Come to God with Confidence

Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence.  And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.  Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us. ( 1 John 3:21-24 )

Another translation says, "if our hearts do not condemn us & if we know that He hears us".   Often we refuse the power of prayer because of what we've done or been that makes us feel we have no right to be in God's presence.

But the Lord is not outdone, even by our failures. He says, "Come to me just as you are!"  Why then do we pray so seldom, & only when we are in trouble?  Our reluctance to pray is our resistance to God. But eventually life caves in, and we face problems too great for us. God rushes in to help us in the hope that we will be so amazed at what He can do with our problems that we will begin to trust Him with our potentials.

Pray to Receive the Mind of God

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14: 13, 14)

If God knows not only the past, but also the future, how dare we tell Him what is best for the future?  This is a knotty question.  There are four parts to the answer given to us in the Bible.  First, we pray because we have been motivated to prayer by the very God to whom we pray.

Most of us believe that prayer is initiated by us when we blunder into God's presence wih our requests and concerns. Not at all.  Our prayer is response. When a need comes to our mind and we pray, it is because God has an answer to give us for that concern.  The answer is ready when we are moved to pray.

Secondly, we pray not so much to change but to receive the mind of God. As we pray our prayers and listen to God, He is able and willing to impress His mind upon us.  Thirdly, we pray because God has ordained that there are resources of His power and love which will not be released until we pray. He has called us to be His partners in the world. He desires that we come to Him as children to share our needs with Him.

Give Your Burdens to God

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you. (Psalm 55:22 NKJB)

Most of us ride in God's grace with a load still on our backs because we find it difficult to take our troubles off and entrust them to God.   To forgive means to forget and yet many of us carry the memory of past failures of ourselves and others on our backs.

Who's your burden? Whom do you carry emotionally, in memory, or in conscience? Who causes you difficult reactions of guilt, fear, frustration, or anger? That person belongs to God. He's carrying him or her too, you know! Isn't it about time to take the load off, face the unresolved dynamics of the relationship, and forgive and forget?

Nothing hurts more than a wound from a friend. There may be times when friends lovingly confront you in order to help you. Real friends stick by you in times of trouble and bring healing, love, acceptance, and understanding. What kind of friend are you? Don't betray those you love.

God wants us to give our burdens to him, but often we continue to bear them ourselves even when we say we are trusting in him. Trust the same strength that sustains you to carry your cares also. 

Answered Prayer

I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead & answer their prayers! (Isaiah 65:24)

This is one of the most exciting verses on prayer in the Old Testament. This reminds us that prayer begins with God. He puts that desire in our heart & then gives us the courage to ask for that desire.  As humans sometimes we are afraid to ask God for things but we must realize that if He has placed that desire in our heart He is ready to give it to us.  God has more prepared for us than we are prepared to ask.  Instead of just asking for things from God, we need to spend time in prayer to seek what it is that God wants us to ask for.  That way our asking stays in line with His will.  God gives us the desire to pray...it is a gift.  We should not pray to get God's attention, rather focus on what He has to say to us.  Once we pray we then need to listen to what He has to say!

God can use our imaginations to give us a picture of what He has for us...but we must seek Him with all of our hearts. If we aim for nothing we are not taking God at His Word.  We will just become what we envision. As you pray let God paint a mind picture of what He wants you to be & do.

Peace through Prayer

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God (Psalm 42:1 NKJB).

There is a difference between praying our prayers & really praying.  We should want a relationship with God above anything else in the world.  Most people pray without really wanting intimacy with God.

I thirst for God, the living God, When can I come and stand before him? (Psalms 42:2) - Do you want God that much?  Be honest.  Talk to God about how you are really feeling!  That kind of honesty in prayer will pave the way for God to heal the real needs & not just take care of the whims.  

Use Psalm 42 as a model on how to pray to God.  This will lead you into deeper levels of prayer.  Let the steadfast love of God draw you back to the loving arms of the Father.  Remembering what God has done in your life will lead you to expect answers to your prayers.

Stop Complaining!

I said to myself, "I'm going to quit complaining!" (Psalm 39:1 TLB)

There are two choices we can make when we are faced with things that trouble us, either about ourselves or others.   We can complain or we can confess.   We need to learn one from the other, only then can we have greatness in Christ.

