Renew My Mind by Mike Tirone

Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
 
It is amazing how technology has allowed all of us to do more in less time. The internet, cell phones, email – we are living in a fast-paced, instant gratification world. I’m thankful for all of these devices because I rely on all of them each day. These shortcuts can help us get our daily tasks done more quickly but they can be dangerous, too. Don’t let our fast-paced, instant gratification world shape the way you think. Why? Because we all start to think of everything as a shortcut. Are you looking for a quick fix to overcome sin and temptation? Are you looking for instant gratification to suddenly conquer your old sinful patterns? Are you living your spiritual life at the same pace as our technology? Be careful because living your spiritual life at that pace is a recipe to actually lead you back into old sinful patterns.  Shortcuts and sanctification don’t mix. As a follower of Christ, we are all destined to spend the rest of our lives conquering sinful patterns and developing Godly habits.
 
There is no shortcut or easy solution to becoming more like Christ. It is a lifelong process. We can’t apply this “microwave lifestyle” to our walk with the Lord. Let me say this again. Growing in our faith and walk with Jesus can’t be done in a “shortcut, quick-fix” kind of way. Did you know that sanctification and genuine spiritual growth takes time? Do you want to know how much time?  It’s a lifelong struggle (don’t miss that word) and a constant challenge of a pursuit of holiness over your old sinful nature. You see, when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior there is no way to microwave your spiritual growth. Do you want to be encouraged and learn how to pursue righteousness and become more like Christ? I do. The only way any of us will have true spiritual growth in our lives is by going the complete opposite direction of this “instant gratification” society. Are you ready to get back on track?
 
First, recognize that spiritual maturity and growth takes thoughtful, consistent effort. It takes work. Every single day, we need to fill and keep refilling our minds with the sanctifying truth and power of God’s Word. This is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We must renew our minds daily. The renewing of our minds and our alone time with the Lord will sustain our energy so that we can effectively fight off temptation.  Living the Christian life is hard work and to successfully weed sin out of our lives, we need ALL of God’s resources. We all need constant spiritual nourishment. We need this nourishment every single day! If you are missing the spiritual nourishment of a special practice of personal devotion, you are at risk of falling back into your old sinful ways.
 
How is your alone time with God? Have you ever tried establishing a pattern of reading God’s Word at a specific time each day? Did you know that even Jesus established alone times to pray?  Consider Luke 5:16, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  God communicates to us through His Word. Remember, the power of Scripture is a weapon for all of us to fight off temptation. Ephesians 6:17 talks about the Word of God being the sword of the Spirit.  The days that I stay close to Him (renew my mind) and study His Word are the days I’m spiritually energized. If you haven’t been spending enough time with God in His Word I challenge you to re-establish a faithful pattern today. When you study Scripture, it will immediately guide you back into a regular, healthy habit of filling and refilling your heart and mind with God’s Word.  
 
Wouldn’t it be glorious for God to recognize us as “a man (or woman) after His own heart” as He did David in Acts 13:22?
 
Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation.”   Psalm 86:3, “Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I call to You all day long.” Psalm 119: 97-105, “Oh, how I love Your law!  I meditate on it all day long.  Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.  I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes.  I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey Your precepts.  I have kept my feet from every evil path, so that I might obey Your Word.  I have not departed from Your laws, for You Yourself have taught me.  How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.  Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
 
The time spent is well worth it!
 
If you need someone to talk to or need more information about YOUR salvation, please visit: www.needhim.org.

I’m not_______ enough. by Sharon Jaynes

November 9, 2009  

Today’s Truth
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Friend To Friend
I’m not _____________ enough. You can fill that blank in with smart, talented, gifted, spiritual, or any number of positive attributes.  But the root source of each one of those lies is “I’m not good enough.” It is one of the enemy’s favorite weapons and he uses it to keep God’s children in bondage to feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy. The bottom line is that the enemy wants you to believe that you are “not enough.” Period. But you are enough. You are enough and have been equipped and empowered to do everything that God has called you to do.
It seems the message of “I’m not good enough to earn my way to heaven on my own,” has been transformed into I’m not good enough…period. God created man and woman and said, “It is good.” We are so valuable to God that He gave His only Son to restore our brokenness.

