It's About Him - Not You

'...This work had been done with the help of our God.' Nehemiah 6:16 NIV

         

             


After scoring a goal for his team, a NHL player started beating his chest as if to say, 'Look at me, I'm the greatest.' Then the opposing team gained possession of the puck and their center put in a goal from the center line. But unlike his opponent, the center offered up a quick 'Thank You, God' before turning to celebrate with his team. Now meet another team player, Nehemiah, the king's royal cupbearer. When he heard about Jerusalem's broken-down walls, he set aside his own problems and focused on the nation's. Nehemiah was so burdened for the city where his forefathers were buried that he '...wept...mourned...and prayed before...God...' (Nehemiah 1:4 NIV) He remembered his roots, and reminded God of His covenant with His people by, in essence, praying: 'I know who You are, God, and I know who are your people. Your people have rejected You, but we're coming back and You can give us success.' God honored Nehemiah's prayers and Jerusalem's walls were rebuilt in 52 days, causing the enemy nations who heard to lose 'their self-confidence, because they realized this work had been done with the help of our God.' When God looks for a leader, He knows the kind of man and woman He can count on. He knows that a leader who's a team player can turn weakness into strength, obstacles into stepping stones, and disaster into triumph. You may not see yourself as a leader per se, but people watch you every day. The question is, do they know who you are following? And that it's about Him - not you? You are loved!

Lord, Teach Me to Pray (4)

 

'He fashions their hearts individually...' Psalm 33:15 NKJV

             


This morning as I was in prayer with Dave and I realized how important it is that each of us come to God in our own way. I could share my routine with you or even teach you how to pray because there are so many different ways one could pray. Your prayer style should be consistent with the way God designed you. Yes, you can learn from people who are more experienced in prayer than you are, but you need to be careful not to make them your standard, or become a 'clone'. It's wrong to force yourself to do what others do, if you are not comfortable with it in your spirit. Don't try to keep up with someone else, or copy their prayer style. And don't feel compelled to work every prayer principle you have ever learned, every time you pray. Most of us are afraid not to be like everyone else. We are more comfortable following specified rules than daring to follow the leading of God's Spirit. When we follow man-made rules, we please people. But when we step out in faith and follow God's Spirit, we please Him. You don't need to feel pressured to pray a certain way, or for a certain length of time, or to focus on specific things because other people are doing so. 'Untie the boat from the dock,' so to speak, and let the tide of God's Spirit take you wherever He wills. When you are in control, you know what will happen next. But when you let God's Spirit take the lead, you are in for a lot of surprises in life. Wonderful surprises! You need to be determined to be yourself, and refuse to spend your life feeling guilty because you're not like somebody else. The Bible says, 'He fashions their hearts individually.' So when it comes to prayer, the word for you today is, 'Be yourself'. You are loved!

Lord, Teach Me to Pray (3)

  

'Evening [and] morning...He hears my voice.' Psalm 55:17 NIV   

             


I don't know about you, but have you ever wondered how God interacts with another person? I think God is far too creative to insist that every person interacts with Him in exactly the same way. He designed each of us differently. There are prayer principles that apply to all of us, but God leads each of us as individuals. We are all at different places in our walk with Him, we are all at different levels of spiritual maturity, we all have different types of experiences in prayer. Yes, we need to learn the fundamentals of prayer. But then we need to move beyond intellectual knowledge about how to pray, and take those principles to the Lord and say: 'Teach me to apply this to my life, in my situation, to my heart. Show me how this idea is supposed to work for me. God, I'm depending on You to teach me to pray, to make me effective in prayer, to make my relationship with You through prayer the richest, most rewarding aspect of my life.' When you say, 'Lord, teach me to pray,' you're asking Him to teach you to pray in a distinctly personal way, and to enable your prayers to be easy, natural expressions of who you are. You need to go before God just the way you are, and give Him the pleasure of enjoying the company of the 'original' that He made you to be. You need to approach Him with your own strengths, weaknesses, uniqueness and everything else that so wonderfully distinguishes you from everyone else. God enjoys meeting you where you are, developing a personal relationship with you, and helping you grow to become everything He wants you to be. Just remember, "Evening and morning he hears you're voice." it's that simple...you are loved!

