Make It Happen With The Help Of God

 

Don't just dream about it. Make it happen, with the help of the Lord. Receive God's ways of thinking. He's sharing them with you. 

You can't just spend the rest of your life wishing it could happen. Learn to see things God's way. He's showing you how.

Don't just keep thinking about it. You're either serious or you're not. Do what God is telling you to do.

You can't continue to just wonder about it. Accept the knowledge that God is constantly imparting unto you.

Don't just hope that it will come to pass. God is a do something God. You have to step out and do it. You know what to do. Faith and courage are being built up in you by Our Lord. You have been asking for it and he is faithful. God has been giving to you the building blocks of faith and courage. 

You can't continue to spend your life dreaming about it, wishing about it, thinking about it and wondering if it will ever happen. You have to take the risks necessary for God to bring to pass your most cherished dreams.

Some of God's most faithful servants from the Bible went out, went forward, moved on, sometimes not knowing how the gap between where they were and where they were going would be bridged.

They had ideas about how they needed to do it but they ultimately had to make their uncertain way, with God always before them. They had to go forward when things were not perfect or when there was opposition, when no one believed or supported them, when God did not tell them all of the facts.

They had to take steps, often with blind faith, to arrive where they wanted to be, where they should be and to where God promised them they could be. If they had kept waiting for things to be perfect or for situations to be the way that they thought they should be, they would never have went forward and obtained what God had already provided.   

Don't just dream about it. Make it happen, with the help of the Lord.

Christian Poetry: I Call His Name (Jesus)

 

I Call His Name (Jesus)

When I am sad or in pain I call His name.

When I am lost and cannot find my way

I call His name.

When I am thankful and filled with joy,

I call His name.

Nothing would ever be the same if I couldn't call His name.

The Red Bird

A red bird comes to visit me,

He moves from tree to tree.

He looks for food on the ground,

I like it when he comes around.

The Clouds

The clouds look soft as they float by,

They are very far up in the sky.

The sun comes out and chases them away,

Buy they will be back another day.

Georgetta (Georgette) Hanna Johnson, my mother, wrote simple, serene poetry and short stories.

She loved painting beautiful acrylic, folk art landscapes on construction paper. Her favorite color was purple and she enjoyed various types of crafting.

She loved watching T. D. Jakes and Jimmy Swaggart and reading her Bible everyday. She was raised in the Church of God under Bishop Lula Mae Swanson. In her later years, Georgette grew closer to God.

She went peacefully to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in January, 2021

Listen To The Bible Read Outloud

I love my Bible audio electronic device. I turn it on every morning as I get ready for my day. It's really wonderful to listen to. If you've never had one you are missing a great opportunity to hear the Bible come to life everyday.

I bought mine from USA Okeba Industries at Walmart: Bible Audio Player King James Version Old and New Testament Audio Book. I like the clear crispness of the male voice. Some who have ordered an electronic Bible from various places have complained of a reader with an accent, maybe foreign or something.

I was so happy that mine came with an understandable person reading it. I was also happy that it has the golden Cross painted on the speaker. I've seen some online that do not. Some buyers have complained that when they got theirs it did not have the cross.

My Bible audio has worked just fine. It charges easily and the volume can be set very high. It's easy to use the guide booklet to scan to specific books and chapters in the Bible. It's lightweight, stands upright and is easy to carry. It's one of the best purchases that I've ever made.

In separate orders, I bought one each for my two sisters and one for my nephew. After I bought mine and a second one, Okeba raised the price. I bought a third one and the price went up again. This annoyed me so I decided not to buy from them again. After a while, the price went back down to near where it was when I bought the first one. That's when I bought the fourth one.  

I searched electronic Bible at Walmart online and it showed over 30 listings. A lot of people are selling them. I am not an affiliate of any of the listings. I also saw one listed at Ebay. 

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Christian Products: Have Faith And Doubt Not Word Art, Matthew Scripture About Worry Printable

Matthew 21:21, paraphrased for easy understanding and designed with a splash of yellow-green, green and blue.

In this Matthew scripture about worry, we are reminded of the magnificent things that we can accomplish if we have faith and doubt not. Allowing our faith to be grown by God opens the way.

Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, promised that we would be able to do what he did, and more. This scripture about have faith in God will be a daily, artful reminder to excel and attain what God knows we can.

Click Buy Now below or visit Draw Nigh To  Hope Shop.  

...

Most text and designs are interchangeable. Just ask!

 

 

 

Please do not resale the files that you receive nor the prints that you make. These products are for use by the purchaser only. Please send anyone interested to Draw Nigh To Hope Shop.

