PURSUE THE CORRECT GOAL

PRAYER JOURNAL 1/2/19

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this one thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

As we begin our journey into 2019, we carry new hopes, dreams and expectations.  We resolve to be better people, pray more, show more love, deepen our relationship with God and…Oh yeah, and lose weight. 

It is important with any goal that we get our priorities straight and our focus on the correct result but I find myself focusing on the “side-effect” of the thing I should be pursing rather than the process that produces the desired result.

Most of us pursue weight loss and hope to feel healthier, when we should pursue healthy living and enjoy the “side-effect” of weight loss.

How many of us pursue Heaven and hope to know God better, when we should pursue a closer relationship with God and enjoy the “side-effect” of Heaven.

My Prayer….Lord, today help me pursue YOU; I want to know YOU more; love YOU more; hear YOUR voice more clearly; follow YOU more faithfully…walking in full confidence that you will continue to bless me with the “Side-effects.”

PRAY THE WORD

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/27/18

Jeremiah 1:12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my Word to perform it.” (ESV)

God doesn’t get upset when you plead your case with Him by reminding Him of His Word; His promises.  Quite the contrary!  When you Pray the Word, “remind” God of His own promises, He sits back with a satisfied smile and says, “FINALLY, SHE GETS IT!”

Is there something you have need of today?  Have you been praying; asking; waiting? 

STOP….begging and START…praying the Word!

When you understand that the Promises contained in the Word of God are for you; when you have hid those Promises deep in your heart; when you believe and stand firm on the Promises for every situation, you are in possessions of one of the most POWERFUL PRAYER TOOLS given to man by God…HIS OWN WORDS!

HOW????   WHY????

GOD CANNOT LIE…Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent.  Has He said; will He not do?  Or has He spoken and will not make it good?

HIS WORD IS ABSOLUTE…2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the Promises of God are Yes and in Him, Amen, to the Glory of God through us.

HIS WORD IS FOREVER SETTLED…Psalms 119:89 Forever, O Lord, your Word is settled in Heaven.

The best way to get God’s attention…The best way to get all of Heaven to sit up and take notice…PRAY THE WORD!

HE JEALOUSLY GUARDS HIS WORD; WATCHING OVER HIS WORD TO PERFORM IT.

FIND PEACE IN YOUR SITUATION

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/26/18

Jeremiah 29:7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray to the Lord for it, for in its peace you will have peace.

ARE YOU HAPPY RIGHT NOW?  WHERE YOU ARE? 

Very few people can honestly answer those two questions in the affirmative. Humans have this innate desire to look to and long for the future.  When you are 5, you can’t wait to be 6; at 16, you just know that 18 will be better; then it is 21 or 25.  Soon the desire for the years to represent an number in age changes to accomplishment goals…When I am 30, I will have this job; at 40, I will own my own company and at 60 I intend to retire and enjoy all my accumulated wealth…except life rarely follows the plan of our dreams.

USUALLY, IT GOES LIKE THIS…

If only I had not…. If only I lived….If only I hadn’t bought that…If only I had saved more…If only I had taken a different job…If only I had stayed in school… If only I had made the other choice.  IF ONLY GOD WOULD GET ME OUT OF THIS MESS I’M IN!

In the days of Jeremiah, because of disobedience, God had allowed His people to be carried away into captivity.  It was always in their captivity that the Hebrews would return to God and cry out for deliverance and this time was no different. 

They had their “Prosperity Prophets” that tickled the ears of the people with their prophecies of deliverance, but that wasn’t God’s plan…He had them planted right where the work He wanted to perform in them could be accomplished.

God’s plan was delivered through the Prophet Jeremiah, who did not always deliver pleasant news, but always spoke the Truth of God to the people. 

God’s plan was…YOU ARE GOING TO STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, SO MAKE UP YOUR MIND TO LIKE IT! 

God tells the people, “You are going to be here for a while, so build houses, plant gardens, get married and have a family.”  But the most startling thing God says to His people is, “Pray for peace…Seek peace in the situation you are currently experiencing, because as peace permeates your situation, peace will fill your life.”

Then God reminds His people of His great love for them …He says DON’T YOU KNOW…DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND….

