Live, learn, be free

Depending on God

It can be easy in the world we live in today to say we don't need God.  We can handle things on our own.  We give up on prayer.  We stop communicating with God.  Many say they are just too busy to pray.

It is true that God is all powerful.  He does not need us to pray.  God wants us to pray because it is how we communicate with Him.  We can talk honestly with God when we come to him in prayer.

There are many different ways of praying to God.  Different prayers have different purposes.  Petition, confession, adoration, intercession, meditation, thanksgiving and consecration are the different types of prayers.

Reading through Nehemiah recently I learned about his steadfast prayer life.  Nehemiah was confident in his prayer life.  Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the king.  This means he had to taste all of the king's drinks and food to make sure they were not poisoned.

I can not imagine how difficult it must have been for Nehemiah to go to work each day not knowing if he would be die of poisoning.  He trusted in God and he knew God would hear his prayers.  I like how he describes God as attentive to his prayers in Nehemiah 1:11. 

Nehemiah had to be dependent on God, not only because his job was life threatening but because he loved God.  He wanted others to know God and to know of His love.  Let us be people who are dependent on God, people who are courageous and will be open to participate in His work no matter the cost.

Turn the Page

If you were a fly on the wall in my house you would hear those words a lot.  We say "turn the page" all the time to our children, especially our son.  We say this because we want them to move on from whatever problem they are having. 

As humans we tend to dwell on the problem at hand.  As Christians we need to remember that God is in control and He will help us if we ask Him to.  When we get stuck in a bind we tend to start down a path of negativity that leads to fear.  We lose track of the original problem and make more problems along the way. 

When we have problems in our life we need to give it the appropriate attention and then we need to move on and turn the page.  We need to trust that God will take control and help us overcome the problem at hand. 

We will stumble and we will grumble but we will make it to the mountaintop with God.  Remember Moses?  He did a lot of grumbling and stumbling but he knew God was in control.  Psalm 119:113-114 tells us that God is our hiding place.  When we are down because of a mistake or problem we need to remember that God is our hiding place.

Let's start a new thing, let's believe God will do all that He says He will do in our lives.  Let's move on from the things in this world that bog us down and let's turn the page.  Trust God and He will help you turn the page.

Using Past Hurts

It is said that an oysters tears produce a pearl.  Can you imagine?  Something that is sad creates something so beautiful.  This is how it should be with our lives.  We have all been hurt in this life.  We all have hurts we may not talk about. 

God has a plan for those hurts.  He wants us to produce pearls.  We need to use those past hurts to help others.  Imagine if someone had come along and helped you through your hurts?  We need to use our hurts to help others. 

When we use our past hurts we don't just help someone stay away from bondage but we also help ourselves stay away from bondage.  When we start talking about our past hurts they lose their power to enslave us.  We can free ourselves and help others through the same problems.

Don't you want to be free from bondage?  Pray about what God wants you to let go of, pray that God will help you use that to build others up.  You can use those past hurts in your life to produce pearls in the lives of others.

Renewing Your Mind

We have all heard this statement made in church many times.  What exactly does it mean to renew your mind?  Well the definition is actually simple, it means we are to change our thinking.  The definition may be simple, but carrying it out is another story. 

We all have thoughts in our hearts and minds that are not in line with what God wants for us.  We have thoughts about ourselves, our children, our family, our friends and neighbors.  Once our minds get used to a line of thinking, it is hard to change that thinking process. 

Romans 12:2 reminds us what it takes to change our minds, to have a new way of thinking.  God will help us learn new thoughts.  I have found a great way that works for me.  I use scripture to help me renew my mind.  I find truths in the Bible that contradict the old way of thinking and drill it into my mind.  I write it down on a note card and post it everywhere until I can see my thinking is starting to change.

We truly have to bow down to Him in obedience.  If we memorize His word, we will always have it on our minds and our hearts.  It can not be taken from us.  Praying scripture is another great way to renew your mind.  You personalize His word to you, and God will make His word alive and true to you. 

I like how Beth Moore describes prayer and the Word of God together, "taking our primary sticks of dynamite, prayer and the Word, strapping them together, and igniting them with faith in what God says He can do."  We can accomplish anything if we just pray and stay in His Word, they hold true and lasting power.

In Pursuit of God

People ask me all the time, how can I develop intimacy with God?  They want to know how to get closer to God.  It always makes me happy to know that people want to get closer to God.  He created us to want to be with Him, but we have to choose Him.  The best part is that He has already chosen us.  He wants to have a relationship with us. 

There are many things we can do to grow our relationship with God.  When we think about our best earthly relationship we realize that communication is the best part of that relationship.  God wants us to talk to Him.  He already knows what we are thinking and feeling, but he wants us to want Him to know.  Share with Him our inner most thoughts. 

We need to be honest with God.  Sometimes we are just angry about what we see happening around us.  We need to understand that it is ok to be upset with God.  He wants us to share all our concerns with Him.  Journaling is a helpful way to help us express what we are thinking and feeling towards God. 

In my new book, In Pursuit of God, I discuss all the areas we can work on to help us run after our Heavenly Father.  Don't become overwhelmed with trying to do work on all eight areas at once.  Take it one at a time and build upon that.  You will be pleased with the your relationship with God when you take the time to get to know God by working on different areas of your walk with Christ.

Fasting, praying, giving, memorizing His word, God sightings, prayer requests, time with God, and Bible reading are the things we need to focus on.  Develop discipline in these areas and you will be blessed in your walk with God.