What is A Hero?

May 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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During Memorial weekend we have been honoring some of our greatest heroes who are paying and many who have paid the ultimate price that we all might enjoy our national freedom.You may be pondering “What is a hero?”

 A hero must live sacrificially for others and be a servant.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends

 A hero does not chase after honor, rather honor follows him like a shadow.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Proverbs 25:27  It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

 A hero must be willing to press on regardless of danger.“Failure is not an option.” /Apollo 13

2 Timothy1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Phillipians.3: 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

A hero, regardless of age, must have a mature attitude instead of a childish attitude that only cares for self-preservation with a “ what’s in it for me” mentality. God is looking for mature children not childish adults!

1Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

A hero does not only talk of his destiny but rather he lives his destiny.

1Timothy 4:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

A hero must be ready to cease the moment and rise to the occasion when the circumstances necessitate him to fulfill his destiny. “Carpe Diem”/ Dead Poets Society.

Esther 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

A hero must have convictions that he is willing to lay down his life for. “Every man dies, not every man really lives.” William Wallace /Braveheart

A hero’s walk and talk must coincide because he becomes a role model.

1Corinthians11:1  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Philllipians 3:17  Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

 A hero is not shallow in character, but rather has a deep sense of commitment to a cause that constrains him to a character of authenticity and integrity.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us;

A hero must stay focused on the bigger cause outside of himself.

Isaiah 50: 7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

If education, wealth, talent, fame or even beauty do not make a hero, what produces heroism? IT IS CHARACTER! The inner man of the heart!

Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

So therefore hidden within the heart of every individual is a potential hero!

Yes truly it has a cost, a life of discipline, self-sacrificing, humility and courage.

But this life will inspire others to rise to their potential, when they witness qualities lived out in the life of the hero, qualities they admire and desire for their own lives.

It is worth it all when that life will hear from the greatest hero of all time

Matthew 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

CHALLENGE: As we all walk this pilgrim life together, inspiring, encouraging, defending, and building each other up in the faith, let us all keep our eyes focused on the greatest hero and role model the world has ever known. Hebrews 12: 2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

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Bearing the Fruit of the Roots

May 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Dear Father,

What is the blossom, fragrance and fruit in my life?

Dear Child,

I am more concerned with what you are becoming than what you are doing! And therefore the fruit I am looking for in your life and time spent with me is character, growth and the fruit of My Spirit. As your spiritual roots are developed you will bear the fruit of the roots. Then when you lay down your life for others the seed from the fruit of your life will in due season bear the same fruit in the lives of others. Thus My Kingdom will grow!

The fruit of your life must contain spiritual seeds if they are to give life to others. Spiritual seeds can only be conceived in your time of intimacy with Me, lest you are only tickling ears, that bear the fruit of the flesh that can only satisfy the emotional soul man and not the spirit man.

                                                                  Thus saith Papa

Ephesians 3:17-19. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love… May know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God

1 Corinthians: 4:15  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

These believers were the result of the seed planted from the fruit of the life of the apostle Paul.

Watchman Nee states it this way “True spirituality is based on birth not on preaching. Men are not changed by listening to doctrine or by following a course of instructive teaching, they are changed by birth! As in Abraham God chose one man who believed, and from him many were born, for Abraham is the father of all who believe. When an unbeliever meets a believer, he becomes aware that this man has something he doesn’t possess. That something is not just information, it is life! Those who have this seed of life in them should, like Abraham, be giving birth to others.”

CHALLENGE: We need to invest in the BECOMING’  and the ‘DOING’ will glorify God

We need to invest the ROOT STRUCTURE and the HARVEST will bring glory to God

Excerpt from “Developing a Secret history with God” page 176

This Book and accompanying Study Guide will revolutionize your quiet time with God. Available now at Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/ Walmart/Kindle Nook / Ibooks/ Lulu/ Rhema Publications/ Cl France or a bookstore near you.

 

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Weeding your Spiritual Garden

May 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Dear Child,

Do not be deceived for I and My Word are not mocked, whatever you sow, you will reap in due season, whither it be good fruit or evil fruit.

Do not wait until harvest time, the choice is made at sowing time. You know the principle well from your own garden, sow what you want to reap. Weeds from this fallen world may grow and try to choke the harvest, be consistent in tending your crop, take care of it, sow only in good soil where I am working. Do not let weeds of discouragement choke and zap the life from the crop. When you see a weed appear, pull it up from the root, don’t just pull the head off,  you must cut off the root, that the crop will not be hindered but flourish!

