C.O.F.F.E.E

 CHRIST OFFERS FORGIVENESS FOR EVERYONE EVERYWHERE!

When I ask you to listen to me and you

Start giving advice, you have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me and you

Begin to tell me why I shouldn’t

Feel that, you are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me and you

Feel you have to do something to 

Explain my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem.

Listen! All I asked was that you listen, not talk or do-just hear me.

Accept my Keep-it- Simple- Mentality

That I do feel what I feel, no matter how unreasonable it may seem

So, my road to Persuading You can Cease.

You see irrational feelings make sense when we

Understand what’s behind them.

Perhaps that’s why prayer works- God

Is always there,Listening.

Life can be gentle or intense,especially when you daydream about this question:

“What does “to Live is Christ to Die is Gain mean”?

Paul’s statement, “To be in Christ" means we have accepted His sacrifice as payment for our own sin. Our rap sheets contain every sinful thought, attitude or action we have ever committed. No amount of self-cleansing can make us pure enough to warrant forgiveness and a relationship with a holy God Romans 3:10-12. As Christians, our whole lives are to bring glory to God, and Paul had the assurance that, even in his suffering, he was accomplishing that goal (“to live is Christ”). But, as we see in the second part of the verse, Paul knew that his death would bring glory to God as well—and not only that, but it would also be the time when his faith would come to fruition and he would live with his Savior forever (“to die is gain”). Paul longed for the day when death would bring him face to face with Jesus (verse 23.)

 God wants us to grow from being infants in Christ to being mature in Christ. My prayer is that as you read my daily faith journals pray fully, you listen to some of its heart felt challenges and grow from it.

Listen to these words,” The quicksand of despair”. Do those words sink your will! Does it awake our enemy, “hopelessness”? Often times my heart is suffused with longing, and that is the longing of God, from God, and for a life that is filled with love and for love. I use a cup of prayer expressed with a cream full of words, expressed from the heart, as a song to the Divine to a wake me as being awaken with Coffee-Cup words of Prayer.

Prayer, when spoken from the deep depths of the heart and with passion of the soul, is an act that can shift my/our taste from plain coffee to Latte, espresso, cappuccino – there are so many different simple types of coffee sip prayers that it becomes a language itself! Can it change consciousness, your foundational need in today’s cultural or social transformation? I say yes.

I truly believe prayer can and must lead us in this heroic effort to re-imagine our place in the cosmos of our responsibility as commented people of faith. Let us be an unedited song of intimacy with the Heart of hearts. Do you pray with insistence? Are your prayers free with a sense of freedom that’s large with a loving perspective of humanity? God helps us and he prays through us. I propose that use your words, songs or chants of praise that are sincere and heart based that drives you toward an intimate conversation with the Divine and the dream of the Divine for our neighbor. Release in us the life force of love and the determination for love in Action

To enter the presence of a holy God, we must be hidden in the righteousness of Christ. To be "in Christ" means that God no longer sees our imperfections; He sees the righteousness of His own Son (Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 8:12). Only "in Christ" is our sin debt cancelled, our relationship with God restored, and our eternity secured (John 3:16-18, 20:31). 

By coming to God in prayers of confession and repentance. We are assured in 1 John 1:9 that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Once we have done that, we enjoy a clear and open channel of communication with God, and our prayers will not only be heard and answered, but we will also be filled with a deep sense of joy.

Prayer is indeed work. We have to learn to walk with God, so we meditate daily on Him and His ways in order to become more and more humble, which is essential for effective prayer (2 Chronicles 7:13-15). We also study Scripture thoughtfully every day to learn what is pleasing to God and therefore what constitutes acceptable prayer. We learn to eliminate hindrances to prayer (Mark 11:25; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 John 3:21-22) and not to grieve the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30-32). We learn that we are in a spiritual battle with Satan, so we must pray for our own spiritual well-being to maintain our strength and focus in praying for others (Ephesians 6:12-18).

Let’s be Prayer warriors for self-others, with a heart for God, a heart for prayer, a heart for people, and a heart for Christ's church. Therefore, we pray continually and trust that God answers each prayer according to His perfect will and in His perfect timing.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

Where Are You?

