THE FLASHLIGHT IN THE ATTIC

THE FLASHLIGHT IN THE ATTIC
BY PAT GULLEY

2 Pet 1:19
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your heart (KJV


I was attending a Christian Seminar in Indianapolis several years ago, and the speaker said that after some of his meetings, there were people who approached him and accused him of using the Bible to confuse them. He said he would always respond by saying, "Accusing the Bible of confusing you is like blaming the flashlight for the mess you found in the attic. The mess was always in the attic: you just didn't see it until you turned the flashlight on."

As we approach this New Year, I find myself remembering those words about the flashlight in the attic. Confusion reigns in the hearts and minds of many people today, and yet they never recognize it. It is there in many forms, but they think it is normal to have those confused thoughts and desires. When the Word of God is preached to them or if they are taught from the teachings of the New Testament, they squirm and sweat and complain that the Bible is confusing them. They say that anybody can make the Bible say anything they want it to. Instead of accepting the Bible as the Word of God, they treat it like the words of man. Their eyes are blinded by their own deceits and they fail to comprehend the true meaning of God's plan for mankind.

In our opening Scripture, the Apostle Peter is telling the readers that they should take heed to the word of God and allow that word to enter into their hearts and minds and pray for that word to illuminate them to the reality of God. The Apostle Paul was given the same message from the Lord when he was commissioned to go into the entire world and preach the Gospel. The results of believing and receiving the Lord's Word will change a person's life forever.

Acts 26:18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (KJV)

Jesus Christ is the Word revealed to us in human form. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. My prayer for you this New Year is that you get a glimpse of Him in your heart and when the reality of Jesus in resurrected power and glory dawns on you, you will never be the same again. Light will bring to you a new day and a new way of living. This is the year for you to let the light of God shine in your life and you will see what wonderful plans the Lord has waiting for you. Do not be confused. God loves you. He always has and He always will.

DAILY BREAD FROM KEN AND GLORIA

March 30 - Dig Into Your Covenant

"This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood."
(1 Corinthians 11:25, Amp) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Christian,

New Covenant. It's a familiar phrase to most of us. But do we really know what it means?

If we did, every one of us would be faith giants. Instead of struggling, "trying" to believe the promises of God, we'd be like Abraham. "Strong in faith...fully persuaded that, what God has promised, he is able to perform!" (Rom. 4:20-21).

That's the kind of confidence that welled up in Abraham when God cut the covenant with him. It was an inferior covenant to ours, made with the blood of animals. Yet it transformed a doubting Abraham into the very father of faith. Why? Because, Abraham understood the significance of it.

He knew that entering into the Covenant of Blood meant you were totally and forever giving yourself away to someone else. Once you did it, nothing would ever be exclusively yours again. All that you were, all that you had or ever would have became the equal property of your covenant partner.

During the covenant ceremony in Abraham's day, the partners exchanged coats, each one giving their authority to the other. They exchanged weapons as a way of saying, "Your enemies are now my enemies. I'll fight your fights as if they were my own." They walked through the blood of slain animals, pronouncing their loyalty to one another, even to the death.

When God made covenant with him, Abraham knew there was no longer any room for doubt. God had proven how intensely He desired to be God to him. He'd given him every thing He had and bound Himself to Abraham in a relationship that could not be dissolved. Abraham comprehended the gravity of a covenant agreement. It convinced him once and for all that God's promises could be trusted. It became an anchor to his soul.

Do you want to be a faith giant like Father Abraham? Then dig into the covenant you have with God. Study it in the Word. Let the Holy Spirit show you what really happened when Jesus became the sacrifice that ratified your covenant with God. Let Him show you what it meant when He gave you His Name (John 16:23), His authority (Matt. 28:18-20), His armor and weapons (Eph. 6:10-17).

Once you realize what Jesus actually meant when He said, "This is the New Covenant established in My blood," your life will never be the same again.


