Romans 8:37, " Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

     If God's word had told us that we were conquerors it would have been enough.  But it didn't stop there.  He went on to say that we are MORE than conquerors through Him.  So, how does that apply to us today?  Well, instead of saying, "I'm defeated," rise up and say what the bible says about you.  Say, "I'm more then a conqueror through Christ Jesus.  The very God that lives in me makes me more then enough in every situation."    David was more then a conqueror.  He was faced with a giant in his life and he decided that with God on his side no one could defeat him.  So he went into battle and defeated his foe.  When it seemed like David was surely out matched, he trusted in God.  When there was no armor to fit him, he still trusted in God.  He knew that with the living God on His side he could not fail.  But, he didn't just conquer his foe.  He didn't just kill Goliath.  He didn't just conquer his enemy.  He did much more.  He walked up to the dead warrior and did much more.  He picked up his enemies own sword and cut his head off.  He didn't just conquer him, he did more.  He was more then a conqueror.  If David could treat his enemies in such a way because God was with him, how much more should we do because God is in us!!  In Christ we are not just victorious.  We are much more.  We should not be afraid of any circumstances in life.  We should not be afraid of any disease.  We should not be afraid of any conditions.  We should face life fearlessly, more then a conqueror in Christ Jesus!!!         God's Blessings,  Rusty

2 Corinthians 2:14, " But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place."

     God always leads us in triumph when we're in Christ Jesus.  One of the things that we always seem to remember in the Old Covenant is the fact that various Gentile nations destroyed Israel.  They destroyed the cities and killed a multitude of people.  God allowed this to happen because of the rebellion of His people and their insubordination against Him.  What we seem to forget so many times is that God always brought His remnant people out.  There was always, and always will be, a remnant.  Have you ever wondered what happened to the people who were faithful to God?  This was, and is the remnant.  In other words, we don't have to fear anything in this world.  If we remain faithful to God, He has , and always will bring us through.  There may be terrible things happening around us and there might be tragedy in front of us.  The whole world might seem to be falling apart but if we will trust in God and not on our own understanding we will not be afraid.  We will not fear anything that man or this world can bring against us because God will always, and forever, lead us to safety.  He will always, and forever lead us to triumph in Christ Jesus.  He is our rock and high tower, therefore we shall not fear.  Our enemies shall come against us one way and then flee from us seven ways.  Christ has already paid the price and triumphed over darkness and therefore we don't have to worry.  "If God be for us who can stand against us!"  Don't worry about everything that's going on around you.  God is bigger then your circumstances and He will bring you through. That's His promise!  Stand on it today and receive His peace.  He's a good God!!  Amen!   God Bless,  Rusty

1 John 4:4, " Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you , than He that is in the world."

     Not only are we born of God, and partakers of God's divine love, but we have dwelling in us the very same Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead.  And if that same Spirit dwells in us, He that raised Jesus from the dead will quicken our mortal bodies.  Even though we may be facing problems in our life that seem impossible, we have strength and hope.  Even though the mountain in our lives seem unmovable, we still have faith to move them.  Instead of talking about our problems and all the mountains we face, we press in to God and realize that the very one who created the mountains lives in us.  The creator of all life dwells inside of us.  How awesome is that!  Think about it, no matter what weapon the world throws against us, we have a bigger weapon inside.  He created the very forces that try to come against us and He has the power to take them out whenever He chooses.  We must not think that Jesus and Satan are somehow in some type of battle where they're both punching it out.  That's the fartherest thing from the truth that there could be.  Jesus isn't on the same level with our enemy.  Jesus is like a huge giant and Satan is like a tiny, tiny, bug.  The truth is that at calvary, Jesus squashed him with His foot.  The enemy has been squashed and  the very one who squashed him lives inside of us.  So stop talking about everything that the enemy has done to you and start talking about the greater one inside of you.  He will always bring the victory in your life because He is omnipotent.  There is nothing in this world that can match the Spirit's power so, instead of concentrating on your problems today, concentrate on the solution.  He is the solution.  He is the answer.  No matter what it is, He is greater and if you press into Him you will in fact be an over comer.  So say it with me today, "I HAVE OVERCOME THIS SITUATION.  NOT BECAUSE OF WHO I AM BUT BECAUSE THE GREATER ONE LIVES IN ME!!!!!!"                  God Bless,  Rusty

Ephesians 1:3, " Blessed by God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus." 

