How Far You Will Go
Expendable
New Creation In Christ
One of the blessings God has given to those who are in Christ Jesus is that they are no longer what they were before Christ. In Christ, we are new creations. The old is gone, and the new has come. So fix your eyes on Christ and on the road God has marked out before you, and press forward. Step into the plans and the future God has for you.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the God from whom all blessings flow. I thank You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank You for being the Author and the Finisher of my faith. Father, I am fixing my eyes on You because I know You have great plans for me. I will put my trust in You as I step into the plans You have for me and the future You designed. I ask that You continue to show me the way I am to go as I am relying and depending on You to lead me. My desire is to stay in Your will and to do what You would have me to do. I know You have already gone before me, and I ask for Your help in remaining steadfast before You. Continue Your work in me, O Lord, and light my way. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
Let Nothing Come Between You and God
Heavenly Father, You are God and You are Lord of All. There is no one and there is nothing that compares to You for You alone are the Almighty Everlasting Father. Above You, there is no other. The new year, O Lord, is just around the corner. Help me to end this year strong and to remain steadfast in the new year 2019. Thank You for guiding me and leading me in Your way. Father, I ask You to continue to guide me in all my ways and to direct my steps as I put my trust in You and acknowledge You in all my ways. Apart from You, O Lord, I can do nothing. In You, I can do all things because You are the One who gives me strength. You are my Hope and You are my Refuge. I cling to You, O God, for You are my Deliverer and Your words sustain me. Father, I delight in You, and because I delight in You, I know You will grant me my heart’s desire. Father, draw close to me as I draw close to You. Help me to remember there is freedom in submitting to You and walking in obedience to Your will and to Your ways. Be the Light which illumines the path I am to walk. Show me the Ancient Path, the good way, that I may walk along the Ancient Path and find rest for my soul. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Remember the Message of the Cross…
Remember in your celebration and contemplation of the New Year to come to keep Christ first in all things. The cross cannot be separated from Christ, and Christ cannot be separated from the cross. On that cross, Christ paid the price. He has saved us, healed us, delivered us, and has set us free. Daily we are being made holy as we die to self.
“For even The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life a ransom in the place of the many.” -Mark 10:45 (Aramaic Bible In Plain English)
As we look forward to celebrating the New Year just around the corner, let us remember to continue living in wholehearted devotion to Him, never looking back, and pressing on into the future. Let us carry out the tasks He has placed before us and continue to grow in the love of Christ.
Linda A. Knowles
RANDOM FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The Flapping Gossiping Gums Will Get All Up In Your Business.
It never ceases to amaze me the levels of stupidity people will resort to. People will interfere in someone else’s argument without having all the facts. Without having all the facts, unwise judgments are made, which results, most of the time, with people flapping their gums and spreading gossip and slander to anyone who will lend them a listening ear.
If some people are gossiping about you, it should be understood that if they are not gossiping about you, they are gossiping about someone else. Those who are flapping their gums are getting all up in your business because they don’t have a life of their own. They will badmouth, backbite, slander, and lie because they have nothing better to do. However, when they do so, they are involving themselves in something they have no business getting involved in. They are too wrapped up in flapping their gums because they are filled with hatred, anger, and jealousy. What they do not realize is that they have no self-control as they are salivating looking for the next dainty morsel to share with others who are all too eager to listen.
It is shameful and embarrassing when gossipers do not have all the facts but will pontificate as if they have all the facts. Has anyone considered that gossiping and interfering in someone else’s argument is like yanking the ear of a wild dog and expecting it not to take a bite out of him or her? If they should attempt to yank on the ears of a “wild dog,” why should anyone feel bad for them? They are simply reaping what they have sown, and they deserve whatever consequences they get.
Linda A. Knowles
“Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.” -Proverbs 18:13NLT
Just Stand Firm
“Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.” -Deuteronomy 3:22(NLT)
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You do not need to be afraid of those who are against you for you have been made more than a conqueror. God is the One who is taking care of all your enemies in accordance with His promises. He is the One who has made you victorious, has made you and overcomer, and He protects His own.
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Those who are your enemies are the enemies of God because they do not love God, are of this world, and do not know God. Your enemies are not worth your time or effort. Remember your time and effort is best spent doing what God wants you to do and focusing on the tasks He has placed before you.
