Category Archives: God’s Promises

Indecision Is a Form of Spiritual Paralysis

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When we are instructed to wait on the Lord in Isaiah 40:31, God is not instructing us to sit and twiddle our thumbs or coil, writhing in pain over what we should or should not do. The phrase ‘wait on the Lord’ means to wait in expectation, trust in Him, and put your hope in Him, not the circumstances you may be experiencing. If the farmers experience low crop yields, do they say, I will not plant seeds this year and I know God will supply a prosperous crop. No, they plant their seeds, care for the crop and pray that it will be bountiful. If we need a job, should we sit paralyzed or should we search for work and pray that God will direct us to the perfect position and give us favor in the employers eyes.

I am certain many may have experienced God’s work when seeking employment and the opportunities seem to be in conflict with your skills and education, yet that particular type of work seems to be calling. Quite often, God is sending you to a place where He needs you to be His messenger, or it may be a place that requires you to turn to Him and place all confidence in Him (a lesson, not a punishment). Is it easier to follow His direction in this instance, or to remain spirituality paralyzed? I submit, God controls everything, to assume He cannot direct your path is offensive. He created all in the world and universe, His architecture for our lives was completed long ago. He knew and knows all that we will go through in life, the good and the bad, as well as times of comfort and extreme discomfort, therefore He knows His expectations of how we are to approach Him; it is an act of defiance when we fail to reach out to Him. He expects us to firstly ask Him for direction(pray), then listen for His answer (seek), and thirdly act (respond).

God is our only prospect for deliverance. Consider your options and listen to the directions God shares with you. It may be as you hoped, and then again it may be something completely out of your purview. For many, attempting to make a decision creates paralysis and indecision; taking the path less traveled may also cause (temporary) paralysis. But, consider this, if we operate outside of God’s Will or chose our own path, we are not honoring God. God gives us strength when we seek Him. He directs us when we abide in His Word. His hope energizes us when we seek Him. When we wait upon Him, trusting He will answer and direction, we begin to exhibit strength, a peace of mind, and deliverance from the storm that rages and attempts to sink us, and consequently seeks to weaken and destroy our relationship with the Lord. Psalms 25:5 advises us to ask God to lead us in His truth and teaches us learn to wait on His reply. Only God is our salvation. Psalms 27:14 implores us to wait on the Lord; to be strong and let your heart take courage as you yield to His direction. We are, according to Webster’s Dictionary, (commentary on Wait on the Lord, word search ‘wait’) stay or rest in expectation until the arrival of His answer is clear. We can rest in the knowledge that His provision will be better than anything we force. 

Waiting on the Lord is active, not passive. It is preparing us to act when it becomes clear that He is directing our path. It urges us not to be indecisive and writhing in paralysis. Psalms 37:7 (ESV) shares “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.” Rest in God’s love, be active and wait on the Lord. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.” Roman’s 12:2 (NIV) Continue to plant your crop, in the case of farming, send out your resume, share with others your need for employment, seek out communities of those also searching for employment and ask God to show you direction, ask for a sign that you are on the correct path even when His path may mean lower income that you are accustomed to, he is plotting your path. He will reward you for relying on and obeying Him.

Waiting on the Lord is an active and decisive practice. Indecision is passive and inactive. It is a form of spiritual passivity that creates spiritual paralysis and weakens your relationship with the Lord, our Father.

Images in order: 1) LAB Photos; 2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.com; 3) m.lovethispic.com

Scriptures: Bible.com

Resources: Barnes Notes On The Bible, biblehub.com

Easter More Than A Holiday

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We will celebrate Christ rising and fulfilling the first part of God’s promise of our salvation within hours depending upon where you are in the world. Hallelujah! We are redeemed and saved.

