God is with you

  "Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. II Kings 6:16-17

    Think miracles! God has everything under control. Keep your eyes on Him and not on your circumstances. "Fear not, for I am with you . . . " Elisha's servant was no longer afraid when he saw God's mighty heavenly army. Faith reveals that God is doing more for His people than we can ever realize through sight alone. When you face difficulties that seem insurmountable, remember that angels are there even if you can't see them. Look through your eyes of faith and let God show you his resources. If you don't see God working in your life, the problem may be your spiritual eyesight, not God's power. What are your eyes on today? I pray that your eyes remain fixed on Jesus Christ our Lord. God Bless you, J.H.

Promise of Protection
"For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Psalms 91:11

 It's a dangerous thing to be on your own and away from God. Doubtless we would shudder and rejoice if we could see the Lord working behind the scenes of our lives keeping us from the many dangers that fall across our path. Wherever you go today, remember that God is watching you and protecting you. God bless you, J.H.

Believe

  "And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." James 5:18

      Here is the story of a man who, through faith and prayer, opened up Heaven. He is not in a class by himself. "These signs shall follow them that believe." Heaven will still open to those who approach it on the Lord's terms. "If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." God Bless you, J.H.

You are Not Alone

    "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." Acts 18:9-10

   In a vision, Christ told the apostle Paul that He had many people in the city of Corinth. That promise pertains to us today. Despite how we may feel: alone and unguarded; He says that we are not alone. God has people all around us, in order to help us and support us in our times of need. Whether it be for a word of encouragement or an actual Church body to worship with, we can count on the fact that God has brought us to a place where fellow Christians will help to guide us and protect us. We need to be reminded of God's promise because too many times, we try to go it alone. Our battle with self-centeredness is such that many times we feel that we are the only ones going through, and that nobody will understand, or we are too ashamed to admit that we need help. Beyond that, the body of Christ should be the most powerful force on the planet, yet is silent in so many areas. The acts of compassion that Christ called us to should be front page news. When a politician introduces a bill that affects the well-being of our children, we as the body should bombard his/her office with letters and emails. The body of Christ should be battling issues like hunger, poverty and abortion on a global scale and not leave it to the mega-church leaders like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes. Think of what the body could accomplish if we came together? In the words of the Casting Crowns: A traveler is far away from home He sheds his coat And quietly sinks into the back row The weight of their judgemental glances tells him that his chances Are better out on the road But if we are the Body Why aren't His arms reaching? Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching? And if we are the Body Why arent His feet going? Why is His love not showing them there is a way? That is the question. God Bless you, J.H.

Refined by Fire

  See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10

Do you find it easy to complain when your life becomes complicated or difficult? Why would a loving God allow all kinds of unpleasant experiences to come to his children? This verse shows us plainly that God tests us in the "furnace of affliction." Rather than complain, our response should be to turn to God in faith for the strength to endure, and rejoice in our sufferings (see Romans 5:3; James 1:2-4). For without the testing, we would never know what we are capable of doing, nor would we grow. And without the refining, we will not become more pure and more like Christ. What kinds of adversity are facing today? I pray that you find God working in your circumstances and reach out to him for courage and strength. God Bless you, J.H.

The Love of God

   For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

These verses contain one of the most comforting promises in all Scripture. Believers have always had to face hardships in many forms: persecution, illness, imprisonment, even death. These would cause anyone to fear that they had been abandoned by God. But Paul exclaims that it is impossible to be separated from Christ. His death for us is proof of His unconquerable love. Nothing can stop Christ's constant presence with us. Regardless of what we feel, regardless of what we are going through, regardless of what we have done, God loves us. His sacrifice was for you. You must accept that by faith again today. Knowing what Christ did on the cross and ACCEPTING what Christ did are two different things. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we are not in need of a savior. Well, Paul is trying to convince you otherwise. God tells us as plainly as He can how great His love is so that we will feel totally secure and at peace in Him. If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will never be afraid. What do you fear today? Remember His promise and let the Love of Christ fill you with Peace that surpasses all understanding. God bless you, J.H.

