Prayer

Philippians 4:6-7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

As I was reading this morning in my devotions in Philippians which goes with a book I also use for my devotions titled "A Heart Devoted" this really touched my heart. The story in this book for today is :Grandchildren Need Prayer" but as I was thinking about it, not only do the grandchildren of today need prayer but the children. There is so much garbage out there, when I was growing up we had no cell phones, computers, I pads, I pods, and all the other technology that's out there. As a matter of fact we had a small screen TV, a radio, a tape player and record player. OK, I know I'm telling my age with this :) ;)

As a child I played out side and I could say, "Mom, I'm going for a bike ride around the neighbor hood." Mom was fine with it she knew I would be back in about 2 hrs. Today children can't do this and this is why Prayer for our children and grandchildren is so very important. Now I don't have grandchildren yet but as a Parent of 5 children I'm praying constantly for them.

Here's  little excerpt of the story I read this morning.....  It ISN'T POSSIBLE! He can't be old enough to enlist in the Army Reserves! Why, I remember when he was just a little lad and ran through puddles and got all muddy.... He almost took us by surprise when he showed us his picture on his drivers license.... Then the car accident and we prayed all the way to the scene that no one would be badly hurt and they weren't..... Then the day he received Jesus Christ as his Saviour. We thank the Lord that all 12 grandchildren have been saved "by grace through faith"..... Then he told us he was joining the Army Reserves, now a 6'2" young man, this had been his dream and now his choice to do this. We prayed through the basic training, then we prayed when we heard he would possibly be deployed overseas.

Friend do you pray for children, your grandchildren? We never know when they will die. The reason I felt this needed to be shared is in the last several months I've been hearing of children dieing before their parents. A most recent passing is a little girl named Reagan, I never knew her personally but this precious child is now with the Lord. Her parents loved her, prayed for her and although we do not understand why, God took her home to be with Him. Her parents will and are missing her greatly, but they have the peace of God that she is in Heaven. Friend if we don't pray for our children, pray for salvation, pray for God's hand of protection on them, Satan will step in and there's no telling what will happen to them.

So my question to you is are you praying for the young people of our nation? The current generation and generations to come will have it much harder than we did growing up. Today's world is NOT the same as it was when I was 10 years old or when you were 13. Yes, there's always been temptations, but not like there is today!

Pray with out ceasing!

 

Are you A Turkey or An Eagle?

I know this sounds like an odd question, but if you'll read through and stay with me you'll see why I'm asking this question.

I attended a Preachers Conference this past Saturday, 4/26/14, that our church hosted and heard some GREAT preaching, one of the Pastors that spoke talked spoke about going on your strength  or in God's strength. Now as we know a turkey really isn't very smart and they don't fly well, where as an Eagle is Large he has a huge wing spans and he will let the wind carry him. So now I ask, "Are you a Turkey or an Eagle?"

In Isaiah 40 verse 31 we read "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles...."



See if you've ever seen a turkey he tries and tries to fly  but really doesn't get that far up off the ground. We as Christians can try and try in our own strength to get up, to serve God, to be what "I" want to be but as the turkey we're not going to get very far. Here in Maine we are seeing wild turkey's all the time. They are so funny but yet reminded me of the Christian life. You have a group of 10 or 20 turkey's and something comes upon them to cause a scatter and there's usually 1 or 2 who can't decided who to follow. Just think how as Christians we sometimes do that. A road block comes into our Christian walk and we all of a sudden don't know who to follow. Self? or God? Now lets look at the Eagle.



The Eagle is a strong bird, he's very large and if you think about could let lots of things slow him down. But have you ever noticed the Eagle when the winds are strong he doesn't fight it, he lets it carry him along. As Christians when those winds, trials, hard times come into our life do we let Christ carry us through or do we fight it as the smaller birds do, going backwards and then gaining a little and repeating this step over an over. The Eagle will ride along on his wings gliding and going letting the wind carry him, so shouldn't we allow our Saviour do the same for us, carry us along through those trials and hardships.

Is it easy to do as the Eagle? No not always, but I think I'd rather be an Eagle than a turkey. The flesh would tell us it's easier to just follow the crowd as the turkey does most times that would be easier right?! But as Christians the Bible tells us to wait on the Lord to be renew our strength, mount up with wings as an eagle. Is it always easy to wait on God. :) NO, I can attest to that myself. By waiting on the Lord though one of our prayers has come to be!

So my question is Are you a Turkey or An Eagle?

Be Not conformed to this world....

Good Morning! I started reading a book last night and I'm only in chapter 1 but oh my the knowledge and wisdom of the 4 young ladies who wrote the book! You ask what book are you reading? It's, "Growing up Duggar" Yep I'm one of those people who enjoy the Duggars. Nothing wrong with it and if you ever really watched it or read the book you know they are good solid Christians. I'll not go into all that I've gotten out of just the first 1/2 of chapter 1 but I there is one point that I thought I would expound on, on my blog.

