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OK... I have a weekly Devo on MYSPACE, so I wanted you guys to see it and comment on it too! sooo... This was the seemingly best place for this.

1 Corinthians 2:4-5 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. NIV



This is what I get out of this:



The Body of Christ is awesome. God created it so that we could be affective in our communities and be the most dynamic to saving those who are around us. However, we cannot be so reliant on one another, that we do not trust God, who holds all the power, and is the reason we live.

Let’s just say there was a prominent man or woman in the Christian community. Yes, I could look at him or her and say, “Wow that is a really awesome child of God! I really want to have their fire for God,â€

Wellll... this at first started last week as the weekly verse, but... I always ended up talking about things... in the form of a devotion anyways... so... I might as well call it as it is. I will be the first one to tell you that I DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING! Every day is a learning experience, especially in the things of God. The second thing, I AM NOT ALWAYS RIGHT! If there is something that I say, that you don't agree with, or sounds funny to you, TELL ME! Maybe I have interpreted something wrong, or have the wrong idea about something. OK... so after that little disclaimer... here are some of the verses I have been seeing this pat week, and my thoughts on them, and other random tidbits of stuff.

ABOUT FRIENDS

I think that pretty much everyone in the world has at least ONE friend, a person that they can talk to, listen to, fellowship with, laugh, and cry with. There are those CLOSE friends and then there are those "People you sort of know" ~ Your "acquaintances." What I will be talking about here, will not be the acquaintances in your life, but rather, your BEST friends- the people who influence you, who can pull you up, push you down, pull you threw a storm to safety, or can throw you off a cliff.

the call:

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. KJV

Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. NIV

God calls us to spread his good news, to tell other about him. To whom are we supposed to be telling the good news? "All the world." Meaning: family, neighbors, strangers... and Friends. Once we realize the truth of God's saving grace, that he has saved us from an eternity in Hell:

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. KJV

HE HAS GIVEN US THE RIGHT TO BE HIS KIDS!!!!!!

That is so amazing. And, of course, we should want to tell everyone about this (But then somtimes apathy comes in... but that is another devo for another time... LOL), especially those who are the closest to us.

The way we SHOULD picture it is this: We are all on a "train" to Heaven. We are on the ONLY train that is going there. It is one way... and it will only make ONE trip. We need to get as many of our friends and family, and those we care about onto this train before it leaves, or before we leave this earth behind us. We cannot take THINGS with us... but you can take PEOPLE with you, because souls last forever.

I don't know if you have thought of this before... but here it is anyway:

Our souls are eternal... we WILL LIVE FOREVER... no matter what we do. But the question is not how LONG we will live... but WHERE. We will live in either eternal JOY in Heaven, or Eternal TORMENT in Hell. Just something to think about.

OK... so now summing all that up... WE ARE CALLED BY GOD TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, and WE SHOULD WANT TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS TO SAVE SOULS!

the influence

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. NKJV

So many times we conform to the world without even knowing it. Perhapes it is music: maybe there is a song where we find ourselves defending: "Well... the lyrics are bad, and talk about things I know I shouldn't be thinking about... but... I only like the music... I don't listen to the lyrics." But the truth is If I could ask that person to recite the lyrics to that song... they probably could, because the words would have worked themselves deeply into their mind... whether they realized it or not. Or... perhapes it's in TV or in movies: "Well... I know the movie has inapropriate scenes it in... but there is only one... and we fast forward it... and the bad language is only every now and then." In the day and age of programs that can get rid of those things, those things are becoming less an issue, but even with that said, we are conforming whether or not we know it. Can people really see a DIFFERENCE in us? Can they put a non-christian and us next to each other and be able to see what makes us different? If not... we have a lot of work to do.
Ephesians 4: 17-24 17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. NIV

We all have sinned... yes... We should be trying to shine the light of Christ into the darkness and reveal to our friends his love... yes. But, here is something else the Bible says:

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? NIV

This has applications to marriage, yes. But it also has a deep application to friendship as well. Your best friends. You influence each other in visible ways, but in subtle ways as well. It has been said "Show me your friends and I'll show you your future." You influence your friends, and they influence you. Either you are influencing them for the good or bad, or they are influencing you for the worse or the better. There can be no middle ground.

We can imagine our faith as a lit candle. If your "good" friends are constantly doing bad things, talking negatively, saying bad things to you or about you (joking or not), and speaking of things that are just not of God, it's like they are casting water onto your lit candle... your candle will dwindle, and could even die with influences like that. It's going to be hard to keep your faith, to do what God says, to stay strong, to tell others about Jesus. But, if you are keeping company with people that throw FUEL: words of God, prayer, good deeds, encouragement; then it will make your candle a TORCH. Pray about this... examine why your "best friends" are your closest friends. Is it really because you want them to know God? Or is it because of other selfesh reasons?


the perspective

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. NIV

There is ONE message: The cross, what Jesus did there: dying for our sins, so that we may have eternal life. It's the same message, but the way we perceive it is different, depending on what filter we are putting over our eyes, and on what frequency our ears are turned to.

For people to accept the cross, they first have to admit one thing: that they have sinned. Many people don't want to think that they have sinned, or that they have done wrong. They want to think that they can get into Heaven by their own good works, or just by being a relatively good person they will go to Heaven. Many times they will also force the idea of Heaven completely out of their heads... they don't want there to be rights and wrongs... they want to do what they want to do without consequences. To them, the message of the cross is DEATH and FOOLISHNESS because it condemns them to Hell, and they want to brush it off and laugh: they DON'T think they need a SAVIOR, because they don't think there is anything from which to be SAVED.

