Early Morning Prayer

There is something really special when you wake up early in the morning and commune with the Lord.  Your body is rested, your mind is fresh, and movement is still.  Your thoughts are clear; your spirit is alive and attuned to the Lord.  You begin to thank him for his mercy, for waking you up, for protecting you through the night.  You fall on your face and just praise him for his greatness, his love and for his care.  You think about all that he has brought you through and how he has blessed you.  You think about what it could have been, or what could have happened; suddenly, tears form in the corner of your eyes – tears of joy and gratitude.

You lift your hands to Jesus; you lift your voice to Jesus, you begin to sway side to side because the joy of the Lord has come upon you.  You let go of yourself from a conscience standpoint and just let the Holy Spirit have his way.  You enter into the spiritual realm and there is nothing like it and you can’t explain it.  But you just know that the God is there.  The Lord is there.  Your help is there.  Your comforter is there.  Your friend is there.  You relief is there.  Your peace is there.  Whatever you need from God is there.  He is there to deliver you, to offer you and to assure you of his presence.   

God loves us and wants us to seek him early.  Early Morning Prayer, worship and fellowship with God – what an awesome way to begin your day!    

Salt and Light

I am sure that I do not have to define what salt or light is.  But for the sake of this blog, salt is a mineral that preserves and light is the elimination of darkness and it brings about an awareness of where you are and guides you.

With that being said, let me ask you two questions.

 #1 - As you walk with Christ, are you the salt of the earth ? (Matthew 10:13)

 #2- Is your light shining or have you shared some light with anyone lately?  (Matthew 10:10:14)

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you accepted the position to further the Gospel of God. This task is accomplished by diligently studying the Word of God, through earnest prayer and by the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truths. We become the ‘salt of the earth”, a preserver of the Word of God, when we share the gospel with people. We preserve God’s truth by sharing with people his mercy, grace and love.  When we minister to people, a requirement for all who are born again, we provide light (knowledge) to those who do not know him.  Being the salt and the light of the earth is a calling and a privilege.  Now that you know, spend time in the Word of God.  Study his word daily.  Ask for guidance and direction.  Finally pray without ceasing and heed to the call.  “Many are called, but few are chosen.”  Where do you fit?

A Financial Revelation

About a month ago as I was purging some files and documents, I ran across some old check payment records.  I peruse them and just sat with amazement at how little my telephone and utilities bills were.  What happened, I wondered?  What services is the phone company providing me in 2011 that had caused my bill to triple in just ten years?   The electrical wiring to my home is the same.  The caller ID and call waiting features were still in tact, no mystery here.  So what caused, or why has my phone service skyrocketed?  Why it is that most of my utilities cost about $100.00 each per month?  What happened? 

Once I finished shredding the stack of documents, I began to talk to God about what I had just noticed.  I asked the Lord to help me be a better steward in my finances.  I asked him to guide me in the principles of debt reduction and help me get control of my finances. I repented for not being a good steward over what he had given me and decided at that moment to contact any creditors where I had a past due balance or was unable to make payment.  I had to be honest with myself about where I was and about where I wanted to go.  The Word of God says that the “truth will make you free” and “to owe man nothing but to love him.”   My truth on that day was that I was not controlling all of my finances and that if I owe a creditor, I had to make it right with the truth and my ability to pay.  

Plain and simple! 

Trust God!

Trust God.  Trust God.  How many times have you been told this?  You find yourself facing a challenging life crisis, a sudden turn for the worst, or any life event that is causing you some anguish and despair.  You called friends for advice, maybe talked with your spouse, parents or pastor.  And the message you have heard over and over is to Trust God.  Trust God, how does a person Trust God?  What does a person do to improve their Trust in God?  Where does a person begin?   I prayerfully hope that I can shed some light on your quest to Trust God.

First to Trust God, you must truly believe that he is God and that he will do what he said he will do.  To help you in this revelation, study the Genesis, Chapter 1.  When God created the world and all that we see, he first said and then he saw.  I repeat, “He said it and then He saw it.”  He saw what He said - very simple, but very powerful.  Make a decision to believe in the power of God.  All it takes is a decision.

Second, you must know God’s word concerning your situation.   If you need a physical healing, study the scriptures on healing, pick out one or two and memorize, meditate and declare/say them out loud.  For starters go to the Book of Isaiah 53:4-5.  If your situation requires wisdom, study the Book of Proverbs.  Whatever your need is, you must find what God has said, or Jesus, study the scripture or passage, meditate on it and give it your voice. Trusting in God is going to take some work on your part.  There are some things that you have to do for your Trust in God to grow and develop.  If it is important enough, you will do it.

Third, repent of your sins every day and forgive others. Sin and not forgiving others can block your prayers, so be sure to take care of this daily.  You cannot afford to have your blessings blocked. The Word of God assures us that if we repent of our sins, God will forgive us and throw them in to the lake of forgetfulness.   Your part in this is to ask God to forgive you so he can work on your behalf.  Again a simple truth, but we complicate it.  Stay with simple, by just doing it. 

Finally, thank and praise God for his mercy, for delivering you, for answering your prayers and for just being who He is.  Remember, when you say what God has said, you are talking and praying to God.  The Word of God says that he roams the earth looking for someone he can bless.  He is waiting on you to bring your challenge or situation to him.  God bless!

Praise - An Outward Expression

Have you ever attended church service and the worship leader ask you to stand and give God some praise?  Do you find yourself sitting on the pews looking around at the people who are praising and you say to yourself, what’s up with this outward expression of gratitude?  Or have you attended a sporting event, be it soccer or football; or watched such an event on the television?  What do the fans do at these events?  Do they scream, shout, jump up and down, hi-five each other, wave their hands, and rejoice when their team is winning or do something spectacular? Those fans, as an act of their free will, are showing an outward expression of praise for their team.   

Praise is an outward expression of adoration, love, joy, and gratitude.  Praise is a way of telling someone, the object of your praise, how you feel about something that has been accomplished, or to be accomplished.  When you praise God, as an act of your free will, you are telling God that you love and adore him.  You are telling God that you have joy in him and that you thank him for what he has done or will do.  God’s word tells us that he (God) inhabits the praises of him people.  So, you see there is a benefit when you praise God - He comes to you and sit in the mist of your praise.   Take the opportunity to praise him as an act of your free will and receive the blessings of God.     

Talking to God

When you and a friend have a conversation, you are yourself, you talk with ease, you allow your emotions to flow, and you may even stumble on words, but most importantly, you are engaged in dialogue.  Depending on the conversation, you may find yourself laughing to tears or very serious making sure not to leave out any detail. There is an exchange of information between two people.

Talking to God should be like talking to a friend.  You should be yourself, at ease and have a sincere desire to communicate.  You do not have to seem or be pious, or feel that you are unworthy, because through Jesus Christ, God gave us the right to come “strongly to the throne of grace” and to speak to him. Strongly here is referring to a confidence knowing that we have an audience with him and that he hears us. Talking with God should be an exchange of words, thoughts, desires, prayers or just plain ole conversation.  Talking to God is not you doing all of the talking and none of the listening. God wants to tell or show you some things. But if you are not listening, you will miss out on what God has in store for you. 

Remember, a conversation takes two. The next time you talk to God, remember he is your father and friend, so speak directly to him about whatever whenever.