Category: Spiritual Rhema… Sparks from the Anvil!

Our problems come to make us strong…

God’s Purpose Behind Your Problems
by R Warren

“My troubles turned out all for the best. They forced me to learn from your textbook. Truth from your mouth means more to me than striking it rich in a gold mine.”
— Psalm 119:71-72 (Msg)

Life is a series of problem-solving opportunities. The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you – depending on how you respond to them.

Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.

Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you – Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” Pr. 20:30 (GN)

2. God uses problems to INSPECT you – People are like teabags if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you?

When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. (James 1:2-3, NCV)

3. God uses problems to CORRECT you – Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something – health, money, a relationship – by losing it.

It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws. (Ps. 119:71-72, LB)

4. God uses problems to PROTECT you – A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend of mine was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when his boss actions were uncovered.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good . (Gen. 50:20, NIV)

5. God uses problems to PERFECT you. – Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity.

We can rejoice when we run into problems they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. (Rom. 5:3-4, LB)

Here’s the point: God is at work in your life – even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it’s much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him!
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Along with each challenge we face in life, comes an invitation from God to enter into a new experience with Him, in order to give us much needed “on the job training” and real life experience in how to apply God’s POWER, the promises His WORD, and His long-suffering perseverance through every trial that we face in life.

So that we may have, not just intellectual knowledge of God, but more importantly that we may gain experiential knowledge, as we learn to die to our self-will and self-determination (see Matthew 16:24-27), in order that God may channel His power through us (per 2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and remove those seemingly “mountain sized” obstacles Satan places in our path (see Matthew 17:19-20).

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August 26
God Calling

ACCEPT TRIALS
by Two Listeners

Trials and troubles may seem to overwhelm you. They cannot do more than work My Will, and that Will you have said is your Will.

Do you not see that you cannot be destroyed? From now a new Life is opening out before you. Yours to enter into the Kingdom I have prepared for you.

The sunlight of My Presence is on your paths. Trust and go forward unafraid. My Grace is sufficient for all your needs.

“In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”
— Psalm 56:11

[NOTE: These inspired messages where received from God, in London during WW II, by two ladies (who opted to remain anonymous), who endured the daily bombings of the London Blitzkrieg]
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Come join the Adventure!

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Don’t allow anything, person or situation to rob you of your peace…

These are the keys whereby you may enter into the Secret Place (see Psalm 91):

Psalm 100:4

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice evermore.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Hebrews 4:11
You labour is to enter into God’s rest
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

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The Spirit-Filled Believer

A ‘COOL’ SPIRIT
by Dick Mills

“A man of understanding has a cool spirit.”

—Prov. 17:27 AMP

In our day, the word “cool” has taken on a new significance. Among our youth, it is often considered the height of sophistication to be thought of as “cool.”

An individual who is “cool” is “street wise”, “mod”, “chick”, “avant-garde”, “hip”.

A “cool dude” is one who has “got it all together”—he’s in control of his own life and destiny.

Everything about him is “cool, man, cool”. He listens to “cool music,” drives a “cool machine”, is always seen in the company of “cool chicks.”

Thus, the word cool is something of a buzz word to indicate those who are on to something or who have something that the rest of dull society is missing.

As far as we know, Solomon was the first man to use the word cool when he wrote: …a man of understanding has a cool spirit.

Wise Solomon was not trendy. His primary interest was not popularity or peer group acceptance. He didn’t follow fads or conform to the latest fashions—especially not in spiritual matters.

Neither will a man (or woman) of understanding.

The truly spiritual person is cool because he is disciplined and even-tempered. He doesn’t blow up, lose control, give vent to emotional outbursts, show temperament, or give in to moods.

In the original Hebrew, the word translated cool is qar (kar) and is defined as “quiet, calm, composed.”

The person with a “cool” spirit is self-possessed, free of anger, passion, or resentment. He is what every Christian should be.

One writer has stated it well: “The ideal for all of us is to have a cool head and a warm heart.” Let’s be cool the Bible way!

Source: The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Daily Devotional by Dick Mills
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Keep Calm

“Keep your Spirit-Life calm and unruffled.”

Nothing else matters. Leave ALL to Me.

This is your great task, to get calm in My Presence, not to let one ruffled feeling stay for one moment.

Years of blessing may be checked in one moment by that.

