Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

     If we are to launch forth in our Christian walks successfully, we must believe that we can do the things God says we can do and then we must actually start to do them.  We must believe that we are the people that God told us we are and then we must actually do the things God said we could do.  We must believe that Jesus is present when we share His word and that He will confirm His promises.  We must believe that signs and wonders will accompany the word when we speak it.  We must believe that it’s not us, but Him speaking through us, and that every angel in the company of Heaven is standing by us just waiting to fulfill His word.  This is the way to release His power in the world through our own lives.  We must believe because, “All things are possible to him that believes!”   The world needs Jesus.  Let’s take Him to them.  Amen!!                           God Bless,  Rusty

If Satan has condemned you and oppressed you about your weakness and inabilities you need to go to the seed bag and pull and some seed to plant; James 4:7, Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.”  1 John 3:8, “ The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. “  As you start to plant these seeds in your heart say, “I’m a new creature in Christ Jesus.  I have become a partaker of the divine nature.  I have His blood, His righteousness, His peace , His joy, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I am more then a conqueror through Him that loved me.  Start sowing seed that will produce a harvest in your heart!  Plant it!  Nourish it!  Confess it!  God will watch over His word to perform it.  There is only one way to be saved, delivered and healed, and that is through the abiding, living word of God.  Start using it today!  Don’t stop until you get your victory!  Sow until your harvest comes in because, even though you may not be perfect, God’s word will never fail!  Well, don’t sit there and look at me, start sowing!!       God Bless,  Rusty

1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

     To gird means to hold the mind in constant preparation.  It’s taken from the custom of the eastern nations who would bind up their long flowing garments with a belt when they were exerting themselves,  journeying, running or dancing.  We, as Christians, should learn to gird ourselves also, but in this case Peter is talking about our minds.  We should strengthen our minds with girders.  We should bind up our long flowing thoughts with girders.  You might say, “How do we bind up our thoughts and keep our mind strong?”  We bind up our flowing garments with the belt of truth.  It’s that simple.  We learn more truth and then when we’re done, we learn some more.  Everyday we should put on the belt of truth.  This will help to fortify our thought life and keep us strong in our mind.  Keep putting girders in place and your mind will become stronger and stronger in the Lord.  Then, when the enemy tries to hit and run from His strongholds in our minds we’ll have the strength to fight him and eventually tear down his fortress, meanwhile strengthening your own position in Christ.  Read the word today and put truth in your hearts.  Gird your mind for the journey.  You’ll be glad, about 2:00 this afternoon, that you did!  Amen!         God Bless,  Rusty     

I’m sorry I haven’t been writing consistently over the last couple of weeks but my computer was down.  Actually, my DSL modem was burned up.  That will keep you from using the internet real fast, won’t it.  Any way, God is so good because I would go and find wireless internet at various places throughout town when I had time, as well as the homeless shelter.  Wherever I could find a hookup was good.  It kind of gave me a picture of our Christian walk in a lot of cases.  Whenever we go through a lot and get tired, or burned out, we go offline for a while and then just look for a couple of hook ups along the way.  Instead of staying plugged in, we just decide to take a break.  I do get burned out and sometimes need a rest, but resting and taking a break are two different things.  Resting is through God.  Taking a break is getting away from Him.  I know, sometimes I come up with some weird illustrations, but that’s life.  I don’t know about your life but mine is a bunch of weird things, and, if I might add, always something new.  The only constant I have in this world is God.  And right now I’m very tired from about 12 straight days and nights of ministry so I guess I’ll just go rest with Jesus for a while.  After all, He’s where my rest comes from.  Amen!   God Bless,  Rusty

Jeremiah 1:12, “I am watching over my word to perform it.”

