Matthew

Don't Worry! {Matthew 6}

8:53 AM

 Today's Scripture passage: Matthew 6

There is so many important topics to write about in this chapter that I must admit I struggled with which one to focus on today, until I read through the chapter and hit the very end and wondered...

 Can we really battle our anxiety and anxious thoughts by shifting our thoughts and focus onto The Lord and away from the circumstances causing us to worry at any given moment? AND just what exactly does it mean to seek His Kingdom? I decided I needed to investigate further.

 



If you ever took Psychiatry 101 in college you most likely learned that when you or I choose to believe lies about ourselves they tend to fall into one of three categories: 

  • 1. I'm helpless
  • 2. I'm worthless
  • 3. I'm unlovable
But what they won't tell you is that every lie we buy into about ourselves is rooted in our belief about God. Notice what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (emphasis mine)

  It seems easy to grow anxious at times and let anxiety rule in our hearts and heads, but it's at those times we should stop to ask ourselves just what are we focusing on, in that moment?  

 Jesus tells us not to worry, and for good reason. He goes into great details here explaining how the Father knows our needs and has promised to take care of us. Our job is to lay all our anxiety, worry and fear at the Father’s feet and seek His kingdom, trusting that He will take care of us just like He promised.

So exactly how do we do that?

 Seeking God’s kingdom means trusting that He will take care of our needs, despite our circumstances. We start here because Jesus started here. When He is teaching the crowd about how to combat anxiety, He acknowledged the people’s needs and His Father’s ability to provide for those needs. The birds and flowers are taken care of, so we can trust that God will take care of us too. 

Jesus gives us the example of the birds and flowers, but I also find it helpful to find Scripture passages that we can claim when those anxious thoughts come. Like:

Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” or

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” 

1.      Seeking God’s kingdom means worshiping Him in midst of our circumstances. We're often anxious over the things we cannot control. And believe it or not, anxiety can actually be a form of control that can also bring much harm to our own bodies and other relationships around us.  Worshiping while we wait on the answers/outcome is challenging, but if we approach God believing His promises and acknowledging that He is God, who is able to do immeasurably more that all we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20), we can worship. Even with imperfect faith, we can worship.

2.      Seeking God’s kingdom means finding where God is working around you and joining Him there. Trust Him and  turn your attention outward. We need to stop focusing on our needs and fears that God won’t provide, claim the verses that prove to us what Jesus has already assured us it will happen,  and ask Him how we can partner with Him in that work.  To seek God’s kingdom first we need to cultivate a heart that says we not only want to experience God in our own lives, but we want our world to experience Him too!

I I  I know I'm making it sound so simple, and I know anxiety can be an ongoing struggle that can last for years, but if you will begin to take every thought captive, measure them up to His truths He's given you, pray; seeking His help with turning all those thoughts over to Him and rising to walk in faith with Him to minister to others, I can promise you it will grow easier and the anxiety will decrease over time. 

L  Let your anxious thoughts become a barometer sort of speak that will point you to our King! 

B Blessings!

  s Sue


I


Daily Seeking God

My Determined Purpose is to Know Him {Psalm 105}

12:04 PM

Scripture Reading: Psalm 105

What does it mean to "seek His face"?

Seeking God simply means seeking His presence. The word translated, “presence” can also be translated, “face.” Therefore, to be before His face is to be in His presence.
From reading Psalm 105 it seems the psalmist is encouraging his readers, who may be down and discouraged to seek the Lord - His presence, and it was that word presence that jumped out at me and sent me on a journey to find out why.  


Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;Make known His deeds among the peoples.Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;Speak of all His wonders.Glory in His holy name;Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength;Seek His face continually. Remember… (Psalm 105:1-5a) 

Why are we encouraged to seek God's presence? I found some really encouraging verses that give us a clue into the importance of seeking Him.

Exodus 33:14 “And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

 Moses discovered early on that we can find rest when in His presence; not so much physical rest, but I believe a heart felt rest, from worry or anxiety. Are you ever anxious or worried about impossible tasks, or things you can't control? Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His presence... (Ps 105:4)

 Genesis 28:15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

 Jacob knew he would find comfort, protection and provision as long as he remain in God's presence. Did you notice that our God is faithful because He swears by His own name, there is no one higher, therefore His promises cannot be impacted by our will.

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

 David knew that in His presence he could experience the "fullness of joy"! BUT something much more important than being filled with joy is that God will “make know to me [us] the path of life” and that speaks of eternal life, because you’re going to be enjoying God’s presence for all eternity.

 Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

 David also knew he didn't have to fear evil, difficult circumstances, or the 'unknown' because the Good Shepherd would be there to give him all the comfort, guidance, direction and protection he would need. Are you facing any uncertainties in your life right now?

Psalm 34:10 says, "The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." 

