Monthly Archives: November 2017

Gratitude With An Attitude??? Bible Ballistics: BBS #412

17 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by in Attitude of Gratitude, Gratitude, Longsuffering, Patience, Thanksgiving

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #412 Gratitude With An Attitude???

 

But not the attitude that you may be thinking about! Paul calls God’s children—believers in Jesus—to be a grateful people but with “a kick”, if you would! We’re not to simply “give thanks” but we are called to express it, in an unexpected way for many. Paul calls us to it in as he offers his prayer for the Colossians.

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you,

and to desire

that ye might be filled with the knowledge

of his will

in all wisdom

and spiritual understanding;

10 That ye might walk worthy

of the Lord

unto all pleasing,

being fruitful

in every good work,

and increasing in the knowledge

of God;

11 Strengthened with all might,

according to his glorious power,

unto all patience

and longsuffering

with joyfulness;

12 Giving thanks unto the Father,

which hath made us meet (fit)

to be partakers

of the inheritance

of the saints

in light:

13 Who hath delivered us

from the power of darkness,

and hath translated us

into the kingdom

of his dear Son:

14 In whom

we have redemption

through his blood, even the forgiveness

of sins:”    Colossians 1:9-14

Our gratitude is to be to God Almighty who has saved and delivered us from the “power of darkness”! But we’re to be grateful with “all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness”! Oh, no, not the “P” word! Patience? Yes, patience and longsuffering which are two Greek words for the same principle, but one deals with “abiding under” circumstances, and the other with “putting up with” people—patiently! Why? Because we belong to God who extended HIS mercy and grace to us, how much more ought we extend grace and mercy in “patience” with our circumstances and “longsuffering” with other people?

So ponder on this passage today and I pray that God will help each of us measure our attitude by His standard not the world’s! May we rejoice with the Psalmist today!

“O come,

let us sing unto the LORD:

let us make a joyful noise

to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence

with thanksgiving,

and make a joyful noise

unto him with psalms.

3 For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King

above all gods.” Psalm 95:1-3

Amen and Amen!

 

 

Is Jesus Enough??? Bible Ballistics: #411

15 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, Gratitude, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Made like Jesus!, Thanksgiving, The Only Way, The Word, Trials, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #411      Is Jesus Enough???

 

Approaching this Thanksgiving season, I wonder if we have considered how thankful we ought to be for Jesus!!! We use His name, we talk about Him, we even mention Him to others, but are we gratefully depending on HIM for our every need? When we come to Jesus in repentance and faith, we become God’s children—restored and adopted into the family of God. We become joint-heirs with Jesus and receive the gift of His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, to lead, guide, teach and convict us of sin, all to conform us into His image rather than our own! (See Eph. 2:1-10)

But we are often distracted from our Lode Star and loose our way. Let’s consider some scripture to remind ourselves of all that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ; reminding ourselves of the gift of His salvation, His presence and His unfailing love for us—displayed in His shed blood for our sin!

“But as many as received him,

to them gave he power

to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born,

not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man,

but of God.”   John 1:12-13

We are born again as “sons of God”—children of The Holy God of the universe, Almighty God of all creation, by the blood of Jesus! And when we remember to keep our hearts filled with an attitude of gratitude, we can rejoice in all it means in our earthly living and our future with God The Father, Jesus Christ The Son, and the precious Holy Spirit for eternity. But ‘Until Then’ we must keep our eyes on Jesus, the one who will sustain our every breath!

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;

but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,

whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness

with our spirit,

that we are the children of God:

17 And if children,

then heirs;

heirs of God,

and joint-heirs with Christ;

if so be that we suffer with him,

that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings

of this present time

are not worthy to be compared

with the glory

which shall be revealed in us.”    Romans 8:15-18

No matter what you and I are facing today—God is working it for our good, to conform us into the image of His Son! And all who love Him will suffer—in varying degrees—for following Jesus and doing His will His way, in obedience to His Word (which, by the way, hasn’t changed)!

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12

What are you suffering for Jesus? Or are you afraid to let people know that you belong to Jesus. Are you hiding your “light” under a bushel? Jesus is ever encouraging, helping, teaching and empowering us to be His witnesses to a lost and dying world, but we can only do that in His power, by His presence, through the power of His Holy Spirit in us.

“Abide in me,

and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit

of itself,

except it abide in the vine;

no more can ye,

except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine,

ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me,

and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.”    John 15:4-5

So are we doing “nothing” or are we bringing “forth much fruit” as we follow Jesus. And don’t loose sight of the truth that when we are following Jesus in all we do, we may not even realize the fruit that is being produced through His work in and through us! The key is to know that Jesus IS all we need. I have experienced the principle, and seen God make it evident in the lives of others, “When you find that Jesus is ALL you have, you will also find that Jesus IS ALL you need!” Jesus indwells HIS own! Is He enough for you? Is He dwelling within you? He can be your all in all!

