You Can Comfortably Rest in Him

(Intentional Prayer)

Pray the Scriptures – My Prayer:

Intermittent Audio Prayer Break:

(Available When God Says So – Listen and Pray Along)

Lord, when I come to You, tired in my body, exhausted in my thought processing, frazzled in my soul, I know that I come to the God of my salvation who offers complete rest for me.

El Shaddai, God Almighty, I know that I am able to transfer all that I carry, upon Your shoulders, releasing the heaviness that this life attempts to outfit me in each day. From Your well, filled with unconditional love and grace and mercy, I am able to draw all the resources that I need.

As one of the many benefits offered to me, You so graciously maintain an open door policy, through Jesus Christ, which always and without reservation needed, allows me to lay my weight upon Your throne. When I come to You, in my weary condition, carrying these heavy burdens, You provide the accommodations and rest that is essential to me. When I take Your yoke upon me, You teach me, because You are humble and gentle at heart, and I will find rest for my soul. For Your yoke is easy to bear, and the burden You give me is light.

I praise You for Your provision of rest that covers me.

First Things First

(Intentional Prayer)

Pray the Scriptures – My Prayer:

Lord, I have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear as long as I put things in the right order, by putting first things first. Jesus directly tells me what I am supposed to do. I am not to worry about everyday life—whether I have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and my body more than clothing? Everything is in Your great care and under Your mighty authority; therefore, these are things that I am able to entrust to You.

These worries and cares of life I place them in Your hands.

Lord, in lieu of concerning myself with what You have already prearranged, I will seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and You will give me everything I need.

Thank You Lord for order, and for allowing me to see myself and the area’s that You are telling me to hand over to You. The things that I cannot fix, I must give those back to You and let You do what only El Shaddai, God Almighty can do. My assignment is to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness and all these things, the desires of my heart, will be given to me, according to Your will and faithfulness towards me.

You’ve Been Accepted: Partnership Agreement with Jesus Christ

Being in partnership with Jesus Christ fits all of the pieces of our lives together like that of a puzzle. It does not matter how many scattered parts of your life there are, God has a place for each piece. He connects them together to form a beautiful picture of your life in Christ Jesus. Once we are in agreement with Him, our lives flow more smoothly and in the right direction. We are no longer going against the current. All of our steps proceed according to God’s will and plan for our lives.

What an amazing partnership this is!

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NLT) says,
God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Naming of the Partnership

In an earthly partnership, one of the first things you must do is agree on a name for your partnership. Last names can be used, such as Smith & Wesson, or a fictitious name can be adopted. When we entered into our partnership with Jesus Christ our Lord, we took on His name, His identity; we became God’s child and now are in relationship or partnership with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three are one.

I thought about some names that could possibly be used:

• Blessed to be a Blessing
• Jesus Christ Victory Central
• Deliverance HQ (Headquarters)
• No Longer Bound War Room
• Face to Face in the Place
• Heavenly Way the Only Way

These names are interchangeable and can be referred to at any time in reference to the partnership. When you say them, you know that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are present in the board room with you.

Falling Apart

Things are just falling apart!

Words we have all uttered, perhaps, or heard spoken by someone close to us.

When things appear to be caving in around us, we tend to want to do something, anything to salvage what we deem important and necessary to us. Often, we do not even pray and ask questions like,

“God, are You trying to change something in my life? What are You trying to show me, Lord?”

There are many times when parts of our lives should be condemned or demolished because they do not fall within the will and plan of God, but we continue to fight to hold on to what never should have been allowed in our lives in the first place. There are instances where it is possible that we need to stop trying to keep it all together and let the broken pieces fall. After that, we will be in a position to allow God to work through us to rebuild the shattered fragments.

Let us take an excursion with Nehemiah for a bit.

Nehemiah 1:3-4 (NLT) says,
³ They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” ⁴ When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah hears a discouraging report and turns to God in prayer.

Nehemiah learns that the wall of Jerusalem has been torn down and the gates have been destroyed by fire. When he was informed of this, he sat down and wept. In fact, for days, he mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. He did not just go running in to the situation trying to resolve things on his own. He grieved over the chaos that had been allowed because of the sin and eventual exile of God’s people.

Nehemiah did what we should do when things have fallen apart. He sought the direction of God.

That needs to be my first response when I hear discouraging news. I must go to God in prayer.

The reason for the destruction of the wall was because of the Israelites continued disobedience. They were taken captive by the Babylonians and were in exile for 70 years. This happened during the time of the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was to bring God’s words to nations and kingdoms (“to build and to plant”). His work was to warn not only the Jews but all the nations of the world about God’s judgment for sin.

To make a long story short, God’s people would not take heed to the warnings that God spoke through Jeremiah. As a result, there were some things that the people had to go through. When we fail to take heed to the warnings that God sends our way through His Word, the Bible, or through messages or sermons we may hear or read, we are in for some tough times ahead.

But God! He promises restoration when we repent and turn back to Him.

Let God Take The Crumbs and Fill You Up

On a not so pleasant day, our human nature that is still a part of who we are, even as believers in Christ, can get the best of us.

With tears streaming down my face, I found myself reflecting on the current status of my life. I strive not to complain because things could be so much worse, and they have been, in different aspects of my wilderness experience; and it is so, for others, right now. Nevertheless, sometimes I find myself with an uncontrollable need to vent, be that as it may, just to find some type of relief and a reason to keep advancing through the ordeals of my existence.

