Friday, October 8, 2010

God Guiding Us





May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace

in believing, so that you may abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)



From time to time we find ourselves emotionally down. Our joy has seeped away; we find our peace has almost left us.

Paul speaks to the hearts of the Roman believers. He blessed them, and us, by asking God to fill us with joy and peace. Paul further gives his readers something to look forward to. They would have an abundance of hope through the strength of the Holy Spirit.

We all want to have optimism in our outlook and peace in our hearts. Without these two ingredients we wouldn’t possess a lightness of heart. Everything we might say would come across as harsh and uncaring.

When we represent Christ we want people to see Jesus in us. We want people to hear Jesus in what we say. We have to ask God to show us what He wants us to do in certain circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

First Things First




Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. (Matt.6:33)





We have all heard the expression, “First things first”. As a young teen, I heard a layman speak on this phrase and how we should apply the passage Matthew 6:33 to our lives.

When we have a decision to make a lot of us seem to run to our closest friend and tell her/him all about the circumstances. Let’s think honestly; we all have done this.

I once read a book written by Joyce Meyer. In it she said we should talk to the Lord about any problem we have before we consult with our mate, our friend, or our neighbor.

How many problems would get solved easier if we consistently took our issues to the Lord first? Would we have these times of ‘fallout’ from something being mishandled by someone being too eager and remedying the situation by dealing with it as man does?

Recently, I was caught in a circumstance where, with God’s help, I kept my tongue in check. But, I was thinking later of ways where I wouldn’t have to deal directly with this person. I had to ask the Lord to forgive me. Until I did, I looked at the issue as though I was in the right. But, I wasn’t. I hadn’t really consulted the Lord. I consulted a few of my friends, they listened. Two of them confirmed something I felt about the circumstance. But, I didn’t feel right until I asked God to forgive the person for her behavior. I forgave her through God.

Monday, October 4, 2010

“. . . faithful in prayer.”





“Be joyful in hope

, patient in affliction,

faithful in prayer.”

Romans 12:12 (NIV)



We have a practice available to use when we need the Lord’s guidance and comfort. We can pray to the Father. Taking our concerns to Jesus allows Him to work on our need. Scripturally, He tells us to go to Him and to yoke ourselves to Him.

Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing”. (Script. Ref.)

Someone once sent me an e-mail forward that talked about P.U.S.H. meaning pray until something happens. This is a good idea. Some things we include in our prayers seem to get resolved very quickly. Others take a lot of time, years even.

I like the King James Version of the word patient. He used the word ‘long-suffering’. I get a mental picture each time I think about the phrase.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...