When God's Answer Was No

 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

While God speaks through our circumstances, it can be very dangerous to depend on what we see to make decisions. We should never interpret Scripture through the lens of our circumstances, but rather interpret our circumstances through the lens of Scripture. For example, if you pray for someone to be healed and they are not, you cannot interpret that to mean that God does not heal. The Bible shows us time and time again that God does heal. The interpretation of that circumstance is that God is Sovereign and in that instance chose not to heal.

Paul gives us a wonderful example of how circumstances could be misleading. Paul knew that he was called to spread the gospel to the Gentiles. God spoke to Paul through a person, Ananias. "But the Lord said to Anaias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name'" (Acts 9"15). Paul knew he was called for a certain task; however, he met opposition at every turn.

He wrote: "I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one, Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked" (2 Corinthians 11:23 -27).

 

Now I don't know about you, but if all this had happened to me, I would begin to doubt whether I had heard God correctly. See, my tendency is to judge whether I heard God's voice according to the success or failure of my circumstances. But this isn't God's perspective.

We cannot always interpret seemingly negative circumstances as failure of hearing God's voice correctly. Jesus heard God's voice perfectly and yet went to the cross. Joseph heard God's voice clearly in a dream, and yet was sold into slavery and thrown in prison. Sometimes the puzzle pieces of our lives may seem ragged and ill-shaped, but each piece fits perfectly into place when God is choreographing the design.

Now it's Your Turn, have there been times when you have prayed and God's answer was no?

That's a silly question. Of course, you have. God wouldn't be God if He gave us every thing we wanted. So here is the real question… In those times when God did not answer your prayer as you had hoped, did you redefine God by your circumstance or did you redefine your circumstance by your God.

That will take a little pondering.

God does speak to us through our circumstances, but we must always filter those circumstances through the Word of God – the Bible. If you would like to learn more about how to see God working in your everyday life, see Sharon 's book, Becoming a Woman who Listens to God.

Let's Pray
Dear Lord, I will admit that I don't always understand Your ways, but I do know that You are loving and that You are good. Help me to base my faith on Your Word and not my interpretation of circumstances. You are Sovereign, O Lord, and for this I praise Your name.

GIRLFRIENDS IN GOD by Sharon Jaynes © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Battle between flesh and spirit (2)

Our Greatest Power
The flesh and the spirit cannot co-exist. They have only you in common. Salvation brings a new heart and a new spirit but not new flesh. We have to learn to walk by the spirit and deny the flesh, to prefer God's will for our lives over our own. Paul exhorted us not to conform any longer to the pattern of the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) He said that we could be made new in the attitudes of our minds. (Ephes. 4:23) He was talking about learning to exercise our greatest power to drive out the flesh.

He said that this power is like the working of God's mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms. (Ephes. 1:20) He said that it's a divine power that can demolish strongholds (bad habits and attitudes) and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God (bad information). (2 Cor. 10:3-5)

This power is the God-given ability to choose whatever response we desire to any circumstance that confronts us. It sounds so simple, and yet it can have a profound effect on our lives. Think of it. We can say "No" to that next cigarette, or drink, or snack, or come-on, or any other temptation. When someone hurts us we can respond in love instead of anger. We can choose patience over frustration. We can turn the other cheek, give more than is required, forgive and even forget.

Although it's that simple, it's not easy. Remember, the flesh is older, bigger, stronger. It's used to calling the shots, and won't give up easily. There's a lot of inertia to overcome. All of our lives, the flesh has been in charge. It's not going to suddenly step aside just because we've invited a new power to reside within us. As long as we're on this Earth there'll be contention between the flesh and the spirit. Remember, Isaac and Ishmael have been at it for 4000 years.

And of course there'll be times when we choose to let the flesh win. We'll be having a bad day, or be caught off guard, or we'll be out of fellowship due to some unconfessed sin. And the flesh will be "crouching at our door" just as it was with Cain. (Genesis 4:7) Like Cain, we'll forget that it's our job to master it and we'll do something stupid.

But because of the cross, we won't be banished. God, who knows the end from the beginning, foresaw this sin and nailed it to the cross with all the others. Since we've accepted His death as payment for our sins, He's chosen to always see us as we will be instead of as we are. 2 Cor. 5:17 says that in His eyes we're a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. So He's able to distinguish the person from the performance and says, "That's not my child. My child is as righteous as I am. (2 Cor. 5:21) That's the flesh that dwells within my child." (Romans 7:17) So, as soon as we confess we're forgiven, the sin is forgotten, and we're purified from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Exercising our power of choice

is like every other form of exercise. At the beginning it's a lot of effort for very little result. But as we persevere the effort gets easier and the results become more noticeable. And like other forms of exercise, it feels uncomfortable at the beginning. That's because the flesh creates feelings to prompt our choices. The person who says, "If it feels good, do it!" is speaking out of his flesh. At the beginning, feelings are almost never a good indicator of choice. The Spirit recalls the Word of God to our minds and prompts us to act accordingly. That means we'll be making "contrary-to-feelings" choices. The question "What would Jesus do?" although misused by many, was intended to remind us to act in accordance with the spirit. Though our war with the flesh won't be won until we receive our perfected bodies, God has given us the power to defeat it every time we choose to engage. (Joshua 10:25)

Time And Eternity
Defeating the flesh has both temporal and eternal benefits. In this life it's the key to the abundant life Jesus promised. The Lord's promises are real so if they're not being fulfilled in our lives, then our flesh must be preventing it, because the spirit wants for us what the Lord wants. Defeating the flesh helps remove the obstacles that are blocking the fulfillment of His promises.

