Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Giving Through A Pure Heart

 


God wants you to begin a tithes and offerings process when you are happy to give. If you are afraid to release your funds in this way or begrudge tithing and offering for any reason, then you should wait. If you are already giving and want to increase your donations, rather than force yourself beyond your faith, you should ask God to help you to advance in that area.

If you want to tithe and offer but have not begun yet, don't fear that you will never begin to give. It just means that you need more faith and reliance upon God to be able to give through a pure and fearless heart. If you feel that it would be unwise to give at this time, it is more harmful than useful to succumb to hounding from other Christians. They may mean well but it does little good to pressure and shame others by declaring that we can't afford not to give, that we will never prosper if we don't give, that God is angry because we don't give.

You may be burdened with bills and debts, have a large family for which to make ends meet or be struggling to build up your life on a very low income. The platitudes spoken by others, while they may be based in truth, do not inspire faith. Faith is built by feeding the Word into our spirits each day and by consistent and fervent prayer. These faithful, daily practices are an indication that we are asking Our Father for help and that we are serious about growing into giving. 

If you allow yourself to be coerced, intimidated and shamed into giving, you will do so from a fearful, resentful heart. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), for whatever their reasons were, begrudged giving a certain amount and they kept part of it back for their own use. Keeping some of it back was not the problem. We know that everything belongs to God but when their deceit was discovered, they were told that the money was theirs to give (or keep). In other words, it was up to Ananias and Sapphira to decide how much to give, if anything. All money belongs to God but it's ours to decide how to use.

It was not necessary for Ananias and Sapphira to lie and embellish the amount that they had given. The problem was not how much they had given but that they lied about the amount that they did give. They led others to believe that they had given more than they had, therefore they stole from God through lying. Dishonesty was the problem.

The bottom line is honesty with ourselves and honesty with God is of the utmost importance. If we give through fear, anxiety and faithlessness, it is similar to keeping some back but pretending to be all in. We didn't really want to give what we gave. Maybe we feel that we just can't afford to give at this time. We feel bullied but are afraid to admit it to ourselves and to God. Because of this, we step out before we are ready and for the wrong reasons. On the other hand, when we are honest with ourselves and God, we can begin to grow. God can help us to do it the right way.

The perfect time to start giving will never come, just like with anything else that you need to stretch to do. You'll never have enough money because that money will seem to always be needed for something else. Even so, you have to start somewhere. It's better, though, to grow into giving or to increase giving through pure and fearless hearts. God can and will establish it in you as you continue in prayer, Bible study and occasional fasting. The keys are honesty and to not be ashamed of that honesty, and faith.

When you come into the blessed peace of giving from a pure heart, you will always have this assurance:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)



Monday, September 13, 2021

Trusting In God

We who love God choose to lean on him in spirit and in deed, just as we lean on the arm of a person for support so that we will safely arrive at a destination. We lean on Our Father God to arrive at a destination of strong faith and obedience. (Isaiah 51:5)

Trust means to not turn right or left off of the path on which we discern God has us. We might not know all of the facts about what God is doing in our lives but we have an impression in our spirits of how and where God is leading us.

Because we can't see very far in advance, we hesitate, ruminate and complicate our obedience to Our Heavenly Father. Despite that, we know that his Spirit is bearing witness with our spirits that The Most High God is doing this thing.  

Because we choose everyday to live by trusting The One True God, we know him and he knows us. (Nahum 1:7)

We have a personal relationship with The Great I AM. We know that we can go to him anytime of the day or night, physically in formal prayer or mentally when we can't be alone with him. We do this so often that we are familiar to each other. We trust him because we ask all according to his will and in the name of his precious Son and the only Savior to mankind, Jesus Christ.

We are meek and humble. We choose to not only trust in God but in his very name. (Zephaniah 3:12) We may not know what to pray but we remember that we can call out any name in the Godhead when we are afraid, distressed or confused. Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Father! Father! Father! Holy Spirit help me! Help me! Help me! God recognizes and honors our trust in him everyday.