Angel Policy

My products are always PERSONAL AND COMMERCIAL when used in your crafting projects like digital designs, scrap-booking, paper-crafting, altered-art, book arts, gift-wrapping and other crafts.

 

 

Thanks for visiting

Draw Nigh To Hope Shop

Fill your life with reminders of Jesus Christ. 

Spend your money on merchandise that glorifies God. 

Surround yourself with products that 

invite in The Holy Spirit everyday.

******************* 

 

  As a self-taught designer, crafter, writer and artist,

like Lydia in Acts 16, I design and make beautiful things.

 

My creative ability comes from God

and I worship the Lord

day in and day out. 

In order for God to bless us through our talents, skills and creativity,

we have to put our work out there.

 

 I want Christians, who may not otherwise know about them,

to have a chance to buy my products that lift up

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

and God, Our Father.

  
Proverbs 22:29 states:

 

Seest thou a man diligent in his business?

He shall stand before kings;

he shall not stand

before mean men.

 (KJV)

 
  Do you see a man who excels in his work?

He will stand before kings;

He will not stand before

unknown men.

 (NKJV)

 

********************

If you or anyone you know sells handmade products or designs merchandise that glorifies God, let me know so that I can take a look. I may do a feature here.

 

Believing What We Pray For

In order to see the realization of our fondest personal prayers, we have to first believe what we pray for. We don't have to believe that we can do it through our own planning and orchestration but we do have to believe that we CAN receive them from God.

We also have to believe that we can be faithful in managing them after we receive them. This is one way to believe that our prayers will happen, that we'll be getting a favorable answer from God. 

The problem is that we pray for things that we're not committed to, that we're afraid of and that we don't even believe that we can really do. We pray pipe dreams, fanciful hopes or plans that would come to naught if we were given them. This is one reason that in our hearts we secretly say, "I don't believe my prayers will come true." Why don't we truly believe what we are praying?

Many Christians promote that we should ask God for big things, impossible things, things that are beyond what we can do on our own. Yes, we should, but we still have to believe in our own prayers. We have to believe in what we are asking for to improve our lives. We have to believe in the prayers that we pray on our behalf.

How is it possible to receive what we unconsciously don't believe? It is not possible because we would miss all of the signs and open doors that would lead to obtaining the favorable answers that we desire. The challenges that we would see would be obstacles to us instead of opportunities. Because of that, we would blindly pass them by.

In fact, we already see many challenges as insurmountable obstacles or we would not be asking God for help. What exactly are we asking for though? How can we start our journeys to believing what we pray for?  

There's something between the prayers and the receiving of the answer to the prayers that we ask. It is us. We have to work with God and it's up to each one of us to work out what our place is in the fulfillment of the desires.

When we understand that, we can then work with God and receive favorable answers to our fondest supplications. What if we can't see our part in it? What if we just wait for God to do it, like we've been doing?

If we can't understand what our place or part is in believing in our prayers, then maybe we should not be praying for those things or praying in that way. Maybe that is why deep down in our hearts we don't believe what we are asking. 

Maybe our prayers need to be adjusted or re-designed. Maybe the focus of our fondest hopes needs to be altered. Is it possible that we even need to replace a long-standing prayer for another, more accurate one?

If we ask our Father God to help us to develop accurate prayers, he will do it. We don't want to keep spending time and energy on prayers that are never going to happen because we don't believe them. We don't want to spend a lifetime praying inauthentic prayers.

We want to pray prayers that move things, that change things, that bring things to pass. We want to pray prayers that are faith-filled, accurate and effective. Words come first and powerful, faith-filled words bring things into being. These scriptures make it plain:

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Hebrews 11:3 Things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Our prayers are our tongues, our words and the things which are not seen, the invisible things. The things that we are praying for, on our behalf, are the things which are seen, that can be brought into being by our unseen prayer words, if they are accurate. 

The world does not respect or honor God, but the world understands many truths that we ignore. We can learn from the truths that those who do not love God nor his Son are telling us everyday. The knowledge all belongs to God. They don't care to realize it but their knowledge belongs to God. We can take it, along with the Scriptures, and work with God to pray prayers that we can believe in.

I don't know if Dr. Margie Warrell worships God or not but she says this in her article Your Words Create Your Reality:

The words you speak hold power. Power to create new possibilities or to close them down. We unconsciously sabotage our success. Whatever direction your words lead, your mind, body and environment will follow. It’s therefore extremely important to be intentional about the words you use.

We can make our prayers, our words, the fruit of our tongues authentic so that we can believe them and work with God in bringing them to pass.

Should I Be In This Relationship?