No matter who frets you or what, yours is the task to stop all else until absolute calm comes. Any block means My Power diverted into other channels.

Pour forth – pour forth – pour forth – I cannot bless a life that does not act as a channel.

My Spirit brooks no stagnation, not even in rest. Its Power must flow on. Pass on everything, every blessing. Abide in Me.

See how many you can bless each day. Dwell much in My Presence.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
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AUGUST 19
My Utmost for His Highest

SELF-AWARENESS

“Come to Me…”
MATTHEW 11:28

God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside.

Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone.

Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives.

Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances.

Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him.

Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ.

If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.

NEVER allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it.

Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life.

This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him.

Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me….”

The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words.

Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.
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Stay in the Spirit, keep cool, allowing God’s Shalom (peace) to envelop you, and come join the Adventure!

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GOD is our Source for ALL things needful in this life, and it ALL starts with Jesus…

James 1:17

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.”

I remember once hearing the story about this great intellectual orator, who also happened to be a Christian, giving what I believe was a graduation commencement speech, and he was asked by someone at the very closing moments of his speech to give the meaning and purpose of life.

He thought for a moment and said that our God given mission and purpose in life is for EVERY believer to reflect God’s LIGHT and LOVE into all the dark places of this world; he said we aren’t the source of this light and love, only its reflection.

I would add that God’s purpose, for EVERY Christian, is that we die to ourselves and that we pick up our cross daily, as the Lord said WE ALL must do:

Mark 8:34-38

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

34-38 Then he called his disciples and the people around him, and said to them,

“If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps, he must give up all right to himself, take up his cross and follow me.

The man who tries to save his life will lose it; it is the man who loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s who will save it.

What good can it do a man to gain the whole world at the price of his own soul?

What can a man offer to buy back his soul once he has lost it?

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels around him.”

[NOTE: The cross is the symbol of our death to self will and self determination outside the will and purpose of God]

God’s purpose is that we each, having been born-again, would become the conduit of God’s Agape (which is the God kind of love – meaning love given without strings), and that we would shine God’s LIGHT and LOVE into all the dark areas of this world.

I truly believe that is the mission of EVERY Christian, with the recognition that we are NEVER the source – only the reflection – and that God, our Abba Daddy in heaven – that He is our ONLY Source.

[NOTE: In Greek the word for Father is Pater, which implies, “the originator and transmitter of anything; the authors of a family or society of persons, animated by the same spirit as himself” — from Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary]

Some would claim that all people are “children of God,” but the Bible reveals quite a different truth.

We are all His creations and under His authority and lordship, and all will be judged by Him, but the right to be a child of God and call Him “Abba Father” is something that only born-again Christians have (John 1:12–13).

When we are born again (John 3:1–8), we are adopted into the family of God, redeemed from the curse of sin, and made heirs of God (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7).

Part of that new relationship is that God now deals with us differently, as family.

It is life-changing to understand what it means to be able to call the one true God our “Father” and what it means to be joint-heirs with Christ.

Because of our relationship with our Abba, Father, He no longer deals with us as enemies; instead, we can approach Him with “boldness” (Hebrews 10:19) and in “full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).

The Holy Spirit “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16–17).

Becoming a child of God is the highest and most humbling of honors.

Because of it we have a NEW relationship with God and a NEW standing before Him.

Instead of running from God and trying to hide our sin like Adam and Eve did, we run to Him, calling, “Abba, Father!” and finding forgiveness in Christ.

Being an adopted child of God is the source of our hope, the security of our future, and the motivation to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1).

Being children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords calls us to a higher standard, a different way of life, and, in the future, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4).

As Christians, as Jesus stated in Luke 2:49, we too must be about our Father’s business; and that business is for us to be the distributors of GOD’S LIGHT and His LOVE into all the dark areas of this world. Selah (pause and reflect)

How do we do this?

Zachariah 4:6
JPS Tanakh 1917

Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying: ‘This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying:

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Remember we aren’t the Source of God’s LIGHT and LOVE, only the reflection; and one of the last things Jesus said, before His ascension into heaven was that,

“ALL power has been given to Me, in heaven and earth, so that you (my disciples) may go out and do this job I’m calling you to do.” (see Matthew 28:18-19).

Come join the Adventure!

