August 3rd 2015 – Turning Aside Pride.

“A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23)

Have you heard the biblical story of the Good Samaritan? In that story he, unlike others who had an opportunity to help, he demonstrated compassion for a man who had become the victim of a vicious attack by robbers. The Good Samaritan bandaged up the man’s wounds, brought him to an inn, and took care of him (see Luke 10:30-35). But what about the man he helped? What if this man, who had been left for dead, refused the help of the Good Samaritan because of pride? Where might his pride have left him? Alone? Dying on the side of the road? Wouldn’t he have missed out on his blessing from God?

We all experience hard times. They’re a part of life. And when those times come and we’re hurting, there are people who will come alongside us, to help in any way possible to ease the pain or just give good advice. It is God at work through the kindness and generosity of others—like the Good Samaritan. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father …” (James 1:17).

Still we often have these thoughts. “But I don’t want people to think I’m poor! I had a job before all of this!” Or, “I don’t want people feeling sorry for me!”

Eventhough this kind of pride is natural, however it biblically is wrong. “… For God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud” (1 Peter 5:5)

Don’t allow pride to keep you from accepting kindness from others, graciously, and with a thankful heart. That’s what the Christian community is really all about—helping, encouraging, and building up one another. So turn aside pride today! “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:10)

Takecback your life

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” In what ways have people encouraged you, or built you up during this difficult time?
2. If you have received help from others with a bitter heart because of a pride, ask God’s forgiveness. Then ask Him to give you a humble heart, and an attitude of gratitude for the wonderful ways in which He has met your needs through the generosity of others.
3. Make a special effort today to tell someone “Thank you,” when they share God’s gift of kindness and goodwill with you. You can say it to the volunteer serving your next meal, to one of the workers in the shelter where you’re staying, to the people who have come to bring food, clothing, or other supplies, to the person who has come to express their condolences, or to the family who has opened their home to you. It’s a great way to bless them as they seek to bless you.

Prayer

Father God, far too often we are influenced by what others think of us. We are always pretending to be either richer or smarter or nicer than we really are. Please prevent us from trying to attract attention. Don’t let us gloat over praise on one hand or be discouraged by criticism on the other. Nor let us waste time weaving imaginary situations in which the most heroic, charming, witty person present is ourselves. Show us how to be humble of heart, like you. Amen.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

• What is love?
• Can you define it?
• Can you feel it?
• How you do know it’s real?

A question so many people have often pondered. Some say it is romance. Some say it is bliss. It is one of those words in our English language that have so many meanings to choose from dictionary.com defines it as:

1. “A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2. A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend”

Though those definitions are nice…I can’t help but realise that these are mere emotions or feelings….but isn’t love something more real?

• What love is really like?

To be honest with you, I have yet to find any better definition of what love TRULY is than in the following verses:

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”  (1 John 3:16)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

• Love is more than emotions

Love is so much more beautiful than momentary bliss. It is so much more powerful than romantic passion. There is not a word to describe what love truly is.

All I can say is that Jesus loves you, and it is not the kind of love the world knows.

This is how I know what love is: Though I am a nobody, Jesus Christ, my King, died for me. Not because of acts that deserve such a sacrifice, no, even while I was, and still a sinner.

I  pray that you can find rest and peace in Jesus and in his love (Matthew 11:28-30).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise and love you, thank you for Loving us, your children, even when we can be selfish, disconnected and forget to call.. You are always there, with your arms wide open to receive us. You deserve better from all of us. May we strive today and everyday forward to recipicate why you created us. To love one another and Love and Praise you.

Thank you for loving me.. Amen

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

Praise and worship seems to be universal. Have you ever heard of an explorer finding a new tribe or culture that doesn’t worship? Worship is a natural instinct and a basic need for every person. A simple definition of worship is to regard with great devotion or to honor as a divine being. Take a second to think about what you are most devoted to in this life and ask yourself, “Is it worthy of my devotion; do I worship a divine being?”

We humans don’t all worship the same God, but everyone worships something or someone. Since we all worship, we should question the reason for this desire. The most logical conclusion is that we were created by a higher being for the very purpose of worship.

The ongoing quest of man is to find answers to the fundamental questions of human origin, human nature, and human destiny. There is one book that has the answers to all these questions, including our questions about worship. The Holy Bible is the wonderful and mysterious book that the one true God has chosen as a way to communicate with us.

God is the focus of our devotion in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In (Exodus 20:2-3), God says, “I am the LORD your God…You shall have no other gods before me.” In (Matthew 4:10), Jesus says, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” So, worship is not merely a natural instinct, it’s a command from God.

Praise and Worship – Why Should We do it?

God alone is worthy of our devotion, praise and worship. He is God, our Creator, and we are commanded to praise and worship Him. Psalm 96:9 says, “Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” (Psalm 29:2) says, “Give unto the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

A.W. Tozer said, “Without worship, we go about miserable.” God doesn’t want us to be miserable — He has a perfect plan for our lives. He has done so many things to show us that He loves us and doesn’t want us to be miserable. He wants us to have hope for a future with Him –he wants us to have eternal life in heaven with Him.

