Revelation 19
6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
9Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."
How did the bride (which is God's whole church on earth) prepare herself for the marriage supper of the Lamb?
Why do you think those that sit at the supper are blessed?
How are you preparing yourself now to be displaying God's light to the world (his brightness) and allowing yourself to become clean and pure for that day? If we are God's church and it says that his bride will be bright and pure on that day; we have to start now holding ourselves and those around us in the church to a higher standard because Jesus is coming back.
Our time is now the bring a generation back to the heart of God!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Seeking Him through the hard times
Read John 15 Jesus teaches that a personal relationship with Him, and others, is central to His design.
INSIGHT
There are times when our prayers are answered and we seem "in tune" with God. At other times, our prayers seem not to be answered, and we seem far from God. Jesus gives us two directives to keep in mind as we ponder our prayer. First, we are to abide in Him. This abiding, among other things, includes fostering a conscious awareness of His presence at all times and bringing all thoughts, attitudes, and actions in line with what we understand of His teachings. Second, "and My words abide in you" must involve studying, memorizing, and meditating upon the Word so that we pray intelligently, knowing God's will ahead of time on some things. As we grow in these two areas, more and more of our prayers will be answered.
PRAYER
The Lord is pleased when we offer Him our praise:
Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day. . . .
But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness,
of Yours only (Psalm 71:8, 14-16).
Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving.
Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
For there is not a just man on earth
who does good and does not sin(Ecclesiastes 7:20).
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).
As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater faithfulness in evangelism,
national and world affairs,
your activities for the day,
whatever else is on your heart.
Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1 Timothy 6:15-16).
INSIGHT
There are times when our prayers are answered and we seem "in tune" with God. At other times, our prayers seem not to be answered, and we seem far from God. Jesus gives us two directives to keep in mind as we ponder our prayer. First, we are to abide in Him. This abiding, among other things, includes fostering a conscious awareness of His presence at all times and bringing all thoughts, attitudes, and actions in line with what we understand of His teachings. Second, "and My words abide in you" must involve studying, memorizing, and meditating upon the Word so that we pray intelligently, knowing God's will ahead of time on some things. As we grow in these two areas, more and more of our prayers will be answered.
PRAYER
The Lord is pleased when we offer Him our praise:
Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day. . . .
But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness,
of Yours only (Psalm 71:8, 14-16).
Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving.
Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
For there is not a just man on earth
who does good and does not sin(Ecclesiastes 7:20).
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).
As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater faithfulness in evangelism,
national and world affairs,
your activities for the day,
whatever else is on your heart.
Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1 Timothy 6:15-16).
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Movements of Your Heart
All sorts of awful things can seem to issue from your heart— anger, lust, fear, petty jealousies. If you think it’s you, a reflection of what’s really going on in your heart, it will disable you. It could stop your journey dead in its tracks. What you’ve encountered is either the voice of your flesh or an attempt of the Enemy to distress you by throwing all sorts of thoughts your way and blaming you for it. You must proceed on this assumption: your heart is good. If it seems that some foul thing is at work there, say to yourself, Well then—this is not my heart. My heart is good. I reject this. Remember Paul in Romans 7? This is not me. This is not me. And carry on in your journey. Over time you’ll grow familiar with the movements of your heart, and who is trying to influence you there.
We do the same with any counsel or word that presents itself as being from God, but contradicts what he has said to us in his written Word. We walk with wisdom and revelation. When I hear something that seems really unwise, I test it again and again before I launch out. The flesh will try to use your “freedom” to get you to do things you shouldn’t do. And now that the Enemy knows you are trying to walk with God and tune in to your heart, he’ll play the ventriloquist and try to deceive you there. Any “word” or suggestion that brings discouragement, condemnation, accusation—that is not from God. Neither is confusion, nor any counsel that would lead you to disobey what you do know. Reject it all, and carry on in your journey. Yes, of course, God needs to convict us of sin, warn us of wrong movements in the soul—but the voice of God is never condemning (Rom. 8:1), never harsh or accusing. His conviction brings a desire for repentance; Satan’s accusation kills our hearts (2 Cor. 7:10).
(Waking the Dead , 105–6)
We do the same with any counsel or word that presents itself as being from God, but contradicts what he has said to us in his written Word. We walk with wisdom and revelation. When I hear something that seems really unwise, I test it again and again before I launch out. The flesh will try to use your “freedom” to get you to do things you shouldn’t do. And now that the Enemy knows you are trying to walk with God and tune in to your heart, he’ll play the ventriloquist and try to deceive you there. Any “word” or suggestion that brings discouragement, condemnation, accusation—that is not from God. Neither is confusion, nor any counsel that would lead you to disobey what you do know. Reject it all, and carry on in your journey. Yes, of course, God needs to convict us of sin, warn us of wrong movements in the soul—but the voice of God is never condemning (Rom. 8:1), never harsh or accusing. His conviction brings a desire for repentance; Satan’s accusation kills our hearts (2 Cor. 7:10).
(Waking the Dead , 105–6)
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