There is a power that is given to each person that will cause us to become men and women of powerful prayer warriors. We absolutely cannot do anything for God without it, yet it is freely given to us if we ask for it. This power is self-control. We must have it according to Scripture. An old dictionary defines self-control this way; 'the ability to check or regulate, to restrain, to govern self in all aspects of life.'
We can possess purity of thought, purity of heart, purity of life even in this day and age with the power of the Spirit of God blessing our minds.
Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Keeping one's mind busy with thoughts that will elevate and ennoble one's character is the formula for success here.
The best way to do this is to memorize God's Holy Word.
Psalms 119:11 "Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."
Proverbs 23:7 "As he thinketh in his heart so is he."
Psalm 24:3,4 "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully."
Here is the secret of self-control, Victory through Christ, what a majestic experience, what a beautiful way to live out our life and the reward is:
Psalm 24:5 "He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." What a promise for us who want to live with God eternally. All through the power of God, through hiding His word in our hearts so that we won't sin against Him. That is the simple way to have Victory over sin, if we really want it. I have memorized a lot of Scriptures in years past, it is harder for me now but I still like to do it and it is a great way to enhance our relationship with God. Try memorizing Psalm 103: 1-5, I think I have finally got it, a wonderful text to start out with, full of promises. Try it you will love it. And your prayers will produce high dividends if we have God's word embedded in our minds. Grandma Joan
Friday, November 20, 2015
Thursday, November 19, 2015
A Precious Heavenly Trait
The world promotes self-esteem and self-exaltation on every side. It is the very essence of life in the world. You hear it wherever you go and whatever you do you are encouraged to have self-esteem and to promote self-exaltation. People do it to get promoted in the job world, it even works in the Christian world, in performances, in leadership, in schools and colleges, wherever you go you will see self-esteem and self-exaltation being promoted as the way of life, the way to get ahead, people trample underfoot others to make it to the top. Isn't it amazing that this trait of character is just the opposite of the Precious Heavenly Trait of Humility.
To be unpretentious, humble, and submissive to God's will is of great value in God's sight, 'Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isaiah 57:15.
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Colossians 3:12 &13 "Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you; so you also must do."
1 Peter 5:5 "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
There are lots more to show us the character traits of meekness and humility but this is enough to show you what it means to God and I didn't read a thing about promoting self-esteem or self-exaltation, did you? If we walk humbly with our God like we are admonished to do we won't have any desire to promote self in any way or to trample on someone else to get to the top. Let's be like Jesus and even if they spit on us, we will not retaliate. Grandma Joan
To be unpretentious, humble, and submissive to God's will is of great value in God's sight, 'Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isaiah 57:15.
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Colossians 3:12 &13 "Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you; so you also must do."
1 Peter 5:5 "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
There are lots more to show us the character traits of meekness and humility but this is enough to show you what it means to God and I didn't read a thing about promoting self-esteem or self-exaltation, did you? If we walk humbly with our God like we are admonished to do we won't have any desire to promote self in any way or to trample on someone else to get to the top. Let's be like Jesus and even if they spit on us, we will not retaliate. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
A Living Faith
I believe God exists, don't you? It doesn't seem to take much faith to believe that. There is too much evidence that He exists for us to doubt His existence. But to have living faith might be different. I am anxious to study this to see what the Bible says about living faith. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that "Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Is that the answer to having living faith?
A living faith is one that increases our spiritual strength, enabling us to develop an unfaltering trust in our Heavenly Father, and in the power of His Holy Spirit, faith will flourish only as it is cherished.
When we pray for it, we might as well seek for the highest degree of faith available. That would be genuine Biblical faith, wouldn't it? It will impart great belief in God, great trust in Him and above all, a loyalty to Him that will make us immoveable, the kind that we read about in Hebrews 11.
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been save through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Faith is a gift from God.
Romans 10:9,10 "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." We must believe until we have a righteous experience and then we will confess to others of our experience.
John 20:30,31 "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. We need to have a life in His name in order to testify to others of His love and as we study the life of Christ and the things He did in the presence of His disciples, our living faith will grow into a great trust in Him and loyalty to Him that will make us immovable
1 Timothy 1:5 "Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith."
It seems to me after reading this study that we must be sincere in our study of His word and spend time studying His word every day, I prefer early morning when my mind is fresh. We must realize that God has already instilled in us His gift of faith and it will grow as we commune with Him and learn to really have a genuine relationship with Him, Then we will testify of His supreme love for us and the salvation that we have in Him through His living faith that He imparts to us. What a wonderful experience this will be as we contemplate what this living faith will do for us as we study to have a closer walk with Him and to really be someone that He can impart this living faith to and someone that will share it with others and in the process we will be saving ourselves an others.
Grandma Joan
PS. I have only touched on this to stimulate your study, there is so much more, please don't stop here but continue to study and show yourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed.
A living faith is one that increases our spiritual strength, enabling us to develop an unfaltering trust in our Heavenly Father, and in the power of His Holy Spirit, faith will flourish only as it is cherished.