Lord, Teach Me to Pray (2)

 

'...Jesus...spent the night praying...' Luke 6:12 NIV   

             


One of the dangers of being involved in God's work is that you can go for weeks, or even months, without praying. In a survey of a thousand pastors, half acknowledged that they often went for long periods without taking time to pray. They didn't have a personal prayer life beyond their function in church. Amazingly, they had preached entire sermons on the topic, yet they themselves didn't practice it. So don't feel so bad when you might miss a day or two; but always remember that doesn't give you licence to stop praying. Jesus arose before dawn and spent hours in prayer. He even prayed all night. And it showed. His incredible success flowed out of the rich relationship He had with His Father. He made deposits every morning so that He could make withdrawals all day long. Joyce Meyer writes: 'I have gone from labouring and striving to pray for five minutes every few days to enjoying - and actually personally needing and wanting - beginning my day with prayer, then to praying throughout the day as things come to my heart, and finally ending my day communicating with the Lord as I fall asleep. I have moved from a sporadic, irregular prayer life to regular times of prayer that are disciplined without being legalistic. Where I once thought I was fulfilling an obligation to God by praying, I now realise that I absolutely cannot survive a day and be satisfied...if I do not pray. I realise that prayer is a great privilege, not a duty. I no longer approach God in fear, wondering if He will really hear me and send an answer to my prayers. I now approach Him boldly, as His Word teaches me to do, and with great expectation.' So can you...you are loved!

Lord, Teach Me to Pray (1)

  

'...Lord, teach us to pray...' Luke 11:1 NKJV

         

             


Ever find your self so busy you ask yourself how the day or week went by so fast? Then you realize you haven't spoken to God all week? Busyness is just that; something that keeps us away from what's really important, our spiritual health. So how do we make sure we keep the one essential thing going, prayer, when life seems to pass us by?  All you have to do is ask? In his book, Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray writes: 'None can teach like Jesus...therefore we call on Him, Lord, teach us to pray. A pupil needs a teacher who knows his work, who has the gift of teaching, who in patience and love will descend to the pupil's needs. Blest be God! Jesus is all this and much more...Jesus loves to teach us how to pray.' If you: (a) are not sure God is really listening when you talk to Him; (b) don't understand why some prayers seem to go unanswered; (c) wonder if you are praying 'right' or generally feel frustrated in prayer; (d) are eager to know what to do to feel more connected with God and gain confidence that your prayers really do make a difference, say, 'Lord, teach me to pray.' Although there are principles of prayer that apply to everyone, God will lead each of us individually. He wants to take you just the way you are, and help you discover your own rhythm of prayer; to develop a style of prayer that maximizes your relationship with Him. He wants prayer to be an easy, natural, life-giving way of communicating as you share your heart with Him and allow Him to share His heart with you. Prayer is so simple; it's nothing more than talking to God and taking time to listen to what He has to say to you. God has a personalized prayer plan for you, a way for you to communicate most effectively with Him. So begin by saying, 'Lord, teach me to pray,' and when life seems to be going in all directions, prayer won't because He's right there with you speaking into your life. You are loved...

Imagine Being Adopted by God! (2)

 

  '...Receive the Kingdom of God like a little child...' Mark 10:15 NIV

         

         


Jesus said, 'Anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' You need to become a little child again, and your thinking come on Pastor you got anything else? When you allow yourself the kind of relationship with the Lord that you may have missed as a child; to allow Him to heal and adjust the damaged places of your past do understand why you need thise. God provides arms that allow adults to climb up like little children and be nurtured through the pain of earlier days. The new birth gives you a chance to start over. God will not abuse you when you come to Him. Through praise, you approach Him like a toddler on unskilled legs. In worship, you kiss His face and are held securely in His embrace. He has no ulterior motive, for His embrace is safe. That's why it's important that you learn how to worship and adore Him. Even if you were exposed to grown-up situations when you were a child, God can reverse what you've been through. Here's what He told His people: 'I passed by and saw you kicking about...and as you lay there...I said to you, Live! I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became...beautiful... I...covered your nakedness. I...entered into a covenant with you...and you became Mine. I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments.' (Ezekiel 16:6-10 NIV) And God can do that for you too. You are loved!

Imagine Being Adopted by God! (1)

'...You received the Spirit of adoption...' Romans 8:15 NKJV

     

             


Busy day today and I'm sorry it took so long to get this out today, but I'm glad I am adopted into His kingdom as the Bible says, '...[We] received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father'. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ...' (Romans 8:15-17 NKJV) Adoptive parents understand what it's like to have an emptiness in their hearts, to search, to set out on a mission, to take responsibility for a child with a troubled past and an uncertain future. And that's what God did for you. Knowing full well the trouble you'd be, and what it would cost, He sought you, found you, paid the price for you, took you home, gave you His name and the right to call Him 'Abba', which means 'Daddy', a term of endearment. Adoption isn't something you earn, it's a gift you receive. You'd never hear adoptive parents say, 'We'd like to adopt little Mary but first we want to know - does she have a house, money for education, a ride to school in the morning and clothes to wear every day?' The adoption agency would say, 'Hold on, you're not adopting her because of what she has, but because of what she needs. She needs love, hope, a home and a future.' You don't earn the Spirit of adoption, you recieve it by faith. That's important, because if you can't gain it by your stellar efforts, you can't lose it through your poor performance. How reassuring! And it gets better; you're an 'heir' to all your Father owns. That means you'll never have a need He cannot or will not meet. How good is that? So don't let the enemy fool you, you are His and always will be! You are loved!