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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Be Strong and Courageous
Read Joshua 1:7 – Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Smart men make a plan for their lives. Courageous men follow that plan in tough times to find success. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel to have a plan for success in life. Men who followed God’s plans were thrown into prisons, yet ended up ruling kingdoms. They were cast into dens of lions, yet became princes in strange lands. God’s plan is not to keep you from hard times in life. His plan is to make you a leader in spite of the hard times.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Be Strong and Courageous
Read Psalm 27:1 – The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
With the Lord as our light and salvation whom would we fear? Have the courage to remember Whom you are serving in tough times. God is your defense, your salvation and your light, which means He is all you need every time you need Him. No bully, no situation and no darkness is stronger than your God. Declare to your situation that the Lord is there for you, and because He is there, you have all you need!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Be Strong and Courageous
Read 2 Chronicles 32:7 – Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.
What are you focusing on today? If you look at the great armies coming at you, it will overwhelm you with fear. If you are gazing at the ferocious kings and leaders of your world, it can be enough to make you want to find a hole in the ground and pull the earth over you. What you focus upon is going to determine your attitude. Look past the evil and ugly of the world we live in and focus on Christ and His Word. He will give you courage to fight. His Word will give you strength to stay in the battle. If your focus is on Christ, you will be able to pass through your battles as if they were mere vapors. Be strong and courageous in Christ!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Greatness
Read Matthew 20:26-27 – Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.
In many cases what may be considered of great importance in the corporate world would be considered insignificant in the church. The church is not an organization; it is an organism! While there is order in the organism, it is not there for order. It is there for life, and to reproduce life. What is exemplified in the corporate world as leader qualities would not be so in the church. Universally, the world is about power, prestige and political correctness. Not so for the leaders in the church! For they lead by washing feet and carrying heavy loads for others. It is not about holding a title in the Kingdom. It is about holding a towel. So, are you great in your leadership role, or do you just look like the rest of the world?
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 7/1/2008
Posts: 542
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I agree. Jesus Himself became humble.We are told that though He was rich he became poor for our sakes.I dare say that a lot of church leaders,as well as other Christians would not sit down at a table with the homeless, or addicted and eat what they are eating.Most want to help, as long as they don’t have to leave their comfort zone to do it.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Greatness
Read Philippians 3:8-9 – What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Catching glimpses of huge mansions owned by notable people with great wealth causes most of us to drool and momentarily wonder about living their life. No one ever came across a missionary like Mark Buntain and wanted what possessions he had, because he had nothing you would want. I don’t remember anyone fighting over the riches of Mother Teresa after her death. She didn’t have anything to fight over! In the Kingdom of Christ, great is not measured by where we live, but how we live. Great is not measured by what we have to sell, but whether we are sold out to Christ!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Greatness
Read Revelation 20:12 – And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
One day we will all stand before the Lord and be judged by Him for our walk on earth. Whether we come from a large nation or a small nation, we will be there. Whether we are very poor or have great wealth, we will all be judged. Great and small in every category of life will walk past His throne to give account of their lives on this earth. The common denominator that every man has to meet to have eternal life is that he has accepted Christ as Savior and made Him Lord of his life. Have you accepted His free gift of salvation, and have you lived for Him since that time? His gift to you is His life, and your gift to Him is your life!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Greatness
Read Psalm 37:3-4 – Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Our Lord is looking for “trusters,” “good-doers” and “delighters” so that He can bless them. I know the grammar may be wrong, but the truth is that Christ looks for men who will choose His ways over the ways of the world. He is looking for men who will trust Him with all of their hearts. He is looking for men who will do good even when the opportunity to not do good is present. He is looking for men who will delight in doing the work of the Lord rather than living as if it were drudgery. The result of such a man is that God will give that man the desires of his heart.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Greatness
Read James 2:23 – And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
Abraham, who had no land, ended up with more land than he could put his eyes upon. Abraham, whose wife was childless and who was into his old age without ever having cribs in the house, ended up with descendents around the world. He was a man at whom the world would have laughed, but he had two things that gave him everything he needed. He had the promises of God, and a belief in those promises. With those two things, he changed not only his world, but our world. God gave to him everything He promised because Abraham believed God’s promise when everything in his life was to the contrary. So what about you and me? Do you believe what you are seeing in your life, or do you believe what God has promised you? Great men are not led by their failures or successes, but by their values and dreams!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Fight
Read Romans 13:14 – Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
The imagery of this verse is of a soldier putting on his war gear to go into a battle. If the commander of an army was to give this command to his soldiers, it would be for them to make ready for war. If you are going to the battlefield, you do not dress for a day at the beach. A soldier who is going to war is not too concerned with the value of the housing market or the newest clothing line. He is focused on the battle; he has dressed to fight. If one “puts on” Christ, he is declaring to the world that his focus is on the fight in front of him and not the frills around him.
