REJOICE AND BE GLAD

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/13/2019

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY…TODAY IS YOUR DAY…TODAY IS MY DAY! 

It is early in the morning; the sun still hides its face and in the stillness I contemplate all of the possibilities just waiting to be realized over the next 24 hours.  What choices will I make?  And what will be the result of each choice?  What unexpected situations will I face?  How will I handle the situation?  What am I going to cook for dinner?  Will it be Keto-friendly?  Is it going to rain?  I wish the coffee would hurry up and be ready for that first cup.  What outfit should I wear to church?  GOD I NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU!

All of the many thoughts that flood my mind as I consider MY DAY!

We all have TODAY that lies before us.  Some have 24 hours; some less AND it is all unknown and mysterious.

BUT….

The one thing I can be sure of is…THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE!

He made it just for me and placed me HERE at this SPECIAL PLACE IN TIME on this SPECIAL DAY.

THEN…

He places all kinds of special surprises in the 24 hours and gives me the “JOY STICK” to make the choices that navigate the obstacles that reveal HIS GLORY and declares me the WINNER!

YES…I’m rejoicing…THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

BE STRONG

Prayer Journal 10/8/19

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

It isn’t always easy being strong.  Sometimes life zaps all your energy and you barely have the strength to get back on your feet. And you just want to be that “little girl” that could crawl up in Daddy’s lap.  His big strong arms assured me that “Everything’s gonna be alright.”

AND THAT IS STILL THE ANSWER….

We have a Heavenly Father that will make “Everything alright!”  You have all of the POWER OF HIS MIGHT ready to fight for you.

If you find yourself knocked down on the floor, reach up, His Hand is extended.  Let Him pull you up on His lap and wrap His big strong arms around you.

When you can’t find any strength to keep walking, He will give you a STRENGTH TRANSFUSION direct from His veins.  When you feel powerless to fight the raging battles, you can plug into the never ending POWER SUPPLY of HIS MIGHT!

BONUS!!!!!!!!!

You will also find REST FOR YOUR SOUL, have your SPIRIT REFRESHED and your MIND RENEWED!

Have a restful day with Jesus!

LET'S GET CURIOUS

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/7/19

John 14:17 The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him or knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and He will be in you.

Have you felt unsettled in your mind, lately?  Perhaps someone has spoken a Biblical Concept you had not considered.  Maybe your sleep has been interrupted with troubling dreams and you lie awake with questions that you thought were settled.  You want to ignore it all, grab your “Security Blanket” of the way it’s always been; everyone else believes it that way; I’m not going to let my mind even go there and keep living the same, comfortable life; IGNORANCE IS BLISS…they say.

BUT…

GOD DOESN’T WANT TO LEAVE YOU LINGERING IN THE SHADOWS, HIS LIGHT OF REVELATION BECKONS!

Revelation requires a change of your mindset.  Revelation involves supernatural surgery that removes the Cataracts from your Spiritual Eyes.  Revelation requires CURIOSITY.

God will attempt to reveal Himself to you in many different ways.  He will reveal Himself through HIS WORD; He will reveal Himself through direct communication during PRAYER; God will even send you a PERSON to SPEAK the revelation of TRUTH into your life.

BUT…

You have to be CURIOUS enough to read, seek and listen.

So many have missed their MOMENT OF REVELATION because they simply were satisfied to keep living in the shadows of partial truth; THEY WERE NOT CURIOUS enough to EXPLORE THE LIGHT!

You don’t have to stumble in the dimness of Religious Philosophy any longer….GET CURIOUS!

 GOD HAS THE GREATEST REVELATION JUST WAITING; HE WANTS TO REVEAL HIMSELF; HIS NAME TO YOU…JESUS!

GOOD THOUGHTS?

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/9/19

Act 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.

Social Media can be a great tool for gathering a Prayer Group.  Within just a few short minutes I can post a need; a call to prayer and have hundreds all over the United States and other countries joining me; touching the Throne of God.  It is becoming more common, however, to ask for or offer “GOOD THOUGHTS.” 

