• “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)
• “Desire the sincere spiritual milk of the word.” (1 Peter 2:2)
• “I am the bread of life. Come to me and you will not hunger.” (John 6:35)
• “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” (Isaiah 55:1-2)

1 Corinthians 6:12 summarizes God’s desire for us even when teaching on gluttony, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them.” We are to concentrate on pursuing the things of God. Food does not have to stand in the way of that pursuit. I really believe that our weight is more of a stumbling factor within our own minds than it is with the Lord.

He said that the mark of the beast would probably be like a small computer chip that would be placed under the skin of the hand or on the forehead. This chip would be the key to all sorts of buying and selling.

To embrace Pastor Chuck’s teaching at the time seemed like an act of faith. Today, we know that it is more like a fact. We already have seen commercials of these computer chips being placed in our pets or even our family members who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. The chips are programmed to assist in finding  your lost pet or loved one. It is a wonderful invention.  This system makes sense as it also brings us a worldly peace of mind.  Although this new capability is not tied up with the antichrist at this present time, we can see the conditioning of adapting such a system or new way of life.  It moves our world to a cashless society as well as the convenience of having your belongings be a part of you. No more identity theft or the hassle of many credit cards and papers.

So what are we to do? Revolt, Rebel, Reject Change??? I don’t think so. My friend who has a down syndrome child is seriously considering purchasing this chip for her child who frequently escapes from the home regardless of the extent of locks and security.  Would any person today advice her against this? Is it wrong? Tell you the truth, I had to pray about it.

The antichrist is not in the public light as we know of yet so the chips are individually purchased through a variety of individual companies. Presently these chips are not a part of a One World Government. The stage is being set obviously.  However, according to God, that is the plan and the way of the future. God’s ways will be accomplished as well as His words fulfilled.

In summary, times are changing rapidly through technology.  We are not to be in fear of the change but to be looking for the return of  Christ and use the technology He has allowed to spread the word as He is our answer. He is our Hope and we do not need to be afraid.

Yes, that’s right. It is starting in 10 minutes. Please email us at info@dailydisciples.org if you would like the link. The topic is “The 7 Deadly Sins” and week 1 today is The Proud Look.

If you miss today, we will have a free link for you to watch at a later time according to your convenience. Just sign up through an email at info@daildisciples.org or call Terri at 800-992-0369. Thanks and hope to see your name online!

When we disown ourselves, we shut down a part of us to just get through the situation. By shutting down, we have now just prevented the Lord to have His way in the situation also as we grieve His spirit.

Denying yourself is different. We deny lustful thoughts, stealing and indulging in the flesh. We choose to be Spirit led and not flesh driven. Ask yourself, “Does this act come from condemnation, guilt or cause resentment in me?” If so, ask the Lord to give you the strength to say no. God does not ask us to please people, He asks us to please the Lord. We need to Own our decisions and choices before the Lord as Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

My friend was talking out loud. There were times of definite grief in her words and then she would try to gain some strength to make plans. I was driving so it was easy to remain quiet as she cycled through these out loud thoughts until she said something that immediately broke my silence.

Her words, “Well, I am 53 and getting older. It’s ok to be a widow. I do not have much longer to live either. I will just be around for my kids until it’s my time to join him.”

I turned my head towards her and said, “You could have another 35 strong years! Age is not a factor in treating cancer or having heart surgery.  My husband did heart surgery on a patient who was 98 years old and the patient did fine. Age is not a factor in determining what you can and cannot do!”

God called Moses into full-time, hard-core ministry at 80 and then He called Joshua at the same age. Who are we to say that we have reached an age to maintain status quo?  Until the Lord returns or we literally go to Him, there is work on this earth to do, discover and explore.

I told my friend, “You need to get into an exercise class, take up a hobby, volunteer at something that fills your heart, become involved with a mission that focuses your prayers. Move, shift gears, be willing to change.”

If we want to admit it or not, there are certain circumstances in life that causes change. We need to embrace the change in honor of the Lord. Keep the faith and push forward.

I think that is why Jesus told us that the death of a spouse frees the remaining spouse. It is much easier to take on the loved-one’s death than to live without the loved-one.

As a former ICU nurse, I have had to deal with life and death issues a lot. Despite our belief system, all of us struggle with sickness, disease, stress disorders, aging bodies and eventually death.  We pray for healing to the day we die because it brings rays of hope. Let’s make every day count instead of counting down every day. Let’s live our lives to the fullest, giving God the glory for the fullest of His faithfulness in giving us one more day. The term “life after death” is true in many aspects.

Then I was thinking about all the marriages where the two do not agree. It is clear that a believer is not to leave the unbeliever if the unbeliever is willing to stay in the marriage (1 Corinthians 7:12-14) so how do you remain separate or unyoked when your spouse does not share your faith? The Answer: It’s a Spirit led thing.