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

And God says to you and He says to me…”Don’t you know my thoughts toward you?  I have a great future planned just for you but to prepare you for all the wonderful things in your future, you have to grow where you are currently planted.”

I know the things you are experiencing; the situation you are currently in is not pleasant…captivity rarely is…but try changing your prayer today.  Instead of praying for DELIVERANCE, pray for PEACE! 

It may be that in the midst of your greatest storm, in the middle of your fiercest battle that peace will descend and you will “be increased and not diminished.”

God promises the storms, the situations won’t last forever; His thought toward you include HOPE; A FUTURE; AN EXPECTED END! 

Praying with you that today you find peace IN your situation.

YOU WILL REAP

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/25/2018

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

A few years ago, I planted a garden with dreams of a great harvest.  By summer I would be enjoying juicy red strawberries, a salad of my very own tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, green beans just like Grandpa used to grow and my mouth literally watered at the thought of eating a sweet cantaloupe picked fresh that very morning.

I watered it daily, organically fertilized biweekly and pulled weeds faithfully as the beautiful plants begin to grown and fill with the blossoms that would turn into fruit. But the harvest was not quite what I had envisioned. The strawberries were small and I had to pick them before the bugs feasted.  The tomato plants stole all the sun from the pepper plants, so the peppers were shriveled with black spots, I picked enough green beans for 3 meals and the 1 cantaloupe rotted on the vine.  The tomatoes were abundant, however and I enjoyed them into October.

So it is with life….  In Galatians, we are promised a harvest but we are not promised the harvest of our dreams. The older you get, the more unrealized dreams that must be laid aside; understanding the stark truth that the time has passed.

You see I haven’t always been 60.  Once I too was young; I had visions, hopes and dreams of grandeur. I would be….; I would do….Invitations would arrive…Congregations would respond…My name would be….ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, OF COURSE!

Days dawned, the years continued and time passed…no invitations…congregations responded but not in the way I envisioned…I didn’t do…I was not…no one knew my name, BUT GOD!

God still knew my name; He still had His plan for me in safekeeping…the Plan He had from the beginning.

A plan I would have never dreamed…no bright lights…no cheering fans…no name on the marquee…just a plan to show His love to those that are so desperate; to bring hope to the hopeless; to encourage those that can’t take another step…to write the things He drops in my spirit during our conversations.

So I look at 60 years of shattered dreams, plans and ambitions that I have traded for the contentment of knowing God’s Plans for me had a far greater purpose and I say with the Psalmist…

Psalms 84:10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

RETURN TO THE SANCTUARY

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/23/2018

If you haven’t had your devotions this morning, grab a cup of coffee and take a little time to consider these verses. I’m sure I’m not the only one that has felt this or feels this way today. If you allow God to speak to you through these verses, you will go through this day with a lighter heart and a joyful soul.

My thoughts this morning as I read Psalms 73….

Verse 1 “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart.”

My thoughts…

So much truth contained in this small verse. Our HEAD tells us “God is Good” but sometimes our HEART says “I’ve done everything I know to do; I have tried to do everything “right” but it isn’t “good” for me right now.”

The next set of verses tells it like I really see it:

2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
5 They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.
8 They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They speak loftily.
9 They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.

My thoughts…

I lift my eyes from my struggles and I see wickedness all around me, but they never struggle. They strut around doing whatever pleases them, their followers hang onto every ungodly word they utter and they never have to answer for their evil actions. They have all the stuff I’ve ever dreamed of and even in DEATH they seem to not feel pain.

10 Therefore his people return here,
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me—

My thoughts…

Not only do they partake of every ungodly act possible, but they come against the ones trying to live righteously. They take our businesses and our freedoms, then ridicule our faith and no one seems to care. Sometimes I wonder, “IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?” God, I just can’t wrap my mind around all of this….LIFE ISN’T FAIR!!!

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.

My thoughts…

Then I enter the “sanctuary;” my little secret place in the presence of God. His peace floods my soul and His light illuminates my world. He wraps His arms around me and whispers His everlasting love to my heart. Skipping to verse 23, my prayer changes and joy fills my heart.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
25 WHOM HAVE I IN HEAVEN BUT YOU?
AND THERE IS NONE UPON EARTH THAT I DESIRE BESIDES YOU.
26 My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

YOU ARE BEING HELD BY GOD’S RIGHT HAND TODAY…ENJOY!

