Power Of The Offering

Key Scripture: "Therefore by Him let us continually offer..." Hebrews 13:15

Power Point:

     Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus "offered Himself" for you? To do that, it cost him everything.  He had to sacrifice His heavenly life, and His earthly life.  For the first time in His life, He knew what it was like to experience being separated from his Father, from all that powerful love.

It truly cost Him everything didn't it?  Yet, it says that He did it "for the joy" of knowing that if He sacrificed everything for us, we would have everything He has. He offered Himself gladly.

     When we look at the beautiful Nativity Scenes this holiday season, perhaps we can intentionally remember that this is a Holy Season, the beginning of the Holy Sacrifice of Jesus for us. And while we're enjoying our mugs of hot cocoa and marshmallows, or we are planning joyous times with loved ones it might be a good time to say "Thank You, Very Much!"

      Have you ever thought about what you can offer back to Him for all that He has offered to you?

How about this?

The offering of being grateful for the abundance He has offered you.

The offering of holding fast to our confessions of hope without wavering because we believe in His faithfulness.

The offering of considering others before ourselves and exhorting and encouraging each other; of loving each other.

The offering of living by faith in the goodness of God.

The offering of living in peace.

The offering of being yielded to His Spirit and allowing Him to lead you into the plans of Your Father.

The offering of growing in love, grace and mercy.

The offering of offering grace and mercy.

The offering of complete trust.

The offering of honouring Him and your position in Him.

The offering of intercession, for those He's given you to love.

The offering of thinking like He thinks.

The offering of His kindness through you.

The offering of your belief in Him.

The offering of the sacrifice of praise.

The offering of humility to that same degree that He offered His humility to you.

The offering of offering back to Him all that He has offered to you.

     Whenever we make a "sacrifice", we are making an offering to Him aren't we?  When we offer up praise to Him even when it looks as though He's forgotten us, that's an offering.

When we offer someone grace that they don't deserve, that's an offering isn't it?

When we choose to let God transform us and make us like Jesus, that's an offering.

When we give up our right to be right and honour other people's viewpoints, that's an offering.

When we choose to cement the boundaries of our lives with the promises He offers to us, that's an offering.

  When we hold fast to our faith, and our confidence, that's an offering.

When we allow the Gospel,  the Good News about Jesus offering to have an effect in our lives, Beloved, that's an offering.

     Will you offer to Him today, the same love He has offered to you by being "Jesus With Skin On" for someone today?

     He'd really like that!

Power Thought:

The good news is only good news if you believe it, receive it and then share it. And always say "Thank You!"

Power of Teeth

Key Scripture:  "The enemy comes, seeking whom he may devour."  I Peter 5:8

Power Point:

I recently had to have some dental work done. The older I get, the more I appreciate good dental care AND strong teeth. I'm in Phoenix this week and on the first morning after my arrival my seven year old Reagan woke up crying from a bad dream.  She dreamed that sharks were surrounding her.  It frightened her badly.  She came in and tucked up in bed with me and we had a wonderful "Holy Spirit Moment".  I told her to imagine those sharks with NO teeth. She laughed and said she could see them.  Then He told me to have her close her eyes and see the sharks.  She did and then smiled.  She said that the main shark had one tooth.  I asked her if they looked confused and she said, "Yes!". Of course the visual was wonderful but being able to guide Reagan Grace into seeing in the power of the Holy Spirit was an amazing moment.  Remember, there are NO junior Holy Spirits!

     As we talked, I explained that God says He always gives us victory over the enemies that come against us.  He takes out their teeth!  In I Peter 5:8, it says that the Enemy is always looking for someone to devour.  That word means to "swallow up".  Well, he can't devour anything if he doesn't have any teeth can he? 

   In Psalm 3 there is a wonderful example of this. David is telling The Lord that his enemies are getting more numerous.  They are increasing.  And as they are increasing and moving in for the kill they are taunting him with the phrase, "There is no help for you in your God!"   BUT, David knows that God IS his shield.  He understands that God always hears him and will protect him. And then, there it is, in black and white, "You have broken the teeth of the ungodly." The enemy is now powerless. 

     I don't know what enemy you are facing today but I do know this.  In David's time, God made frequent visitations in response to His people.  The power of the Resurrection fills us with the fullness of His presence, in us and around us at all times. When Jesus finished His assignment here, He had effectively broken the teeth of the enemy.  He has no power to bite you anymore. He can try, but if we are confident in our God, he has no teeth to chew you up and spit you out!

     Ask Holy Spirit to help you picture that as Reagan did.  Picture Jesus walking out of that tomb, kicking the enemy in the teeth and then seeing those gums with no teeth in them.

