in MY spirit

TOPIC: Listening to the wrong voice

SCRIPTURE: "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing." (Ezekiel 13:3)

OBSERVATION: My Life Application Study has this to say about this portion of scripture: "This warning was specifically for false prophets, whose messages were NOT from God but were lies intended to win popularity by saying whatever made the people happy. False prophets did not care about the truth as Ezekiel did. They lulled people into a false sense of security, making Ezekiels's job even more difficult."

APPLICATION: As I was reading over this section, the words that caught my attention were, "following their own spirit".
These false prophet were following
THEIR
OWN
spirit.

Have you ever followed your own spirit?

Are you following your own spirit now?

Here what the Lord says to these guys
"It is NOT I who have spoken" (V.7)
" 'Behold, I am against you,' declare the Lord GOD." (v.8)

I could go on but I think you get the point.

It is not good to lead others by your own spirit!
much less yourself

I encourage you
to get alone with GOD
consistently

Learn to listen

Become familiar with His voice

That way you will be able to discern whose voice it is that you are hearing


PRAYER:Father God, help me to spend so much time with you that I will know beyond a shadow of a doubt whether or not it is you, me, or the enemy speaking!!!

Heart Transplant

TOPIC: New Heart

SCRIPTURE: "And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God." (Ezekiel 11:19-20)

OBSERVATION: "One heart" indicates a singleness of purpose. No longer will God's people seek after other gods; they will be content and satisfied with God alone. The hard, deaf, immovable heart of stone will be transplanted with a tender, receptive and responsive heart of flesh.

APPLICATION: This new life can only be the work of the Holy Spirit.
We must recognize
&
turn from our sin.

When we do.
God will give us:
NEW
motives
guidelines
&
purpose.

Have you received your new heart?

If unsure
ask the person
that knows you best!


PRAYER: Father God, thank you for giving me a new heart. Help me to watch over and guard my heart.

Been Spanked Lately?

TOPIC: Discipline

SCRIPTURE: "Those whom I love, I reprove, and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent." (Rev. 3:19)

OBSERVATION: God's primary focus in discipline is NOT to punish BUT to bring his children back to intimate fellowship.

APPLICATION: In the same way and for the same reason (hopefully)parents discipline their kids our Heavenly Father disciplines us.

Know this

Our Heavenly Father
Always Disciplines from a heart of LOVE

BUT

know this also

HE DOES DISCIPLINE

Have you been spanked lately by your Heavenly Father?
If yes

Be glad in this respect
It is evidence that you are a child of the KING

Along with being glad about that fact

Don't forget
to
repent


IF you've never been disciplined
by God the Father
for doing wrong

THEN

You might out to do some soul searching
BECAUSE
It's a very good possibility
That you do not have a relationship with Him

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving me the way you do. Thank you for the way you discipline. Help me to follow your example when it comes to my children.

Make It Snappy

TOPIC: REPENTANCE

SCRIPTURE: "...some in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans." (Rev. 2:14)

OBSERVATION: The Nicolaitans are defined this way by my Life Application Study Bible, they "were believers who compromised their faith in order to enjoy some of the sinful practices of Ephesian society. The name Nicolaitans is held by some to be roughly the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word for "Balaamites." Balaam was a prophet who induced the Israelites to carry out their lustful desires (see 2:14 and Numbers 31:16).

APPLICATION: YES It's human nature, at times we all want to take part in activities that we know are wrong.

When confronted
by friends
OR
By The Holy Spirit

We may make excuses to justify our behavior, saying that it isn't as bad as it seems or that it won't hurt our faith.

BUT

Jesus

Has VERY strong words

for those

who look for excuses

to sin."

"I HATE YOUR DEEDS!" (Rev.2:6)

"Therefore repent, or else I am coming to you quickly..." (Rev. 2:16)

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for reminding me through this passage that sin is VERY VERY harmful and that you take it seriously. Help me not to tolerate sin in my life nor in the lives of my brother and sisters in Christ.

Straight from The BIG Man Himself

TOPIC: Fear NOT

SCRIPTURE: "Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last, and the living One, and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys to death and of Hades."

OBSERVATION: Jesus appeared to John and reminded him of who He is!
APPLICATION: If you are facing difficult times, remember the power available to John and the early church is also available to you.

DO NOT FEAR

Jesus
is
ALIVE
&
WELL


PRAYER: Father God, please forgive me for the times that I live like "you're not all that". Thank you for this simple reminder.

