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When Anxious about Money

   In this time around the World, of hardship for so many Countries. We are all facing a time when money is able to do far less. So tell me and be honest, “is the thought of money keeping you awake at night?” I f so, your not the only ones, so never be ashamed by this. Things like .. Medical bills; Mortgage/rent payments; Collage tuition; retirement funds; grocery money; travel expenses .. these all require money, surprise. These in part rule our lies. Whether even an unexpected bill; sudden job loss; or maybe the reality of just by the skin of you teeth, your going to scrape through. If this is sadly the case with you, may you feel the peace of God flood your soul, for god truly provides for His Children in mysterious perfect, and loving ways.

   Do you remember the story of Elisha and the Widow? [2 Kings 4:1-7] The Widow had no money, her husband died and left massive debt, so the creditor was going to take her to sons as payment. God provided for her in truly a remarkable way. Elisha told her to go ask your neighbours for their empty jars, then pour the oil into each jar. The oil kept flowing till all the jars were full – then Elisha told her to go sell the oil and pay off your debts, and there would be enough money left over for her and her sons to live off of. What a story! The Lord emptied the oil, for the Widow – and providing for her in an obscure way, the widow and her sons were then blessed abundantly through her faith.

   I know many, if not most, may scoff at what I’m going to tell you, but I’m living proof of Gods blessing. But tonight, or during the day, as your stress levels intensifies about affording food ~ heating ~ School uniforms etc., and there is the overwhelming feeling of that you just don’t have enough. It’s in these moments we must reflect on the truths in Gods word. He not provide for you in the same way as the Widow, or even in the way you never expect. His way will always be good, and it will always be more than enough.

[NASB*] Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”

   In Philippians, Paul said, “God will meet your every need”, and Jesus also said “the Father loves to give good gifts to his Children” [Mathew 7:11] If you are a parent, reflect on the love you feel for them. You would do anything to satiate* their needs, and go above and beyond for them. This is just how the Lord is with His believers, that is how, He feels about you.

   Tonight when resting your head on your pillow, trusting that your provider loves you, just as a father loves his children. Remember what the Lord has done for you in the past, and know that he is still with you now and in the future.

[GW] Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or gather the harvest into barns. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they”

   Just because we don’t see the thing we asked for, or given, to us today, won’t mean God will not bless you, as He will, have faith and believe and be thankful, NOW.

Prayer for being anxious Say the following with me …

“Lord I feel so anxious

tonight about having enough

money. Help me trust that you

are faithful to your children

and will provide for my

every need. Give me strength

to look Heavenward toward

you instead of at my ban

account, for you ultimately you

are my provider.”

Now we honour Him with our praise

“Lord, I lift up my praise for you

For the promises in your living word.

Thank you foir making so clear

in the scriptures that you will

always meet my needs. So I

am truly grateful your constant

care and attention, and so I lift

my heart in gratitude for all

your gifts.”

*NASB – New American Standard bible

[* satiate meaning of = to completely satisfy a need, desire, or appetite]

 

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Are You Wholeheartedly His?

[NIV*] 2 Chronicles 25:2 “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly”

   Religion may well ask “Are you in or are you out”? But instead God asks us “How far in are you”? His interest is in an active relationship. Before a man’s wedding the question isn’t “is he really married, or just say a little bit married”?

   Everything God does is to have His people “really in” wholeheartedly. Some translations would say .. “a perfect heart” .. “not with a true heart” .. or ..”But did it reluctantly”. In Revelation [NKJV*] 3:15/16 “ I know what you have done, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. 16 But since you are lukewarm and not hot or cold, I’m going to spit you out of my mouth” It is possible to right in his eyes. But, not in a way that demonstrates a real relationship. Following His rules is never enough for our Father, character and heart seem assured far more than anything else.

   No one truly ever impressed their spouse; their boss; or commanding officer with either a “half-hearted” or “imperfect-attitude”. The good news for you here is that our Lord and Saviour in Christ Jesus is that you are given a whole heart to be his, how awesome can this be?

[MSG*] Jeremiah 24:7 “And I’ll give them a heart to know me, God. They’ll be my people and I’ll be their God, for they’ll have returned to me with all their hearts”

   Surely just as he talks about giving us a ‘new’ heart, it be just as in Romans 12:2 which tells us .. “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” .. This speaks to being a Christian, we become transformed from our old ways. Ways we no longer wish to, thus we are a ‘new creation’. That is we are now reborn, ‘born again’.

   If your walking down a road and stumble into on coming traffic. But a stranger grabs you and in turn stops you from being run over, you would not just say ‘thanks as you walk on. You would be enthusiastic, shaking their hand; all but shouting it from the roof tops with the worlds largest & loudest speakers system to announce it. Now that would be ‘wholeheartedly’.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, I see that I need to know your will more closely. You are the creater of the Heavens and the Earth, I humble myself before you as I wish to know your will wholehearted. I the name of your Son who sits at your right hand I pray. 

