As our thoughts turn to spring and warmer temperatures, many of us begin to think of things associated with that season. When I personally think of the coming spring season, I think of "The New England Flower Show" which runs from March 11-19. Then we celebrate Easter on April 16 and then the Boston Marathon is on April 17. While thinking of these wonderful warm weather events. The Boston Marathon made me think of some things that everyone can learn from. Not so much the race itself, but how it is run and the preparation. I wondered why so many fail to make it to the end and how do those that do make it to the end, prepare for the race. You can draw a parallel with the Marathon runner trying to win that race and we as Christians working to win the race of life, finishing in great condition.
The Marathon runners take months and sometimes years to train their bodies to endure such a challenge. You could never just get out of your Lazy Boy recliner at home and run twenty six miles successfully. Why then should we as Christians think that we can run the race of life without proper preparation? I have a friend who runs in the Boston Marathon every year. I've known this man for twelve years, and each year when I ask him how he prepares for the race, he always has the same answer. He starts off running one mile a day and then he increases it to five miles a day and then ten. He does this until he's doing twenty mile runs every other day right before the marathon. So what he's doing is conditioning his body to endure, while also increasing its capacity and strength.
As Christians, we need to apply a similar philosophy to our Christian walks. We need to spend more time in God's presence everyday. Whether you’re having prayer time or reading the Bible each day. Our reading and prayer time doesn't have to be for a set amount of time, but when we spend that time we should feel that we have spent quality time in the presence of the LORD. I can't get that feeling from just reading five pages of his word, or by praying a quick prayer on my drive to work, nor have I met another Christian who can get by with very little time spent in God's presence.
We need to constantly be conditioning ourselves by spending more time in God's presence. If you’re currently spending little or no time, I want to encourage you to make a concerted effort to spend a little more time each day. You will eventually find the amount of time that you need to spend with our Heavenly Father. You'll know you've reached your peak condition because you will feel a completeness that you just can't get by spending mere moments with God. You'll reach a place where a little is never enough. 1 Corinthians 9:24 say’s Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
The more time we spend learning about our faith, growing our relationship with God and putting into practice what we've learned, the better we'll endure. The world is full of negativity that can easily wear us down. If we are not strong in the Spirit (God's Word) which is Spirit and Truth, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the negativity of this world. When we are strong in the Spirit, we are able to get past the negatives and also encourage others by speaking positives into their lives. This is what the LORD wants us to do.
We are to be the winners of lost souls. In order to do this we need to train like athletes, strengthen ourselves in God's word, and spend time in communion with Him so that we are familiar with his ways and not just our own. In doing this we equip ourselves to not just make it to the end of life's race, but we are then equipped to win. Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.
Please pray this with me
Heavenly Father, I thank you being our source of strength and for being our provider. LORD God, your word tells us to strip off every weight that slows us down. We know that some of these weights can be sin, guilt, oppression and depression. Father I ask for your help in shedding these weights so that the load is lighter and the race is easier to run. Forgive us father for allowing these weights to hinder our forward progress. Forgive us Father for not spending the time with you that you would want us to spend. Father I pray that you would give us all the strength and wisdom that would help us to equip ourselves properly with the things we need, to not only run this race of life on earth, but to run it in such a way that we win the prize which is your pleasure in us.
In Jesus Name I Pray
Amen
God Bless You All
“The Sharpshooter”
There have been countless times that I can think of where someone (including myself) has asked God for a Divine Healing and not received one. But there are also times when a person that never even asked for a Healing, got one. This leads to a lot of confusion and questions such as “Why them and not me”? A deeper understanding of the subject is definitely needed. In the training I am going through to become a minister, this is one of the areas we have covered at length. I now have a much clearer understanding than I had before and hopefully I can impart what I’ve learned to all who read this.
There is no single answer to why believers don't get healed. Only God knows the answer to this and someday when we leave this earth to go into eternity, he may answer our questions at that time, if we still have questions then. Until that time comes, we need to be faithful and trust God's unending wisdom. The primary reasons that our prayers go unanswered are unbelief and/or lack of faith. For example, the disciples of Jesus were unable to heal a boy that was suffering from demonic seizures. Matthew 17:19-20 tells us that the disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why couldn't we cast out that demon?" "You didn't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
There could be times when a small trace of doubt will creep into our prayers for healing. If our prayers end with "If it is Your Will God," that's not good. Praying that way exposes any unconscious doubt that God can or will heal you. Honest submission to God will is always right ("Let Your Will Be Done"), but expecting nothing to happen is doubt not submission. Other possible reasons for unanswered prayer for healing might include fear, guilt, willful disobedience, being careless in our health habits, or there might still be lessons that we need to learn before God’s healing can come. Be careful in your prayer at all times. Be steadfast, strong and be sure that your heart is true to Him, because if our hearts sway even a little bit away from God, he may not honor your prayer.
