“Unlikely Places”

When I think of unlikely places to live, I think of places that are not probable or suitable for purposeful living. Perhaps it’s because of the geographic location, topography of the land, extreme environmental conditions, deplorable living conditions, poor economy, society, or availability of resources. Where you decide to live typically is connected to your purpose for living. Whether it is for a job, education, the climate, social class, etc. we make a choice to live where we do, for the most part.

Our Heavenly Father, in the form of Jesus, took up residence in a local place…nothing posh, certainly not a place where you would expect a King to live (in a carpenter’s shop). You might even call it an unlikely place to live for the Son of God. God wants us to know today, that He is still taking up residence in unlikely places. Although these places in some cases may be deplorable, refugee camps, prisons, battlefields, or remote and extreme—God is willing to take up residence in us, no matter where we are.

Holy Spirit, we are grateful that You have decided to live in us. Although sin has made us filthy, Jesus makes us clean. The Bible tells us that God has a purpose for our lives. We may be considered unlikely places for the Holy Spirit of God to live, but God has chosen to live in us. God has a purpose in the “unlikely places.”

Ephesians 2:19-22

1 Corinthians 3:16

Ezekiel 36:27

John 16:7

Jeremiah 29:11

From Fear to Faith

God is taking us from fear to faith in every aspect of our lives. “Loving God, it is another day of many voices. We seek to close our ears, our mind, to anyone or anything but You.”

Christ has promised to be with us always. Even when we lose sight of Him in the pressures of life. There is no need to fear. Look for Jesus during your storms and you will find Him. He will say, “It is I; don’t be afraid”. We must believe in Jesus, whom God has sent. Declare to Jesus today, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.

I know You are with me Lord, even when I can’t see You, I know You’re there, even though I hear so many voices. I trust in Your Word Lord and You said, “It is I, don’t be afraid.”

I AM…Who is Jesus?

“I am the bread of life” (John 6:35,48,51).

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

“I am the door of the sheep”(John 10:7,9).

“I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11,14).

“I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25).

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

“I am the true vine” (John 15:1,5).

God said, “I AM WHO I AM.”

What I have is not enough…

Ever feel like the little that you have, won’t make a difference? If you do, you have underestimated God. Trust God.  In John 6:1-15, Jesus was teaching Philip in these verses that the financial resources were not the most important resources. In this story, Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread from a child, and feed five thousand; with leftovers!!

Offer what you have today, to The Lord–He can take what little we have and turn it into something great! Your little today could be your time, ability, finances, or whatever! Just offer it to The Lord and watch how He multiplies its effectiveness.

Lord, I certainly don’t have much to offer these days, but that is not going to keep me from offering what I do have! I am going to keep giving back to others and the church, because that is how You can meet the needs of your people. In the book of John, You performed a miracle right before the crowd of 5,000!  Today, accept my offering and use it in multiple ways to bless Your people.  You can turn my little, into a miracle of plenty!  I am glad that what I have is just enough.

MUST READ: The Power of Prayer

God displays His Power. How did He do it for me? Three months ago I started a prayer journal, for “special requests”. In my journal, I wrote down the names of people who God had me to pray for regularly, almost daily at times—and I fervently prayed. There were the names of those that I prayed would get to know Jesus as Savior in their lives. There were those that I prayed would gain a deeper spiritual understanding of God. Others I asked God to help live for Him, some I prayed God would give them strength and endurance, and some to have joy and thankfulness. I thanked God for others their faith and changed lives.

My list included those who needed healing, a job, favor, forgiveness, protection, encouragement, direction, and so on. Over the past three months, I asked God to teach me even how to pray effectively so that He could hear and answer my prayers for these in my prayer journal.

Last night, the Holy Spirit awakened me to pull out my prayer journal and pray for each. I have 71 people on this list, so this was no small early morning tasks. I started down my list to pray, but this time The Holy Spirit showed me something new! He showed me how God had started to answer my prayers over these 71 lives! Not all my requests were answered, but many, many, of them were! I got most excited about the ones that had gained deeper spiritual understanding!   Prayer changes thing—God changed things. God had heard and answered my prayers! God is not done yet! I believe God wanted me to see last night that He is hearing and answering my prayers. God encouraged me. He showed me what I wrote down exactly three months ago, and what He has done! I leaped with excitement! OMG Lord! You are amazing! Before I went to bed, The Lord shared with me that he loves to answer EXPECTANT PRAYERS! You see, I never doubted God, but my prayer list included some huge challenges, and, requested miracles. However, God did it! He also answered them in very creative ways.

At first my listed only included friends, not enemies. When God started teaching me about forgiveness, even my accusers showed up on my list—my enemies are on my list! I am going to keep on praying, like never before. The sweetest thing was I went to bed at 3:00AM, and I asked The Lord to please not let me oversleep because I needed to get up at 6:00AM. So when my eyes gently opened this morning, I looked at the clock, “6:00 AM” it displayed. Oh Lord! You care about everything concerning us! There is tremendous power in prayer!

God wants us to treat people well…

Be nice. Isaiah 58:6-9 tells us that we are to divide our bread with the hungry. We are to bring the homeless poor into our house. When we see those without clothes, we are to give him clothes. Don’t turn your back on people. When we treat people well, whether they deserve it or not, then we will see our healing happen quickly. Then we will receive peace and prosperity. Then you shall call upon The Lord and He will say, “Here am I”, what do you need, what can I do for you? Treat Gods creation well.

Right choices…

God has given all judgment to Jesus.  We cannot believe in God while ignoring God’s Son, Jesus.  We must honor Jesus as we honor The Father, God. If we do not honor Jesus, we do not honor God. Honor The Father today and live your life making the choices that Jesus made. What would Jesus do in our situations today?  That is what we will do. The bible gives us examples of right living; follow Jesus. Lord Jesus, help us make right choices today. Help us to be more like You. John 5:22

Beauty for Ashes

In Isaiah 61:3, God promises us beauty for ashes—the oil of joy for mourning, praise instead of a spirit of despair. Claim yours today!

As I have been reading this morning in Psalm 69, I am confident that I must look forward with joy to the day when evil and injustice will be gone forever. Save me each day O Lord. I am physically exhausted from death and tragedy around me, but I will not collapse or despair—I will turn to You to save me. My tears may still come, but they are not in vain—I will continue to pray. I know You hear me and You will rescue me. You are my faithful friend when others reject me.

The only genuine source of happiness is God and we receive lasting joy only by seeking Him. God is ever so present in your lives. As we lock arms together, keep your eyes on HIM.

Worship…

It is not where we worship that counts, but how we worship. The Holy Spirit can help us worship. In Romans 8:26 the Holy Spirit helps us even pray. It says, as believers we are never alone…when you do not know how to pray or the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with you and for you; and God answers. Remember to ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray.

The Holy Spirit teaches us how to worship by teaching us the words of Christ. In John 14:26 the bible says that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of everything that Jesus has said to us. The Word of God is there for us to learn, and the Holy Spirit will not let us forget it.

The Holy Spirit tells us we are loved! Romans 5:5 says, God poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us. The Love of God gave us His Son and God sent His Holy Spirit to live in us after His Son returned to heaven. God’s Holy Spirit is the Love the He gives to all who believe Him. Also, It gives us power!

Worship God in prayer, be taught by Him and accepting His Love. There are many ways to worship God, just remember that God is a Spirit, and we must worship Him in spirit and truth. God is not limited to a place or time to worship. He can be worshipped anywhere at any time. How about all the time?