Monday's Inspiration

I was awakened with a familiar passage of scripture on my mind this morning. I felt led to share this with some individuals but then I began to sense the Spirit leading me to share my thoughts on this blog. Each of us are facing situations in which we are in need of the direction, guidance and strength that can only come from God. But the enemy of our soul will seek to bring doubt, fear, anxiety, frustration, etc. into our lives. It is at moment that we must make the courageous decision to place our COMPLETE FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD. I know that this is easier said than done but God has promised to reward those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11)

Here are the words that I felt led to share with you today!!

Here are six words that the Spirit placed in my heart to share with you!!

WALK BY FAITH!!

TRUST IN GOD!!

Proverbs 3:5-8,

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones." (NLT)

God is YOUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH!!

We can depend on God to fulfill His promises but we also need to be willing to fulfill our commitments to Him. It is one thing to depend on God but we need to make the decision to fully follow Him in obedience and surrender. 

Let us offer our lives to God as humble servants who truly appreciates the price that He paid for our Redemption. His is truly worthy of our praise, adoration and lifestyle of service to Him and to the family of God!!

Spiritual Preparation on Friday

The Spirit reminded me of a famous story in the Old Testament during prayer this morning. This story is found in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. The larger story is filled with several "smaller" stories that speaks to us. I believe the Spirit placed a fresh, dynamic and powerful revelation in my heart. Are you ready for me to unveil and reveal this dynamic principle that has the potential to change your life? It is the principle of Praise!!! Is it possible that we forget to use this powerful weapon that is located in our spiritual arsenal? 

The people of God were facing an enemy and they needed direction and assistance from God. We are facing our enemies and we need direction and assistance from God. Jehoshaphat appointed singers to go out in front of the army and offer praise to God. The Bible records this statement in verse 21 of chapter 20; "Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes..." God is ready to ambush our enemies. This is our "when time." When is it time to offer praise to God? NOW IS THE TIME TO OFFER PRAISE TO GOD!!!

I would like to offer a starting point of praise for us this morning. It is the wonderful words of the Psalmist David found in Psalm 150. I truly believe that there are enemies that will be defeated as we lift our voices in Praise to the Lord God Almighty today. WILL YOU JOIN WITH ME IN OFFERING PRAISE TO GOD?

Psalm 150 (NKJV)

Let All Things Praise the Lord

150 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Thoughts on Thursday Morning

2 Thessalonians 1:3, "We are bound (ought, should) to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other," (NKJV) (Emphasis Added)

I would like to share a portion of the passage that we studied and discussed at the Adult Discipleship Class last night at New River. For the past several weeks we have been reminding ourselves that the presence of Grace is more than just at the time of our conversion. We certainly understand and believe that it is "conviction" that draws us into the presence of the Grace of God. The Spirit reveals sin to us and then the Grace of God teaches us that God's Grace will forgive, forget and restore us to a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. This action of God and our response to this action of God allows us and encourages us to sing the words from Amazing Grace with a different outlook and point of view. We now sing the song as Children of the Most High God and realize that God has adopted us into His family. Can I get a rousing AMEN?

But the Grace of God does not end at the moment of Conversion and Adoption. Our Conversion and Adoption brings us into the ever present work of Grace in our lives. Grace leads us to fellowship with other believers and this fellowship leads us into life changing relationships. Many of these relationships will make a definite impact on our spiritual journey with Christ. God will place the right people in our lives at the right time and He will use these various individuals as instruments of encouragement, discipleship, teachers, mentoring, prayer partners, etc. 

The Apostle Paul was reminding himself as well as reminding the believers in Thessalonica to be thankful for their brothers and sisters in Christ. I do not think that we share our appreciation and thankfulness with each other enough. Each of us needs to be thankful for those individuals that God has placed in our lives and we fully realize that He has used them to assist us in the development of our spiritual relationship.