There are people today that are teaching that all sickness is caused by demons. These people then proceed to cast out the demon of arthritis, diabetes, or whatever the affliction may be. Though the New Testament does record times when demons had caused sickness or disease, which can be found in (Matthew 9:32, 17:14-18, Mark 9:20-26 and Luke 13:11-16). There are also instances where there is healing with no mention of demons or evil spirits. There is no demon mentioned in Luke 5:12-13. In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he fell to the ground, face down in the dust, begging to be healed. "Lord," he said, "if you want to, you can make me well again." Jesus reached out and touched the man. "I want to," he said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
There are also Christians that have been known to do rash things, such as rejecting all medicine and help from doctors. We must never abuse the doctrine of divine healing by having a negative attitude toward medical advances that God has allowed and even guided scientists in discovering. Divine healing should not be placed in opposition to or in competition with the medical profession. Doctors have brought help to many sufferers. Today, God still performs miracles for people that doctors have declared incurable.
If it was wrong to go to doctors, why would God reward disobedience with the miracle of healing, when we go to them? God may allow his children to find health through the means of medicine or through miraculous healing, but we must avoid relying on the skill of doctors as a substitute for seeking God’s help. We should not wait until we have tried all of the doctors before we ask God to heal us. "We Must Ask God First" and then keep asking God for healing as you visit the doctors. Through it all, know that God is the only One who heals, whether through a divine touch or through the skills He has given a doctor.
Divine healing confirms Gods power and love. Its focus is Jesus Christ and the advancement of His kingdom. Jesus wants us to be healthy and free from pain, but more than that He wants us to be like him, to think like Him, and have His desires. God created us so that we might bring glory and joy to him. Until we grasp that truth and make it a practical part of our Christian walk, we run the risk of asking God for things with wrong motives. James 4:3 say’s “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. There is no reason to believe that asking for healing is excluded from this statement of truth. Unless our walk with God is close to His heart and His unselfish love, we may not fully understand our own motives in asking "anything" from God.
Please pray this with me. Father, I thank you for the fact that you still perform miracles even today. Help us Lord to better understand the extensiveness of the ways you perform these miracles, that you don’t just Divinely Heal, but you use people and situations to help us with our problems. We know that to question out of lack of understanding is acceptable Father, but I ask that you would help us Lord God, to stop questioning you out of our own selfishness. I ask your forgiveness for this selfishness and that you would instill in us a better understanding that we are to come to you first in asking for healing God, but that you want for us to seek out the many resources you have given us after we ask for your help, should we not receive a Divine Healing. Lord God, I thank you for the many blessings that you have given to all of us. I pray for your forgiveness for those that don’t recognize your blessings because they don’t know you. Put those of us that know and love you God in a position to introduce you into their lives.
In Jesus name I pray
Amen
God Bless You All
“The Sharpshooter”
If you take any electric appliance that you own and try to use it while it's unplugged. You’ll find that it not only doesn't have the ability to do the job it was made to do, it in fact just takes up space on a countertop somewhere in your home and is rendered useless. The same holds true for the family of God. When we are not plugged in to a Church or reading the Bible on a regular basis, we are not operating as efficiently or as powerfully as you were designed to. What happens then is we become less powerful, we start listening to the world and all of the negativity in the world wears us down. We can and most likely will become more vulnerable to things going wrong in our own lives and the lives of our families. Remember, Satan is an opportunist. If you give him so much as an inch of space he'll take a mile.
If we are plugged in, we remain strong and steadfast in the things of God. When we are plugged in to our church and reading the Bible on a regular basis, our faith is strong and we are able to empower others with the word of God. Our faith and excitement in God has the ability to become contagious. What a wonderful thing that would be if we could be infectious for the LORD. So how do we walk in the power of God? First, we must pursue Him. The life of power is a life of abiding in Christ, (staying plugged into our power source). The hunger for the demonstration of power must not be separated from our passion for Him. But keep this in mind, our hunger for Him in part must be seen in our passionate pursuit of spiritual gifts.
I must passionately desire life-changing encounters with God, over and over again. I must cry out day and night for them and be specific. These magnificent life-changing encounters will often happen corporately in the Church, which causes many people that don't attend a Church to ask, “Why can’t God touch me where I am?” The answer to that is, He can. But He usually moves in ways that emphasize our need for others, rather than adding to our independence. Our heavenly Father wants us to be helping each other, praying for each other, interceding on one another’s behalf.