Sunday, September 5, 2021

How Can I Solve My Problem?

 

The human mind is so constituted that if you pour your attention onto a problem without panic, keeping yourself calm and your mind unruffled, and if you maintain faith in God and firmly believe that you are going to get an answer, the answer will appear. Moreover, the more spiritual your mind is, the more definitely will it produce in this manner.

What is your problem? Is it one of health, of business, of your children, of your future? It makes no difference what it is. Do not get agitated, nor depressed over it. Do not try so hard. Do not be in a panic. Do not over-stress it.


Whatever your problem, when you lift your spirits, clear your mind, believe in your potential, take the worry and fear out of your thoughts, and have faith in God, you can do the impossible. You surely can.


How to Handle Tough Times by Norman Vincent Peale

©1990 by Peale Center for Christian Living

Guideposts Outreach guidepostsfoundation.org

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Is It All REALLY Working Together For My Good?

Sometimes, the trials that God turns into good for us we may never discern.

Often, this converting of these tribulations on our behalf moves into the realm of the unseen.

They can be the good that God does for us of which we are unaware.

We have faith that he does these things because the Word tells us so.

We may not always see the outcome of God working all things together for our good but we have testimonies of the times when we experienced proof that he did.

We also know that we live among bountiful blessings from our Heavenly Father every day.

 Any one of those unrecognizable daily blessings could be a conversion of bad to good, just for us.

Romans 8:28


 

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Due Time: Christian Poetry

Just like this man who has gotten this kite to fly, we can also get it right with God's help.

It is when you see something happen in your life.

Something that you feel is not right.

There is that feeling that you were wronged.

One thing that you have to do is give it to the Lord.

You have to trust in the Lord that things will work out.

That is having faith in something that you do not see.

I know that it is something that is hard to do.

It is just something that you have to do.

©Leo

Leo  is a poet who has shared some of his poems at WritersCafe.org. He says that this poem is about things and time. He lives in Florida, and says about himself, "I am one that just loves to write."
 

 

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Gratefulness Equals Miracles

 

Raining cats and dogs, what to do...?

There is much to be grateful for, even though there can be trials, challenges, difficulties and struggles. Sometimes we may be so discouraged that we feel like we have to search for things for which to be grateful.

We feel so beaten down by life in this lost and dying world that we just get tired. At those times, we find it hard to be thankful because it may not be just raining. It may be raining cats and dogs and maybe it has been raining for some time. So what is there to do?

Living by faith so choose faith.

We know that we live by faith so we choose to turn once again to the author and the finisher of our faith, the precious Son, Jesus Christ. We choose once again to turn to our Heavenly Father, who through his loving kindnesses and mercies sent his Spirit to comfort us. We once again choose our ever-growing faith and what does our faith require?

Have faith, don't pretend.
Faith does not require that we pretend that the strains are not there. Faith requires that we rise above them by focusing on the things that make us grateful. While the answers and solutions to issues are being prepared by Our Heavenly Father, seeking gratefulness is a worthy effort to make, for it brings the light of His sunshine into sight.  David said, Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all." (Psalm 34:19) 

 
Choosing our faith every time reminds us that there is hope in a Father who will not allow anything to separate us from His love. There is hope in a Savior who will never leave us nor forsake us. There is hope in a Holy Spirit who will lead and guide us into all truth.

Gratefulness = Faith = Hope. Miracles are not far behind.

HAPPY SUNDAY!


 

 

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

How To Take Communion In Faith

I was reading I Corinthians 11:23-34 this morning and taking Communion. I began to think about the burdens that Christians put on each other about the Eucharist. The scriptures 27-33 seem to some to mean that we must go over, recount and acknowledge our sins before we can take part in the Lord's Supper. While it can be helpful to clear our minds of ill will, we can't ensure, through a few quick thoughts, that we are perfect.

