Get Your Free Gift Here-->God

Get your free gift.

Just send in your info, no purchase necessary.

Simply pay for postage and handling.

You can enter just about every type of sweepstakes

or contest you could think of.

You can buy a lottery ticket (or more)

every time you go to the neighborhood store.

Every one of these sweepstakes, contests, 

& lotteries will cost you something.

Either time, personal information (which can be sold)

or money.

Yet the greatest gift is free!

It is the gift of salvation.

Romans 5:18

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment

came to all men, resulting in condemnation,

even so through one Man's righteous

act the free gift came to all men, resulting

in justification of life.

What do we have to do to get it?

Not much---just receive it!

God gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, as a free gift.

It is up to us to receive His free 

and unmerited gift of salvation.

By accepting this free gift we become a "whosoever".

Romans 10:13 ASV

for, whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord

shall be saved.

Not all can become a "whosoever".

Claim your free gift today!

Do Yourself A Favor

As we hold on to grudges and resentment

they tend to gain control over our lives.

Also, they grow out of proportion.

Resentment can materialize physically and emotionally.

Resentment makes us ill.

Psalm 37:8

Cease from anger and forsake wrath;

do not fret, it only causes harm.

Ecclesiastes 7:9

The Message

Don't be quick to fly off the handle

Anger boomerangs.

You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.

Resentment leads to communication being cut off

and isolation from others.

Do yourself a favor and forgive.

Let go of anger, bitterness and unforgiveness.

Do this for yourself.

It may seem impossible, but nothing is impossible for God.

Luke 1:37

For with God, nothing will be impossible.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were sinners Christ died for us.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:31-32 to put away

all bitterness, wrath, and anger.

Forgive just as our Father God forgave us.

Beyond Description

God told Adam to name all the creatures in the Garden

Genesis 2:19

so He brought each one to Adam,

to see what he would name them.

Since that time, man has put a name on everything he sees.

Once named we can visualize it by the description.

It is hard to visualize someone who is invisible.

Which is why God is beyond our ability to describe Him---

or is He?

Even though the Bible does not give a physical

description of God, it does tell us about Who He is.

Isaiah tells us in chapter 55 verse 9,

His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.

Jesus told Phillip "he who has seen Me has seen the Father"

John 14:9

So when we look at Jesus we see a man who loved,

felt compassion, taught, healed the sick, and fed crowds.

He went out of His way to serve others.

He was not boastful or prideful.

Jesus lived as a man, using His divine nature to glorify God the Father.

Acts 10:38; Matt. 9:35; Matt. 20:34; Mark 1:41;

Mark 8:2; Lam. 3:22; Romans 5:8; Proverbs 8:17

God is beyond our human understanding 

and description.

But through the Holy Spirit, we can see Him.

He is love at the highest level and magnitude.

Just Waiting For The Parade

A victory parade is held to celebrate victory over the enemy.

The United States did it with the allies after WWI and II.

In ancient times the parade was lead by the conquerors

followed by the spoils of war.

Next came the leader of the defeated army

and the captives

and finally, the victorious army.

The defeating army held this procession to make a 

public spectacle of the captives.

The Bible lets us know Jesus has already won the battle.

He accomplished this on the cross.

Jesus took our captivity captive.  Ephesians 4:8

Colossians 2:15

He has freed us from the destruction of sin.

Having disarmed principalities

and powers, He made a public spectacle of them,

triumphing over them in it.

Jesus now leads us in victory.

2 Corinthians 2:14

Now thanks be to God who always leads us

in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the

fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

The battle has been won.

The parade is getting ready to start.

Don't sit on the sidelines watching.

Join the victorious in Christ!

You Already Have It!

You already have it.

What?

I already have it?

YES!

You already have power and authority which is given

through adoption by God into His family.

Once saved, we are adopted and become joint heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:15

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear,

but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,

"Abba Father".

As an adopted child of God, we have been given

the same rights as the Son.

We have been given a new name and a new identity in Christ.

Most importantly through adoption,

we have been given power and authority to overcome

"all the power of the enemy", Luke 10:19

Jesus had:

authority over everything, Matt 28:18

authority to cast out demons, Mark 1:27

authority to heal the sick, Luke 7:7

As joint heirs with Him, we inherit all that He is.

