1ST MEETING OF D-BIBLE STUDY

I have been praying for over a year for someone to disciple me.   I have longer for a closer walk with the Lord, and today is that day.    My D-Bible Study begins tonight with Vickey Weeks and the leader.    The following friends will also be part of this group:    Sondra,  Haley,  Shelia, and Patsy.

I am trying to find an online prayer journal to record my prayers and prayer requests.   So far, I have found a possible website, but for now I will use this blog.    After all, I am on a journey to find God in a more "personal" way.    I want an intimate relationship with my Savior and Lord, where He is in complete control of my life.   I have already taken the first step by surrendering myself completely to the Lord.   He is LORD of my life.   He is the LOVE of my life.   I have only taken a "baby" step toward becoming the Christian I was born to be.    My heart's desire is that I will listen to God, obey His Word, fight the good fight, and finish the race.

FAITH COMES BY HEARING .........

Romans 10:17   "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God".

On July 7, 2016, at about 11:45 pm, I proceeded to go to bed, in hopes of going right to sleep.   Whether or not I get some zzzz's depends entirely upon my pillow.   If my pillow is not fluffed just right, I may be up for hours.   Well, this was one of those nights.    

Just as I was getting comfortable, my right jaw starting aching, then  the middle of my back had a gnawing pain. The finale was, I started having bad chest pains.    Eight years ago, I would have thought, "I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK"! Not this time, instead I did the strangest thing.   I started thanking God for being there with me.   I was calm and at peace.   As I layed there enjoying that peace ....   the pain got even worse.

Still calm and at peace ...... I got up and decided that I would not go to the hospital like the last time this happened.    If it didn't get better than I would go to the doctor.    I began remembering the book I had been reading before I went to bed, "Slaying Your Giants:   How to Have Massive Faith" by Adam Houge.

FAITH is ....   "the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen."  (Hebrews 11:1)   There was that one insignificant word  that I never  noticed before .....  "evidence".   In this verse evidence is used as a noun.   The dictionary defines it as, "the knowledge on which to base a belief".    Evidence is something tangible that you can see, HEAR, feel, smell, or thought.       Now go with me to Romans 10:17, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."    Is this saying that "faith is hearing God speak to your heart" ....... like that LORD spoke to the child, Samuel.  (I Samuel 3:1-10)    Today, to the Christian, that "still small voice of the heart" is the Holy Spirit.    (Read the book by Adam Houge to get the full gest of what I am talking about.    It is an app for Kindle, phone, etc.,  on Amazon for $0.99)


As I was trying to get comfortable on the couch, this thought came to me ...... "take an aspirin".    I questioned myself, at first.    "Take an aspirin"!     After all, this is what the medics say do.   "Take an aspirin"!    I would need to eat something first.   "Take an aspirin"!   Finally, I got up and took an aspirin.     Immediately, the pain was gone.   

Unlike the child, Daniel, the LORD did not speak to me in an audible voice.    

(to be continued)  

PRAYERFUL SURRENDER

Prayer is talking  WITH God ......  not to Him.      It is ........  seeking Him first .......  waiting in His presence.    It's taking the time  to ask God,  to  show you what  His will is for each prayer request.   Maybe the reason we, "ask and do not receive is because we pray amiss."   (James 4:3a)    Do  our prayers consist of telling God how we  want the situation to be answered?    For example:     "God, please send a friend, coworker, etc., to invite my son  to church.    Just send someone to remind him that he needs You."    Then at the end of the prayer ....... we ask that "God's will be done".    What if my son refuses the invitation - then what?     What if God's plan involves suffering?  Do I still want God's plan for his life?   Yes! Because I have put God's plan before my plan.  I have surrendered my prayers to His will.
    
In the 9th chapter of Mark, a father's grief is genuinely exposed, as he stands by his son.   When the boy came close to Jesus, the evil spirit began to control the boy again.    This helpless dad, with no place to turn ......... said to Jesus,  "IF YOU CAN do anything, please help us".    Jesus replied, "You should not say IF I CAN.   This shows that you DO NOT believe in Me."   Jesus is suggesting that the father needed FAITH.    The father then cried out, "Lord, I DO BELIEVE!   Help me to overcome my unbelief!"  

