Tag: prayer

Draw Near to God

God’s Hand

2nd Chronicles 7:14

“If my people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their their sin and heal their land.”

This Scripture is one of my favorites. There are four steps in this Scripture. The first step is humility. Humbling yourself is accepting that you need God and He is God.

The second step is prayer. Prayer is our communication with God. When we open our hearts to God, acknowledging that He is God and we need Him, He will answer. He leads and guides us with grace, mercy, compassion and love.

The third step is seeking His face. We must seek the face of God for our lives, our family and our future. When we diligently seek God, His word says that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It is a choice you make every day.

Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (NIV)

The fourth step is turning from our wicked ways. Doing things that do not glorify God but our flesh, the world or the devil is not glorifying God. Only you know where these areas are in your life.

Something I would like to note is that God is not a microwave God. Be patient with God like He is with us. He works in us and through us. Just thought I’d share.

Be blessed!

Avid

Avid

Hebrews 4 TwelveWhat are you avid about? What do you have enthusiasm for? What are you zealous for? Keen about and devoted to or dedicated to? The antonym is indifferent. Today I speak on faith. I am zealous about my faith. I am not indifferent to what pertains to eternal life. I am an avid reader of the Word and zealous for the things of God. Sunday’s message was rather sobering. The pastor spoke about the lack of care for Jesus. He died on the cross and yet the time taken to worship and praise Him is minimal. Let me do that in between this or that. Life gets in the way of our devotion to our Savior.

2 Peter 1:3 – “…as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…”

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Jesus’ Sacrifice

 

Jesus’ sacrifice was necessary so I could call on His name today!

Ephesians 6:14-17 – “14) So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), 15) and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. 16) Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Amplified)
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The Spirit is Willing but The Flesh is Weak

A Sunset
A sunset at the end of a day’s journey.

As I continue to sit before the Lord, the title of this post is what keeps coming to my mind and heart. It is important to understand what this really means. While the heart can sincerely be driven to seek the Lord, the flesh is always there to distract, get in the way, make seeking the Lord challenging.

Power over the flesh is definitely possible because all things are possible to him who believes. This does not mean that it is easy. Even Paul was aware of how difficult this could be. The things he hated, he did and the things he wanted to do, he didn’t practice. (Romans 7:15). Knowledge of Paul’s dedication and commitment to the Lord is well known. Even he struggled with the challenge in his position. What is the point, you ask?
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“On the Edge” Book Review by E. Parker Hudson

on-the-edgeIn the grand scheme of things, when we think of demonic activity, we picture the red devil with the pitchfork. In my absence from posting, I have been reading quite a bit and praying. I hadn’t realized that I was under such a great attack. This post is about the victory of knowing that we do have the power of God in us: the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the sword of the spirit to combat his attacks. I am talking about our thought life and the emotions that the devil uses to a great extent to keep us from walking in that power. He knows that when we truly get a hold of using the knowledge and power together, many will be saved. The Word says that the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. Why? Because many of us are fighting our own personal battles instead of standing in the gap for others. I have to say that I did feel the prayers of those who did pray for me. It makes me more sensitive to the fact that we should be praying even more so for our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as the unsaved. Continue reading “On the Edge” Book Review by E. Parker Hudson

August 20th Thoughts

I would like to say hello. I have been temporarily out of pocket dealing with the things that have been coming my way. Spiritually, it has been challenging as I work on complete surrender to the Lord and His plans and purpose for my life. 
A couple weeks ago, ready to write what the Lord was showing me, I was once again distracted. Returning to focus, I was once again attacked by the enemy. I was attacked by two pit bulls. I had delivered a package to a customer. After leaving the package and ringing the doorbell, as I was returning to my car, a little girl opened the door and came out to get the package.

Why is a little girl (no more than four) answering the door? Just my thought. As a parent, my children were not allowed to answer the door for anyone. As she held the package, she went back, I thought into the house to close the door. She didn’t close the door but held it open slightly and wanted to talk. I was on my way back to my car. Uncomfortable that she had not yet closed the door, I turned to tell her to go inside and shut the door.

