Can the Enemy Read Our Minds

"No, I don’t think Satan can read your mind.
Because the Bible reveals that satan is not omniscient.
He's fallen, and sin curses the intellect, even an angelic intellect.
I don't think he was ever omniscient.
Omniscience belongs only to God.
Satan can not read your mind.
But, satan can pretty well peg what you are thinking
by how you are acting and how you are talking.
And, he can pretty well analyze the pattern of your living.
And, he pretty well knows what affects you in what way
and how you respond and react to things.
So, he can pretty well pinpoint your weaknesses,
but he can not read your mind.
There is nothing in scripture to indicate that satan can read your mind."
John MacArthur

We should seek to live Holy lives with never giving satan a foothold or place in our thoughts, words and conduct.
The best way to flee from satan
is to be running the race that God has given each of us.
Finish strong for the Lord in all you do.
Seek the things of God
not the things of this world.
If you are weak and tempted
build yourself up through prayer, reading of God's word
and assembling with God's people often.
If you have not received Jesus into your life
the first step is to go to the foot of His cross
and repent and believe.
When we come to the end of ourselves
Jesus has His arms open to receive us.
Flee from the enemy today... run to Jesus.

Leave all your bad deeds, sins and burdens
at the foot of the cross and believe in Jesus Christ.
Your Heaven Father will renew your life
and welcome you home.

Heart of Worship

Song writer, Matt Redman’s church was struggling
to find truth worship in their services.

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship,
not just consumers, his pastor Mike Pilavachi, asked
"When you come through the doors on a Sunday,
what are you bringing as your offering to God?"
Pastor Mike said, we have lost our way in worship
and the way to get back is to strip everything away."
His pastor did a pretty brave thing and got rid
of the sound system and band for a season
with them gathering together with just their voices.
Initially there was embarrassing silence,
but eventually people broke into a capella songs
and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a new fresh way.

Some of the words from the song "Heart of Worship"
written by Matt Redman :

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus

Click Here - To Listen To This Song

May new worship come out of hearts
everyday of our lives.

His Favor Is Within Reach

"Scripture tells us repeatedly that our Lord is gracious
and compassionate.
He bestows unmerited favor on us,
and he desires to alleviate our suffering.
All throughout his word,
we see a God who is extending his arms
and ready to run to those who are earnestly seeking him."
Burt Wichek

The above comments are from a friend's FaceBook page.
Burt has reminded me of the importance of
always seeking out God in every area of our lives.
Our pastor said yesterday on his blog
that he wants each of us to become more dangerous
in our war against satan.
If we are seeking God with all our hearts
there will be no room for the enemy in any of us.

But if from there you shall seek the LORD your God,
you shall find him,
if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29

I want to be living in the center of God's will and grace.

Standing On Your Convictions

Miss California produced a controversial moment
in this year's Miss USA Contest,
when questioned about gay marriages.

"We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage,
" Miss Carrie Prejean said...
"And you know what, I think in my country, in my family,
I think that I believe that a marriage,
should be between a man and a woman.
No offence to anybody out there,
but that's how I was raised."

Some in the audience cheered, others booed.

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me
before it hated you.
John 15:18

Putting Our Competence In Him

Many of us as believers,
tackle difficulties using our own resources,
and thus attempt little and often fail in the little we do attempt.
All of God’s giants have been weak men and women
who did great things for God
because they depended on His power, presence and strength within them.
Hudson Taylor

Thank you Heavenly Father for equipping us.
Keep my competence in You alone and not my own strength.

If you are a Christian, expect folks to criticize you,
but live your life so nobody will believe them.
Author Unknown

By the Grace of God

I am not what I ought to be,
I am not what I want to be,
I am not what I hope to be in another world,
but still I am not what I once used to be,
and by the grace of God I am what I am today.
John Newton

Lord Jesus, thank you for your grace.
You are my true redeemer.
Thank you for restoring me to my Heavenly Father.
May the Holy Spirit continue to lead me in Your ways.

God Wants To Bless Us

How do we hear the voice of God in our lives ?
Are we obeying His voice and walking in His Light ?

"And all these blessings shall come on thee,
and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken
unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

Blessed shalt thou be in the city,
and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body,
and the fruit of thy ground,
and the fruit of thy cattle,
the increase of thy kine,
and the flocks of thy sheep.

Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.

Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in,
and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Deuteronomy 28:2-6

Are we listening to God's voice
or is the noise of life causing a hearing loss ?

What's Going On ?

Last night Brian walked to church with a couple of children,
escorting them to the weekly Team Kids program.
It was stuffed animal night,
so the kids were carrying their favorite ones with them.
As they walked by one of the neighbor's homes,
someone yelled from the porch... "What's going on".
Brian immediately told them, that they were on their way
to Team Kids - a church club for boys and girls.
The neighbor then said, can my children go with you too ?
I guess you know what Brian's answer was.
Brian ended up being a missionary last night
by walking a group of children to church
where they all heard how much God loves them.