Scripture Study: Hebrews 10:1-23

DAILY BREAD FROM KEN AND GLORIA

March 28 - Turn Your Losses Around

"But God's free gift is not at all to be compared to the trespass...For if many died through one man's falling away--his lapse, his offense--much more profusely did God's grace and the free gift [that comes] through...Jesus Christ, abound and overflow to and for [the benefit of] many."
(Romans 5:15, Amp)

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Dear Christian,

If you ever need someone to tell you how to turn things around, go to God. He's an expert on the subject. He's suffered more losses than anyone who's ever lived.

Just think about it. He lost Lucifer, His top-ranked, most anointed angel. And He lost at least a third of His other angels as well when Lucifer fell. Then He lost the man and woman He had created; and because He'd given them dominion over the earth, when He lost them, He lost it too. Any way you figure it, that's a lot of real estate down the drain!

Yet, in spite of all that, God is no loser. He's the greatest winner of all time. Do you know why? Because He knows how to turn the losses around. He knows how to use the law of giving and receiving to transform losses into gains.

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38).

Isn't that staggering? He had every option that exists to choose from to redeem the things He'd lost. He had all wisdom and all power available to Him. Out of all that, the law of giving is what He chose to use.

He gave the most irreplaceable thing He had: His only Son. Then He backed that gift with His own faith. And when the law of giving and receiving had done its work, the Almighty Father God received not only His first begotten Son, but millions of other sons as well.

Don't despair over your losses. Redeem them the same way God redeemed His. Give and put the most powerful principle in the universe to work for you.


Scripture Study: John 3:12-21

SPRING BREAK IS BACK

Spring Break is back and doing well in our corner of the world. I have two granddaughters in Florida with their Church groups doing whatever they can to help out at missions. Our Church here in Metamora is taking some of the teenagers to Tennessee for three days for a break from their usual routine. I have read a lot about the things many students do during Spring Break, but I will not be of those who paint them all with the same brush.

The World Wide Web was once viewed by Christians as the scourge of the earth, but many have since discovered that the internet is what you make of it for yourself and for others.

I guess it is the way it was when fire was invented. It could keep you warm and cook your food; or it could burn down your hut and harm your body.

I will be praying for all the kids who go on Spring Break this year, 2006, and will believe that those who are seeking physical thrills, will realize that there is more to life that a temporary high. And that those who are wanting to help others will be blessed in their activities.

God Bless them each and every one.

THIS DAY'S DAILY BREAD FROM KEN AND GLORIA

March 27 - From Believing to Perceiving

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
(Romans 8:37)
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Dear Christian,

The Bible calls us kings and priests (Rev. 1:6) and world overcomers (1 John 5:4). For many of us, those phrases are still becoming real. We're still learning who we really are.

If you'll look in 1 Chronicles, chapter 14, you'll see that David had a similar problem. He'd been anointed king by the prophet Samuel when he was just a teenager. He'd known for years that someday he'd rule over Israel. Yet somehow, it hadn't really sunk in.

But look what happens in verse 2: "And David perceived that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel." Finally, it dawned on him! David perceived that the Lord had confirmed him king. I can just imagine David saying to himself, "I'm king. I'm actually king! I AM KING!" At that moment, being king ceased to be something David had only thought about. It became something he really was. He could see himself king.

What does that have to do with you and me? Much like David, you and I have been given a royal office. But it's not until we believe it that we can exercise the power or authority that goes with that office.

If you're sick, you can yell, "By His stripes I'm healed," 50 times a day. You can hope for healing. You can try to believe for healing till your hair turns gray. But if you don't really perceive yourself as whole and healthy in Christ Jesus, if you don't see yourself as "the healed" instead of "the sick," you won't get any supernatural help. Yet once that realization hits you that you are, in fact, "the healed," no one--not even the devil himself--will be able to keep you from getting well.

Step over the line from trying to believe to actually knowing by dwelling on the Word of God. Read it and think about it. Practice seeing yourself through the eyes of the Word until the reality of your royalty in Christ rises up in yo


Scripture Study: Ephesians 1:3-23

DAILY BREAD FROM KEN AND GLORIA COPELAND

March 26 - Ambassador for Christ

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...."
(2 Corinthians 5:20)
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Dear Christian,

You are an ambassador for Christ! If you have made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you have been sent to act as a representative for Him in this world. Just as nations send ambassadors to represent their interests in other countries, you've been sent here to look after the interests of the kingdom of God.

