There are needs all around us. Sometimes we can help as GOD leads and always we can pray!
2 Corinthians 1:9-11 NLT In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on GOD, who raises the dead. 10 And HE did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in HIM, and HE will continue to rescue us. 11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because GOD has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.
– The LORD is our Deliverer.- HE can pick us up and rescue us from every issue and trouble.- When things look like they will never come right, HE is still able.- The LORD is not finished with you or me, our Deliverer is coming to save us.
PRAYER: LORD, thank YOU that YOU are my Deliverer. YOU have not let me go. I am still in the palm of YOUR mighty hand and YOU will fulfill YOUR purpose for me just like YOU say YOU will do. Amen.
Have you ever wondered why GOD tells HIS servants not to be argumentative
since there is so much wrong thinking out there? It doesn’t make much
sense to us but isn’t that just what Isaiah 55:8-9 says? GOD’s ways and
thoughts are not our ways and thoughts.
Gently speaking the truth in love and then leaving it there is far
different than entering into a controversy.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 states GOD does not want us to argue our point
but be gentle. I can think of a couple of reasons why the LORD commands
us not to enter into controversies.
1) a man convinced against his will is not convinced at all.
2) No one (even a believer in JESUS) can understand the things of
GOD unless the HOLY SPIRIT explains it to us (1 Corinthians 2:10). So,
all our words mean nothing unless the HOLY SPIRIT is taking them and explaining
it to the other. That is why JESUS told the early believers to wait until they
got the HOLY SPIRIT to go out and witness to the truth (Acts 1:4, 8).
When we are argumentative, it puts the other on the defense, so he
builds a wall against our words and isn’t listening to us and also shuts out
the still small voice of the HOLY SPIRIT.
But when we are gentle as we are instructed by GOD to be, the
other often becomes more open to GOD and can hear what the SPIRIT is
saying. Then they choose what to believe but only after hearing the HOLY
SPIRIT explain it to their hearts do they have a chance to believe the truth.
The prophet Samuel told King Saul that “to obey is better
than sacrifice, and stubbornness is as idolatry and rebellion as witchcraft
(1 Samuel 15:22-23) That is strong talk isn’t it?
Just thought I’d mention what the good book says. But as
Philippians 3:15 says “if anyone is otherwise minded, GOD HIMSELF shall
reveal it to them.”
Our
days are few and are far better spent in doing good than in disputing over
matters that are, at best, of minor importance. The old scholars did a world of
mischief by their incessant discussion of subjects of no practical importance;
and our churches suffer too often from petty wars over obscure points and
unimportant questions.
After
everything has been said that can be said, neither party is any the wiser, and
therefore the discussion promotes neither knowledge nor love, and it is foolish
to sow in so barren a field.
Questions
about issues on which Scripture is silent, on mysteries that belong to God
alone, on prophecies of doubtful interpretation, and on mere modes of observing
human ceremonials are all foolish, and wise men avoid them.
Our
business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions, but to avoid them
altogether; and if we observe the apostle’s precept (Titus 3:8) to be careful
to maintain good works, we will find ourselves occupied with so much profitable
business that we will have no time to take much interest in unworthy,
contentious, and needless strivings.
There
are, however, some questions that are the reverse of foolish, which we must not
avoid but fairly and honestly meet, such as these:
Do
I believe in the LORD JESUS CHRIST?
Am
I renewed in the spirit of my mind?
Am
I walking not after the flesh but after the SPIRIT?
Am
I growing in grace?
Does
my behavior adorn the doctrine of GOD my Savior?
Do
I tell others about JESUS?
Am
I looking for the coming of the LORD and watching as a servant should who
expects his master?
What
more can I do for JESUS?
Such
inquiries as these, demand our urgent attention; and if we have been given at
all to frivolous arguments, let us now turn our critical abilities to a much
more profitable service. Let us be peacemakers and endeavor to lead others both
by our precept and example to “avoid foolish controversies.”
Back when I was in grade school just before Thanksgiving we talked about the Pilgrims and drew pictures of turkeys and such. I thought back to those days and that drawing as Thanksgiving is just days away and i read Psalm 119:19 in the Living Bible.
I am a pilgrim here on earth and I need a map. YOUR commands are my chart and guide (Psalm 119:19 LB).
To those early pilgrims everything was new and challenging and so often life as a Christian is a challenge and we constantly need to call unto the LORD and go to HIS Word to direct our path .
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge HIM (GOD) and HE will direct your path. Be not wise in your own eyes( Proverbs 3:5-7).
YOUR Words are a flashlight to light the path ahead of me, and keep me from stumbling (Psalm 119{105 LB).
Have you acknowledged GOD and received your instructions for the day?
My kids and I have been bombarded with one hard thing
right after another so as I read the Bible this morning the LORD put a smile on
my face as I read one of HIS promises.
Behold, we count them HAPPY which endure. Ye have
heard of the patience of Job, and have
seen the end of the LORD; that the LORD is very pitiful, and of tender mercy
(James 5:11).
