The Blessings of Knowing Him More - Part 3

Blessed Children of the Most High After talking about the sovereignty of God and understanding His awesome Power, His unlimited knowledge, I would like to focus on knowing Him more by understanding His awesome wisdom which we call "Omni-sapient" because what He wants to teach us will always result with the best results, far better than any advice man could ever give otherwise. Apart from any other Word or philosophy, it is His Word that only brings forth eternal life. Peter declared this to Jesus when He asked Peter and the Disciples if they were going to leave Him also (read John 6:68) after the 70 Disciples decided to leave Him because His teaching was too difficult. Because He knows all future events, He is able to provide us with direction we need to take that will lead us down the best path and many times and help us avoid un-necessary trouble. However, trouble often comes our way because we fail to acknowledge Him or simply do things that opposes to what He is trying to teach us. Sometimes trouble is inevitable and God only knows because He tells us that we will be persecuted regardless. But through persecution, when we put our trust in Him, we will see ourselves become stronger in Him then before. He tells that we will be persecuted, but tells us to fear NOT (be of good cheer) because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). No matter the circumstances, if we will only trust Him in His unmatched wisdom, we will ALWAYS be better off and stronger in developing that Christ-like character through any and all circumstances. If we are not growing stronger and more confident in the Lord through every circumstance, then we need to humble ourselves and ask Him to help and teach us to draw closer to Him and develop that God-confidence we all need. I must admit, all too often I had to learn the hard way and could have saved myself much trouble. For myself, Gods sovereign wisdom (His Omni-sapience) knew in advance what I needed to go through to break me from the bondages that I didn't realize I was a prisoner of. So the trials I had to endure, I most definitely did not welcome any of it during that time, but I only know from after the fact that I had learned so much and can truly say that I am far better off right now having gone through severe trials that I once dreaded. I would not have known the blessings of being bold in the Lord had I not had to come to the place where I had to take a stand and make a bold decision that with His help, He would help me use my past to be a blessing to many others in need throughout the world. God in His wisdom knows that when others hurt and those of us who have gone through similar trials, we can extend that arm to one another and develop richer relationships because of it. Through this, our love for one another grows through people going through trials. When people don't go through trials, no one would ever see the benefits of people comforting one another and be a richer blessing and develop closer relationships with each other. Had I not gone through trials, I would have failed to ever learn to take a bold stand for the Lord and would have otherwise remained complacent, which is what the enemy wants us as Gods Children to become, which is being lukewarm (read Rev 3:15,16). Without trials, I would not have the wonderful privilege of having so many faithful friends and prayer partners I have come to know and have a rich relationship with throughout this world. God in His wisdom taught me that being negative through trials I was going through gave the enemy more power in my life. I had to come to that place where I had to take a stand to be bold because I should have the confidence in Him that I didn't have before. When we are buffeted by the enemy, we have to come to that place to tell the enemy "enough is enough and by the Grace of God, I am going to be mightily used for His glory, His purposes and be used to forcefully advance His Kingdom" (Matt 11:12). Maybe He is telling many people to get tired of being where you are and for us to "Rise Up" (Deut 2:13) in the power of His might and learn to make that bold declaration that God is going to have His way in our lives and we would be mightily used by Him to His glory. His wisdom knows how much we need to go through before we will start taking a stand and be sick and tired of being sick and tired!! It was when I realized when I knew the Lord the way I should, His Power, His Presence, His Wisdom and His great love for me, I became much more bold and confident in Him as His adopted child. God in His wisdom knew beforehand what I needed to go through before I would come to that place. We just need to be humble enough to realize that He knows better than we ever will and surrender our stubborn wills to His loving plan for each of us. We fail to allow Him to do what He wants to do in our lives because we are often critical of His ways or just think "our ways" are better than His ways all because we do not know Him the way we should. We allow logic (our way of thinking) to exalt itself over having that childlike faith and trust in Him like we should. This is one major barrier called "pride" which He opposes. My life is a living testimony that His Word is true. When we don't humble ourselves, we will never benefit from the blessings He wants to do for us and through us. When we take the time to learn of His sovereignty and come to the place to have that AWE of HIM, His greatness in all His glory and know that His greatness is beyond our intellect, we will never know Him like we should and we will fail to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We will often be under fear rather than having that strong confidence in Him if we only knew Him like we should. Even though we will never be away from encountering trouble, trouble should never make us weaker, but should make us stronger if we will be bold and confident in Him and learn to put our trust in Him. When we spend time to learn more of Him and His Greatness, every circumstances we go through will cause us to be stronger in Him, the boldness to walk in confidence and have that unshakable trust in Him all because we know who He is and what we mean to Him. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/ Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders? (Exod 15:11)

