Tag Archives: Jesus

Dying on the Vine

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Tomator rotting on vine

I Corinthians 12:4-6

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in men.”

For the first time in my life I decided to grow a vegetable this year. I was talking to the farmer where I purchased my flowers and told her what I wanted to do and she suggested a table top tomato plant. She said they were easy to grow, easy to maintain and I could put them someplace where I would see them every day so they wouldn’t die on the vine.

She was correct on all points: the table top tomatoes are easy to care for and maintain, plus they sit on my deck so I see them every day and I can watch them as they flower, fruit and mature right before my eyes. If only our spiritual gifts were as easy to grow, maintain and watch. Maybe then so many Christians wouldn’t allow their gifts to die on their spiritual vines.

There have been several times I almost gave up writing Daily Prayers and Words for Today. I often thought “no one reads them any way” or “what I’m doing isn’t helping anyone” or, and here’s the best excuse I had for giving up this portion of my ministry, “who am I to try to help people live a fuller life in Christ. I struggle with stuff every day, how can I help them?”

During these times of defeat I’d still write the Daily Prayers and the Words for Today but I wouldn’t send them out. Then, I’d get an email from someone saying, “hey, where’s the daily reading?” Sometimes I’d know the person but often times I didn’t. I realized that what God had me doing in this portion of my ministry was important and helpful to people other than just me. And, if I continued to be selfish with what God was giving me, then the fruit that other people needed would die on the vine in my spiritual garden.

We all have spiritual fruit which grows out of our gifts. EVERYONE has at least one gift, according to I Corinthians 12:11, given to us by the Holy Spirit and, the Holy Spirit made the determination of who got which gift.

Sometimes we allow our fruit to die on the vine because we don’t value the gift we’ve been given. Selah!

“All these are the works of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

I Corinthians 12:11

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Being Destroyed from the Inside Out

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Japanese beattle on rose

I Corinthians 3:16 – 17

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

I HATE, HATE, HATE Japanese Beetles!!! Can I say it again, I HATE JAPANESE BEETLES!!! They destroy everything in their path but they love roses. NASTY LITTLE CRITTERS!!! Okay, I feel better.

Japanese beetles grow underground where you can’t see them and hatch in late spring, early summer when my roses start to bud and bloom. They fly, crawl and have a hard shell which makes them difficult to kill. They get inside the rose buds or underneath the rose leaves and eat my roses from the inside out.  I can check my roses in the morning and they will look fine but, when I go out to look at them later the same day they have holes straight through the heart of them.

When I first moved to Maryland and started caring for my roses I didn’t know what Japanese beetles were because I didn’t have to deal with them in California or Texas. I was talking to a friend one day and telling him about this bug that was eating my roses and nothing I used got rid of them. He identified the pest and told me to get some Sevin and that would do the trick. That afternoon I went to a nursery and picked some up. My friend was correct. As soon as I started spraying my roses with Sevin the beetles began to fly away and die.

Now that I’ve lived in Maryland for over 20 years I know how to deal with the beetles. As soon as the humidity starts, I begin two-a-day spraying; once in the morning and again in the evening. The humidity seems to be the trigger for the beetles to come out and destroy.

We have things that are eating us from the inside out. Things like hate, envy, jealousy, pride, low self-esteem and feeling less than are just a few things that eat at our spirit persons.  There is also the spirit of control, you have to control everything and everyone or everything is wrong. Then there’s a competitive spirit, you have to win and be first in everything even when no one else knows there’s a completion underway.  The list of things eating us from the inside out goes on and on but there are three solutions; The Word of God, prayer and professional help.

We need to identify the triggers that cause our internal bugs to start their eating frenzy within us. We need to pay attention to our feeling and emotions when this happens, also called self-awareness and we need to spray our internal bugs with the God’s word and prayer. If necessary, we need to seek professional help to deal with our internal bugs. It’s okay! The goal is to kill that which is destroying you from the inside out.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other; so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:16 – 17

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They’re Baaack!!!

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Ephesians 6 12

Romans 6:6 – 7

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”

It’s easy for me to get discouraged when I’m doing something new and old problems, issues and even some old people seem to pop up in the midst of my new stuff. It’s just like weeds popping up in my yard in the same places that I’ve evicted them no too long ago. The truth is I evicted them but I couldn’t eradicate them.

I worked hard to get rid of the weeds and grass from my new rose bed. I dug, pulled and trenched around the new bed so I could remove the unwanted stuff and keep it out. Unfortunately, after a heavy rain, the weeds are back and the grass is trying to return to where it used to live.

I looked out the window of my home office and saw weeds and grass growing and all I could think was, “they’re baaack!!!”

I was feeling sad, frustrated, let down and discouraged. All my heard work down the drain, then, I resigned myself to the truth; this is going to be an ongoing battle, not a one time effort. So, I went out, grabbed my garden tools and headed to the yard. This means war!!!