A WINNING TICKET

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/22/18

Ephesians 1:13-14 In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation; in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His Glory.

The Lottery goes over a billion dollars and Lottery Fever is at an all time high again. The current odds of making all your wildest dreams come true by holding the winning ticket are 1 in 302,575,350, but that has not stopped millions of people from standing in long lines, believing this quote from one of their beloved philosophers, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”

After being in church yesterday, enjoying the glorious presence of the Lord, singing “When We All Get To Heaven” and discussing our strong belief in the Coming of the Lord, we stopped by 7-11 to get a refreshing fountain drink…BIG MISTAKE!!!

7-11 was more packed than the small church at which we had just ministered.  Not being a lottery participant, I assumed everyone must of have a “Big Gulp” craving until I made my way through the line at the register and noticed it wasn’t a cup of ice cold Coke they were holding but every person was clutching a little piece of paper filled out with the “winning” number.

I didn’t get my Big Gulp because my “waiting” genes have long ago atrophied but I did wonder what would happen if I suddenly got on my “soap box” and declared that I had a proposition that was so certain, there were no odds; they were sure to be a winner.

They day I decided to follow Jesus, I became a WINNER…Oh not of Life’s Lottery but of Eternal Life with a 100% guarantee.  And best of all I don’t have to HOPE I have the winning numbers or that my ticket is picked…No, God has given me the “Earnest of my inheritance” now, “loads my day with benefits and assures me the “best is yet to come.”

I feel sadness for a people that are willing to put their hope in a long shot of extreme wealth but reject the surety of the promises of God. Yes, I am 100% , unashamedly convinced that Jesus is preparing a place for me and all that love His glorious appearance and are looking for Him to return.

Over 2000 years ago, my ticket was bought and paid for and I have been enjoying my winnings for 52 years and I am guaranteed that there is an endless supply for this life and throughout all eternity. 

Have you received your ticket yet, it is free for the asking and there is one with your name on it.  Don’t lose it; guard it with your life.  It can’t be copied or counterfeited and there is only one place it can be obtained.  BEST OF ALL…There are no long lines or waiting times!

FAITHFUL SERVANT

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/13/2018

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.”

There are those times in prayer that the things God wants to speak into my heart burst forth from my lips.  As I fervently sought God for some answers, I uttered this passionate cry, “I just want to be a FAITHFUL SERVANT!”  That really was not my prayer or in my thoughts at the time, I believe it was a reminder from God that He has all answers, all the things that I need, and a way already planned out; my responsibility to Him is to just be a FAITHFUL SERVANT.

The house of the King or President or other Leader may have many “servants” to keep things running smoothly.  They may range from a Body Guard to a Gardener.  Everyone may be a necessary component to keeping a semblance of order but only a TRUSTED and FAITHFUL person has the privilege of constant close proximity to the Ruler.  You see, no one may notice if the hedge isn’t pruned perfectly or a little area, way at the back of the lawn is a little weedy but the King WILL TAKE NOTE, if his Body Guard is snoring in the corner and he will be swiftly replaced.

The President may share “state secrets” with his Chief of Staff, whom has been given the highest security clearance, but although the Housekeeper, making the bed may know what time the President awoke, she does not know the search for a solution to the crisis that caused him to rise before dawn. 

NO…ONLY THOSE CLOSEST TO THE LEADER REALLY KNOW HIS THOUGHTS, KNOW HIS HEART, PLAY A PART IN THE PLAN…REALLY KNOW HIM!

Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the Power of His Resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

“OH THAT I MAY KNOW HIM!”  THE CRY OF A FAITHFUL SERVANT.

Oh that I may become close enough to my Lord; that I may really know Him. That I can not only experience the Power of His Resurrection but understand His Sufferings; share the Passion, understand the brokenness of His Heart as He weeps over lost souls.  Attaining FAITHFUL SERVANT STATUS will only occur when I LAY ASIDE MY WILL AND PICK HIS WILL through conforming to His death…to His purpose.

MY PRAYER TODAY IS THAT I BECOME SUCH A FAITHFUL SERVANT THAT WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT ME, THEY SEE CHRIST IN ME AND HE BECOMES THERE HOPE ALSO.