A life of praise and worship fills our deepest needs, and amazingly, it also brings great joy to God.  “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

Praise and Worship – How Do We do it?

God tells us how to praise and worship him in His Word. (John 4:23) says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” In order to worship God in truth, we need to know that Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So, before you can worship in the way that God desires, you have to develop a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus, His Son.

The best way that we can praise and worship God is with our every thought and action. (Romans 12:1-2) states, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Praise and Worship – Love from the Heart

Many people think that praise and worship is only singing songs at church, but it is so much more! It is also a condition of your heart — a willingness to exalt God and yield to his will. Worship is an expression of love and awe to the God who gives us more than we deserve. Whether you express your worship by singing, playing music, dancing or in some other way, remember that you are called to worship God with your every action, every day of your life. God is holy, loving, and worthy of all our worship and devotion.

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Go Deeper Now!

WHAT DO YOU THINK? – We have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him.Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, “Jesus is Lord,” you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.

How to accept Jesus into your heart.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

“The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faith” (Galatians 5:22)

Even in life’s darkest hours, the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, can bring the light of God’s joy to the darkest corners of disappointment. Because the Holy Spirit is alive within us, joy will sooner or later bubble to the surface. The Spirit’s very presence is our reminder of two truths: that Jesus was raised from the dead and poured out the Spirit on us when we became his followers (Titus 3:3-7) and that God has assured us of sharing his glorious future with us (2 Cor. 1:22). Where the Holy Spirit finds a home, there we will find joy. Thank God we are that home! (John 14:1-23)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I welcome you into my home. Until I can come home and be with you, I thank you for making your home within me through the Holy Spirit. I thank you for the joy that is mine knowing that you live in me until I can come and live with you. In Jesus’ name I thank you and praise you. Amen.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

“But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” (Acts 8:3)

“Once there was a ruthless hit man who hated Christians. he did whatever it took to get them arrested, even murdered. Countless Christians were persecuted and killed because of this vicious man. Some time later, this man wanted to become a Christian. God forgave him and accepted him, despite all of His children this man abused.”

We cringe when we read stories like that one. It seems like God is way too compassionate. We sometimes just want evil, vile people to get what they deserve. To get what they have coming to them. But even though God is intensely (and rightly) angry at evil, He offers grace and forgiveness to sinners, even the people we would define as the “worst” of sinners. God will forgive any sinner, no matter how awful, if they repent, accept Jesus’ payment on the cross for their sins, and follow Him. God is extravagantly merciful. He is beyond.

The man described in the intro is actually someone we’re possibly familiar with: Saul, or Paul as we know him. Read his story in Saul’s Conversion Acts 9:1-20

Some questions to ponder.

Is God to soft? – What use is it denouncing murderers if they can simply repent and God will show them mercy

What kind of God would do such a thing? “Is he neither tame enough more tough enough?

God is outrageously merciful. His mercy pulls the weight of guilt out from under any sinner. As His children, He wants us to follow suit. When people wrong us, God calls us to be like Him, to drop it. To forgive. To pull the weight out from under our case against them. God can forgive whomever He chooses to forgive. And He has chosen to forgive anyone who accepts His offer of salvation. While that is sometimes tough to swallow, how can we question the very grace by which we ourselves were saved? guilty of sin, we are all closer to murderers than we are to Jesus. Yet we’ve been forgiven by the God who’s beyond.

Prayer 

Heavenly Father, thank You for forgiving me of my sins and accepting me into Your kingdom even though, at times still sin against You. I often ask for forgiveness, however I also need mercy. I love You and want to please You, Your Grace is more then sufficient for me, anything above that is truly a blessing from You Lord, because I don’t deserve it. In Jesus name, AMEN.

Footnote:: Is there someone in your life that you’ve been worried about? A close friend? A family member? Even yourself? Someone who’s been struggling with a personal problem. Spend some time praying for their salvation or God to give them grace.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

Many people find it difficult to think of God as a loving Father. They see Him through eyes clouded with the pain of past experiences with an ungodly father or stepfather.

Thousands of Christians do not believe God loves them because their earthly father abandoned, wounded, or grieved them so badly. I pray that this message will speak not only to them but also to those of you who have not yet discovered the depths of our heavenly Father’s love!

Many of us know the Scriptures and the theology behind God’s great love for His children. Yet very few of us have learned to appropriate that love and we are not enjoying the benefits of having it.

Listen to how God described Himself to Moses:

“The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin . . .” (Exodus 34:6-7).

When we are in the midst of our trials, we forget what God has said about His own nature. Yet, if we would only believe Him in such times, we would have great assurance in our souls. From cover to cover, the Bible speaks to us as God’s voice, revealing to us how tender and loving He is.

He is ready to forgive at all times. “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You” (Psalm 86:5).

