GIFTS FROM GOD

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GIFTS FROM GOD

BIBLE STUDIES (Newest ones are last)
	All Your Needs Supplied
	We ARE in Heavenly Places!
	Panning for Gold
	Allow God to Bless You
	Treasures in God
	Created With Love

12/22/97 All Your Needs Supplied

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

COMMENTS: What do you want for Christmas? Would everything you need be a great gift? That is something you can easily have through Jesus Christ. God loves you more than you can imagine. He wants you to be happy as a parent wants happiness for their child. He will give you what you need. He gives through Jesus. Get to know this Jesus! Learn how to have joy and peace, even in rough times. Learn how to give him your troubles. Learn how to draw from his strength. There is so much there and it is ALL FREE! Now that is a Christmas present!!!!

Link to 12/22/97 welcome message.

1/25/99 We ARE in Heavenly Places!

"And [God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" Ephesians 2:6

COMMENTS: This is one of those verses that I skimmed over and totally misunderstood. When I read it I figured it meant we would sit in heavenly places after we had died. NOT!
It says God hath (has) raised us up together. It's already been done. We are already raised up. We are already sitting together in heavenly places in Jesus. We ALREADY ARE!
So, what does that entail? Lets look at Ephesians 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." I like the sound of that - - we've been blessed spiritual blessings in those heavenly places where we are sitting! Notice I said sitting and not just PASSING THROUGH! Whoopie! Hallelujah!
As we read on in chapter one we get to verses 18-23, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
Ah, riches of the glory and power! We are part of the body of Christ. He is our Head and he has power over everything in this earth. We have power and riches! Hallelujah!
So, how do we find out exactly what power and riches are available to us? Matthew 7:7-8 tells us, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." We need to find out more about God and more about Jesus. We need to read the Bible and pray. If we don't do that then we will never know what the Lord has for us.
There are so many people that are just sitting on their salvation. They could be described as "lukewarm." They are not seeking God. There are treasures to be had! Would those people sit on a winning lottery ticket, or would they go to the trouble of cashing it in? If someone put a million dollars in a box and buried it in their back yard, would they go to the trouble of finding it and digging it up? What is the difference between a treasure of money and spiritual treasure?

Link to 1/25/99 welcome message.

1/24/00 Panning for Gold

"That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words."Colossians 2:2-4

COMMENTS: Why do people pan for gold? It isn't because it is fun, it isn't because they like to play in the river, it is because they are looking at the possible end result. What is the end result? Having riches!
When you were saved you got the best gift that was ever given. You got a ticket to heaven AND you received the Holy Spirit, who is God, Himself. What more could a person want or need?
Well, there is a lot more than that. There are riches beyond belief waiting for you while you are here on earth. They are ready for you to use. They are waiting for you to grab them. However, you need to do a little work, just as the gold miners had to pan for the gold that was waiting for them to grab it.
In our scripture it says there are riches in the full assurance of understanding and acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ in whom the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are HIDDEN! Hidden?? Mystery?? How do we learn more? How do we find these things? Do you know the answer?
How do you seek those things? Do you go to church and/or Sunday school and listen to someone tell you what the answers are? How do you know they are telling you the truth? OK, so they seem to be honest people. How do you know they have interpreted what they have read in the Bible correctly? How do you know that they aren't just teaching what they learned from some other person, who learned from some other person, who learned from someone who enjoyed twisting the scriptures???
Our scripture for this week also gives you a warning that someone might, "beguile you with enticing words." Perhaps your pastor or teacher may not realize that they have taken their own opinions and life experiences and interpreted God's Word based on those things. They may legitimately think they are handing you the pure and holy Word and they are handing you fool's gold, shiny and beautiful, but worthless. It happens all the time!
You are responsible for your own actions. If you choose to accept what someone says without checking it against what you know to be the truth then that is your decision and you must suffer the consequences.
It's too hard to read the Bible!! The book is too big and the print is too small! It's too much work! It's too hard to understand! I don't have the time! I don't like to read!
Let's analyze a few of those arguments. Do you read the newspaper, novels, Reader's Digest, or any other form of reading materials? Think about how much you have read in the past five years. Place those pages and text end to end. How much would be there? If you had been reading the Bible instead, would you have made your way through it?
Do you watch TV? How much time have you spent watching non-instructional shows in the past year? If you had that time back would it be enough to make a dent in reading the Bible?
When you got saved you received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Would the Holy Spirit be capable of helping you understand what you were reading in the Bible?
Make a list of the things that you do that you don't like to do. Why do you do them? Is it because the end result is worthwhile?
If you are interested in finding out more about God there is only one way you can be sure you are finding out about God and not about someone else's opinion of God. You have to read the Bible for yourself so you can use it for a guideline to judge what you hear. Once you learn more about God then He, Himself, will begin adding to what you know about Him. He will clarify, expand, and make useable the information you learn. Seek Him. Read about Him and talk to Him. He wants a PERSONAL relationship with you. He doesn't want you to receive head knowledge about Him. He wants you to receive heart knowledge!
I leave you with one final warning from the Bible. Colossians 2:8, which is just a little after this week's scripture, says, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." The only way you will know is if you have a personal relationship with the Lord and have His Word in your heart.

