Posted by Pastor Bruce on July 28, 2010
Sons and daughters of God have privileges. One of those is that we are privileged to be able to be led by His Spirit.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Our Father wants us to be Spirit led not “head led”. Not education led, credential led, “networking” led, or any other way BUT, SPIRIT LED!
He has provided His Spirit to bear witness with our spirit that we belong to Him and how to follow His plan for our life.
If the Word of God declares that we as natural parents should bring our children up in the way that they should go (God’s way). Then it is His will that He desires to bring us up in the way that He wants us to go. Our ideas are just that…our ideas. We must take them to our Father in prayer and ask Him to shine His light on each thought that we have and show us His will (in all things!)
We have a right to expect to be led by His Spirit because He has gone to great lengths to give us His sure Guide (The Holy Spirit). It is time for us to declare by faith that “we are His children and we are led by His Spirit!”, on a daily (and hourly) basis! Be led today!
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Filed Under: life
Posted by Pastor Bruce on April 23, 2010
Need to see from faith’s perspective?
For we walk by faith, not by sight. – 2 Corinthians 5:7
We are not limited to our 5 physical senses when we decide to walk by faith. When we trust God with all of our heart and lean not on our understanding faith kicks in and we begin to see things from His perspective… with supernatural sight. We have the ability to see with the eye of faith in order to do the impossible through the power of God.
God designed us to walk in a higher realm where He walks. The walk of faith requires not looking at things the way that they appear outwardly. If we walk and live our lives by the way that things look in the natural realm (judging things after the facts) then we are limited to what we can see. But if we ask God to reveal to us the way that He sees things then He will begin to open our eyes, fill our hearts with faith and we will begin to have a whole new perspective on life. We can do all that God has called us to do when we begin to see things the way that God sees them. He wants to empower us with supernatural sight on a daily basis.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on April 22, 2010
How do we know for sure that we are pleasing God?
“…without faith it is impossible to please him” – Hebrews 11:6 KJV
Faith is such a misunderstood subject. Most people in the Body of Christ underestimate the importance of faith. But living a life of faith is the only way that we can truly please God.
“The just shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:17
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” – Hebrews 10:38
The reason that only faith pleases God is because God is a faith God. He calls those things that be not as though they already were. He spoke “light be” before light was. Jesus explained to us how to speak and pray in faith in Mark 11:23-24. We please God when we act like He acts and speak what He speaks. It is a lot more than just positive confession, it is positive believing and positive BEING! Be positive and you will think positive and speak positive.
When Jesus said “With God all things are possible” He wasn’t just trying to give us a one liner that we could make into a bumper sticker. He expected us to do all things through God and that any thing that God directs us to do is possible walking in and by faith.
It is possible to please God at all times as we live by faith. Please God. Live by faith.
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Filed Under: faith
Posted by Pastor Bruce on April 21, 2010
Is it real faith or just mental assent?
…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. – Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
Mental assent looks like real faith in that people that mentally assent to the truth of God’s Word agree that the Word of God is true. But the difference in real faith and mental assent is that someone that has real Bible faith believes that the Word of God is true and that what the Word promises is “personally for them”.
God’s Word is true whether you believe it or not, but do you believe that everything that He has promised in His Word is for you personally? This is the most important question.
God wants to bless you but is limited in a sense by your faith (or lack of it). Faith is merely trusting that God is who He says that He is, that He has what He says He has and that He can do what He says that He says that He can do. Find out about God from His Word, begin to know Him at a deeper level and you will begin to trust Him at a deeper level as well!
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Filed Under: faith
Posted by Pastor Bruce on March 5, 2010
Are you in a place where you need to know something?
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. – James 1:5-6 NKJV
As much as you know, you do not know it all and you need wisdom…daily. God is the God of all wisdom. He knows all and wants to reveal things to us! This is great news!
We do not have to walk around in the dark and stumble. We can know what to do at all times.
We must ask God for His wisdom in faith and expect to receive direct, divine revelation from our Heavenly Father!
If you are dealing with a challenge or circumstance that you have no idea how overcome and exit victoriously, ASK GOD FOR WISDOM! Expect to hear His voice, follow the guide (the mighty Holy Spirit!).
God desires that you walk in His wisdom and counsel. Not only does He desire for you to walk in His ways and His wisdom, He has opened the door and has invited you to ask.
Ask and receive. Spend time with Him and He will show you things to come. He will speak to you and settle every issue that you are dealing with. He already knows what you need to know!
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 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 19, 2010
Study must become a habit.
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – 2 Tim 2:15 (KJV)
Growing up spiritually does not happen naturally, it requires a great deal of time and attention. The responsibility of knowing Him and growing up in Him is ours. We have been given His Word and He took great effort to get it to us. If we completely comprehend how much value there is in the Word of God each of us would become totally devoted to the study of God’s Word. (This responsibility is not just for people who are in the ministry)
“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed…” – Acts 17:11-12
Giving yourself to the Word of God produces a faith in God that is necessary to accomplish the will of God. Daily is key. Feeding from the Word daily, searching and pouring over the Word brings you face to face with the Author, the Holy Spirit. He is the One that takes us by the hand and leads us into a deeper understanding of the truth. He opens our eyes to show us things that we have never seen before.
We become approved by God by studying the Word enough that we handle the Word with confidence and boldness. Get deeper in the Word and watch it transform your life.
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!
