We have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us.
                                                                                      The Apostle Paul
The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"— that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won’t count this time"?
It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you— it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don’t say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now — draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God’s grace through prayer.

"Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him" (James 1:12, KJV).

In Christian art, the crown is usually pictured entwined with the cross. This suggests that endurance of trial leads to victory, as the above verse indicates.

Temptation often comes at our weakest - rather than our strongest - moments. When we have reached the limit of our love and our patience, for example, we are tempted to be unlike Christ in one way or another. Remember, Jesus' temptation began after forty days of fasting.

People usually are impressed - favorably or unfavorably - when they see how we act under pressure. It is possible for one weak act to spoil a whole lifetime of witness.

The beatitude, or blessing, in Matthew 5:10; says, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (KJV).

The crown of life is promised to those who successfully stand up under the testing of their faith. The Christian life is a spiritual conflict from the moment of birth until we go to be with the Lord. The flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. There is absolutely no hope for victory until one discovers the availability of the supernatural resources of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Surrender your life totally, completely to Him and recognize moment by moment, day by day, that the Holy Spirit is the only one who will enable you to endure temptation. By faith you must draw upon His supernatural resources to live a supernatural life. Only then will you be victorious and fruitful for the glory of God.

TODAY'S ACTION POINT: Today and every day I will remember to draw upon the supernatural resources of the indwelling Christ who will enable me to be victorious over temptation and to live the supernatural life as a testimony to His faithfulness.

O God, you raised up the blessed John the Baptist to make ready a perfect people for Christ the Lord. Give your people the grace of spiritual joy and guide the minds of all the faithful onto the path of salvation and peace. Amen.

Kings will stand up when they see you, and princes will bow, for the sake of the Lord who has been faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. Isaiah 49:7

1 Corinthians 7:3 (NLT)
³ The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs.

1 Corinthians 7:5 (NLT)
⁵ Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Couples need to understand that God made them sexual beings to enhance the intimacy of their bond.  While passion may wane with age, it does not end and couples that set their sexual bond to the side weaken their relationship.  For heaven's sake, don't use it as a weapon for control.  This is your act of grace toward them and their fulfillment of your needs.  Treat it right.  Take you time.  Enjoy it.  Regularly. 

God will give you all the grace you will need for this day.  But remember…go to Him bright and early tomorrow morning and He will be waiting for you to give you even more grace…a fresh and ample supply for whatever that day may bring.  The manna will be fresh at sunrise.  There is no better time to gather it in.

Not often do we see two of our church family head home within a few hours of each other.  Ed Mulberry and Jerry Garrett will be sorely missed.  Jerry’s service is Saturday at 10 am at the church.  Ed’s is to follow on Sunday at 2 pm.  Remember their families

We go today to bid farewell to our fellow servant, Michaelene Haysler, minister at the Brownstown Methodist Church.  A kind woman and gentle  servant, her tenure with the pulpit was far too short.  We remember her husband George as he journeys alone now. 

I will also check on Gary Carmichael again today.  His surgeries are complete and now he begins rehab.  Keep him in prayers for the pain and the patience.

Jerry Garrett continues to remain and Leon is tired but both are trusting in the Lord.  Good men, all.

Am I preventing God from doing things in my circumstances by saying that it will only serve to hinder my fellowship with Him? How irrelevant and disrespectful that is! It does not matter what my circumstances are. I can be as much assured of abiding in Jesus in any one of them as I am in any prayer meeting.

It is unnecessary to change and arrange my circumstances myself. Our Lord’s inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father’s plans and directions for Him. Just think of how amazingly relaxed our Lord’s life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of the life which is "hidden with Christ in God" ( Colossians 3:3  ).

Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, "Yes, Lord, just a minute— I still have this to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all right, Lord. I will abide then." Get moving— begin to abide now. In the initial stages it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort. Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future.

Brethren, be joyful. Try to grow perfect; help one another. Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Lord God, King of heaven and earth, guide and sanctify, rule and govern our hearts and our bodies, our feelings, words and actions, according to your law and following your commandments.   With your help, in this world and the next, may we deserve to receive freedom and salvation.