But to us, who are being RESCUED, the message of the cross is, indeed, "THE POWER OF GOD" because Jesus has RESCUED us. Somtimes It will take more than just telling our friends about Christ, but it will take a change of PERSPECTIVE on their part: their minds and their hearts being changed. That is something I truly believe we need to be praying about more: That God would Open their Hearts and Minds so that they will realize that they NEED A SAVIOR!

A NEW CREATURE: A PROCESS

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. KJV

God takes us as we are: Broken, tattered, filthy as rags, and he cleans us up, makes us white as snow. Somtimes, this can happen instantly; but, other times, it can take a long time. Life is a journey, and so is Christianity a Journey. Will we fall down again? Most likely. Will we get back up again once we fall, no matter how many times? Well, God's arm will always be outstretched to us to help us up again. It's up to US to continue the journey.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. NIV
"HOW CAN WE BECOME INNOCENT AGAIN?" I truly believe that God can make us innocent again: New creatures, born again, fresh, clean, and new: Lovers of his Word: His Truth. But how do we do that?

1) Pray! Ask God to once again give you a clean heart, mind, and soul. Ask for new birth in your spiritual life.

2) Remove yourself from the OLD INFLUENCES. It doesn't make sense to say "MOM! I'm all wet... and I've been trying to get dry for Two days!" When you've been sitting in the pool for two days. If you are still amongst the old influences that got you into trouble in the first place, odds are that they will get you into them again. You need to remove yourself from those old influences.

3) SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GOOD INFLUENCES! It's not just enough to remove those old influences... you also need to put good influences in those places where the old ones used to take residence: Reading the Bible, Praying, Fellowshipping with other believers, Worshipping God, and Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, 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. NIV

WHOSE TIME?

When speaking about making time for God: Reading the Bible, Praying, and Worshipping God at home away from Church, many people come up with the excuse: "But I don't have the time."

But who is the creator of Time? The answer is Obvious: GOD, THE LORD ALMIGHTY!

When people don't want to "waste" their time.. many times they don't realize that Worshipping God and being in his will, and trying to listen to his voice, and telling other about Him... IS THE TRUE USE of time that we should all be doing.. and the things we think to be more important, that we do MOST of the time, IS THE WASTE of time.

If we TITHE our TIME away... I am confident that he will not punish us for it... we will be blessed, and he might give us MORE time to do the things we think we don't have the time to complete!


I Was going to write more... but I think that is enough for this week.

God Bless you all!

And... GOODNIGHT!

Devo #3: Finding God

God: The creator of the universe, the milky way galaxy, the solar system, Earth, North America, The United States of America, Maryland, People, families, YOU.

God wants us to have a relationship with him. Sure, he could have just made us all like mindless robots that would worship him, but he wanted to create beings in his likeness that would love and adore him not because we were forced to, but rather because we chose to. God gave us all the amazing gift of choice. We use this phenomenal right everyday, whether or not we are aware of it: what time to get up, whether or not we will go to school/college/work, if we will be in a good mood, if we will eat lunch today, what we will eat for lunch… etc… Even getting up from bed is a choice. We could choose just to stay there and not even get up if we wanted to. Sure, there would be consequences… and consequences are just that: the direct result of a choice that is made, good or bad, there are consequences for everything.

But, just who is God?

This is what God says about himself:


Isaiah 44:6 "This is what the LORD, Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty, says: I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. NLT

Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." NLT

He is the Beginning: He has always been here,
He is the End: He will always be here, long past the empires of the earth, and the strongest people in the world are long faded in the past of molding history books. God has been, is, and will always be God.


Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. NIV

Genesis 2:7-9 7the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. NIV

Genesis 2:15-17 15The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." NIV


Ok. God made the earth, he made man. He told Adam, the first man, that the only thing he couldn’t do was eat of the tree of good and evil. That was it. But… fast forwarding… Eve was tempted by satan in the form of a serpent to eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil and she did so, and then after doing so, she asked Adam to eat the fruit as well. He did so, and they both had gone against God’s only law: Don’t eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil.


Genesis 3:8-10 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." NIV
God already knows where Adam and Eve are, and what they have done… but he sought them out anyway. One reason why Adam might be so afraid is that he knows he has done wrong. This is what John 3:20-21 says:
John 3:20-21 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." NIV

Of course Adam is afraid! He just broke the only law that God made for both he and Eve, and he broke it! He doesn’t want God to find him because he doesn’t want to face the consequences… like hiding from God really makes any sense to begin with.

That’s all of that story that I’m going to go into, if you are curious about the rest of it, Read the Book of Genesis, and you will find the rest of this story and many others. My point that I’m trying to make is this:
So many times people feel as if God is hiding, that God is so far away, way up there in the clouds away from view, unreachable, invisible and unattainable. They feel that God could care less about the things going on down here and that he is watching some sitcom with his headphones listening to the latest music on his iPod. The reality is quite the opposite:

We are the ones that are far away from Him. He is the one that comes seeking for as, more so than we seek after him. It’s like a game of hide and seek, though only sometimes we will seek, and other times we hide, whereas God is always searching for us, and never hides.

Luke 15: 3-7 3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. NIV

Each and every person on this earth is important to God. God is seeking after us, even when we don’t realize it, even when we don’t “feelâ€