"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;"1 Timothy 6:17

How are we using the good gifts God has given us? Wealth and authority can be dangerous -- or they can be a blessing. They can be used to destroy and tear down, or to store up good things in heaven. The choice is ours. Brothers & Sisters, let's ask the Lord to help us to be wise stewards of all God's gifts to us, that we might not end up being rich on earth and poor with God. GET RICH QUICK!

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."James 5:16b

Ever wonder what someone who's never seen the modern world thinks of us approaching a wall, pressing a few buttons and out comes lot's of money? Cash machines -- they're everywhere -- and if you've got cash in your account, you can just go and make a withdrawal! Imagine having a cash card that you could use to withdraw as much as your heart desires anytime you want -- with no limit. We, who believe, have a card like that! We have direct access to the riches of God's grace. We have unlimited access to love, mercy, joy and all the good things of the Lord, and we can access it any time, any place and in any circumstance. The strange thing is that we don't use it nearly as much as we could! Brothers & Sisters, we need to tap into God's wonderful bank of unlimited riches today! May the righteous use their spiritual bankcards to withdraw much! YOU ARE A MILLIONAIRE!

" When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."Proverbs 16:7

A young reporter approached an old man on his 100th birthday. "Happy birthday, kind Sir! Can I bother you to answer one question? In all your years, of what are you most proud?" he asked. "Well," said the man, "I don't have a single enemy in the world." "Really?!" shouted the reporter, "That's just incredible -- how inspiring to us all!" "Yep," added the centenarian, "outlived every darn one of 'em." Sadly, each of us has acquired an enemy or two in our lives. While it's our human nature to find fault in others and make an occasional unnecessary enemy, sometimes it has nothing to do with us! I mean, you wouldn't believe the kind of hate mail we get from people we've never met! What can we do to make peace with enemies like those? "He" is the operating word in the verse above. Did you catch that? He, that is, the Lord, makes even [a man's] enemies be at peace with him. All we have to worry about is making sure that our ways are pleasing to the Lord and He will do the rest! The word "deh-rech" in Hebrew, is 'way' in the verse above. Derech can also mean journey or path. When our path is straight, and God is the focus of our journey, then our ways will please Him and He will make even our enemies be at peace with us. Brothers & Sisters, let's rededicate our lives to the Lord again today and see Him bring the victory. There is so much work to be done! SCATTER YOUR ENEMIES!

"Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified."Psalms 70:4

I heard a story once, of a chaplain who was speaking to a loyal soldier in the hospital. "Bless you son, you saved a fellow soldier’s life -- and lost an arm in the great cause doing it," the chaplain said. "No," said the soldier with a smile. "I didn't lose it … I gave it. We have so much. The Lord has blessed many of us with good health, the use of our eyes, ears, mouths, hands, feet and minds. He’s given us various talents of sorts. He’s blessed many of us with homes, cars and good paying jobs. Most importantly, He’s bestowed upon us the wonderful knowledge of His Son, Jesus. We are all soldiers in God’s great army. In the same way this young soldier gave his arm to save a life, we should be offering our gifts toward God’s great cause of salvation for the world. Brothers & Sisters, let's make it a point to start giving consistently of the gifts God has given us, whatever they may be. After all, Jesus did not lose His life -- He gave it purposefully for us, no strings attached. DO IT WITH A SMILE!

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."1 Corinthians 13:4-7

A survey asked mothers to keep track of how many times they made both negative and positive comments to their children. The surveyed mothers admitted that they criticized at least ten times for every one time they said something favorable. Another survey taken in one city's schools found that the teachers were negative seventy five per cent of the time. This study concluded that it takes four positive statements to a child from a parent or teacher to offset the effects of one negative statement. Wow, when I think about how many times I've said negative things to people in my lifetime, I have some positive paying back to do! Many times we justify our criticizing, hurtful words and actions by thinking we're right in a matter. But, in fact, the only one who's all right is the Lord! And He has called us to be the encouragers of the world! We have the gift of God residing within us, and we are ambassadors of the His love. We need to constantly remind ourselves to operate under that love in every circumstance - even the most difficult! Brothers & Sisters, when we find ourselves getting ready to criticize, let's strive to stop in our tracks and say something encouraging instead --- not only to the world around us but to ourselves! BE AN ENCOURAGER!

" Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."John 15:13

There once was a girl who hated herself. You see, she had become blind in her early teens from a rare disease. Not only did she hate herself but she hated everyone else too. She was angry at the world, angry at God, angry at everyone. There was one person, however, who had known her for years and stood by her side through all this. It was her childhood friend, who loved her ever since grade school. Now in their 20’s, he wanted to marry her. One day he worked up the nerve to ask her for her hand in marriage. Her reply was that if she could only see the world, she would marry him. Soon after, someone donated a pair of eyes and she went to surgery to have her malfunctioning ones replaced. It was a miracle. After a few weeks, she took off her bandages and she could see once again. And who was standing by her side, as always? Of course, it was the man who loved her. "Now that you can see the world", he said, 'Will you marry me?' The girl was shocked to discover that he too was blind, and sadly, still refused his hand in marriage. Undeniably, he was devastated. Sometime later, she received a letter from him, sharing his undying love for her. He signed it, "Please, my love, just take care of my eyes." Hmmm. A sweet story. But few of us remember what life was like when we were yet blind to the truth of our salvation in Jesus -- and who to thank for their labor in love and prayer and boldness in sharing that truth with us, no? Brothers & Sisters, let's never forget where we came from and those who gave of themselves so willingly for the opening of our eyes. And let’s also strive to be the kind of people who are willing to lay down our life for a friend. HAVE YOU BEEN BLIND!

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."John 3:8

Often in the Bible you will see the word wind or breath. The root meaning of these words, both in Hebrew and Greek, is almost always Spirit. It is important to keep in mind that we can never dictate which direction the wind will blow. It would be absurd to think we could! The wind blows as it will. And in the same way, the Spirit of God blows where it wishes. Well if this is so, how can we be filled with the Spirit? Must we jump up and catch it and just hope for the best? No. We need to be like a windmill. Windmills were designed to be propelled by the wind, no matter which direction it's blowing, in order to generate power. To be empowered by the Holy Spirit, we must do the same. We must be sensitive to which direction He is blowing in order make sure we are getting filled! Brothers & Sisters, let's submit ourselves once again to the Spirit of God today! Take heed to which direction the Spirit is blowing and be empowered to do the work He has called us to!! We can do nothing without Him! BLOW WIND BLOW!

"But he who received seed on the good soil is he who hears the word, and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth: some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." Matthew 13:23

If you keep a grain of wheat in your pocket, it will look exactly the same ten years from now. But place it in the right environment -- some good ground, enough water -- it will sprout into a living sheaf of grain! Every kind of life requires its particular corresponding environment in order to achieve its full and predestined potential. It's no different with the seeds of the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts! God has readily made available to us the seeds of success. He gives us the opportunity to live a life of much fruit! A life abounding in the fruits of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith and self-control. But here they are -- just seeds -- sitting in our pocket -- waiting 'til we decide to plant them and allow them to become trees of plenty in our lives. Brothers & Sisters, is your soil is fertile and ready? Let's plant some seeds today and invite the Lord to water and nourish them so that we can produce fruit one-hundred fold for the Kingdom. WHERE'S THE FRUIT?

"But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."Matthew 23:11-12

Jesus began His earthly ministry by being baptized in the Jordan river. The word Jordan in Hebrew is "Yarden" and its root is "yarad". It literally means to descend, which would make sense being that the Jordan descends more than any river on earth. If we truly want to walk in the fullness of the Lord, we have to follow the example that Jesus set before us. Jesus descended from Heaven, He descended from glory, was baptized in the Jordan and fulfilled the calling that the Father bestowed upon Him by being our perfect sacrifice on Calvary. Jesus totally and completely surrendered Himself to do His Father's will. We too must descend and surrender all that we are and all we have been given. We must truly give our lives, not for our own glory, but for His. Until we do that, we'll never be able to see all the blessings and opportunities the Lord has prepared for us since the foundation of the world. Brothers & Sisters, let's learn a lesson from the Yarden today. When we descend, we'll be lifted up! We'll see the blessings freely flow from a Heavenly source which will never run dry! GO DOWN!

"Therefore I say to you, Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them."Mark 11:24

Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly. Others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might. Some might take this to mean that we need to beg and plead desperately for God to answer our prayers. I don't think so. I believe that we must pray, expecting for God to bring the answer and do the work because, among many other reasons, He is faithful, just and loves us with an everlasting love! Brothers & Sister, raise your expectations today! Expect God to do something great and we'll believe along with you to see mighty breakthroughs! RAISE YOUR EXPECTATIONS!

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."Philippians 3:13-14

There are two kinds of birds that roam the desert: vultures and hummingbirds. The vulture thrives on a diet of rotting meat. He flies overhead searching for traces of leftover carcasses from slow-footed critters eaten by wild animals who’ve already had their fill. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, will sweep through the desert, passing over all those repulsive, dead animals and seek colorful patches of beautiful wild desert flowers. They will suckle the delicious juices of those sweet desert blossoms and be satisfied. While vultures look to the dead for their survival, the hummingbird seeks the living! Likewise, some of us unconsciously look to our past with its regrets, failures and sins to keep us alive. We think that somehow by looking back to those dead things, we might find some motivation to keep surviving here and now. But let’s take a lesson from the hummingbird. Brothers & Sisters, let's sweep past that which is dead and focus on the sweet new life -- the exciting future that God holds for us as we continue seeking Him and moving forward in our relationship with Him! LIFE AWAITS US!