Yes Indeed I'm Walking

TOPIC: Obedience

SCRIPTURE: "For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." (3 John 1: 3-4)

OBSERVATION: The "truth" is the truth about Jesus Christ, as opposed to the lies of the false teachers.

APPLICATION: As I was reading through 3 John the phrase "walking in the truth" was repeated. God has tendency to speak through repetition!

SO

R U walking in the truth?

More specifically

Is the life of Jesus Christ
being lived
in
&
through you?

?

You may need to do a Character Study of the Life of Jesus

Here's a sample to get you started
Character Study of Jesus

Scripture - He believed, lived by, searched, learned from
God - He loved, worshiped, served, sought first, tempted not
Preach - Kingdom is here, repent, perish, be born again
Rejoiced
Lusted Not
Swear Not - let your yes be yes and no, no.
Healed the sick
Resisted not his enemies, prayed for them loved them turned the other cheek, was at peace with
Give - He gave to the needy (food, clothing, time)
Prayed for
Cast out demons
Fasted
Kind
Worried Not
Raised the dead
Judged not
watched out for false prophets
cleansed lepers
Was courageous
Denied Self
Took Communion
Protect and taught children
Did not take titles or recognition
Reconciled backsliders
Made disciples

Hope that helps

&

I hope that will spark your own study


So

according to just that sample

Can you say ,"Yes indeed I'm walking in the truth"?


PRAYER: Father God, help me to allow the Holy Spirit to continually live the life of Jesus in and through me. Holy Spirit thank you for convicting me every time I step out of bounds!

A New Season of Day's Off

Hey Guys,

I did it

I completed my other 3 blogs today.
Thank you for your patience!

Well today is not only my day off
but
it is the first day off in 1o years
that Trisha and I
will have the full day to ourselves

We have 3 girls ages 10 6 & 2
And for the first time
All 3 of our girls are in school.

So we are going to go on a lunch date

I am sooo excited!!!

Hope ya'll have a great day

Joey

This Is It

TOPIC: Obedience

SCRIPTURE: "...observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments..." (I John 5:2-3)

OBSERVATION: As I read over these verses my mind went straight to King Solomon's Book Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 verse 13 which reads
"The conclusion,
When ALL has been heard,
IS
Fear God
&
Keep His Commandments
BECAUSE
This applies to every person."

APPLICATION: Just in case you were wondering that word "every" includes you.

Isn't that awesome?!?!?!?!

Sometimes my kids will say (sarcastically)
OBEY O Yeah!

BUT if they only knew
the continued blessing that comes from living

The Obedient Life!

So how's life?

R

U

OBEYING

God's Word?

PRAYER: Father God, thank you once again for this simple reminder that I just need to obey your word, which also means I need to read your word. Help me to do both!

It's A Choice

TOPIC: LOVE

SCRIPTURE: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

OBSERVATION: Did you catch that two letter word that John included in the verse. "IF", I believe he was trying to drive home a point here don't you?

APPLICATION:I believe that everyone believes that love is important,

BUT

LOVE is usually thought of as a feeling.

REALITY CHECK

LOVE
IS
A
CHOICE

IF you are a Christian
That means
THE HOLY SPIRIT
LIVES IN YOU
&
The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to love

YES

EVEN

THAT

PERSON!

It's TIME
TO Make THE CHOICE

L
O
V
E

Because

LOVE is a Verb

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for this chapter in I John. I know this is what you desire for me. Help me now to make the choice to LOVE others as you do.

Demolition

TOPIC: Partners

SCRIPTURE: "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil." (I John 3:8)

OBSERVATION: Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil!
Did Jesus destroy the works of the devil?
Yes
&
No

APPLICATION: The "no" is where we come into the picture.

Since the works of the devil continue to this day then that can only mean that we are suppose to be about our Father's Business and partner with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit to destroy the works of the devil.

My Life Verse fits with this idea

it's found in Proverbs 21:22 which reads,

"A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the strongholds in which they trust."

So

How do we destroy the works of the devil?

Through ~~~

LOVE

JOEY (Just kidding)

JOY

PEACE

PATIENCE

KINDNESS

GOODNESS

FAITHFULNESS

GENTLENESS

SELF-CONTROL

HUMILITY

FORGIVENESS

TRUTHFULNESS

REPENTANCE

This list could go on and on...

BUT I think that is a good start

So let's get the demolition under way

PRAYER: Father God, you know I love destroying the old and replacing it with something new. Thank you for allowing me to be part of something I love.

