John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. My Thought for Today: Trying times are times for trying. May God release fresh faith and perspective into your soul today? May He strengthen your frame and establish your steps. May He give you fresh vision for your future and divine wisdom for stewarding your "now" moments. May the song in your heart ring louder than the enemy's threat and accusations. There is no one like our God and there's nothing like His love for you. Trying times are times for trying. Give God full access to get involved in your situation. Walk blessed today because you are of His DNA, you are of the family of Christ. You are blessed and highly favored. Trials and tribulations are real. But, so is God! When you find yourself too deep in a situation stop and pray! We may be overwhelmed by it, but God is not. We may not see a way out, but God can. There's no limit when God's in it. Crying Out To God. Battlefield of the mind is a sensitive place. It is where Satan does his best work; Yet The God who created our mind is the God We Cry Out To : When we can’t help ourselves and call for help, when we’re pushed beyond our limits, when we’re pulled out of our comfort zone, when we don’t like where we are and want out, when we don’t like who we are and want a change; We reflexively and involuntarily resort to prayer. “Help Lord” is our natural cry. Prayer begins in trouble and it continues because we’re always in trouble at some level; Finances, Family, Health & on & on. It requires no special preparation, no precise vocabulary and no appropriate posture. It springs from us in the face of necessity and, in time, becomes our habitual response to every issue, good and bad, we face in life. God’s help is only a prayer away. (Phil. 4:6) A powerful and yet - a simple prayer to pray is: "I trust you God." That simple little prayer can give you so much comfort. When you pray the promises instead of the problems not only will it change your attitude from a victim to a victor, but also God’s Word coming out of your mouth is powerful. When God hears His Word coming out of you He dispatches angels with the answers, He sets miracles into motion and He will begin to change things. It may not happen overnight but stay in faith and keep reminding God what He promised you day in and day out. Instead of complaining say, “God you said”. Instead of begging say, “God you said”. Instead of describing the circumstances say, “God you said”. If you get in a habit of praying God’s promises back to Him, you will see God at work in your life. His Word and all of His promises are yes. The Only Begotten Son of God There is one doctrine that all the others rest upon. It is the rock bottom, foundation of the Christian faith: Jesus of Nazareth is the only begotten* Son of God. Without this core belief, all the others are meaningless. Christianity stands upon the person of Jesus of Nazareth as the only begotten Son from eternity past and into the future forever. He is unique because He is the only begotten Son of God. ….."Take my Son"..... A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.. He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.' The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.' The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?' There was silence... Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.' But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?' Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!'] But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?' Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long time gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. 'We have $10, who will bid $20?' 'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.' The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!' A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!' The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.' 'What about the paintings?' 'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will... I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!' God gave His son over 2,000 years ago to die on the Cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The Son, the Son, who'll take the Son?' Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything! FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE If Jesus were to meet you at the door of the church building and confront you with this question, “Where are you?” What would you say? Would you respond by saying, “I'm lost,” or would you respond by saying, “I’m in Jesus.” If you are lost, are you saying to God, “Not today, Lord, not today”? How are you going to respond today? Answer the question, “Where are you?”