The strong encouragement came to heart recently: what we as believers need is perseverance. Quick fixes are what we are used to. But long term results come through perseverance of disciplines, habits, attitudes and devotions and prayer.
Prayer exalts God’s power and Name more than our’s. The consequences are a blessing though the discipline to humility may be a challenge, though arrogance has ran into many an ambush humility has not. To humble ourselves before God in constant consistent persevere reminds me of this parable taught by Jesus. One of the things I take to heart with it is the Lord’s Prayer which outlines the earnest application of Gods will for our ardent concerns and loved ones, country and more. Persistent in prayer is key for grace concerns we have, need, leaders even in our own households. Fasting is part of bringing ourselves under Gods mighty hand as well. Luke 18 says, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. A person finds joy in giving an apt reply — and how good is a timely word! Proverbs 14:22-23 niv I pray for Your advice and counsel by Your Spirit and people gifted to aid in the situations we face. We ask for Your forgiveness and mercy when we fail and for Your enablement through. May we be Your hands and feet, giving apt replies and timely words we pray in Jesus Precious Name. Amen. ——- ——————————————-- Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 niv This trio of statements came today: Humans have hair; Dogs have wefts; Birds have feathers. So I looked up wefts.They are chunks clumped together in different ways, for extensions or matted fur that is difficult to brush through to separate. 1 Do you think we ever have chunks of matted areas in our lives that are so matted and clumped, they take shaving, trimming or actually cutting off and starting from near scratch? Look at the vine bush / grape vines. They are constantly being trimmed back in specific ways to produce the fruit that’s desirable, so they will be more fruitful. The Lord knows where we need the trimming. He knows areas that have become tufted together, less productive, so he actually untufts the most fruitful, so they increase even more. How unfair and painful, humiliating or challenging it may be. But it is to remove the lesser to produce greater fruitfulness. Leaders are more accountable so they are sometimes pruned more. The wise vinedresser, the Lord our Savior, cares genuinely about the flock and about the leader too… and so the wise vinedresser selects the more productive to harshly prune back less than regularly… (It applies often to habits or attitudes even of the heart, as well…). Yet, with it increases God’s Presence which is a blessing as well. Psalm 16:11 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 niv Pray for your leaders as well and pastors. They have gossip and slander, as well as rejection and responsibilities they endure. Also spiritual warfare... Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you.” John 15:1-5 esv 1. Oxford languages Psalm 91:16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. Psalm 91 ends with the promise: with long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. Very likely written by Moses, the Psalm begins with us being covered by the Most High God. We place ourselves close to Him, and there is a safety there even in the midst of difficulties. After the long list of what we may be covered from, finishes the psalm about Him providing us with long life and His salvation. We can take this scripture to personalize in prayer: “Lord, leads us into that safe and secure place in You, close and resting in Your Presence through the hardships of life….” And pray through the verses requesting these to be so for you, loved ones and whoever God lays on your heart. Then ask Him to watch over its fulfillment and even for His leaders as well. We all need prayer much. Daily persistent is worth its weight in gold, all the while building us up in His word as well. Some Jews believe praying this psalm seven times daily brought healing as well. Either way, “soften the hearts of those who need it as well” Is great to add. Ecc. 3:1-2 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot… Some time ago I visited my grandmothers burial plot with the headstone. I had been in so much difficulty physically and otherwise that I had not been back after her funeral. Lavender flowers rose in the vase attached to it. As I stood there, knowing the Lord had impressed me to visit, I drew softly on His Presence; the question came, “what do you want written on your’s?” At only 49, the phrase came: She gave her all for Him; He gave His all for her”, to which my heart responded immediately- that would be the desire of my heart. We don’t know when our time will come. For one it comes at 12, so close after he accepted Christ his grandparents fully trusted there was a purpose. To another, the time comes at 40, to another 60 and to another 96. Paul says it well: “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Sometimes God keeps us even through the hardest of things because He wants one other to come to Him. We can be about His will, to write letters to encourage missionaries or to spend our time invested in prayer for loved ones. Ecc. 3:3-11 continues: a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. But the church… "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." Acts 12 It's interesting the way this one adjoining sentence is summarized. The problem is presented before. They were vitally concerned. Then the solution was presented: “but the church” was United in Prayer! Through the night! James had just been beheaded. