Biblical Instructions For Husbands And Wives - Part 6

You Don't Have to Fall by Kenneth Copeland

You Don't Have to Fall Kenneth Copeland Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. – 2 Peter 1:10 You shall never fall. When you think about it, that's a startling statement, isn't it? Most of us have been tripped up by the devil so many times we don't like to think about it. But the Word of God says it doesn't have to be that way. He says there's something that can keep us on our feet. What is it? Diligence. If you haven't already, you need to realize how important diligence is. You need to face the fact that you simply can't live a life of victory without it. You can't stand strong on the Word of God and not pick your Bible up during the week. Sunday morning alone isn't going to get the job done. Yet most believers try to get by on that. That's precisely why we have thousands of churches all over the world filled with born-again people who don't have enough faith to blow their hats off. No diligence. I remember several years ago when I ministered to a lady who was healed of cancer. She'd gotten into the Word, taken a stand of faith, and had been delivered. But several years later she called me and said, "Brother Copeland, I wish you'd pray for me. This cancer has come back on me again." Right away I recalled the scripture the Lord had given us to stand on those years before: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." So I said, "Get your Bible and let's go back to Isaiah 54:17." In the background I could hear her whispering to someone else in the room, "Where's my Bible?" When I heard that, I almost cried out. I knew she wasn't going to make it. Why? No diligence. Listen, this is a daily thing. The devil's out there 24 hours a day devising ways to make us fall. Jesus is on the throne 24 hours a day giving us power to resist him, and we need to be exercising our faith all the time. If you're going to stand in the days ahead, you're going to need a lot more than Sunday school faith. You're going to need some full-grown, mountain-moving faith, and there's only one way to get that: By giving yourself to the Word more diligently than you ever have before. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure; and no matter how slippery the situation gets, you won't have to fall! Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 1:3-10

Biblical Instructions For Husbands And Wives - Part 5

God is Bigger than Your Problems by Sharon Hinck

God Is Bigger Than Your Problems “Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:62 Smoke steamed from the hood, the van sputtered and gasped, and my husband pulled to the side of the road. Four hot, cranky kids wailed from the back seats. Our family had been through a rough patch—several years of financial struggle, relationship issues, and the normal exhaustion of raising small children—and we were on our way to our first vacation in years. We’d prayed so hard that God would refresh us, strengthen us and help our family grow closer. Instead, our second day on the road the van died, stranding us in a small town in Canada. The part needed to fix the car couldn’t arrive for a week, and the cost of repairs was the last straw in our financial stress. In a moment of utter frustration, I told God I didn’t think I wanted to follow Him anymore. I’d given my life to serving Him, and it seemed life just went from one relentless struggle to the next. I repented soon after, but was shocked at how I’d looked back from the plow. Jesus often spoke of counting the cost of following Him and the long-term commitment required. Only a decade earlier in a college class, I’d told a professor I’d die for my faith rather than deny it. It didn’t take the threat of a firing squad to make me question the wisdom of following Jesus—just a broken-down car, more debts and a disrupted vacation. Shame hit me as I confronted my lack of commitment. I’d been so confident I would follow Jesus anywhere, but the ordinary hardships of life made me doubt His love. We were able to rent a van and continue our drive to the mountains. The grandeur of alpine forests and snowy peaks, the sheer size and beauty of God’s creation, spoke deeply to my heart and reminded me that no matter how big my problems seem, He is bigger. I made a quiet commitment to put my hand to the plow and keep my focus on Jesus in the coming days. Faith Step: Are there situations that have made you pull back from whole-hearted trust in following Jesus? Invite Him to renew your faith today, and make a new commitment to keep your eyes on Him. By Sharon Hinck

Apart from the World-Pastor Rod Parsley

Apart from the World Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 Once you realize the cross has sanctified you, then you are ready for experiential sanctification-where you grow daily in your walk with God. This is the process where you shed the things of the world so you can experience more of God's presence. It's the act of offering your body as a living sacrifice, as the first verse in Romans 12 instructs us to do. How do we do this? Paul continues in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." If we do not spend significant time considering God's Word, we will not be transformed by it. We cannot become salt and light in our communities when there is no difference between us and the world in how we spend our time and what shapes our views and values. God's love is greater than you could ever comprehend and it is important for us to spend time in prayer, understanding His will for our lives. How wonderful that God has chosen to reveal Himself in a way that we can grow to understand Him more each day. That is what experiential sanctification is all about. Further Reading Matthew 16:13-26 Romans 12 1 Corinthians 3

Biblical Instructions For Husbands And Wives - Part 4

Biblical Instructions For Husbands And Wives - Part 3