Prayer answered
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I have thought a lot about my attitude and opinion about prayer. While I have not come to a conclusion that I am completely comfortable with, here is what I have come to at this point.
1. God expects us to ask for HIS help and guidance in every aspect of our lives. This in itself acknowledges the HE is our Almighty God.
2. God expects us to try our very best and go as far as we can on our own to realize our personal and spiritual goals.
3. I need to balance the focus of my prayer between what ”I” want in the form of the “answer or end result or object” of my prayer with an equal level of emphasis for the strength, humility and grace from God to accept HIS answer to my prayer regardless of what the outcome is.
4. However God answers my prayers, I need to have faith that there is Good in the outcome even if I can’t see that good at the time. This is the hardest for me which I need to pray about and grow because I still struggle with this. As my faith grows stronger, I believe I can better accept and embrace HIS Plan for me.
5. In all things I need to continue to Praise God. Praise God when things are good. Praise God when things are bad. Praise God always.
(little humor)
Good Thoughts
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“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
Fire Proof
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released today, called FIRE PROOF.
Click to view the trailer.
Click here: Fireproof Trailer - Moviefone
God’s Love
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“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3
Power of Prayer
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Only time will tell how our prayers are answered and what the real effect of the answer to our prayers has on our life. We believe this special intention we are praying for would impact our lives in a very positive way but it would also positively affect many other lives as well. So we continue to do everything within our power to achieve what we are praying for, but at the end of the day, a big part of whether or not our prayers are answered is out of our control and ultimately up to God’s infinite wisdom and mercy.
So please keep us in your prayers in 2 ways. First, that our prayers are answered; and second that whatever the outcome, we receive God’s grace and guidance to accept what happens and trust that Good will come from God’s Plan.
Praise be to God
Despair
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Succumbing to despair denies the power of our sovereign God to look after us.
“Jesus answered, ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’” John 16:33
‘Let’s do it your way’
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by John Fischer
“Lord, there are two ways we can do this, yours and mine. Mine is not working. Let’s do it your way.”
Someone sent me this quote as part of a pretty spectacular near-death, out-of-body experience that involved a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery, but I don’t believe you have to be facing all that to understand such a statement. In fact, I think this is a pretty good way to think about going through every day of our lives: “Lord, there are two ways we can do this, yours and mine. Mine is not working. Let’s do it your way.”
That is one of the notable things about Jesus, especially as recorded in the Gospel of John, that he always loved doing the will of his Father. He said that he and his Father were one, and he never did anything that his Father didn’t initiate. God and he worked together like hand in glove.
It’s not quite so with us. In our finest moments, maybe, when we are relying totally on the Spirit of God, but we have a sin nature to deal with that Jesus didn’t have. We’re going to pretty much have to be saying this every moment of our lives: “Lord, there are two ways we can do this, yours and mine. Mine is not working. Let’s do it your way.”
It is comforting to know that Jesus, in spite of his love for doing his Father’s will, struggled with it when facing his own bitter end. He struggled so hard that blood was forced out of his body as perspiration. The Bible teaches that the sin of the world was laid on him on the cross, but there is reason to believe some portion of that identity with sin began in the garden the night before his trial when he prayed a prayer that could have just as easily been translated, “Lord, there are two ways we can do this, yours and mine. Mine is not going to work. Let’s do it your way.”
It’s the way we first come to Christ, it’s the way we learn to walk in his will for our lives, and it’s the way Christ purchased our salvation through his death on the cross. In fact, it pretty much sums up the Christian life in a nutshell: “Lord, there are two ways we can do this, yours and mine. Mine is not working. Let’s do it your way.”
Happiness - key to success
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“That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:13
Real Servants Pay Attention
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Real servants pay attention to needs. Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help oth
ers. When they see a need, they seize the moment to meet it, just as the Bible commands us: “Whenever we have the opportunity, we have to do what is good for everyone, especially for the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10 GWT).
When God puts someone in need right in front of you, he is giving you the opportunity to grow in servanthood. Notice that God says the needs of your church family are to be given preference, not put at the bottom of your “things to do” list. We miss many occasions for serving because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity.
Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, sometimes never to return again. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment. “Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now” (Proverbs 3:28 TEV).
John Wesley was an incredible servant of God. His motto was: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” That is greatness. You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do.
Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching.
Door of opportunity
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“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3
