Fallen Vessels

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:08:31 GMT

Fallen Vessels

Stop beating yourself up. But you don't know what I did. You don't know how I messed up. You don't know how I failed the Lord. Does all this sound familiar? I have heard it from countless numbers of people-- I have said it myself, perhaps you have, too. We all make mistakes, we all fail, we all have moments of weakness when we give into a temptation and do the wrong thing. We are on a journey to perfection/maturity but we haven't arrived yet.

When we come to Christ and He becomes our Savior and Lord, we start on a journey of spiritual growth. A small child learning to walk or develop its "legs" to stand often falls, we too may fall down. But we don't stay there. We get up. We ask for forgiveness. We accept His grace and we go on and continue until we finish our course and the race/journey that is set before us.

You may be a "fallen vessel". You may have missed it. You may have, like Peter, even denied your Lord. But like Peter, Jesus wants you to come to Him. He told Peter he would deny Him three times- and Peter did. But after His resurrection He sent word for Peter to come and see Him. Jesus completely forgave Peter, restored him, filled him with His Spirit and used him mightily to preach the gospel.

You haven't fallen so far, you haven't been so bad, you haven't messed up to the point where He will not restore you as well if you desire for Him to. After all, we were all fallen vessels because of Adam- all have sinned- and He was willing to provide us with forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration and eternal life. The Bible is full of "fallen vessels"- people who failed and who missed it, yet the grace and love of God put them back on their feet when they failed and used them in mighty ways for His glory. He wants to do the same for you today, and will if you will but ask Him to. By Lorraine Ezell

Speak to "THIS" by Lorraine Ezell

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:00:00 GMT

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

The words "these things" are translated- these, these things, this. Have you ever been faced with "this"? Perhaps you are facing it now. What "this" is is not always the same for everyone. "This" may be a marriage that is in trouble. "This" may be a rebellious child. "This" may be a bad report from the doctor. "This" may be fear that is trying to grip you. There are a lot of things and situations that are "this" that we find ourselves in.

"This/these things" are very real so we can't ignore them as if they don't exist. So what do we do and how do we handle them? "What shall we then say to these things?" We pray and we "say". We have to do some "talking" to them.

Jesus taught us to speak to the mountain. He never said to whine about it. He never said to shrink back in fear because of it. He said to speak to it. We have to speak to the situation and remind it (and ourselves in so doing) that God is for us, He is on our side, He is our helper, therefore, "this" cannot prosper against us. "This" may fight against us, it may look like it is winning, it may look like it is the victor, but keep speaking to it anyway.

God has given us a weapon that is sharper and more powerful than a two-edged sword. It is His Word. Jesus used the sword of God's word to defeat the enemy in the wilderness. The saints in the Book of Revelation overcame by the "word" of their testimony. Jesus is the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. When we speak God's Word we are speaking Jesus and placing Him in the midst of our situation.

So don't be overcome by your situation, don't ignore it, don't get fearful, don't give up, speak to "this/these things".As you speak God's word the devil will flee, your faith will become strong, you will become more aware of God's presence in your situation, and regardless, you will be the victor assured that all "this/these things" work together for your good.

Have a great day. What do you do about "this" that you are facing? You speak to it.

The Peace of God by Missy Kinchen

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:45:00 GMT

The Bible says in Philippians Chapter 4 :6,7

⁶Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

⁷And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

With prayer unto our Lord , and thanksgiving letting our request be made known to God then peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus . Wow what a peace to know that He is a friend that you can call on and trust in at any hour of the day !!!

Also says in Philippians 4:8,9 ⁸Finally, 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.

⁹Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

This tells me not to dwell or be a part of negative conversation or thought, these are times the devil can cause doubt , depression, discouragement . Then there is no peace, but worry and torment. Get into God's word which will give us faith, encouragement and peace. God is still the same yesterday , today and forever and there is peace that passeth ALL understanding !!
Be of good cheer today and know that we serve a God that knows your situation and can give you His peace ! Have a Great Day !!!

Spiritual Deafness by Lorraine Ezel

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:20:00 GMT

"Spiritual Deafness"

A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to Him, and the people begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put His fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting on His own fingers, He touched the man's tongue. Looking up to heaven, He signed and said, "Ephphatha," which means, "Be opened!" Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly. Mark 7:32-35 NLT

When we are born, we are all born deaf-- spiritually deaf because of sin. The only "ears/hearing" that we have is our natural ability to hear natural sounds and "fleshly ears" that hear the sounds of the flesh. We can't hear spiritual sounds-- we have to have "spiritual ears" in order to hear them. "He that hath an ear, let him hear."

