Tag: Bible Verse

“Honor God!”

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“For those who honor Me I will honor,” 1 Samuel 2:30

One day, some years ago, I remember when my son accompanied me to the grocery store to do some shopping. He was wearing his military uniform at that time and when people saw him they kept stopping him to shake his hand, to talk to him, or to tell him to keep up the good work. They were proud of him. They honored him for his service.

You know, as a mom, how I felt. I really thought it was something special for people to recognize him and his service to our country in that way. As much as I love the many fields in which one can be honored (military, teachers, firefighters, police officers, and many, many others), no one deserves our respect and adoration more than God. It is customary to stand to our feet when a judge enters a courtroom and there is a hush in the crowd when they bang that gavel. What about God?

Too many go through their day without ever considering the fact that hey, He is God, and He should be before all others. With that realization in hand, I want my life to reflect that great truth. I want every word, every action and every thought to magnify the greatness of who He is and all of His glory. When I go about my day I want people to see Him in me. Do I make mistakes? Oh, yeah! But, I have a goal. I aspire to do better and to be better every day. God has been so good and wonderful to me, and I feel that as His child the least I can do is showing Him the honor due Him.

“Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” (Ps. 29:1-2). These two verses have been among favorites of mine for many years now. When you think of “giving to the Lord” one realizes just how futile our efforts can be because of His vast greatness. But, something that each of us can give is honor. Not only can we gift it to Him, but it is a gift that He in turns honors.

“For those who honor Me I will honor.” Our God is an appreciative God and He believes in rewarding them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). If you don’t like the returns you have been getting in life examine what you have given. And let me make myself really clear at this point. I DO NOT want you to see the above statement as to how you can get something from God. These things will happen because it’s what the Bible promises.  It’s a residual effect of obedience.  Instead, I want you to just focus on God because He is God and not what you can get from Him.  Just honor God because He is WORTHY!

“SIT AT THE FEET OF JESUS!”

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Jesus told Martha she was worried about many
things, but only one thing was needful: to
sit at His feet, to be where He is, to hear what
He speaks.

Worrying about many things has a way of
distracting us from Jesus and robbing us
of the joy of being where He is. Sometimes
we have the “I can’t help it” attitude. It is
then when we need to really cast these cares
on Him so that we can enjoy the life He
intended for us to have in Him. Father God,
Help us to let go and let God so that we can
sit at the feet of Jesus in peace. Amen!

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The Process of a Champion

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You could’ve taken off like a rocket ship with tanks of fuel lighting your tail, sending you fast to reach the stars. Yet, God chose a different journey; one with a paced climb, step by step, your path ascending a little higher each day.

Sometimes it seems slow. Painfully so.  But, have you ever considered it just means the potential on the inside is powerful.  Therefore, great care has to be taken in developing, caring, and raising your growth inch by inch.

Shooting high and shooting fast – the world has enough of that. Superstars with no substance are all they are.  But, God made you to be a champion.

So what’s the big deal?

Champions create change. Champions endure – they tough it out.  They fight the cause with the very last breath, staking their all to see victory come to its best.  They are a peculiar creature not willing to forgo the promise or give up too quickly on the process.  There’s a hope and a knowing that if they just stay on the wheel a little while longer the Master will develop a treasure from this little lump of clay.

Your value is too precious to be rushed. Let those who will zoom if they please.  But you, my friend, take joy in knowing there is great care being taken in making you who He wants you to be.  So, let Him have His way and perfect the precious in you.

Spotlight creepers. Thrill seekers.  This course is not for you.  Only champions, whose heart will bend to His molding; who will ride the wheel to impact lives will understand this can’t be rushed. They are created for more and with that, embrace the process of being shaped, knowing dear champion, that’s who God wants you to be.

“. . . Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand . . .” Jeremiah 18:6

“There is power in the prayers of the righteous!”

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Every day we have opportunities to lift another
in prayer. As we go through the normality of
our lives and routines, there will be moments
when the awareness of the needs of others
should cause us to move from our positions of
comfort to that of being an active intercessor
because we care about the one struggling on
the other side of the store. We are concerned
at the weaving of the reckless driver on the
highway. Our hearts are touched when we see
the sad eyes of the hurting and just want to do
something about it. We can. You can.