Defeating the flesh also wins the victory crown in eternity. (1 Cor. 9:24-27) It's one of the things that will cause the Lord to say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master's happiness!' as He hands you your crown. That alone should make the effort worthwhile.

GRACE THRU FAITH from article "Isaac and Ishmael, An Allegory" by Jack Kelley © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

The Battle between flesh and spirit (1)

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. (Galatians 4:22-23)

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." [Genesis 21:10] Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. (Galatians 4:28-31)

Another way to say it is that one of Abraham's sons was born of the flesh while the other was born of the Spirit. When Sarah took matters into her own hands and gave Hagar to Abraham, they produced a son in the natural way, the biological union of egg and sperm.

But when Sarah was 90 and Abraham 100, Isaac was born. By all accounts it was a miracle, a supernatural event. Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." (Genesis 21:6-7)

The Allegory
This makes a great model of the believer's life. First we're born in the natural way, born of the flesh, the biological union of egg and sperm. Later we're born again, in a supernatural way, born of the spirit.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (John 3:5-6) Being born of water refers to the fact that in our mother's womb, we matured in a sack of amniotic fluid, or water. As the birth process began, our "water broke" and we were soon delivered, born of the flesh. Later, when we asked the Lord to forgive us and received Him as our Savior, we were born again, born of the Spirit. The Lord said that just one birth won't do. It takes both to enter into the Kingdom.

Paul also spoke of the result of our first birth as the flesh. Our flesh is like Ishmael, older, bigger, stronger. He's self-directed and self-centered, used to being the only one, used to calling the shots. He's experienced and independent, and acts on his own initiative. In assessing a situation, he says, "Self, what's best for me?" Our spirit starts out like Isaac, younger, smaller, weaker. He's God directed and God centered. He's a newcomer, inexperienced and dependent. He consults with the Spirit of God. In assessing a situation, he says, "Lord, what's best for you?"

The flesh doesn't like the spirit, he thinks he's weak and taunts him. He tries to assert his control over him, to push him aside, to silence his voice.

This is the challenge we're faced with when we're born again. Which one do we put in charge? Students of architecture learn that the weakness of any structure will present itself under stress. And so it is with us. As long as we go about our routine lives and don't try anything out of the ordinary they get along OK. But whenever an unusual situation confronts us there's stress, and the flesh immediately goes into attack mode to prevent the spirit from exerting any control. This could be anything from deciding how to respond when we've been put upon or rejected all the way up to deciding whether to give our earthly life in service to the Lord out of gratitude for receiving eternal life because of Him.

Ishmael wasn't interested in God's plan for Abraham's offspring. He was the first born and resented the intrusion of this newcomer in his family, usurping his rights. Similarly, our flesh isn't interested in God's plan for our life, only in the fulfillment of selfish desires.

We might think that Sarah was being her usual dominant self when she demanded that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. After all, the whole thing had been her idea. And Abraham felt terrible about it because Ishmael was his son. But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." (Genesis 21:12)

Paul told us to make the same decision. "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." (Galatians 5:16-17)

GRACE THRU FAITH from article "Isaac and Ishmael, An Allegory" by Jack Kelley © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Come near to God

 

Come near to God, and God will come near to you. (James 4:8)

 

Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time and have not been successful. Others of us have a hard time concentrating. And all of us are busy. So rather than spend time with God, listening for his voice, we'll let others spend time with him and then benefit from their experience. Let them tell us what God is saying. After all, isn't that why we pay preachers?...

If that is your approach, if your spiritual experiences are secondhand and not firsthand, I'd like to challenge you with this thought: Do you do that with other parts of your life? ...

You don't do that with vacations.... You don't do that with romance.... You don't let someone eat on your behalf, do you? [There are] certain things no one can do for you.

And one of those is spending time with God.
  

OAKHILLS CHURCH by Max Lucado © 2000 - 2007. All rights reserved. Excerpted from Just Like Jesus (Please include this line to forward the message).

Serve God Alone!

 

"We must worship God, and him alone" (Luke 4:8 TLB).

The Christian life promises excitement and absolute fun! But if you are straying from God's path, you may become frustrated and dismayed. Through our belief in Jesus Christ, we are privileged to see things that literally defy any explanation - except God! God keeps us on our toes, because He is too powerful and omniscient to be put in a nice little box and explained. When you worship and serve God alone, you can experience His astounding wonders. God's supernatural ways may bewilder and mystify us, but don't be afraid to simply recognize the hand of God in your midst.

 

Prayer, God thank You for moving in ways that no one else can. Give me the faith to confess, "Only God can do that!" when I see one of Your miracles. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Do you want to change your life?

 

Have you ever wished your life could change? Perhaps you have made choices you regret. You are facing the consequences of those decisions this very moment. Is there any way to find help?

In the Bible, there's a story about a man who believed that if an angel troubled a pool of water, and if he could somehow be the first to get into that water, then he would be healed. This man had been waiting for 38 years, unable to move. Perhaps he had been paralyzed by an accident. We just don't know. But something happened in his life that brought this about.

