Christian Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Focus on the Family

    Strengthening families through biblical principles.

    Focus on the Family addresses the use of biblical principles in parenting and marriage to strengthen the family.

  • Guest, Join Papa Zoom today for some uplifting biblical encouragement! --> Daily Verses
  • The Gospel of Jesus Christ

    Heard of "The Gospel"? Want to know more?

    There is salvation in no other, for there is not another name under heaven having been given among men, by which it behooves us to be saved."

Growth Daily Verses

2024 Website Hosting Fees

Total amount
$900.00
Goal
$1,038.00
Scripture Of The Day - Cherishing Limitation

John 19:30 - "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, 'It is finished': and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."


At that, Jesus' disciples, looking to their own limitations and the seeming hopelessness of their situation, scattered. They hid themselves. They weren't thinking about Jesus' promise: They were thinking only about how powerless, helpless, and afraid they felt without Him.

Observation:

IF THE DEVIL CAN GET ME TO CONSIDER WHAT I PERCEIVE AS A LIMITATION OF MY BODY, MY MIND, OR MY FINANCES - HE WILL DEFEAT ME. BUT IF GOD CAN GET ME TO TAKE ONE STEP BEYOND MY OWN LIMITS, HE WILL GIVE ME THE VICTORY. I WILL TAP INTO HIS POWER THAT HAS NO LIMITS, AND I WILL SOAR TO HEIGHTS OF VICTORY AND SUCCESS THAT I NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE.

If we will take a leap into the future, BOLDLY DECREE the things we see from God's perspective, He will establish them for us. The Holy Spirit reveals knowledge that supersedes the rationale of carnal reasoning and possesses an internal power that transforms us from the inside out.

FOCUSED FAITH will cause one to realize the profound possibilities that exist in the invisible realm. Faith gives us access to the invisible realms of the spirit so we can erase the borders of limitation. The world was called into existence through faith. He commanded creative words to reveal the concealed and bring it forth into being.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1123.jpg
    ZZ - 1123.jpg
    67.5 KB · Views: 3
Scripture Of The Day - Believing In The Unseen

Hebrews 11:3 - "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

Observation:


I NEED TO THINK, BELIEVE, AND SPEAK, NOT ACCORDING TO THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN - MY CIRCUMSTANCES - BUT ACCORDING TO THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN - THE WORD OF GOD. AS I AM FAITHFUL TO THINK, BELIEVE AND SPEAK ACCORDING TO THAT WHICH IS NOT SEEN, GOD WILL MAKE THOSE THINGS TANGIBLE IN MY LIFE. HE WILL MAKE THEM "SEEN"!

"And the Lord said to Joshua: 'See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor."' - Joshua 6:2

God was commanding Joshua to SEE THE UNSEEN! Before he would see Jericho defeated with his physical eyes, he had to see Jericho defeated with his spiritual eyes. He had to see into the eternal. It must be tangible in your spirit before it becomes tangible in the natural.

It is seeing into the unseen (eternal) realm where we perceive the will of God. Once we see the will of God and what exists from His perspective, we can cross back over and announce what God wants to perform in the natural, temporal world.

CHANGE YOUR FRAME OF REFERENCE

The key to our spiritual life is learning to walk in the Lord!

"SEE differently! HEAR differently! SEE HIM! HEAR HIM! Change your frame of reference! He is adding new REVELATION CONCERNING HIS PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE to create the MASTERPIECE of your future!"
 
Scripture of The Day - THE TEST OF TRUTH

2 Corinthians 13:5 - "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"

IF OUR CHRISTIANITY DOES NOT WORK IN THIS LIFE WHERE WE CAN TEST IT, IT IS FOOLHARDY TO HOPE IT WILL SUCCESSFULLY TRANSPORT US INTO ETERNITY WHERE, IF WE FAIL THE TEST, WE SUFFER ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD.

