Sunday, January 27, 2013

Preaching: True Beauty! (Part 2)


Our guest writer has returned.  Please enjoy Part 2 of Keysi's devotion on True Beauty.
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Today’s Devotion

Topic: True beauty! (Part 2)

Scriptures:Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 14:12, Philippians 1:20, John 3:30, Matthew 6:33,Matthew 7:6, etc.


Good evening brothers and sisters!

Today we are on the second part of this preaching, may our Lord Jesus Christ pour out His understanding and guidance upon you, so that you’ll know what to do with all the gifts and talents He has given you, using your time wisely, encouraging and teaching others about these verses and doing everything in reverence, building up a good testimony not only before men but most importantly before God, since the days are evil.

Let me ask you a question my friend, what’s true beauty for you? True beauty for me is:_____________________________________________

As you fill in the blanks, I’ll give you this passage :

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.”

Ok now, can you compare what you wrote down with this verse? Are those things right before you but they’re actually notfrom the Lord? Do they sound pretty normal/good to you but are they kind of worldly? Or are they  based on what you’ve read in the Bible and what God has taught you throughout the years?

We are seeing all sorts of wickedness when it comes to beauty nowadays my beloved brethren, all the way from unnecessary surgeries to not eating, and all of this is done just to look“good” 

Speaking of that let me show you something:

For no one ever hates his own body, buthe nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church. Ephesians 5:29

So if you love your body you must eat, not in excess because that’s a sin, that’s a whole other Bible study but if you want to read about if go for it my beloved brethren, it’s found in Proverbs23:20-21 And also you must take care of your body because it is not yours but God’s, you are His Holy temple!

With that in mind let’s jump to the following verse:

Philippians 1:20

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.”

How is Christ exalted in our bodies? Ok we're getting to the point of True Beauty here, pay attention my friends!

“Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:12-14

How can God be exalted in your body if you are for example in fornication? Or doing things that you shouldn’t be doing you name it, or taking in substances like someone who doesn’t know Christ? If you want to Grace is not a pass to sin, so if you’re a Christian who thinks that just because God is so graceful with you & you can do whatever you want, then you truly need to repent!

How can you pursue outwardly “beauty” if your inside is messed up? Don’t be a Pharisee!

‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. Matthew 23:25-26

Cleaning your heart & thoughts with the precious anointing of the Holy Spirit, this is an invitation to the real deal, HEAVEN!! Not to a religion or a church! it’s better to be judged, warned and rebuked by the Lord TODAY than later on when you’re standing before Him by the white throne, because that’s going to open your eyes and make you turn to Him. You might be saying, “man but if God is love then how is he going to judge me? That’s why!!! He is your Father! He wants a relationship with you, but you need to submit and let excuses out! Sin is death, and if you aren’t pursuing the ETERNAL BEAUTY then what are you waiting for? God wants your name to be written in the book of Life my beloved brethren, let Him cleanse whatever needs to be cleansed! You can go and take a shower in holy waters if you want, but that’s not going to remove your sin! Only Jesus with His precious blood!

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.”


That’s True beauty my beloved brethren,no man can do this! Once everything’s fixed inside, no doubt it’s going to overflow and shine your face!

Speaking of that, don’t you remember whenMoses was praying and after he finished, everyone who saw him was astonished because Moses’ face was so bright and radiant!

The same happens in your life, give it toJesus and the outside beauty won’t be as important as your inward beauty! Matthew 6:33 says “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added on to you.”

God won’t give you something that will separate you from Him, or make you forget about His Love, so think about it andpursue greater things than appearance or what not, it applies to relationships as well.


Lord Jesus please guard every heart that is reading this, fix their eyes on You, show them the beauty you did on that cross, by Your bruises we are healed!


K. Cordero


keysi31@hotmail.com

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Preaching: True Beauty!

 ( Keysi is a guest writer and a wonderful friend/sister in Christ! I pray you will be blessed by her posts.)
Today’s Devotion

Topic: True beauty! (Part 1)

Scriptures: Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 14:12, Philippians 1:20, John 3:30, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 7:6, etc.


Good morning beloved brethren! May our Lord and Savior be with you today, giving you wisdom and showing you decisions and radical steps that you are going to take this New Year! Regardless of the outcome and the things that are happening in this world, we are still here, for God’s plan! He needs servants with hearts that are ready for the battle! And here we are, empty-handed, we just need to bow our knees and give Him our goals! He will transform them and give us back what we really need! A new list with things that will edify not only you but those who are in need for Jesus!


Today we will be discussing about True Beauty!

Beauty does not refer to women only; we find in the scriptures that even men were also recognized for their appearance such as David, the beloved husband in the Book of Songs of Solomon, Joseph, etc.

The concept of beauty has been twisted by the world, it is sad to see both men and women affected in a very negative way regardless of their ages. We see young girls pursuing a fake appearance, pride and recognition from other people in the wrong way. First of all because it is not God’s will that you become a “Praised person” because of your beauty, second because you will become a prideful being, no different than Lucifer when he rebelled against God! Remember that the devil was the most beautiful angel, and that was the very reason why he wanted to be worshiped among the other heavenly creatures.

Let’s see what God’s precious Word says about this:

Luke 14:11 “for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

Proverbs 6:17-19 “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that hurry to run to evil,
a lying witness who testifies falsely,
and one who sows discord in a family.”

James 4:6 “God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 31:30

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”


If you stop and think for a moment, there are so many people right now, some faces might start popping in your head as we speak. There are people who become so vain in their own physical appearance where it’s all about them, and what they have, and they forget God. The riches go together with this as well, once you’ve got “everything” you start forgetting the very fount of blessings!

Beloved brethren, do not be deceived!

Let’s take a look at this verse which is absolutely impacting:

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love become slaves to one another. Galatians 5:13 Wow! By the way, becoming slaves to one another in this verse simply means serving! Being there for your friends, family, people!! Don’t get confused with 1 Corinthians 7:23, this other one is talking about the freedom that Christ has given us.

Going back to what we were saying my friends, don’t waste your time on the flesh! Don’t use that beautiful freedom Jesus bought for on things that aren’t worth it! This flesh will fade away, it’s just flesh! And the worse thing is that this flesh is against the Spirit! So there’s no way we should be more involved in temporary things, and again it goes beyond the physical, it’s a heart issue! It comes from our human nature, it all starts in the garden of Eden, but remember that Christ paid the price for that sin! Therefore we should turn away from it, we are no longer living in the flesh but in the Spirit! Yes we still have this body, but by the Holy Spirit of God our desires will change, let’s repent from our pride, and pray fervently! Satan cannot intervene when you are talking to your heavenly Father! Hallelujah!  It’s Daddy and son/daughter time! God will remove pride from your life my beloved brethren, but you need to present it before Him!

This will be a long study, but it is very important to understand where we are, we’ve all been through things like these, some of you are very hurt by the whole concept of beauty especially in this kind of society where you feel pressured to do things and to look like certain people, worldly fashions come to place, even at church, and it is a disaster! But the heart is what counts! And the change will take place from the inside out; our outside will reflect what the inside looks like!

We will continue with part 2 beloved brothers and sisters, let’s reread the Bible verses we listed so far and pray over them, let God show you His heart about what a true woman of God looks like, what a true Godly guy looks like, both in and out. We are to honor the Lord in everything we do remember? So let Him speak to your heart! He loves you with Eternal Love!

Yahweh M’Kaddesh
(The God who sanctifies)