Luke 9:44 Jesus said: ” Let these sayings sink down into your ears…

Are you listening? God has many things to say to you. The words that God speak are what we live by. Man was created by God and designed to live by every word that proceeds out of His mouth. His words are vital to our very existence. Jesus said let these sayings sink down, inferring there can be a shallow form of hearing. We hear but don’t hear, we hear and don’t understand what we hear and the words just become mere casual conversation. We must put a greater value on the words that God speak than any other words spoken to us, regardless at whatever time in our life they were spoken, no matter who else it was that said it. God’s word is spirit and it is life. It is not just something we can casually choose to ignore, without experiencing grave consequences. If God said His word is life to me and health to all my flesh, and that it is the very substance of my life, then for me to not partake of it would mean death and destruction. Oh yes, it’s that important. Jesus said let these words, meaning we can control how deep the Word penetrates our life. We can stop it’s progress when we don’t honor it, esteeming other things and words over it. When we place more importance on what somebody else is saying. Proper spiritual growth and development depends on what takes root in your life. The sayings that sink down deep are the ones we allow to guide and influence our everyday life. Critical decisions that we make daily, decisions that not only effect our lives but the lives of others, are all based on the things that we have allowed to sink down deep in our hearing. Be more selective and protective of the words you allow to go to the deeper parts of your being.

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure (of thought and study) you give (to the truth you hear) will be the measure (of virtue and knowledge) that comes back to you and more (besides) will be given to you who hear. Mark 4:24 (amp)

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If someone would walk up to you and ask you the question, “Do you have the time” what would be your response? Would you look down at your wrist and notice and reply: “Sorry, I don’t do watches” (by the way the Bible says to watch and pray). Or would you just ignore them altogether and keep walking on your merry way?

Time defined:

• an appointed, fixed, or customary moment or hour for something to happen, begin, or end

• an opportune or suitable moment

• a historical period : AGE

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Well it’s about time…”

Well, in all honesty maybe it is. The Bible actually says, “It is high time.” That doesn’t mean we should all run out and get high on drugs. That means this is a crucial moment in history…it is an urgent window of opportunity…it is now time! It means we must act and we must do it now! High time is red alert! It is no more excuses, no more fooling around time. It is “let’s get down to business” time. Do you get the picture, my friend?

Romans 13:11-12

Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah). The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.

We must realize what an awesome moment in the history of God’s church that we live in. We must take full advantage of the opportunity we have to be His witnesses and demonstrate His power and love. It is high time to show the world what a good and mighty God we have. It is time to display the goodness of God in the land of the living.

What time do you have? Is your schedule too full? Is there any time left in your busy day to give God some say in your agenda? Are you making time for His will to be revealed in your life or are you making excuses? What time do you have for miracles? What time do you have for mercy and salvation in the lives of the lost? What time do you have to feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty soul that says, “What time do you have, ma’am? What time do you have, sir? Can I stop you for just a moment and take a few minutes of your time? Please don’t be angry with me I just need to know do you have the time?”

2 Timothy 3:11-12

Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 

Whenever you take steps of obedience toward the plan and purposes God has for your life it won’t be long before persecution arises for the Word sake. Gods will for every born-again believer is that we grow and mature in His ways and accomplish His plan for our lives. However, God knows that when we pursue with the intent to do and follow through with His every instruction, mental, physical and spiritual assaults will come against His people. But, fear not, for Jesus foretold us that in this world we would have tribulation but be of good cheer He has already over come it and deprived it of power to harm us. God knew the things we would have to face in this earth so He saw to it that we would have everything we needed to win. God did not leave us without help as a matter of fact He did not leave us at all, He is with us in the person of the Holy Spirit who is the one that will abide with us forever.

Progress is good but not without challenges. The enemy will always challenge the believer’s authority to see if you will back down or not. He challenged Jesus’ authority in the wilderness during His earthly temptation. He also challenged Jesus during different seasons of His life and ministry, as recorded in the scriptures.