When we pray for it, we might as well seek for the highest degree of faith available. That would be genuine Biblical faith, wouldn't it? It will impart great belief in God, great trust in Him and above all, a loyalty to Him that will make us immoveable, the kind that we read about in Hebrews 11.
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been save through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Faith is a gift from God.
Romans 10:9,10 "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." We must believe until we have a righteous experience and then we will confess to others of our experience.
John 20:30,31 "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. We need to have a life in His name in order to testify to others of His love and as we study the life of Christ and the things He did in the presence of His disciples, our living faith will grow into a great trust in Him and loyalty to Him that will make us immovable
1 Timothy 1:5 "Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith."
It seems to me after reading this study that we must be sincere in our study of His word and spend time studying His word every day, I prefer early morning when my mind is fresh. We must realize that God has already instilled in us His gift of faith and it will grow as we commune with Him and learn to really have a genuine relationship with Him, Then we will testify of His supreme love for us and the salvation that we have in Him through His living faith that He imparts to us. What a wonderful experience this will be as we contemplate what this living faith will do for us as we study to have a closer walk with Him and to really be someone that He can impart this living faith to and someone that will share it with others and in the process we will be saving ourselves an others.
Grandma Joan
PS. I have only touched on this to stimulate your study, there is so much more, please don't stop here but continue to study and show yourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
The Goodness of God
Have you ever thought about 'how good God is'? or how He demonstrates His goodness to us? or what does His goodness mean? Personally, I have never given it a lot of thought until now. I have always known He was a good God, and gave us good gifts and wants us to be like Him, but never thought about all the goodness he bestows upon His children, I guess I just took it for granted. I am so sorry that I would take anything from God for granted. That is a selfish attitude, just to expect things from God and not consider His goodness, so just now let's consider His goodness from His perspective.
Exodus 34: 6 "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth."
Psalm 31:19 "Oh, how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men."
Psalm 52:1 (last part) "The goodness of God endures continually"
God's Goodness Manifested in Material Blessings:
Matthew 5:45 "That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
Acts 14:17 "Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
Psalm 86:5 "For You, Lord are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you."
Psalm 145:7 "They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness."
Jeremiah 31:14 "I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord."
Are you satisfied with His goodness? It is a terrific encouragement to know that the Lord is more than eager to provide us with His goodness, and to enable us to experience successful, victorious Christian living through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit if only we take the time to daily ask for it."
Grandma Joan
Exodus 34: 6 "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth."
Psalm 31:19 "Oh, how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men."
Psalm 52:1 (last part) "The goodness of God endures continually"
God's Goodness Manifested in Material Blessings:
Matthew 5:45 "That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
Acts 14:17 "Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
Psalm 86:5 "For You, Lord are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you."
Psalm 145:7 "They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness."
Jeremiah 31:14 "I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord."
Are you satisfied with His goodness? It is a terrific encouragement to know that the Lord is more than eager to provide us with His goodness, and to enable us to experience successful, victorious Christian living through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit if only we take the time to daily ask for it."
Grandma Joan
Monday, November 16, 2015
Gentleness A Valuable Asset
Gentleness is a powerful attribute for the Christian to attain to. Gentleness is mildness combined with tenderness. A great attribute to be gentle in all our words and actions. I am sure that you have been treated harshly at one time or another, it hurts doesn't it? It definitely does hurt, I have been there and it hurts so bad sometimes you just wish you get away from it but can't, your stuck where you are, but if we are Christians and profess to be, then we should be gentle at all times and with all people. Isn't that right? Mildness combined with tenderness, what a virtue to obtain. I surely want to be like that, don't you. It sounds so good and if I treat people with mildness and tenderness, just maybe I will receive the same in return. Probably not always but we can always be mild and tender to those who are harsh with us.
Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Rest for our souls, an appropriate blessing for our souls.
Titus 3:1 & 2 "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men."
2 Timothy 2: 24 -26 "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
We want to be like Jesus in all His character traits, and we will be if we surrender all our ways to His ways and ask for an infilling of His Spirit. He will come in and cause us to want to do His will and give us the strength to do it. It is a miraculous thing to give your self and all you are and have to God to do His will in your life. You will never be the same again, never, unless, you decide you don't want to live in His will. This is a daily, morning request by us to be filled with His Spirit, not just when you think you need it but we need Him every day all through every day. I really don't know how else to put it. It is so powerful that it is hard to explain but it really truly works. Please try it, you will love walking with God day by day just like Enoch did in Bible days. Grandma Joan
Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Rest for our souls, an appropriate blessing for our souls.
Titus 3:1 & 2 "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men."
2 Timothy 2: 24 -26 "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
We want to be like Jesus in all His character traits, and we will be if we surrender all our ways to His ways and ask for an infilling of His Spirit. He will come in and cause us to want to do His will and give us the strength to do it. It is a miraculous thing to give your self and all you are and have to God to do His will in your life. You will never be the same again, never, unless, you decide you don't want to live in His will. This is a daily, morning request by us to be filled with His Spirit, not just when you think you need it but we need Him every day all through every day. I really don't know how else to put it. It is so powerful that it is hard to explain but it really truly works. Please try it, you will love walking with God day by day just like Enoch did in Bible days. Grandma Joan
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Long suffering, a Divine Attribute.
