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10-10-2008, 08:44 PM
God's Workmanship

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Think about that for a moment. We are God’s workmanship, not our own. God is the Master Workman; not you or me. This God, whose work we've admired and whose power and love we've tasted, this is the creator of the rest of our lives. God has been pursuing us all this time because He loves us so much and He has a vision for who we can become. He is the creator of all that's beautiful and awe-inspiring and He can make a masterpiece out of the rest of our lives. Will we let Him? He cannot work on us unless we place ourselves in His hands and allow Him to have total control over us. We need to trust the Master Workman with the outcome of our lives and be willing to be used by Him in any manner that He wishes. He has created us for a purpose in mind: to do a work that He prepared for us long before we were even created. We have been fashioned to do good works. We cannot do these on our own, but only through Christ Jesus, our Lord, can we serve the Master Workman and bring Him glory and honor in all we do.

Father, thank you for making me a thing of beauty. I pray that as I submit myself to your hands, you can change me into the vision that you have for my life. Use me as you see fit and may I bring you glory and honor as I serve you! Amen Quiet Waters

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H I S FACE
"What do you see in that trial?" was the question I asked that guy! It is the same question I would ask the lady who wrote from another state sharing a most horrible experience she was going through. It is the same question I pose to that individual across the Atlantic ocean who wrote regarding a family matter or the one writing regarding terrible persecution in their country.

The question again, WHAT DO YOU SEE IN it?? My next statement while TRUE is one of the more difficult statements to absorb - certainly believe. It is: Part of the great and rich heritage that God has planned for us is suffering. He will permit in the life of each of his children a portion (a right portion in His eyes and understanding) of difficulty, trials and temptations.

What we SEE in those trials and temptations will largely determine the riches that will be ours.

It would be so great one Christian wrote to a friend, "To be able to go out in the days so yielded that every fresh circumstance or trial would prove to have the SWEET FACE OF JESUS concealed in it, or bursting like a flood of glory through some rift in the cloud and filling with radiance our uplifted faces; so that each new obedience should be but the parting of the curtain, ushering us into new wonders and experiences of His inexhaustible riches and fullness."

The worst that can come to you, the worst that Satan can do against you only furnishes a great and new opportunity for God. Yes, to David's words: (Ps. 27:8)

"Your face, Lord, I will seek."

Let's pray!

Lord God, my prayer for this special one is simply, "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His FACE to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His FACE toward you and give you peace."

Amen Words For Courageous Living

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Faith means to surrender all to God

God is ever victorious and God never fails to accomplish what He begins.

Though I am defeated ten thousand times, the Lord is never defeated nor brought low but is ever victorious.

At the end of days when the Lord returns with the Host of Heaven following along behind, the armies of the world who come out to oppose Him will be destroyed by the mere utterance of His Mouth.

The Lord is ever victorious and He shall utterly defeat all who oppose Him.

He is invincible and all who oppose Him shall be brought low.

The best thing we can do is to surrender all to Him and join in the victorious cavalcade and follow along behind Him.

Faith means to surrender all to God and to follow Him.

Follow God.
©10/11/2001 Jim Welch

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Devotional For Dieters

October 11

1 Peter 3:13
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

Kim's mother felt so sorry for her. She remembered what it was like to be overweight. All the other children were so cruel. She could still feel the sting of all the nicknames people had put on her. Now, Kim was suffering the same indignities. Her mother hoped she could get Kim on a diet, if for no other reason than to keep Kim's classmates from taunting her so mercilessly. Just taking steps to correct the problem made it easier to take. The insults didn't hurt so much after the problem was taken care of. Together, they would lose the weight. With God's help, time would heal the wounds of unkind words.

Today's thought: I will put all my excess weight behind me!

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THE BIG BOOK WITHOUT WORDS



“…We tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” Alcoholics Anonymous, page 60


“In everything set them an example by doing what is good.” Titus 2:7



For what it's worth: Talk is cheap, especially when powered by alcohol. My words could create a victim instead of the villain or a hero instead of the loser I was. Doing so became so much a part of me that even I started to believe the lies. Here in recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous, I have to be especially vigilant about this defect. The lies and false impressions must stop. Empty words will not create healing. Daily practice of certain, simple principles will. Without that daily practice, the study of these principles, being learned and sounding off with authority on them is meaningless. The only way to do myself and anyone else any good is to practice these principles each day in all of my activities. Then, when I talk the Big Book, I do not have to use words.


