SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES

GOD’s rules of engagement requires that we learn to fight our battles His way…

2 Corinthians 10:4-5
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing EVERY thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

The battle will be won or loss first in your mind, with regard to your attitude.

The fear you sense may be real, in your circumstances, but the point is you NEVER let your fear control you.

We must learn to face our fears and conquer them, in the power of Christ.

The Word tells us that, “GOD has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND” (2 Timothy 1:7).

We have to put our spiritual armor on every day, in preparation for the battle ahead.
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Ephesians 6:10-18
The Voice (VOICE)

10 Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. 11 Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes.

12 We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.

13 And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground.

14 Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate,

15 and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace.

16 Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one.

17 Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

[Paul knows that the real battles and dangers we face are not against flesh and blood. The enemies we see are real enough, but they are animated by spiritual forces of darkness that stay strategically hidden from view. These powers often reveal themselves in institutional evils—genocide, terror, tyranny, and oppression—but the weapons needed to combat them are not earthly weapons at all. What is needed, Paul advises, is to stand firm in God’s power and to suit up in the full armor of God. Although the devil and his demon armies are destined for destruction, they are serious threats now and must be resisted and beaten back. For Paul, the best offensive weapons we have are the word of God and prayer]

18 Pray always. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed.
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The Helmet of Salvation and the Shield of Faith are important because the battle begins in our minds, which necessitates our holding up our Shield of Faith, in order to block the fiery darts the enemy is sending, that are aimed at our mind.

The way we overcome is through the adjustment of our thinking (Not letting our fears control us), but rather we prepare for the battle ahead through REPENTANCE (Greek: Metanoia, which literally means to change the way you think) and the changing of our attitude, as we focus on the reliability and trustworthiness of both GOD and His Word.

Our feet being shod with the Gospel of Peace is important because we must always keep our center of gravity underneath us, during the battle, as the fiery darts from the enemy are intended to keep us off balance.

The time to put our armor on is at the start of each day, in the wee hours of the morning, before our day begins; and then to maintain that connection and communication with God throughout our day.
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October 15, 2020
Worthy Brief

FIGHTING TAKES TRAINING!

1 Chronicles 12:2
“Armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren”

Hebrews 11:33-34
“Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

As we continue our study of the men who followed David, another characteristic was their ability to war.

They learned how to battle with both the right hand and the left hand for hurling stones.

If you have ever thrown a ball, you know that you can aim effectively with your dominant hand — but try it with the opposite hand — it’s far more difficult to throw accurately.

But the men that followed David learned to throw with both arms effectively! It must have taken months of training to develop such skill.

We also learn to war, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. And we too must train to use our spiritual weapons, and to use them accurately.

The word of God is a sharp sword when used with skill and spiritual authority, and the right scripture for a situation can bring tremendous healing and deliverance; but we must know the word and walk in the spirit to be able to use it in warfare.

Furthermore, every serious intercessor knows he must learn to concentrate his mind and will intently for battling in prayer.

For his aim to be accurate and penetrating he must overcome the tendency to wander in his thoughts and lose focus on the issue at hand.

To be effective warriors we need to train our minds and wills to concentrate so that our prayers become like lasers for breaking through in the spirit.

In this day and age, Yeshua (Jesus) is calling us to spiritual battle, and our training is critical for success and victory.

We must know the word and use it skillfully, and we must learn to concentrate in prayer for the spiritual objectives to which we are called.

The Lord will equip us as we ask and seek Him for it, and do our homework. Let’s be inspired by David’s mighty men, training diligently to take aim in our battle with the powers of darkness!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
St. Augustine, Florida
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Each day GOD both precedes and follows all of His covenant children…

Psalm 139:3-6
The Message (MSG)

A David Psalm
1-6 God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.

I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.

You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.

You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.

I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.

This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
———

Oct 2, 2020
Quiet, Confident Expectation In Prayer
by Graham Cooke

You have a divine advantage as a new creation in Christ. Your lifestyle of prayer in the New Man is one of quiet, confident expectation.

God knows your story from beginning to end, meaning He has been to all your tomorrows.

As you are traveling and learning, your advantage is you are traveling with Someone who has already been before you.

Not only that, but He is also IN you.

He has prepared EVERYTHING you need and He’s 100% dedicated to helping you find it.

In this context, prayer becomes an incredibly relational place where you abide, listen and receive the provision God has already made for you.