Is this also true of many Christians ........   we say they believe  ......  but are not sure that we "trust Him completely.    In other words, Christians doubt.   I DOUBT, BUT THEN I COME TO MY SENSES.   God teaches us in His Word ......   to "trust" Him with ALL our hearts and lean not on our own understanding.  (Prov. 3:5)    He also assures us that, "  all things work for the good of those who are called according to His purpose."   (Romans 8:28)     ...........   Surrender involves trust.

Surrendering to God is a relationship that involves FAITH and TRUST.    In our times of crises, many pray like Job did.   That God might alter the circumstances.     But when God's will reveals that we must pass through the crisis.   Will we use this as a "teaching moment" and  surrender, as Job did, by embracing God's plan.    Or deny "you never knew Him" (Jesus).  

Trusting God is not trying to make sense of unanswered prayers.  God wants us instead to desire His best for us ...... to know and accept His better plan for us.    Many times, what we perceive to be unanswered prayer is, in reality, God's way of revealing His will ..... not our will for the situation.

Surrendering your life means:  
-  Following God's lead without knowing where He's sending you.
-  Waiting for God's timing without knowing when it will come.
-   Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide.
-   Trusting God's purpose without understanding the circumstances.

Finally, surrender brings peace.    To live in peace means to live as God meant for us to live, in the very beginning.   When a person surrenders all they have and all they are ..... their entire life to God .......   peace is made between him and God. 

Yes ......  No ....... Wait!  Each of these responses require prayerful surrender of our will, to accept God's sovereign will.    (Ps. 37:7)  "Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."        When you trust Jesus with all your heart, mind, and body .... you will encounter the Prince of Peace  .......   the ONE who brings that PEACE that passes all understanding  ......... Who will change your prayer life forever.

"Sometimes the Lord calms the storm;   sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child."

SURRENDER IS NOT FOR WIMPS!

Before we can give God the broken pieces, we must first asks ourselves, "Do I believe God can put my life back together again?" In Mark 9, a father grieves as he stands by his son who is possessed by a evil spirit. This dad, with nowhere else to turn, asked Jesus, "IF YOU CAN do anything, please help us." Jesus quickly rebuked the man, "You should not say IF I CAN, this shows that you do not trust me". (Jesus was suggesting that the man had doubt). The father then cried, "I DO BELIEVE! Help me to overcome my unbelief!" This is where I have found myself many times. I trust Jesus, but not enough to trust Him completely, I was a doubter. So started "My Journey Finding God". The answer was not an easy one - SURRENDER. "Here I am God, I give all of me to you. The good, bad, and ugly." I found out that this is not for wimps. Genuine surrender says, "Father, if this problem, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose in my life or in another's life, please don't take it away!" It is important to know that complete SURRENDER TO GOD is a process and it takes time.

FOLLOWING JESUS INVOLVES SURRENDER!

As a young adult, it was common to go to the altar to repent our sins and pray,  .....   "I want your will to be done, Lord, not mine".    I knew how to pray like a Christian, but I had no clue what it meant to "deny myself and take up His cross."      It is one thing to pray for God's will, but it was quite another thing to accept His will.     You see ......    I could "talk the talk", but I wasn't "walking the walk".

As a  senior adult, I have learned that my prayers had become very general:    "forgive me of my sins",  "keep my family safe",  "take away  my fear"   It took me years to realize that those spur-of-the-moment prayers were not accomplishing much.    Deep inside I knew that my prayers were not from the heart ...... they were just idle words.
As I was reading the Bible one morning, I came across James 4:3 which says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."    Was God telling me that  those "spur-of-the-moment"  kind of prayers were not what God desired for my prayer life?    At that moment, I prayed ......... "Lord, teach me how I'm suppose to pray".

