If the Bible said it, it is true and it will never change!
When God set the world in place He also set Kingdom Principles in place for all of His creation, and those principles will never change.
The very things that often annoy us and we wish could be different are the very things God has placed in our path for definite reasons. The scripture says "ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28.)
As a child I used to wonder what the world would look like if trees had grown upside down with the branches and leaves covered under the earth and the roots swayed with the breeze. I also wondered what it would have been like if all the grass had been purple or another color! It's amusing to me now how a child could wonder about some of the strangest things, but as I grew I began to understand God had a design, a beautiful one, that we would eventually appreciate in many ways. I began to understand how all things were working together in His world! I began to understand that green grass is much easier on the eyes, always! And God wanted us to watch trees grow in their graceful beauty as well as know when the fruit of each one was ready. Realizing this, I began to notice other principles are also an intertwined part of His design. How wonderful that He could reveal this to a child, and then give understanding about His beautiful world.
We can count on the sun rising every morning,without fail, and the evening bringing on night so that people would rest, sleep and be refreshed for the next day. We know that one could open the petals of a rose but we did not make it bloom. In God's economy certain creations needed time, --His time! We could change the hands of a clock but we would not have changed the time. He already set the time! We could count the apples on a tree but we could never count the trees possible in one apple. Why?...because God set principles on the earth that take care of all of his creation... bringing the night for certain ceatures to find their food etc., and comfort for people with a set time for work, play, rest and communication with Him. His principles rule with perfect precision more than we can comprehend.
A young mother once complained her pregnancy was many days overdue. When the baby was born the doctor showed her evidence if the child had been born earlier, the baby would have been born with a cleft palate (a congenital defect in the roof of the mouth.) The delayed delivery proved God was healing the baby's mouth before the baby's birth... working all things for the good of the new child!
A military friend of ours, planning to take a flight home from Lockerbee, Scotland, had to change flights suddenly and later learned that the flight he would have been on earlier, crashed and all lives on board were lost. God worked His plans to spare the life of our friend!
Delays, disappointments, broken promises or conracts, sudden changes, unjustified offenses and wounds or divine interventions may be a part of an unseen plan that God used to get your attention, to divert a crisis away from you for your good! A promotiom that was not realized, or prayer that was not answered could all be God's way of revealing He has different plans for you. If these issues are on your path talk to God about them, repent with an open heart, then be willing to let Him reveal His plan. You may not have missed His Will,... you may just need His redirection to it.
In Genesis 37, 39-50, we read the intriguing story of the life of Joseph. All things in his life were complex but they were working together for his good.
Centuries before Jacob was born, God knew about the famine that would take place in Canaan and He had a plan to orchestrate every detail to provide food for His chosen people when the time came. God permitted pain to touch Joseph's life even though He had a special future assignment for him. Jacob too, suffered for years not knowing details of what really happened to Joseph, yet God's comfort was sufficient. Though Jacob probably wept, God knew how to comfort him in his grief and sorrow while at the same time working out a very intricate plan to save him, his family and their future generations from starving.
Sometimes pain has to be a part of God's plan for a deliverance.
You and I are very human. We cannot see ahead as God can so we often become alarmed at the unknown. Though people have different personalities and dispositions God knows whom He can trust to bring about His plan, so His unique assignment is entrusted to a person He knows will work together with Him. This was true not only of Joseph but also of missionaries who go to "limited access" nations to share the gospel. While the missionaries know they are surrounded by danger, if God has sent them they know He will protect them until their assignment is finished....and the gospel has been planted in the hearts of people whom God knew were ready to receive it! God looks for people He can trust and He knows who they are. Are you one of them?
God is an awesome God! He has the master plan, but He continues to prepare people to work with Him until the harvest is finished so that Jesus can return to earth! An important truth is that God uses those individuals as examples to show His Church or an individul, or for "future history" His faithfulness and keeping power in any circumstance.
How about you? Do you know that all things are working together for good because you are part of the great company of believers who are the called according to His purpose? It may not appear to be that way in your life today but God's Word is true, so it is true!
The late Edwin Cole said, "Your circumstances combined with God's power means unlimited potential success and victory in every area of your life! Keep trusting God as Joseph did. He is working all things together for your good and His glory! Joseph experienced difficult trials for thirteem years but it prepared him to be a leader in Egypt for eighty years!"
God sees unlimited potential and victory in you and all things in your life really are working together for His glory! God loves you!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wasted Years!
Have you ever wondered what we would do if there were no clocks or calendars? How would we know how to plan our day, or when to plant fields, or celebrate important occasions? How would we know if we were balancing our time well to get to appointments on time? We often take many of life's most important blessings for granted without much thought how we could live without them. Time is one of those blessings. Both the clock and calendar are responsible for the great accomplishments or sad failures many people have experienced. For most of us, our life is told by how we used the time God gave all of us for each day!
Years ago we traveled through many states speaking in behalf of missions and the need to plant churches in the countries of Korea and Thailand. As you can imagine, it was necessary to leave our home at a set time in order to arrive at our speaking appointments with sufficient time to speak to leaders before sharing the needs of Korea and Thailand. I remember several times though we studied our maps, counted the miles, calculated the traveling time and followed directions there were still times when we missed an exit and had to drive an extra 3-5 miles before we could turn around and return to the proper turn-off. There were times too when I felt we were not on the right road but my husband refused to stop and ask directions. He insisted he knew the way, only to arrive just minutes before the service began. Once, we completely circled an area of the Blue Ridge Mountains only to exit at the very place we had entered because we didn't stop to ask directions. We wasted two hours! Has this ever happened to you? (I need not say more....!!)
Wasted time can be the reason for a person's lack of self-discipline, motivation or delayed development of habits that end in lost opportunities. And it all began with wasting time, which developed into wasting days and in some cases turned into wasted years. Sometimes we regret our decisions after it is too late.
I think of Elijah, that great prophet of God who called down fire from heaven in a contest with King Ahab (I Kings 18-19). God had used him mightily, yet after the contest when King Ahab's wife, Jezebel, heard that Elijah had ordered all of her prophets of Baal to be killed, she sent a message to him that she would kill him the next day. And --suddenly Elijah fled for his life without inquiring from God what he should do. His flight took him to a desert! A desert! Think of the wasted days he spent in the desert because he did not inquire from God what to do!
A sure way to avoid a wasted life is to stay in close fellowship with the Lord and the Holy Spirit in prayer everyday! No matter what is happening in your life, the Holy Spirit can speak to you through His impressions in your heart or through the Word of God to give you direction that will sharpen your spiritual insights, strengthen your self-disciplines, and help you to know His plan for your life. A set time of prayer every day will cause you to grow in your faith and know the direction to take to develop the talents and gifts God invested in you. You jusr need to ask direction and you will receive it!
Why does it take time to know God's leading for one's life? Sometimes we have so many things going on at the same time that we hurry through our time with the Lord in prayer and reading His Word. When we do this, we often have not received anything from Him to think about through the day. We assume He knows how busy we are and that He should know we are in a hurry to take care of other needs. Yes, He knows, but He also wants us to develop a close fellowship with Him so that we may truly KNOW Him, not just know about Him. He knows when you are anxious and concerned but by giving God a specific time to be with Him, He will give you peace, speak to you and make His presence go before you that day. He wants you to be aware of His presence during difficult decision-making times, sick times, when several issues are before you and you need to know which of them should have first priority and why. Some people enter their senior years and with an ache in their heart that they have wasted many years, especially because they have not grown spiritually. They feel their life is like an empty well. The good news is if you have felt this way, you can turn the situation around even today by beginning a prayer life again that gives God your best time.
While I was a missionary in Korea, there was a time when I did not feel well because of my heavy schedule. As I prayed about my health, I felt the Lord impressed me to spend more time in prayer and reading His Word, because there is life in His Word! I thought I had been spending quality time in my daily devotions; but I felt the Lord was impressing me to give Him a special time: = from 3:00 a.m. - 4:30 a.m. At first I thought it was my own imagination! How could anyone ever awaken from a deep sleep at 3:00 a.m. (unless the Lord awakened one to pray for an urgent need, and I did know about the times when that happened)? But the thought persisted so I told the Lord if He would awaken me at 3:00 a.m., help me to stay awake for the hour and a half, then help me to sleep again until 6:30 a.m., I would do it. The next morning I awakened at 3:00 a.m. on the dot! I took my Bible and song book to the kitchen (as we always took time to sing before reading the Word), spent my hour and a half and went back to bed until 6:30 a.m. I was amazed that at 3:00 a.m. my mind was clear, I felt refreshed and alert and I enjoyed the new time of devotions. My strength began to be renewed and I spent the last two years in Korea with my new schedule, before retiring from Missions. I think sometimes we make excuses for reasons why we cannot or will not listen and hear what the Lord may be saying to us....and because of that we miss the very special touch from God that He planned to give us.
Do you feel you may have wasted years? If you do not feel the spiritual growth you have longed for, it is important to know that you may be the one who has knowingly allowed "things" to fill your days instead of giving God first priority in your busy life.
There are reasons why some people feel unfulfilled in life. The first priority is to know the Lord by surrendering your life completely to Him and inviting Him to be your Partner in all you do, then establishing a time of prayer and reading God's Word every day as spiritual food for your Christian experience!
There are also reasons why God's blessing is not consistent in some Christians' lives. They may feel they have experienced wasted years too. They may feel that all their prayers did not develop into a growing experience with the Lord as they longed for! It could mean there was a hindrance somewhere that prevented them from having an assurance that their prayer life was what it should be. One hindrance could be that they made all decisions and choices in life without inquiring from the Lord what His plan was for them. If this identifies you and you feel that God's blessing is void in your life, perhaps He has allowed you to go your own way until you asked for Him to direct your way and your choices. Where God guides, He provides!
God desires to lead all believers to His best in all things pertaining to their lives and families; in finding the best job you are most qualified for, which home or car to buy, which person to marry and even which church to become involved in where you will learn to know the Lord, best. When we walk with Him, He walks with us. His blessings overflow daily in all we do, and there are no wasted years!
How wonderful to know when we feel a need for a special touch from the Lord at any time, He reminds us in His Word: "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
(If any of the blogs have been a blessing to you, I would appreciate receiving an email from you or a "comment" following the blog.) God bless you!
Years ago we traveled through many states speaking in behalf of missions and the need to plant churches in the countries of Korea and Thailand. As you can imagine, it was necessary to leave our home at a set time in order to arrive at our speaking appointments with sufficient time to speak to leaders before sharing the needs of Korea and Thailand. I remember several times though we studied our maps, counted the miles, calculated the traveling time and followed directions there were still times when we missed an exit and had to drive an extra 3-5 miles before we could turn around and return to the proper turn-off. There were times too when I felt we were not on the right road but my husband refused to stop and ask directions. He insisted he knew the way, only to arrive just minutes before the service began. Once, we completely circled an area of the Blue Ridge Mountains only to exit at the very place we had entered because we didn't stop to ask directions. We wasted two hours! Has this ever happened to you? (I need not say more....!!)
Wasted time can be the reason for a person's lack of self-discipline, motivation or delayed development of habits that end in lost opportunities. And it all began with wasting time, which developed into wasting days and in some cases turned into wasted years. Sometimes we regret our decisions after it is too late.
I think of Elijah, that great prophet of God who called down fire from heaven in a contest with King Ahab (I Kings 18-19). God had used him mightily, yet after the contest when King Ahab's wife, Jezebel, heard that Elijah had ordered all of her prophets of Baal to be killed, she sent a message to him that she would kill him the next day. And --suddenly Elijah fled for his life without inquiring from God what he should do. His flight took him to a desert! A desert! Think of the wasted days he spent in the desert because he did not inquire from God what to do!
A sure way to avoid a wasted life is to stay in close fellowship with the Lord and the Holy Spirit in prayer everyday! No matter what is happening in your life, the Holy Spirit can speak to you through His impressions in your heart or through the Word of God to give you direction that will sharpen your spiritual insights, strengthen your self-disciplines, and help you to know His plan for your life. A set time of prayer every day will cause you to grow in your faith and know the direction to take to develop the talents and gifts God invested in you. You jusr need to ask direction and you will receive it!
Why does it take time to know God's leading for one's life? Sometimes we have so many things going on at the same time that we hurry through our time with the Lord in prayer and reading His Word. When we do this, we often have not received anything from Him to think about through the day. We assume He knows how busy we are and that He should know we are in a hurry to take care of other needs. Yes, He knows, but He also wants us to develop a close fellowship with Him so that we may truly KNOW Him, not just know about Him. He knows when you are anxious and concerned but by giving God a specific time to be with Him, He will give you peace, speak to you and make His presence go before you that day. He wants you to be aware of His presence during difficult decision-making times, sick times, when several issues are before you and you need to know which of them should have first priority and why. Some people enter their senior years and with an ache in their heart that they have wasted many years, especially because they have not grown spiritually. They feel their life is like an empty well. The good news is if you have felt this way, you can turn the situation around even today by beginning a prayer life again that gives God your best time.
While I was a missionary in Korea, there was a time when I did not feel well because of my heavy schedule. As I prayed about my health, I felt the Lord impressed me to spend more time in prayer and reading His Word, because there is life in His Word! I thought I had been spending quality time in my daily devotions; but I felt the Lord was impressing me to give Him a special time: = from 3:00 a.m. - 4:30 a.m. At first I thought it was my own imagination! How could anyone ever awaken from a deep sleep at 3:00 a.m. (unless the Lord awakened one to pray for an urgent need, and I did know about the times when that happened)? But the thought persisted so I told the Lord if He would awaken me at 3:00 a.m., help me to stay awake for the hour and a half, then help me to sleep again until 6:30 a.m., I would do it. The next morning I awakened at 3:00 a.m. on the dot! I took my Bible and song book to the kitchen (as we always took time to sing before reading the Word), spent my hour and a half and went back to bed until 6:30 a.m. I was amazed that at 3:00 a.m. my mind was clear, I felt refreshed and alert and I enjoyed the new time of devotions. My strength began to be renewed and I spent the last two years in Korea with my new schedule, before retiring from Missions. I think sometimes we make excuses for reasons why we cannot or will not listen and hear what the Lord may be saying to us....and because of that we miss the very special touch from God that He planned to give us.
Do you feel you may have wasted years? If you do not feel the spiritual growth you have longed for, it is important to know that you may be the one who has knowingly allowed "things" to fill your days instead of giving God first priority in your busy life.
There are reasons why some people feel unfulfilled in life. The first priority is to know the Lord by surrendering your life completely to Him and inviting Him to be your Partner in all you do, then establishing a time of prayer and reading God's Word every day as spiritual food for your Christian experience!
There are also reasons why God's blessing is not consistent in some Christians' lives. They may feel they have experienced wasted years too. They may feel that all their prayers did not develop into a growing experience with the Lord as they longed for! It could mean there was a hindrance somewhere that prevented them from having an assurance that their prayer life was what it should be. One hindrance could be that they made all decisions and choices in life without inquiring from the Lord what His plan was for them. If this identifies you and you feel that God's blessing is void in your life, perhaps He has allowed you to go your own way until you asked for Him to direct your way and your choices. Where God guides, He provides!
God desires to lead all believers to His best in all things pertaining to their lives and families; in finding the best job you are most qualified for, which home or car to buy, which person to marry and even which church to become involved in where you will learn to know the Lord, best. When we walk with Him, He walks with us. His blessings overflow daily in all we do, and there are no wasted years!
How wonderful to know when we feel a need for a special touch from the Lord at any time, He reminds us in His Word: "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
(If any of the blogs have been a blessing to you, I would appreciate receiving an email from you or a "comment" following the blog.) God bless you!
Friday, August 1, 2008
The Purpose of the Rod and Staff
(After five months, I'm back with more thoughts on the importance of our prayer life. Due to severe illness of several members of our church, some of us joined our pastor in long periods of heavy prayer and intercession until we saw healing taking place.)
"He restoreth my soul...He leadeth me in paths of righteousness...thy rod and thy staff they comfort me...." Psalm 23.
Sometimes I think of my childhood days and reminisce about the fun times growing up and once in a while the times of correction. In those early years, I used to wonder why I was corrected so much. I would often hide to cry my heart out. Then one day it dawned on me: if I obeyed I would not be punished. What a revelation! After that, I became diligent to do my daily chores until they were finished and I became happy when I heard I had done well! Not only did our parents shower all 6 of us children with love but there was a need for stern correction too because our obedience prepared us for more trust and favor. Strict adherance to family rules had to be inforced all the time! They never changed. Is it not the same with us and our relationship to God? David said God's "rod" and "staff" were necessary teachers in his life also. The rod was to correct him and His staff was to lovingly guide him. They were necesary in not only preparing him but keeping him in line for the destiny God had chosen for him.