     Sometimes we wonder when we're going to be blessed like other people.  We all know some that just seem to be walking in the blessings of God all the time.  We may not ask it out loud, but we think things like, "when is my ship going to come in?"  It's common trait of all of us in this world to want to be successful and have good things.  So, we can't wait until the day that we are blessed.  We continue to serve God, waiting and believing that soon or a later we will walk in the blessings of God.  The problem is that we're missing it.  The bible doesn't say that He will bless us one day based on our works.  We are saved by grace through faith.  We're not saved, and we don't receive anything by works, so no man can boast.  The bible says that He has blessed us!  He already has blessed us!  Not one day.  Not after you do something to deserve it, but immediately when you receive Christ you are given EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING.  Why don't some people walk in the blessings of God?  Mostly because they don't understand, or maybe they've been taught wrong.  Maybe they just don't have the faith to receive the blessings into their life.  You see, my brothers and sisters, we already have been given everything we'll ever need to fulfill anything He ever tells us, or has for us to do.  Everything that you need to walk victorious in this life was placed inside of you the moment you received Christ Jesus.  IN CHRIST, you receive the blessings. IN CHRIST you have already received them because they come with the Lordship of Christ over your life.  Stop waiting to receive, realize that you already have, speak your faith over what you need to fulfill God's plan in your life and then receive the blessings.  They're yours, sitting in a warehouse in heaven just waiting for you to use them.  So why don't you start proclaiming the blessings of God over your situation and then, most importantly, expect to receive them.  God will never let your faith down.  Try Him today.  You just might like and appreciate Him more then ever before.  So, what are you waiting for?  Be blessed today!!  They're your blessings.  Receive them in Christ!  God Bless,  Rusty 

2 Corinth 5:21, "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God IN HIM."

     Here is another one of those scriptures that tell us what we have in Christ.  In Christ we are made the righteousness of God.  Our standing with God is secure.  The good news and perhaps the best news of all is that we had nothing to do with it.  All we have to do is except Jesus as our Savior.  At that moment there is a great exchange that takes place.  You see, Jesus lived a perfect life.  He was totally obedient to the Father's will all through His life.  Because of this He was in right standing with God.  He could stand in God's presence and not have to worry because there was no sin in Him.  There was no condemnation on Him.  "What's that have to do with us, that was Jesus."  When Jesus was crucified on the cross, the exchange was made.  Jesus took all of our sin and exchanged it for His right standing with His Father.  In other words we now walk on this earth with His righteousness in us.  In Christ, we are the righteousness of God, or, we can stand in the presence of God as though we never did anything wrong.  All God sees is His Son's righteousness when He looks at us.  We are perfect in God's sight because of Christ who is in us.  it has nothing to do with us.  We no longer have to approach God with an inferiority complex.  We can approach Him with boldness.  That's good news for me, I don't know about you.  I'm so glad I don't have to continually try to live by some standard that I have no ability to succeed at.  Praise God that I have standing with the Father simply because I'm in Christ Jesus.  Hallelujah!!! It makes you want to run around the room and shout!!  Excuse me a minute while I do................ Okay, I feel better now.  Why don't you do the same.  In fact, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord!!!      I better go.  See you tomorrow!   Hallelujah!!!!!     God Bless,  Rusty

