Flint is very durable and resists weathering better than almost any other natural stone. From early days flint was used to make weapons and tools because of its resistance to wear. When we set our faith like flint we will not fail!
8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
James 2:8
30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:30-31
Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest];
1 Corinthians 14:1 (AMPC)
First John 4:8 tells us that God is love. As His children, we should be an example of that love to everyone we come in contact with. It isn’t always easy! But we will be blessed if we do.
Victory Decision
I will walk in love with my family, friends, neighbors and enemies. I bless those that do me wrong knowing that God will bless me when I do.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8Charity never faileth:
We don’t always understand a person based solely on what we see on the surface. Sometimes we must “dig a little deeper” to determine what makes a person who they are. We all have been through things that have shaped who we are today. We aren’t perfect. We need love and understanding. We need people to be patient with us. We need to be patient with others as well. When we choose to be kind even when others are not kind to us, we are practicing the Word of God. God is love. He wants us to walk in His love with others.
Victory Action
I will see people through God’s agape love, which is my key to building effective relationships.
“On my way to becoming perfect, He sees me as perfect through the finished work of Calvary.”
10That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Philippians 3:10-15
22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Romans 7:22-25
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4
We are all a work in progress when it comes to our flesh. Thankfully God has a plan for that and has made a way for us to grow in Him. Becoming a mature Christian isn’t related to our natural age. It is the process we go through to grow up in Christ. To grow spiritually we do things like attending church regularly. We read the Word of God daily. We spend time in the presence of God and in prayer daily. These will all contribute to our spiritual growth. In the realm of the Spirit, God sees us through His eyes of love and sees us perfected through the blood of Jesus. That is why we can always approach Him without condemnation. We are not going to be any more righteous than we are when we receive Jesus into our heart. That is where we stand spiritually. A joint heir with Jesus. But we still need to renew our mind! We still need to discipline our flesh so that we receive the full benefit of Jesus has done for us. It is a process. Don’t quit when you blow it! Go to God and received forgiveness and restoration. It is time to grow up!
Victory Confession
Growing up spiritually is a process that takes time. I will be patient with myself as I press on toward the mark. I will yield daily to the work of God in my life. I will do what I need to grow and change!
As a newly ordained minister, William Carey stood up among his Baptist counterparts and made a case for the necessity of overseas missions. An older man immediately shut him down, saying that if God wanted to save the heathen, He could do it alone. Fortunately, William Carey did not listen.
Carey believed that the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18–20 was a binding command on every generation of Christians. Eventually, he took his family from England to India. There he began to evangelize the nation. Over time Carey translated the Bible into dozens of languages for the people of India. He and his colleagues founded a college whose primary goal was to train indigenous ministers. William Carey is widely hailed to be the father of modern missions.
Why is it essential to know church history? Because God has often used obscure people to do great things in His kingdom. These people often lacked connections, finances, and education, but God was able to use them to change lives. How will you let God use you?
1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1 John 5:1-3
3 Here’s how we can be sure that we’ve truly come to know God: if we keep his commands.4 If someone claims, “I have come to know God by experience,” yet doesn’t keep God’s commands, he is a phony and the truth finds no place in him. 5 But the love of God will be perfected within the one who obeys God’s Word.
1 John 2:3-5 (TPT)
Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; 2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
Ephesians 5:1-2 (AMP)
We become like those we spend time with. We can pick up mannerisms, habits and attitudes from people just by being with them over time. That is why our relationship with God is so important. When we spend time with Him we will start to display His character. Our faith will grow. Our words will change. Our lives will become a mirror image of Him and others will see Him in us. Who do people see when they look at you?
Victory Decision
I will grow my relationship with God by spending time with Him today. As I do I I believe my actions will reflect His love to those around me.
“Standing on the Word means knowing what God said. It means getting the Word in your spirit, and staking your life on it.”
16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 19Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 28Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
Daniel 3:16-26, 28
Victory Confession/Decision
I believe God is a miracle working God and my deliverer. I choose to put the Word of God in my heart daily so when I need to stand my faith will be strong. I trust God!
“Indecision will dissipate you; be organized in your spirit as well as your mind.”
8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
James 1:8
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Victory Action
I will give the Word of God first place in my thoughts and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, thereby organizing and training my spirit to guide me in making quality decisions.
(Below is an excerpt from Pastor’s book, “How to Find Life in Dead Situations”)
I have talked to many who desperately needed to change, but it just did not seem possible. I have walked through so much with people who seemed unresponsive to God’s Word. I just say, “Lord, I do not know what to think. They are yours.” Then someone else comes up and gets right in my face and looks at me and kindly says, “Thank you, I see the light. You will never know what deposits you made in my life.” That person has broken through to resurrection in their life. All things are possible if we only believe. John 11:25 says, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” My paraphrase of that is: though your situation seems dead, if you believe, there will be a resurrection. If you want to strengthen your faith remember that God is able. That is the message that God wants us to get a grip on today – you can find life in a dead situation. When something seems over, hopeless, helpless, you need to remember that nothing is impossible with our God.