This year deeply contemplate what your salvation means. There is so much going on in our lives and in the world, how can we be better stewards to all of it? What little things can you change in your life at this very moment. It may be a smile to a stranger or a loved one. It may be seeking out homeless services and supporting it in someway. It may be helping a single parent, reaching out to those around you. It could be picking up a piece of trash on the street and throwing it away. And most importantly, it may be reestablishing or strengthening your relationship with Christ, reading the Bible, attending Bible study, going to church, or sitting and discussing a scripture with someone else. (Important note: you must receive Christ as your Lord and Savior before you can begin a relationship with him. Recite Romans 10:9-10 with an open heart. …that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. biblegateway.com) If you are not yet comfortable with the above suggestions you may begin an internal conversation with the Holy Spirit whom Christ left with us.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 dailverses.net

We should all let this season have purpose in our lives, it should inspire us to become more mature Christians. Others should see the light of the Holy Spirit flowing through us. We should stand out. We are different.

So, Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28. Daily verses.net

This is not a seasonal event. It is a recognition of our Savior being crucified in the worst way to save us from our mortal sin.

Wellspringchristianministries.org
Pinterest.nz. Mrs. Karen Grosse

Times of India, 2019
https://wiirocku.tumblr.com/post/176688157522/romans-109-nkjv-that-if-you-confess-with

Fear The Lord

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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

How often do we read the first part of a scripture that is further explained in the second part of the thought? So often we rest our knowledge on the thought that as long as we fear God, we will have knowledge? We do not bother to read or ponder why the command is conditional.  This scripture informs us, it is instructional. Let us focus on Provers 1:7. The first part instructs us to fear the Lord and gain knowledge “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” And, yes, fearing the Lord is the beginning, but let us not overlook the condition requiring us to accept wisdom and activate instruction. Choosing to overlook the second part of the scripture informs us that while we desire knowledge, we only possess an unactuated thought, the thought is not functional, it is folly. The second part of the scripture informs us that, when we despise wisdom and instruction,” we do not fear – meaning, we have not ‘taken to heart’ the Lord’s instructions, we are not obedient, nor do we surrender our thoughts in exchange for His thoughts. We lack wisdom and instruction.

True wisdom can only occur after we understand that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, God is Holy. When we understand this at a heart level, we begin to experience wisdom through the knowledge that He is Holy, just, and righteous.

Acquiring knowledge yields wisdom, and wisdom is acquired through faith, which is acquired through the unyielding instruction of the Word of God. His instruction states that we are to walk in His ways, to love as He loves, and to serve the Lord our God with all of our heart and with all of our soul. The beginning of knowledge begins with submission, surrender, and obedience. When we accomplish these three things, we can accept His knowledge without hesitancy or the need to understand His inspired Words in the Bible.

In Hebrew there are two types of fear: Pachad and Yirah. Pachad is the fear projected or of imagined things, it is over-reactive, irrational and stems from the worry of things to come, those things we imagine. Yirah is “the fear that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to, inhabiting a larger space than we are used to inhabiting. It is also the feeling we get when we are in a sacred space, on sacred ground. (Makingdapennycooke,com. Ways Ways To Think About Fear)

As believer’s, we experience and understand the fear of God as reverence of God. This type of fear is the motivating factor in surrendering to the Almighty. Fear equals reverence. Yirah is the fear, the goose bumps we experience when we are in prayer or are praising the Lord and are in His presence. It is so much bigger that anything in our human sphere of understanding. We enter Holy (sacred) ground, the beginning of something new each time we experience it. It all contributes to our spiritual knowledge base and enables us to adhere to His wisdom and instruction and not our own.

Full circle – It is important to read an entire verse or scripture to gain the wisdom God intends in sharing His Word with us. Failing to do so does not result in wisdom, it results in folly, we become or remain fools, Proverbs 4:7 reads – Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Equip yourself, study the Word, do not simply read it and rely on your own understanding. Seek what He is conveying to your heart. Our life with Christ is a heart process. Step into Yirah, terrain that is beyond human understanding, feel His love and walk in His Word.

Resources: Holy Bible, Makingdapennycooke.com, Gotquestions.com

Images: Goggle Images

Comfortable With Carte Blanche Prayer?