     His word is vital to our growth.  The living word of God is the only thing that can change us.  We must learn His word and apply it to our situations everyday.  I’m convinced that the only way we can accomplish anything in this world is by His word.  We’ve tried a lot of different things and have had a lot of different plans, but none of them ever work properly.  I know that, in my own life, the things that I don’t have from God that I’m supposed to,  are directly related to the amount of word I know and use in each situation.  The only truth that can set us free is the word.  the only thing that can pull down strongholds is the word.  The only thing that can combat the enemy in our lives is, you guessed it, the word.  So why don’t we know and use more of the word?  I can’t speak for you, but I know in my life I’m just lazy.  That’s right, it’s the truth.  I know the truth but I don’t apply it the way I should.  That’s my problem this morning.  So what’s your problem?     God Bless,  Rusty

Faith to move mountains!!!

     Lord, I pray that each one of us would have the faith to move the mountains in our lives.  We are just like the man who said to Jesus, “I do believe, but help my unbelief.”  We do believe but our faith is not strong enough to move the obstacles that hold us back.  I pray that you would help our faith to grow and become large enough to activate that mountain moving power of the Holy Spirit in each one of us.  Lord I pray that each one of us would have faith as a mustard seed.  Help us to grow and come to the point that we have the faith to believe for Your blessings in every part of our lives.  I pray this for each one of us, in the name of Jesus, the strong Son of God, Amen!!

In Matthew 8:23-27, the disciples were in a violent storm at sea and Jesus was at sleep in the boat.  did you ever wonder what it was that allowed Him to be able to sleep in the midst of the storm?  What was there inside of Him that gave Him such rest, even though the rest of the passengers of that boat were in fear for their life?  It was simply the victory that resided inside of Him.  The peace of God was in him.  You see, your peace in any given situation is the proof of your victory in that situation.  When they finally woke Jesus up, He used the very victory that was in Him to defeat the danger around the boat.  He spoke the proof of His victory, or His peace into the winds and the sea.  This brought the victory.  When ever we’re in danger we can be assured of the victory as we trust in Him with all our hearts and exercise His peace into the storm.  His peace will always calm the situation and bring victory to the circumstances.  Today, speak to your storms.  Speak peace over them and then just trust in Him.  have a great day in the Lord.  God Bless, Rusty

1 Peter 3:9, “not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”

     What are the inheritances that we are supposed to receive from the Father?  The word says that we are heirs with Christ, so what is it that is laid up and waiting for us?  First let me say that there are probably so many things that are ours that we don’t even know about all of them.  But one thing is definitely for sure.  God has good things for us.  He never gives out bad things, but good and perfect things.  The question is how do we walk in them, or, receive them?  The word says that as we start to bless other people we actually bless ourselves because we receive a blessing, something that we were called to inherit, by blessing others.  That’s right! It’s the reaping and sowing principal.  God wants so much to bless you but He blesses you through your own desire to bless others.  We were called to receive a blessing from God which comes to us after we bless someone else, especially someone who has wronged us.  It’s a lot easier to bless people who are good to us, but what about those who treat us badly?  It’s hard but when we reach out and bless those that really don’t deserve it, by the world’s standards, God will pour out a blessing on us.   So, do you need a blessing today?  Reach out and bless someone and you’ll receive a blessing in return, straight from the throne room of the Father.  Hallelujah!     God Bless,  Rusty

Matthew 24:4, “ See to it that no one misleads you.”

     We are at a point in history where we have to be very careful.  The Bible has taught us that there will be a lot of false teachings in the last days. There will be a lot of false prophets.   They will come and lead even the elect astray.  Some will come and tell you that they are the Christ.  Others will come and teach false doctrine, very subtlety, of course.  “What is the answer?”  The answer is not to stray from the word and not to be misled.  “How do I do that?”  It sounds so easy but yet there are so many ways to be mislead.  Go to a Christian bookstore and you can buy a book on just about anything in your Christian walk.  We can buy videos and cds with all kinds of teachings on them.  Be so very careful.  If we couldn’t have been misled Jesus wouldn’t have warned us about it!  What do we do?  It’s vital that we stay in the word.  That’s the answer.  The only way you’ll know the truth is to know the word for yourself.  Everything we hear should be confirmation of something.  That’s the answer, the word of God.  So be so very careful today.  Match everything up with the word and don’t do anything out of sync with the word.  Most of all, be very careful not to be misled.  The world needs your testimony, amen!     God Bless, Rusty

