We live in a society that uses acronyms for just about everything. When I was a child my father would tell me if it didn't work that it was Caput. I have one for you LPUT. Love People Use Things.

Two ways

If you are not happy with your life, you can change it in two ways: either improve the conditions in which you live, or improve your inner spiritual state. The first is not always possible, but the second is. ~~ Leo Tolstoy, Wise Thoughts for Every Day

There is a cost

There is a cost, as many of you know. As the church has become more seeker friendly, the understanding of the costliness of grace and discipleship has gradually faded. As Christianity became popular, it was dispensed at bargain prices.
The Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die.” He was himself a martyr many times before he died. He counted the cost and it was clear in his convictions. “The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ. Such a man knows that the call to discipleship is a gift of grace, and that the call is inseparable from the grace. But those who try to use this grace as a dispensation from following Christ are simply deceiving themselves.” wrote Bonhoeffer. It comes with the call, “Follow me.” Jesus spoke these two words to his disciples. A whole lifetime lies between these two words.

Hungry

People weren’t hungry for fancy sermons or organizational polish. They just want love. ~~ Jim Cymbala, senior pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle

Slaves

Slaves have nothing to gain, nothing to promote or anything to lose.

The One

All across the distance in space that is between us, you love to show me that you’re the One – God. This dates from eternity itself.

Humility

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sward?” (Romans 8:35).
Have you taken an audit of your attitudes of late? God is on the move today showing his people that their needs can only be meet in him. When a person loses a friend, loses a love one, loses a job, and loses heart he finds himself out of sorts with an inexpressible heaviness. This person is in a much better place with God then one who observes and criticizes the condition of people and the evil around him.
Brokenness is a prerequisite of a deep relationship with God. Humility is the first step to finding meaning, sense of fitting in, and a sense of contribution. Some say it is a miracle but if I may make a point here, it is just plain spiritual fulfillment.

Smorgasbord

My son Ted asked me the other day, why many times I have four to five books that I’m reading at the same time. In addition to this quandary he could not understand why I skipped around in the books some times never to finish reading them in there entirety.
I responded by telling him a story. Then I proceeded to tell him when we go out to eat, I like to go to a Smorgasbord Restaurant. Why, do I like a meal served buffet style? Two reasons. First reason is I like a lot to eat therefore four to five books and more. Second, because I choose whatever meets my fancy. Then if I do not care for an entrée, I don’t have to finish it.

“Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]” (Romans 12:2, AMP).
God has a great plan laid out to reform you thinking. He already laid this out for each one of us so we will be able to think like Him and receive great ideas that are of Him. Yes, He is in the business of giving you a new attitude, which is the perfect will of God. Where there is sincere change there is Godly power and grace to be righteous -- reformed.

Murmur

Writing to the Christians at Philippi, Apostle Paul writes, “Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life [the Good News about Jesus Christ]...” (Philippians 2:14-16, NKJV).
Simply put, murmuring is to believe in a God who messes with us. My dictionary says to murmur is to grumble, mumble or mutter a continuous complaint. Gratitude is opposed to all murmuring at God’s dealing with us, and complaining because of our lot. Gratitude and murmuring never abide in the same heart at the same time. Murmurs are ungrateful people who want attention and sympathy. A true relationship with the Holy Ghost corrects complaining and promotes Gratitude.

Light-bearers

Mother Teresa was not called to share her light from “above,” not from afar – unlike some contemporary proponents of a prosperity gospel, she was not one to stand above the fray, dispensing wisdom from a peaceful and pampered life. Instead, she accepted to be plunged body and soul into the lowest depths of our night, illuminating that night from within, forging a path through our inner darkness into light. The fact that she confronted the night in her own soul first, as her personal letters reveal, does not diminish her spiritual credentials; rather, it augments her credibility. Her dark night makes her not just a teacher but a guide – and escort and companion for our own labored journey into light. ~~ Joseph Langford, Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire

Secular?

It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is scared or secular it is why he does it. ~~ Aiden Wilson Tozer

Love begins

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in that action. ~~ Mother Teresa, (1910-1997)

What I am

You do not have to stand your ground, fight for spiritual power, and hold on to God. The Holy Spirit is available to help you see what you have in Christ. He is committed that you understand what you are in Christ Jesus.