One day in the courts of my God is worth more than a thousand elsewhere.  I would rather be at the doorstep of the house of my God than live in the dwellings of sinners.

Now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God: in his own person he killed the hostility.

Supreme God, your light is brighter than the sun, your purity whiter than mountain snow and you are present wherever I go.  All people of wisdom praise you.  So I put faith in all your words, knowing that everything you teach is true.

In your mercy reveal to me all that I need to know in order to find peace and joy.  Tell me the truths that are necessary for the world in which I live.  I am never tired of hearing from you because your words bring life.

Amen.

Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptized, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the true light that lights all men’s paths to salvation.

  Give us the power, we pray you,

  to prepare for you the ways of peace and justice.

You live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

When was the last time you were discouraged by the advice a friend gave you?

According to Eliphaz, why do bad things happen to people? (4:7-11)

Although Eliphaz claimed that his vision was divinely inspired, it is doubtful that it came from God because later God criticized Eliphaz for misrepresenting him (Job 42:7). Whatever the vision's source, it is summarized in Job 4:17.

On the surface, this statement is completely true — a mere mortal cannot compare to God and should not try to question God's motives and actions. Eliphaz, however, took this thought and expounded on it later, expressing his own opinions.

His conclusion (Job 5:8) reveals a very shallow understanding of Job and his suffering. It is easy for teachers, counselors, and well-meaning friends to begin with a portion of God's truth but then go off on a tangent. Don't limit God to your perspective and finite understanding of life.

1. When is it hard to accept the advice of a friend?
2. What did Eliphaz say about Job’s piety and confidence? (4:6)
3. According to Eliphaz, why do bad things happen to people? (4:7-11)

All the material recorded and quoted in the Bible is there by God's choice. Some is a record of what people said and did but is not an example to follow. The sins, the defeats, the evil thoughts, and misconceptions about God are all part of God's divinely inspired Word, but we should not follow those wrong examples just because they are in the Bible. The Bible gives us teachings and examples of what we should do as well as what we should not do. Eliphaz's comments are an example of what we should try to avoid — making false assumptions about others based on our own experiences.

“The TV is my shepherd; my spiritual growth shall want. It maketh me to sit down and do nothing for His name’s sake. It keepeth me from doing my duty as a Christian, because it presenteth so many good programs that I must see. It restoreth my knowledge of the things of this world and keepeth me from the study of God’s Word. It leadeth me into the paths of failing to attend church. Yea, though I live to be 100, I shall keep viewing my TV so long as it shall work, for it is my closest companion. Its sounds and its pictures, they comfort me. It presenteth entertainment before me and keepeth me from doing important things with my family. It filleth my head with ideas which differ from the Word of God. Surely no good thing will come of my life because of so many wasted hours, and I shall dwell in my regrets and remorse forever.”

How sad.  How true.

Be united in your convictions and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind. There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, so that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead.

“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

“No one needs a smile as much as a person who fails to give one.”

Happy the man who discovers wisdom, the man who gains discernment: gaining her is more rewarding than silver, more profitable than gold. She is beyond the price of pearls, nothing you could covet is her equal.

Have you ever counted how many different types of smiles there are? Hmm . . . don’t try. You will probably lose count if it’s true that we’re capable of over 200 different smiles as some people claim. While there’s no conclusive study that tells us for sure how many smiles exist out there, it’s safe to say many experts agree there are more than a dozen different ones.

Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote, “One can know a man from his laugh, and if you like a man’s laugh before you know anything of him, you may confidently say that he is a good man.”

Solomon made a similar observation, but stated in the negative, in Ecclesiastes 7:6, “A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire.” You can tell a fool from his hollow laughter.

The secret for having a good smile or laugh is found in Ecclesiastes 8:1. It is wisdom that changes the inner disposition of a person. Wisdom “softens the hardness.” Have you ever watched somebody whose life was under the impact of the Spirit of God soften, mellow, and grow easier to live with? That is the work of the Spirit of God.