You need only to stand steadfast, be firm, and as you are keeping your hope and trust in God, placing your confidence in Him, He is the One fighting for you. You will see your enemies begin to fight one another. Remember your God has promised to fight with and for you.
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Heavenly Father, You are the God of victory, and You have made me victorious. Thank You for being my Shield and my Defense. My confidence is securely placed in You, and I know You help me stand against my enemies and that You are the One who fights for me. With You, O God, I can crush an army and scale a wall for You are the One who has strengthened me. Continue to help me to stand firm in Your ways as I continue to obey You and keep my eyes fixed on You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Linda A. Knowles
From the Quiet Place…
God wants to live among His people. He wants to protect them. That has always been His desire since the beginning of time. He desires to commune and have that fellowship with His children. However, His people have rejected Him as their Lord and their God. Those who have claimed God as their own have defiled their own bodies and have exchanged the Most High God for other gods, the creation created by God Himself and the things created by man.
The Church has exchanged what is holy for what is evil and exchanged the truth of God for lies. Rather than seeking the God Who Provides her with all her needs, she seeks after that which is temporal such as power, prestige, wealth, popularity, and the like.
God is not welcomed in most places of worship, and His Word has been dissected and chopped up to the point it is unrecognizable. The Word has been made to suit the lifestyles of the people instead of the people seeing themselves in light of the Word of God, repenting, turning from their evil ways, and humbling themselves before God.
God desires a relationship with His people, but they have kicked Him out of their lives and their hearts. They have kicked God out of their homes and places of worship.
The consequences of their sin are falling on their own heads, and they are blaming God for their suffering. Their choices have them on the broad road to destruction. They are headed to Hell. Their consciences are seared and their hearts calloused.
The anger of God is set against all sinful and wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. The creation clearly shows the invisible qualities of God and so they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Everything is exposed before the eyes of God. He sees all and yet His children don’t believe He sees all they do and hears all they say. They are clever at doing wrong, but they are stupid when it comes to doing what is right. They have chosen death instead of life. They have chosen to be cursed rather than blessed.
To all those who have believed Him and accepted Him, to them, He gave the right to become children of God. Those who do His will and walk uprightly before Him, they belong to Him.
“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor has sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who see Your face.”
Peace With God
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:6-7(NLT)
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Peace with God is so important that the ceremonial law for peace offerings is detailed in Leviticus 3. The peace offering was an expression of gratitude, and it was a way for the people to maintain fellowship with God. Part of the offering could be eaten by the one who was presenting the offering because it was symbolic of peace with God.
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Peace is a fruit produced in us through the work of the Holy Spirit. Peace with God comes by having faith in God and His promises. Peace with God is not cheap, but it comes through a sacrifice of praise and joying in the God of your salvation. Because of the peace of God, you are able to drink deeply from the well of salvation. Peace comes from knowing that your enemies cannot prevail against you and that God upholds you with His victorious right hand. Peace of God comes from waiting upon the Lord, fully trusting in Him. As you wait on Him, He will renew your strength, and you will mount up with wings like eagles. This is the kind of peace you can experience and should be experiencing as a child of God. Remember no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, no matter how many enemies you have surrounding you, you must know fully that God has established His relationship with you. Because God has fully established His relationship with you, you have peace with God.
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PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the God of All Peace and You are the Peace That Surpasses All Understanding. Father, thank You for establishing my relationship with You. You are the Peace-Giver. Let me always remember to cast all my cares on You because You care for me, and help me to always remember You, O God, are my Protector. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
Are You Weak or Strong In Obedience?
“Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. ‘Look,’ they told him, ‘you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have,'” (1 Samuel 8:4-5NLT).
Israel was never meant to be like the other nations. Israel had a set of laws from the hands of God and God had chosen them as His very own, specifically set aside to do the work had for them to do, set apart as a holy nation. Israel was not to be like the other nations, and we can see this throughout the entirety of the Old Testament.
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In this passage, Samuel is getting counsel from the Lord. The Lord God was to be their King, but they pushed God aside and wanted a mortal man as their king so they could be like all the other nations. So God had this to say (1 Samuel 8:7-9NLT), “‘Do everything they say to you,’ the Lord replied, ‘for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.'”
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Israel’s sin can be put into one word: DISOBEDIENCE.
