Thoughts To Ponder 1

THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS WE CAN NOT BE SURE OF 1

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

There are a lot of things we can't be sure of. Life is filled with ups and downs and it seems like we are always surprised by both. If we did know what lay ahead for us we might be terrified. War has progressed to a state of terrorism to the point that we can not be sure if we will be attacked from abroad or by the very people living around us.
Politics has degenerated to the point that our leaders who are supposed to be working for the good of the people seem to care only about staying in office. (There doesn't seem to be much hope no matter which party is in control).
There's one thing we can be positive about.Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the EVERLASTING ARMS: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.
Please feel free to contact me by email at
shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.
If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

I FEEL THE TUG

FEEL THE TUG
A small boy was flying a kite very high in the sky one
afternoon when a low cloud hid the kite from view. A man walking by
asked the boy what he was doing with that string in his hand. "I am
flying my kite," he responded.
The man looked up and saw nothing except the lone cloud in
an otherwise clear sky. "I don't see a kite up there anywhere."
"Mister,' the little boy said, " I don't see it either,but I
know its is up there because I can feel the tug on my string."
Sometimes the world thinks we are foolish to worship a God we
can not see. I know he is up there, I feel Him tugging on the
strings of my heart.

HOW TO HAVE POWER

THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD

P- PENETRATING POWER

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

O- OVERCOMING POWER
Luke 4:8
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Romans 8:37
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

W- WONDER WORKING
Luke 5:5
And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

E- EVERLASTING POWER
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Psalms 119:89
LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

R- REVEALING POWER

John 16:13
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

MURDER

THOU SHALT NOT KILL
by Jeremy Burkes

Thou shalt not kill. Exodus 20:13

Killing can mean a whole lot of things. There are a lot of ways you can kill someone. You can physically kill them you can mentally kill someone and you can kill a friendship with someone. You can’t turn on the news without hearing someone has been killed or murdered. In Matthew Jesus tells us about being angry with our brother (Matthew 5:21-22). Anger and pride are the root cause of most murders that occur in the world. To mentally kill someone you verbally break them down. When you tell someone that they are no good or you tell someone that you are better than them you kill the very thing that makes them who they are. The old saying goes sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Words can hurt more than sticks and stones; they have a much more lasting effect. The same can be said of killing a friendship. When someone makes us angry, whether it’s on our jobs or if it’s one of our family or friends we need to pray about it. We need to take it to God and he will show us what our next step is. We need to let God guide our words and the actions we do.

No Stealing

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
by Jeremy Burkes

Thou shalt not steal. Exodus 20:15

There are many ways a person can steal something. Theft is a way to steal. Theft is taking something that does not belong to them. We see that mostly in retail stores. Many of us steal time on our jobs. We as people cut as many corners on our jobs and try to hide from the boss or we half do the job we are asked to do. There is one other way we can steal time and that is stealing time from God. We start out with a steady prayer time and then we start to cut corners. We then tend call on God just when we need something. Just like cutting corners on our job that is when we get in trouble. Once we start our prayer life we need to continue it and not steal from God. Remember just like our bosses at our jobs God wants all the time we have.

Don't Covet

THOU SHALT NOT COVET
by Jeremy Burkes

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s. Exodus 20:17

We all have neighbors. Some have more than others and some have less. We all try to keep up with the Jones’s. But what we don’t see is a lot of the times they are in debt up to their head to pay for it all. You ever see cows with their head sticking through the fence. They want the grass on the other side. We are a lot like that we want what our neighbor has, so we stick our neck through the fence. God provides us with the basics but we want more. Just like the cow that has grass under him we want what the next man has. Let go of what your neighbor has and focus on what God has provide for you.

God will provide for you according to your needs, not according to what your neighbor has.

UNFAITHFULNESS

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
by Jeremy Burkes

Thou shalt not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14

Marriage is a sacred institution between one man and one woman. the vows of marriage should be a lifelong commitment.

Today you hear that people are cheating on each other. The word marriage is does not seem to mean the same as it did in the past.. It is becoming a more common practice to cheat on your husband or your wife. When you take God out of your marriage you take away what marriage is all about. Remember that in any marriage God comes first and then your spouse. Inhuman relationships there should be no closer bond than between a husband and wife.

There is a reason it is preferred to as Holy Matrimony.