It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63 - NKJV
Pray before you read God's Word!
We know that Gods word is alive and active and full of power as the amplified bible states, but!
The verses in the Bible are just recorded words until God's Spirit starts to deliver them to you.
They are seeds waiting to come to life!
For that reason, pray.
Prayer is the water that activates the power and life that is in tht seed!
Pray according to the pattern of prayer Paul provided us with, "Lord, give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You that the eyes of my understanding may be enlightened."
And in response, God's Spirit will take the words of scripture you read and make them come alive for you. In this way, just as the scripture quote above declares, Christ's words will be as spirit and life to you. Eph.1:17-18.
How are you going to benefit from those words you hear?
Your spirit responds to them. Your spirit connects to and gets in agreement with what is being said.
It gives you the desire to act on the words you've heard or read.
However, don't be surprised if your soul - your mind, emotions and will - remain unresponsive or even resist that word.
To benefit from God's word you have to get your soul into subjection to your spirit!
Your spirit's desire is for you to respond in body and soul to God's Word.
When God's Spirit opens God's Word to you, then your spirit will say, "Yes, this is for me. It's exactly the counsel I need. I want to go with this!"
Let your spirit have its way.
Let your spirit take charge in your life.
As you do so, Ephesians 3:16-19 will come to life in you.
So pray, "Lord, give me the courage and power of Your Spirit to follow through on the counsel I'm hearing in Your Word." .
May you find life in God's Word
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6 - 7 - NKJV
One of the most important lessons I've learnt in my Christian life is that I can't afford to carry any of my cares - I have to keep casting them on the Lord!
Casting your cares on the Lord is the most responsible thing you can do because it gets them into the hands of the One who can really do something about them. Care - whether you cast it, roll it, deposit it or commit it to the Lord in prayer - make sure it goes into the His hands.
This is how the Apostle Paul lived. In prayer he committed everything and everyone he was responsible for to the Lord. He knew this was the most responsible thing to do. He knew well that no power he possessed in the flesh was going to benefit his churches or his ministry.
If continuing growth and fruit was to come, he knew it had to come by God. He wrote, "I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him."
God keeps what we firmly and fully deposit in His care, that is, in His safe-keeping. 2Tim.1:12b.
Ask the Lord to show you by His Spirit the full revelation of His care for you.
It can only be real to you as you pray and meditate upon Gods word. When you do that then the revelation of this can come when you read the Scriptures.
It can come out of Peter's declaration, "for God cares for you." It can be nurtured by the words in Hebrews, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Your response to this should be to do as Paul did, to say "I commend you to God and to the word of His grace." Now, do the most responsible thing you can do - cast all your cares upon the Lord! 1Pet.5:7, Heb.13:5, Act.20:32.
Let the Lord carry your concerns
One of the most important lessons I've learnt in my Christian life is that I can't afford to carry any of my cares - I have to keep casting them on the Lord!
Casting your cares on the Lord is the most responsible thing you can do because it gets them into the hands of the One who can really do something about them. Care - whether you cast it, roll it, deposit it or commit it to the Lord in prayer - make sure it goes into the His hands.
This is how the Apostle Paul lived. In prayer he committed everything and everyone he was responsible for to the Lord. He knew this was the most responsible thing to do. He knew well that no power he possessed in the flesh was going to benefit his churches or his ministry.
If continuing growth and fruit was to come, he knew it had to come by God. He wrote, "I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him."
God keeps what we firmly and fully deposit in His care, that is, in His safe-keeping. 2Tim.1:12b.
Ask the Lord to show you by His Spirit the full revelation of His care for you.
It can only be real to you as you pray and meditate upon Gods word. When you do that then the revelation of this can come when you read the Scriptures.
It can come out of Peter's declaration, "for God cares for you." It can be nurtured by the words in Hebrews, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Your response to this should be to do as Paul did, to say "I commend you to God and to the word of His grace." Now, do the most responsible thing you can do - cast all your cares upon the Lord! 1Pet.5:7, Heb.13:5, Act.20:32.
Let the Lord carry your concerns
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
God's pattern for success
~~~~
We live in an impatient generation and people are always wanting everything to happen overnight. Too often even Christians are demanding it all come together in one night.