All Christians are at various levels of growth, though we are all sisters and brothers in Christ. However, just because a person is a Christian doesn't mean that what they have to offer in association with you is pure, edifying, honest, worthy or supported by God.

When the Bible says "How can two walk together unless they be agreed?", that can pertain to Christians also. It's not only a matter for Christians in association or relationship with non-Believers. It's important to consider between Christians, especially when it comes to young Christians and those who are more experienced and advanced. We should always be asking ourselves what is a Christian Relationship in reference to our upward walk? 

Just because someone says that they are a brother or sister in Christ does not mean that they would make a good friend, spouse, business partner, spiritual mentor or other. Some Christians are constantly growing and some Christians never grow up in Christ. Many Christians want to grow and many do not. It's an individual choice which means that all Christians are not compatible.

Babes in Christ and those who refuse to submit themselves to God's requirements for growth are still carnally-minded. They are still operating in the ways of death. (Romans 8:6) Whether they will choose to grow in Christ Jesus always remains to be seen.

When it comes to romance and dating, new Christians have not yet had time to develop pure Christian dating principles. It is difficult for them to receive and understand the necessity of Biblical dating principles because they haven't yet had time to absorb enough of the Word of God to begin to manifest their transformation. Others have chosen not to eat and drink the Word daily. In doing so, they have chosen not to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. (Romans 12:2) Maybe they will later but again, maybe they won't.

We are experienced in Christ. We are advanced. We should not be embracing into our lives everyone who identifies as Christian. Wisdom and common sense tells us that we should be applying Matthew 7:20 and 1 John 4:1, in one way or another, to all of our relationships and potential affiliations. Evaluation takes time. The more the potential for our Christian advancement to be compromised the longer that evaluation should take. That means watch and wait before we embrace connections.

You say that as an advanced, growing Christian you can help the babes to higher heights in God. There is some truth to that because the Scriptures encourage the strong to help the weak. That thinking with undisciplined, unwise actions, however, is how many growing Christians have downfalls. Those downfalls become harder and harder to overcome.

Some Christians will never be compatible with us. The inability to accept this can lead to discord, disappointment, emotional exhaustion, sorrow, loss, tragedy, the undermining of our Christian faith and more. None of it is necessary if we accept the truth and value the riches of our growth, rather than the lure of compromise. 

Understanding this should also impact our Christian business relationships definition. We should always be measuring our business alliances with the ruler of God's Word and our advanced knowledge in Christ. As you well know, growing in Christ is often a lonely life. While we can look forward to rewards, even here and now, it's not easy to take that journey and stay in the path. It takes:

• becoming more spiritually-minded everyday,
• learning to crucify the flesh,
• being purged and pruned by the Holy Spirit,
• being cut by the Word of God,
• learning to resist the devil,
• learning how to cast down imagination,
• learning to deny ourselves at times,
• learning to be moderate in all things,
• learning to walk humbly,
• learning to not think more highly of ourselves than we should while being thankful and grateful,
• letting God have his way,
• learning to recognize God's will,
• being obedient to God's will,
• continually giving more over to God,
• suffering with Christ in all the ways that God ordains,
• and more wonderful things like that.

I know you get that I'm saying those last few words with tongue-in-cheek, with a little humor sprinkled in but they are oh so true. For those who want to go higher in Christ in this world, who want more of God, who want to live a life of storing up riches in Heaven where the moths and rusts of this fallen, dying world cannot corrupt them and steal our rewards, it is the desired way. Being purged by God is welcomed. It can be exhausting but we'd rather be exhausted for The Kingdom than exhausted for the world, the flesh and the devil, like we were in the old days.

Many accept Christ but never take the first step onto the narrow path of transformation and renewal. Many think they have given it all over to God. Many know that they have not. However, in their secret heart, the minute that a spiritual offense comes, the minute that they suspect that God wants more from them, they choose not to move forward. There is no compatibility with those who do not want to grow in Christ and those who are. Good Christian friends are those who are on an upward track of continual growth, similar to ours.

Those who don't want to grow think that those who are growing are fanatics and over-doers. They are still blind and conceited and will try to undermine the growing Christian and convince us in subtle ways that we don't need all of that. How do we know? We were there once! We may not have consciously tried to undermine other Christians, but we had thoughts of not needing all of that that an advanced Christian displayed. They were spiritually beyond us. 

Don't allow your hard-won development and maturity in Christ to be compromised by not recognizing the difference between you being sold-out to Christ and someone who is not. Don't be brought down by anyone who, by virtue of their lack of growth, is still dabbling in the dark places from where you came or who simply doesn't want to go higher in Christ.