“But now ye also put off all these;

anger,            wrath,

malice,           blasphemy,

filthy communication out of your mouth.

9 Lie not one to another,

seeing that ye have put off the old man

with his deeds;

10 And have put on the new man,

which is renewed in knowledge

after the image of him that created him:

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free:

but Christ is all, and in all.”   Colossians 3:8-11

Gratitude Is An Attitude Not Just A Day!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #410

10 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by in Attitude of Gratitude, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Gratitude Is Timeless, Praise God Today!, Thanksgiving, The Word, TODAY, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #410 Gratitude Is An Attitude Not Just A Day!!!

 

“But I am poor and sorrowful:

let thy salvation,

O God,

set me up on high.

30 I will praise the name of God

with a song,

and will magnify him

with thanksgiving.

31 This also shall please the LORD

better than an ox

or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.”    Psalm 69:29-31

I just want to share a few passages to remind us to keep our “Attitude of Gratitude” every day, not just one day a year. My favorite question for this time of year is, “Are you humbly grateful, or grumbly hateful?” It’s a question that only you can answer!

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD:

let us make a joyful noise

to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence

with thanksgiving,

and make a joyful noise

unto him with psalms.

3 For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.”   Psalm 95:1-3

May we ever praise Him with our grateful hearts, and live a continual life of praise and gratitude before a world full of ‘selflies’, greed, and entitlement. May our heart of gratitude be contagious to those we encounter each day. A smile can change the world around us—some sourpuss may be waiting to see you smiling ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ today. May we spread the gratitude and thankfulness everywhere we go!

“Oh that men would praise the LORD

for his goodness,

and for his wonderful works

to the children of men!

22 And let them sacrifice

the sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and declare his works

with rejoicing.”   Psalm 107:21-22

Even as James reminds us today:

“Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift

and every perfect gift

is from above,

and cometh down

from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness,

neither shadow of turning.”     James 1:16-17

Remember ‘gratitude’ and ‘thankfulness’ aren’t just a “seasonal” option:

“Then he said unto them,

Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry;

for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”   Nehemiah 8:10

“I will praise thee,

O LORD,

with my whole heart;

I will shew forth

all thy marvellous works.

2 I will be glad

and rejoice

in thee:

I will sing praise

to thy name,

O thou most High.”    Psalm 9:1-2

Amen and Amen!!!

Let’s determine to truly “shew forth” all His “marvellous works” with our genuinely grateful hearts– full of His wondrous love and grace. Blessings on your day!

But It’s Only ‘Today’??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #409

08 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Choose You This Day!, Distractions, Praise God Today!, The Word, TODAY, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #409 But It’s Only ‘Today’???

 

I’d like to share a brief word of encouragement for each of us today—for today is what we have!

“This is the LORD’S doing;

it is marvellous in our eyes.

24 This is the day

which the LORD hath made;

we will rejoice

and be glad

in it.” Psalm 118:23-24

It is so easy to get caught up in the “big” picture, and the “future” plans we have that we forget to “live” today! The Psalmist reminds us that whatever is before us—the sunshine, the rain, the beauty, the ugly, the easy or the difficult—“This is the LORD’S doing”! We know that God is totally in charge, but we are so easily distracted and momentarily forget!

What we need to practice is reveling in the truth that our God is ever at work—in all things, and in ‘our’ things, no matter what that involves—and it ought to be “marvellous in our eyes”! When we practice being marveled at the works of God, it helps us enjoy those very marvelous characteristics and traits of our God! And part of that beauty is the wonder of ‘today’!

For “This is the day”—

The day that God has made—

The day that God has given to you/me—

The day that you/I can rejoice in HIM—

The day that God knows your sorrows and your joys—

The day that God will draw you/I closer to Himself!

If we’ll but “rejoice and be glad in it”, because HE reigns!

It’s Not Optional??? Bible Ballistics: Vol. 10 No. 17

05 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Changed Lives, Confidence, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Made like Jesus!, Salvation, SIN, The Only Way, The Word, The Word Or The World?, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: Vol. 10 No.17    It’s Not Optional???

 

I’d like us to take some time today to consider Who we belong to. Even we who follow Jesus, often spend so much time thinking about ‘self’ that we fall into the trap of the world and order our lives without due consideration of what God and His Son Jesus are calling us to “be” and ‘do’! We often forget that we have given our life to Jesus! We also seem to forget that we belong to Jesus when we choose to trust Him, believing in His substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for our sin, and His saving grace that we have received.