WHAT?????????????  GOOD THOUGHTS? 

GOOD THOUGHTS may make me feel better about a situation; they may make me smile or get me out of my funk, but GOOD THOUGHTS ARE NOT THE SOLUTION; my problem still exists.  It is still waiting to be dealt with.

GOOD THOUGHTS…Okay, sometimes I have GOOD THOUGHTS when I’m talking to God, but more often than not, my THOUGHTS ARE NOT SO GOOD …that is until God straightens out my STINKIN’ THINKIN’.  So if you are just wanting some GOOD THOUGHTS, I am probably not your Gal.

When I am struggling; when I am sick; when I have a need, I run right past all the GOOD THOUGHTS straight for the POWER-FILLED PRAYER!  I am seeking someone to join me who knows what it means to get HOLD OF GOD; I’m looking for the PLACE TO SHAKE.

If you are dealing with impossible situations; if you are in need of prayer today, find a PLACE SHAKING PRAYER WARRIOR.  Then join them in prayer until you feel the SHAKING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

Now that your little world is ALL SHOOK UP, things will start LOOKING UP.  God is sending the answers you’ve been searching for; your healing touch is on its way; the path through the storm is suddenly visible AND….YOU EVEN HAVE A FEW GOOD THOUGHTS!

GO AHEAD AND SHAKE IT, BABY….GOD IS ON THE MOVE!

NON-NEGOTIABLES

PRAYER JOURNAL 10/15/2019

Psalms 119:45:46 I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts. I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings and will not be ashamed.

During the last week another controversy has arisen in the Sporting World…Imagine that! 

It seems that an NBA General Manager, exercising his right to Freedom of Speech tweeted his support for the Hong Kong Protestors.  The NBA immediately apologized to Communist China, for offending them and violating their belief that no one has a right to say anything that does not agree with their official government stance.  Players and Coaches joined in the chorus of calling for the General Manager to apologize and be subjected to some type of “punishment.”

WHAT????  FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS ONE OF THE MAIN PILLARS OF OUR CONSTITUTION!  It is not subject to the feelings of a foreign government. For America to remain a Beacon of Freedom, FREE SPEECH MUST REMAIN NON-NEGOTIABLE!

Everyone must have NON-NEGOTIABLES in their life. Your NON-NEGOTIABLES must be based on the WORD OF GOD and cannot be subject to the opinions or beliefs of anyone else.

Situations will arise and you will be challenged.  At first you may try to ignore the warning signals and justify your place in the situation.  You will list all the excuses to explain and validate your position…BUT…Eventually, you have to make the choice to stay or leave.

Your choice may go against family and friends; it may mean speaking out and standing firm, all by yourself; it may even mean that you lose your position…

BUT…

If you have settled the WORD OF GOD in your heart and made it the MAIN PILLAR of your belief, when you are faced with a situation that requires a COMPROMISE of your NON-NEGOTIABLES, your ONLY CHOICE is to leave the situation…

OR…

You will no longer have the NON-NEGOTIABLES to guard your heart and Satan will have found the opening for which he has been searching.

Whatever you may face today; whatever obstacles you may find along the path, STAND FIRM ON THE NON-NEGOTIABLES.  They will be the lamp that lights the path; they will be the wind that fills your sails; they will guide you through the maze of life until the end; then carry you into eternity.

MOMENTARY SORROW

PRAYER JOURNAL 9/26/19

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 Now I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow lead to repentance. For you were made sorry in a Godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.  10 For Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

“I’m sorry! I’ll never do it again”…But we do; over and over and over.  We are all REPEAT OFFENDERS….WHY?

At that moment we come face to face with our actions, we ARE VERY SORRY.  We wish we had made a better choice.  We wish we could have a do-over. We dread the consequences.  AND, we are REALLY SORRY we got caught.

BUT…WHERE IS THE CHANGE?