Sometimes we get sick simply because we live in a sinful world. Disease and death were never part the plan. If Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, there wouldn't be any sickness. There wouldn't be any aging. And most importantly, I would have a full head of hair!

But sometimes we fall ill because of our own personal wrongdoing.

Consider the person who has abused alcohol his entire life. One day, his liver goes out. Is there a connection between the lifestyle he has chosen and what has happened to him physically? Absolutely.

What about someone who goes out on a drunken binge, gets behind the wheel of a car and is injured in an auto accident? Is there a connection between the way she was living and the horrible thing that happened to her? Of course.

Or how about the person who is sexually immoral? He frequently engages in extramarital sex. Then he discovers he is HIV positive. Is there a connection between his lifestyle and this horrible virus he now has? The answer is yes.

There can be a connection between what we do and what happens to us. I'm not saying every person who has liver damage, has a car accident or contracts HIV/AIDS came into those circumstances because they sinned. In fact, sometimes they are the victims of someone else's sin, like the person who is hit by the drunk driver, or the faithful mate who gets AIDS from her husband who has been unfaithful. But we do need to accept the fact that when we make our choices there will be consequences.

Still, the Bible tells us there are times when God allows sickness – physical and spiritual sickness – to teach us something. For example, when the apostle Paul experienced his "thorn in the flesh," it wasn't connected to any particular sin that we know of. Yet God allowed this suffering. Paul asked three times for God to take it away. But God's answer was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). This would suggest that God allows sickness so he can show his people something we might not be able to see otherwise. Sometimes we are so stubborn and proud we think we don't need God. So the Lord gets our attention. And suddenly we realize maybe we do need God after all.

Out of a crowd of sick and suffering people waiting for an angel to trouble the pool of water, Jesus selected one man. He didn't preach to everyone. He didn't heal everyone. He went to only one individual and asked a poignant, and in some ways unexpected, question: "Do you want to get well?"

Now what kind of question is that to ask a man like this? It's not like he would have said, "No, I like hanging out here. This is just a lot of fun. You really ought to join me." But Jesus was asking a legitimate question. It was an important question, because not everyone wants to be made well. Not everyone wants his or her life to change.

"Do you want to be made well?" Jesus asked this man. In other words, "Do you want to change your life, not just physically, but also spiritually? Are you willing to place yourself, just as you are, in my hands? Are you ready for me to do for you what you are unable to do for yourself?"

As long as we think we can work things out on our own, as long we think we will figure life out someday, we'll never get anywhere. We need to call out to God and say, "Lord, I can't do it on my own, but I am calling out to you and asking you to help me. I am asking you to forgive me."

 

If you will call out to Jesus Christ, then he will forgive you. If you are willing to turn from your sin, make a clean break with the past, and begin to follow him, then you will see things happen in your life that you never thought were possible.

HARVEST MINISTRIES by Pastor Greg Laurie © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Dream The Impossible Dreams with God

 

Has your life turned out totally different from the way you dreamed it would be? Have you grown weary because of shattered hopes, delayed answers, and painful regrets? Perhaps you have gone through the routines of life and walked with God for a long time, but now you seem to have lost vision for your life. Once when you were young and vibrant in God you had a cause to die for, but instead of dying for a cause, now you find yourself dying.

Can you remember a time in your life when you were doing something that really made you excited to get out of bed each day? When you felt fully alive? Those were times that you knew you were walking in your gifting and destiny, and you felt the pleasure of God. You were invigorated and excited about your life. But then reality hits and you say to yourself, I am tired of hearing about the word destiny because that is not what is happening in my life. You begin to wonder if your life has any eternal value or meaning.

But what if destiny was defined differently? What if it was not anything we thought it was?

Destiny in Motion

Think with me for a moment. Destiny is a progression of cycles and seasons. It happens over time, spanning the decades of your life. Destiny is like a giant tapestry--maybe twelve miles high, twelve miles wide and twelve miles deep. It is multileveled and, even more, it is organic and ever changing. Your destiny is a fascinating and complex weaving that came from the very heart of Jesus.

It is true. It may be too amazing for the heart or mind even to grasp, but you started in the imagination of God. He has already dreamed about you. Your destiny is the divine journey that you are living right now. It may look different from what you imagined, but God, the masterful dream weaver, does not make mistakes with anyone's life and destiny.

For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16, amplified)

My desire is to awaken your heart to new adventures so that you are fully alive in God. I believe that you will receive fresh revelation about the process of dancing with your destiny. It involves transforming your mind so you see your life through the heart of God instead of through your circumstances.

Wild Like the Sea

There is a certain wildness about dreaming impossible dreams, but God wants to fulfill the desires of your heart. He wants you to imagine the unimaginable, and then He will take you even further. You cannot go backward--you know too much. Where would you go anyway? There is a longing in you that can be satisfied only by God Himself. This knowledge is what keeps you sharp and on the cutting edge spiritually.

I live on the West Coast, and when I think of wildness, I often think of the sea. It can change in a second from gently lapping waves to dangerous riptides, or from raging storms to peaceful settings for the sun to slip into at night.

