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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
Choices
“. . . choose this day who you will follow . . . for me and my house, we will follow the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
Joshua called together the twelve tribes of Israel at Shechem. He reminded them of all the things God had done for them as a nation.
He gave the people a choice. They could serve the gods their forefathers served across the river or the gods of the Amorites in the land they were at that time. OR, they could serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and, Jacob as he and those in his household would do.
In our 21Century, we have… ( Click for more )
What do we mean by intercession? When we pray for others, we go before the Lord on their behalf. This is intercession. The one who prays feels a burden to take others before Jesus; then He takes those needs before the Father.
A prayer warrior senses a need someone has and commits to pray for that person. Sometimes the prayer is said right then. Other times, the one praying will wait and include that request in their nightly prayers.
Jesus interceded for his disciples and for us in John 17:6-19,20-25. “He prays for protection for his disciples. They will need… ( Click for more )
As we go through life we might decide we are on a journey. We don’t get to pick where it takes us. But, we must walk that road that God has laid out for us. When we accept the direction of that road without grumbling, it is easier to travel.
Our road may take us through difficult times during our childhood. We may or may not become rebellious during our teen years, making bad choices. Self-destructive habits may take root and cause us to have serious health issues as we mature.
We marry and have families of our own. What might happen is we go through… ( Click for more )
“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him.” Exodus 15:2 (NIV)
As a child, whenever I felt weak, I wanted to give up. I found myself just ignoring things that pertained to the particular activity I had been pursuing; I craved lots of encouragement.
As a young mother, I attended an area meeting of the church I attended. My church hosted the sister churches in the county and one or two in the next county to the north. The meeting was set up with small workshops. One of the titles referred to a Spiritual… ( Click for more )
Do we realize that we represent Jesus in our daily activities? Do we realize that people watch how we handle ourselves in times of crisis? Yes, we are representatives of Jesus Christ when we go to the bank, the grocery store, pay our car insurance, by gasoline, and eat out in restaurants. God expects us to represent His Son.
Can we teach new Christians and our young people that they represent Jesus to others? We should be training new Christians and our young people how to be disciples for Jesus. We are the only Bible some people read. People don’t always remember what… ( Click for more )
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4
Our focus passage reminds us to always act from our love and compassion for those around us. We should have these qualities in our hearts. King Solomon, the smartest man in the world, penned these words. We have times where it is difficult to react in love to our surroundiings, but that is how we are to react.
In our 21Century world, we need to… ( Click for more )
“I am the almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Genesis 17:1 (KJV)
The word holiness seems to have fallen into disuse in our 21Century world. It has roots in both the Hebrew and Greek languages. When we speak of holiness, we speak of being separated from the world, set apart for God. Unger’s Bible Dictionary explains: “Holiness is a general term used to indicate sanctity or separation from all that is sinful, impure or morally imperfect; it is moral wholeness.” We can apply the word to persons, places, or things.
The Sanctuary--… ( Click for more )
Prayer, Trust, and Guidance
One of my closest friends loaned me a book entitled, Hudson Taylor God’s Venturer by Phyllis Thompson.2She and I received different messages from this book. She realized that we are never too old to be used of God in a way He chooses. Its message to me told me I don’t pray enough about my personal circumstances. I also found myself caught up in Taylor’s last words, “We should trust Him fully.”
I am an intercessor-I find it very easy to pray for others. My prayer lists are filled with names of those on our church’s… ( Click for more )
I follow Ann Voskamp through her blog, A Holy Experience (www.aholyexperience.com) When I read one of her books, I fell in love with a word she uses eucharisto. It means giving thanks.In the United States, at the end of November we celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving. Our neighbors in Canada celebrate their Thanksgiving holiday in October. We spend considerable time during this month thinking about how God has blessed us. On my blog, I devote November to the theme of giving thanks. In actuality, we should spend time throughout the year in the mode of thanks-living.
When… ( Click for more )
As children of God, we have times where we have to commit a person’s circumstances to God’s care. Aren’t we always in His care?