The Blessings of Knowing Him More - Part 2

Dearest Blessed Saints, As a continuation of what we read about the Souvereignty of God and His awesome knowledge of all and foreknowledge on things to come, this is a great reminder that His love will always exceed our thoughts because He knows all the sins we will ever commit. Regardless, He still loves us immensely and desires a rich relationship with Him. It's as though He overlooks any of our transgressions we may yet commit and still desires for each of us to have a relationship with Him. I would like to now focus on the fact that He is "All-Powerful" and how that can relate to His immeasurable love for each of us and proof of His ability and willingness to care deeply for us. When you read Hebrews 1:3, He tells us that He establishes everything by upholding, maintaining, guiding and propelling the whole entire universe by the power of His Word. It's amazing to think that sand on the seashore should stop the mighty ocean waves from coming up unto dry land to destroy it (Prov 8:29), and when His voice tells the waves to only come thus far and no further. If there was no order in the universe, I don't think anyone could imagine the utter chaos that would take place if it weren't for the power of His Word to perform. When we think how Awesome in Power and authority He has, its amazing how much greater His love and mercies are because He could very well have wiped us all off the map when we have rebelled & many others continue to rebel against Him. And yet, He withholds and relents so much which is why He tells us that His Mercy exceeds Judgment (James 2:13). The book of Job 38 & 39 are remarkable chapters that identify His greatness that no man can answer what He questions Job with. Just imagine how many times we have rebelled against Him, and yet He always relented from doing what our sins deserved (Ps 103:10) and was always merciful towards us beyond measure. That in itself should cause us to have such awe, admiration, a thankful spirit & a greatful heart beyond measure towards Him. Every breath we breathe is His continual sign of Mercy towards us. When many people would disprove Gods love and care for them, I put these questions to them: Are we putting anything or anyone else in our lives above God? How can we prove our faith towards Him if we didn't have to be tested in the first place? Just like Jesus tells His Disciples: "What good is loving the lovely? Don't the pagans do that?" How can we prove our love for the Lord when only good things come our way? How can we prove our faith? He asks us when He comes, will He find faith? I have heard it said that the real "me" comes out of us when we are hard pressed. Have we taken the time to really know Him the way we should? Just like He questions Job, we have to ask ourselves: "How much do we realize our very lives and every breath are in His hands?" If we did spend quality time with Him and come to know His Greatness in all His excellencies, we would stop doubting and continue to have that strong confidence in Him because of His sustaining power upon our very lives each second we live. With this knowledge and revelation in mind, when we pray, we would pray with such boldness and confidence simply because we KNOW HIM and His love for us the way we should. The reason why He may not be able to do for us in our lives is because we have exalted our circumstances in our lives above His Majestic greatness who is souvereign over all the universe. Do we continue to make excuses rather then humbling ourselves before Him? We may have not adhered to His instructions. Do we remain a prisoner of holding on to unforgiveness? Have we forgotten to use His Word like a mighty Sword (Eph 6:17)? We literally stop the hand of God when we doubt and fail to trust in Him. Jesus could not do any miracles in His own hometown because their unbelief literally stops Him from doing what He can and what He wants to do (Matt 13:58). We should consider that when we ever doubt, worry or have unbelief in any way should be an abomination and a stench to us when we fail to truly trust in the Lord. This is why it is so important to spend quality time to understand His exceeding knowledge and awesome power and meditate on the fact that everything we see was created by the power of His Word. Men may have built, but God is the One who gives man the skills and ability to accomplish anything and everything in the first place. When we read Isaiah Chapter 6, Vs 1-5, this is a good description of how we would likely react if we were to see God, just like Isaiah did. When we develop true Godly Fear, there would be no room for any other fears to dominate our thinking. Proverbs 1:7 tells us that when we fear Him, this is just the beginning of having true wisdom. In other words, we fail to have any Godly wisdom at all when we have no reverentially Fear of Him. One thing I find troubling is that many people will only limit God to their way of thinking because they don't go beyond their own understanding (Prov 3:5). As an example, someone would question me: "How can God foreknow events?" If this person were to read the Bible, many prophecies that were written in the days of old are only coming to pass during this day and age. He even tells us that He knew us before we were knit in the womb (Jer 1:5). I am so glad God knows the future for me which means that I can totally trust in Him to lead and direct my future simply because we understand His love is so great when we see He is so great. David says in Ps 139:14, that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. How can anyone think that we were not created by such an awesome intelligent designer when you see how just the complexity of the human eye alone is created. I want to encourage each one (including myself) to take some time each day and consider