In verses 28-29 we are encouraged to discern the Lord's body as we take Communion. We are to perceive that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross cleansed us from unrighteousness. We are to recognize that He is at the right hand of the Father always intervening on our behalf. When we remember, at the time of Communion, that the Blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is able to cover our transgressions, past, present and future, we have discerned the Lord's body. These are thoughts that we should enjoy daily.

We can read the Bible daily and pray with sincerity so that the cleansing power of prayer and the transformational power of the Word is continually converting us. This will help us to exist in a state of discerning the body of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Take Communion with faith. Don't be afraid.

 


 


Friday, September 20, 2019

True Prayer Follows Faith


 
FAITH is immediate, in the heart.

Prayer words are for us, to strengthen us.

God knows all, but prayer words are also our foundation
 for friendship with Our Father.

FAITH comes first and does not need words. 

FAITH produces on its own power,
 and the words of true prayer are formed by it.

Prayer words not formed by FAITH of the heart are empty.

FAITH powers itself and FAITH produces words.

 

 

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary V


Tired of praying?

Have you been distressed lately, even to the point of weeping inconsolably? Have you gone off to yourself, where no one could see, and just let all of the tears flow? I know how it is to cry your heart out because you don't have an answer. You just don't see a way in or out. The worst part is that your prayers don't seem to be working.
My prayers are not working.

In a way, it is a relief to weep, but it also feels like we are defeated and it is oh so exhausting. We never want to do that again and vow that we will never again break down. We feel guilty about this necessary human function, but God  has experienced it along with us. By coming in human flesh to experience what only humans can feel and dying for our human frailties, he acknowledges the importance of our feelings. He shed tears too.


Tired of asking God for help.
Guilt over feeling hopeless and weeping is useless, and comes from the devil. If we ARE guilty of anything, there is always the answer that we are washed whiter than snow through faith in Jesus' sacrifice. All we need to do is ask God to help us, but we already did that, right? What if we are tired and weary of praying? What if our prayers really are not working?

Please help me God.
To get a grip on hope, sometimes it helps to change up how we pray, the words and scriptures that we use, the times of day, the subjects; while continuing to thank God for specific things that we have asked for. Once we ask him for something, we don't have to keep asking him for that same thing. Ask him once, and then always THANK him for it when the desire to beg and plead for it comes over you again.

As one of my readers shared, once you ask for an answer, pray that God's will be done. Once you realize that is best and come to terms with that fact, your outlook will change.

I know it's hard to manage prayers like this, asking for new needs, and then sending those prayers into the que to be thanked for the next time. It seems like a revolving door of asking and thanking, asking and thanking. It may help to keep a prayer journal or list. You can add the things that you pray for and check them off to thank God for.


How to not give up on praying.
Sometimes we just have to hold on, again. Sometimes that is the only immediate answer. We have to do the cliche, determine to hold on to God's unchanging hand. We have to dig our feet in again and hold on for dear life. If we hold on with a thread of our minds and hearts, God will reward us! We have to choose to believe that, again, and thank him.

The revolving door of asking and thanking is better than continuing on in hopelessness and losing your power in the Kingdom of God. It takes extra effort to manage our prayer lives like this, whether mental or on paper. God, however, has given us power. Why lose it? Do what it takes to push through and make your prayers work. 

"For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

"For the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." 
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV)



You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary IV

 

 

Saturday, November 24, 2018

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary IV

Tired, discouraged and weary of praying?

Have you ever wondered why God allows you to feel that way, tired, discouraged and weary of praying? To paraphrase one of my readers, it's enough that while we are living on this Earth we can't see, touch and be physically hugged by him. So when we keep faithfully praying for something, with no tangible sign that we are being heard and no perceived change in our circumstances, that's where the tiredness comes from. It's exhausting and frustrating! It's hard to keep going on, to believe in the power of prayer, to trust God.

But that's just it, I do believe that often he is speaking to us, but we don't yet see or hear it. For one thing, I truly do believe that if we change our prayer from asking/begging for a thing to thanking him for it once we ask the first time, we will see changes.

