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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Celebrate
Read Revelation 11:17 – We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
There is going to be reason to rejoice when our God begins to reign! His will be a reign of righteousness! All doubters will lose their uncertainties on that day. The pundits will be at a loss for something negative to say or write. There will be no agnostics to grapple with the maybes of His existence. The atheist will be absent on that day; sadly where he will be there is no God. The Lord’s church will be robed and singing praises to the Lord, who is the Almighty, and who will reign in power forever. Oh, the celebration of that day which will never end!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Why Prayer?
After reading the book of Acts, I concluded that prayer was an integral part of the problem solving strategy of the first century church. When persecution came, they prayed. When people were sick, they prayed. When there were internal problems in the church, they prayed. The events of the Day of Pentecost that we read about in Acts 2 were the climax of a ten day prayer meeting.
Peter was put in prison and “earnest prayer” took place on his behalf. The example of the first century church in regard to prayer is one we need to emulate today. Whatever the situation or problem we need to pray.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:2 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
It sounds pretty strange to count it joy when you face trials. Wow! That changes ones attitude to look at something difficult as a blessing! To take a trial and make it something rejoiced over is contrary to worldly thinking. What this thinking does is put you in control of all outcomes of your difficulty. You cannot choose life’s tests and trials but you can determine your attitude through them. Instead of the tests placing a saddle on you, now you are in the driver seat and you control it!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:2 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
James says “whenever” and not “if”, a pretty definite statement that trials are an element of life. The intent is to convey to us that many types of trials are coming and everyone is going to be a recipient of them! There are some who think they will be immune from difficulty. It is sad to see those who thought they were on some pedestal high enough from life’s storms. You are not special because you have no trials today! But also remember that you are not targeted when you do have trials in your life! Going through a trial does not mean you are in sin, made a mistake or are loved less. It just means it is your turn to trust the Lord and declare His strength is greater than your storm!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:3 – Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Developing something new can often be an ugly process. To develop a home, a business, or a person’s character is a complex process. It is to build up and to tear down. When our faith is tested, it will result in our lives having perseverance. It toughens us up for life and the best of life. Testing reveals weaknesses and flaws. Finding them now and repairing them will give us strength in the storms of life. The goal is not to look invincible, it is to be invincible! The end result of our testing is not to destroy us but to deploy us for the work of the Kingdom.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read Daniel 9:3 – Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. (NKJV)
A Man’s Model Prayer
Even though Daniel was an exile and was living hundreds of miles from Jerusalem, he still prayed. Verses 4-19 of this chapter contain Daniel’s prayer. Over the next few weeks we will examine this model prayer. This prayer was based upon a promise from God’s Word. Daniel had read Jeremiah’s prophecy about the 70 years of captivity and the return to Jerusalem (verse 2). Daniel knew the 70 years were about up, so he began to pray. His prayer was based upon a promise from God’s Word. There are many promises in God’s Word that we can pray. Be a man that “prays the promises.”
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1: 4 – Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
It may feel like there is not going to be much left of us as we go though trials. We often find there is more in us that can hurt us than can help us. Pride, arrogance, unfaithfulness and a host of other flaws will burden us and keep us from success as a Christian. The trials of life help us realize that we don’t need as much as we think we need! He will not release you for the work immature, incomplete and ill equipped! God is going to work in us before He works through us! If you hold on to the attitudes of the past you will never soar in the altitude of faith! God wants you mature, complete and equipped for the work of the Kingdom!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
How smart is the man who realizes he is not smart enough? So many people have all the tools for success but don’t know how to put the batteries in those tools. We have been given the master key for life if we will be smart enough to use it! “If any man lacks wisdom, he should ask God!” God wants to help us succeed not for our use, but for His use. The complete, matured and equipped man of God knows he can call on God for assistance in his need of wisdom. How smart is the man who knows he is not smart enough? It just depends whether he goes to the world for wisdom or if he goes to Christ, the source of wisdom!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:6 - 8 – But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Asking the Lord for something and doubting He will give it to you is like asking the Lord for nothing! Prayer is not the lottery! Every person who requests from the Lord can receive, but they must believe! Doubt destroys one’s ability to believe. When you are trusting the Lord, you cannot doubt Him at the same time. Consider if you are in a storm at sea and holding on to something in the ship that is immovable. By doing this, you are putting your trust in what you are embracing. If, at the same time, you reach out for things that are blown on the deck by the storm, you have to relax your grip on what you trust to take hold of something untrustworthy. Be firm in your confidence and trust in the Lord and you will receive.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read Daniel 9:4-5 – And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments (NKJV).