I came to understand that prayer is talking "WITH" God - not to Him.    It's seeking Him first, getting to know Him better, being with Him, waiting in His presence.    It's taking time to say, "Speak to my heart, Lord, and tell me what I need to do".    It isn't about understanding the circumstances,  or even the outcome of the situation.   Prayerful release is about believing ....  trusting ......  that God will handle the circumstances.
In the ninth chapter of Mark, a father's grief is genuinely exposed as he stands by his son who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of his speech.   As soon as the boy came near Jesus, the evil spirit tried to control the boy again.   This dad ....... helpless, with no where else to turn .........   asked Jesus to help, by saying;    "IF you can do anything, please help us".    Jesus replied,  "You should not say "IF I can".   That shows that you do not believe in Me."   Jesus was suggesting that the father needed FAITH.   The father then cried, "I DO BELIEVE!   Help me to overcome my unbelief!"    This is how many Christians feel ......  they trust Jesus .... but they are not sure that they trust Him completely.

God teaches us to TRUST Him with all our heart, and lean not on our own understanding.   Trusting God is ultimately about SURRENDER.    Surrendering to God is one of the most challenging concepts of following Jesus.   Surrendering to God involves a relationship, and this relationship involves trust and faith.   Trust in God involves acceptance of God's will.    
Trusting God is not trying to make sense of unanswered prayers.  God wants us to desire His best .... to know and accept His better plan for us.   Many times ...... what we perceive to be unanswered prayer is, in reality, God's way of revealing HIS will - not our will for the situation.   God's desire is that we want His best .....  to know ..... and accept His better plan for us. 

He desires for us to WAIT for His perfect timing.    Other times He says "yes" right away, so that we can witness as the miracle unfolds.    YES ...  NO ... WAIT!  Each requires prayerful surrender of our will ......  to accept God's sovereign will.    Such surrender eventually does produce the miracle!    Trusting Jesus with all our heart, mind, and body ....... we encounter the Prince of Peace who brings the miracle ..... that PEACE that passes all understanding, which changes our lives forever.

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

The letters WWJD is the ancronym for "What Would Jesus Do"?   This was popular in the 80s and 90s.   All ages were wearing bracelets with WWJD on them.    It was a reminder, to "think before you say or do anything" that would hurt someone.   This was something I needed to be reminded of today.    

For the past three weeks, my husband (of 45 years) has had "walking pnemonia".    He ran a fever, coughed, and was congested the first week.   The second and third weeks he was still on his medication.    Now is the fourth week and he is still moping around the house.

The problem is ......  he barely acknowledges my presence - frankly, I am feeling unloved and unappreciated.    I was able to overlook this behavior when he was still on his medication, but now!!!!!    Need I say anymore about the "pity-party" I am having for myself.

So I thought I would just give him some of his own medicine.   I was tired of being cheerful, upbeat, and loving.   In other words, I was tired of being good.    I premeditated about how I was going to make his day a "living heck".    I couldn't believe the horrible things I thought about doing.   

Then, I  recalled a verse I memorized during my teen years.    "Don't be like the world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind."      At that moment, I decided to  change my mind and not let hurt feelings rob me of having a wonderful day with my husband. 

  

BE WATCHFUL IN YOUR PRAYERS

(I Peter 4:7)  "But the end of all things is at hand, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers".     Today was another one of those days in which I did not feel like praying.    When I would begin to pray, my mind would wonder.     I thought of something I needed to do, sooooo, I told myself that I would pray and read my Bible later.   Just one of the many lame excuses I use to ease my conscience when  "I" am in control of my life - not God.   This is the spiritual battle I face every day.    This always happens on those days I turn on TV instead of turning the pages of my Bible.

When I came to my senses, I asked God to forgive me and tell me what to do.    I have been using the WMU Missions Mosaic magazine as a daily devotional and prayer time.   Praying for our missionaries has helped me learn to put others needs before my own.    The focus verse was I Peter 4:10.   I always read the verses around the focus verse, and many times the whole chapter.   The section on my Bible I read were  vs. 7-11.     The moment I began reading verse 7, I knew the Lord was speaking to me.

The commentary for this verse says, "The time is near when all things will end’. Peter wrote these words almost 2000 years ago. We do not know when the end will come. But one day it will. It may happen while we ourselves are still alive. So we must always be ready. All Christians should think clearly about their daily behaviour. They should live in the way that God wants. This will help their prayers. Then they will be ready to meet Jesus when he comes back."

This is the reason why I  MUST start each day off with God's words in my  heart, and His precious name on my lips.