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RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

9/9/2021

September 9, 2021 RIVERS OF LIVING WATER
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”
Every person desires abundant, over-flowing life; yet, many never find it; it’s like chasing the illusive butterfly. The man or woman who lives according to his or her natural instinct and understanding, looks for life in the wrong places. One may be convinced that wealth and material possessions, or fame, or beauty, or popularity will satisfy their deepest longings. God, our designer and creator, knows that we desire life to the fullest, and He has made that life available to us. The key is that the life He gives is supernatural; it is not found through logic, good decisions, being smart-or whatever. In fact, the primary factor in discovering this abundant life is that we must die to self! That sounds contrary to everything our human nature tells us; because man lives according to self, dying to self is a huge contradiction to what he believes. The good news is that the life God offers is free and it is available to all who come to Him. The key is in ‘coming to Him.’ Coming to Him implies that we are leaving ‘ourselves’ and surrendering all to Him. The life that flows from God to us is constant and is not diminished by adverse circumstances; it is ‘like a well of water springing up.’ Note that this life is a ‘river of living water;’ it brings life wherever it flows; it brings healing, restoration, rest, hope, love, wisdom, forgiveness, wholeness, and peace. Do not miss the main point; the river of life is flowing from us, and that means that we will be expressions of His abundant life wherever we go and in all circumstances. To ‘drink of the water’ that Jesus gives, is to receive Him as Savior, to believe that every word He spoke is true, to love Him, to seek Him first, to yield everything to Him, and to obey Him. As believers, we can become distracted, can complicate things, and even fall into the trap of thinking that through our own actions we bring about abundant life. Let us lay aside our opinions, our view points, our logic, our traditions, and our preferences, and simply receive the rivers of living waters that He gives to all who come to Him. The well of water within us never runs dry.
John 6:35 “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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WHAT PLEASES GOD

9/7/2021

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September 7, 2021 WHAT PLEASES GOD
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarded of those who seek Him.
Yes, it is impossible to please God-without faith. One may give to the church, may visit the sick, may teach a bible class, may be a good citizen, but yet does not please God if what he is doing does not flow out his faith in God. Faith is a very common word that is often over used, and it is likely that we have become insensitive to the practical outworking of true faith. Hebrews 11:1 in just a few words gives a clear definition of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Chapter eleven of Hebrews is known as the faith chapter, and as you read this chapter, it becomes obvious that biblical faith is expressed in action. In James 2:26 we read “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” Looking again at Hebrews 11:6, we see that faith is at work when one comes to God believing that He is God. Everything hinges on whether or not one believes that God is God! Many reject or deny God, thus revealing their total lack of faith. In this same verse we see that as one comes to God, he must believe that God rewards those who come to Him, and perhaps it is the belief that God is good and that He rewards those who come to Him is what causes one to come to God. I have often heard it said that we sit in a chair because we have faith that it will support us. However, that is not a good example of faith because we can see the chair and we can see that it is sturdy and that it will hold our weight. Faith, on the other hand, is the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” In Luke 7, we find the account of the Roman centurion who had a servant who was sick and near the point of death. This centurion had heard about Jesus and when Jesus came near his house, he simply asked Jesus just to ‘say the word’ so that his servant would be healed. Jesus response to those following Him was “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” Faith comes out of believing that God is God, that He is always good, and that He is all-powerful. Another important aspect of faith is that we cannot take credit for our faith, for faith is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8) As seen in Hebrews 11, we do not always see with our physical eyes the fulfillment of what we have faith for, but even so, we continue to believe that God is God and that He is faithful. Each of us have personal things which calls for us to exercise our faith in God; God is faithful to fulfill His word and His promises. We must examine ourselves to see if we indeed have faith in what God has said, and are we looking forward to the fulfillment of every word He has spoken and every promise He has given. May we believe that God is God, and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Romans 1:17: “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed-a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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WHO ARE WE FIGHTING?

9/5/2021

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September 5, 2021 WHO ARE WE FIGHTING?
Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
We face formidable enemies, and unless we put on the ‘full armor of God,’ we do not have a chance of winning. Do not take this personally-but sometimes we are not too bright; we spend a lot of time, resources, and emotional energy fighting the puppet instead of the real enemy; our enemy is the one hidden behind the curtain that is pulling all the strings. Being focused on the puppet is just what the enemy likes-it is one of his schemes; in verse eleven above, we are admonished to ‘stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” People that are about doing evil and wickedness are not our real enemies; they are simply guided by and influenced by the “spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The problem is that if our spiritual eyes have not been opened by the Spirit of truth-the Holy Spirit-we cannot even see the enemy and do not even know who the enemy is. It is ‘mind-boggling,’ contrary to logic, curious, and amazing, but what is unseen is more real than what is seen with our physical eyes. 2 Corinthians 4:18. There are spiritual battles taking place between God the forces of wickedness, the devil, and the primary battle grounds are in the hearts and minds of human beings. The goal of Satan is to draw the hearts and minds of believers away from God as a way of getting back at God-that is the battle. We can be assured that the devil and his demons are behind all wickedness and evil; he is the real enemy that is behind the evil and wickedness and strife. Once we know that, we know who to fight; and we fight by prayer, by speaking the truth, and by letting our light (the light of God) shine before men. This does not mean that we never confront or engage those who are practicing evil and are opposed to God; our heart should be that they would come to know God as Savior. Let us be smart in this battle; let us see the real enemy and stand firm with the armor that God has supplied; let us be a part of spoiling his plans to kill and destroy. Know it or not, we have an adversary; the good news is that Jesus overcame Satan, and his days or numbered; and God has given us the armor we need to overcome our arch enemy. (It’s another subject, but God is using Satan for His own purposes, which includes us learning how to overcome evil.) “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”
James 4:7 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Blessings,