A Man’s Model Prayer
Daniel prayed with a heart that was overwhelmed with God’s greatness. He prayed not just because he had need; he prayed because God is great. He prayed because God keeps His covenant. He prayed because God is merciful. Daniel expressed all that in the beginning of his prayer. Daniel was not “buttering up” God, but was expressing sincere praise to God. Our prayers should always flow from a heart of praise to God that is overwhelmed by His greatness. The more I see and understand God, the more I will pray.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:9-11 – The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
Man too often is guilty of looking at what is going on around him today to scale his life. The mentality is that if I have nice clothes, live in a good home and drive a great car then I must be successful! If I have old clothes, rent an apartment and ride the bus I must be a failure! The balance by which you measure your life is not possessions, circumstances, position or power, but relationship with Christ. Having “things” may be nice but one’s joy is shallow if that is his source for life. In the same way, if one is poor and all his life is expressed in desires to be rich then he is shallow as well. All of this around us is passing, fleeting and will soon be gone! Our relationship with Christ is in what we rejoice! Measure your life not by anything other than the bond you have with Christ! Nothing else!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:12 – 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.
Too many men lose in life because they don’t have a clear vision of winning! No one desires to wake up each morning with the burdens of life and not understand why he carries them anew each day. To not understand the reason we fight the fight of faith is to try to live without food. Christ wants us to see the reward so that we can run the race! Our eyes have a further horizon in focus than the world. Our eyes are on the eternal, the everlasting and the exalted Christ! The man of God with the right focus sees past the temporal and fleeting to the permanent and everlasting! If you really want to win lift your sight from the here and now to the Crown of Life promised to all those who love Christ and His appearing!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:13 – When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
God’s allure is never evil! His desire for our life is those things that will make for the best of life. Man has a constant battle in him between that which is good and that which is evil. The tests we have in life contain the temptations of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. But those same tests have the allure for godliness, holiness and sanctification. The test is failed or won by what controls the man. If the carnal man is in the seat of power he will opt for evil. If the Spirit man reigns then he will control the outcome of his test and not be tripped up by the temptations of this world.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read Daniel 9:6-7 – Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day — to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You (NKJV).
A Man’s Model Prayer
In this prayer, Daniel confessed to God that the people had not been obedient to His Word. Disobedience to God is the root of all sin. God sent prophets time after time to warn the people, but they repeatedly refused to listen. Daniel’s heart broke because of the blatant disobedience. Daniel was one of those who had remained faithful to God, so his prayer was a prayer of repentance and intercession. He was standing in the gap on behalf of sinful people. Men, be an intercessor. Instead of always praying for yourself, intercede on behalf of others
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:14-15 – But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
If a man feeds his carnal desires, then he will become a slave to those desires. The truth about sin is it will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you have the ability to pay. The carnal self within each of us never fully dies, it lies in wait on something to inflame it. The Scriptures talk about mortifying the deeds of the flesh. You feed the flesh and it will overpower you, take control and drag you though life. There are two ways to win over the carnal self. One is to not feed it through your eyes, ears, mouth, feelings or touch. The gates of your spirit should be closed to the entrance of the erotic and erroneous. The second way to control the carnal self is to feed your spirit the things of God. The Word, prayer, devotion, holy living and a sanctified life will cause you to desire more of God and less of the world. You empty your life of evil by filling your life with God and His works.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,498 Location: Caldwell Tex
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Read James 1:14-15 – But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
The horror of sin is not how it starts but where it ends up. Its final destination is always the graveyard. The process seems so simple that no man would ever be fooled by its allure. Temptation is presented, then our evil desires embrace the temptation by enticement. The partaking of the desires of the flesh and the temptation of the world gives life to sin. Sin then births death in the man. Ultimately, the soul that sins will die. This is not God’s desire, it is sin’s result. You cannot control the result of sin but you can control the desire for temptation. If you will control your carnal self by the Spirit of God in you then you will never be controlled by the results of sin!
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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 9/25/2007 Posts: 1,504
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sarge wrote:
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
I'm glad you're posting and choosing the wy of life!
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 9/25/2007 Posts: 1,504
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Pastor Bruce,
I agree with Sage.
I look forward to your posts. They are the first thing I read every morning!
God set it up so that if we choose sin, we choose death, but there is life in Him.
In biblical times one of the punishments was to tie a dead body to the person they were punishing. In time, the disease would spread to the man carrying the "weight" on his back and he would eventually die.
And yet we continue to choose sin/death. Paul comments on his battle between the flesh and the spirit. It somehow gives me comfort that he fought the same battle I do and he had the same spirit living in him who is living in me.
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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 9/9/2008 Posts: 2,849
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nestgotjesus wrote:Pastor Bruce,
I agree with Sage.
I look forward to your posts. They are the first thing I read every morning!
God set it up so that if we choose sin, we choose death, but there is life in Him.
In biblical times one of the punishments was to tie a dead body to the person they were punishing. In time, the disease would spread to the man carrying the "weight" on his back and he would eventually die.
And yet we continue to choose sin/death. Paul comments on his battle between the flesh and the spirit. It somehow gives me comfort that he fought the same battle I do and he had the same spirit living in him who is living in me. Very nicely put Kay. I will write you later this evening, something I need to ask you. Hope you are okay and miss you as always.
Your friend,
Sarge  ~ Insults Should Be Written In Sand ~ Compliments Should Be Carved In Stone ~
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