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What does the Bible say about being a Christian and following Christ?

Being a Christian is much more than giving intellectual assent to an historic fact.

I should know because I was there once myself; after having been baptized as an infant and confirmed at age 13, I only knew about Jesus, as an historical figure, like I knew about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and everybody else I learned about in history.

I was what you could call a Nominal Christian, meaning I was Christian in name only; in fact once I had been confirmed, by my denomination, I stopped going to church because I figured I had already made the club.

This historic Jesus that lived over 2,000 years ago was having no impact on my life today.

I just couldn’t relate to an historic Jesus and the miracles He did, all those many years ago, none of which was helping me today in the problems that were confronting me in my life.

That’s why Christianity is NOT a religion, it’s rather about our having a living (personal) relationship with a living Savior; and this is how it starts for ALL of us – we must be born-again.

John 3:1-21
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

Jesus and a religious leader
3 1-2 One night Nicodemus, a leading Jew and a Pharisee, came to see Jesus.

“Master,” he began, “we realise that you are a teacher who has come from God.
Obviously no one could show the signs that you show unless God were with him.”

3 “Believe me,” returned Jesus, “a man cannot even see the kingdom of God without being born again.”

4 “And how can a man who’s getting old possibly be born?” replied Nicodemus. “How can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?”

5-8 “I assure you,” said Jesus, “that unless a man is born from water and from spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Flesh gives birth to flesh and spirit gives birth to spirit: you must not be surprised that I told you that all of you must be born again.

The wind blows where it likes, you can hear the sound of it but you have no idea where it comes from and where it goes. Nor can you tell how a man is born by the wind of the Spirit.”

9 “How on earth can things like this happen?” replied Nicodemus.

10-21 “So you are a teacher of Israel,” said Jesus, “and you do not recognise such things?

I assure you that we are talking about something we really know and we are witnessing to something we have actually observed, yet men like you will not accept our evidence.

Yet if I have spoken to you about things which happen on this earth and you will not believe me, what chance is there that you will believe me if I tell you about what happens in Heaven?

No one has ever been up to Heaven except the Son of Man who came down from Heaven.

The Son of Man must be lifted above the heads of men—as Moses lifted up that serpent in the desert—so that any man who believes in him may have eternal life.

FOR GOD LOVED THE WORLD SO MUCH THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, SO THAT EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT BE LOST, BUT SHOULD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

You must understand that God has not sent his Son into the world to pass sentence upon it, but to save it—through him.

Any man who believes in him is not judged at all. It is the one who will not believe who stands already condemned, because he will not believe in the character of God’s only Son.

This is the judgment—that light has entered the world and men have preferred darkness to light because their deeds are evil.

Anybody who does wrong hates the light and keeps away from it, for fear his deeds may be exposed. But anybody who is living by the truth will come to the light to make it plain that all he has done has been done through God.”

Romans 8:28-39
Wuest – The New Testament: An Expanded Translation

28 And we know with an absolute knowledge that for those who are loving God, all things are working together resulting in good, for those who are divinely-summoned ones according to His purpose.

29 Because, those whom He foreordained He also marked out beforehand as those who were to be conformed to the derived image of His Son, with the result that He is firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover, those whom He thus marked out beforehand, these He also summoned. And those whom He summoned, these He also justified.

Moreover, those whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things?

In view of the fact that God is on our behalf, who could be against us?

32 Indeed, He who His own Son did not spare, but on behalf of us all delivered Him up, how is it possible that He shall not with Him in grace give us all things?

33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s chosen-out ones?

God, the One who justifies?

34 Who is the one who condemns?

Christ Jesus, the One who died, yes, rather, who has been raised, who is on the right hand of God, who also is constantly interceding on our behalf?

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

36 Even as it stands written, For your sake we are being put to death all the day long.

We were accounted as sheep destined for slaughter. 37 But in these things, all of them, we are coming off constantly with more than the victory through the One who loved us.

38 For I have come through a process of persuasion to the settled conclusion that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things about to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the LOVE of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 12:1-2
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

We have seen God’s mercy and wisdom: how shall we respond?
1-2 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him.

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Wuest – The New Testament: An Expanded Translation

19 Or do you not know that your body is an inner sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were purchased at a price. Now therefore, glorify God in your body.

