Renew Your Strength

Mark 3:9  And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
Mark 3:10  For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
Mark 3:11  And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
Mark 3:12  And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

Jesus had been healing many during his earthly ministry.  The more that healed, the more people flocked to him seeking a healing.  Jesus commanded that a boat should be made ready so that he could escape the press of the crowd.  The crowd understood the miraculous power of Christ as they pressed upon him, so that they could simply touch him and be healed.  In verse 11 it is revealed that the unclean spirits that possessed men recognized Jesus for whom he was.  They recognized him as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ, the deliverer that had been sent to set the captives free.  Jesus forbid the unclean spirits from declaring who he was. Jesus wasn't fully ready for everyone to fully realize who he was.  He was still doing the preparatory work that would eventually lead him to the cross of Calvary.
The practical application that we can draw from this passage is that even Christ understood the need to spend time alone with the disciples in prayer.  Ministry can be a very busy place.  As we seek to use our spiritual giftedness for the cause of Christ, we can find ourselves burning the candle at both ends.  We are busy in the work that God has called us to, but we find that our energy reserves are quickly being depleted.  True ministry is only done through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.  To walk in the Spirit requires us to spend time in intimate fellowship with our Heavenly Father.  We have to make time to get away from the throngs and spend time in sweet fellowship with God.  It's during this time that we find our strength being renewed by his presence.

How are your energy levels today?  Is it time to take a moment and spend some quiet time with God in the place of prayer?

God Has a Plan for You!

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
What if I asked you right now, "What are your plans?"  Where are you going?  How are you going to get there?  I'm sure you would quickly answer with your goals, dreams and aspirations.  We all have plans for what we want to accomplish in life.  The real question should be, "What is God's plan for your life?"  God has a plan for the life you're living.  His first plan for your life is that you would believe on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Trust his finished work on the cross at Calvary for you.  His second plan is that once you know His Son,  that you be conformed to the image of Christ.  All of God's plans for you have this plan in mind.  God has a perfect plan for your life.  He has spiritually equipped you for the mission that he has entrusted you with.  God's plan for your life will lead you to a place of peace.  A place that knows the abiding peace that comes through the right relationship with God.  Our verse for today tells us that God will fulfill his plan.  He will give you an expected end.  He will guide and lead you to the place of blessing that He has for you, right in the center of His will for you.

Man's Two Natures!

Every born again believer has two natures that live inside.  Once they have trusted Christ as their Saviour, they receive a new nature.  A nature that is imparted to them through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.  II Corinthians 5:17 declares, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things have become new."  At the very moment of salvation the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the believer, unfortunately, the old sin nature, also know as the flesh, still dwells in the believer too.  It would be wonderful to become a child of God and become perfect and never have to struggle with sin, but we understand from God's Word and our own experience, that is not the case.  Our two natures will conflict with each other until we lay this earthly tabernacle down in death.  The Apostle Paul understood this conflict in the book of Romans Chapter 7.  Take time to read this chapter and understand the struggle that raged within Paul.  It is the same struggle that every believer must contend with.  How do we allow the new nature to win the struggle, as we strive to become Christ-like?  Romans 6:8 teaches us that we are crucified with Christ.  The old nature has been put to death.  Sin no longer has to have victory in our lives.  We don't have to be in bondage to our old nature.  The story is told of an old, Native American Chief that had two dogs, one black and one white.  Someone asked the Chief which of the dogs would win in a fight.  The one I feed, replied the chief.  It's the same in our life.  The nature that we feed will have dominance in our life.  We don't have to be a slave to sin.  We have the very presence of God living within us and the Word of God.  Spend time today feeding your new nature and keeping the old man dead and buried.

Dangers of Witchcraft

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."  Leviticus 19:31

The Bible contains many clear warnings for Christians in regards to witchcraft.  We are not to regard them that have familiar spirits.  These are spirits that those that practice witchcraft communicate with.  It may sound hocus-pocus or spooky, but if we believe the Bible we have to accept that there are real demonic spirits in the world eager to communicate with man.  The message of these spirits is to cause harm and destruction, unlike the glorious message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has the power to transform lives.  The Bible declares that we are not to seek after wizards.  If we choose to follow after them, the end result will be defilement.  There are many today that follow after and seek out psychics and witches to help guide them, or to help them make decisions.  The Lord instructs us that this is a dangerous practice that will result in our lives being polluted and corrupted by sin.  The only guide we need is the True Guide, the Holy Spirit of God that indwells us at the very moment of salavation.  He stands eager and able to help us guide our lives, all we have to do is yield to Him.

Reason to Rejoice

Psalm 118:24  "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

I love waking up in the early morning hours and listening to the sounds of the birds singing in the trees right outside of my bedroom window.  The early light creeping slowly across the floor, reaching for the far wall of my bedroom.  When I hear the sound of the birds and see the light shining through the blinds, I know that God has blessed me with another day.  God has created another day for me.  Another day to go forth and allow God to use me to be a blessing in the lives of others.  I have a choice as I rise for the day.  I can focus on myself, my concerns, my fears, my trials and tribulations or I can turn my focus on the needs of others.  The Lord Jesus Christ set the perfect example for us with His life.  His focus was never on Himself, but always on the needs of others.  He came to serve!  When we focus on the needs of others we will find cause to rejoice and find cause to be glad.  Be a blessing to someone else this day!  God made this day for you with all of its opportunities for service!

No Fear

Psalm 118:6 "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?"

As Christians we have a rich heritage of our faithful ancestors that faced persecution and death for their belief in God's Word. Those faithful Christians of days gone by understood a vital principle contained in Psalm 118:6. They knew, that as Christians, they had a Father in Heaven that stood by their side during times of fear and persecution. They had a God of all comfort that would bring them solace during the dark days that they faced. They understood that the power of man was limited, but the power of their God was unlimited. Man can only destroy our physical body. Man can't destroy our soul and spirit. If we have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, we don't have to fear man, because we have a God that has already taken eternal possession of our soul and spirit. We can face the worse that the world has to offer with boldness and courage by faith in our God. We don't have to be subjected to a life of fear and defeat.

Every Knee Shall Bow

Philippians 2:10  "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"
Philippians 2:11  "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


We live in a world that worships a variety of different gods.  The Bible declares to us unapologetically, that there is only one God manifested in three personalities.  Today's bible verses teach us that there is coming a day when all of mankind, past, present and future will bow their knees in obeisance to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Those that know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour will bow down in thankfulness for what Christ has done in their life.  Those that reject the Lord Jesus Christ in this life will be forced to bow in that day in the presence of the Saviour that died for them and the one whom they rejected.

How much better will it be for those that are able to bow down in love and obedience to Christ.  Where are you today?  Have you acknowledged that you're a sinner and asked God for forgiveness, putting your faith and trust in Christ's finished work on the cross at Calvary?