Think about that. Everywhere you go you are representing the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That's a very high honor. It may also seem like a rather tall bill to fill. But God has equipped you to do it. He's given you His Name and the power of His Word. He's even put His very own Spirit inside you. And He's given you the ability to hear and obey the directions of that Spirit.

I heard a prophecy years ago that said there would come a time when men on the earth would walk and talk and act like God. They'd be motivated by His power and His Spirit so strongly that people would say of them, "Look at those believers. They think they're God." "No," the Holy Spirit said, "they are not God. They are agents of God, children of God, ambassadors of God, sent to do the works of God."

I believe we're living in the day and hour that prophecy was talking about. We're seeing that army of light begin to grow.

This is no time to be half-consecrated and half-dedicated. This is the time to go all the way with God, to give Him your whole life. If you'll do that, He'll give you back such anointing and such power and such glory and goodness that you'll shine for Him, as Philippians 2:15 says, as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

Begin to think about yourself today, not as just another ordinary man or woman but as an ambassador of Almighty God. Let the interests of His kingdom be foremost in your mind and heart. Submit yourself to Him and say, "Lord, show me how to be Your representative in everything I do."

You are an ambassador for Christ. Begin to live like it today

Scripture Study: 2 Corinthians 5:10-21

BLOGSPOT ROCKS

I haven't posted for a while and while I was gone BLOGSPOT has made lots and lots of improvements. I LOVE IT. The one I really appreciate is the tool bar that changes the type to bold and the posting of pictures. In fact, I am getting ready to post my first picture in this way now. I do not even remember the name of the program I used before, but I thank them for being there when needed.

This is the most recent pic of my great-granddaughter Kirsten. She is 16 mos old now.

DAILY BREAD FROM THE COPELANDS

March 25 - Come Alive Today

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
(2 Corinthians 5:17)



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Resurrection. What do you think of when you hear that word? Most people think of the past. Of a stone rolled away. An empty tomb. And a risen Lord.

Praise God, Jesus is alive today!

What we don't fully understand is this: He's not the only One who has been resurrected. We've been resurrected too!

We were spiritually resurrected the day we made the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. That day we passed from death to life. The greater part of your resurrection has already happened!

Think about it. When you made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, the Spirit of God hovered over you. The glory of the Lord came into your being. And that glory consumed the old, sinful man that you were. That old man died. And in his place a new creature was born.

Oh yes, there will be a day when the earthly body you live in will be raised and glorified--but you don't have to wait until then to be free from sin and from the sickness and poverty and failure that goes with this natural world. You're free from all that right now!

You may be sitting there thinking, "Well, if I'm so free, why can't I quit smoking? Why can't I lose this weight? Why am I always sick?"

Because you've let Satan convince you that you're still under his power. You've let him talk you into living as if you're still spiritually dead!

So, today I want you to begin considering yourself alive! Begin thinking of yourself as one who already has the life of God instead of an earthly being who's waiting for the resurrection. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to the power of Jesus. You'll find yourself living a whole new life today!

Scripture Study: Romans 8:1-14

Rebecca's Spring Recital

I just got back from a High School Music Recital that my Granddaughter Rebecca was part of. I love hearing her sing. I am convinced that we do not give this generation their due. And by the way,I am proud of the young men and women who are fighting in Iraq and around the world in this War on Terror and I do not hesitate to admit that I am pleasantly surprised. I never thought they would come through in the way they have. I need to have more faith in God and know the future as well as the present are in Good Hands, Good nail- scarred hands.