It's interesting to read about the different personalities, weaknesses and strengths of people God chose to accomplish His purposes and how carefully He prepared them for their assignment. Joshua is an example of a great leader who was chosen by God to succeed Moses to lead the Israelites into their promised land. He began his career carefully following God's detailed instructions on how to prepare for and to invade the lands before them. Jericho was first. God's detailed instructions stated that the people were to keep themselves from the accursed things in Jericho lest they make themselves accursed and make the entire camp of Israel a curse. Only the gold and silver and vessels of brass and iron were to be consecrated to the Lord (Joshua 6:19) They were considered "devoted" things to be placed in the treasury of the Lord. The battle of Jericho was such a tremendous military success that the heathen nations surounding the Israelites trembled and their "hearts melted" with fear.
At times there have been great men who started out wholly consecrated to God who had sucessful results in ministry or business while depending on Him,only to see them one day suddenly rush into a situation without inquiring for specific directiion or discerning God's timing and going blindly with human confidence because the last battle they faced was so victorious. Their attitude seemed to show an air of pride, "We know how to do this now so we will not need to take time to seek God....but "if and when we need you, Lord, we'll call on you." These people set themselves up for God's correction with His "rod."
After the success at Jericho, Joshua looked toward the next conquest of Ai but we notice that he failed to inquire from God what instructions or strategy God might want to share with Him. After all, because God had given such a great success to take Jericho and since Ai was a smaller city with less people, he may have assumed it was not necessary to take time to seek God for specific instructions! There is great danger in this presumption! Because of his neglect to pray, Joshua sent only 3,000 men of war into Ai, and the battle was lost! Thirty-six men were killed, and the rest fled home defeated and confused. Hearing the news, now Joshua fell on his face to seek the Lord with his elders. He humbled his heart before God and cried out as he sought Him with all his being, "Why did this happen, God?" God Who has unfailing mercy and grace forgave Joshua but spoke sternly to him. "Stand up, Joshua! Israel has sinned!" If Joshua had taken time to talk to God before making plans for Ai, God would have revealed to him that there was sin in the camp. God saw everything that happened during that battle. Then men would not have been killed in the battle..., the heathen nations would not have spread the news of Ai and God would have dealt with sin first! Israel had disobeyed God's commands..., some of the accursed things had been taken and hidden..., devoted things had been stolen and hidden..., and others may have witnessed the items being stolen but said nothing so they were guilty before God too. The devoted things belonged only to God. When Achan took the silver and gold, he stole from God!
Sin in the camp had to be dealt with first. God did deal with Achan. His entire family was stoned to death and after death they were burned with fire. The judgment upon Achan and his family had a profound impact on all of Israel to know that God will deal with sin! God means what He says! If we will not recognize the rod of correction, we will experience God's stronger discipline.
Today, at times we see defeated Christians who seemingly have little or no faith, no victory, no joy, no desire to be faithful to attend God's house and to hear His Word though its God's Word that would reveal the cause of their defeat and His Holy Spirit would lead them back to repentance and to victory! These people attend church only if they feel like it or have time. They appear to live in darkness as if they are bound with problems, habits that cannot be broken and sickness or physical problems that are constantly with them. Defeat can be turned to liberty! Doubt can be turned to faith again! Repentance can bring the glory of God and joy back to a weary backslider and healing can put an end to sickness again! There is no defeat in Jesus! If you have been experiencing these problems, turn to Jesus and heed his correction. Recognize you may be experiencing his "rod."
At times problems are the result of walking far from God because of disobedience. Sometimes problems are caused by ignoring the prompting of the Holy Spirit, or not making things right with family or friends, or not obeying the leading and direction God has given us. Sometimes problems are a result of making small or great decisions without inquiring for God's direction, but asking God to bless them though we do not have peace that we are in God's will with the decisions we made. When sickness comes, it might be easy to endure the sickness instead of taking all the needs to the Lord in prayer and allowing Him to speak to us of the reason we are sick. Sometimes people are suffering because of eating foods that they know affect certain organs of their hody and in time will cause serious illness. The Bible says, "Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities." (Psalm 107:17.) Also, "To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James. We only need to read of the lives of Old Testament prophets and leaders to see they were very human as we are, yet when God dealt with them, His rod and staff brought them back to full blessing again. How about you?
God's plan for believers is to walk with Him every day, recognize His rod of correction if it comes, repent and humble our hearts so that we may be restored daily with His Words of life from the scriptures and be led by His Spirit. God loves you!
"He restoreth my soul...He leadeth me in paths of righteousness...thy rod and thy staff they comfort me...." Psalm 23.
Sometimes I think of my childhood days and reminisce about the fun times growing up and once in a while the times of correction. In those early years, I used to wonder why I was corrected so much. I would often hide to cry my heart out. Then one day it dawned on me: if I obeyed I would not be punished. What a revelation! After that, I became diligent to do my daily chores until they were finished and I became happy when I heard I had done well! Not only did our parents shower all 6 of us children with love but there was a need for stern correction too because our obedience prepared us for more trust and favor. Strict adherance to family rules had to be inforced all the time! They never changed. Is it not the same with us and our relationship to God? David said God's "rod" and "staff" were necessary teachers in his life also. The rod was to correct him and His staff was to lovingly guide him. They were necesary in not only preparing him but keeping him in line for the destiny God had chosen for him.
It's interesting to read about the different personalities, weaknesses and strengths of people God chose to accomplish His purposes and how carefully He prepared them for their assignment. Joshua is an example of a great leader who was chosen by God to succeed Moses to lead the Israelites into their promised land. He began his career carefully following God's detailed instructions on how to prepare for and to invade the lands before them. Jericho was first. God's detailed instructions stated that the people were to keep themselves from the accursed things in Jericho lest they make themselves accursed and make the entire camp of Israel a curse. Only the gold and silver and vessels of brass and iron were to be consecrated to the Lord (Joshua 6:19) They were considered "devoted" things to be placed in the treasury of the Lord. The battle of Jericho was such a tremendous military success that the heathen nations surounding the Israelites trembled and their "hearts melted" with fear.
At times there have been great men who started out wholly consecrated to God who had sucessful results in ministry or business while depending on Him,only to see them one day suddenly rush into a situation without inquiring for specific directiion or discerning God's timing and going blindly with human confidence because the last battle they faced was so victorious. Their attitude seemed to show an air of pride, "We know how to do this now so we will not need to take time to seek God....but "if and when we need you, Lord, we'll call on you." These people set themselves up for God's correction with His "rod."
After the success at Jericho, Joshua looked toward the next conquest of Ai but we notice that he failed to inquire from God what instructions or strategy God might want to share with Him. After all, because God had given such a great success to take Jericho and since Ai was a smaller city with less people, he may have assumed it was not necessary to take time to seek God for specific instructions! There is great danger in this presumption! Because of his neglect to pray, Joshua sent only 3,000 men of war into Ai, and the battle was lost! Thirty-six men were killed, and the rest fled home defeated and confused. Hearing the news, now Joshua fell on his face to seek the Lord with his elders. He humbled his heart before God and cried out as he sought Him with all his being, "Why did this happen, God?" God Who has unfailing mercy and grace forgave Joshua but spoke sternly to him. "Stand up, Joshua! Israel has sinned!" If Joshua had taken time to talk to God before making plans for Ai, God would have revealed to him that there was sin in the camp. God saw everything that happened during that battle. Then men would not have been killed in the battle..., the heathen nations would not have spread the news of Ai and God would have dealt with sin first! Israel had disobeyed God's commands..., some of the accursed things had been taken and hidden..., devoted things had been stolen and hidden..., and others may have witnessed the items being stolen but said nothing so they were guilty before God too. The devoted things belonged only to God. When Achan took the silver and gold, he stole from God!
Sin in the camp had to be dealt with first. God did deal with Achan. His entire family was stoned to death and after death they were burned with fire. The judgment upon Achan and his family had a profound impact on all of Israel to know that God will deal with sin! God means what He says! If we will not recognize the rod of correction, we will experience God's stronger discipline.
Today, at times we see defeated Christians who seemingly have little or no faith, no victory, no joy, no desire to be faithful to attend God's house and to hear His Word though its God's Word that would reveal the cause of their defeat and His Holy Spirit would lead them back to repentance and to victory! These people attend church only if they feel like it or have time. They appear to live in darkness as if they are bound with problems, habits that cannot be broken and sickness or physical problems that are constantly with them. Defeat can be turned to liberty! Doubt can be turned to faith again! Repentance can bring the glory of God and joy back to a weary backslider and healing can put an end to sickness again! There is no defeat in Jesus! If you have been experiencing these problems, turn to Jesus and heed his correction. Recognize you may be experiencing his "rod."
At times problems are the result of walking far from God because of disobedience. Sometimes problems are caused by ignoring the prompting of the Holy Spirit, or not making things right with family or friends, or not obeying the leading and direction God has given us. Sometimes problems are a result of making small or great decisions without inquiring for God's direction, but asking God to bless them though we do not have peace that we are in God's will with the decisions we made. When sickness comes, it might be easy to endure the sickness instead of taking all the needs to the Lord in prayer and allowing Him to speak to us of the reason we are sick. Sometimes people are suffering because of eating foods that they know affect certain organs of their hody and in time will cause serious illness. The Bible says, "Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities." (Psalm 107:17.) Also, "To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James. We only need to read of the lives of Old Testament prophets and leaders to see they were very human as we are, yet when God dealt with them, His rod and staff brought them back to full blessing again. How about you?
God's plan for believers is to walk with Him every day, recognize His rod of correction if it comes, repent and humble our hearts so that we may be restored daily with His Words of life from the scriptures and be led by His Spirit. God loves you!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
The Choice is Yours
From the day God created man and gave him a will of his own, his life story has been told and continues to be told by the choices he makes every day.
A scripture that we need to meditate on often is a command that God gave His chosen people. "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19 KJV).
God recognizes man's power to choose and He will hold him responsible for his choices. Because He sees the end of our lives from the beginning, He would remind us often to choose life by liviing in obedience to all of His commands in the Word, --not just the ones we choose to live by, so that we may rise to our full potential and be a blessing to Him!
Some people dream of lofty achievements in life and eventually become successful pastors who lead many people to the Lord, or become missionaries who open nations to the gospel. Others in the secular work place become presidents, CEOs, authors and international leaders. They didn't allow anything to hinder their dream but chose to put God's commandments first and then work with Him steadily toward making their dream a reality. Others could not perceive a fulfillment of their dream so they succumbed to a life of mediocrity and now they live in disappointment. Those who attained, chose to persist. Those who are believers were diligent in their prayer life and asked God to be their partner, so He helped them make the right choices. The stories of Bible heroes became their examples, whether the Bible characters won battles or reached a higher level of faith to believe God for healings and miracles. They chose to prove God to be faithful
Choices still make the difference in whether you will be successful or not! If your dreams have not been fulfilled or promises God gave you long ago have not come to pass, don't dispair. God is still God! He can put life into your heart to believe Him even now for the dreams and His promises. CHOOSE to let the Holy Spirit resurrect them then believe God for them, and pursue them with all your heart. The decision is yours.
Everything we do requires a choice. The choices usually begin with the smaller concerns. You can choose to be happy every day or you can choose to be gloomy and sad. You can choose to think you are sick or you can choose to take authority over a health issue and claim the Word. You can look at a job you may have lost and accept a challenge to regrouop and pray for guidance for a better one, ---or you can allow the issue to become a wound that you don't want to deal with. If this should happen, you would soon be dealing with a refusal to take matters to the Lord in prayer and permit Him to strengthen and guide you. You can read about the great prophets in the Bible and discern how God made them great leaders or you can choose to neglect the Word so the Holy Spirit cannot help you, thus allowing depression and negative thoughts to bring hopelessness. The choice is yours. Choices are important in making you what you are and what you want to become. They are your decisions. No one can make them for you but you.
Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, thrown into a pit and later sold to Ishmaelites who brought him to Egypt where he was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. He was cut off from his family for 13 years. We can feel his pain of separation wondering if he would ever see his family again. But as we relive his story with him, we can perceive that he CHOSE to trust God though he could not understand what was happening and did not know all of the events were a part of God's plan, being directed by God. Though he was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and thrown in prison and the butler and baker forgot him, we do not read that he ever complained that God forgot him. It is apparent that Joselph CHOSE to trust God in the circumstances and God provided peace. He was patient in his sufferings. It might seem to us that God could have done more to help him, but God was putting "iron" into his soul. God had a higher goal and purpose, an unusual promotion in the making that would eventually be the means of reuniting him with his family in Egypt and the end of the story would be that through Joseph, the nation of Israel would be preserved. In God's plan and sovereignty, it could only come to pass after Joseph was placed in Egypt and God's time had been fulfilled.
The choices and vows you made to God in prayer tell Him whether He can use you for a greater assignment or not. God's final decision will be made by how faithful you were to the choices you promised Him: the easy ones and the difficult ones. If you made wrong decisions, you can still confess them, repent and turn around today and begin to make the right ones. God still forgives a repentant person and grants him another chance. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9).
Bible history tells us in Genesis 41, that (1) God was with Joseph; (2) He delivered him from all of his afflictions; (3) He gave him favor with ALL the Egyptians though their cultures were very different; (4) He gave him wisdom that was noticed by all the Egyptians; (5) He made him governor over all of Pharaoh's house and all of Egypt, and in the end restored him to his family! Through it all we cannot read of one complaint Joseph made. The reason: He CHOSE to believe God was with him in all of his circumstances. Can you say that?
We often speak about trusting God for this and trusting God for that and forget that God looks for men and women whom He can trust, ---to be strong, faithful, obedient and steadfast in the face of difficult circumstances and remember that He promised to be with us always. He is with us even when we pass through times of misunderstanding, or when answers to prayer are delayed or when it seems God is silent. He wants us to CHOOSE to believe Him and His promises.
CHOOSE to believe God loves you and wants to help you make right choices so that you will succeed and be triumphant where you are today. You are ".....chosen of God and precious." (I Peter 2:2-4).
A scripture that we need to meditate on often is a command that God gave His chosen people. "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19 KJV).
God recognizes man's power to choose and He will hold him responsible for his choices. Because He sees the end of our lives from the beginning, He would remind us often to choose life by liviing in obedience to all of His commands in the Word, --not just the ones we choose to live by, so that we may rise to our full potential and be a blessing to Him!
Some people dream of lofty achievements in life and eventually become successful pastors who lead many people to the Lord, or become missionaries who open nations to the gospel. Others in the secular work place become presidents, CEOs, authors and international leaders. They didn't allow anything to hinder their dream but chose to put God's commandments first and then work with Him steadily toward making their dream a reality. Others could not perceive a fulfillment of their dream so they succumbed to a life of mediocrity and now they live in disappointment. Those who attained, chose to persist. Those who are believers were diligent in their prayer life and asked God to be their partner, so He helped them make the right choices. The stories of Bible heroes became their examples, whether the Bible characters won battles or reached a higher level of faith to believe God for healings and miracles. They chose to prove God to be faithful
Choices still make the difference in whether you will be successful or not! If your dreams have not been fulfilled or promises God gave you long ago have not come to pass, don't dispair. God is still God! He can put life into your heart to believe Him even now for the dreams and His promises. CHOOSE to let the Holy Spirit resurrect them then believe God for them, and pursue them with all your heart. The decision is yours.
Everything we do requires a choice. The choices usually begin with the smaller concerns. You can choose to be happy every day or you can choose to be gloomy and sad. You can choose to think you are sick or you can choose to take authority over a health issue and claim the Word. You can look at a job you may have lost and accept a challenge to regrouop and pray for guidance for a better one, ---or you can allow the issue to become a wound that you don't want to deal with. If this should happen, you would soon be dealing with a refusal to take matters to the Lord in prayer and permit Him to strengthen and guide you. You can read about the great prophets in the Bible and discern how God made them great leaders or you can choose to neglect the Word so the Holy Spirit cannot help you, thus allowing depression and negative thoughts to bring hopelessness. The choice is yours. Choices are important in making you what you are and what you want to become. They are your decisions. No one can make them for you but you.
Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, thrown into a pit and later sold to Ishmaelites who brought him to Egypt where he was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. He was cut off from his family for 13 years. We can feel his pain of separation wondering if he would ever see his family again. But as we relive his story with him, we can perceive that he CHOSE to trust God though he could not understand what was happening and did not know all of the events were a part of God's plan, being directed by God. Though he was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and thrown in prison and the butler and baker forgot him, we do not read that he ever complained that God forgot him. It is apparent that Joselph CHOSE to trust God in the circumstances and God provided peace. He was patient in his sufferings. It might seem to us that God could have done more to help him, but God was putting "iron" into his soul. God had a higher goal and purpose, an unusual promotion in the making that would eventually be the means of reuniting him with his family in Egypt and the end of the story would be that through Joseph, the nation of Israel would be preserved. In God's plan and sovereignty, it could only come to pass after Joseph was placed in Egypt and God's time had been fulfilled.
