We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.
I Samuel 12:10
Looking back at 12:9, we can see the trouble they were in. They realized and noticed the reason bad things and troubles were all around them. They realized that it was because of their sin, following after a false god instead of the One True God, their First Love. They knew they had to turn back from their sin toward God in order for deliverance from the bad things that was happening.
In our own lives, we will have trouble when we stop following after G0d and turn toward the Baals and Ashtaroth's. Now it may not be a god that we made, a statue of bronze to fall down before. Paul reveals in I Corinthians 10:14, Therefore, my dearly beloved, shun (keep clear away from, avoid by flight if need be) any sort of idolatry (of loving or venerating anything
more than God).
God has to rule and reign and have complete control. This is an area of my own life God has been showing me, that He wants complete control of everything that I am. What gods can we setup? The television or the devotion to certain programs, the computer, housecleaning, shopping, even our friends and family. God has to come first, when He does, everything else will fall into its rightful place and you will be able to endure whatever is thrown your way.
Your flesh has to be fed everyday, no matter how much Christmas dinner you eat. The next day you are hungry like you've eaten nothing. Your spirit has to be fed everyday, no matter how much God you take in, everyday your spirit craves more of Him. That is the way it should be we should all have an addiction to the spirit of God that we will do whatever it takes to get to that secret place to get inside His presence, to feel His heart, to hear His desires not to make our requests but have a conversation with the Lord God Almighty. He waits for us.
Look for God in everything, look for ways to spend time with Him. Paul said in Ephesians 6:18, Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people).
This doesn't mean that we have to stop and kneel in the closet all day, although, getting away secretly is a good and beneficial thing. What we can do is put on some worship music and turn off distractions and pray while we do our normal daily activities. When we feed our spirit, the voice of God is louder and more clear, when we feed our flesh, the voice of the enemy is louder and more clear.
As we enter into the 21 day fast, I want to encourage you to seek Him more, as we deny our flesh, let's feed our spirits more. Let's hear the voice of God louder and clearer for 2009!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
How close are you God?
While studying the book of Job, God has been revealing some incite into His plan and purpose for my life. I seem to learn something new everyday that causes me to run after Him. God is so great and vast and majestic, yet He chooses to have a relationship with me. He desires to walk with me through out my life and guide me in every step I take if I will only let Him. How awesome to know that the King of the universe knows my name and desires to have a truly intimate relationship with me. In His word He says that He will stick closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). I never understood that, but through this study I’m learning that God does just that. He sticks closer than a brother, friend, mother, father, child. He never gets aggravated and says, “That’s it. I can’t stand you anymore.” The only way to get rid of the closeness of God is to run away from Him. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He is a very present help in time of need (Psalms 46:1). I’m learning that God is really always there no matter what I’m going through. No matter how difficult the trial may seem at the time, He is there! He was there for Job and He is there for you, too!
Job had never been through a trial of this difficulty before. It was challenging and it was going to be life changing for him. We go through things like this in our lives also. God challenges us for greatness. It is through these times of trial that our fleshly flaws are exposed. We can allow God to remove these things to make us stronger and to cause our spiritual growth, or we can falter under them, run from them, and find no growth and stay in the same place. If God is allowing a great challenge to come in your life, then consider it an honor that He loves and respects and considers so much of you to allow it. He is sitting on the throne saying things like, “Hey watch what she does here. Isn’t she awesome? I bet Satan never saw that coming. I’m so proud!”
You are truly blessed and highly favored when trials come because God sees what is coming and knows that you can make it through.
Job had never been through a trial of this difficulty before. It was challenging and it was going to be life changing for him. We go through things like this in our lives also. God challenges us for greatness. It is through these times of trial that our fleshly flaws are exposed. We can allow God to remove these things to make us stronger and to cause our spiritual growth, or we can falter under them, run from them, and find no growth and stay in the same place. If God is allowing a great challenge to come in your life, then consider it an honor that He loves and respects and considers so much of you to allow it. He is sitting on the throne saying things like, “Hey watch what she does here. Isn’t she awesome? I bet Satan never saw that coming. I’m so proud!”
You are truly blessed and highly favored when trials come because God sees what is coming and knows that you can make it through.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Power of Unity
They all gathered together for the appointed time of Worship. They had done this before. It was a part of their culture and way of life. It was expected of them by their God. What made this time any different than the others? What caused God to manifest this way? What is the key to having God "show up and show out?" The answer is UNITY!
