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Matthew 6:9-13

We often repeat the prayer Jesus taught His disciples without really focusing on the meaning of the words and phrases. When we spend time with God and reflect on this prayer, we come away with a different outlook on the Christian life, on our relationship with God and ourselves.

“Our Father in Heaven,” Christianity is about the relationship between God and humankind. God the Creator becomes our Father. He lovingly takes on this parental role for all who accept Him. We notice the pronoun used here. Jesus the Son…  ( Click for more )

“ . . . I know my sheep and my sheep know me-

just as the Father knows me and I know the Father . . . .”

John 10:14 (NIV)

Some belief systems take the stance that God made the world and then sat back and chose to watch what human beings would do to it. This view of God portrays Him as being distant and uncaring; our God is neither. We have a Lord who cares for us. He knows everything about us.

Several years ago, I fell in a parking lot and did damage to an ankle. We had already made reservations for a special trip-a cruise…  ( Click for more )

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 KJV …  ( Click for more )

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you.”

Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

Jesus spoke to the people on the mountain top. He told them how to insure their relationship with God in order to be victorious over worry.

He also speaks to us about this ‘joy stealer’ of modern life. We have certain issues in these times that cause us to become anxious-stretching our income to allow us to get through until the next paycheck, maintaining peace with those who chose not to understand…  ( Click for more )

We receive word of the death of a friend, neighbor, or relative. The next few days are filled with preparations to say farewell to the departed person. If possible, we spend time with the family.

When the person has been close to us, we can go through a time of sadness. Granger Westberg, in his book Good Grief calls what we feel the grief process. He breaks this process into ten steps. These ten steps break down as follow:

Step One: Shock; We receive the phone call. Someone comes to our home and shares the news with us. We can’t…  ( Click for more )

From time to time, we go through periods where these ‘thoughts’ come to mind. These ideas might be about practices that we normally believe are wrong for us. We call this being tempted.

Temptation- a testing; enticement to do wrong- comes to everyone. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

When we read our Bibles we find examples of men being lured into situations where they had to choose the path they would take.

●Eve tempted…  ( Click for more )

The following is a deeper look at the issue of trusting God. Sometimes we just begin to explore certain issues in Christianity to find out that we have only started to learn from Him.

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“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your

own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and

he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

●“Trust the Lord" to trust someone is to place oneself in the…  ( Click for more )

“Trust the Lord your God with all your heart

and lean not on you own understanding.

Acknowledge him in all you do and

he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

As we walk through our lives, we experience times when we can only trust God. Events occur that deeply hurt us; we can’t understand why we are singled out.

After a week of Vacation Bible School, two of my friends departed our church building to find their cars had been vandalized-a window broken- and their purses stolen. The Bible school…  ( Click for more )

“But mark this there will be terrible times in the last days.

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,

boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents,

ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous,

without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous,

rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-

having a form of godliness but denying its power,

have nothing to do with them.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)

From time to time in our Christian walk, we have to…  ( Click for more )

James 1:5-8

Have you had times where you didn’t know what to do about a particular issue in your life? If you have, please know that you are not alone. God tells us through His Word to ask Him.

5) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

We all have times when we don’t know what to do or how to do something. Sometimes, circumstances overwhelm us. James tells us we should take our confusion to God. I remember when we moved into our home we had ordered carpet for the living…  ( Click for more )

“If my people, who are called by my name,

will humble themselves and pray and seek my face

and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven

and forgive their sin and heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

Hope-expectation of future good.

Several years ago, the doctor I was going to said something that concerned me. He was promoting a ‘white ribbon’ week that called attention to drug abuse among the teenage population of our area. His comment-“We’re losing a whole generation.” …  ( Click for more )

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30 (NIV)

We’ve all seen the signs. We go to the doctor’s office and step to the check-in window. There is a sign telling us, “In the event someone is here ahead of you, please step back to give that person his privacy.”

Or we go to a fast food restaurant and pay for our order. There may be a sign instructing us to “Please step aside.” The reasoning behind this message is so they can serve those behind us faster.

In our personal…  ( Click for more )

Patience, Peace

Patience

As a society, our nation’s people show a lack of patience. Fast food restaurants and microwave ovens have caused us to be impatient in all areas of life. As we await decisions from courts, we become anxious. If we were honest about it, we grumble to ourselves when our computers do not respond to commands fast enough.