Every person is from God, but not all have been adopted into the family.

To receive your inheritance you must be adopted into 

God's family by receiving Jesus 

as Lord and Savior. 

Then all that He has is yours!

A Treasure Map by Max Lucado

In the beginning there was the Word.

The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1

"The Bible has been banned, burned, scoffed, and ridiculed.

Scholars have mocked it as foolish.

Kings have branded it as illegal.

A thousand times over it the grave has been dug,

and the dirge has begun, but somehow

the Bible never stays in the grave.

Not only has it survived, it has thrived.

It is the single most popular book in all of history. 

It has been the best-selling book in the world for years!

There is no way on earth to explain it.

Which perhaps is the only explanation.

The answer?

The Bible's durability is not found on earth;

it is found in heaven.

For millions who have tested its claims 

and claimed its promises there is but one answer---

the Bible is God's book and God's voice...

The purpose of the Bible is to proclaim God's plan

and passion to save his children.

That is the reason this book has endured through the centuries...

It is the treasure map that leads us to God's highest treasure,

eternal life."

Writing by Max Lucado

"Grace for the Moment"

Living In His Sufficiency

We all like to be self-sufficient;

able to take care of ourselves fully.

The truth is we all need help.

The kind of help which is only available from God.

Psalm 121:2 NIV

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

All the riches of this earth are not enough.

They cannot help to gain complete financial independence,

emotional stability, or physical health.

No matter how may self help books we read

or seminars we attend,

we can never quite reach the point of being

completely sufficient.

God is bigger than our needs

and greater than our attempts at meeting them.

2 Corinthians AMP

Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability)

personal judgments or to claim or count anything

as coming from us, but our power and ability

and sufficiency are from God.

Trusting in God we become self-sufficient in His sufficiency.

Psalm 65:5-6 GNT

I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him;

He alone protects and saves me....

Take Thoughts Captive

Our thoughts can determine what kind of day we will have.

The effects of negative thinking are both

emotional and physical.

Negative thinking can cause anger, anxiety, depression,

lack of energy and illness.

On the other hand, the effects of positive thinking

lead to peace, joy, happiness, increased

energy and improved health.

The Message Bible tells us in 

2 Corinthians 10:5

that we are to, "use our powerful God tools

for smashing warped philosophies, tearing

down barriers erected against the truth of God,

fitting every loose thought and emotion

and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ"

It is our responsibility to take every negative thought

captive and set our mind 

"on things above". Colossians 3:2

Set your mind today on Christ!

Down and Out

Down and out is not what you think.

It is not a lack of money or resources.

It is not a hard luck situation.

Rather it is receiving down from God

and then sending it out to touch the lives of others.

God's grace, mercy, and love.

1 Corinthians 1:3-4 AMP

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of sympathy

(pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source]

of every comfort (consolation and encouragement)

Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us

in every trouble (calamity and affliction)

so that we may also be able to comfort

(console and encourage)

those who are in any kind of trouble or distress,

with comfort (consolation and encouragement)

with which we ourselves are comforted

(consoled and encouraged) by God.

God pours down on us His love until

we are overflowing.

Send out the overflow.

Be a blessing to others just as you are blessed.

Silence

Silence

It is the lack of audible sound.

A complete absence of sound, the state of being silent.

Everywhere we go today, we are confronted by sound.

It is almost impossible to find it.

We can get lost in the noise.

The old adage "Silence is golden" is now a thing of the past.

We are consumed by noise in our ever growing, busy lives.

The bombardment of noise can over shadow His voice.

But, in those silent moments, we can 

hear God's voice more clearly.

The still, small voice of God, spoken to us with grace and mercy.

God can speak to us in many ways.

Through the Bible, perhaps in an audible voice, or through dreams,

and at other times through wise counsel.

Take the time to silence the noise around you,

get quiet and listen.

God will speak!

1 Kings 19:11-12

Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain 

before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by and

and a great and strong wind tore into the 

mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord,

but the Lord was not in the wind;

and after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord 

was not in the earthquake; and after the

earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in 

the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

You Are Not Alone

Have you ever felt like you were all alone?

