Pray with expectancy

  Note - For the next several days I will be off the grid with no Internet or phone service. I will resume my morning writings on Monday.
  Greetings:
  The Apostle Paul shows us many examples of a man who was strong in The Lord and filled with his Holy Spirit.
  Paul was a man who knew how to pray and shared that passion for prayer with others
  In Ephesians 3:14-19 (NIV), Paul prays for the brothers and sisters in Ephesus.
  “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
  Paul is on his knees.
  He is interceding for the brothers and sisters in Ephesus.
  He is asking God to do something more than just fix their problems.
  He is asking God for a greater blessing than financial prosperity or health or mental and emotional stability or a happy life.
  Paul prays that God might “strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” He prays that “you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
  Another example of bold prayer by Paul is found in Philippians 1:9-11(NIV).
  “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.”
  We need to pray expecting an answer.
  Be blessed.

Surrender all through worship

  Greetings:
  Worship is surrender.
  We need grace to endure tough times; yet finding the strength to actually worship during those seasons is another matter. Many times I’ve been reminded that God is more interested in our character than in our comfort.
  That is where surrender comes in. We have to surrender to self and turn out attention to God and simply worship him.
  Once we find the strength to worship, how do we then sustain this posture in the middle of adversity?
  I believe it often starts by reaching out to others who are also going through adversity. We can always find someone else who’s going through tougher stuff than we are.
  Remember that Nehemiah helped the poor as he restored the walls and fought against discouragement caused by his enemies. We can do the same. Somehow, each of our lives needs to touch others in some positive way. This increases our gratitude, and a spirit of gratitude sustains us through the tough times.
  Every time we connect with God in prayer, we are praising Him because we are acknowledging our need to set our burdens on His strong shoulders. 
  Isaiah 25:4 (NIV) says, "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat”.
  God is there as a stronghold to keep us standing against the crashing waves and raging winds.  A man on his knees in prayer can stand before any tragedy.
  When we read Psalms, we can find so many verses about God’s children singing praise even in the midst of hard times.
  David writes in Psalm 142:5 (NIV), “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
  The song "Oceans" by Hillsong speaks to me loudly about surrendering and trusting God in our daily walk.
  Part of the song goes like this: "So I will call upon Your name,
  And keep my eyes above the waves
  When oceans rise
  My soul will rest in Your embrace
  For I am Yours and You are mine."
  That is powerful.
  Let us remember that when the Apostle Paul wrote that we should rejoice always, and in everything give thanks.
  He wasn’t kidding.
  Be blessed.

Faith is the real thing

  Greetings:
  Do you want to please God? If so, you must have faith.
  Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
  Hebrews 11:1(NIV) defines faith by saying, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."aith is revealed in action, not words.
  Christianity is not real difficult. We are.
  We try to make a new path, a better way than what has already been established. There are you times that we just have to stand and wait in faith.
  Faith lets us smile in the face of the devil and say, "God's got this one."
  Through our faith, we are able to patiently wait for God to move in our lives as he unveils His plans to us.
  Faith gives us the ability to hold our heads high in the midst of our personal life storms because we are confident there is going to soon be sunshine and peace.
  Faith allows us to wake each morning and say, "God, what can we do for you today."
  Our faith allows us to smile in a hurting world that needs God.
  Faith is walking into a dark storm and knowing with confidence that sunlight will soon be shining on you.
  Sometimes our lack of faith turns into doubt and r robs us of a blessing.
  Our sincere, unwavering faith in God always soothes the storms of life..
  Faith is the solid foundation that we stand upon at all times. It is the here and now of our belief.
  Faith is opening God's Word, reading it and believing it to be true.
  Stand firm on your faith
  Be blessed.

Proverbs provides the needed wisdom

  Greetings:
  The Book of Proverbs is full of a long litany of sins that get us all into trouble – dishonesty, impatience, selfishness, a hot temper, and even running our mouth's too much.
  Proverbs repeatedly tells us that wisdom will keep us out of trouble. We should probably pay attention to that advice.
  Anytime we ignore God’s principles, we eventually suffer the consequences. God has given us the freedom to make our choices, but we are not free to choose the consequences of those choices.
  Remember how David prayed, “I am surrounded by many troubles... My sins have caught up with me.”
  People often blame God for the natural consequences of their poor judgments and choices or they blame the devil for circumstances that were actually planned by God.
  God never tempts us to sin, but he tests our character and faith continually.
  The storms in our life can be a trial, a temptation, a trespass, or a troubling consequence. We must remember that God’s purpose is greater than our problems, our physical pain, our relational strains, our hurts and even our sins.
Becoming like Jesus means serving, sacrificing, and suffering just as He did. The Bible repeatedly tells us that suffering is often the will of God for our lives. In fact, we sometimes suffer more because we are Christians.
  God tells us to consider this a privilege in 2 Timothy 3:12 (The Living Bible). It reads, “Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him.”
  Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is likely to be in for a lot of trouble. There’s no getting around it. I don't know why for some, it is greater than for others, but it is.
  God wants to perfect  us, not pamper us. He always values the spiritual over the material, because that is what will last forever.
  God told Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.(Jeremiah 29:11, The Living Bible).
  If you are facing trouble right now, don’t ask, “Why me, Lord?”
  Instead ask, “What do You want me to learn?”
  Be blessed.