Have you ever ridden a wave runner? For those who are landlocked, this is a "motorcycle" that you ride on water. Whenever I can, I rent one and take it outside the harbor into the wild seas--up over big waves and down into deep swells. At times it is scary to be so adventuresome, but it is also exhilarating.

There is yet another way of looking at destiny! Surfing the big waves can be frightening. It often means leaving our comfort zones. You might have been wooed out into the surf in the past only to come back with bruised bones, cracked ribs, a concussion, and strained muscles. Disillusioned, you have settled for sitting on the beach and watching others ride the waves.

But if we sit and wait for that big dream called "destiny" simply to show up like a tidal wave one day, we are likely to be even more disappointed. Destiny is not something in the future, something that we will attain at the end of life. If we wait forever to seek our dreams, we will never find them.

Will you start to dream again? Will you join me? We can do this together. Perhaps it is time for you to snorkel, to hop on a jet ski or even to catch a big wave on a surfboard.

Surfers know about adventure. They travel the world following their dream of flowing in harmony with something more powerful than they are. They are in love with the thrill of being challenged. They go into the surf knowing that the pounding pressure of the mountainous waves could kill them. Big wave surfers understand living in the moment.

Why do people do things like that? Because when you have something big enough to die for, you become fully alive. It is in the heart of every person to have a cause, a desire for radical adventures that challenge the very core of our being. There needs to be a cry in us that says, "I want to have a cause! I want to have an awakening that is big enough to dream about, fall in love with and die for."

If you are part of the Body of Christ, you have a cause: The Lord's heart aches for the lost. And the amazing thing is that your own personal dreams, your journey, can be interwoven with God's great battle plans being "strategized" right now in the heavenlies. The battle may take place on different fronts--in the nations, in your relationships, even in your thoughts. But that is part of the thrill.

The Bible tells us that Jesus spoke to someone who was, in every respect, dead to his dreams. Delayed answers and shattered hopes had left him with no seeming possibility of fulfilling his destiny. Are you in that situation? Then listen to Jesus' words: "Lazarus, come forth!"

The Lord is calling you to come forth, take off the grave clothes, and put on your surfing shorts. Join me. It is time for the adventures to begin.

MASTER POTTER MINISTRIES by Jill Austin © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

God Believes in You

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Man is absolutely unique in all of God's creation because God has given him the power of choice. The power of choice was given to man that he might choose the path he would walk. (See Deuteronomy 30:15-20.)

Would he walk and talk with God as God had made him, or would he reject his Maker and walk in his own way? Would he live in unity and love with Him, or would he become selfish and deny the very existence of his Creator? This was a risk of God's faith. This was God believing in man. This was God's faith in a human being. God was saying, I will risk your having the power of choice. Now that's the greatest faith that has ever been known.

When people say to me, I have trouble having faith in God, I always reply, If you have difficulty having faith in God, think of the difficulty God has in having faith in you and me! God takes the greatest risk of all when he gives us the power of choice, for then we can act toward Him as we will.

(1) We can be reverent or irreverent toward our Maker.
(2) We can uphold the living God or reject His image in our spirit.
(3) We can be respectful toward one another or disrespectful.
(4) We can pollute His creation or protect it.

God risked everything in order to give man the power of choice. We use it every moment of our existence. What a wonderful thing it is to know that God not only loves us, but He believes in us! He tells us to choose you this day whom ye will serve. Let us respond as Joshua of old did: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

My Declaration of Faith for Today
Lord, You give me freedom of choice. I will honor You in the choices I make.

 

ORAL ROBERT MINISTRIES by Richard Roberts © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Hearing the Father Speak

 

My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27)

An Englishman tells a true story of his encounter with a Muslim man while walking in the country. The Englishman wanted to share the gospel with this man but knew little of Muslim beliefs. The two men talked as they walked and agreed they would each share their beliefs with one another. The Muslim went first and dominated the time of sharing. The Englishman asked the Holy Spirit how to share his faith with the Muslim man. "Do you consider your god your father who speaks?" asked the Englishman.

"Certainly not," replied the Muslim man.

"That is one of the big differences between your god and my God. I consider my God as my Father who speaks to me personally."

"You cannot prove that," stated the Muslim man.

The Englishman again prayed to himself, "Lord, how do I prove this to this man?" A few moments later the two men began walking toward two young ladies on the other side of the road coming toward them. As they approached, the Englishman spoke to the ladies and made small conversation. He then said to one woman, "I believe you are a nurse, is that correct?"

The woman was startled that a man whom she had never met had just informed her of her occupation. "How would you know that? I have never met you before," she questioned.

He replied, "I asked my Father and He told me." The Muslim had his proof.

Many of us do not hear God's voice because we do not believe He speaks or desires to speak to us. In order to hear, we must listen. In order to listen, we must believe that He speaks. Ask the Lord today for a listening ear so that others might know that you have a heavenly Father who speaks.

TODAY GOD IS FIRST by Os Hillman © 2001 - 2007. All rights reserved. Click here for personal prayer and counsel. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Drawing What We Need From Christ

 

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you. (John 15:7 NKJV)

When a mother nurses her baby it's an experience of intimacy. The baby's not only getting milk, but drawing close to its mother in the warmth of a loving relationship. We could say that the baby is feeding relationally as well as nutritionally. This is what Jesus meant when He said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you." Too many of us view the Bible as a library of information to be studied. And Bible study is important. But when you feed on God's Word with the desire of getting to know the person behind the page, it changes everything.

