“Honey, believe me, I just gave my secretary a ride home. That’s all.”
“No, Mom, there won’t be any alcohol at the party.”
“I’ll pay you back…”
“Yes sir, I will have your daughter home by midnight.”

     When you believe a person, you trust her, and if you don’t believe her, you demonstrate that you don’t trust her. That might be okay. She may not be worthy of your trust. Or, conversely, she may be very worthy of your trust, but you still, for whatever mistaken reason, don’t trust her.
     Now here’s where the rubber meets the road: many people call themselves Christians but don’t believe God’s word. Or they think it’s got mistakes or problems. Or maybe they don’t even know what is in it. So they don’t know what to trust.
     But in order to be a Christian in the first place, you must believe God.
     Jesus said,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” John 5:24 (ESV)

     So to be a Christian, you must believe Him Who sent Jesus. If you don’t believe Him, you are not a Christian. And more than that, to continue growing in Christ, you must believe all the other wonderful things He says in His word. And to do that, you have to know what the Bible says.
     So it’s New Year’s Eve. I’m hoping that you have a desire to believe God this year. I sure do. The first step toward that is to know what He says. So…if you don’t have a plan to read the Bible or some portion of it this year, consider one of these Bible reading plans, and make it a year that you read God’s promises…and believe Him.

One more note: as those of you at Edgewood Community Church in Waupun know, Mike Giebink spoke on resetting your mind in 2013 this past weekend, and made a similar application to the one above.  We offered Bible reading plans to pick up after the service, and a number of people grabbed one.  If you’re interested, the one that generated the most interest was the 5x5x5 plan – five minutes a day, five days a week, and five ways to dig deeper…a great plan and not overly challenging if you’re just looking to get started somewhere in Bible reading.

In our saner, better moments, we wish we could trust God more! How we wish we had more faith! Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief!

God is a merciful God. He wants us to trust Him and He helps us do that. I will never cease to praise Him for that day long ago when, in the midst of my struggles and doubts, He brought me to Psalm 9:10 and said, Here, son, is how you get strong, abiding faith. I read the verse and my life’s been changed ever since. Those who know Your name, O Lord, will put their trust in You.

You have to know the Lord before you can really trust Him. I know we all like to think we know the Lord. We have a fairly good knowledge of God and the Bible. Yet, in our knowledge, we’re still prone to argue with God, to question, doubt, and distrust Him. Why is that? It’s because we don’t know Him as we should. We have a bookish knowledge of Him, but we don’t have the kind of intimate, faith-inspiring knowledge that can be had only in the context of a close and personal relationship with God.

It’s like two people who know the President. One’s a reporter who digs up all he can about the President in books, magazines, the papers, the newscasts, and the net. He’s never met the President, but he knows a lot about him. Then there’s the President’s confidant and close friend. He spends a lot of time with the President. He knows the President’s heart and soul. Which of the two, would you say, knows the President well? Of course, the guy who spends the most time with the President himself.

This is the way it is with God. The Bible is great and our bookish knowledge of God is gobs better than ignorance. But God is a Person. He’s a Personal Being. And, like we are with one another, He wants to be with us. That’s what salvation and eternity are all about: it’s about God saving us so that we can spend eternity with Him. But God isn’t waiting for eternity to be with us: He wants us to draw close to Him right now. He wants us to have an intimate friendship and relationship with Him. It’s called communion. Hanging out. Spending time with the one you love.

YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW A PERSON UNTIL YOU SPEND TIME WITH THAT PERSON. There are things that can be known only in the context of a close friendship or relationship. Like a marriage or friendship, the more time you spend with someone, the more you get to know that person. And the more you get to know the person, the more you love, trust, and respect that person.

TRUST COMES EASY WHEN YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TRUSTING. If you’re following God from afar and don’t have much of a relationship with Him in prayer or in the Word, then faith won’t be easy for you. YOU CAN’T TRUST SOMEONE YOU DON’T KNOW.

Do you want to have faith? Do you long to have a strong, abiding faith in God despite the trials and the adverse reasonings and circumstances of life? Get to know God better. Spend more time with Him in prayer and the Word. Talk to Him lots. And keep quiet long enough to hear Him speak back to you. He’s got so much He wants to say to you! So keep quiet and listen. Work on your relationship with Him. FAITH WILL COME AS A MATTER OF COURSE WHEN YOU KNOW THE LORD IN A PERSONAL SORT OF WAY.