2 Timothy 2:1, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

     There are all kinds of teachings on standing strong.  Eph 6 says to,” stand strong, “ in spiritual warfare.  James says to, “count it all joy,” and to endure under hardships and trials.  We hear the 23rd Psalm telling us to, “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”  These are just a few of the thousand times in the word that we are told to keep going and stand strong through the events of life.  But how do we do it?  What is that unseen force that keeps us in the midst of life and all that she presents?  It’s God’s grace that comes to us through our Lord Jesus.  You may think that I’m now going to explain that grace to you.  The truth is that I couldn’t tell you about it if I wanted to.  It’s one of those things in the word of God that is illusive.  In other words, it’s written all through the bible, but being able to properly define it is something beyond comprehension, at least for me.  I could give you a definition of the word, that we’ve probably all heard, “unmerited favor.”  There, I’m sure you now know all about grace, don’t you?  Of course not, that’s the point.  I can’t explain it, I can just look back after coming through situations and know that God’s grace brought me through.  How do I know?  Just because there is nothing else in this world that could have done it.  I know that’s flimsy, but it’s all I’ve got!   I can’t define it, I just receive it by faith.  The only thing I know for sure is that God’s grace is for real.  How about you?    God Bless, Rusty

2 Corinth 5:14, “ For the love of Christ controls us.”

     What is it deep within us that keeps us from saying exactly what we want to say?  What is it that keeps us in check, when someone wrongs us, so that Jesus can be seen through us and not the person that wants to come out and take charge of the situation?  Why do we sometimes take the abuse, knowing that we weren’t the ones at fault?  It’s very simple, but yet very complex.  It’s the love of Christ that is deep within our hearts.  It’s like a force that keeps us at bay.  Sometimes it can be so powerful that we have no earthly idea why we didn’t just let the old so and so have a piece of our mind.  It’s a force that can’t be explained, but we know that it’s there.  It is the source of our own ability to be conformed into His image.  His love and compassion drive us and control everything we do.  So don’t be shocked and wonder what it is that’s causing you to change inside.  There is only one thing that would ever be able to save the wretches that we are.  His love is more powerful then anything you or I can imagine.  So let it consume you and control everything that you do.  You’ll be a much better person for it!    God Bless,  Rusty

Psalm 42:1, “As the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after Thee.”

    The writer of the Psalms was hungry for God.  Maybe you don’t understand that concept.  Maybe you don’t even have a clue what he was saying.  Did you ever want something so bad you could taste it?  I’m not talking necessarily about food.  I’m talking about something that just took over your entire being and you felt like you couldn’t live without it.  Something that so drives us, deep inside, that we can’t rest until we get it.  The writer was crying out because he had an intense desire for God.  He felt like he couldn’t live without God’s presence.  The strong desire that rested in him drove him.  It drove every action that he ever did.  It was the driving force of life its self.  It’s a picture of a man lost in the desert and without anything to drink.  After a while he’s not worried about finding anything but water.  That’s all that consumes him, in fact, he’ll die without it!   Oh that we would feel like that about having God’s presence in our life.  Oh that we would have such a strong desire for His presence that everything we do, every breath we take is consumed by the thought of Him.  I long for that now more then ever.  I long for His presence more then anything else in my life right now.  How about you?                            God Bless, Rusty

Titus 3:9, “But shun foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and dispute about the law; for they are unprofitable and worthless.”

