Tag: prayer

Manifold Wisdom

Ephesians 3

While it is impossible to fully understand the ways of God, because His thoughts and ways are not like our own, it is possible to navigate through life by His wisdom. Man’s wisdom is solely based on human understanding, and knowledge of things known, but the God of heaven gives His people insight and strategy beyond what the eyes of men can see. The children of God suffer in the earth in similar ways as those of the world. For example, those who are the righteousness of God, also suffer sickness, struggle financially, and even deal with the tedious rigmarole of the workplace. Fortunately, God helps His children endure the struggles of life, while maintaining the proper perspective. Worldly men consider suffering as punishment, or lack of effort to be better. While there is truth to that statement, some suffering is necessary to keep people humbled, or protected from potential circumstances. God’s wisdom guides and protects the Saints through all their daily occurrences. Whether meandering through the grocery store, or visiting sick loved ones, there’s never a moment when we should refuse to acknowledge the manifold wisdom of God.

Amiss

James 4:3

Thank you Father, for your word (that I don’t read).
Thank you Father, for your grace (that I don’t appreciate).
Thank you Father, for your power (that I don’t acknowledge).
Thank you Father, for your mercy (that I don’t recognize).
Thank you Father, for your love (that I take for granted).

Oftentimes, we go through life, acting as if God owes us something. We pray just for the sake of doing it, live how we want, do whatever we want, and fail to acknowledge all the good God does for us. God gave us His word, yet we rarely study it. We are daily loaded with grace and mercy, but we fail to appreciate it. The power of the almighty God can be seen all over the world, yet we place our confidence in frail men. God is love, and He allowed His love to take on the sins of all mankind, yet men ignorantly take Him for granted. When we pray, be sure our words align with our actions. When we spew vain words to God, we pray amiss, and the Father does not hear us. Let your life and your words always be pleasing to God, so when you pray, He will hear you, and He will answer you.

Early Birds

Psalm 5:1-3

The secret of a close relationship with God is to pray to him earnestly each morning. In the morning, our minds are more free from problems and we can commit the whole day to God. Regular communication helps any friendship and is certainly necessary for a strong relationship with God. We need to communicate with him daily. Do you have a regular time to pray and read God’s Word?

(Excerpt from Life Application Study Bible)

Good Representation

Psalm 38

How well do you represent godly living in all areas of your life? Can your family, coworkers, neighbors and friends easily tell whether you are dedicated to living a life of holiness, or not? It’s easy to look the part of a believer in church, or amongst those gathered for religious purposes, but how well do you represent godliness outside of the church walls, and in the company of those who do not share your beliefs? Are you easily entertained by unhealthy conversations at work, or do family members know the right buttons to push, that will cause you to act out of character? Representing God in a fallen world isn’t always easy, but if one diligently commits to doing as the Lord commanded, He will always direct their steps, by His Spirit.

Be… So That God Can Do…

Various Scriptures

Oftentimes, we pray to God, seek His face, and hope for change in our lives, but we hardly see immediate results. Most of the time, all we have to do is, be who God called us to be, so that He can do what He promised to do for His people.

Love the Lord… and he will preserve you.
-Psalm 31:23

Be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart…
-Psalm 31:24

Delight in the LORD, and will give you the desires of your heart.
-Psalm 37:4

Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
-Psalm 37:34

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
-Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
-Matthew 5:3-11

In your daily living, be who you were called to be, so that God can do what He promised He would do.

Vive Un Poco

Eclesiastés 2:24-26

La vida es corta, y el tiempo con el que estamos bendecidos en la tierra es finito, así que en lugar de cargar con una cadena de errores y errores del pasado, deberíamos intentar vivir un poco antes de seguir adelante. de la muerte a la vida. Dios nos da fuerza para trabajar y ganarnos la vida honestamente, y aunque estamos destinados a estar atados a algún tipo de factura o gasto, deberíamos tratar de usar algunas de nuestras ganancias para disfrutar de este hermoso planeta que Dios creó. Nunca he sido de los que viven lujosamente o gastan demasiado para pasar un “buen rato”, pero hay cosas que hacer que no requieren mucho dinero. Por ejemplo, un gran lugar para disfrutar a cualquier hora del día (prefiero las noches) es la playa. Sentarse en la arena mientras disfruta del sonido de las olas batiendo en la playa es una experiencia impresionante. Otros lugares que aún no he visitado son los zoológicos, para ver todos los animales asombrosos que Dios creó, y los parques nacionales, donde las familias pueden ir a disfrutar de reuniones y buena comida. El tiempo en el que vivimos hoy está lejos de ser color de rosa. De hecho, se están gestando muchas cosas que pronto se manifestarán y cambiarán la forma en que vivimos para siempre. Pero, hasta que llegue ese momento, hagamos todo lo posible para amar a Dios, amar a los demás y encontrar algo en esta vida para disfrutar y estar agradecido.

