We all have thoughts. Do we ever think about the thoughts we have? Are our thoughts pleasing to God? When we are thinking about things, are they pure thoughts of good things that may help someone? We need to think about things that can benefit us. We don’t want to think about things that are not good and pleasing to God.

There are days when our mind wonders about things of the past that still upsets us, and those old feelings resurface. What do we do about it? Do we continue to think about it, or do we forget about it? The right thing to do would be to forget about it. We don’t want anything from the past bringing us down, or giving us bad thoughts.

Here in Proverbs 16:3-Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

CONTROLLING OUR THOUGHTS- Many Christians lack strength and victory in their thoughts. They seem to have no control over them. This is so, even though we have received from God not “the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 timothy 1:7). Paul teaches us that God has given Christians weapons that will enable them to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Proverbs 16:3 teaches us how we can have this victory. If we allow God to take care of our works and commit everything to Him, He will also take care of our thoughts.

FAITH AND WORKS: YOUR DEEDS AND ACTIONS:

OUR WALK SHOULD MATCH OUR TALK: MATTHEW 7:21-Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

OUR LIVES SHOULD SHOW THAT GOD IS AT WORK IN OR HEARTS: ROMANS 7:4-Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of*Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto *God.

DON’T TRADE YOUR FAITH FOR WORKS: GALATIANS 3:3-Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

BEING PERFECTED: Galatians 3:3-We are made righteous “in Christ” in a moment of time. This is done while we are still sinful; then the Holy Spirit begins to “perfect” us. Since to be perfect means to be mature or full-grown (Philippians 3:12,15), this comes about by a gradual growth that we can help or hinder. If we do not study the Word and yield to the Holy Spirit, our growth will be slight, if we grow at all.

GOD SAVED US FOR A PURPOSE: EPHESIANS 2:10-For we are his workmanship, *created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

WE MUST LIVE OUT OUR FAITH: JAMES 2:14-17 (2. FAITH NOT FOLLOWED BY FRUITS)-What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man says he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Faith works, and our thoughts play a great part. When we believe in something before we see it, that’s having faith. It is showing God that we are believing Him for it to come to pass. When we trust God and have faith, things always work out. God always comes through. We may have to wait a little while, but it is worth it. It makes the blessing that much greater, and we appreciate God. We get to give Him all of the glory for what He has done. There’s not any room for us to say that we made it happen, or that we did it ourselves.

When we change the way we think, things are possible because we believe even though we haven’t seen them yet. God is faithful. He is not a man that He should lie. What have you been believing in God for? I know for certain that when you believe and trust God, you will start to see things happen for you. Don’t be unbelieving, but believe.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and as always, thank you for joining me on my journey with Food for the Soul.

Saturday, April 1, 2023
The Conquering King

LISTEN  
“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.”

—Zechariah 9:9 

Often when Jesus performed a miracle, He would say something like this: “Don’t tell anyone. My time has not yet come.”

But ultimately His time did come, the time for Him to go and voluntarily die on the cross. And on the day we celebrate as Palm Sunday, Jesus did something that we might call a real attention-getter: He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Now, it may seem odd to us that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we think of as a humble creature. From our perspective, perhaps an Arabian stallion would have been more appropriate.

However, the meaning was not lost on the Romans or the Jews. It was a perfect choice. In Roman culture, a hero returning victoriously from war would ride in on a donkey as the crowd laid out palm branches before him. For the Romans, Jesus effectively was declaring Himself a king.

Also, the Jews knew that when the Messiah came, He would be riding on a donkey. Speaking through the prophet Zechariah, God said, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9 NLT).

This was something very significant, and the people understood it. Add to this the fact that Jesus was a wanted man. There was a price on his head. The leading priests and Pharisees had said that if anyone knew where Jesus was, they should report it immediately.

Jesus was playing His hand, if you will. To the Romans He was declaring Himself as a conqueror. And to the Jews He was declaring Himself as the Messiah. Jesus didn’t enter Jerusalem as a helpless victim. He arrived as a powerful victor, marching bravely into battle.

 
 
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The Marriage Devotional by the Luskos

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Infuse your marriage with renewed joy, tenderness, and strength with 52 devotions written by Levi and Jennie Lusko. Whether your marriage needs to be fine-tuned or completely overhauled, you can discover biblical principles and practical guidance that will bring a vibrancy to your relationship that only Jesus can give. Learn to cultivate your marriage so that it doesn’t just survive, but thrive!

Life is often hard when things happen unexpectedly. We often wonder why they do. When we are doing our best to show God we are thankful, things come up against us unawares. I for one have traveled this road many times. Sometimes what we want is not always good for us, but most of the time we have to find out the hard way. Sometimes, starting over at a place we once were for whatever reason doesn’t work, maybe it is because we have outgrown that place and it is time to move on to something that will be better than before.

When someone brings darkness to a place where there was once light, it puts a strain where there was once joy. Everything changes for the worse instead for the better. When you walk into a place and all you can feel is tension, that’s not the place to be. Darkness and light cannot stay in the same place. Things will always be different and difficult.

We all choose the battles that we want to fight. We make decisions that’s best for us at that given moment. In due time, things will work out if we don’t give up. Often times things will happen because they are supposed to. Everything happens for a reason. We don’t know why, they just do.

I don’t like being in that type of atmosphere, it triggered my anxiety, causes me stress, and activates my depression. I have to avoid being in places like that, and I have to avoid being around people who provoke me to anger because I operate on a short fuse.

I don’t know what makes people feel that they can talk to you with disrespect. They feel that they are superior because you are not in the position they are in. Nevertheless, there’s something better for me. I am better than this. It is time for my real blessings to come. My dreams are about to come true. God knows best. Time for me to go, deuces!✌🏾☮️🕊️