Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

When I read this verse, I understand that Christians should be joyful--they should be in touch with God--and they should always be thankful. I have to admit that I am not always like this. Too many times it seems like I am cast down and trying to figure out my own life, and in the midst of everything I forget about God. I forget about rejoicing in the fact that he sent his Son to die for my sins. I forget that God yearns to know me and desires to be in communication with me. I forget to thank Him in every circumstance and remember that every breath I breathe is a miracle from Him.

God wants us to live our lives in that way. He wants us to be joyful, and we have reason to be. He wants us to pray and to talk to Him. He loves it when we do that. He yearns for us to know him. God has given us so much. Whenever you're down, remember what God has done for you. Remember that He has given you life. Do all of these things for the glory of God. When you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything else will be added unto you as well.

Dear God, please help us to always remember You. Help us to be joyful, to always stay connected to You, and to give thanks to You in everything, because that is Your will for us.

Daily Provision

"The believers comfort is like Israel's manna. It is daily rained, as that was, from heaven. We are told that God gave people manna to humble them (Deuteronomy8:16). Do not suppose it humbled them because it was poor man's food, for it was in fact angels food (Psalm 78:25). Rather, the manner of dispensing it kept them meek. God held the key to their cupboard. They were forced to wait upon him and continually acknowledge that He and He alone was the source of their need. God communicates our spiritual comforts in the same way and for the same purpose - to humble us." -William Gurnall

I read this tonight, and it spoke so much to me. It is a lesson I must learn over and over again. God will provide for us what we need daily. Not only is this true of our physical needs--such as finances and health--but it is also true with our spiritual needs. We need to daily come before God for our spiritual food. We need to come to Him daily for His strength to empower us through our day.

God not only provides for us our daily needs, but He provides for us more than enough so that we may be a blessing to others. There is no need for us to hoard what God provides. The Israelites were told not to save the day's manna for tomorrow. They were told to take what they needed for the day. If we try to hoard what God blesses us with, it will soon spoil.

Dear God, help me to trust in Your provision. Help me to daily come before You for my sustenance. Do not let me put my trust in my own strength, but may I always look to You for everything.

No Worries, God Cares for You!

Scripture: "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Observation/Application:
This is such a simple short verse, yet it has so much truth and life-changing freedom behind it. Too many times as Christians, we give into the worries of our day and of the future, when we should be trusting in God for the future. If we are on the right path with God, then we should not worry because God will sustain His will in our lives. Worry and anxiety should only be in the lives of those who live apart from God and apart from His will for their lives.

One of my favorite verses, Matthew 6:33, says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." This verse promises us that when we live for Him and His purposes, He will then take care of the rest. What is put into motion by God will be sustained by God, and what is put into motion by our own strength has to be maintained in by our own strength.

So be encouraged, you who follow Christ, He cares for you and will take care of your every need. As Christians, we must do what Christ has for us just today and not worry about the future. For if we only keep our eyes on the end goal, we will miss what is here and right now. God not only has a plan for our futures, but he also has a plan and a will for where we are right now.



Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to cast all our worries upon You. Do not let us worry, but instead help us to trust in You and believe that You have our best interests in mind. Thank You, Lord, that You care for us and all the little details in my life. Amen.

There is Rest!

Scripture: Hebrews 4:10-11 "For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”

Observation: I have been pondering this verse all day since my God time this morning, and it has taken me until this evening to figure out what it means to enter into God's rest. In this chapter, the author of Hebrews is talking about the Israelites. The reason he writes the whole chapter is to tell us to enter into Christ's rest so that we don't become like the Israelites. The first verse states, "God's promise of entering his place of rest still stands..." Woot woot, we still have the opportunity to enter into God's rest.

Application: What does it mean to enter into God's rest, and how do we do it? Well, that is what I discovered tonight—or probably relearned. As I have walked with Christ, I have seen that we have to be reminded of things over and over. Paul is always reminding the churches he writes to about the same fundamental things again and again. Anyway, to enter into God's rest is to let him take control of the situation and let him worry about whatever worries you. Today, I was discouraged throughout most of the day. I was thinking about my future: what should I do; should I really go back into school; will I be able to pay for it? And there is a slew of other thoughts racing through my mind as well that I won't bother you with. So today, I just wanted to throw up my hands and quit. Life just seemed too complicated, and it didn't seem worth it to try and figure out it all.

Tonight, though, I had a meeting of prayer and worship that I had to attend called Revival Town, and that is where God gave me rest. When I came to God, dropped everything, and simply lifted up His name in worship, letting the desires of His heart become mine, I received rest. When I let Him reassure me that everything will be okay, I received rest. He filled me up, and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Jesus took my burdens, and I didn't have to worry about them anymore. I received rest. He spoke His promises over me and told me that I am on the right path: I received rest. There is rest for those who give up trying to figure it all out and simply follow Jesus and worship Him. There is rest for those who put their trust in God and believe in His promises.

My dear friends, let us trust in God, and put all worries aside. For He is in control, and He loves you and will watch over you. He has your best interests in mind.

Prayer: God, I pray that you would help me to always put my trust in you for every circumstance in my life. Do not let me fall into a life of worry; let me be filled with joy and peace that overflows into the lives of those around me.

Warning Against Unbelief

Scripture: Hebrews 3:19 "So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief."

Observation: In this area of Scripture, the author of Hebrews warns against having unbelief. In the verses prior he explains how the unbelief of the Israelites led to their never being able to enter into the land that was promised to them. God did many miraculous things before them. He led them out of slavery, through the Red Sea, and to Mt. Sinai; He led them by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day—yet in spite of all of these great and glorious miracles God did for them, they still did not believe in the promise of God. Because of their unbelief they did not enter the promised land.

Application: How do we apply this to our lives? By believing in the crazy things that God tells us. For many of us it is so hard to even believe that we can get to the place of hearing the voice of God, but God is speaking—are we listening? God works in mysterious ways; He speaks to us mysterious things. Are we going to believe the things he tells us?
A good friend told me once that I have to believe in the crazy things God tells me. Hebrews 11:6a says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God..." When the Israelites were trapped at the Red Sea God told Moses, "Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” Now, we would all think it would be absolute madness to believe this divine whisper from God, and we would not follow through with it. If Moses would not have believed and stretched out his hand over the sea, they would have never crossed through it and escaped the Egyptians. It takes believing the crazy things God tells us to see the fulfillment of his promises.
This believing also requires us to take action to what we believe. We have to move forward believing, not just sit back, waiting for things to happen. Moving forward in our belief speaks of a faith that is real and of a faith that will see miraculous things.

Prayer: Father, give me faith to believe in your divine whispers and to move forward in them as you direct me. Do not let me be filled with doubt and believe in the lies of the enemy. Let my hope always be in you, and may my thoughts be filled with your Word and your Truth—and may I always be listening.

1st Blog!

Someone recently encouraged me to start blogging and put my thoughts out there for others to read and learn from hopefully. I am currently in DLA (Desperation Leadership Academy) serving as associate staff for the program. DLA is a program that is designed to train leaders that will lead our generation in desperate pursuit of God, by teaching them to lead prayer meetings, and to live a life fully in love with the Creator.

If I am to be in a program where I am helping to lead others and training them to be leaders then I should be learning to teach and share the things God has given me. If I never tell people then the things I learn will go no where and benefit no one. So hopefully I can keep this updated fairly often so that others can in someway gain what I gain.