You Can Depend On God's Watchful Eye

Over the years many songs have been written that have verses which (if you listened to them) could be construed to have been written by God.

i.e. A music group, called the Police, released a song in 1983 titled, "Every Breath You Take." One of the verses was (it may have even been the chorus, I don't really know now)

Every breath you take, every move you make
Every bond you break, Every step you take, I'll be watching you.
Every single day, every word you say
Every game you play, Every night you stay, I'll be watching you.

The Bible teaches us that God, in reality, observes every single thing that we do, everywhere. He is not a disinterested observer.

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake.

No, that is not a verse from a song out of season. That is exactly what we know to be true about God. God is aware of everything in this world!

For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord,
and He examines all his paths.
Proverbs 5:21

Proverbs 5:21 tells us that the Lord is not glancing at us; He is examining and pondering what is happening to us. He does not selectively watch his children. He watches them all! We do matter to Him.

Be careful in this life. "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere..."

Be trusting of Christ. Remember His companionship. God is always around. He is always with you! Just like another song says, What a friend we have in Jesus...

Remember the strength he gives us.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13


God does nothing under the cover of anonymity. Nothing you can do is anonymous in His eyes. He knows you and is watching you.

...keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
Prov 15:3

At times it seems as though evil runs rampant in the world. People hurting other people, stealing, lies, dishonesty and corruption...We have to wonder if God even notices. He does! One day He will wipe out evil and punish the evildoers, just as He will establish good and reward those who do His will.

Believe me, He's watching and He's keeping track.

The Best Day of Your Life

This was the title of this past Sunday sermon. It was awesome!

The key scripture is 1 Timothy 6:6 & 7 "But Godliness with Contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." (NIV)

So from reading this passage we can know that there are 2 must haves:

Godliness and Contentment

Godliness = God Centered Living 1 Cor. 10:31 Godliness is mentioned 12 times in Timothy!

Godliness flees and pursues. 1 Timothy 6:4,5,11

4: A Godless man is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that end in
envy, strife,malicious talk and evil substances.

5: There is constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth.

11: But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Godliness fights the good fight of faith. 1 Timothy 6:12

12: Fight the good fight of 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 is an old Indian wise tale about the story of two wolves living in each man. The younger Indian asks the Grandfather, "How do you know which wolf lives?" The Grandfather responds, "Whichever one you feed."

So feed your faith; don't feed evil thoughts into yourself.

Godliness comes through our knowledge of God. Titus 1:1 & 3

1: Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the
faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.

3: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

Godliness must be worked for. 1 Timothy 4:7 & 8

7: Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train (or work) yourself for godliness.

8: for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Are you working at being Godly?
How are you training for Godliness?

Also, remember this.

Contentment is priceless. 1 Timothy 6: 9 & 10

9: People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

10: For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.


Contentment = not having all you want but wanting only what you have.

Be okay with what you have. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't do your best and strive to be better and have more, but stay in the faith and be content with what you have. God has no tolerance for complainers. (remember the Israelites in the desert for 40 years?)

Contentment understands God's ownership. Job 1:21

21: And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord".

God owns it all. Not you and not me. One thing I've never heard of is a person entering heaven pulling a u-haul. Don't ever turn your back on God and make sure that whatever you are seeking is God's will.

Contentment understands God's sustainability. Philippians 4:11

11: Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned that in whatever situation, I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned
the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

If God brings you to it; He can bring you through it!

So...what is the best day of your life? Today. Right here, right now.
Be content with today. Today is a gift; that's why it's called the present!

Are You 100% Sure...No Doubt?

As the holidays get closer and the Christmas music is blaring on the car radio, we are reminded of the real meaning of the season. Jesus is the reason for the season!!!!!

During the Christmas holidays we should reflect on God's greatest gift to us, the birth of his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who was born to save us from our sins.
So...isn't this the perfect time of year to talk about gifts?

Did you know that you are justified by His grace which is a gift?

Romans 10-9-10
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.


3 Truths of the Gospel


1) I am a sinner!

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

2) Jesus died for my sins!

II Corinthians 5:15
...and He died for all those who live so that they might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised again.

3) I must accept the free gift of salvation!

Ephesians 2:8-9
...for by grace you are saved through faith and this not of yourself is the gift of God not of works so that no one boasts.

Giving Thanks To God Is Like A Fountain of Youth

Are those fine lines becoming deep furrows? Did you used to run to the store and now it takes all you've got to wobble to the mailbox? In your youth, did you eat anything, anytime and now you have to watch your diet? Let's face it...getting old sucks!