Are you having problems with doubt? Are you trying, struggling, to believe? Clear your mind of the thoughts that trouble you. Focus on God. Draw near to Him and get to know Him better. THE MORE YOU KNOW HIM THE LESS YOU’LL DOUBT HIM. THE MORE YOU KNOW HIM THE MORE YOU’LL TRUST HIM. AND THE MORE YOU TRUST HIM THE MORE YOU’LL SEE HIS SAVING HAND AND HELP. For You, O Lord, do not forsake or abandon those who seek You (Psalm 9:10b).

May God grant you a heart to know Him. And, in knowing Him, fill your heart with faith and your mind with peace. God bless you.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;

(for he is faithful that promised). Hebrews 10:23 

Waiting does not come easy to many of us. As is so often the case, the longer the wait, the weaker the faith. Some give up faith altogether. Others get mouthier with God. Some even turn their back on Him.

But, brethren, we are persuaded of better things concerning you! The Lord wants to encourage you to continue to believe and trust Him. He has a word for His people and that word is, God is still faithful! What are you believing for, beloved? What trial of faith are you faced with? And how long has it been since you prayed and the answer still hasn’t come? God’s word to you today is, Hold fast! Because God is still faithful!

THE MEANING OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

What does God’s faithfulness mean? GOD’S FAITHFULNESS MEANS HE WILL DO EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID HE WOULD DO. This is what God promised and this is what God will do:  What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 11:24). God’s faithfulness, dear friends, means you’re going to get what you’ve asked and believed God for.

WHAT GOD’S FAITHFULNESS ENTAILS FOR US

1. God’s faithfulness is our guarantee that He will do for us whatever we’re believing and asking Him to do according to His Word. We’re constantly looking for guarantees and assurances. We want to make sure that the thing we’re planning to buy will work, or that the person we hired to do a job will do it right.

We all want proof that God’s going to do what He said He would do. Fortunately for us, we have the proof! The proof is our faith. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Evidence is proof. That’s what the word means. Our faith is the evidence or proof that we have the things that are not seen. We may not see the healing right now. We may not see our loved one saved just yet. We may not have the much-needed money at the moment. But the faith that we have in our heart is the proof that we have the things that we’ve desired of God that are not seen just now.

Of course, if we don’t have faith in our heart, if we don’t believe God’s going to answer our prayer, then we won’t have the evidence or proof. Instead, our heart will be filled with doubts, questions, and arguments.

But when we believe, our hearts are at rest and at peace because we believe, we know, that God will do what we asked Him to do. Our faith is the proof that we have what we don’t yet see.

2. God’s faithfulness gives us reason to endure our trials. His faithfulness is the basis for our endurance. We endure the trials because we know He’ll be faithful to deliver us and grant us our petition. We don’t suffer or endure or wait in vain! At the trial’s end we’ll receive the things we’ve desired of God.

How do we know that? How can we be sure of that? Because that’s what God said would happen! He said, Ye shall have them (Mark 11:24). We may not know the exact time this trial will come to an end. We may not know when exactly the answer will come. But WE CAN KNOW HOW THE TRIAL WILL END. God’s faithfulness means this trial will end and we’ll get what He promised us we could have.

GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IS ROOTED IN HIS NATURE

It is God’s nature to be faithful. He’s faithful because that’s what He is by nature. Birds fly because it’s built into their very nature to fly. Fishes swim because it’s part of their nature to swim. In much the same way, God is faithful because it’s His nature to be faithful.

II Timothy 2:13 tells us,  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.  The word deny means ‘to  disclaim, disown, renounce, or contradict’.

God cannot renounce or contradict what He is by nature. Birds can’t cease to be birds. Fishes can’t cease to be fishes. And God can’t cease to be faithful: He abideth faithful (II Timothy 2:13).  God cannot be anything other than faithful. His nature compels Him to be faithful. He cannot quit being faithful. He cannot stop from being faithful. It is utterly impossible for God to be unfaithful–at any time, in any circumstance or trial. He cannot deny Himself!

God’s faithfulness is tied in with His other attributes.

