"You're reading too much into the question. Stop reading too much into the question." That is what our nursing instructors would tell us after our test. What exactly does that mean? Our imagination would paint a picture for us as we read the limited information contained in the question. Based on our understanding of the picture we saw, we would formulate the answer to the question. It was a universal process. All the students did it. What causes people to see something in their mind that they cannot see with their eyes? It's called faith. I always had a preconceived notion that faith was something just for people who were saved. I thought it was believing for someones healing or expecting a miracle, but faith is so much more.
"Now faith is the assurance(the confirmation, the title deed) of the things[we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality[faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]," Hebrews 11:1. Faith is believing in or about something or someone that you cannot see with your physical eyes. On those test we all had faith that the picture our minds painted for us was the truth and factual even though many of those facts were missing. Why would an entire college class do this? Why not just the Christians? The answer is faith. It is a spiritual law. Romans 12:3 says that each person is given a degree of faith. That means that faith applies to believers and nonbelievers alike.
Each moment spent with God increases your faith, after all you are spending time with Someone you cannot see with your physical eyes. With an increases of your faith will come an increase in your understanding of the things of God. As you begin to read the Word of God let your faith take over. That degree of faith that God gave you in your mothers womb will work along with Holy Spirit to unlock the hidden mysteries of His Word. There is so much to be learned from the Bible if you will "read into the question."
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Pray for Your Leaders 3
God revealed to Jennifer last week, we need to pray for our leaders. On a more closer, personal note, He revealed as wives; we need to cover our husbands in prayer as the leader of the household.
This past week, God gave me a prayer for us wives to speak over our husbands. This prayer is for you if your a wife of a saved husband serving the Lord or a wife of a husband in transition toward serving the Lord. The prayer is composed of the Word of God, just put into a personal perspective. Remember the Lord says in Jeremiah 1:12.....I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.
In praying for our husbands, we as wives should start with ourselves, proclaiming who God says we are as a wife.
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband. I am an excellent wife. ( Proverbs 12:4)
House and riches are the inheritance of fathers and a prudent wife is from the Lord. I am a prudent wife. ( Proverbs 19:14) This word prudent interested me, so I looked up the meaning and prudent is one who is careful in planning for the future, sensible, economical or thrifty.
I respect and reverence my husband, I notice him, regard him, honor him, prefer him, venerate him, and esteem him. I defer to him, praise him, love and admire him exceedingly. (Eph. 5:33)
Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me understand and support my husband in ways that show my support for Christ. Lord, You teach me to be a wife to him, show me Your expectations of a wife. I pray that I will be the wife You planned to give my husband, no fleshy attitude will stand in the way. Holy Spirit lead me, lead me in what to say or what not to say. Lead me in my role as a wife, that I will glorify You God. In Jesus Name.
This past week, God gave me a prayer for us wives to speak over our husbands. This prayer is for you if your a wife of a saved husband serving the Lord or a wife of a husband in transition toward serving the Lord. The prayer is composed of the Word of God, just put into a personal perspective. Remember the Lord says in Jeremiah 1:12.....I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.
In praying for our husbands, we as wives should start with ourselves, proclaiming who God says we are as a wife.
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband. I am an excellent wife. ( Proverbs 12:4)
House and riches are the inheritance of fathers and a prudent wife is from the Lord. I am a prudent wife. ( Proverbs 19:14) This word prudent interested me, so I looked up the meaning and prudent is one who is careful in planning for the future, sensible, economical or thrifty.
I respect and reverence my husband, I notice him, regard him, honor him, prefer him, venerate him, and esteem him. I defer to him, praise him, love and admire him exceedingly. (Eph. 5:33)
Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me understand and support my husband in ways that show my support for Christ. Lord, You teach me to be a wife to him, show me Your expectations of a wife. I pray that I will be the wife You planned to give my husband, no fleshy attitude will stand in the way. Holy Spirit lead me, lead me in what to say or what not to say. Lead me in my role as a wife, that I will glorify You God. In Jesus Name.