Amen

*Message Bible Translation

*New International Version

*New King James Version

Pray - Prayed – Prayers

 

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Pray - Prayed – Prayers

• The Word Pray is used upwards of 313 times in Old testament alone.

• The exact noun "prayer" appears about 36 to 87 times in the New Testament depending on the specific translation and whether you include plural forms like "prayers"

• In the New International Version (NIV) of the New Testament, the exact noun "prayer" appears 77 times (found in 71 individual verses).

If you include other direct grammatical forms of the word family (such as pray, prayed, praying, and prays), the total count across the New Testament rises significantly:

• Prayer (singular): 77 times

• Prayers (plural): ~31 times

• Pray / Prayed / Praying / Prays (verb forms): Over 250 times combined

• The exact numbers rely’s heavily on the version/translation you are reading. Some versions would see/translate “I pray thee” as to meaning: please.

• The Word Pray in all it’s forms are mentioned some 650 times throughout the whole bible dependent on the version your reading.

   OK, this may not be the most conventional way of starting my blog, but, God wanted to highlight just some of the numbers surrounding these simple words. Don’t trust my words, do a word search for yourself. When ever reading anyone’s blog or listening to a sermon, check out what the word in your bible tells you.

   For instance did you realise that there are 25 prayers that are attributed to Jesus Christ Himself. As mentioned before every word in the bible is truth, never let anyone persuade you other wise. Your prayer life should cover every aspect of life. Here are some of these types of prayers ..

• Prayer of Faith : This reaffirms your faith in God

• Prayer of agreement : Entails several people praying together.

• Prayer of Petition : Is one of the ways we bring our request to God [Philippians 4:6]

• Payer of Thanks Giving : Shows our gratitude to God for what He has done for us [Ps100:4]

• Prayer of Worship : Helps us recognise Gods power and greatness simply by saying .. “God is good”

• Prayer of Consecration : Is done to make something Holy, like your home or a new Church.

• Prayer of Intercession : We pray for somebody else’s well being, for God to intervene

• Prayer of the Holy Spirit: We ask for the help of the holy Spirit when not sure how else to pray.

• Pray for Healing : There is no one pray that heals all. [Luke 5:13/14] He healed by the measure of their faith, or, the disciples would say “in Jesus name be healed.”

   So when in a previous message I asked .. “Prayer what is it good for?” I hope to have further answered the question. I know it has been said before, but, it is worth saying again, that .. If it mention more than once, we should not only sit up and take note, but to also look into this more and apply what is being told to us.

   I feel God never said say this and all will be well. Whilst stepping out in faith believing. He did not want for us to say something over and over and over to the point of becoming robotic to the point (prayer) has no meaning. Which leads to no heart in what is being said. . . [NKJ] Matthew 6:7 “when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do” . . . Every Christian denomination, believes theirs is the best doctrine. My first hearing the voice of God, although I did not know it as such at the time, took me to an ‘Anglican Church’. From there I went to an ‘Alpha course’. Sadly for this Church it made me question what was in this book, from which you repeated sayings. After a while I found this beautiful building void of the voice of God I was being taught about.

Each and every denomination has a different way of how to behave …

• Some don’t like you speaking in tongues
• lifting your hands in worship
• Some even cherry pick only parts of the Bible, ignoring the rest

   I surly didn't want to bamboozle you with a ton of facts and figures. All I want to do is show you some figures, that were to make you think, and inspire you to do some searches for yourself.

   I will leave you with the golden ticket of prayers, as it shows us the best and most effective of prayers. I can, all but guarantee you will know of or have heard in part or in full, 'The Lords Prayer'. It is of cause from John 6:7-15 … “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Wisdom - How to obtain it from God

 

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Wisdom

How to obtain it from God

  This word appears in the NKJ Bible 235 times. Who knows that if a subject is in the Bible, we should make a note as thewhole bible is important. So if we see it 2-3 times , we need to sit up and take note and ask God for understanding for what He is trying to tell us. 2 3 5 times, we need to get some of this…

Wisdom

What God want to talk to us about today is from [NLV] Proverbs 4:4-9...

“He also taught me, and said to me: Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. 5 Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honour, when you embrace her. 9 She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

… We will walk with God Verse by Verse. Starting in Verse 4, though God want you to do one thing first, when ever you see the word ‘SHE’, He wants you to replace it with the word ‘Wisdom’ Then God will open Pandora's box to what Proverbs is really trying to tell us and then make so much sense, that if you could measure it, it would be off of the scale.