The faces of the two pit bulls had appeared in the open space. I looked at them and they looked at me and the next thing I knew, they were coming after me. The little girl was no match for their agility and quickness, much less power once they perceived me as their target. They were quick. I tried to get to my car but obviously was not fast enough. They both jumped on my upper body to attack. The loose fitting blouse I had on kept them from penetrating any skin on my upper body. Apparently though, I did get a teeth mark in my right hand. I went down trying to perfect myself.

The little girl, her name is Meadows, started screaming and I started screaming, “Get the dogs! Get the dogs!” No adult appeared immediately. I managed to get to my feet and they came after me once again. This time I went down losing my glasses, phone and keys. Suddenly, the adults appeared and the male adult called for the dogs. The grey pit was obedient. The brown one was not. I had managed to get to my feet and was backing further into the street.

The brown pit seemed intent on making mincemeat out of me. However, he finally responded to the male adult and returned to the house. The male yelled at the dogs, and both he and the woman went inside after them and slammed the door. No, they did not ask or see if I was okay nor call for help. I made it back to my SUV, got in and sat shaking badly for about five to ten minutes. I couldn’t move for what seemed like quite a while. What registered with me is that I had just got done speaking in tongues right before I arrived at this address. Number nine on my route.

I took necessary protocol and called Amazon, family members and Animal Control, who called medical services. I was injured more seriously than I thought and could not move both hands and wrists for three days. The pain can be excruciating at times (especially when I work now) but I move forward with pain medication.

I consider my prayer, height and clothing a significant blessing because a nine-year old got attacked on Thursday and didn’t make it. I was out of work for almost a week and it has been tough financially because things were already more than tight. However, I cannot imagine any amount of money will erase the mother’s pain of loss of her  little boy.

More to come…

Today’s Thoughts_Sunday, May 15th

May 15_2Today was a good day. I didn’t have to work and took the time to just relax in going about my day. I did plan to go to church but didn’t. I worked late last night and needed the rest. However, I have been listening to the spirit and understand more about living in the now than ever before. I don’t yet have a permanent address so I am not sure what church I want to start. The goal for the church I attend is a place to go fellowship, worship and hear the Word of the Lord. It’s coming.

After posting about the significance and importance of quiet, I have had some today. I am grateful to God for it. I must say that in the quiet time or in the spirit, I realize that I have changed quite a bit. One of the things that I realize is that I no longer have the desire or need to be codependent. Being a parent of adult children, sometimes we can fall into that trap without really trying.

Phil 4_6One thing that I have accepted is that God loves my children more than I ever could. He has a plan and purpose for their lives just like He does mine. And, even when you have good information for them, they may not receive it from you because you are the parent. My adult children are individuals who have the opportunity to figure themselves out as adults just like I did. The great part about being here is the freedom that comes from knowing it is all in God’s hands. There is acceptance that I can still be a good parent by praying for them continually.

Another part of this experience is seeing them grow. I used to fear a lot for my children because of this crazy world. All the negative influences and the seduction of what the world has to offer, the emptiness and shallowness as well as the loss of the soul. Being a believer in Christ, accepting and believing God’s Word, has helped tremendously in this aspect. Reflection on my own parents also helped me realize that they probably had the same concerns. But as I see, my siblings and I grew up and became parents ourselves. There is the peace of God that I am always grateful for and there is a peace that comes from maturing and realizing that you will be just fine. You find strength that you didn’t think you had. You find talents that come from needing to improvise. You find that you can do without so many things that you once thought you would die without.

May 15_3With all the information I have read about learning to love yourself, especially from the WordPress blogging community, it seems as if there is a place of resolve that I now have to let be God be God in this area and work on my own strengths. No, I don’t focus nearly as much mental energy on my weaknesses. It is part of the process of learning to love myself. Not saying I am ignoring what needs to be improved but taking a different perspective and road for my own development.

May 15_4

Today’s post is really about the Scripture spoken by Paul. That would be to be content in whatever state I which I find myself.

Book Review_Saved By Angels

Saved by AngelsThis review is on Saved by Angels, written by Bruce Van Atta. This is an excellent book to read about the testimony of another believer and be inspired by his journey. Most important though is how it is relative to us all in this spiritual journey. He relates quite effectively because he is very honest about his responses to God. His story is amazing and while I feel eager to share a significant experience he had with the angels, I hold back because it is a reading experience you have to have for yourself. The first chapter talks about major events in his journey with God. He is easy to read but powerful and provocative none-the-less.
Continue read review…!