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Friday, March 29, 2013

Jesus Got Up


DAILY DEVOTIONAL

WRITTEN BY LARRY STOCKSTILLOn the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Satan was holding a choice prisoner. This man, totally bound by Satan, was naked and homeless. When Jesus arrived on the scene, the demons in the man violently protested. We need not think that we will invade darkened lands, cultures, and strongholds without experiencing resistance. Someone said, "If you never run into the devil, you must be going the same way!" 

Satan hates our mission. We are traveling into his territory, invading the kingdom of darkness. The storms we encounter are diversions to discourage us from reaching those whom Satan considers his trophies. When Jesus set out to confront the demoniac, Satan tried to stop him. A storm "came down" (v. 23 NIV), but Jesus "got up"

Monday, March 25, 2013

Brush His Hair

This video from Beth Moore telling the story of an incident that happened to her in an airport is awesome. Give it a watch!!




Friday, March 22, 2013

What’s Done is Done


by Max Lucado


What do you do with your failures? Could you do it all over again, you’d do it differently. You’d be more patient. You’d control your tongue. You’d finish what you started. You’d get married first. But as many times as you tell yourself, “What’s done is done,” what you did can’t be undone.
That’s part of what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). He didn’t say, “The wages of sin is a bad mood.”  Or “The wages of sin is a hard day.” Read it again.  “The wages of sin is death.”  Sin is fatal.
What do you do?  Don’t we all long for a father who will love us?  A father who cares for us in spite of our failures? We have that kind of a father.  A father whose grace is strongest when our devotion is weakest.  Your failures are not fatal, my friend!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

F E A R (False Evidence Appearing Real)

By Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life


There is a debilitating fear that Satan tries to put on us every day. I call fear False Evidence Appearing Real. It is intended to keep us from having the power, love and sound mind God wants us to have.

Sometimes we think of fear as an emotion, but it is actually a spirit. In fact, fear is one of Satan's favorite tools, and he particularly loves to harass Christians with it.

But Jesus said, "All things can be (are possible) to him who believes!" (Mark 9:23 AMP). And an on-fire, Bible-believing Christian who is fearless is the enemy's worst fear!

It has been said that fear is the opposite of faith, and that is true. We can't live in faith and fear at the same time. Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from receiving God's promises. It keeps us from stepping out and obeying what God has called us to do.

Fear must be confronted head-on with the power of faith. We must proclaim the Word of God and command fear to leave.

So the next time fear knocks on your door, send faith to answer!

Prayer this prayer: Lord, alert me when I'm confronted by False Evidence Appearing Real. I know that with Your help, I can respond with the power of faith and send fear running every time.

Monday, March 18, 2013

It's Over

By Samantha Evilsizer
(Proverbs31.org)

"My beloved spoke and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.'" Song of Songs 2:10-11 (NIV)

These lyrics caught in my throat the first time I sang them: "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon the cross."* I cried as I stared at my circumstances, ashamed.

I'd compromised big time in some areas and, until the warm truth of that song caught me off guard, I had turned a cold shoulder to the hope of forgiveness. Shame convinced me I wasn't worthy of another chance.

Last summer, I met a young woman who needed one other chance too, maybe more. On a 75 degree, gorgeous-in-every-way L.A. day, I served a meal on Skid Row with The Dream Center team (see note below). There I was, navigating my way around pain and hypodermic needles. There she was, fidgeting outside the women's shelter.

She melded into the gray of her tattered sweatpants. Washed out and muted, buried under the debris of a dark world, away from the Light for too long. Inching toward me, she stepped over others hibernating beneath cardboard boxes and frigid despair.

Try as I might, I couldn't catch her eyes as she asked for help. Shame from past deeds had beaten her down. It made her doubt she was worthy of anything, much less another chance for a hot meal and cold drink. This timid woman had been pushed out of the food line. Unable to defend herself and in too much physical pain to stand in line again, she needed someone to make a way for her.

Together, we walked to the front of the food truck (not gonna lie, it was fun breezing past her bullies). But I felt helpless handing her only scrambled eggs and water. Surely, she needed so much more.

We all need more at some point, don't we?

This frail woman needed to know God had more for her than this. That what she'd done to land on Skid Row could be forgiven—forgotten, even. This cold season could turn into a warmer one. I wanted to share this truth: "See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone" (Song of Songs 2:11 NIV).

Winter, that gloomy season that should pass. But what if it lingers? What if one bad-for-us choice turns into 100 that beat us to our own Skid Row? What if mistakes convince us we don't deserve another shot?