To be honest, I could have been the poster child for this lie. If feeling inadequate was an Olympic event, I would have been on the Wheaties box. It was the undercurrent of my entire existence until I finally realized who I was in Christ. Bible teacher Beth Moore said, “In the dead of the night when insecurities crawl on us like fleas, all of us have terrifying bouts of insecurity and panics of insignificance. Our human natures pitifully fall to the temptation to pull out the tape measure and gauge ourselves against people who seem more gifted and anointed by God.”  That was me.
Many women are living in silent defeat, comparing themselves to other women who are living in secret defeat. I’m not a good mother. I’m not a good wife.  I’m not a good Christian. I’m not a good witness. I’m not a good housekeeper. I’m not a good decorator. I’m not a good cook. I’m not a good….  Women are caught in a cycle of the “I’m not good enough.” One by one the petals fall from the beautiful flower God created us to be.  Like ticker tape, our fragmented pieces of confidence litter the streets like the Macy’s parade passing by.

Unfortunately, I wasted many precious years held captive by the enemy’s lies before I held up my chained hands to God and said, “I’m ready for you to set me free.”
Consider this:
Jacob was a liar.
Moses was a stutterer.
Gideon was a coward.
David was an adulterer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Esther was an orphan.
Balaam’s donkey was…well, a donkey.
And yet God used each one of them to impact His kingdom. 
God doesn’t call us because we are particularly gifted or talented. He uses us because we are obedient and dependent on Him. He doesn’t call the qualified – He qualifies the called.
The truth is, if you have experienced new birth in Christ, when God looks at you, He sees Jesus.  And friend, Jesus is good enough.
Let’s Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You today. Because of Jesus Christ and His work of redemption in me, I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing and totally accepted by You.  Because of Jesus Christ in me, I am equipped and empowered to do all that You have called me to do. Now, LORD, help me act like it.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Soul Dancing

Consumed by your prescence.
Overwhelmed with your love
My heart beats for You
Precious Savior above
Worldy desires
No longer exist
Each breathe I take
A miraculous gift

Holly Smith ©2009

Watch what you say!

James 3:1-12

3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

God put it on my heart that this is something I need to work on. I tend to not think before I speak and I don’t think I ever really stopped and thought about how powerful words really are. They can make someone feel uplifted and encouraged. On the other hand they can hurt someone’s feelings and make them feel terrible. I know only God can give me the ability to be cautious about what comes out of my mouth. If I rely on my own strength,I might do okay for an hour or two but I will be right back where I started after that. I want the things I say to match with what I confess with my heart. That I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I have the Holy Spirit living inside me. What kind of testimony am I portraying if the way I treat others does is not pleasing to God? I am thankful that I am not going through this struggle alone.He will be with me every step of the way.

I remember hearing the phrase “if you can’t say something nice,don’t say anything at all” when I was younger. I just shrugged it off and didn’t really take it to heart. But now that God has shown me that the world will recognize true believers by their words and actions-I am beginning to understand just how powerful words really can be. I know I will be held accountable for the things I said and did when I meet Jesus face to face. I pray God will continue to reveal to me,the parts of my life that need changing.  Each day is a new opportunity to be bold in my faith and my love for Him.

Matthew 25:23
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness”

Jacob memorizes the Old Testament books

this is my son Jacob reciting the old testament books…I am so proud of him!!

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
(Matthew 18:2-6 ESV)

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99 Balloons

This video shows how God can get you through anything.. Eliot’s parents showed such strength and courage throughout the days that struggled… I admire them for putting their faith and complete trust in Jesus Christ. They knew God was in control and Eliot’s life though short is an inspiration to so many!!! Just goes to show God uses ordinary people even newborn babies,to do extraordinary things.. This video definitely pulls on your heartstrings but I think we all need to be reminded just how precious life truly is!!!!

A new perspective on life!

Our eyes are the window to our soul and they are what we use to view the world. When we take our focus off of God-Satan attacks uses our weaknesses against us and we become extremely vulnerable to falling back into our old behaviors and habits.. I lost my focus recently and God brought me back to where I need to be,close to him. It took words from others,a nudging at my heart and a feeling that I was not where I needed to be in my relationship with Christ..

