BE DISCIPLINED

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

If we are really going to be faithful to the Lord we must learn to discipline ourselves. Undisciplined Christians do not accomplish very much. They mostly do what they want to do or feel like doing regardless of the consequences to their spiritual growth or their Christian testimony.
Self control and restraint must be practiced. Every time we show restraint it strengthens us. When we make a strong effort to resist temptation (and to stay away from situations we know will tempt us) we become all the more strong in resisting future temptations. If we resist them enough eventually they will not even be temptations.
We must set rules for ourselves and set limits if we are to Glorify God. We must learn self control, over our tempers, our tongues and our attitudes. If we learn to discipline ourselves it will increase our faith, multiply our blessings, and enlarge our service to the Lord.

BE DEDICATED

Psalms 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Being faithful takes a commitment. It is a conscious choice on our parts that we are going to trust God.
We must commit our way to Him. If we are to walk with Him we must learn to listen, to believe and to follow. His word may not address every issue to the letter but it will address every concept that we encounter.
We are taught much about putting others before our own feelings and about forgiveness and seeking a closer walk with Him. We must pray, study His word and most of all share His love, through Jesus, with those we come in contact with.
We must cling to His promises and realize that it is He who will bring it to pass. Make a commitment today to trust in Him and receive the blessings that God wants to give you.

BE FAITHFUL

Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

This verse of scripture was written by John just before he was to reveal to us the terrible tribulation of the last days. His message was plain, be faithful.
When things are going your way, be faithful. When things turn against you, be faithful. Even if you are persecuted be faithful.Think abou the word faithful. It means full of faith. Not faith in your abilities or your own strength but faith in a Great and Mighty God who is all powerful.
Remember Who it is that we have faith in. He is the Creator of all things. He is the sustainer of all things. All that there is, is because of Him. He is a Holy God and he has made promises to those who believe that He will never break because of His Holy nature.
John said it well, "Be thou faithful unto Death
The next few days devotionals will be lessons on how to be faithful. I hope you receive a blessing from them.

WHO DO WE BLAME WHEN WE SIN?

By Jeremy Burkes

Genesis 3:12-13 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. (13) And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

It wasn't my fault. I didn't mean to do it. He or she made me do it. We've all heard them before. We've all made excuses when we get caught in our sins.
Like Adam we blame family or friends. We even try to convince ourselves, if it weren't for him or her, I would not have done that.Sometimes we do like Eve and say, "The devil made me do it."
Who is to blame when I sin? The answer is me. I am the reason I sin and I have a will and can decide not to sin as easy as I decide to sin. If I sin it is ultimately because I want to more than I want not to.
Jesus came to pay our sin debt. In Him we have forgiveness of sins. Satan is constantly accusing us before God. Sometimes he even cast doubts on our salvation.
Our sins are covered in the blood of Jesus once we are saved. It is important to our fellowship to confess those sins to God. We can never excuse our sins. Jesus suffered for our sins which means that none of them are small. Take responsibility for your sins and confess them to God. The blood of Jesus will cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Time

By Jeremy Burkes

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Time is one thing we all have. It might not seem like it but we each have the same amount of time in a day. Some people never seem to have enough of it while others seem to have too much on their hands.
We spend time with family, time on our jobs, and sometimes we waist a lot of time.
Many people live their lives on a schedule and many just seem to do whatever is pressing at the time.
Some have schedules at work and even schedules at home.
Sadly many do not schedule any time to spend with God. We tend to get so busy with our time and schedules that we can easily leave God out of our day.
Remember that time was given to us by God. Whether you are on a schedule or not you should make sure each day you set aside some time to spend with Him.