Intercede on behalf of another, and pray.
We can contact heaven on behalf of any and
all to hope for a positive difference in their
circumstances and life. There is power in
the prayers of the righteous.

“What God starts in you, He’s going to Finish!”

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Don’t get discouraged by what you see before you now. Setbacks occur in life but they do not define you if you don’t let them. You ARE NOT a finished product yet. God is STILL molding you and shaping you. You are currently under HOLY CONSTRUCTION and “WHAT GOD STARTS IN YOU, HE’S GOING TO FINISH IT!”
 
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,” Philippians 1:6

“Do More Than Pray. Believe!”

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 “Why could we not cast him out?  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief,” Matthew 17:19b-20a, KJV

 This is where the proverbial “rubber meets the road,” or where the heart meets with true faith.  Jesus’ disciples tried to cast a demon out of the man’s son but to no avail.  The Bible says, “They could not cure him,” (Mt. 17:16, KJV).  They didn’t get the results of their prayer on that day.  Perplexed they asked Jesus about what happened.  Jesus’ response was very simple.  He told them it was “because of your unbelief.”

Sometimes in life, I think we tend to downplay the importance of our faith and what we believe.  We hear about it so much that I think as Christians we have become desensitized to its power in both our spiritual and our natural lives.  This is not what it should be since we are told in four verses of the Bible, “The just shall live by his faith,” (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38, KJV).

Our faith, our belief should be the marker for everything in our lives.  Not just for salvation, but for every action and prayer.  We know all the right words to say and all the proper “Christian” motions to make, but is our faith alive and put into full force action?

If you feel a little waning in this area and if you feel like Jesus is talking to you, here are some steps to build up your faith and belief:

1. Pray:  Yup, that’s right!  Keep praying.  Jesus did not have an issue with their prayer; He had a problem with their lack of belief in their prayer.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them,” (KJV, see also Mt. 21:22; Ja. 1:16).  Continue to pray, yet make sure you believe in your prayer being heard and you believe in the One who hears your prayer and is able to be your help (more on this a little later).  Many ask a lot of things of the Lord, but those that catch His attention the most are those who have faith when they ask.  On several occasions, Jesus said it’s because of “your faith” that healing has taken place (Mt. 9:22; Mk. 10:52).  Too many people focus on the right words to say during prayer when the real focus should be on Whom we believe.  Do our heart’s match up with the words that are coming out of our mouths or are they just that, words, instead of a powerful instrument implemented by what we believe?  Your faith matters more than your words.

2. Nourish:  Every believer has to nourish their faith with a daily diet of the Word of God.  “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart…,” (Jer. 15:16, KJV).  We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat” and no truer is it than here.  Our natural bodies depend on us to eat properly for it to maintain its daily functions.  Our spirit depends on us to fill it with the necessary spiritual nutrients to help our faith and belief thrive to be all that God has designed for you and me to be.  A rich diet in God’s Word will supply the believer with encouragement, wisdom and truth to hold on to their faith and to build the spiritual muscle to believe more.  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” (Mt. 4:4, KJV).

3. Rest:  Not only rest in our salvation but also in the fact that He heard (told you there was more 🙂 ).  “For we which have believed do enter into rest…,” (Heb. 4:3, KJV).  “I called on the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me…,” (Ps. 118:5, NKJV; see also my article “Know That God Hears!”).  We have to trust in Him to handle our prayers.  That’s what resting is all about.  We prayed it, we committed it to Him, and we rest.  Is this hard to do sometimes?  Yes, but oh so needful.  It’s disciplining ourselves like Jesus did when He spoke at Lazarus’ tomb saying, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me,” (John 11:41, KJV).  He didn’t try to persuade God, He rested in the fact that He knew already that God heard Him.  We have to discipline ourselves to rest in Him.  Those that are in a continual state of worry are not resting.  Rather, they are anxious over the conditions in their life.  Paul said, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 4:6-7, KJV).  Peace will cover the one who prays it and gives it to God allowing him/her to rest.

Is this a sure-fire way to have God answer your prayers the way you want?  NOPE!!!  Nonetheless, we still are to be people who believe when we pray.  Unbelief will cause you and I to miss out on the amazing things that God wants to do in and through us.  Don’t take that chance today.  Don’t ever stop praying but do more than just pray – BELIEVE!