 We will lack no GOOD thing when we seek His face continually! So why aren't we?

 What hinders us and keeps us from seeking God's presence continually?
P.R.I.D.E. The greatest hindrance to seeking His presence is pride. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him” (Psalm 10:4). God's Word states that "He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6)

Therefore, humility is essential to seeking the Lord.
Did you know that the greatest promise to those who seek the Lord is that He will be found?

  “If you seek him, he will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9). 
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13)

 AND here's the clincher, when we do seek Him, there is great reward. “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). 

 God himself is our greatest reward, for when we have him, we truly have everything. 

 Therefore, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (Psalm 105:4).

Martha

Seek Him First {Matthew 6}

12:00 AM


 Scripture Reading: Matthew 6

Setting priorities has not always been a strong area in my life; in fact, quite the opposite. I’ve been a "Martha", who longed to be a "Mary" (Luke 10:38-42), and have been known to take on too many "good things", forsaking the very best a time or two.

Matthew 6 is a portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which He lays out many great instructions for us to follow on giving, prayer, fasting, etc. but it’s verse 33 that I want us to focus on just now,

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God? It simply means putting Christ and the things of the Spirit first in our lives. It sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?

Each day, we are faced with choices; opportunities to invest our time and energy into, and some, although good things, may only be temporal things that have no eternal value.  Each of us has only so many hours in a day, and each of us, for the most part, have the opportunity to choose how we’ll spend those hours. The question then becomes, how many of those hours will we spend focusing on spiritual activities like reading God’s Word, prayer, teaching or serving others, etc.?

Are we focused on storing up treasures in heaven, or on worldly pleasures?

Just thinking about what you take hold of first thing in the morning could be a good indication.

We all have responsibilities regarding our family, work and other obligations and activities to tend to, and these can all be included in “seeking first the kingdom of God.” It all comes down to our free time. We need to be careful of what little time isn’t already spoken for, for I know often times I’ve taken on things that though they were good, they came at the expense of the spiritual tasks given to me. As a mom and teacher I found I was often asked to help out here and there, which ended up taking precious time away from my family, and even my own time with the Lord. And sometimes, I wouldn’t realize what I had done until damage had been done elsewhere.

Over time I’ve learned to seek Him and His ways of doing and being right, before committing to things that, though they were all good things, they just might not be meant for me to do. Seeking Him first for answers and reassurance has also helped with any guilt I may have felt declining a request for help as well. He has helped me stand firmer and know exactly what I should be doing and what I shouldn’t!



Ask

Persistent Asking {Luke 10: - 11:36}

12:30 AM


October 2, 2018

How often do you pray the same prayer?  Your heart desires… your lost child, friend, or parent to return to the Lord.  Or perhaps physical healing for yourself or a loved one.  Or yet provisions to feed your family and friends.

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We have read so many examples in the first two Gospels of faith healing people.  They have at times gone through great lengths to find Jesus.  Pushed through crowds.  Removed roof tiles.  Yelled in the streets.  Just to name a few.  Luke 11:9-13 are verses that always remind me to be direct and be persistent in my prayers.

We see Jesus many times go into the wilderness to be alone and pray.  We see Him praying so intently that His sweat becomes blood and comes out His pores.  And I asked myself as I read these verses if I am willing to bleed for my prayer requests.  I have to admit, some of the things I have prayed for in the past embarrassed me when I thought about them under this condition.  But am I willing to push through crowds to find Jesus?  Am I willing to ask someone else to pray for my requests?  Am I willing to go out into the wilderness, alone, to make my request to my God?  Are my knuckles bleeding from my persistent knocking? 

As I looked more into these verses I found there are three things we must do when we pray to God.

First, we must humbly ask according to His will, not our own pleasures.   If something we ask for is contrary to God’s plan, no amount of persistence will force Him to give in.  When requesting anything of God, most people often stop asking when He does not immediately intervene.  Human nature is easily discouraged because we think on a physical plane; but with God all things are possible.  We need to be optimistic that God has heard and will respond in a good and faithful way (1 John 5:14-15).

Second, we must seek to know our true motives and God’s will regarding the request.  We seek to find out what we must do to strengthen our faith with works.  (1 John 3:22), Do God’s promises include the blessing we ask for?

Third, we must knock.  We must persevere, be persistent, pressing the matter until we receive it.  We should faithfully go to God repeatedly, until He responds to our prayers and grants what we ask of Him – if it is according to His will.

 Image result for Hebrews 4:16


But what is God’s will?  Has He given us a blank check to ask anything of Him?  So many people misunderstand this, but 1 John 5:14 says, “And if we know He is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that He will give us what we ask for.”  Real prayer is communion with God, and what is necessary for communion?  Common thoughts between His mind and ours.