how everything we can see (and the unseen) that God has placed into existence and everything is held together and moves around in proper order by the power of His Word. When we meditate on these concepts, meditation is mentioned in the Bible (KJV) 20 times, so its not a mystical cult in the far eastern religions, but is Biblical. Meditation means to take time to do the following: Review; Repeat what you have read; reflect; think about what you read and analyze how His Word applies to us and our lives today. Taking time to meditate is where it becomes a powerful revelation that gets from the mind to the heart where our faith becomes more solid. Understanding His Glorious excellencies is just the beginning of wisdom. Who in their right mind doesn't want the wisdom that comes from above? His wisdom is always available to those who are humble enough to see their need and ask of Him (James 1:5). Let's receive the Grace of God to ask Him to give you a heart to know Him more and more each day so we can be the people He can use mightily for His glory. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/

Need to Know Him More - Part 1

Dear Blessed Saints, We have all heard many people say that God loves us. Nothing else could be more true that has ever been spoken. However, when I examine myself, I often have to be aware of the familiarity of these truths. In other words, when we sing about His amazing love, hear these familiar passages over and over again or read the Word, does it just become another familiar passage that we just recite? Does His Word fail to become fresh revelation that would energize our spirit and inner-man? I understand for many Christians, we often have very little peace about certain circumstances and we end up worrying and fretting over some present conditions and future events that has never yet happened. But yet, we worry about them. Even circumstances that we face we may react with disgust and hostility because things didn't go our way as planned. If/when we get angry that does lead to sin (because not all anger is sin), I have to ask the question: Am I angry or increasingly upset over certain situation(s) or is there some other underlying reason why we may react ungodly? I think for most of it, if we can understand more about God (who He really is; knowing the truth of His rich love towards us, our desperate need of Him and His help for us, knowing what He has redeemed us from, the immeasurable pardoning of our sins and Grace towards us, knowing the eternal inheritance He has prepared for us), this would allow us to live our lives with confidence and maintain that joy, inner peace, even though circumstances may not dictate so. When we can come to the place by spending much quality time to get to know God more and more, we will be able to live above our circumstances, not below them (Deut 28:13). If we take a deeper look of how GREAT our God is, the greatness of His love for us, the greatness of His wisdom He wants for us, the greatness of His care He is able to give us, He wants to bless us richly to the point that we will gladly come to the place to fully surrender our lives unto His total care and control in every detail. I believe it is very important to go back to the basics that for a new believer in Christ, or us seasoned fellow Christians, to spend quality time understanding the Sovereignty of God. The God we serve who is All Powerful (Omnipotent); Always Present (Omni-Present); All Knowing (Omniscient); All Wise (Omni-sapient) and totally Pure and Perfect in LOVE (1 John 4:8) loves us to that same unlimited measure. We can gain a much greater understanding of who He is when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and continue to come to a quiet place because He tells us to "Be Still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10). The end result of living the most blessed life is actually living a surrendered life to God. But for that to happen, we need to take quality time to know Who God is ever more-so. When we can get a deeper understanding and love for Him, we will want to live that surrendered life. When we continue to develop that deep revelation knowledge of His love for us, we are able to have that strong confidence in Him which would remove every fear (1 John 4:18). Because we know He is ever present with us, we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and still not allow any fear to have any dominion over us when we know this personally for us (Ps 23:4). Having this revelation knowledge of His deep love and care for us will allow us to be freed from all fears and remove any shame or guilt the enemy tries to influence us with. We will be able to walk in total Peace instead of pacing back and forth fretting and worrying about our present and future lives because we know He is ever present and He genuinely loves us. I would rather be strong and confidence in the Lord and have total Peace then to live under fear, worry, guilt, shame, doubt and being anxious about so many things. Sadly, this is often the case for many Christians. Having this Peace exceeds all the riches this world could ever afford to offer. God tells us in Hosea 4:6 that His People perish for lack of knowledge. He didn't say that the sinners in this case would perish, but the believers who lack knowledge would in fact perish because we don't spend time alone with God by getting to really KNOW HIM and not just "about Him". As an example, when we see that He is All-KNOWING, we need to understand that He was ALL KNOWING from the beginning to the end and the thought that there is nothing in all its existence in the universe that God did not already know. His foreknowledge is an example in Jer 1:5 when He foreknew us before we ever existed. When we start meditating on the fact that He foreknew what trouble, persecution and type of death He was going to face, we have a deeper admiration for Him. He was completely obedient to His Father to leave the comforts of the Highest Throne Room in Heaven to come down to earth so He can redeem us from the perils of sin, hell and the grave because He