     Let me take this scripture out of Titus and make it real simple for us; don’t argue about the word of God, you know, one person believes one thing and you believe another thing so one of you, or both, have to have your way.  It’s not worth anything.  God’s word is living and active and can work its self inside a man’s heart.  It can change a man and clean his life up if he is willing to let it.  But God will never operate where there is pride and arguing over the word of God.  It has no power when somebody is trying to prove they know more then another.  The word of God will never have any affect on people when they are arguing about it, much less, any of the people that are listening.  It’s like a tug of war.  People pulling on each end to see who’s right.  I’ve gone to bible studies where people try to get arguments going so they can prove they are right about something.  In these cases the word is never profitable.  The best way to share the word is through one’s actions.  Let people see the word at work in you.  Let them see Jesus in you.  When they see Jesus they will be drawn to Him and then His Word can have it’s perfect result.  Bottom line, the world needs to see Jesus, not hear people argue about Him.  Would you show someone today?  It’s a wonderful day the Lord has made!   God Bless,  Rusty

2 Timothy 1:9, “Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.”

     In Christ, we not only were saved, but called.  So there are plans and purposes God has for us to walk in, which were placed in us before we ever even were saved, at least in this world.  He placed His plans in us in eternity and we came forth into this world with God’s purposes for our life pre wired in us.  It’s kind of like buying a PC that already has all the programs put in it.  When we buy the computer, we but it programmed with certain programs.  They were all programmed in before the computer was packaged.  This is the same as God’s purposes for us.  They were preprogrammed in us before we were born into this world.  We have nothing to do with it except to identify what programs are inside of us, which really is not a hard thing to do, and then walk in them.  You might say, “How in the world am I supposed to walk in that?”  Easy, by God’s grace.  You see, He put just the right amount of grace in you to allow His plans and purposes to un fold through you.  That’s pretty exciting to me!  He’s already taken care of everything.  It sounds just like our Heavenly Father, doesn’t it?     God Bless,  Rusty

Proverbs 16:2, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the Lord weighs the motives.”

     The Lord goes deeper then just the act.  The Lord looks deep inside of us to find out our reasoning in each and every thing that we do.  We can not hide are motives from Him.  What our motives are, or, what drives us to do something is one of the keys to our crowns in heaven.  In other words, you can do the same physical act as someone else.  You can do it the same as them and have the exact same outcome in the physical.  But why we did it is where the real test will be.  In other words, one person did it because God told them to.  The other person did it because they wanted to get the same praise, and have people notice them the same way the first person was.  Their motive, therefore, is wrong.  The heart will always reveal the motive and God looks at our actual hearts, not the acts.  Some people do things for recognition in this world and some do things for recognition in eternity.  We must weigh every action toward God and what He’s spoken to us.  Only then will our motives be pure in every situation.  Amen!!   God Bless, Rusty

Matthew 5:13, “ You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?'” 

     We all know how to use salt.  You know, after the foods cooked you put salt on it to flavor it.  We put salt in with food as we’re preparing it.  Salt is something that brings out the flavor, so to speak.  So Jesus said that we were the salt of the earth.  In other words the Christian is the one who brings out the flavor of life on this planet.Without the sons and daughters of God running around into each situation that arises and salting it, life would indeed be boring and would not taste the way it should.  We bring light into the darkness.  We bring blessing into cursed areas.  We bring life where there is nothing but death.  But if we are no longer salty, how can we season anything?  We can put a label on that says salt, but after it is applied it still won’t work.  In other words if we try to go into the world without Jesus with us, the places we go will never be salted because He is the salt.  We cannot lose Him in our lives but we must stay full of Him.  He is our life and our joy and our strength.  He will season this world through us, but without Him we will be salt less.  So I suggest we all pull into the Jesus station and get filled up with His presence.  Someone we will come in contact with today forgot to salt their bread this morning and they need some seasoning.  Be salty, in Jesus name.    God Bless,  Rusty

I pray that as each one of you goes forward today, through each situation and opportunity that presents its self.  I pray that the Lord would not allow you to become stagnant, but He would keep pushing us into deeper and deeper levels of His love and anointing. My prayer is that in each path of the day ahead, we would feel His presence and become engulfed in His love for us.  I pray He becomes real to you today.  I pray that you have a blessed day in His presence, and that today, through Him, you will be able to do all things.  I ask these things in Jesus name, the name above all names.   May His blessings flow upon you and your family today and throughout your life,  Rusty