Killing A Python

• No, I am not talking about a big snake. Let me explain.

The other afternoon as I was having fellowship with the Lord, He showed me a picture of a giant python wrapped around a person slowly squeezing the life out of him."What is this", I asked? "Why are you showing this to me, Lord?" He told me that the python in my vision represented financial debt. He told me He is alarmed at how much debt people are shouldering these days. He said that this world's system has made it so easy for people to acquire material things on credit thus piling up thousands of dollars of debt. He said that, as a result, financial debt is destroying families, health, happiness and marriages.                           This vision and my conversation with the Lord has energized me into working to expose this python for what it really is, a deceptive demon from hell. In the book of Proverbs we read, "the borrower is slave to the lender". And now we can clearly see the wisdom behind Paul's statement to Timothy,"to owe no man anything but to love him".

So, how do you kill this python? The answer is -- you starve it to death. But, let me warn you, to do that is harder than you think. It will take sacrifice, discipline and a"No back down" determination. The following is the killing process.

• First step. Stop accumulating more debt. That means put your credit cards away, but if you if you have to use them, Pay off your charge within 30 days.
  
• Second step. Make a list of all your debts starting with the largest down to the smallest.
  

Third step. Begin "wiping out" your debts starting with the smallest. Make extra payments or pay additional principal until that debt goes away. Then, start on the next one up the ladder.

• It's going to take determination like you have never had before because that python does not want to let go. But, as you feel each one of it's coils loosen and letting go, you will be overjoyed. Continue this process until all of your debts have been paid in full. You will be free! No longer a slave to that python!
• Now, make up your mind to never go near that snake again.

Lost --- Maybe Not

Have you ever been lost? I have and it's a scary thing.

When I was in my teens, my dad and I went fishing up in the headwaters of the Pascagoula River swamp. We were in a small skiff with a small outboard motor. As I recall, this was an area where not too many people ventured to fish. But my dad, who was an avid fisherman, knew thes swamp waters like the back of his hand.

However, things were a little different this time because of serious flooding in the river system. As a result, a lot of dad's familiar landmarks were under water. As we carefully negotiated our skiff through the cypress knees and trees and other swamp vegetation, we noticed the deeper we went the more everything looked the same. At around mid afternoon, after we had caught several bass, it was time to head back to where we had launched our boat. It was a cloudy day, so we were unable to use the sun to help us with our direction. That fact along with the other fact that all of dad's familiar markings were under water left us in a serious plight. We were lost! Daylight was slowly fading and there were no sign posts in the middle of the swamp to show us the way out. However, eventually, just before total darkness we certainly emerged into a bayou with familiar surroundings. We headed home much relieved.

I was physically lost, but maybe you are spiritually lost and are looking for a way out of darkness; a way that leads to safety. All of us were born lost into a fallen world. However, there is hope. There is a way out! There may not have been any signs posted in the dark swamp to show my dad and I the way out, but there is a sign posted in your spiritual life showing you how to escape darkness and a hopelessness condition. The Bible tells us that, "Jesus is the way". It further tells us that The only way to emerge from spiritual darkness is through the light of God's dear Son.

So, to find your way this is what you do. First, you call out to Jesus for help and tell him you are lost. Next, you ask Him to forgive you for all of the wrong turns you've made in life (your sins), and then ask Him to save you. That's it! You wants were lost, but now you're found!

Much love… welcome to the family.

What Do You See?

Perhaps we need to learn to see again. We can see to learn to interpret the weather, but we cannot see to interpret the signs of the times. Maybe we need to slow down and look again.

God has a vision for our lives and he wants us to see it. Maybe we are having trouble seeing it all at once. But maybe if we were to take small glimpses and continue to look, we could see that all of these small glimpse, If put together, would show us God's complete vision for us.

God asked three different prophets in the old testament, "what do you see"? That same question could be asked of us.

The Bible says,"The word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path". By the light of God's Word -- that's how we see! We need to learn to see again with uncommon eyes. Jesus's death, burial and resurrection has opened unto us a Kingdom common eyes cannot see. Jesus told Nicodemus that unless a person is "born again" they cannot SEE the a Kingdom of Heaven.

So, let me ask you, have you had your vision checked lately? 