THE TEST OF TRUTH IS NOT AN INTELLECTUAL PURSUIT BUT WHETHER YOU ARE DRAWING CLOSER, WEEK BY WEEK, TO KNOWING AND LOVING JESUS CHRIST.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1145.jpg
    ZZ - 1145.jpg
    89.8 KB · Views: 1
Scripture Of The Day - Salvation From Lesser Things

Philippians 3:7-9 - "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake fo Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him."


Observation:
At some point I have to cease being a spiritual encyclopedia (that is collecting more facts, opinions, illustrations, and interpretations, and then presenting them as my faith.
I make a quality decision today to turn myself over to God, submit to His training and breaking so that He can discard all that Hinders me from my calling in Christ…..in God’s eyes… my only hope for salvation from lesser things is Christ….a greater Christ than the one I have been content with until now.

Hebrews 1:2,3 - "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."

SEEKING THE EXPERIENTIAL


It's time we get hungry for a revelation of His glory in our lives. For too long we have disqualified the legitimacy of seeking the experiential with God for fear of being flaky. We are created in and for the realm of shekinah glory.

When we enter into this posture through Christ..."...the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

OUR LIFE WATERED IN HIS GLORY


We are postured to behold the glory of God, the image of the invisible God (see Colossians 1:15). The more we dwell in His glory, the greater the revelation of His nature in our lives. It's through restored intimacy that we discover our truest nature in Him and His purpose for our life.

Christ is the source. Just as in Genesis, where the mist watered the whole earth, so too He desires to continually water our life in His glory, nourishing our entire being, so that when we step into the world, they see His fiery glory on us as we advance His Kingdom in the earth.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1188.jpg
    ZZ - 1188.jpg
    65.5 KB · Views: 1
Scripture Of The Day - Exercising Our Covenant Right In Prayer

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; - Romans 8:17


We need boldness to act on God's Word. We need boldness to act on what the Spirit of God may say to us.

The believer has covenant rights in prayer, as well as other covenant rights. The problem that defeats believers in their prayer life is the feeling of inferiority -- a sense of sin-consciousness. Some Christians begin their prayers with, "I'm so weak and unworthy,” and then harp on their weaknesses and unworthiness throughout the prayer.

"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins." - Isaiah 43:25

We are sons and daughters of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. We are covenant people, and as we are covenant people we have a legal right -- a Body of Christ right -- to go into the Presence of God the Father with the same confidence and assurance that Jesus has. And we can do it boldly!
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1197.jpg
    ZZ - 1197.jpg
    98.7 KB · Views: 1
Scripture Of The Day - The Gates Of Hell

Matthew 16:18 - "On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."


Where precisely are the gates of hell? Where does the devil sit in power?

The mind is the gatekeeper of the Kingdom of God. It is the place of access, transition, and power. It follows that the gates of hell are set up in people's minds. Jesus made this clear:

Matthew 16:23 - But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

He didn't say, "Peter, you devil worshiper!" He didn't say, "You are filled with all kinds of occult practices and deceits." He said, "Your mind is filled with the things of man."

The devil is empowered by human agreement. That mental posture was a gate from which satan was released to bring Peter's destruction.

Humanity without Christ at the center is satanic in nature. When you've been given the Spirit of God, you lose the privilege of claiming, "I'm only human." Paul rebukes the church at Corinth for behaving like mere men (1 Corinthians 3:3).

The gate of hell is in our minds any time we agree with a man-centered perspective or natural wisdom that does not know God. We empower demonic forces and become a gate to release his power to kill, steal, and destroy our lives.

AFFIRMATION:

I am a gateway for heaven's reality to take over every part of my life, and the lives of people who I influence, no matter how big or small the specific situation is.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 705.jpg
    ZZ - 705.jpg
    449.4 KB · Views: 0
Scripture Of The Day - The Ever-Increasing Flow Of His Power and Ability

"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" - Matthew 9:37,38

"But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not." - Jeremiah 20:9b


As the Word becomes like a burning fire in our hearts and bones, our focus is on advancing His Kingdom, and it won't be denied us because we have freely received the Word and freely implemented the powerful Word of the Lord for Kingdom objectives.

