Are You Sure?

10413c62fcd24f8fbc881ce782ac1eca[1]

II Peter 1:10a (KJB), “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:”

God has called you, chosen you, elected you for a certain position. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and it isn’t just to make due and just get by until you get to Heaven. There is something (things) that He wants you to do here. He created you to do them. Peter knew how important this is so when God revealed to him that his life here on earth would soon come to an end, Peter took this opportunity to give a final warning to the Church.

II Peter 1:1-12 (NIV), “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.”

He needed them to be sure of their calling! If we aren’t completely convinced and sure of the fact that we have been chosen, handpicked, by God, we will never do what He called us to do. We will never fulfill our divine purpose. Peter warns about those who have turned their backs on God’s purpose for their lives and have made it their sole purpose to get us to walk away from God and His plans for us. (John warns us of the same thing in John 2:26)..

II Peter 2:14 (KJB), “Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:”

Look at some of the words used in the different versions of this scripture: They beguile (KJB), bait and lure (AMP), and they seduce (NASB) those who are unstable (all of these versions use the word unstable). The only way we can remain stable is to know God and be sure of our calling. In a healthy marriage no one can lure or seduce one of them away from their spouse. It just isn’t going to happen. Seduction happens when there is some type of instability. Just as in a marriage covenant, we have to remain vigilant in our relationship with Christ.

II Peter 3:17 (NIV), “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.”

Be sure! Be sure of who He is- that He is able to perfect and finish the work that He has started in you.
Be sure of who you are- you are His child and you are accepted in the beloved.
Be sure of His calling on your life- He has called you to liberty!

When we are totally convinced of these things, when we are sure, no person, no devil in Hell will be able to seduce us away. We will see right through the lies.

We are destined for Glory- Be sure of that!

Romans 8:5-6 (NASB) “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

What is Binding You?

images[6]

Romans 8:15 (KJB), “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

We are all slaves to something or someone. Once we were slaves to impurity, to sin. What we thought would bring us pleasure had only ended up ruling our lives. When we wanted to do good, we ended up doing bad and when we were determined not to sin again, we did. Paul had the same problem (Romans 7). Our human nature is weak.

Romans 6:19 (NLT), “Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.”

Thank God, He provided a way to be free. In fact He has called us to liberty.

Galatians 5:13 (KJB), “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

When we finally accept the finished work of the cross and Jesus’ shed blood, we have been set free from sin and death. The law doesn’t rule us anymore. We now have the law of liberty, the law of grace and love. The more we know the truth, the freer we get. Sin has no rule in heaven, so it now has no rule for us. It is bound in heaven, so it is bound in our lives. We are now citizens of heaven. “But I still mess up!” I hear you say. Of course, we aren’t perfect…yet. It will not enslave us again if we are quick to repent and move on. We don’t want to return to that yoke of bondage by refusing to repent. We have to let God deal with our hearts.

Matthew 18:18 (NIV), “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Bind sin and loose liberty. Bind the lies of Satan and loose the truth of God’s word.

Galatians 5:1 (KJB), “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

You are not a sinner anymore, no matter what you do. You aren’t what you do; you are a child of God because of what He has done. Don’t hang your head, look up! Stand fast in your faith. Don’t let anything hold you in chains. You have been set free!

I Am What I Am

I Corinthians 15:10 (NIV), “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

Paul said, “I am what I am” that it was by grace that he was so drastically changed. We can’t have an encounter with the living God and stay the same, but we aren’t the one who is responsible for the change. It is God’s grace, His love that changes us. Our hearts were once filled with evil, selfish desires.

Ecclesiastes 9:3 (KJV), “This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”

I Corinthians 6:9-11 (NASV), “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

But, don’t you love it when you see this word in the Bible. “But you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” God’s grace and mercy, the shed blood of Jesus has justified us. We now live “just as if” we had never sinned. There is no separation between us and God. The veil has been torn.

So it is time to stop saying we are “sinners saved by grace.” We are no longer sinners, God calls us “saints, dear children, more than conquers, beloved” and He is the one who has changed us into all of these things. No, we aren’t perfect, but we are being perfected. Who I was before God wasn’t lovely, or lovable. Yet, He loved me and because He loved me He didn’t allow me to stay the same. Every day I am becoming more like Him, my true Father. We have to allow Him to change our hearts. It’s an inner work.

Acts 2:38 (NIV), “And Peter said, Let your hearts be changed, every one of you, and have baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will have the Holy Spirit given to you.”

I Samuel 10:6 (NIV), “The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.”

Book Review for “Resistance”- Christian Fantasy

“Resistance” is a great Christian fantasy novel. The main characters are two young adults trapped in a city that demands they worship their emperor and two moon gods, a young mixed breed slave, and an older father figure. As believers of the True God, they have to find a way to either stay hidden or make a stand. I love this book. I will go right into book two to find out what happens next. The writing style is wonderful, the characters are loveable and you feel like you have known them your whole life. It is a great work of fantasy with new peoples and cultures. It has all the swords, intrigue, and good versus evil that you expect from a fantasy novel. No swearing or sexual content, so I can recommend for teens and up. I give this book 5 stars.