Like you were the only person to go through something.

And no one knows how difficult it is

and there is no one to help.

Jesus knows!

He knows because He went through the same things.

Hebrews 2:17-18 GNT

This means that He had to become like 

His people in every way, in order to be their faithful 

and merciful High Priest in His service to God, 

so that the people's sins would be forgiven.

And now He can help those who are tempted,

because He himself was tempted and suffered.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live inside us because He

can identify with us.

1 Corinthians 3:16 

Do you not know that you are the temple of God

and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Wherever we go, we take the Holy Spirit with us.

He never leaves.

The Holy Spirit gives us comfort when we need

to be comforted.

Advice when we need to be counseled.

Strength when we are weak.

The Holy Spirit is ever standing by our sides to help.

So the next time you feel alone

and don't know where or who to turn to,

turn to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead you.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

The Mountain

Mark 11:23 AMP

Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain,

"Be lifted up and thrown into the see!", and does not doubt at 

all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place,

it will be done for him.

Physically, the mountain is an immovable, very large object.

Emotionally, the mountain can be any problem we face

which looks to be immovable and impassable.

The Israelites faced the physical mountains of the 

Sinai desert for forty years.

A journey that should have only lasted eleven days on foot.

God lead them on this long journey to test their faith and obedience.

They failed time and time again.

Our own mountain can take time to overcome as well.

When we lack faith in God's ability to take care of us 

or because of disobedience, we can travel around and

around our personal mountain.

Jesus instructs us to use our faith

and tell the mountain to move.

We are to believe and receive when we pray.

Speak to your "mountain" or problem and tell it to move out 

of the way. Speak faith in God and in His word.

Matthew 17:20

So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; 

for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard see,

you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there,"

and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

It Starts At Home

Jesus gave two commandments for His disciples to follow.

The first, "love God with all your heart", Matthew 22:37

and the second, "love your neighbor as yourself", Matthew 22:39

The former verse wraps up and includes everything within

the Ten Commandments given to Moses.

By loving God, we are obedient to His word 

and are glorifying Him.

It is the greatest commandment.

The latter verse is wrapped up in the first.

Who would not want good things for themselves.

In the same way, we should want good things for our neighbors.

In a global sense, our neighbor is everyone.

We all live next door to someone 

and that person lives next to another, then another, and so on.

Our neighbors cross boundary lines, country lines,

and nationalities.

Love comes down from God

and starts at home.

It then travels exponentially outward in ever increasing 

numbers as others love one another.

Nothing is greater than love

and it starts with you! 

Meditate

It's okay.

Meditate.

The Bible instructs us to meditate 

on God's word day and night.

Meditation is not like Eastern religions

which puts one into a trance or hypnotic state.

It is keeping God's word close.

The word meditate  in Hebrew is"hagah".

It means to utter, muse, or mutter.

Utter means to speak.

Muse means a period of reflection.

Mutter means to say something in a low or barely audible voice.

Basically, the Bible tells us to speak in a low voice and reflect

the word of God daily.

We are to mutter or keep His words in our mouth constantly.

Meditation is reading His word and reflecting on,

thinking about, speaking it out and committing it to heart.

Let God's word dwell in your mouth, mind and heart daily.

Psalm 1:2

But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,

whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,

whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,

whatever things are of good report,

if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy

meditate on the things.

Set Your Mind

Colossians 3:2

Set your mind on things above,

not on things on earth.

Our mind is very powerful.

What we think about determines how we act.

The mind is the collective conscious and unconscious

thought processes which directly influence behavior.

When we direct those thoughts towards heavenly places, 

we see Jesus.

We see ourselves seated next to Him.

Ephesians 2:6 NIV

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him

in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

Even though we are seated in heaven, we still have

one foot here on earth and things here can still affect us.

As we focus our thoughts on worldly things,

our actions are influenced and sin abounds.

By setting on mind towards heaven, we are

influenced by Jesus.

So look up!

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Finally, brothers (& sisters), whatever is true, whatever is noble,

whatever is right, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--

think about such things.