The girls, Jinger, Jana, Jessa and Jill are wise beyond their years. I say this because they not only as children said, This is Dad and mom's rule so I'll follow it, but as they became teens and now young adults they have chosen to make those rules, standards and way of life their own. I admire them for that and I can say even our children thus far have said the same thing. Praise the Lord for families who not only train their children but their children see that their training is what they want in their own lives.

Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

"..be not conformed...." what exactly does that mean?
The Dictionary says conformed is:

1. To correspond in form or character; be similar.

2. To act or be in accord or agreement;

3. To act in accordance with current customs or modes

 

"..be ye transformed...." means:

1 a :  to change in composition or structure

   b :  to change the outward form or appearance of

   c :  to change in character or condition :  convert

2:  to subject to mathematical transformation

 

Ok we now have looked at the meaning of conformed and transformed. So as Christians we are told to not be conformed to this world which means we are not to be in accord or agreement with the world. Rather we are to be transformed which is changed in our appearance an structure.

 

So in order to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, you need to determine that you are going to separate from the World. You're not going to go to the movies, the bar, hang out with those who smoke or drink etc. Being transformed is dressing like a Christian modest in your dress, not doing that which is NOT Christ honoring.

 

Something that I read in the Duggar book was as we look in the mirror what do we see? The young lady, the teen, the woman who looks are in the mirror are you happy with what you see? You should be! You should be able to look in the mirror and be able to say, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, God has a purpose for me and I'm going to NOT be conformed to the wiles of the world but rather be transformed in my mind, my walk, my dress, my attitude, anything that would make one be different.

 

Friend you don't understand what I am talking about maybe your first step to be transformed is salvation. If you aren't 100% sure that you are saved you wouldn't completely understand what I'm talking about. I will be more than happy to show you or talk to you so that you too can be transformed.

 

Are you weary? Are you heavy hearted?

God has blessed us with a wonderful group of people! It was a blessing to see 35 in church on Easter Sunday. We had been praying for 30 and the Lord gave us 35!!! Where two or three are gathered together in my name.... God answers prayer even when things are rough and you feel you can't make it another day.

The Lord knew on Thursday what we needed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Friday our family had a blessed day spending time together as a family, Saturday was a GREAT day working at the church and soul winning, Then Sunday all our efforts were rewarded.

Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Isaiah 40:31  "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

If we give our burdens to the Lord he WILL give you rest. I know it's not always easy but that's what we need to do. It doesn't matter if the burden is emotional, physical, mental or whatever your burden may be. "Come unto me... are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

This past Thursday was one of those days that emotionally I couldn't go on, on my own. I had some pretty harsh things said to me. Some things in my 40 plus years of life I had never had said to me in the way it was said that day. I've had to really pray and lean on the Lord to get through the past few days. Weary is what I had become but by Sunday I knew I needed to "...wait on the Lord...." Why? I had to be what our church people needed and I needed to be what the children needed for what is a VERY special day, RESURRECTION Sunday!

Sunday as I put on that smile, that was yes, forced and I as watched the teens, the children and the little ones run and get the special things Pastor and I had for them, it was a Joy to watch. Before that as I sat and listened to my husband Preach Because of Jesus dying on the cross and raising again is why you and I can get through these tough times as Christians.

Are you weary? Are you heavy hearted?
Are you burdened with burdens you can't share? Give it to Jesus.

Lay your burdens at the cross, he will take it for you!

Friend I know at times life gets hard, things become unbearable however, With GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

Trust Him

How often do we honestly trust the Lord?
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths."

When the Lord says to you that you should do this or that, do you trust Him and do that thing or job? Today people seem to have an issue with trusting the Lord or anyone. Why is this? Even when we know the Lord is ALWAYS one we can trust, we don't. We hear to much in today world, that it's all about "me" just like in movies everything is fine I can do it, I don't NEED anyone. Stop an really think about it. We NEED Christ! We can't live a prosperous, joyous life without Christ. So are you going to Trust Him or Yourself?

What are things we need to trust the Lord with?
1. Our lives
2. Our spouses
3. Our children
4. Our ministry
5. Our everything!

This isn't a long lesson but as we go through our daily life we need to TRUST the Lord. He knows our tomorrows and he knows what we need.

So trust in the Lord with all THINE heart and lean NOT unto thine own understanding!
When we try to lean our own understanding we fail but when we trust in God he helps us to get through whatever he's asked us to Trust Him for.
 

Be content

OUCH! Be content your told.... is that always easy? I don't think so. Contentment -

a state of happiness and satisfaction.