Formula For Prayer?

Christian-Wallpaper-Continue-Steadfastly-in-Prayer-750x468[1]

Psalm 145:1-21 (ESV), “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the raise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”

In January our Church always begins the New Year with a corporate fast. We spend extra, set-aside time in prayer and fasting. We fast things such as food, food groups, media, entertainment, etc. This year I added “fasting” fiction books. I love to read, but I felt compelled to read only Non-fiction Christian books for the month of January. I included some books on prayer and fasting. Let me start out by saying that I receive good, sound, biblical teaching on this subject at my Church so it wasn’t that I needed new information, I just wanted some encouragement and confirmation.

Sadly, only a few of the books I read were a real blessing. Oh, they all had a few good things to say about fasting and prayer, but some of them were trying to give a “formula” for prayer. Of course, that isn’t what they called it, but that was exactly what they were doing. Over the years I have read great books on the subject, some by Derek Prince, Charles Spurgeon, and Andrew Murray (just to name a few), so I am not saying don’t read a book on prayer. I am warning you that after reading a book, or while reading, if you are left feeling like God isn’t pleased with the way you are praying, STOP and pray before continuing. It may just be that God is showing you a better way, or it may be the enemy trying to get you to back away from prayer.

Some of the things I have recently read included, but was not limited to, the concept that you should never ask God for anything, only ask Him “what should I do” and the rest of the time thank Him. Their argument was that since God already knows what we need, we shouldn’t have to ask. I have read that you should never go to God in prayer unless you exalt Him and spend time in praising His name first. I have also read that we can’t be too familiar with Him, that He is Holy and that we need to approach Him with reverence and fear. Another one was that we should always pray out loud using His Word. Now, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water here, I approve of some of the thinking behind these statements. However, the problem is that if we try to limit how we talk to God or what we can say to Him we are hurting instead of helping our relationship with Him. A red flag went up with some of those “never” and “always” statements. Yes, He is Holy. Yes, we should reverence and honor Him. Yes, we should always thank Him, but that isn’t all that we can or should do.

So this morning before my daily Bible and prayer time, I simply asked God, “Abba, am I too familiar with you? Are You displeased with my prayers? Is there a certain “formula”, a certain set of words that I need to use when talking with You?” (I purposely used this term of endearment for God to make sure.)

This is the answer that God spoke into my heart, “My desire is to spend time with you, one on one and face to face. It does please me when you pray according to my word and take the time to listen to my response. I always hear you, but My word spoken verbally in faith has a power to accomplish what I intend. I also enjoy our simple conversations. Speak to Me in your heart and with your mouth. I hear them all. There is time for quiet prayer and time for shouting. There is time for supplication and time for fellowship. I love you. My word is true and alive. You are dear to me. Honor Me, show your love, and trust Me. That pleases Me.”

I couldn’t ask for a better Daddy! As I pondered on this I thought about a parent’s relationship with their children. We love for them to ask us for thing and to ask us questions, but we especially love it when they just want to talk and spend time with us. We don’t refuse to listen because they haven’t used the right words. I think we should teach our children manners. However, when they are coming to talk to us, don’t use that time to correct their grammar. God brought to my remembrance a time when I witnessed a child come and ask an adult if they could use the restroom. This was a toddler who had almost waited too long and was doing the “potty dance” this adult kept that child standing repeating to the wiggly little one “how do you ask?” expecting this little one to use the correct “may I go to the restroom.” I cringed when the little one stammered, “can I go to the restroom, please,” only to have this adult respond, “you are capable of going to the bathroom, but that is not how you ask.” I finally couldn’t take it anymore and told them and stage whispered, “ask-MAY I go to the bathroom, please.” There were no accidents that day, but I couldn’t help wondering how many sets of clothing had to be changed as this “lesson” was being taught. Thankfully God is not like that! He wants to give us good gifts; He says we can ask Him, in fact He said, “ye have not because ye ask not.” He is not expecting us to use certain language.

Matthew 7:11 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English), “If therefore you who are evil know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him?”

It is important that we don’t ever think of God as an ATM or a fast food restaurant where we can zoom through drive through and place an order expecting the “product” in sixty seconds or less. We don’t demand, we don’t go to Him in pride and arrogance saying we deserve something, or try to negotiate and cut a deal with God. I am never saying that we shouldn’t have respect and show honor to the One who is worthy! We should be more concerned with our hearts than how spiritual we sound, or how long we pray, or in what position we pray. I have prayed in bed, in the car, at work, in my dreams, and even on the toilet! (God isn’t embarrassed by that, why should I be? He made my body and its functions.) I have prayed lying down, on my knees, eyes open, eyes closed, head bowed, head up towards heaven, sitting down, standing up, and my favorite, while walking. At Church and on our knees with eyes closed and head down, isn’t the only prayer place and posture.