Of all the weeds in the garden of your life, discouragement is the most destructive. Pull it up, and sprinkle your garden with a doze of faith. Weeds of discouragement belong to the family of doubt and cannot survive in a garden of faith.

Weeds of discouragement bear the fruit of low self- esteem, procrastination, depression, lack of focus, apathy, doubt, and will eventually extinguish your passion, suffocate your faith, thereby strangling that precious crop.

Attend not only to your flower garden but also the garden of your life, for the devil is like a roaring lion going about seeking whom he may devour.

                                                                   Thus saith Papa

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Heb 12:12-13 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees. And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Challenge: Are you feeding and pampering those weeds of discouragement or are you putting the ax to their root by encouraging yourself in the Lord?

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Bloom in Your Unique Potential

May 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Dear Father,

May I never cease to praise You for the works of Your hand! For as I admire my garden in the spring I am amazed how it manifests not only Your glory but also Your faithfulness after the dark days of wintering and your uniqueness.

Oh, Papa, as I place my life, body, soul and spirit in Your hands, the hands of the great Potter, may my life bring glory to Your name and display Your faithfulness.

Everything in my garden has a unique purpose, and therein lies the beauty and the glory for everything in my garden, that it fulfills its unique purpose. All so different and yet all so beautiful.

Papa may I also bloom in my uniqueness!

Dear Child,

Therein lies the glory! when you bloom in your uniqueness, for only then are you fulfilling the purpose of your creation.

Watered from heaven, nourished by the Word, faithfully tend the garden of your life that the cares of this world, and weeds of discouragement do not strangle and choke the potential bloom.

This bloom in all its beauty will bring glory to My name and testify of My faithfulness, just as your physical garden brings glory to My name and testifies of My faithfulness, 

If I wanted a rose in My garden I wouldn’t plant a daffodil. Be yourself! Be who I created and planned for generations for you to be.”

                                                   Thus saith My Faithful Papa

Revelation 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Lamentations 4:2  The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

Challenge: Don’t labor or strive to bloom in someone else’s potential, but rather bring glory to His name by resting in His faithfulness as the unique flower He created. You are so unique, He broke the mold when He made you!

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Why was Mary NOT Permitted to Touch Her Risen Lord?

April 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Have you ever wondered why Mary was not allowed to touch Jesus in the garden, yet that same evening He challenges Thomas to touch His side to prove it is actually Him?

After the resurrection we see a change in Jesus’ ministry from our Sacrificial Lamb to our Great High Priest. The high priest of Israel could not be defiled or touched before entering the Holiest of Holies to apply the atoning blood.

This is why Jesus told Mary not to touch Him when she met the risen Lord in the garden because he said he hadn’t yet ascended to his Father. John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

Jesus, now as Our High Priest, was about to take His own blood into the Holiest of Holies in heaven.  Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us].

In Israel a holy hush would fall over the crowd assembled in the Outer Court (type of the world) as their high priest entered the Holy of Holies (type of heaven) to apply the blood. Awaiting in anticipation of his return, there would be an explosion of rejoicing, as they see their high priest come back to the Outer Court (type of the world) because his appearance meant that God had accepted the blood of the sacrifice, and their sins were covered for another year. In fact tradition informs us that the high priest would have a rope tied around his waist in case he would be struck dead because the sacrifice was not accepted and and have to be pulled out from the Holy of Holies See Hebrews 8:1-6

We can also ecstatically rejoice because Our High Priest returned after applying His blood. In fact that same evening of the resurrection He appears to His disciples, and as I’ve said even challenges Thomas to touch Him, because He  had already been to the heavenly Holy Place and now had returned to the Outer Court to be seen of many for 40 days. We have the confidence that His precious blood was accepted for remission of our sins, which are taken away forever.

   The passover lambs of the Old Testament could only cover sins from one year to the next, but Our Passover Lamb wiped out our sins forever.

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 

CHALLENGE: Avail yourself of this great privilege you now have of reaching out and touching Him everyday.

Read “Developing a Secret History with God” to inspire and encourage you to reach out and touch Him everyday. Available on Amazon/ Barnes&Noble/ Walmart/Lulu/ itunes/ Kindle/ Nook/http wwwclfrance.com/ W.H. Smith UK/or a bookstore near you in English or French

 

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