With no teeth, he can't rob, kill or destroy anymore.  With no teeth he doesn't look nearly as scary does he?

Power Thought:

"For you have struck all my enemies on their cheeks. You have broken the teeth of my enemy."  Psalm 3:7 

He's still got a big mouth but his bark is worse than his bite!

Power Of All Sufficiency

Key Scripture:  “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”  
2 Corinthians 9:8 NSFB

Power Point:

Have you ever meditated on this verse?  It’s been front and center in my thoughts for the last few months.  It’s really good news isn’t it?  Can you imagine that God could actually be powerful enough to make sure that you would ALWAYS have ALL SUFFICIENCY, in ALL things?  Wow. 

     The unfortunate thing is that sometimes we put a period after “all things” where God only puts a comma. The purpose of having “all sufficiency” in “all things” is that we may have ”abundance” for every good work. Ephesians 2:10 says, “that God has prepared those good works for us.” He gives to us from His goodness for us to do good!

 In verse 10 Paul continues in that thought when he says that God who supplies your seed to sow and bread for food, will supply and multiply the seed you have already sown so that when WE give liberally, people will praise and thank God.

In fact, if this plan works as it is supposed to, there will be an abundance of people giving thanks to Him.

    We sow from a place of safety in Him.  We sow from a place of belief in His generous kindness to us by making His grace abound to us so that we can be like Him to the nth degree. We are the evidence that He is good, kind, generous, loving, faithful, comforting and always , inclined to bless.

As I was thinking about all this the other day, the Holy Spirit showed me a picture of a lady with her fists full of money.  They were so full that she couldn’t hold them all and some of the bills were dropping to the ground.

As I looked more closely, I could see a circle of people around her feet.  They were quite small; they didn’t even come up to her ankles. They are all looking up at her, waiting, hopeful.

On her face is the most determined look. When I asked God why the people looked so small, He said that, in her mind, her problems were bigger than theirs.  She was so occupied with herself, and her own provision that she didn’t see other people with needs. The look on her face was more than determined. It was also full of fear, and greed, and selfishness. She’s been blessed with sufficiency. She has the money, but she is not sharing the wealth.

     I have a question for you.  Are you using too much of what God has given you for yourself?  I heard a pastor say once that too often we “eat the seed” God sows for us to be generous with. He supplies the seed as a means for your good works to increase, and for your life to be living proof that God is a generous, and good God. Understand this, please; God gives us ALL things richly to enjoy. He loves to see us enjoy ourselves with His extravagance. However, His gifts are not for us alone. They are meant to be shared liberally.       One thing I’ve learned is that when He is working to complete the good work He has begun in me, I’m usually tested, (okay, ALWAYS tested), on the Word that He is teaching me.  In this case, I’ll see a need in someone else’s life, which I can ignore or attend to.  I can be like the lady who really has fistfuls of dollars, but is afraid that if she spends it, there won’t be enough for her. The truth is she will always have enough if she trusts Him to be her provision.  It doesn’t matter how small the amount is that you give, it is the giving that is the blessing. He promises that if we GIVE, He will give back to us, pressed down, shaken together, and POURED out, in abundance. 

Isn’t that a lovely plan?

Are you up for the challenge?

Power Thought:

"Giving is true having."  Charles Spurgeon.

You might be interested to know that "It's Time To Power UP!", the book, is 
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Power Of Keeping On

Key Scripture: " So I say to you, ask and KEEP ON asking, and it shall be given you; seek and KEEP ON seeking and you shall find; Knock and KEEP ON knocking and the door shall be opened to you.  For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives, and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds, and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking the door shall be opened.” Luke 11:9-13 Amplified

Power Point:

      I know we all have prayers that we've prayed for a long time and yet we don't seem to be getting any closer to the answer. If you look at this parable closely you will see that the supply is not defined or limited by the Giver, it is defined by the persistence of the “ASKER”.  The key seems to be to keep on asking insistently and persistently, or I guess you could say confidently and boldly.  When you know that God's will is always good, acceptable and perfect, you can know that you can keep on with confidence and boldness. When you know what God has promised you is behind door #1, you have more confidence to keep on asking and seeking and knocking until that door is opened.  
     Do you remember the prophet Daniel who had prayed to God yet his answer did not appear immediately?  When the angel finally appeared with the answer, he told Daniel that his prayer had been answered "on the first ring", yet the enemy was trying desperately to be sure that the answers to his prayers would not reach him.  I like the word "desperate".  We tend to forget that the enemy knows that his time is short and his strength is limited when it comes to one of God's children. He is trying everything he can to be sure that we don't get what we ask for. He comes quickly to steal the seed of our faith so that we'll quit asking.  Don't let him do that, Beloved.

