Daily Devoltional on Love from Kenneth Copeland Ministries.

I read this devotional this morning and was so impacted by the revelation of the small things we allow to eat away at us that I though i would share it with you all.  Please learn and enjoy. #RenewedMind

Jun 20 - A Healthy Dose of Love
"Love...is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it--pays no attention to a suffered wrong."
(1 Corinthians 13:4-5)

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Dear Reuel,

Walking in love is good for your health. Did you know that?

It's true! Medical science has proven it. Researchers have discovered that hostility produces stress that causes ulcers, tension headaches, and a host of other ills.

Now when you think of hostility, you may think of the type of anger you feel when something serious happens. But according to the experts, that kind of thing isn't what causes the worst problems. It's the little things: when the dry cleaners ruin your favorite outfit, for example. Or when the cafeteria lady puts gravy on your mashed potatoes after you've specifically told her not to. Sound familiar?

Just think how much stress you could avoid by being quick to forgive, by living your life according to 1 Corinthians 13 and not counting up the evils done to you. Imagine physical and emotional benefits of living like that!

If you've allowed yourself to be habitually bound by hostility, that may sound like an impossible dream, but it's not! Because as a born-again believer, you have the love of God inside of you.

If you'll yield to that love, it will set you free. Remember when Jesus called Lazarus forth from the grave? He was alive but still bound in the grave clothes. Jesus commanded the bindings to be loosed so that Lazarus could be free to walk.

Jesus wants that same kind of freedom for you. So get into agreement with Him. Say to those deadly habits that have you bound, "In the Name of Jesus, loose me and let me go! I'm putting hostility, unforgiveness and selfishness behind me. I'm going on with God. I'm going to live the life of love!"

Remember: It doesn't take a medical miracle to turn your life around. All it takes is a decision to yield to the force of love. Do it today!

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Scripture Study:  Proverbs 4:10-27

Where is your obedience?

So before I get into it let me say this is a very personal and open blog post....Bare with me.

Lately things have been a little busy in my life, between work, and family, and of course the all important TV (LOL). I noticed over the last few months my time in the word and prayer and even church attendance was seriously slacking. If I am completely honest I was giving much more time to everything else except the things of God. I have still been praying and reading the word but with much less frequency and much less desire. I noticed that not only was I not spending the time but that I wasn't really pressed to do so. Now don't get me wrong, I Love the Lord and and I am still striving to live a life that is pleasing to him but I have not felt that same desire to spend time with him in the word and prayer.

So last night I said to God that I was going to do better in this area. So I woke up this morning and had devotion and prayed and felt that I was good to go. But then as I was driving to work and just talking to God and I said to him Father what is happening with my desire to spend time in your word and in prayer, I used to feel like I couldn't wait to be there and soak it all up and now I don't feel it. Then I said Father give me that desire back so I can get back into the swing of things.

As soon as I finished with this plea to God to give me back the desire or the hunger and thirst he replied as plain as day in my spirit and what he said shook me to the core. I said give me the desire back and He said; Where is your obedience? WOw!!!! Where is your obedience? What a convicting question to me. It didn't take a great revelation from heaven from or any further study for me to understand what He was saying to, and I guess it would go for all of us :

When all the feelings are gone and there is no desire there don't forget that Obedience to the Father is always the way to go.

Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you......Don't let it!!!

Sin is waiting to attack you...What a dreadful and potentially fearful statement.  Although I have read this passage of scripture about Cain and Abel's offering many times before, this morning the Holy Spirit revealed something new to me. Here we have Cain and he has made an offering to God that was not accepted by God and now he is, honestly speaking, PISSED OFF!!  God comes to Cain and says "Why are you so angry", then "You will be accepted if you do what is right"  Here we see that God is stunned at the fact that Cain is upset with Him for his judgment of what is right and wrong or acceptable and unacceptable.  How often do we get angry with or question God when the Holy Spirit convicts us of wrong? How often do we make excuses for Sin in our lives instead of repenting and lining up with the will of God for our lives?

We make these mistakes often, I know I have at least.  But what comes next is where God spoke to me this morning.  After God questions Cain about his wrong attitude he says to him "You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to Control you." What was God referring to here when he said if you do the right thing you will be accepted?  Was he referring to the offering itself or accepting responsibility for what Cain did wrong and having a right attitude before God?  I always assumed God was referring to the offering, but this morning I was impressed by the Spirit of God on a repentant attitude. God was saying to Cain, don't be angry with my judgment, submit to it and line up with me. And thats what we all need to do. When the Grace of God allows the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and wrong attitudes we should not reject this Grace and be stubborn but we should receive this Grace and be repentant.

God then warns Cain that Sin is waiting to jump on him and control him totally if he doesn't get it right. I have learned from teachers and from the Word of God that sin is an independent force from God and Satan. Sin is not a weapon of Satan, sin was in us after our Father Adam followed the leading of the enemy instead of God.  Now don't get me wrong, Satan uses our Sin nature against us, but sometimes our desires and lusts get us involved with Sin independent of the devil.  What God was saying here was that the force of Sin is waiting for you to not be repentant when you mess up because that is an open door for sin to manifest and multiply in your life. If you are not quick to repent then Sin will use that open door to come in and infest and infect your spirit. Then the enemy will use that to his advantage and start lying to you about your inability to get forgiveness from God as you continue to fall deeper into Sin.



But Glory be to God! He never leaves us without a solution to our potential problems, for then he says "But you mist subdue it (sin) and be it's master." If God says to Cain that he must subdue Sin and be it's master then Cain must have the ability to do so. And that ability lies in repentance.  If we are repentant when we sin then we have the ability to keep sin from multiplying in that area.  And Glory to God we have the blood of Jesus on our side now and Cain didn't even have that.

The Word of God says that if we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil that he will flee; I propose to you that if we submit ourselves to God and remain repentant where our sin is concerned then sin will have to submit to the fact that it has no power over us.  But like David said if we cover our sin or refuse to confess it and repent then that Lion Sin will pounce on us and our bodies will be waste or be eaten away.



I said all that to say this, the true power to realize and manifest your freedom from sin lies in two things:

1) Faith in the Word of God

2) Doing as David did in Pslams 32:5
       Finally, I confessed all my sins to you

        and stopped trying to hide my guilt.                                       I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the       Lord.”And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

A Jesuit prayer of Humility

So it's been a crazy long time since I have blogged, but not because I haven't had anything to say.  I dont know why I sarted this blog but then I so seldom use it, I guess the short blurbs on Twitter are enough for me most days.

But anyway, the reason i'm blogging today is to share a prayer I just read on someone else's blog that really shook me up.  This is a prayer I think we should all pray, but I am not sure we are all bold enough to do so. This prayer is prayed by the Jesuits, so please put away all your reservations about the Catholic denomination and just hear the heart and truth behind this prayer.

Check this out and let me know what you think of it:

A PRIVATE LITANY OF HUMILITY
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honoured, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of comfort and ease, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being criticized, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being passed over, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being lonely, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being hurt, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering, deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, strengthen me with your Spirit.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, teach me your ways.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
help me put my self importance aside
to learn the kind of cooperation with others
that makes possible the presence of your Abba’s household.

Adapted from a prayer by Rafael, Cardinal Merry Del Val,
from the prayer book, For Jesuits, 1963, Loyola University Press