God bless you!



Joe W.

admin
10-11-2008, 05:10 AM
Today I will...enjoy the physical symbols that God gives us to deepen our understanding of spiritual

truth.

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Matthew 7
Do Not Judge
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and

with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in

your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your

brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite!

First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from

your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them

under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

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You Don't Face Life All Alone

JOHN 14:18 Barclay
18 I will not leave you to face life all alone. I am coming to you.

Being alone -- with no help -- is a horrible feeling. One the devil would love for you to believe is your

lot.

You are NOT alone! Jesus promised!

When you feel alone, desolate, and helpless -- remember the promises of Jesus.

HEBREWS 13:5 NIV
5 . . . God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Your feelings are not the true test of reality. God cannot lie. He is with you now, whether you feel like

it, or whether it looks like it, or not.

Since God is always with you, it would be rude to always ignore Him. So call on Him and discuss

things with Him. Let God be your friend. That's His plan.

SAY THIS: I am not facing life all alone. God is with me.

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God Does The Work
October 11

Work out . . . your own salvation . . . [not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
—Philippians 2:12-13

The Word of God brings liberty, not legalism; promises, not laws; and guidelines to a good life, not condemnation. Many work at following a Christian lifestyle, but they are not happy because they are focused on rules instead of on their relationship with God.

If you are trudging along, believing you have to give, have to read the Bible, have to pray, have to walk in the fruit of the Spirit, I encourage you to stop thinking you have to do anything. You will discover that God will give you the grace to want to do the things that lead to a victorious life in Him.


From the book Starting Your Day Right: Devotions for Each Morning of the Year by Joyce Meyer.

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Daily Thoughts

A Time to Think Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God. —Samuel Taylor Coleridge
To Act Cherish your purpose in life.
To Pray Today God, let me shine for You.

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Eliminate Little Negatives from Your Thought and Speech.

If a mass of little negatives clutter up your conversation, they are bound to seep into your mind and, before you know it, they will grow into big negatives. To eliminate them, deliberately say a positive word about everything.

No. 85 in a series of 100 Power Thoughts from The Power of Positive Thinking, the All-Time inspirational Best-Selling Book by Norman Vincent Peale.

Courtesy of PealeCenterforPositiveThinking.com

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NACR Daily Meditation

Saturday 11th of October 2008

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him
better.
Ephesians 1:17

Paul kept asking God that his friends would be able to know God better.
He clearly did not think of the Christian life as a one-time event. This
text assumes that to become a Christian is to enter a lifetime process of
learning to see and know God better.

The two things needed for this process are wisdom and revelation. Wisdom
is something internal. During recovery the Spirit works within us to make
us wise. This involves weeding out all of the distorted ideas and distorted
thinking processes which supported our denial system. The Spirit is capable
of removing our ’stinking thinking’ and making us wise. The second thing
we need in the recovery process is revelation. Revelation is external to
us - it is God’s self-disclosure to us. Without an external frame of reference,
we are perfectly capable of creating a reality of our own choosing. Our
denial is capable of creating a comprehensive alternate reality with no
external checks or balances. During recovery, the Spirit works to reveal
to us what is true, what is real. As a result we gradually learn that there
is a reality beyond our pretense and denial.

The purposes of the Spirit’s work is to help us grow in our capacity to
know God. The goal is not just knowing lots of facts about God. To know
a person is to share life with that person. It is a quest of the heart.
As our wounded hearts are changed, we will be empowered to know God better.

I need wisdom. Lord.
Help me to be wise.
I need revelation, Lord.
Show me.
Let me see.
Spirit of Wisdom
Spirit of Revelation
Fill my heart today
So that I may
know you better.
Amen

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Do You Like Me, Lord?

Psalm 18:17-19: “He delighted in me” (v.19).

“Do you like me, Lord?” I wrote in my journal. “You love me, I know, but do you like me? Show me in your Word where it indicates that you like me?”