2 Corinth 5:17, " Therefore if any man is IN CHRIST, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

     Who are you in Christ.  Most of us do not understand who we are when we are born again.  One of the things we are after being born again, or in Christ, is a new creature.  We're not renovated like an old car, we are brand new.  We are something that never existed before.  We are, as some versions say, a new species.  The question then becomes, "Why don't we act new?"  The reason is that we don't become entirely new, just our inner man is made new.  Our mind, will and emotions, as well as our flesh are not made new.  The inner man, who is the real you, is the only thing that is new.  The process of trying to bring the flesh in line with God's word, through the mind, is a life long process.  2 Corinth 4:16 describes this process, "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is renewed day by day."  Understanding this, we must stop trying to make people change immediately to become a "Better Christian."  People are not going to change over night.  Some of our addictions have taken years to develop.  To think that we're going to receive Jesus and all of a sudden everything is going to change is not reasonable.  You are not going to change immediately.  It takes work.  Prayer, study of the word, and building a relationship with Jesus are some of the ways that we start to transform our minds to think differently.  The thing to remember, which is the most important, is that if you are in Christ, if the greater one lives in you, then the power to change is resident in you.  All you have to do is want to change.  You have to lay down the habits in front of God and let Him have them.  After you do this the process of sanctification starts in your body.  You start to change, faith by faith and victory by victory.  This process will start when you really want it to start.  So what's wrong with today?  Why don't we move forward in the Lord today?  There will never be a better time.  Amen!                     God Bless,  Rusty

2 Peter 1:4, " Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature."

     God said that we are partakers of the divine nature, Hallelujah!  What kind of nature is divine and of God; righteousness.  "We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus." The very nature of God dominates our spirit when we are born again.  The problem with us is that it didn't say it dominated my body.  People think that when you receive Jesus that your mind and body get saved but they don't.  It's a lifelong process bringing us to salvation.  After we're born again we want to do some of the same things we did before we got born again and immediately the devil comes in and attacks us with, "If you were saved, you wouldn't want to do that.  You must not have received anything.  You must not have really been saved!"  Well, the good news is that your head didn't get saved.  Your body didn't get saved.  Your spirit was born again.  You were created as the righteousness of God on the inside, through Christ Jesus.  Now, He must permeate outward, through the mind will and emotions, and on to your body.  The spirit man must bring the body into subjection to the Spirit.  This is the true process of sanctification.  It's also what I call revival.  This process is the only true revival.  Reviving our souls and bodies to bring them in line with the Holy Spirit, or the divine nature of God.  When we're born again, the body still dominates the spirit man.  But the end result, and the process by which we walk with Jesus and get to know Him, will bring our body in line with the Spirit.  This is the way we were created.  Spirit beings whose body was completely controlled by the spirit.  The spirit was huge but our flesh was very small.  After the fall our flesh became large and the spirit became small.  As we partake of the divine nature this turns around and we again become the spirit man we were made to be.  This is the process by which all Christians must participate in.  One day the process will end and we will receive new, glorified bodies.  But until then we must partake of Him every day and walk through the sanctification process.  Are you ready to move forward?  It's a great day to get started!      God Bless,  Rusty

Acts 17:28, "In Him we live, and move, and have our being"

     In Him we have everything that is available to us.  Who we are and who we would ever be inspired to be is in Him.  In His power and His strength.  Through His defeat of the enemy.  We really need to find out who we are in Him.  We need to find out what God's word says about us and then start confessing who the bible says we are.  It doesn't matter if we currently feel like or who the bible says we are or not.  What matters is that we start claiming who we are and speaking it over ourselves and all our loved ones.  Read through the New Testament and underline all the expressions that say things like, "In Christ", "In Him", In or through whom."  There are approximately 140 expressions.  After you've underlined them, write them down and start confessing them and meditating on them. Why should I do that?  Because everything the bible says that we are is who we legally are.  The only reason that we don't walk in most of the blessings of God is because we don't claim our inheritance.  We don't take the word of God and trust what it says.  We have a tendency to look at the physical world and not at spiritual reality.  For instance, "Philippians 4:13 says that, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  How many times in our life do we, or someone around us, talk ourselves out of doing what we know God wants us to because, "we can't!"  Of course we can't.  It's not our strength we are to do it in.  We do it in His strength because He is in us.  We do all things through Him!!   So when we are faced with problems in our life and we're ready to give up, we can press on because of who we are in Him, not because of our physical strength.  I encourage you to start today and if you have to, take one scripture at a time and stay with it until it completely changes your life and you walk in the realities of the word of God for your life.  Today can be the first day of the rest of your life.  Get ready for the adventure!! Let's go!!   God Bless,  Rusty

Matthew 3:11, " As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire."