The word precipitate means to make something happen suddenly and quickly. This is our enemies strategy to try to catch us off guard and over take us with the element of surprise. However, he is defeated and we are not ignorant of his devices. We have an advantage over every trap and scheme of the enemy. We are not unarmed but rather fully equipped with the whole armor of God. We can withstand him, not in our own strength and ability but by our Heavenly Father’s grace, which is sufficient for us to win every battle and walk away from every fight victoriously triumphant.

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Don’t be weary in well doing but make progress going full steam ahead. These test and trials are light afflictions and are not worthy of your focus and/or meditation. Rise up and shake the dust from this world off you and be the victorious king and/or priest God has called you to be. Take your place, run your race with all diligence and honor. Every step you take forward in the plan of God is a demonstration of resurrection power and life that glorifies God.

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Ephesians 6:16

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

The shield of faith is both an offensive and defensive weapon given to the Body of Christ by God. This weapon is fail proof. It is unbeatable and unstoppable. The devil’s strategies and attacks are no match for its unquenchable force. The above scripture reveals to us that the shield of faith is the answer to every Satanic assault because it quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked. That’s right, ALL. The Holy Ghost revealed to Paul’s readers that it didn’t matter that the darts were fiery, they were still quenched.

Fiery defined:

• burning or full of fire

It is the same as scorching, blistering, sweltering, sizzling, blazing, flaming and hot.

The word quench means to put out or extinguish a fire or a light. It doesn’t matter how hot the situation or pressure may be, your faith can put it out. Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail because Satan was desiring to sift him as wheat. Jesus knew the only thing that could quench Satan’s fiery darts against Peter was his faith.

The scriptures remind us in Isaiah 54 that “no weapon formed against us shall be able to prosper”. Why? Because faith stops its progress and nullifies its attack. Take courage child of God and know that there is no weapon of darkness that can defeat or paralyze our faith; it is impenetrable. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. So keep your shield of faith up by staying full of the word of God. Wear it faithfully! It will never rust or corrupt, you can never outgrow it, and it will always fit like a glove!

So go ahead and be courageous in your armor of God it is tried and true, it will always protect you.

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When I was a child we would sing a nursery rhyme that went like this;

Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping, 

Brother John? Brother John?

Morning bells are ringing, Morning bells are ringing.

Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

It is a French children’s song called Frère Jacques. Some of you may remember its tune, okay……….. I’m sorry, now it will be stuck in your memory and you’ll be humming it all day.

Well, in this nursery rhyme the question is posed, “Are you sleeping? With the intent of making it known it was morning and time to wake up. Natural sleep is necessary if we want to keep our bodies and souls refreshed and healthy, but spiritual sleeping is a no, no. Natural sleep helps the body to rest and recuperate from a hard day’s work of efficiently keeping all its systems functioning properly while you eat, work and play all day. It is good wisdom to give your body proper rest and not to run it down and abuse it. On the other hand a person can sleep too much; becoming lazy and slothful, thus jeopardizing their destiny and future, of course this kind of lifestyle is unacceptable and detrimental for any Christian life. “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger (Proverbs 19:15).

Sleep defined:

A state of partial or full unconsciousness in people and animals, during which voluntary functions are suspended and the body rests and restores itself, or a period spent in this state.

When someone is sleeping they are somewhat vulnerable because they become unaware of their surroundings and totally oblivious to any threat of danger that maybe lurking about.

In the book of Thessalonians the writer warned Christians about spiritual sleeping.

For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness. Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect). For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corslet) of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ’s appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life (1Thessalonians 5:5-10 (AMP).

It is imperative that we remain spiritually alert and watchful in the day and hour that we live. We must maintain spiritual insight and be keen in our discernment so that we will not fall prey to our enemy’s devices and strategies to try to defeat us. We must guard ourselves against the temptation to take a spiritual nap or drift away into daydreaming when we should be wide awake and focused. In a natural war, nodding off when you are on guard duty can get your head cut right off. Your lack of perception and insight can cost you and others their lives.