Blinded By The Darkness

TOPIC: Anger

SCRIPTURE: "The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes." (I John 2:9-11)

OBSERVATION: Evidently to have hate in your heart toward another person is very detrimental !!!

APPLICATION: As I think through these 3 verses the only thing that comes to my mind is this verse from Ephesians chapter 4

"Be angry and yet Do NOT sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do no give the devil an opportunity." (vv.26-27)

SO PLEASE ! ! !

Deal with your hate

DO NOT

Give the devil
the freedom
to have his way
with you!

Being BLIND is NO FUN

You don't have to
suffer through the darkness.

Join us in the Light
It's Amazing
You can see so much better


PRAYER: Father, help me to live full of love and forgiveness so that when others do wrong I will be able to extend the gift of forgiveness to them.

It's Simple

TOPIC: Confession

SCRIPTURE: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)

OBSERVATION: Notice the word "If"
What does "If" mean?
It means in order to be forgiven and cleansed we must first confess or agree with God that our sin truly is sin and that we are turning from it.
True Confession = involves a commitment not to continue doing the wrong things

APPLICATION: As I read over this verse, for some strange reason, the first thing that came to my mind were the words from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech "Free at Last"

"Free at last
Free at last
Thank God Almighty
I am free at last"

You know

Being a SLAVE to sin

is

no

fun

If you want to be free

It's Simple

Confess your sins to your Heavenly Father

It truly is that simple

So stop right now and start Confessing



PRAYER: Father God, thank you thank you thank you for forgiving and cleansing me THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Get Your Nose Out of My Business

TOPIC: Interfering

SCRIPTURE: "Peter...said to Jesus, 'But Lord, what about this man?' Jesus said to him, '...what is that to you? You follow Me' " (John 21:21-22)

OBSERVATION: Here we see Peter asking Jesus a question. It is a question about John, more specifically about how he is going to die. Jesus replied to Peter by saying, that's none of your business! We seem to have a natural (albeit wrong) tendency to compare our lives to other. But Jesus responds to us as he did to Peter: "What is that to you? You follow me."

APPLICATION: As I read through this chapter in John my mind went straight to a devotional I read several years ago from Oswald Chambers' book "My Utmost For His Highest" (Nov.15). I feel like I am suppose to share with you, it is entitled "What Is That To You?"

It reads:
"One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people's lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God's plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, "He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn't."
You put your hand right in front of God's permissive will to stop it, and then God says, "What Is That To You?"

Is there stagnation in your spiritual life?

Don't allow it to continue, BUT get in God's presence and find out the reason for it.

You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another -- proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, GOD will advise through you with the direct understanding of HIS Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with GOD so that HIS discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness -- consciously serving and consciously devoted to GOD. This shows immaturity and the fact that we're NOT yet in the life of a child of GOD on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to GOD that we are NOT even aware of being used by HIM. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach -- a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what GOD is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint - a saint is consciously dependent on GOD. "

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for reminding me that I need to lead a life that is completely Holy Spirit led.

VACATION WEEK !!!!!!!

Hello to all

Sorry
BUT
I did not get around to completing those other 2 blogs.
Because so much time has past I am going to just delete those entries.

Joey

If you are a faithful reader of this blog
then you know
that on Monday's
because it is my day off
I do not blog
Today is no exception

***This week is my vacation week
Therefore I will NOT be blogging at all

I hope you have a great week
See you next Tuesday (Aug. 19, 08)

Joey

Do you hear what I hear?

TOPIC: Hearing God's Voice

SCRIPTURE: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me..." (John 10:27)

OBSERVATION: This verse says God's children HEAR His voice and they know Him. It doesn't say they might hear His voice. It says they HEAR His voice.

APPLICATION: Parents speak to their children and children hear their parents voices. Children even at a very young age are able to distinguish between their parents voices and others.

God is like a parent
He is our Father
He speaks to His children

Father is talking
Did you hear Him?

Have you ever heard Him?

If NOT
You might not have a relationship with Him

If unsure
Ask Him

& then

Listen
For His response

Do you hear what I hear?

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that I can hear your voice. Thank you that you speak and not only that but that you speak directly to me. Thank you!!!

The Family Business

TOPIC: Ministry

SCRIPTURE: "We must work the works of Him who sent Me..." (John 9:4)

OBSERVATION: I love the way the
New Living Translation words it:
John 9:4 reads, "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the one who sent me..." As I was reading, the word that caught my attention was, the word "We".
Jesus included us in that verse, you and me!!!

