Be Watchful

 

1 Corinthians 16:13

Be watchful; stand firm in the faith; act like men; be strong.

Psalm 27:11

Because of my adversaries, show me Your Way, LORD, and lead me on a level path.

BE WATCHFUL

    We are surrounded on every side: enemies to the north, the south, the east, and the west. Encompassed by those who hate us, who seek to tear us down and in doing so attempt to undermine our faith in God and Jesus Christ. 

    Our adversaries are many and some of them we cannot even see. Therefore, our battle to overcome the onslaught must begin in our hearts, under the watchful eyes of The Holy Spirit. He it is Who strengthens our resolve to "stand fast" in The Word of The Lord. 

STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH

    Our Straight Way is Jesus Christ, and Him crucified and resurrected. It is His Love growing in us that gives us confidence to move forward, regardless of who speaks against us. For the Love of God has been extended to us through His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. It is this Love, this gospel message of salvation through the blood of The Lamb, which compels us to speak out and speak up. 

    We call out to you who have not yet believe, we send forth a cry--with The Holy Spirit--"Come to Jesus." We whisper in the valleys, shout among the mountains, holler o'er the raging seas. God is Love. 

    Romans 1:16 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is The Power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

    2 Corinthians 4:8-10

We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

Always bearing about in the body the dying of The Lord Jesus, that The Life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

ACT LIKE MEN/BE MEN OF COURAGE

    Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God Who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.

    Our courage comes from our unrelentless faith in Christ Jesus. It is He, through His Holy Spirit, Who empowers us with Himself; in Him, as the verse reminds us, "we live, and move, and have our being." How can we not but move across these dark landscapes and shine The Light of God's Love outwards? 

    We are the people of God and we follow Him Who is our Eternal Light. Where He goes, we go. We look not to the right, nor to the left, but straight ahead. When we place our feet firmly on His pathway, and set our faces to focus on what lies ahead, then the distractions of our enemies cannot faze us. The finish line is just ahead. And we are about to cross it. 

    Psalm 5:8

Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your Way before me.

    Isaiah 42:16

I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.

    Isaiah 30:21

And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

    John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

    John 16:13

“However, when The Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.”

BE STRONG

    Our strength is the joy we have in The God of our Salvation. If we are not a joyful people praising our God, then we are living a full and satisfactory life in Christ Jesus. Our tears soak the altar of our prayers; joy is our reward. 

    We know that "the joy of The Lord is our Strength". This is more than happiness in our salvation. It is a deeper walk with Christ. For in this walk, joy lands in the middle of our trials, and our walk is not hampered. 

    Strength in The Lord enables us to leap over walls meant to keep us out. Here we are surrounded by our enemies, and we are leaping, and walking, and praising God. Our enemies watch us and wonder. They torment us, persecute us, kill us for His Name's sake. And we rise up in worship and praise to and for our God.

    Our faith is not determined by a lack of struggles and trials, but by a magnitude of such things. We are, indeed, strong in The Lord. And together this body of Christ, His church, should be united in one common goal: preach the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ until the whole world hears. For it is then that Christ will return for His church. 

    Ready. Set. Go. 

Prayer Cards - Devoted Prayer

 

Colossians 4:2

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

    Be constantly diligent; be aware and alert to the need for constant communication with our heavenly Father, especially on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are out on the mission field. As Paul states in the next verse, "as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for The Word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains."

    Devote also means, 'to persevere', which in turn means we are to move forward despite setbacks and obstacles. Keep on praying regardless of who tells you not to. We can pray silently when we are surrounded by people who are offended by our prayers. When we live in a state of prayer, it is just as important to us as the air we breathe.

    Here Paul is writing to a group of Christians, so he addresses all to continue in prayer together, not just one-on-one prayer with God, but praying in the unity of The Spirit, under His lead and in His power.

    Be alert to the needs of the church as a whole. Be alert to the individual needs of each of us who makeup the church. Be alert to the approach of the enemy at the gate. Be alert to the wolves in sheep's clothing who have infiltrated the church's doors, whose words and actions do not align themselves with the whole Word of God.

    Thank God for the integrity and honest principles of the faithful leaderships which God has placed within your local church and all over the world. Thank God for your salvation and for keeping you. Thank God for Who He Is: for loving us, saving us, protecting us, leading us: "For His mercy endures forever." 

Heart & Soul - - All That Is Within Me

 

Mark 12:20

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3650

All: the whole, complete, entire

From the Greek word 'holos' (pronounced hol'-os): wholly, where all the parts are present and working as a whole – i.e. as the total, which is greater than the mere sum of the parts.

EVERYTHING THAT IS WITHIN ME

Deuteronomy 6:4, 5

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

    Abraham had God's promise that through the son he would have with Sarah, the son not yet conceived, would come many nations. The promise came before the test. Abraham had faith that God would restore life to his son. For he knew that God keeps His promises. (Genesis 17:1-18:15; 21:1-8; 22:1-15). Abraham fulfilled the first commandment.

    Hosea, under God's command, married a prostitute and had children with her. He was God's prophet and his actions may have seemed crazy to his contemporaries, yet God had placed a great love within Hosea's heart for her: a heart that forgave her whoredoms (fornications and adulteries) and loved her back into a right relationship. This great romance is not only a historical fact, but an allegorical relationship of God wooing His people back to Himself. Hosea fulfilled the first commandment.

