What is it that is the most important thing for a christian? What is the thing that the devil fights a christian on the most? PRAYER! Think about it for a minute. Prayer is the key to everything in our christian walk! And yet, we often times, put it way down on our list of things to do. The devil surely knows it's importance. That's why he gets us so busy, so we can be distracted. How many times do you get down to pray, and your mind drifts to those dishes that need to be washed, those clothes need that need to be ironed, that yard that needs mowing? It usually never fails for me, I get on my knees, and immediately one of my children come in to ask me a question. How many prayers have you finished lying in bed at night? If your like me, I always fall to sleep, mid prayer! I try to pray several times during the day, but I find if I don't steal time away in the early morning to get in touch with God, then at the end of the day I realize that I've not done it all day!
Satan knows how important prayer is, and he knows not to just tell us not to........why? Well, human nature of course! How many times did you do something as a kid.....or even now........just because you were told 'not to'. He has to be a little more sneaky. It's not that he just puts obstacles out there for us, he's very talented. How many times do you pray, and then get up and feel that God was a million miles away? Or, the devil tells you what a stupid prayer that was?
He's determined to keep us away from God....that's his job! If he can't have your soul, he wants to rob you of your joy and a victorious christian life! Just as food is a necessity to live, so is prayer a necessity for our spirits to live! Don't just use prayer time for "I need... or I want... time." Fellowship with Christ, talk with your father! We make time to eat.........we get hungry enough, we'll stop EVERYTHING for food...........God help us to do the same with our prayer time! It's that important!
I can make time to read my Bible, I can make time to go to church, sure the devil fights those, too, but he works hardest on prayer. I thought about washing my car...what's the key component there?....WATER! Sure I need the bucket, I need the sponge, I need the soap........ but they all do NO good, if I have no water! The water hose is there, but it is of no value if I don't turn the water on! Like the hose, our 'line' to Christ is always there.....but we have to go to Him! We can also have the hose in our hand, ready to use, mash the handle.....and NOTHING happens, no water!!! Turn around, and you'll find a kink in the hose. Sometimes we have to check up on our spiritual lives, don't we? Stop wondering why you can't seem to get a prayer through, and look behind you........there may just be a kink in your spiritual hose! The water is still there, ready to spray out the end, isn't it? Christ is ALWAYS there, whether we can 'feel' Him or not!
Keep your prayer life open! It's THAT important! How would you feel if your child went for days without saying a word to you? How would you feel if the only time your child spoke to you was to ask you for something? Sobering isn't it? Make a set time to meet with Christ.....every day! Sad to say, we are creatures of habit, and if we don't set a specific time, we will, often times, not follow through. But don't just talk with Him then..........but throughout the day! You are His child, and He can't wait to hear from you!!!!
We have a family member dying right now. We know that she's saved, and she's had a full life here on earth, but it still saddens us deeply to see her go. How sad it would be if we couldn't talk with our Heavenly Father! I'm so thankful that He can give her dying grace, and peace and comfort........and at the same time He can give us that grace and peace and comfort that we need to let her go! We love you, Nan! Thank you God for our time on earth with her, but thank you most of all for the eternity that we one day will share with her! Thank you for that open line of communication we have with the Father, all the time, any time! It doesn't matter how we pray, it's only that we pray! I'm so thankful that it doesn't have to be elequant, it can be simple, it doesn't have to be a prayer like anyone else prays, but You listen to each individual! I'm so thankful that it doesn't have to be approved by anyone, all I have to do is call out to my Heavenly Father, and You are there!!!!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
When I Call
"When I call on Jesus...all things are possible. I can mount on wings like eagles and soar. When I call on Jesus...mountains are gonna fall. Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call."
I know that you've probably heard this song many times, sung by many different christian artists. It is one of my favorite songs. The message is so powerful, and yet so simple.
The key word in the song is the word 'when'. See, all things are always possible with Jesus....but, it is WHEN we call that it becomes personal in OUR lives! No matter what we do, what situation, things will go on. The birds will keep on singing, the grass keeps growing, the rivers keep rolling to the ocean...life goes on...GOD'S creation moves ahead.