“Reap Rejoicing!”

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Image by Wolfgang Heubeck from Pixabay

“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bring his sheaves with him,” Psalm 126:5-6, NKJV

Good Friday or Holy Friday, no matter which name you call it by, it was a day of great tears and sorrow that ushered in a day of rejoicing.

From the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed earnestly until His sweat became as great drops of blood (Luke 22:44), to the illegal trials at night that stripped away any rights He may have had in the human form, Jesus knew anguish.  He knew more than just the heaviness of heart.  He experienced deep, physical pain – yet, the night was not over.

Had it stopped at the trials and mockery, some would say it was tolerable (though I wouldn’t).  Let us not take lightly all that Christ endured on that night.  For He not only bore the pain of stripes and nails, but He carried the weight of the world.  He carried the soul’s destiny for every human that ever walked the face of this earth.

It was a time of great sadness.  As a parent mourns over a wayward child, Jesus carried the burden of people in His bosom.  Earlier He said, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37, KJV).

Now, on this night of sorrow, spiritually He is doing just that.  No one could ever put into words the pain of what it felt like to hang on that cross and bear the sins of the world.  But, as He hung there, with blood pouring down, He was in the gathering process.  That’s why He couldn’t come down because even as He was nailed and left to die, He with great sorrow and tears, was working at gathering that would eventually lead to rejoicing.

What a clear head and frame of mind our Lord kept through it all.  Most of us would have gone into survival mode under such duress, thinking of ourselves.  Jesus went to survival mode, too.  Not for Himself rather, “To seek and to save that which was lost,” (Luke 19:10, KJV).

As He hung there, He thought about all those that are captive by sin and needed a great deliverance.  These people staring at Him as He bled knew a little something about being a people held captive.  Their history repeats over and over again how they were forced out of their promised land due to sin and negligence.

But God didn’t leave them like that.  In each instance, He brought a plan of deliverance and salvation into the mix.  When they cried out, He saved them and brought them back to their homeland.  They shed many tears as the farmer scatters seeds.  Just like the seed, there comes a time where sowing stops and gathering begins and “shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him.”

As He hung there, Jesus was doing both.  Sowing: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit,” (John 12:24, KJV).  He was also gathering:  “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.  This He said, signifying by what death He would die,” (John 12:32-33, NKJV).

Jesus was sowing the seed in tears and at the same time reaping with rejoicing.  On this Good Friday; this Holy Friday, we are now the benefactors of that great work done on the cross.  When God brought the children of Israel back from captivity, the nations said, “The LORD has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:2, NKJV).  Their response was, “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad,” (Psalm 126:3, NKJV).

Jesus brought us out of captivity on that Friday.  Through our life of sinfulness, we have experienced many tears.  Through the sins of others, we will sow many tears.  Now, because of Christ, we can also “Reap Rejoicing.”  “And, we are glad!”

“There is power in prayer!”

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“Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.” Acts 12:5 (read Acts 12:1-11)

Martin Luther is quoted as saying, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Why is that? Because as breath is with the body, with each inhale and exhale one’s life is sustained; so is the prayer line that fosters that interpersonal relationship between God and man. It is not only life-sustaining, but it’s soul-sustaining keeping that glorious love connection betwixt the two opened and flowing.

Prayer is and of itself a discipline where one places themselves at the feet of the Almighty; to draw near to Him; to get to know Him more. Yet, prayer is often as well a plea of desperation when the times and trials of this life are too hard to bear. When we are at the end of our rope; or, when we just don’t understand what is happening or the road we should take – we pray.

We pray because deep within ourselves we know that try as we might, we can find no better help. Nor, is there any higher intervention than that which comes from God. Therefore, through prayer, we seek the release of His help and power into our problems, our lives, and the lives of those whom we intercede for.

Prayer is, and becomes, that connective key where God and man meet to converse on an intimate level, recognizing His greatness and sovereignty in the midst of our humanness and weaknesses.

And, this is what the church was hoping for when they offered up prayers on behalf of Peter who was now in prison. By this time persecution was not a new thing to the church. Throughout the Book of Acts, there are uprisings against the faith. The idea of the church enduring hardship was not going away anytime soon.