“What?

know ye not that your body

is the temple

of the Holy Ghost

which is in you,

which ye have of God,

and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price:

therefore glorify God

in your body,

and in your spirit,

which are God’s.”    1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Jesus makes it clear that we are either His children or we are the children of the enemy of mankind; and when we belong to Jesus, we are called to “take up our cross and follow” Him! He calls us to die to self and live unto HIM in all our ways, and that is not optional. Let’s consider the commands of Jesus and what He both calls us to be and do, as well as what He warns us about in our future when we do! What “god” are you sacrificing yourself to? (See Eph.2)

“This is my commandment,

That ye love one another,

as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life

for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends,

if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants;

for the servant knoweth not

what his lord doeth:

but I have called you friends;

for all things that I have heard

of my Father

I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me,

but I have chosen you,

and ordained you,

that ye should go

and bring forth fruit,

and that your fruit should remain:

that whatsoever ye shall ask

of the Father

in my name,

he may give it you.

17 These things I command you,

that ye love one another.

18 If the world hate you,

ye know that it hated me

before it hated you.

19 If ye were of the world,

the world would love his own:

but because ye are not of the world,

but I have chosen you

out of the world,

therefore the world hateth you.

20 Remember the word that I said unto you,

The servant is not greater

than his lord.

If they have persecuted me,

they will also persecute you;

if they have kept my saying,

they will keep yours also.

21 But all these things will they do unto you

for my name’s sake,

because they know not him

that sent me.”   John 15:12-21

This is a message that we don’t hear much about these days! When we hear about persecution of believers, we often consider it optional, or inconceivable that Christians should suffer for their faith. But Jesus Himself told us that it would come. He wanted to prepare us for the truth that when we choose to follow Him, to trust in Him as our Lord and Savior, we could expect to be treated as HE was—when we act as HE did. Speaking the truth of God to a lost and dying world. Speaking HIS truth in love! The love of God that enables us to recognize truth, and reject the lies of the enemy—and we do have an enemy.

“Jesus said unto them,

If God were your Father,

ye would love me:

for I proceeded forth and came from God;

neither came I of myself,

but he sent me.

43 Why do ye not understand my speech?

even because ye cannot hear my word.

44 Ye are of your father the devil,

and the lusts of your father

ye will do.

He was a murderer

from the beginning,

and abode not in the truth,

because there is no truth in him.

When he speaketh a lie,

he speaketh of his own:

for he is a liar,

and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth,

ye believe me not.” John 8:42-45

Truth is spiritually discerned, and only God can reveal Himself and His truth to each of us!

“But as it is written,

Eye hath not seen,

nor ear heard,

neither have entered into the heart of man,

the things which God hath prepared

for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us

by his Spirit:

for the Spirit searcheth all things,

yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man,

save the spirit of man

which is in him?

even so the things of God

knoweth no man,

but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received,

not the spirit of the world,

but the spirit

which is of God;

that we might know the things

that are freely given to us

of God.

13 Which things also we speak,

not in the words

which man’s wisdom teacheth,

but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;

comparing spiritual things

with spiritual.

14 But the natural man

receiveth not the things

of the Spirit of God:

for they are foolishness unto him:

neither can he know them,

because they are spiritually

discerned.”   1 Corinthians 2:9-14

I simply want to call each of us to consider that serving Jesus with our whole being isn’t optional—it is the call of God on every child of HIS!

“But as many as received him,

to them gave he power

to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe

on his name:

13 Which were born,

not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man,

but of God.” John 1:12-13

Are you and I behaving like “sons of God”, or have we allowed the tarnish of the world to dim His glory in us? Have you come to Jesus, and received His life-transforming new birth? Have you heard the voice of God calling you to Himself? If you have heard His voice, I pray that you will receive Him today! You can only come when HIS Spirit draws and calls to repentance and faith—that revealing of truth to lost and darkened hearts! Or do you have ears that don’t hear and eyes that won’t see?

“And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.” Isaiah 6:9

“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Isaiah 64:4

Only God can open blinded eyes, and stopped up ears! But He will open them for those who will respond to His call.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father,

but by me.” John 14:6

“No man can come to me,

except the Father which hath sent me

draw him:

and I will raise him up at the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets,

And they shall be all taught of God.

Every man therefore that hath heard,

and hath learned of the Father,

cometh unto me.” John 6:44-45

Jesus is growing His own into His image, and He works tirelessly accomplishing His work in us (See Ro. 8:28-29)! Do you have eyes and ears that are open to the Savior? If so, yield to His work in your heart, mind and life today, if you know Him. Won’t you renew your devotion and commitment to Jesus, and walk in His ways, reflecting His Glory and His Word!!! . If you don’t know Him, you can!

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23

Only one cause—SIN!!! Only One cure—JESUS!!!

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

The choice is optional—the consequence is NOT!!! The choice is yours! Choose wisely, there is a test!