I were God working for you, I
would have looked for another place to work myself!! Take a little time
each day to sincerely tell God, your creator, thank you. Give Him a serious
portion of your day to communicate and praise Him. He knows your heart.
You must keep Him there everyday if you expect Him to be there everyday for
you.

Patti

Pray Without Ceasing!

Pray Without Ceasing. This is sound scriptural advice.(1 Thessalonians 5:
16-18)NKJV. After all the devil has his demons active in the world on a
24/7 basis. They are out to kill, steal, and destroy around the clock.(John
10:10)NKJV. We must cover ourselves in prayer every day. We should start
and finish each day with prayer. We must daily confess our sins before God.
Did you know that when you confess your sins before God that the sin is
removed as far as the East is from the West. God, by his perfect promise
says that He remembers that sin NO MORE. That is why there is no need to
carry the guilt for things done wrong. When we do not confess those
transgressions, the enemy can come in and condemn us and make us think that
we are filth in God's eyes and are not worthy of Him. Don't let the devil
separate you from your Father in Heaven. His word instructs us on how to
live and stay in daily contact with him through His Son, Jesus. I am going
to advise you to put on your Armor of God everyday.(Ephesians 6)NKJV. Some
of you will say that you don't know how to pray. You don't know how to talk
to God. Below I have listed three prayer's that should be said every day.
Print them off and carry them with you. After awhile, by saying these
prayers, you will naturally learn how to pray and worship. The Holy Spirit
will assist you. Not only assist you in prayer, but coming to the full
knowledge of Jesus Christ who died for you! They Praise and Worship Christ.
They ask for forgiveness. They help you to put on your armor. DON'T LEAVE
HOME WITHOUT IT!!!!

A Prayer of Praise and Worship

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain! Holy are You God! We lift up Your holy
name in praise and worship. We thank You for Your loving sacrifice, Your
ever presence, Your power, Your grace, Your guidance, Your protection from
the evil one. We love You. May our life glorify You. May our actions
please You. May our praise and prayers bless You. Thank You for being our
heavenly Father, our Redeemer, our Savior, our provider, and our friend. We
trust You to carry us through this day and be with us to face whatever we
must face. Please forgive us of our failures, of our sins; and cover us
through the precious Blood of Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy
will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, and the
Power, and the Glory forever. Amen

Put on Your Full Armor of God

Help us this morning to put on the full armor of God so that we can take a
stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, and the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore, we put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, we may be able to stand our ground, and after we have done
everything, to stand firm, with the BELT OF TRUTH buckled around our waist,
with the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS in place, and with our FEET FITTED
with the readiness that comes from the GOSPEL OF PEACE, may we take up the
SHIELD OF FAITH, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
enemy. We take up the HELMET OF SALVATION and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT,
which is the Word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions in praise
and worship to our Lord, Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen

I hope that you find these prayers helpful in starting you on a journey to
Pray Without Ceasing. You will find that there is LESS MESS in your life
with prayer.

Seek and you will find

Seek and you will find. Seems clear enough doesn't it? And yet more and
more people, even Christians are asking, "Where is God?" I ask and ask for
what I want and I don't get it.

The Scriptures do tell us that in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given
unto you, seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
And Jesus also goes on to tell us that if our earthly father's will give us
what we need how much more will our Father in heaven be moved to give to us.
But for those of you reading this that have children I am going to ask you a
question. Let's say your child never has time for you. Informs you that
they have to do their own thing. Never remembers your Birthday or never
want's to be with you on important holidays. But the only time you can
really depend on that child showing up is when they have gotten themselves
in trouble. Or their car has broken down and they have not used judgment in
their finances and are as broken down financially as their car. Or they
need to move back in because they were evicted from their home or kicked out
of school. Sigh. How many of you can identify with this? There comes a
time when you have to practice tough love and teach your child to walk
right. Some times these children can be in their 40's!!

Unfortunately we treat God the same way. "Oh God, if you will just take
this hangover away from me because I think I am going to die, I promise you
that I will never drink again." "Oh God, if you let this lottery ticket be
the winner, I will build you a church." "Oh God, if you keep them from
turning off my phone, I will never call a 900 line again." I would really
love to tap into the prayer line that goes to God for just one day. I think
that it would be an eye opener.

God wants to give to us. He wants us to prosper. But we must be good
Stewards. God will give to you. If you give.(Luke 6:38 NKJV) He will
answer your questions, if you pray.(Matthew 7:7NKJV) He will heal you, if
you believe on his Son.(1 Peter 2:24NKJV) He will forgive your sins, if you
accept His Son, Jesus. Just as you expect respect from your child, God
expects it from you. Honestly now, you are much more willing to help a
child that has been a good child and not the child that has no time for you.
God created you. He loves you. But he is the God of tough love. The first
rule you must learn is that you can only come to Him through His Son, Jesus.
(John 6:44 NKJV)

Spend time everyday with your heavenly Father who is the author of your very
existence. Read His word and grow in Him. The Lord says that His people
perish for lack of knowledge(Hosea 4:6) If you faithfully invest in your
Father, He will gladly invest in you. There is not a stock market in the
world that can give you a return for your investment like God can.

You Can't Out give God!!!

