Thought for the day...

May 3, 2019
Verse of the Day
pray continually,
1 Thessalonians 5:17

 

Father, we ask that you would put into place heads of government who rule with justice and righteousness, and who walk with the Lord God.
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http://www.if714.org/?p=24966

 

May 4, 2019
Verse of the Day
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

 

"Those who surrender their lives to His guidance and to His service will never be placed in a position for which He has not made provision. Whatever our situation, if we are doers of His Word, we have a Guide to direct our way; whatever our perplexity, we have a sure Counselor; whatever our sorrow, bereavement, or loneliness, we have a sympathizing Friend." (Ellen G White, God’s Amazing Grace, 114)

 

Amen, thank you for sharing

 

May 5, 2019
Verse of the Day
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV

 

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Pray to be formed to the likeness of God’s Son, Jesus.
-Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28 - if714

 

May 6, 2019
Verse of the Day
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9

 

Almost every little boy loves playing “Cowboys and Indians.” However, kids pretending to fight in the Wild West is quite different from real warfare with real weapons. Take, for example, the frontier practice of staging surprise assaults using flaming arrows. This tactical strategy caught the other side off guard. Flaming arrows would start a fire on a canvas covered wagon, disrupting military lines and causing the occupants to focus on the blaze rather than the attacking enemy.

Flaming arrows were not primarily meant to kill or destroy; they were meant to distract.

Your enemy wants to distract you. So he can blindside you. And listen to me—he is not indiscriminately shooting these arrows of his. He is tailored in his strategy. He’s studied your tendencies and habits, your deepest fears and weaknesses, and has aimed at those areas in particular. He knows he can’t destroy you. You’re eternally secure in Jesus. But he fully intends to sidetrack your attention by setting any number of internal fires ablaze in your life—like insecurity, intimidation, anxiety, worry, or busyness. He wants you to be unfocused while he sneaks up from behind.

In Ephesians 6, Paul conveys the belt, breastplate, and shoes as a spiritual uniform that should be worn by believers at all times. Minute by minute. Day by day. But with the shield of faith, he commands for it to be “taken up.”

Look at it this way: A nurse might wear scrubs every day to work because it’s her uniform. But when the need arises, she will pick up a stethoscope, blood pressure machine, or any number of tools to use on her patient. Likewise, we must always wear our daily, divinely given uniform, but also be prepared to “take up” the others when required.

The first of these pieces of armor is the shield of faith. The moment when we first sense a flaming arrow infiltrating our life in some way, we activate faith as a shield of protection over our lives.

Don’t miss the irony here. The enemy sends flaming arrows into your life specifically when you are being called to walk in faith. Those arrows are deliberately intended to disable you from doing the only thing that has the power to extinguish them: walking in faith!

Faith causes fiery arrows to fizzle. What is God asking you to do? Do it! In Faith.

 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:10‭-‬20 NKJV

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
John 10:27 NKJV

 

I just finished day 4 of the @YouVersion plan 'Armor Of God'. Check it out here:
Armor Of God

 

May 7, 2019
Verse of the Day
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

 

We defined faith with this simple meaning: acting like God is telling the truth.

Truth is the hinge upon which the entire issue of faith-filled living rests. If you don’t know the truth, you can never really know how to act in conjunction with it. So the truth of God’s character and His Word provides the framework that allows our faith to flourish and thrive.

The truth of God is what makes having faith in God worth it. Without truth, we have nothing solid to hang our shield of faith on. So knowing the truth of God and the truth about God as revealed in His Word is critical if we want to live out our faith responsibly, and experience the benefits of being protected by our shields.

Any discussion on faith would be incomplete without highlighting the critical importance of hearing the voice of God clearly and accurately.

If we aren’t careful, faith can easily turn to foolishness—imprudent, impulsive, even reckless and dangerous, behavior done in the name of faith. But true faith must always be built squarely on the foundation of God’s written Word as His Spirit leads you to apply it to your life. How would you describe the difference between faith and foolishness? What keeps someone from crossing the boundary between the two?

As believers, we have the privilege of knowing His direction for us as we prayerfully seek it. He will be faithful to show us the truth, to give us His direction for the next step we are supposed to take. In fact, being confident and affirmed in that next step is critical in order to help us stay balanced as we pursue a lifestyle protected by the shield of faith.

Once you clearly know the truth of God or the promise of God in regard to a matter, it’s time to move forward in a way that’s congruent with it. Listen carefully—your feelings can never be the final determining factor for your actions. Feelings change and are subject to external stimuli. Actions done in faith must be anchored in something more solid and fixed.

Our God is true and worth following.

He is always there—far outranking Satan in strength—to hear our troubled prayers, reaffirm His fearless promises, and deliver the next bit of lamplight we need for walking steadily in His direction. Shields up, soldiers. We’re walking by faith.

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
John 10:27 NKJV

 

May 8, 2019
Verse of the Day
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10