The choices and vows you made to God in prayer tell Him whether He can use you for a greater assignment or not. God's final decision will be made by how faithful you were to the choices you promised Him: the easy ones and the difficult ones. If you made wrong decisions, you can still confess them, repent and turn around today and begin to make the right ones. God still forgives a repentant person and grants him another chance. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9).
Bible history tells us in Genesis 41, that (1) God was with Joseph; (2) He delivered him from all of his afflictions; (3) He gave him favor with ALL the Egyptians though their cultures were very different; (4) He gave him wisdom that was noticed by all the Egyptians; (5) He made him governor over all of Pharaoh's house and all of Egypt, and in the end restored him to his family! Through it all we cannot read of one complaint Joseph made. The reason: He CHOSE to believe God was with him in all of his circumstances. Can you say that?
We often speak about trusting God for this and trusting God for that and forget that God looks for men and women whom He can trust, ---to be strong, faithful, obedient and steadfast in the face of difficult circumstances and remember that He promised to be with us always. He is with us even when we pass through times of misunderstanding, or when answers to prayer are delayed or when it seems God is silent. He wants us to CHOOSE to believe Him and His promises.
CHOOSE to believe God loves you and wants to help you make right choices so that you will succeed and be triumphant where you are today. You are ".....chosen of God and precious." (I Peter 2:2-4).
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Traffic Signals on the way: "Warning-Unmarked Curves and Exits"
If you ever traveled at night, you probably appreciated signs that prepared you for the unknown on the road ahead. You were even more cautious if you came upon a sign that read, "Unmarked Curves and Exits" ahead.
During our missionary work in Thailand, which followed after our ministry in Korea, we experienced some unmarked sharp curves in our travels. Bangkok was our home and base for a ministry in Church Planting. To plant churches my late husband, Henry, began with tents. As people attended a Good News Crusade in their city, heard the gospel and responded, the nucleus of new believers formed a new church. Newly graduated Bible School students traveled to that city later and became the new pastors.
Church planting required careful driving in a foreign land, following a map and being prepared for the unexpected. To each meeting, our huge Hino evangelism truck carried a large quanset-type tent and its equipment, platforms and seating while a small Volkswagon followed with the organ, sound system, mikes, a generator for electricity, food supplies, correspondence material, banners, posters and sleeping bags. When fully loaded, driving the Hino to cities or remote areas was often a challenge because of winding roads and sharp curves. Usually signs were posted along the way to indicate when a curve or mountain was ahead.
Enroute to one Good News Crusade scheduled for the city of Trang in southern Thailand, Henry and his evangelism team drove several hours on winding roads, crossed a long narrow bridge and crossed a steep mountain. They usually stopped at the peak of the mountain to let the vehicles rest before descending down on the other side. The mountain was so steep that at times several clouds were actually below them as they drove.
On this ocasion, the meeting was successful. Many people heard the gospel clearly for the first time and joined the small church already in that city. After it concluded, the team decided to dismantle the tent earlier than usual, pack the heavy equipment and head back to Bangkok though it was after midnight. Singing and recalling all that happened in that meeting kept them awake and alert on the way home.
But, after crossing the last mountain and before descending down the other side, the usual sign, "Sharp Curve Ahead," was missing! Since no one saw a sign and everyone forgot this would be one of the last two dangerous sharp curves before the bridge, the evangelism drivers continued the descent at the same speed. All of a sudden the sharp curve appeared ahead! They remembered these were dangerous turns. They would have to make a sharp turn right, and immediately make a sharp turn left to enter the bridge. Heavily loaded and descending, it was not easy to shift gears quickly. They remembered if they missed that first curve at the bottom of the mountain, just ahead the truck would plunge into the river below. If they missed the second curve, they would miss the entrance onto the bridge.
In seconds, as they approached the first curve with the truck still descending, instinctively the driver made a difficult sharp right turn and a few feet away he made the sharp turn left, hoping to make the entrance to the narrow bridge. Seeing the possibility of not being able to slow down sufficiently, everyone prayed in desperation, "FATHER, HELP US! FATHER, HELP US!" As they prayed.....suddenly they realized the truck was at the entrance of the bridge, but it was straddling the entrance sideways and pressing against the cables that held it up on both sides. "How can we possiblly turn it safely in the lane to cross the bridge?" they asked. Suddenly, as they looked, the truck was turned away from the cables, and was in the proper lane to drive across safely! "What happened," the men asked? "How did the truck turn straight ahead so quickly without our help?" An Angel of the Lord had been dispatched as they prayed and in a second He took control, miraculously moving the loaded truck easily in place! It was a miracle! And they crossed the river without incident. On the other side, they stopped and everyone followed Henry in a march around the vehicles, praising God for His supernatural intervention. Fortunately there was no traffic on the road that night and they arrived in Bangkok safely. What a difference prayer made in seconds!
Warning signs can appear in a believer's life very much like signs that inform a traveler of "Unmarked Curves and Exits," especially if the believer has wandered away from God and is living with sympathetic thoughts of temptation and compromise. Warning signs are there for a believer's safeguard and guidance and they are to be heeded. If ignored, tragic and irrepairable consequences could result that would affect his testimony for years to come. If someone does not perceive his problems, God can speak into his life by His Word, and cause him to understand what He is saying.
How can one know God's leading so he can deal with the unmarked dangers or problems on his Christian journey? He can know by continuing steadfastly in the faith through prayer and a consistent Bible reading plan. God's desire for you is: "Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." (I Corinthians 15:58) God gives specific insights and help to all of His children who obey His Word and make Him Lord of their lives.
What a difference signs or the absence of signs can make on our roads and highways.
What a difference signs can make in your life. What a difference prayer can make!
As you endeavor to live the plans you made for your New Year, ask the Lord for guidance so you will stay on course for your journey Home. We are nearing the end of this Race! Jesus is coming soon! Let's stay focused and ready!
During our missionary work in Thailand, which followed after our ministry in Korea, we experienced some unmarked sharp curves in our travels. Bangkok was our home and base for a ministry in Church Planting. To plant churches my late husband, Henry, began with tents. As people attended a Good News Crusade in their city, heard the gospel and responded, the nucleus of new believers formed a new church. Newly graduated Bible School students traveled to that city later and became the new pastors.
Church planting required careful driving in a foreign land, following a map and being prepared for the unexpected. To each meeting, our huge Hino evangelism truck carried a large quanset-type tent and its equipment, platforms and seating while a small Volkswagon followed with the organ, sound system, mikes, a generator for electricity, food supplies, correspondence material, banners, posters and sleeping bags. When fully loaded, driving the Hino to cities or remote areas was often a challenge because of winding roads and sharp curves. Usually signs were posted along the way to indicate when a curve or mountain was ahead.
Enroute to one Good News Crusade scheduled for the city of Trang in southern Thailand, Henry and his evangelism team drove several hours on winding roads, crossed a long narrow bridge and crossed a steep mountain. They usually stopped at the peak of the mountain to let the vehicles rest before descending down on the other side. The mountain was so steep that at times several clouds were actually below them as they drove.
On this ocasion, the meeting was successful. Many people heard the gospel clearly for the first time and joined the small church already in that city. After it concluded, the team decided to dismantle the tent earlier than usual, pack the heavy equipment and head back to Bangkok though it was after midnight. Singing and recalling all that happened in that meeting kept them awake and alert on the way home.
But, after crossing the last mountain and before descending down the other side, the usual sign, "Sharp Curve Ahead," was missing! Since no one saw a sign and everyone forgot this would be one of the last two dangerous sharp curves before the bridge, the evangelism drivers continued the descent at the same speed. All of a sudden the sharp curve appeared ahead! They remembered these were dangerous turns. They would have to make a sharp turn right, and immediately make a sharp turn left to enter the bridge. Heavily loaded and descending, it was not easy to shift gears quickly. They remembered if they missed that first curve at the bottom of the mountain, just ahead the truck would plunge into the river below. If they missed the second curve, they would miss the entrance onto the bridge.
In seconds, as they approached the first curve with the truck still descending, instinctively the driver made a difficult sharp right turn and a few feet away he made the sharp turn left, hoping to make the entrance to the narrow bridge. Seeing the possibility of not being able to slow down sufficiently, everyone prayed in desperation, "FATHER, HELP US! FATHER, HELP US!" As they prayed.....suddenly they realized the truck was at the entrance of the bridge, but it was straddling the entrance sideways and pressing against the cables that held it up on both sides. "How can we possiblly turn it safely in the lane to cross the bridge?" they asked. Suddenly, as they looked, the truck was turned away from the cables, and was in the proper lane to drive across safely! "What happened," the men asked? "How did the truck turn straight ahead so quickly without our help?" An Angel of the Lord had been dispatched as they prayed and in a second He took control, miraculously moving the loaded truck easily in place! It was a miracle! And they crossed the river without incident. On the other side, they stopped and everyone followed Henry in a march around the vehicles, praising God for His supernatural intervention. Fortunately there was no traffic on the road that night and they arrived in Bangkok safely. What a difference prayer made in seconds!
Warning signs can appear in a believer's life very much like signs that inform a traveler of "Unmarked Curves and Exits," especially if the believer has wandered away from God and is living with sympathetic thoughts of temptation and compromise. Warning signs are there for a believer's safeguard and guidance and they are to be heeded. If ignored, tragic and irrepairable consequences could result that would affect his testimony for years to come. If someone does not perceive his problems, God can speak into his life by His Word, and cause him to understand what He is saying.
How can one know God's leading so he can deal with the unmarked dangers or problems on his Christian journey? He can know by continuing steadfastly in the faith through prayer and a consistent Bible reading plan. God's desire for you is: "Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." (I Corinthians 15:58) God gives specific insights and help to all of His children who obey His Word and make Him Lord of their lives.
What a difference signs or the absence of signs can make on our roads and highways.
What a difference signs can make in your life. What a difference prayer can make!
As you endeavor to live the plans you made for your New Year, ask the Lord for guidance so you will stay on course for your journey Home. We are nearing the end of this Race! Jesus is coming soon! Let's stay focused and ready!
Friday, December 21, 2007
CHRISTMAS - The Greatest Story of Love
To love and be loved is the greatest joy in the world!
Who understands the mystery of love? Where did it originate? Why is it the force that makes the world go round and round?
Love began with God for God is the author of love! (I John 4:8.) It began before Christ was born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas morning. "For God so loved rhe world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
God flung the galaxies and stars into space. He hung the sun and moon on nothing. He spoke the worlds into existence and when everything was ready, then He made man. God knew the future of all things and knew nothing could move and motivate mankind like knowing someone cared for him and loved him; so He invested in man the capacity to love and be loved and ordained it to be the powerful force that moves the world.
The Bible tells us "...love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love. Rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned." (Song of Solomon 8:6b-7 NIV New Student Bible.) A commentary on these scriptures tells us further: "Death sweeps all things away. It yields to no one, and once you are in its power you cannot escape. The same is true with love. It takes control of your life, and like a gigantic fire, it cannot be doused. Love must be treated with the greatest caution and respect." (Commentary on Song of Solomon 8:6, NIV New Student Bible.)
The Holy Spirit inspired this translation and commentary in order to show us the power and depth of human love in words we could understand. The reason: so that we might comprehend the power and depth of God's love, expressed in His Word, that we could understand, --love so great that we could grasp the awesome purpose of Christ's birth: to be born as a baby, to grow up into manhood experiencing the problems of life, then to die on a cross to redeem us from the power of those problems when we accepted Him to be Lord of our lives. His ultimate purpose was that He might dwell in our hearts with peace, joy and a knowledge that His salvation offers and promises all that He desires to be to us. To confirm this, the Bible says, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth and height and TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST, which passeth knowledge." (Ephesians 3:17 and 4:16.)
It's Christmas, the greatest story of love! It's the time of giving! Familiar carols and songs are filling the air wherever we go. Decorating, baking, reproducing the drama of that wonderful day, shopping for gifts and remembering those we love and appreciate have taken priority for these exciting days. While busy with your details be sure to prepare a gift for Jesus. After all it's His birthday. Since He is not physically here, give a gift to someone in need who may not be able to return the favor. Jesus said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40) If you cannot bless someone during the holidays, support our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by praying peace into their lives while they are far from home and praying that many of them will be able to get long distance calls through to family and loved ones from wherever they are on Christmas Day.
To all who are reading this post, God bless you today! Merry Christmas!
Who understands the mystery of love? Where did it originate? Why is it the force that makes the world go round and round?
Love began with God for God is the author of love! (I John 4:8.) It began before Christ was born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas morning. "For God so loved rhe world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
God flung the galaxies and stars into space. He hung the sun and moon on nothing. He spoke the worlds into existence and when everything was ready, then He made man. God knew the future of all things and knew nothing could move and motivate mankind like knowing someone cared for him and loved him; so He invested in man the capacity to love and be loved and ordained it to be the powerful force that moves the world.
The Bible tells us "...love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love. Rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned." (Song of Solomon 8:6b-7 NIV New Student Bible.) A commentary on these scriptures tells us further: "Death sweeps all things away. It yields to no one, and once you are in its power you cannot escape. The same is true with love. It takes control of your life, and like a gigantic fire, it cannot be doused. Love must be treated with the greatest caution and respect." (Commentary on Song of Solomon 8:6, NIV New Student Bible.)
The Holy Spirit inspired this translation and commentary in order to show us the power and depth of human love in words we could understand. The reason: so that we might comprehend the power and depth of God's love, expressed in His Word, that we could understand, --love so great that we could grasp the awesome purpose of Christ's birth: to be born as a baby, to grow up into manhood experiencing the problems of life, then to die on a cross to redeem us from the power of those problems when we accepted Him to be Lord of our lives. His ultimate purpose was that He might dwell in our hearts with peace, joy and a knowledge that His salvation offers and promises all that He desires to be to us. To confirm this, the Bible says, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth and height and TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST, which passeth knowledge." (Ephesians 3:17 and 4:16.)
It's Christmas, the greatest story of love! It's the time of giving! Familiar carols and songs are filling the air wherever we go. Decorating, baking, reproducing the drama of that wonderful day, shopping for gifts and remembering those we love and appreciate have taken priority for these exciting days. While busy with your details be sure to prepare a gift for Jesus. After all it's His birthday. Since He is not physically here, give a gift to someone in need who may not be able to return the favor. Jesus said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40) If you cannot bless someone during the holidays, support our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by praying peace into their lives while they are far from home and praying that many of them will be able to get long distance calls through to family and loved ones from wherever they are on Christmas Day.
To all who are reading this post, God bless you today! Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Traffic Signals on the way - Warning - A Need to Wait
Waitng is an important part of God's plan for everyone whether we want to believe it or not. We may not always know the reasons for it until after the fact, yet the reasons for waiting are as important as a bank account for security and success.
Who likes to wait? At a traffic light, in line at the supermarket or in front of our microwave we glance at our watch several times in the few minutes we are waiting. We are classified as impatient people though we have the most modern technology in the world for accomplishing twice as much in one hour or one day than our neighbors across the oceans. It's because we don't understand God is working in our behalf while we are waiting.
One difficult area for many people is waiting for answers to prayer. When we have presented a need or prayer request to the Lord we exercise faith that He heard our prayer and we we expect to receive the answer quickly. Between the promise and its fulfillment are the most difficult hours. The tech world has given us so many modern conveniences that can cut a person's work load in half the time so we expect God to understand that and do the same. If we pray about an urgent financial need, because we know that God heard the prayer and He knows the emergency, we want a divine intervention on our time schedule. If the answer does not come when we expected it, our faith begins to disappear; but what about God's reasons? Does He have reasons for delay?
On busy expressways at times there will be unexpected construction, slow traffic for many miles, or even detours but the signs are placed in those critical areas to assure the end result: the safety of drivers and a safe arrival at their destination, not to cause him anxiety for not keeping his personal time schedule. We never question the wisdom of placing signals, signs and detours on busy roads because we know the delays and waiting was for a purpose.