With the workings of the Word in us, we become slayers of any giants that stand in the way of advancing God's purpose for our life. Even if there's a wall, we leap right over it, slaying the giants to bring forth the victory.

The Word and power of the Lord flows through us to release us into the equipping of others into the plans and purposes of the Lord, thereby, advancing our calling in Christ, according to the constant and ever-increasing flow of His power and ability.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank You for the harvest! As your Word empowers me into fruit-bearing for your Kingdom, precious Lord, let this time be one of revelation for vision increase for greater harvest for Your glory, precious Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1024.jpg
    ZZ - 1024.jpg
    16.6 KB · Views: 0
Scripture Of The Day - Active Faith

Hebrews 4:12 - “For the Word of God is living and powerful..........”


For one who has faith in the Word of God, there is nothing impossible. There are no impossibilities when there is faith..........and there are no exceptions.......

Our faith in God's word is not just an abiding faith; it is active -- it is aggressive by nature.

It has focus and purpose.

Faith grabs hold of the reality of the kingdom and forcefully and violently brings it into a collision with this natural one.

An inferior kingdom cannot stand.

Matthew 11:12 - “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

Romans 10:17 - “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing, by the Word of God."
 
Scripture Of The Day - The Emerging Church

John 13:13-15 -- "Jesus said, 'You call me 'Teacher and Lord' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I , your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. You also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.'"

John 20:21 -- "Just as the Father has sent me forth so I am sending you."


This is certainly a command of Jesus for the Body of Christ to meet the needs (both temporal and spiritual) of new believers so they may indeed advance in the faith.

The humbling service of DISCIPLING a new believer into:

who he/she is in Christ,

his/her right standing with God, and

walking in the Spirit


is the most valuable Christian service someone can minister to someone who has just had the "born again" experience.

OLD THOUGHT PROCESSES

In order for the church to advance into her destiny there are old thought processes that need to be dismantled:
  1. The idea that higher spiritual advancement and development is reserved for the clergy.
  2. The idea that spiritual training and discipling is the sole responsibility of the pastor and/or elders.
  3. The idea that it takes years in the faith to be able to DISCIPLE other believers.
  4. The idea that the only thing the laity is to be involved in is Church programs and listening to sermons.

Submitting to DISCIPLESHIP training develops a "personal ministry to others consciousness" in the believer as well as promotes unity and brotherly love in the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
 

Attachments

  • V - 610.jpg
    V - 610.jpg
    33.7 KB · Views: 0
Scripture Of The Day - Thy Word Is Truth

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32, NIV)

God's Word is absolute truth, and Jesus came to the earth embodying that truth (John 14:6).

Relativism has infiltrated our world and even the Church. Rather than believing what the Bible says, we have created doctrines and ways of thinking that change based on our experiences.

For example, let's take supernatural healing. If we haven't experienced God's healing, then we might deduce that He doesn't heal anymore, and might even decide that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased to function. However, just because we haven't personally experienced something, doesn't mean that it isn't true.

The Word of God tells us that we need to renew our minds with truth (Romans 12:2). This verse is an indication that we might face disparities between God's Word and our experience. This simply means we need to lean into the truth so our experiences will eventually catch up to the truth of God's Word.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1116.jpg
    ZZ - 1116.jpg
    35.4 KB · Views: 0
Scripture Of The Day - TAKING ACTION ON YOUR VISION


Ephesians 1:3,4 - "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."


Many people who are doing something significant for God in the world are doing it "without their own resources" because God doesn't want us to depend on our own abilities.

Instead, He wants us to be obedient by putting the vision on paper and then looking to Him to generate the funds and other resources that are needed to support His own work.

Your provision, however, is usually hidden until you act on your vision. Whatever you were born to do attracts what you need to do it. Therefore, you first have to establish what you want to do, and begin to do it, before the need can be met.

Most people work in reverse. They want to see the provisions before they start, but faith doesn't work that way. When we take action, then God manifests the provision.
 
Scripture Of The Day - FINDING OUR PLACE OF DEPARTURE

1 Kings 19:9
"Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Elijah had come to Horeb and lodged there in a cave. Soon, the word of the Lord came to him, “what are you

doing here Elijah?”