I am going to issue the same challenge that I made to the students last night. Take some time this week and focus on remembering some of the individuals that have definitely made an impact in your spiritual journey. You may feel led to call them, email them, text them, write them, or even speak to them at your local church. These means of connection would allow you to "thank" them for taking the time to invest in your life. I have already thought about several individuals who have made a difference in our journey of life. Encouragement is a "spiritual medicine" that will produce a positive effect in our lives. 

Be an encourager today!! Take time to say THANKS to someone day!!

Pressing On

There has been a song on and in my heart for the past several days. I can remember singing it on many occasions in my years of Christian service. The words spoke to my heart then and I believe that God has called me back to review the theme that Joseph Oatman, Jr. sensed in 1898 when he penned Higher Ground. The first line of the song says, "I'm pressing on the upward way..." Does anyone else sense that same call to "press on?" Have you noticed in your heart a desire to draw near to God? Do you remember the response that God has promised to those who draw near? God has promised to draw near to those who seek to draw near to Him. I am determined to respond to the mandate from God that is revealed in the Bible. 

I fully understand that each of us face many obstacles on any given day of our lives but God is faithful to fulfill His promises to His children. I would often share prayer requests with my Dad and we would come into agreement with each other and with God's Word as we prayed about these requests. But on many occasions he would remind me of these words; "Son, each of us needs to do the possible and trust God to do the impossible." I asked myself this question during prayer this morning; "Am I willing to do the possible?" I challenge you to ask yourself that same question. The modern day church needs believers who will stop shirking or ignoring their spiritual responsibilities. The modern day church needs believers who will look for the opportunities to "do the possible" and believers who will expect and anticipate God to do the impossible!!!

Here is the words of the song that I referenced in today's post. Read or sing it with an open heart and mind toward God. Be willing to make the commitment to press on and draw near to God. 

1.      I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

o    Refrain:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2.      My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

3.      I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

4.      I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Do You Feel Hungry This Morning?

It seems that each prayer time that I enjoy finds me in the same spiritual position at some point during my conversation with God. I find myself sensing the need to draw closer to God and I also sense the unction of the Spirit telling me that I need to share that need with other people. I truly believe that drawing closer to God is one of the mandates that the Spirit is issuing to the modern day church. Did not Jesus remind us that we need to "hunger and thirst for righteousness (the right way of living)? 

It does seem to me that the enemy has captured our thirst and hunger for so many inconsequential things that are temporary. That does not necessarily mean that each of these things are sinful but what if we pursued God as much as we pursued our times of relaxation/hobbies/adventures/other pursuits? This post may not set well with some people who may feel that I am overstepping my boundaries as a blogger/Preacher. My sincere purpose revolves around our need to seek after God with purpose and passion. I am witness to many situations in which our hunger and thirst for God is more of a function of Christianity rather than a sincere desire to have a healthy relationship with our Savior. Seeking more of God must move from being something that we have to do to becoming a spiritual principle that we desire to fulfill and complete in our lives!!!

Let me give you an example of someone on a pursuit. I was in the checkout line at a local store in our community a few days ago. I was preparing to check out when a lady (not a teenager) pushed her cart up behind me. She was trying to unload her shopping cart while she was playing Pokemon on her phone. She could not carry on a conversation with the sales clerk because she was intent on accomplishing the task that the Pokemon game had presented her. FYI: I do not know enough about the game to talk about the rules or guidelines of this game, But I do know that this particular lady was "captured" in her moment of pursuit and was very disconnected with her surroundings. She was "lost" in her game. I can remember the times that I have been "captured" by my pursuit of more of God in my life. I can remember when I prayed with others who were "captured" by their pursuit of God. What has happened to many believers who have "lost" their hunger for more of God? What has captured YOUR HEART TODAY?

1 Chronicles 16:10-11, “Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! ¹¹ Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!” (NKJV)

WILL WE TAKE TIME TO SEEK GOD TODAY?

Thoughts on Tuesday

I was reminded of several things as I was praying this morning. One of them concerned my need to be thankful that I had the desire to pray and that I chose to make the choice to spend time in prayer. Let's be honest, we take some many things for granted from time to time. We overlook the present blessings of God while we are looking for the next "great" blessing from God. Don't you think that it is time for each of us to focus on what God is doing for us on a daily basis? This action of gratitude will then play a role in us spiritually positioning ourselves to receive all that God has planned for our lives!!!