Seeds

Johnny Appleseed was a real person born in 1774. His real name was John Chapman. His passion, which he did, was to go around far and wide planting apple seeds which would in turn produce apple trees, which would in turn produce apples so that no one would ever go hungry.

Just think about the amazing potential and power of a seed. After God's creation, every living thing on this planet came from a seed. In fact, did you know that words are seeds? And since God spoke this world into existence with words, I guess you could say He spoke this world into existence with seeds. Umm...In the book of Genesis we read The phrase, "seedtime and harvest". In this context seedtime is a particular event. However, you could say it another way: seed - time - harvest. By this we see that it takes time for for the potential in a seed to germinate and develop into it's full statue. Also, I might add, it's important to note that the treatment of the seed during it's growing process greatly influences the health of it's final being. After a farmer plants his seeds he waters and nourishes them throughout the growing phase to help ensure a good crop. Otherwise he could have a crop failure.This same analogy can be used for humans. We produce other humans with our seed. As the seed begins it's growing process in the womb, the soon to be mother takes care of herself to ensure a healthy baby. Once the baby is born and throughout the process of growing into adolescence and then into adulthood, our words and words spoken by others function as seeds that will grow to shape the character, self-worth, confidence and integrity of the child. Negative degrading words (seeds) will produce that kind of result. Positive uplifting encouraging words (seeds) produce that kind of result.

The type of ground in which the seed is planted is vital. Jesus said, "seed planted in good ground Will produce 30,60 and 100 fold". He also said good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit. It's important to understand that our mind is the soil in which we plant seeds. What we listen to, watch, talk about and think about the most act as seeds that directly impacts our outlook on life. Therefore, it's easy to see that if our mind is full of doom and gloom and negativity seeds, That's the kind of prop that will be produced this shaping our character. On the other hand, if we feed positive thinking and faith filled words and the word of God, Our mind set will be a glorious crop.

So, you see, Johnny Appleseed was motivated by a great passion which led him to plant apple seeds everywhere he went. We, too, can be like Johnny and go around planting seeds of the Gospel. The result of our seed will be the "bread of life" that will feed those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Do you have a passion for those who are lost, for those who are hurting?

John

Problem -- What Problem

The lion roared

And David took him out,

God's anointing was on him strong,

Goliath bellowed

And David took him out,

As God directed the Stone,

The wind blew hard,

And the waves crashed in,

His disciples were full of dread,

But Jesus was with them,

And calmed the storm,

Where is your faith, He said;

The crowd was huge,

They had been there a while,

And now they were a hungry bunch,

But the multitude was fed,

As Jesus looked up to heaven,

And blessed a little boy's lunch,

Peter was chained 

Between two guards

 Scheduled to die the next day.

But God sent his angels 

Who silenced the guards 

And led Peter quietly away.

Paul and Silas were beaten,

And chained to prison walls,

They were in a terrible plight,

But they sang praises to God,

And He shook the chains off,

And they were freed in the middle of the night.

So how big is your problem?

Has it got you down,

And you don't know where to turn,

Have you forgotten Almighty God,

He's bigger than them all,

And will relieve your every concern.

John,sf

04/22/17

Problem? -- What Problem

The lion roared.                                          David took him out,                                              God's anointing was on him strong;

Goliath bellowed,                                         David took him out,                                          As God directed the stone;

The wind blew hard,                                      And the waves crashed in,                             His disciples were full of dread;

Jesus was with them,                                    And calmed the storm,                              Where is your faith, He said;

The crowd was huge,                                   They had been there a while,                                And now they were a hungry bunch,

But the multitude was fed,                                 As Jesus look up to heaven,                                    And blessed a little boy's lunch;

Peter was chained                                           Between two guards.                                         Scheduled to die the next day,

But God sent His angels.                                   Who silenced the guards,                                       And led Peter quietly away;

Paul and Silas were beaten,                                  And chained to prison walls,                                  They were in a terrible plight;

But they sang praises to God,                           And He shook the chains off.                             They were freed in the middle of the night;

So, how big is your problem?                                 Has it got you down,                                              And you don't know where to turn;

Have you forgotten Almighty God?                           He's bigger than them all,                                    And will relieve your every concern.

John

Think Right -Talk Right

To start with let's look at two scriptures. "As a person thinks in their heart, so are they". And

"out of the abundance of the heart a person speaks".