Three of the most important questions God can ever ask us are:

  1. What are you doing here?
  2. How did your service to Me become so dry and desolate?
  3. When was it that you left your first love?
Isaiah 43:18,19 - “Do not remember the former things: neither consider the things of old. Behold I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

As we find our place of “departure,” There are some things we need to leave behind. As we depart one phase or season, we will also see our place to enter; we develop new strength to run the race ahead. We seek Him like never before; as we leap forward we find ourselves moving in the perfect will of God! We replace our past with joy!

In the land of New Beginnings, we remove the masks and veils that have formed in the past season so we can now move into our “true” Christ identity for the future. We now begin to truly understand our authority in the invisible world. This will allow us to display the wisdom of God to the powers and principalities that have blocked us in past seasons.

We are filled with joy; the Lord renews our strength; the power of barrenness is broken; the light and revelation breaks the power of darkness around us. As joy and laughter arise, our emotions are healed and restored, and we are propelled into a season of deliverance and fruit-bearing Kingdom advancement as we embrace and carry out God's purpose for our life.

Declarations:

I DECREE AND DECLARE THAT TODAY STARTS A SEASON OF NEW BEGINNINGS.

I DECREE AND DECLARE THAT THE COURAGE, THE CAPACITY, THE DRIVE, THE COMMITMENT TO WALK AWAY FROM OLD THINGS AND INTO THE NEW IS RELEASED INTO MY SPIRIT NOW.
 

Attachments

  • V - 34.png
    V - 34.png
    98.6 KB · Views: 0
Scripture Of The Day - Starting And Finishing Our Faith

Hebrews 12:2 - “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."


Notice Jesus is the "Author." What does that mean?

It means your faith originated with Him. And not only is He the Author, but He is also the Finisher too.

"From faith to faith" in Romans 1:17 means we are to begin and finish in faith. We are to start in faith and stand in faith until that which we are believing for arrives. We go from "faith to faith" not faith to feelings. So if you are believing God's word for something, that Word is the Starter and the Finisher!

Mark 4:26,27 - “And Jesus said, 'so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.'"

Faith is a seed. When we are dealing in faith, there is a timing for the manifestation. It takes time sometimes for our faith to pull things into the natural realm. That's why the bible says it's "from faith to faith." We must stay in faith even when we don't see any changes. In our faith, we have to get above seeing or feeling something.

Affirmations:

I OPERATE IN THE KIND OF FAITH THAT RECEIVES VICTORY AND MAINTAINS THAT VICTORY SINCE I HOLD FAST TO MY BELIEVING AND CONFESSING.

WHEN MY FAITH IS CHALLENGED, I FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH. I KEEP AFFIRMING AND MEDITATING ON THE WORD UNTIL THE FIGHT IS FINISHED.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1010.jpg
    ZZ - 1010.jpg
    198.6 KB · Views: 1
Scripture Of The Day - Starting And Finishing Our Faith

Hebrews 12:2 - “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."


Notice Jesus is the "Author." What does that mean?

It means your faith originated with Him. And not only is He the Author, but He is also the Finisher too.

"From faith to faith" in Romans 1:17 means we are to begin and finish in faith. We are to start in faith and stand in faith until that which we are believing for arrives. We go from "faith to faith" not faith to feelings. So if you are believing God's word for something, that Word is the Starter and the Finisher!

Mark 4:26,27 - “And Jesus said, 'so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.'"

Faith is a seed. When we are dealing in faith, there is a timing for the manifestation. It takes time sometimes for our faith to pull things into the natural realm. That's why the bible says it's "from faith to faith." We must stay in faith even when we don't see any changes. In our faith, we have to get above seeing or feeling something.

Affirmations:

I OPERATE IN THE KIND OF FAITH THAT RECEIVES VICTORY AND MAINTAINS THAT VICTORY SINCE I HOLD FAST TO MY BELIEVING AND CONFESSING.