But, by using that little adverb 'when' as a conjunction, things begin to change for us personally. When means that it is at a point that something happens....'When I call on Jesus...' That's all we have to realize. We must realize that we have to stay focused on Christ and call His name and He will answer...He will move mountains, when necessary to rescue us.
When we 'call' someone, we are meaning to get an answer. Call means to speak loudly, or to summon...to require sombody to do something. By calling on Jesus, we are pleading for His attention to something that we cannot handle.......no matter how big or small. He'll never forsake us, He's always aware of our needs...........but He wants US to be aware, also.
We have a soul, capable of making decisions and choices. Nature works due to the heartbeat of God, but he wants us to call on Him. Why do we try so hard to fix things ourselves? Well, that's HUMAN nature, isn't it? Let's stay focused on our pathway for Christ and know to always seek Him........He's there....waiting with arms wide open.......ready to 'move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call.'
I know that you've probably heard this song many times, sung by many different christian artists. It is one of my favorite songs. The message is so powerful, and yet so simple.
The key word in the song is the word 'when'. See, all things are always possible with Jesus....but, it is WHEN we call that it becomes personal in OUR lives! No matter what we do, what situation, things will go on. The birds will keep on singing, the grass keeps growing, the rivers keep rolling to the ocean...life goes on...GOD'S creation moves ahead.
But, by using that little adverb 'when' as a conjunction, things begin to change for us personally. When means that it is at a point that something happens....'When I call on Jesus...' That's all we have to realize. We must realize that we have to stay focused on Christ and call His name and He will answer...He will move mountains, when necessary to rescue us.
When we 'call' someone, we are meaning to get an answer. Call means to speak loudly, or to summon...to require sombody to do something. By calling on Jesus, we are pleading for His attention to something that we cannot handle.......no matter how big or small. He'll never forsake us, He's always aware of our needs...........but He wants US to be aware, also.
We have a soul, capable of making decisions and choices. Nature works due to the heartbeat of God, but he wants us to call on Him. Why do we try so hard to fix things ourselves? Well, that's HUMAN nature, isn't it? Let's stay focused on our pathway for Christ and know to always seek Him........He's there....waiting with arms wide open.......ready to 'move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call.'
Monday, September 8, 2008
Bloom Where You're Planted
Jeremiah 17: 7,8 says, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be anxious in the year of the drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
Wow! That was sent just for me! Life is funny, isn't it? Just about the time you think you may have things figured out, things seem to change around and you are right back where you were. I know I'm prejudiced, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in this world but right here in Rock Spring, Ga. I absolutely love this area and am so thankful to be born and raised here. There is so much to do here, so many beautiful mountains, beautiful rivers, fast paced city life and slow country life as well. We are blessed to have churches on every corner. You'll find no better people than right here!
You know how it is as a teenager, everything is crazy, you always think that there is something better somewhere else. You get restless. How many times did you here someone say, "As soon as I grow up, I'm moving away from here!" It's not really the area as much as it is the turmoil inside them that makes them restless! I don't have to travel the world to know how lucky and privileged I am to live in such a great nation, and such a great area of the United States! I've lived here all of my life, and am raising my family here. A few years ago my dearest friend moved away and I thought I wasn't going to make it. I began to feel like I wanted to leave, too. The place she moved isn't any better, but it had one thing that I missed dearly........her. For a little while, the devil had me in a tail spin. But, life is good and having Jesus Christ is the best. I soon realized that she is where God needs her to be and I am exactly where I need to be. Our bond is not broken.........like the devil wants you to believe. If anything it is stronger! I don't envy her, I wouldn't want to live where she is.........it's not where God has planted me!
We all have to realize that God has a purpose for each of us, there are no accidents or coincidences! There's enough love and blessings for everyone. Don't worry when you don't understand what is going on in your life, or around you.......if you are a child of the King, then your roots are spread to the river.....and even in times of drought, you don't have to fear.......He is with you always, no matter where you are!