As I began to Read the book of Luke and study out the Christmas story, I began to see somethings from a different perspective. The priest in the Jewish culture had jobs to do. Every morning and every evening they would go to the temple to offer sacrifices to the Lord . One of the functions was to burn incense before the Lord (Exodus 30:7). Burning the incense was probably the closest you could come to God with out being the High Priest. The Altar of incense was sitting directly in front of the veil that separated the Holy of Holies (Exodus 30:6). It was Zachariah's turn to serve in the temple and he was chosen to burn the incense. While serving his function something miraculous happened. We know the story. He was visited by Gabriel, told he and his wife would finally have a child, and he was made dumb until after the child's birth.
Why did this happen? What triggered God to show up. The obvious answer was that God had a plan and this was His appointed time, but there is more. God is governed by His word. God gave dominion and power over the earth to us. We have to invite God in and release His power on the earth. He can influence our thoughts and our actions, but ultimately we have the control and with out inviting God in He cannot and will not move on our behalf.
So what happened to invite God to show up and manifest His will? UNITY, UNITY, UNITY!!! The scripture just before Zachariah sees Gabriel says that ALL THE THRONG were praying in the court at the hour that the incense was being burned (Luke 1:10). A throng is defined as a great multitude. This was not "the intercessors" having prayer meeting. This was not the "prayer chain" calling up the people on the list. This was not the "prayer warrior" down the road covering someone in prayer. This was everyone who came to worship at this time all praying. Talk about unity. The women were not thinking about the chores that they had to do when they got home. The men were not thinking about the work they would being doing later on that day. They children were not playing with their buddies. Everyone was praying!
Because these people decided to come to the house of God, forget about the cares of life, and focus on God, He manifest His awesome power. I can think of another time this happened. One hundred twenty people gathered together determined to wait on God to manifest Himself in some way. They didn't know what would happen, but they would stay until something did happen (Acts 2:1-4).
What has happened to unity in the body of Christ? Church services have become a part of our culture. They are ritualistic. We go not expecting anything from the Lord, but rather we come because that is what we are supposed to do. What would happen if we would drop the cares of life for a few moments and enter into His courts like this throng did? What would happen if we would pray, not screaming out a wish list, but begging for His presence? We would see the manifestation of His presence. We would see things that we haven't even asked God for, come to pass. Healing, Deliverance, and Miracles would manifest.
The next time you come together as the body of Christ think about what unity will bring and put your focus on God. Watch and see what He will do!
As I began to Read the book of Luke and study out the Christmas story, I began to see somethings from a different perspective. The priest in the Jewish culture had jobs to do. Every morning and every evening they would go to the temple to offer sacrifices to the Lord . One of the functions was to burn incense before the Lord (Exodus 30:7). Burning the incense was probably the closest you could come to God with out being the High Priest. The Altar of incense was sitting directly in front of the veil that separated the Holy of Holies (Exodus 30:6). It was Zachariah's turn to serve in the temple and he was chosen to burn the incense. While serving his function something miraculous happened. We know the story. He was visited by Gabriel, told he and his wife would finally have a child, and he was made dumb until after the child's birth.
Why did this happen? What triggered God to show up. The obvious answer was that God had a plan and this was His appointed time, but there is more. God is governed by His word. God gave dominion and power over the earth to us. We have to invite God in and release His power on the earth. He can influence our thoughts and our actions, but ultimately we have the control and with out inviting God in He cannot and will not move on our behalf.
So what happened to invite God to show up and manifest His will? UNITY, UNITY, UNITY!!! The scripture just before Zachariah sees Gabriel says that ALL THE THRONG were praying in the court at the hour that the incense was being burned (Luke 1:10). A throng is defined as a great multitude. This was not "the intercessors" having prayer meeting. This was not the "prayer chain" calling up the people on the list. This was not the "prayer warrior" down the road covering someone in prayer. This was everyone who came to worship at this time all praying. Talk about unity. The women were not thinking about the chores that they had to do when they got home. The men were not thinking about the work they would being doing later on that day. They children were not playing with their buddies. Everyone was praying!
Because these people decided to come to the house of God, forget about the cares of life, and focus on God, He manifest His awesome power. I can think of another time this happened. One hundred twenty people gathered together determined to wait on God to manifest Himself in some way. They didn't know what would happen, but they would stay until something did happen (Acts 2:1-4).
What has happened to unity in the body of Christ? Church services have become a part of our culture. They are ritualistic. We go not expecting anything from the Lord, but rather we come because that is what we are supposed to do. What would happen if we would drop the cares of life for a few moments and enter into His courts like this throng did? What would happen if we would pray, not screaming out a wish list, but begging for His presence? We would see the manifestation of His presence. We would see things that we haven't even asked God for, come to pass. Healing, Deliverance, and Miracles would manifest.
The next time you come together as the body of Christ think about what unity will bring and put your focus on God. Watch and see what He will do!
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