Confirmed

One of my desires is to be more of a prayer warrior.  To have dedicated time for sitting in the Presence of our Lord and bringing praise, thanksgiving and needs to Him.  Some of us ladies at church have been gathering to do this.  It's been beautiful.  But I also want time alone with my Father.  Not just prayers said in a moment (although those are so sweet too), but focused time, purposeful time.  Today I just sat with the Lord and had that special time...what a blessing.  

I've gone back into my little praise book.."31 Days of Praise" by Ruth and Warren Myers.  I've loved this book for many, many years and every so often I get back into reading the praise devotion each day.  Today's "just happened" to be on bringing our needs to the Lord.   Coincidence??  Nope.  Godincidence!!

From the book: "Nothing is impossible with You!  Thank You that when I praise You and bring my requests to You in simple faith, I plug into Your almighty power...that when I offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, I open a door for You to rescue me and bless my life, and I prepare the way for You to rescue and bless other people, near and far."  

Prayer knows no boundaries.  We don't have to be in the same place to help our families, friends, and strangers.  God hears.  God knows.  God loves.  God answers.  Near and far.  Big and small.  What a wonderful confirmation I received from Him today that He was listening.  

I'm reminded of a song that I've heard lately, "The God Who Listens" by Chris Tomlin featuring Thomas Rhett.  So often we forget or take for granted that our words to the Lord are not just wishes or hopes.  These words of ours are being spoken to a powerful, loving, listening Father who has plans, answers and wisdom.  He takes them seriously and listens to each individually.  Our words and needs are important to Him.  

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

What a blessed and loved people we are!  

Lord, thank You.  So often I take prayer for granted in a way.  I send it up as a wish or in a thoughtless manner.  This is not the true nature of prayer.  Forgive me.  Your Word tells us, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  James 5:16  We come not in our own righteousness, but in the righteousness of Jesus and in His powerful Name to bring our needs, our hearts before You.  We know that You have the solutions, the answers that we need...both for us and our loved ones.  You hold the world in Your hands and nothing goes unnoticed.  I can only say the sweetness of my time with You this morning is something I need to cherish each and every day.  Lord, forgive me for not making the time for focused prayer.  I could have been helping someone and I neglected it.  As always, You gently correct and admonish.  You lead me in the way of rightness and everlasting life, washing away my sin and listening to my heart.  There is none like You!!  Amen.  

Names

 Our Lord has many Names...in a sense.  Each Name tells us of an aspect of His character.  There are so many facets of our God, no  multi-faceted diamond can compare to His splendor.  Some of the ladies of or church have been studying these Names in all their richness and depth.  

This week we looked into a group of names given to the Lord be His people Israel.  We had Maon, which is dwelling place.  Machseh, refuge.  Magen, shield.  Metsuda meaning fortress and Migdal-Oz which is strong tower.  

All of these names have a common thread...they are places of safety and protection.  And that is our God.  He is our safe place.  

Psalm 91:1-16  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”        3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.  4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.  5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Machseh, refuge.  Metsuda, fortress.  

This verse talks about abiding.  As I was going through this set of names it brought to mind Jesus' words of abiding in Him.  He is our dwelling place.  And not only that, we are His!   

John 15:1-10 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

We abide for safety, we abide by obedience we abide to bear fruit, we abide in His love.  

John 14:15-23 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”  22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”  23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Psalm 3:2-3  Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.”  3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.   

Magen, shield.  I am reminded of Ephesians 6:16  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Psalm 71:3 Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.

Maon, dwelling place.  A strong refuge.  The footnote in the NKJV says "a rock of habitation."  I love that...it's a place we continually live. 

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.

Migdal-oz  His Name is our strong tower.  His Name is everything we need because it is everything He is.  

I love this study in the Names of God.  It has been so fruitful to my heart.  There is never an end to or God...He is eternal in every way, every Name.  I'm so thankful!

Lord, our refuge, our dwelling place, our God and our Shepherd.  Let us always be aware that we can live in Your Presence and in Your protection.  Give us hearts to run to You, stay in You and obey You that we may dwell in safety.  We know hard things come, but nothing can snatch us from Your hands, nothing can harm our eternity with You...we are safe in Your care.  Thank You.  

Longings and Roadblocks

Our ladies group has been studying the book "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.  I like to think I am pretty good about knowing myself, knowing truth and being able to determine lies from truth when it comes to the things of God.  But I definitely am seeing myself in a few of the lies she talks about.  