During Betsy's group Bible time a new child asked a neat question.
Children learning about God - "What's going on"

Our Pastor has been seeing people in our worship services coming to receive salvation in Jesus - "Whats going on"

Giving to missions is up in our church - "What's going on"

Pastor has a baptism class of 10 or more people in it, with 9 of them wanting to join our church - "What's going on"

There were over 135 people in last Sunday's worship service.
We witnessed God's blessings - "What's going on"

People are praising God for the encouragements,
they receive when they assemble together - "What's going on"

Then the LORD said,
" ... I am watching over My word to perform it."
Jeremiah 1:12

God wants to perform His word in every area of our lives.
SEE YOU IN CHURCH SUNDAY.

I Will Rise

I love this praise song !
I hope Tom will add it to the ones we sing in church.

"I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin
(CLICK HERE - TO LISTEN)

There's a peace I've come to know...
No more sorrows... no more pain.
A day is drawing near... when I will rise on eagle wings.
The darkness will break into Light.

Lord, you are the anchor of my soul.
Storms come and go,
but your anchor always holds.

Living Our Lives For His Glory

Live as though Christ died yesterday,
rose from the grave today,
and is coming back tomorrow.
Theodore Epp

Have you ever looked at your life
and wondered how God could possible use you ?
God wants to use all of us in His Kingdom work.
We need to let Him be in the center of our lives.
Always puting our trust in the finished works of Jesus Christ
in every issue we face.

For I am confident of this very thing,
that He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

Casting All My Cares Upon Him

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow,
it empties today of its strength."
Corrie Ten Boom

“Casting all your care upon him,
for he careth for you.”
1 Peter 5:7

David encouraged the same type of commitment in Psalm 55:22,
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee..."

Lord, help me to continue to lean on You.
Your word tells me that You will meet my every need.

I Love You Back

In some of President Obama's recent townhall meetings,
some people in the crowds have been yelling"I love you Obama".
The President in return, immediately shoots to them
"I love you back".

Jesus loves all of us and always has,
can you think of some ways... we say to Him - "I love You back".

"We love because he first loved us"
1 John 4:19

It Is Not About A Religion

Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life,
no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:6

Curious to know what comes to mind
about Jesus stating "I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life"

I have two sets of uncles and aunts along with cousins,
who have been Jehovah Witnesses for many years now.
One of the principles of their faith
is that the Jehovah Witness Religion is Truth.
They have been taught that all other beliefs
and religions are false.
I asked one of my cousins what he was trusting in
to receive eternal life from God.
He said, on judgement day if God would find
that he lived an obedient life as a Jehovah Witness
he would be rewarded with eternal life in a newly created earth.

The word grace and it's understanding
is not in his vocabulary.
My cousin's faith is performance driven.
We are on two different roads.

I do confess that I am a driven person also,
but I am depending upon the finished work of Jesus Christ,
for my eternal life.
If my faith is performance driven
it is based on the performance of my Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank the Heavenly Father for driving me
to the foot of the cross of His Son.
There the pierced hands of Jesus reached out to me
and I grabbed hold of them... never to let let go.

Today, I have many brothers and sisters in the Lord.
They have church memberships in many different denominations,
but we are all one... through our saving faith in Jesus Christ.

The good news is that one of these cousins
came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord.
He and his wife have sinced joined a Baptist church in Florida.
Praise the Lord... God never gives up on any of us.
His hands are always stretched out
to recieve us into His loving arms.

The Last Three Words from the Cross

When He had received the drink,
Jesus said, "It is finished"
with that, He bowed His head
and gave up His spirit. (John 19:30).

What do you think the significance is ...
of Jesus's last three words ?

Some Of My Favorite Songs

"AT THE CROSS" by Hillsongs
Oh Lord' You've searched me...
and even when I fail You,
I know You still love me.
At the cross I bow my knee,
where Your blood was shed for me.
There's no greater love than this.
You have overcome the grave.
Nothing can now separate me from You.
You made the Way for all who will believe.

"EAST TO WEST" by Casting Crowns
Time and time again, Your truth is drowned out
by the storms within me.
In Your arms of mercy I find rest.
You got me through the night
and brought me to the Light of Your Son.
I don't want to slip back
to that place where You found me.
Keep holding on to me...
You have turned by night into Light.

PSALM 103:12
"Just as far as the East is from the West,
so far has He removed our trangressions from us."

Our daughter, April and our two grandchildren
visited us a couple of weekends ago.
She said to me, dad you like alot of "7 and 11 songs".
I asked her what she meant by that.
She said most of my favorite songs
have 7 words in them that are sung 11 times.
I guess that might be true in some cases,
but if a song moves me to worship,
it can't be a bad thing... right ?

What are some of your favorite praise songs
and their meanings to you ?