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Assurance of Salvation:
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I John 11:5-12 (NIV)
Assurance of Answered Prayer:
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
John 16:24 (NIV)
Assurance of Victory:
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
I Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
Assurance of Forgiveness:
I we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
I John 1:9 (NIV)
Assurance of Guidance:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
(Items in bold for emphasis.)
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?
Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Be'lial?
What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
2 Corinthians 6:14-16(NIV)
***This is one of the most powerful, important Devotionals I have ever
written. If there was ever one commandment of God to follow, this is it!
Read it prayerfully, and make sure you send this to everyone you know.
EVERY DAY I LITERALLY RECEIVE OVER 1,000 PRAYER REQUESTS FORM MEN AND WOMEN WHO
HAVE IGNORED THIS WARNING FROM GOD. THE RESULT HAS BEEN WOUNDED, RUINED, AND IN
MANY CASES, DESTROYED LIVES. GOD DID NOT SEND THIS WARNING BY ACCIDENT. I PRAY TODAY THAT YOU WILL READ EACH WORD CAREFULLY AND UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH GOD LOVES YOU.
Being equally yoked. After 10 years in the ministry, preaching in over 500
churches of every denomination, producing programming for 5 years for Christian
television stations all over the country, and 39 months operating Liveprayer, I
have personally prayed for and counseled hundreds of thousands of people. Through
this, I have seen some of the great warnings in the Bible ignored, thus causing
incredible personal suffering and destruction of lives. As believers, we are so
quick to cling to God's promises in our hour of need as we should, but God also
put many warnings in His Word that we sometimes gloss over and ignore. One of those
warnings is to not be unequally yoked with nonbelievers. Some have taken this passage
to unreasonable lengths, but let me give you my interpretation of this scripture,
and hopefully, help you avoid unnecessary heartache and pain in your life.
I believe that this passage talks directly about those intimate relationships that
we have in life, MAINLY MARRIAGE. So many email requests I get daily are from
men and women who are married with unbelievers and going through so much turmoil
in their life. Let me say this up front. If you are married now to an unbeliever,
this does NOT mean to get a divorce. You have already missed the warning and entered
into a covenant relationship that God expects you to honor. God can use you to
bring that unsaved spouse to Christ through how you live your life each day.
But if you are not married, getting married with an unbeliever is spiritual suicide.
Love is fine, but without God at the center of your marriage you are making a HUGE
mistake that you will regret. God has warned you about this, to protect you!
As for dating, I believe there are two separate types of dating. One is just as
friends. Going out with other people, going out to see a movie or to have something
to eat, the things that friends might do together. If you are going out as friends
with an unbeliever, there is nothing wrong with that. However, let me caution you
that dating can unlock deep feelings. Most dating involves those deeper feelings
and is with the intention of potentially getting married. For this reason, be
very cautious about who you decide to go out with. You should only be seriously
dating someone who has accepted Christ as his or her Savior.
Outside of the marriage issue, I am not a literalist in regard to this verse of
scripture. I do believe that if you go into business with someone, they should
be of like faith. The people that you conduct business with in the course of the
day though will be difficult to limit to just people of faith, though some try to
and that is fine. Where you shop, where you recreate, the products that you use,
I personally feel to try and fit all that you do each day to this verse is taking
it to an interpretation that is not intended.
I love you and care about you so much. I will pray today that you really pray hard
about your relationships in life, and keep this warning from God in your mind.
God is in the blessing business. Sometimes though, it requires some patience on
your part. He won't let you down, and His timing is ALWAYS perfect. My prayer
is that you take notice of this warning, have the strength to listen to the Lord,
and give God a chance to work in you life, His way, in his timing. Trust me, if
you do, you will avoid so much pain and be so blessed because when you live God's
way, life is better than anything you ever hoped for or dreamed of.
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller.***
It is SO important not to be lead astray by good looks, money, sexual desires,
social status, wordly things.
The verse on my Home page sums up what we need to seek very well indeed.
Here's another verse, telling you to choose wisely:
Find a good spouse, you find a good life - and even more:
the favor of GOD!
Proverbs 18:22 (The Message)
Use this handy tool from ChristiansUnite.com to look up the following "Today's Scripture" or any verse you wish.
Or use the BibleGetaway.com search tool to do the same.
Devotional for February 11, 2003, from The Navigators Daily Discipleship
Today's Scripture: Genesis 10-11
Read the passage
"Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." -John 8:12
In early biblical records, we find man doing exactly what he's doing today-making
plans based on his egotistical pride and rebellious heart. In Genesis 11 we find
man determined to construct a world without God, and so he began a massive effort
to build a tower-the tower of Babel-to make himself a name, to take his future
into his own hands, to grab the steering wheel of history so that the kingdom of
human reason replaces the kingdom of God.
I know a young man who had a careful Christian upbringing. He was involved in Bible
classes during the week, Sunday school, and all the right things. But during his
junior high days, he decided to go his own way. And he's been doing that for years.
Some time ago, I went to visit him in jail and sat by his mother. Tears were running
down her cheeks, and her heart was broken for this son who had committed robbery
and was now serving time.
If a man is ever to get on the right track, headed in the right direction, he must
first hand the steering wheel of his life over to the Lord, with a deep commitment
to go God's way. Have you ever surrendered to do the will of God, no matter what?
God is waiting to fill your life with blessing and joy when you let Him do the driving.
Prayer
Lord, please take control of my life, and by Your grace I will go Your way. Amen.
To Ponder
God is waiting to fill our lives with blessing and joy, but He will do that only
when we've surrendered completely to Him.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 (NIV)
Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like Him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always
expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.
I Peter 4:1-2 (The Message, on the subject of Suffering)
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications
in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.
We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us an original.
Galations 5:25-26 (The Message, on the subject of Jealousy)
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!
Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.
I Chronicles 4:9-10 (NIV, The Prayer of Jabez) If you pray this prayer genuinely, you will see the true work of God. I have.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:
"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Romans 12:19 (NIV)
There's a way that looks harmless enough. Look again--it leads straight to hell.
Proverbs 16:25 (The Message, on the subject of Direction)
These are not hyperlinked to any specific website for purchase. I believe in letting you make your own choice with whom you shop. Therefore I have supplied the Title and Author of each book for you.
 "The Man In The Mirror", by Patrick Morley |
 "If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat", by John Ortberg |
 "The Secrests Of The Vine", by Bruce Wilkinson |
 "When Good Men Are Tempted", by Bill Perkins |
 "Seizing Your Divine Moment: Dare to Live a Life of Adventure", by Erwin McManus |
 "Six Battles Every Man Must Win by Bill Perkins |
 "Power Surge: Six Marks of a Discipleship Church", by Michael W. Foss |
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