• Why Can God Be Faithful? Because God is True. He cannot lie. If He promised it, He won’t break His promise. God cannot and will not renege on His Word! Numbers 23:19 assures us that  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?  Hebrews 6:18  tells us that it  is impossible for God to lie. Do you know what ‘impossible’ means? It means no chance, no possibility, no way. Impossible means it can’t happen, it’s incapable of coming to pass, it can’t be done. What is impossible is inconceivable, impractical, unimaginable, unthinkable, unattainable, unachievable, unfeasible–it’s beyond possibility of realization or accomplishment. In other words, brethren, God cannot lie. He can never be unfaithful. He cannot deny Himself! Why? Because it’s impossible for Him to do so!
• How Can God Be Faithful? God can be faithful because He is omnipotent. He is powerful enough to do whatever He wants to do. He is powerful enough to do whatever you need Him to do in your life! There is none more powerful that God! Nothing and no one can prevent Him from doing what He wants to do.

Isaiah 14:27 reads,  For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?  

Elsewhere, in Jeremiah 32:27 we read, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?  The prophet himself answers the question in verse 17 of the same chapter:  Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. Hallelujah!

Have you settled it, my friends? Nothing is too hard for the Lord to do for you!  With God, all things are possible. Nothing is impossible for Him to do {except lie} because He has all the power to do whatever you need Him to do in your life.

God’s faithfulness lies in Himself, in His nature, in His very being. Do you know what this means? It means God’s faithfulness isn’t dependent on your symptoms; it isn’t conditioned on, or regulated by, the circumstances you’re faced with. God’s faithfulness, beloved, does not cease with the severity of the trial, nor is it diminished and threatened by the longevity of the trial. It isn’t harder for God to be faithful just because the trial is harder or longer or seemingly hopeless, incurable, or impossible.

God’s faithfulness lies in Himself. His nature causes Him to be faithful. And there’s nothing–except a change in His nature–that can cause God to be unfaithful. Since God’s nature hasn’t changed, since His nature can’t be changed–then there’s nothing on this earth, including your trial and the devil, that can change God or prevent Him from being faithful TO YOU!

What cannot be changed cannot be changed. The symptoms, the pains, the time element, the reports of men, or the lies and works of the devil, CANNOT CHANGE God’s nature of  ALWAYS being faithful. Therefore, brethren, no matter what kind of trial it is;  no matter how bad it’s looking, how painful it’s feeling, how long it’s taking, or how close the deadline is coming–whatever you’re believing God for, hold fast and continue to believe because God is still faithful! He has not changed!

by Apostle Gabriel Cross

Out of the things that the WORD identifies us as, I want to go down in history as a BELIEVER. BELIEVING God and it came to pass! BELIEVING God, against all odds! BELIEVING God, in the midst of adversity! BELIEVING God, denying the symptoms the right to exist, in the temple of thbelieve-in-jesus.htmle Holy Spirit. BELIEVING God’s WORD even when others can’t keep their word.

“And he BELIEVED in the Lord ; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)
And many more BELIEVED because of his own word;” (John 4:41 ) “And he said, Lord, I BELIEVE. And he worshipped him.” (John 9:38) “And blessed is she that BELIEVED : for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45)

“But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that BELIEVE to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:39)

“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast BELIEVED: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have BELIEVED.” (John 20:29)

“And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, BELIEVED on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing BELIEVED and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8)

“We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I BELIEVE, and therefore have I spoken; we also BELIEVE, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.” (2 Corinthians 4:13, 14) “I had fainted, unless I had BELIEVED to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalms 27:13) “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, BELIEVING, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22) …”Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; BELIEVE his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” (2 Chronicles 20:20) “Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest BELIEVE, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)

And I BELIEVED, and it came to pass! In the midst of pressures, crises, and trauma, it is more powerful and more healthy to BELIEVE than to doubt. I want to go down in history, as the one who BELIEVED God and It ALL came to pass! You are blessed to be a BELIEVER today!

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

As I thought about this though, I realize that I’m like this even in my relationship with Jesus. I give Him the side hug and then move on with my day. Hmmm…I knew I was missing something. But I am ready to learn more about this, to experience relationship on a deeper and more intimate level.

I’m excited about this. I’m also scared.

I feel like I’m in an airplane at 10,000 feet. I have on my parachute and am ready to jump out of the plane. There are risks involved. I could get hurt. The landing may be rough. BUT the thrill of the jump, the free fall, the gentle descent after the parachute deploys, the view, the freedom … these are the rewards. What an experience! Exciting and scary. I’m kinda hoping someone will just come up behind me and push, but I know that I need to go ahead and jump. Maybe someone will grab my hand and jump with me….

~Digging even deeper …

Several weeks ago, I posted a series giving several reasons those of us who love a prodigal can’t quit. This is the final part of that series.