In general I would say we are all happy, usually satisfied. But being content all the time. Is it easy? No it's not but the Bible tells us in: 

 

Philippians 4:11  "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

You will notice that I have underlined, made bold, highlighted and italicized the phrase "...therewith to be content." Why you ask? Well, there have been events in our lives that we, you and I, may not be content with but have you ever stopped to think, God brought us to it, be content because, He WILL take you through it.

This won't be long or elaborate but let me share with you, if you don't do as Philippians 4:11 says and be content, you will be miserable! I realize that when it says "state" it doesn't mean the 48 continuous states. But in this particular situation I'm going to use state, as in where you live.

Has God placed in the balmy, warm Southern states? Has he placed you in the Midwest in Tornado alley? Has he placed you out west where there's desert and lots of wild fires? Or has he placed in the North where there's more cool days than not? No matter what part of the US you are in, if you are there because God sent you there BE CONTENT!

I'm talking to children, teens and adults. You may have struggles which we will all have. You may feel no one understands your situation. Maybe you feel that you've been forgotten by all. Friend, God hasn't forgotten you, he understands your situation and he wants to be there for your struggles. Are you going to allow him to be the God of god's in your life.

I'm currently dealing with a situation that if I'm not careful could make me as an adult to become discontented. However, with God's help and with prayer and the Bible this girl isn't going to become discontented because I know without a doubt that God has placed our family in the state of Maine and there's a purpose behind it." What's that purpose, to be a witness for him and to plant the seed of salvation in as many lives as we can. If our family allows discontentment to set it, who will have won? Satan! That is something I DO NOT WANT!

Friend, "...whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." Are you going to follow the scriptures?
Just a thought for each and everyone of us to consider and ponder.

Bored? Really?

If boredom walked up to you and introduced itself would you really know what it was?
We say, "I'm bored" "This is boring" "I'm going to be bored if....." Well some say these things but you know as a child and as a parent I wasn't allowed to say bored and I've not allowed my children to get into that habit either. A friend told me I would probably be giving boredom jobs to do if it did walk up and introduce itself to me :)

What does bored mean? Bored is and Adjective; means: Feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity:
she got bored with staring out of the window
they would hang around all day, bored stiff

I can understand sometimes we have a lack of interest in our activity, BUT shouldn't we enjoy what we are doing ESPECIALLY if it's for the Lord?! With this wonderful world the Lord has given us, with all the things that we can do to improve this or that, or even to serve the Lord... WHAT? Serving the Lord isn't boring?! OH MY I never knew! Guess what friend serving the Lord is FAR FROM boring.

"...whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory God!"

1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do ALL to the Glory of God!"

1 Corinthians 14:40   "Let all things be done decently and in order."
Idle hands and minds will bring forth things that are NOT Christ honoring. That is where people start saying, "I'm Bored!" If you find yourself with free time, Fill it with good!

Make the word bored a word you really don't know if you would recognize it.
As I mentioned in the beginning I would probably give out jobs if boredom walked up to me. Here's a sample of what I do on a daily basis...
up by 6
Devotions done by 7
boys are up and doing chores
by 8:30 we are sitting down having school
while the boys work independently I'm either helping them, blogging, working on church things or doing household chores.
At noon we take a break for lunch
90% of the time by 1 we are either done with school or taking test for the day.
Once school is done the boys have things they enjoy to do or they will do required jobs for that day.
 
Saturdays aren't wasted in front of the TV - we are either working at the church, soul winning or working on things at home that we didn't finish that week.

Sundays we're are in church. Now on Sunday afternoon the boys play on their iPods or computers even take naps sometimes. We do keep our Sunday afternoons open for changes that way if we are needed some place or there's something that needs to be done we're not tied to anything BUT church in the morning and the evening.

You say, wait a minute I didn't see family time in this. Oh don't worry we get our family time and besides I said this was rough draft of what I do. As you can see I don't allow boredom to take over. We don't allow our children the opportunity to say I'm bored. Do they? Yes they are human and they do forget. They also know that saying I'm bored gets a job. So we don't hear it often. :)


 

Who Do You Follow?

I was looking at my last post and thought I'd add something to that -- Bible Characters that we should follow....

1. Solomon - If you read through Song of Solomon there are lots of good things we can follow.
2. David - Psalms Oh my the Psalms has so much good in it and so many things that we can follow through praising God and so much more!
3. Paul - The book of Acts
4. Dorcas (Tabitha) Doer of Good Deeds!

These are JUST A FEW people we can look to as the right kind of people to follow.

Follow, follow I will follow Jesus anywhere, everywhere, I will follow him. 
In the case of my husband I have sang many times
Follow, follow I will follow Bill anywhere, everywhere I will follow him -- Have I always wanted to follow my husband no, but I have because we are serving the Lord and wherever the Lord leads my husband, I will follow.

Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two Masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

So today Lets look at the people in the Bible and our lives whom we want to follow!