God does not want us praying for our own increases of blessings, favor and grace. If God would give us these things on our own aren’t we selfish enough that we’d take these things and not worry about what someone else has? This is why he wants us to come together at Church, at prayer meetings, and general times of fellowship. When we are in a corporate environment (a group of believers) we are less focused on ourselves and much more focused on the Lord. Furthermore, we stand in agreement with others in prayer and there’s a lot to be said for the power of corporate prayer.
When we pray with others even in a small group, the anointing on that prayer is much more powerful. The reason for this I believe is because the outpouring of love for one another is so pure and powerful. We are at our best in God’s eyes when we take our thoughts off of ourselves, our situations and circumstances and focus on others. Our hearts open up to give to another and at the same time because we are focusing on someone else in need, we become more open to receive the very things we need, as we pray for someone else.1 Timothy 2:4-8 says that 4 He wants not only us but everyone saved. You know, everyone to get to know the truth we've learned: 5 that there's one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us, Jesus, 6 who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. 7 This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth. 8 Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray--not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. So let’s come together in prayer, let us stand in agreement for one another’s prayers and needs, and let’s put the focus on God and others instead of ourselves. Get plugged in and feel the Power!
Please pray this with me
Heavenly Father, you are awesome. Thank you Father for your grace and blessing’s that we are not worthy of receiving. Father through your word we see that you want us to tell everyone about you, to bring your message to the world. Lord God I ask you to fill our hearts with a desire to become infectious to others through the joy you give us. To give our testimonies of the wonderful works that you’ve done in our lives. Father I pray that you would put the ones that don’t know you in our paths, so that we would have an opportunity to speak into their lives the plain and simple truth about you Lord God, and so that we could introduce them to the family of God and bring them into communion with you Father. So that they would get plugged in to the greatest support system the world has ever known, the family of God.
In Jesus name I pray
Amen
God Bless You All
“The Sharpshooter”
Did you ever wonder what that means? Judgment when it's not in our favor whether it's done through our courts, acquaintances or friends, is usually swift and accurate. That's not to say that society has not made it's mistakes and convicted or released someone incorrectly. Grace is simply this; we are forgiven of our infraction and given an opportunity to grow from it. It's not a judgment or an accusatory statement that gives life. It is placing the guilty above the circumstance and saying you’re going to be a great policeman even though you just stole a candy bar from the corner store.
We have the power to speak life into each others lives and unfortunately we have the power to speak death. In James 3:9-11 it states. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? One would simply answer this with of course not. We can't go to the ocean and find fresh water nor can we go to the lake and find salt water. Both of these bodies of water team with life. We can look at any body of water for the most part and find in it an abundance of life.
The greatest display of water that I personally have ever seen was Niagara Falls. The force and speed with which the water moves forward is absolutely phenomenal. I must admit it made me wonder what the source that feeds the river was. I found out that both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario feed this mighty falls. The same holds true for the ocean. If you were to close your eyes and listen to the roar of the tide coming in, you could be overwhelmed with the sense of awesome power that directs the waves to only go so far. Although Lake Erie and Lake Ontario feed Niagara Falls, I have to wonder who or what is feeding us.
For if out of our bellies flow rivers of living water, I have to ask myself is it salt water, fresh water, or are we stagnant like the Dead Sea. Where nothing comes to shore and everything floats due to the high content of salt. If we are drinking from the source of life we will intercede and live with power and hope. If not we will begin to become stagnant. We may look good on the outside but we are not exuding a fragrance that would be pleasing to our creator and savior. The best way I know to do this is through daily prayer, communion, soaking, and listening.
We can not commune with our Lord and Savior and have it be a one way street. It must be a two way conversation. We're expected to commune with our King daily and by right we should. He should be our first Love, not our second. At one time or another we have all fallen short of spending time with what I hope is our best friend. My hope is that strive to do better and extend grace to ourselves and others when we fall short.
Please join me in prayer.
Heavenly Father, you are our best friend. We want to drink from the river of life which is you. Forgive us for the times when we have fallen short with our own agendas and not followed your agenda. Give us a deep desire and hunger and thirst to drink from your well and not that of the world. Let us never be filled and always want more and more of you, so that we can be a blessing to others and you. Let us sit at your feet and be consumed like a wild fire. We ask that the spark be ignited and we become mighty torch bearers. May we return to our first love which is you and when you come back let us be as the 5 wise virgins whose lamps had enough oil in them.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen
God Bless You All
Guest Editor: Debbie Hyde