He is patient with us, full of tenderness and mercy. “Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord” (Psalm 119:156). “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy” (Psalm 145:8).

Make sure you believe the following:

1. Your heavenly Father will never abandon you. Nothing is more traumatic to a child than a family breakup. Children often blame themselves for divorce—and they experience acute feelings of insecurity. They can also develop the wrong idea that if their father or mother was willing to walk away from them, God will do the same. 

The Truth Is: God says, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb. 13:5) Earthly parents may break promises, but God is always faithful.

2. Your heavenly Father will never verbally berate you. I recently met a girl whose parents wanted her to be a boy. As a result of their disapproval, they criticized her constantly, told her she was ugly and demanded that she stay in her room most of the time. As a result of this constant criticism she struggled to receive love and found it difficult to believe God could ever love her.

The Truth is: The Lord is a loving Father who speaks tenderly to His children; and even when He must discipline us, it is for our good. James 5:11 says: “We … have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

3. Your heavenly Father will never abuse you. I have an African friend, Medad, whose cruel, domineering father beat him with the same stick he used to beat his mother. Medad still has scars on his back, chest and stomach from his father’s angry outbursts. Finally, his father piled the family into a car, drove them into a rural area and ordered them to get out of the vehicle. He cursed them and left them to die. His father’s behavior made Medad angry and vengeful until he found salvation in Jesus.

The Truth Is: God is not an abuser. He is a good Shepherd who protects us. If you were abandoned by one parent or both, abused by someone, either physically, sexually or verbally, recognize that God did not approve of that behavior and He wants to heal you from the pain of that experience.

Reach out to God and ask Him to show you His fatherly love, you will not be disappointed. Remember, He is all He says He is!

click here to learn how to ask Jesus into your heart

A man was late for a job interview because he couldn’t find any place to park. As he circled the block one more time, he cried out, “Please God. This interview is so important. If you will provide a parking space, I’ll be on the front row of the church every week!” Just as he spoke those words, a space opened right in front of him. “Oh, never mind,” he said. “I found one.”

Perhaps this man exemplifies the extent of many of our prayer lives. But after all, some may say, The Lord’s Prayer does tell us to pray for our daily needs. Yet one of the ways prayer can disappoint us is when we confuse needs and wants. We can get so wrapped up in praying for our wants that we begin to see God as somebody we can use to get what we want! And that’s a terrible misunderstanding of God.

Is God going to give you everything you ask for? Absolutely not! Loving parents don’t give their children everything they see in a toy store, and likewise God is not some genie saying, “Your wish is my command.” scripture says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)

God wants us to seek His will so we can learn to understand our needs versus our wants. When we do, we can knock on the door of heaven and see God pour forth blessings to meet the needs of our lives.

“The knowledge of Christ’s love for us should cause us to love Him in such away that it is demonstrated in our attitude, conduct, and commitment to serve God. Spiritual maturity is marked by spiritual knowledge being put into action.” Edward Bedore

Why is it that people stranded at sea suffer from dehydration when they are surrounded by an ocean of water? The reason is that sea water contains seven times more salt than the human body can safely ingest. By drinking water from the ocean, a person dehydrates because the kidneys demand extra water to flush the overload of salt. The more salt-water one consumes, the thirstier he or she becomes. Salt-water consumption causes an individual to actually die of thirst.

Attempting to satisfy our need for love and intimacy with lust is like drinking sea water to quench thirst. Lust is very deceptive because it resembles a God given natural desire for something we want, desire and need. True love bonds for a lifetime; it never dies, lust fades away with each passing moment. Sexual passion is like a mirage of cool water appearing to a thirsty person in a steaming desert. This unfulfilled yearning for intimacy in our lives creates an illusion in our mind, causing us to drink from what we perceive to be a fountain of cool spring water, in reality its simply a hallucination. The more we lust the more we crave love and more unsatisfied we become. When our need for intimacy has been neglected it often turns into some form of insidious behavior. Some become promiscuous; others turn to homosexuality, some turn to pornography, drugs, crime, alcoholism, and violence. Many promiscuous persons, whether heterosexual or homosexual, I believe is simply attempting to fill a need in their life for love and acceptance through sex. Lust is the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst Lust will always fail.

Todays culture has ignored our basic need of love, pushing it into the shadows of our daily existence, in an effort to devote the majority of our energies pursuing things we think will make us happy. Our society drives people crazy with lust and calls it advertising. In socities search for power and a better way of life we must not lose sight of this crucial fact; there is no difficulty that love will not conquer, no disease that love will not heal and no sin that love will not forgive.

The Bible says, “Hatred stirs upstrife, but love covers all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12) It makes no difference how deeply seated the trouble or how great the mistake; there is no problem to big for love. Drugs, psychiatrists, treatment programs, knowledge, sexual experiences can not take the place of love and morality in our lives. Love recieved and love given comprise the best form of therapy. “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4:9)

Seek God’s will for your life,  allow God to show you the real meaning of unconditional love. Pray and ask for His direction in your life and you will truly be amazed..