   So on to Verse 4 .. “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live” .. God tell us that the heart is the, and not the brain, as once we have sown into the heart there is a good chance it will grow uncorrupted, where as the devil sows seeds of doubt into our heads to easily. .”Keep my commands, and live” .. “Keep my commands” .. I put it to you He means 10 Commandments, wow just 10 ways to walk closer to god. Simple ones really, so why was/is it so difficult. That, not even today it has shown we still are unable to as well as an unwillingness to live this way!

“and live” .. A strange request for us. It’s been said they are living, but for these 10 restrictive rules. Some would have you believe these rules stop you from having a more fun filled life. A life lived and controlled by the flesh [devil]. In the end life that you built would have been built would have been on sand...

I want you to stop reading this blog for a moment

read the following Bible verse, then come back here

and finish read this study. . . so open your Bibles to

Matthew 7:24/27 in NKJV

(if you don’t have this version follow on below)

Matthew 7: 24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash”

… This parable of having wisdom is to build your life on Jesus Christ our Lord. He, is our rock the rest is just sand, that when life’s storms come at you hard and fast, please don’t stand alone, surround yourself with other rocks, for together your formidable.

   V6.. 5 Get wisdom! Get understanding! Let me share how God showed V6 to me .. “Do not forsake Wisdom [her], and Wisdom will preserve you; Love Wisdom, and Wisdom will keep you” Come on only us here, put your hands up, all you who thinks God wants us to have more Wisdom in our lives? When God said to substitute the word She suddenly the scripture blew my mind. Now when He tells us more than once, we must pay serious attention to His word and what He is trying to tell us.

   V7.. “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” I feel like God is shouting at us from the page here. I’m imagining a wet fish hitting me around the head and God saying “Is it finally sinking in yet dummy”? The second part of V7 whilst on the hunt, and with all you have left, please don’t forget to look look for understanding as you need one for the other. As with understanding you will know how, and to where Wisdom is to be used. It is like the secret key that unlocks everthing.

   V8.. here we go again with the word swap … “Exalt Wisdom [her], and Wisdom will promote you; Wisdom will bring you honour, when you embrace Wisdom” … Is what God is telling here starting open up His word to you? .. “Wisdom will honour you if you hold Wisdom to your heart” .. Keep holding Wisdom this way, and it will for sure hold you back from making fatal mistakes in your life. This God will do all day long for those who diligently seek His face. ..”hold Wisdom to your heart” … if we continually do this, it means we test everything by His word, then our response; our behaviour; our answers will come from a place of Wisdom.

   V9 ..”Wisdom will put on your head a crown of loving-favour and beauty” Lets take the first half .. ”Wisdom will put on your head a crown” This is not an actual crown, you only get out what you put in. If all you eat is pizza and burgers, you will gain weight fast and find out that you can’t do what you feel you should. Where as if you be careful of your diet, eating healthy, and exercise regularly will help sustain a long life. So by feeding the brain daily on the word of God, reading a verse or chapter a day, then God can also reveal things in His word you had not seen before. Even a portion of scripture you know all to well. In effect filling our brains with super foods if you will.

   “loving-favour and beauty” .. People will start seeing you in a new light. Seen as someone whom is wiser beyond their years. I can vouch as fact! There was one time I was on the phone to my sister. The subject matter escapes me, after my response, she went quite for a couple of seconds, she said “aren't you a wise one – full of surprise”. This came after a 3 month period of reading Proverbs back to back. The way I jumped in was if it was the 12^th, then I would read Proverbs 12. I found it the best way to start reading them. Why not give it a try, nothing to loose only Wisdom & understanding to gain.

   When looking at scripture instead of being alien, I bet you’ll be fed by the Bible, it will come alive with Wisdom. I have but two pieces of scripture that, God wants to share with you. It comes from Ecclesiastes …

Ecclesiastes 2:26 “For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind”

   In wrapping up I want to leave you with this, by chasing after Gods will, we will be gaining His Wisdom & understanding. Surly this is what it is all about. “Ask, and what you are asking for will be given to you. Look, and what you are looking for you will find. Knock, and the door you are knocking on will be opened to you” [Matthew 7: 7]

Why do we need to pray?

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Why do we need to pray?

[NKJ] Judges 20:23 “Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”

   For years my wife would always advocates for the flip side of the argument. Which has always been very frustrating. We may be in the car, and another cuts us up, she would say like “you never know the kind of day they may be having”. Despite they may have nearly caused to crash.

   God is telling us that you might not be facing an actual army, even of those you know as family and friends, but it is still a terrible situation. OR, it could be money related; should you go for a new job; it could be down to a health issue. Now it it just as important to say thank you Lord Jesus for keeping me safe going to and from work. Thank Him for the Air we breath; gravity for keeping my feet on the ground.