WHEN MY FAITH IS CHALLENGED, I FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH. I KEEP AFFIRMING AND MEDITATING ON THE WORD UNTIL THE FIGHT IS FINISHED.
Thank you for sharing,

Habakkuk 2:4

4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Read full chapter
Love Walter and Debbie
 
Last edited:
Scripture of The Day - TRANSFORMATIONAL POWER ENCOUNTER

Matthew 28:19 - “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations....teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you."


A young man told his pastor "I'll pursue signs and wonders when I know I have more of the character of Christ in me."

As good as that sounds, it comes from a religious mindset, not a heart abandoned to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Is it possible the reason there are so few miracles in North America is that too many before us thought they had to become better Christians before God could use them? Yes!

That single lie has kept us in perpetual immaturity because it protects us from the power encounter that transforms us. The result is we have converts trained and overtrained until they have no life, vision, or ingenuity left.
 

Attachments

  • zz - 1113.jpeg
    zz - 1113.jpeg
    349.2 KB · Views: 0
Scripture of The Day - GOING HIGHER AND GOING LOWER


John 1:51 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."


Jesus is Jacob's ladder which we ascend and descend upon.

It is our calling in Christ to both go higher and go lower. We are called to ascend into the heavenly places and be seated with Him there, and at the same time descend to the earth with the evidence of heaven's reality.

As children of the King, we are members of the greatest aristocracy in the universe, yet we go to the lowest sinners as their servants to help them join the true nobility.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 433.jpg
    ZZ - 433.jpg
    305.9 KB · Views: 0
Scripture of The Day - TEST YOURSELF

Ephesians 2:17-19 - “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."


In 2 Corinthians 13:5 we are exhorted to "Test" yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!"

One of the primary tests of whether we are continuing on the path of life is by the peace in our life. Jesus is the prince of peace, and if we are walking close to Him there will be a peace in our life that exceeds anything that can be known in this world without Him.


THINGS FOR ME TO CONSIDER:

If there is lack of peace in my life, then I have drifted from Him.

What has come into my life that has begun to eclipse my relationship with Him?
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1213.jpg
    ZZ - 1213.jpg
    94.4 KB · Views: 0
Scripture of The Day - SPIRITUAL GROWTH

John 6:55,56,60 -- "'For my flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.' Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, 'this is a hard saying; who can understand it?'"

John 6:63 -- "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life."


OBSERVATION:


If I don't feed myself on stuff that is Holy Spirit food -- if I only feed myself on stuff that I understand then I have stunted my own spiritual growth.

When I only say amen to things that I comprehend then I have just decided to live a very dwarfed spiritual life. What I have done is fashioned a god that looks much like me because he is the one that I can comprehend.

Galatians 5:25 -- "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

John 16:13 -- "However when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guild you into all truth."


The Holy Spirit ministers to your Spirit and in that context they (the Holy Spirit and your spirit) teach your mind what to think. That is how you come into a "renewed mind".
Some believers tend to think that revelation in the mind affects the human spirit, but that is the "carnal Christian life", because that's the soul in charge of the spirit.

The mind is so important that Jesus gave His life to protect our minds and the freedom that we have to think for ourselves. What sin does -- it makes us robots because it restricts all our choices to an evil nature.
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1028.jpg
    ZZ - 1028.jpg
    62.9 KB · Views: 0
Scripture of the Day - SEASONS OF DRYNESS

Psalm 13:1 -- "How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide your face from me?"


Believers want to know God. God's wisdom is to let us 'taste' dryness that we might become desperate enough to seek for living water.

Many misinterpret the dryness and become so discouraged that they stop seeking God altogether and even stop attending church. But God desires that, in our desperation, we step into a NEW AND FRESH dimension of hearing His voice.

True change always comes when we find ourselves sick of where we are. It is after these seasons of dryness that the Holy Spirit catapults us into a fresh dimension of Himself and new understanding of His purpose for our life.

Matthew 5:6 -- "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."

Isaiah 43:18,19 -- "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
 

Attachments

  • ZZ - 1215.jpg
    ZZ - 1215.jpg
    154.9 KB · Views: 0
Back
Top