The same scenario is true when we start obeying God and begin to live our lives according to His will. We dig up doubt, fear, concerns about money, unforgiveness, past pains and disappointments. We dig up the pain of hurt feelings, envy and jealousy, guilt and shame. We pull them out, remove and evict them from the soil of our hearts with fasting, prayer, reading and studying God’s Word. We think we’re good, and then one day something or someone sends rain on our lives. Before we know it, we are battling the same weeds we removed from our lives because we evicted them but did not eradicate them.

We must resign ourselves to this truth: This is a never-ending battle! We will continue to contend with fear, doubt, guilt, shame, etc. as long as we live in these bodies. The good news is we have already won the war through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

So grab your spiritual gardening tools; your Bible, your favorite Christian authors’ books and Bible studies. Turn down your plate or, turn off the television or your computer and get to work clearing out those weeds. This means war!!!

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

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No Longer Needed

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Uprooted Grass

Isaiah 43:18 – 19

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

 

Three more days of digging in my backyard! My back, legs and arms are all sore and I’m not done yet! The weeds are out, for now, and the roses are in place but, I have to battle the grass that I have removed and displaced.

When I decided to put the roses in the back yard not only did I have to remove the weeds, but I had to remove the grass that had been growing there for years. Unlike the weeds, the grass had been needed and wanted in that area of the backyard but now, its services are no longer needed. The grasses usefulness has run its course and it’s time for it to go.

The grass, unlike the weeds, was not a bad thing; it’s just no longer useful in the area where I planted my roses. Grass is useful in other places, just not with my roses.

This is how it is with our lives. There comes a time when things and people who were needed in our lives are no longer needed AND, sometimes, we are no longer needed in someone else’s life.

When God starts doing new things in our lives, He replaces the old stuff with new things and sometimes, He replaces old people with new people who can help us get where God is taking us or can help us mature so we can move forward to the next place God has for us. The old stuff can only keep us where we are, it cannot help us grow into the people God has for us to become.

Some people take an exception to the concept of letting go of things and people that/who are no longer useful fixtures in our lives. But, let me put it this way, if you have a friend who is still doing all the things you are trying to get away from or trying to leave behind as you press to be more like Christ, can you still hang out with them AND achieve your goal? If you have someone in your life who is happy and content with just enough to get by but you want God’s promise of abundance, can you still hold on to them AND receive your abundance?

To move out of the old and into the new takes work! To leave behind that which we have grown accustom to in order to become something more than we are today takes diligence, dedication and determination. Can we take the old with us as we change and progress in our lives and walk with Christ? The Bible states, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:21 – 22.

What do you say?

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Fighting to Become the Me I was Meant to Be

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Basic Training

II Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”

Jesus’ disciple Peter was a trained to be a fisherman.  Historically speaking, he had been in fisherman training with his father since he was very young.  He would have learned all the tricks of the trade.

From Matthew to John and even in the letter to the churches, we also find that in addition to being trained in the art of fishing, Peter was capable of leading others to Christ; he was bold, loud, zealous, but, he was also fearful.  If the way got tough, Peter would turn his back on his friends, go into hiding or become a man-pleaser. Peter didn’t always exemplify Christ-like qualities.

Peter sometimes had a hard time fulfilling his Christ-life work of fishing for men, rather than fishing for fish (John 21).  He could be quick tempered and sometimey. In the Garden of Gethsemane Peter cut off a soldier’s ear when he came for Jesus, yet within a few hours, Peter was denying he knew Jesus. I’d call that sometimey!

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when things  didn’t go the way Peter thought they should, he went back to what he had been before Christ; a frightened man-pleaser. Rather than standing up for what he knew was right, he reverted to his old self in order to fit in and get along.  Sound familiar?

If we haven’t resolved to be what Christ has called us to be regardless of the cost, at one point or another in our lives, when it’s convenient and comfortable, we all go back to what we were before Christ. Some of us go back to gossiping about others because it makes us feel better about our own situations. Some of us go back to being afraid of what others will think if we do what the Holy Spirit urges us to do.  Some of us become men-pleasers because we want people to “like us”. Some of us we go back to the sin from which Christ delivered us.

Whatever we go back to, just know that God does not allow for folly, foolishness or sin in the name of our “previous training”. Once we come to Christ, we are new creatures.  We’ve joined a new army and our based training begins; Jesus is our Commander and Chief and the Holy Spirit is our Drill Sergeant.  We get a new training manual, which is the Word of God.  We must allow old things to pass away, so that the new training we are now undertaking can renew our minds.

Romans 12:2 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 

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Living Above Mediocrity,

Anita Wamble

E-spirational – Divine Inspirations

Sharing God’s Word: Motivating God’s People

http://www.espirational1.com

Prayer for Today

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Climbing out of pit

April 22, 2015

Father God, You have given Your children everything we need to live a full and productive life. You have given us Godly wisdom. You have given us courage and boldness. You have given us the ability to produce wealth; not only material wealth but spiritual wealth. You have given us the power, the authority and the dominion to rule and rein in the earth.

Father, it is true that You have given us all of these things but, most of us don’t live up to the greatness You have bestowed on us. Most of us live from pay check to pay check because we’re too afraid to walk by faith and fulfill the destiny You have placed in our hearts and minds. Many of us live sad, depressed and less than productive lives because we’re trying to live like the world system says we’re supposed to live.