Having the ability to hear spiritually doesn't come automatically. It doesn't just happen. We don't work hard enough in order to learn how to hear spiritual sounds. Natural birth gives us our natural hearing, spiritual birth gives us our spiritual hearing. At the "new birth" the Lord places His "fingers in our ears" so that we can now hear what His Spirit is saying to us. He removes spiritual deafness.

Once we have received our "spiritual ears/hearing", it is then up to us to maintain our hearing. We must guard against getting "spiritual wax build up", or anything else that would cause us to become spiritually hard of hearing. We do this by continually listening to God's Word- through reading it, through hearing it preached, through meditating on it. We keep our spiritual hearing healthy by obedience. When we ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit, when we quench Him, when we disobey, when we go our way instead of following His direction, we are allowing our hearing to become dull. Each time we do it gets a little harder for us to hear Him the next time He speaks to us-- that still, small voice becomes almost indiscernible. Our spiritual hearing is also kept keen through praise and worship. Praise and worship refocuses you. It causes all your "spiritual senses" to be attentive in one direction-- on the Lord. Lastly, we keep our hearing healthy by not listening to evil, negative speaking that is against the Word of God. Our hearing has to be guarded from error so that it is able to hear truth.

Are you doing what it takes to keep your spiritual hearing healthy? Have you become hard of hearing? Is your hearing keen or almost deaf?

Have a great day. God gives us spiritual hearing at the new birth, but we have to maintain it everyday and keep it healthy.

For further reading: Matthew 11:15; 13:9,43

Revelation 2:7,11,17, 29<>1 Corinthians 2:14

Guard Your Treasures written by Lorraine Ezel Posted by Missy Kinchen

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:00:00 GMT

"Guard Your Treasures"

"Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad King of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, "There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha King of Israel, that he may depart from me." 2 Chronicles 16:2,3

King Asa took the silver and gold out of the treasures of the Lord's house and gave them to the king of Syria as an enticement to get him to help them against the king of Israel. He used these treasures for purposes other than it was intended for them to be used. How are you treating the "treasures of God"?

What are you doing with the treasures God has given you?Those treasures are: your salvation, talents, spiritual gifts, the anointing, your calling, the work of the ministry, and His word. These are all precious treasures that should not be taken lightly. We should not be "throwing" them away. We should not be compromising them. We should not be neglecting them or treating them in a careless manner. And we should never take them for granted.

Treasures should be guarded. Are you guarding and protecting these treasures that God has given you? Are you making the best use of them? Are you making sure the enemy doesn't steal them from you, or that you aren't just giving them away, or that you aren't casting them before others to be trampled under foot?

We need to see these wonderful gifts and blessings as precious and treat them with care and gratitude, and use them in the manner in which God intended for them to be used. He had a plan behind giving them to you, so use them to accomplish that plan.

Have a great day. What are you doing with the "treasures" that God has given you?

For further reading: Proverbs 17:8; 20:15<>2 Peter 1:4

Matthew 7:6<>1 Timothy 4:14

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

What is your intent????

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:35:00 GMT

Christians .....remember that God is concerned with your inward Man and the “intent of your heart”(Hebrews 4:12). Many times we try to “look” Christian and “act” Christian within our own ability. Instead, line up your “intent” with a “rightly divided” word (2 Timothy 2:15) and watch the transformation...a lasting transformation... from sinner man to child of God... happen the way the Father intended...from the inside out!

Proverbs 2
1My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

Bro Tim says God Bless you from Chronicle

Are You Thirsty ? posted by Missy Kinchen written by Lorraine Ezell

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:40:00 GMT

"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14

Do you ever get thirsty? Sure, we all get thirsty at times for something cool and refreshing especially during the summer time. But I am talking about another thirst. We have a natural thirst that takes place in our bodies and we have an inward thirst that takes place deeper within us.

When I am physically thirsty, nothing seems to quench that thirst like plain old water- soda doesn't, juice doesn't, nothing, just water. The inward thirst is the same- there is only one thing that satisfies it. We try to satisfy it through relationships, through activity, through education, through social status, through entertainment, through possessions, but they still leave us thirsty. The woman at the well tried to satisfy her inner thirst through relationships- "For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband." (John 4:18)-- but always came up thirsting again.

The One who created us, who designed us, who knows what we are made of, who uniquely formed us knows what it takes to satisfy the inward thirst and He told us what that was-- "whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." If you have tried to satisfy your thirst but are still thirsty, it may be because you are trying to satisfy it with the wrong thing. As I said earlier, the only thing that truly satisfies my physical thirst is water. The only thing that can satisfy this deep inward thirst is water-- the Living Water that Jesus gives-- this water is Himself.