You can read the big words in a medical book, but when you're sick you want a doctor there to tell you what those words mean and what it will take to make you well. When you're hungry it's nice to have a menu to choose from. But what you want is a waiter standing there to tell you what's in the various meals and what he has tasted and found to be good from the menu. In other words, you want to relate to someone who embodies the information you are receiving. That's because the goal of medical treatment is health, not being able to pronounce the big words of your illness. And the goal of going to a restaurant is a meal, not the menu.

When your goal in Bible reading moves from information to personal intimacy ("Lord, what are You saying specifically to me?"), especially during times of Spiritual need, you are on the road to maturity.

We talked about the fact that when a baby is hungry, or in need of changing, or afraid, the mother will hold it and feed it at her breast. In this way the baby is not only being fed nutritionally, but also relationally. Now, unless you think this is just sentimentalism, recall the sobering studies done years ago to determine why babies in orphanages, although regularly fed, were still dying. It was discovered that they were dying from a lack of being held and caressed because the attendants were too busy to give them the individual attention they needed. These infants were dying from lack of relationship! Even when children move beyond intimacy, the family is still designed to function in such a way that eating is done relationally as they gather for meals. Many families could testify that the meals they share together prove to be some of their most important times together.

We've all heard of people falling in love over the Internet before they ever meet. This raises an interesting question. If two people who have never seen each other can fall deeply in love through the written word and end up getting married, how much more should we be able to develop a love relationship with the unseen Christ, using His living Word that's written in our hearts? A long-distance love relationship doesn't depend on sight, but on the impact of the words. When two people are relating this way, they're going beyond the mere passing of information; there's an intimate relationship being built. Think about it!

THE VINE by Bob Gass © 2000 - 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Wrestle with God

"Your name will now be Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won." (Genesis 32:28)

The word Jabbok in Hebrew means "wrestle," and wrestle is what Jacob did. He wrestled with his past: all the white lies, scheming, and scandalizing. He wrestled with his situation: a spider trapped in his own web of deceit and craftiness. But more than anything, he wrestled with God.

Jacob wrestled with God the entire night. On the banks of Jabbok he rolled in the mud of his mistakes. He met God face to face, sick of his past and in desperate need of a fresh start. And because Jacob wanted it so badly, God honored his determination. God gave him a new name and a new promise. But he also gave a wrenched hip as a reminder of that mysterious night at the river.

We too should unmask our stained hearts and grimy souls and be honest with the One who knows our most secret sins. The result could be refreshing. We know it was for Jacob.

After his encounter with God, Jacob was a new man.

THE TEACHING MINISTRY of MAX LUCADO © 1998 - 2007

Excerpted From God Came Near (Please include this line to forward this message).

Shelter in The Storm?

Life is full of storms, where and to whom will you go to find your shelter in the storm?

You may find God's comfort and power thru this amazing video clip and song

(click on the image above to watch - file size 1.76 MB)

Here we are in that time of the year when storms come upon us often. We find that the weather person on the local news program is more important to us. If they say, grab your umbrella or raincoat we pay attention. Rain storms, thunderstorms, windstorms, tornados, storms of all kind cluster into this season of the year. We understand that is just the way it is with the weather; storms come, and you prepare for them as best you can. Life goes on.

What's the best way to beat a storm? It's being prepared, isn't it? Yet, sometimes life throws a storm at us for which we aren't prepared in fact, life throws storms at us we just can't even imagine! The storm might be the death of a loved one, the loss of our job, the loss of our home, an illness, or maybe some great financial setback.

We are about as ready for some of life's storms as the ship's captain I read about recently. As a storm raged, the captain realized his ship was rapidly sinking. He called out to his crew, "Anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward and said, "Aye, Captain, I know how to pray." "Good," said the captain, "you pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets we're one short."

What do you do when those things come into your life the unexpected disaster, the heartbreak for which you can't prepare? There is an old song that comes to mind called, "Shelter in the Time of Storm."

Read some of the words and see if they fit your life; "The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide, A shelter in the time of storm; Secure whatever ill betide, A shelter in the time of storm. The raging storms may round us beat, ... we'll never leave our safe retreat, A shelter in the time of storm." The chorus then declares, "O Jesus is a Rock in a weary land, A weary land, a weary land; O Jesus is a Rock in a weary land, A shelter in the time of storm."

What does it mean to me in my life?
King David wrote in Psalms 18:2, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold." Wow! That sounds great doesn't it? It sounds like a good solid sermon! But what does it mean to me in my life?

Like the captain said, "Does anyone here know how to pray?" If you answer "Yes," the answer has inherent in it the idea that you know the one to whom you are praying! If your answer is "No," then you have nowhere to go for help! Our God is our "Rock," our "Shelter," our "Salvation". And as the song said, "Jesus is a Rock in a weary land, A shelter in the time of storm!"

If you don't have that "shelter in the time of storm," maybe it's time you take a good look at your life. Ask yourself why it is that if you are willing to prepare for a weather related storm, why not for a life related storm? Find your Shelter before the storm comes!

May our God continue to bless and keep you always and in every storm of life!

MESSAGES FROM THE HEART by Russ Lawson © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

What Happens When God Says No?

