Got Lordship?

The theme from Colossians thus far is Lordship.

Is Christ Lord over you?

Has He come to bear upon your life?

Who is He to you? Who are you in Him?

Can you answer these questions? If not, what is in the way? His redemptive work must break your will so you are in Him and He is not just a part of you but THE part of you (John 3:30)! This is what spurs us on and gives us the means to be encouragers and faith developers to one another in unity and love. This true, spiritual growth will usually be slow to build and will be humble. It will show meekness and never pride. If you have pride in your spiritual life, you do not have spiritual life, but rather a self-directed life that will adversely affect all of your life. If you are a leader and it is all about what you have done, you are prideful and definitely in the wrong profession; the theme of Lordship has no place in you! Get out of the church and get on your knees until you are right with God; then rejoin the church!

This is about knowing who we are in Christ and what He has done for us, then acting out our relationship and redemption by being obedient to God’s will. This is also our determination to place Him first in our lives and allow Him to lead. This was Paul’s mission, along with teaching, modeling, and encouraging others for the faith. This is what helps us spur on one another’s faith, as confidence regarding who we are in Christ and the veracity of the Bible’s teaching gives us greater substance for conviction and strength for living life and growing spiritually. A real, effectual, purpose-driven life is always about Christ as Lord and our surrender to His Lordship (Psalm 57; 138:7-8; Prov. 19:21; John 15; Rom. 8; Phil. 2:1-18; 2 Tim. 1:8-12)!

To read more:
http://www.intothyword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=51829&columnid=3803

Whta do you think?

Got Thanks?

When you cut into your turkey on Thursday, is gratitude in your heart or just hunger for the feast?

Are you a Christian who is overflowing with praise, or overflowing with criticism? Do you have a sense of His presence or a list of agendas? Do you have a stilled soul or a raging cry? Do you come to Christ only when you feel that things are great, or only when you are facing a crisis? How you answer these questions may indicate if you are practicing a discipline of thankfulness or a life of stress and fear. We must realize that gratitude creates a happy heart and a functional Christian life as well as a triumphant church and that ingratitude creates chaos, confusion, strife and discontentment! Gratitude comes from the relationship we have in Christ; when we are happy in Him, we are happy in general and content, humble, and mature. Our hearts are secure and at rest in Him! When our relationship with Christ is not working, it is usually because we messed it up by our attitudes, refusal to work at it and focusing on our disappointments and not Him. Thus, we become ungrateful, and in turn, unhappy and immature (Psalm 131; John 13:17; Philippians 4:6-13).

Gratitude shows character because it is a temperament that comes from the spiritual growth we are called to emulate; it is also a discipline because it fuels our spiritual growth.

Read more here:
http://70030.netministry.com/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=35062&columnid=3803

What do you think?

Fear Not!

Why? Because our dependence and life are in Christ!
When Christ is living in us and working through us, we can have confidence in what lies ahead of us. Our place in eternity is not just a destination to take comfort in; in addition, it is our motivation to live the Christian life worthily, glorifying Christ. He is our living Hope (1 Pet. 1:3)! When He is our hope and motivation, all we do in life is affected and synergized by His love and fruit. How we think comes from what we believe, and that affects what we do. If Christ is our all in all, then all parts of our life become transformed and renewed (Rom. 12)! Subsequently, we will see our responsibility to care for His church properly and faithfully. His message will be pronounced and proclaimed through us with power, conviction, and in clarity and truth. People will be challenged and revival will break out. We have the privilege to know and proclaim what was once a secret, things that the Patriarchs and Prophets could only dream of. Now we can boldly tell others, both in lifestyle and in words, and with confidence. It is about His riches and His glory! For the ultimate secret, what is foolishness to those who are not in Him, is that the God of the universe is living in us, employing us, empowering us, and loving us. He is our assurance, so let us share this great joy and never let it be a secret! We are called to share His glory and Truth! Do this with warmth, kindness, and in truth. Give to others what we have been given!

What do you think?

Read more: http://www.intothyword.org/articles_view.asp?columnid=3803&articleid=51486

Is Christ Supreme in your life and church?!

Christ is Supreme!

