Just posting a message that there is a large need for extra prayer in my own life right now.
If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ please ask God to give me direction.
Thank the Lord. God will remain true to answer each prayer that is prayed according to His divine will.
Psalm 33, 96, 98, 144, 149, Revelation 14, and Isaiah 42 talk about a new song for the Lord.
Isaiah 42:9-11,
“9Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.10Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.11Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.”
The 144,000 redeemed from the earth are talked about singing a new song in Revelation 14.
There may be times in life when you really don’t feel like singing a song. When you can muster the strength sing a song unto the Lord. Don’t let satan rob you of your peace and joy. Pray God will put a song on your heart to sing to Him even when no one else can join you.
God is worthy to be praised.
Look at Psalm 18:2-4 & 2 Samuel 22:3-5:
“2The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.4The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.”
“3The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.4I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.5When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;”
1O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
2Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
3Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
Matthew 7:12,
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
I was reminded that many times people don’t think they have enough time in a day. I’ve thought that a lot in the past. I felt pressured and pushed to do things just because it seemed like the right thing to do or because I had somehow learned that certain people expected things from me.
I saw a movie about Johnnie Cash last night. They talked about John during the movie. They said that when he wrote the song about walking the line it is believed that he was actually writing about all the ways he was trying to walk the line to please everyone in his life.
Upon remembrance of how we all have times when we get anxious about tomorrow and we worry about the best way to spend our time I want to mention Mary.
Mary & Martha are the two sisters mentioned in the Bible that spent time with Jesus. There was a time when Martha complained to Jesus about Mary because all Mary was doing was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him speak while Martha was busy rushing around to do other physical things that we call work.
It takes time to study God’s Word. It takes dedication to sit at the feet of Jesus. Whether you learn more about God through personal Bible study, by going to church, or in some other fashion know that sitting at Jesus feet has great value.
Luke 10:38-42, “38Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.39And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.40But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me 41And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Take time to rid yourself of anxiety by sitting at the feet of Jesus. Read the Bible. Enjoy meditating on God’s Word and God’s ways. Take time for Jesus and He will take time for you.
Please pray for Don, Vivian, Tricia, Delores, Diana, Troy, Sherry, Boyd, Maritza, Joyce, Justin, Ray, Tina, Mark, Mike, Susan, Alison, Louanna, and our men & women of the military.
Vivian’s Dad died – please lift all those who knew him up in prayer.
Diana’s Aunt died recently –
Others on this list are facing cancer – please pray for them and their caregivers and family members
Ray & Tina have a dog named Graf- Graf is a young dog but the dog was found to have a cancerous tumor. You dog lovers know how hard this is on the owners. Please keep this situation lifted up in your prayers.
Pray for the salvation of souls.
Please also pray that God will continue to set the captives free.
God is merciful, gracious, and kind.
His love endures forever.
Grace is undeserved favor.
Acts 7:51-54, “51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.52Which
of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain
them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have
been now the betrayers and murderers:53Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.54When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”
I read portions from Acts Chapter 7 today after I asked the Lord what I should write about this morning.
I saw words about a stiff-necked people. Stephen was talking to people that were part of the Israelite nation. Prior to reading the verses quoted here you can see that Stephen reminded the people of things about God and then he called them a stiff-necked people.
Look at how furious they got after he called them stiff-necked. They gnashed their teeth at him. If you find that Chapter in your Bible and read on you will see in the next few verses that they were so angry they didn’t want to hear Stephen’s words any longer. They were so angry at him that they got hold of him and threw stones at him.
All Stephen did was tell the truth. Stephen was doing what God called him to do when these men of Israel stoned him to death.
This is one example of what God’s people may do when they are confronted with their sins. Stephen was not guilty of doing anything wrong. The people didn’t want to hear what Stephen had to say. They clearly did not like being called Stiff-necked or stubborn.
A group of elderly women that led a women’s Bible study I attended used to tell us that you should not be too surprised if someone gets angry at you when you speak words of truth to them. Sometimes the words you share with a person will be words they don’t want to hear. The listeners may not want to listen to you ever again if they don’t like what they are hearing. They may get stubborn hearts and they may get so angry they yell at you or want to do you great harm.
We want our words to be well received by others. It’s easier to speak the truth in love when everyone likes to hear what you have to say. There are times when you will speak and people won’t enjoy your words. The words you say may convict them and bring them to repentance or the words you say may make them angry because they are in denial.
Our Pastor talked about taking up your cross and following Jesus. He reminded us that this is something we are supposed to do daily.
When we think of how Jesus had to carry His cross after he was already beaten and while he knew he was carrying the cross that he was going to be nailed to we are not naturally excited to think about following Jesus in that way. Yet Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him. See Luke 9:23, “23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
No one wants to deny himself. It’s not natural to deny yourself. It’s not easy to leave the comfort zones you’ve built for you. Yet Jesus said we are to follow Him. Following Jesus may mean you are to be prepared to tell others things they don’t want to hear. This may mean you will suffer separation from certain people because they don’t like what you have to say even though God moved on your heart to say it.
Jesus said things that made people angry at him. Remember that they wanted to throw Him off a cliff. Luke 4:28-30, “28And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,29And
rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of
the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down
headlong.30But he passing through the midst of them went his way”
Ponder on these Biblical facts today:
Deuteronomy 27:10,“Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.”
Today I heard a preacher talking about the fact that partial obedience to God is still disobedience to God.
If you ask your child to do something you want them to fully comply with your wishes. God wants the same thing from His children.
You would also like it if your wishes are carried out in a timely manner. I believe God uses people and things in our lives to help us understand how He wants us to live. We want our children, friends, spouses, &/or employees to do things for us at times. We’d all like it if they carry out our wishes the way we want them done. We want things done on time and we want them completely done.
God is not a taskmaster that doesn’t give us enough time to finish tasks. God is patient. God isn’t a pusher! He does want us to recall to do things His way and He does want us to complete tasks.
Recall that God has given us Scriptures to guide us. When you consider how you are to personally fully obey God you may find the following words helpful. May it be that you someday will hear the Lord say to you, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.”
Matthew 25:21, “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
The parables talked about in Matthew 25 give examples of some of what it takes to hear those special words about being faithful. The foolish virgins didn’t prepare for meeting the bridegroom by doing all they needed to do before the bridegroom arrived. The man that received one talent lost all he had because he wouldn’t act in faith and trust in the Lord.
Boldly do the things God wants you to do. Live in faith not fear. You will also see in Matthew 25 how God wants you to treat others. It says this in verses 40 & 45:
“40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.“
” 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.“
God does see how you treat others. He will hold everyone accountable for the things they say and do. This world knows cameras are everywhere. They speak of how a big brother is watching. If everyone that reveres God remembered that God’s memory is good and He knows all things they’d live and talk differently. God knows every idle word that is spoken and He knows about every action that is taken. Nothing is hidden from God.
If you’ve ever been in a place where you wondered what God wants you to do with your life know that there are many things written in His Word that will guide you to know right from wrong. It is always right to treat others the way you want to be treated. This is one commandment that is talked about in both the Old and the New Testaments. One is without excuse when it comes to this command. The other commandment that helps summarize something God wants you to do is also shared in both Testaments and it is the Most Important commandment. To love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, & strength is something you can do to be obedient to God.
Mark 12:29-31, “29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”