BUT it doesn't have to be that way!

Did you know that there is scientific evidence to support the fact that being thankful to the Lord for what we have and living with an attitude of gratitude is good for your health?

Jesus is the King. He doesn't want these things for you. You can open your Bible to just about any page and read of the Lord's promises to us. He is great and deserves to be greatly praised.

Psalm 103: 1-5

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

In a recent study, it was found that university students who regularly counted their blessings and praised the Lord had a much lower incidence of headaches, stomachaches and stress-related illnesses.

Gratitude has shown to be so effective in its link to staying young, being healthy and getting fit that many people are calling it the "Fountain of Youth". Many churches have even started offering workout ministries such as Gospelcise.

If you're already feeling tired and sore, or old and weak, remember Jesus' promises to us all and thank him for those gifts. You can depend on Him to fix things. You can depend on Him and rise up "on wings like eagles".

Psalm 41: 29-31

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

God is BIG, God is STRONG, TRUST in the LORD!

Remember, aging is inevitable, but feeling old is optional!

I Call Them Like I See Them

I call Jesus Lord!!

He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my Prince of
Peace and my covenant deliverer.
He came to save me (and many others) from our sin, from our poverty, from our fears, from our jealousy, our anger, our bitterness, our loneliness, our
confusion, our sickness and our disease and set our
spirits free.

Now in response to all that He has done for us, we need to get in line with His purpose, with His Will and with His kingdom. Let's get prepared for His arrival!

You know the prayer, "Thy kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth ...."

Do we really understand what that means? What is His purpose? What is His Will? What is His kingdom?

Isn't it to save mankind from this world and to save us from the grasp of Satan. Isn't it to redeem us so we can return with Him and He can bring us all to His kingdom? Isn't that why we were saved in the first place?

Along with our salvation we also received benefits such as forgiveness, healing, prosperity, deliverance, the fruits of His Spirit and His anointing.

There is so much that we are not allowing Him to give us when it comes to our inheritance.

There is so much we could use to His purpose and for His glory.

John 14:22 "....Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us
and not to the world at large? Jesus replied: All who love me will
do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make
our home with each of them........."

God is being manifested in us...in US! His manifestation comes when we
position ourselves to receive it...through obedience to His Word,
through our love for Him. Manifestation of His covenant!

Jesus is the covenant deliverer (the deliver of His promises) and through Him we can receive His promises if our minds are set on Him, His purpose, His Will.

We have to tell the world about Jesus, about salvation, about the covenant God has made with us so that many will be saved. Many, many, many.

Your prosperity will come through wisdom and through revelation as you
continue to seek Him in your life.

God knows how to take care of His children.
Jesus knows how to be our LORD and SAVIOR! So, don't worry about that....just love
Him today, get wisdom through His Word and through His anointed teachers.

Remain in prayer listening to Him as He reveals Himself to you and
then agree to do what He has called you to do with all the love in your heart.

Share that love with the unsaved, the captives, the hungry and the neglected.

Bring them the good news!

That is what I'm trying to do when I am sharing my words and thoughts with you.

Are you prepared for His arrival? Get ready NOW!

Do You Ever Feel This Way?

I wonder if anyone feels like this every once in a while. Often times you come
to a point in your life where you need to re-evaluate the status of things. You need to look at things and see if what you are doing is what you really like... or...is what you are doing making you happy?

Jesus mentioned that He came to give us abundant life. Honestly, I can't
think of any other way to live my life than abundantly!! BUT... what does that really mean for me or for you?

Do you really feel alive? Are you enjoying everything that you do?
If not, well...you should....including doing the laundry and cleaning up your kids rooms. WOW!!!! Now that's an incredible idea!

I stumbled across something that has helped me to discover my core values...not
just considering the stuff that is in my head and sounds good, but the true core
values in my heart.

Being alive for me is being happy, frustrated, angry, afraid, scared,
confused, tired...feeling all the feelings that one person can experience. It is actually "feeling" my way through a lifestyle that just keeps experiencing all that God brings to it.

It keeps me expectant of how God works in circumstances beyond my imagination or natural capabilities. I asked the Lord to bring it all to me... the challenges, the changes, new adventures, different experiences and the uncomfortable moments.

Jesus wants me to keep moving, to keep being challenged, to be
frustrated, to be ridiculed at times, to be rejected, to come
across mediocrity, laziness, closed mindsets, to discover, to
succeed, to bless, and to give ... just so that I would keep pushing
myself to a higher level of dependency on Him and really see and feel
what faith is about. So I can really experience what I am made of and what He
is all capable of doing.