There was also something else that God raised up in my heart as I prayed this morning. I read a particular verse that awakened a deeper desire in me for the Word of God to become even more active in my daily life. I truly sensed that the Spirit wanted me to share a portion of that challenge with those who will choose to read the blog today. Let me remind you that I am not just speaking to YOU but the Spirit is also speaking to me regarding my approach to the Word of God.

Why are we so easily distracted from the Word of God which contains all that we need to live a spiritually successfully life in this world? And why are we so easily attracted to those things which could work against our spiritual life? The enemy of our soul is so easily blinding the eyes of both non-believers as well as believers. We are failing to see the benefit of spending time in personal study of the Word of God as well as a time of corporate study of His Word!! We can find time to satisfy the desires of the flesh but we struggle to find time to "feed" the "spirit" man. We know that the Apostle Paul told us that there would be a war between the flesh and the spirit but we must make an honest effort to win that war. Losing that war between the flesh and the Spirit can bring havoc and destruction to our journey with Christ. 

I truly believe that the Spirit is desiring to "awaken" the hearts of believers in the present day church. I see the struggles that people face each week. I face my own set of struggles each week (You may choose not to believe that because I am a Preacher but trust me it is TRUE!!) I see the mounting challenges that families are facing on a daily basis but I also READ AND HEAR the PROMISES OF GOD THAT ARE REVEALED IN HIS WORD!! I must choose to listen to the only correct voice in the midst of this debate between the flesh and the spirit. It is the Voice of God's Word that we need to hear in this day and time. 

James 1:22, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (NKJV) (Emphasis Added)

Weekend Review

It is a wonderful blessing to be able to arise on Monday morning and realize that I witnessed the ministering presence of God over the past few days. God is certainly worthy of our praise, honor, appreciation and adoration. I was able to recognize the presence of God in several different situations and I was able to see once more that God was a "multi-dimensional" God who was able to respond to people at various points in their journey. The longer I serve Him the more that I am learning to trust Him. I wanted to take this moment and offer my heartfelt praise to God and realize that He is truly an "on time God" who shares His awesome love with us moment by moment. 

Let me share with you some specific examples of the ministering presence of God.

1) I was able to witness the comfort and strength of the Spirit in the hearts and lives of a family who gathered together to celebrate the life of their loved one. The Homegoing Celebration reminded them of the presence of God in the life of this brother in Christ. Words such as faith, stability, kindness, example, hard working, caring, compassionate and many other words were used to describe the life of their family member. You could see the presence of God rise in the hearts of this family as a portion of the family of God gathered to offer their support and encouragement at this difficult time in their lives. Never discount the role that you can play as God uses you to pray for and encourage someone when they are walking through difficult valleys in their life. 

2) I was honored to be able to participate in an awesome worship service at New River. The presence of God flowed through the Call to Worship song as we were reminded that we can live because He is alive. There is no doubt in my mind that the time of corporate worship was anointed, inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit. The words of the songs and the musical notes from the musicians resonated throughout the sanctuary. The worshipers in the congregation soon began to practice the Biblical command; "Let everything that hath breath Praise the Lord..." I can still sense the presence of God as I type these words. The flow of the Spirit continued into the message and it culminated with us praying for several individuals who expressed a need in their lives. GOD IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE!!

3) Finally this service concluded with three individuals being baptized in water. This celebration of Baptism was an outward testimony of what God was and is doing in their heart and life. Once again the presence of the Spirit was very evident as these individuals arose from the water under the influence of the ministering presence of the Spirit. The adoption of anyone into the Kingdom of God should never be overlooked or thought to be unimportant. Each individual is important to God and God responds to each step of faith that anyone chooses to take. 

I have shared these words with a smile on my face and an overflowing joy in my heart as I realize that God is STILL AT WORK IN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE ACROSS OUR NATION AND WORLD!! Don't stop praying for a spiritual breakthrough in your community!!!