You can't out give God!!! It is impossible. When you give your tithe, you
are blessed and that is a guarantee from your Heavenly Father.
Luke 6:38 says, "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For
with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

My husband and I tithe every Sunday at the church we attend. Ten percent of
his gross income weekly goes to God without fail. Some might say that they
have a lot of debt and that they can't give ten percent. I am telling you
that if you cut down on some things and give that ten percent to God you
will see increase. In the above scripture Jesus himself is telling us the
rewards of tithing. God cannot lie. His integrity is flawless. You give
to God and it shall be given unto you. We not only tithe, but we give above
and beyond our tithe. I am not bragging here, but our tithing has made it
possible to give more. It is addictive. We cannot stop tithing or giving.
It is though we have set up a savings account with God that keeps our
storehouse full. We give to other ministries both in and outside of our
church. We help the poor and needy. We not only give money, but our time
and talent whenever possible. And as a result God has always been faithful.
Again, I am not bragging but simply trying to drive home the importance of
giving to God and His works.

Recently we bought a home. It was not a new home. But it was only about 10
years old. Well, wouldn't you know it, just a month to the day we closed on
the house, the air conditioning system went out. There was no good news, we
had to put in an entire new system and the total cost would be $5400.00.
But, because of the tithing, praise God, the money was there to have the
system installed. Texas in the end of July has temperatures in the upper
90's and lower 100's so an air conditioner is vital. About a week after the
new system was in we received a Homeowner's Warranty in the mail. We were
shocked to see it because we had not requested it. We called our broker and
he told us that the realtors usually just throw it in. I had only scanned
the closing statement on the house and did not remember seeing it. But
apparently we had paid for it at closing. We read through the contract and
found that it had become effective on June 30th. I called them and low and
behold, we are getting our money back! You cannot out give God. He will
fill your life with surprises and blessings every time.

If you only have $10 left after you pay all your bills, then make sure that
you give most of it to God. You are not tithing as you should but God does
know that bills must be paid. So don't just say well, I have $10 left so I
will give 10% of that . Go out on God's limb. Give half of that and see
what God starts to do in your life. So make out a check today and open your
savings account in the International Bank of God's Bounty. You will find
that no earthly bank will offer you an interest rate that even comes close
to God's interest in you!

If you want to be great in God's Kingdom

If you want to be great in God's Kingdom, then you must learn to be a
servant to all here on earth. (1 Peter 5: 5 NKJV) states, "Yes, all of you
be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for therefore
humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, then He may exalt you in due
time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour.

I think my grandmother put it best to me when she told me that the moment in
life when I started to believe my own BS, then I was lost. She told me that
no matter how high I might raise, to always remember who I was and where I
came from. She told me to never climb over people when climbing up any
ladder because I would have to pass the same people on the way down. And
she assured me that there are always "downs" in life. And she told me that
no matter how high I might raise in this world, there was one who was the
"Most High", and in the end , I would have to answer to Him for my life. If
you think you are so big and important that you can dismiss God, then you
are in deep trouble. A wise woman my grandma, God rest her soul.

The world has a saying too. It says we all put our pants on the same
way....one leg at a time. We try to picture this any time someone is trying
to dominate us or when we feel below or inferior to another human being.
But imagine a world where everyone tried to bring out the best in the other
person. Where bosses learned all they could about their employees and
encouraged them to reach a little higher than the place they were the day
before. That would make you feel good would it not? No ones ego would ever
be bruised that way. But the world is not that way and it seems with each
passing year the world becomes colder and less caring had has adopted the
philosophy of "Every man for himself, and he who dies with the most toys
wins!" How sad. Have you ever wondered where we would be if God had taken
that attitude? Did it ever occur to you how incredible it was for God, the
creator of the universe itself, to make himself man, and came to earth to
restore our relationship with Him? We are so beneath God. To me that would
be like the creator of Gumby actually becoming Gumby! Quite a move down
wouldn't you say? And yet God humbled himself even as God to lower himself
to flesh. And what if Jesus took that attitude? He would know that he was
dying for a bunch of folks that had made their bed and should just lie in
it. And to top it off, why should He die for the ones that would not accept
Him? And how about the ones that would accept Him but continue to sin
anyway and refuse to turn from their evil ways? We need to get hold of
ourselves and humble ourselves not only to one another, but to our creator.
When we admit to our Father in heaven that we are truly noting without Him
and be still, then He can truly start to do a work in our lives.

Where are you today? Would you rather be on top of the world here and be
known as mighty to men and lose your eternal seat with God? Or would you
rather help everyone that crosses your path by humbling yourself and sharing
your God given talents with them to help them grow and have an eternal high
position with your creator forever? Recently we got a new Pastor at our
church. To show his and his wife's true hearts toward their new
congregation, they washed all of our feet. Many of us wept at their act of
humbleness. It humbled us as well. And I cannot remember ever feeling that
good before. Want the best high ever? Try humbleness and you will see how
well it fits everyone including you. And you will see that the devil
himself will have a very difficult time in devouring you. The devil likes
to tell all of us that we are being used by others and to go and destroy
them. And by doing so we destroy ourselves . Add humility to your life and
see how much better it will get.