Spiritual drowsiness is a sign of weakness. It is a breech in commitment and responsibility and must be dealt with if the soldier is to remain in active combat. In the natural when people over indulge in carbohydrates they become very sluggish and sleepy rendering them virtually physically useless. In like manner with your spirit, if you are taking in loads of cares and worries you become weighed down, spiritually sluggish and sleepy, which renders you useless in a battle. So get detoxified of all those spiritual carbs and get active and be sober so that you can be useful to the Master. Stay spiritually alert!

Are YOU sleeping, Are YOU sleeping, Brother/Sister _______________?

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

When I was a child we would sing a nursery rhyme that went like this;

Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping, 

Brother John? Brother John?

Morning bells are ringing, Morning bells are ringing.

Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

It is a French children’s song called Frère Jacques. Some of you may remember its tune, okay……….. I’m sorry, now it will be stuck in your memory and you’ll be humming it all day.

Well, in this nursery rhyme the question is posed, “Are you sleeping? With the intent of making it known it was morning and time to wake up. Natural sleep is necessary if we want to keep our bodies and souls refreshed and healthy, but spiritual sleeping is a no, no. Natural sleep helps the body to rest and recuperate from a hard day’s work of efficiently keeping all its systems functioning properly while you eat, work and play all day. It is good wisdom to give your body proper rest and not to run it down and abuse it. On the other hand a person can sleep too much; becoming lazy and slothful, thus jeopardizing their destiny and future, of course this kind of lifestyle is unacceptable and detrimental for any Christian life. “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger (Proverbs 19:15).

Sleep defined:

A state of partial or full unconsciousness in people and animals, during which voluntary functions are suspended and the body rests and restores itself, or a period spent in this state.

When someone is sleeping they are somewhat vulnerable because they become unaware of their surroundings and totally oblivious to any threat of danger that maybe lurking about.

In the book of Thessalonians the writer warned Christians about spiritual sleeping.

For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness. Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect). For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corslet) of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ’s appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life (1Thessalonians 5:5-10 (AMP).

It is imperative that we remain spiritually alert and watchful in the day and hour that we live. We must maintain spiritual insight and be keen in our discernment so that we will not fall prey to our enemy’s devices and strategies to try to defeat us. We must guard ourselves against the temptation to take a spiritual nap or drift away into daydreaming when we should be wide awake and focused. In a natural war, nodding off when you are on guard duty can get your head cut right off. Your lack of perception and insight can cost you and others their lives.

Spiritual drowsiness is a sign of weakness. It is a breech in commitment and responsibility and must be dealt with if the soldier is to remain in active combat. In the natural when people over indulge in carbohydrates they become very sluggish and sleepy rendering them virtually physically useless. In like manner with your spirit, if you are taking in loads of cares and worries you become weighed down, spiritually sluggish and sleepy, which renders you useless in a battle. So get detoxified of all those spiritual carbs and get active and be sober so that you can be useful to the Master. Stay spiritually alert!

Are YOU sleeping, Are YOU sleeping, Brother/Sister _______________?

Visit our website www.harrisministriesint.com, www.detoxifyingthesoul.com www.nurturingnuggets.net, www.themarriagemanual.net, www.beyondyourweight.com, and www.fellasofgod.com

Enjoy this Message translation interpretation of Psalms 119, I think he says it much better than I ever could.

Psalms 119:9-16 (Message)

How can a young person live a clean life? 

By carefully reading the map of your Word. 

I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; 

don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. 

I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart 

so I won’t sin myself bankrupt. 

Be blessed, God; 

train me in your ways of wise living. 

I’ll transfer to my lips 

all the counsel that comes from your mouth; 

I delight far more in what you tell me about living 

than in gathering a pile of riches. 

I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, 

I attentively watch how you’ve done it. 

I relish everything you’ve told me of life, 

I won’t forget a word of it. 

