Prayer

We have the natural desire to connect with God. Genesis 4:26 is the first account of man reaching out to God in prayer. There are times that, without a thought, we call on God in earnest prayer. It could be for our health, it could be in a moment of urgent need, it could be in an hour of desperation. How important is prayer to one who has been saved from sin and if walking in the will of God? A life without prayer is a life independent from God. Without God, we are nothing. Prayer is absolutely necessary for our spiritual survival.

It is a common misconception that asking for help is a sign of weakness, but going to God in prayer is the ultimate sign of strength. Not only does it strengthen and prove our faith, but it strengthens our bond with Christ.

The Bible is full of thoughts regarding prayer.

Philippians 4:8 admonishes us to always have a mind prepared for prayer. Don't put God on a schedule by only allowing certain times for prayer. Allow that connection with God to remain open throughout the day.

Matthew 6:5-8 reminds us that prayer does not make one any more spiritual than another. Prayer is an intimate conversation with God. God doesn't receive any glory or honor when you boast about your personal talk with Him.

II Chronicles 7:14 tells us that one of the most important conditions for a successful prayer connection with God is humility. Remember, God is the one in control. Don't go to Him in prayer demanding that your needs be met. Acknowledge that you are merely the vessel through which He can work His perfect will.

Jeremiah 29:13 offers the most valuable advice: seek God with ALL OF YOUR HEART. Don't hold back. God already knows everything that you are going through, and He is already working a miracle. But how can He possibly help you if you don't open up your whole heart to Him?

Prayer is vitally important in remaining connected to God. Our goal as Christians should be making Heaven our home, and helping others get there. Slow down. Be aware of the needs of the people around you. How can you, in prayer, help that soul?

Last night's lesson was on how we are building our lives. When you build a house, you build it three times - once in your mind, once on paper (blue print) and then in real life. In class we looked at pictures of homes and each person chose one they liked. We also wrote down six things we wanted in our dream home and six things that we didn't want. The challenge was to do the same with our own lives - to write down what we WANTED to be a part of our life (i.e. Jesus, salvation, peace, happiness, etc.) and what we DIDN'T WANT to be a part of our life (i.e. sin, alcoholism, drugs, strife, etc.). We are building our lives every day. Unless someone has a blue print for the house they are building, it is hard to build that house and not get distracted. We need to have a "blue print" for our life so that when the enemy tempts us to get distracted or to do something different, we can remember what we said we wanted in life and stick to it. It will help us to resist the temptation because we know that the outcome is not something we want. "Let every man take heed how he buildeth."

Love One Another

John 15:12    "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you."
Throughout all trials and decisions in our life, God's love is unconditional. He will always be there if we need him. We should always be there for our brother's and sister's if they need us. even if we don't agree with certain decisions, or don't have the same idea's about things, we still have an obligation to show the love of God.
Matthew 22:35-39  "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master, which  is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.
If God is our first priority in life, we should have no problem loving our neighbors as ourselves.

"Learning to appreciate the differences between and within this generation."

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nation's for My name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." Matthew 24:4-10

Satan has a plan to cause chaos and strife. If he can fulfill that plan, then He can prevent the Word of God from spreading. He wants to create disunity and distrust in God's body.

Often there is a failure to appreciate differences between people in one generation or more than one. We need to have a respect, an appreciation for the differences that exist between ourselves and those around us.

"One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts." Psalm 145:4

Each generation of people has a responsibility to the next generation to pass on what God has taught them. If we keep what God has blessed us with to ourselves, who will benefit from it? We need to "pass the torch" on to the next generation. However, if one generation doesn't hold a testimony of unity and trust, there will be a message of confusion and the next generation may be unwilling or unsure of receiving it.

There is good reason to respect our older generation -

"Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: who's faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." Hebrews 13:7

"Conversation" in this scripture refers to a person's conduct. Watch the outcome of a person's life.

It will be hard for one generation to accept what the other has to give, unless there is a spirit of humility.

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:1-4

Every generation has the ability to influence other people - younger, older and within their own generation.

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;" 1 Peter 2:9

In the eyes of God, we are His chosen people - whether we are younger or older, whatever generation we are in, whatever differences we have. When we are saved, we all have something in common - we're all a part of this one body - the only body that is going to Heaven.

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. - James 1:26-27

To "visit the fatherless" is a commandment. While this can be literally referring to someone without a father, it also is talking about people who don't know the heavenly Father - people who aren't saved.

Many scriptures have a spiritual application as opposed to just being literal. In this scripture widows can mean someone without a companion - without someone to support them. Back in the days when the Bible was written, literal widows didn't have the support that they would today (i.e. government support, social security, etc) and the saints had to step in to "fill in the gap".

What could we accomplish if we just started looking beyond ourselves, seeing a need and reaching out? Where would our meditation be if we were reaching out and looking beyond our own little bubble? We would be thinking beyond our trials and what we are going through. We'd find ourselves less concerned about our heartaches and more about those of someone else. Where would our prayer life be if we were conscious about the trials of others? Instead of being focused on our upsets, we'd be wondering about and praying for someone else.

(James 2:1-10)

Respect of persons:

*  getting angry about something someone does, but not getting so angry when someone else does the same thing.
* making judgments based on a person's appearance


We can easily have respect of persons if we focus on a person's nice clothes or nice talk. We shouldn't lift one person above another - even in our relationships; even if they are not our spiritual brother or sister; even if the person is in a low place such as a drug attic - that person is still a soul. It's all in the attitude and how we look at something or perceive something. If it's not Christ-like, we need to change. God looks on the heart - not the appearance.

