"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 16:13 (KJV)

Some Christians are obsessed with things other than God, like mammon (riches.) They believe, they try to follow Jesus, but they'll do just about anything for money. Either that, or they're just consumed with ways of making more money. You can't serve two masters, because their laws are going to contradict and you'll have to choose between the two. You'll end up listening to one and disobeying the other.

The law of money is simply put, "do anything to get more money." The law of God is more complicated, He holds us to a standard... You can see how it would be a conflict when trying to serve both masters. The law of money might require you to do something that God doesn't approve of: like selling drugs, selling your body, hurting someone else, stealing, etc. For some... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (David) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2296 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:07:34 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2295/t/Love-Brotherly.html
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Beryl. ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (susan) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2295 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:34:28 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2294/t/Against-All-Odds-03-13-10-.html "When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Deuteronomy 20:1 (KJV)

I trust that none of you will ever see this scenario unfold in your life in this day and age.... But there will be days when you face impossible odds in many forms. Maybe you can't come up with enough money for rent, the Lord will provide a way! Maybe you are sick, the Lord can and will provide a cure to even the incurable disease! God doesn't need science to cure you! You just have to have faith.

More often than not the obstacle we face is inside of us. We are challenged by ourselves, how do we overcome ourselves? The only way is through the Lord! We have to trust in Him... Problem is that some have already given up. The odds seem impossible, so they must be, right? They've given up not only on themselves, but on God! They... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (David) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2294 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:37:33 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2293/t/IT-IS-WRITTEN-03-12-10-.html "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Luke 4:6-8 (KJV)

Today's devotion isn't so much about these verses, but more about the whole chapter of Luke Chapter 4. There's a couple of things about the chapter in particular that I want to point out: The first thing is that the devil messes with everyone, he even messed with Jesus! If he messed with Jesus with this spiritual warfare, then you can bet that he's going to mess with you! When he does don't let it make you feel condemned. The devil has a way of making you feel bad about what he's doing to you! "You wouldn't be getting messed with if you were really saved," he'll say. And if he doesn't say it then one... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (David) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2293 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:14:58 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2292/t/-Christ-Is-coming-Again.html 1 John 3:1-3

... Christ Is coming Again

When you pass middle age, you begin to realize that you have more days behind you than in front of you. Some people then begin to feel a bit of depression to think that the best days are the ones in the past. Have I already been as good as I will ever be?

Well, for the believer, the question is moot. For every one of us, no matter the age, our best days are before us. Jesus will return and life will be indescribably different when He does. And it's all good. Verse 2 of our passage says that we will be like Him. Hmm... In what ways? How so? We will see Him with new eyes and be with Him (like Him) in new bodies. What a life! Good news! Makes me smile!

FOR TODAY: Think of the best day of your... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (TBONE61) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2292 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:16:08 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2291/t/Honesty.html
'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.

Beryl.

]]> feeds@kickapps.com (susan) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2291 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:22:03 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2290/t/Turn-Down-The-Difficulty-03-11-10-.html "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

We worry about all the things that we need, and we lose sight of this verse... Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness FIRST, and all the things that we need will be added unto us. All that means is that your first priority is to seek the Lord, and to do His Will. If you do that then everything is going to work out!

I've noticed something though, even when I'm not doing what this verse tells us to do... The Lord still looks out for us. He still comes through, and we still get what we need. "God is faithful, even when we're not!" That saying is very true. I don't believe that we'll lose our salvation because we worry about things, but we will lose something else: Our peace. We can live this life so much happier and fuller than we do, if we follow the principles in the Bible. Everything doesn't have to be so stressful like some of us... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (David) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2290 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:47:50 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2289/t/-God-Forgives.html 1 John 1:9

...God Forgives

Have you ever noticed how many public apologies sound more like excuses and denials? Often the burden is shifted to the hurt party, as in, "If I offended you, then I am sorry." That language doesn't sound like the person is sure he or she did anything wrong.

God forgives... really forgives, as ONLY He can. But it is conditioned on confession, real confession. Our approach to God can contain no hint of excuse, denial, or self-righteousness. When we come to Him with sincere admission of guilt, knowing we have transgressed the standards of the Holy One, relying solely on His faithfulness and justice (based on Christ's sacrifice for us), forgiveness is freely given. It is... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (TBONE61) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2289 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:04:11 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2287/t/Loneliness.html
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

John 14:18.

 will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Beryl. ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (susan) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2287 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:51:38 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2286/t/Verse-to-Ponder-03-10-10-.html

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." Psalm 34:19 (KJV)

For today we're going to have a verse to ponder, so please share what the Lord puts on your heart. God bless!

I've been so weary even at a really young age, that I felt like I was 90 years old. No matter what age you are, the devil is going to work on you and try his hardest to wear you down. He'll keep trying until you give up or until you die, but for your sake it had better be the latter... Because if you want to make it into God's Kingdom, you can't give up. You have to be strong, and when you are weak you need to wait on the Lord to restore your strength.

Stay in prayer always, especially when you're weary and stay in the Word of God. Wait on the Lord, and He will give you strength! Praising the Lord also... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (David) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2281 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:04:11 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2280/t/-God-Intervened.html Romans 5:8

...God Intervened

It's hard to imagine anyone who doesn't think he or she is a sinner. It might be easy to justify and convince ourselves that we are no worse than someone else. But simply answering the question, "have you ever done a bad thing," surely we all get it. Yes, I am a sinner and so are you. And what must be the consequences?

But the good news: God intervened. Who is the "we" in our verse today? Obviously it was the writer, Paul, and his readers, the Roman Christians. But no doubt, all those for whom Christ died are part of the "we" as well. it is such good news that we did not have to reach any level of righteousness before, Christ's death could count for us. No preconditions. no matter how bad we are, or have been, Christ died for us.

http://godsmercy.net/topic/2280 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:21:16 PST http://godsmercy.net/topic/2279/t/God-Intends-Goodwill-To-Men.html Luke 2:8-14

 …God Intends Goodwill To Men

Bad news bombards us every day. Earthquakes hit, unemployment spikes, children suffer, terrorists kill…the list is long. But the Bible is full of good news. Let’s take this week to be reminded.

The Christmas story is replete with beautiful and meaningful details, some obvious, some obscure and some so simple we may overlook. Consider the angel’s announcement to the shepherds. The scene starts with one angel telling the men: “Don’t be afraid,... ]]> feeds@kickapps.com (TBONE61) http://godsmercy.net/topic/2279 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:01:37 PST