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James 1:19

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

The Word of God is our answer in every situation of life. God’s word provides the instruction we need on a daily bases to live and maintain a life of true victory. Proverbs 4:13 tells us, “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. God is a speaking spirit and He never fails to speak to us a word in due season. He will always provide us with daily bread but we must be those who will come to the table, take a seat, put up your feet and begin to eat.

This scripture in James says we must be quick to hear. Now, he was not saying be quick to hear any and everything that is being said by just anybody. We must be selective with what we hear and flee from things like gossiping lips and slanderous tongues, these things defile precious souls and shipwreck destinies. When we prioritize hearing from God, His word will keep us clean and strong, help us to live long and guard us against pollutants. Be quick to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the church of God and also what He is saying to you as an individual. The Holy Spirit is here in the earth to guide us in all truth, to help us.

James says be slow to speak, this takes spiritual discipline. Discipline is a fruit of the Spirit which flows out of love. Spiritual discipline helps us to maintain control and order our soul and body. We are to control our own mouths and words, God will not do that for us. We have to honor the Word of God and obey its commands, it is for our benefit.

James says be slow to wrath or anger. Being a hot-head is not cute but rather an ugly display of an un-crucified flesh. There is nothing commendable about uncontrolled anger. Many times people pat themselves on the back after going off in a childish rage, feeling as if they had a right to act in such an ungodly manner because they were mistreated. Even in the event a Christian is mistreated or wronged that does not give us the ok to step outside the Word of God and take things into our own hands. When we can control our actions and respond in a way that honors God and His Word we are growing up.

Let us practice this awesome life changing word given to us by God through His written Word. It will bring strength and stability to our spirit, soul and body helping us to fulfill our God given destiny with joy.

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1Corinthians 4:5 (AMP)

So do not make any hasty or premature judgments before the time when the Lord comes [again], for He will both bring to light the secret things that are [now hidden] in darkness and disclose and expose the [secret] aims (motives and purposes) of hearts. Then every man will receive his [due] commendation from God.

Have you ever prematurely judged someone or hastily made an assumption in a situation? Of course you have, we all have at some point in time in our lives.

Judge defined:

• To measure by guesswork, using the eye or some other sense as a rough guide.

The bible tells us that it is unwise to make premature judgments in situations that you don’t have all the facts or truth. There are things that are not obvious to the natural senses or known to human understanding. Many times people judge according to their past experiences with similar situations or people. They allow their past to be the standard for their present and future. We size up people and situations even before hearing the complete truth. We assume that our feelings and human reasoning will not fail us in our judging. However, our feelings and limited human understanding are incapable of judging hidden things. Without God’s help we are unable to know secret things, God is the revealer of secrets. Without God’s help we don’t even know our own hearts. Only God knows the true intent of a man’s heart and mind. Only God knows if a person’s motives are pure and sincere.

This is not to say that God will allow people to plot evil against you, with the intent to harm you and He will not warn and protect you in that situation. God will always provide protection and deliverance for His family from the plots and strategies of the enemy.

We must be those who trust God with all our heart and not depend on our own natural understanding but in all our day to day living acknowledge and depend on Him to instruct and guide us.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.

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Revelations 21:21-27

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

God has prepared for us a new heaven and a new earth. It will be a wonderful place to spend eternity with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we can become so earthly focused that we forget to take time to just sit and meditate on the things God has prepared for those who love Him. Yes, God has supplied us with every spiritual and earthly blessing here on the earth, but that’s only a mere fraction of the whole in which God has in store for us. I know that we must stay focused on the assignment and mission that God has called us to here on the earth. However, there is a part of me that just can’t wait to go home and be with the Lord. Heaven is a wonderful place. A place where there is no evil and no darkness at all. Heaven is a place where sorrow is forever washed from our memories. Heaven is a joyful place with no tears or envious peers. Heaven is a place where every race shall dwell together in the glory and love of God. Heaven is a place where there is no night only the splendor of day. Heaven is a place of eternal reward for those who love God and endure to the end in Him. Heaven is a place worth waiting for.

It is not morbid to think about heaven because heaven is my home.

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