If any of my readers are from Alabama, I am probably going to lose you at this point because I have to tell you I don’t care very much about football. My daughter and my husband both love football—make that Alabama football—enough to make up for my shameful deficit. While they would not miss one minute of an Alabama game regardless of who is playing against them, I don’t usually watch the games with them. I made an exception this past Saturday when Alabama played LSU on November 3, 2012. And I’m so glad I did because God taught me an important spiritual truth during the last two minutes of that game.

Already ahead 17-14 with less than two minutes remaining, LSU tried for a field goal that should have ended the game, but they missed. The ball was instead turned over to the Crimson Tide on their own 28 with 1:34 left in the game. Alabama then made three perfect passes and scored a touchdown with only seconds remaining in the game. How in the world did they turn this around? The answer is simple. They refused to quit. They were exhausted and battered and even discouraged. And they looked it. One sports announcer said, “Their legs are even tired.” But they did not quit. And I’m glad they didn’t, because the story wasn’t finished yet.

We can’t quit either. No matter how hard the fight, no matter how powerful the opposition, no matter whether we are so exhausted “even our legs are tired…we can’t quit. Our story isn’t finished yet, and neither is the story of our prodigal. And it doesn’t matter whether your prodigal has turned against everything you ever taught him about your God. God still isn’t finished with him. Your prodigal is almost certainly not even seeking God, and he doesn’t have to because God is seeking him. (Romans 10:20, Luke 19:10)

Our job isn’t to point out what our prodigal needs to do. Our job is to stand firm, refuse to quit, and continue to believe God. You can choose faith over fear and say with the psalmist, “for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” (Psalm 42:11b) We can’t quit even if it really is the last minute and a half before the miracle happens. No matter how long we’ve been fighting, the end of our story may be determined in the last seconds. That truth, perhaps more than any other, is why we can’t quit.

Beyond breezy, but not quite blustery…that’s what the weather has been like here in the outskirts of Atlanta.  Clusters of crispy brown leaves scurry along the pavement while tree branches dip and sway, dancing to an unheard melody.  A mere walk to the mailbox whips and tosses my hair, making me wonder why I bothered any attempt at styling it in the first place.  In the backyard, Cardinals and Chickadees, buffeted by gusts of wind, puff out their feathers and cling precariously to the perches on the feeders.  Every once in awhile, a dead branch loses its grip from the Oak tree and crashes onto the deck below.  The enormous American flag flying a few blocks away (the one that serves as a landmark when I am giving people directions to my house) ripples and curls and waves in the air.  It’s funny – you can’t see wind, but you know it’s there.

The same can be said about God, don’t you think?  You can’t see Him, but you know He is there.  Like the wind, the evidence of His power and presence are undeniable.  I may not be able to show you God, but I can show you the changes He has made in me.  I can tell you how He has moved in my life – sometimes like a gentle breeze, nudging me along the right paths; other times like a fierce hurricane, battering and breaking down my walls of pride and self-protection.  Around me and within me, from the dawn of each new day to the steady beating of my heart, I can see the hand of the unseen God.

The wind is invisible, but I’d be a fool to deny its existence.
I’d be a greater fool to deny the existence of God.

“His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1:6-7)

Originally Posted on October 27, 2011

I thought this one was worth reading again, so I’m reposting.

I’ve been thinking for a few weeks about the words HOLD FAST… How when we hold fast to the right things we are propelled forward, breaking down barriers and moving mountains as we go. When we “hold fast to the confession of hope WITHOUT wavering” that’s when things get serious girls. When our identity in Christ permeates EVERY area of our lives, when the love and grace and peace of Christ radiates from our core, WE ARE HOLDING FAST to the right things.

Sometimes as western Christians I think we can hold fast to the wrong things too. We can hold fast to safety, we can hold fast to rules and spiritual checklists, and then wonder why there is little fruit in our lives. Christ came to SET US FREE (Galatians 5:1) but still sometimes we hold on the the things that keep us captive, because it’s what we know.

Moving toward God. Signing up to push the Kingdom forward. Pledging to fight the good fight and storm the gates of Hell for the glory of God REQUIRES us to hold fast to the right thing… the only thing … our hope in Him. Maybe you’re sitting there saying whoa woman, I didn’t sign up for that, to you I would say… why not? If our hope is Eternal the eternal needs to be in the everyday, it’s time to stop compartmentalizing… It’s time to HOLD FAST. It’s time to BE BOLD. It’s time to FIGHT STRONG women!!! This is what we’re here for. It will look different in all of us… because we all have different roles.