In All Things

  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
   God has everything working for you, though at the moment it may seem to be going against you. Just because we can't see it is no sign that He is not doing it. "If God be for us, who can be against us." God works in "all things" - not just isolated incidents - for our good. God is able to turn every circumstance, even the bad ones, around for our good. God is not working to make us happy, but He is working to fulfill His purpose. But I can tell you, there is no greater joy except for those who are being obedient to God's word and fulfilling their purpose in Him. Where is your joy today? I pray that you "see" God's hand at work in your life today, in all things. God Bless you, J.H.

When Barbara and I went out to a farm and chose the Goat for our fundraising purposes, I think we both believed that we were not acting on impulse, but rather we were being guided by the Spirit and that this was indeed the goat God had for us.
Soon after we got him home it became very apparent that this was not a goat like God gave us last spring. There was just nothing sweet about him and we decided rather quickly that we must have made a mistake and we should save ourselves the embarassment of using this stinky, ornery little goat for fundraising and just dispose of him quietly.
 We advertised him, but we just didn't have alot of interest...and I had plans to take him to the Rare and Exotic sale...but as it happened, even tho I very rarely need to work saturday, the saturday before the sale my boss asked me to work so I wasn't able to get the goat to the auction!
  In the mean time I kept hearing about using what God gives you and moving forward in faith...so finally, after discussing it with the girls, that is what we did.
I think our Goat Raffle has been a huge success. We raised some money for Barbara's mission to Zimbabwe and for Marianna's mission to Zambia, but even more we really raised awareness about Teen Missions International and the teams the girls will be on. We even got some coverage in the local paper...and we had some fun!

  It isn't about the goat, it isn't about myself or even Barbara's or Marianna's desire to serve in Africa. It is really about God...and our God is not lacking, if we are willing and obedient it really doesn't matter how much our goat stinks God will do great things!

Power

         

     By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. Hebrews 11:30

There is no wall thick enough or fortified enough to stand against one seed of faith. On with the march, Christian Soldiers! Faith, praise, power and obedience will see the walls down and the windows of Heaven open. The power of God is immense and never-ending. We cannot even fathom what God has in store and what He is prepared to do, if we would but ask. I pray for courage, discernment and wisdom for everyone reading these words so that they could see Your powerful hand moving and working in their lives today. Father, we thank you for what You have done and what You are doing, in Jesus' Name. God Bless you, J.H.

Who needs a card when you could send a goat - News - The Moose Jaw Times Herald#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook

Who needs a card when you could send a goat - News - The Moose Jaw Times Herald#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook#.TsJzYDwQlri.facebook

O.K.  I don't know how to add a nice link, but this works!

Spoken Faith

And the Lord said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. Luke 17:6
    Words are powerful. Spoken faith is a mighty force capable of bringing to pass what appears to be impossible. What impossible obstacles are you facing today? What are you going through that is just weighing you down and shows no signs of letting up? Dare to believe God for anything. Lord, we believe You for great miracles today in Jesus' precious Name. Amen.


And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once, and possess the land; for we are well able to overcome it." Numbers 13:30
   Don't you like to hear someone who follows a negative report with some straight forward talk expressing a God-given faith? You be that person. Believe God for anything. Speak your faith and He will surely come through. "If God be for us, who can possibly be against us?"
 God Bless you, J.H.
 

What do you Believe?