John 14:15; 23

Jesus speaking:
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Luke 6:46-49

Build on the Rock
Jesus speaking:
46“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:

48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

1 John 2:4-6
Living Bible (TLB)

4 Someone may say, “I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ.” But if he doesn’t do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar.

5 But those who do what Christ tells them to will learn to love God more and more.

That is the way to know whether or not you are a Christian. 6 Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.

Jesus speaking: “My Kingdom is about changing into good what the devil meant for evil; and changing you to be more like Me.”

Having been born-again, Jesus’ promise is that He will be with us ALWAYS…

Jesus Calling
by Sarah Young

FIND ME in the midst of the maelstrom.

Sometimes events whirl around you so quickly that they become a blur.

Whisper My Name in recognition that I am still with you.

Without skipping a beat in the activities that occupy you, you find strength and
Peace through praying My Name.

Later, when the happenings have run their course, you can talk with Me more fully.

Accept each day just as it comes to you. Do not waste your time and energy wishing for a different set of circumstances.

Instead, trust Me enough to yield to My design and purposes.

Remember that nothing can separate you from My loving Presence; you are Mine.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
—Philippians 2:9–11

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
—Psalm 29:11

But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
—Isaiah 43:1

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Come join the Adventure!

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The purpose for prayer is two way communication with GOD…

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are instructed to “pray without ceasing.”

What does that mean and how do we do that?

Certainly it doesn’t mean that we are to stay in our devotional prayer closet all day, because we have other things to do in life – like earning a living; taking care of our families and the business of life.

Listen to the words of Jesus along this line, when He answers the question of what it mean to love GOD, from GOD’S point of view.

John 14:15-20
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

Jesus promises the Spirit
15-20 “If you really love me, you will keep the commandments I have given you and I shall ask the Father to give you someone else to stand by you, to be with you always.

I mean the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, for it can neither see nor recognise that Spirit.

But you recognise him, for he is with you now and will be in your hearts.

I am not going to leave you alone in the world—I am coming to you. In a very little while, the world will see me no more but you will see me, because I am really alive and you will be alive too.

When that day come, you will realise that I am in my Father, that you are in me, and I am in you.

John 14:23-24
23-24 And to this Jesus replied, “When a man loves me, he follows my teaching.

Then my Father will love him, and we will come to that man and make our home within him.

The man who does not really love me will not follow my teaching. Indeed, what you are hearing from me now is not really my saying, but comes from the Father who sent me.

Jesus asks the question, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?”

John 6:46-51
43-51 So Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. Nobody comes to me unless he is drawn to me by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up when the last day comes.

In the prophets it is written—‘And they shall all be taught by God,’ and this means that everybody who has heard the Father’s voice and learned from him will come to me.

Not that anyone has ever seen the Father except the one who comes from God—he has seen the Father.

I assure you that the man who trusts in him has eternal life already. I myself am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate manna in the desert, and they died.

This is bread that comes down from Heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die.

I myself am the living bread which came down from Heaven, and if anyone eats this bread he will live for ever. The bread which I will give is my body and I shall give it for the life of the world.”

Actually the purpose of our having this unending communion with God, called prayer, is not for us to give God our instructions and advice Him of our daily needs, though that’s part of it; but mostly it’s about our having a connection with Him throughout our day – every day – 24/7 365; and it’s also about our receiving instructions from Him and rhema revelation (see Matthew 6:31-33).

Jeremiah 33:3
GOD says: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

What Is Prayer?

Most people might say it’s talking to God, mostly to ask for what we need.

This is partially true, but a crucial piece is missing. In Jeremiah, God tells the Israelites, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jer 33:3).

As F. B. Huey Jr., says, this verse links revelation with prayer:

“The invitation suggests that divine revelation becomes reality when it is sought” (see Mt 7:7; cf., Jas 4:2–3).

Timothy Keller further explains how prayer is connected to God’s revelation:

What is prayer, then, in the fullest sense?

Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him. . . .

The power of our prayers, then, lies not primarily in our effort and striving, or in any technique, but rather in our knowledge of God.

This is why, as Donald S. Whitney says, “of all the Spiritual Disciplines, prayer is second only to the intake of God’s Word in importance.”

Prayer is second in importance because it relies on our knowledge of God, which comes from reading his Word.