{In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.  If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.} Romans 12:6-8

It’s time, it just is. It’s time to recognize God’s call on our lives and hold fast to what he has told us will happen. If you don’t know what he wants for your life, if you don’t know who He says you are… ask him and listen for an answer… It’s time. You’re strong, you’re beautiful, you’re worthy, you’re usable, and with him YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE.

Lord Jesus, we’re done holding fast to the wrong things. Lord give us a fresh anointing of your holy spirit today. Ignite us with your holy fire. If there are sisters who don’t know who you say they are, tell them Lord. Break into our lives lord, right now as we read this Lord break in, break in to our days with our kids, help us to raise mighty warriors. Break in to our jobs, no matter where we work let us radiate your glory. Lord bind any darkness, Lord crush anything keeping us from the callings you’ve blessed us with. Give us grit, boldness and strength as we fight for your kingdom and your glory. AMEN

So for the last year the doctor’s have been monitoring my condition. Two weeks ago I had yet another MRA. Today the doctor reported to me great news! First that the aneurism hasn’t grown any in over a years time and that both the arteries in my neck are plaque free! I could hardly contain myself in the doctor’s office. What a mighty God we serve.

We’ve been saying all year that this is the year of miracles and God has worked a miracle in my life. Thank you for your prayers. If you are believing God for anything, keep on believing!

The path walked by those of us who love a prodigal is full of snares and pitfalls, and we need godly wisdom in order to walk that path. James 3:16 told us the kind of wisdom we need, wisdom “from above,” is ours for the asking. Then we began to examine that godly wisdom to see what it looked like. A careful and honest look at our motives revealed that those motives are usually not “pure,” but are contaminated by manipulation, trickery, anger or ulterior motives.

We then looked at how we could choose the higher ground and choose to be peaceable by avoiding arguments even when we know we are right. It means taking responsibility for our own serenity by letting things go. We then went on to how we could be gentle with our prodigal in the things we say and the way we say them, recognizing that we cannot be cruel and at peace at the same time.

We may have struggled with the part of this verse that says godly wisdom is “easily intreated” because we are sometimes so very tired of forgiving our prodigals only to be disappointed again. In reminding you, I reminded myself that forgiveness isn’t about our prodigals at all. It’s about us and about our need to let go of the anger and resentment, justified or not, that poisons our spirits. Godly wisdom tells us we have a choice and that God expects us to make the right choice.

Being “easily intreated” brought us to the decision to forgive and then it took us even further by adding mercy. There we sat, thinking the job was finished when we forgave our prodigal. However, mercy also requires that we not exact payment for the wrong done. This one isn’t easy either, but it helped me to remember my prodigal is sick. It also helped to remember that I have needed mercy and will continue to need it in the future. To expect mercy when I hurt someone but then to expect justice when someone hurts me is hardly fair. And godly wisdom will remind us of that.

This short verse then challenged us to examine the fruit in our lives to see whether it is good, healthy, nourishing fruit. If we’re willing to take an honest look, we’ll know whether we’re applying godly wisdom by looking at the things we say and do and how we face the storms in our lives.

We then looked at some ways godly wisdom does not manifest itself. It doesn’t show partiality, and it isn’t hypocritical. The first of those involves fairness, and the second involves honesty. Being authentic is probably the key to the entire verse. Just being real. Being authentic with ourselves and with another person will help us objectively examine our growth. And it will remind us that we don’t have to do all of these or even one of these perfectly or permanently. We can begin and then trust the process.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, begin the journey of acquiring this “wisdom from above?” Can you be gentle with yourself, remembering it is a journey rather than a destination?

We all know Abraham’s story pretty well, after we have been saved for a decade or so . . .

But how do we apply it?  This is the best application sermon of Abraham’s life I have ever read.  If you are home with the hurricane today like me, I strongly recommend it.

I received a phone call from a dear friend today.  I could feel her joy as she shared the peaceful resolution of a situation involving her son and grandchild.  The two were going to be re-united after being separated a few months ago due to the child’s mother having to move for  work-related reasons.  The story was riddled with the beauty of God. One of the greatest take-a-ways from the story, however, was my friend’s walk of faith.

From the moment she learned of the move, she went into prayer.  She never berated the child’s mother.  She didn’t speak against the move.  She didn’t even advise against it.  Instead, she let the child’s mother know that she was available for her and her grandchild at any time.  She also encouraged her son to do the same for that was, she said, “the godly thing to do.”