      You bear the name of Jesus.  It is the name that is above ALL power and authority anywhere. You are a WINNER!

      You are part of God's army.  You are not alone.  God is standing with you.  He has allowed the battle to teach you to FIGHT ON! He is teaching you who you are in Christ and how to use the divine arsenal of weapons at your disposal.

     You are an overcomer, a winner, and a believer who lives believing that if you keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking at God's door, the answer is only one prayer away.

Don't give up one prayer short of a miracle.  Daniel didn't stop.  We shouldn't either.

      God is not limited in what He has to give us.  He has more than enough.  But like Daniel, we have to learn that truth deep in our hearts so that it will give us the courage and the boldness to keep on, keeping on.

     Don’t miss your miracle by giving up too soon. Ask, and keep on asking. And then ask again.

Power Thought:

Sometimes you just have to keep on keeping on don’t you? It never hurts to ask, does it?

Power Of Sliding.

Key Scripture:  "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest attention to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."  Hebrews 2:1

Power Point:

    Oh my!  How time flies.  It seems that it was only days ago that 2013 began doesn't it?  I hear people saying all the time, "Where did the time go?"  and "I can't believe its only 25 days until Christmas! " Those statements are usually followed by, "I was going to get my shopping done EARLY!" or "I was going to lose 50 pounds this year." or "I was going to..." You fill in the blanks!

      It's always interesting at the end of the year to remember those things you had planned at the beginning isn't it?  We usually start out with an abundance of enthusiasm and energy for the year ahead, with great plans to save more money, or to lose weight, or to stop certain activities or start certain activities.  Usually Christians vow that they are going to spend more time with The Lord.  And then life happens.  We get busy or we lose our enthusiasm.  We begin to let things slip. And then by the end of the year, we are often at the same place we were last year.

      Are you ready for a fresh start?  How about getting a jump on next year by starting now?

     In the book of Hebrews Paul is really encouraging us to think about where we are and where we want to go.  They were good folks.  They had loved righteousness-they had been "delighted in integrity, virtue and uprightness in purpose, thought, and action." They had embraced the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Yet somehow they had let some things slip.  Paul puts it this way, "...we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past (them) and slip away. "  

     It's easy to do isn't it?  Recently, I found myself slipping into some bad habits that I thought I had defeated.  You don't really notice at the beginning of a slide.  It's like being in a boat and just letting it drift in any direction the current takes you and suddenly you find yourself adrift somewhere you had no intention of going.  We know that scripture says that "The Word of God is alive and full of power-making it active, operative, energizing and effective."  Could it be that  God's Word is the perfect answer to counteract slipping and sliding away and just drifting along?

Our spiritual life needs the same zeal, the same passion as our physical life.  If we truly digest the plans God has for us, the power He has given us, and the anointing He has poured out on us, then we are less likely to drift off.  I tend to "drift off"at night while watching TV.  My daughter will say, "Mom, you need to go to bed!" "But I was just resting my eyes." I'll exclaim indignantly.  "I didn't miss a thing!" But I did.  In the natural we can "drift off" too, can't we?

     When you really dig into God's Word you begin to realize that you are going to need all the energy it promises.  If you find yourself drifting off course, then it may be time to make a change of course.  In order for us to grow and

enlarge our territory we are going to need God's Word aren't we?  If it is alive and full of power; if it is energizing and effective for us, why wouldn't we want to be "full"of it?  Why wouldn't we want to meditate on it day and night.  Why wouldn't we want it to transform and renew our minds day by day?  Well?

     You may have slipped in a few areas this year that you were really intentional about last year.   I heard Graham Cooke say recently, "God is not into behavior modification!" And that's true. He's not into changing the old man, He's into adding more of what we need for the new man to become all that He has lovingly prepared for us to be.  So don't look back!  Look ahead to the Promise of the new year for your new man. Look ahead to growing more, knowing more and being more by letting the energy of God's Word, create a new energy in you.

    Let His promises fill you with enthusiasm and joy for all those good things He has planned for you. He is the Promise Keeper after all.

    So, if you've been sliding down a slippery slope of lethargy, it's definitely time to regroup. Paul says, "Strip down!  Throw off whatever is causing you to ignore the vibrant energy and purpose of heaven. Start running again, with patient endurance and steady and active persistence!" (Hebrews 12:1, Suzanne version) This is your time to run for the gold, to be energized and anointed and empowered with all that heaven has to offer you.  Are you ready?  Then "brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands, and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees." (Hebrews 12:12)

As my mama used to say, "Get up!  Get out! and Get going!"

Power Thought: 

Life is meant to be lived to its fullest by constant infusions of the active, powerful, and energizing Word of God.  Don't let it slide or you'll find yourself adrift.

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