I am honored and privileged to be born right here in North Georgia! (In my opinion the absolute best place to be). And you know what.....if He were to tell me to go to Africa tomorrow, I would go with a smile on my face, and be glad to tell you just how wonderful a place it is to live there........why?...........because I am like that tree planted by the river with my roots spread, no matter where I am I will not 'cease from yielding fruit'. My hope is in the Lord, I trust Him, He will never forsake me. Praise His name that no matter what choices we make, His 'river' will NEVER run dry, He is always there to strengthen us...we've just got to bloom where we are planted!
Wow! That was sent just for me! Life is funny, isn't it? Just about the time you think you may have things figured out, things seem to change around and you are right back where you were. I know I'm prejudiced, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in this world but right here in Rock Spring, Ga. I absolutely love this area and am so thankful to be born and raised here. There is so much to do here, so many beautiful mountains, beautiful rivers, fast paced city life and slow country life as well. We are blessed to have churches on every corner. You'll find no better people than right here!
You know how it is as a teenager, everything is crazy, you always think that there is something better somewhere else. You get restless. How many times did you here someone say, "As soon as I grow up, I'm moving away from here!" It's not really the area as much as it is the turmoil inside them that makes them restless! I don't have to travel the world to know how lucky and privileged I am to live in such a great nation, and such a great area of the United States! I've lived here all of my life, and am raising my family here. A few years ago my dearest friend moved away and I thought I wasn't going to make it. I began to feel like I wanted to leave, too. The place she moved isn't any better, but it had one thing that I missed dearly........her. For a little while, the devil had me in a tail spin. But, life is good and having Jesus Christ is the best. I soon realized that she is where God needs her to be and I am exactly where I need to be. Our bond is not broken.........like the devil wants you to believe. If anything it is stronger! I don't envy her, I wouldn't want to live where she is.........it's not where God has planted me!
We all have to realize that God has a purpose for each of us, there are no accidents or coincidences! There's enough love and blessings for everyone. Don't worry when you don't understand what is going on in your life, or around you.......if you are a child of the King, then your roots are spread to the river.....and even in times of drought, you don't have to fear.......He is with you always, no matter where you are!
I am honored and privileged to be born right here in North Georgia! (In my opinion the absolute best place to be). And you know what.....if He were to tell me to go to Africa tomorrow, I would go with a smile on my face, and be glad to tell you just how wonderful a place it is to live there........why?...........because I am like that tree planted by the river with my roots spread, no matter where I am I will not 'cease from yielding fruit'. My hope is in the Lord, I trust Him, He will never forsake me. Praise His name that no matter what choices we make, His 'river' will NEVER run dry, He is always there to strengthen us...we've just got to bloom where we are planted!
"They That wait...."
"Hast thou not known? has thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." --Isaiah 40: 28-31
That is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It has helped me so many times when I thought I was at the end of my rope. I've studied it over and over and it never gets old, and often I learn something new. Isn't God's Word amazing!
Recently I was looking at the passage.........something that I've seen before, held onto before, counted on before....jumped out at me in a different way. Verse 31 tells us to wait upon the Lord to renew our strength. Okay, I've always seen that, and have quoted it many, many times. But this time I really focused on the word wait. What does that mean?
Well, I've looked in several dictionaries, american, greek, hebrew. They all kept coming back to this, doing nothing, expecting something to happen. That got my thoughts churning. Wow....let that soak in...doing NOTHING but EXPECTING something to happen!
Before when I've meditated on these verses, I waited on the Lord, waited for my prayer to go through, waited on my prayer to be answered. But I've seen 'wait' as this: I thought of it as perhaps a waiting room, just sitting, wishing away the seconds, minutes, hours, until you got the news you were waiting for. Have you ever been there? It's the most tiresome 'nothing' you'll ever do.
Then I watched my daughter's 5 month old puppy the other night. He has a lot of food allergies. He can only eat chicken, lamb, and rice. That's all! He has learned what the word 'chicken' is and boy, you say that word to him and he gets all bent out of shape! My daughter was eating some chicken fingers and he was so excited. He was at her chair with his front paws up beside her legs, tail wagging, eyes totally on her, and I think I saw a little bit of drool in the corner of his mouth! It didn't matter what was going on in the house, he had his eye on my daughter, and her chicken. I even called his name, and he might've given me a quick glance, but he was right back looking at her so intently. He never whined, never wimpered, but stayed quietly by her side. And you know what....he was rewarded with a savory piece of her chicken!