    Jesus' mother, Mary, fulfilled the first commandment in a simple reply to the angel who spoke the prophecy to her: Luke 1:38 "“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her." Fully surrendered to God, Mary submitted to the Word spoken over her. 

    The widow, who gave God everything she had, fulfilled the first commandment. (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). She placed all of her finances in the Lord's treasury: she gave all that she had. Though wealthier people had given some of their riches, she out of her necessity gave it all to God. 

    These people are but a few Biblical examples of giving everything within them to the Lord God. Because their hearts were filled with a desire to please God, they were able to serve Him in such a way as to glorify Him. Are we? We have current contemporary examples who show us how to love God first and foremost, by their outspoken faith: Brock Purdy. Tim Tebow. Joyce Meyers. Elisabeth Elliot.

    Worshiping God is more than singing, more than playing a musical instrument. God wants our everything, our all. And He wants it when He asks for it. To worship God is to obey God when He speaks. And He's still speaking today. 

    We hear Him speaking when we pray while we study out His Word for ourselves. Before the many comes the individual. Adam walked and talked with God before anyone else existed. He was intelligent and able to speak clearly. He could think for himself and make decisions on his own. He was no caveman as junk science would have us believe, but a man with whom God could converse, as friend to friend.

    We hear God speaking when we spend quality time with Him and Him only. In whatever space or room we have set aside for just being alone with Him, our prayer room or prayer closet: a smallish space that leaves no room for anything else. We make a decision to do so and stick by it, regardless of outside discord, which threatens our alone time with Him. 

    Have you asked yourself, "Why am I here? What is my purpose?" God knows. In fact, God is the only One Who knows exactly why He created you. But in order for us to fulfill our purpose in Him we need to seek Him out and ask Him what is our specific reason for existing? Besides the basics.

CREATED TO

>We are created to commune-listen to, hear from, speak with-with the God Who created us. 

>We are created to worship God and Him only. Deuteronomy 6:5.

>We are created to love God, to love Him above all other loves. Exodus 20:1-5.
>We are created to be God's hands and feet, carrying the gospel of salvation wherever He sends us. Mark 16:15. John 15:16.

>We are created to be productive. As He set Adam and Eve up in the Garden of Eden to take care of all that was in it, so we, too, are expected to work in God's kingdom. Everyone has a job to do. Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-24. John 4:34-38. Acts 1:8. 

>We are created to love all other people in the same way in which God loves us: unconditionally (no strings attached, no quid pro quo, without measure or merit). Mark 12:31. John 13:34; 15:17.

>We are created to conquer, to overcome, to rise above every obstacle in our path. Psalm 18:32-35. Isaiah 40:31. Ephesians 6:10-20.

>We are created to endure, to outlast our enemy. Hebrews 12:1.

>We are created to persevere, to continue on, to move forward regardless of what tries to grab our attention and focus. Proverbs 4:27. 

    These are some of our most basic reasons for our existence. If we have not attained some of them, there's still time. Only three things can prevent us from accomplishing God's purpose for our lives:

1. Death. After we die, there are no more opportunities to love God and fulfill our purpose in Him.

2. Christ's Second Return. When the Father sends His Son back to this earth to collect His bride, all of the people who make up this bride (the church) will leave. After that you'll have seven years to make up your minds whether or not you will choose God to be your God. 

3. Unwillingness. Ignorance is not your friend, nor is it available to you after you have been reading these studies with me. You cannot say, 'I did not know'. Apathy is not your friend, either. To hear the Word of the Lord and not receive is to have an 'I don't care' attitude towards God's Word. It is to be unwilling to surrender your all to His all. 

    Can I say I have done my part up to this point in sharing the gospel, in testifying of God's amazing grace to me, to us? Yes. Can I do more? Always. The Holy Spirit takes me where God wants me to go. And right now, that's here. All that is within me desires all that He is. 

DESIRING GOD'S PRESENCE 

Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Life

 

1 Timothy 4:15, 16

15. Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

16. Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3191 and No. 1961

Diligent: to care for, practice, study, revolve in the mind, premeditate on

From the Greek word 'meletaó' (pronounced mel-et-ah'-o): I devise, plan; practice, exercise myself in, study, ponder.

Persevere: to stay on, abide in

From the Greek word ' epimenó' (pronounced ep-ee-men'-o): I remain, tarry;  I remain in, persist in. To continue on with persistence that suits the objective.

    Are our lives living examples of the Gospel? Can you see Jesus in me or hear His voice when I speak? What in me is hindering you from either of these things? I have to ask myself: Does my well hold any Living Water or is it broken? Has rust (corruption) gotten into my treasure box? 

    Matthew 13:52

"The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure."

    Jeremiah 2:13

"“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

    In Matthew 28:19, 20 Jesus gives The Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” An instruction Paul repeats to Timothy, the young evangelist who will remain in Ephesus for a time. 

    And, so, I study. I read and devour The Word of God that I might be found an acceptable servant in His sight and give out The Word that I have heard and seen. I embrace The Word with delight; I meditate on His Word, pondering in my heart, as Mary did (Luke 2:19), what I am hearing and seeing. It is ever present within me. 

    It is what we have been studying for over a year now: what it means to be a born again Christian: the how we become born again; the why we choose to become born again; the how to live a  born again life. We are not done with our studies. Yet. 

PSALM 63 (Better Than Life) Shane & Shane

TAKE MY LIFE  Micah Stampley

LIFESONG Casting Crowns

EVERYTHING (video skit) Lifehouse