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the believers were praying earnestly. The result was a miracle by the hands of God via his angels. Neither side... Peter nor the church believers could actually take it in at first, that God freed Peter by His angels during the night. This is the foundation for our problems, to seek God and His answers for them; Earnestly praying in unity. Don't give up on the situations before you, or your loved ones are facing. Don’t give up on God. "The ship of prayer may sail through all temptations, doubts and fears, straight up to the throne of God." Spurgeon "Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ." Charles Spurgeon 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Romans 12:12 Be joyfulI in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. This short verse in Romans is placed in the section titled in some translations as: Love in action. It begins with the phrase: Love must be sincere. From there on it expands to specific ways to put this love into practice. Verse 12 brings us to the progression of joyful hope, patience in difficulty and faithfulness in prayer. Hope, patience and prayer are combined in verse 12. Interestingly, the number twelve stands for government in the spiritual realm. The thing I conclude from it is they are important. They all involve things I do myself. Each requires strength from above, a self discipline and an awareness they are important, to prioritize each. They are opposite of our natural selves and require a leaning heavily on God. Being faithful in prayer carves a tunnel of God’s ability through the difficulties, into the breakthrough, the joy, refreshing, strength and counsel God desires for us. Sometimes the breakthrough is in our health, in ourselves and other times it shows up in relationships, job and various situations as well. Governing ourselves requires we apply these; and the faithfulness in prayer is of high value. It brings us before the throne of God to ask for His help in the midst of the turbulence of this world in times we live. We find peace and hope and joy and refreshing in God. Prayer is the hammer that causes the metal to bend and shape upon the anvil of God’s will in the situations we bring to the Father (C.S.). When we pray we are humbled, more willing to lean on God’s Grace in the midst of struggles and gain a fresh perspective that is beyond the temporary. We can all relate to this. We tap into His grace, ways and power and are conformed into the image of Christ increasingly; Day by day touching the throne of grace increasingly in prayer. As Spurgeon said, “prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of the Omnipotent.” Lets be encouraged, motivated to tap into prayer faithfully and watch what God will do through it. For He is able and willing to work and to hear and answer the prayers of this children. Practice faithfulness in prayer and watch other things fall into place as God allows, leaning heavily on the Lord rather than ourselves, for His sustaining grace and overarching purposes. Teach us to pray, Lord, faithfully, persistently and with Your perspective and grace increasingly in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Help us to love we pray. 1 Corinthians 13. |
Tree of Life
Genesis 2:9
In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God gave Adam and Eve a choice. He neither made them as robots nor as children without a choice. But rather, He told them the boundaries that he had for them, and they disobeyed. They took from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God warned against. they had their eyes opened and began to feel shame.
Why do we challenge God in the things he asks us to refrain from? They were granted permission to eat from the tree of life for it would give them life.
Sometimes God has gifts, open doors, blessings waiting for us that require trust and faith to walk through. As a child with a father, he asks us to trust that he knows what he intends for good will make us stronger healthier happier and more blessed and protected. Step by step as a child we can continue to grow to be more loving and less selfish, more patient and more grace filled like Christ daily. Let’s seek him and ask God to lead us in it.
Genesis 2:9
In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God gave Adam and Eve a choice. He neither made them as robots nor as children without a choice. But rather, He told them the boundaries that he had for them, and they disobeyed. They took from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God warned against. they had their eyes opened and began to feel shame.
Why do we challenge God in the things he asks us to refrain from? They were granted permission to eat from the tree of life for it would give them life.
Sometimes God has gifts, open doors, blessings waiting for us that require trust and faith to walk through. As a child with a father, he asks us to trust that he knows what he intends for good will make us stronger healthier happier and more blessed and protected. Step by step as a child we can continue to grow to be more loving and less selfish, more patient and more grace filled like Christ daily. Let’s seek him and ask God to lead us in it.
