Faith in the present tense….

Hebrews 11:1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. NOW faith is … not yesterday … not next week … NOW. You can’t believe that God is going to heal you someday. You’ll never get healed. You have to believe you are healed right now before it will work. “Now faith is …”

(Mark 11:24) Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Jesus is speaking and He is saying something very important. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever you desire … things … Health or other promises of God. Believe that you receive them … Received them … He didn’t say feel you receive them … He said when you pray believe you have received them, and you shall have them! When you pray … is now believe you have receive … is now. And you shall have them … is future. If you believe Gods word …and act on it, (that’s faith) … you shall have them. In other words He will bring them into the physical world to you. If you don’t act on His words you will not get it.

Now if you believe that you have received it than you will not pray for it again. Why ask God for something you already have? If you ask again it would mean you didn’t believe you got it the first time … If that is what you believe than you won’t get it. Faith is acting on God’s word, even if you don’t see it. For we walk by faith not by sight. If we act on God’s word He will fulfill the promise. “Believe you have received them, and you shall have them.” Many of us are waiting for God to work a miracle or give us a healing, and then we will believe it. (Luke 6:46) And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? But, you see, you have to believe you have it NOW. Act like it’s true, and then the power of God comes. Because that’s how faith works, dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, following God’s instructions exactly.

Confession…one of the hardest things we can do, but the best healer of all.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.—James 5:16

Have you ever been wrong and refused to admit ot confess the act? I have recently been put into the position where I am being persecuted to the point of disbelief. I watch these people accuse me, then refuse to admit they were, or did, anything wrong. While I wish I could get an apology from them, my biggest concern is for the damage they are doing to themselves by not admiting their sin.

No one enjoys admitting they are wrong. We hope our spouse or kids or friends will overlook our shortcomings and not call us out on the mistakes we make. We want to preserve the appearance of having our life pulled together. No one wants to say, “I was wrong, and I’m sorry!”

But by avoiding those painful words, we miss the blessing that follows. When a wound is cleaned, the healing can begin. If we live with sin festering in our life, we miss the healing and wholeness that God has made available to us.

James tells us the next step after confession is also important for healing—we must also pray for each other. It’s hard to be angry with someone for whom we are honestly praying. By asking God to work through each other to advance his kingdom, we might find we can forgive as we have been forgiven.

Prayer

Gracious Lord, grant us the courage to admit our failings and to confess them to one another. Help us to forgive each other and to pray for those whom you have placed in our lives. Amen.

Carijng about what happens to others, the lost art.

Have you ever confided in someone about what’s troubling you only to have them turn and walk away like they could care less? Have you ever heard someone tell you their troubles and realized later that you inadvertantly dismissed them and just walked away witout even trying to be there for them? If either of these things have happened to you, you’re in the company of a lot of modern-day Christians. The act of carrying each others burdens is vanishing from out lives today, and it’s getting serious.

From a young age, children struggle to be independent: “I can do it myself!” We idolize independence and self-sufficiency. We value people who can “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.” We pride ourselves in being “better” than others around us.

But Christ has a different idea about how we should interact with one another. We should be caring for one another and involved in each other’s lives.

This way of being connected means we care enough about our neighbors to find out what burdens they carry. In communities where we may not even know the names of our neighbors, God nudges us to hear the concerns of their hearts. Do you know about the struggles of others around you? Just caring enough to ask is a good first step. But I still think that a listening ear is the best way to begin carrying a burden together. GReal concern is a healer.

A next step may be prayer. Everyone needs prayer, and few people refuse an offer to be prayed for, even if they have little faith of their own. Pray over one another and lift each other up before God!

And maybe you can lift a burden by lending a helping hand or an act of service. Or maybe you’re the one in need. Can you, in Christ’s name, allow others to serve you?

Christ’s law is fulfilled when we can reach out with genuine compassion and care for each other.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
—Galatians 6:2

Prayer:

Lord, help us to care for each other. May we show your love and lift others up in prayer. Amen.

This has been such a crazy day. For quite some time now, I’ve been struggling with the direction that the Lord is taking me. I really feel led to take this ministry up a step,but am just waiting for the means to do it.I sit here scratching my head knowing that there’s something I’m not hearing.

I was surprised the other morning t wake up and realize that this blog has reached 50,000 readers. There are quite a few readers from Muslim countries, and that makes me really want to reach even more.

So here’s where I can use some help. I have made the decision to go ahead and do some light advertising for this site. If you could take the time to post some of the blogs to your friends, that wouldbe appreciated. If you can think of away to enable me to gain the financial means to make this more full-time, please let me know.

I knowthis is a weird way to approach things, but hey, I never said I was normal. I look forward to hearing somefeedback…:)

Being rejected for Jesus

Matthew 8:33-34 – Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. (NKJV)

If you have been living for Jesus very long you’ve experienced what Jesus and His disciples experienced on this occasion. When Jesus showed up not everyone was excited. In fact, these people wanted Jesus to leave! Don’t allow the negative response of people to keep you from praying. My responsibility is to keep praying for my city and leave the results in God’s hands. While my desire is for everyone to be a follower of Christ, I realize that people will make their own decisions. I will keep praying and believing God for a spiritual awakening to take place in my town.