DAILY BREAD FROM KEN AND GLORIA COPELAND

March 23 - Coming Together "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13)

Dear Friend, If you know how to listen to the voice of God, you can hear Him calling throughout the Body of Christ today. He is calling for unity. He is calling us to lay down our disagreements and come together in preparation for Jesus' return. Just the thought of that scares some believers. "How can I unify with someone from another denomination?" they say. "I'm not going to give up my doctrines and agree with theirs just for unity's sake!" What they don't realize is this: scriptural unity isn't based on doctrine. Winds of doctrine, according to Ephesians 4:14, are childish. Winds of doctrine don't unify. They divide and blow people in every direction. The Word doesn't say anything about us coming into the unity of our doctrines. It says we'll come into the unity of the faith. In the past, we've failed to understand that and tried to demand doctrinal unity from each other anyway. "If you don't agree with me on the issue of tongues," we've said, "or on the timing of the rapture...or on the proper depth for baptismal waters, I won't accept you as a brother in the Lord. I'll break fellowship with you. But that's not God's way of doing things. He doesn't have a long list of doctrinal demands for us to meet. His requirements are simple. First John 3:23 tells us what they are: to believe on the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another. Once you and I come to a place where we keep those requirements and quit worrying about the rest, we'll be able to forget our denominational squabbles and come together in the unity of faith. We'll grow so strong together that the winds of doctrine won't be able to drive us apart. When that happens, the devil's going to panic because the unity of the faith of God's people is a staggering thing. It's the most unlimited, powerful thing on earth. Right now all over the world, the Spirit is calling the Church of the living God to unite. Hear Him and obey, and you can be a part of one of the most magnificent moves of God this world has ever seen.
Scripture Study: Psalms 132:13-18; 133
Kenneth Copeland Ministries Fort Worth, TX 76192-0001

SO GLAD TO SEE ME BACK TO BLOGGING

I hadn't realized it had been so long since I last posted until I put my latest newspaper article on just a bit ago. I remember just over a year ago when I started this blog site what a thrill it was. I couldn't stay away. I put pictures and articles I had written and many random thoughts here in this space. Until June. My Mother passed away and my Dad came to live with my husband and myself. He is 91, (You can see his pic if you scroll down) and I love having him back home with us in Indiana. I also started babysitting my great granddaughter the following week. Am not making excuses, just reminding myself why I haven't been here in quite a while. But I am glad to see me back to blogging.

I have many articles and other pictures to put on here so I better get started.

Thanks for reading this. If you are reading this, WILL YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW? I have had only one comment this entire year.

But don't get me wrong, friends who read it would email me and tell me they liked it. I wonder how hard it will be to get word out I AM BACK.

YOUR KNOW SO SALVATION

YOUR KNOW-SO SALVATION
BY PAT GULLEY

Rom 8:16
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (KJV)

As a Christian, do you really know what a marvelous Salvation we have been allowed to be a part of? Do you know what a privilege it is to be born-again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and to have been placed into the Body of Jesus Christ as a joint-heir with Him? We are truly heirs of God because we are joined together with Him through our faith in Calvary's Cross-and our acceptance of JESUS CHRIST AS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR.

Gal 3:26
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (KJV)

It is because we are children of God that we can pray the Lord's Prayer and say, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name." We can KNOW that we have a relationship with the God of all Creation because we know that we are sons and daughters of God by faith in Jesus Christ. And can we safely say that if we are able to approach our earthly fathers on a one to one basis, then we can also approach our Heavenly Father as Jesus did, through the avenue of prayer?
I believe it is important for each Christian to have a solid knowledge of our Salvation.

Heb 2:3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so GREAT SALVATION; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (KJV)

How can we escape the traps and snares of the Devil if we do not know how to ask and receive our Father's help? How will we be able to walk in the fullness of Father's will for us if we do not pray every day for His kingdom (of righteousness, peace, and joy of the Holy Ghost: Rom 14:17) to come into our lives and to overcome the works of the flesh so that we can please Him in all we say and to? (Gal 5:13)

What I am saying today is just how well do we KNOW OUR SALVATION. Do we know that God loves us now that we are His children even more than He loved us when we were lost in sin?

Rom 5:10
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (KJV)

Do we know that it is His desire that we prosper and live in health as our soul prospers as we grow in our knowledge of Him and His ways? (3 John 2) Do we know that as we grow in knowledge and understanding of Jesus that we become more like Jesus? (Eph 4: 13-16)

If you are saved, and you know that you are saved, then you need to know what that Salvation offers. You truly do have a KNOW-SO SALVATION. The more you know your Saviour, the more you will know of your Salvation which you have received of Him.