When I returned to Korea to continue my missionary work after my husband went to be with the Lord, I was privileged to be invited to work with Dr. David Yonggi Cho, Pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel (Assemblies of God Church) in Seoul, Korea. In Dr. Cho's daily mail there were usually many letters from young potential pastors looking forward to graduate from college or a university who had great visions and goals to build a great church of thousands of people for the glory of God. But they wanted to know how they could accomplish this in less than the 30 years it took Dr. Cho. These were very impressive young people of a high-energy level and with outstanding personalities. They had heard that membership at the Yoido Church had reached 750,000 (at that time). They heard that people being saved and healed and others delivered from many kinds of diseases was a common occurance in many of the services. Visiting pastors and church leaders said the example of the Yoido Church resembled the story of the early church in the book of Acts.
We wrote to each young man in detail. We explained that great accomplishments begin with faithfulness in doing menial tasks first, with excellence. When God saw their heart and their readiness He could give them more anointing and power but God is the One Who decides.
We asked them how much time they spent in prayer daily. They did not give clear answers. We told them there is a reason why it took 30 years for Dr. Cho to arrive at this juncture. Most important of all he was learning to KNOW God intimately, not just know ABOUT Him. He was daily searching the scriptures, memorizing them, studying the plan of salvation, healing, growth and development of believers and the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He was learning to recognize the difference between God's voice and passing thoughts. He learned these truths from the Holy Spirit in great detail, in his steady daily prayer time. He learned the meaning of obeying God when God spoke, not later at a more convenient time.
We suggested that the young men use their time wisely in college to learn to know God while they were not under the pressures and cares of a young family, work, or other needs. We asked them, "If God should open a door of ministry for you today, do you feel you would be ready to step into the role of pastor today? Would you know how to find God's direction for the church and the people you would minister to?"
We explained the long "waiting" period is not really too long. When they would be ready, God would place them in His great harvest field where they would bring the most glory to Him. When He did, the potential would-be pastor will have learned accountability, responsibility, readiness and obedience.
The waiting period is God's personal preparation time for the developing of a life that will feel what He feels and know Him, not just know about Him.
Time is not lost when we give it to God. The farmer waits for his harvest but because of his careful care of his fields, the harvest does come. A Mother waits nine months for the birth of her child but because of care and preparation, the child does arrive. When God gives a promise we may have to wait for the fulfillment but with careful care, preparation and obedience the answer does come in God's time.
Are delays and/or waiting periods always necessary in a Christian's life? Most of the time they are. The waiting time is for you, not God. You are not ready for your answer! Use your waiting time. Learn from it. Watch new potential abilities grow, develop and mature in many ways during the waiting period. If you give God more quality time in prayer the Holy Spirit can prepare you to be ready for you answer earlier than you expected. He is the One Who decides!
Who likes to wait? At a traffic light, in line at the supermarket or in front of our microwave we glance at our watch several times in the few minutes we are waiting. We are classified as impatient people though we have the most modern technology in the world for accomplishing twice as much in one hour or one day than our neighbors across the oceans. It's because we don't understand God is working in our behalf while we are waiting.
One difficult area for many people is waiting for answers to prayer. When we have presented a need or prayer request to the Lord we exercise faith that He heard our prayer and we we expect to receive the answer quickly. Between the promise and its fulfillment are the most difficult hours. The tech world has given us so many modern conveniences that can cut a person's work load in half the time so we expect God to understand that and do the same. If we pray about an urgent financial need, because we know that God heard the prayer and He knows the emergency, we want a divine intervention on our time schedule. If the answer does not come when we expected it, our faith begins to disappear; but what about God's reasons? Does He have reasons for delay?
On busy expressways at times there will be unexpected construction, slow traffic for many miles, or even detours but the signs are placed in those critical areas to assure the end result: the safety of drivers and a safe arrival at their destination, not to cause him anxiety for not keeping his personal time schedule. We never question the wisdom of placing signals, signs and detours on busy roads because we know the delays and waiting was for a purpose.
When I returned to Korea to continue my missionary work after my husband went to be with the Lord, I was privileged to be invited to work with Dr. David Yonggi Cho, Pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel (Assemblies of God Church) in Seoul, Korea. In Dr. Cho's daily mail there were usually many letters from young potential pastors looking forward to graduate from college or a university who had great visions and goals to build a great church of thousands of people for the glory of God. But they wanted to know how they could accomplish this in less than the 30 years it took Dr. Cho. These were very impressive young people of a high-energy level and with outstanding personalities. They had heard that membership at the Yoido Church had reached 750,000 (at that time). They heard that people being saved and healed and others delivered from many kinds of diseases was a common occurance in many of the services. Visiting pastors and church leaders said the example of the Yoido Church resembled the story of the early church in the book of Acts.
We wrote to each young man in detail. We explained that great accomplishments begin with faithfulness in doing menial tasks first, with excellence. When God saw their heart and their readiness He could give them more anointing and power but God is the One Who decides.
We asked them how much time they spent in prayer daily. They did not give clear answers. We told them there is a reason why it took 30 years for Dr. Cho to arrive at this juncture. Most important of all he was learning to KNOW God intimately, not just know ABOUT Him. He was daily searching the scriptures, memorizing them, studying the plan of salvation, healing, growth and development of believers and the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He was learning to recognize the difference between God's voice and passing thoughts. He learned these truths from the Holy Spirit in great detail, in his steady daily prayer time. He learned the meaning of obeying God when God spoke, not later at a more convenient time.
We suggested that the young men use their time wisely in college to learn to know God while they were not under the pressures and cares of a young family, work, or other needs. We asked them, "If God should open a door of ministry for you today, do you feel you would be ready to step into the role of pastor today? Would you know how to find God's direction for the church and the people you would minister to?"
We explained the long "waiting" period is not really too long. When they would be ready, God would place them in His great harvest field where they would bring the most glory to Him. When He did, the potential would-be pastor will have learned accountability, responsibility, readiness and obedience.
The waiting period is God's personal preparation time for the developing of a life that will feel what He feels and know Him, not just know about Him.
Time is not lost when we give it to God. The farmer waits for his harvest but because of his careful care of his fields, the harvest does come. A Mother waits nine months for the birth of her child but because of care and preparation, the child does arrive. When God gives a promise we may have to wait for the fulfillment but with careful care, preparation and obedience the answer does come in God's time.
Are delays and/or waiting periods always necessary in a Christian's life? Most of the time they are. The waiting time is for you, not God. You are not ready for your answer! Use your waiting time. Learn from it. Watch new potential abilities grow, develop and mature in many ways during the waiting period. If you give God more quality time in prayer the Holy Spirit can prepare you to be ready for you answer earlier than you expected. He is the One Who decides!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Traffic Signals on the way: Warning - Detours
Traveling can be adventurous and educational besides getting you to your destination if roads are good and necessary directional signs are carefully placed to indicate any changes, curves or detours. All signs are meant to direct you and they are to be heeded!
A few years ago some of our missionary friends lived and ministered in a limited-access nation in the mid-east. On a very dark night while traveling home at midnight from a gospel meeting in a nearby city, the missionary family and national pastor with his son had just reached the top of a steep hill and started down the other side when suddenly they came upon a large truck stalled in the middle of the road before them, without lights. With no time to go around the truck successfully, their car immediately slammed into the truck. All three of their young daughters were thrown out of the car as well as the national pastor's son, and all four were killed. The missionary wife suffered with many broken bones. After several hours, they were found and everyone was taken to a nearby hospital. Fortunately the missionary and his national pastor were not injured seriously. The three daughters were later buried in that foreign land. A year later the wife learned to walk again. They now reside in the states. The accident might have been avoided if road flares or a detour sign of any kind had been on the road a short distance before approaching the hill, but there was nothing. The tragedy was caused by neglect!
In our walk with the Lord, there will be times when the Holy Spirit will warn us of problems ahead and we must heed the warning and perceive He provided a detour. The detour will cause us to avoid the thing that we could not see immediately. To ignore His warning is to neglect His prompting, His desire, His assignment from our heavenly Father to protect and warn us throughout our Christian journey. Warnings come to us through God's Word; but the decision to heed them is ours: whether we will listen and obey or regard His Word and prompting as not necessarily important at the moment.
The Holy Spirit wants you to remember: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for INSTRUCTION in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16.) There is instruction for you every time you read God's Word! The Word will speak to your inner man and direct you in specific day to day dealings and events. Reading your Bible daily and balancing it with prayer will enable the Holy Spirit to bring back to your rememberance the Word of God that will bring instruction and warning when you need it.
Among the commandments and instructions in scripture, one that gets our attention quickly and stands out as a warning concerns the word neglect.
The area where neglect can be noticed quickly is the road on which we travel most, every day. We can see if maintenance and upkeep were handled on a timely basis. A road that has not been properly serviced by the city can cause small or great accidents or delays.....all because of neglect. Likewise, those who are in the body of Christ, which includes you and me, who have not diligently kept all the Word (the commandments and instructions) can be responsible for lack of growth in the lives of younger believers God has placed in your path. Neglect can be the reason for the lack of vision for the purpose of God in your life, your home or your church. It can be the reason for weak faith: --faith that is not strong enough to produce healings or miracles and it can be the deciding factor for indifference to the preaching of the Word. It's a sobering fact but it's true! When neglect is evident, there are little or no results, and no readiness for the Second Coming of the Lord. Again, the reason is neglect! On your journey of life, detour away from neglect before it affects your relationship with the Lord.
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest at any time we should let them slip. How shall we escape IF WE NEGLECT so great a salvation." (Hebrews 2:1, 3.) Our salvation includes working toward full obedience and fighting the good fight of faith to be ready for the work and ministry that the Holy Spirit desires to do through us!
On several occasions, the Israelites asked God why He did not help them as He had promised since they did prepare and offer their offerings and sacrifices. God told them it was because they ignored his prophets and continued to serve other gods AND Him. He was no longer THE One and Only Lord of their lives! Their hearts were not in their sacrifices and offerings! It had become only a form to them without their hearts involved in true worship. Though believers do not offer sacrifices of sheep and goats as the Israelites did, God would speak to us today and in essence His Words would be, "You see what you want to see in my Word, and change its interpretation to fit the level of your present spiritual condition." Take a detour around the status quo traveling on the road with you if those people pretend to serve the Lord but He is not THE Lord of their lives! Let nothing cause you to neglect the Lord of your life being the Only God of Life to you!
Is it possible that the Lord would visit a church in the disguise or form of a crippled person, a homeless and/or a dysfunctional person, someone in a wheel chair, a blind person, one recently restored from prison, a weathly millionnaire, perhaps a football star or any other person of renown...to see our response or neglect to each one? And if He did, would you recognize Him? If so, how would you respond? Could or would you be God's hand extended? Would you take time to be His hand extended? Do you scale down the Word of God to someone when witnessing to him so he will not be offended? Have you ever asked the Lord to use you to touch the life of a hurting person, or to be His hand extended?
We will one day be judged according to the Light we received and how we passed it on. If the Word of Truth is powerful in your life and understanding, let it be powerful in your speech, action and example! Sometimes we are tempted to "strain at a nat and swallow a camel...." Do we talk about serving God according to rules we made but neglect the needs that are important to God? Neglect!
I think often of a time after the Rapture, when we will stand before the Lord at the Bema Judgment. To some He will say, "I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited me not." (Matt 25:42-43.) Then our Lord will answer: "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto Me." (Matthew 25:44-46.) Why would He say this? Could it be that we might be selective in our work for the Lord, even in our friendships, those we help or things we do for them for God?
When a person has neglected his personal relationship with God, there will soon be signs of neglect in his obedience to certain instructions in the Word. The signs of disobedience will develop into carelessness, and carelessness will cause him to rearrange the commandments he once loved, to fit his strained life style. This is the way some churches and even pople move away from Truth and get into error. The gospel becomes diluted so that it has lost its power to change and transform lives. Neglect can bring change that will cause one to let down his standard of holiness and his love for God. Eventually he will look toward returning to the very things he was once delivered from.
The good news is, God is always merciful to hear our cry of repentance and for help to return to Him so we can be restored. His Word declares, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7) Yes! He will abundantly pardon! What a comfort! Today is a good day to think on these things and examine them carefully in your life!
A few years ago some of our missionary friends lived and ministered in a limited-access nation in the mid-east. On a very dark night while traveling home at midnight from a gospel meeting in a nearby city, the missionary family and national pastor with his son had just reached the top of a steep hill and started down the other side when suddenly they came upon a large truck stalled in the middle of the road before them, without lights. With no time to go around the truck successfully, their car immediately slammed into the truck. All three of their young daughters were thrown out of the car as well as the national pastor's son, and all four were killed. The missionary wife suffered with many broken bones. After several hours, they were found and everyone was taken to a nearby hospital. Fortunately the missionary and his national pastor were not injured seriously. The three daughters were later buried in that foreign land. A year later the wife learned to walk again. They now reside in the states. The accident might have been avoided if road flares or a detour sign of any kind had been on the road a short distance before approaching the hill, but there was nothing. The tragedy was caused by neglect!
In our walk with the Lord, there will be times when the Holy Spirit will warn us of problems ahead and we must heed the warning and perceive He provided a detour. The detour will cause us to avoid the thing that we could not see immediately. To ignore His warning is to neglect His prompting, His desire, His assignment from our heavenly Father to protect and warn us throughout our Christian journey. Warnings come to us through God's Word; but the decision to heed them is ours: whether we will listen and obey or regard His Word and prompting as not necessarily important at the moment.
The Holy Spirit wants you to remember: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for INSTRUCTION in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16.) There is instruction for you every time you read God's Word! The Word will speak to your inner man and direct you in specific day to day dealings and events. Reading your Bible daily and balancing it with prayer will enable the Holy Spirit to bring back to your rememberance the Word of God that will bring instruction and warning when you need it.
Among the commandments and instructions in scripture, one that gets our attention quickly and stands out as a warning concerns the word neglect.
The area where neglect can be noticed quickly is the road on which we travel most, every day. We can see if maintenance and upkeep were handled on a timely basis. A road that has not been properly serviced by the city can cause small or great accidents or delays.....all because of neglect. Likewise, those who are in the body of Christ, which includes you and me, who have not diligently kept all the Word (the commandments and instructions) can be responsible for lack of growth in the lives of younger believers God has placed in your path. Neglect can be the reason for the lack of vision for the purpose of God in your life, your home or your church. It can be the reason for weak faith: --faith that is not strong enough to produce healings or miracles and it can be the deciding factor for indifference to the preaching of the Word. It's a sobering fact but it's true! When neglect is evident, there are little or no results, and no readiness for the Second Coming of the Lord. Again, the reason is neglect! On your journey of life, detour away from neglect before it affects your relationship with the Lord.
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest at any time we should let them slip. How shall we escape IF WE NEGLECT so great a salvation." (Hebrews 2:1, 3.) Our salvation includes working toward full obedience and fighting the good fight of faith to be ready for the work and ministry that the Holy Spirit desires to do through us!
On several occasions, the Israelites asked God why He did not help them as He had promised since they did prepare and offer their offerings and sacrifices. God told them it was because they ignored his prophets and continued to serve other gods AND Him. He was no longer THE One and Only Lord of their lives! Their hearts were not in their sacrifices and offerings! It had become only a form to them without their hearts involved in true worship. Though believers do not offer sacrifices of sheep and goats as the Israelites did, God would speak to us today and in essence His Words would be, "You see what you want to see in my Word, and change its interpretation to fit the level of your present spiritual condition." Take a detour around the status quo traveling on the road with you if those people pretend to serve the Lord but He is not THE Lord of their lives! Let nothing cause you to neglect the Lord of your life being the Only God of Life to you!
Is it possible that the Lord would visit a church in the disguise or form of a crippled person, a homeless and/or a dysfunctional person, someone in a wheel chair, a blind person, one recently restored from prison, a weathly millionnaire, perhaps a football star or any other person of renown...to see our response or neglect to each one? And if He did, would you recognize Him? If so, how would you respond? Could or would you be God's hand extended? Would you take time to be His hand extended? Do you scale down the Word of God to someone when witnessing to him so he will not be offended? Have you ever asked the Lord to use you to touch the life of a hurting person, or to be His hand extended?
We will one day be judged according to the Light we received and how we passed it on. If the Word of Truth is powerful in your life and understanding, let it be powerful in your speech, action and example! Sometimes we are tempted to "strain at a nat and swallow a camel...." Do we talk about serving God according to rules we made but neglect the needs that are important to God? Neglect!
I think often of a time after the Rapture, when we will stand before the Lord at the Bema Judgment. To some He will say, "I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited me not." (Matt 25:42-43.) Then our Lord will answer: "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto Me." (Matthew 25:44-46.) Why would He say this? Could it be that we might be selective in our work for the Lord, even in our friendships, those we help or things we do for them for God?