Without engagement with Scripture, our prayers are lacking. It’s like having a phone conversation where the other person can hear us but we can’t hear them.

Hearing from God by engaging Scripture changes us. But does prayer change God?

The Bible doesn’t explicitly say how our prayers influence God. But it does say we can be confident he hears us if we pray according to his will (see 1Jn 5:1).

Our concerns about whether prayer changes God are lessened when we consider we would not want him to answer a prayer that was not according to his will.

Now that we have these missing pieces, we can craft a more comprehensive definition of prayer:

Prayer is an encounter with God that is initiated by him through his Word and that changes our hearts as we humbly communicate and worship the Lord, confess our sins and transgressions and ask him to fulfill both our needs and the desires of our heart.
(from Lifehacks Study Bible)
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And finally…

Charles Spurgeon said – “Prayer moves the arm that moves the world.”

“God has of his own motion placed himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated himself to answer the prayers of men.

He has ordained prayer as a means whereby he will do things through men as they pray, which he would not otherwise do.

If prayer puts God to work on earth, then, by the same token, prayerlessness rules God out of the world’s affairs, and prevents him from working.

The driving power, the conquering force in God’s cause is God himself.

‘Call on me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which though knowest not,’ is God’s challenge to prayer.

Prayer puts God in full force into God’s work.”

[E.M. Bounds “The Weapon of Prayer” Chap. 2]
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Come join the Adventure!

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ABRAHAM: the father of all who have faith and believe…

The GOD kind of FAITH provides limitless power when mixed with our prayers, but our doubts and fears will exclude God and will cancel our faith.

We must learn to believe without doubting!
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How do we develop this GOD kind of faith?

James 1:6-8
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

The Christian can even welcome trouble
2-8 When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!

Realise that they come to TEST your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.

But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence.

And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem he has only to ask GOD—who gives generously to all men without making them feel foolish or guilty—and he may be quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given him.

But he MUST ask in sincere faith without secret doubts as to whether he really wants GOD’s help or not.

The man who trusts GOD, but with inward reservations, is like a wave of the sea, carried forward by the wind one moment and driven back the next.

That sort of man cannot hope to receive anything from GOD, and the life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn.

Abraham was called the father of faith for a reason:

Romans 4:17-22
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

16-17 The whole thing, then, is a matter of faith on man’s part and generosity on God’s.

He gives the security of his own promise to all men who can be called “children of Abraham”, i.e. both those who have lived in faith by the Law, and those who have exhibited a faith like that of Abraham.

To whichever group we belong, Abraham is in a real sense our father, as the scripture says: ‘I have made you a father of many nations’.

This faith is valid because of the existence of God himself, who can make the dead live, and speak his Word to those who are yet unborn.

Abraham was a shining example of faith
18 Abraham, when hope was dead within him, went on hoping in faith, believing that he would become “the father of many nations”.

He relied on the word of God which definitely referred to ‘your descendants’.

19-22 With undaunted faith he looked at the facts—his own impotence (he was practically a hundred years old at the time) and his wife Sarah’s apparent barrenness.

Yet he refused to allow any distrust of a definite pronouncement of God to make him waver.

He drew strength from his faith, and while giving the glory to God, remained absolutely convinced that God was able to implement his own promise.

This was the “faith” which ‘was accounted to him for righteousness’.

As Christians, we must learn to incorporate this “GOD kind of FAITH,” that we see in Abraham, in every area of our life; and to ALWAYS make room in our faith and confident reliance upon GOD, for Him to do the unexpected, by answering our prayers in ways that we did not even consider — as we are trusting GOD with all of our heart and NOT leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).

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Look at What Is Unseen
by Kenneth E. Hagin

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
—2 Corinthians 4:18

How can you look at something unseen?

You’re certainly not looking at it with your physical eyes. No, you’re looking at it with your spiritual eyes, or the eyes of your spirit.

You’re looking at it through the eyes of faith.

A person who does not look at what is seen is not motivated by what is seen. Rather, he or she is motivated by the unseen.

People who are sick and are prayed for again and again do not get healed because they are motivated by their sight or by their feelings.

The same people, if they feel well, say they’re well. And if they feel sick, they say they’re sick.

They’re motivated entirely by their feelings.

I pay no attention to my feelings whatsoever. I couldn’t care less about them. I’m moved only by what I believe.