     The Father gives us the gift of Salvation.  The Son gives us the Holy Spirit and fire.  The scripture actually says that He baptizes, or immerses us in the fire, kind of like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.  They were thrown into the fire and fully immersed into it.  That's the picture of what Jesus does for us, except in this case, the fire is lit inside of us and grows up around us.  It continues to burn until we are completely enveloped into it.  This is a picture of the glory of God that people see in us.  The bible said that the children of Israel were led by a fire by night and a cloud by day.  The glory, or fire, inside of us is used to help people see in this dark world.  Jesus said that we were the light of this world.  So, this is another reason why we must not quench the Holy Spirit.  If we quench Him, or extinguish the fire within us, then we become lost in this dark world.  Not only do we become lost but the ones who are searching for the light of this world can't find Him.  The ones who are lost and searching can't find home.  It's like a ship at sea in the thick darkness looking for the channel to get home.  Without the lighthouse it's almost impossible to find safe harbor.  We must be full of His fire and take it to the world so the whole world can find shelter.  Don't quench Him today but throw another log on the fire.  Keep the fires burning even in the midst of tragedy so that people can find Jesus.  There is someone close to you that needs the light.  Let us all be God's glory today in this dark world. Amen!!      God Bless,  Rusty

Genesis 37:20, "Then let us see what will become of his dreams! "

     Joseph was a dreamer. He was Jacob's favorite son because he was the son of his old age.  When he was 17 years old, God gave him some very special dreams.  That was just about the time I started to realize the calling God had on my life.  I believe that a lot of you can remember back to a time when God spoke to you.  It was probably about the same time of life.  You see, I believe that God gives us all very special dreams.  I believe that God has a plan and destiny for each one of our lives and that He reveals that plan to us.  Some of us understand it and some just have it inside but can't really put our finger on it.  It's just something that eats away at us until we truly pursue it.  Whatever the case, the world will try to crush our dreams as soon as we understand them and share them.  It could be the people in school or in our family.  It could be our friends or even our family members.  Sometimes it could even be our church family.  But when we tell people our dreams the world around us will immediately try to find a pit to throw us in.  They will try to squash your dreams, and in a lot of cases they succeed.  You can hear them taunting you as you come in the distance, "Let's see what will become of their dreams now!"  The good news is that no matter how big the pit is or no matter what they do to us, we still have the ability to pursue God's dream for our life.  It all comes down to us.  How we respond to the pits of life.  We can either chose to stay in them and complain and cry out, "Oh, Woe is me," or we can find the way out.  God will always give us a way out if we will just focus on Him and trust Him.  After all, it's His plan and purpose for your life.  He has the power to get you out of the pit and place you on the right path.  Then He has the power to keep you on the path.  All you have to do is trust Him and never lose the dream.  Let me shout that again to the top of the mountains, "NEVER LOSE THE DREAM!!!"  Don't let the world dictate what it is that defines your life.  Give it to God and walk in the plans He has for you and you cannot fail.  The world has pits but God has palaces.  It's your choice to make today.   Are you doing what God called you to do?  Are you living in the pits of life?  Get up, let God clean you up and then start dreaming again.  The palace is yours.  All you have to do is believe it and trust God.  It's your choice!         God's Blessings,  rusty  

John 3:30, " He must increase, but I must decrease."

