JOINT FORCES

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 31, 2013

JOINT FORCES

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:8-12

And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. Leviticus 26:8

ABIDING TOGETHER

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 30, 2013

ABIDING TOGETHER

 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:4

Abiding together as one is the ultimate goal and purpose of Christianity.  Christ came so that we would have the power and right to abide in Him for eternity.  This is salvation.  Without the ability to abide in Christ we are... without, in darkness, dead already, cut off, outsiders and good for nothing.  However, as we abide together in Christ we abide in God and have blessed communion and eternal praise, peace, and glory.
All success with God  is contingent upon this abiding in Christ.  For the word of God says: "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you"( John 15:7). Yes, our hopes and dreams and expectations shall be fulfilled as we hold to this divine unity of the Spirit.
But what about the man that does not abide.  The word of God says of this man:   "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:6).  Perdition is promised to the one outside and unconnected.  

Today, let us stay abiding together in Christ Jesus, our Savior, our Lord and King!

GREAT MOUNTAIN SHALL BECOME A PLAIN

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 22, 2013

GREAT MOUNTAIN SHALL BECOME A PLAIN

Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.  The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. Zechariah 4:7,9

A RUSHING MIGHTY WIND

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 21, 2013

A RUSHING MIGHTY WIND


And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Acts 2:2-27

TWO SHALL BE ONE

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 20. 2013

TWO SHALL BE ONE


For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:30-33

LET US CONTINUE WITH ONE ACCORD

 IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 19, 2013

LET US CONTINUE WITH ONE ACCORD

And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. Acts 1:13, 14

The Day of Pentecost

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
  Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:
  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 2:1-21

God's design is that we dwell in oneness with the Father and the Son--through the power of the  Holy Ghost.  Just as the early Apostles were with one accord in one place on the day of Pentecost, we must continue in the Spirit and remain unified, speaking the wonderful works of God. Moreover, we must subject our desires to the desire of God and allow the Holy Ghost to show us God's heart in every situation.  By Grace, the Holy Spirit will cause our hearts to be conformed to the heart and will of God.  Through this conformity of Spirit we shall please the Father, and His Kingdom shall come; His will shall be done on earth-- as it is in heaven.  

Today, may the Holy Spirit work in and through us, as He causes His countenance to shine upon us and give us Peace!

ONE IN US

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 18, 2013

ONE IN US


 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
  And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
  And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.  John 17

ONE LOVE, ONE ACCORD, ONE MIND

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTION FOR TODAY, MAY 17, 2013

ONE LOVE, ONE ACCORD, ONE MIND


If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Phillipians 2:1,2

STEWARDS OF THE MYSTERIES

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 16, 2013

STEWARDS OF THE MYSTERIES


Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

I Corinthians 4:11

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 

  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 

  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 

 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

 I Corinthians 2:7-16

ONE HEART, ONE SOUL

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 15, 2013

ONE HEART, ONE SOUL


And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Acts 4:32

DRAW ME CLOSE TO YOU

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 14, 2013

DRAW ME CLOSE TO YOU

Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. Song 1:4

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 13, 2013
KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 16:19

MOTHER'S DAY BLESSINGS

IN THE BEGINNING... THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 12, 2013

MOTHER'S DAY BLESSINGS


Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also and he praiseth her. Proverbs 31:28 ***************************(A Gem from my son)God has blessed me with such a beautiful mother.Your style and grace compare to none other.A God fearing woman whom He shines his light under.Raising five children, some of God's greatest wonders.your prayers and your blessings casts the devil's attacks asunder.Your family is beautiful and so are you.  I love you Mom, and God does too. (aah, sweet)***************************(A Gem from my daughter)

I am naming my daughter after you.  Her name will be Grace

Because if your life was an essay,
a poem,
a book
or a play
"Grace" would be its title.
I've never known a soul
as rich as yours
--with patience,
kindness,
and understanding.
You are one of the few women
strong enough
to lay your dreams
and yourself at the altar
and bear five children,
or five prayers that God's will
be done on the earth.
Thank you for showing me
what love is.
Your love is never greedy.
It is the kind of love the sun shows the earth
--always giving , and never asking
anything in return. 
"One is loved because one is loved."
And your patience is like honey
--it never rots.
And even when others try to paint your daughter as a girl
composed of  the
ugly and flaws
you are too blinded by love to see.
You refuse to stop believing.
Or lose faith
that the daughter
God created
and you raised is anything but
good,
and smart,
and capable.
And that means more to me than anything.
I will never forget all the lunches your bring me
or the car rides you give me
I know that I am
the most blessed girl
in existence to have a mother like you.
I still remember you reading Charlotte's Web to me when I
was three.
Now, I am getting ready to leave.
I know you are scared.
But please believe that
any daughter you raised
Can only be exceptional.
HAPPY MOTHER's DAY ( aah WoW)

RETIRE FIRST

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 9, 2013

RETIRE FIRST



Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 

Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matthew 6:24,25 and 32,33 

In the American society, we are trained to seek higher education and career success, which ultimately is to lead to financial gain.  Many get so focused on these pursuits that they lose sight of the soul.  In Christianity, God tells us to flip the paradigm and to seek after His Kingdom first.  In a sense, God desires for us to retreat from the fast, focused program leading to material gain and pleasure, and, instead, take time to find the true riches, joy, and eternal wealth found only in His Kingdom and in His Righteousness.  

It is certainly true that after spending time in the mind blowing pursuit of God, everything else is easy.  

Today, Retire first!

PERFECT!

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 7, 2013

PERFECT!


Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. Psalm 37:34-37

Today, let us keep the PERFECT way, which is leading to PEACE!!

UNREASONABLE DISTRACTIONS

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTION FOR TODAY, MAY 4, 2013

UNREASONABLE DISTRACTIONS


And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
 Acts 6:1-3

The Apostles knew the calling and service of their lives and so they were focused, removing themselves from that which would distract from their call.  A life of prayer and ministry of the word was their reasonable service.  For they agreed, "it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables."  In other words it makes no sense, it does not add up, there is no wisdom in this action of leaving the word of God to serve tables. However, there were seven Holy Ghost filled men who were called to this sort of business.  Serving the tables was holy work for these seven men.    But for the Apostles, the same work was an unreasonable distraction.  The Apostles had to know this for themselves; for surely the murmuring Grecians would not have had this insight.

Yes, God wants us to be focused on the work we are called to and to remove ourselves from unreasonable distractions.
Today, let us  be about our Father's business!

WHERE IS MY FEAR?

IN THE BEGINNING...THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, MAY 2, 2013

WHERE IS MY FEAR?

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is  my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Malachi 1:6

As servants of the Lord we must serve with fear.  Though we cannot see God, we must reverence Him, and regard Him, and fear Him, because He is Lord and Master of all.  Certainly, we are incapable of accomplishing anything for God's glory if we operate without fear.  We must FEAR GOD as we SERVE GOD and give Him the honor due his name!

Today, FEAR HIM!