We need God to fill our minds and hearts with His thoughts.  Then His desires will become our desires flowing back to Him in the form of prayer.  “And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive in wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.”  James 4:3  If we ask for own pleasures, we are not asking according to His will and, we will not receive.

Jesus said, “At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything.  The truth is, you can go directly to the Father and ask Him, and He will grant your request because you use my name.”  John 16:23  But that does not mean we have carte blanche.  To ask God for anything in the name of Jesus Christ, it must be in keeping with what He is.  To ask in Christ’s name is to ask as though Christ Himself were asking.  Therefore, we can only ask for what Christ Himself would ask.  We obviously need to set aside our own will and accepts God’s.  Jesus also says in John 8:29, “And the One who sent me is with me – He has not deserted me.  For I always do things that are pleasing to Him.”  If we do as Jesus did, we are sure to receive answers as He did.  Jesus adds in John 11:41-42, “Father, thank you for hearing me.  You always hear me…”

We must come to the realization that prayer is not dictating to God, but a humble and heartfelt expression of our attitude of dependency and need.  Because of this, the one who truly prays is submissive to God’s will, content with Him supplying His need according to the dictates of His sovereign pleasure.  The result is this, combined with the infusion of God’s attitudes and thoughts as we draw near to Him, will work to create us in His image.


Through my research, I discovered this great article from John Piper on what we should pray for.  https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-should-we-pray-for



do

The First Steps to Revival {Ezra 7-10}

8:00 PM


We hear a lot about the need for revival among God’s people today, but do most of us truly know what revival looks like? Found in the Book of Ezra is one of the greatest revivals recorded in the Old Testament and Ezra was very instrumental in helping to bring it about.

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah document the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. First, Ezra was sent to restore the worship among the Israelites. As worship was restored, Zerubbabel arrived to rebuild the temple, the place of worship, and finally Nehemiah arrives and rebuilds the walls and gates of Jerusalem. The wall acted as a barrier against attack and protected those living within the city, but it’s not enough to fortify the walls and build a place of worship. That’s not really “revival”? Revival begins in the hearts of each individual (you and me), before the community can be strengthened. And only God’s Spirit is able to do the work in the hearts of each person, but He does use people like Ezra along the way.

 “And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves…” – Ezra 9:8-9

The first step to revival is recognizing that we’re in bondage.

 It isn’t hard to find others in bondage around us. There are those who are in bondage to addictions such as drugs, alcohol, sexual perversions, etc. But there are other bondages that are less recognizable, especially when it comes to ourselves, unless we begin looking within and asking, “Am I in any kind of bondage and in need of revival?”
So let me ask you:
·         Do you have a sense of incredible joy? If not, then you could very well be under the bondage of sorrow, depression, disillusionment, or even unconfessed sin?
·         Do you have indescribable peace within? If you don’t have peace then are under the bondage of dread, or anxiety?
·         Are you filled with faith? Or are you wrestling with the bondage of doubts.
·         Are you filled with incredible hope? If not, are you wrestling against despair? Is your glass suddenly half empty?
·         Do you have assurance? Or are you fearful and worried?
·         Do you possess a strong sense of self-worth? Or are you struggling with the bondage of shame?
Do you love digging into God's Word? How's your prayer life? Are you seeing God answer your prayers? Has God been speaking to you personally lately, or has He seemed distant?
Any of these symptoms may be signs that we're not free to live the way God has called us and created us to live!

Once we recognize that we are dealing with some form(s) of bondage, the next step to revival is to begin to cry out asking God to deliver us, for there has never been freedom without first a cry to be free!

We can see why God chose Ezra to rebuild Israel’s worship in Ezra 7:10, For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to practice it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” (Emphasis mine)  Ezra had set his heart to

1) Seek the Law of the Lord,
2) do it (live according to God’s Word), and
3) teach others to do the same.

Let me ask you, would you like to be used by God? Would you like to have the faith that stands firm and is commited to helping build God's Kingdom? Then, we too, must do exactly as Ezra "set his heart" to do. Anything that falls short of this simple formula would never work. Did you know that many theologians today credit Ezra with writing Psalm 119?
Here’s just a few quick verses, but I'd encourage you to prayerfully read the rest for yourself:

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!
 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
 I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.” – Psalm 119: 1-2, 10-11

Is this your heart's cry as well?

Also consider  the words of Jesus:
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not DO the things which I say? Whoever COMES TO ME, and HEARS My sayings and DOES them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.” Luke 6:46–48 (emphasis added)

Don’t we all want to build our faith on an unshakable foundation? The great news is that God doesn’t leave us solely with the task of seeking, doing, and teaching completely up to us. All of us, at the moment we placed our faith in Him, were given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us, by revealing the truth of God’s Word to us, helping us to live it out, and to teach others to do the same!

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

And this amazing journey begins simply by looking within!