I adopted a motto from Smith Wigglesworth many years ago:

“I’m not moved by what I see. I’m not moved by what I feel. I’m moved only by what I believe.”

That has helped me through many a hard place.

I mean, I have looked around me in times past when everything seemed to indicate defeat. But I just kept looking the situation right in the face, saying, “I’m not moved by what I see.”

I stood my ground calmly and deliberately, saying, “I’m not moved by what I see. I’m not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe.”

That’s faith. It has brought me through many a hard place, and it will do the same for you.

Confession:
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe. And I believe that God is working everything out for good, according to His Word.

Source: Health Food Devotions by Kenneth E. Hagin.
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GOD spoke to Moses face-to-face…

Exodus 33:12-15

The Promise of God’s Presence
12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me.

Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’

13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.

And consider that this nation is Your people.”

14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

Moses here, in these four verses, is getting real with God, because he knew that he was not able to do what God was calling him to do without God’s leadership; God’s power; and GOD’S presence in his life.

Now let’s travel 3,467 years into the future, from 1,447 BC to 2020, to the battles we are facing.

Are our battles and our obstacles any less real and formidable to us; do we not also need God’s leadership, power and presence in our lives today?

As God once said to Jehoshaphat, when he was out numbered and out powered by the enemy forces,

“And GOD said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you,

‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.'”
—2 Chronicles 20:15

The key part in Moses’ prayer is when he asked of God, “show me now Your way.”

Moses was asking GOD to,

“give me your wisdom and show me your way, that I may follow you.”

Is that not also our pray today, in whatever battles we are facing, that God give us His wisdom and show us His way.

1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us, speaking of those things, written in the Tanakh (Old Testament),

“Now ALL these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

And in verse 13 we are told that,

“No temptation (Grk: peirazō = to be tested) has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

And in Ephesians 6:12 we are told to put on our battle armor daily,

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

And so equally for us today, as it was for Moses 3,467 years ago, the battles we fight today also belongs to the Lord, because it’s a battle between light and darkness.

In the New Covenant, Jesus tells us that,

“I AM the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE…”

—John 14:6

Our job, as Christians today, is to take His yoke upon us and to come to Him and learn of Him (Mat 11:29); and for us to then prioritize, in our life, the seeking of His Kingdom; to follow Jesus and to understand His WAY of doing things.

This is the same knowledge that Moses was seeking from God in Exodus 33, when he said “show me your way.”

Being a Christian is all about our developing a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ; our being filled with His Spirit; and our learning to practice His presence in our lives 24/7 – 365.

And finally James warns us not to be half-hearted and of a divided mine in this pursuit,

James 1:5-8
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.’

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God’s Watchmen on the Wall…

Ezekiel 3:17
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me”

Let us remember to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world, who are today being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.

Please click on link below to read article:

“Top 10 Countries Where it is Most Dangerous to Practice Christianity”

In these places there is a high cost to follow Christ, because you do so at the risk of your life and the well-being, security and safety of your family”

At the same time let us not take for granted the liberties that we enjoy here in America, liberties that have been bought and paid for through the shed blood of so many, to give us this freedom that so many today are taking for granted.

It’s through our de jure organic Constitution and our Bill of Rights that these rights and liberties are granted us, and make no mistake, but that the forces of Antichrist today in our country are trying very hard to take those rights and liberties away from us; and mind you, there’s no question but that the future these corrupt politicians and Antichrist forces would have for us is exactly what you see happening in these persecuted third world countries.

In the words of Edmund Burke,
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

As Christians, our battle starts on our knees, as per Jesus’ instructions that we are to both “WATCH and PRAY;” and as the Apostle Paul admonished us, that we NOT be ignorant of the enemy’s devises, least he take unfair advantage of us.

Jesus said for us, “To be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

As Watchmen on the Wall, like we read of Gideon’s 300, it’s our job to prayerfully keep our eyes on the horizon, to see what the enemy forces are doing; and then to warn the people of any impending dangers that we may see.

It is our prayers that provide the air support that go in advance of the ground forces, to soften and eradicate the enemy’s forces.

Charles Spurgeon said:
“Prayer moves the arm that moves the world.”

“God has of his own motion placed himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated Himself to answer the prayers of men.

