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THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS WE ARE TEMPTED AS WE GO ABOUT OUR DAILY LIVES AND A LOT OF TIMES WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IT. SIN STARTS IN THE MIND AND THE DEVIL WILL GIVE US THOUGHTS THAT WILL LEAD TO SIN. ALSO HE WILL HAVE SOMEONE SUGGEST SOMETHING THAT CAN LEAD TO SIN. MAYBE HE WILL PUT SOMETHING IN FRONT OF US TO TEMPT US. WHAT WE MUST NOT DO IS DWELL ON THOSE THINGS. DO THE SAME THING AS YOU WOULD IF YOU PUT SOMETHING IN YOUR MOUTH THAT WAS BAD.....SPIT IT OUT.
It is interesting that Jesus used a little child to illustrate humility. Although it is true that little children have a purity and humility that is many times missing in adults, they certainly are not selfless. A child comes into the world totally self-centered, wanting what he wants when he wants it. Parents are to train children out of this self-centeredness.
One of humility's dominant characteristics is a God-dependency and not a self-sufficiency. The truth of humility being the key to greatness or success was not new. Jesus gave this truth new meaning by walking in humility as no one ever had before.
This path of self-denial to greatness is exactly opposite to the world's path of exalting self at...
AREN'T YOU GLAD THAT JESUS CHOSE PAUL TO PREACH TO THE GENTILES AND THAT HE WAS OBEDIENT TO DO IT? IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE TWELVE DISCIPLES ARE WRITING AND TEACHING THE JEWS BUT PAUL, IN HIS THIRTEEN BOOKS, IS WRITING TO THE GENTILES. THIS WAS A GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT AMONG THEM. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS WHEN WE ARE STUDYING THE BIBLE OR IT COULD GET A LITTLE CONFUSING. IT WAS TO ME BEFORE I LEARNED THIS. IN GALATIANS 2:9, PAUL TELLS OF THE HANDSHAKE, OR RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP AS PAUL CALLS IT, WHERE HE SAYS "And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we (PAUL AND BARNABAS) should go unto the heathen (GENTILES), and they (JAMES, PETER, JOHN AND THE DISCIPLES) unto the circumcision (THE JEWS). (THE PARENTHESES ARE MINE)
This was quite a miracle. Not only was the money supplied for their taxes, but it was the exact amount needed, and it was from the first fish that was caught.
Although this sets the precedent that God can supply our needs in a miraculous way, it's important to remember that God doesn't counterfeit money. He didn't create money in the fish, but rather he had the fish miraculously find and swallow the exact Roman coin that Peter needed. It's a mistake to just pray and then wait on God to rain the money down from heaven.
As Luke 6:38 says, God uses men (and sometimes fish) to give finances to us. He can...
JESUS.......DO YOU REALLY REALIZE WHAT THAT NAME MEANS? NOT ONLY JESUS, HIMSELF, BUT JUST HIS NAME AND WHAT POWER IT CARRIES. SEE WHAT IT SAYS IN PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11 "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Prayer and fasting do not drive certain demons out. If the name of Jesus and faith in His name won't do the job, then fasting and prayer won't either. Jesus is saying that fasting and prayer are the only ways of casting out this type of unbelief.
An unbelief that comes as a result of ignorance can be done away with by receiving the truth of God's Word (Rom. 10:17; 2 Pet. 1:4). However, the unbelief that hindered the disciples in this case was a "natural" type of unbelief. They had been taught all of their lives to believe what their five senses told them. They were simply dominated by this natural input more than by God's supernatural input (God's Word). The only way to overcome this unbelief that comes through our senses is to deny our senses through prayer and...
I HAVE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT PRAYERS, AND GETTING THE ANSWERS TO THEM, SO I THOUGHT I WOULD SHOW YOU WHAT THE WORD SAYS. PRAYERS THAT ARE MADE ACCORDING TO GOD'S WORD IS ALWAYS ANSWERED. IF WE COULD GET THIS INTO OUR LITTLE PEANUT BRAINS IT SURE WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE. TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, YOU CAN'T ASK FOR A NEW WIFE IF YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS SILLY BUT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.
The disciples' unbelief in this instance was not a disbelief in God's power to produce deliverance, but rather a "natural" kind of unbelief that came from a hardened heart that was more sensitive to what it saw than to what it believed. Jesus said that a very small amount of faith (a "mustard seed") is sufficient to remove a mountain, if no unbelief is present to hinder it.
Jesus was disappointed that His disciples had not been able to cast this devil out. Most people would have had no criticism of these disciples. After all, it wasn't normal to have power over evil spirits....
It is interesting to compare Jesus' transfiguration with that of Moses'. Jesus' face shone as the sun and His garment was as white as the light. This certainly exceeded what Moses experienced, and yet Jesus' face did not continue to shine when He came down off of the mountain as Moses' face did. Moses' face reflected the glory of God, but Jesus was the glory of God (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 1:3). Moses put a veil over his face to conceal the glory of God (Ex. 34:29-35) so that the people would not be afraid to come near him.
Jesus' body was His veil that concealed His true glory within. During His transfiguration, He pulled back the veil of His flesh, and we simply caught a glimpse of His glory that he had with the Father...
HAVE YOU EVER READ PSALM 91? IT REALLY IS A POWERFUL CHAPTER AND WELL WORTH READING. MY MOTHER-IN-LAW MEMORIZED THIS AND SHE WOULD SAY IT EVERY MORNING.
WHEN YOU READ IT, JUST REMEMBER THE FIRST VERSE (He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.) TO RECEIVE ALL THAT IS MENTIONED IN THIS CHAPTER, WE MUST DO WHAT IT SAYS. IT DOESN'T JUST SAY TO VISIT THERE. THAT IS WHAT A LOT OF CHRISTIANS DO. THEY JUST VISIT WHEN IT IS CONVENIENT FOR THEM. WE MUST BE DEDICATED TO GOD IF WE WANT HIS PROTECTION. WHEN WE GET OUT FROM UNDER HIS PROTECTION, THAT IS WHEN WE GET SICK OR SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS AND WE CAN'T BLAME HIM FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO US. A LOT OF PEOPLE DO. THEY ASK WHY DID GOD LET THIS HAPPEN TO THEM BUT IT WASN'T GOD. LOOK AT YOUR...