THE BEGINNING OF SIN

1st Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Sin usually begins in the back of our thoughts. Wild fires and thoughts are a lot alike. They both start with a spark and quickly get out of control. Just like the wild fires in National forests that are started by man, Satan will try to spark your thoughts out of control.
When you go to buy a new car and walk on the lot the salesman shows you around to get you interested. Soon he tries to get our attention on one particular car and then he starts to push for us to make a commitment.
Satan will do something similar with sin. First he just kind of shows you around to spark your interest. He will then begin to tempt you with what you are already interested in and finally he will try to push you into getting caught up in the sin.
Isaiah tells us that we don't look at things (including sin) the same way that God looks at them. We do not see the destructiveness of sin that God knows is there. Satan tries to get us to sin to destroy our testimony. He then renders us ineffective for God's service.
Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to help protect us against the attacks of the devil. The Spirit will convince and convict us of sin if we will let Him.
We need to look at sin from God's point of view and be ready when Satan attacks us through our thoughts.

OSCAR WINNING CHRISTIANS

By Jeremy Burkes

Hebrews 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

And the Oscar goes to ... We've all seen thise award shows. Sometimes the best actors in the world are Christians. We hide our sins and mask our real selves so that others don't know our weaknesses. It is like we are wearing masks.
Our mask shows the world the image we want them to see and we fail to realize that many of them can see behind our mask and God can see behind it all the time.
God knows who we really are and sometimes he sends other Christians to help peel away the layers of our mask. It is better to improve who we really are than try to pretend to be somehting we are not.
We need to let others help us. We need to listen to others and realize that while others help us we should be helping others. You never know, we all might be going through some of the same things if we would just be honest with ourselves and others.
We need to leave the Oscars to Hollywood, take of our masks, and try to become the best Christians we can be.

MAKING A CHOICE

ByJeremy Burkes

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

When we see a brother or sister in Christ doing something wrong we have choices as to what to do. We can ignore it and do nothing. We can remember it and talk about it behind their backs, or even suggest to others that someone needs to help them, or we can talk to them and try to bring them back into fellowship ourselves.
So many times we would rather talk to others about what someone is doing wrong than to approach them ourselves in a loving way. More often than not we just say it is none of our business and we shy away from the situation all together.
There are many reasons we don't try to help someone who is overtaken by sin. They might try to throw our own sins and shortcomings back at us. We might feel inadequate to help them.
Jesus was always there to help those who sought it and those who needed it. We should make the choice to help those in need also. Especially when we see someone headed in a dangerous direction.

FAITH BRINGS SALVATION

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: the gift of God:

Grace is unmerited favor. In simpler terms it means that God loves us because He wants to and not because we deserve it.
I read a story of a preacher who was on his way to visit someone and he was hit in the ear with a very hard snowball. The preacher saw the boy who had hit him and recognized him as one from his Sunday School class. At first he was angry and thought about reporting him to his parents, then he remembered that their last lesson had been about grace.
The boy's birthday was coming up and spring was just around the corner so the preacher stopped by the store and bought the boy a new fishing pole for his birthday and took it to him.
When the boy answered the door the preacher handed him the pole and said, "I know it's a little early but I also know you really wanted a fishing pole for your birthday so I brought you one."
The little boy looked sad and said, "I can't take it preacher. I don't guess you know but it was me that hit you in the ear with that snowball."
The preacher smiled and said, "I knew it was you but I am glad you admitted it. I still want you to have the fishing pole."
"But why would you do that," the boy puzzled, "I deserve to be punished not to be rewarded."
"Remember our lesson on grace this past Sunday?" the preacher asked him.
The boy's face lit up. "I understand it now. Grace is a fishing pole when you reallly deserve to get a whipping."
That is a simple illustration of grace. God's grace is salvation when we really deserve to be punished in Hell. We must have faith that God doesn't want to give us what we deserve but what we will accept from Him. His grace came to us through His Son Jesus.
Have faith and accept the Gift of God.

FAITH GIVES THE BELIEVER PEACE

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Anxiety and depression are two very common problems in our society. Let me make it clear that I realize that many people have true medical problems that cause them to have these symptoms. Sometimes chemical imbalances have to be treated with medication and it is foolish to tell someone who truly has a medical problem to just get over it.
There are many though who do not have peace because they do not have faith. They worry about what bad things may happen, even when they have no reason to expect that they will. This type of worry is nothing but negative fantasy. Instead of living in a fantasy world where they can have anything they want, they live in a fantasy world where anything bad can happen to them.
I have known tragedy. I have known sickness. I have lost people I love and I am sure that I will experience some more of these things but I choose not to live my life as if they had already happened. It is my opinion that we should, "Rejoice always" and live each day to the fullest, knowing that God is present and that He cares very much for us. Faith is believing that God can handle anything that comes your way and He can get you through it. When we have that faith it certainly brings peace.