Been there? Me too. But letting the Light of truth in to our hearts turns our winter of doubt into a spring of hope.

What we've done doesn't dictate who we are. The truth is, what He's done makes us who we are: forgiven, hopeful and worthy of another chance. We may not believe we deserve a second shot. But Christ's sacrifice on the cross and our gift of a new life through His death gives us one. When we ask for forgiveness and turn from our sins, our past is covered by God's mercy and grace.

Never doubt, He'll always lead us past the bully of shame to the front of the line for so much more than eggs and water.

God, it's hard to believe I'm worthy of another chance. But I'm taking a step of faith, choosing to accept that Your death means a new chance for me. I'll never know how much it cost, but I'm forever grateful. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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For more information on the Dream Center  in Los Angeles, goto : 
http://www.dreamcenter.org/about-us/our-story/history/

Thursday, March 7, 2013

What Happened to the 12 Apostles

by C Michael Patton

The following is my attempt to take the best of all the sources and share the most likely scenario for each Apostle’s death. At the risk of spoiling some of the “legends,” I have given each account a grade of probability from A (highest probability) to D (lowest probability).

This may sound odd, but in a very real sense, I thank God for bringing about the Apostles’ deaths, for in their deaths they sealed their testimony in blood making our faith in the risen Christ built upon a solid foundation.

(1) The Apostle James

James, the Apostle of the Lord, was the second recorded martyr after Christ’s death (Stephen was the first). His death is recorded in Acts 12:2 where it is told that Herod Agrippa killed him with a sword. Clemens Alexandrinus and Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History II.2) both tell how the executioner witnessed the courage and un-recanting spirit of James and was then convinced of Christ resurrection and was executed along with James.

Date of Martyrdom: 44-45 A.D.

Probability rating: A for the death of James, C- for the death of the executioner

(2) The Apostle Peter

Although, just before the crucifixion, Peter denied three times that he even knew Christ, after the resurrection he did not do so again. Peter, just as Jesus told him in John 21:18-19, was crucified by Roman executioners because he could not deny his master again. According to Eusebius, he thought himself unworthy to be crucified as his Master, and, therefore, he asked to be crucified “head downward.”

Date of Martyrdom: ca. 64 A.D.

Probability rating: A

(3) The Apostle Andrew

Andrew, who introduced his brother Peter to Christ, went to join Peter with Christ in eternity six years after Peter’s death. After preaching Christ’s resurrection to the Scythians and Thracians, he too was crucified for his faith. As Hippolytus tells us, Andrew was hanged on an olive tree at Patrae, a town in Achaia.

Date of Martyrdom: 70 A.D.

Probability rating: B

(4) The Apostle Thomas

Thomas is known as “doubting Thomas” because of his reluctance to believe the other Apostles’ witness of the resurrection. After they told him that Christ was alive, he stated “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). After this, Christ did appear to him and Thomas believed unto death. Thomas sealed his testimony as he was thrust through with pine spears, tormented with red-hot plates, and burned alive.

Date of Martyrdom: 70 A.D.

Probability rating: B concerning his martyrdom, D concerning the exact method of execution.

(5) The Apostle Philip

Philip was corrected by Christ when he asked Christ to “show us the Father, then this will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Christ responded, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father ‘?” (John 14:9). Philip later saw the glory of Christ after the resurrection and undoubtedly reflected with amazement on Christ’s response to his request. Philip evangelized in Phrygia where hostile Jews had him tortured and then crucified.

Date of Martyrdom: 54 A.D.

Probability rating: C

(6) The Apostle Matthew

Matthew, the tax collector, so desperately wanted the Jews to accept Christ. He wrote The Gospel According to Matthew about ten years before his death. Because of this, one can see, contained within his Gospel, the faith for which he spilled his blood. Matthew surely remembered his resurrected Savior’s words, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20), when he professed the resurrected Christ unto his death by beheading at Nad-Davar.

Date of Martyrdom: 60-70 A.D.

Probability rating: B

(7) The Apostle Nathanael (Bartholomew)

Nathanael, whose name means “gift of God” was truly given as a gift to the Church through his martyrdom. Nathanael was the first to profess, early in Christ’s ministry, that Christ was the Son of God (John 1:49). He later paid for this profession through a hideous death. Unwilling to recant of his proclamation of a risen Christ, he was flayed and then crucified.

Date of Martyrdom: 70 A.D.