That means He is also the Head of the Church! We tend to run our churches as if we are in control, making our decisions based on gathering needs then developing programs to fill those needs. Yet, as good as this may sound, the main thing in church leadership is usually left out. Where is Christ? Where are His purpose and direction? We close the door to our Lord! Even though He is the head, we leave Him outside of our preparations and purposes. What does this mean? We are off base on the function He has for us and miss the call for His Church and ourselves. What we must do is line ourselves up to Him and His Lordship. Not our ideas, trivialities, and agendas; rather seek Him as Lord over all—our lives and our churches! When we think of the church, we tend to think of it as buildings and programs; but the real, true Church is the people all interconnected to one another while being intercepted in and with Christ as LORD. When we get this, that Christ is eminent and He reconciles us to Him, we will start to see how important our commitment to honor Christ and His precepts are. We were enemies to God; dammed for eternity with no hope or plan. Now with Christ, we have salvation, assurance, and an eternity of hope. Then perhaps we can start to really build and rebuild our churches back to a godly direction of making disciples. It is about His fullness in us! It is to be our passion and directive to lead Christians to grow in Him and into His way, and away from false perceptions. All Christians, especially Christian leaders, need the desire to see a church committed to His purpose and poured out to His ways. When we proclaim Christ as Lord, then we will see revival through real prayer and devotion to His Lordship. We must allow His work in us, live in His presence, be a doer of the Word, stand firm in our faith and teachings, and never drift away from His “true Truth” and precepts or His love.

Q: What happens when the Supremacy of Christ is absent, lost, or forgotten in our churches?

Q: How does this cause Him to be pushed aside for false teachings and misrepresentation of God?

What are you going to do about it?

More here: http://www.intothyword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=51271&columnid=3803

Get out and vote!

This was sent in by two of our readers, thanks, it may be of a help to calm peoples ruffled feathers and focus on what is truly important:

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

We are asking every believer in Jesus Christ to set aside Monday, November 3 as a day of fasting and prayer . We would urge you to review the prayer of Daniel on behalf of his people in Dan . 9:3-19, and to pray that way for our nation. And finally, we would ask you to distribute this call to prayer as widely as possible so that the greatest number of people would lay hold of the throne of grace all at once. It may be that God will show mercy to America , that He will shed His grace on her once again. Thank you for joining with us in this effort.

And,

Election-Eve Meditation

If you are concerned and worried about the election and the spiritual condition of America, take time to read and meditate on the following passages from God’s Word.

Pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” Matthew 6:10

It all starts with submission to God’s will and a desire for God to be glorified, and with an understanding that God knows what He is doing.

“For promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west, nor from the south, for God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Psalm 75:6-7

Understand that God is in charge; not the electorate. God uses the electorate to accomplish His sovereign will.

“Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee. The remainder of wrath He restrains.” Psalm 76:10

God never wastes the wrath of man nor allows them to carry out their wrathful, ungodly agenda, beyond His will. God never loses control of a situation.

“The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it (even) the basest of men.” Daniel 4:17

God is the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. He uses evil man as well as good to accomplish His will.

“I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto Heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say, ‘What doest Thou” Daniel 4:34-35

God humbled proud Nebuchadnezzar and he became a worshipper of the God of Israel. He was enabled to understand God and God’s ways in a way that many Christian’s today fail to understand Him.

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” Romans 13:1-2

Regardless of who is elected, God allowed it and ordained it. We must submit ourselves to God unconditionally and to human government conditionally, as long as human government does not command us to disobey God’s Word.

In that case, we must submit to God and accept the consequences, as Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, did when they refused to obey King Nebuchadnezar’s order to bow down and worship his image. Daniel 3 tells the wonderful story of how they were cast into a fiery furnace and came out unscathed without even the smell of smoke on them. as recorded in Daniel 3.

In Daniel 4 we read the amazing story of how God changed the heart of Nebuchadnezzar and he became a worshipper of the one true God of Israel.

Years later, Daniel, himself also disobeyed the decree of Darius of Persia, prohibiting him to pray to God. In spite of the decree, Daniel continued to pray to God and for that he was cast into a den of lions. Read how God wonderfully spared his life and changed the heart of Darius.

As we read through the Book of Daniel, we have to be impressed with how God took Daniel, a young Israelite captive, who determined to be faithful to God as a young man, and used him to influence two empires, Babylon and Persia, for God’s glory.

God is looking for godly young men and women today whom He can use to impact nations for Him.

“If My people which are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin. and heal their land.”
II Chronicles 7:14

Here is a wonderful promise to God’s people in any age that if we will meet His conditions, He will heal our sin-sick nation. America, it’s not too late for us. But it all begins with Christians. We must be broken and repentant before God whom we have offended with our sins. When Christians get right with God, He will heal our nation.

Be blessed, and vote…it is your civic duty as an American citizen…