We need to be careful not to look at a situation and judge by what we see because we don't see the heart. We don't know what the person(s) involved is going through or struggling with. They may be sincere and praying hard and really trying. When we stand back and start judging, they might see our attitude and think "forget it - it's not for me". We can get carried away in our thoughts even with people that have left God. Some things we have to simply leave in God's hands.

If we were the ones who were "poor in spirit", we'd want someone to long-suffer with us.
God loves everyone and puts everyone in His church that loves Him and wants to serve Him. God uses all of us. We need to be careful not to look down on anyone - one day they may be the one(s) God sets over us to lead us. (those that are sick, slow, "weird", poor, foul, etc.) When we have "respect of persons", we are sinning because we are transgressing God's law. We need to watch our attitude.

What if the person did you wrong or betrayed you? Are you going to take it and turn it into a trial or will you give it to God and leave it with Him? That person that has wronged you may be going through something that you have no idea about.

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. - Mark 11:25

If you cannot forgive someone and you die that way, it may be the one thing that bars you from heaven. Even if that person has not asked for your forgiveness, you still need to forgive.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. - Matthew 18:21-22

It's not for us to judge a person's sincerity - we still have to forgive.

(Galatians 6:1-5)

If we don't go through something right, we will be tempted. We may judge a person for the way they handle something or go through something, but later on we ourselves may be tempted by the same thing.

Never be proud in trying to restore somebody.

Last week in class we were all given an assignment to each do our individual study of Psalms 143 and be prepared to share our connection or thoughts on the readings. One thought that was brought by one of my peers was the thought that the writer of the chapter was clearly in distress and needed an immediate answer from their only help which was God. The writer requests of God to 'deliver me, teach me, quicken me' and then it says 'for I am thy servant'. This shows the need for Gods help but also a recognition for us to be a humble servant of God in order for him to supply our needs.

A Willing Heart

Taken from Exodus 35

35:1-4 When the Israelites first came out of Egypt, there wasn't a whole lot of rebellion. They only had two choices - remain a slave in Egypt, or flee with Moses. We don't see alot of arguments over God's will initially. But in verse 4 of this chapter, God asks for something beyond just compliance out of necessity. He asks here for a response only from the willing hearts.

35:6-21 When certain challenges are presented to us, our hearts are stirred. Here, the people of Israel have been commanded by God to create a tabernacle. And the attitude they exhibit is one of great zeal. They are very enthusiastic about completing the project.

Thousands of years later, we have an opportunity to do the very same thing. We can be like that. If you feel that God is leading you in a certain way or you're stirred about a certain thing, don't draw back. If you feel God is in it, go for it. If He is indeed in it, it will prosper. If you feel hesitant because what you want to do has never been done before, don't take that as an excuse for drawing back.

35:22-35 The people here are giving and contributing from the abundance of willing hearts. The women, probably busy caring for their families, were able to help by performing the easier task of spinning goat's hair. Even the rulers played their part, giving quality goods that the average person did not have. God gave Bezaleel and Aholiab the foresight of being able to pull everything together and see it all through to completion.

Our part today is to understand the Father's will so that we may find our particular place. What is YOUR task? If you're only capable of the simple and easy things, play your part. If you have a greater talent, play yours. Don't hold back. Don't let fear or embarrassment stand in your way. Give all up, as did the Israelites. All God asks is a willing heart. Go for whatever it is you feel God would have you to do.

Starting over begins with making a decision - with a desire for a new start. Often in life, we wish that we could erase things or do things over. When this is the case, where do you start? You should go to God in prayer first and let Him search you out, then move in the direction that He tells you to go.

* "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)

We have to search ourselves and it needs to be a thorough search - otherwise, why bother? It needs to be all or nothing.

* "And though, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever." (I Chronicles 28:9)

God knows even our imaginations. He knows us inside and out - better than we even know ourselves.

We should want to search ourselves and desire for God to help us with that search. We should want it to be a complete and thorough search.

* "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (II Corinthians 13:5

We all have needs. What are we doing with those needs and how are we trying to get those needs met?

* "For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." (James 1:23-24)


* "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)


As soon as we quit asking God to help us see ourselves as He sees us, we forget and lose the advantage of God helping us so that we can change.

There has to be a transformation - a change. Ask God to show you and don't "put it away" but take care of the needs as God shows you what to do. Don't just recognize the need, but do something about it.

Who is on the throne of your heart?

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
(Revelation 2:4)

In our society, people have created a so-called "gray area" as opposed to the "black & white", or clarity of truth, of some years ago.

We as Christians and holders of God's truth have something worth fighting for. We need to be "bothered" by how people today are - especially so-called "Christians". We need to check ourselves and see if there are areas that we still need to have Christ clean up.

Being raised in the church, you can easily get into a form or "routine". We can learn how to "walk the walk" and "talk the talk", but we need to be careful not to get so comfortable that we lose our awareness of the danger of just becoming "religious".

* Revelation 2:1-7


How many things here (in the above scripture) have we done? We can labor for God, have patience, work with souls, abhor evil ... all this and more and yet, are we just religious or do we have God's true spirit in us? The Bible says to "try the spirits". We can "live the life" and yet, there's something that's wrong. In the instance of a saint versus a religious person, there may be some things that are the same in their hearts i.e. both of them have God's word hidden in their hearts and both of them have a foundation of truth. The real difference is when it comes to finding out who is really reining 100% on the throne of their hearts. The true saint will let God have complete control of their heart and life. The person that is just religious, will have someone or something else on the throne of their heart that comes before God. Then there is no room for God. They might be "following" God's word and know the truth, but Christ is not on the throne of their heart. When someone else is on the throne of your heart, the legs of that throne will be unstable and eventually collapse.