Early one morning, a year later, I sat down to study at my desk. Something I read caught my eye. “He rescued me, because he delighted in me.” (Ps. 18:19)

“That’s really nice,” I thought. I exchanged the “he” to “I” and the “me” to “you”. “I rescued you, because I delighted in you.” The dictionary defines delight in as “to incline to, to be pleased with, to favor, to like.”

I grabbed my journal and pinned these words: “Thank you, God. You answered my prayer, the longing of my heart. Something inside me is opening …unclenching …flying! When I was a child, someone close to me said he would not love me if I were not in his family. In my childish mind I determined I was loved out of duty, and not because I was worth liking. I must have transferred this belief to you. Now I see that you actually want to like me. Thank you.”

God loves me. God loves you. He likes us, too.

Lord, thank you for delighting in me.

2008 Joan C. Webb

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Spiritual Preparation
Day-by-Day

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. (Matthew 25:10)

There is no substitute for spiritual preparation. Spiritual preparation equips you for unforeseen crises or opportunities. However, if you are unprepared you will be vulnerable in life’s unexpected events.

Jesus told a parable that teaches this truth. Ten virgins were awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom so that they could celebrate with him and his bride. Five of them prepared in advance and brought an adequate supply of oil for their lamps. The other five were not prepared, so they rushed out to buy additional lamp oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The five who had planned ahead entered into the house with him, but the door was closed against the five who were not ready, and they missed the celebration.

If you are spiritually prepared when a crisis comes, you will not have to try to develop instantly the quality of relationship with Christ that can sustain you. If you suddenly have an opportunity to share your faith with an unbeliever, you will be equipped to do so. If you enter a time of worship spiritually prepared, you will not miss an encounter with God. If you are spiritually filled when you meet a person in sorrow, you will have much to offer. If you have established safeguards in your life in advance, you will not give in to temptation.

Christians lose many opportunities to experience God’s activity because they have not devoted enough time to their relationship with God. If you have not yet developed the habit of daily prayer and Bible study, why not begin now, so that you will be equipped for whatever life brings?

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Then Jesus came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine.
—John 4:46
“I wish I could have been there,” I often say when talking about miracles. I would like to have seen a few fish and loaves feed a crowd of 5,000, to have seen Jesus calm the storm, and to have been surprised when jars of water turned into fine wine. It is not proof that I am looking for, it’s just that witnessing the inbreaking of God's presence would be such an experience, I regret that these things happened long before my time.

One day, I was working with a woman for whom drinking had become a problem. For her the adage held true: The woman took a drink; the drink took a drink; and the drink took the woman. It occurred to me that in some ways turning water into wine is an everyday occurrence. Somewhere along the line reaching for a glass of wine replaces reaching for a glass of water.

The miracle, in this woman's life, would be turning wine into water. It would take surrender; would be full of surprise; and would deepen her recognition of God's healing power.

It then occurred to me that many churches, perhaps even most churches, invite AA groups to use their basement, their library, their fireside rooms on a weekly basis. They do so expecting miracles to occur as wine turns into water, broken lives are healed, and the fullness of grace reappears.

It would have been quite an experience to have been there when Jesus turned the water into wine. But, it is just as deep an experience when we are in the presence of those who receive the equally powerful miracle of turning wine into water.

On this day, dear God, show us the miracles that sustain us and bring us closer to you. We thank you for turning water into wine, and for the equally wonderful miracle that changes wine into water. Amen. The Signposts

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

Only For a Little While!


You will always have poor people with you. You can help them
any time you want. But you will not always have me. This
woman did the only thing she could do for me. She poured
perfume on my body. She did this before I die to prepare me
for burial.

-- Mark 14:7-8 (ERV)


KEY THOUGHT:
So often we have people we love dearly and greatly respect that we
never praise, honor, or thank until after they are dead. This story of
the woman's expensive gift to Jesus should be a reminder that we
shouldn't wait till people are dead to give them the thanks they
deserve. Let's thank others and honor them in ways that are appropriate
for their service.


TODAY'S PRAYER:
Father, I know there are many people in my life who have blessed me.
Please forgive me for not being more affirming and appreciative to
them. Help me see the opportunities I have to thank and honor people,
always to your glory, before their time on earth is ended. In Jesus'
name I pray. Amen.