“I Like that About Him”

“The Lord will work out his plans for my life—    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.    Don’t abandon me, for you made me”. Psalm 138:8 (NLT)

Before I came to know Christ personally as an adult, God was an unclear concept that I could not relate to or grasp. My mom was my first vicar. She tried to teach me scripture by singing to me, ethical principles, that she modeled, how to fight (that was funny), and hard work. You see back in the day I used to actually do more than play outside as a kid. I was one of those uninspired cleaners who had Sat morning chores (those were the times I wanted to hid). I hated it when my mother woke me up early, she would call out to me in her soft patience voice and say, “Ronnie where are you” it was time to sweep, and mop”, all of the floors in our apartment as well, the three levels in our building among the projects of Cincinnati’s West End,” Laurel Homes”.

You see the first question God asks in the Bible is “Where are you?”(Genesis 3:8) Adam and Eve had just sinned, and in their fear and confusion they ran away from God. I believe that God knew where Adam was, I believe he wanted Adam to think: “What has sin done to me? Why did I leave God, and why am I running away from Him?’ That question was posed to Adam, but it’s actually directed to you and me, as well. Every sinner is running from God, and the Bible says that our sins have separated us from Him Isaiah 59:2

Even though She introduced me to Jesus early as a child. I always knew she was not God, but she seemed like it much of the time.  I confused her with God because she was patient, long-suffering and gentle. Her voice was always inspiring full of love. Drawn more by her example I still as a kid practiced questions on other family members, friends and strangers first to give me an idea of where such a view of God comes from, as well as where the Jesus conversation might go, to give me confidence and understand this vague concept even more as a child.

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. Philippians 4:6-7

Did you know that the longest list of questions found in the Bible is made up of questions asked by God? In Job chapters 38 and 39, God poses query after query to His servant Job, who has daily begged for answers to some tough, heart-wrenching questions of his own.

Instead of providing Job with simple answers, God delivers a string of thought-provoking riddles. They start with words like "Who? Where? When? Have you? Can you? Do you know?" He describes all the miracles of the animal kingdom, and He talks about the weather and the solar system and other mysteries of nature. God asked Job questions in order to remind him that His ways are often beyond our understanding. Some people try to melt God down and put Him in a test tube so they can define Him and understand Him, but this is a mistake. The Bible says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:9).

Some years after the death of my mom I was having a feeling of spiritual emptiness and abandonment, so while having a rock skipping contest with my Uncle Buddy on a lake where we fished at and Being a deep thinker, I asked him,” uncle Buddy, you ever wondered where God is andDo you think Jesus abandoned His Mother?

 He could have answered me in a number of ways: He’s in our heart. He’s also in nature. Nope. Rather, He’s showing his mother that it’s primarily faith, not blood relation, that matters. Two scriptural references suggest that possibility. (Luke 1:41-45; Luke 8:19-21)In fact, He shows up everywhere and in everything. But instead, He flipped the question back on me. “Where do you think He is, Ronnie?” There was a brief silence as I watched where his rock had fallen. Then in a quiet voice I said, “God is gone, He’s just gone, Uncle Buddy and that’s all there is to say”. As we made our way back to the car he would not let our “God is gone” conversation let go so hastily. He told me he had it on good authority from your mom and the word, that God was living in our hearts. He patted me on my head humbly, saying only, “Do you want your usual Barq’s cream soda?”

Unfortunately, all Christians have feelings of spiritual emptiness or even depression (a diagnosable medical condition (clinical depression, but it can also refer to a temporary feeling of sadness or apathy or to an imprecise, lingering discomfort.) from time to time. Fortunately, God knew it would happen and has given us a lot of helpful advice in His Word. “Where are You?”

A Christian may feel spiritually empty sometimes, but he need never be truly so. No born-again Christian is ever without the Holy Spirit. All who are born again have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit the moment they believed in Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-10). The Holy Spirit has sealed each believer “for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

So the key to overcoming spiritual emptiness is to “fill up” with the Holy Spirit. Maybe that sounds obvious enough, but how exactly does one do that? Here is my suggestion or these steps:

1) Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit by a song of Prayer (Matthew 5:6 and John 7:37-39)
2) Confess your sins and thank God that He has forgiven all of your sins whether past, present, or future (Colossians 2:13-15; 1 John 1:1-2:3). 

3) Present every area of your life to God for His gracious control (Romans 12:1-2).
4) By faith claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit according to His commandment in Ephesians 5:18 and His promise in 1 John 5:14-15.

