Posted by Pastor Bruce on March 4, 2010
Face it, God would not ask you to do something that you could not do.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Phillippians 4:13
Following God requires that you walk in His strength. His strength in us is His ability flowing through us by His Spirit.
There is nothing that you can not do that God is leading you to do.
For example, from His Word we can see that it is His will for us to love our spouse and our family. This can not be done through our own strength, it requires the power of God working in us. He does not expect us to fulfill His supernatural will with our natural means. Through God we can do all things.
You may feel like you can not do what you know that you should and what you know that God is asking you to do, but remember:
- God is just and can not ask you to do something that you can not do
- He wants you to rely on Him and His strength to do all that you must do
Don’t say that you can’t because through Him and with His strength, you can! Rise up in the power of His might and show all those around you that you can do it! Declare I CAN DO ALL THINGS through HIM!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 25, 2010
Receive more grace for your race.
Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. [Ps. 110:1.] JUST THINK OF HIM Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. – Hebrews 12:1-3 AMP
Considering Jesus and what He did for us will quickly bring us up and out of any pity party! Verse 3 of Hebrews 12 says to think of Him so that we will not grow weary or exhausted…faint in our minds…
We must remember that He did all that He did (endured the shame of the cross) because of the joy that was set before Him. He empowers us with that same joy as we look to Him who is the author and finisher of our faith. That joy of the Lord is our very strength and He is the very source of our faith. God will do exceedingly abundantly above anything that we can ask or think ACCORDING TO the power that is at work within us! Let His power work within you today as you think about Him and consider what He did for you and realize that He lives in you!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 10, 2010
Feeling faint?
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; – Luke 18:1 (KJV)
When we reach out in faith and begin believing God for something that He has promised us the number one thing that the enemy wants us to do is to give up, give in, faint and quit. He knows that if we stay in faith and operate patience that we will receive the promise of God everytime! (Heb 10:36)
We must continue to thank God each time that we think about what we have prayed and believed that we receive. (Mark 11:24) The “you shall have them” time will take “some time”…it could be a day or it could be a year. The time part is not in your control and should not affect your “standing in faith”.
The way not to faint is to “keep the switch of faith ON” like Abraham.
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. – Romans 4:19-21 (KJV)
Giving glory to God is the same as thanking God for the answer before you see things change in the natural realm. The highest kind of prayer is worshipping God for who He is in your life and every situation in your life! If you are feeling faint, don’t sit down or lay down stand up throw your head back and praise God with every bit of strength that you have left. God will begin to strengthen you with His might and you will be made strong in faith!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 9, 2010
You may enter now…
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, – Matthew 27:51
When Jesus gave Himself in the crucifixion He opened the door to the Holy of Holies. There was a manifestation in the natural realm (world) and the spiritual realm (world), the earth quaked and the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. That act of obedience forever opened the door to the heart of our Father God.
We have access to the very presence of God whenever we choose to enter. Jesus sacrifice and His blood provides access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. God has an “open door policy”.
Few people understand and believe this and even fewer people actually act on this and take full advantage of this supernatural access.
We live in a day where people will stand in line for hours on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) to burst through the doors of a store to get 30% off of their big ticket item (while knocking down everyone in their way)…And others will pay their friends money to wait in line to get in the door to buy tickets for the greatest concert in the world. With all this rush and passion to get something that is really worth nothing…we have access to the very riches of heaven but refuse to take advantage of the the access that Jesus has provided. Most would rather be satisfied with the trinkets of the world than the treasures of heaven.
Quit waiting for God to do something for you and go boldly into His Throne Room through the blood of Jesus to obtain grace and help in time of need. The door is forever open!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 8, 2010
Get out of the boat!
He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. – Matt. 14:29
Jesus is saying, “COME!…get out of the boat and walk on the water with Me!” You can do it, you were designed to do what Jesus did. We are fit for the task. Our Father has great faith in us because He put it there. He wants us to use it and the way that we use it is to get out of the boat and dare to walk on the water.
While the rest of the disciples sat in the boat watching Peter he was walking on the water with Jesus! (We tend to focus on the fact that he sank down into the water and Jesus had to help him back up and forget that he was the only one out of the disciples that did the impossible!)
Begin to ask God what He wants you to do that you haven’t done up to this point in your life. He is always calling us to go higher, reach farther and do what no one else has ever done! (of course He expects us to depend on Him by looking to Him for strength and ability beyond our natural ability) He wants to show Himself strong on our behalf and empower us to do the impossible, conquer the challenge and live as an over-comer! You can do it, look at Jesus, believe and get out of the boat!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 5, 2010
How’s your love level?