The Bible is very honest about human nature...after all who knows us best?  Our creator who made us!  Psalm 39 gives us a plan on how to deal with frustration.   God wants to hear our honest feelings IF we are ready to take them to confession. 

We all have complaints about our job, money, or situation, but complaining to others may make them think that God cannot take care of us.   We should take our complaints directly to God.  When we turn our complaints into confession we link ourselves to the power of God.

Challenges & Opportunities

              Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! (Psalm 146: 1 NKJB)

Have you ever wondered what life would be like without all the challenges & opportunities?  What if you did not have full days & busy schedules?  Would you ever realize the strength you obtain from God which goes beyond your human capabilities?

Many of us complain about busy schedules, but it is good to have a full life.  The important thing to focus on is, what are we accomplishing?   The abundant life in Christ is at full speed, we are never finished.  It is not wrong to be busy if we are doing God's work in His power.

Psalms 146 shows that help from people is temporary but help from God is lasting.  So in your business you need to learn to draw your strength & get your help from the Lord.   How do we do that?  One way is to "Praise God"!

Valley of Fear & Worry

                    Though I walk through the valley...Thou art with me (Psalm 23:4 KJV)
    
In Psalms 23 God is seen as a dependable shepard & a caring guide.  We must follow God & obey him.   He is our only hope of eternal salvation.   In the first verse it says, "The Lord is my shepard."  Just as Christ is the shepard, we are His sheep...not frightened animals, but obedient followers, wise enough to follow the one who will lead us in the right places. 

When we allow God to guide us, we have contentment.  When we choose to go our own way we cannot blame God for the life we create for ourselves.   God knows the places that will restore us.  We will reach these places if we follow Him obediantly.

 Death throws a shadow over us as humans because it is something that we cannot control.   We can struggle & win over pain, injury, grief, & disease but our strength & courage cannot overcome death. It has the final word.   Our shepard is the only person who can walk with us through this valley.
                 
Our shepard not only walks with us in our life, but in our death, & to the other side - eternity.  So what is your fear or worry?  What is your valley of death?  God does not make fun of our fears. He understands.  He wants us to know that if we put our hand in His, we can make it through anything.

Bible: Flowing Streams of Water to Feed Our Life

We have flowing streams of the whole Bible as water to feed the tree of our life.   Each day that we read a portion of the Bible it is water that feeds our spirit.   The residual effect is a beautiful life & the fruit of character.

Each day we need to put our roots in Christ, then we are refreshed.   Out of His word Christ will give us a thought that will change our day.  Expect nothing less!  Think about His Word,  spend time reading & thinking about what you have read.  It means asking yourself how you should change so you're living how God wants.   Knowing & thinking about God's Word are the first steps in applying it to your everyday life.   If you want to follow God more closely, you need to know what He says.

The more we want to obey God, the more fruitful we are.  If you want God's blessing, make friends with those who love God & His Word.   God wants to prosper you!  The word "prosper" in the Bible does not mean you will not encounter failure or difficulties.  Nor is it a guarantee of health, wealth, & happiness.  Prosperity in the Bible is this:  When we apply God's wisdom, the fruit we bear will be good & receive God's approval.  Soak up God's Word, producing actions & attitudes that honor God.   We must have God's Word in our hearts.

Forgiveness Towards Others

The cross makes every year a year of celebration & freedom. Jesus death cancels our sin & gives us the freedom to be forgiving. What if we committed this whole year to be one where we set people free by loving them? That can happen through us if it happens to us.

There are three steps to a year of celebration. First, accept forgiveness from Christ. Second, ask for forgiveness from anyone you have hurt. Thirdly, forgive those who have used or hurt you.

Make a list of people who need your forgiveness. What does God want you to say & do for them that lets them know that they truly are forgiven. I have had to ask God to help me when I asked him to forgive some who have hurt me. The two that came to my mind were people who had already passed away.

Hope for the Future

The true sign that we have a relationship with Christ, is that we believe in the future more than the past. We can not look at our past for confidence from things we have accomplished, nor can we look at our past in order to condemn ourselves for the failures & sins in our life.

He has plans for each one of us to grow in His grace so that we have hope in our future. Hope gives us the ability to dare, strength to face our day to day struggles, & the ability to live adventurously.

Hope comes from something or someone else. True hope comes from Christ & His ability to create something wonderful in our lives. His resurrection is our ultimate source of hope. Nothing, not even death could defeat Him. So if He is in us that means we cannot be defeated.