PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, AND AGAIN I SAY PRAY

Then He spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart Luke 18:1

As a believer in Jesus the unanswered prayer is the most discouraging aspect of prayer. Much of our prayer is to fulfill our own selfish lust, but for those prayers offered that have not been tainted with selfish lust we wonder why the delay. So our response is to cease praying about it. Now if God has given you the answer and you do not like it, know that he is superior and his wisdom exceeds that of your own and he knows best. If you are waiting on the Lord, have faith the answer is on the way. The unjust judge in the parable in Luke 18 granted the woman her request because of her continual coming and God has promised to do the same for us, in the midst of him being slow to move. The requirement is having faith in God continually and ceasing not in same prayer request and it shall come to pass.

Deadly Distractions

We all get distracted from time to time, but I have come to realize that distractions are often setups by the enemy to keep us from accomplishing God’s purposes. Sometimes even a major spiritual attack can be a distraction from what God intends for you to be focused on. Distractions can weigh us down, causing us to lose our focus and feel hopeless. Distractions take us off course and can cause us to end up someplace we never intended to go. Hebrews 12: 1-2 says,

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”

Notice that there’s a difference between “weights” and “sin.” Weights aren’t necessarily sin. Weights cause us to lose our focus and the author of Hebrews tells us to keep looking at Jesus. If you’re experiencing this “weightiness,” it’s time to throw off the weights. It’s time to get your eyes back on Jesus, the One who is the author and the finisher of your faith, who brings it to maturity and perfection. If you’re being weighed down with fear because of the political and economic situations we are all facing – throw it off. Get your eyes on Jesus. Determine in your heart that He’s bigger than anything you’re facing. You may need to spend more time in the Word to get your faith level up. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” The more Word you put in you, the more faith you have. The more faith you have, the easier it is to lay aside weights and distractions. Whatever it is you’re worrying about, give it to Jesus, our burden bearer. Get rid of that weight. Don’t let fear and worry keep you sidelined. We are approaching the finish line so get rid of anything that takes your eyes off Jesus and let’s get his race won!

COLD HEART

For the believer, in the US, life is becoming more difficult. The freedom to hold a righteous standard is being challenged. The freedom to live in truth is being challenged. The choice of serving God or money is becoming more real. You have called yourself a Christian and now we shall see. The test of authenticity is already here.

Your heart is being tested. Will you serve your own belly or follow God? Will you trust him or yourself? The time of testing is perfect. Your success will determine your promotion.

A cold heart is the result of being a lone ranger. You shall not survive without being connected to a holy church. A church that preaches about living righteously and abhoring sin. A church that holds the Bible in high esteem and works to follow every precept. A church that does not use noncanonical sources as gospel, but opens the Bible for its direction.

God is extremely clear about sin. You have to be a total ignoramus to be confused. The world does not love you. The world will never love you. You are a fool if you think it does. God loves his children and at the appointed time he will rescue you. When he comes to rescue, will you be found following him? Do not get caught off guard.

Hearts remain warm when surround by God’s love and truth.  Hearts remain warm when surrounded by true believers in Jesus. Hearts remain warm when you surround yourself with lovers of Jesus and lovers of people. Hearts remain warm when sin is treated like sin and not a disease.

Through repentance a cold heart may become warmed. Your heart condition may be changed. For your eternal salvation it is important your heart become warm. A cold heart is a walking dead heart. You may wonder how someone kills another? A cold heart. Remember, you are no different than another. If your heart is cold, there is nothing evil you cannot do. Get a warm heart today.

Don’t Walk Away 

What do you do when Jesus doesn’t calm the storm?

In Matthew 14:22-33, we find an account of a storm that hit the disciples boat and led Peter to walk on the water. While reading those verses I was captivated by the verses before and after the ones that said he walked on the water.

Have you ever been in a storm? This storm took you by surprise. To this day you can’t understand why it happened and the end result still leaves you with questions. In those situations, I believe that we may never know all the ‘whys’ and maybe we aren’t supposed to.

In verse 22 after feeding the five thousand, it says that ‘immediately Jesus MADE His disciples get into the boat and go before to the other side while he sent the multitudes away. He then went up to the mountain alone to pray and he stayed there until evening. The next verse takes us to the seas and tells us that ‘the boat was in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves for the wind was contrary’.

Now my mind is trying to analyze and I have come to the conclusion that I think Jesus was interceding in prayer and was made aware of the situation that his disciples were encountering. Why? The verse says ‘now in the 4th watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea’ but it was just turning evening when he went to the mountain to pray. When the disciples saw the figure of Jesus in the storm, they thought he was a ghost and they cried out in fear…but immediately Jesus spoke to them “Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid”.

The next verse is the reference to Peter walking on the water. Now notice that Peter got out of that boat and stepped on the water, the waves were boisterous and so strong that they were tossing this enormous fishing boat. (I am assuming it was a fishing boat because of the fact that about 1/2 of the disciples were fisherman.) Could it be that Jesus didn’t calm those waters because he wanted to show Peter what Peter was made of? Peter walked on that water my friend; he walked on it as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. The moment he looked at those boisterous waves he was overcome with fear and he started to sink. Jesus of course rescued him and asked Peter, “why did you doubt”?

But this is the part that I want you to get; verse 32 says, “and when they got into the boat, the wind ceased”. Jesus didn’t calm the storm for Peter and the disciples until Peter had experienced walking on the rough sea. Is that your story? Have you gone through a storm and until you ‘got in the boat’ the storm didn’t cease?

I believe there are things that we experience as children of God that he knows we can survive. There are things we go through that make us ‘run to him’ and there are trials that test our faith and when we look back over these times, we can see where God’s plan did work in our lives. If Jesus doesn’t ‘calm the storm’ when you think he should, just remember this story of Peter. Peter was the only disciple that really, personally (as recorded) experienced the amazing supernatural ability of this magnitude. HE WALKED ON WATER AND THAT WATER WAS A TURBULENT STORMY SEA.Whatever you are going through you might have to step out of the boat and walk on the water and trust your wonderful Jesus that he will be there for you. I pray that you see the storm you have experienced from a different light.

picture by  DeusXFlorida

by Sheila (Guest Post)

Send guest post submissions to: inimnez@aol.com

WHERE IS GOD IN THE STORM?

I met a man, by the sea, named John. This man baptized people in the Jordan River. This man has a special anointing of discernment that allowed him to recognize the Son of Man named Jesus. Interestingly, the religious people of the day could not recognize Jesus, but John did. God was standing in the midst of a people who did not know he was even there. What blinded the eyes of these educated religious people? Why is it the leaders could not recognize this man?

God is omnipresent, which means he is always everywhere. David said, “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (Psalm 139:8). There is no place upon earth where God may not be found. The earth is his footstool. So why would someone ask where is God?

God’s visibility is for those who have faith. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). John did not meet Jesus at the sea. He had previously met him in faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

So where is God in the storm? Right there. Can you not see him? Why? Some things you need to ask yourself. Do I have faith in God and seek him earnestly? Do I challenge teachers of faith without accepting the reality that my education does not prepare me to see? Education is inconsequential. Please ask my friend John. He saw and the religious educated elite did not. Am I saying education is foolish? Not at all. I have a couple degrees. What I am saying is that seeing God requires seeking his face repeatedly and when the storm arrives you can still see his face in the midst of the fog.

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• My Eyes Sees You, Evans Olang (magnifyhisword.wordpress.com)