Link to 1/24/00 welcome message.

6/26/00 Allow God to Bless You

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."James 1:17

COMMENTS: There is an endless list of good and perfect gifts that God gives. Many times things we take for granted are actually gifts from God.
Have you heard a beautiful song sung by a bird or have you seen a beautiful flower? Have you listened to the peaceful rustling of tree leaves in the breeze? Have you felt a soft breeze on your cheek? Did someone encourage you when you needed encouragement? Did anything make you smile?
That could have been God touching you. He does things for you all the time. He wants you to be happy. He wants you to know that He is touching you. He is your heavenly Father. He loves you!
God doesn't change and He doesn't turn. He won't stop loving you. He won't change His way of thinking about you. He won't go back on any of His promises. You can be assured that He loves you and wants to provide everything you need.
Look around and pay attention. You are being blessed by God in more ways than you will ever know or understand. Be open to those things and receive them. Allow Him to bless you. Allow Him to give you a smile. He loves you unconditionally. Allow Him to show you.

Link to 6/26/00 welcome message.

4/2/01 Treasures in God

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2Corinthians 4:6-7

COMMENTS: So many people don't seek a relationship with God because they think it will affect their life negatively. They might feel like they will have to give up something that they want to keep. Oh, how sad, how sad!! That is so far from the truth!
In my spiritual journey I have had the joy of opening one spiritual treasure after the other. Just when I think I've gotten a great and wonderful treasure along comes another that is bigger and better. God has shined in my heart and stored treasures there. The more I seek to know Him the more treasure I find.
I have to confess that I have actually given up quite a few things since I've gotten to know the Lord. But, you see, I gave them up voluntarily. Some of the letting go was painful, but worth it. The things I felt I had to give up were awful, nasty, earthly things. The light that God shone in my heart revealed things in my life that were creating ugliness in my life. (If you want a little more detail about this it is here in Going Through the Process of Dying-to-Self and articles about Dying-to-Self.
God creates new and beautiful things in our lives when we seek Him and His Kingdom. We are able to do wonderful things for Him and for others. Like the second part of the verse indicates, we still are human vessels and will not be perfect, but that is just proof of God being in control. The wonderful things He does inside us are clearly identified as being Him and not us.
God has given us spiritual gifts to use in His Kingdom. Each time I discover another gift He has given me I am like a little kid ripping the wrapping off his present. He pulls it out of the box and starts playing with it. That is me. I start examining and exploring all aspects of my gift. I want to know how to use it, when to use it, and everything about it.
Learning more about God, Himself, is like treasure after treasure. We will never learn everything there is to learn about God, but we can continue learning every day. There are treasures of miracles wrapped up in God. We just have to keep seeking Him.
Are you a little curious about what the heck I am talking about? Start seeking God's face with all your might. Learn more about Him in your Bible. Learn more about Him by spending time talking with Him and listening for His voice.
Each time something wonderful happens praise Him and thank Him. I really mean that when EACH TIME something wonderful happens you should acknowledge His presence. See a pretty flower? Get to hear a baby gurgle and laugh? Get to hear a bird cooing love songs to another? Feel the warm sun on your face? I'm talking even the small stuff. Don't give Him any less praise than when He saves you from getting in a car accident! He is worthy of praise and desires it!
There are no treasures on earth that compares to the treasures that God reveals to us. There is no way of adequately describing the treasures of God as words don't do them justice. You will never know what I am saying until you start experiencing them for yourself. There isn't enough money in the world to buy even the tiniest of God's treasures! It seems silly to even mention money in the same sentence with God's treasures... they are FREE!!!

Link to 4/2/01 welcome message.

11/1/05 Created With Love

"Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind."
Psalm 104:1-3

When we look around the world we usually don't see God. We see polluted air and water, cement and buildings, cars, airplanes, crime, and many more bad things. It is hard to think of God when we see those things.

Yet, God is still God, Maker of Heaven and Earth. I'm going to keep these verses in my mind. I'm going to picture God using the clouds as His chariot. When the wind blows I'm going to imagine it as the movement of air caused by His walking about.

The night sky isn't just infinite space stretching on and on, it is a curtain that God personally stretched out, stars and all. As BIG as He is, as POWERFUL as He is... He still took the time to make every plant that grows all over the earth, every animal that moves on the earth, and every one of us.

I sometimes make and sew things for gifts for people I love. As I sew I think of the person I'm making it for. I'm actually sewing in, painting in, and otherwise inserting love into each thing. I picture God LOVINGLY creating grass for us to walk on, trees for us to sit under, and flowers to thrill our eyes and noses. Then, the best part is thinking of Him creating each of us.

Just imagine, first He thinks about just how He wants to make our bodies as well as our personalities. He decides what gifts and talents to pour into us. Then he lovingly crafts us and places us here on Earth.

"The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works."
(vs 31)

Link to 11/1/05 welcome message.

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