When a person has neglected his personal relationship with God, there will soon be signs of neglect in his obedience to certain instructions in the Word. The signs of disobedience will develop into carelessness, and carelessness will cause him to rearrange the commandments he once loved, to fit his strained life style. This is the way some churches and even pople move away from Truth and get into error. The gospel becomes diluted so that it has lost its power to change and transform lives. Neglect can bring change that will cause one to let down his standard of holiness and his love for God. Eventually he will look toward returning to the very things he was once delivered from.
The good news is, God is always merciful to hear our cry of repentance and for help to return to Him so we can be restored. His Word declares, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7) Yes! He will abundantly pardon! What a comfort! Today is a good day to think on these things and examine them carefully in your life!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Traffic Signals on the way:"Warning - Presumption"
Presumption is a belief that a person can do whatever he desires to do contrary to previous instructions and restraints, without experiencing consequences for his behavior.
Your life is your journey on the specific path that God laid out uniquely just for you. By following the Map, God's Word, and detailed Guidelines carefully, scriptures that give you specific directions for your personal journey, you will be amazed how God will reward you with fulfillment of the desires of your heart which in essence are plans He Himself placed in your life. There will be no doubts or guess work how to reach your personal destiny. All you have to do is listen, obey and follow His leading, and watch for warning signals on the way that would cause you to detour from your Christian path. Obey them and keep your eyes on Jesus! Obeying and following God's direction will avoid confusion, chaos and the possibility of losing out with God in the end.
We read examples of men in the Bible who made wrong choices while they were in leadership and suffered bitter consequences. We can learn from their mistakes. When wrong choices are made, it often takes many months and sometimes years to find a place to turn around and return to the place where a person left God, in order to be restored. Sometimes he is able to turn around successully but sometimes he turns around only to carry the baggage of consequences the rest of his life.
While we were on the mission field, we met an impressive young couple full of talent and the possibility of high leadership skills. It did not take long to recognize the wife was living with the consequences of the years she lived in the drug scene when she lived in a commune. When she talked of the goodness of God, she radiated with gratefulness that those days were behind her, but at times in ordinary conversation her mind appeared to be blank and she struggled to complete sentences. I'm reminded of the scripture: "Be sure your sin will find you out." You cannot assume you will be the exception who will have no consequences.
Saul had been chosen by God to be the first King of Israel. When he faced his first national battle, Samuel gave him specific instructions to meet him in Gilgal; wait seven days with the people, and he (Samuel) would come and offer a sacrifice before going into battle. He would ask God for His blessing before Saul would face the would be invading army. Saul did gather the people as he was instructed, but after waiting in Gilgal only six days, he became impatient, restless and doubtful of his instructions. He began to think since he was king he should be able to offer the sacrifice as the priests did. Though God gave Saul a new heart when he became King, Saul's leadership included learning the importance of following directions, not his assumptions. And he offered the sacrifice! This was the first disobedience but more followed until Saul eventually lost his way, lost the kingdom, and lost out with God. His sin of presumption was assuming he did not have to follow the directive God gave through Samuel.
David is known in the scriptures as the sweet singer of Israel. Growing up, as the youngest son he kept the family's sheep. Alone on the hillsides for long periods of time, he probably learned to know the Great God of the universe as few of us could imagine. Worship, prayer, communion and fellowship with God were consistent in his daily life. We remember the stories how he killed a bear, killed the giant Goliath, and had many great victories to his credit. In God's time, he was anointed to be king, following Saul. Fast-forwarding his life as king, after God had used him mightily in winning many battles successfully with the surrounding nations, a time came when David was sorely tempted. He sucumbed to the temptation, committed adultey and then he tried to hide his sin. Though he was known as a man after God's own heart, he was still human and was subject to temptations as the rest of mankind. No one is exempt.
After yielding to the temptation, we see another side of David. It's not only a picture of results that follow temptation but also a revelation how Satan can win in a person's life when just a small crack in the door of his heart is allowed to be opened to fantasy and sympathetic thoughts toward compromise to sin.
We see deception, lying, and trying to hide the consequences of his sin. Disaster after disaster followed David after that. Did God forgive him? Yes, but David paid the consequences for sin. His sin of presumption was thinking as King, he could arrange more deceptions to be carried out by one of his military men and no one would ever know what really happened. The warning signal here is: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Whose heart? Everyone's heart! David's sin of presumption was that he knew God would forgive him, but he did not count on the many consequences that followed because of his sin. From that time, David prayed, "Keep me from presumptous sins."
The lesson from his choice is to heed the signals on your journey of life everyday because they can be warnings in the busy and congested traffic on your road. Today as never before, the enemy of your soul, Satan, is after you. Your only safety is to stay close to God. Recognize and know that everyone is tempted at times and temptation is not sin. It is yielding to the temptation that is sin! If you have sinned or are in a difficult place of temptation, your only hope is to turn to the strong arm of God through His Word. The scripture says, "Submit yourselves unto God, .....THEN....resist the devil and he will flee from you." The next step is to CONFESS your problem to the Lord in prayer, not hide it. REPENT of your part in allowing yourself to be drawn into the problem this far. ASK FOR THE BLOOD OF JESUS to cleanse you from your involvement. Accept His forgiveness and cleansing and turn/run from the temptation. Then ASK FOR RESTORATION.
The scripture speaks of "Godly sorrow" with repentance. There are times when you need to spend more than a few minutes before God in repentance. You need to repent with Godly sorrow. This means to realize you grieved and wounded the Holy Spirit who attempted to restrain you from yielding to temptation. Your sin of presumption may have been that you thought you could always repent with a "sentence prayer," a quick and short one, and the presence of God would be restored quickly as before. The Holy Spirit will lead you to full repentance and Jesus will forgive you but you need to know your repentance must be with Godly sorrow. It is the Godly sorrow that will sharpen your will to resist a temptation the next time.
The good news is that the Holy Spirit places special kinds of signals on your your road of life from time to time, often to warn you. Be aware of them and obey them. It's because He wants you to remember always what a great sacrifice Jesus made for you. He desires you to live free from sin.
(This message us for a particular person who happened to find this on the internet today. I don't know who you are but I know Jesus loves you. He waits for you to go to Him and repent and be restored! I urge you to go today!)
Your life is your journey on the specific path that God laid out uniquely just for you. By following the Map, God's Word, and detailed Guidelines carefully, scriptures that give you specific directions for your personal journey, you will be amazed how God will reward you with fulfillment of the desires of your heart which in essence are plans He Himself placed in your life. There will be no doubts or guess work how to reach your personal destiny. All you have to do is listen, obey and follow His leading, and watch for warning signals on the way that would cause you to detour from your Christian path. Obey them and keep your eyes on Jesus! Obeying and following God's direction will avoid confusion, chaos and the possibility of losing out with God in the end.
We read examples of men in the Bible who made wrong choices while they were in leadership and suffered bitter consequences. We can learn from their mistakes. When wrong choices are made, it often takes many months and sometimes years to find a place to turn around and return to the place where a person left God, in order to be restored. Sometimes he is able to turn around successully but sometimes he turns around only to carry the baggage of consequences the rest of his life.
While we were on the mission field, we met an impressive young couple full of talent and the possibility of high leadership skills. It did not take long to recognize the wife was living with the consequences of the years she lived in the drug scene when she lived in a commune. When she talked of the goodness of God, she radiated with gratefulness that those days were behind her, but at times in ordinary conversation her mind appeared to be blank and she struggled to complete sentences. I'm reminded of the scripture: "Be sure your sin will find you out." You cannot assume you will be the exception who will have no consequences.
Saul had been chosen by God to be the first King of Israel. When he faced his first national battle, Samuel gave him specific instructions to meet him in Gilgal; wait seven days with the people, and he (Samuel) would come and offer a sacrifice before going into battle. He would ask God for His blessing before Saul would face the would be invading army. Saul did gather the people as he was instructed, but after waiting in Gilgal only six days, he became impatient, restless and doubtful of his instructions. He began to think since he was king he should be able to offer the sacrifice as the priests did. Though God gave Saul a new heart when he became King, Saul's leadership included learning the importance of following directions, not his assumptions. And he offered the sacrifice! This was the first disobedience but more followed until Saul eventually lost his way, lost the kingdom, and lost out with God. His sin of presumption was assuming he did not have to follow the directive God gave through Samuel.
David is known in the scriptures as the sweet singer of Israel. Growing up, as the youngest son he kept the family's sheep. Alone on the hillsides for long periods of time, he probably learned to know the Great God of the universe as few of us could imagine. Worship, prayer, communion and fellowship with God were consistent in his daily life. We remember the stories how he killed a bear, killed the giant Goliath, and had many great victories to his credit. In God's time, he was anointed to be king, following Saul. Fast-forwarding his life as king, after God had used him mightily in winning many battles successfully with the surrounding nations, a time came when David was sorely tempted. He sucumbed to the temptation, committed adultey and then he tried to hide his sin. Though he was known as a man after God's own heart, he was still human and was subject to temptations as the rest of mankind. No one is exempt.
After yielding to the temptation, we see another side of David. It's not only a picture of results that follow temptation but also a revelation how Satan can win in a person's life when just a small crack in the door of his heart is allowed to be opened to fantasy and sympathetic thoughts toward compromise to sin.
We see deception, lying, and trying to hide the consequences of his sin. Disaster after disaster followed David after that. Did God forgive him? Yes, but David paid the consequences for sin. His sin of presumption was thinking as King, he could arrange more deceptions to be carried out by one of his military men and no one would ever know what really happened. The warning signal here is: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Whose heart? Everyone's heart! David's sin of presumption was that he knew God would forgive him, but he did not count on the many consequences that followed because of his sin. From that time, David prayed, "Keep me from presumptous sins."
The lesson from his choice is to heed the signals on your journey of life everyday because they can be warnings in the busy and congested traffic on your road. Today as never before, the enemy of your soul, Satan, is after you. Your only safety is to stay close to God. Recognize and know that everyone is tempted at times and temptation is not sin. It is yielding to the temptation that is sin! If you have sinned or are in a difficult place of temptation, your only hope is to turn to the strong arm of God through His Word. The scripture says, "Submit yourselves unto God, .....THEN....resist the devil and he will flee from you." The next step is to CONFESS your problem to the Lord in prayer, not hide it. REPENT of your part in allowing yourself to be drawn into the problem this far. ASK FOR THE BLOOD OF JESUS to cleanse you from your involvement. Accept His forgiveness and cleansing and turn/run from the temptation. Then ASK FOR RESTORATION.
The scripture speaks of "Godly sorrow" with repentance. There are times when you need to spend more than a few minutes before God in repentance. You need to repent with Godly sorrow. This means to realize you grieved and wounded the Holy Spirit who attempted to restrain you from yielding to temptation. Your sin of presumption may have been that you thought you could always repent with a "sentence prayer," a quick and short one, and the presence of God would be restored quickly as before. The Holy Spirit will lead you to full repentance and Jesus will forgive you but you need to know your repentance must be with Godly sorrow. It is the Godly sorrow that will sharpen your will to resist a temptation the next time.
The good news is that the Holy Spirit places special kinds of signals on your your road of life from time to time, often to warn you. Be aware of them and obey them. It's because He wants you to remember always what a great sacrifice Jesus made for you. He desires you to live free from sin.
(This message us for a particular person who happened to find this on the internet today. I don't know who you are but I know Jesus loves you. He waits for you to go to Him and repent and be restored! I urge you to go today!)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thanksgiving - Remembering with Gratefulness
People who influence people the most are those who always show thankfulness!
Thanksgiving time brings warm memories of family gatherings, of the aroma of turkey and its trimmings being prepared, of favorite foods and pies and the joy of spending a few special hours with family again! The rush and busyness of everyday living has robbed many people of their gratitude for blessings we have been privileged to enjoy in our great country of America! Let's remember with gratfulness!
If you counted your blessings and wrote them out, how many could you list on paper? At this time of the year, it is good to remember to thank God again for our beloved land of the free; --for God's protection, provision and guidance during the last ten months, --for our abundance of everything we have need of, for the comforts and conveniences of life such as our home, our telecommumications, medical facilities, and our military personnel serving overseas in order to protect our country, just to name a few.
On the other side of the coin, the Mission Fields of the world tell us that life is very different from our homes, and not without problems and yet they express gratefulness for what they do have. Nations rise and fall and other nations are changing focus in many directions all the time. Missionaries see these factors but they are working hard to bring in their harvest before the winds of change develop into storms that could change the face of missions. They are more concerned about the people God sent them to and they are grateful for the call of God to bring the gospel to them. One missionary wrote:
.....If you own a Bible, you are blessed. More than one-third of the world's population does not even have access to one. In some countries one page is all a national pastor has until he can exchange his page with another pastor.
.....If you awoke this morning with more health than illness, you are blessed. One million people will not survive this week.
.....If you have never experienced war, imprisonment, torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are more fortunate that 500 million people who live with these on a daily basis.
.....If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and money in your pocket, you are richer than 75 percent of the world.
We should daily ask ourselves some questions to measure our gratefulness:
1. Do we talk daily about our blessings or more about our disappointments?
2. Do we complain or grumble about our circumstances,or do we see God working through them?
3. Are we content with life or dissatisfied and always wanting more?
4. How often do we thank others for the little things they do for us, or do we take them for granted and seldom say "Thank you!"
5. Do others say I am a thankful person, or are they silent about that subject? We tell on ourselves by the things we say and the things we do.
As we share thanksgiving dinner with family and friends this Thanksgiving Day, let's take time to express our gratefulness to God who has "...blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3.) Let's pray for our missionaries serving far from home this year and those on assignment to raise more support to fulfill the vision God gave them, --for the families who are missing a family member because he/she is serving in Iraq, --for those in your church or next door who are not well and would appreciate a dinner plate from your home and perhaps those who have been alienated or estranged from their own family and long to return. This Thanksgiving time, let's recall our blessings again with gratefulness and express that gratefulness verbally to our heavenly Father, then to those who shared Thanksgiving dinner with us!
You can become a strong influence in the lives of other Christians when you express gratefulness to them often for their small or great contribution in your life! You can make a difference!
Thanksgiving time brings warm memories of family gatherings, of the aroma of turkey and its trimmings being prepared, of favorite foods and pies and the joy of spending a few special hours with family again! The rush and busyness of everyday living has robbed many people of their gratitude for blessings we have been privileged to enjoy in our great country of America! Let's remember with gratfulness!
If you counted your blessings and wrote them out, how many could you list on paper? At this time of the year, it is good to remember to thank God again for our beloved land of the free; --for God's protection, provision and guidance during the last ten months, --for our abundance of everything we have need of, for the comforts and conveniences of life such as our home, our telecommumications, medical facilities, and our military personnel serving overseas in order to protect our country, just to name a few.
On the other side of the coin, the Mission Fields of the world tell us that life is very different from our homes, and not without problems and yet they express gratefulness for what they do have. Nations rise and fall and other nations are changing focus in many directions all the time. Missionaries see these factors but they are working hard to bring in their harvest before the winds of change develop into storms that could change the face of missions. They are more concerned about the people God sent them to and they are grateful for the call of God to bring the gospel to them. One missionary wrote:
.....If you own a Bible, you are blessed. More than one-third of the world's population does not even have access to one. In some countries one page is all a national pastor has until he can exchange his page with another pastor.
.....If you awoke this morning with more health than illness, you are blessed. One million people will not survive this week.
.....If you have never experienced war, imprisonment, torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are more fortunate that 500 million people who live with these on a daily basis.
.....If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and money in your pocket, you are richer than 75 percent of the world.
We should daily ask ourselves some questions to measure our gratefulness:
1. Do we talk daily about our blessings or more about our disappointments?
2. Do we complain or grumble about our circumstances,or do we see God working through them?
3. Are we content with life or dissatisfied and always wanting more?
4. How often do we thank others for the little things they do for us, or do we take them for granted and seldom say "Thank you!"
5. Do others say I am a thankful person, or are they silent about that subject? We tell on ourselves by the things we say and the things we do.
As we share thanksgiving dinner with family and friends this Thanksgiving Day, let's take time to express our gratefulness to God who has "...blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3.) Let's pray for our missionaries serving far from home this year and those on assignment to raise more support to fulfill the vision God gave them, --for the families who are missing a family member because he/she is serving in Iraq, --for those in your church or next door who are not well and would appreciate a dinner plate from your home and perhaps those who have been alienated or estranged from their own family and long to return. This Thanksgiving time, let's recall our blessings again with gratefulness and express that gratefulness verbally to our heavenly Father, then to those who shared Thanksgiving dinner with us!
You can become a strong influence in the lives of other Christians when you express gratefulness to them often for their small or great contribution in your life! You can make a difference!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Healing is For Today
Do you believe you can be healed today? That question can be answered with two more questions: Has the Word of God changed? Is Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever?