Time passes, the consequences become the “new normal,” people forget and life goes on as if NOTHING EVEN HAPPENED. At the most unexpected moment, up pops the very same temptation and we are powerless to resist because …

MOMENTARY SORROW DOES NOT LEAD TO TRUE REPENTANCE!

In 2 Corinthians, Paul had written a letter to the Church of Corinth regarding a situation that needed to be addressed.  It seemed at first he was conflicted over the letter, at first he regretted sending it, perhaps it had caused some hurt feelings or embarrassment and some were made temporarily sorry.  But as time passed and he realized that the Holy Spirit had used his letter and their sorrow to lead the Corinthian church to repentance, he rejoiced.

PAUL REJOICED NOT OVER HIS WORDS, BUT THE WORKING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE CORINTHIAN’S HEARTS!

Too many times when we have been “wronged,” we want to make the offender feel sorry; we want them to feel shame and acknowledge their actions, so we lash out.  We rejoice, not because our words produced change, but because “WE GOT ‘EM GOOD!” Now, we have two wrongs; we are both offenders that need to repent.

It is okay to acknowledge that you have been hurt and it is okay to let the other person know that they have offended you.  Pastor, it is okay and expected that you will preach against sin but WORDS ALONE WILL ONLY LEAD TO THE SORROW OF THIS WORLD AND PRODUCE DEATH. 

Without a MOVE OF THE SPIRIT; without the working of GODLY SORROW, there will be no TRUE REPENTANCE; there will be no CHANGE.

Until we come to the knowledge that our OFFENSE IS NOT ABOUT CONSEQUENCE, BUT IT IS AN OFFENSE AGAINST A HOLY GOD, we will continue to be REPEAT OFFENDERS.

My prayer today, is that the Holy Spirit would begin its perfect work in me.  Let Godly sorrow reveal and convict so that I would repent and be changed into Your image.  Cleanse me from every sin and offense so that the Light of Your Love may once again shine brightly to a dying world…Amen.

IT CAN BE HUMBLING

PRAYER JOURNAL 8/23/19

Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.

We’ve all come in contact with the person that “KNOWS IT ALL!” You can’t share any news with them; THEY ALREADY KNOW! You can’t instruct them regarding anything; THEY ALREADY KNOW! You cannot even help them find further revelation in the Word of God because, THEY ALREADY KNOW ALL TRUTH! The best thing to do when you encounter Mr./Mrs. Know-it-all is to step back and let them fail…you can watch if it isn’t too painful, but they WILL eventually fail.

Now we have all been there at one time or another; our pride overrode our humility and good sense. Usually we just don’t want to look stupid in front of someone; you don’t want to be laughed at; maybe Mr./Mrs. Know-it-all is watching.

Humbling yourself and admitting you “just don’t know,” is difficult because, IT PUTS THE OTHER PERSON IN THE SEAT OF POWER AND EXPOSES A DEFICIENCY IN YOU!

Psalm 149:4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

How many times have we come before God with a haughty and prideful spirit? In prayer, we declare our DESIRES, and then proceed to give God the INSTRUCTIONS, so He can get it right. OR...perhaps instead of a “heart of repentance” we approach the throne boasting of our righteousness and exploits, then wonder why we never hear God’s Voice.

God doesn’t need instruction and all our righteousness are merely “filthy rags” when we present them in the light of His Holiness. God is omnipotent, nothing about Him changes if we refuse to “put Him in the seat of power” in our lives…

BUT...

EVERYTHING in our life will change when we approach Him with a humble spirit, placing Him in the “Seat of Power,” in our heart.

Psalms 149:4 says “With Pleasure,” God will give you instruction, guidance and blessing. And if that isn’t enough, He will “Beautify you with Salvation.” All that in exchange for a little humility!

TRY IT TODAY….

Humble yourself as you enter into His Presence; acknowledge His “Right to His Throne;” don’t be afraid to be vulnerable; HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR ALL YOUR DEFICIENCIES. Let Him love on you a little and you will be amazed at the DAY OF BLESSING you will experience.

James 4:10 Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.