"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." (1 Cor 9:27; KJV). Paul is aware that he must set a good example to the people he is preaching to. The Greek word for: “keep under”, in the verse above means to beat, buffet, discipline, and keep under. To: “bring it unto subjection”, means that you sternly tell your body what to do rather than the other way around.

When we get born again, we get a brand-new spirit but we still have the same bodies which need discipline. We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and so we should treat them as such. The very next verse tells us that we were bought with a price therefore we should glorify God in our body. That means we should take care of our bodies - watch what we eat and drink and take time to exercise, for example.

It's interesting to note that part of the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22-23 is self-control and the word for self-control actually refers to restraining the desires of the flesh. Like many other things disciplining the flesh does not come easily, so believe and confess the following familiar verse, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13).

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"For I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:25; KJV). This was Paul speaking to the sailors on a ship that was caught in a huge storm. An angel from God had spoken to him and told him they would all make it safely to their destination. In Luke chapter 1 (verse 38) we have the account of the angel who appeared to Mary and announced that she would give birth to the Messiah. She also believed God’s word and said to the angel: "be it unto me according to thy word."

We know that Abraham was also someone who took God at his word. In Romans 4:21 we are told that Abraham was: "fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform".

Then in Luke 7:7 we read about a roman centurion who had a servant that needed healing. Jesus offered to go to his house to heal the man but the centurion said to him: "but say in a word, and my servant shll be healed" and he was. As you can see from all these examples there is great power in the word of God that is believed and acted on in faith.

Take God at his word today, believe it, speak it over your situation and watch God turn things around for you. “Nevertheless when the son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)?

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 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal 3:10; KJV). Wow, that sounds good to me. God goes on to say in that passage from Malachi, that he will prevent satan from stealing his (God’s) blessings from us and people will see how blessed we are (Mal 3:11-12).

So often we limit God in our lives and this is the only place and context in the word where God says: “prove me”. However, there is a condition that we remember first to tithe to God. You might say well, that was Old Testament, under the law and does not apply to us today. The whole bible was put together under Gods direction to speak to us all today as Christians. (2 Tim 3:16) Nowhere does it say that tithing was ever done away with by God. Jesus said he did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it (Matt 5:17-19).

Abraham and Jacob tithed before the law was given (Gen 14:18-20; Gen 28:22). Abraham tithed to the king and priest Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20) and we are told that Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7:17). Jesus even commended the Pharisees for tithing; giving no indication that this practice should cease (Matt 23:23). Tithing was given by God to his people that they would fear him ( honor, respect and revere) (Deut 14:23), not as an onerous regulation. When we comply: my,my,my, the blessings abound.

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 “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not” (Ezek 33:31-32; KJV).

I love how the word of God gets right to the basic issues of life. How often we ask ourselves, why am I not growing in my walk with God as I would like to, why don’t I experience God as I should?

Are we like the people God spoke about to Ezekiel? Do we hear and read God's word and enjoy it but don’t do it, don’t allow it to change us but go about doing our own thing? As we hear and read God's word, we need to ask ourselves, what does this word say to me, what does it mean, what is God trying to tell me?

The parable of the sower shows us so clearly how satan can steal the word from us or prevent it from bearing fruit in our lives through the pressures and busyness of life (Matt 13:3-9; 18-23). The word has the power (Heb 4:12; James 1:21) to change us, to bring good fruit into our lives (Matt 13:23; Gal 5:22-23) and make us doers of the word. (James 1:22) We just need to prayerfully apply ourselves to read, study and meditate it. (1 Tim 4:13;15).

We need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us what God is saying to us in his word, to open his word to us (John 14:26). Then we will not need to tell people we are Christians, they will see it in our lives (1 Tim 4:15).

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Do you have children that have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior or who have turned away from God? Nothing can be more heartbreaking than raising your children in a Christian home but then see them rebel against what they were taught. However, it does not have to be that way forever, because God has some promises concerning our children.

In Isaiah 43:6 (KJV) it says: "I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth." Isaiah 60:4 is a very similar verse. If God did this for his children, the people of Israel, he can bring our children back into fellowship with him.

In the New Testament Paul and Silas told the prison jailer that he could be saved along with his whole household. (Acts 16:31). In Proverbs 22:6 it is written: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”.   These are all promises that we can stand on; but this requires faith as well as patience and much prayer.

We know that the promises of God are: "yea, and in him A’-men" (2 Cor. 1:20). God is faithful to his word. In Isaiah 59:21 we are told that God's words’ will not leave our mouths nor of the mouths of our descendants or our descendants’ descendants. Now that's a promise.

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