A PRAYER COVERING FOR YOUR HUSBAND
Lord God, (my husband), is the leader of this family. God You are the Head of this household and my husband follows after You in every decision affecting this family. He longs for You, O God. His inner self thirsts after You, the living God. (Ps. 42:1,2) God shine Your light so that he can clearly see which way to go as we follow him Lord. My husband leans on, trusts in, and is confident in You, Lord, with all his heart and mind and does not rely on his own insight or understanding. In all his ways he knows, recognizes, and acknowledges You, and You direct and make straight and plain his paths. He is not wise in his own eyes, but reverently fears and worships You, Lord. (Pro. 3:5-7)
He hears counsel, receives instruction, and accepts correction, that he may be wise in the time to come. (Pro. 19:20)
God give him favor as he walks as the leader of this household. You, Lord, will bless him; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill ( pleasure and favor). (Ps 5:12)
By Your favor, O Lord, You have established him as a strong mountain. ( Ps 30:7)
I want to encourage you this week to pray for your leader, your husband. Praying the word over your husband is like creating a force field around him. Let God move by speaking His word which allows Him to provide that covering.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Pray For Your Leaders 2
Last night while sitting under conviction for not praying for my leader the Lord spoke something else into my spirit. Most church people would consider the "leaders" to be the pastors, but lets break it down to a personal level. We most definitely need to pray for our pastors, but we also need to pray for the other leader in our lives.
Who are these other leaders? They are your small group (cell group) leaders at church. They are your bosses and supervisors. They are your teachers. They are your children's teachers. They are your coaches and your kid's coaches. They are your husbands (Ephesians 5:22)! You might not agree with what these leaders in your life are doing. You might not even like some of these people, but have you prayed for them lately? Have you interceded for them in their position as leaders, or have you grumbled griped and complained about how they do their job? Have you even recognized these people as leaders? Do you respect their authority over you, or do you consistently undermine their authority in front of other?
Here comes the conviction again. I am guilty of grumbling, griping, and complaining rather than covering them with prayer. Jesus did not get along with the religious leaders of His time, but He also did not undermine them. The Bible says that Jesus came to fulfill the law not to destroy it (Matthew 5:17). Jesus was submissive to authority and in Ephesians 5: 21 we learn the we are to be subject to one another. What it all boils down to is keeping our big mouths shut and praying earnestly for our leader no matter how insignificant they seem to be. They have been placed in authority over us. Pray for and respect them!
Who are these other leaders? They are your small group (cell group) leaders at church. They are your bosses and supervisors. They are your teachers. They are your children's teachers. They are your coaches and your kid's coaches. They are your husbands (Ephesians 5:22)! You might not agree with what these leaders in your life are doing. You might not even like some of these people, but have you prayed for them lately? Have you interceded for them in their position as leaders, or have you grumbled griped and complained about how they do their job? Have you even recognized these people as leaders? Do you respect their authority over you, or do you consistently undermine their authority in front of other?
Here comes the conviction again. I am guilty of grumbling, griping, and complaining rather than covering them with prayer. Jesus did not get along with the religious leaders of His time, but He also did not undermine them. The Bible says that Jesus came to fulfill the law not to destroy it (Matthew 5:17). Jesus was submissive to authority and in Ephesians 5: 21 we learn the we are to be subject to one another. What it all boils down to is keeping our big mouths shut and praying earnestly for our leader no matter how insignificant they seem to be. They have been placed in authority over us. Pray for and respect them!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Pray For Your Leaders
As I was studying the story of David and Goliath the Lord gave me some new incite that I would like to share. In 1 Samuel 17:8-11 the mighty champion of the Philistines, Goliath, comes out to challenge the Israelite army. The Bible actually says the he defied the army. He was huge and the Philistines used that to their advantage. My question for you is, are you buying into the rules of engagement that Satan is shouting out at you?