You need to guard against this mentality of "I want it to instantly be there!"
You need to have the patience - the fortitude - to keep taking steps forward as God gives them to you. Steady building, steady progress gives God the chance to help you until you come into His perfect plan! Psa.37:23.
Most of us want something and we just tell God to bring it to us!
God is not our servant... we are His servants.
We have to labor in prayer as He directs.
Many say well you just confess what you want and wait for it to come and if you pray about it again you are in doubt.
NOT SO FAST!
First of all, you can ask once in doubt... how many times you ask does not determin your level of doubt.
Secondly, you have to ask God what to do and follow His plan. That's what this verse is talking about. There may be times when you have to keep pressing in as God directs you to in prayer!
Daniel Prayed 21 days for the answer to come... yet the angel told him that he was dispatched with the answer the moment the prayer was made, yet Satan tried to stop it!
The verse is telling us about Uzziah, a king of Judah. It makes a wonderful statement, "God made him prosper!"
How did that happened? Well, it was linked to Uzziah seeking the Lord.
That's prayer folks! HE PRAYED! And listened.... too often we just pray on go on our merry way expecting the answer to be at the next dirve up window waiting for us.
Uzziah kept putting himself in a position to be prospered by continually praying, seeking (enquiring of) the Lord.
This is the way it can happen for you too. God's people have always prospered through seeking the Lord, throught prayer.
The Word of God continually tells us to yearn for the Lord and enquire of the Lord and He will see to it that you prosper; He will instruct you by His Spirit on every step to make. Psa.5:12.
Note this about Uzziah's prosperity - it didn't come overnight!
He prospered in steps forward, not leaps. Uzziah had to keep planning for and keep working on his success. He and his son Jotham were builders. They built up their kingdom and God marvellously helped them. Establishing a kingdom takes time.
It takes time for God's kingdom to be established in you! 2 Chron.26:15, 27:6
Be a builder under the Lord's guidance!
Keep following God's bluepirint given to you in payer!
He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the things of God; and as long as he sought (inquired of, yearned for) the Lord, God made him prosper. 2 Chronicles 26:5 - The Amplified Bible
We live in an impatient generation and people are always wanting everything to happen overnight. Too often even Christians are demanding it all come together in one night.
You need to guard against this mentality of "I want it to instantly be there!"
You need to have the patience - the fortitude - to keep taking steps forward as God gives them to you. Steady building, steady progress gives God the chance to help you until you come into His perfect plan! Psa.37:23.
Most of us want something and we just tell God to bring it to us!
God is not our servant... we are His servants.
We have to labor in prayer as He directs.
Many say well you just confess what you want and wait for it to come and if you pray about it again you are in doubt.
NOT SO FAST!
First of all, you can ask once in doubt... how many times you ask does not determin your level of doubt.
Secondly, you have to ask God what to do and follow His plan. That's what this verse is talking about. There may be times when you have to keep pressing in as God directs you to in prayer!
Daniel Prayed 21 days for the answer to come... yet the angel told him that he was dispatched with the answer the moment the prayer was made, yet Satan tried to stop it!
The verse is telling us about Uzziah, a king of Judah. It makes a wonderful statement, "God made him prosper!"
How did that happened? Well, it was linked to Uzziah seeking the Lord.
That's prayer folks! HE PRAYED! And listened.... too often we just pray on go on our merry way expecting the answer to be at the next dirve up window waiting for us.
Uzziah kept putting himself in a position to be prospered by continually praying, seeking (enquiring of) the Lord.
This is the way it can happen for you too. God's people have always prospered through seeking the Lord, throught prayer.
The Word of God continually tells us to yearn for the Lord and enquire of the Lord and He will see to it that you prosper; He will instruct you by His Spirit on every step to make. Psa.5:12.
Note this about Uzziah's prosperity - it didn't come overnight!
He prospered in steps forward, not leaps. Uzziah had to keep planning for and keep working on his success. He and his son Jotham were builders. They built up their kingdom and God marvellously helped them. Establishing a kingdom takes time.
It takes time for God's kingdom to be established in you! 2 Chron.26:15, 27:6
Be a builder under the Lord's guidance!
Keep following God's bluepirint given to you in payer!
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