In doing those four steps, you are essentially doing spiritual breathing—exhaling the impure and inhaling the pure. In faith you are praying for what God already knows you need—the fullness of the Holy Spirit. 

Often in allowing the Spirit to fill oneself, there will be an immediate desire to dine on God’s daily bread—the Bible. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
It is also helpful to know where to turn for encouragement. Overcoming feelings of spiritual emptiness is often not a mental or academic exercise; rather, we need the personal touch of another born-again believer. Here is where the church comes in, with brothers and sisters everywhere, Bible study and support groups meeting locally, and, of course, worship services and the preaching of God’s Word. What a shame to dwell on spiritual emptiness, when brothers and sisters would love to help.

When God asks us a question, we really need to sit up and pay attention. When He tells us, "Come now, and let us reason together" (Isaiah 1:18), the Lord is inviting us to ponder along with the Almighty! What a privilege.

Where Are You?

God Bless You and This Ministry!

“Brick Walls”

Adore Me, “Never”, Abandon Me!

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15 

Have you ever heard the sound of Grief when everyone around you were laughing? Have your ever worked so hard to prove yourself and still fill empty and abandoned? Has the word “insecure” been a Reason for your season of life? And finally has your loneliness been in the vapor of your rebirth to the cousin of Guilt?

You see the whole issue of abandonment, grief, guilt and insecurity has to be identified and then understood. It is possible to understand these weird and unexpected ripping currents, and not to get knocked down by them. With the help of?

God loves us. We know that in our minds, but often we don’t dwell in that land publicly.

But the reality of God’s love encircles us day by day, as brought to light in these inspiring Bible verses about God’s love below. We learn that…

·       God’s love is steadfast and unchanging- Psalm 136

·       God’s love comforts us- Psalm 23:4

·       God’s love is revealed to us through Jesus Christ- 1 John 4:9

·       God’s love is poured into us through the Holy Spirit- Romans 5:5

·       God’s love compels us to love one another- 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

After college I came to understand somethings about God. (not much but a bit) One of those things was my fear of being ditched by God. For some strange reason while riding on a Roller Coaster It came to me. You see one of my big fears or brokenness was heights and riding on a roller coaster. This understanding was the result of a Tracer, a rewind of a painful event. It makes us frequently or rarely think of a strong feeling that impact us, causing tears to spring up unexpectedly, sending grief, fear, abandonment sweeping over us “out of nowhere” or pushing us to behave in certain ways. You see my mom was my, “Tracer” she was not there; when I was a kid she would caution me to take care to avoid danger like swimming, riding a bike or being on a roller coaster. She would be there with me so I would not make mistakes and say something to me as a warning. But we were separated!

Jesus words often come to me with the help of his comforter (The Holy Spirit). As a result of being in the word, understanding Jesus’s words while He hung on the cross. You see Jesus was abandoned. His experience was so painful, he cried out those heartrending words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? “Matthew 27:46 Prior to the cross, Jesus endured hours of pain and suffering. Yet not once did he cry out. It was not until he felt that separation from God that Jesus heart broke. He took on every Sin, “Why”, wages of sin are death. I realized that for Jesus, the greatest hurt was being temporary abandoned from God, His Father. It happened because God, in his holiness, cannot look upon Sin. So, when Jesus did this he was rejected He was ditched and felt abandoned. But it didn’t end with His death on the cross.

But in reality, His words point to something far different. They point to the fact that when Jesus died on the cross, all our sins—without exception—were transferred to Him. He was without sin, for He was God in human flesh. But as He died all our sins were placed on Him, and He became the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. And in that moment, He was banished from the presence of God, for sin cannot exist in God’s presence. His cry speaks of this truth; He endured the separation from God that you and I deserve. “Christ died for our sins…He was buried…He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

This is a profound truth—and yet it also should bring us great comfort. Because Christ died for us, we need not fear death or Hell or judgment! The Bible says, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is his name.  And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishingthe heaven sand laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” Isaiah 51:15-16

I know we love asking God for things. We pray and follow up our requests with the phrase, “If it’s your will, Lord, Amen. I often use question as well to remind me of my purpose in life? What do you do along with prayer? This is to remind me to know, trust, believe and know we are loved by God and He especially does not “do” throwaways. You see we can heartily comprehend the love of God for us. Remember abandonment can be intentionally or uncontrollable circumstances but we are the intentional creation of the Lord Almighty!