In the beginning of these verses the Bible says that the Israelite army was in a battle array. They were ready to go out and fight. They most likely had their shields and their swords ready and were about to go in when Goliath came out to fight. He completely changed the rules to suit him and his army. He said something like this, " Hey, why are you lined up to battle us. Let's just do it my way. You send one man to fight me and who ever wins will have the opposing army as servants. I defy you today! Now come on and fight!" Since when does the enemy get to set up the rules. Israel was ready to fight and Goliath comes out to change things. Why didn't they just rush him and do battle as usual? As I began to think about this I started to get angry. It's just like Satan to come in and change the rules. He is always tying to get an advantage over us. The sad part is, like the Israelite army, we usually let him make up the rules as he goes. It is no wonder that David was angry when he came into the camp. He probably was thinking the same thing I was. He actually said in verse 26, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
The next thing that made me sad was the fact that Saul the king and leader of the army and the people was letting Goliath dictate how the battle would be fought. What kind of leader lets the enemy control the battle? This question goes deeper than just this battle between Israel and the Philistine. It speaks also of our spiritual leaders. The answer is this. Leaders who let the enemy control all aspects of the battle are leaders who are not covered in prayer, and who are not supported by the people.
How often do you pray and lift up the leadership that you are currently under? Unfortunately I fall short in this area. I say that I'll pray but then "life happens" and I forget. Shame on me and shame on you who don't pray for your spiritual leaders. Without a prayer covering how can we expect the vision of the church to come into existence. With out a prayer covering how can we expect our leaders to even have a vision. In Proverbs 29:18 we learn that the people perish without vision. Pray for your leaders so that they will hear the voice of God, have vision, and follow God's rules for battle not what the enemy has set up.
After you have prayed, you then need to follow the leaders. They might tell you to do something that is absolutely absurd to you, but if you follow their lead you just might see a mighty move of God. What is foolishness to us can change the lives of others. Don't grumble, gripe, and complain about their decisions just follow their lead. After all, if you are doing your part, they should not lead you astray.
In the beginning of these verses the Bible says that the Israelite army was in a battle array. They were ready to go out and fight. They most likely had their shields and their swords ready and were about to go in when Goliath came out to fight. He completely changed the rules to suit him and his army. He said something like this, " Hey, why are you lined up to battle us. Let's just do it my way. You send one man to fight me and who ever wins will have the opposing army as servants. I defy you today! Now come on and fight!" Since when does the enemy get to set up the rules. Israel was ready to fight and Goliath comes out to change things. Why didn't they just rush him and do battle as usual? As I began to think about this I started to get angry. It's just like Satan to come in and change the rules. He is always tying to get an advantage over us. The sad part is, like the Israelite army, we usually let him make up the rules as he goes. It is no wonder that David was angry when he came into the camp. He probably was thinking the same thing I was. He actually said in verse 26, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
The next thing that made me sad was the fact that Saul the king and leader of the army and the people was letting Goliath dictate how the battle would be fought. What kind of leader lets the enemy control the battle? This question goes deeper than just this battle between Israel and the Philistine. It speaks also of our spiritual leaders. The answer is this. Leaders who let the enemy control all aspects of the battle are leaders who are not covered in prayer, and who are not supported by the people.
How often do you pray and lift up the leadership that you are currently under? Unfortunately I fall short in this area. I say that I'll pray but then "life happens" and I forget. Shame on me and shame on you who don't pray for your spiritual leaders. Without a prayer covering how can we expect the vision of the church to come into existence. With out a prayer covering how can we expect our leaders to even have a vision. In Proverbs 29:18 we learn that the people perish without vision. Pray for your leaders so that they will hear the voice of God, have vision, and follow God's rules for battle not what the enemy has set up.
After you have prayed, you then need to follow the leaders. They might tell you to do something that is absolutely absurd to you, but if you follow their lead you just might see a mighty move of God. What is foolishness to us can change the lives of others. Don't grumble, gripe, and complain about their decisions just follow their lead. After all, if you are doing your part, they should not lead you astray.
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