Thought For The Week |
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
If you have ever wondered if you are loved, you are. Jesus came as a baby and a man to reveal who God is to you. He revealed Gods love through compassion, not judging but forgiving those hurting, through healing and speaking the truth in love. He was grace filled and people desired to hear him and experience being in his Presence. Ultimately he did what no sinful man could do. He laid down His own life to pay for all of your sin and mine, our selfishness. And through accepting His payment for us, we can become adopted into the family of God. His Spirit living in our lives making intercession for us even as Jesus does in heaven now. Interceding for us and helping until we can spend eternity with him in the Presence is the One who is able to restore, to forgive, to heal, to fill with joy and love more than we’ve known here on earth. He is the giver of Life and full of love. And He loves you mightily. Ask Him to reveal himself to you and truth in love. We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 Being loved unconditionally and forgiven by God, through the free gift of His Son, brings a reconciliation and freedom in Him. His love flows into our lives and then through us to flow into the lives of others around us. Time spent with God daily opens our hearts to be His vessel to put forth a reflection of Him to those around. A verse following states that he who does not love does not know God for God is love. We all fail at times and fall short but daily and consistently let’s ask God to increase His love upon us and through us to love others as well. “Lord, give us Your perspective and help us to be the hands and feet of Christ in a world that needs Your love incredibly. In Jesus Name. Amen.” ————-- “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 Have you ever read through the Bible, the gospels, reading just the red, the words of Jesus? The Son of God has authority and his words are vital. Ask God when you read them to give you increased understanding of how to apply it. Here is one example of Jesus’s words in a principal, teaching. Wesley’s commentary describes it this way: “Into your bosom” [or lap] - Alluding to the mantles the Jews wore, into which a large quantity of corn might be received. With the same measure that ye mete with, it shall be measured to you again - Amazing goodness! So we are permitted even to carve for ourselves! We ourselves are, as it were, to tell God how much mercy he shall show us! And can we be content with less than the very largest measure? Give then to man, what thou designest to receive of God. In other words, we can all make a difference. Give in mercy, time, finances and more. For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. The context surrounding the verse relates to mercy and relationships though the principle also applies to other areas as well. Blessings upon blessings to those who bless others much. The reverse could also be said. How good God is to encourage benevolence, mercy and generosity with others and to promise that he will reward us and take care of our needs for it. Lord, thank you for Your Word. Open our hearts to the ways You desire is to apply it and walk it out this year. Give us courage to stretch and expand the borders of our tent to do Your will. In Jesus’s words, “Give and it will be given to you.” Give us Your priorities and grace, compassion and sights to see the needs of those around us this season we pray. In Jesus’s Name. ————-- “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33-34 NIV This world is not our home. We are but passing through so our rewards are in heaven. Contentment with godliness is great gain, according to the Word. We can be content and joyful with much or with little; but as our Father in heaven is perfect and knows the needs of His every child, so He knows our needs and the very number of hairs on our head. He calls us to place His kingdom and righteousness before other things, and to watch and trust as a child, that he will fulfill his promise to provide for our needs. As the Lord’s Prayer teaches us, let’s seek His kingdom first, His priorities; and trust that He will cause all things to work together for good through it and cause all grace to abound to us, so that at all times, in all things, we will have all that we need. Joy comes not from our possessions but from the precious promises of God, from His Presence in the difficulties here and now. And He is the real joy giver. Nothing this world offers is able to bring hope, joy and peace the way following God and placing Him first can, leaning on His Precious Promises... day by day. And yet we continue to grow in it! Pray on. Press on, in prayer and fasting; then watch the Father’s hand work mightily through the days as we persevere in it regularly. Unfolding a work of the Holy Spirit in us and through us to affect those around us with His hope, His mercy and His love... the clouds of heaven opening through prayer, and faith, so others can see the light of God’s goodness for them as well. Draw us into what you have for us Lord. Give us feet to walk by faith and