Patience is the ability to endure to bear trials without grumbling. 1We often hear of “the patience of Job.” He lost all he had—property, livestock, and children. His wife told him…  ( Click for more )

Prayer groups devote quantity time asking God to bring revival to our lands. As we pray for renewal in our churches, we study how revival begins.

Confession and Forgiveness

The Asbury revival began when a group of students attending chapel began confessing their sins to God and to each other. In our 21Century world, we still have to confess our sins to God and to one another. I grew up hearing the adage, “Confession is good for the soul.”

Forgiveness carries with it three different connotations. When we forgive,…  ( Click for more )

“The LORD replied,” My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” Exodus 16:14 (NIV)

As a senior citizen, I find myself sometimes taking morning naps. Sometimes this happens out of necessity; other times, it just happens. Rest is important to us as human beings. We fortify our physical bodies when we have restorative sleep. It actually helps our bodies to heal itself.

When our children were very small, an afternoon nap gave them a chance to revitalize themselves and we were able to get somethings done…  ( Click for more )

Did anyone ever tell you that you had an ‘attitude’? I have. By this, I mean I have sometimes had what people consider a bad frame of mind. When I have less than a pleasant outlook, I look at things as being very dark—a lot like the glass is half-empty.

As a child of God, I do him dishonor when I complain and grumble about things, especially those I cannot change. While I read in our newspapers about many events that could cause me to become disheartened, God has taught me to look at those issues with His eyes.

…  ( Click for more )

A Promise Is A Promise

From time to time when I was in kindergarten, my teacher reminded our class, “A promise is a promise and should be kept.” The motive behind her saying this may have been to help us learn that our words carry weight. She also may have been trying to build our character.

Vows

When a man and woman go before a clergy person and get married, they repeat vows—promises to each other to remain by the other’s side through all kinds of circumstances.

Those circumstances cover…  ( Click for more )

Protects His Children

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

So we will not fear when earthquakes come and mountains tumble into the sea.

Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”

(NLT) Psalm 46:1-3

Have you ever felt God’s protection as you worked through a difficult circumstance? I’m sure you have. Have you prayed for God’s protection over a friend or family member? We have done it when we ask His presence with another person as we intercede for him or…  ( Click for more )

In The Colson Way, a book I am reading for review, I find myself focusing on the statements: “The apostles of Jesus Christ were witnesses. This did not only mean they had physically seen Christ—as they had—but that they had been transformed by Christ through a personal encounter with him.” 1

Transformed Lives

In our 21Century world, do we see transformed lives or do we see people who think it is fashionable to go to church. If we see the latter types, we, as a church, will suffer whenever we present ourselves before Jesus Christ and he…  ( Click for more )

I find myself drawn to the Roman Road passages to lead another person to Christ. Let's examine the verses as we travel this road.

Romans 3:23 (NIV) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Paul wrote these words; they are true. In all of history, except for One, no one has been sinless. In today’s world we have no one who has not sinned. When I was in high school, our church youth group would sit around and think about the question: “What is sin?”

When we think of sin in our world we think of murder…  ( Click for more )

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness

and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

Seek First

Seek. Look for, search diligently for. We don’t have to search for things in the same way as our pioneer forebears. We go to the grocery stores and purchase our food. We don’t have to hunt for our meat, unless we want to.

Seek first. We must make our search for God a priority in our lives. If I don’t read my Bible and devotional source just after I awaken, I might forget. The…  ( Click for more )

The women’s small group I participate in is reading and discussing the book, Wounded Women of the Bible. The book deals with different Biblical stories involving women who have faced unusual or difficult circumstances.

In reading our first selected chapter, we each, independently, were caught by a question posed by an NFL quarterback at a sports banquet. The question: If everything immediately changed and all was taken away, would Jesus be enough?”

Think about it. We see this question floating around cyberspace…  ( Click for more )

Confess His Name

“When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers.2 Chronicles 6:24-26 (NIV)

Solomon built the temple and prayed a dedication prayer over it. He stood on a platform in the center of the outer court and prayed. He commended God for keeping…  ( Click for more )

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will fl their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

I recently received a small devotional book from a blogging friend. As I read part of it one morning, I felt the need for God’s presence to be near the circumstance she described. As I thought about different issues affecting Christian people, I found myself asking God to “Come by Here.”

The…  ( Click for more )