My Prayer:

God, you know me better than I know myself. You know my fears, Tracers and my desires. I know you love me. I know you have a plan for me. Please, Lord, don't let my desires blind me to your will. If this is not within your plan for me, throw up a Brick Wall. Give me an obstacle I cannot get past. Help me follow your will, Father. Give me peace about whatever is to come. If this falls through, I will know it is your hand.

 God Bless You and This Ministry!

Aha and Gotcha’s of Job

When someone exhibits great endurance through all kinds of trials, annoyances, or provocations, we say that person has “the patience of Job.”  To me It’s like giving that person ten Aha’s (love, forgiveness) to get rid of that one Gotcha; let me explain,Gotcha for some, is a short step from I-caught-you-doing-something-morally-you-oughtn’t! Humm! Or should it really mean I got your back!The slang is applied to those who nobly persevere with help from a friend in the face of overwhelming hardships. 

Over time I have learned that Moralism (Gotcha’s) cannot replace the gospel. We are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness and grace. Moralism has no power to justify or sanctify a sinner. We are saved by grace, through faith in Christ Ephesians 2:8 not by keeping a moral code. Are Christians to live morally? Yes, absolutely. Is God concerned with behavior? Yes, certainly. Can a moral life replace a person’s need for repentance and faith in Christ? No, it cannot. Moralism/Gotcha’s are no substitute for the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

The expression, “The Patience of Job” has its origin in James 5:10-11:“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”

Just recently, we finished a bible study at church about Job. In the book of Job my reflectional thoughts find four well intentional caring men of faith, love, spirited intellect who speak too soon, say too much, and said the wrong things to Job during a time of trials and suffering. It even seems they may have tackled a task too big for themselves in discussing Job’s problems. Some would even say they gave counseled to Job who was in utter despair but made his despair worst. But wait a minute as I studied Job it seemed to me to many of us over looked Job 2:11-13. The lesson I learned from these two verses was about listening and time needed; you see the friends spend a total of seven days before they said a word. They mourned with him, mingle their tears with his, and comforted him. To me that was not enough time for Job.

I would have liked for the friends to broaden the time for listening for Job before giving him some moral advise. As a man of Patience, myself, (ha ha), It’s is a luxury to know,” It has always been much more pleasant to visit with those in affliction to whom comfort belongs than those to whom we must first speak conviction. Meaning “what they need is a listening ear with time as well as advice when they are ready! I thought to myself, I wished we had had more discussion or question about the importance’s of those two verses about being Patience to Job? How about You?

“Listen before you answer. If you don't, you are being stupid and insulting”. Proverbs 18:13

“Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. So, they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great”. Job 2: 11–13
 
Job’s friends wanted to help. They felt his pain and were horrified to see a friend in such need. Mercifully, they kept their mouths shut for one whole week. They sat with their friend and listened.
 
These friends realized an important truth: People don’t lose intimacy when they stop talking, but when they stop listening. We as Christians friends seldom realize how much their listening empowers the other person. Because we care and what to put our love into action, the sheer act of listening speaks volumes that even a great tongue can’t communicate.

Still today, the patience of Job serves as an inspiration to People who face times of struggle and suffering. No matter what happens, we are called to follow Job’s example as we patiently (Listen) endure in service and worship to the Lord, remembering that our God is “full of compassion and mercy” James 5:11. 

God Bless You and This Ministry!

 

"Praying is like Breathing”!

Dear God of all truth, I come to you today suffering because of a word, "lying".

I pray to you as the ultimate truth of the universe.  I claim this promise from Jesus, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  (John 14:2 NIV.)  

Does your spirit ever get crushed by lying? Do you sometimes feel defeated or neglected by it? I have felt at times my life has been on a journey through some really rocky territory and, honestly, most of the time I didn’t like it at all dealing with such things as “The Big Lie”? Which for me was a technique that has always interest me. It has been circulated since the fall of man, is that man is independent, that he does not need anything, that he can be self-sufficient. He can run his own life, make his own decisions, and is able to handle everything himself. How widespread that notion is! You see it reflected everywhere especially among youth, who are confident that they know how to handle life. Nothing is going to trap them, or trick them, or deceive them.  You see the scriptures teach us that we are basically born to be dependent on something or someone else to keep us, the “Holy Spirit”. We are not able to handle life by ourselves. No one is!