loves us beyond our comprehension. He knew all along He would have to suffer greatly and was by no means accidental or coincidental. How anyone would dare do this for a friend? Yet, He did this to every rebellious sinner (Rom 5:8) that ever came into the world (1 John 2:2) so that all may be saved. If I were to make a comparison, it would be like me being willing and obedient to leave my "human-ness" to become a slug in its lowest form and eating dirt all my life. To me, that would be an example of how much He truly loves us. When we spend time to meditate on how He never retaliated when He was beaten, bruised, rejected, mocked, slapped in the face and receive punishment after punishment finally being nailed to the cross with those big spikes, He did this for our eternal benefit with us on His mind. We need to personalize this and see that He did this for ME!! The God of the Universe would come down and bear the greatest punishment just for me (insert your own name)! It makes me realize we only scrape the tip of the iceberg when we think and say that we know He loves us. No wonder it is so vital that we spend quality, quiet time with Him and meditate on His immeasurable love for each of us. We CANNOT afford to ever think we know enough of God when in fact He is so Big that we often only scratch the surface of knowing His greatness because He is so GREAT. God tells us that when we think we stand, we need to take heed lest we fall (2 Pet 3:17). It is vital that we have the mindset of our need to know more of Him no matter how long we have been a christian. When I think of my past and was often rebellious towards Him, He still loved me enough to look past my faults, see my need and drew me unto Him to save me and give me a blessed eternal hope that I don't think we can ever truly comprehend. And to also forgive me over many many times, yet He is so patient and longsuffering towards me because I am an example of how He continues to use me despite my many faults and failures. A person could write about God every minute for the rest of each ones life and it still would not cover what He has done. John 21:25 tells us that all the books can never contain of what He has done for us. We need to ask the Holy Spirit who is the Godhead that is ever present with us to Help us in every detail of our lives. He is the One who is our Advocate, Teacher and the One who will Stand-by us (John 14:16 Amp Vers). He is the One who is our Counsellor, who empowers us with might and knowledge (Isa 11:2; 1 Cor 12:8). Who gives us wisdom, insight & revelation (Eph 1:17). We need to be honest before God and confess our desperate need of Him in every area of our lives. Gods Holy Spirit is always here with us, but how often do we neglect to personally invite Him to help us in everything He wants to be a vital part of. Christ says, for without Me, we can do nothing (John 15:5). It always comes down to continue developing that deep relationship of being totally dependant upon Him. The Spirit is so gentle, yet most powerful and He only comes in and works on our behalf to the measure that we allow Him to do so. God promises us that when we draw close to Him, He will draw close to us (James 4:8). Therefore, how close He draws towards us and live blessed with His presence in our lives that brings Joy and Peace will always depend on us. How close are we willing to draw to Him? How much of our lives do we really want to surrender to Him? I will continue in this series in the following weeks. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/

His Blessings Exceeds Every Injustice

Dear Blessed Saints, I know many of us deal alot with injustices. God tells us that those of us who would dare to follow Him and make a positive difference in the lives of others are going to be persecuted one way or another (2 Tim 3:12). God never promised that we would not have trouble, but He does always promise that He will see us through and we will be stronger in Him and better fit for His use to fulfill His purpose. However, this only comes to pass to those who choose to trust in Him and allow Him to have His way in all of our circumstances. We can allow this to take place when we understand a few principles found in His Word. I always want to bring what is real out in the open so those who need to can deal with these and other issues while being able to share His Word of encouragement that is able to heal every broken heart based on the Truth of Gods Word. The God whom we serve loves both Justice and Mercy (Ps 89:14). When we talk about Gods Justice, we may tend to often think only of punishment and chastizement. But that is not completely true. His Justice is bringing every wrong act and making it RIGHT by bringing the right amount of correction people require that is going to lead them to true repentance. However, I don't believe God often brings the right amount of correction to many not because of His doing, but simply because we have failed our part to pray for those who persecute us like He tells us to and/or we fail to hand every situation that caused us suffering from injustices over to Him because we hang on and harbour bitterness and have a spirit of revenge instead. When we do, we don't allow God to do what only He is able to do to bring RIGHT out of every wrong. When He sees His Children being mocked or unjustly treated, He is displeased with those who cause trouble and it is like He takes it personally because when they come against His Children, they come against the Apple of His Eye (Deut 31:10; Ps 17:8; Prov 7:2 and Zech 2:8). When you consider the story of Elisha who was mocked by 42 of older adolescents who were of accountable age, God sent two bears to attack these perpetrators who mocked Elisha (man of God) in 2 Kings 2:23,24. God was displeased with Miriam who came against Moses (Gods anointed) and God pronounced leprosy on her until Moses prayed for her (Numbers 12). This is why when we decide to pray for those who come against us, healing and correction takes place. Just like God forgave Jobs friends when God had Job pray for them (Job 42:8). God