     John the Baptist's disciples came to him and ask him why all the people were going to Jesus to be baptized instead of to John.  If this were to happen today they would probably add the words, "After all you're the one who built the ministry."  But John knew the real key to success.  He knew what most of us never find out in a whole lifetime.  Jesus put it in perspective during His ministry, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first."  It's something we call humility.  Something the world doesn't have or understand.  We are taught from the time we are young to succeed.  Success in this world is how big you can become or how big a business you can build.  Success in the church world is how big a ministry you can have, or how big a church you can build.  The thing we do more then anything else is to compare people to other people and the one who has succeeded in the world's standards has success.  The one who has never done anything in this world is considered a failure.  The truth of humility came when Jesus went to the mount of transfiguration.  "His face shone like the sun and His garments became as white as light."  He was no longer the one being seen, but the glory of the Father.  That's the whole point of humility and the whole process.  The only way to let God be truly seen by this world is to not let them see us.  If they are looking at us then we have failed.  Jesus said, "if I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me."  The smaller we become, the bigger God gets.  The less we are seen, the more Jesus is seen.  It's strictly opposite of the world.  In the world the more I'm seen the bigger I get.  The more publicity I receive the more important I become.  So we all have choices to make.  Will we live our lives according to the world or according to the word?  Will we increase or decrease?  Our answer to that question determines what Jesus will be able to do in the world around us.  Will He increase or decrease?  It's all up to us.  Do we want to see the glory of God or the glory of man?  It's a question that we should all ponder!  Amen!     God's Blessings,  Rusty

1 Samuel 17:47, " and all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."

     Last night at church we were praying for our nation and the upcoming elections.  We talked about the anniversary of the Twin Towers, which is today, and what the ramifications of this election will be for our nation.  Our nation is in such a mess.  The truth of the matter is that who ever your favorite candidate is, they won't make a difference.  Whoever wins the election, whether it's your candidate or not, they won't make a difference.  The only thing that can make a difference rests in the hands of the body of Christ here.  You see, elected officials are just people.  They can't do anything by themselves.  They always talk a good game and most of them have good intentions.  Most of them try to do what they say they will.  The sad truth is that it's no longer about this country, it's about politics and power.  No matter what is said or done, no matter what candidate or what party you back, there's only one person that can really change anything.  That's God Himself.  Our battle is not against flesh and blood, it's against spiritual forces.  It's not against the Republicans or the Democrats, it's against the kingdom of darkness.  Our country will either go forward into God's blessings or we won't.  The truth is that the next president won't have anything to do with it, the same as the presidents of the past haven't had any real power.  The real power to change a nation and a world lies with the Body of Christ.  That's right!!  No matter who is in the oval office, if God's people would truly pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, God would show Him self out, like He always has.  He wants to bless our nation.  He wants our nation to trust in Him because it's His battle and He is the only one that can win it.  But He needs our cooperation.  So the answer then becomes very simple.  When praying who to vote for do your best to hear from God.  But no matter who you vote for when behind the veil, remember, the only real candidate has to be God if we are to survive as a people and nation.  The only true party is the Kingdom of God.  If the body of Christ was serious enough to cast her vote for the bridegroom and give their whole heart to Him, our nation would raise back up again, no matter who's in office.  So, who are you going to vote for?  Someone with power or someone with POWER.  Your choice will certainly change the course of our nation.  God's  Blessings,  Rusty

Mark 6:31, " Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while."