Sin is easy to justify

Sin is easy to justify in your own life, but hard to tolerate in someone else’s, because you know the exact circumstances of why you “had to do what you did”. But when it comes to others, you are not near as willing to understand their reasons for failure. Thank goodness, God always knows your heart and adds mercy to His love for you. “Mercy triumphs over judgment” James 2:13. This principle demands that you have as much understanding, forgiveness and compassion for others as you have for yourself if you want God to have it for you. “…because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” James 2:13. To walk with God is not for the fainthearted, because it forces you to clean up your own heart first and then, if you have any time or energy left, look to others and judge their mess. Sin in you or in others can never be justified, but needs to be confronted and thrown out through repentance and forgiveness from God and others. “The devil made me do it” is not going to fly any more than blaming your parents, neighbors, family or church. Your sin is exactly what it says, it is yours and needs to be cleaned up by you instead of trying to find a reason why you couldn’t help committing it. Going to the Lord and confessing wrongdoing will always bring mercy and forgiveness and not condemnation if you are willing to do the same to your neighbor. “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” Matthew 6:15. Like I said, walking with the Lord is not for the fainthearted.
E-mail Barbara Martin if you need prayer at barbara@wordfromtheking.com or go to her website at www.wordfromtheking.com to order books or schedule a speaking event.

Love or die

There is no such thing as the State And no one exists alone; Hunger allows no choice To the citizen or the police; We must love one another or die. ~~ W. H. Auden, "September 1, 1939"

Saviour

To desire an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life one must observe this important condition, a public confession of Christ as our Savior. There is a vast difference between profession and confession. ~~ Evans Roberts, Welsh Revival

Utter dependance

When times are good, and jobs outnumber workers, it's easy to for-get about our interdependence. … When the system contracts, on the other hand, our utter dependence becomes immediately and painfully clear. ~~ Zack Exley, RevolutioninJesusLand.com

Sermon on the Mount

Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is – Never look for justice, but never cease to give it. ~~ Oswald Chambers, My utmost for His highest

River of Grace

God has a vast reservoir of grace that He wants to pour into your life, your home, and your family. And He has provided lots of ways by which that grace can be channeled into your world. Unfortunately, these rivers of grace can become littered with the debris of our own sinful thoughts and actions, as well as the ungodly actions of our ancestors, creating dams that prevent His grace from flowing the way He desires. ~~ Mark & Patti Virkler, from the introduction of their book “River of Grace”

Alone with God

...in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus seeks to set the inner chamber before us in its most attractive light. If we listen carefully, we soon notice what the chief thing is He has to tell us of our tarrying there. Three times He uses the name of Father: ‘Pray to thy Father,’ ‘Thy Father shall recompense three;’ ‘Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,’ The first thing in close-prayer is: I must meet my Father. The light that shines in the closet must be: the light of the Father’s countenance. The fresh air from heaven with which Jesus would have it filled, the atmosphere in which I am to breathe and pray, is: God’s Father-love, God’s infinite Fatherliness. Thus, each thought or petition we breathe out will be simple, hearty, childlike trust in the Father. This how the Master teaches us to pray: He brings us into the Father’s living presence. What we pray there must avail. Let us listen carefully to hear what the Lord has to say to us. ~~ Andrew Murray (1828-1917)

Light-bearers

Mother Teresa was not called to share her light from “above,” not from afar – unlike some contemporary proponents of a prosperity gospel, she was not one to stand above the fray, dispensing wisdom from a peaceful and pampered life. Instead, she accepted to be plunged body and soul into the lowest depths of our night, illuminating that night from within, forging a path through our inner darkness into light. The fact that she confronted the night in her own soul first, as her personal letters reveal, does not diminish her spiritual credentials; rather, it augments her credibility. Her dark night makes her not just a teacher but a guide – and escort and companion for our own labored journey into light. ~~ Joseph Langford, Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire

Be Still

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend./Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. ~~ Katharina von Schlegel, "Be Still My Soul"

Friendship

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? ~~ Abraham Lincoln, of the National Union Party

Inward course

If God is your mover, you will go much farther in a short time than all your repeated self-effort could ever do. ~~ Jeanne Guyon

Old Gospel Song

There is an old gospel song: “Shut in with God in a secret place, There in his presence beholding his face, Gaining new power to run in the race...I long to be shut in with God.”

Do it anyway

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you” (Joshua 1: 5, Amp).
What do you fear that is so serious that it is not covered by one of the promise of God? Obedience brings blessings. Exposure to the Word of God builds faith and when faith comes, fear leaves. Prayer conquers fear. Live in a spirit of prayer. The answers are always coming. When you are persuaded that a thing is right even while you are fearful, go on doing, and go on praying until the answer comes. Everything will work out all right.

Repentance Releases Power

“In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor” (Ephesians 1:7, AMP).
Be quick to repent; do not try to hide anything from God. He will never reject you. He knows everything anyway, but repentance release the power of the Blood His Son Jesus shed on the cross for our sins. ~~ Joyce Meyer