Better than Gumballs

1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Be full of joy all the time.  Never stop praying.  In everything give thanks.  This is what God wants you to do because of Christ."

Many people look upon prayer as being a "gumball machine" process, drop a quarter in and out comes your request.  Many times friends will ask, "Pray for me because __________________." Being women of faith, we nod our heads and respectively will respond, "Will do."  Prayer is not just where we put our hands together and then send up requests, prayer is how He wants us to be in communication with Him.  

1 Chronicles 16:11 states to "look to the Lord and ask for His strength.  Look to HIM ALL THE TIME."  As a young child, a teenager, and young adult, I tended to "ask for His strength" in times of trouble, treating this process as a "gumball machine".    I didn't understand the "why", because HIS PLAN IS BIGGER THAN MY MIND CAN UNDERSTAND.  I need to look to Him at all times, not just in times of trouble.  Being in constant prayer, you will change, you will have an unexplainable peace that He will provide.  The answers are always there, we just have to look at our Father, who loves us unconditionally.  And that is better than any "gumball" that this Earth can provide.  

Chris Tomlin - Good Good Father

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBmwwwiHrOk

Be Blessed!

Walking the Tight Rope

John 14:1  “Do not let your heart be troubled.  You have put your trust in God, put your trust in Me also.”

2 Corinthians 5:7  “Our life is lived by faith.  We do not live by what we see in front of us.”

I have recently began reading a book written by Angie Smith called “What Women Fear”.  She had a really good analogy that I have to share.  

Imagine our lives as a tightrope.  We are walking, embracing the pole that helps hold our balance, but yet the moment the wire begins to shake, we start to fear.  We know that the net is below us and ready to catch us, but in that moment, do we regain our balance by focusing on the pole and the rope, or do we focus on the net catching us in that moment when we fall?  

The tight rope symbolizes our faith walk.  We put one foot in front of the other, feeling good and confident.  Holding the pole, which symbolizes Christ, and letting Him balance our lives.  Then situations occur, we begin to loose our balance, our faith begins to waver.  The net symbolizes God.  He will always be our safe place.  He will always be waiting to catch us when we fall.  However, why don’t we just put our full faith in the pole that we have sitting in our hands.  “The more we tap into life balanced by Christ, grounded in knowing Him and His word, the less we have to worry about falling off.”  

“Walk By Faith” by Jeremy Camp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygyOECYwd-4

God Bless!

Thorns in Our Lives

John 16:33  I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.

Isaiah 40:10  See, the Lord God will come with power, and His arm will rule for Him.  See, he is bringing the reward He will give to everyone for what he has done.  

Every single day we have to remind ourselves not to get caught up in__________________.  Fill in the blank with something that stirs your frustration, anger, etc.  This ends up putting a thorn in our side.  Christ came and then wore a Crown of Thorns so that we could give our thorns in our lives to Him.  IF WE LET HIM TAKE THAT THORN, he will give us PEACE.  We have to truly offer up that feeling of frustration and anger because it chisels away at our heart and the pure love that we have for Him.  God doesn't short change our lives or give us thorns, Satin LEADS us to feel that way.  

Yes, bad things occur, sickness, death, debt, marriages failing, and so many more things that weigh on our shoulders.  If we let it weigh on our shoulders, we are letting the thorn sit in our sides.  We have to continue to offer it up and continue to immerse ourselves in His love and His words.  

Be Blessed!