You can approach Him in every circumstance ready to encounter another aspect of His true nature.

There is a confidence that you carry that no matter what you see, God can be Someone for you in that moment that you’ve not yet experienced.
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Let us NOT ignore God’s presence in our life, because if that’s what we’re doing we do so at our own peril.

Matthew 11:25-30
The Message (MSG)

25-26 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:

“Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”

27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.

“The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.

No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.

But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?

Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.

Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.

Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
———

Let us learn to cooperate, each day, with the Holy Spirit – trusting in Him with all our heart and not leaning on our own understanding – and then when we go out into our day we acknowledge Him in ALL of our ways, by faith, and His promise is that He is then directing our steps (Prov 3:5-6).

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In every area, let us follow the example Jesus gave us, in the Bible, in how to conduct GOD’s ministry in the earth and how to live our lives…

Jesus’ disciples ask Him, “who is the greatest in the kingdom?”

The greatest person in the kingdom will of course be Jesus.

After that, ranking the greatest is full of surprises.

Matthew 18:1–5 records, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’

[Jesus] called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me’” (see also Mark 9:35–37; Luke 9:46–48).

What are God’s priorities regarding His church?

Jesus speakings to Peter, after Peter had denied him three times:

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’

Peter said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs’.

He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’

Peter said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’

Jesus said to Peter the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep’”
— John 21:15-17
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GOD’s priority and instructions to the elders of the church, is NOT for them to become a CEO of a 501(c)3 corporation (who have, under the articles of their incorporation, made themselves the servant of the state), but rather it is to be a servant unto GOD’s people:

1 Peter 5:1-11
The Voice (VOICE)

1 Now for the elders of the church. I want to encourage you. As you know, I am an elder, too, like you.

I have witnessed firsthand the sufferings of the Anointed One as well as shared in the glories which are soon to be revealed.

2 When you shepherd the flock God has given you, watch over them not because you have to but because you want to.

For this is how God would want it not because you’re being compensated somehow but because you are eager to watch over them.

3 Don’t lead them as if you were a dictator, but lead your flock by example; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will be crowned with honor that will shine brightly forever.

5 You who are younger in the faith: do as your elders and leaders ask. All of you should treat each other with humility, for as it says in Proverbs,

God opposes the proud
but offers grace to the humble.

6 So bow down under God’s strong hand; then when the time comes, God will lift you up. 7 Since God cares for you, let Him carry all your burdens and worries.

[NOTE: Humility is rarely a virtue that our culture values.

We’re trained from an early age to show our strengths and hide our weaknesses.

This type of thinking also spills over into our models of leadership, as we learn to dictate to others how they should perform.

Peter, however, says that we should be humble in our relationships with one another and not lead as dictators.

In fact, this humility before one another and God is actually the position of the greatest strength.

Our enemy desires to consume us, but we find strength to resist him when we are dependent upon God for His strength.]

8 Most importantly, be disciplined and stay on guard. Your enemy the devil is prowling around outside like a roaring lion, just waiting and hoping for the chance to devour someone.

9 Resist him and be strong in your faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are fellow sufferers with you.

10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of grace who has called you [to His everlasting presence] through Jesus the Anointed will restore you, support you, strengthen you, and ground you. 11 For all power belongs to God, now and forever. Amen.
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Learning to live by faith means…

Learning to live GOD’s way (in recognition that following Jesus is the way – see John 14:6), means trusting in Him with ALL our heart and NOT leaning on our own understanding (Prov 3:5-6).

Sept 21
The Spirit Filled Believer

LET DOWN THE NET
by Dick Mills

“Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
— Luke 5:5

Here is a rhema promise for everyone who has read the manual, followed all the rules and still not attained the desired results.

One leader complained, “I went to a church growth seminar. While I was away some of the folks in the church got discouraged and quit.

When I got back home from learning how to help the church grow, I had fewer people than when I went away. I must be doing something wrong.”

If anyone knew how to fish, it was Peter.

Prior to meeting Jesus, Peter had been a professional fisherman. He knew about fish. He knew their feeding habits, when and where to go looking for them, and how to catch them.

Peter had fished right the evening before. He knew that the fish fed at night up close to the shore, so that’s where he fished for them.

Yet he had caught nothing. Then along comes Jesus, a carpenter, who tells him to do two things, both contrary to all the rules of good fishing practice.

First, He asks him to fish at the brightest time of the day. (Any lake fisherman knows that when the sun is on the water, the fish all go to the bottom of the lake.)

