Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God
The other day, my wife and I were talking about what to eat for lunch and I asked if we had enough money. When I asked the question, I didn't realize what I'd said. I was worried whether or not we'd have enough money. God said don't fear and that's what I'd done. He also said for us to put our trust in Him and I wasn't trusting Him. He said seek first His Kingdom and Righteousness and He'd take care of our food, shelter, and clothing. I rebuked the thoughts of worry and thanked Him for loving us so much.
I know He loves us and I know He will and is taking care of us, because we see it everyday. My wife and I have recently started a business and finances are tight right now, but He's taking care of us. We're trying to thank Him in everything, the good and the bad, especially the bad. I'm sure there've been times when we didn't thank Him, but we're always trying. Here's the thing, He's been taking care of us, we always seem to have what we need; food, shelter, and clothing.
Matt 6:33 says, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you."
If you read the verses before the above verse, you'll see that "these things" are food, shelter, and clothing. What He's saying is if we put Him first, if we choose to follow His will before ours, He'll take care of the things we need to survive; food, shelter, and clothing. Thank You Father.
Understand, our walk with the Lord isn't perfect, but we are still seeking Him and His Kingdom. He sees our hearts and He knows our intent, if it's true or not. The fact that we have shelter, food, and clothing tells me we're doing something right. Right now, my wife and I are in the best place we've ever been in our lives. We're in a relationship with our Father, we are learning to be intimate with our God through His Son Yeshua. Yes, we still make mistakes, but His love is bigger than our mistakes and His mercy is new everyday. Amen.
God bless
Living And Learning The Path Of Faith
If you get an email from worldprayr now it is usually being sent by one person, and one person only. That Person is Cortnee or Cortnee4Christ as she goes by on Twitter. Count on it she sent it, and trust you’ll be encouraged by it. As, that is Cortnee a constant source of encouragement and faith. Whether on Twitter or her blog she is constantly encouraging others in their faith. Yet, today she speaks of her own personal struggles in that area. She gets real, and transparent. We hope you are blessed by it.
My latest revelation, breakthrough, what have you, is all about Faith. I have been struggling, like many of us, in these hard economic times. People are losing homes, jobs, and their sense of hope. I have been for 3 years now trying to live by Faith in Jesus Christ. For me, this season is not so new. It has been something that I feel I have been experiencing for these 3 years. Recently I have felt betrayed, brokenhearted, tired, frustrated, unhappy, exhausted and confused. Anyone else?
I know all of the things the Bible says. I have read so many books, listened to all the cd's, watched all the speakers, and done all the Bible studies. I know what I am supposed to do, but I didn't want to do it. I have been mad at God because I am still going through the hard times.
I am still having to pay bills by what gets shut off first. I still have to dodge the phone calls and listen to the voicemail messages of people who want money from me. I know what it's like to run a business and not see the fruit of your labor.
So I know and understand the struggle. I have been in it, and not always happy about it. I still love the Lord with all my heart and soul. I pray and read the Word every day. I seek His guidance even though I am feeling all of these things.
The point you may ask? Well, I discovered, because even in the middle of my frustration, because I sought the Lord on all these matters, He revealed Himself to me. This morning He led me to a passage in the Bible that I had written on a post-it and put in the front of my Bible. I started reading Hebrews 4:12.
It says "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."At first glance, this was not the verse I wanted to read. It was not what I felt I needed in my hurting time.
So I decided to read the whole chapter, starting at the beginning of Chapter 4. When doing so, I realized why God brought me there. And don't mistake it, it was God. What he wanted to show me was how the Israelites complained and lost Faith in God while leaving Egypt and heading toward the Promised Land.
God did so many wonderful things for them. He split the Red Sea in half so they could pass without being consumed by the waters, and then closed the sea when the Egyptians came after them. Closing the gap between the Israelites, (God's chosen people), and their enemies.
After that, He provided food for them. He dropped it out of the sky and fell on the earth for them when they woke up EVERY MORNING! Wow - talk about breakfast in bed!
Then..."By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night." Exodus 13:20-22. Another wow!
Can you imagine, sit in it for a sec...I am fed fresh food every morning, I have God in a cloud to direct my path, and then a pillar of fire for night. I don't know about you but our God is amazing!!
Ok - so I am sure by now you are thinking, ok, so what else could He possibly do for them? I will tell you. God finally got them to the Promised Land. This was it. After 40 years, the Israelites are finally at their destination. They were finally home. The Bible says the Promised Land was "flowing with milk and honey." Exodus 3:8. The Lord told them they would have to fight for the land, but obviously it was worth it. There were many bad people living there and God knew they needed to be wiped out so the Israelites could have peace.
So the Israelites decide to send a certain number of people to go to the the Land and look to see what they were facing in regard to the fight. What they saw scared them so bad, they went back to the Israelites and told them they could never overpower the people in the land. They claimed there were giants and there was no way they could do this. Sadly, they missed the point that God was in control of everything, including the fight against the people in the land. Ring any bells?
