JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons

Only evil opposes God; Romans 1:28; Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:2, 1Corinthians 10:31, Zechariah 3:1, 2 Corinthian 3:15, Romans 1:18-32.

Romans 1:28
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;"
NKJV

Go to church... don't go to church. Read your Bible... don't read your Bible. Serve at church... don't serve at church. There is a constant battle going in our minds and that battle can positively affect or negatively affect what we choose to do with our time. All you have to do is flip through the channels on TV, glance at the advertisements on websites, read billboards on the road, or open up the newspaper to discover that there is a war being waged for control of your thoughts. All it takes is one seed of 'stinkin thinkin' to kick-start a thought pattern leading to an ever-widening downward spiral of sinful behavior. You are bombarded on a daily basis by thousands of suggestions about how to spend time and what to spend it doing. What are you to do? How do you fight a battle that takes place all around you, even in your own mind?

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." KJV

You need to submit to the will of God outwardly in creation, inwardly in conscience and biblically in Scripture. Serve the Lord at church and outside of church; praise God, pray to God, memorize scripture, listen to teachings and do what you've learned. These things point to God.

Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." KJV

You are either being changed by this world or by God. Your will, influenced by the Holy Spirit, is incredible power to change your life and the world in which you live.

1 Corinthians 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." NKJV

Acknowledge God.

Life Lesson: There is a battle for your mind.

Dear Father,
Thank You for the faithful mercy You show so abundantly to me. Thank You for the weapons that you have given me so the battle in my mind can be won. Thank You for giving me Truth, righteousness, readiness in the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation and Your Word. Lord, these things I will clothe myself with in preparation. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

Zechariah 3:1
"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him."
NKJV

Enter the courtroom. There you stand before the Judge. He is perfect, holy and knows all of your sins and failures. Next to you is your accuser who also has your records and proclaims them to the judge with complete arrogance. Nothing you can say will stop the accuser's words or make right the wrongs you've committed. You are helpless...

...But God.

Those two words change everything. In Zechariah's vision, we catch a glimpse of the Gospel. We stand dirty before the Lord with nothing to offer or say, but God is not finished. He removes the filthy rags that are on Joshua, the high priest, and then places upon him rich robes. Friend, the same is available to us. We have nothing to offer God nor can we earn our salvation. We have nothing we can say to justify the sin in our lives BUT GOD has made a way for us to be cleansed of those sins and be clothed in His righteousness. Because of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we can know true forgiveness and hope.

Life Lesson: There is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ.

Dear Father,
I know that I have sinned against You. Just like Joshua, I would stand before you dirty. Lord, I ask for your forgiveness. Please remove these filthy rags and place on me rich robes. I believe that because of what Jesus did for me, I can be made new. Fill me with Your Spirit and use me to share this message with others. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

2 Corinthians 3:15
"Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand."
NLT

In life, we tend to look at everybody else as the source of our problems. If we are having trouble at work, it is often the co-worker who we blame. If our marriage is on the rocks, we label our spouse the troublemaker. It's rare that we look at ourselves as the key problem, but in order to truly experience a relationship with Jesus, it's vital to do so.

When we see ourselves as imperfect and in need of help, we can do one of two things. We can admit our sins and seek God for forgiveness or ignore and justify our sin continuing down the same path we were on. If we choose to ignore our sin it's like we are placing a veil over our eyes. We have to turn to God in order to remove that veil. Once that veil is removed, we see our sin clearly as well as the solution to our sin, Jesus Christ. God wants to remove that veil so that we see clearly and can follow Him. Yes, it may mean coming face to face with our issues, but the Good News is that God made a way for us to be forgiven. He also promises us power to overcome those issues through His Holy Spirit. So take a deep breath and rip off the veil. God is ready to do amazing things in your life.

Life Lesson: The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.

Dear God,
I know that I have done wrong against You, and I ask that You would remove the veil from my eyes. Help me to see clearly so that I can turn from my sins and toward Jesus who loves me. Thank You for sending Your Son to die for me. Give me the power to live for You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

My Comments: Sin destroys us. When we sin we destroy us and we usually take others down that road with us. Whether it is our spouse, children, friends or just people who look up to us we can be the one they are watching who leads them down the wrong path.

I really thought I was a Christian all of my life. I did not stop to look at what the Lord says or the Word of God says about those who say they follow Him yet do what they want to do. I had really set up my own god by setting up my own morals and if I chose to lessen the boundaries then as far as I was concerned I was a Christian so it did not matter. I may have not thought that to myself yet my actions spoke it louder than words. How wrong I was and how merciful a God I now serve to know that even though I chose to go my own way and have my own religion He still had mercy on me and brought me out of my darkness into His saving grace. I have been born again and know the dangers of following after my own desires.

 Romans 1: 28 may be a good one for many of us to read frequently as it will show us if we are getting off track and fooling ourselves. Yet I would suggest reading from verse 18 through verse 32 for I believe it gives us a more complete picture of what we need to see about ourselves and the purity God wants for us.  Often we tell ourselves we can fudge here and there and yet when we read the word of God we find out He does not want us to fudge. He wants us to be Holy as He is Holy. We cannot attain salvation by being good or doing good works. We attain salvation by truly repenting of our sins and accepting the salvation of Jesus Christ on the Cross who paid the penalty for all of our sins and believing. We show we believe we have received His redemption by our lives changing and our way of doing things changing and our way of looking at things becomes His way of looking at things because He lives in us. We know our lives are changed because we want to do good works and not for salvation because we have already attained it yet because we like our Lord before us wants to forget self and serve others with Love.

Abba Father may we not seek to be served but to serve and my we rely on Your Word and Your Holy Spirit to lead us to become more and more like Your Son Jesus the Christ. May we seek Your will first in all things and know always Your Word is sacred and true, that You are the same yesterday, today and will always be the same. Help us to stand before the assaults of the world and not give into the leadings the world calls right yet You have said are abominations and wrong.

Christ said to take up our Cross and follow Him so Father I pray that we will have Your strength to do so and that we will not be found lacking. May we hear when we come before You, “Well done good and faithful servant.” In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Rebishka