Secondly, Jesus asks Peter to reverse his direction and fish out in the center of the lake rather than along the shore.

Peter knew the habits of fish. But he also knew the power of Jesus’ Word.

His response to these seemingly contradictory directions was, “Master, we have done it right, but have had no results.

However, at Your rhema (Word), we will try it again Your way.”

The Lord’s way worked! His way and His Word will work for us, too!

[Source: The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Daily Devotional by Dick Mills]
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Learning to live by faith is all about taking a risk and jumping into the deep end of the pool; or to put it another way, it means leaving those safe harbors behind and casting your faith out into the deep, because that is where Jesus is.

This is where the adventure begins,

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Draw neigh unto God and He will draw niegh unto you…

The Bible tells us that God has done EVERYTHING needful to bring us home; to forgive our sins and reconcile us back into God’s family; BUT WE ALSO HAVE A PART TO PLAY IN THIS RELATIONSHIP.

Matthew 11:28-30
The Message (MSG)

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?

COME To ME. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.

I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.

Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

The Bible tells us that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, meaning He has finished His work.

But in spite of that, we see in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, after having seen His son a far off, the Father comes running to him, indicating that He had been prayerfully watching for his return each and every day.

Luke 15:20-21
The Message (MSG)

20-21 “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.

The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’
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Sept 18
The Spirit Filled Believer

DRAW ME, LORD
by Dick Mills

“Draw me, we will run after thee…”
— Song of Solomon 1:4

We are told in the New Testament to draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to us (James 4:8).

In this verse, the bride (a symbol of the Church) says to the bridegroom,

“You do the drawing, and we will respond.”

This attitude is one of compliant submission to the actions of the bridegroom as a forerunner.

In Jeremiah 31:3 the Lord expresses His love for us in these words,

“With lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

In Hosea 11:4, He speaks of His children, saying,

“I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love….”

“Draw me” can be a statement of total dependence upon the Lord.

It implies a looking to God for all our needed help.

David says in Psalm 25:15,

“Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord….” Later he pleads to the Lord, “Send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me”
—Psalm. 43:3

Jesus told us that He was going to be lifted up (referring to the crucifixion) and that He would draw all men to Himself (John 12:32).

He also stated that no man could come to Him except His Father drew him (John 6:44).

This prayer in Song of Solomon 1:4 is a good prayer to pray:

“Draw me, Lord, and we will run after You.”

I do believe there is a restlessness expressed in this statement. It comes from a soul that does not want too great a distance between itself and the Lord.

It is the expression of an earnest desire we all should have for closer communion with our Lord.

David said it for each of us in Psalm 73:28,

“It is good for me to draw near to God….”

[Source: The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Daily Devotional by Dick Mills]
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The Bible says that, “We are MORE than conquerors in Christ,” and also that, “We can do ALL things through Christ that strengthen us” (see Rom 8:37 and Php 4:13)…

As Christians, our main objective in life should be to fulfill our destiny and become all that God created us to be; and this can only be done as we learned to live and walk, by faith and obedience, in Christ.

Psalm 139:16
The Message (MSG)

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.

Ephesians 1:7-14
The Message (MSG)

7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

Romans 8:29-30
The Message (MSG)

29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son.

The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored.

We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.

After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name.

After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

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Jesus our Creator, the author and finisher of our faith, has also told us that,

“I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.”
— John 10:10

If we are to experience that abundant life, which can happen only as we learn to fulfill our God given destiny; and if we are to go where God intends for us to go in life, then we have to learn to trust in Jesus and recognize that NOTHING of any eternal consequence or value can ever be accomplished, except we abide in Christ, as He is the Creator and author of each one of our lives.
———

September 3
God At Eventide
by Two Listeners

YOUR FAILURES ARE MINE

Lord I present to Thee my failures. Only Thou couldst . . repair the harm that I have wrought.

Because you are Mine I must identify Myself with all you are.

I play the harmony of which you made such discord. I sound the hope in ears you had no charm of Love to woo from sin and failure.

I lead to happier ways those you misjudged, despised.

I take your failures, and because your desire is towards Me, and you know Me as Lord, these, your failures, it is My sacrificial task to bear, to reclaim.

Step up from your slough of failure into the robe of faith and love I give you.

Be strong to save as you have known salvation, strong in Me, your ever-conquering Lord.

“Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
— Jude 1:24-25
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Lastly, we know by faith (based on the scriptures I have already mentioned), that God has a plan for our life, and so it falls to us to trust in His plan; and to do so, by faith, in spite of any and all negative feelings and or circumstances.

We need to understand that God’s power is never cancelled by our negative feelings or circumstances; and that what God promises He is well able to perform and do in our lives.

The test and rub of life, where the rubber meets the road for all of us, is whether or not we can believe?

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
— Jeremiah 29:11

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Our problems come to make us strong…

God’s Purpose Behind Your Problems
by R Warren

“My troubles turned out all for the best. They forced me to learn from your textbook. Truth from your mouth means more to me than striking it rich in a gold mine.”
— Psalm 119:71-72 (Msg)

Life is a series of problem-solving opportunities. The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you – depending on how you respond to them.

Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.

Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you – Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” Pr. 20:30 (GN)

2. God uses problems to INSPECT you – People are like teabags if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you?

When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. (James 1:2-3, NCV)

3. God uses problems to CORRECT you – Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something – health, money, a relationship – by losing it.

It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws. (Ps. 119:71-72, LB)

4. God uses problems to PROTECT you – A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend of mine was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when his boss actions were uncovered.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good . (Gen. 50:20, NIV)

5. God uses problems to PERFECT you. – Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity.

We can rejoice when we run into problems they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. (Rom. 5:3-4, LB)

Here’s the point: God is at work in your life – even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it’s much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him!
———

Along with each challenge we face in life, comes an invitation from God to enter into a new experience with Him, in order to give us much needed “on the job training” and real life experience in how to apply God’s POWER, the promises His WORD, and His long-suffering perseverance through every trial that we face in life.

So that we may have, not just intellectual knowledge of God, but more importantly that we may gain experiential knowledge, as we learn to die to our self-will and self-determination (see Matthew 16:24-27), in order that God may channel His power through us (per 2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and remove those seemingly “mountain sized” obstacles Satan places in our path (see Matthew 17:19-20).

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August 26
God Calling

ACCEPT TRIALS
by Two Listeners

Trials and troubles may seem to overwhelm you. They cannot do more than work My Will, and that Will you have said is your Will.

Do you not see that you cannot be destroyed? From now a new Life is opening out before you. Yours to enter into the Kingdom I have prepared for you.

The sunlight of My Presence is on your paths. Trust and go forward unafraid. My Grace is sufficient for all your needs.

“In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”
— Psalm 56:11

[NOTE: These inspired messages where received from God, in London during WW II, by two ladies (who opted to remain anonymous), who endured the daily bombings of the London Blitzkrieg]
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Don’t allow anything, person or situation to rob you of your peace…

These are the keys whereby you may enter into the Secret Place (see Psalm 91):

Psalm 100:4

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice evermore.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Hebrews 4:11
You labour is to enter into God’s rest
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

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The Spirit-Filled Believer

A ‘COOL’ SPIRIT
by Dick Mills

“A man of understanding has a cool spirit.”

—Prov. 17:27 AMP

In our day, the word “cool” has taken on a new significance. Among our youth, it is often considered the height of sophistication to be thought of as “cool.”

An individual who is “cool” is “street wise”, “mod”, “chick”, “avant-garde”, “hip”.

A “cool dude” is one who has “got it all together”—he’s in control of his own life and destiny.

Everything about him is “cool, man, cool”. He listens to “cool music,” drives a “cool machine”, is always seen in the company of “cool chicks.”

Thus, the word cool is something of a buzz word to indicate those who are on to something or who have something that the rest of dull society is missing.

As far as we know, Solomon was the first man to use the word cool when he wrote: …a man of understanding has a cool spirit.

Wise Solomon was not trendy. His primary interest was not popularity or peer group acceptance. He didn’t follow fads or conform to the latest fashions—especially not in spiritual matters.

Neither will a man (or woman) of understanding.

The truly spiritual person is cool because he is disciplined and even-tempered. He doesn’t blow up, lose control, give vent to emotional outbursts, show temperament, or give in to moods.

In the original Hebrew, the word translated cool is qar (kar) and is defined as “quiet, calm, composed.”

The person with a “cool” spirit is self-possessed, free of anger, passion, or resentment. He is what every Christian should be.

One writer has stated it well: “The ideal for all of us is to have a cool head and a warm heart.” Let’s be cool the Bible way!

Source: The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Daily Devotional by Dick Mills
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Keep Calm

“Keep your Spirit-Life calm and unruffled.”