FAITH MAKES THE BELIEVER CONTENTED

Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content.

In the news we hear of celebrities who once had millions being on the verge of bankruptcy. We hear of those who are adored and even worshiped by millions dying from drugs while they live secluded lives on their vast estates. It seems to me that they may be anything but contented. Some people seem never to be able to have enough.
As Paul writes here he says that he has learned to be contented regardless of his circumstances. A person who is grateful for what they have is one of the most contented people in the world.
You have probably heard the quote, "I complained because I had no shoes until I saw a man that had no feet." Most of us in this great country live in luxury compared to a large percentage of the world.We have come to consider luxuries to be necessities.
My air conditioner quit working and it got up to 85 degrees in the house and my wife and I were miserable, and yes we complained about the heat and grumbled because it was hard to sleep. If we think about it comparatively, we are truly spoiled. There are many who don't even have shelter, many who are constantly hot, cold, wet, or hungry and yet we complain and whine when we don't have our luxuries.
We must have faith that God loves us even through difficulties. We have Jesus as Savior and we have a promise of eternal life through faith in Him. What reason could we possibly have not to rejoice in Him and be contented regardless of the circumstances?

FAITH GIVES THE BELIEVER A WISE HEART

Daniel 1:17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

Faith is essentially trusting God's word and his promises. When we truly believe God and His promises it helps us make wise decisions in our life. Faith causes us to seek God's guidance before we make important decisions in our lives.

We live in a society where one in two marriages end in divorce. Many say that it is because divorce is too easy. I think maybe it is because too many enter into marriage without ever seeking God's counsel. Many people spend more time making a decision about buying an automobile than they do in picking a person to spend the rest of their lives with.

We should exercise our faith in God when we make any important decision. Will the outcome glorify God? Is what we want to do in harmony with God's Word? How will what I do effect my testimony? Will my decision draw me closer to God or lead me farther away?

Those are all questions we need to ask, having faith that the decisions God would have us make are the wisest ones. Make wise decisions by having faith in a God who loves you and wants the very best for you.

IT NEVER EXPIRES

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”

1 Peter 1: 3, 4King James Version

I received a coupon from a restaurant that allows me to buy one entrée and get another entrée free. However, the coupon is only good for three more days. As I was thinking about that coupon expiring in three days, it reminded me of our Scripture verse. For those of us who have humbled ourselves and admitted that we are sinners, repented of our sins, asked God to forgive us for our sins and invited Jesus into our hearts to be our personal Saviour, we have an inheritance reserved in Heaven for us. It will never expire and it is free to us. Jesus paid for our reservation in Heaven with His own blood when He hung on that cross of torture and excruciating pain. What compassion and unconditional love flowed from the heart of our precious Saviour for us when He allowed them to crucify Him. There is no one like Jesus. He loves you so much that He willingly walked that long and lonely road to Calvary and died for you. What a Saviour, this Jesus of Nazareth! Jesus is standing at the door of your heart and knocking to come in but you must open the door and let Him in. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). If you have never invited the Christ of Calvary into your heart to be your personal Saviour, I urge you; I plead with you to give your heart and life to Jesus right now before it is too late!

Joanne LoweJuly 14, 2009

joannelowe8@cox.net

www.hesetmefreeforever.blogspot.com

FAITH MAKES THE BELIEVER COURAGEOUS

2 Samuel 22:30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I remember as a child watching the TV show about Superman. It started out with "It's a bird, it's a plane...no it's Superman. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound." That might not be exact but you get the idea. As a boy I wished that I could be a Superman. As I have grown older I realize that we can't be like the fictional character who fought for "Truth, Justice, and the American Way," but I do believe that with faith we can be more than we are sometimes.
Whenever we know we are led by God to do something we should never say, "I can't," or "I don't think I can." If God is leading us to do something, we CAN do all things. When we are saved we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives and that makes us no longer natural creatures but it makes us supernatural.
When we are saved we are changed into something with a new nature. It is like the caterpillar when it becomes a butterfly. If the butterfly continued to crawl around everywhere like a caterpillar it would not be fulfilling it's purpose. Faith should cause us to soar and spread beauty like the butterfly.
Be courageous. There is no glory for God in our fear.

