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We should all be on fire for God

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When I was 23 I decided to give my life wholly to God.  I had grown up in church but I had lived a mostly sinful life.  But I believed God had a good plan for me, and if I would start listening to Him I could find it.  After about a year I began writing Bible studies and trying to get my old friends saved.  I started talking about God all the time.  One day my friend (let’s call him Steve), emailed me and said something I will never forget.  “Byron, you are on fire for God.”  I was stunned, not because I was on fire for God, but because I realized Steve wasn’t.  Steve had been a Christian for as long as I had known him, at least since the third grade.  Steve stayed close to God all those years, never started drinking (as far as I know), he never went through sinful years.  He participated in Christian organizations and went to church.  He married a Christian girl and Christ was obviously important to him.  Why wasn’t he on fire for God? My friends, I tell you that I have been on fi
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How To Get What You Need From God

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The idea of getting things from God can be a complex and controversial subject.  Understanding God’s process to receive from Him is extremely important and it's worth your time to learn and study it so that you can receive all God wants you to have. Some people believe we can get anything from God, some people believe we can get nothing from Him, and others believe everything in between.  We teach our children to pray and ask God for things, but we also try to guide them into correct prayer and correct requests from God.  By “things” I’m referring to anything, not just material things.  How do we get what we need or even want from God?  How do we know what God wants us to have?  In this essay I’m going to show you the Biblical model to receiving from God so that you can use this process and receive everything you need from God.  There are potential debates virtually every step of the way, but if we dealt with them this essay would become a novel.  Today we are simply goi
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Overcoming Giants

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You must understand that Israel's journey from Egypt into the Promised Land is a picture for Christians to study and follow.  Not only does this represent our freedom from sin and our entry into righteousness and peace with God, but it also represents passing from a place where sin dominated every area of our life, to a place where God's favor and promises can be our reality. Here are two quick verses: "The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  (John 10:10, Jesus speaking) "Truly I say unto you, 'There is no man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."  (Ma
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We are God's Ekklesia!

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"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?'  And they said, 'Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.'  He said unto them, 'But whom say you that I am?'  And Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'  And Jesus answered and said unto him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in Heaven.  And I say unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  (Matthew 16:13-19) What an amazing passage which is worthy of our most focused at
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A Key To Victory

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Last weekend my church had a men's retreat, a camping trip.  After my first night ever in a tent, a long, cold night, I woke up early and considered my options.  It was really too early to get going so I thought about life and my relationship with God.  In many ways life has been very good lately.  On the outside people might think everything is perfect in my life and relationship with God.  But on this morning I could sense something wasn't quite right.  I acknowledged this feeling, admitted I needed to figure it out, and God then spoke to me. God led me straight to 1 Samuel, a book I've read many times.  He showed me something awesome, and I believe this is a master key for any of us looking to progress in our walk with God. In 1 Samuel chapter four we quickly see that Israel is in "Ebenezer" (meaning "Rock of Hope") and having problems with the Philistines.  They are defeated in battle by the second verse.  They consider their situation, and they
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He Is Enough

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Lately I have been studying Godly leadership.  Other than in my home, I'm really not in any position of leadership at this time.  But I try to hear God about my Bible study.  That's really a great practice that you should consider.  It's good to follow Bible reading plans or other set schedules at times, but other times you need to let the Spirit of Truth guide you into all Truth.  Remember that Jesus said God's Word is Truth.  So in reality, Christians have the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of the Word of God, to guide them through the Word of God. At first when you try to follow God's Spirit in your Bible study you can feel lost and maybe even silly.  You're trying to hear with your spiritual ears a voice that usually only speaks in the spiritual realm, and you want it to tell you what page to read in a book.  But don't worry about that.  Focus instead on God's promise that the Spirit of Truth is inside of you and that He will guide you into all T
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The Presence of God

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If you go to church then you have probably heard people talk about the presence of God.  People talk about God being in the church (especially when the music is good) or God being in various places at various times.  They might say things like, "the presence of God was so strong" or "you can feel the presence of God here" or something like that.  While there is no question that God does show up physically in various places (especially in the Old Testament) this can become a fuzzy, goofy question for the flesh that ends up removing the actual benefits and possibilities of God's presence. Let's try to get rid of some of the mystery about God's presence and learn how we can be constantly in God's presence with its resulting benefits.  That's right, you aren't just in God's presence when you feel goose bumps during a good worship song, as a Christian you can (and do) live in God's presence.  When we understand the reality of God'
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