get out on the water as Peter did, keeping our eyes on you through it all... and let the wind and the waves of this life on earth, calm in Your love and grace. Bring Your healing touch mightily where needed. And comfort us we pray (and those around us) in Your Presence... that others see Your glory. In Jesus’s Precious Name we pray. ————-- “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 In the book of John, when the word believe is used the mean represented in the original language is a faith, believe with feet walking it out as well. It is a belief that results in action. Notice Jesus gave His life for us first even before we took an initiative towards him. He first loved and first gave tha might have life. Then the very next verse explains that God did not send His Son to bring condemnation on us but rather love and life. He did out of an initiative of love as a good father with his children through unconditional love. It is ours to accept. Ours to take his hands and walk forward with him as our Lord and God. Salvation in the word refers not only to salvation through Christ from our sin but can refer to a broader aspect too. But we know God wants people to realize the greatness of this love and accept the gift he offers freely for any who will receive. We don’t need to be perfect, just willing to accept his gift. Jesus, we accept your love and gift of loving us first and taking our selfishness on yourself. We ask for forgiveness for selfish ways and being less loving than you made us to be. We ask for your help and a greater understanding of your love for us in Jesus’s Name we pray. ————-- “So the last will be first and the first last.” Matthew 20:16 The Lord told this to the disciples after a parable emphasizing the workers who were hired early in the day were paid the same as the ones who were hired last and throughout the day. The hired servants, paid they were as they had agreed to, but at the end of the day the owner paid them the same for their hard work, laboring in the field, with the sweat of their brow running down, as those who less and even just an hour. God calls us to faithfulness, to fruitfulness, whether we begin early or late. Our call is the same. And it will be God who decides the reward. Whether we came to Christ early in life or late or began to serve later, the call of God is to be fruitful with what He has given us. Fruitfulness is the call. Faithfulness with obedience step by step. Pray through... abiding through, bearing fruit in every good deed. Remember.... fruitfulness comes through abiding in Christ. Remaining in His love, Presence, time invested in prayer, His Word, and obedience, serving. And the Lord Jesus gave His life for us, serving, loving and abiding in God through. Lord. let us apply this daily, to honor You, that You’re Name is raised up and many drawn to the gift of Your wondrous love in Christ! In Jesus‘s Name we pray. Matthew 20: 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. ————-- “Love the Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and with all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:30-31 paraphrase Jesus taught that these two commandments fulfill all of the law and the prophets. Or, to say it another way, all of the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. To live in unselfishness, in service to one another, laying down our lives for one another. There are different ways to apply it in situations. But love is the key, in our response, in prayer for one another and those in need, in our attitude of selflessness and forgiveness, in our willingness to overlook insults and be a representation of Christ to others anyway. To stand for truth and defend the defenseless. To love is the first and greatest commandment. Loving God first and then loving one another. Let’s look for creative ways to love, to keep God first and to reveal His love to others. “Lord, grant us wisdom and discerning hearts to apply it rightly we pray, speaking the truth in love daily in Jesus Name.“ ————-- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 For all have sinned and fall short of Gods standards for us. We have all broken one or more of the Ten Commandments at times... We have all been selfish at times, and not loved as God calls us to. Yet he gave his Son to pay for our sin if we will believe in Him. Pardoned from death to life, our sins are washed away by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Have you received the gift today? Tell him so. Ie. God, I receive the gift of your Sons payment for my sins. I ask for Your love in and through me in unselfish ways. Help me to live in unselfish and loving ways, as you want me to, I pray. In Jesus Name. Amen. ————-- ”You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13 What is salt? It is a mineral and essential to living healthy. Our human bodies need it. Salt is also one of the basic human tastes God designed us with. In fact it is one of the ingredients that makes an inherent different on our enjoyment of food. To live without salt is to live a bland life. Our taste buds may adjust in time, but it is essential to flavoring at restaurants and kitchens everywhere. We