He has ordained prayer as a means whereby He will do things through men as they pray, which He would not otherwise do.

If prayer puts God to work on earth, then, by the same token, prayerlessness rules God out of the world’s affairs, and prevents him from working.

The driving power, the conquering force in God’s cause is God himself.

‘Call on Me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which though knowest not,’ is God’s challenge to prayer.

Prayer puts God in full force into God’s work.”

[E.M. Bounds “The Weapon of Prayer” Chap. 2]

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God’s timing is often much different from ours…

What if God says for us to, “Wait a minute?”

A man once asked God: “God, how long is a million years?”

God: “To me, it’s about a minute.”

The man: “God, how much is a million dollars?”

God: “To me it’s a penny.”

The man: “God, may I have a penny?”

God: “Wait a minute.” 😊

“An old Jewish prayer, uttered somewhat wistfully, begins, ‘O Lord, I know that Thou wilt help us; but wilt Thou help us *before* Thou wilt help us?’

It’s not always easy to wait for God, especially when we are in pain or anxiety, but we must never, ever, give up.”

(Hebrew for Christians)

For most of us waiting and having patience is not our strong suit.

What to do when God’s Timing Is Taking Too Long?
by Joyce Meyer

We all want good things to happen in our lives, but too often we want it now…not later.

When it doesn’t happen that way, we are tempted to ask, “When, God, when?”

Most of us need to grow in the area of trusting God instead of focusing on the “when” question.

If you’re missing joy and peace, you’re not trusting God. If your mind feels worn out all the time, you’re not trusting God.

The tendency to want to know about everything that’s going on can be detrimental to your Christian walk.

Sometimes knowing everything can be uncomfortable and can even hurt you.

I spent a large part of my life being impatient, frustrated and disappointed because there were things I didn’t know.

God had to teach me to leave things alone and quit feeling that I needed to know everything.

I finally learned to trust the One who knows all things and accept that some questions may never be answered.

We prove that we trust God when we refuse to worry.

God wants us to live by discernment—revelation knowledge, not head knowledge.

It’s difficult to exercise discernment if you’re always trying to figure everything out.

But when you’re willing to say, “God, I can’t figure this out, so I’m going to trust You to give me revelation that will set me free,” then you can be comfortable in spite of not knowing.

Trusting God often requires not knowing how God is going to accomplish what needs to be done and not knowing when He will do it.

We often say God is never late, but generally He isn’t early either.

Why? Because He uses times of waiting to stretch our faith in Him and to bring about change and growth in our lives.

Wait with Patience
We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting because change is a process.

Many people want change, but they don’t want to go through the waiting process.

But the truth is, waiting is a given—we are going to wait.

The question is, are we going to wait the wrong or right way?

If we wait the wrong way, we’ll be miserable; but if we decide to wait God’s way, we can become patient and enjoy the wait.

It takes practice, but as we let God help us in each situation, we develop patience, which is one of the most important Christian virtues.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22). It’s developed only under trial, so we must not run from difficult situations.

“But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”

—James 1:4

As we develop patience, the Bible says we finally feel completely satisfied—lacking nothing.

Even our relationship with God involves progressive changes.

My relationship with God is so much different now than it was in the early days of my Christian experience.

It is not nearly as emotionally exciting…and yet it is better.

Every change I’ve gone through has made me more mature, solid and well-grounded.

We learn to trust God by going through many experiences that require trust.

By seeing God’s faithfulness over and over, we let go of trusting ourselves, and gradually we place our trust in Him.

Looking at it like this, it is easy to see how timing plays an important part in learning to trust God.

If He did everything we asked for immediately, we would never grow and develop.

Timing and trust work side by side.

Accept God’s Timing
God gives us hopes and dreams for certain things to happen in our lives, but He doesn’t always allow us to see the exact timing of His plan.

Although frustrating, not knowing the exact timing is often what keeps us in the program.

There are times when we might give up if we knew how long it was going to take, but when we accept God’s timing, we can learn to live in hope and enjoy our lives while God is working on our problems.

We know that God’s plan for our lives is good, and when we entrust ourselves to Him, we can experience total peace and happiness.

The book of Genesis tells the story of Joseph, who waited many years for the fulfillment of the dream God had given him.

He was falsely accused and imprisoned before the time came for him to do what God had shown him he was to do.