Essentially, I have learned that, many people and family members tell lies about a number of things; why they cannot go out with friends, or why they are late for appointments, or other rather low-level matters. There were times I thought God lied. But was quickly reminded, “that God never lies, but ordains that lying happen, it doesn’t mean that he approves of lying or that his law permits lying. It means that God governs all things in the universe, including the sins of sinful men. Sin does not cease to be sin because God governs it and guides it for the good of his people and the glory of his name.”

People lie about race matters. A person who lies or is a constant liar can do a lot of damage to your career, finances, reputation, personal relationships and your emotions. I even wondered once what was the big lie that put me in an Orphanage. Sometimes as a teacher I would joke about commonly told lies, such as the student who told me that “the dog ate my homework”.

In today’s media world the lie is told over and over until eventually people start believing it. The lie is maintained only for such time as the situation or official can shield the people from the political, economic consequences of the lie. 

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.  Prov. 12:19

The Bible is clear that lying is a sin and is displeasing to God. The first sin in this world involved a lie told to Eve. The Ten Commandments given to Moses includes “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” Exodus 20:16
In the early church, Ananias and Sapphira lied regarding a donation in order to make themselves look more generous than they really were. Peter’s rebuke is stern: “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” God’s judgment was sterner: the couple died as a result of their sin of lying. But I also know that lying can either drive me away from God or draw me near. That’s when questions about prayer comes to mind as well as where is the power of the Holy Spirit, my advocate?

I started to think what is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything? If we cannot change God's mind, why should we pray?"But I still choose to draw near and hold on with prayer.

Jesus called Himself the way, the truth, and the life John 14:6 and He expects those who follow Him to be people of truth. The truth is to be expressed in love Ephesians 4:15 offering hope to those seeking redemption from the lies of the world.

For the Christian, praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do. We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7) Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3. If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. If He needed to pray to remain in the Father’s will, how much more do we need to pray?

We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God's promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27. He has promised that when we ask for things that are in one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. In the same way, we will never see the results of answered prayer unless we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for(Ephesians3:20) Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of “plugging into” God's power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a high priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-17). May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

“Living Fire” ENCOURAGE THE BABY-US TO CRAWL!

Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these your Gifts which we receive from your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

I had a young stranger once say to me at the rec center, “Sometimes it’s nice to have a little help thinking of time applicable praises”? I asked him what do you mean? He went on, “There are mornings when I wake up feeling fragile. Vulnerable. It’s often vague. No single threat. No one weakness. Just an unstructured sense that something is going to go wrong and I will be responsible. It’s usually after a lot of self-criticism. Lots of expectations that have deadlines and that seem too big and too many”. Especially when it seems,” So clear how the fast food of life should be”. He went on to say,” But today I learned my best friend committed Suicide!”

I immediately began to Humm, “Jesus, Jesus, He is all to me!” and asked him, “Can I pray for you”!

Everyone needs encouragement from time to time because life is Hard especially it seems during these times. You ever want to appear like you are part of the conversation and often take the lead and respond to questions or concerns like the above with knowledge, respect and wisdom love. But your favorite answer/response to give is “I don’t know” or “I don’t know what to say” and you think because of today’s world it’s better to take a selfie and check the box “like” than to speak, listen and act like you care for others.

Can you remember what it was like to be lost? Think of life without Jesus Christ, a life that is really not alive. A two-dimensional shell of a life in a three-dimensional world: That's what life is like without Jesus. But Christians: We are truly alive! We are saved, because somebody let their voice be heard. And people all around us need to hear.

The hymn “My Faith looks up to Thee” is medicinal for me. I usually carry parts of the verse with me. So, before I knew it I responded as a prayer with parts of the lyrics. I sang and cried a mental cry. I was very low amidst challenges and full of life politics myself. I remembered, and found my/our mollycoddle heart troubled remedy in one verse: 

While life’s dark maze I tread,

And griefs around me spread,

Be Thou my Guide;

Bid darkness turn to day,

Wipe sorrow’s tears away,

Nor let me ever stray

From Thee aside

So today whatever challenges you have and when griefs spread, we can only trust God to guide us, he can turn darkness into day, may we always abide in him. Here is my my BABY-USTO CRAWLPrayer and Encouragement.