     Jesus knew the physical limitations of our frail human bodies.  That's the reason He created the Sabbath.  "God rested on the seventh day from all His works."  Was God tired?  Does an omnipotent God become tired?  The answer is obviously, no!  Then why did He rest?  Because He knew that man had to rest from his works.  Hebrews 4:2+3, " For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.  For we who believe enter that rest."  The rest God is talking about is hearing His word and trusting in it, or having faith in it.  This brings rest and an end to our works.  Let me ask you a question.  How many times do we not rest on the Sabbath because we think something needs to get done.  After all, we've been busy all week and if we don't do it today it probably won't get done.  So we drive our physical bodies to the point of exhaustion trying to do our own works.  If we had the faith to just trust in God then we wouldn't have to do things, but we could rest our spirit, soul, and body.  My wife and I look forward to Sunday's more then any other day.  You might think it's because of church, but it's not.  Actually Sunday's are my biggest day's of the week.  I work harder on Sunday's then any other day.  But, I know that between the morning and evening services, you will find me in bed, sleeping probably better then I do all week long.  That few hours of rest is so special to me and my whole family.  It's also very beneficial to my body.  I'm not saying that you have to sleep.  All I'm saying is it should be a time to just trust in God and do something that totally relaxes you, no matter what it is.  Do something that gives you rest and peace and just trust in God for the time to fulfill all those other things that you think are so important throughout the week.  Just get away to a place where you can rest.  That's what the Sabbath was created for.  The Sabbath was created for us, not us for the Sabbath.  It wasn't created so we should obey a bunch of, "Thou shall not, " rules.  Take a break and let God give you some peace and rest.  Enter into His Sabbath rest.  Just relax and enjoy the day.  That's what God designed for you and me.  He's such a good God, isn't He!   God Bless,  Rusty

Matthew 12:13+14, " Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand!'  And he stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.  But the Pharisees went out, and counseled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him."

     One day, some years ago I was at the video store looking to buy some videos that we could watch that night.  I saw one of my daughters teachers and when he saw me it was like I had the plague.  He did everything he could to avoid me. You see, the Christian school our daughters were in didn't believe in going to see movies.  But here was this man renting videos to watch.  I personally never got the no movies thing, but here he was, preaching no movies and then buying them in a video store.  I wasn't going to say anything to him because it was obvious to me that he was really embarrassed about me seeing him.  So I just took my time in the back and waited for him to check out.  I never mentioned it to him but the incident stuck in my head.  We probably all know the feeling.  Afraid to do certain things because of what people might think.  There are so many churches that have their own man made rules that we walk around in public always looking over our shoulder to see if there are any spiritual police looking at us, ready to bust us for breaking the rules.  Jesus was not afraid to break man's rules when He know it was the morally right thing to do.  Jesus didn't walk in rebellion against rules but when He knew that the Father would have Him help someone, all of man's rules were not important and Jesus was not afraid of the fight.  You see, when you break man's rules they are ready to break fellowship with you and walk away from you.  In Jesus case they started plotting on how to kill Him.  I'm not saying that we should transgress God's rules, "May it never be!"  What I am saying is that there are times and situations in life that we run into where we must not be passive.  There are times when we must fight, not for ourselves, but for the Lord.  We cannot bow to the spiritual police around us.  We must do what's morally right.  That's what Jesus would do.  Just remember, when these times come, and we find the courage to stand for God, He will take care of us.  He'll see us through, even when they start plotting to kill us!!  Amen!!     God Bless,  Rusty   

Matthew 4:23, " And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people."

     Most people, when they think about Jesus' ministry, they think about the signs and wonders He performed.  The tendency to concentrate on the supernatural is normal.  That's why people will always flock to a ministry, or a church where these things happen.  What we fail to realize is that nothing ever occurred in Jesus' ministry, or any other ministry just because they happened.  There was a cause and effect in His ministry, the same as any other ministry.  Very simply, the word is taught first.  In Paul's travels, the first thing He would do when getting to a town is find a synagogue and teach the word.  It's one of the common themes throughout the bible.  Teach the word first.  Why?  Well the word is what does the work.  "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which are visible."  "Faith itself comes from hearing and hearing by the word."  Jesus always gave credit to the person's miracle by their faith.  "By your faith it is done unto you."  So, we start to understand that the word of God is living and active.  It comes alive inside of us and helps to bring those things, which we originally thought were impossible, into being.  The word is the answer to all situations.  Jesus couldn't have performed the miracles on His own, any more then we can.  He always taught them about the Kingdom of Heaven and opened their eyes to the scriptures.  The rest just happened as the faith of the people grew.  I believe that the study of the word is the most important thing that we can do.  Prayer, worship, relationship with Him, service or anything else we do is based on the word.  It's like He told Joshua, " This book of law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, for then you shall make your way prosperous and then you shall have success."   Let's get into the word for ourselves.  That's the only way for our lives to be changed.  That's the key.  The word always has to come first.  If it was the model Jesus gave us, then we should continue to follow His lead.  Get into the word today and meditate on it.  It will change your outlook on every situation around you, and that's good news.    God Bless,  Rusty

Malachi 3:2, :For He is like a refiner's fire and a fuller's soap."