The move broke my friend’s heart – visibly.  The sadness she apparently felt often overshadowed her facial expressions when she spoke of the situation.  Still, she gave the matter to God and she gave it to Him with respect in tact.  She never questioned the mother’s right to do what she needed to do for the betterment of herself and her child.  Most of all, she prayed and asked God to give her the heart she needed for the situation. He gave her one of patience and understanding.

During our conversation this morning, as she shared the plans for the child’s return, I thought of how her faith and trust in the Lord allowed Him to move.  My friend was willing to accept the outcome of the situation no matter how it looked. What’s more, she didn’t attach her desires to her prayers.  She prayed for God’s best in the situation.  She let God be God and by doing so allowed Him to bring a peaceful resolution to the matter.  Would she have been just as joyful if the Lord had move in a different way?  I am not sure.  I do believe, though, that because she released her desires and opened herself to receive God’s heart for the matter, that He would have given her understanding of the outcome. That understanding would have possibly given way to peace.

Are there situations you need to release to the Lord?  Are you positioned to receive His best of situations you hold very close to your heart?  If not, pause and ask the Lord to help you get to a place where you can.  Ask Him for his heart for the matter and then ask Him to show you how to trust Him through the situation.  Don’t forget to the thank Him for the experience.  I am convinced that if you give God an opportunity to be Who He is, He will give you understanding and even more importantly, He will give you godly peace.  What could possibly be more comforting than that?

I have no intention to convince you that God exist. I am only among you to connect you with God, and then you will be able to believe me. I do not blame atheists because they do not see God inside of themselves. Not everyone can believe without proof. For those who do not believe in God, I offer them the opportunity to see Him through immediate enlightenment, so that you may discover your own nature, your own God-self.

You see, seeing is believing. God is too abstract, too intangible for us, if He is not brought down nearer to our understanding a little. How can He expect us to believe? This is blind faith. This is why I left to find enlightenment because I couldn’t just read the Bible, read the scriptures, and say I believe Buddha, I believe God.  I had to have proof. I prayed to God every day. Please, if You exist, show me the way so I can find You, contact with You somehow. Open my eyes, open my ears, let me see, let me know at least Your love. Let me feel, let me know that You take care of us in some way or another. So after enlightenment, after initiation you will feel everyday that God is taking care of you. Truly that is so in all ways, in any situation, small things, big things. God does really take care and love us, and smoothes things out for us. Helps us in accidents, in sickness. He helps us in our dark days, helps us in every way. Then you may know that God truly exists. You will feel the overwhelming love power protecting and loving you. That is God. This is why people say God is love.

We have only to go upward to a higher and glorious world, to be near our Almighty God. The ocean of love and mercy is what we call God. He is not a being, although He might manifest Himself sometimes as a being to let us feel close, to be able to touch Him, and communicate with Him. Otherwise He is only an ocean of love and mercy and blessing and compassion. Everything that is good and joyous, that is God. We ourselves at the moment, even without initiation, without knowing our innate wisdom, our inborn heavenly power, we are still God.

Any time you manifest love toward your neighbor, toward your children, your friends, your relatives or anyone in need, you manifest God. So the more we manifest this kind of compassion, love, mercy and wisdom, the more we are near to God. But God in this sense is too limited. We can only help a handful of people at a time. God, in the ultimate sense, can help the whole world. So this is the goal we strive to achieve. This is what Buddha and Jesus achieved.

When the Buddha was alive, He told a story about four blind persons who touched an elephant and described it. The one who touched his ears said, ‘wow, an elephant is like a fan, a big fan,’ and another one who touched his legs said, ‘an elephant is like the pillar of a house’, and the other one who touched his nose said, ‘the elephant looks like a water pipe, a hose,’ and the one who touched his tail said, ‘an elephant is like a broomstick,’ (laughter). This is how we see God. This is how ordinary people see God, and this is how practitioners from different levels see God. Therefore, it is said that God is within you, Buddha is in your mind. That is the meaning of it.
For more information, please visit:  http://www.godsdirectcontact.org

It was one of those crazy moments on I-635.  I was casually driving down the expressway, deep in thought, when I heard this whizzing sound.  I looked up to see this blur of a motorcycle speeding by and it scared me to death.  This guy’s going to get killed, I thought to myself, and shot up a quick prayer that God would protect him.