wants to bring the right amount of correction to those who need it, but He needs us to cooperate with Him in order for Him to do what only He can do. I would like to encourage you that in order to allow God to heal your past and have victory over feeling victimized from past injustices, here are a couple of main points I believe is essential to overcome having that victim mentality: a. God tells us that when we are troubled by those who oppose us and come against us, it is only Righteous for God to trouble them (2 Thess 1:6); b. God promises that vengeance belongs to Him (Rom 12:19) which means we need to give every thing that concerns us over to Him. God alone will always require an account. God is even going to require an account of every idle and/or blasphemous word(s) that have ever been spoken against Him and His Children (Matt 12:36) when they ever fail to eventually come to a place of repentance; c. We need to know that the real enemy we fight against are spirits of wickedness in high places, not flesh and blood (Eph 6:12); d. When we understand the accountability of our physical enemies, we dare not wish them eternal punishment because God initially only reserved this horrible eternal place of hell fire and brimstone for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41). When we have the mind of Christ, we too will be like-minded and "will" that no one would perish either. When we see how God is going to deal with those who continue to rebel, oppose His commandments to love one another who cause strife, division and factions, we need to have that Godly sorrow that says like Jesus did on the Cross and Stephen did as he was being stoned. They both said: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". They were able to say this when they understood that their oppressors were a victim of the real enemy (satan and his demonic spirits) because our enemies fail to see any accountability they will face. When David understood the end of those who opposed him, his bitterness turned into Godly sorrow (Ps 73:17). Instead of feeling like a victim, he saw his oppressors as the real victim and was able to do what only a Child of God can do when lead by His Spirit and that is to pray for our enemies. When we choose to do things Gods way, the rewards and blessings He promises us will far exceed all the troubles we will ever experience in this world (Read Romans 8:18). I like reading Isaiah Chapter 61 (in particular, verse 7) where He tells us that He will give us double blessings for every shame and dishonor we have ever received. Also, in verse 3, when we do things His Way, we can give Him our ashes to receive His beauty; give Him our mourning, He gives us the Oil of Joy. When we cast our burdens to Him, we will be filled with praise and instead of having a failing spirit that weighs us down, He will replace that by seeing ourselves as trees of His Righteousness. Again, in order for us to ever benefit of receiving the fullness of these double blessings He tells us, there is always a condition on our part to willingly and obediently (having the right heart and spirit) do surrender our will to His will. Injustice is real and is more of a problem with many Children of God far more than it should be. We need to make a concerted choice to do Gods will and hand every injustice and every grudges we have held on from our past and give all of them over to Him and totally trust Him. Our inheritance of His present and eternal blessings will far exceed every injustices we have already encountered or ever will encounter. If there is anyone who continues to hold any grudges from any past injustices, please give all of them over to God. Otherwise, you will find out that you have caused yourself the greatest injustice of all simply because of being disobedient by refusing to give any and/or all negative situations over to Him. How can we receive His Peace He tells us He has given us (John 14:27) when we continue to hang on to our past injustices by holding on to grudges? One thing I sense God telling me is that when we want to live the victorious life in Him and through Him, we can't afford to have that defeated "victim" mentality. Surrendering your will to His divine will...will always result in living the abundant life of bearing much fruit which is the result of receiving and radiating His Joy, His Peace, His Kindness, His Goodness towards Him, others and ourselves. One of my favorite verses I often recite is: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us". Romans 8:18 (Amplified Version). We need to take the advice of Paul and stop dwelling at our past injustices and be encouraged and do yourself justice to look ahead and press forward. And when we do, we will receive that crown of eternal life (1 Cor 9:24,25) that is far more glorious than any earthly prize one could ever receive. Now, please ask yourself, is it really worth holding on to grudges of any past injustices by forsaking such rich eternal blessings He has in store for us? Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy shall be theirs.8 For I the Lord love justice; (Isa 61:7; 8a) In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/

The Best Place to Be