     There is another reason for not quenching the Spirit other then the one we talked about yesterday.  A refiner uses intense heat to fuse metal.  He separates the impurities.  God tests, tries and proves us through the fire.  Our very moral character is forged through the suffering that we go through.  Without the fire we would not be able to develop Godly character.  Let's face it.  If everything in our life was always perfect, how could we grow?  It's the things in life that are not perfect, or the impurities within us that cause us to grow.  If the fire goes out, then the refiner cannot take all the impurities out of us.  We cannot be fused together with His character so that the world can see Him and not us.  Our impurities cause the world to see us and not Him.  This is one of the biggest reasons to come together as the church.  There are all kinds of people, with all kinds of personalities within the church.  That's the way God planned it.  Just look at His disciples and you'll figure that out real quick.  Some people don't go to the church, which I believe is where the refiner does most of His work, because they don't like sister or brother so and so.  But this is the precise reason we are to go to the melting pot.  As we come together to love God (the first great commandment), He teaches us how to get along with each other (the second great commandment).  The fire in the church, which is the presence of the Holy Ghost in His fullness, turns up the heat and all our impurities come out.  Then the great refiner scrapes those impurities away and pours in His love to heal the wounds.  Through each situation, whether it be in the church, in our families, or in our workplaces, God turns up the heat and allows us to see ourselves as we are so that we can change.  This is how our moral character is forged.  If the fire is not present, there will be no desire in us to change.  We will remain the same as we always were.  God makes it very simple for us.  Either we allow Him to birth fire in us and refine us while we live on this earth, or we will spend eternity in unquenched fire.  I chose to let Him refine me now.  What's your choice?    God Bless,  Rusty      

1 Thessalonians 5:19, "Don't quench the Spirit"

     Quench means to extinguish a fire, or to take the light away.  I remember when I was a Boy Scout we would always have a fire going.  We wouldn't let it go out the whole weekend.  The reason was that it was used for so many reasons.  One of the reasons was to cook over.  When we didn't want to eat raw meat, it had to be cooked.  Even more important was the water.  We never carried more then a canteen full into camp, especially if we hiked in.  This was for personal use because we never knew if we could find good water or not.  To make the water good we had to boil it on the fire.  Boiling takes all the impurities out of it.  So, the fire was very important to us because without it we would have had to take a chance on water that might not be purified.  The same holds true with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus filled us with living water but He has to constantly apply fire to remove all the impurities of our life.  Without His fire, the water could go bad, or stagnant inside of us.  There is no life in stagnant water.  Nothing can survive and so the process of death starts deep within us.  Without His fire inside of us we will not be able to go through the purification process.  In other words, the process of maturity in and through Him so that we can become sons and daughters of God is hindered.  Without the fire we can't see in the dark and we start wandering around in a dangerous place.  We can't see the danger all around us and we become blind to the things of God.  Without the fire we have no way to ward off the deadly animals of this world and we are wide open for them to pounce on us and devour us.  It's a terrible picture.  Any one of the ways, no purification, no sight, no protection will bring death to us in a spiritual world.  That's why it's so important to keep the fire burning.  Don't quench it but keep it stocked.  Don't ever let it go out.  Oh, by the way, there was only one time we let the fire go out.  We quenched it, or let it go out when we were on the way home.  When Jesus comes on the clouds we will no longer have to gather wood to stoke the fire. The very presence of His glory will lead us and guide us.  But until that day we must not allow the fire to go out. Don't quench the Spirit! Let Him burn inside of you.  Keep Him red hot. That's what the world needs today, you and me.  Red hot Christians taking the gospel to all creation.  It's not time to go home yet, so, put another log on the fire!!  Let's go!!!   God Bless,  Rusty