Father, too many of Your children are trying to live down to the level of the world rather than living up to the Kingdom of God.  You’ve called and positioned us to live life to the abundant, yet we wallow in the muck and mire of the world. Forgive us!

Father we need Your help to climb out of the pitfalls of this world. Father, help Your children we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture References:

Genesis 1:26                                      Proverbs 3:13                    Colossians 1:12 – 14

Deuteronomy 8:18                        Proverbs 22:5                   II Peter 1:2 – 4

Psalm 9:15                                          Ecclesiastes 2:26

Psalm 40:2                                         Ecclesiastes 3:11

Psalm 138:3                                        Isaiah 11:1 – 3

 

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Prayer for Today

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Falling apart bible

April 16, 2015

Father, when I’m faced with difficult situations and circumstances my humanity comes to the surface. I know Your Word says that You haven’t given me the spirit of fear but sometimes I am fearful.

Father Almighty, when I am dealing with the illness of a loved one, I feel fearful of losing them. When I faced with the loss of income, I am fearful of losing my home, car or other possessions that I need. When I’m confronted with the loss of a friend because they don’t want to hear the truth, I become fearful because my relationship with them is important to me. Forgive me Father, but I’m only human.

I know that as long as I am alive a certain level of fear is going to surface from time to time but, I refuse to allow fear to control my mind or my emotions. That’s why I run to You and find shelter in Your Word.

Your Word reminds me that You are Elohim, the Creator of heaven and earth; You are the God of everyone and everything! Nothing is greater than You. No illness, no financial shortfall;  nothing is greater than You!

When I run to Your Word my fears are relieved because Your reminds me of Your unfailing love and greatness. Thank You for being my fortress, my refuge in difficult times and my very present help in the time of trouble. Thank You!

In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Scripture References:

Psalm 46

Proverbs 30:5 – 6

John 1:1 – 4, 14

II Timothy 1:7

 

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Prayer for Today

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           The sacrifice of the savior Lenten season challenge: Read the scriptures that are referenced at the bottom of each prayer every day during this Lenten season!

February 23, 2015

Father God, during Lenten season I am always concerned about what I’m going to give up so I can show You how sorry I am for the sins I’ve committed since the last Lenten season. I use this one thing as the scape goat for all my shortcomings and sins.

I use this season as a time for complaining about what I’m not doing or can’t do. I use this season as a time to compare my sacrifice to someone else’s. Never have I used this season to compare my sacrifice to the price You paid for my salvation by sacrificing Your son. Forgive me for trivializing what You’ve done for me.

Father during this Lenten season let me incorporate more of Your son’s character. Let me love more like Jesus. Let me forgive more like Jesus. Let me show compassion and grace to others like Jesus shows to me. Let me think of others more than myself, like Jesus did when He died on the cross for my sins. During this Lenten season, help I be more like Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture References:

 

Numbers 7:16                   Mark 11:25

I Samuel 15:22                  John 3:16 – 18

Psalm 51:17                        Acts 11:23

Zechariah 12:10              Ephesians 5:2

Matthew 9:36                  Colossians 3:13

Matthew 18:21 – 22      James 5:11

John 15:12

 

 

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Living Above Mediocrity,

Anita Wamble

E-spirational – Divine Inspirations

Sharing God’s Word: Motivating God’s People

Hold On Part II

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Ice age squirrel holding on

Hold On – Part II

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, ‘Never will I leave your; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”’ Hebrews 13:5 – 6

God has told us that he will never leave us; he will always be with us. This is why we don’t have to seek after the things of the world system. We don’t have to love money, fortune or fame. We don’t have to give up our morals nor ethics in order to fit in with the world. We don’t have to go along to get along with everyone else because God the father has made us a promise; ‘I will never leave your; never will I forsake you.’

This means as children of God we can stand and fight just like the Israelites stood and fought at Jericho, using unorthodox methods by the world’s standards. Who marches around a fortified wall and sings in order to bring the wall down? Who show’s love and compassion to the people who are trying to take their jobs, their home or their car? Those who trust in God do because we know, God is with us!

We can hold on when it looks like all is lost because we have confidence that our God is not only with us, but he’s for us! We can be strong and courageous, unswerving and stout-hearted because we know that no matter what happens God is standing beside us to care for us.

Even in the most desperate or difficult times we can keep our lives free from the love of worldly things  and be content with what God has given us because we know that God will provide for all our needs according to his riches in glory through his son, Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:19).

Proverbs 19:23 says it like this: “The fear (respect) of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” If we respect the truths of God; that he is with us at all times, that he will supply our needs and that no one can do anything to us that God hasn’t ordained, then we can rest untouched by trouble!

DO NOT GIVE UP NOW! God has been and will continue to be with you.  He sees what you’re going through and he’s right beside you to help you through it. This is not the time or place to give up!  Just keep your eyes fixed on Jesus because he is walking right in front of you; The Holy Spirit is leading, guiding and directing you down the correct path for you. Remember Gods’ hook, “Hold on, I’m here!”