FAITH MAKES THE BELIEVER FARSIGHTED 2

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw , and was glad.

FAITH MAKES ETERNAL THINGS BECOME AS REAL AS PRESENT THINGS TO THE BELIEVER.

When we really have faith we believe the promises of God. We believe what the Bible says about eternal life and about Heaven. If we really believe we will begin to live as if the promises have already come to pass.
Faith makes Heaven so real that we can imagine not only the beauty of the gates of pearl and the streets of Gold but of a place where there is no more sickness, pain, death or sin of any sort.
Faith makes it easier to handle the death of a loved one because in our faith is the assurance that we will see them again. Faith and fear do not mix well. When we truly have faith we know that we have nothing to fear from this world because Jesus as overcome the world. Too often we become nearsighted and can only see the now, and see the things that are right before us. Faith helps us to see eternal things and those things that are yet to come.

WHAT FAITH DOES FOR THE BELIEVER INTRODUCTI0N

Matthew 9:27-28 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. (28) And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

So many times we ask the Lord for something and then go on our way never really expecting Him to grant it. They had a specific need just as we have many specific needs. Many times I have suffered through some malady simply because I did not have enough faith to ask Jesus to heal me or remove the difficulty.

You may have a spiritual problem or a problem in your personal life that you want to pray about and ask God to take care of. If you were asked point blank if you believe that Jesus is able to handle your problem could you answer, "Yes, Lord." and really mean it?

In the next few devotionals we will look at what faith can do in the believer's life. Remember it is not great faith that matters. It is faith in a Great God that really counts.

PRAYING WITH YOUR MIND MADE UP

PRAYING WITH YOUR MIND MADE UP
Jeremy Burkes

Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

We sometimes go before God to pray with our minds already made up. We might even be seeking God's permissions to do our own will. Sometimes we try to convince God to see things our way.
Many times when we do this God begins to reveal His will to us right in the middle of our prayers and we realize it is completely different from what we want. Like the Pharisee we want to tell God all about ourselves, even what we are going to do.
Someone once said if you want to hear God laugh tell Him all your plans.
Many times we pray and leave out the Holy Spirit. We forget that He is the one that guides us through our prayers.
When you pray allow the Holy Spirit to guide your prayers and Jesus will take them before our Heavenly Father.

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

By Jeremy Burkes

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

We all have mirrors in our homes and in them we can see our reflection. Some people spend more time in front of the mirror than others.
In our mirrors we see the outward reflection but God's Word is a mirror that shows the inward image of to us. When we study God's word it reveals the sins, even the ones we try to hide from others, to ourselves.
We stand face to face with both mirrors. When we look at the one in our homes it is to prepare us to look presentable for the day. When we look into the word it should help us to prepare to stand before God.
It is a good idea to take time to check your reflection in both mirrors.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT OTHERS

DON'T WORRY ABOUT OTHERS

Jeremy Burkes

John 21:20-22 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? (21) Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? (22) Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

Just before this passage Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?". He asks us that same thing. When we willingly sin against Him we should ask ourselves that question.
Just as He told Peter to follow Him he tells us the same thing. He has asked us to believe in Him and be saved. After this we are given further instructions. The closer we follow His instructions them more aware we are of His blessings.
Sometimes we wonder why others seem to reap more blessings than we do. Maybe Jesus would say to us as he did Peter, "Don't worry about someone else. You follow me." Your ministry may be different from someone else's so don't worry about what others are doing. Just follow Jesus and do what He would have you do.

FIRST THINGS FIRST 6

THE FIRST THING TO GIVE

2 Corinthians 8:5 And , not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

No matter what else we might have to offer, the first thing we have to Give God is ourselves. We must make a commitment to Jesus Christ by accepting Him as our Savior and then by making Him Lord over our lives and all that we have.