A prayer in times of dissapointment.

May God restore your soul and lead you in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  May your cry come before the Lord and may He deliver you according to His word.  May the Lord revive you according to His lovingkindness.  May He keep you in all your ways and cause His angels to keep watch over you.  May the angels of the Lord bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.  May God preserve your soul and deliver you out of the hand of the wicked.  May you never be put to shame.  May the Lord be your strong refuge and fill your mouth with praise.  May He not be far from you and hear your heart’s cries and come to your aid.  May the Lord be your refuge and your strength, a very present help in times of trouble, therefore, your heart will not fear.  May God turn every disappointment into a blessing for you.  If you are ill, may the Lord sustain you and strengthen you.  May God preserve you and keep you alive.  May you be blessed in all that you do.  May the Lord be merciful to you and raise you up from your bed of affliction.  May His lovingkindness and truth continually preserve you.  May He never withhold His tender mercies from you and your loved ones.  May the Lord redeem your soul and be your help and your shield.

Patience…how did you measure up?

Love is patient …—1 Corinthians 13:4

A thousand things try our patience. You buy something that needs assembly, and the instructions are in French. A huge project is due, but your coworker is chatting in the break room. You spend days potty-training your four-year-old with no results. And then your neighbor informs you that her child mastered the job at age 2!

Specifically, love is patient with people. It’s one thing to be patient with computers or fishing rods or an old Buick; it’s another thing to be patient with your bigmouthed nephew or your crabby neighbor. Sometimes we become impatient with patience. We think of patience as the virtue of the elderly, the infirm, or those too weak to have other options.

But Christian love is patient because it is realistic. The Bible states what we already know; there’s something wrong with all of us. Sometimes people call that depravity. As darling as your three-year-old daughter can be, you don’t need a theologian to tell you she’s got an “evil twin” inside her as well. We all suffer from a curvature of the soul. All of us live with people who are imperfect. The world is filled with failures, and we soon discover that people will fail us. All of us fall short of being what we want to be.

We need God’s grace to be patient with others. And we can be patient, because God is patient with us.

Prayer:

Patient Father, thank you for sticking with us, even when we fail you. Give us your strength to love in your patient way. Amen.

Prayer…it dosn’t work unless you come clean.

When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses- Mark 11:25

The only way any prayer is ever heard is through the righteous intercession of Jesus Christ. Yet it is Jesus who here reminds us that successful prayers are accompanied by holy lives.

If you have anything against any one, Jesus says, forgive them from your heart before you seek to pray to your heavenly Father. Do not think about asking ask for  forgiveness that you are not yourself willing to give to others.

We get this insightful view of prayer, then, from Jesus himself — your prayer life is both indestructible and delicate, it is both independent of your actions and yet influenced by the decisions you make.

You see, the access we have to God through Jesus Christ is based entirely on his goodness, not your own. For this reason, you can always pray to God, come boldly to God, when you are clinging to the perfect and sufficient work of Christ on your behalf.

On the other hand, scripture is very clear that our way of life — what we do and fail to do — will greatly influence our communion with God. Paul tells husbands to honor and cherish their wives “that your prayers be not hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). Jesus warns not to even bother praying if we are harboring resentment or bitterness or unforgiveness in our hearts.

Today, then, dear believer, go boldly in Christ’s name to the throne of grace, and freely love and forgive others so that your prayers are not hindered.

Prayer needed

Sorry for no posts over the last few days, but I needed rest. I have an autoimmune disease that causes tumors and have some ugly ones in my head…:) I am going to take a couple of days off and rest. please keep me in prayer as I go through my treatments and meet the surgeon in a few weeks. Also, I am close to losing my home and would appreciate prayer on that as well. I know it’s in God’s hands, but I’m pretty worn out from the fight. thank you everyone, may the Lord bless you.

This is a story that will knock your socks off.

Françoise d'Aubigné (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This amazing Christian Story tells how in 1645, the crew of a French ship, bound for the West Indies, prepared for a burial at sea. Such burials were common then, but this one affected even the most hardened seaman. Death had come for one of the children aboard, a bright and pretty little girl named Francoise who, with her parents, were bound for the French island of Martinique to begin a new life. Francoise had died suddenly… despite her parents desperate prayers… after a short illness.

Wrapped in canvas, the little form lay unmoving on the deck as a priest intoned the prayers for those who are buried at sea. Suddenly, there was a faint mewling sound and a quiver of movement within the canvas. Quickly, the covering was ripped open. And out jumped a little kitten.

The mourning mother explained that it had belonged to her daughter and had been her constant companion. “Then”, said the captain, “your child must be alive, as all sailors believe no animal will stay near a dead body.”

The child was Alive and God Had kept Her. And she grew up to make history. She was the famous Madame de Maintenon who married King Louis XIV in 1683 and ruled France with him until his death 31 years later. 

 

Never Count Out The Desparate Prayer of a Righteous Soul!

James 5:16
Pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.