Dear Blessed Saints, I say this title because we are truly blessed just because He tells us who are His Children, those who received Him as our Lord and Saviour (Eph 1:3). But to the measure of being blessed to receive His love and encouraging word always depends on the portion that we believe, accept and receive it by faith for ourselves as a Child would. I often like reminiscing about (Matthew 18:1-4) where the Disciples asked Jesus who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of God? I always like Jesus's response to the many questions He received because His answers are often anything what the average person would expect to hear. This tells me that we can never rely on our own thinking, intellect or understanding. But that we need to become totally like a child and lean on Him to see what He has to say and realize (deep within) the wisdom and power of His Word is always much higher and far greater than our own thinking (Isa 55:8,9). To receive the most of His Word, we need to receive it humbly and believe it where Jesus puts emphasis in (vs 4) about the need ot being humble like a child. When you think of a child who has a wonderful relationship with his/her earthly father, what may concern alot of earthly fathers who have the task of fulfilling their parental responsibility, a child who has a loving relationship with his/her Dad never worries, but always believes their father will love them, protect them and always provide and care for them regardless of the circumstances going around. Whenever I am meditating on the Word of God, I always like to picture different scenarios in my mind and not just see His Word as just letters formed into a sentence and become a tool just to memorize. But when we can picture what Christ is saying, I find it brings greater emphasis, which is why I believe He wants to give us vision (Joel 2:28). For example, I like picturing a child who loves their earthly father sitting on his lap and enjoying a real close companionship and relationship of trust and love which no amount of intellect can compare. When I can envision this, I like to put myself in that same place and become as a little child like that. And when things don't go right or several challenges seem to be approaching, I like to picture myself sitting on Gods lap and see His arms extending around me. And then for myself, to see Him smiling and telling me that He loves me and wants me to have a heart of faith like this child to rest in Him and know He will always be faithful to provide for me, protect me, love me and promises to never leave me nor forsake me. If you would, I would ask you to please take a few minutes now and be still and picture yourself sitting on His lap and see His smile warm your heart. I find it is important to take these times to just be still and meditate because scriptures we often read just becomes another familiar passage where we may fail to receive its full impact on what He may need to show us. When I picture this for myself, I am at total peace. When you think of a child, they don't have a PHd, degree or any high academic accolades. A child who has a loving relationship with their earthly father will never debate with him with questions of "how, what, when, why", etc etc. God has given us adults a great mind, but we need to use this creative and sound mind (2 Tim 1:7) He has given us to always come in line with His Word and never rely on our mind/intellect to deviate what He wants to teach us according to His Word. When we deviate our way of thinking from His Word, we compromise and allow the enemy of our souls to rob us from ever receiving the fullness of the powerful wisdom of His Word. It's only His Word and no other Word that is considered that mighty Sword that defeats the enemy (Eph 6:17). Its only His Word which is the only one that is able to cut into our very fibre and marrow, rightly dividing what is truth and what is false or compromises the wisdom of His Word (2 Tim 1:15). It is only His Word that brings forth LIFE (John 6:63). So when the Lord tells us to become as a child, He is telling us to be like a child in our faith, hope and trust in Him and knowing that He loves us and is able to care for us. We need to refute ever questioning God about His integrity of why things happen the way they do, or ever think we don't ever need His help to resolve any issues we may have or even come to a place that we can ever handle anything on our own. To leave God out of our daily lives and full agendas is to place ourselves outside the safety zone of His love and care which we are always in desperate NEED of. To be most blessed as a Child, we need to ALWAYS ALWAYS be in a place where we totally rely and put our trust in Him. This is where He wants us to be and it is by far the best place for us to be in. So when we don't humble ourselves like we need to, I believe He is always compelled to cause a situation in our lives to be humbled which demonstrates His love towards us. I like picturing these next couple of verses in (John 13:23-25) after Jesus was telling His Disciples about one of them going to betray Him (vs 21). Jesus mentions in (vs 23-25) about John putting his head on Jesus breast as though he is interested in listening to the heart of Jesus. When scriptures describe His Word, I never want to question why segments are mentioned in the Bible or not. If this wasn't mentioned, it wouldn't be important...but it does mention about John laying his head of the chest of Jesus because He wants us to come to that place so we too can listen to His heart. When I think of it, I often realize how we can often overlook a portion of scriptures that we can fail to understand great emphasis to encourage our hearts that much more unless we take the time to meditate on scriptures. We always have to conclude that if it is in scripture, there is a reason for it and is very important because He tells us the His Word is LIFE (John 6:63). I am sure you can all agree that none of us would want to remove any portion of life of His Word from our own lives when we know and understand that His Word is in fact our LIFE LINE. Therefore, to me, if there is anything in life that is a challenge to you, I want to urge you and encourage you to stop trying to figure everything out and refuse to rely on your own understanding (Prov 3:5,6), and cast ALL of your cares to Him. Picture yourself laying your head on His breast and listen to His hearts plea for you and being like a child that sees Him smiling down at you and you can smile back to Him, knowing that He will care for you. For Christ to say that when a person truly becomes like a child who will be amongst the greatest in the Kingdom of God, I come to the conclusion that He is therefore most pleased with us when we can come to this place. I often repent before the Lord for ever failing to invite Him to help me out no matter how easy a situation seems. A humble and loving child ALWAYS relies on his/her Dad. When we can come to this place with our Father, we too can know He is well pleased with us and say that we have become as this blessed Child and be highly rewarded which He promises us. May the truth of His Word richly bless you. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/