God deserves our very best and even our all. He can only take what you give Him and bless it. Once we Give Him our best then we can begin to give ourselves to others.
I hope you have enjoyed the series on First Things. Remember that sometimes the recipe of life doesn't come out right because we leave out the first steps.

OLD BUT NEW “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day and for ever.” Hebrews 13: 8King James Version The words to the song “Tell Me the Old, Old Story” came from a poem that Catherine Hankey wrote. I believe that these inspiring words came from the depths of her heart. She had contracted a severe illness and she wrote this poem during her recovery. “Tell me the old, old story, tell me the old, old story, Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and His love.” To know that the Saviour of the world loves us should comfort and encourage us. Preachers have been preaching about the love of Jesus, singers have been singing about it and writers have been writing about it for years. However, I never get tired of hearing that Jesus loves me. When we wake up in the morning if we will listen with our hearts, we will hear Jesus softly and tenderly say to us “I love you”. He loves us as much today as He did yesterday and He will love us as much tomorrow as He does today. Thank God for the unchanging love of Jesus! Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for the unchanging love of Jesus. Thank You that You opened Your heart of unconditional love, mercy, grace, compassion and forgiveness to us and sent Your beloved Son to be our Saviour. We love You, Heavenly Father. We love You, Jesus. We love You, Holy Spirit. Thank You for all that You do for us. May we, Your children, always bring joy and happiness to You. Again, thank You for loving us unconditionally. Amen.

Joanne LoweJune 26, 2009

joannelowe8@cox.net

www.hesetmefreeforever.blogspot.com

FIRST THINGS FIRST 5

THE FIRST THING TO SEEK

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
We spend a lot of time trying to see that our daily needs, and daily wants (and those of the future) are taken care of. Our shelter, our food, our clothing are all things we spend a lot of times worrying about.

If we would spend our time seeking the Kingdom of God the attractions of this world wouldn't seem to matter as much. Someone once told me that they had a $150.00 pair of shoes. I told them there was no such thing as a pair of shoes worth $150.00 to me. A cheaper pair of shoes will do the same thing for me, therefore they are worth as much to me as the more expensive ones. Sometimes we place a much higher value on worldly things than they are really worth.
The Kingdom of God and His righteousness is something that is way more valuable than we seem to make it. God is the source of all else. He can provide for everything we need. It only makes sense that we seek Him instead of the trivial things the world has to offer.

THE FIRST THING TO REMEMBER

Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; {24} Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

The place of worship should be a place of remembering and searching one's own heart. Who have I wronged? Who have I mistreated? Who have I ignored?
This does not say if we have anything against anyone else. It says if our brother has something against me I should try to reconcile with him. Sometimes others fail to forgive us even when we really want to make things right. This is not our fault. When we do not even acknowledge our wrongs and seek reconciliation then it is our fault.
Our prayer and worship can be hindered by the way we treat other people.

THE FIRST THING TO WATCH

Luke 12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all,Beware ye of the [leaven of the Pharisees], which is hypocrisy.

Be yourself. God made you special and he made just one of you. I am amazed at the number of people who are always trying to be like someone else or to be what they think someone else wants them to be like. I hear so much about peer pressure being such a big problem when it is really hypocrisy that is the big problem.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be different. We should all strive to change for the better but putting on a false front is not the way to go about it. It is amazing that some people even try to act worse than they really are to impress people.
Be the best you can be but be what you are. God knows who you really are and what He sees is much more important than what others think about you.

THE FIRST THING TO REMOVE

Matthew 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

In modern day language Jesus was saying, "How can you get a speck of sawdust out of your brother's eye if you have a two by four in your own eye."
The message here was on finding fault with others. Many times we can well see the smallest faults in others while we can't see the greatest ones in ourselves.
The only person that you can really change is yourself. Once you become who you should be then you will have a more positive influence on others. You can't change the way others behave but you can change the way you react to them. Make a conscious effort to become more positive. Sometimes the person that you would like to change is reacting to your attitude. It is kind of hard to fight unconditional love.

