THE WATERFALL OF GRACE

LUKE 16:13 CJB 13 No servant can be slave to two masters, for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can't be a slave to both God and money." This is a simple yet profound, eternal truth -- always true in every situation. It is impossible to take orders from two places at the same time, without giving preference to one. Jesus did not say it was hard. He said it was impossible. True, sometimes it can seem possible for a while. But invariably the time comes when the orders from each side are going to conflict, forcing a decision. Who am I really serving? What dictates my actions? Who has final authority? Will I do what gets me the most money? Or will I do what God says?  From this verse we see that there will be times when God's direction will not be the most financially rewarding choice. Yet far too many who call themselves Christians never even consider choices which would provide them with less mon...

ACTS 10:46a NKJ 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. PSALM 34:3 NKJ 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. In the New Testament, the word translated "magnify" is the Greek word "megaluno." It means to make great or enlarge. We certainly cannot make God any greater, but we can perceive Him as greater in our lives. In other words, what we think of God can be enlarged. How can we do this? What you focus your attention on will seem bigger, because you are choosing to let it occupy your time and thinking. Very small objects can block very large ones. A small coin in front of your eye can block the sun from view. Yet the sun is infinitely larger than the coin. It's the placement in your life that determines how big things seem to you.  An airplane in the sky can look very small, though in reality it is huge. That is only because you are far away from it. When Scripture talks of magnifying God, we a...

1 THESSALONIANS 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.  Sometimes things that should be obvious to us are not. Like, if what you are doing is not working out, it would be wise to consider a change. Too many people are not receiving the blessings God's Word promises, things the Bible says God desires us to have. But instead of considering changing things in their life, too often people fall into the temptation of blaming God and thinking He is holding out on them.  But that is never true! There is never any fault or problem with God. PSALM 84:11 KJV 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.  If you are acting on the Word and planting good seeds, don't let the devil discourage you and cause you to give up too soon. But if the course of your life is going the wrong direction, and it is not getting better over time, then it would be wise to consi...

2 CORINTHIANS 3:2B NLT 2 Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.  Every day by your actions you are "writing" your story. One purpose of life on earth is to give us each an opportunity to "write" our own story, which we will be able to share and enjoy throughout eternity. We are here to learn, and what we experience and learn will be shared with many. Humans love stories. Facts and figures can sometimes be boring, but when anyone tells what happened to them, it usually draws our attention.  Everyone knows and loves the story of David and Goliath. We all love a good story. But what does every good story require? It must involve some problem or difficulty that is ultimately overcome so there is a happy ending. These are the stories we love to hear. The good news is that, because of God's love, your story will at least have a happy ending.  But you can make your story more interesting ...

ISAIAH 53:4-5 NKJ 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.  This passage in Isaiah foretells the great substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, paying the price to redeem all mankind from the curse resulting from Adam’s rebellion. As you can clearly see, it includes healing along with payment for our sins.  In Matthew 8 we have the inspired commentary of the Holy Spirit Himself, affirming that the passage in Isaiah 53:4-5 includes physical healing. MATTHEW 8:16-17 NKJ 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmitie...

Mark 5:18-20 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. He has been out of control and broken for so long, his community and home now seem less appealing than the opportunity to go on the road with Jesus. The once demon-possessed man now wants to leave everything and follow Jesus. Isn't that the point? Jesus would continue to teach and heal. The once demon-possessed man could come up and tell his story of darkness and how Jesus healed him. Grown men would cry; others would come to know that whatever they were facing was not a hopeless situation as long as Jesus was around. It would be the perfect ministry! Only one problem....Jesus refuses t...

  2 Corinthians 12:7-10 7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. When you listen to someone speak, what gives his or her words weight? How do you decide to listen to what’s being said? Most often, we measure a per...

We should expect God's protection, and thank Him for it. But we must remember that we receive from God by faith. So if we don't believe God will protect us, we are, in effect, hindering God's protection. So we need to feed our faith on the promises of the Bible concerning God's protection for His people. There are many, but here are two. ISAIAH 54:17 GWN 17 No weapon that has been made to be used against you will succeed. You will have an answer for anyone who accuses you. This is the inheritance of the LORD's servants. Their victory comes from me," declares the LORD.  LUKE 10:19 NKJ 19 "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Then we also need to express our faith in thanks to God every day for His protection. The ninety-first Psalm can help us do this. I suggest you make it personal and speak it often. CONFESSION BASED ON PSALM 91 ...