Parental Guidance Pt. 2

Daniel 9:4-6, 15-19

Good parents raise their children in such a way, they’ll be able to conduct themselves in a decent and wholesome manner, as they mature and develop throughout their lives. A good way to test the level of a child’s maturity, and how they’ll represent their family’s name is, to monitor them in public places, and around other people. Most parents set standards in their homes, which they expect their children to adhere to. Not only are children expected to conduct themselves accordingly at home, but away from home also. Children who obey their parents are typically rewarded for doing so, and render more help to the family as a whole, rather than create unnecessary problems for everyone. But, there are those who more often than not, give their parents a not so good name. If there’s one thing a parent despises, it’s dealing with children who give their name a bad reputation. Children often forget how impactful their actions are, and disregard the fact that they bear their parent’s name. Knowing this, they are known to find themselves in unfavorable and embarrassing situations, many of which their parents go out of their way to save them from.

The Bible teaches, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” (Prov. 22:1). Throughout history, men and women were not only known by their accomplishments, but more importantly by their names. The name of the Lord was to be reverenced and respected by His people throughout the Bible, but there were many times when the children of Israel gave the Lord a bad name. God is good, and always good, yet those who claim to serve Him have done major damage to His name for generations.

Our text picks up where God’s chosen people had once again, given in to sin, and were drawn away into diverse iniquities. Surprisingly, the man who interceded to pray forgiveness on their behalf, was not responsible for participating in their sin, yet he included himself in the prayer. Daniel expressed sincerely to God, “We have sinned, and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments.” (vs. 5). Daniel did nothing wrong, yet felt responsible for defaming the name of the Lord as the people did. What a guy! Although Israel had taken the name of the Lord in vain, and connected themselves to wickedness, Daniel petitioned God to withhold His anger from the people for His own sake, because the people are called by His name. Whether they wanted to be or not, Israel were God’s children, in the same way we are to our parents, and whether we do good or bad, we can’t disconnect from being our father and mother’s child.

God loves all His children, but we have a mandate to keep His name holy. We must do this by obeying the Word, living according to godly principles, and committing all our thoughts, plans, and motivations to the will of the Father. When our priorities are to please the Father, we’ll be positioned to represent Him the right way, and avoid bringing shame and embarrassment to His name.

Parental Guidance

Ezra 10:1-12

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” (Eph 6:1-3). This passage of Scripture was engrained in my mind at an early age. By the age of ten, I could recite these verses from memory with ease. In my younger days, I often wondered why my parents focused so much time training my siblings and I on committing this passage, and others relating to obedience, to memory. My father and mother understood the importance of obedience to God, and the dangers of disobedience, and were wise enough to help their children develop an understanding of godly principles, through their biblical rearing.

When we obeyed our parents, I can safely assume it brought peace and a sense of joy and comfort to their hearts, as they witnessed their efforts have a positive effect in our lives. Unfortunately, raising seven children in the 80’s was far from a cakewalk. I can also imagine my mom and dad wanting to pull their hair out, during times when we were too much to deal with. Being our parents, and leaders of the home, we were expected to follow and respect their orders and commands, but there were many times when we did the opposite of what we were told, in order to satisfy our selfish wills. We were raised to live different from the world, and not mingle with behaviors and activities that were contrary to God’s Word. This same message was given to the children of Israel in our text, by Ezra the priest. God had already warned His people to keep themselves pure and undefiled from the ways and customs of the pagan people who dwelled in the land they would soon enter, but while some took heed to God’s word, others had different agendas.

Throughout the time of the judges, Israelite men had married heathen women, and then adopted their religious practices. God knew the dangers of mixing the holy with the profane, and told Ezra to warn the people to remain holy. As always, the people rebelled, and willingly mingled with the heathen nation. In the same way my parents probably showed frustration at the disobedience of myself and my siblings, Ezra the priest heard what the people had done, then tore his clothes and plucked out his hair and beard. If that wasn’t enough to show his frustration and disappointment, Ezra sat astonished all day, until the evening sacrifice. At the evening sacrifice, the priest fell on his knees, spread out his hands unto the Lord, and prayed.

Ezra’s sincere prayer gives a great perspective on sin, because he recognized how serious it is, how it affects others, and how God would spare an undeserving nation, if they would only repent. Eventually, the congregation of those who turned away from the Lord, confessed their sins, and were forgiven.