I've also learned that when we pray, we often do so with a preconceived notion of how and when the prayer will be answered. We are looking for the answer in a certain way. When we open up to God and choose to accept how ever he may work it out, we stop looking for OUR answer and open up to receive HIS answer.



God never answers our prayers without it also blessing the inner person.
"So when we keep faithfully praying for something, with no tangible sign we are being heard and no change in our circumstances, that's where the tiredness comes from." Yes, I feel this entirely, and just because I share insight into this doesn't mean that I no longer suffer. I still sometimes am reduced to begging God, because of my trial, but I'm doing much better and have grown much more than when I wrote the first Tired Of Praying message.

A lot of my prayer answers were preceded by an inner change in me. God never answers our prayers without it also blessing the inner person with growth and strength. Sometimes, we just simply keep praying the wrong things, or ineffective things. As we grow in God, we learn how to dissect and evaluate our prayer habits and improve them. Without growth in God, our prayer lives never improve.

Sometimes, we pray for things that are never going to happen, especially regarding other people. We may pray and pray and beg and beg for someone to live, but they weren't meant to. It was their time, and even if it wasn't their time to us, God saw fit to allow them to leave. No amount of pleading, fervent prayer or prayer tweaking would have made a difference. 


Growing in the Lord helps us to continuously adjust our prayers.
The key is growing in Christ. What is that? Being assured from within that we are changing from the effects of reading the Bible regularly, praying faithfully the best way that we know how, and being obedient when we feel that pricking about anything from the Holy Spirit. Growing in the Lord helps us to continuously adjust our prayers, so that they can become more effective and not hurt us. 

Prayers are supposed to strengthen and refresh. Prayers are supposed to give hope, not pain. Prayers are supposed to be a refuge from any and everything, whether inner or outer. Prayers are supposed to be that coveted time with a dear friend and Heavenly Father, who will talk with us on our level. We are not supposed to be subjected to prayer, to feel that it is not working. Prayer is supposed to be subject to us, to bring about the desired effect. Prayer is the greatest resource that the Christian has. 


Prayer is the greatest resource that the Christian has!
The next step is to crush the fear that things will not work out, that nothing will ever change, that you will never be happy. When the desire to beg and plead for that same old thing tries to rule you again, stop the thought and thank God for what you originally prayed for. Thank him that it has been done, according to his will. Your faith in his will is what will bring about change. Move on and petition or ask God for the next thing, leaving the old thing at the Cross. From then on, thank him for that old thing until you recognize an answer, however and whenever it shall come.  

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary II

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary III


You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary V



Monday, September 10, 2018

How Do We Pray When Damage Is Inevitable?

We are never without recourse in a time of trouble.
Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed when I want to pray for those in catastrophic situations. Despite changes that can avert destruction, there is what seems to be inevitable in projected reports. There is the history of recurring events. Lastly, but not least, are the prophecies in the Bible about what will occur as the time for Jesus' return nears.

I wonder sometimes what the use of praying is. What good will it do in circumstances like this? This makes me feel like we are sitting ducks, and that there is nothing that we can do. We are never, however, without recourse, and that recourse is still prayer. There is never a time when prayer will not help.

First of all, if we have faith that God can do anything, we pray that absolutely no damage will be done. That's it! We pray that somehow the storm will be turned away from human harm. We pray that it will miraculously abate, dry up and dissipate.

Next, if we can't bring ourselves to pray that, because we find it incomprehensible to believe, we pray that damage will be minimal and no lives will be lost. We pray that everyone will find safe shelter and that homes will remain standing.


Finally, if that type of prayer does not resonate in the face of a catastrophic event, we pray that the hearts of everyone who does not know him will be turned to Jesus. We pray this for those who are in the eye of destruction and for everyone involved.

All of these prayers really can be combined into one cry to God for help:

Help Us Lord!

Help Them Lord!

Have Mercy On Us Lord!