 

"This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." (1 John 5:14)

 

I heard a story recently about a young girl who wrote a letter to a missionary to let him know that her class had been praying for him. But evidently she'd been told not to request a response to her letter because the missionaries were very busy. So, the missionary got a kick out of her letter. It said, "Dear Mr. Missionary. We are praying for you, but we are not expecting an answer."

I can't help but think that that little girl summarized the prayer lives of many Christians. Sometimes we pray without expecting an answer, even though God has assured us that He does indeed hear our prayers. David said, "I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications." (Psalm 116:1). Yet, I think many of us struggle with the nagging question, "Is God really listening to me?" Yes, He heard David; He heard Elijah; and He heard the apostles – but does He hear me?

How do we really know that our prayers are answered?

Sure, there are times when we see visible results. We may pray for someone who's sick and the next week they get well. But more often, our prayers don't produce flashing "neon" answers. We pray for help in financial problems, and we don't see things get any better. We pray for guidance in making right decisions, but the decisions don't get any easier. We pray for relationships with other people to improve, but they just seem to get worse. How do we as Christians account for that happening? How do we explain the fact that so many of our prayers seem to go "unanswered"?

The truth is, for a child of God there is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. Maybe you've heard it said before that God answers prayer in three ways. Sometimes, the answer is "yes." Sometimes, the answer is "no." And sometimes, the answer is "wait a while." It's easy to accept an answer of "yes," but what about when God says, "no"?

Let me suggest three principles:
1. First of all, we need to trust God enough to realize that our all-loving, all-powerful Father loves us and has our best interest at heart. So when it seems that God says "no" to our prayers, we must trust Him enough to understand that there must be a good reason for it. It may be beyond our limited ability to understand, but we must simply trust God.
2. Second, we must not forsake God. Disappointment is a dangerous, powerful thing. When we get the feeling that God isn't listening to us, that He has said "no" to some prayer, we have a tendency to feel disappointed in Him. Then Satan whispers to us, "God said He loves you, but He's not here." If we allow that disappointment to harbor in our hearts, it can drive a wedge between us and God. We must continue to be faithful to our responsibility before God.
3. Third, we need to realize that the answer may not be "no," but only "wait a while." God always answers our prayers immediately, but sometimes there's a delay in the giving of the answer and that can be a difficult thing for us to accept. The ability to wait for an answer is one of the marks of maturity. Be willing to let God answer in his own time, in his own way, and in his own power.

Many people see God as a divine vending machine in which you deposit one prayer and out pops a blessing. But what happens when you put your money in the Coke machine and nothing comes out? You get angry and you kick the Coke machine. So it's not surprising that such a view of God and prayer leads to disappointment when God says no.

I believe that we need to foster an entirely different view of prayer from that one. Our God is the Great God of the Universe, the Creator of all things that exists other than Himself. For us to even venture to speak to Him is presumptuous. For us to ask Him to pay attention to our requests and then hope for Him to meet them requires bold expectation. In fact, such would be arrogance if it were not for the simple fact that God tells us to do just that.

Looking from the proper perspective, we will not ask "What happens when God says no?" but rather "What happens when God says yes?" That the God of the heavens would listen to us and our needs is a great testimony to His great love for us; and it is that love that will lead Him to say no from time to time. At those times, we must trust Him knowing that he loves us and desires what is best for us. We must never forsake Him nor our duty toward Him. And we must realize that what we interpret to be an answer of "no" may just be God telling us to wait a while.

 

WILMINGTON first assembly of God by Rev. Timothy G. Satryan. Click here to submit prayer request (Please include this line to forward the message).

You Shall Not!

 

Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. (Genesis 2:17)

Today's verse gives us the first prohibition of the Bible. This is the first time that God says "you shall not" with regard to any part of His creation. Lots of people wonder what was wrong with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but there was probably nothing wrong with it, other than God told Adam not to eat from it.

You see, the problem didn't lie with the fruit hanging from that tree. The problem was with the two humans down on the ground. Adam and Eve were given their first choice to make. They could either follow God or disobey Him.

It might seem as if it would have been easier if God had simply not given them the choice.  But that's not what He wants. God gives us His rules for life, along with the freedom to make choices with the goal that we will honor Him in what we choose.

To the outside world, rules may seem to make us enslaved. But having the ability to make choices for God and His will actually frees us to be holy people.

The concept of freedom is terribly skewed in the world today. Most people see freedom as a life of no rules or regulations. But that's chaos, not freedom. Human freedom is a gift from not permission to rid ourselves of God! True freedom is the freedom to do what is right, not whatever we want.

Thank God that He didn't make us into robots, programmed to tell Him what He wants to hear. He wants a loving relationship with us; He wants us to choose Him. When we do, we will experience true freedom and joy. I hope and pray that you are living in the freedom of Christ today.

Real freedom is found in making the choice to follow and obey Christ.

 

POWER POINT MINISTRY by Dr Jack Graham © 2006. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Days of our lives

 

"Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." (Psalm 139:16)

These are the kinds of verses that keep theologians up at night. If God had already recorded every moment of David's life before he ever lived it, what does that say for his choices? Does that make him a sort of robot? How can he be made responsible for his actions when God already mapped out his life?

