Choose to Pray (Examples of fervent, effective prayers found in I and II Kings – Old Testament) In I Kings 8, in Solomon’s Prayer when dedicating the Temple of the Lord, he mentions several situations when people find themselves in need: 1) when someone wrongs another 2) when defeated in battle 3) when there has been no rain 4) when calamities and disaster strikes 5) when someone needs mercy 6) when people go into battle 7) when they sin against God 8) when they repent and return. Solomon continues by asking the Lord, “when they return to you with all …
Individuals are Accountable
What is God’s Will for Your Life? In I Thessalonians, we learn that God’s Will for us is our sanctification. ( I Thess. 4:3) Sanctification is God’s work in us as we grow spiritually, living in holiness pleasing and honoring Him. We are set apart for service and holiness. It is a process of maturing in our faith and becoming more and more like Jesus. The hymnist gives us direction: “Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord; Abide in Him always, And feed on His Word; Make friends of God’s children, Help those who are …
Spiritual Exercise
Most of my adult life, I have been dedicated to physical exercise of some sort. Once I started in my early 30’s, I soon noticed how much better I felt when I did it regularly. But, more important than this is spiritual exercise. Engaging the mind in heavenly things is what I need to work on. Without a regular dose of spiritual exercise it could leave one’s life with a void and without meaning. Commit to exercising your spiritual muscles. Read the Bible. Talk to God, daily. Step out in faith in all areas of life. Once you …
Doubting
Reading: 1 John 5:11-13 Many Christians struggle with doubting their salvation. When we experience this, it’s important to know we’re not alone. Others before us have experienced the same thing. The feeling we get when we’re in doubt can be gut-wrenching because the possibility of not living in Heaven, and being condemned to Hell is a valid concern. These occurrences can happen in phases, where we are confident in our salvation for years, but for some reason, we go through days, weeks, or even months, wrestling with ‘what ifs.’ Maybe it’s not us. It may be a friend or family member …
Do We Attract or Repel?
As I was praying the other day with our children, we were burdened with the reality of sin. They weren’t getting along and the morning was about to go sideways. So we stopped and spent some much-needed time in prayer. While praying, I was reminded of a visual of a magnet and its pull. On one side, it attracts, but on the other side, it repels. Our lives can also be like that. My prayer was that we would be the part of the magnet that draws things to us that are good, like kindness, goodness and patience. That the …
The Platter
When I was making the most recent birthday cake I had a particular platter that I wanted to put it on. Try as I might to look for it I could not find it anywhere. I could even remember putting it somewhere but couldn’t quite remember just where. Then while I was texting my precious cousin sister friend in faith, I told her to please pray that I would find that platter. She prayed right there on the text. And I told her I would text her as soon as I found it. I returned to the search with a …
The Wind and the Waves Obey Him
I woke up to the sound of wind and rain, so I checked the weather channel to see just how windy it was. To my surprise it said, “wind out of the WSW at 0 miles an hour”. It thought it was wind, but maybe it was just rain. What I did notice while on the website was a weather link that read, “extreme drought prompts governor to call for weekend of prayer”. So much comes to mind in those messages. I remembered the Scriptures that say the wind and the waves obey Him. Aren’t we glad we aren’t bound …
Chronic to Release
We woke up early one morning. By early I mean way before 4:30 am, which is my usual wake up time. Hubby’s back was hurting a little, so we decided to get up and move around. It made me think of one of our precious family members who has truly suffered with back problems for many years. In fact they’ve had surgery several times, alleviating the problem some each time. Recently they had surgery again, but this time the outcome seems to be much more effective. Hopefully and prayerfully, her chronic back pain has truly come to an end. So …
Pre-existing Conditions
But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:34) Are You Ready? I remember watching the news one day as additional information regarding SARS-COV2 aka COVID-19 became readily available. The news-anchor mentioned that individuals with “pre-existing conditions” i.e. asthma, hypertension and diabetes were considered to be more at risk to the complications associated with this microscopic virus. As time passed and as we are all collectively seeing, the number of people inflicted with COVID-19 is at …
Humble Yourself
He is able to humble those who walk in pride (Daniel 4:36) For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:11) During my devotion time this morning, God reminded me to continue my journey through the book of Daniel which I started earlier this month, but I got a little sidetracked until I picked it back up again this morning. All I can say is if you have not read the book of Daniel recently, I encourage you to do so during this dry valley of a season we are …
A Necessary Repentance
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) I recently had a “Lauryn Hill kind of day”, where I needed to hear words that I feel but sometimes hard to comprehend. Have you ever been there? Well, I listened to one of her songs from an album that is decades old; a song that I have repeated over and over again before and the following words ignited something within me that I knew eventually …
Lay It Aside And Rest
This morning I am reminded that although I wear glasses, I don’t keep them on at night. I don’t sleep with them. I remove them and lay them aside. God speaks to my heart. Just as I lay aside my glasses at night so that I can sleep comfortably, so too He wants me to lay aside the troubles, the questions, the concerns of the day. He wants me to sleep well at night and I can’t if I don’t lay it all down. Oh beloved, what have you been wrangling with? What are you carrying to bed with you? …
