"How's Your Spirit?"

Written by R. E. Bailes


"Keeping In Communion"

When I was in my late teens in high school I remember a time when I was doing some things around my friends that I knew my father wouldn't have approved of and some of that was even just being associated with people who did things mischievous. I didn't really think it was all that bad, but I realized something really important my senior year around graduation time. I realized that I couldn't communicate very well with my father! I had been doing my own things, making choices that were not according to what he had told my brothers and I to do. I wasn't living by his direction and teachings that we had been taught for the ten years prior to this time.

It was time for me to seek wisdom and experience from my father because I needed it! I was going into a new phase of life! Not only did I need advice; I needed things to get started on my own. I was leaving for college in the fall and there were allot of things to get and decisions to make.

Well, guess what happened? I tried to do it on my own! I decided that I would just get it all done myself and I didn't need my fathers help! Why did I feel that way? That brings me to my point! I felt that I would do it on my own because I didn't want to admit that I had done anything wrong or against my fathers will. I didn't want to face my father because I knew that he wasn't pleased with my choices; though he gave me enough independence to make them.

I knew that my father was not going to be able to bless me if I wasn't following his guidelines. I was too ashamed of some of the mistakes I had made to face him.

If you have kids, you know exactly what I am saying; but I'm not talking about the kids today. I'm talking about us adults who need things right now! I'm talking about grown ups who need guidance to get through this day!

We have a heavenly Father, you know? Are the communication lines open between you and our Lord today? I have to admit things to Him every day it seems. There isn't a day that I don't make some kind of mistake and I have to tell him I didn't mean to do whatever I did.

"I wish I hadn't done that Father!"

"I want to do better next time Father!"

"Help me to learn how not to make this mistake again Father!"

Let's look at a passage today that tells us what we need to do and why in order to receive the things we need from our Father in heaven and not only that, but to be in Him and His Spirit to dwell in us.

It's called relationship! We will be able to relate to each other like never before when we do what this passage says! God is all about relationship as He tells us that we will become brothers of Jesus and become His child when we accept Him!

Let's read,

1John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Are we doing those things that are pleasing in His sight?

Do we truly believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ?

Do we really love one another as he commanded us to?

If so, we dwell in Him and He in us!

We know it by the Spirit that He gave us.

How's your Spirit today? Do you know that God is there? Can you come to our Father and ask for your needs to be met or for guidance and support today? If you feel like you cannot face Him, don't let your heart condemn you! Come to Him and admit your mistakes; he already knows about it! He just wants to hear it from you and He wants you to regain your confidence so that you will come to Him and He can give you what you need!

1John 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
1Jn 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

I have a twenty year old daughter that is going through this right now. I want to share with her all that I have learned and I want to be a part of her life right now!

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't grieve over the fact that she is trying to tough it out on her own! I long to commune with her and guide her and help her with her needs! I want to have our father / daughter relationship back so bad! I have found that the only thing I can really do as a Father is to let her know that I love her and to wait patiently for her to come back, ready with a desire to do the same. Right now her heart has condemned her but it shouldn't because the love of God is much greater than her heart and God knows all things.

I talk with my Lord every time I think of her. I know one day God will bring her back into communion with Himself and that is when she will be open to communication with me and ready to accept the guidance and love I offer her.

Rom 10:8-11 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.


Let's pray,

Our Father, I come to you today with confidence that you love me; that you dwell in my spirit and that I am welcome to your guidance and infinite blessings. You are an infinite God! Your grace and mercy is more than I could ever deserve, but you loved us first before we ever existed on this earth. I ask you Lord to protect me from evil; to keep me from temptations that would try to come between us and break down the communication that I want to have with you. I need your help and your guidance so I ask for this and for the Holy Spirit to empower my life and all those that I am able to help today in love as you have commanded me to do. Amen.

"Rest In Peace"

Are the Dead "Resting In Peace"?

As I was reading an article on Yahoo, I thought about this idea of people who have passed away, resting in peace. Is that really what we do when we die? It is a very nice and peaceful thought but it certainly is not at all how the Bible teaches us that we will send our time when we are gone from these bodies. here's the piece from the article that I read.

"Jackson will share eternity at Forest Lawn with the likes of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and W.C. Fields, entombed alongside them in the mausoleum that will be all but off-limits to adoring fans who might otherwise turn the pop star's grave into a shrine.

The closest the public will be able to get to Jackson's vault is a portion of the mausoleum that displays "The Last Supper Window," a life-size stained-glass re-creation of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. Several 10-minute presentations about the window are held regularly 365 days a year, but most of the building is restricted.

The Jackson family had booked an Italian restaurant in Pasadena for a gathering Thursday night, and family members and guests were seen coming and going late into the night.

"I feel like I watched Michael finally given some peace and I made a commitment to make sure his legacy and what he stood for lives on," Sharpton said outside the restaurant around midnight. "So at one level we're relieved; another level we're obligated."