Later in the day, I was in a grocery store and I heard a toddler crying. Of course, that’s not uncommon, but this cry was different. It was a cry of hurt and neglect. I could barely stand it. “Lord, I prayed, please help the parents to stop and give attention to this child.” As soon as the words came from my lips, I thought…how will I ever know if God hears these prayers? I don’t even know these people, I’ll never see them again. Does God really hear my prayers for people on motorcycles and in grocery stores? Do these random prayers really make a difference?!

Mind you, these were just thoughts. No one heard me, but God.

I went about my business and got in line with my cart to pay for my purchase.  When, lo and behold, who came behind me but this man and his little girl.  I turned and smiled, noting that her crying had stopped and that her daddy was holding her.  He looked at me and asked me if I wanted to hold his little girl.  I held her for a moment and gently spoke to her.  She smiled and I handed her back.

Lord, what was that all about?  And as clear as day, these thoughts came to my mind…”I do hear your prayers.  You are right, you may never see the outcome of many of them, but I do hear them.  I sent him to you, this time, so you would know.”

Tears came to my eyes.  I was so encouraged—my prayers for this little girl did make a difference!

Many years ago, when I was about ten or eleven, my best friend and I thought it might be a good idea to pray for people in the ambulance when we heard the sirens go by. I’m laughing as I write this.  We decided that we would pray one big really loooong prayer and then make a fist and kiss our hand and blow the prayer up to God.  The next time we heard an ambulance all we would do is kiss our hand and blow that really long prayer back up to God.  Since He is God, surely He would remember!

Over the years, my prayers have taken on many forms and I’ve learned something from each one of them.

My earliest prayers were memorized.  ”God is great, God is good.  Let us thank Him for this good food.  Amen.”  I also remember a needle point that my mother made when I was a toddler that stood over my bed.  I can still see the little girl in her pink nightgown kneeling by her bed praying, “Now I lay me down to sleep.  I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Later, as a young person looking for answers to my hungry heart I cried out to God with tears.  My words came from the depths of my soul.  ”Please God, hear me and help me to make sense of this life.”

He heard me.

I heard the message many times… Sunday School, Good News Club, little old ladies handing out tracts, etc. I don’t know why it never quite clicked, but I do remember when it did.  It was like the light was turned on and I haven’t been the same since.  I changed and it became evident to those all around me.

The Scriptures say that if I believe, that is what I should expect.  Those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who took upon Himself the punishment for their sin are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into His kingdom of light.  Therefore, we serve a new King and His Spirit is put within us so that we can boldly say, if God be for us…who can be against us (Rom 8:31)?

Secondly, I am able to see truth in a way that I was not able to see it before.  The truth of God gives me a perspective from which to view my experience and the world around me.  I mean, who would know better than God, the Creator, what is truth and what really is? What is so exhilarating is that it actually makes more and more sense the longer I live, and the more questions I ask.  Granted I don’t have all the answers, but I have found the Christian faith to provide a consistent and coherent framework for the longings of the human heart and for the world in which we live.

Whoever said the Christian life is boring has never really tried it!

Well, this has been part of my journey. My story. Prayer brings me into the presence of God.  It turns my face towards Him so that I am ready to hear what He has to say.  Through it I gain perspective on myself, the world around me and whatever troubles are on my heart. It gives me opportunity to pour out my soul to the One who knows me better than I know myself.  Through prayer, I can intercede for others and move the hand of God.

• Did not Adam and Eve walk in God’s presence while in the Garden?  Genesis 3:8 ff.
• What about Abraham?  Did he not also stand in God’s presence?  The LORD came to him and appeared to him and gave him opportunity to intercede for Lot, his nephew, in Sodom and Gomorrah. As the result of Abraham’s intercession, his life was spared.  Genesis 18:16-33
• Then, there was Moses who stood in the presence of God on Mount Sinai.  God spoke to him and gave him His words, so they would know how to live as God’s people and how to please Him. While Moses was on the mountain, the people became impatient and rebelled against God by building and worshipping a golden calf. God sought to destroy them, but Moses interceded for the people and their lives were spared.  Exodus 32:7-14
• Then, there is Jesus, our wonderful HIgh Priest, who stands in the presence of God and intercedes for us! So that we can come boldly with confidence to the throne of grace to find mercy and help in our time of need! Hebrews 4:14-16

Prayer brings me into the presence of God. Prayer helps me to gain God’s perspective. It changes things and it changes me. LORD, teach me to pray!