THE FIRST THING TO DO

Matthew 23:26 blind Pharisee, cleanse first that within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

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Many times we worry more about the outward appearance than we do about the inward condition of our lives. We worry more about embarrassing ourselves than offending God.
We would never dream of sending our children to school or church with dirty faces, hands, and shabby clothes and yet we have little concern with the things we allow them to put into their minds and hearts.
I once heard someone on TV say, "I may be a lowlife, but I look good." I'm afraid that there is a lot more of that going around than we want to think about. The only way we can really clean up the inside of our lives is by trusting Jesus and allowing Him to be our Lord and our Savior.
Many people try to live a good life but miss this important first step.

FIRST THINGS FIRST INTRODUCTION

A new bride was trying to cook meals for her new husband but nothing was coming out right. She went to her mother in tears and said she didn't understand why nothing ever cooked right. Her mother, an excellent cook, had spent many hours teaching her how to follow the steps of a recipe so that she would be a good cook. Her daughter had watched her and had done everything she had seen her mother do. Her mother decided that she would walk her through baking biscuits one more time. As she pulled the recipe out she layed it on the counter and then walked to the oven to preheat it to 350 degrees. Her daughter looked up from the recipe and asked, "What are you doing now?"
"I'm preheating the oven. See the 350 degrees above the recipe. That means to preheat the oven to that temperature."
The daughter was shocked, "No wonder I have been ruining my food. I didn't know that and I have been leaving out the first step. I just thought you were supposed to set the oven to that temperature and stick the food in."
Sometimes the first step in anything is very important. The devotionals this week will be on First Things. I hope you enjoy them and get a blessing from them. While you are thinking about how things are going ask yourself if you are sometimes leaving out the most important steps in have a spirit filled walk with Jesus.

FREEDOM

Thank God for your freedom today and use it to worship Him on a regular basis.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA- THE GREATEST NATION IN HISTORY.

SURVIVING DISASTER 5

HAVE GOOD INSURANCE

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

It is sad to see disaster strike someone and then find out they had no insurance. The insurance industry thrives because most people know that some form of disaster will strike sooner or later. It is wonderful if you never have to use the insurance but it really gives you peace of mind to have it.
One thing is certain. Everyone is someday going to die and face judgement. The only insurance one has that He will have eternal life is knowing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Are you prepared for eternity?
CONCLUSION:
The greatest disaster you could ever have is to go out into eternity lost. You need to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.

SURVIVING DISASTER 4

HAVE A SOURCE OF LIGHT

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the [light] of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the [light] of life.

One of the things we are told to do to prepare for natural disasters is to have flashlights and plenty of batteries on hand. Everyone knows that it is much easier to deal with problems if you have a source of light. When the lights go out people seem to always run for the flashlights and candles so they can see more clearly.
The same is true for spiritual disasters. We need a source of light. Jesus is that light and He can truly shed light on any spiritual disaster we find ourselves faced with. Many times in my life when things have seemed the darkest and I didn't have any idea which way to turn my faith in Jesus has given me the light to see the solution. Knowing that there is nothing that God can't handle brings light to our spiritual life in times of disaster. I know it really brightens up my day.

SURVIVING DISASTER 3

HAVE A SUPPLY OF SPIRITUAL FOOD
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the [bread of life]: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

I have heard the saying all my life "You are what you eat." When we take food into our body it becomes a part of our body. If we eat healthy food we will usually have healthy bodies. If we don't (and believe me I know from experience) then we will ultimately pay the price with our health. I have been trying to lose weight and I haven't yet got down to what I didn't want to get up to.
The same is true with us spiritually. If we consume Jesus in our life we become more like Him. The way that we consume Him spiritually is by getting to know him intimately. Incorporate Him into our lives and strive to imitate him. We then become strong and will be sustained during a spiritual disaster. It is also sad when someone else comes to us seeking spiritual food and our spiritual cupboards are bare. We should have enough of Jesus in our own lives that we can share Him with others who have spiritual needs.
Do you have a supply of spiritual food on hand?