So what is acceptable prayer then, and how should we pray? Prayer is a “solemn request for help, or an expression of thanksgiving” it is “communication with God.” I don’t think I would be off base scripturally to say that prayer is a child talking with a parent. Again, we can’t limit prayer to just one thing. Just as there are different ways we communicate with one another, there are different kinds of prayer. Let’s look at a few scriptures and some truths about prayer.
It’s ok to ask God for things and for help, for ourselves and for others. In fact, He wants us to.

Luke 11:5-13 (NAS), “Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Jesus tells the disciples this right after He leads them in the Lord’s Prayer. We are supposed to ask, and keep on asking! Yes, He knows what we need before we ask, but notice in Matthew 6, we aren’t told, “He knows what you need so don’t ask.” Keep on asking doesn’t mean begging, or repeating some “mantra” or chant. We ask, and then thank Him for the answer. We keep doing this until it is manifested. No whining, no complaining, and no bargaining.

Matthew 6:7-8 (NLT), “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

If we are “asking” we need to ask the Father in Jesus name.

John 16:23 (NIV), “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

What day is Jesus talking about? After His death and resurrection. Jesus is not saying that we can only “communicate” with the Father! We have full access and every right to talk to God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. They are ONE. When we talk to the Son, we are talking to the Father, and when we talk to the Spirit, we are talking to the Father. You can’t separate them. They each have a purpose in our lives, a vital purpose. So when we ask, or petition the Lord, we ask the Father, but it is perfectly acceptable and strongly encouraged for us to speak with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is ok to say, “Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me,” or “Holy Spirit, thank You for leading and guiding me this day.”

Prayer isn’t just talking. Like any good communication it should involve listening. If you noticed, that was one of the things God said to me. I have to admit; sometimes I am not a good listener with Him. Now, with people, I find it easy, but with God, I tend to say what I want to say and move on, giving Him little time to speak with me. Thankfully I am improving in this area. I shudder to think about how much I have missed out on by being in too big of a hurry or by manipulating the conversation with my Father, not even hearing what He wanted to say to me. I can “hear” Him throughout the day as He speaks to me, but there is something special about that intimate time of communicating, just as any parent knows.

God is so worthy of Honor and He is HOLY. It is so important that we never take that for granted or get so comfortable with Him that we forget how awesome He is. If I pray, “Heavenly Father who created everything and holds it all in the palm of Your hand. Holy are You Lord, and worthy to be praised. I come before you today to humbly thank You for supplying all my need according to Your riches and Glory in Christ Jesus” in my quiet time with Him, or if I say “Thank You, Father” during the day when something simple yet wonderful happens, He hears them both. They please Him not by our quantity or quality of words, but for the simple fact that our hearts are thankful and we are taking the time to tell Him. Both of those prayers are equally acceptable to Him. He is too wonderful to even find words for, but we don’t crawl to Him on our bellies like a worm. Because of the work of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus, we have unhindered access to the father.

Hebrews4:16 (NIV), “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

As in so many areas of our Christian walk, there is no easy formula for prayer. Let the Holy Spirit lead you. Those hour- long groaning and weeping prayers of intercession, those quick shoot-from-the-hip prayer of “thanks” or “help”, those times we just quietly tell Him about our day, when we boldly proclaim His word over our lives and speak out His promises, and the times we listen to what He wants to say, are all important prayer times. We should never just limit ourselves to one. They are all necessary and all pleasing to God. I haven’t even covered all the types of prayer, or mentioned where, or when we can pray.
There is not a “correct” posture or place for prayer. I have prayed in my bed, on my face on the floor, on my knees, in the shower, at the shopping mall, on the scariest carnival ride ever, and even on the toilet (God made this body and its functions so He is not embarrassed by it). I have prayed anywhere and everywhere, any time and anyway that my heart wanted to. I can think of only one kind of prayer that God isn’t pleased with…

Luke 18:11-12 NLT), “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’”

Matthew 6:5 (NIV), “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

The prayer of the self-righteous and the hypocrite. He’s not so happy about those.

So is there a formula for prayer?

Love and honor+ heartfelt two way conversation = PRAYER (That’s the only formula I can find).

James 5:16b (Word English Bible), “The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.”

Book Review for “Fire Wind”-Christian Science Fiction/Western

51uR8LTKAVL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_[1]

Another good work of fiction by one of my favorite Christian authors! I was given a copy of “Fire Wind” in exchange for an honest review. I loved it…honestly! It mixes sci-fi and western, two great genres. Mr. Stanton is unapologetically Christian in his writing, but he is also real and genuine. No preachy sermons, just a day in the life of people trying their best to live right. He almost always includes some salvation stories and this one does not disappoint. Looking forward to the rest of the series. My favorite work of his is still the “Warrior Kind” series, but this one is running a close second. I give it five stars. No swearing or sexual content, clean enough for teens and up.