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WE'RE IN IT TOGETHER

9/3/2021

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September 3, 2021 WE’RE IN IT TOGETHER
1 Corinthians 12:18, 25b-27 “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose.” “that there should be no division in the body, but that the members have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
Romans 12:4-5 “For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.”
We tend to live primarily with an individualistic mindset or view of life; we buy into the idea that “If it is to be, it’s up to me.” True; we are individuals and we have certain responsibilities and there are certain things we must do as individuals; however, having an individualistic mindset robs us of the blessings that come as a result of being connected to, and being a functioning part of the body of Christ. If fact, God created us and designed us in such a way that we need others; we find fulfillment when we are a participating, functioning part of the body of Christ. (The body of Christ is referred to as the church, and is made up of those who trust Christ as Savior.) Contrary to popular opinion, we are incomplete in and of ourselves; we are a ‘part,’ not the whole. This point is made clear in 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul uses the analogy of the physical body to make his point; the ear, or eye, or any other member of our body cannot say that it has no need of the other. Being a functioning part of the body of Christ means that we can enjoy fellowship; we can find encouragement; we can learn from each other; we find comfort; we benefit from the spiritual gifting of others; we grow spiritually..and so much more. We need the input of others in areas where I am weak, or perhaps have a blind-spot, and for that reason, we need others around us that we are engaged with in a trust relationship where we have honest and meaningful conversation. In the body of Christ, when one lacks, others supply. Sad to say, but the truth is that there are many ‘churches’ that do promote body-life; many perceive church as a place you go to for one hour on Sunday morning. The body of Christ, the church, is not a building; it’s believers meeting together to share the life of God, and that meeting together not only takes place in a meeting on Sunday morning, but may take place anywhere, anytime. So, we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves; we are a part of the church, which is made up of the ‘called out ones;’ and the purpose that God has for His church will be fulfilled. The church is to be a shining light to the world, demonstrating the love of God and the ways of God to all. The church is not a social club or a political organization; it is a body ordained by God and cared for by God, and we are a member of it.
Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and or of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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NEWNESS OF LIFE

9/1/2021

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September 1, 2021 NEWNESS OF LIFE
Romans 6:4 “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Isaiah 40:31 “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Colossians 3:10 “And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of the creator.”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I come that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
New means new! New does not mean refurbished. To live a life that is not in keeping with the life that God has for us, is to live a sub-standard life. God knew how lost man was and how man was in bondage to sin, and He knew that man could not help himself. Because of the plight of man, God had mercy and compassion and sent His Son to be a sacrifice for the sins of man; but not only a sacrifice for sins, but to make those who believed in Him new creations whereby man could live life as God intended. We must know that God is for us and that He wants us to experience abundant life here on planet earth; we must also know that experiencing abundant life does not mean a life free from trials and difficulties. The good news is that as new creations, we have the power to be overcomers. Routines are not bad, but if not alert, we find ourselves living lives of ‘routines’ and miss the newness and freshness of the life that God gives. God does not ‘zap’ us with abundant life; abundant life is realized as we discover our true identity in Him and as we discover that we are who He says we are; it’s about believing the truth of the scriptures and about making the choice to walk in His ways. Only God has the keys to real life. Walking in newness has a way of showing up in the nitty-gritty of life. Because this newness of life flows out of our innermost being, it is not interrupted by adverse circumstances, but rather becomes even more evident. The beauty of living the life that God gives is that even in the most mundane, in the smallest things and the seemingly insignificant things, we find joy and fulfillment; as someone said, “The grass is greener and the skies are bluer.” Let us put on the new self that God made us; let us renew our strength; let us walk in newness of life; and let us mount up with wings like eagles. No matter what our present circumstances are, and no matter what our past is like, God offers us life over-flowing in the here and now. May read and study His word to learn of Him, and to learn who we are in Him, and to know just what all accompanies being joined to Him.
John 8:12 “Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

WHAT PLEASES GOD

WHO ARE WE FIGHTING?

WE'RE IN IT TOGETHER

NEWNESS OF LIFE

Buddy Fitzgerald

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