I don't know. To try and find answers to questions like these seems to me an attempt to play God. I go on the assumption that God is operating on a whole different level of engagement than my little pea brain can negotiate. How God can have a person's life mapped out and still make them responsible for the choices they make is one of those things I have come to just believe even though it doesn't make sense in my head. There are limitations to being human.

What I can know about this, however, is how significant this makes everything in my life. Nothing is happening to me by accident. My moments were all thought up in the mind of God, and they are all geared toward shaping me for a particular service that no one but I can perform. God uses everything in my life – whatever I've experienced, whatever I've learned – to make me into a person fit for that which I can do in his Kingdom here on earth. And the same is true for you.
 
We are not autonomous, isolated individuals – masters of our own fate and servants of no one. We are actually a part of a grand display wherein the lives of billions upon billions are intertwined together. What we do affects those around us, and God has taken all that into account.
 
Therefore, if my life is that important, and God has already recorded it and mapped it out, doesn't that make it even more compelling that I find out what it is that he has for me to do? This is not a chore; it's a privilege and an adventure.
 
God does not intend to waste anything in my life, or yours. Our talents, gifts, and natural abilities all go together to make someone fit to serve.
 
Gotta serve somebody
Gotta serve somebody
May be the devil; may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
— Bob Dylan 

We may be small, but we are by no means insignificant.

 

PURPOSE DRIVEN MINISTRIES by John Fisher © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Run To Win

 

Paul writes, "Run in such a way that you may win." The Isthmian Games to which Paul referred were open to everyone. Obviously the object of running any race is to win! But it's not just a matter of putting on your Nike's, wearing the outfit and enjoying the scenery: "Run in such a way that you may win."

So, what's the secret to winning? "Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things" (1 Co 9:25 NAS). Athletes who run to win, exercise restraint over their impulses, emotions and desires. They watch their diet, get sufficient sleep and train their bodies in just the right way. They're not doing things that could limit their performance on the track. They measure the consequences of every indulgence according to whether it will help or hinder them. Paul says that those who ran in the Isthmian Games did so to win "a perishable wreath." Actually, the victors were treated like royalty. Often their debts were cancelled and they were allowed to live tax free for the rest of their lives. In some cases they were given a lifetime supply of food so that they could rest on their laurels.

So Paul points out that, as valuable as that leafy crown was, it can't compare to the eternal rewards for which we strive. In other words, run with eternity in view. Obedience to God, even in details, enhances your Heavenly reward. At the end of a life of deep commitment and detailed obedience, Paul could say, "There is laid up for me a crown." So, live each moment with that crown in view!

THE VINE by Bob Gass © 2000 - 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Finish the race - Keep the faith

 

...but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

Closing out well is critical as a follower of Christ. Sadly that is not a given. Many great men of the Bible did not finish well. They allowed the efforts of many around them to end in frustration and anguish because they did not close well. The honest portrayal of human success and failing is something I love about God's Word. It is one important aspect that makes the Bible unique and real. The Bible does not spin the failures of godly men and women. Would you write a book attempting to persuade others to your beliefs and choose to have it detail many adherents who failed miserably? With all due respect to Mr.O'Reilly, the Bible is the original "no spin zone". The successes and failures are equally displayed. Men with great stories still managed to not close well. Examples? How about the story of Saul? How sad to hear words like this at the end of your journey:

"How foolish!" Samuel exclaimed. "You have disobeyed the command of the LORD your God. Had you obeyed, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your dynasty must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already chosen him to be king over his people, for you have not obeyed the LORD's command." (1 Sam 13 NLT)

Imagine when the prophet came to Eli and proclaimed this dire message. What a kick in the spiritual gut this must have been:

 

"Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The terrible things you are doing cannot continue! I had promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me.

 

I would be willing to wager that Saul and Eli were planning on closing well. They had moments of great leadership and fellowship with God. But they couldn't close. You know that Saul's story ended in madness. The results for Levi's sons were horrific. His family needed a man who could start well, stay strong, and close it out with integrity and faith.

 

I want to finish strong like my Mom. I want to close this journey with an effort that honors the One who was willing to finish for me. Paul understood athletics. Sports can be a good metaphor for life and he knew that well. At the end of my life race I have a couple of options that I could hear:

A) You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. (Gal 5)

B) You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith. (Paraphrase of 2 Tim 4)

 

I choose B) for the words I want to hear. Author Kenneth Blanchard says, There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.

 

That is why I hold myself so accountable. I am committed to this journey with Jesus. And I accept no excuses in my own life. I will fall at times. But I intend to get right back up and follow Jesus faithfully.

 

Songwriter Mark Schultz is a brilliant writer/composer/storyteller. His song Time That is Left is rumbling through my mind as I sign off:

What will you do with the time that's left?

Will you live it all with no regret?

Will they say that you loved till your final breath?

What will you do with the time that's left?

 

And what will He say when your time has come?

And He takes you into His arms of love

With tears in His your eyes will He say "well done"?

What will you say when your time has come?

Excerpted from: FINISHING STRONG by Dave Burchett (article for Jan 11th, 2007)

CONFESSIONS OF A BAD CHRISTIAN © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Are you discouraged about your future?

 

The enemy still uses discouragement as a tool, and he uses it on each of us day in and day out. Because discouragement often comes from pessimism about how things will turn out, one of the best ways to overcome it is to get God's perspective of our future. In order to do that, we have to let go of two myths.