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On the face of 1 John 5:14, it seems as if God is giving us carte blanche to ask whatever we want and we will be given it…

~ Lisa Blair

1 John 5:14

On the face of 1 John 5:14, it seems as if God is giving us carte blanche to ask whatever we want and we will be given it, much like asking a genie to meet our every desire. At least that is how so many apply this scripture in their prayers. 

But then, what is God really saying? 

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

This scripture is an instructional guide about praying.
God is telling us:

  • Have confidence in approaching Him. 
  • Do not be hesitant to fellowship with Him.
  • We should ask in confidence for God to meet our needs.

God tells us He hears us when we fellowship with Him in prayer. Our prayers do not fall on deaf ears. Our prayers are not ignored or treated lightly. Our prayers are conversations with the Master, our Father in Heaven. 

Then, how should we ask Him to help us? We must always ask within the context of His Will and not our own. He knows what our needs are and why we have those needs. He knows the plans He has for us and is willing to grant our requests if they are built upon on faith. Prayer is the foundation for all communication and action.

I find that before praying for something, I ask – is it my will, something I want because I want it, or is it something that will strengthen my walk? It is not wrong to want things that create an inviting lifestyle if it is not corruptible or wanton. But within this sphere of thought, it should also be something that spiritually strengthens us. We should not gravitate towards hidden agendas to manifest our will.

Selfish praying has hidden consequences. As we grow more mature in the Word and our relationship with Christ, we should examine what the consequences of asking are, as well as acting independent of God, to achieve our desires and the cost of those actions. Throughout the Bible, God’s people prayed to Him. He answered their prayers and instead of waiting for Him to produce the promise, they acted on their own to manifest the promise in the time and way they wanted it to fit in their own agenda. We see this throughout the Book of Genesis. Adam, Eve, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob all attempted to expedite God’s Will for their lives and humankind.

Think about this, they stood in God’s presence, held conversations with Him, knew His Glory, and still acted impetuously, what does that say about human nature? It is human nature to conspire, to thing first, to ignore others, to forge ahead in search of meeting our own needs.

<p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">If you remember the original television series, Lost in Space, you should hear, “<em>Warning, warning, danger, danger.</em>” Acting on our own is entering dangerous terrain. It weakens our relationship with the Lord, it causes us to slide down the slippery slope of sin. Free will- that will we choose to implement is a deception if we consider it a trump card to prayer.If you remember the original television series, Lost in Space, you should hear, “Warning, warning, danger, danger.” Acting on our own is entering dangerous terrain. It weakens our relationship with the Lord, it causes us to slide down the slippery slope of sin. Free will- that will we choose to implement is a deception if we consider it a trump card to prayer.

“God is no respecter of persons and al believers have been given the same opportunity to walk in newness of life and allow Christ to be formed in us. The more we live for His praise and glory, align our thoughts to the mind of Christ, and keep our fleshly self-nailed to the Cross, them more we find that we pray according to the will of our heavenly Father, and the greater will be our confidence that He will hear and answer our prayers, “for this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (What Does 1 John 5:14 Mean?  Dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com. 02/11/21)

There are no carte blanche prayers. Our prayers have consequences when we act on them to bring them to pass. We must pray fervently and honestly. We must always seek to discern whose will is the focal point of our prayer. If it is ‘us’, then rethink your prayer, examine the intent more deeply and seek God’s direction for your life.

God’s PEACE is Conditional

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We must release anxiety and fear to receive God’s peace in our lives.

~ Lisa Blair

The conditions leading to peace are explained in Philippians 4:6. God’s peace is achieved through prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. The peace is associated with releasing anxiety and fear, handing them over to God, who will then replace the void caused by releasing anxiety and fear with His peace. You cannot receive His peace if you are consumed with anxiety and fear. His peace is conditional. You must release the cause for anxiety and fear to receive the Lord’s peace. He promises peace to those who believe (have faith) and overcome being fettered by anxiety and fear. Further, the release rests on one’s ability to shift from what we see with our eyes (those things around us)* to what we know in our hearts to be true. God ensures peace to those who welcome Him into our hearts.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV

“for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬


Associated Scripture References:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭9:23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Resource – Bible.com

Photo – Dave Hoefler, Unsplash