Exodus 13:17-18 tells us that God led the Israelites the longer, harder way on their journey to the Promised Land because He knew they were not yet ready to go in.

There had to be time for their training, and they had to go through some very trying situations.

They wasted a lot of time wondering about God’s timing, but God never failed to take care of them and show them what He wanted them to do.

The same is true in our lives. It was many years after I received my call from God in February of 1976 before I finally began to see major fulfillment of what God had called me to do.

God’s training period simply requires us to do what He tells us to do when He tells us to do it…without questioning or trying to figure everything out.

Learn to Rely on God

Proverbs 16:9 says, A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

Proverbs 20:24 says, Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?

When God directs our paths, He sometimes leads us in ways that don’t make sense to us so we’re not always going to understand everything.

If we try to reason out everything, we will experience struggle, confusion and misery—but there is a better way.

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.”

This sounds so simple, yet too many people make the mistake of trying to figure everything out themselves.

Most of us have spent our lives trying to take care of ourselves, but when we accept Christ as our Savior, we must learn to trust our lives to His care.

When we do, we can say with the psalmist,

“…I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God. My times are in Your hands…”

—Psalm 31:14-15

First Peter 5:5 tells us that

“…God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.”

Anyone who thinks they’re a self-made man or woman has a rude awakening coming because Jesus said,

” …apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

—John 15:5

Humility is a covering that draws the help of God into our lives to protect us.

When we humble ourselves by saying, “God, I don’t know what to do, but I’m trusting You,” God gets in gear to help us.

God won’t allow us to succeed at anything unless we’re leaning and relying on Him.

But when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, in due time, He will exalt us (see 1 Peter 5:6).

“Due time” is God’s time, when God knows we’re ready, not when we think we’re ready. The sooner we understand and accept that, the sooner God can work His plan in our lives.

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Let God’s Word be a lamp unto our feet (Ps 119:105)…

The Berean church (from the city of Berea – in Macedonia, northern Greece) set the right example.

It can be very difficult to know what is true and what isn’t.

We often can feel a bit overwhelmed and exhausted by all the fact checking that is required for us to discern what is true.

First of all the Bible tells us that TRUTH is a Person (see John 14:6), and so in our quest to decern TRUTH we need to start with the Living Word Himself, who is Jesus the Christ (Messiah).

We are CONSTANTLY receiving new information: articles shared over mass media and on social media – from Facebook, opinions on Twitter, advertisements on Instagram, books, movies, app notifications…the list goes on and on.

Let’s look at Acts 17:10-12 and see how the Bereans handled all the information they were receiving.

“As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.”

— Acts 17:10-12

The Bereans weren’t unaware of the pressure to have correct information.

With the news Paul and Silas were spreading about Jesus, everyone was on edge.

The Gospel challenged the current thought trends on religion, politics, socioeconomics, and more.

So, choosing sides was a lot more threatening than picking Democrat or Republican.

This decision was religious rulers versus Jesus, Rome versus Jesus, cultural values versus Jesus…and behinds the scenes, Satan versus Jesus.

But in Acts 17:10-12, we see Luke write something attention-grabbing. He lifts the Berean Jews up as an example for all of us to follow.

Why did he choose to say this, out of all the people they met on their journey?

A very important characteristic stood out to him, when it came to the Berean Church — a very important one.

The scriptures tell us,

Acts 17:11

“These were more NOBLE than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

When everything they were taught was challenged by the Gospel, they didn’t run away plugging their ears or start shouting over Paul and Silas.

No, rather with eagerness and a willing mind they began the process of fact checking, to see by examining the scriptures themselves, whether the Old Testament (Tanakh) really did prophecy Jesus to be the Messiah.

In the end, they discovered the Gospel to be true and became followers of Jesus.

How can we be like the Bereans in times like this, where sometimes our long held doctrinal and religious beliefs and values are being challenged?

In scripture, we are admonished to RIGHTLY divide the truth:

2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

3:16-17 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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Here are some other recommendations that might be helpful;

• Don’t lose your temper

• Have a willing mind

• Listen to what others are saying
• Evaluate the claims others make
• Compare what we hear with Scripture
• Consider if some of your long-held interpretations of Scripture need to be re-examined
• Ask some friends to join you in your research
• Rinse and repeat

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