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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 9/25/2007 Posts: 1,504
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I received an email from a person I thought was my friend this morning.
I chose to not take offence, to not take what was said into my spirit but rather to focus on what God has given me today.
I have life, a beautiful day and I can hang out clothes!
I walked out on my back porch and there in my potted plants, my bulbs were starting to come up. I thought I had lost them in the freeze but they were a blessing to me this morning.
It may not seems to be much of a "fight" but it was a battle for me.
God is good. I love the peace He gives me when I choose to do things His way.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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nestgotjesus: Every day there is a Psalm to be read. Psalm 116: 7 - 8 7:Return unto your rest, O my soul; for the LORD has delt bountifully with you. 8:For you have delivered my soulfrom death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. brbruce brbruce@rockinga.org
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Fight Read 1 Timothy 6:12 – Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. There are times when men have to fight to keep the faith. It is a personal fight for most of us. Sometimes we have to fight our own insecurities, failings and hurts to keep our salvation in focus. There are days we may not feel like we have changed much from our past. It is our belief in Christ and our profession of Christ as Savior that has saved us. The enemy reminds us of our past to pull us back to it; Christ reminds us of His presence to push us forward to the future He has planned for us. Fight to stay in Christ, and to not be of the world brbruce@rockinga.org
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Fight Read Joshua 10:8 – The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." Life would have been easier for Joshua if God would have said that there would be no battles in front of him. The truth is, we will not hear the voice of God if we don’t have battles. If we are going nowhere and doing nothing for Him then we will find His presence to be absent and His voice silent. If you receive the Holy Ghost’s power, it is because you need the Holy Ghost’s power! God’s miracles are not a magic show put on for your enjoyment. Miracles are God’s presence as you go out to war to bring victory through your battles! brbruce@rockinga.org
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Fight
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 – For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
If your roof is leaking and you place a bucket under it to catch the water, you are generating a short term solution to a long term problem. So many of our solutions to our long term problems are like the bucket under the leaking roof. The fix for lust, lying and all the other acts of sin is not better discipline, but a commitment to Christ. What is in you will determine the acts you produce. If you will fill yourself with Christ, then the desires of the flesh will turn into acts of Christ. You cannot quit sinning through a New Year’s resolution. You quit sinning by a new life in Christ Jesus.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Victory
Read 1 Kings 18:39 – When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"
Years ago, ABC Sports had an opening line for their show that read, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!” The resulting defeat or victory came with all participants working extremely hard and making great personal sacrifice. It was not a battle between good and evil, but good and better. In some instances, there was a millisecond difference between who wept and who rejoiced. In the moment we face Christ, those who weep and those who rejoice will be decided not by how we lived, but who we lived for. The commitment of a life to Christ is a guarantee of victory over defeat!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Victory
Read 2 Timothy 4:7 – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
In the moments before our departure from this earth, we will not sit and relish in what we have or how we obtained the things we possess. When a person leaves this world, others look at what that person gave more than what they acquired. Victory over this life is being able to say you lived in this world without becoming of this world. Paul’s words in today’s verse were written near the time of his earthly departure with no regrets about his visit. He found victory in knowing he had done his best!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Celebrate
Read Luke 15:32 – But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.
There are times when celebration is absolutely appropriate. The cause for celebration may come at a moment when you least expect it. It may come at a time when it looks like all hope is lost. In the Super Bowl, the team that barely made it there may find themselves in the last seconds of the final quarter losing the game. Surprisingly, an intercepted pass results in the score needed to give the team the win. You had better believe that the team, coaches and fans will celebrate wildly! Remember the occasions God has given you to celebrate in life, and allow these to fill you with anticipation of what God can do in the future.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Celebrate
Read Isaiah 61:10 – I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
We will delight greatly in the Lord! Our souls shall rejoice in our God! He has clothed us in salvation and righteousness, two things we would never obtain for ourselves. No matter what we do, there would be no agent in us able to cleanse us from our sin. Yet, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all our sin. We have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. What a reason to rejoice greatly in the Lord!
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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 9/9/2008 Posts: 2,849
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Pastor Bruce,
Just wanted you to know I thoroughly enjoy this topic and I believe several others do as well. Your thread is definitely a nice place to relax and learn. Keep up the good work.
Your friend,
Sarge~ Insults Should Be Written In Sand ~ Compliments Should Be Carved In Stone ~
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