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Understand Saul had already been chosen by God to be their king. God knew what they were going to do, that they were going to insist on getting their way, and Samuel did tell them what having a human king would be like. Saul ended up being their king. However, their problems still continued just under a human king. What was Israel’s sin that the problems still continued only under another administration? DISOBEDIENCE. They were defiant towards God. They continually disobeyed, and they had no regard for God or His laws. Because of their disobedience, their problem worsened, and they ended up getting paid the wages of the sins they had committed.
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Who is your king? Are you serving God or yourself?
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If you are not obeying God and you are defiant towards God continually, you are weak because you are relying on self and dependent on your own will. God will not force Himself on you. If you love God, you will obey Him.
REFLECTION: “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him,” (John 14:23KJV).
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As a child of God, you are made holy, set apart, and to live by the standards God has set. As a child of God, you do not live as the world does, and you are not to live as the world dictates. Remember there is hope for those who choose to repent and turn from their wicked ways. When you are obeying God and truly loving Him, blessings will follow as you enjoy a right relationship with the Father. If you want God to rule and reign in your life and you want God to guide your family and your personal life but are living by the world’s standards, then you are not truly obeying God nor are you honoring Him. Honoring and obeying God must be a part of every area of your life, not just in the areas you want. Are you truly obeying God, honoring Him in all you do? If you are not truly obeying God and honoring Him in all you do, what is holding you back?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the God of faithfulness, and You expect no less from those who are Your children. Father, help me not to be like Israel. I am sorry for disobeying You. Please forgive me, and renew a right spirit within me. I surrender myself into Your hands. I ask that You teach me how to honor You and ask You to instruct me in Your ways. Discipline me, O Lord, when I sin. Lead me on Your paths of righteousness that I may become more like You. Show me Your ways, and reveal Yourself to me that I might know You more and more. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4(ESV)
For His Glory, Not Your Own.
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” -Matthew 6:1(NLT)
This Bible verse is very clear: We are to do good for His glory, not our own.
What we do in the way of good deeds, we do out of our love for God and out of our lives lived out in faith to God. “Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others” simply means we are not to do good deeds to receive the applause and approval of men. If we do good deeds to be seen, to receive the applause and approval of men, that is the only reward we will receive, and then, we lose the reward from God. Knowing this, let us resolve to do everything for the glory of God to be seen of Him, to seek His approval. In pleasing God and bringing glory to Him, you will receive the blessing He has for you.
The Word of God, in Galatians 6:14(NLT), states, “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” If our boast is to be in anything, then our boast should be in the cross, not in what we do.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are my God, and I will put my hope and my trust in You. My faith is in You alone. You are the only One whose approval I need to seek and the only One I need to please. Father, help me to always remember that my boast is to be in the cross of Jesus Christ, not in anything I do, and when I do good deeds, I am to do those good works for Your glory. I ask that You let me be a blessing to others and to continue using me for Your glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
Exalting Him…
“…I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice. Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together” -Psalm 34:1-3BSB
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You, O GOD, are the Lord of all Creation.
You are worthy of all glory, of all honor, and of all praise.
You are my Redeemer, my Deliverer, and Friend.
You are my God, and there is no one else like You.
You alone are the Rock Upon Which I Can Stand.
You are the Sure Foundation,
and You are my Savior.
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May Your name, O GOD, be magnified in all the Earth.
May Your children proclaim Your goodness
and testify of Your enduring faithfulness.
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LORD, I can look to no other,
for You are the One Who Set Me free
through Your redemptive blood
that You shed at Calvary.
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Thank You for giving me life
that I might live for You,
to commune with You,
to worship You.
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May I bring glory to You for You are great
and greatly to be praised.
I exalt You, O LORD, for You are
the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Above You, there is no other.
You are the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End
the First and the Last.
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You are my Strong Refuge,
my Strength,
my Hope,
my Joy.
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My spirit rejoices in You,
GOD MY SAVIOR,
and my soul delights in You Who Calls Me By Name,
The One who is my Portion forever,
The Faithful and True GOD.
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I praise You, O LORD,
for You are the Shield around me,
and You are my glory;
You are the Lifter of my Head.
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Let me always sing of Your lovingkindness,
of Your compassion, mercy, and truth.
To God be all the glory!
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In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Stained Glass Confessions 