ARE YOU READY FOR A  NEW LOOK?

Fashion has always been a mystery to most of us. We look at what the "designers" parade across the runaways of the fashion industry and most of us think, " I would never be caught dead wearing something like that!" The sad part of it all is that we are often prejudged by what we wear...whether good or bad, most of us dress to impress. Thankfully, the apostle Peter had some words of wisdom for us regarding our wardrobe. In 1 Peter 5:5, he writes, "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another." And you might ask, why is that so important?

At the heart of the temptation in the Garden of Eden, at the heart of human rebellion and the fall of mankind is the foundation of pride. It is the best weapon in the arsenal of the instigator of man. In fact, it has been said on many occasions that pride is at the root of every sin. Is it not pride that tells us to choose our way over the will of God; to pursue the pleasures of this world rather than the treasures of our eternal home; to treat others as though they serve us and our here to make our lives better?

In His Word, God has said in no uncertain terms that "He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."  So it is only fitting that Peter should share this fashion tip when it comes to our garments of grace.

He tells us to put on new clothes that show we belong to Jesus and that His Spirit of humility is our foundation for service. We are admonished to cast off our old clothes of selfishness and pride and be adorned in the newness of God's abundant grace. Gone is our gaudiness of pride and self promotion; replaced with the humility of the Kingdom of God and with deference to our Savior and the will of the Father.

When we cast off our pride, it is then that God can clothe us appropriately for His service. We will no longer find ourselves at the center of controversy or consternation because our cloak of humility will not allow such a spectacle to be seen from a child of God. Prideful people feed off of each other and stir up more pride, but the man clothed in humility is honor by his Father and will undermine the whole process.

Peace will exist when God's people are truly clothed in Heaven's humility...so what will you choose to wear today?

Stripped naked of pride...clothed in humility,

WPQ

Poem of the day:

If you seek to serve the Father

Be careful what you wear;

For the world is ever watching

To see if you really care.

Cast off your cloak of pridefulness

And be clothed in humility...

The world may follow Jesus

Because of what they see in you and me!

Ten Life Commandments 

that

 Lead to a Blessed Life!

1)  Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble; rather, it is a "steering wheel" that helps keep you on the right path throughout your journey.

2)  Ever wonder why a car's WINDSHIELD is so large, but the REAR VIEW MIRROW so small?  Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE... So, focus on the road ahead and don't look back! 

3)  Friendship is like a BOOK. It only takes a few minutes to be destroyed in a fire, but it often takes years to write the entire story.

 4) All things in life are temporary.  If they're going well, enjoy them while you can for they will not last forever.  If things are not as they should be, don't worry... that won't last long either.

  5) Old Friends are Gold and new friends are Diamond!  If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold!  Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold!

  6) Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, friend; it's just a bend in the road, not the end of the road!"

  7) When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

 8) A blind person asked St. Anthony:  "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?"  He replied, "Yes, losing your vision!"

 9) When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them. So, when you are safe and happy, remember, often someone has prayed for you.

 10) WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES... it takes away today's PEACE.

If you adhere to these and commit your ways to the Lord, He promises that He will pour out a blessing so great that you will not be able to take it all in...Trust in the Lord and remember this:

Too often when we become complacent in life, we just stop trying! It is then that we must remember...To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.

When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

Go today with God as He goes before you and makes the pathway straight!!!!

WPQ

WHO IS YOUR MASTER?

Our world is rocking and reeling and coming at us from all sides. No matter where one might turn these days, something or someone is vying for your eyes, your ears and your pocketbook. So as believers we have one of two choices....succumb to the pressures of this world or trust in the one who saves us and call him...MASTER.

Scripture tells us from the lips of Jesus that NO ONE...ABSOLUTELY, NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS; but I am continually amazed that even in my own life, I try to pull off the impossible.

What do I mean?  Well, as I read in scripture this morning in 2 Peter 2:19a-21, Peter cautions us about becoming enslaved to the wrong master...." for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them."

What has enslaved you? Is it your job....your family...your kids and all their activities...too much time in front of a TV or computer screen....the list can be and often is endless. It all comes back to a few simple rules....

What you talk about, you think about;

What you think about, you do;

What you do becomes your heart throb;

What your heart beats for becomes your Master.....

Peter warns us to stay focused on Jesus ...for through the knowledge of Him we have

been set free from the corruption of this world; but if we still 'dip our toe in the water of worldly things," we will once again find ourselves enslaved to our former Master and in worse shape than if we had never come to know Jesus at all.

So, what has enslaved you today...and how are you going to deal with it? You can try to overcome it on your own or you can give it over to Jesus who is the OVERCOME and the PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH. He is waiting to be reinstated as the Lord and Master of your Life but He will never force himself upon the throne....

If you must be a slave to something or someone(and I believe we all must), why not make it Jesus....for He cares for you with an EVERLASTING LOVE.

ENSLAVED TO THE ONE TRUE MASTER....FOREVER,

WPQ

Are you a True Worshiper?

There's always a lot of finger-pointing going on whenever people of different faiths assembly in close proximity to one another ...each group wants to accuse the other of a lack of faith and the practice of true worship. The only thing that usually comes out of such encounters is bruised feelings and wounded egos.

Christ dealt with such problems of faith whenever he encountered the religious sects of his time...the Pharisees and the Sadducees always seemed to have some type of perpetuating skirmish or conflict in full riot gear and ready to do battle of who was the true protector of the Jewish faith.

Christ gave his best answer to this perplexing problem in a sit-down interview with the Samaritan woman at the well when he said, "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." John 4:20-24

Jesus made it very clear to her that there was indeed a new way to worship...true worship of God the Father in SPIRIT and TRUTH....but was does that mean? Well, for me it means that we must first get our heart right (our spirit/soul/mind) by coming to the Father and accepting that we can do ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING TO EARN OUR SALVATION; rather we are TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON GOD'S GRACE AND HIS ABUNDANT MERCY  to save us through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Our spirit must become one with our Heavenly Father and that can never take place until our sins have been forgiven and our right relationship with God has been restored....we must surrender our desire to "make it on our own" and enter into a new covenant with God...a covenant that replaces our will with our desire to do His will. When this takes place, God breathes His spirit, the Holy Spirit, into us and then we can begin to worship Him as He forever intended.

But what about this TRUTH thing?

Again for me, its very simple...we live out a life of worship in the everyday nitty, gritty of life...when we worship God with our lives in service to Him, we do so in truth. Our very existence takes on the supreme element of truth as we live each day trusting God for our very next breath...our next meal...our next opportunity to share with someone  how our relationship with our Heavenly Father has made all the difference in who we are and in what we are becoming and where we are going.

As a child of his, the truth of the matter is evident in our lifestyle, our choices, our demeanor and our every action....we are HIS and so we worship Him in EVERYTHING....THE GOOD AND THE BAD....and when we are able to do that in a world that is lost and spinning out of control....God's Truth is shown and becomes known.

So next time a crowd of religious wannabes gather and begin to point fingers and take sides....excuse yourself from the impending malay and just stick to the basics of true worship....keep your heart right with God and live in the truth of each moment....now that's TRUE WORSHIP.

Living in the moment ...worshipping with every breath,

WPQ