Do you know Jesus? Help us our Father to joyfully say, "Yes!" And if not, you can Father help us receive Him right now. And we must, because our eternity hangs in the balance. Amen

Then let me ask you to do four things as soon as possible, because: 

1. people will still believe in Jesus -Invite someone to church.

2. people are still belligerent against Jesus -Invite as a child.

3. God is still big- tell someone what God has done in your life. “Always Listen First”

4. people are still blind to the truth- may God help you by praying, “let our/my voices be heard”.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”1 Peter 5:7

God Bless You and This Ministry!

Be a Cuddlier for God!

God Speaks Through Promptings

Romans 9:1

I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying; my conscience enlightened and prompted by the Holy Spirit bearing witness with me.

In this verse, Paul writes about being “prompted” by the Holy Spirit.And I ask in the flesh, is it really necessary to be prompted to serve God? What is the purpose of changing our priorities to accomplish tasks that God could honestly do better and more quickly without us.

 Such promptings or nudges from the Holy Spirit are one-way God speaks to us. Let me be practical about this. Sometimes God prompts me to do something as simple as picking up a piece of clothing in a store that has fallen off of a hanger. I don’t hear his voice telling me to do so, but I feel a nudge on the inside, a desire to leave the place where I am better than I found it. The Lord uses our obedience to teach us more about his character. He may say to us. “Everything we do in life is an act of sowing seeds that will return to us. You reap whatever you sow if we sow seeds of excellence, and then we can expect excellent things to happen in our life.

Often, I ask myself this question especially when I fill that thorn in my side like Paul, “So if you get really great at being a Christian Ron, or at least you think you are, and you still haven't found that true purposefulness—then what? Do you ever have such deep thoughts?

Getting really good at being a Christian does it mean you stop thinking about you all the time? and take the focus off you and look for ways to be a blessing to someone else?

There is no better way to receive help and direction in your own life than to focus on someone else or better yet fill that emptiness first with a focus on Jesus. It seems completely opposite of what the world tells you. You see the world says,” be happy take a selfie”. After all, if you're not looking out for yourself, then who will? Well—that would be God. Because of the grace of God, I want to encourage you to step out and try to work with God to find your life purpose or his promptings. Reflecting God to All!

Peter addresses the importance of serving God in 1 Peter 4:10-11:“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 

Another example for me was being prompted by the Holy Spirit to be a Teacher, Coach as well as a volunteer at church in several ministries. I asked myself after careful thought, Would I have the passion, who could I seek to help me shape my thoughts about this Ministry and finally If I could choose someone to be with me on the sideline whom would I choose. Whom would you choose if you were being prompted for your Mission? (Talk about David, calling coaches etc.) evangelism.

If you could run a lap or be on the field with someone   during the good times and the bad with whom who would it be? Think about this one, for me it would be David what would David say, “you can overcome all the limitation placed on you.” That is what he would say) Make me a servant “Me”

David vs. Goliath – even Saul who was 6”5 and 245 did not want David to go against Goliath. Saul offer his suit of amour you know David was only 5”5 145 pounds

David like some on this team never grew up in the lineup, he was last to be picked but the one thing he wanted to do was serve and give to others for the cause of the team, for him this was all gravy “is type of mission? For me, would it be just the coaching of the x and o’s of football or would I follow the promptings and nudging of the Holy Spirit to coach from a biblical way. I followed the promptings and received such a response from the players, parents and community that it has encouraged me to continue this journey. Being led by the inner promptings of God is an adventure and journey that makes everyday exciting and fresh. In learning to hear God we must learn to follow these gentle, inner promptings.

Prayer:

Oh, Heavenly father Help us to be sensitive to those nudges and promptings by your Holy Spirit, no matter how small or large they may be. Comfort us to never give up. We may not know your specific purpose/prompting today or tomorrow, help us to be really great at being achild of yours to serve others.

I give thanks to you for the gifts you have given us -our life, families, friends - time, talents, and material possessions.  All that we have comes from you.  Help us to remember this and rejoice in your goodness.

Walk with us, my God.  Help us on our spiritual journey, so that we may constantly renew our relationship with you and all the good people in our life.
Renew in me your Spirit.  Give me the strength and courage to become a better follower of Jesus, to be a disciple.  Help me hear the call to "Come, Follow Me."
 

I give glory to you, our God, as we make stewardship a way of life.

God Bless You and This Ministry!