The first myth about the future is that our situation will always be this way.

If your job has always been terrible, you'll eventually embrace the myth that it always will be. Same goes for a marriage, a home, parents, children, or whatever else you struggle with. Discouragement interprets the past and present as an unbreakable pattern, which leads to more discouragement. If we want to see life from God's perspective, we have to reject that myth.

The second myth about the future is that when we make a change for the better, we expect things to start improving almost immediately.

Many people find themselves in an overwhelmingly difficult situation and begin praying, going to church, studying the Bible, and overhauling their lifestyle as a result. And when they've stuck with it for a week, a month, or even a year, and nothing seems to be getting any better, they feel like they've gotten a raw deal. Never mind that they've been sowing bad seed into a career or a family situation for twenty years. Most of us feel that if we've made the right changes, we ought to see the right consequences happen pretty soon. And while God mercifully works that way sometimes, He doesn't always. Sometimes the fruit of our obedience takes a long time to grow.

God's perspective on our future is this: Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12). That's a great promise. It encourages us that things will change; whatever we feel stuck in now isn't permanent.

But this promise also reminds us that change requires perseverance. It doesn't usually happen overnight. God honors loving obedience and faith that can stick it out over time. And the reward for enduring is a crown of life.

God promises deep fulfillment and rich joy beyond your wildest dreams. When you come through your trials, you begin to experience it. That's why, if you've ever met a gentle, loving, wise person who radiates the love of Jesus, I can almost guarantee that he or she has suffered deeply. The way God produces that kind of person is through adversity. They don't give up, the life of Christ begins to manifest through them, and they have an inner joy and fulfillment from God that can't be touched by circumstances now and that is greatly magnified in heaven.

Are you looking at your future through the lens of whatever problems you face today? Or do you see it through the certainty of God's promise? Don't give up and don't give in. God says you will receive a reward when the test is finished. You'll get a fulfilling life on this earth in communion with Him, and you'll receive an eternal heavenly crown. And discouragement will be an old, worn-out tool never to be used on you again.

 

WALK THRU THE BIBLE by Chip Ingram © 2006. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

When you get stuck and find no way out

 

Moses had brought the whole nation of Israel, approximately 600,000, to a dead end in the desert. The only thing between Israel and Pharaoh's pursuing army was the Red Sea. This was after nine plagues God had inflicted on Pharaoh to motivate him to free the Israelites. Finally, Pharaoh had freed Moses and the people, and they left Egypt. They thought they were home free. "Freedom at last," they said. But God did a strange thing. He directed Moses to take a route that led to the Red Sea, instead of the northern route around the Red Sea. God explained that He didn't want them fighting the enemies they would have encountered on this route. But still, there was the issue of the Red Sea.

They finally arrived at the Red Sea, and the people were wondering where they would go from there. News hit the camp: Pharaoh had changed his mind. He was coming after them with his army. Panic set in. The defenseless Israelites cried out, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?...It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Ex. 14:11b-12)

God sometimes brings each of us to a "Red Sea" in our life. It may be a work problem that can't be solved. It may be a marriage that seems to be failing. It may be a debilitating disease. Whatever your Red Sea, God tells us one thing: "Keep moving." The Red Sea was before them, yet God was angered at Moses and told him to "Keep moving."

"But Lord, the Red Sea is before me." "Keep moving." When we live by sight, we act on what we see. God sets this stage in dramatic fashion. God is into the dramatic. There is no way out without God here. That is just the way He wants it. No one will get glory except God.

A friend once admonished me when I was in the midst of a marriage separation that eventually led to a divorce, "You must not withdraw from being proactive in your faith just because of this trial that you are in. God's hand is on your life. There are too many who are depending on you to fulfill the purposes God has in your life. Keep moving! Keep investing yourself in others." I didn't feel like it. I was in too much pain. But I did it anyway. God met me at the point of my greatest need once I decided simply to be obedient. Getting past myself by investing myself in others helped heal the pain. There is great healing when we look past our own problems and seek to invest ourselves in others for the sake of Christ. This is when our own Red Seas become parted. We begin to walk to freedom. But we will never experience the miracle of the Red Sea in our lives if we don't first "Keep moving."

 

TODAY GOD IS FIRST by Os Hillman © 2001 - 2007. All rights reserved. Click here for personal prayer and counsel. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Don't Give Up Hope

 

Do you feel trapped in an impossible situation you can't seem to change or escape? If so, God is saying to you today, "The plans I have for you… are… good… to give you a future and a hope." Now, hope is not just the absence of despair, it's the presence of something greater; something only God can give. Hope is not passive; it's the most active force in the world because it's derived from the most powerful being of all - God. And it's never further away than He is. Clint Eastwood became famous for starring in a movie called The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Four decades later some of us still use those words when describing certain aspects of life.

 

But here's the good news: through His amazing grace God can take the good, the bad and the ugly experiences in your life and use them to make you unbelievably better at what He created you for, whatever that might be! In God's economy all is redeemed and nothing is ever lost. He can take the good things we remember fondly, the bad things we might like to forget, and the ugly things that shaped us into people we didn't start out to be, and use all of them to facilitate His purpose for each and every one of us. So, don't give up hope!

THE VINE by Bob Gass © 2000 - 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).