Be friendly with care, mentor with care, relate with care, exhort with care, partner with care, share with care, be compassionate with care, join with care, contract with care, remembering always that the Bible makes it plain. Two cannot walk together unless they are agreed. (Amos 3:3) That goes for any association that we have or could have in this world, whether it's with one person or fifty. 

  

Wisdom For Life's Trials: Dr. Charles Stanley On What It Means To Count It All Joy

In this 30 minute message, Dr. Charles Stanley helps us to understand what God means when he tells us to count it all joy when we struggle and suffer in difficult times.

It really blessed me, especially when he said that God knows that we don't like him at all at certain times. When he said that we may as well tell God exactly how we feel because he knows anyway, that is a practice that I've developed.

When I pray and throughout the day as I talk to Our Heavenly Father, I share with him exactly how I feel about everything. It takes such a burden off of me. I'm still working on doing better.

We, in this world, have been so used to shouldering feelings and attitudes that it's automatic. Just like when we attempt to solve our issues ourselves, we just don't think about telling God. When we have bad feelings, we don't think about telling him.

I don't lift up any preacher, teacher, pastor, minister or anyone with a Christian title as being a model of perfection. I don't promote anyone who shares Christian knowledge as someone whom everyone should listen to and follow. I do enjoy sharing messages, and occasionally music, when I am blessed.  

Dr. Stanley has always had such a calm and comforting voice. He is a teacher who will help you ascend to the next level of your walk with Christ. I like to learn from his son also, Andy Stanley. This is an interesting story that defined his impression of his father.

His dad was the Associate Pastor of First Baptist in Atlanta when the senior pastor was asked to resign. Charles Stanley was asked to preach on Sundays until a suitable replacement could be found. As he preached, the pews began to fill, young couples started to return, the youth ministry started to grow and volunteerism grew to an all-time high. There was a new excitement in the church.

Yet some of the longtime members of the church resented Charles Stanley's growing influence and popularity. It didn't help that there was a grass roots movement started to elect him as pastor. The old guard thought he was too young, too evangelistic and too spiritual, emphasizing a personal relationship with Jesus.

The powerbrokers started to politic to have Charles Stanley removed. People started to take sides. Two weeks before the vote to hire or fire Charles Stanley, Deacon Myers walked up to the pulpit as the Wednesday night service began. He started to talk about the growing controversy and as he did, horror upon horror, he used the word damn.

Charles Stanley calmly walked to the pulpit and said, Now you need to watch your language. With clinched fists the man responded, You need to watch yourself or you might get punched. Charles Stanley didn't back down or step away and then all of sudden Deacon Myers reared back and punched his dad.

His dad didn't retaliate. It was his dad's response to all this that marked Andy for life. He stepped right back up and stood by Deacon Myers. Andy Stanley said, In that moment I wanted to be that kind of man. From that moment on, it didn't matter what anybody said. Because actions speak louder than words.

That event revealed his dad's character. When we open the pages of scripture, we discover that character is defined by the very nature of Jesus Christ- a stumbling block for some but a rock solid foundation for others. Character is the will to do what is right, as defined by God, regardless of personal cost. Andy Stanley SermonCentral 

From Disappointment And Confusion To Triumph

In Psalm 44:1-26, we see that God's people endured disappointment and confusion just like we do, but they triumphed in God.

It's so important to read The Word everyday and not only start each day with prayer, but to talk to God throughout the day. Through these practices, we build strength to hold on and continue to believe through similar circumstances like what they endured. We should always stay close to God because nothing here in this earth is sure.

What we consider to be God's special blessings to us can turn at any time. What's here today can be changed or gone tomorrow. Does that mean it did not come from God? No.

I don't know about you, but I'm always thanking God for all good things. However, things change. God changes things at his will and he allows things to change. God is god of all and most of the time we are not able to understand why he allows or does certain things.

As David shared in the Psalms, one day we're on top and the next it seems like the whole world is against us. God allows things that are incomprehensible and mostly he doesn't tell us why. As we grow in him, we can sometimes discern a track that he has us on and that helps us to perceive that all is well.

Our job and best mental and emotional attitude is to cling to him, whether we are up or down, prosperous or lacking, successful or struggling. Whatever the circumstance, our faith is not to be placed in those day-to-day shiftings.

It is difficult sometimes, when we're struggling in various ways, but our hope and faith is to be in God himself. We can also ask him for relief at any point. David did that many times while professing his faith and devotion to Our Father.

No matter what he was suffering, mental or emotional anguish or physical attack, he took his disappointment and confusion to his God. In the end, he triumphed because he never gave up on Our Heavenly Father. He stayed with God.

How To Accept Jesus Christ As Your Savior