We have all heard sermons that have given a black and white/right and wrong message on this passage. I have seen well intended believers make drastic life changing decisions because of a Sunday Morning message before seeking the individual counsel of the Lord. Sometimes the Sunday sermon does a disservice to the Spirit led nature of the Word of God. When a pastor or teacher is sharing, he/she is giving a message that should have touched their heart first. The message is also given for the group as a whole so it will be more generic in nature. As a result, the listener needs to be able to take away what the Spirit of God is saying individually to them, not necessarily with the bent the teacher preached it.
God does not lead us as a group like in Exodus with the moving cloud. He changed the rules and said that now all will know Him (Jeremiah 31:34). I love the freedom of the Word of God and I love how the Spirit moves us at different times with different verses. If the Lord brings to mind the verse “do not be unequally yoked,” it is the believer’s responsibility to say back to the Lord, “What are You impressing on my heart to change? And Lord, please give me the wisdom to know how to apply this change to my life.”
When this verse first came to mind this morning, my mind started jumping to conclusions of all the possibilities the Lord might want me to change. But when I slowed down and asked the Lord those questions today, I realized it was about a social gathering that I am planning to attend. No big changes, no large convictions, just a warning to be wise in my conversations. “Do not yoke in thought with someone because your ears enjoyed hearing the words.”

God is patient and kind. When He tells us to flee and to not be unequally yoked, He will also give us the wisdom to change, move, leave as we trust Him. He will not lead us too quickly or too emotionally or too rashly. The Lord is on an eternal clock and we are called to align with Him, not Him with us.

Tonilee Adamson

We could say that getting that angry quenches the Spirit and
takes away your peace so it must be bad. But what kind of anger doesn’t do
that? Today, I got so angry that I saw red and started shaking. Anger is one
thing but does the Lord call “seeing red and shaking with anger” sin?

If I think about the many verses that deal with God’s anger,
we could say that He saw red too as the mountain in Exodus burned with fire.
Moses was definitely furious when the people grew impatient and they started
worshiping the golden calf. Personally, if you remain with the Lord and keep
His perspective through the circumstance as you continue to represent Him,
anger is not sin.

If the anger causes you to run off at the mouth, lose self
control and only represent the things you want to say and do, we have crossed
over to being angry and sinning. Yes, this definition is definitely simplistic.  When it comes right down to it, there are a
few things to remember when (not if) anger happens:

1. Ask God to help you maintain self control right
   at the time your anger flares.
2. Remove yourself
   to honestly pray for His perspective on the situation.
3. Go to the Word of God for wisdom.
4. Lose the emotion before you try to communicate
   your point of view.
5. Ask the Lord to help you communicate His heart
   on the matter
6. Pray to not keep records of wrong regardless if
   there is an apology or not.

We are responsible for our behavior, not others. We are
accountable before the Lord on how we handle the situation and then how we
decide to resolve it.

As for me, I need a few days to get appropriate perspective
on this issue. I have to say that it would have been much easier to go from a
business to be called into ministry. Why did the Lord desire for us to do
ministry and then be called into business?

Social Media has changed how we define “friends.” Facebook allows us to be friends with someone we have never met and we now can post something without ever engaging with those we tell. Texting has hindered us from speaking in full sentences and really sharing from the heart. We can have a lot of friends but not really know anybody. We can have a lot of friends and be completely alone.

My son’s RA told me about a college student who was so uncomfortable with engaging in a conversation that she would text her roommate who was sitting in the same room. The irony was that this gal was a Communications major. Wow, that says a lot!

Bobbye and I shared real life illustrations from our own friendship. We met 11 years ago and now we run 4 companies together. Our motto has been “It ain’t easy.” Today, the feedback was wonderful as many of women told us that they could relate and appreciated our honesty and vulnerability. We do not ever get comfortable with being uncomfortable as we share our own inadequacies with a group of strangers.  

God values friendships. There are not many married couples as role models in the New Testament. The leaders were the disciples that went out two by two (ie. Peter and John/Barnabbas and Saul) and the women are together in the faith also. Their commitment to Christ and then to each other are the key components that spread the Gospel.

Jesus now calls us Friends. As we become His friend, we learn how to become friendly towards others. Friendship takes time and effort but Friendship gives a lot more than it takes.

Tonilee Adamson

• At least once a month         53%
• Rarely                                      22%
• Never                                        24%
• Don’t know                              1%

These percentages imply that the majority of the people in the USA are looking for God through the Bible in some way.  Many of us claim that we had a God-moment or a God-inspired thought. God’s spoken word can even be misinterpreted by our own spin or by the spin of another’s interpretation. But when life circumstances challenge those moments, thoughts or other’s comments, we need something more solid. We need something that speaks right to our heart directly. God’s written word is where 53% of us go to seek encouragement, answers and Truth. It is amazing to me that God’s living Word, Jesus, quoted God’s written Word. If Jesus quoted the Bible, how much more do we need to get familiar with the Bible today?

Bobbye and I wrote a book called “Building Divine Intimacy.” The primary objective was to teach other’s how to have a real relationship with the Lord. Some of the chapters deal with prayer, worship, how to apply the Bible to your daily life and learning to discern God’s voice over all the other voices and noises. We have had amazing testimonies like from Karen, “Thank you so much for writing this book. You finally put in words what my heart was seeking to know.”

If you are interested, please click here. We can send it to you in an e-book (or a pdf) for $5.00.

And if you need help, know that you can send in your prayer requests online through www.dailydisciples.org contact page.

Thank you and God bless you!