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, – 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (NKJV)
And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. (The Message)
We need a revival of love in the marriages in the Body of Christ! Not the oowee goowe feelings of love that make you warm and fuzzy. Not the romantic love that just pleases your flesh. But the true, down deep committed love that endures all things! The type of love that believes the best and stands in the face of adversity and declares I WIN!
In the above verse Paul (by the Holy Spirit) was praying that the church would increase to the point that they would overflow with the love of God! Now that is powerful because there is nothing that can overpower the love of God!
God’s love to us and in us and through us is the most powerful force on the earth today! When we walk in love and live the love life that God has intended for us we will begin to see all of our relationships turn around and begin to produce fruit. No matter how good your marriage is (or if you are single…your friendships) they can be better! We can take it up a notch, right? How are we going to do it? Through the love of God and allowing that love to abound and overflow in us until it splashes over on everyone that we come in contact with. Discover more about the love of God…go to 1 Corinthians 13 and meditate, ask the Lord to show you so that you can walk in a greater level of love.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 4, 2010
Dealing with opposition? Is his name Goliath?
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’S, and he will give you into our hands. – 1 Sam 17:45-47 (KJV)
There was once a young man named David that faced a giant named Goliath. The odds were totally against him and everything in the natural pointed to David’s defeat. By all outward appearance he was doomed before the battle started.
But God…
God was for him! David had God on his side and he was convinced that he had all that he needed to show all the earth that the God of Israel was the only true God! David knew in whom he had trusted and that God was well able to empower him for victory.
If you are facing a giant right now, don’t look at the size of “Goliath”, instead look at the size of God and begin to get bold! Stand in the armor of God and declare that “since God is for me then no one or nothing will defeat me. I will win because greater is He that is in me than he that is against me. I walk in victory because I walk in the faith of God. The battle is the Lord’s and He wins everytime. I am on His side and therefore I win everytime!”
Posted by Pastor Bruce on January 21, 2010
Plug into the power source.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, – Jude 1:20 NKJV
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, … -1 Corinthians 14:4 NKJV
He has the power, we must tap in. The way that we tap in is to pray in the spirit. Praying in the spirit builds you up or energizes you from the inside. The Holy Spirit lives in us and empowers us as we yield to Him by praying in other tongues. (More on being filled with the Holy Spirit) Do you have to pray in an unknown tongue? No, but you get to, if you want more of His power! (The Lord will not make you do anything, but has made the baptism with the Holy Spirit available to all.)
The great thing is that we can choose at any time to hook up to the power source. He has made Himself available to us 24/7/365! He is ready, willing and able to strengthen us when we put ourselves in that “hook up” place by hooking up our spirit to His spirit. When we begin to give utterance and speak the words that He gives us, His power flows through us. The Apostle Paul said that when he prayed in the spirit that his understanding was unfruitful. (meaning that he did not understand with his mind what he was saying with his spirit, because it was not in a language that he understood.) There are times where it is to our advantage that we do not know what we are praying. But all the while we know that every time that we choose to pray in the spirit we are being charged up and connected to the power of God. Connect today…and power up!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on January 19, 2010
Weak? (today we call it – “burned-out”…)
But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. – Acts 1:8 AMP
The very purpose that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us is to empower us to fulfill His will! If we are truly walking in His power we should not grow weak or “burnout”. Some Bible words that describe what we call “burnout” are “faint, weak, weary, tired”. But there is a solution!
He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. [II Cor. 12:9.] Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. [ Heb. 12:1-3.] – Isaiah 40:29-31 AMP
The key is waiting on the Lord and being endued with the power of His Spirit! He desires to fill you with Himself so that you can do what you were designed to do in His strength! It is all in the waiting and surrender! (those concepts are a little foreign to us in this day and hour!…)
Wait and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit of God right now!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on January 18, 2010
Do you have stink’n think’n?
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. – Philippians 4:8
This is the “mind filter” that we must apply on a minute by minute basis. Any thought that does not agree with Philippians 4:8 we should not allow in our mind.
We must realize that we have authority over every thought in the Name of Jesus!
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV
We have been given the responsibility to arrest every thought and apply the filter of Phillipians 4:8. If it passes the test think on it, if it doesn’t then cast it down (verbally with the Name of Jesus) and then replace it with the Word of God! Judge your thoughts because what you are thinking on, you become. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. (or he will become)
Put the Word in your mind and heart by meditating on the Word day and night! Thinking it, speaking it, talking about the Word with those around you! Make His Word fill your mind and the wrong thoughts will flee FOR SURE!
