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 26, 2010
What do you do when fear “comes-a-knocking”?
Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’ ” – Isaiah 44:8 NKJV
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. – John 14:27 NKJV
Do you accept fear as just something that is natural and something that helps us recognize danger? (This is what is being taught to the Body of Christ in these days…and it is absolutely from the enemy!) Fear is not now (and has never been) from God to help us in any way. It is a spirit that attempts to steal, kill and destroy! 2 Timothy says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind!
You have the choice to reject fear! The Spirit of God in us is more powerful than any fear that is coming against us and as we resist the devil he MUST flee.
We have authority according to Matthew 18 and we can bind thoughts of fear and command them to leave in Jesus Name. We choose to take the Word of God (which is our sword of the Spirit) and run off every thought of fear that the enemy throws our way. We choose to dwell on the Word of God and think on the things that are in line with the Word and the peace of God begins to guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus. It develops a shield over us that fear cannot penetrate. Say out loud with your mouth, “No fear here!”
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 24, 2010
Ever felt like giving up?
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. – Acts 2:42 (KJV)
We all have the opportunity everyday to quit, run and hide. BUT we must continue steadfastly!
Continue in: 1) The Word – Read, study and meditate the Word of God as much as you can daily. 2) Fellowship – Get involved in a local church where iron sharpens iron and your church family can exhort you. 3) Breaking of bread – Receive communion – the Lord’s Supper – regularly, at home and at church. 4) Pray – without ceasing and before you do anything. Give yourself to prayer, listen to the voice of God.
It is our job to continue. To continue steadfastly means to make a choice to do what you know to do. God can only give you the strength to do what you have determined in your heart to do and then begin to move toward it. Don’t sit down in the mully grubs and whine and complain, get up, dust yourself off and get moving! Re-focus, re-fuel and get moving towards all that God has for you! Jer. 29:11 You can do more than you ever thought you could do but you must CONTINUE!
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 January 15, 2010
You are worth more than a million canaries! (Matt. 10:31 – The Message)
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows. – Matthew 10:30-31 AMP
All of us face thoughts of insignificance. Big God, big world, little us… BUT the Word of God tells us in many places that God values us more than we can possibly imagine. He is our greatest fan! He created us and believes in us even when we don’t believe in ourselves. God doesn’t create junk!
The Heavenly Father bought you back from death, sin and the grave with the precious blood of Jesus which is the most valuable thing in the universe! The price He paid for you was the value of the life of Jesus! You are worth it.
God knew what He was getting when He did what He did for us. He knows better than anyone else the value of life…and more specifically, your life. He has a plan for you that is absolutely mind blowing (above anything and everything that you could imagine)…you need to know and believe that He values you and loves you with every bit of love that He has. And the great thing is that when we know how much that He values us and loves us…fear leaves. Fear can not stay in the heart of someone that knows that they are loved and valuable to the Father.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on January 4, 2010
Challenge yourself! Reach, stretch and press forward.
Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. – Matthew 12:13 NKJV
Jesus healed the man with the withered hand but first asked the man to do something in faith. At Jesus command he stretched out his hand. I can imagine that the man did not want to even show his hand. Most people with a withered hand want to cover it up and hide it out of embarrassment. But Jesus asked this man to do what he could do and with that action Jesus did what only He could do. His power totally restored the man’s hand.
In this new year of 2010 God wants us to begin to do things that we have never done before! But we have to stretch and reach out. We have to take a step of faith and do what we know that we should do. Even though what you must do might be something that you do not want to do and might be embarrassing to you, the power of God will meet you and cause you to succeed!
Ask the Lord what He would have you to do this year. Do something that you have never done before. STRETCH! Lose that 30 pounds that you have been needing to lose, pay off all the credit cards, establish a time of daily prayer and study of God’s Word, love your family like never before. Do it! Just stretch and God will meet you and His power will cause you to succeed.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on December 30, 2009
Moving forward is a great thing!
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, – Philippians 3:13 NKJV
There is one thing required to go forward…leave the past in the past.
Yesterday’s manna stinks. We must move toward all that God has for us today. Living for the moment is what we as Christians need to have as our goal. (in the sense that we are ever sensitive to do exactly what the Lord wants us to do at every moment!) Tomorrow is not here yet and yesterday is gone forever.
Let’s determine to go into 2010 with everything from 2009 left in the past. (except for the lessons that we learned, of course)
God has great things for us just ahead. He wants us to keep moving and keep pressing on. We have a bright future full of faith adventures and faith victories! BUT, we must quit looking behind us, quit pointing to our past failures AND successes! Don’t allow the devil to point out your past to you, be bold and point out his future to him and he will back off quick!
2010 is your year of victory! Determine to shut the door on the past and walk through the new door just ahead. Move into 2010 with God! Pray IN 2010 and experience all that God has for you this next year!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on December 21, 2009
There is but One Star! One star that outshines them all – The Light of World (John 8:12)
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. – Matthew 2:10 NKJV
When the wisemen saw what they were looking for there was a reaction! They rejoiced with not just joy but exceeding GREAT joy! They were wisemen and they knew that there was more to the star that they were looking at than just another star. The promise of the Messiah, our deliverer!
What are we looking at this Christmas? All the stuff on our agenda and “stuff” under the tree? Our focus should be our Star – Jesus, the brightest in the universe.
When we look at Jesus and keep our focus on Him everything else becomes dim. One way to focus on Jesus during this Christmas holiday is to read the gospel accounts of His birth. (Matthew and Luke) Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!
Let’s look at our Star and rejoice with exceedingly great joy!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on December 8, 2009
The world is becoming more impatient by the nano-second.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. – James 1:2-4 (KJV)
Patience is a force that comes from God by His Spirit into our spirit (as we allow it) to hold us steady until we receive what He has promised us.
Our difficulty lies in the fact that we live in a world where everyone wants everything – yesterday (if not sooner!). How fast is fast? Not fast enough. We want faster and faster than that. People praying and believing God for their healing want a miracle, NOW! If it does not happen instantaneously then they think that the Word of God doesn’t work…
Impatience is a sign of spiritual immaturity. It is time for us to grow up and operate in patience. Patience is a part of the fruit of the Spirit that is listed in Galatians 5:22. It comes from God and is manifested or borne in our lives as we learn to yield to God in every situation. (To do what Jesus did, always!) We have patience, we just need to operate in it.
Allow patience to have her perfect work (complete and entire work) so that we obtain all that God has promised us!
Don’t give up! Keep standing IN PATIENCE! Believe God’s Word and do not move off of His promises, ever.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on October 30, 2009
Where is faith on the earth these days? “Then said He to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger and behold My hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.” – John 20:27
The way that you identify what is some one’s heart is by what they say out of their mouth. Just listen to how people talk for 5 minutes and you can tell whether they are in faith or in fear. Whether they are trusting God or whether they are afraid of the circumstances surrounding them.
It does not take any faith to believe in what you see with your eyes. Just ask “doubting Thomas”. How would you like to be know throughout all the ages as “doubting Thomas”? He was faithless. He would only believe if he could touch Jesus hand and side. He did not only have to see “the proof” but he had to touch it! Doubly doubting, how sad.
God is expecting the Body of Christ to rise up and believe Him in this hour! To believe that He is who He says that He is and to do great exploits in His Name! Don’t be faithless today, believe God! Find out who He is and what He has then believe with all your heart.