The integrity of God's Word is unparalleled and unmatched, and that's where faith comes from."Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God". Rom 10:17.

1. You can see from the Scriptures, the amount of faith we have is in direct proportion to the amount of God's Word we have in our heart. When Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days in the wilderness he defeated him by speaking the word of God. He kept saying to the devil, "it is written". And Jesus is our example. The only thing that will defeat the enemy and stop him in his tracks is the word of God spoken in faith.
   
2. It's important to know that even though we may have God's word fixed in our heart, Tess will come. This is when we need the force of patients to undergird our faith. James 1:3 says:"Knowing this that the testing of our faith produces endurance. And let endurance run it's perfect course so that you will be complete and lacking nothing". Also, Isaiah tells us, "they who wait upon the Lord shall mount up as with wings of Eagles...".
3. It's the truth that you know that will make you free. Read, meditate and study God's word. Get it established and fixed in your heart. When you do that, a victorious life is sure to follow.

The Chain Breaker

Definition of "unchained". To release from. Set free from bondage. Unfettered, unshackled, untied, unbound. For a person to be unchained it is understood that they were once chained. When the word "chained"is mentioned, we quickly visualize a person in prison shackled and chained, or maybe we visualize a chain gang where several prisoners are all chained together working in a field. To be physically restrained by chains has got to be the ultimate in despair and hopelessness.

Sadly, however, multiply millions of people are bound by invisible chains. So, let's talk about the physical and the invisible. And, let me say upfront that no matter what type of chain, Almighty God is the chain breaker.

1. Physical chains - There are two instances in the New Testament that demonstrate God's deliverance. In Acts 13 we find Peter shackled with two sets of chains between two guards in the lower dungeon. He was to be executed the next morning. On the surface it would appear to be a hopeless situation. BUT GOD! Say it with me, BUT GOD! You see, what the enemy didn't know was that believers were interceding in prayer for Peter all over Jerusalem. The Lord God heard their prayers and intervened by sending angels Who came and broke the chains. The key for being "unchained"here is the faithful prayers of intercession by other believers. The other example is found in Acts 17 where we find Paul and Silas chained and shackled in the lower dungeon in Philippi. They appeared to have no hope. But instead of falling into a state of gloom and despair they began to sing and praise the Lord in utter darkness at the midnight hour. And God, who inhabits the praises of his people, beard and moved on their behalf and shook the chains from their hands and feet and they were delivered. The key for being "unchained" in this situation is praise and worship. No matter The difficulty, if we praise God for his goodness and mercy and his grace, great things will happen.
2. Invisible chains - As strange as it may seem, these unseen chains can cause more bondage than the physical. First let's identify some of these unseen chains: Unforgiveness, jealousy, failure, unworthy mindset, hate, handicap, lack, fear, addiction and more. You may be thinking right now event area in your life where you are having trouble breaking free. Each one of these areas is like a hidden explosive in a minefield planted by our carnal nature we were born with. So the question is, how do we avoid these hidden mines as we negotiate our journey through life? Each mine is like an invisible chain that can hinder and negatively impact the real you. They can be crippling and prevent all that God has planned for you to be.
3. You may be saying at this very moment, "John, You have no idea, I've tried everything I know to break from this bondage, but nothing seems to work -- I am almost ready to give up". Please listen to me with an open mind. The reason you haven't broken free is because "I"is in the way. "I" is in the natural world, but it will take the supernatural ability of Almighty God to break any of these unseen chains. And, oh by the way, our Lord Jesus has already destroyed and broken all of these chains when he went from the cross into hell and made an "open show"of the devil and literally paralyzed him. Jesus is the "chain breaker", not you.

• So, to start the process of breaking free we must believe by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ."Where do I get this faith", you might ask? Here's the answer from Romans 10:17."Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God". When we listen, read and study the word of God, Faith will come! I don't mean once a week or five minutes a day, NO! To grow in faith requires a serious commitment to the word of God. Then, as you continue to study and grow in faith, you will learn other truths in the Word that will help you break free and be delivered. There is a great scripture that says, "and you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free". Remember, it's the truth that you know.
  
• So here's the bottom line: Jesus is the "chain breaker", not you. And, Jesus and the Word or one. God bless you.