Prepare your heart for healing through God's Word. First, consider the power of the Word of God as compared to the philosophies of those who would say that healing is not for us today. If "philosophers" never experienced a healing, how could they know if it is or is not for us today? If they came to declare this to me, I would have to tell them they came too late.....because I have already been healed many times. Apparently they do not know the scripture that declares "the Word of God standeth forever," which confirms that God's promises for healing stand forever too!
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher; Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and tutor of Alexander the Great, and Plato, another Greek philosopher,---all world renowned philosophers in their day taught and/or offered their views or theories on questions in ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other fields, with eloquent words. But after their death, their writings have faded from importance except as subjects to be studied in universities and colleges. Today, there appears to be no wide spread need for their philosophies for the average person.
On the other hand, the Word of God that was spoken through prophets and priests centuries ago as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, has outlived philosophers, orators and humanists. Jesus lived on earth, died on a cross for all sinners and returned to His heavenly Father, yet His Word lives on and it has not only endured and withstood many tests through many storms and threats of extinction for many generations but it has brought change wherever it has been taught and received. Missionaries especially, confirm the Word of God has changed cannibalistic nations into civilization. It has brought peace and comfort in times of bereavement and sorrow. In remote areas where medical service was either 4-5 hours away or there was none available for many miles, when prayer was earnestly made to God, healings and miracles happened! When faced with fear and the unknown in the face of death, there is no record of someone asking for a dictionary or a book of philosophy to be read. He asked for the Word of God because its Words brought hope and peace. All of the Word of God has and is life for the reader.
The Bible also brought encouragement, direction for day to day living and answers in times of crisis. It led us to salvation, peace with God and eternal life. To every born again believer it has given life to God's great and precious promises for every circumstance. Why? Its Author is God Himself, the God Who created man in His image. And God knows all about him, .....even his physical needs, and how to restore or heal him.
Scripture confirms that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." He is the God of yesterday and the future but He is also the God of Today! God spoke through Isaiah, "My Word that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but IT SHALL ACCOMPLISH THAT WHICH I PLEASE, AND IT SHALL PROSPER IN THE THING WHERETO I SENT IT." (ISAIAH 55:11.) Looking at a parade of evidences, we can conclude He is the same yesterday, today and forever in every circumstance! Yes! This means He is the God of healing, restoration and renewal for the future and for today!
Through His Word, God invites you to "Come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16.) Here are some factors to know that will help as you prepare for your healing:
1. Faith is needed.
"Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Preparation for healing requires that you first have faith to believe God is and that He is a "rewarder of those that diligently seek Him." Your faith grows as you spend quality time in prayer and in the Word of God, and especially when you place your name in the scriptures, for emphasis. Many Christians who do this confirm this has helped their faith.
2. Realize Jesus finished His Work at Calvary.
Healing is a finished work of Calvary as far as God is concerned, but you have to do more than hope or wish for it. To have the "finished work" or evidence of the healing, you must RECEIVE it. Peter declares, "By whose stripes ye were healed," (I Peter 2:24.) Healing was and is for you or your family members but if you have not received it, you need to continue to read the healing scriptures again and again until you have memorized them and they are a part of your confession every day.
3. "Everyone who asks, receives."
Jesus stated those words in Matthew 7:7-11. When you pray for healing, Jesus wants you to receive what you asked for because His Word declares, "By whose stripes ye WERE healed." Rewording it can help your faith by quoting "I believe it was through His stripes I WAS HEALED," and then stand firmly on your declaration without wavering.
4. Jesus healed them all.
Since Christ came to do the Father's will, the fact that He HEALED THEM ALL is proof that it is God's will that all be healed. (If it were not God's will for all to be healed, then how did they all get healed?)
5. Stand in your authority.
At all times, you need to stand in the authority Jesus shared with you in Luke 10:19. BELIEVE that you have the authority over ALL the power of the enemy, even Satan's attack of sickness he is trying to put on you. Speak to your sickness to go in Jesus' Name, commanding it to return to the one who sent it. When you speak boldly with authority, in faith, nothing wavering, the sickness will begin to die; your condition will begin to reverse and in time you will see the full manifestation of complete healing.
(NOTE; See previous blog titled, "The Prayer of Authority," September 7, 2007. To 9pen this blog, scroll to the end of this page. See the words "Older Posts" at the end of the page. Press or double click on the words "Older Posts." Wait, and the previous page with blogs will appear. Scroll down on that page to "The Prayer of Authority" and read the article with additional information on Authority.)
Only believe! This is God's Word. It will never change! He promised that His Word would NOT return to Him void, but it would accomplish what it was sent to do. Dare to believe healing is for you today and witness the power of His promise!
Prepare your heart for healing through God's Word. First, consider the power of the Word of God as compared to the philosophies of those who would say that healing is not for us today. If "philosophers" never experienced a healing, how could they know if it is or is not for us today? If they came to declare this to me, I would have to tell them they came too late.....because I have already been healed many times. Apparently they do not know the scripture that declares "the Word of God standeth forever," which confirms that God's promises for healing stand forever too!
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher; Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and tutor of Alexander the Great, and Plato, another Greek philosopher,---all world renowned philosophers in their day taught and/or offered their views or theories on questions in ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other fields, with eloquent words. But after their death, their writings have faded from importance except as subjects to be studied in universities and colleges. Today, there appears to be no wide spread need for their philosophies for the average person.
On the other hand, the Word of God that was spoken through prophets and priests centuries ago as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, has outlived philosophers, orators and humanists. Jesus lived on earth, died on a cross for all sinners and returned to His heavenly Father, yet His Word lives on and it has not only endured and withstood many tests through many storms and threats of extinction for many generations but it has brought change wherever it has been taught and received. Missionaries especially, confirm the Word of God has changed cannibalistic nations into civilization. It has brought peace and comfort in times of bereavement and sorrow. In remote areas where medical service was either 4-5 hours away or there was none available for many miles, when prayer was earnestly made to God, healings and miracles happened! When faced with fear and the unknown in the face of death, there is no record of someone asking for a dictionary or a book of philosophy to be read. He asked for the Word of God because its Words brought hope and peace. All of the Word of God has and is life for the reader.
The Bible also brought encouragement, direction for day to day living and answers in times of crisis. It led us to salvation, peace with God and eternal life. To every born again believer it has given life to God's great and precious promises for every circumstance. Why? Its Author is God Himself, the God Who created man in His image. And God knows all about him, .....even his physical needs, and how to restore or heal him.
Scripture confirms that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." He is the God of yesterday and the future but He is also the God of Today! God spoke through Isaiah, "My Word that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but IT SHALL ACCOMPLISH THAT WHICH I PLEASE, AND IT SHALL PROSPER IN THE THING WHERETO I SENT IT." (ISAIAH 55:11.) Looking at a parade of evidences, we can conclude He is the same yesterday, today and forever in every circumstance! Yes! This means He is the God of healing, restoration and renewal for the future and for today!
Through His Word, God invites you to "Come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16.) Here are some factors to know that will help as you prepare for your healing:
1. Faith is needed.
"Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Preparation for healing requires that you first have faith to believe God is and that He is a "rewarder of those that diligently seek Him." Your faith grows as you spend quality time in prayer and in the Word of God, and especially when you place your name in the scriptures, for emphasis. Many Christians who do this confirm this has helped their faith.
2. Realize Jesus finished His Work at Calvary.
Healing is a finished work of Calvary as far as God is concerned, but you have to do more than hope or wish for it. To have the "finished work" or evidence of the healing, you must RECEIVE it. Peter declares, "By whose stripes ye were healed," (I Peter 2:24.) Healing was and is for you or your family members but if you have not received it, you need to continue to read the healing scriptures again and again until you have memorized them and they are a part of your confession every day.
3. "Everyone who asks, receives."
Jesus stated those words in Matthew 7:7-11. When you pray for healing, Jesus wants you to receive what you asked for because His Word declares, "By whose stripes ye WERE healed." Rewording it can help your faith by quoting "I believe it was through His stripes I WAS HEALED," and then stand firmly on your declaration without wavering.
4. Jesus healed them all.
Since Christ came to do the Father's will, the fact that He HEALED THEM ALL is proof that it is God's will that all be healed. (If it were not God's will for all to be healed, then how did they all get healed?)
5. Stand in your authority.
At all times, you need to stand in the authority Jesus shared with you in Luke 10:19. BELIEVE that you have the authority over ALL the power of the enemy, even Satan's attack of sickness he is trying to put on you. Speak to your sickness to go in Jesus' Name, commanding it to return to the one who sent it. When you speak boldly with authority, in faith, nothing wavering, the sickness will begin to die; your condition will begin to reverse and in time you will see the full manifestation of complete healing.
(NOTE; See previous blog titled, "The Prayer of Authority," September 7, 2007. To 9pen this blog, scroll to the end of this page. See the words "Older Posts" at the end of the page. Press or double click on the words "Older Posts." Wait, and the previous page with blogs will appear. Scroll down on that page to "The Prayer of Authority" and read the article with additional information on Authority.)
Only believe! This is God's Word. It will never change! He promised that His Word would NOT return to Him void, but it would accomplish what it was sent to do. Dare to believe healing is for you today and witness the power of His promise!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Why Prayer is Not Answered - Part 1
God still answers prayer if our relationship is in good standing with Him. If our prayer is not being answered, we only need to ask the Holy Spirit why and then hear His answer well, and obey His word to us.
The following insights tell us why prayer is often not answered:
1. We have been overcome with the cares of life. Needs and pressures of life are with us everyday; yet some people have stepped up to the next level of depending on the Holy Spirit and His strength so that they live above the pressures, --and you can too. Jesus loves you so much that He said He would never leave you nor forsake you. That means you really don't need to be overcome with the cares of life. That means He desires to handle them for you. He knows your way and your struggles. What can you do to live above your cares? Here are some answers:
a. "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly!" (Colossians 3:16.)
Draw life and strength from the Word of God early in the morning when your mind is fresh and alert, and hold that Word in your heart all day, --one day at a time. Don't allow yourself to worry whether or not you will be able to keep the Word in your heart tomorrow, because tomorrow has not yet come.
b. "Gird up the loins of your mind." (I Peter 1:13.)
This means to take courage (YOU take courage given by the Holy Spirit) in the face of hardships and remember God said He would be with you always. You can choose to worry about your needs or choose to trust God for them. The choice is yours. When you need an answer, He will bring your answer on time, but it will be one day at a time.
c. Set a goal to be an overcomer of that which tries to overcome you.
Think: To be an overcomer, you have to have something to overcome. "They OVERCAME him by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony." (Revelation 12:11.) Start today to be an overcomer. Your effort will bring you closer to the Lord, and when you are close to Him, you will notice you have faith to believe for your answers.
d. Remember God will give you His peace.
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect PEACE whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3.) Count your blessings for one week and you will recognize His peace is greater than the cares of life.
e. Remember He will give you rest.
"In returning and REST shall ye be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15.) When you go to the Lord in prayer consistently in the morning or evening, your confidence in God's promises will grow and your prayer will begin to see answers.
f. Remember He will give you strength.
"But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their STRENGTH; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
(Isaiah 40:31.)
g. Remember God invites you to commit your way to Him and trust.
"COMMIT thy way unto the Lord; TRUST also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm37:5.) Living with the Word of God everyday gives life to everything you do and supernatural strength to stay above the cares of life so that you can believe God for the answers to every prayer.
2. Wrong attitudes. You may not be aware of this, but you change attitudes many times in one day. Sometimes the attitudes develop wrong opinions which in turn rob you of peace. They cloud your faith and when faith is not fed by the Word, it will become diluted with doubts and negative thoughts which will eventually blind you to the power of God's Word. It's good to examine your heart often. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23.) When wrong attitudes have been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus, faith will naturally rise again to believe God for the things you discussed with Him.
3. Prayerlessness. This is the greatest reason of all for no answers to prayer.
There's an imaginary channel from your heart to the Throne Room of God, and your prayers travel straight to your heavenly Father. There, God hears your worship and your requests and He desires to give you the desires of your heart. Some people cannot or will not take time to pray so there are many answers to prayer that have not been claimed. For others, their prayer life consists of short "sentence prayers" spoken in generalities with no specific details, yet they wonder why God does not rain down an abundance of specific and detailed blessings on them and their family.
These people usually have many needs and complain that they cannot receive answers. They often have little or no joy or direction in life for employment, promotions or ministry. They have no vision or goals or purpose in life. They have a difficult time making decisions that could lead them into a place of abundance --all because they just don't pray. Their example is taking a toll on their children who are watching the example before them. It is because of slothfulness and indifference to responsibility to care for their own spiritual needs first, then others. They have avoided the call of God to seek Him to know the destiny that God ordained for them. What will happen to them? Who can help them? Usually no one can help them until they see themselves as God sees them, people of prayerlessness.
If you have a tendency to lean toward this lifestyle at times, dare to take hold of your life and seek God again. He is waiting to turn your life around and answer your prayers. It may be that even now there are many answers on hold with your name
on them.
The following insights tell us why prayer is often not answered:
1. We have been overcome with the cares of life. Needs and pressures of life are with us everyday; yet some people have stepped up to the next level of depending on the Holy Spirit and His strength so that they live above the pressures, --and you can too. Jesus loves you so much that He said He would never leave you nor forsake you. That means you really don't need to be overcome with the cares of life. That means He desires to handle them for you. He knows your way and your struggles. What can you do to live above your cares? Here are some answers:
a. "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly!" (Colossians 3:16.)
Draw life and strength from the Word of God early in the morning when your mind is fresh and alert, and hold that Word in your heart all day, --one day at a time. Don't allow yourself to worry whether or not you will be able to keep the Word in your heart tomorrow, because tomorrow has not yet come.
b. "Gird up the loins of your mind." (I Peter 1:13.)
This means to take courage (YOU take courage given by the Holy Spirit) in the face of hardships and remember God said He would be with you always. You can choose to worry about your needs or choose to trust God for them. The choice is yours. When you need an answer, He will bring your answer on time, but it will be one day at a time.
c. Set a goal to be an overcomer of that which tries to overcome you.
Think: To be an overcomer, you have to have something to overcome. "They OVERCAME him by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony." (Revelation 12:11.) Start today to be an overcomer. Your effort will bring you closer to the Lord, and when you are close to Him, you will notice you have faith to believe for your answers.
d. Remember God will give you His peace.
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect PEACE whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3.) Count your blessings for one week and you will recognize His peace is greater than the cares of life.
e. Remember He will give you rest.
"In returning and REST shall ye be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15.) When you go to the Lord in prayer consistently in the morning or evening, your confidence in God's promises will grow and your prayer will begin to see answers.
f. Remember He will give you strength.
"But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their STRENGTH; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
(Isaiah 40:31.)
g. Remember God invites you to commit your way to Him and trust.
"COMMIT thy way unto the Lord; TRUST also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm37:5.) Living with the Word of God everyday gives life to everything you do and supernatural strength to stay above the cares of life so that you can believe God for the answers to every prayer.
2. Wrong attitudes. You may not be aware of this, but you change attitudes many times in one day. Sometimes the attitudes develop wrong opinions which in turn rob you of peace. They cloud your faith and when faith is not fed by the Word, it will become diluted with doubts and negative thoughts which will eventually blind you to the power of God's Word. It's good to examine your heart often. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23.) When wrong attitudes have been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus, faith will naturally rise again to believe God for the things you discussed with Him.
3. Prayerlessness. This is the greatest reason of all for no answers to prayer.
There's an imaginary channel from your heart to the Throne Room of God, and your prayers travel straight to your heavenly Father. There, God hears your worship and your requests and He desires to give you the desires of your heart. Some people cannot or will not take time to pray so there are many answers to prayer that have not been claimed. For others, their prayer life consists of short "sentence prayers" spoken in generalities with no specific details, yet they wonder why God does not rain down an abundance of specific and detailed blessings on them and their family.
These people usually have many needs and complain that they cannot receive answers. They often have little or no joy or direction in life for employment, promotions or ministry. They have no vision or goals or purpose in life. They have a difficult time making decisions that could lead them into a place of abundance --all because they just don't pray. Their example is taking a toll on their children who are watching the example before them. It is because of slothfulness and indifference to responsibility to care for their own spiritual needs first, then others. They have avoided the call of God to seek Him to know the destiny that God ordained for them. What will happen to them? Who can help them? Usually no one can help them until they see themselves as God sees them, people of prayerlessness.
If you have a tendency to lean toward this lifestyle at times, dare to take hold of your life and seek God again. He is waiting to turn your life around and answer your prayers. It may be that even now there are many answers on hold with your name
on them.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Why Prayer is Not Answered - Part 2
Have you ever prayed for an urgent need but did not receive an answer? If so, it's time to look at the possible reasons why earnest prayer was not enough.
