Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 30, 2019 at 04:07PM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2GER5Ad
via IFTTT The food set and available. If you are in need, come on down to second and main in rosebud. Will be here till 8pm or when the food runs out

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 27, 2019 at 03:23AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2SM4wTJ
via IFTTT The battlefield of Christ is in the mind! Thoughts, fears, anxiety, imaginations, dreams, these are the things that matter. To often we focus on actions. Sure actions matter, actions are what will be judged in the end. But the hidden battlefield of thought inside ones mind is where actions spring from. It is the thoughts that we allow which drive the actions we do. Think wrong, do wrong. Think right, do right. Remember what Jesus said... If a man "looks" on a woman with lust in his heart, he has committed adultery. Looking and thinking about the pleasures of sin is what leads us to sin! The thoughts make us guilty because if we don't "capture" the thought, we end up doing the action. Thoughts matter! They are seeds... Either seeds of destruction of seeds of success. The battle is about judging each thought properly and captureing, removing, halting those thoughts leading to evil. What is an evil thought? Anything that goes against God's will or law: I wish I could go party with them. It's too bad I got caught. That would be so much fun if I could do it. I know that is wrong but it sure looks fun. I wish I could have what they have. I hate that person. I really don't like this but I have to. Evil! So many simple thoughts are evil! Perhaps not blatantly evil, but evil still because they lead away from God's mercy, grace, and righteousness. Praising sin, thinking fondly of the pleasures of sin, looking back at sin with longing for the fun, evil! Remember Lott's wife? She looked back, longingly. She missed the pleasures of her old life and looked back at her old home in Sodom. Wham! God's judgement turned her into a pillar of salt. Looking back longingly at the pleasures of sin, missing them in our thoughts; evil! So what do we do? Daily, hourly, minute by minute we actively capture thoughts that are not in line with God's righteousness, and we remove them. We stand against the seeds of sin in our own heart. The flesh will always desire the pleasure of sin. But our spirit desires the righteousness of God once we are filled with the Spirit. The soul sits in the middle and decides to either follow the flesh or the spirit. That is the battle ground. You, your mind, your will, is in charge of the path you choose. As soon as a negative thought pops in, don't give it room to grow, capture it immediately and toss it out. Ungodly thoughts are an infection, they reproduce and spread rapidly. If we don't capture them when small and single, they quickly grow strong and drag our emotions to the flesh. The battle gets harder every second we allow that initial thought to remain. Take captive any and all thoughts that even slightly violate the knowledge and righteousness of Christ. All. Don't entertain lust, greed, envy, hatred, sinful pleasures, memories or desires for pleasure of sin. None of that! Think on what's forward, the holiness of Christ, the good things, the holy things, the things of good report. These thoughts build us up, give us strength, lead us into life and light. It matters what we think. Thoughts will make or break us. Be diligent in monitoring your own thoughts through the lens of scripture. Be quick to capture the ones that violate good or praise sin. Take that first step in deciding to capture the bad thoughts, and God, through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit will give the power to live righteously. This is victory!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 22, 2019 at 03:46AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2LwS8GF
via IFTTT Cleanse ourselves? How do we "cleans ourselves"? We can't. Yet we can. We can not do the cleansing, only Jesus through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us and change our heart. But.. and this is important, we must submit those areas of our heart and life to His will. We must take the step of submitting to Him. If we do not turn a part of our life over to the authority of Jesus, He will not cleanse us in that area. When we stubbornly hold on to a sin that we like, a habit, a thought, a pleasure that we just aren't ready to give up, we remain in that sin. What to do? Pray to "want" to give up that sin. You see, even when we truly want to çontinue enjoying the pleasures of a sin, we can decide that we want to stop wanting it! Just like a person who tries to stop smoking. For a time at least, they often want to quit, but the can't, they don't want to do what they want to do. During this time they want to not want it, but they still do. How is this possible? Because we are a three part being. Body, soul, and spirit. All three parts if us can have "wants" and those wants can conflict. This creates the common war within a person, when the body wants this and the soul wants that. When the spirit drives us this way yet the soul demands that way. The path to peace, to overcoming, is first realizing that we do have three parts, and those parts can be at war. Only Jesus can bring all three into harmony and fix us completely. Not willpower, not struggling, but truly change us to be single minded and desire Him only. The second step is to make the decision that we want to be clean. We want to be rid of this sin or that. This habit or that. Pray for the desire to end it. Pray for God to change your heart. Give Him permission, in your words, to do whatever He needs to cleanse you. Anything. Turn it over to Him. Whatever it takes. Scary? Yep. If your body or soul is bent on living in a sin, it may take a lot to change that. God can and will do it, but only if you make the decision that it's worth it. He will bring us to the point where the sin disgusts us, the pleasure of it holds no attraction anymore, and we can walk away in peace. Are you ready? Are you prepared to say to God that you will submit to His will, ask Him to do whatever is necessary to change you? To remove that sin? The habit? Tell Him now. Give verbal permission, from your true heart, to bring you to a place where you no longer desire sin. Trust that Jesus through the refining fire of the Holy Spirit will change your heart, and it will be worth it. Turn from sin. Set aside sin. It is a decision we make, and the power to accomplish it comes from above. All we need do is decide and trust. Follow whatever path God opens for you, and trust. Be clean. Be whole. Be like God. Be at peace.