"WHEN THE WOMAN SAW THAT THE FRUIT WAS ... PLEASING TO THE EYE..." Genesis 3:9 To keep our Spirit free we must have control of our eyes. Eve and Adam failed that. Jesus knew that adultery starts with the eyes, "WHOEVER LOOKS AT A WOMAN TO LUST FOR HER HAS COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH HER IN HIS HEART." Solomon warned about staring and eye contact: "DO NOT LUST IN YOUR HEART FOR HER BEAUTY, OR LET HER CAPTIVATE YOU WITH HER EYES." 1 John lists, "THE LUST OF THE EYES," as one of an

"GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. SO HUMBLE YOURSELVES BEFORE GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU." James 4:7,8 Could God be actually opposing you? Is He trying to humble you? Are you proud? The enemy's nature and downfall was pride. He knows God will oppose us if we have it. The first key in spiritual warfare is not "rebuking" but resisting the devil by humbling ourselves before God. Do as David did: Fast. Kneel or lay before God. Ask

"DO NOT GRIEVE, FOR THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH." Nehemiah 8:10 The enemy cannot steal your salvation but he can steal your joy in the Lord! There is no more infectious witness for Christ than a believer who has joy even in hard times. That's why the devil robs our joy by keeping us focused on our problems rather than on our joy and blessings. Jesus said, "DO NOT REJOICE THAT EVIL SPIRITS OBEY YOU; REJOICE THAT YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN". Joy flows from one di

"CALL TO ME AND I WILL ANSWER YOU AND SHOW YOU GREAT AND MIGHTY THINGS YOU DO NOT KNOW." Jeremiah 33:3 A father taught his son that God has a phone number, and if you call Him, He'll pick up. His phone number is Jeremiah 33 3. Clever, however, but God's wonderful promise still stands. If we call upon Him, He offers to reveal to us things we do not know, great and mighty things about God that we just do not know. We can call upon Him to show us blind spots and things about oth

"THE DEVIL SAID TO HIM, 'IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD... ' JESUS ANSWERED, 'IT IS WRITTEN ...'" Luke 4:3,4 Beware! The devil, "THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN", tries to get us to question if we are really a saved, child of God. Paul added that we need to "QUENCH ALL THE FIERY ARROWS OF THE EVIL ONE". Our defense is the same as Christ's. We do not defend or justify ourselves. We are a child of God because "IT IS WRITTEN." The Word promises, "WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WIL

"JESUS TOLD HIM, 'I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.'" John 14:6 We should humbly thank God that Jesus revealed Himself to us. You know that He is THE only WAY to the Father. There isn't some other way. Jesus IS THE WAY. You know in your heart that He is THE TRUTH. You have peace because He explains the truth about God, life and the future. You know He is THE LIFE, physical life, spiritual life, and eternal life because He made

"EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE, COMING DOWN FROM THE FATHER OF LIGHTS..." James 1:17 Many of us are surrounded by good gifts from the Father above, but we can't see them because of being gripped by our problems. "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, I want to see You." If you have eyes to see Him, He has already come to you and blessed you in "EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT." Don't let the enemy rob you of your joy in the Lord. Lift up your eyes from the negative and pra

"JESUS REPLIED, 'ONE WHO HAS HAD A BATH NEEDS ONLY TO WASH THEIR FEET, BUT IS COMPLETELY CLEAN. YOU DISCIPLES ARE CLEAN...'" John 13:10 This is a wonderful truth. Believers, when they feel convicted of sin, sometimes get confused and think they need to get saved all over again. However, the Lord Jesus explained to Peter that on the day that you accepted Him as your personal Savior, He bathed you clean, just as if you never sinned! Now, whenever you feel convicted of sin, conf

"LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE." Matthew 6:13 The Lord told us to pray because we are in a real battle with the "EVIL ONE". He taught us that our enemy is inside some people like the demonized boy. He rebuked Peter when he spoke something inspired by Satan. He healed a crippled, godly woman, "WHOM SATAN HAD BOUND FOR 18 YEARS". Some of the problems in our immediate circles are because, "YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS LIKE A ROARING LION SEEKING SO

"WHY SO DOWNCAST, O MY SOUL? WHY THE UNEASE WITHIN ME? PUT YOUR HOPE IN GOD." Psalm 42:11 Hope. With God in your life, there is always hope. Hope is not a wish, but a quiet confidence that He will bring to pass what you hope for. Hope acts as a powerful anchor in the storms of life, giving you a certainty that He will do what he promises. Rebuke discouragement and unease and "PUT YOUR HOPE IN GOD." -Rev. Scott A. Walsh You and family and friends can join by texting VERSE to 7

"WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, FOR THOSE WHO ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE." Romans 8:28 You would have never chosen the things you have gone through, or are going through now, but God allowed them. In His purpose He called you out of sin, death, and hell, and you love Him. He is acting in your life. Things are not just happening on their own. God is sovereign in you life and is working to build character not just comfort. Someday

"IF YOU ARE OFFERING YOUR GIFT AT THE ALTAR AND REMEMBER THAT SOMEONE HAS SOMETHING AGAINST YOU, LEAVE YOUR GIFT. FIRST GO AND BE RECONCILED TO THEM." Matthew 5:23,24 "I'm sorry, please forgive me." Six little words that maintain peace in a marriage, peace in relationships. Six little words some people never say. The Lord says that when our conscience speaks to us, listen and act. We see a person wince, we sense someone pulling back, we know what it feels like to "REMEMBER TH

"THE PHARISEE... PRAYED 'GOD, I THANK YOU THAT I AM NOT LIKE OTHER PEOPLE-ROBBERS, EVILDOERS, ADULTERERS-OR THIS TAX COLLECTOR. I FAST... AND GIVE YOU A TENTH.' BUT THE TAX COLLECTOR... BEAT HIS CHEST AND SAID, 'GOD BE MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER.'" Luke 18:11-14 It's a deadly trap to forget the mire of sin out of which God saved us; to not have a sensitive conscience where the Spirit convicts us of sin. The deadly shift is when we look down on others and think of how spiritual

"DO WHATEVER YOU DO WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WORKING FOR THE LORD...YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INHERITANCE FROM THE LORD." Col. 3:23-24 God knows & honors the millions of us working everywhere, everyday for others. We work hard, sometimes not noticed by anyone, but for the ones we love. Bob Dylan & Billy Joel said that the 1968 song "Wichita Lineman" was the best ever written. The telephone lineman worked tirelessly to repair the countless poles on Wichita's plains. Working for those he

"THEY ORDERED THEM NOT SPEAK IN THE NAME OF JESUS... BUT PETER AND JOHN ANSWERED, 'WE CANNOT STOP TELLING WHAT WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD.'" Acts 4:18-20 Are you like Peter and John, you can't stop telling others what Jesus did for you? You love opportunities to share with lost people about Jesus. Recently, I and five others took a 5:30 AM Uber ride driven by a young mother. When she asked me how I got into religion, I was happy to tell her about my conversion experience of being

"YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD... NO ONE LIGHTS A LAMP AND HIDES IT UNDER A BASKET." Matthew 5:14-15 Jesus declares that if you are a true believer, He sees you as a light of the gospel to a lost people. You must not, however, hide His light in you. Recently 6 of us took a 3 day bus tour of 56 people where 50 were people of other languages. We could have kept to ourselves and hid our light under a basket. Instead, several of us made new friends and ultimately left them with

"BE THANKFUL" Colossians 3:15 Grumbling and complaining are a subtle trap that can rob us of the joy of life and our salvation. These two simple words from the Bible, "BE THANKFUL", reveal a secret to a happier life. Recalling and naming exactly what we can be thankful for will change our attitude and our mood. Doing this may even surprise us how good we have it and how good God is to us. Try it now! -Rev. Scott A. Walsh You and family and friends can join by texting VERSE to

"GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE." John 3:16 All people are looking for love. I heard an elderly man say that he spent his weekend with his wonderful buddy. He went on to describe how loving & almost human his dog "Buddy" was. Sweet, but I pray that he, along with a myriad of millions of other people who are seeking to be loved, could experience the perfect love of Jesus. Our God isn't violen

"ALL HARD WORK BRINGS A PROFIT, BUT MERE TALK LEADS ONLY TO POVERTY." Proverbs 14:23 God blesses hard work & warns about poverty from just talking, dreaming or envying. People see your "PROFIT", but they don't see the years of working 3 jobs, the hours required to start your business, how you went back to school, or how you lived frugally to get out of debt. You did whatever it took to make "it" happen, & God blessed. You refused "MERE TALK", complaining, or self pity. You be

"WOMAN, WHERE ARE YOUR ACCUSERS?"... JESUS SAID, "NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU; GO, AND SIN NO MORE." John 8:10,11 How many of us believers live under self condemnation because of our past sins or mistakes? And yet just as He did for this woman caught in adultery, so the perfect, sinless, Lamb of God came into our lives at one point and declared, once for all, that He does not condemn us! 1 John 3 adds "'IF OUR HEARTS DO NOT CONDEMN US, WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD." Also, whe