Let me tell you, that hit me like a ton of bricks!!!! What am I doing?? I'm sitting around, twiddling my thumbs.........waiting, just waiting. Often getting tired, bored and distracted! That's not what the Bible means!
Don't give your burden to Christ and then sit on the curb waiting for the answer! Let's change out the word wait for another word "...they that FIXATE upon the Lord shall renew their strength..." My daughter's little pug was wanting a bite of her chicken, and he let her know that. BUT, he was fixated on her. He didn't let anything distract him. He patiently was fixated on her, and he was rewarded!
In order to get renewed strength, I must bring my burdens to the Lord, but instead of just sitting, I must fixate upon Him, keep my focus on Him, stay in His Word, and just as little Koda received his chicken, I will receive my renewed strength! You see, if Koda had passively waited, he might not have been there to get that delicious chicken bite. He would've gotten bored, maybe have fallen asleep, or turned his attention elsewhere. But, because he fixated upon his master...actively waited....he was rewarded!
Forever, oh Lord, do I want to fixate upon you so that I will never miss those nuggets that you so freely give!
That is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It has helped me so many times when I thought I was at the end of my rope. I've studied it over and over and it never gets old, and often I learn something new. Isn't God's Word amazing!
Recently I was looking at the passage.........something that I've seen before, held onto before, counted on before....jumped out at me in a different way. Verse 31 tells us to wait upon the Lord to renew our strength. Okay, I've always seen that, and have quoted it many, many times. But this time I really focused on the word wait. What does that mean?
Well, I've looked in several dictionaries, american, greek, hebrew. They all kept coming back to this, doing nothing, expecting something to happen. That got my thoughts churning. Wow....let that soak in...doing NOTHING but EXPECTING something to happen!
Before when I've meditated on these verses, I waited on the Lord, waited for my prayer to go through, waited on my prayer to be answered. But I've seen 'wait' as this: I thought of it as perhaps a waiting room, just sitting, wishing away the seconds, minutes, hours, until you got the news you were waiting for. Have you ever been there? It's the most tiresome 'nothing' you'll ever do.
Then I watched my daughter's 5 month old puppy the other night. He has a lot of food allergies. He can only eat chicken, lamb, and rice. That's all! He has learned what the word 'chicken' is and boy, you say that word to him and he gets all bent out of shape! My daughter was eating some chicken fingers and he was so excited. He was at her chair with his front paws up beside her legs, tail wagging, eyes totally on her, and I think I saw a little bit of drool in the corner of his mouth! It didn't matter what was going on in the house, he had his eye on my daughter, and her chicken. I even called his name, and he might've given me a quick glance, but he was right back looking at her so intently. He never whined, never wimpered, but stayed quietly by her side. And you know what....he was rewarded with a savory piece of her chicken!
Let me tell you, that hit me like a ton of bricks!!!! What am I doing?? I'm sitting around, twiddling my thumbs.........waiting, just waiting. Often getting tired, bored and distracted! That's not what the Bible means!
Don't give your burden to Christ and then sit on the curb waiting for the answer! Let's change out the word wait for another word "...they that FIXATE upon the Lord shall renew their strength..." My daughter's little pug was wanting a bite of her chicken, and he let her know that. BUT, he was fixated on her. He didn't let anything distract him. He patiently was fixated on her, and he was rewarded!
In order to get renewed strength, I must bring my burdens to the Lord, but instead of just sitting, I must fixate upon Him, keep my focus on Him, stay in His Word, and just as little Koda received his chicken, I will receive my renewed strength! You see, if Koda had passively waited, he might not have been there to get that delicious chicken bite. He would've gotten bored, maybe have fallen asleep, or turned his attention elsewhere. But, because he fixated upon his master...actively waited....he was rewarded!
Forever, oh Lord, do I want to fixate upon you so that I will never miss those nuggets that you so freely give!
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