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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I am Hanging on a Branch Of the True Vine

March 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Dear Father,

Protect me from myself, that is my own self-confidence, for in the day of trial it will fail me.

Protect me with a confidence that only comes from my total trust and dependence on You, and my relationship to You, because of Your mercy and grace paid for by the precious blood of the spotless Lamb of God.

Help me in my daily walk, that I will not deny your presence in my life by my actions and words before the world.

Help me realize more and more that time spent with You is not a nonproductive activity but rather my very life line to the power to live for You!

Dear Child,

Draw near more and more, that I may teach you, that I may feed you manna from heaven and the water that will give you eternal life, and will refresh you daily during your pilgrim walk.

It is easy not to deny Me while in My presence in the *Holy Place, the test is when you leave to walk in the* Outer Court, where you mix with the world. It was before sinners that Peter denied Me! Walk in the *Outer Court in the strength which I will impart to you in the *Holy Place, not in your own strength and self-confidence. Self will fail you! For self must die!

Many worship Me in church but the test comes when they leave My house! It is not how high you jump before Me, but how straight you walk in the *Outer Court. Many swear their love for Me in My presence, but when the test comes in the *Outer Court, they deny Me by their actions and words!

Lean on Me and allow self to die! That I might rule and guide you in your walk!

Have confidence in who “I AM”.

                                           Thus saith Papa

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Zechariah 4:6  Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Challenge: Are you battling in the spiritual realm, clothed only in the armor of self confidence in your own fleshly will-power, or are you totally relying on and yielding to the power of the indwelling Spirit?

*The Holy Place is a type of the church where priests would draw near to minister to God.

*The Outer Court is a type of the world where the priests would minister to others.

Page 153 excerpt from “Developing a Secret History with God”

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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Saint Patrick – Truth or Legend

March 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Since I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, I had a personal interest to dig out some of the truths surrounding the man who brought the gospel to Ireland. The real Patrick has almost been lost under an avalanche of myth, legend and folklore.

Did you know that Patrick was not an Irishman?

His parents were Britons and Patrick was born near Dumbarton on the river Clyde in Scotland.

Did you know that he is not even a Saint?

At least not in the technical sense of the Roman Catholic Church, because he was never officially canonized. According to the encyclopedia Patrick “ passes as a saint merely by popular approval”.

Did you know that Patrick is claimed by Catholics and Protestants?

All we can say, whatever his affiliation, he was an evangelical preacher. Patrick is often said to be a man of One Book! He never appeals to the authority of any creed, ecclesiastical leader or council, but in his writings, few as they are, he quotes from 113 scriptures. It has been commented that from his constant emphasis on the Bible, that Patrick sounded like a 5th century Billy Graham, “ The Bible says, the Bible says.”

Did you know that Patrick ranks with the greatest missionaries that ever lived?

Perhaps second only to Paul of Tarsus (Raymond Edmoan, Moody Monthly magazine)

Did you know why the shamrock is so important to the Irish?

Patrick plucked a shamrock from where it was growing in abundance on the Irish mountainside, and used it as a lesson to teach his converts the mystery of the trinity.

From his early confession we learn that, at the age of sixteen, he was captured by a band of Irish pirates, who sold him as a slave to a Druid chieftain in Northern Ireland. Until his captivity Patrick had no real experience of God or salvation even though he had been raised in a Christian home, where his grandfather was a minister of the gospel. Here are his own words, “I was sixteen and knew not the true God, but in a strange land the Lord opened my unbelieving eyes and I was converted.” He realized that God in His mercy had allowed his captivity to take place so as to lead him to a new and better life. With the sufferings of exile had come the understanding of salvation. Finally after six years he escaped and returned to his family in Scotland. Something wonderful had happened to Patrick, he did not hate the Irish, but instead he had love for them.

He had seen the Druids in Ireland controlling the people, encouraging them to worship sacred trees, stones and even the sun itself. The Lord spoke to Patrick in a dream in which he heard, “ The voice of the Irish…We beg you, Holy boy, come and walk among us again.” He began to prepare to return to Ireland even though his family tried to persuade him not to.

In the year 432, Patrick returned to Ireland again, as a result of his obedience to the voice of God. From the 5th. to the 8th. century thousands had turned to Christ. Ireland became one of the great centers of Christianity in the world, not only of Christian holiness and virtue, but also of education because of monasteries all over the country. Thus Ireland has been named, “ The land of Saints and Scholars”.

The heathen Druid chieftain, whom he was sold to, became his first convert. His name was Dichu, and he offered Patrick, the pick of his land for the site of Patrick’s first church, situated high on the mountains of County Down, from where Patrick could see much of Ireland spread out before him. It was from here that Patrick carried out the great commission for the next thirty years of his life, where the influence of his ministry expanded to the mainland of Scotland, England and Wales and even much of Europe. Here he died and was buried on March 17th. 462 AD. Today you can still visit that first little church, even though 1500 years have passed since Patrick ministered there. The visitor can also visit his burial place on the grounds of the Protestant Cathedral of Downpatrick in County Down.

Let’s celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day by praying for the country that Patrick loved so much.

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