One of the ones we discussed today was thinking we need to have all the longings of our hearts fulfilled.  We have great desires.  Right thinking desires.  Salvation for loved ones, changes in our behavior and thinking, good marriages....And yet these things seem to allude us.  We pray and wait.  We pray God for anything?  Doesn't it tell us if we believe we will get what we ask?  Doesn't it say our Father desires to give us good gifts?  It does say all those things.  Yet we fail to see them come to pass.  And then we question.  God's goodness, our worth, our relationship with Him.  Depression, frustration seem to fill our hearts because we feel unfulfilled and our prayers remain unanswered.  

What we fail to realize is that God does have answers, but we need to leave the timing to Him.  Maybe we are not ready for what we are asking.  Our loved ones are in His hands and His timing is the perfect timing.  God knows a million details that we are not privy to.  Maybe our heart and faith need to be stretched.  Then there is the fact that nothing on this earth will ever be exactly as we desire it.  This truth can help keep us grounded in the eternal and keep our hearts longing for our true home of heaven.  

As we discussed this today, one of the ladies brought up the word "roadblocks."  And as I thought about this word I realized that often we set up our own roadblocks through disobedience.  God doesn't give us our desire because we are not walking in the way that He wants us to.  For example.  I pray for a better marriage, yet I am not willing to yield my "rights" to my husband.  I am not willing to submit to his leadership.  So God does not answer my prayer for a better marriage because He is waiting for me to obey what He has already told me.  So when we have unfulfilled longings, we need to check to see that we are walking in obedience to the Lord.

There is another type of roadblock as well.  One that Satan sets up.  An example here would be asking God for ministry.  Maybe your hearts desire is to teach Sunday school to children.  Outside forces seem to be getting in the way.  The car breaks down, your back goes out, the curriculum doesn't come.....Satan seems to be everything he can to interfere with you doing what you know God called you to do.  This is the time to push through.  To stand on the truth of Scripture.  Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  If God has called us to a task then all the powers of hell will not be able to block Him!  

We all have longings.  And they may or may not be fulfilled on this earth.  That's okay.  God knows the needs and desires of our hearts an He is a good Father who knows exactly how and when to answer them.  One of the things we spoke about was seeing our kids saved and walking with the Lord.  I have a friend who is facing cancer.  She may not make it through this new round of illness.  She longs to see her children serving the Lord, but is resting in His timing, knowing that it may happen after she goes home to heaven.  That's really hard,  but our Father never does anything wrong.  So whatever we are longing for, whatever our hearts are crying out for...lets leave it in His capable and loving hands.  

Lord, we thank You for Your wisdom and Your desire to bless us.  Sometimes that blessing comes in the form of a "no."  Thank You for knowing when to give us the desires of our hearts, when to make us wait, an when to say no.  Help us to trust You, see if we are in the right place and leave the outcomes in Your hands.  We come to You and ask Your help in the Name of our beautiful Savior Jesus.  Amen. 

The Foot of The Cross Is Level

I heard two testimonies this past week.  Listening to these young men tell the story of how God worked in there lives was so heart warming and hopeful     

The first young man had a tragic childhood.  Lots of abuse, chaos, sadness, loneliness and lostness.  He found himself at a very early age addicted to drugs and alcohol.  The years of his life we marked by violence, prison, rehabs and a lot of falling down.  He knew there was something better, knew there was a "Presence" out there but didn't know how to reach that Presence, God.  

The other young man was raised by good Christian parents.  He had a good life with a good family, and his biggest challenge was not to fight with his sister.  When he was eight his great grandmother died and he started questioning in his little heart.  He knew something was missing...that life was about more than "being good" and showing the check marks to God.  

Both these young men had an emptiness in their hearts that was crying out for filling.  One filled it with drugs and alcohol, the other with being good, trying to earn God's favor.  Both of these men found that hole filled with Jesus.  God didn't look at the boy who was lost, living in and committing violence as say, "No, I can't help you.  You are too far gone."  He reached down and picked him us just like He honored the "I want to do what's right" boy.  Both these children were precious to Him.  No matter where we come from or what we do, we are loved by our heavenly Father.   He has purpose in both situations.  

I just love the contrasts of lives here and I love how our Lord searches for each of these lost sheep.  Whether you land in a Christian home, learning all the right things or you grow up in chaos and desperation...God sees you.  And He will answer when you call.  He searches for you, the one our of the ninety nine.  

Lord, I love You.  I love how each life, each heart if important and loved by You.  I love how You search for and redeem each person that cries out to You.  And You use their pasts to make beautiful futures.  There is no heartache You cannot heal, no hole You cannot fill.  Let us all take hope in this!  Thank You Jesus our redeemer for You loving sacrifice.  

r0