Friday's Encouragement

I firmly believe that God is calling us to focus on Him as we move forward in this world. The writer in Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) said it this way; “...Keeping our eyes on Jesus...”; Psalm 57:7 (KJV) declares these words; “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed...”; and the old hymn encourages us to “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” (Helen Howarth Lemuel)

I also firmly believe that God is calling the present day church to rediscover the importance of prayer which will lead us into the power of prayer. Prayer is being overlooked as an important “spiritual tool” that God has provided for us to use against the attacks of satan. We have time for everything but prayer. We have set aside prayer as being “something” that a select few are called to practice. I encourage you to read out loud the words of 1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (NKJV)

These challenging reminders as well as the daily call from God to draw nearer to Him and His directions for my life is convincing me of my need to FOCUS ON THE CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT OF MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. I encourage each of us to pay close attention to the Word of God and to the call to the present day church to place Christ as the “center piece” of our lives!! Will we take time to draw near to Him today? God is looking for action and not just our “religious words.” The present day church needs to pay close attention to the words of Jesus in Matthew 15:8, “These people draw near to me with their mouth, And honor me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.” (NKJV)

I received a text from one of the brothers of the New River church body as I was praying this morning. He shared a passage of scripture that God led him to read during his time of prayer and devotion. Psalm 27:7-8, “Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! ⁸ My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” (NLT) (Emphasis Added) He had spoken these words to the Bible Study on Wednesday night. “Over the past few days I have felt led to say these words to God, I AM COMING TO YOU!!” (Mike G.) He had based his words on the promise of God found in James 4:8a, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…”