Fulfilling Our Purpose

I always want to share my experiences with each of you in order that you will not just read some other form of Christian topic that won't mean anything in our eternal realm of existence, but will have a positive life altering impact that brings hope and fulfills a greater eternal destiny for each of us. I must admit that these past few weeks, I have been struggling with questioning my purpose in life in everything I do. I was able to spend some time with a dear Chaplain I admire and respect and shared with him with a question of whether or not if I am really and truly making a difference in peoples lives in the realm of eternity? Or as Solomon puts it, in (Eccl 2:17), am I just grasping for the wind? In other words, is what I am doing all in vain or am I actually fulfilling a wonderful purpose God has for each of us? I struggle when I think whether I am just living within my bubble just floating aimlessly about, or is what I am doing making a positive difference in the lives of others? If God should choose to take me home, has my life made a postive difference in all I have done? Will the legacy of my life live on or will it just simply vanish? I think of the many old Saints of God whom have long passed away. Even though many have passed away hundreds of years ago, their legacy still inspires people today. I would love to see each of us be able to equally leave a positive legacy that will continue on to inspire others. I do know that God tells us that our labour for the Lord is never in vain (1 Cor 15:58), but is always encouraging to get some form of confirmation not to test His Word, but to simply prove His Word and be encouraged because of it. I believe it is a good thing when we can come to this crossroad so we can examine an important issue. God may be trying to get our attention so we can take the time that is necessary to reflect why we do what we do and not just live aimlessly without having any purpose or vision. In other words, is what we do profitable towards the things of God? If so, this is where we find peace and fulfillment in what we do. It's important to reflect on this because He tells us that His people perish who fail to have any vision or no sense of purpose (Prov 29:18). The question is: are we taking the time to seek Him and are we trusting Him to help us fulfill our purpose in life? When I see how I go through trials, I have to admit that I often wonder "what purpose is all of this?". I hate the thought of just "trying to survive" without finding any true meaning or purpose in everything we do or aspire to accomplish. I do believe,(and hope it is true) that my past trials are helping others through their time of trials and thereby fulfilling the purposes of God by being able to comfort others with the comfort we have received from Him (2 Cor 1:3,4). What good are any of our past trials if it cannot be a message of hope to others? Even though I have struggled questioning about my purpose, I know deep down that there has to be something good come out of what people would describe as just circumstances of misfortune. I realize that what I go through is not in vain when I can share my experiences with many others to give them hope that God can make something good from their lives. One would quote Rom 8:28: "all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called by His purposes". I don't want these Biblical quotes to become just another sermon of vain empty promises to anyone, but that what He says is TRUE in all its entirety all because of the testimony we can share. I believe God will do His mighty work through our circumstances and turn everything out for GOOD when we purpose in our heart to give Him the glory by acknowledging His Goodness in what He wants to teach us. When I take the time to examine my purpose, the Lord helps me to understand our temporal troubles in this life will never be compared to our eternal glory that will be revealed in us (Rom 8:18) which is that inexpressible hope that we should carry within us. I also understand that through trials, God often re-directs my heart by setting my affections where they should be set (read Col 3:2). He tells us that where our heart is, that is where our real treasures are (Matt 6:21). I think one of the most tragic things is when people look back on their life and realize that much of what they did was all in vain simply because they fail to take the time to seek God for direction and lived aimlessly with no real purpose of value God had for them. Therefore, when we struggle with issues that question about our lives and our motives, this can be a wonderful turning point to get ourselves on track and know that God truly does have a wonderful plan for our life. I have asked the Lord many times during prayer that the day my life stops advancing His Kingdom and I fail to stop being a blessing to others (fulfilling my purpose), that He takes me to my eternal home the day before that ever happens. Paul states: to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21). Even though he realized he would be better off to be absent from the body and present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8), Paul knew it is better for him to remain alive on earth simply because he understood his purpose God had for him by helping shape lives for many people. Just like Paul and many of the Biblical characters we read about, God is keeping each of us here for His divine purpose in life. REFUSE to ever give up or become complacent about it. God tells us that He is angry when His Children becomes complacent when we should be moving forward with His help (read Zech 1:15)! Start while it is called today because how we use this short time in our present existence will determine our eternal destiny. When we learn to number our days, we will gain a heart of wisdom by realizing we need to make the most of our lives by seeking Him (Ps 90:12) while opportunity still exists. Let's be certain we don't live aimlessly. We all have a purpose. Therefore, lets take the time to seek Him and with His help, believe that we will fulfill His purpose for us in our lives. There is nothing greater than knowing we have fulfilled His divine purposes for us that will give us far greater joy than anything this world can ever offer. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/