Have a great day. Thirsty? Drink some water--- living water.

"Faith" by Missy Kinchen

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:30:00 GMT

Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen ( Hebrews 11:1).... The word says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God ... Thats why is important to go to church, and to read the word... because as we hear and read His word and the more we hear Gods word and the testimonies of Gods people ... the more we believe !! We need to even believe when we haven't seen !! There was many miracles done in the bible days and there was still ones that doubted !! It's easy for satan to flood our minds with doubt but when this happens go to prayer immediately and stand on the word that cannot lie !!! But with out faith we can't please our God (Hebrews 11:6) it says : But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11: 7-10
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Amazing to me that Abraham obeyed God and the sripture says that he went... not even knowing where he was going... !!!
and the lady with the issue of blood for years she believed that if she could touch His garment she would be healed !! imagine as she pressed through that crowd with urgency that she must touch His garment and when she did ( touch His garment ) she was healed !!!!! It all started with faith !!!! God Bless You All !

Missy Kinchen wth
Chronicle

"Fishers of Men" By Greg Sullivan

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:45:00 GMT

“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, ”Follow Me,

and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. (Matthew 4:18-20). There are so many things that we as Christians can take from this passage of scripture.

When we trusted in Jesus as our personal Savior the job for us as Christians should have begun at that point. As we can see Peter and Andrew immediately dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus. Another point to bring up is that we cannot be “fishers of men” if we are not prepared. I’m sure that Peter and Andrew never went fishing with torn nets or sails. They were constantly

mending and preparing for the next day. As Christians we set sail each day not knowing where God may take us or what circumstances we must face. It is so important for us to prepare for each day.

The storms of life come against us every minute of every day as Satan tries to tear holes into our testimonies and our service (our nets for reaching this world). There are several important things to remember that will allow us to set sail and become successful “fishers of men”. We must stay in constant prayer. Prayer keeps us strong and is the lifeline of communication between the Christian and God. We must abide in God’s Word. The Bible is our map and compass on life’s journey. It is also important to regularly attend Church. We can learn so much from each other’s experiences that we all benefit. That is why the Apostle Paul said not to “forsake the assembling of ourselves.” The Christian life is not an easy one, but it is the most rewarding.

"If We Want Revival First Comes Repentance" by Tim kinchen

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:40:00 GMT

Revival has a purpose, Its not just so we can feel good and go home. Its drawing nigh unto God so that we, as THE CHURCH, can fulfill his purpose. Unrepented sin stands between us and communion with God. God says in his word he simply can’t look upon it, therefore we can’t function like he wants us too in his will. How can we when our lines of Communication are cut off.

As Christians we are quick to beat our chest and say “God you need to send Revival“, but are we looking inward searching out and asking The Lord to reveal, daily, those thing‘s that are corrupting our minds and bodies and separating us from the presence of God.

In the Old Testament a Priest with unrepented sin in his life was not allowed to go into the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifices to God or he would be killed instantaneously. I believe this is a type and shadow of the separation (spiritual death) from God that we suffer in today’s Christian life with intentional unrepented sin in our lives. We wonder why our prayers are not being heard, and why we can’t feel the presence of the Lord.

You want Revival ??? Then its time for some separation!!

How Can we commune with God when we have gorged our minds on trash being emitted from a television set. The watching of Television programming is not a sin within its self, but as Christians we need to develop a sense of when its time to turn the channel. When I have truly been seeking God, I can’t turn one on without the Holy Ghost inside of me being grieved, but the more you sit and watch programming unbecoming to the word you feel less conviction because you are feeding the flesh the trash it likes and the spirit man becomes weaker and weaker.

You may say that repentance is for sinners and I’m saved, but I say to you as long as you are robed in flesh you will fight the sin nature. It is important to remember though that the only way to fight the flesh is through faith in Christ and his finished work at Calvary. When you fall, repent and move on!

Paul said in Corinthians that he dies daily. Leading me to believe that, as great a Man of God as he was, he had to repent daily. “Dies” referring to putting the flesh to death in a spiritual sense. The act of Repentance achieves this desired end.

Will Add scriptual backup soon, but first I would like to give you a chance to add some!

"Minister Effectively" by Tim Kinchen

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:45:00 GMT

Even the Great Apostle Paul had to be told "Son, my Grace is sufficient". So if you are striving to be Christlike and you seem to be doing well, remember not everybody is. Some people are fighting disappointment, discouragement, and old fashioned temptation. If you are a few miles ahead of somebody in your spiritual walk, try to think back to when you were at their current spiritual mile marker. What scripture or encouragement helped you the most? And always deliver the message as though you are beside them not from above looking down. Only The Father deserves that spot.