Probability rating: C

(8) The Apostle James the Lesser

James was appointed to be the head of the Jerusalem church for many years after Christ’s death. In this, he undoubtedly came in contact with many hostile Jews (the same ones who killed Christ and stated “His [Christ's] blood be on us and our children” (Matt. 27:25). In order to make James deny Christ’s resurrection, these men positioned him at the top of the Temple for all to see and hear. James, unwilling to deny what he knew to be true, was cast down from the Temple and finally beaten to death with a fuller’s club to the head.

Date of Martyrdom: 63 A.D.

Probability rating: B that he was cast down from the temple, D that he was being beaten to death with fuller’s club after the fall

(9) The Apostle Simon the Zealot

Simon was a Jewish zealot who strived to set his people free from Roman oppression. After he saw with his own eyes that Christ had been resurrected, he became a zealot of the Gospel. Historians tell of the many different places that Simon proclaimed the good news of Christ’s resurrection: Egypt, Cyrene, Africa, Mauritania, Britain, Lybia, and Persia. His rest finally came when he verified his testimony and went to be with Christ, being crucified by a governor in Syria.

Date of Martyrdom: 74 A.D.

Probability rating: B

(10) The Apostle Judas Thaddeus

Judas questioned the Lord: “Judas said to him (not Iscariot), Lord, how is it that you will show yourself to us, and not unto the world?” (John 14:22). After he witnessed Christ’s resurrection, Judas then knew the answer to his question. Preaching the risen Christ to those in Mesopotamia in the midst of pagan priests, Judas was beaten to death with sticks, showing to the world that Christ was indeed Lord and God.

Date of Martyrdom: 72 A.D.

Probability rating: C

(11) The Apostle Matthias

Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot (the betrayer of Christ who hanged himself) as the twelfth Apostle of Christ (Acts 1:26). It is believed by most that Matthias was one of the seventy that Christ sent out during his earthly ministry (Luke 10:1). This qualifies him to be an apostle. Matthias, of which the least is known, is said by Eusebius to have preached in Ethiopia. He was later stoned while hanging upon a cross.

Date of Martyrdom: 70 A.D.

Probability rating: D

(12) The Apostle John

John is the only one of the twelve Apostles to have died a natural death. Although he did not die a martyr’s death, he did live a martyr’s life. He was exiled to the Island of Patmos under the Emperor Domitian for his proclamation of the risen Christ. It was there that he wrote the last book in the Bible, Revelation. Some traditions tell us that he was thrown into boiling oil before the Latin Gate, where he was not killed but undoubtedly scarred for the rest of his life.

Date of Martyrdom: 95 A.D.

Probability rating: A that he was not martyred, C that he was thrown into boiling oil

(13) The Apostle Paul

Paul, himself a persecutor of the Christian faith (Galatians 1:13), was brought to repentance on his way to Damascus by an appearance of the risen Christ. Ironically, Paul was heading for Damascus to arrest those who held to Christ’s resurrection. Paul was the greatest skeptic there was until he saw the truth of the resurrection. He then devoted his life to the proclamation of the living Christ. Writing to the Corinthians, defending his ministry, Paul tells of his sufferings for the name of Christ: “In labors more abundant, in beatings above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once was I stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeys often, in storms on the water, in danger of robbers, in danger by mine own countrymen, in danger by the heathen, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in the sea, among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness “(2 Cor. 11:23-27). Finally, Paul met his death at the hands of the Roman Emperor Nero when he was beheaded in Rome.

Date of Martyrdom: ca. 67 A.D.

Probability rating: A

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Say a Little Prayer part 2

  Previously I had asked all of you to keep my friend Marsha, and her family, in your prayers. I thought I would let you know what I know about her situation. An update if you will. 

 The Doctor's that she has seen have yet to realize what may have caused her to pass out while driving her car. She totaled her vehicle, suffering a broken arm, and bruises.

 The mental strain however, has been difficult for her to deal with. Her Doctors liken it to PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which many of our soldiers returning from war suffer from. With proper help she will get better.

 The biggest hurdle is the not knowing what the root cause of the problem is, and not knowing if she will ever be able to drive a car again. Something many of us take for granted. 

 So, if you will, I am asking that we keep Marsha and her family in our prayers. Pray that the doctor's can find what caused this, and that she can recover fully. Pray that her family remains strong, and steadfast as they go through this fire, and that they come through this with GOD's grace and love fulfilled in their spirit.

Thanks & GOD bless