That promise enables us to be HAPPY during the
struggles for the joy set before us for the LORD is full of mercy and will
reward those who endure. I had to share
it with my kids and the promise brought a smile to their faces too. The Word of GOD is living and ministers to
us! (Hebrews 4:12).
Then there were complications during my grandson
Zachary’s surgery when a pin broke off in his leg, then they couldn’t get his
oxygen level up so we started praying and asked others to pray.
GOD heard and answered our prayers and reminded me of
another verse..
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we
should not trust in ourselves, but in GOD which raises the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death
(past), and doth deliver (present): in whom we trust that he will yet deliver
us (future); Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift
bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks (to GOD) may be given by
many on our behalf (2 Corinthians 1:9-11).
GOD reminded us anew the rewards of joint prayer today
and through HE was glorified.
GOD desires for us to trust HIM. To trust HIM means that we have faith that what HE says is true. The 1st sin in the garden of Eden, and every other sin ever committed is based on a lack of trusting GOD’s wisdom and refusing HIS word as truth.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth (John 17:17).
Eve believed the words of the serpent instead of the words of GOD.
Sometimes we choose to believe what we FEEL is right or what SEEMS attractive to us. Each thought that overrides GOD word, every idea that says “my way is best for me” thus rejecting the instruction of the LORD of heaven and earth is nothing less that lack of faith (trust) in GOD.
We are called to walk by faith (trusting GOD and following HIS instructions) NOT SIGHT (2 Corinthians 5:7) because…
“Seeing is never believing for we interpret what we see (or feel) in the light of what we believe”/Oswald Chambers.
Often without consulting GOD we think we know best. But GOD spoke plainly in Isaiah 8:20 “ To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
In other words if what we believe is true goes against what GOD says then we don’t understand at all.
So, I urge you to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge HIM (talk it over with GOD) and HE will direct your path. Be not wise in your own eyes…” (Proverbs 3:5-7).
Remember: Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please HIM: for he that cometh to GOD must (1) believe that HE is, and (2) (believe) that HE is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Be
still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be
exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10 ).
He
will choose our inheritance for us…(Psalm 47:4)
– We often think that we know what is best for ourselves.
– The truth is that the LORD knows what is best for us in our situation.
– HE knows better than any of our imaginations, what is best for us.
– HE knows our strengths, our weaknesses, and HE knows what is best.
-Therefore,
we can trust HIM and what HE allows to touch us.
Because HE is GOD let us give HIM the glory as we believe and obey HIS word to “give thanks for all things for they are the will of GOD in CHRIST JESUS concerning us” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
PRAYER: LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, today I recognize that YOU have a plan and know better than I. I yield to that plan that YOU have designed for me for I know that is best for me and I ask YOU to touch through me those YOU put in my path. To YOU and my LORD JESUS be all praise and glory now and forever, Amen.
Stop for a moment and consider, when you pray do you ever tell the LORD who created heaven and earth what to do and then get upset or frustrated if HE doesn’t do it?
“My thoughts are completely different from yours, says the LORD.
And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are MY ways higher than your ways and MY thoughts
higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9 NLT).
We really have no real concept of how high the heavens are above
us. But to give us an inkling of how unfathomable higher GOD’s thoughts are
than ours, here are a few facts. Suppose you drew 2 circles, one large and one
small with their centers just 9 inches apart. If each inch represented 10
million miles (10,000,000) that picture would show the distance between our
earth and our sun. If you actually take a moment and draw it you will get a
better idea.
Now if you want to draw another circle to show how far the
nearest star would be the star would be 40 miles from the sun you drew on your paper.
So you really can’t do that. The nearest
star is Alpha Centauri & is 24 thousand million miles away.
(24,000,000,000,000).
That distance is hard to imagine so suppose you started out the
moment you were born and ran a mile every 4 minutes without stopping. You would
be 700 years old when you reached our sun and 182 million years old before you
reached the nearest star. And that is just the beginning… it is the closest
star in our universe of millions of stars and beyond are universes upon
universes upon universes all filled with stars and quasars and whatever else is
out there.
Those numbers blow us away. We have no concept of the distance. So
consider what the GOD who flung them all into space says. “for just as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are MY ways higher than your ways and MY
thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
The Psalmist said, “Who is man that YOU are mindful of him?”
Yet, we know from HIS word that GOD is very mindful of us. Before man was ever
formed, the eternal Triune GODHEAD devised a plan and preset the small details
of times and places for each one ever to be born (Acts 17:26). In forming us HE determined our DNA (Psalm
139). And knowing our choices before we made them HE knew that we would need a
Savior and that was planned too. JESUS,
who flung those stars into space and made everything that was made, would not
grasp HIS equality in the GODHEAD but take on the form of a servant/ the body
of a man and become obedient to the plan and carry the all sin of the world,
past present and future on HIMSELF on the cross (Philippians 2:5-8) so we could
be forgiven and reconciled if only we would believe. JESUS was risen from the
dead guaranteeing our resurrection from the dead.