Do I believe that God can do anything? Or do I just say that God can do anything? Do I walk the walk or do I just talk the talk? I expect that God will do everything in my life according to my measure of faith and willingness to experience it to its
fullest.

I am not saying that I am done with searching my heart....I keep
praying that His spirit will keep bringing up changes that need to be
made. This is all part of a wondrous process.

The important thing is....that I am willing to go....willing to experience...willing to let go...willing to do whatever.

I can see where God is taking me, what He wants for me, what this abundant life is beginning to look like.

Being in business is not just about work and mone that it generates. It is also about
becoming someone other people want to follow. I am glad I took the time to realize this.

What a wonderful counselor He is! He's searching every area of my
life and bringing light into my darkness.

He is my marvelous Redeemer! My wonderfully amazing Savior who has an
amazing love for me!

Have an abundant day today and be blessed!!!!!

Gisele and Carole

When Things Go From Bad To Worse

A great example of this would be Moses. Being raised by Pharoah's daughter gave him a lot that he would never have had; had he been raised a Hebrew. In fact, being a Hebrew child might have even meant death for him.

But instead he was raised in the house of Pharoah and his life took quite a different turn of events. That is until...

He identified himself with the Hebrew people. They were his people. When suddenly he met up with God then things in his life got worse. God reminded him through the burning bush that he would deliver his people. So Moses began a relationship with the Lord and talked to him about the venture.

After Moses' 1st interaction with Pharoah, Pharoah told him, in no uncertain terms,
"I do not know the Lord and I will not let the people of Israel go". Pharoah's response was in direct correlation to the facts that 1) This was a threat to Pharoah's deity. Pharoah wanted to be the people's Lord and God. He didn't want to relinquish his power and judgement to someone else. He was not willing to submit to another as God. 2) This was a threat to Pharoah's economy. Pharoah was not willing to let his labor force go. The Hebrews were his slaves and did all his work for him. They didn't cost him anything either. So why would he want to give up his free work force.

Finally, after enduring all the plagues which the Lord put upon Pharoah; after his wizards were unable to copy the plagues and God mentions 5 times in the book of Exodus, "I AM THE LORD" does Pharoah submit. It took the mighty hand of God to move Pharoah.

Th story teaches us that we are to be encouraged through our trials and tribulations because problems develop patience and character. This is what happened to Moses even though it started out a very tough road plagued with problems of its own.

GOD Loves Us More Than Anything

We, who believe in Jesus Christ, know that God loves us. We also know
that He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. So He forgives us
everytime that we sin. We know that He has given us freedom to
be who He created us to be and we live in anticipation knowing that He will return very soon to get us...His second coming is called "the Rapture". We will ascend with Him into Heaven and sit at the right hand of God and reign with Him forever afterwards. Right?

Aren't we so lucky to know that we have this to look forward to? That earth is just kind of a waiting room until we go home to be with the Lord. It gives the unsaved an opportunity to discover the joy of knowing Jesus and believing in God.

We can be so thankful for that. In the meantime, we should do the best we can...make God proud of the lives we live especially since we say we are living for Him. Let's not make ridicule or a mockery of the Christian name. I don't know how many people I know of that do this. They really do give Christians a bad name. They are hypocritical, self-serving, arrogant, stingy and a list of other negative traits. People relate being a Christian with some very wrong attitudes. Let's change this.

Let go and let God.

Why Candy Canes Celebrate the Season...

Hello Everyone,

I am sorry I have been absent for so long. I have been in the process of moving to another state and it's been crazy. So finally, I have come back to post why we use the Candy Cane to celebrate the season. After all, Jesus is the reason for the season so we should know how some of the other traditions we have relate to this. Having candy canes at Christmas time is one of them.

There once was a German candy maker. He wanted to make a Christmas candy that reflected Christ Jesus.

1. He made it white, to reflect the purity of Christ Jesus.

2. He made it sweet, to show how sweet Jesus love is for us.

3. He made it hard, to show Jesus is the rock of our salvation.

4. He made it in the shape of a shepherds staff, because Jesus is our shepherd.

5. When you turn it up-side-down, it makes the letter "J" for Jesus.

6. The three red stripes, represent, the stripes Jesus bore for our infirmities.

7. The thick red stripe, represents the blood Jesus shed to pay for our sins.



Shared by Gisele...

So now...when you eat a candy cane you can understand how it came to be. You can also just love the yummy taste!

Christians

by Maya Angelou

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'"
I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!