More than Bible knowledge is needed

  Greetings:
  Mere exposure to The Bible and to biblical teaching are not sufficient to produce spiritual growth in and by themselves.
  There are many 'Bible smart' folks in all of our churches, who don't necessarily possess the kind of spiritual growth that God desires of us. They can quote scripture after scripture to perfection, but living what they are quoting is a whole different ball game.
  Unless the Word of God is "mixed with faith" in our hearts, the mere acquisition of knowledge will not teach us. To grow, we need more. We need faith.
  True spiritual growth requires not only that we receive the teachings of the Word of God, but also that we believe them down in our hearts and souls.
  Look at Hebrews 4:2 (NIV), “For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.”
  We all need to make God's Word a key part of what is deposited in the storehouse of our souls.  We must breathe His precious truth into our hearts completely. 
  Unless we believe the teachings of The Bible, we will not be able to lean on them in times of need, trouble, temptation, as well as in good times. Without a faith foundation, we will have built our spiritual house "on sand".
  Only by believing does a principle of biblical truth become our own.
  Only by believing them do the essential elements of God's knowledge become, in any true sense, understandable to us and usable by us.
  Only by believing God's message do the building blocks begin to form a secure foundation in our hearts capable of withstanding the daily onslaught of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
  Be blessed.
 

Keep running the race

  Greetings:
  Perseverance allows us to consistently pursue a goal or unwaveringly live out our beliefs, regardless of obstacles or difficulties.
  In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, the apostle Paul compares the pursuit of the Christian life to a foot race.
  I love his analogy that shows the importance of persevering in the race of faith in order to attain our spiritual reward.
  I really like the way the passage reads in the New Living Translation: “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
  It's important to pace your effort.
  Christians sometimes try to accomplish too much too quickly, relying on their own strength rather than on God's power.
  Waiting on the Lord's timing sets an appropriate pace so we don't burn out.
  In the middle of long races, like a marathon, runners sometimes "hit the wall," a point where they feel physically and emotionally spent.
  From their perspective, the finish line is far away and quitting is a strong temptation.
  When Christians continue running, choosing obedience over emotions, they will eventually experience a "second wind," a renewal of God's strength that will sustain them to the finish line.
  This past week I have experienced the rewards of my own perseverance. On Wednesday, I met my Birth Mother face to face for the first time in more than 65 years. My journey to find her started three decades ago. There were days, weeks, months and years of frustrations, delays and what looked to be dead-ends. But the wait for God's timing was worth the reward.
Getting to hug her, see her smile and tell me she loved me was something I cannot describe and will never forget. I am grateful for and in awe of God's goodness in answering my prayers.
  Be blessed.

When we are weak, God remains strong

  Greetings:
  As Christians we can have peace and comfort knowing that God's grace furnishes to us what is lacking in our lives because of personal weakness.
  Knowing Christ fills our inadequacy is a great source of encouragement to me. We know that Christ is equal to any task we face. Knowing that God is not asking us to do anything that He is not willing to accomplish through us is our greatest source of encouragement.
  I think that this was the comfort that the Apostle Paul received in times of trouble. Paul gives us a new look of our own weaknesses. The ability to accomplish God’s tasks does not rely on our adequacy, but on God's sufficiency.
  Look at 1 Corinthians 12:1-10 (NIV). It tells the story of Paul's vision and his thorn. He concludes by saying, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
  Our world boasts of its strengths and diminishes its weakness. Paul boasted of his weaknesses and diminished his strengths. God gave Paul a balanced life by putting him in touch with his own weaknesses. God allowed the messenger of Satan to torment Paul by giving him a thorn in the flesh.
  God wants to reveal his power over the circumstances. God gives us our circumstances to make us dependent upon the One who is the master of every circumstance.
  Knowing our own strength is good. Recognizing our own weakness is even better.
  Paul had to look beyond himself for the strength to endure. We are totally dependent upon the sustaining power of God. Most resumes dwell on the applicant's strengths, but Paul dwelt on his weaknesses.
  We can do the same thing.
  Be blessed.