   There are many things to thankful for. I’m sure you can think of some of you own right now. In the scripture it tells us how they not only did . . “wept before the Lord until evening” . . But they went up again in v27-32. They were crying unto the Lord all evening, till they had answer. When you petition God, like these Isreali children having to face family [from Benjamin] some of which they will know and love. So you will face opposition from your own ’unsaved’ family and Friends, they will be hostile and rude. What we must do though before leaving home to see them?

.. PRAY ..

Ask God ..

• “Is this the day to talk to them?” ..

• “If so how should I do this?” ..

   As for this second question, always carry the joy of the Lord in your heart, that in it’s self , will attract ones to you, or they will ask to what your having! There will be those who will complain saying “your too happy”. Pray to God to soften their hearts.

   After seeking Gods face till he gave the answer to .. “Go up against him”. Because they sought gods face firstly, they were able to go out and win the battle, as the Lord was with them. Once again in Verse 28 they sought again the Lord, only this time they were delivered into their hands. Every step of the way the Israelites sought the Lords face, as nothing is to big for him to handle.

Do we need to pray?

Yes in all we do!

   A major thing hit me with Verses 23 & 26 was that the first thing that came to mind, was NOT to give into the flesh and think “ come on troops listen “I know they whooped our behind last time, but this time we’ll be ready for them”. Instead, this time lets seek Gods face,  “Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord” They really sought Gods face. When was the last time you ‘ALL’ in, to seeking Gods face? Showing God how much you need His Wisdom in the problem, as it is by His presence will you know the path to travel down. God knows the way we must take, we just need to submit to His will for our lives. This sounds so simple you’ll not think it be that simple, but it is.

   Are you sitting down, this will blow your mind, but, as soon as you do this simple thing, God will bless the faithful … [NKJ] 1 Samuel 2:30 “for those who honour Me I will honour, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed” God truly wants to bless us. When someone blesses you out of the blue, you are so thankful for the act, you are humbled by this act of kindness, why it is you blessed in Gods name. . .

• Before we go to the corner shop .. Pray

• Before going shopping .. Pray

• before opening your Bible to read a chapter or verse .. Pray

. . . God can’t tell you what your future wife/husband will look like. But He does know who is best for you, even though you think you know , when truly, and trust me on this, you don’t.

   In wrapping up, I put it to you, before putting your feet on the floor in the morning, thank our glorious Father for another day to honour Him. To shine wonderful glory from within, to someone new. I was playing heavily, in a game on my phone, when God said ‘how do I speak to you when you can’t hear me’. I was also distracted with other Earthly/ fleshy things, to which I was pointed. Since I changed, it has taken a while but I have started a closer walk with our Lord and saviour, Christ Jesus. I finally feel a closer walk with Jesus. It does take a supreme effort, the devil will try to dissuade you. Don’t let him, be strong in your faith.

Pray … Pray … and again I say

Pray!

Giving thanks while Waiting

 

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Giving thanks while Waiting

   In an age where we keep beng told have what you want .. NOW .. so in life, it seems like we are always having to wait for something …

• Waiting for the weekend ..

• Waiting to graduate from school/University ..

• Waiting to find that someone special ..

• Waiting for that Job call back ..

… Waiting can often feel like biding our time, and many times waiting lends itself to the feeling of impatience – not just for sleep to come, but also because your tired of waiting!

[*MSG] 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus”

[DARBY] Puts it this way ..”in everything give thanks, for this is [the] will of God in Christ Jesus towards you”

What are you waiting for?

   Tonight your not able to sleep as it might be that your waiting for something exiting like one of the following …

• Waiting to welcome a new baby into the family .. or

• Waiting for your test result to come back ..

• Waiting for sombre news ..

… Whether you are waiting on something joyful or potentially challenging it’s causing you to miss out on some much needed rest.

   When you are feeling impatient sometimes the best thing to do is focus on something else and for believers it can be helpful to focus your attention heavenward. Why not then use this time you are spending; this time your awake, wisely in the presence of the Lord.

“Be cheerful no matter what” … If you are waiting on an up and coming exciting event, concentrate on praising the Lord for His goodness. After all He is the One who helped to orchestrate these joyful circumstances in your life. . . If your waiting on your wedding day, thank Him for your loving future spouse.

   On the other hand you might be waiting on something that which you have not, thank God in faith believing. You must also consider He has shown His faithfulness in your life, and remind yourself of his goodness to come. Don’t become disheartened in the waiting. Let me be as bold to tell you this, there is a season for everything.

   Tonight whilst settling yourself down and fluffing your pillows a last time, remind yourself that [NKJ] Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” .. 13:5 “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He is always busy orchestrating the perfect plan for our lives.

   As I finish here I’m leaving you with 2 verses, of which I want you to follow the links, in your bibles, in each verse . . .

[*NKJ] Psalm 33:20/22 “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You”

[*ESV] Lamentations 3:25 “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him”

* MSG : The Message Bible

* ESV : English Standard Version