When we pray for a friend who needs special guidance from God, we may ask Him to wrap His arms of love around them. Our next request asks the Father to draw our friend close to Him. Then we beseech our Creator to whisper words our friend needs to hear. Sometimes we speak in specific terms, other times, we ask God to convey the words our friend needs.
At my dad’s funeral, our pastor ended his final prayer with… ( Click for more )
I participate in a small group that is presently reading a collection of stories entitled A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. The book, a collection of stories about the women in the lineage of Jesus Christ, has study questions at the end of each section.
After each story there is a part devoted to studying the scripture on which that story is based. This week, after I finished the third story, that of Ruth, I spent time doing the study. In the section on Reputations, I ran across the sub-section called Finding God’s Way For You. The first question, ”What does… ( Click for more )
“Be in pray at 5:00” The co-lay leader of our church spoke those words to me as I waited to shake hands with our pastor on a Sunday after worship service.
I knew why she asked for prayer. On two separate occasions that past week, I heard her ask for prayer for an unspoken request. I responded to her comment. “ I know about that need and I will continue to pray.”
The need was great. I felt the weight of the circumstance when it came to my attention on Friday. The basic information came to me through my reading our local newspaper, making the… ( Click for more )
“. . . I will fear no evil, for you are with me;” Psalm 23:4 (NIV) “‘And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.’” Eze.48:35 (NIV) Her mother brought her into the building that housed the daycare center. Her parents were missionaries heading for home assignment in Michigan. They had attended the conference for a few days. On this, their last afternoon with us, she looked up at me as her mother signed her in. Her big brown eyes studied me. “Why are you always here?” “Why am I always here, is that what… ( Click for more )
Praying for the Lord’s Will
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways, my ways,’ declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 55:8
She came into our Sunday school class to update us about her husband’s condition after emergency major surgery.
This wife painted a truthful, yet grim, picture of her husband’s physical state. He has been through several extended hospitalizations in the past few years.
I asked her, “How do you want us to pray?”
She explained that they had traveled this road several… ( Click for more )
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
I found this verse as I prepared a Sunday school lesson for a group of middle grade children in the mid 1980’s. I paused and reread it. The words resonated in my mind. I had come through a time of deep depression. I had, at the request of my husband, taken a 30 day leave of absence from my job. At the end of the leave, I decided to resign. A few years earlier, during another time of confusion,… ( Click for more )
His Grace Keeps Us
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions
and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ . . . .” Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)
God’s grace for us gives us the strength to say, “No”, to the ways of the world. We try to not do things just because everyone else is doing it. His grace… ( Click for more )
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
I heard this story several years ago. Our pastor at the time called on a woman who had attended our church; she and her husband were residents of a nursing home.
She shared with the pastor her desire to give the church an offering. She promised to have a dollar when he came the next time. The pastor thanked her; they visited awhile longer.
On his next visit, she presented him with two dollars for the church. When I heard this,… ( Click for more )
“persecuted but not abandoned;” (2 Corinthians 4:9a)
We who live in the United States live in a relatively free place where we can practice our faith with no fear of punishment for our actions. This is not true in other parts of the world.
People who practice Christianity in these certain other nations risk their very lives. When they accept Christ as their Lord and choose to follow Him they lose their homes, their families, and, if they are men, their source of income, or even their very lives. At the very least, they become dead to their families… ( Click for more )
“Hard pressed on every side but not crushed;” (2 Corinthians 4:8a)
Have you ever felt as if you were pressed by a difficulty or an issue that caused pain on your life?
Have you ever been in a crowd that moved you forward even when your purpose was to go in another direction?
When my husband and I have had a member of our extended family in the hospital I have felt pressed be there for the patient and for his or her nuclear family. Most times I have completely altered my schedule to be available to do what I can to alleviate the stress… ( Click for more )
“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us, because
God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
whom he has given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)
“. . . we also rejoice in our sufferings. . .” What is Paul saying here? We don’t like to have things go wrong. When we have illness-personal or family- we go through times where our schedules change. Our strength lessens… ( Click for more )
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