Discouragement, on occasion, comes, even in the journey of a born again follower of Jesus, our resurrected Savior. God created us and He knows that more often than not, Satan will attempt to take over our thoughts and leave us in a place of perceiving as though we are forever surrounded with nothingness; just the meager crumbs handed to us on the plate of life. We were warned of this. God’s Word clearly states that Satan comes to steal and kill and destroy, but Christ came that we may have life, and have it to the full.

It was a conversation that I was having with my mom, as I drove the same road home that I drive every day. I came to the realization that in this season of my life, there is rarely an abundance, but rather an unending experience of crumbs. I find this to be currently true in my relationship with my son, in relationships with others, and in the resources that should be available to me for sustenance in this life. There never seems to be enough to nourish me or fill me up. 

What am I supposed to do with these crumbs?

Let’s take a look at the Faith of a Canaanite Woman in the Bible. We find in Matthew 15:21-28, when Jesus journeyed to the region of Tyre and Sidon, a woman came crying to Him for help. You see, she too, was trying to make sense of the crumbs she was given. Her daughter was demon-possessed and was suffering terribly. She had an urgent need and the only one who could meet that need was Jesus. But, He did not answer her. He was silent.

Keep Praying

(Intentional Prayer)

Pray the Scriptures – My Prayer:

God Your Word says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that I should never stop praying. So, I come to You this day with my heart opened to receive. You are always faithful and Your mighty hand is here to rescue me from my distress.

According to Your Word in Romans 12:2, You tell me that I am not to copy the behavior and customs of this world. Instead, I am to let You transform me into a new person by changing the way that I think. God, I ask You to get into all of my thoughts. When doubt comes, when discouragement lingers, God, I ask You to replace that with memories of Your steadfast love and Your grace and mercy that You display in my life on a daily basis. Unlike those who have not chosen you, I have something to hold on to. I already have the Victory through Jesus Christ. There is none like You. You sustain me in my storms and You cover me with Your arms of protection.

In the Darkness

“God, I just don’t understand!“

Have you ever uttered those words. It seems like darkness is all around you, like God isn’t really hearing your specific prayers.

John 13:7 (NLT) says,
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

God does things His own way and we just have to trust that He knows best. It’s as simple as that. That financial struggle that you are in, those wayward children, those stresses on the job can seem as if it is too much to bear. You try to move forward with hopeful anticipation in what God is doing and is going to do, but anxiety seems to rise up again at every turn.

“God, it seems like things are getting worse, yet I know that you are moving!” 

God tends to only show us one step at a time. During these times, we must hold on to our faith and know that God is in control. Things may appear out of sync and out of place, but God knows what He is doing. He has an order to the steps that He is taking in our lives.

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) says,
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

We must allow our faith to show the reality of what we hope for, when we cannot see it.

While we wait, we can worship the Lord, and in so doing, we can forget about all of our troubles and rest in Him. We can rest knowing that He’s got a plan and a way that He is choosing to bring about our deliverance. We have to trust in His ways, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense to us. We must choose to see with eyes of Faith.

Good Plans from God

(Intentional Prayer)

Pray the Scriptures – My Prayer:

Lord, Your Word says in Jeremiah 29:11-13, that you know the plans that you have for me. Thank you Lord that I don’t have to figure things out for myself. God Your Word says that these plans that you have for me are to prosper me and not to harm me. These plans are to give me hope and a future.

Lord, I put all of my hope in you. I cannot make this journey without you. I must keep my eyes on Jesus, every step of the way. Then I can move forward with confidence knowing that Christ is leading the way to my Overwhelming Victory.

God, Your Word goes on to say that when I call on you and come and pray to You, that You will listen to me. When I seek you, I will find you as long as when I seek you I do it with all my heart. God, I give you my whole heart. I want to know you more and have the ability to apply this knowledge to my daily life. Help me to help those within my level of influence to draw closer to you.

As I pray these prayers of faith, Lord, I know that You are listening and that You hear every word. You care about me God.

As Promised…The Importance of the Spirit Filled Life

So, here it is…my panel presentation, as promised. If you are not sure what I am referring to, please read my post entitled Wilderness Experience.

Theme: “The Importance of the Spirit Filled Life”

Topic: “Undertaking the Spirit Filled Life”

There must be a willingness to:

1. Separate from all sin – 2 Corinthians 6:14-17
2. Surrender to his service – Romans 12:1-2
3. Saturate with the Scriptures – Psalm 1:1-2
4. Stand upon his saying – John 7:37-39

There are those special preachers, teachers, missionaries and evangelists of the Gospel who are called to lead a larger group of individuals; then there is this group called “us’s” who God uses in our smaller circles of influence and that is the direction or focus that my topic has taken for this evening. So, I hope that it is beneficial to someone in the room.

My Topic is: Undertaking the Spirit Filled Life.

In order to undertake the Spirit filled life, there must be a willingness to SEPARATE FROM ALL SIN.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (NLT) says:

The Temple of the Living God
¹⁴Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? ¹⁵What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? ¹⁶And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
¹⁷Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.

When we confess our sins to God and accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we are free and separated from a sinful life. We are not someone who cannot sin, but someone who is no longer a slave to sin. We belong to God. We have chosen to turn from sin and to accept the gift of Salvation that is offered to everyone. True repentance of sin means to turn 180 degrees and not look back. It is a change of heart and we need the Spirit of God to cause that change to occur.