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word “hypocrite” is a person who harshly judges others and pretends to be virtuous themselves when in reality they are not. But the word has a deeper meaning than that. The root word in Greek means, “actor,” and it referred to someone who played a role in a play. The actors, or hypocrites, would put on a mask and play the role assigned to them. Those of us who love a prodigal know quite a bit about role-playing, and we also know about masks.

Some of us have for years been making excuses to friends and family for our prodigal. He has a “touch of the flu” and can’t go to the family get-together. He can’t seem to find a job where they appreciate him. He doesn’t really drink that much. It wasn’t his marijuana; it belonged to one of his friends. The teachers, the bosses, the police, the judge, the counselors…none of them understand him or believe him. No wonder he keeps getting in trouble! We’ve lied to ourselves, sometimes for years, and tried to convince ourselves that everything is ok. And when we finally reach the point where we can’t lie to ourselves anymore, we still put on our plastic faces, show up at work or church with a big smile and continue to wear that mask, which hides our disappointment, our fear, and our broken heart.

The problem with that, of course, is that we really are “as sick as our secrets,” and continuing to deny what is so obvious is going to make us sick. Wouldn’t it be better to just get real with someone? I’m not saying we should vomit our problems all over every person we know. That wouldn’t be showing godly wisdom any more than keeping secrets. But there has to be somewhere we can take our pain and just get open and honest about it. For some, especially if substance abuse is involved, that might be Alanon or Overcomers. For others, it might be a trusted friend, a pastor or a counselor. But somewhere, somehow we need to find the strength and courage to share our very real pain rather than hiding it and trying to carry it alone.

To pretend everything in our lives is peachy keen and dandy when in reality our lives are in turmoil and our family is falling apart is hypocrisy of the worst kind. And it certainly isn’t claiming that wisdom “from above” that can take us to a place of acceptance, serenity, and hope. I’ve been struggling with some fear and hurt for several days. I finally called a trusted friend, who let me vent and cry about it. Then she gently took me back to the place where I could take ownership of my own part and leave the rest of it in God’s hands, which is where both the situation and the outcome really belong. That’s the pathway to peace, and it’s involves being authentic and “without hypocrisy.”

Challenge for Today: Are you lying to people about your situation or your prodigal? Worse yet, are you lying to yourself? Can you, just for today, get real with one person you can trust?

Folks from other places have no idea how seriously we take football in Alabama. I’ve seen weddings rescheduled if they were in conflict with an Alabama game, and I’ve seen receptions and rehearsal dinners with Alabama themes and toasts being interspersed with shouts of, “Roll Tide!” Auburn fans may not be as plentiful, but they are no less partial. That bias may be ok with football, but it won’t work with godly wisdom. That’s because not only does godly wisdom have some specific and recognizable characteristics, but it also lacks some things. Partiality is one of them.

All of us bring a certain bias to situations based on our core beliefs, our history and our feelings. Recognizing that we have a bias can bring objectivity to a situation. I’ve heard people say they “love” their kids’ friends as much as they do their own children. Really? If your child and this friend you love “like your own child” get into trouble together, who’s responsible? All of a sudden, that friend isn’t quite so loveable, is he? He’s become part of the “wrong crowd” your child needs to avoid.

I’m not saying that our kids won’t be influenced by their friends because they often are. I am saying it’s a lot easier for me to see the faults of others than to hold the people I love accountable for their own actions. Our kids aren’t acting out because we’re single parents, or we don’t have money or they don’t have enough “advantages.” And we won’t help our prodigal if we show partiality by blaming others or making excuses for him instead of holding him accountable. Although I’m talking about prodigal children here, these things are equally true if your prodigal is a spouse, a sibling, or a parent.

Another way we sometimes show partiality is by giving all our time, resources, and energy to our prodigal to the exclusion of others. It’s hard not to focus most or all our attention on the prodigal. However, we need to be on guard lest that one become the topic of every conversation and the focus of every plan we make. If we can’t go to a grandchild’s birthday party because we’re “too stressed” about our prodigal, we should probably reevaluate our priorities. Our other kids need to hear from us that they too are important, and we need to be careful that our prodigals’ failures don’t overshadow their successes. Also, it’s true that my financial resources are my own to do with as I choose. However, if every spare dime I have goes to my prodigal because he “needs” it more than the other kids, I might need to take a look at that. And I need to look at all those things with godly wisdom, the wisdom “from above.”

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, look objectively at your prodigal and stop making excuses for him? Can you ask yourself if you are showing partiality?