THOUGHTS ARE A WAY OF LISTENING
Quit thinking lack and measuring it with a poverty stick! When we have trouble hearing Gods word,here is some encouraging news.God is talking to us all the time and He's not hiding anything from us. He is continually fulfilling the words Jesus spoke to all of us. The Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26) will teach all things and bring them into remembrance of what He has said to you. (Jn.16:13-15)
In His lov,tom

                                                  WE TO ARE TEMPTED!
This is a devotional reprinted from (GOD IS FIRST). May it awaken your thoughts of Gods power and works of His Word ( Jesus).
                                  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt 4:1).

Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan! After 40 days of fasting, when Jesus was at his weakest physically, Satan came to Him. He tempted Him in 3 areas where you and I are most tempted. Why would the Father require this? Jesus needed to affirm to Satan who He was and from whom He gained His authority and provision.

1)      Our identity

“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you, ’and,‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”  Jesus understood His identity and refused to allow Satan to redefine Him. Do not allow Satan to define your identify from anyone or anything other than God.

2)      Our authority

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God. Jesus’ authority was rooted in doing only what He saw the Father do. He did not use fleshly authority.

3)      Our source of provision

And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Today, realize your identify resides in being a son or daughter of your Heavenly Father. Your authority resides in being led by the Holy Spirit. Your provision comes from your Heavenly Father

 He who can hear.....in His love,tom

                                                     QUIT THINKING LACK
STOP SPEAKING OF LACK: when we are having trouble speaking and hearing Gods word it usually is because what we are thinking is blocking Gods word and voice from entering our thoughts and mind.God is talking to us all the time; He is not hiding anything from us (Mk.4:22 "  nothing is hidden except to be made manifest." ) and is fulfilling all the words Jesus has spoken to us. Jn.14:26  "....He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that Jesus has said to you. Jn.16:13-15....V.14 He will glorify me,for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ALL that the Father has is mine; therefore I said he will take what is mine and declare it to you.(HOLY SPIRIT). Jesus says " if any man has ears to hear let him hear" (V.23) So pay attention to what you hear (V.24);(V.25) for the one who has more will be given more....This is spiritual hearing,ears of faith;how much do we really believe and trust His word. A good example of this is found in Luke5:4, saying to Peter "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" And Peters reply was; well we already did that! But he did what Jesus said to do and his reward was because he LISTENED. Now visualize what the word is saying to you; Wisdom and guidance pours forth thru the word,[ Bless the Lord, ALL His works in ALL places of His dominion: Bless the Lord,O my soul.] Yes our Lord hears and we can make that decision too.
In His Love,tom

                                                       THE WAY OF LOVE
I question myself this morning asking do I have patience, am I kind, do I boast and envy? Why do I seek after the Lord if I do not walk in in these precepts. As I read 1Cor.13:4-7, I realized how much the fear of the Lord acts to build up our relationship to others. Yes I have read how it is through love that Agape love is what God shows us through His word; loving the sinner as well as the believer. But what about my love; am I capable of showing that kind of love to all that come my way? Or is my love only for the people I care for or like? Faith, hope and love and of these love is the greatest. This devotional has inspired me to evaluate my walk in love;

Hebraic Thought

June 20

 

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding"(Psalms 111:10).

Education is a high priority in any society that wants to advance. Education should be sought after by every believer in Jesus Christ in order to better understand God's ways. However, education that is not mixed with faith and obedience will result in programmatic religion.

In the early Hebraic church, wisdom was gained by obedience. Hebrews learned that wisdom was gained by knowing and doing the will of God and that it often did not line up with logic. However, as the church became impacted by the Greek culture through the influence of scholars like Socrates and Aristotle, knowledge-based systems became more influential in the way education was taught and applied. Greeks believed that the way to gain knowledge was based on reason and analysis.

When Joshua walked around the city of Jericho seven times blowing his trumpets, he was exhibiting a Hebraic model of decision-making - pure obedience. Logic and reason played no part in this decision. When Elisha instructed the army general to go wash in a lake in order to be healed of leprosy, it confronted his intellect. This was Hebraic thought rooted in obedience.

The Church has moved into a more knowledge-based and programmatic system of operation over the centuries, rather than obedience-based methods that are motivated by a heart fully devoted to following God. We've replaced obedience with reason, logic, and slick marketing for attractive programs to entice people into our churches.

Ultimately, God desires us to take the Hebraic approach when making decisions. He wants us to make decisions based on our heart's desire to follow Him. 

I have forgotten LOVE;I have replaced it with reasoning! 

This morning I pray  Lord teach me to Love, add your wisdom of Love to my every desire to walk in your precepts and to listen to your voice, to LOVE all that come unto my path for you have allowed this to be.......

In His Love,tom

HI TO ALL; THIS IS A COPY OF A DEVOTIONAL THAT I FELT SHOULD BE SHARED. IT IS FROM [ TODAY GOD IS FIRST] MAY IT REWARD YOU AS IT HAS ME....
   

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

God speaks to his children in many varied ways. God has said that his ways are not our ways. If left to our reasoning, we will fail to fully walk in the full counsel of God, which leads to poor decisions.

Thus, our goal is to avoid being deceived and to develop a listening ear that hears the voice of God with confidence. Our goal is to have such intimacy with God that we can walk in the full blessing of our decisions and to be assured they are not based on our own reasoning alone. This does not mean that we do not use the intellectual and logical skills that He has equipped us with.

A.W. Tozer said that the man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can't make a wrong choice - any choice will be the right one. J. Oswald Sanders explains his method of receiving guidance from God for decisions; "I try to gather all the information and all the facts that are involved in a decision, and then weigh them up and pray over them in the Lord's presence, and trust the Holy Spirit to sway my mind in the direction of God's will. And God generally guides by presenting reasons to my mind for acting in a certain way."

The apostle Paul said, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). God has equipped us with everything we need to make good decisions. Hearing His voice is the first step toward making right choices in life.

Do you have a decision to make? Submit that decision to the Lord, ask God for clarity. Ask Him to make the desires of your heart the same desires that He has for you in this matter. Await His perfect timing on the matter. Then you can be assured of making the right decisions. 

HE WHO CAN HEAR,IN HIS LOVE,tom