The Word of God tells us, "If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7.) This seems to be a very clear answer. Every believer feels he is abiding in Christ, but there are nuggets of truth here to consider. To "abide" means to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship,to agree to remain steadfast or faithful and to continue without change. This is a picture of truly abiding in Christ! This scripture also tells us "and if MY WORDS abide in you" THEN ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
When God's Word abides, stays and remains in us the Word becomes life! If you have been consistent in reading the Word, it is consistently revealing the power of God to your inner man and consistently building confidence in God's promises, provisions and leadership, and your faith is growing. When faith is growing, truth is becoming steadfast and the scriptures are coming alive. It is then that you feel you can believe God for anything...and God honors that faith with His answers to prayer!
Faith grows through abiding in the Word and meditating on the Word until the full impact of His Word becomes strong in the core of your being! That's the inside story of truly abiding in Christ. That is why some believers' prayers are answered more than others. God has no favorites but He does show favor to those who abide close enough to feel the impact of His Word such as John 15:7.
There are other reasons why prayer is not ansered:
1. SIN. Sin is disobedience to the known Word of God. The wages of sin is spiritual death or separation from our relationship with the Lord, therefore sin will prevent answers to prayer. We do not sin in general terms so we cannot ask, "Lord, just forgive me for anything and everything!" No, we sin in specific ways, so we must acknowledge and confess the specific sins we know we have committed, and then ask for forgiveness.
2. UNFORGIVENESS. People who have been wounded often find it difficult to forgive and allow healing to restore them. The Word of God is our Guide in all things. The scripture says, "If ye forgive, your heavenly father will forgive you, but if you forgive not, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you." (Matthew 6:14-15.)If a person has not forgiven others and has not been forgiven by God, he will not be able to enter heaven. Doctors are now discovering that sicknesses (even cancer) are often caused by a wounded heart. Unforgiveness invites infirmities and weakness in the physical body. Notice Jesus did not suggest you had to pretend nothing happened or that you were not hurt. He just said forgive and you will be forgiven. The deeper truth here is that when we truly forgive, we have given the issue to the Lord. When He has received it unconditionally from us, then He will begin to work on everyone else who was involved in the matter, and it will be solved.
A few months ago, a Christian couple had a big misunderstanding and their discussion became so heated that the husband stormed out of the home angrily, got in his car and while driving he was in a head-on collision and died. When he died, he appeared at the gates of heaven but Jesus would not let him enter. "Why?" he asked. "I've served you diligently all my life, Lord." But Jesus told him, "You had an argument with your wife and did not forgive her. You cannot enter here with unforgiveness. Go back! Make it right!" And life returned into the man's body. When he gained consciousness and saw his wife with tears, standing by his side, he immediately asked her to forgive him and they were reconciled. Later, this man wrote this true testimony for the world to read and added: "If you forgive, your heavenly father will forgive you, but if you forgive not, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you. (Matthew 6:14-15. The decision is yours." If you feel there is unforgiveness in your heart, obey the Word and forgive so that your heavenly Father will forgive you and your prayers can be answered!
3. IGNORING THE PROMPTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit was sent by the Jesus to lead us into all truth and to bring growth and development in our walk with God. Sometimes we pray "Lord, use me. Let me have an assignment to work for you." Some people forget their prayer quickly, but the Holy Spirit doesn't. He watches for an opportunity for you to be blessed by having a part in Kingdom work! When the Holy Spirit then begins to put a need before you and prompts you to do what He asks, but you ignore His prompting, you have grieved Him. The first one or two times you did not obey that prompting, you may have felt something like a "prick" in your heart, reminding you that you did not obey. The next time He would give you an assignment, you may not have felt the prick but you knew something was not right because your prayers were not being answered. Return to your altar! Repent! Ask the Father to forgive you for Jesus'sake and ask Him for another assignment; then be sure that you do not ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit again but do what He put in you heart. When you obey again, you will notice your prayers will begin to be answered again.
4. UNBELIEF AND DOUBT. Unbelief is a sign that a person does not believe that God means what He says. Doubt is usually an honest question causing a person to desire more informaion or clarification. Doubts can always be resolved by consistent reading of the Word of God and prayer because the Holy Spirit came to teach us all things and He will teach you as you read the Word and pray. Remember: "If we ask anything according to His Will, He heareth us." We know He came to teach us, so we only need to ask and He will help/enable us to understand truth. As truth is revealed, we will have faith to believe for the answers to prayer.
5.BEING OUT OF GOD's WILL. The peace of God is always the predominent factor that let's a child of God know he is in the Will of God. When you feel troubled while pursing a specific plan, you will usually learn quickly that you did not inquire if it was God's will for you or not and usually everything that could go wrong will go wrong.
Getting ahead of God instead of waiting for His timing, unholy relationships that would take you away from your experience with God and/or being unequally yoked together with unbelievers (II Corinthians 6:14), or misplacing scriptures in order to find a way to fulfll ungodly plans, will only lead to darkness of soul and remove your peace. If you find yourself in one of these situations, return to the Lord. Repent! Ask for forgiveness and then do the will of God that your prayer be not hindered!
Many years ago, my Mother had a friend who had a very good marriage. But one day this friend met another man who swept her off her feet and she contemplated divorcing her husband and remarrying. My Mother show her from scripture exactly what God's Word taught: "The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth...." (I Corinthians 7:39.) but she would not listen to counseling. In the meantime it had not rained in Miami for many months and the drought was severe. One day my Mother's friend said she prayed if it would rain on a Thursday, she would know she would have God's permission to divorce her husband and marry her new friend. Guess what! After many months of drought, it did rain on Thursday so the friend divorced her husband and married the new man. From that day, there was no peace in her heart but guilt. In the end she did repent but she lived in sadness until she went home to be with the Lord. Being out of God's will, will alwys hinder the faith needed to believe God for answers to prayer.
Watch for signs that might help you know why some of your prayers are not being answered. The Word of God has stood true through centuries, "Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you!" Many answers are still waiting for God's people! Your answer is still coming!_________________________________________________
Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
"I should really like to know...why these anxious human beings rush around and worry so!"
Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
"Friend, I think that it must be...that they have no heavenly Father such as cares for you and me!" He careth for you! Dare to believe!
The Word of God tells us, "If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7.) This seems to be a very clear answer. Every believer feels he is abiding in Christ, but there are nuggets of truth here to consider. To "abide" means to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship,to agree to remain steadfast or faithful and to continue without change. This is a picture of truly abiding in Christ! This scripture also tells us "and if MY WORDS abide in you" THEN ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
When God's Word abides, stays and remains in us the Word becomes life! If you have been consistent in reading the Word, it is consistently revealing the power of God to your inner man and consistently building confidence in God's promises, provisions and leadership, and your faith is growing. When faith is growing, truth is becoming steadfast and the scriptures are coming alive. It is then that you feel you can believe God for anything...and God honors that faith with His answers to prayer!
Faith grows through abiding in the Word and meditating on the Word until the full impact of His Word becomes strong in the core of your being! That's the inside story of truly abiding in Christ. That is why some believers' prayers are answered more than others. God has no favorites but He does show favor to those who abide close enough to feel the impact of His Word such as John 15:7.
There are other reasons why prayer is not ansered:
1. SIN. Sin is disobedience to the known Word of God. The wages of sin is spiritual death or separation from our relationship with the Lord, therefore sin will prevent answers to prayer. We do not sin in general terms so we cannot ask, "Lord, just forgive me for anything and everything!" No, we sin in specific ways, so we must acknowledge and confess the specific sins we know we have committed, and then ask for forgiveness.
2. UNFORGIVENESS. People who have been wounded often find it difficult to forgive and allow healing to restore them. The Word of God is our Guide in all things. The scripture says, "If ye forgive, your heavenly father will forgive you, but if you forgive not, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you." (Matthew 6:14-15.)If a person has not forgiven others and has not been forgiven by God, he will not be able to enter heaven. Doctors are now discovering that sicknesses (even cancer) are often caused by a wounded heart. Unforgiveness invites infirmities and weakness in the physical body. Notice Jesus did not suggest you had to pretend nothing happened or that you were not hurt. He just said forgive and you will be forgiven. The deeper truth here is that when we truly forgive, we have given the issue to the Lord. When He has received it unconditionally from us, then He will begin to work on everyone else who was involved in the matter, and it will be solved.
A few months ago, a Christian couple had a big misunderstanding and their discussion became so heated that the husband stormed out of the home angrily, got in his car and while driving he was in a head-on collision and died. When he died, he appeared at the gates of heaven but Jesus would not let him enter. "Why?" he asked. "I've served you diligently all my life, Lord." But Jesus told him, "You had an argument with your wife and did not forgive her. You cannot enter here with unforgiveness. Go back! Make it right!" And life returned into the man's body. When he gained consciousness and saw his wife with tears, standing by his side, he immediately asked her to forgive him and they were reconciled. Later, this man wrote this true testimony for the world to read and added: "If you forgive, your heavenly father will forgive you, but if you forgive not, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you. (Matthew 6:14-15. The decision is yours." If you feel there is unforgiveness in your heart, obey the Word and forgive so that your heavenly Father will forgive you and your prayers can be answered!
3. IGNORING THE PROMPTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit was sent by the Jesus to lead us into all truth and to bring growth and development in our walk with God. Sometimes we pray "Lord, use me. Let me have an assignment to work for you." Some people forget their prayer quickly, but the Holy Spirit doesn't. He watches for an opportunity for you to be blessed by having a part in Kingdom work! When the Holy Spirit then begins to put a need before you and prompts you to do what He asks, but you ignore His prompting, you have grieved Him. The first one or two times you did not obey that prompting, you may have felt something like a "prick" in your heart, reminding you that you did not obey. The next time He would give you an assignment, you may not have felt the prick but you knew something was not right because your prayers were not being answered. Return to your altar! Repent! Ask the Father to forgive you for Jesus'sake and ask Him for another assignment; then be sure that you do not ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit again but do what He put in you heart. When you obey again, you will notice your prayers will begin to be answered again.
4. UNBELIEF AND DOUBT. Unbelief is a sign that a person does not believe that God means what He says. Doubt is usually an honest question causing a person to desire more informaion or clarification. Doubts can always be resolved by consistent reading of the Word of God and prayer because the Holy Spirit came to teach us all things and He will teach you as you read the Word and pray. Remember: "If we ask anything according to His Will, He heareth us." We know He came to teach us, so we only need to ask and He will help/enable us to understand truth. As truth is revealed, we will have faith to believe for the answers to prayer.
5.BEING OUT OF GOD's WILL. The peace of God is always the predominent factor that let's a child of God know he is in the Will of God. When you feel troubled while pursing a specific plan, you will usually learn quickly that you did not inquire if it was God's will for you or not and usually everything that could go wrong will go wrong.
Getting ahead of God instead of waiting for His timing, unholy relationships that would take you away from your experience with God and/or being unequally yoked together with unbelievers (II Corinthians 6:14), or misplacing scriptures in order to find a way to fulfll ungodly plans, will only lead to darkness of soul and remove your peace. If you find yourself in one of these situations, return to the Lord. Repent! Ask for forgiveness and then do the will of God that your prayer be not hindered!
Many years ago, my Mother had a friend who had a very good marriage. But one day this friend met another man who swept her off her feet and she contemplated divorcing her husband and remarrying. My Mother show her from scripture exactly what God's Word taught: "The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth...." (I Corinthians 7:39.) but she would not listen to counseling. In the meantime it had not rained in Miami for many months and the drought was severe. One day my Mother's friend said she prayed if it would rain on a Thursday, she would know she would have God's permission to divorce her husband and marry her new friend. Guess what! After many months of drought, it did rain on Thursday so the friend divorced her husband and married the new man. From that day, there was no peace in her heart but guilt. In the end she did repent but she lived in sadness until she went home to be with the Lord. Being out of God's will, will alwys hinder the faith needed to believe God for answers to prayer.
Watch for signs that might help you know why some of your prayers are not being answered. The Word of God has stood true through centuries, "Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you!" Many answers are still waiting for God's people! Your answer is still coming!_________________________________________________
Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
"I should really like to know...why these anxious human beings rush around and worry so!"
Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
"Friend, I think that it must be...that they have no heavenly Father such as cares for you and me!" He careth for you! Dare to believe!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Three Kinds of Faith?
Faith will bring change in your attitude and love for God and life! What kind of faith do you have?
Some people believe in predestination. Some have faith in faith itself, while others understand true faith is born in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and it grows as we read God's Word, develop a prayer life, and act on His Word.
PREDESTINATION. Some people believe in predestination. They believe "what will happen, will happen and it cannot be changed." They forgot the scripture, "Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son." (Romans 8:29.) It is God's plan that HE has foreknown and predestinated us to receive salvation and His good gifts, but the individual himself has not been called to say the things that happen in his life were meant to be and and could never be changed. "All things are possible to him that believeth." (Mark 9.23) Situations can change in answer to fervent prayer.
Remember Hezekiah! Through Isaiah,the Lord said to Hezekiah, "Set thy house in order for thou shalt die." (2 Kings 20:1.) But Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to God for life. Before Isaiah left the palace grounds, the Lord told Isaiah to return to King Hezekiah and tell him ".....I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee." (2 Kings 20:5.) A powerful truth here is that God heard his servant Hezekiah's cry and prayer and He will hear the cries of all of His children when they are in need! Just ask, hold on, trust and and prove Him!
Hezekiah asked Isaiah how would he know he would live. Isaiah asked him to make a request and Hezekiah said if the sun dial would be turned back, (if time would be turned back) he would know he would be healed. Isaiah prayed and God turned back the dial on the sun! Amazing! Scientists today recognize something strange happened on the earth many years ago, relating to "time."
Fifteen years were added to Hezekiah's life and reign. This is an example of a definite prophecy being changed in answer to prayer! Hezekiah did not accept the words that he was destined to die. This tells us if negative things happen to us, we are not predestined to be defeated, for hope to be snatched, dreams and plans for our children to be buried or for us to sucumb to death! Maybe the reason some prayers are not answered is because some people do feel that "what will happen, will happen" and they are not able to change the situation. There is no scripture to support this. When you are in need, be encouraged. Pray! God works when we pray. Nothing happens when we don't pray.
Remember first that we are living in the New Covenant with Christ Who died that we might live victoriously and not in defeat! "All things are possible to him that believeth!" Then remember to "Come BOLDLY to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16.) "We have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him." (Ephesians 3:12.)
People may have thought Hezekiah was destined to die if the Lord sent a message to tell him he would die...but notice the faith in Hezekiah's heart. Though he did not have the scriptures you and I have today, he "reminded" God how he had served Him and His people with all his heart. Reminding God helped to strengthen his faith.
God will hear your desperate cry for yourself, a family member or for our nation, too. Remind Him of your walk and obedience before Him. Though you have prayed through for your needs and you know your answer to prayer is on the way, you can still "remind" God that you are standing in faith for your answer to be manifested. There was no predestination to death here!
How's your faith? If you have lived for God faithfully, don't accept negative reports. You can change the course of your life through prayer, too!
FAITH IN FAITH. Some people have no explanaion for this kind of faith but when you listen to them, you can discern that they just believe in the good changes that can come. Their response is, "I'm just believing God for this need." They just hold on to a belief that those things will happen but they have little or no prayer life nor are they faithful to attend church. There is little in their spiritual life that would give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to teach them with facts from scripture.
TRUE FAITH. True faith is in God and His Word. Faith comes by hearing the Word, meditating on it and rehearsing it in your heart until spiritual understanding develops in your spirit man. This believer will be able to discern twisted teachings circulating around him, but recognize the strong guidance of the Holy Spirit when questionable issues are proclaimed as permissible.
Every Bible believing Christian can and should have this kind of faith! It does not come quickly. When you practice believing and acting on the Word, and develop a deeper relaionship with the Lord even in times of trouble, disappointment or chaos, your faith will be nourished and you will grow during your Christian journey. Unfortunately we grow the most when we are in trouble or are being tested, --not when all is well! Feed faith with facts from the Word and grow because "Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6.) What kind of faith do you have?
Some people believe in predestination. Some have faith in faith itself, while others understand true faith is born in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and it grows as we read God's Word, develop a prayer life, and act on His Word.
PREDESTINATION. Some people believe in predestination. They believe "what will happen, will happen and it cannot be changed." They forgot the scripture, "Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son." (Romans 8:29.) It is God's plan that HE has foreknown and predestinated us to receive salvation and His good gifts, but the individual himself has not been called to say the things that happen in his life were meant to be and and could never be changed. "All things are possible to him that believeth." (Mark 9.23) Situations can change in answer to fervent prayer.