Longsuffering is very patient, I can sure use this attribute a whole lot, couldn't you? Patience or longsuffering is not the easiest character trait to develop, as a matter of fact, we cannot develop it ourselves without God's help, I'm talking about the heavenly attribute of longsuffering.
To appreciate this character trait, all we have to do is look around us at the world of abuse, crime and wickedness and we can see how much we need longsuffering or patience. Distress and perplexities are all around us and the worst ones are the ones that are inflicted on us by others. Sometimes it amounts to harsh and cruel treatment my those who have no control over their tongues.
James in the third chapter, compares the human tongue to a little fire that turns into an inferno doing vast damage. To survive such experiences one has to receive special help in the form of longsuffering, another attribute of heavenly origin.
When God met with Moses on Mt. Sinai He declared Himself to be, 'The Lord God, merciful, gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth.' Exodus 34:6.
If we seek a baptism of this heavenly grace, on a daily basis, we will be able to put up with the short comings of others, and be able to pray for a divine blessing on their lives also. Then like the apostle Paul we will be able to say, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' Philippians 4:13.
I want so much to be patient and longsuffering with others, don't you, it really is a heavenly attribute and only the Holy Spirit can impart that into our lives. It is very much needed in this day and age of all other times in this world's history, this is an attribute that we all need so very much. Grandma Joan
To appreciate this character trait, all we have to do is look around us at the world of abuse, crime and wickedness and we can see how much we need longsuffering or patience. Distress and perplexities are all around us and the worst ones are the ones that are inflicted on us by others. Sometimes it amounts to harsh and cruel treatment my those who have no control over their tongues.
James in the third chapter, compares the human tongue to a little fire that turns into an inferno doing vast damage. To survive such experiences one has to receive special help in the form of longsuffering, another attribute of heavenly origin.
When God met with Moses on Mt. Sinai He declared Himself to be, 'The Lord God, merciful, gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth.' Exodus 34:6.
If we seek a baptism of this heavenly grace, on a daily basis, we will be able to put up with the short comings of others, and be able to pray for a divine blessing on their lives also. Then like the apostle Paul we will be able to say, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' Philippians 4:13.
I want so much to be patient and longsuffering with others, don't you, it really is a heavenly attribute and only the Holy Spirit can impart that into our lives. It is very much needed in this day and age of all other times in this world's history, this is an attribute that we all need so very much. Grandma Joan
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Heavenly Peace
Everyone seeks peace, but because there are varying degrees of peace, what do you say that we seek the very best peace there is. I want that peace that passeth all understanding, don't you? There are lots of counsel on peace and we will start with the one I just quoted out of context.
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Can you imagine what kind of peace that would be? It passes all understanding and will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Psalm 119:165 "Great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them." I experienced that not too long ago. We can have God's peace so that nothing does offend us and we can still love the person that offends us. It is a great reward for being one of Christ's followers.
Proverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh his enemies to be at peace with him."
Yes, I believe this with all my heart, even our enemies will be at peace with us. How great that kind of heavenly peace is, we would desire this with all our hearts, I'm sure. This is the greatest peace of all.
This kind of peace brings pleasant, relaxation by imparting a mental or spiritual state of mind that frees us from disquieting and perturbing fears. I think of Jesus who slept in a boat through a storm an Peter who slept soundly the night before his scheduled execution. Both had that heavenly peace that passes all understanding. We need that same freedom from fear today, don't we?
How can we acquire that kind of peace? When the Holy Spirit, the representative of Christ on earth imparts heavenly peace to someone, He completely delivers that person's mind from fears that would make him or her anxious or restless. Can you imagine that kind of peace, that would deliver our minds from any fear that would make us restless or anxious? I am all for that kind of peace, aren't you. Let's pray for heavenly peace, for the Holy Spirit to fill us with that kind of peace. Grandma Joan.
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Can you imagine what kind of peace that would be? It passes all understanding and will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Psalm 119:165 "Great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them." I experienced that not too long ago. We can have God's peace so that nothing does offend us and we can still love the person that offends us. It is a great reward for being one of Christ's followers.
Proverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh his enemies to be at peace with him."
Yes, I believe this with all my heart, even our enemies will be at peace with us. How great that kind of heavenly peace is, we would desire this with all our hearts, I'm sure. This is the greatest peace of all.
This kind of peace brings pleasant, relaxation by imparting a mental or spiritual state of mind that frees us from disquieting and perturbing fears. I think of Jesus who slept in a boat through a storm an Peter who slept soundly the night before his scheduled execution. Both had that heavenly peace that passes all understanding. We need that same freedom from fear today, don't we?
How can we acquire that kind of peace? When the Holy Spirit, the representative of Christ on earth imparts heavenly peace to someone, He completely delivers that person's mind from fears that would make him or her anxious or restless. Can you imagine that kind of peace, that would deliver our minds from any fear that would make us restless or anxious? I am all for that kind of peace, aren't you. Let's pray for heavenly peace, for the Holy Spirit to fill us with that kind of peace. Grandma Joan.
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