APPLICATION: So what does that mean for us
That's simple
We are to be about our Father's Business
What business is that?

To encourage further study
I challenge you to look up passages like these:
Is 61: 1-2; Matthew 10:1-8; 11:4-6; 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-20

Father says

It's time to get to work!


PRAYER: Father God, thank you for allowing me to partner with you in your work, it's so amazing.

True Blue?

TOPIC: The Family of God

SCRIPTURE: "If you are Abraham's children... If God were your Father, you would love Me..."
(John 8:37-42)

OBSERVATION: This passage is centered around the distinction between hereditary and true children. Hereditary= handed down, or legally capable of being handed down, through generations by inheritance holding a right, function, or property by right of inheritance; ancestral background the inherited right to something the transfer of genetically controlled characteristics such as hair color from one generation to the next in living organisms

APPLICATION: As I read over this passage in my Life Application Bible I came across a little commentary that grabbed my attention. It centers around the distinction Jesus made between hereditary and true children. "The religious leaders were hereditary children of Abraham (founder of the Jewish Nation) and therefore claimed to be children of God. But their actions showed them to be true children of Satan, for they lived under Satan's guidance. True children of Abraham (Faithful followers of Jesus) would NOT act as they did.

Your church membership
and
family connections
will NOT
make you a true child of God.

Your true father is the one you:
imitate
and
obey."

So

RU?

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for adopting me into your family. It is so amazing to know that I am your child and that your are my Daddy!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Gushing out?

TOPIC: Spirit-Filled

SCRIPTURE: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38)

OBSERVATION: Here John uses the term living water to refer to the Holy Spirit.

APPLICATION: As I read over this passage the part that jumped out at me was the phrase "will flow".

Is the Holy Spirit flowing through y0u?

To gauge whether or not He is
You need to do a study of life and ministry of Jesus
Look at every instance in which The Holy Spirit is referenced and implied.

THEN

Look at your life

Any resemblances?

Has anyone ever

Could anyone ever

mistake

your life
&
ministry

for
Jesus'
?

Jesus said, if you are one of His
The Holy Spirit "will flow" through you
In the same way
&
for the same reason
He did through Jesus

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for letting us know that our life and ministry is suppose to look like yours.

Nothing

TOPIC: Submission

SCRIPTURE: "I can do nothing on My own initiative, As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (John 5:30)

OBSERVATION: Jesus did not work independently of God the Father, but in union with him. Jesus' purpose was to do the will of God, not to satisfy human desires. When we follow Jesus' example, we should have the same purpose.

APPLICATION: As I read over this verse the word "NOTHING" stopped me in my tracks

NOTHING

Jesus said that He
Could do
NOTHING
own His own
But
ONLY
As He was given permission
by God the Father

Have you positioned yourself
where you are able to do

NOTHING

except

what you hear from God the Father?


PRAYER: Father God, please help me to follow my Savior's example and wait for you to direct me in everything.

NOT where, BUT how

TOPIC: Worship

SCRIPTURE: "But an hour is coming, and now is, where the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24)

OBSERVATION: God the Father is Spirit
He is not a physical being limited to one place.
He is present everywhere &
He can be worshiped anywhere, at any time.
It's not where we worship,
but how we worship
that counts!

APPLICATION: That simply means
that I can
you can
we all can
worship God
anytime
&
anywhere

So

Have you been limiting your worship
to a certain place
at a certain time?

Would you say and more importantly
would those closest to you say
that your worship is genuine and true?

Remember
It's NOT
Where

According to this verse
It's all about
HOW

So

How are we suppose to worship our Heavenly Father?

N
Spirit
&
Truth

This verse says it's a
M
U
S
T
!
!
!

PRAYER: Father God, I am so glad that I don't have to go somewhere to spend time with you. I am so glad that I can worship you right here and now. Thank you for being so accessible.

Eye Contact

TOPIC: Intimacy

SCRIPTURE: "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Isaiah 66:2b)

OBSERVATION: According to this verse there are some prerequistes for ongoing fellowship and intimacy with God
Humilty = Modest Unassuming Meek Lowly Respectful Obliging

Contriteness = Repentant Regretful Apologetic Penitent Remorseful
Reverance = fear revere be in awe of hold in the highest regard


APPLICATION: This is pretty straight and to the point

Would those that are closest to you say

#1.) That you are a person of humility?

#2.) That you have a contrite spirit?

#3.) That you fear the Lord?



To this one

God says

He will look



Has He made eye contact with you?


PRAYER: Father God, thank you for letting me know your terms