 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him.
1 John 5:14-15

The emphasis here is on God's will, not our will. When we talk with God, we don't demand what we want; rather we discuss with Him what He wants for us. If we align our prayers to His will, He will listen; and we can be certain that if He listens, He will give us a definite answer. Start praying with confidence today! Many of us find things in His Word and begin to wonder if it's for us. Take Him at His Word. Believe what He says. Our faith in God has to be built on trust in his Word. Do you believe what He says? Do you believe that it applies to you? Do you believe that the miracles that are recorded in the Bible can take place in your life? As Christians, we will automatically answer, "Yes" to those questions, but when we search deep down into our souls, we begin to realize that our faith is not as strong as we thought; that doubt and fear tend to well up and eat away at our faith. But I ask the question again: Do you believe what God says? Either the Bible is all true or it's not. There is no middle-ground. You cannot pick and choose which parts of the Bible work for you and which parts fit into your idea of who God is. He is who He says he is. Period. If your faith is weak, your concept of God is incomplete and your prayer should be simple: "Lord, increase my faith." And He will answer your prayer.
God Bless you, J.H.

Move Mountains

  "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:23-24

  The kind of prayer that moves mountains is prayer for the fruitfulness of God's kingdom. Time after time, Jesus told his followers, "The Kingdom of God is at hand." The Kingdom of God is here now and it is moving through the hearts of His people. The love of the church through the fellowship of believers is what the Kingdom is all about. "Love your neighbor as yourself." It would seem impossible to move a mountain into the sea, so Jesus used that picture to say that God can do anything. God will answer your prayers, but not as a result of your positive attitude. To pray effectively, you need to resolve and strengthen your faith in God, not faith in the object of your request. Do as Jesus said. Speak to your mountains. They have done the talking long enough. God Bless you, J.H.

The Ministry of Jesus

 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our sicknesses."
Matthew 8:16-17

The ministry of Jesus was one of action and authority. Through a single touch, Jesus healed. When He spoke a single word, evil spirits fled His presence. Jesus has authority over all evil powers and earthly disease. He also has power and authority to conquer sin. He has passed on His power to all believers if we will but see it and use it. We have more power than we can possibly imagine. We limit ourselves so much by what we see and feel, we don't take time to honestly consider, "What would Jesus do?" That phrase has to become more than something we wear on our wrists. That question has to be coupled with the faith to actually do what He did, and to believe in His power to carry it out. The ministry of Jesus was one of action and authority. Once it touches you, you will never, ever be the same.
God Bless you, J.H.

Faith Builder

Even so faith, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:17

 Faith becomes effective when is becomes active. Take it out of the talking and thinking stage and put it to work practically, quickly and prayerfully in your life today. We cannot earn our salvation by serving and obeying God. But such actions show that our committment to God is real. Deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ. We did not choose Him, He chose us. He sent His Son because he loved us and so that "none should perish." We then, in turn, do not have to do anything in order to receive this gift. The gift has already been given. Being a good person does not qualify us for heaven. Simply believing in Jesus does; having faith in the One who laid His life down for a wretch like me. Once we understand the awesome significance of that kind of Love, we can't help but serve Him.
God Bless you, J.H.

Remain in Him

  "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit." John 15:7-8
   Many of us try to be good, honest people who do what is right. But Jesus says that they only way to live a truly good life is to stay close to Him, like a branch attached to the vine. Apart from Christ our efforts are unfruitful. This does not call for a constant "tug of war" striving and struggling, but a simple natural trust as we release our faith to the Father in the name of Jesus. In so doing, we appropriate what He has already provided. Our biggest obstacle to a life of faith is ourselves: our own uncertainty, our own pride. There are some areas of our lives where we think we can do it all on our own. But the Lord reminds us, "Apart from me, you can do nothing." Seek Him in all things. He will not let you down. God Bless you, J.H.

Faith Grows


   Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed. John 4:53
  Notice how the father's faith grew. First, he believed enough to ask Jesus to help his son. Second, he believed Jesus' assurance that his son would live, and he acted on it. Third, he and his whole house came into a lasting knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is a gift that grows as we use it. The Lord needs to only say the word and wonders appear. He has spoken. Let us believe what He said . . . and is saying to us now. God Bless you, J.H