Romans 12:1' " I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

     We think of all kind of things when we hear the word worship.  In our services we most likely think of the music that we play before the sermon.  In my realm it's called praise and worship music.  The fast songs are more praise songs and when you slow the tempo down, you now have worship songs.  Some churches play a more traditional type music, or hymns.  No matter what you're used to, the word worship usually keys thoughts towards the music portion of the service.  But what does God call worship?  I think it's simple acts throughout the day that constitute worship towards Him.  This scripture says that presenting our bodies is worship.  How do we do that?  We do that everyday, throughout the day.  In every situation, in every place, we have an opportunity to worship God.  We always make it so hard.  We think things like, "if I'm going to worship God today, I have to do this and this and so on and so on."  We put requirements on our selves to act out what we think worship is.  Maybe singing so many songs or praying so long or even studying our bibles for so many hours.  Maybe for you it's acting like a Christian all day, every day, to be a witness for Christ.  While these things are all good and I'm certainly not trying to discourage you from doing them, I think worship to God is much more simpler.  Presenting our bodies to God simply means doing little things He asks us to do throughout the day.  I think the Boy Scouts got it down better then all of us.  Do a good deed daily.  When God asks us to do something simple, opening a door, picking something up for someone, saying a kind word, smiling at someone or maybe just encouraging them.  Helping your spouse with the housework or cooking, or helping your child with homework.  There are so many things out in the public and in our own homes that worship God.  Every time we do simple acts that He asks, we are presenting our bodies to Him instead of doing what we want.  It's true that we are making other people smile but, more importantly, we make Him smile.  Every time we do something for Him with our bodies, it's an act of worship.  Little things that take a second or two.  That's how we worship Him on a daily basis.  So stop trying to strap a boom box on your back so you can worship Him all day long.  Just listen and obey.  Do something kind for someone instead of yourself.  It's so simple.  Worship Him today by presenting your bodies as sacrifices for Him.  You'll be blessed that you did!           

God's Blessings,  Rusty

Deuteronomy 31:8, " And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you.  He will not fail you or forsake you.  Do not fear, or be dismayed."

     Well, I'm back.  My wife and I had a wonderful time on our 25th wedding anniversary in Freeport, Bahamas.  God's the same person there that He is here.  You might say, "of course He is!"  I would say the same thing but experiencing it is different.  He did so many wonderful things for us along the way.  First off, we almost didn't get on the ship to go.  It was pouring and the weather reports had one hurricane below Bahamas and one forming and coming right at Freeport.  I checked the weather reports for the week and they said winds, rains and thunderstorms all week.  As I was contemplating what to do, God spoke to me.  It was simple.  He said, "Do you trust Me?"  Well that's what it all comes down to isn't it?  I mean, really, every thing that we do in life comes down to that simple statement, "Do you trust Me?"  Well, We do trust Him, and so, we went.  We didn't have a drop of rain all week and the weather was beautiful.  Every where we went we ran into good Christian people. Jacqui Addison and Shirley Carey from Dothan, Alabama, just to name a few.  Every time we turned around, little things seemed to happen that could have ruined our trip, but God just continued to show out.  After a long week we started the drive back to Georgia.  A truck driver signaled us about something and we pulled over right in front of an exit.  It turned out we had a flat tire.  At the speeds we were traveling, that tire could have blown within a short amount of time and who knows what could have happened.  So we pulled off the exit and right at the end of the exit was a Goodyear Tire.  You might say' "What a coincidence!," but we know better.  We were fixed up and right back on the road.  The whole point is that no matter where we go God is always there and He'll always take care of us.  That's good news.  That's why we can shout from the highest point of the world today, "God is good, all the time!!!  Even in Bahamas !!!!"  He's good where ever you're at today!!  Just trust Him.  That's the key!!           God Bless,  Rusty