As a matter of fact, James, one of Jesus’s original disciples, was killed in the process by the sword (beheading, some say). Then, seeking, even more, favor among men, Herod proceeded further in attacking the church and imprisoning Peter also.

The Bible tells us, “Prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him,” (Acts 12:5). This is the epitome of what it means when the Psalmist declared, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD. . .” (Psalm 121:1-2a).

Pain and suffering were taking place in the church but hope was not lost because their hope was not in the circumstances that surrounded them – their hope was in God who reigned above them.

Therefore, they prayed!

Don’t tell me prayer doesn’t matter; that it doesn’t make a difference. Yes, it does! God will literally make chains fall off and set captives free through the power of prayer (as He does for Peter here).

Unbeknownst to Peter, God heard their prayers and He was working on his case. Peter, shackled and asleep between two soldiers, was about to experience a miraculous breakthrough of a lifetime. He may have been appointed to be kept under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each; but, Peter had just one God that would step in and free him from their midst.

See, it doesn’t matter how bad they have you wrapped up, God can break through it all. It doesn’t matter how many chains and shackles the enemy will try to place on you, prayer to the right Source; to God alone, will free you from their hold.

Peter was getting an up close and personal lesson in this area. God sent an angel to come to Peter in the night. With light filling the prison house the angel stood before Peter and aroused him from his sleep by hitting him on his side.  He spoke, “Arise up quickly,” (Acts 12:7). And, immediately his chains fell off.

Through the initial intervention of prayer, God was literally breaking chains off of Peter to set him free! You have to get happy about that and feel it in your spirit what God wants to do for His people. God will move and instruct His heavenly hosts to work on your behalf as He did for Peter through the power of prayer.  Never underestimate the power of God. He can do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,” (Ephesians 3:20).

The church was praying corporately and God was listening attentively, and He was working it out. When the shackles fell from his hands, the angel then instructed Peter to get himself together and put his shoes on and to follow him (Acts 12:8).

Acts 12:10 tells us, “When they were past the first, and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.” Amazing!  You have to admire the beauty of it all coming together. God not only freed him, but took him past one enemy, and then another enemy. He took him through the prison and out the huge iron gate unknown to anyone. This blew my mind. None of the enemies had a clue to what God was up to in freeing Peter. I don’t know if they were all in a heavy sleep or not, but God did it. He freed Peter.

Peter’s freedom was spawned through the prayers of the church. Yes, God could most certainly move without the intervention of anyone. But, here in these verses, a special note was made to stand out that when they prayed; when they got together collectively and on one accord to seek for Peter’s freedom, that’s when the miracle happened. God wants us to know the importance and the power of prayer. He said, “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me,” (Psalms 50:15).

Prayer was a huge key at work in the moving and miracles of the first-century church and it should be a huge key at work in our current lives and ministries as well. Paul later teaches, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting,” (1 Timothy 2:8). There is never a wrong time or place to pray. And, when you pray – BELIEVE! Believe that He hears, and believe that He will answer as He sees fit.

Your prayers DO make a difference. There is power in prayer! “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:7-11).

God made the impossible happen for Peter and He can do so in the church today. People can be freed. Chains can be broken. Ministries can flourish through the power of prayer. Prayer never hurts anyone, but it can always help everyone.  We are told, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit,” (James 5:16-18).

What can you do through your prayer life?

Trust and believe that your prayers are never wasted; that there is power in prayer. Prayer can reach where physically we cannot. Prayer can go behind the veil into the throne room of God. Think about that for a second and let it sink in. Didn’t the book of Hebrews tell us, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)? This is done through prayer.

We are not alone in this life. Our way of viewing things and situations can become impaired in our day to day struggles. We may feel like we don’t have power to do anything; as if we are in the dark, but prayer offers a light of hope.

Whether falling on our knees or reverently and silently offering up with heart pleas and thanksgivings to God, your prayers matter.

We serve a God who wants to hear from us and invites us to pray.  We will never know all the ins and outs of why God answers some prayers immediately, and why with some He chooses a different course. But, I do know this; prayer is never wasted, nor is it a waste of time. God hears each and every petition. He’s paying attention to the cause of His people. Don’t be discouraged if it seems like it’s not coming through for you like you want it to. God may have a greater course of destination in mind. Just hold on, keep the faith, and never stop praying. There is power in prayer!