The ceremony ends months of speculation that the singer's body would be buried at Neverland Ranch, in part to make the property a Graceland-style attraction. An amended copy of Jackson's death certificate was filed Thursday in Los Angeles County to reflect Forest Lawn as his final resting place" -Yahoo News-

I would have thought that something would have been said about Micheal spending eternity in Heaven if he had been a believer but it may be that no one knows for sure. Let's look at a verse that tells us what Jesus said to the criminal on the cross when he was facing death and he called out to Jesus!

Luke 23:42,43 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

This is the result of the saving grace of Jesus on the cross, but remember that it must be received ny every man, no matter how great they may be. Tell those around you about the saving grace of God. Share the true peace that will last for eternity!

I promise you that it isn't "resting in peace" after death in an unltra expensive grave where people can come and idolize you for your greatness on earth. Our journey takes us from this life into eternity where out works will be tried with fire. The only things that will last will be what the Bible describes as jewels and gold. Seel God's will for your life and you'll be ready for that time whenever it arrives!

Tell your friends, family and co-workers today about the saving grace of Jesus so that they too will be prepared for a joyful entry to the place of true rest, Heaven!

"Favor In God's Sight"

Written by R. E. Bailes

MINE!

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

When you go forward in life by faith, trusting God for favor in his sight, you will see the goodness and mercy of God as you look back at how things worked out for you! There are some speakers that will tell you that everything will turn out fine all of the time and everyone will do good things for you every time you turn around if you just think that you are favored by God.

If that is true, then what happened to all of the people who experience hardship out of their control and who are becoming stronger and wiser every day that they struggle to keep their heart, mind and soul in alignment with God? What about the missionaries who have suffered and died and the apostles that were tortured? Did God change the way people were favored in His sight in the past few years? Then why are famous speakers telling people everything will happen in their favor if they just think that it will?

The truth is that there is a difference in the way people think about the matter of God's favor for ones self. The popular belief is that we can have whatever we want if we believe we will have it and everyone will just put in it our hands. I saw a tent meeting preacher in Tennessee get this kind of treatment once when he passed the KFC buckets around but normally it doesn't happen to us everytime we turn around!

When we ask God for favor in His sight, we accept WHATEVER HE PREFERS for our life and we believe that it is best. That is part of being in alignment and God tells us that our presses will burst and our storage barns will be filled. These are simply examples of how the people in those days would relate to being blessed by God. Let's look at a couple of those people.

Noah, his family and animals were spared when every creature on earth was destroyed by the flood. He had received the favor of God for his life and God did something miraculous for Noah.

Genesis 6:7,8 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Then there was Joseph who, as a young boy, had been taken into slavery in Egypt. No matter what happened in his life, Joseph always seemed to find himself closely watched and guarded by God, even in the prison after being tricked by Pharoah's wife. Don't you believe that Joseph's father, Isreal (Jacob), was praying every day for Joseph to find favor "in the sight of God"?

Genesis 39:5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.


It makes a huge difference when we ask God for "favor in His sight" rather than expecting other people to give us favor. Most of the time, when you hear a speaker talking about people having favor all the time, everywhere you go, with everyone you meet, they are filling peoples minds with the kind of messages that will excite their "MINE" nerve. Everytime that an opportunity to get something bigger and better comes up, they believe that they are going to get it! That's the "MINE" nerve that kicks into action whenever we believe we will get a reward in this life that we didn't do ANYTHING to receive.

Don't get me wrong! I believe that God does many supernatural things to help us out of situations that we can't help ourselves out of and sometimes we even sudddenly get that surprise that we asked for long ago but had kind of forgotten about! Look at this verse that shows us how the apostle Paul explained the reward system to the Corinthians.

1Corinthians 3:6-8 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

This is referring to our rewards in Heaven for the spreading of the Word, but this is typical of the teachings throughout the Bible. The apostle even told the disciples, who preached the Word following Jesus resurrection, that those who didn't work shouldn't eat.

We must be careful about believing the speakers who tell us everything that makes us feel good while there are millions who are suffering in this world! Just remember Matthew twenty-five starting in verse thirty-one, where we are told that God will gather all nations together before His throne. Look at this passage and find out why the Lord tells us to help those in need! Actually,He tells us to help those who are the very least of these; who cannot possibly help us in return! According to this passage, who does the Bible say that we have actually helped when we do this? That's right, we have done it to God Himself!

How many, so called, favored people really care enough to help others who don't in some way or another benefit them in return? I believe that people can become wealthy and still care for those in need, but it is the "MINE" nerve that usually reacts when we tune in to the message of the prosperity speakers who are leading masses in the churches of today!

Let's be real! Let's seek favor "in the sight of God" for ourselves and those we care for today!

Entreat God for favor in His sight anytime you need an answer in life!

God will give you the BEST answer for the BEST results in LIFE!

That's a promise!

Today's Scripture Reading

Mat 25:31-40 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

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