Nothing else matters. Leave ALL to Me.

This is your great task, to get calm in My Presence, not to let one ruffled feeling stay for one moment.

Years of blessing may be checked in one moment by that.

No matter who frets you or what, yours is the task to stop all else until absolute calm comes. Any block means My Power diverted into other channels.

Pour forth – pour forth – pour forth – I cannot bless a life that does not act as a channel.

My Spirit brooks no stagnation, not even in rest. Its Power must flow on. Pass on everything, every blessing. Abide in Me.

See how many you can bless each day. Dwell much in My Presence.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
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AUGUST 19
My Utmost for His Highest

SELF-AWARENESS

“Come to Me…”
MATTHEW 11:28

God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside.

Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone.

Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives.

Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances.

Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him.

Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ.

If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.

NEVER allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it.

Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life.

This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him.

Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me….”

The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words.

Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.
———

Stay in the Spirit, keep cool, allowing God’s Shalom (peace) to envelop you, and come join the Adventure!

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GOD is our Source for ALL things needful in this life, and it ALL starts with Jesus…

James 1:17

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.”

I remember once hearing the story about this great intellectual orator, who also happened to be a Christian, giving what I believe was a graduation commencement speech, and he was asked by someone at the very closing moments of his speech to give the meaning and purpose of life.

He thought for a moment and said that our God given mission and purpose in life is for EVERY believer to reflect God’s LIGHT and LOVE into all the dark places of this world; he said we aren’t the source of this light and love, only its reflection.

I would add that God’s purpose, for EVERY Christian, is that we die to ourselves and that we pick up our cross daily, as the Lord said WE ALL must do:

Mark 8:34-38

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

34-38 Then he called his disciples and the people around him, and said to them,

“If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps, he must give up all right to himself, take up his cross and follow me.

The man who tries to save his life will lose it; it is the man who loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s who will save it.

What good can it do a man to gain the whole world at the price of his own soul?

What can a man offer to buy back his soul once he has lost it?

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels around him.”

[NOTE: The cross is the symbol of our death to self will and self determination outside the will and purpose of God]

God’s purpose is that we each, having been born-again, would become the conduit of God’s Agape (which is the God kind of love – meaning love given without strings), and that we would shine God’s LIGHT and LOVE into all the dark areas of this world.

I truly believe that is the mission of EVERY Christian, with the recognition that we are NEVER the source – only the reflection – and that God, our Abba Daddy in heaven – that He is our ONLY Source.

[NOTE: In Greek the word for Father is Pater, which implies, “the originator and transmitter of anything; the authors of a family or society of persons, animated by the same spirit as himself” — from Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary]

Some would claim that all people are “children of God,” but the Bible reveals quite a different truth.

We are all His creations and under His authority and lordship, and all will be judged by Him, but the right to be a child of God and call Him “Abba Father” is something that only born-again Christians have (John 1:12–13).

When we are born again (John 3:1–8), we are adopted into the family of God, redeemed from the curse of sin, and made heirs of God (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7).

Part of that new relationship is that God now deals with us differently, as family.

It is life-changing to understand what it means to be able to call the one true God our “Father” and what it means to be joint-heirs with Christ.

Because of our relationship with our Abba, Father, He no longer deals with us as enemies; instead, we can approach Him with “boldness” (Hebrews 10:19) and in “full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).

The Holy Spirit “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16–17).

Becoming a child of God is the highest and most humbling of honors.

Because of it we have a NEW relationship with God and a NEW standing before Him.

Instead of running from God and trying to hide our sin like Adam and Eve did, we run to Him, calling, “Abba, Father!” and finding forgiveness in Christ.

Being an adopted child of God is the source of our hope, the security of our future, and the motivation to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1).

Being children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords calls us to a higher standard, a different way of life, and, in the future, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4).

As Christians, as Jesus stated in Luke 2:49, we too must be about our Father’s business; and that business is for us to be the distributors of GOD’S LIGHT and His LOVE into all the dark areas of this world. Selah (pause and reflect)

How do we do this?

Zachariah 4:6
JPS Tanakh 1917

Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying: ‘This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying:

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Remember we aren’t the Source of God’s LIGHT and LOVE, only the reflection; and one of the last things Jesus said, before His ascension into heaven was that,

“ALL power has been given to Me, in heaven and earth, so that you (my disciples) may go out and do this job I’m calling you to do.” (see Matthew 28:18-19).

Come join the Adventure!

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