Want Better??

Want Better??

We must let go of the good to grab hold of the better. To live a better life, it’s better to have less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 6, “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind,” meaning that it is better to live a life of simplicity. This week you will learn what God’s Word says regarding the importance of living with one handful instead of two.

Proverbs 17

1 Better is a dry morsel with quietthan a house full of feasting with strife.2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefullyand will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.3 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,and the Lord tests hearts.4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips,and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,and the glory of children is their fathers.7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;still less is false speech to a prince.8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;wherever he turns he prospers.9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understandingthan a hundred blows into a fool.11 An evil man seeks only rebellion,and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubsrather than a fool in his folly.13 If anyone returns evil for good,evil will not depart from his house.14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,so quit before the quarrel breaks out.15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteousare both alike an abomination to the Lord.16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdomwhen he has no sense?17 A friend loves at all times,and a brother is born for adversity.18 One who lacks sense gives a pledgeand puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;he who makes his door high seeks destruction.20 A man of crooked heart does not discover good,and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,and the father of a fool has no joy.22 A joyful heart is good medicine,but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.23 The wicked accepts a bribe in secretto pervert the ways of justice.24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.25 A foolish son is a grief to his fatherand bitterness to her who bore him.26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

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Daily Desperation for God…

Daily Desperation for God…

In order to live with an ongoing, unending awareness of God’s presence, you must develop the habit of having a daily desperation for God.

Psalms 63

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you,as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,beholding your power and glory.3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,my lips will praise you.4 So I will bless you as long as I live;in your name I will lift up my hands.5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6 when I remember you upon my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7 for you have been my help,and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8 My soul clings to you;your right hand upholds me.9 But those who seek to destroy my lifeshall go down into the depths of the earth;10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;they shall be a portion for jackals.11 But the king shall rejoice in God;all who swear by him shall exult,for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Obedience to God…

Obedience to God…

In order to live with an ongoing, unending awareness of God’s presence, you must develop the habit of instant obedience to God.

John 14

15“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. 25“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.30I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

How do you have a day with God?

How do you have a day with God?

Q: How do you have a day with God?

A: You live with an ongoing, unending awareness of God’s presence.

Colossians 3

1If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 8But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

“Know the Lord is with you.”

“Know the Lord is with you.”

One of the most important keys to fulfilling your God-purpose is knowing that the Lord is with you. It is an awesome feeling to know you have support in the natural sphere of life like family, friends, coworkers, peers, and acquaintances, and be that as it may, the ingredient in making this phase perfect is knowing that the Creator of the universe, the one who brings the world as we know it into existence out of non-existence goes before you and backs you up. With this kind of knowledge, there is no way to fail, but there is an assurance that the very purpose you were created for will come to be a reality, because the one who authored it is with you.

As I have explored the Bible about the lives of many men and women God chose to use, I found that the common denominator was that the Lord was with them. God used ordinary, and even the least of men, and women to accomplish great feats that would preserve future generations. They had faults and flaws; however, these short comings did not keep them from accomplishing their God-purpose. We must remember; in order to fulfill the God-purpose, we must have God in it.

My friends, the present situations that we face in our lives should not deter us from fulfilling the God-purpose because we as believers are equipped with the assurance of knowing that God is with us. Being able to fulfill the God-purpose in our lives may never happen the way we think it should happen, but when we know the Lord is with us, it does not matter how it is going to happen, but, rather, it matters that we know who is with us while it is happening.

Power Thought: I am determined to fulfill my God-purpose – not in my strength and abilities, but in the Lord’s strength and abilities.

Broken Crayons Color The Same…OnPurpose!!

Rose-colored Glasses

Rose-colored Glasses

Holy. How often do you see yourself as holy? That’s not a term we usually apply to ourselves? Perhaps you’ve never married, but not by choice. Maybe you’re divorced, abandoned or abused. You might have had a baby outside of marriage, or you may have even aborted a baby. How holy does that leave you feeling?

And yet, if you are God’s child, he sees you as holy, no matter how damaged, broken or deserted you feel. You may wonder, How can he see me that way after everything I’ve done? It’s because he is looking at you through rose-colored glasses. These heavenly glasses have crimson lenses that have been tinted by the blood of his Son, Jesus — the Darling of the universe. Heaven’s precious Prince. The Savior of the world.

144682-rose-colored-glassesThe Father cannot see the ugly stains, blotches and blemishes of what you may think is your unholy life. He cannot see your past failures or sins because they are filtered from his view by rose-colored lenses that have been drenched in the royal-red blood of his Son at Calvary. By that sacrifice, Jesus made it possible for you to be perfect forever — yes, holy! You may have trouble wrapping your finite human mind around such an infinitely divine concept. But it’s true nevertheless, and you can celebrate your holiness. Look forward to eternity with the Father, who loves you more than life itself — the life of his own dear Son.

And when you look into your mirror, see what your Father sees through rose-colored glasses…OnPurpose!

Mary Hollingsworth ~ Taken from Fulfilled
See Leviticus 11:45

Distinction 

Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.  #Integrity #Purpose
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. #BusyBody #Serve
Don’t be so quick to offer your #opinion – it isn’t valuable from the sideline:  It doesn’t require you to  sacrifice nor are you held accountable  – it’s easy to look sharp when you haven’t done any work. #SeeThePoint #Humility
Be quiet, stay in your lane and look at what YOU bring to the table.  #MYOB #Scripture

Check these scriptures for yourself.
2 Cor. 8:21
Luke 10:2
1 Th. 4:11
Know Your Purpose
See His Plan
Study His Word…OnPurpose!!
#1OnPurpose
#BrokenCrayonsStillColor
#MichelleRoberts

Your Income: What do you have in your hand?

Your Income: What do you have in your hand?

God considers all work to be sacred and will hold us accountable for ourselves to Him one day (Romans 14:12). For those called to lead, a heart of service is of great importance. We are called to lead like Jesus did.

Read through Exodus 4:1-5. When God called Moses, He asked him what is it in his hands. God asked Moses to lay it on ground. What happened? It became a snake! God asked Moses to pick up again by the tail. And as he did, it became a staff again.

What does the staff represent in Moses’ life? It was a sheperd’s staff. It represents his identity, as a shepherd. It represents his income, because sheep tending is his livelihood at that period in his life. It’s all he has.

God is asking Moses to surrender all that everything that he has in his hands. God is asking the same thing from you and me. You job, your profession, you can offer up all that under His sovereign rule and authority.

Paul urges us to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received (Ephesians 4:1) and reminds us that “God’s call and his gifts are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29). No one nor any organization can change our calling or gifting….which are God’s equipping for our service to him.

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet (Frederick Buechner)”.

Personal Reflection: Read each Scripture below and write what the message says regarding your calling and/or purpose for being.

1. We have been given different gifts to prepare us for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

2. He who began a good work in us will carry it to completion.

Leading Like Jesus…OnPurpose!!