Remember Hezekiah! Through Isaiah,the Lord said to Hezekiah, "Set thy house in order for thou shalt die." (2 Kings 20:1.) But Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to God for life. Before Isaiah left the palace grounds, the Lord told Isaiah to return to King Hezekiah and tell him ".....I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee." (2 Kings 20:5.) A powerful truth here is that God heard his servant Hezekiah's cry and prayer and He will hear the cries of all of His children when they are in need! Just ask, hold on, trust and and prove Him!
Hezekiah asked Isaiah how would he know he would live. Isaiah asked him to make a request and Hezekiah said if the sun dial would be turned back, (if time would be turned back) he would know he would be healed. Isaiah prayed and God turned back the dial on the sun! Amazing! Scientists today recognize something strange happened on the earth many years ago, relating to "time."
Fifteen years were added to Hezekiah's life and reign. This is an example of a definite prophecy being changed in answer to prayer! Hezekiah did not accept the words that he was destined to die. This tells us if negative things happen to us, we are not predestined to be defeated, for hope to be snatched, dreams and plans for our children to be buried or for us to sucumb to death! Maybe the reason some prayers are not answered is because some people do feel that "what will happen, will happen" and they are not able to change the situation. There is no scripture to support this. When you are in need, be encouraged. Pray! God works when we pray. Nothing happens when we don't pray.
Remember first that we are living in the New Covenant with Christ Who died that we might live victoriously and not in defeat! "All things are possible to him that believeth!" Then remember to "Come BOLDLY to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16.) "We have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him." (Ephesians 3:12.)
People may have thought Hezekiah was destined to die if the Lord sent a message to tell him he would die...but notice the faith in Hezekiah's heart. Though he did not have the scriptures you and I have today, he "reminded" God how he had served Him and His people with all his heart. Reminding God helped to strengthen his faith.
God will hear your desperate cry for yourself, a family member or for our nation, too. Remind Him of your walk and obedience before Him. Though you have prayed through for your needs and you know your answer to prayer is on the way, you can still "remind" God that you are standing in faith for your answer to be manifested. There was no predestination to death here!
How's your faith? If you have lived for God faithfully, don't accept negative reports. You can change the course of your life through prayer, too!
FAITH IN FAITH. Some people have no explanaion for this kind of faith but when you listen to them, you can discern that they just believe in the good changes that can come. Their response is, "I'm just believing God for this need." They just hold on to a belief that those things will happen but they have little or no prayer life nor are they faithful to attend church. There is little in their spiritual life that would give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to teach them with facts from scripture.
TRUE FAITH. True faith is in God and His Word. Faith comes by hearing the Word, meditating on it and rehearsing it in your heart until spiritual understanding develops in your spirit man. This believer will be able to discern twisted teachings circulating around him, but recognize the strong guidance of the Holy Spirit when questionable issues are proclaimed as permissible.
Every Bible believing Christian can and should have this kind of faith! It does not come quickly. When you practice believing and acting on the Word, and develop a deeper relaionship with the Lord even in times of trouble, disappointment or chaos, your faith will be nourished and you will grow during your Christian journey. Unfortunately we grow the most when we are in trouble or are being tested, --not when all is well! Feed faith with facts from the Word and grow because "Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6.) What kind of faith do you have?
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Resist him!
Strongholds will come down when you stand on God's Word and resist the devil!
Living with dreams in an imperfect world, there are times when a Christian's joy seems to disappear and he can only see problems! Sometimes the disappearance of his joy may have been caused by such a little thing as congested traffic every day. It might have been caused by struggles with doubts about God's promises that did not come to pass yet, or it may be his personal sickness. Whatever it is, Jesus knows all about our struggles and He wants you to have peace! Remember His Words, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27.) He is Peace, and He gives His peace freely. It is our choice whether we receive it or hold on to the things that trouble us.
Your heavenly Father wants you to know when the cares of life and daily living become greater than His Grace, those are the times when you need to go to Him and make a decision. You can choose to believe God is still in control of your life or you can choose to allow the negative thoughts to be in control. Choose to be an overcomer. To be an overcomer you have to have something to overcome!
Here are some truths I learned during my prayer times concerning negative issues:
1. Resist Satan and go to the Word. When the enemy would try to discourage you, resist him and go to the Source for all answers, God's Word. Find the scripture that will speak to your need and stand on it. There's power in the Word! Speak it aloud. Remind God you are standing on it. When Satan hears the Word he will flee. One scripture that helped me maintain control of many situations is, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. (then...) Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7.) Submitting to God for everything enabled me to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to teach me the power of God's Word to trust Him, understand His plan for my life, walk in faith, know His protection on the mission field and to resist doubts, fears and much more! I submit myself to the Lord every day and when problems or sickness attacks, I quote the Word back to him, "Satan, it is written, 'Resist the devil and he will flee.' I don't receive your pain, problems or confusion. I believe God's Word on this situation and I command you to depart from my path now, in Jesus' Name" and he does depart.
2. Resist negative thoughts quickly. If you suddenly begin to feel ill, don't let half of the morning pass without addressing your need to your Father. Take control within minutes, "I resist your pain, Satan. I don't receive it. I have nothing in you and you have nothing in me. I don't receive this report and I command you to take your symptoms and return to the one who sent you. It is written, 'The prayer of faith shall save the sick nd the Lord shall raise him up....'" (James 5:15.) "They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark 16:18.)"Now...Father, according to your Word I lay hands on my sickness; I pray the prayer of faith, and declare according to your Word that I am healed and the mnifestation of my healing is on the way, in Jesus' Name!" Amen.
3. Renew your mind immediately. "Father, I resist the negative thoughts that would try to disturb my peace. I renew my mind with gratefulness, praise and thanks for your protection over my family and me, for your provision, for your guidance in new decisions I must make and the assurance that other answers are on the way. Thank you for the victory I have in you today!"
4. Close your ears to words of defeat. When it is possible, refute negative words that were heard, by speaking to the one who spoke them, and reassure that one that there is great victory in speaking the Word when the enemy would try to come in like a flood.
5. Know there is a reason why people live with trouble. It is because the Word has become neglected in their hearts. It does not come to their minds when it is needed. They have forgotten Paul's admonition, "LET (you...permit) the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16.) The scriptures point the way to a joyful and spirit-filled life: Sing the spiritual songs and quote the Word so that it will come back to you when it is needed. It is by continually submitting to the Lord and continually resisting the devil that victories will be consistent and you will live in His Peace!
Living with dreams in an imperfect world, there are times when a Christian's joy seems to disappear and he can only see problems! Sometimes the disappearance of his joy may have been caused by such a little thing as congested traffic every day. It might have been caused by struggles with doubts about God's promises that did not come to pass yet, or it may be his personal sickness. Whatever it is, Jesus knows all about our struggles and He wants you to have peace! Remember His Words, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27.) He is Peace, and He gives His peace freely. It is our choice whether we receive it or hold on to the things that trouble us.
Your heavenly Father wants you to know when the cares of life and daily living become greater than His Grace, those are the times when you need to go to Him and make a decision. You can choose to believe God is still in control of your life or you can choose to allow the negative thoughts to be in control. Choose to be an overcomer. To be an overcomer you have to have something to overcome!
Here are some truths I learned during my prayer times concerning negative issues:
1. Resist Satan and go to the Word. When the enemy would try to discourage you, resist him and go to the Source for all answers, God's Word. Find the scripture that will speak to your need and stand on it. There's power in the Word! Speak it aloud. Remind God you are standing on it. When Satan hears the Word he will flee. One scripture that helped me maintain control of many situations is, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. (then...) Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7.) Submitting to God for everything enabled me to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to teach me the power of God's Word to trust Him, understand His plan for my life, walk in faith, know His protection on the mission field and to resist doubts, fears and much more! I submit myself to the Lord every day and when problems or sickness attacks, I quote the Word back to him, "Satan, it is written, 'Resist the devil and he will flee.' I don't receive your pain, problems or confusion. I believe God's Word on this situation and I command you to depart from my path now, in Jesus' Name" and he does depart.
2. Resist negative thoughts quickly. If you suddenly begin to feel ill, don't let half of the morning pass without addressing your need to your Father. Take control within minutes, "I resist your pain, Satan. I don't receive it. I have nothing in you and you have nothing in me. I don't receive this report and I command you to take your symptoms and return to the one who sent you. It is written, 'The prayer of faith shall save the sick nd the Lord shall raise him up....'" (James 5:15.) "They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark 16:18.)"Now...Father, according to your Word I lay hands on my sickness; I pray the prayer of faith, and declare according to your Word that I am healed and the mnifestation of my healing is on the way, in Jesus' Name!" Amen.
3. Renew your mind immediately. "Father, I resist the negative thoughts that would try to disturb my peace. I renew my mind with gratefulness, praise and thanks for your protection over my family and me, for your provision, for your guidance in new decisions I must make and the assurance that other answers are on the way. Thank you for the victory I have in you today!"
4. Close your ears to words of defeat. When it is possible, refute negative words that were heard, by speaking to the one who spoke them, and reassure that one that there is great victory in speaking the Word when the enemy would try to come in like a flood.
5. Know there is a reason why people live with trouble. It is because the Word has become neglected in their hearts. It does not come to their minds when it is needed. They have forgotten Paul's admonition, "LET (you...permit) the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16.) The scriptures point the way to a joyful and spirit-filled life: Sing the spiritual songs and quote the Word so that it will come back to you when it is needed. It is by continually submitting to the Lord and continually resisting the devil that victories will be consistent and you will live in His Peace!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
It Happens Through Prayer
Prayer is the only pathway into the direct presence of God where one can receive salvation, followed by life on the highest plateau of peace and fulfillment.
Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and earth..." (Matthew 28:1) and later in Luke 10:19 He said, "Behold, I give unto you power...(translated in Greek as "authority")...over all the power of the enemy" but you will never experience this power until you learn to pray!
Jesus said, "All things are possible to him that believeth," (Mark 9:23) but you will never have this kind of faith to believe until you learn to pray!
A successful Christian life depends on prayer because it is the only path into the presence of God. Prayer is a special time of communion and fellowship with our Creator, Who said, "Let us make man in our image." It is the time when we learn how the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit continually changes us and we grow into being better citizens as well as stronger believers.
During prayer the following things are taking place in your life:
1. You are learning to know God as Father, intimately.
2. You begin to comprehend how much He loves you and desires that you experience salvation, peace, wellness and wholeness, and how to maintain it every day.
3. You are growing and developing a stronger relationship in your walk with God.
4. You are learning to talk with Him from your heart in praise and worship and in finding answers to your daly needs.
God knows your life's history. He knows the areas of your life that may have been wounded or neglected. He knows the emotional nourishment that may not have been enough when you were growing up and He wants to restore that during your prayer time. He knows the joys, struggles, disappointments and unfulfilled longings. He knows the social handicaps you may have discovered in your life or your spouse's life after you reached adulthood and He wants to restore wholeness even now. He knows your physical condition and wants you to know He purchased healing for you when He went to the cross, carried your sins upon Himself, became the sacrifice that pleased God, paid for sin and its penalty and included healing for your body too.
How can you cope if there are issues or dreams that you cherished and hoped for, for many years but they are still unfulfilled . You can bring them all to your heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, in prayer, because He can fulfll and/or restore them all, one by one. He knows all this and more, and He will show it back to you in greater detail during prayer.
Before you were born, you were in God's mind. He had a special DNA for you that is so unique, that not one of the billions of people on earth have quite the fine-tuned make up of your body! Psalm 139:15 says, "My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret... and in thy book all my members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them." Why do you suppose this was recorded in the Word of God? It was to encourage you and many generations yet unborn to know how precious His thoughts are of you and how great is the sum of them. The scriptures adds, "They are more in number than the sand." (Psalm 139:18.)
When I was a little girl, our family lived in Miami, Florida. Every summer, our parents took all six of us children to the well-known Miami Beach. I remember putting a pinch of white beach sand in the palm of my hand and trying to count the grains. I wanted to see how many could be in one pinch because they could actually be counted if one had the patience. My attention span was so short then, I usually counted to 100, threw the sand in the air and ran to the water as the tide came rolling in. As the years went by and I discovered the verse of scripture in Psalm 139:18, I remembered my pinch of sand and I was overwhelmed to know God's thoughts about me were compared to the number of the grains of sand! What a thought! There could have been at least 1,000 grains in one pinch if not more. Looking down the beach that stretched for miles and miles north and south from where I stood, told me there was no way to even begin to estimate how many grains of sand were there. I believe the truth our Father wants us to know is that we could never estimate how much and how often He is thinking of each of His children throughout the world, and how much He is watching over them with love and care. What a profound truth!
It is in prayer that we learn to associate these truths to our lives personally and perceive the Holy Spirit speaking them into our spirit for comfort and reassurance from time to time.
Your times of prayer are doing more in your life than you could possibly know. They are times when He speaks clearly, simple messages just for you. The more time you spend in prayer, the more He will speak and minister to your specific needs for each day, and in the meantime you will grow to be a spiritual giant that causes weaker believers to desire what you have! It is awesome, and it all happens through prayer!
Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and earth..." (Matthew 28:1) and later in Luke 10:19 He said, "Behold, I give unto you power...(translated in Greek as "authority")...over all the power of the enemy" but you will never experience this power until you learn to pray!
Jesus said, "All things are possible to him that believeth," (Mark 9:23) but you will never have this kind of faith to believe until you learn to pray!
A successful Christian life depends on prayer because it is the only path into the presence of God. Prayer is a special time of communion and fellowship with our Creator, Who said, "Let us make man in our image." It is the time when we learn how the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit continually changes us and we grow into being better citizens as well as stronger believers.
During prayer the following things are taking place in your life:
1. You are learning to know God as Father, intimately.
2. You begin to comprehend how much He loves you and desires that you experience salvation, peace, wellness and wholeness, and how to maintain it every day.
3. You are growing and developing a stronger relationship in your walk with God.
4. You are learning to talk with Him from your heart in praise and worship and in finding answers to your daly needs.
God knows your life's history. He knows the areas of your life that may have been wounded or neglected. He knows the emotional nourishment that may not have been enough when you were growing up and He wants to restore that during your prayer time. He knows the joys, struggles, disappointments and unfulfilled longings. He knows the social handicaps you may have discovered in your life or your spouse's life after you reached adulthood and He wants to restore wholeness even now. He knows your physical condition and wants you to know He purchased healing for you when He went to the cross, carried your sins upon Himself, became the sacrifice that pleased God, paid for sin and its penalty and included healing for your body too.
How can you cope if there are issues or dreams that you cherished and hoped for, for many years but they are still unfulfilled . You can bring them all to your heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, in prayer, because He can fulfll and/or restore them all, one by one. He knows all this and more, and He will show it back to you in greater detail during prayer.
Before you were born, you were in God's mind. He had a special DNA for you that is so unique, that not one of the billions of people on earth have quite the fine-tuned make up of your body! Psalm 139:15 says, "My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret... and in thy book all my members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them." Why do you suppose this was recorded in the Word of God? It was to encourage you and many generations yet unborn to know how precious His thoughts are of you and how great is the sum of them. The scriptures adds, "They are more in number than the sand." (Psalm 139:18.)
When I was a little girl, our family lived in Miami, Florida. Every summer, our parents took all six of us children to the well-known Miami Beach. I remember putting a pinch of white beach sand in the palm of my hand and trying to count the grains. I wanted to see how many could be in one pinch because they could actually be counted if one had the patience. My attention span was so short then, I usually counted to 100, threw the sand in the air and ran to the water as the tide came rolling in. As the years went by and I discovered the verse of scripture in Psalm 139:18, I remembered my pinch of sand and I was overwhelmed to know God's thoughts about me were compared to the number of the grains of sand! What a thought! There could have been at least 1,000 grains in one pinch if not more. Looking down the beach that stretched for miles and miles north and south from where I stood, told me there was no way to even begin to estimate how many grains of sand were there. I believe the truth our Father wants us to know is that we could never estimate how much and how often He is thinking of each of His children throughout the world, and how much He is watching over them with love and care. What a profound truth!
It is in prayer that we learn to associate these truths to our lives personally and perceive the Holy Spirit speaking them into our spirit for comfort and reassurance from time to time.
Your times of prayer are doing more in your life than you could possibly know. They are times when He speaks clearly, simple messages just for you. The more time you spend in prayer, the more He will speak and minister to your specific needs for each day, and in the meantime you will grow to be a spiritual giant that causes weaker believers to desire what you have! It is awesome, and it all happens through prayer!
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