who know Christ understands the correlation. Life without Christ seems better to those who have never tasted and seen that God is good; but we who have the flavor, the aroma of Christ, the Spirit of the living God know there is an incredible difference with Him in our lives. Salt is most often not visible just by looking at a food, (unless it’s baked on the peels of potatoes in large granules or things of the like); most commonly it mixes in and is not visible. So we must get close to it to taste or notice the difference. So it is in the world we live. If our lives and homes are so excluded from anyone without Christ, how can we be the salty flavor that God desires? Many believers have no friends who are not believers some time after becoming followers of Christ. Is this essential or is it merely comfortable? Jesus said, Go into all the world and make disciples. The great commission is flavored with us having an interest, a love and heart to reach and effect a world - lives around us - without a knowledge of the flavor of Christ. How are we salt in the community we’re in? How can we be? Shut ins can pray mightily for people to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, for divine connections for those who are able to be in the community. We can also pray and ask the Father to give us His heart for people. Phones work well to touch the lives of people, neighbors included. Emails and internet provide possibilities. Visiting a neighbor, asking God to bring connections with who he wants and to push away those he doesn’t. Be a friend. Care. Pray. Fast. And be sensitive to His leading, not just to our comfort zone and ease. Ask God to lay on your heart ones he desires you to reach with the flavor of Christ. Love, give to the needy, call a lonely friend or visit when able. Help the lady next door with groceries. And pray on for a clearer understanding of the love of God and the gospel in their lives. We can make a difference! ————-- The Lord is my Light & my Salvation. Psalms 27:1 The Lord is our Light when we go forward and can't see the way, out of the places we go. The Lord is our Salvation, to catch us, hold us up when the drop offs come... the unexpected things. Through it all, good or bad... Whether it's loss or illness or loneliness, God's Presence is richer than we expect when we come close to a Father in heaven who sees. His comfort is good. His power able and His love unfailing. Come near to Him and reach out to be His hands and feet to those around you. Fill up with His Presence... and then reach out. ————-- Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6. Niv The principle of giving applies to all of us, not only monetarily but also monetarily. A way to keep our hearts from the love of money coming before our love for God is by practicing generosity. It keeps our hearts free. And it brings joy to the giver. "And God is able to bless you abundantly." It also says after this... "You will be enriched in every way..." To open the door for more generosity. And thanksgiving will be given to God! Let this next year be a year of stepping out in faith to be generous. ————-- "And pray in the Spirit in all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all God's people." Ephesians 6:18 niv A story I heard of an area in Africa, told the custom of new believers in the area. As new believers they would often use prayer paths through the forest, to spend time in prayer. Each person had their own. And when one path became overgrown and unused, they would gently encourage the person, "Friend, there's grass on your path." As part of the family of God, we are to lovingly encourage one another to grow up in our life for God. Lovingly. And in a manner that encourages. As the verse says: strengthen weak knees and feeble arms. Hebrews 12:12 niv. We all need encouragement at times. And we all need time spent in prayer, in intimacy with our Father in heaven. Whether it's walking in prayer, sitting, or other ways, let's keep our paths in prayer from being overgrown this coming year. Blessings come through persistence and through loving one another up in God. ————-- But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Isaiah 40:31. niv How true it is that our way is not Gods way. Or shall we say His ways are above it ways. Look to God rather than the circumstances, rather than your own failure and frailties. In God we are revived daily. A joy comes to fill our hearts in His Presence. His Presence is worth it all. The hope He gives is above anything the world can give. His joy, the treasures of His Presence are like nothing this world can offer. Through his word, praying and fasting we draw into His Presence into a fullness of life only experienced in the presence of His Spirit. Treasures of hope come when we focus on the One who is able, rather than the challenges that lay in our path day by day. For He is the Way Maker. He breathes life into dry bones if we allow Him to. He lives to make a way through things that come against us. Keep trusting. Keep plodding. Keep your eyes on Him, the One with whom miracles come in our families, in our lives, even bodies at times. Keep your hope in God my friends. |