Yes, GOD’s thoughts are completely different than our thoughts,
HIS ways are far beyond anything we could imagine. For just as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are HIS ways higher than our ways and HIS thoughts
higher than our thoughts. No wonder we need the Holy SPIRIT to interpret what
GOD says to us (1 Corinthians 2:10-12). Yet, in arrogancewe try to
tell HIM what to do and get mad if HE doesn’t do it our way on our time
schedule. I would say LOL but it isn’t a laughing matter.
Instead of holding on to the way
I thought GOD should act and try to push and shove for HIM to do it my way I’m
learning to ask the Eternal I AM to show me more of HIMSELF. Instead of disputing according to my limited
understanding, I ask the SPIRIT of truth (John 16:13) with whom I am sealed until
the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30) to open my understanding to the next
thing GOD wants me to see (1 Corinthians 2:10-12).
If both JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT only speak the words that THEY
are given (John 14:10, 16:13-14) how much more should we acknowledge GOD in all
things and let HIM direct our words and actions? (Proverbs 3:5-7).
Though my husband often goes to U tube, my kids and
grandchildren generally listen to music on their phones. Now when I was a
teenager in the 50s I had a boom box, but when I was pregnant with my 2nd
daughter, my husband was into going to auctions and one day came home with a
radio that looked like the one in the picture. It was really old but it actually
worked. 13 years later that second daughter got mad and threw her musical
recorder and knocked a chip out of the wood. She put a toy on top of it to hide
the damage from Dad. LOL
But the radio and it’s dials is what I’d like you to look
at. You turned a dial to turn the radio on, you turned a dial for the right
volume setting, and you turned a dial to go to the station you wanted to listen
to. Now if you wanted to listen to hip hop you wouldn’t go to a country western
station.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds
on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, (set
their minds on) the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5 NKJV).
Our own thoughts are often so loud, so consuming (the
volume turned up high) we can’t hear GOD. Our thoughts are set on another
channel as much as if our radio was set on a rap station while we wanted to
hear country.
If we have been enticed to thinking about (our minds set on)
on something we want, or how something is not fair, or the problem we are
facing will we NOT be able to hear GOD’s voice. Therefore, we have to change
stations.
But how can we quiet those thoughts screaming at us? How do
we change channels?
Personally, and this is Sharon talking now, the only way
that works for me to still those thoughts and change channels is to obey GOD’s
clear command in (2 Corinthians 10:5/ Hebrews 4:16/ Proverbs 3:5-7) Take every
thought and give them to JESUS. It sounds sort of like this, “This is what
I am thinking LORD and I can’t control those thoughts. They so fill my mind I
can’t hear YOU!”
Something happens when I discuss my screaming thoughts with
JESUS. They shut up and HE takes over. That doesn’t mean I have instant answers
but a calm comes over me and somehow I know the next step I need to take (Proverbs
3:5-7a).
HE made HIS disciples get into the boat and go before HIM to the
other side… MARK 6:45
We tend to think that if JESUS CHRIST compels us to do something
and we are obedient to HIM, HE will lead us to great success. Our dreams of
success are not necessarily GOD’s purpose for us. In fact, HIS purpose may be
exactly the opposite.
We have an idea that GOD is leading us toward a particular assignment
but that may or may not be. The question of whether or not we succeed is of
little importance. What matters is what
we learn of HIM along the way. For the
clearer we see HIM the more we reflect HIM to others (2 Corinthians 3:18) and
open their hearts to listen to the conviction of the HOLY SPIRIT (2 Timothy
2:24-26).
The disciples thought it was their responsibility to get to the
other side but JESUS purpose in sending them was to reveal HIMSELF as able to
walk on water and calm the storm (Mark 6:51).
What do I think GOD’s purpose is for me? Whatever it may be, HIS
purpose is for me to depend on HIM and on HIS power right now. To stay calm,
faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life by knowing
that HE is with me the goal of the purpose of GOD is being accomplished in me. What HE desires for me is that I see “HIM
walking on the sea” having the absolute certainty that everything is all right
because HE is there with me (Hebrew 13:5-6).
GOD’s training is for now, not later. HIS purpose is for this
very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what
will follow our obedience to the demands of the moment, and we are wrong to
concern ourselves with it. What people call problems, GOD sees as that which is
achieving (2 Corinthians 4:15-16) awesome results.
GOD’s purpose is to enable me to see HIM in everything. See that HE can walk on the storms of my life
right now. If we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each
moment becomes precious.
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide (walk
with) JESUS. We have to learn to see and
depend on HIM wherever we are placed, whatever is going on around us and to
leave the outcome to HIM.
LORD, what a joy it is to know that YOU know everything about me. YOU know the issues and hopes that are deep within my heart. YOU are close to me when I am at my lowest and YOU step in and rescue me. It is such peace to know that YOUR great desire for me is to know YOU more (2 Peter 1:1-4). LORD I love YOU and want to do YOUR will. Amen
wakemyear 