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The Bible is full of stories of men and women who waited and waited for God's promises to be fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for Isaac's birth. Hannah endured years of barrenness waiting for her baby. David spent years in the wilderness before he became king. God calls each of us to join Him in His work but accomplishing anything spiritual, such as building a church, engaging in missions work or influencing secular culture for Christ, is impossible in human terms. We can't accomplish anything for God without faith.
When it comes to sickness and disease there are so many Christians that are confused about where it comes from and what is the purpose of it in their lives. Some have even been taught that everything that happens to them in life is the will of God for them. But nothing could be further from the truth. Let's look at it from this angle using the Word of God as our benchmark. If sickness was the will of God for you, then why did James say, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up..." (James 5:14-15)
What are you building your foundation on right now? Is it your ability to know His Word? Is it your ability to hear His Voice? Are you seeking to learn from others, or do you feel that you are grounded enough to teach others? Can you define the goals in that? Are you working on finding peace in yourself, or are you working to get the favor of man? It's good to be honest with your emotions and see if your energy is really pointing you towards where you want to be. It's good to ask yourself WHY you want what you do. I do that often and it helps me realize just how well that I am hearing His Voice of direction.
Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Philippians 3:9) The grace of God is the unearned, undeserved, and unmerited favor of God. When God answers you in your most undeserving moment, that is grace. That is His amazing, unmerited favor! At your lowest point, in your darkest hour, His light shines through for you, and you become a recipient of His unmerited favor, and a recipient of favor can't help but want to extend grace to others.
Being prideful is not just an attitude. It's also an emotion God hates. It's the emotion that He wants us to ditch, and He tells us exactly how to do that in His Word. Pride is the foundational emotion on which all other emotions, which lead to sin, are built. Pride says, "I'm number one, the best. I'm the best. No one can measure up to the great me." It is this worship of self that God doesn't like. It can lead to greater sins and is a huge emotion we must deal with on our journeys. To acquiesce to another, whether God or another person, means we must humble ourselves and accept their point of view or suggestion. Many have a hard time doing this. Saying, "You're right" and "I'm wrong" just doesn't seem to be in our vocabularies.
And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Leviticus 6:12-13 Recently I had a dream encounter where the Lord spoke to me that there is a greater need for more "fire on the altar." In this it was apparent that there was a need for prayer to permeate and infiltrate the atmosphere of the region. I could literally sense that the atmosphere was not what it needed to be - more prayer was needed.
God gave Israel the Promised Land. It was theirs as far as God was concerned, but they had to seize the God-given opportunity to possess it. God told them that He would send an angel to drive out the enemies before them. But an angel wouldn't do it on his own, God's people had to be obedient in order to get angelic help. (Exodus 23:20-23) They knew what God said, but they didn't take advantage of their opportunity to possess the land of promise. They fixed their attention on the problem rather than God's promise.
I think before I got sick, I didn't realize how often God actually allows us to endure the heat of the battle. I also didn't know how many battle scars come with that, but I can better see now how valuable those scars really are. I see how these scars, in the hands of our nail-scarred Savior, can be used for the purposes of His Kingdom and to help others who are going through things we already have or are still in the process of. I can see how our scars speak to where we've been, what we've been through, and the depth of our healing journeys; it is all painful but precious in His hands.
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5-6 NIV Prayer: We thank You, Lord, for Your unfailing love! We praise You and sing to You for Your goodness. For surely, You have been good to us! As we continue to worship the Lord with joy and singing, and focus on the good things He has done, He will open up greater understanding.
Many try to keep The Ten Commandments, which no man can live by The Law. If you break one of the laws of the Old Testament, you are guilty of breaking all of it, which the penalty of it is death. That is why they continually covered their sins with blood sacrifices. Jesus is the One and only sacrifice that is eternally received for the forgiveness of all our sins, granting us eternal life with Him. Iââ'¬â"¢ve been studying on The Ten Gates of Nehemiah, and it is the spiritual growth of a believer in a nutshell. It is amazing how they all flow together, and if we strive to make sure all these Gates are strong in our life, we will never go wrong. It is like putting on our Armor because we will be putting on The LORD Jesus in obedience to Him.