I think it is so amazing how u begin to look at the world with a new set of eyes once you give your life to Christ. I look at things so much more differently then I used to. The things I hear on the news, t.v. shows, music,everything that I am surrounded by in my daily life..I am being molded into a a new person,who will never look at the world the same because I have become Born again!!!

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Don’t worry about tomorrow!

Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’” (Luke 12:22-26, NIV).

I find myself referring back to this verse alot over the past few weeks.. This verse tells us that our Father in Heaven does not want us to worry or be anxious about anything. He is and always has been in control. Looking back on my life I can see the times that God was looking out for me and I did not realize it because I did not have a personal intimate relationship with Him…I almost drowned when I was five and my mom was able to jump in the water and feel my feet and push me up until my head reached the surface of the water.. I was so terrified,all I remember seeing was black.. God saved my life and used my mom as someone to help me out of the horrifying experience.. I was not saved back then and can remember thinking to myself.’I guess God was not ready for me to go yet”..

I had another near death experience when I was in high school. I was eating a chicken sandwich for lunch and it seemed to go down my throat weird,and I began choking.. None of my friends around me had any idea I was in danger because I did not immediately put my hand around my throat to signify I was choking. I just panicked and got up from the table and began walking away from it… I had feelings of hopelessness come over me and just knew I was about to die.. Normally there would be a teacher monitoring during lunch time but for some reason there was not a single one to be found that day..

I ended up throwing up my food all over the cafeteria table and then ran to the bathroom to rid myself of being horribly embarrassed- and to try to regain my composure the best I knew how. I stayed at school for one more period then went home and called my mom to tell her what had happened..

I know God was watching over me during this experience and I am so thankful..I just know I do not want to go through life worrying and fretting about the what if’s and the “should’ves and could’ves.. I have no control over what happens in my life tomorrow. God does. He decides whether my heart beats for another second or whether I take another breath..I want my life to be lived in such a way that people wonder why I have joy even when bad things happen.. Even when life seems to wear on you and you feel like u just can’t go on another day-God steps in and says “Yes you can,because you are my precious child and I am with you every step of the way.”…

I want to make a commitment to myself and to God that I will give Him full and total control of every single part of my mind,body and soul.. Nothing will be hidden from Him.. He already knows every thought I think and evey step I take..

Father,I come before You know and I thank You for giving me another day to spend with my family-and to share my faith with others.. I know that I am unworthy of Your mercy and grace,but You love me that much! All the money in the world couldn’t bring me that kind of unspeakable joy..I have been blessed with way more then I deserve and I will not worry about what I will,eat drink,where I will live,-or what tomorow will bring.. Your grace is sufficient for me!! in Jesus precious and most Holy name I pray..AMEN!!!

Struggles in the life of a Believer

I feel like a hypocrite…I portray myself to be someone who is on fire for God,yet I struggle with reading my bible daily.. I act like this cheerful person when I am online,but I find myself blowing up on my kids and my husband… I feel like a volcano that will erupt at any time.. Like my emotions are going to burst.. I am able to give others advice on their walk with the Lord,yet I feel as if I am not doing so well in mine.. I know being a believer and obeying God’s laws is a minute by minute and even hour by hour thing.. I know God will show me what I need to work on and then give me the strength and courage to do so..

I can remember before I was saved hearing that your life will be full of sunshine,rainbows etc when you gave your life to Christ.. I now know God uses our struggles to bring honor and glory to Himself.. When we feel like we can’t go on anymore,all we have to do is call out His name and He will be there.. I just want anyone out there who is thinking maybe being a believer in Jesus Christ is not working out for them- to never give up on Him.. He will never give up on us,if we are willing to fully commit our lives to Him..

I also know Satan will do all he can do get me as far away from God as possible. He uses our weaknesses against us.. I guess what I am trying to say is,even when you feel like u are having the worst day in the world,God is there to hold you while you cry… I know I stil have so much to learn about my Father in Heaven,but He has captured my heart and I will never be the same again..

I feel so blessed to have met so many great people who are truly passionate about their love for Christ.. Anytime any of you ever needs to talk or needs prayer,don’t hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment on my wall.. We may never meet here on earth-but I look forward to meeting y’all in eternity! What an amazing day that will be!!