RECEIVING HIS BEST

Dearest Saints, I would like to send you Gods richest blessings and His very best for you to receive from Him and to allow Him to do mighty works through you. To receive His best for you, it is always available to each of us. I believe that most times, we only tap into a fraction of Gods divine power and goodness for us when He wants to do so much more for us and through us. There is no one who can't receive His best for us to do His mighty works through us to others. The problem is that we often doubt ourselves when we need to know that it is His power working through us in the first place. Where striving for self-confidence is exalting our efforts which will always become a failing attempt. Trusting God is putting our confidence in the One who is able to do far greater works through us than we could ever possibly do which is the only way that is acceptable before Him. We often receive a fraction of His power working through us because we fail to repent for not allowing His best to receive and humbling ourselves of our desperate need of Him. When we repent, we can't afford to hold on to any guilt because we are never justified by ever feeling guilty from our past. Its not how we feel guilty that justifies us, but thanking God and believing that He took care of our guilt and shame because of what He did for us. We are justified because we believe not ever because of what we can or cannot do. I like the illustration in 2 Peter 1:3-9. Starting in vs 3, He tells us that we have been given His divine power (already). In vs 4, He mentions that He has bestowed His precious and exceeingly great promises so we are able to escape all moral decay and be sharers of His divine nature. By believing and receiving the promises of these first two verses, this will allow us to be strengthened so we can develop the wonderful attributes of Godliness that will abound in us (vs 5-8). We will never find strength in our inner man when we choose to rely on our own thinking rather than simply believing what He says. In particular, verse 9 Simon Peter who wrote this book tells us that we are short-sighted and have become oblivious to the truth that we have already been cleansed from our old/former sins (because of what Jesus has already accomplished). So when we do repent, we need to know that He is faithful to forgive and refuse to continue carrying any baggage of guilt that only weighs us down from believing the lies of our enemy. God tells us that is why we are justified because we believe what He says (Gal 2:16). We will never be justified any other way. As we enter into the beginning of this new year, I would like to share a wonderful declaration that our dear Pastor Bert McCutcheon has put together to hand out to each of us. However, as we make this declaration to receive His best to be our best and do our best, as mentioned, we need to refuse to carry any guilt which we have already repented of which God has already erased from His memory. We need to humble ourselves by decreasing ourselves (relying on our own strength and intellect) and choose to rely on His greater power to do that wonderful work through us that He so much wants to do and is able to do exceedingly more than we could ever ask or think (Eph 3:20). This is only possible if we humble ourselves and allow Him to do that work through us. This New Years Spiritual Fitness Declaration is as follows: Heavenly Father, By Your Grace and power, I am ready. I am prepared to accept Your strategy to get rid of this spiritual flab. I submit myself to your transforming plan for spiritual/physical health and fitness. I am ready to hang around with You so that Your actions and reactions become mine. I will stay in constant communication with You throughout my days and years. I will consult You continually as I learn how to walk in the new freedom You have given me. I will reject spiritual junk food that tempts and weakens my mind. I am ready to make Your guide book (the Bible) my training manual for this new pursuit. You went through all that I will go through, so I commit myself to follow Your instructions. With Your help, I will learn to say "NO" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and live a self-controlled, upright and godly life right now. When I fall down, with Your help, I will get back up and continue to move forward with You. When people see me, I want them to see You. I am ready to be on your front page of 'before' and 'after'. With Your help, I am declaring to train and live in Your Righteousness through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. We can all make 2014 the best and most blessed year ever by letting Him work powerfully through us as we carry that Hope of Him within us. We are blessed to be a blessing to others. Refuse to ever let the enemy deceive you from ever believing that we are not 'good enough' to receive His very best to work for us and through us. It is His Goodness working through us when we understand who we are in Christ simply know we are righteous because of what He did, not what we could ever do. One of the deterrents is failing to purposely making a choice to let Him do that work that only He can do. Repentance, humility and wholly trusting Him are the most powerful tools to receive His best for you as He so much wants to do a wonderful and powerful work through you. Will you make that choice? In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director - Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/ For with God, nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment (Luke 1:37) Amplified Version