Deliver Them Lord!

Dear Jesus My Savior
You said you would never leave nor forsake those who love you.
Help those in this terrible situation come
to love you in all circumstances.
I know that you are at the right hand of Our Father,
always praying for us.

Dear Father God
You said Fear thou not, for I am with you.
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you. I will help you.
I will hold you up with my right hand of righteousness. 
 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand saying
"Fear not, for I am with you".
(Isaiah 41:10,13) 

Help those in this destructive situation come to love
and rely on you in the same way. 
Have mercy on them and everyone involved,
friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers,
first responders, medical personnel,
city/government officials,
clergy.

So in writing this encouragement to help others, I talk myself into victory.

Victory in faith.
Victory in spiritual action.
Victory in prayer. 

I Believe In Prayer, No Matter What!






Monday, August 13, 2018

Start Each Day With Thankfulness



I thank God 

For a successful day

Filled with faith, hope and focus


 
 
Matthew 6:22
 
Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body.
When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 
(NLT)

 The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye is sound,
your whole body will be full of light.
  (WEB)

 The light of the body is the eye; if then your eye is true,
all your body will be full of light.
  (BBE)

 The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy,
your whole body will be full of light.
(CEB)

 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light.
  (KJV)

 



Friday, May 11, 2018

Our Thank-Yous Are From The Lord

...we remember, however, that what we do we do unto God,

Remember,

whatever you do unto God

does not require a thank you from man. 

Sometimes we do something for someone and forget about it. Whether it was voluntary or requested, when we remember what we did we may think so-and-so did not thank me for what I did. Maybe the person forgot to thank us, or maybe they were not aware that it was us who did it. Maybe it was done jointly with another person, and that person received a thanks, but we did not. We may feel left out, unappreciated or unacknowledged at the moment we realize that we were not thanked. 

It is nice to receive a thank you from others. It is good to be appreciated, for a job well-done or a gift given, by relatives, friends and others. When we remember, however, that what we do we do unto God, we don't feel so deprived when we are not thanked. When we remind ourselves that we are always aware of the presence of our God, and that he sees what we do with pure hearts, we don't have to solicit thank yous from others.

The Bible, that lamp unto our feet and that light unto our paths, reminds us that:

Whatever you are doing, let your hearts be in your work,
 as a thing done for the Lord and not for men. 

 Colossians 3:23 (WNT)

Whatever you do, do it readily, as to the Lord and not to men;
(BBE)

Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people.
(CEB)

Whatever work you do, put yourself into it,
as those who are serving not merely other people,
but the Lord.
(CJB) 

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,
(CSB)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.
(GNT)



 

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary II

Hope has fled, but we know that hope is our only hope.


I believe that most people are crying out for help, because they pray and pray and don't seem to get any relief about the most important things in their lives. I wrote the first You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary from a heart of understanding, because this has happened to me for so long about many things. Though I can certainly see the hand of God in my everyday life, I am often just tired of various other things.

I know the feeling of not believing that you can go on praying another day. I know how it feels to not feel like praying, when deep inside you know that is your only hope. And what does that say? That hope has fled at that moment. That is when we are between a rock and a hard place. Hope has fled, but we know that hope is our only hope. Only the Spirit of God can untangle that heart condition and send what we already know, the repairing Blood of Jesus, flowing again through our paralyzed consciousness.






Only the Spirit of God can untangle the heart condition.


That is why we must rely on this Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. It is the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ of Nazareth from the dead. It is the same Spirit that resides inside everyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior.  It is the same Spirit that brings The Word, the Bible, to life within us, and brings about the changes that we need to live renewed lives. This is the Spirit that has promised to pray for us when we are just too tired and weary. So don't give up on your prayer life. You have a faithful Helper.

 
God bless you and your entire family today.

May He have mercy and save the souls of each and
every one who does not know Him.

Most of all, may he increase your faith in your prayers
and your desire to pray.

In Jesus' name and according to God's will I pray,
Amen.