So here we are, God gave them everything they asked for, or literally complained about, even though that was not what He desired for them. Wow. So God is ticked off at this point, and this is what the Bible says: "The LORD's anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath:
11 'Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" Whoa! After all that, the years and decades in the desert, relying on God to serve their every need, they decide not to fight, and God decides not ONE of them will enter.
Tragic. I can't even tell you how horrible that would be! To finally get to the place where you are going, after half of your life is over, HALF, and not be able to settle in? Not be able to be spoiled once again by the Lord our God? It's not just tragic, it's insanity!
This whole back story is so important because it illuminates the Word I read this morning. In Psalm 95:11 and Hebrew 4:3 the Bible says: "So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest ." What does His rest represent?
The Promised Land, His PEACE, His comfort, His blessings! Do you see it yet?
Because the Israelites complained, and feared, and worried, and tried to do things their own way, their ultimate prize...the Promised Land, the rest of God, was kept from them. Wow, thank you Lord! It hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized that because of my complaining, my frustration, my bitterness, and my bad attitude, I was withholding God's rest.
I was exhausted, confused, tired, and brokenhearted all because I wasn't resting in the Lord. All I needed to do was stay present. I needed to stay in today and realize all the goodness, all the miracles, all the favor I had already received!!
God has already given me a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He has already saved me from my enemies. He already closed the gap, Jesus Christ. He has already shown and proven Himself by sustaining my life the way it is. I have everything I need today. I am being held in God's hand so tight that there is an impression of me in His palm. He knows all and sees all and is always working on my behalf.
MY job, my only job, is to trust. I have to keep the Faith...at all costs! I have to thank God for what He has already done, in hopes of what He is going to do!!
That's it. It's so simple, yet my flesh cries out when I try to do these things. That's why you have to do it until you feel it. I wanted to look ahead and complain about the bills that aren't paid, or the lack of business. But I am still here!
I am still working, and eating, and driving, and sleeping, and warm and content! God hasn't changed, and yes, my circumstances haven't changed, but I realize now, it's ok.
All I need is peace, love and joy. And in order to receive those things, I have to enter into His rest. And how do we do that? Trust, precious, trust.
Praise you Lord for your mercy and goodness!! Without you I would be a pitiful mess...but today...I am a precious mess 
The Bible says: "But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.If you keep to my path,I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23
Let's all give thanks!!
Thank you Lord, my Savior, my Conqueror, my Healer, my Strength, my Shelter, my Proud Adornment! Praise be to you, forever and ever...
Have a blessed DAY!
Cortnee
Soldier’s Response To Michael Jackson’s Death
Eric Demar, otherwise known as @scubadogg sent a prayer request for those who were suffering over the death of Michael Jackson. That they would come to know the real Christ. Phil Stratton asked a question in Twitter stream if this was how people felt over the all the fuss that was made over Elvis Presley when he died in 1977.
An interesting perspective was found in the following email. Perhaps it is a perspective we need to stop and consider for a moment, to ponder for a thought, to reflect on priorities.
So take a moment and reflect on the words of his thoughts on losing stars. Whether a soldier penned these words or not is really not the issue here, IS IT!
This is written by a young man serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.
____________________________
Okay, I need to rant.
I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson.As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an Entertainer who performed for decades.
He made millions, he spent Millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many
People. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.
Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief.
When a man dies whose only contribution to the Country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to Flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to
Hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a Freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades?
What About all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom?
All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, Still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America.
Where is their moment of silence? Where
Are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over Them because they made the ultimate sacrifice?When did this country become so calloused to the Sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off Their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"
I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS
For Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every Service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They need to PUBLICLY Recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people Can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, Those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for Them.
But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have Been so many willing to make that sacrifice.
After all, we will never Make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit Songs that the world will listen too.
We only shed our blood, sweat And tears so that people can enjoy what they have.
Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.
Remember these five words the next time you think of someoneWho is serving in the military;
"So that others may live..."
Don’t just remember the words, but remember the men and women in prayer today who are serving on the front lines so that we might have stars entertain us. Then serve those same stars up as martyrs when they die.
God Bless
Is He Enough?
Is Yeshua enough for us, is His sacrifice enough for us? Can we live with nothing, stripped of everything and just depend of what He's already done?
What has He done? In our eyes, what has He done? Are we aware, do we know, do we see? What is the value of His sacrifice, to us? How is it visible in our lives? We have knowledge, in our minds of what He's done, but we don't have experiential knowledge, we're not walking like we know what He's done.
Our spirits have been reborn by His Spirit, we are saved. Through salvation we have redemption to the Father, who is now our Father. We have healing, we are freed from oppression and every wicked thing, but is it obvious by our fruit? We have physical healing, but where's the fruit of that? Why are we still walking around sick or crippled or afflicted, in so many ways. Don't we trust Him? Don't we trust His Word?
He said through His Word that we are to preach the gospel to all, to disciple nations. We are to speak His Word with boldness, followed by signs and wonders. Why isn't this happening. Though we are saved, we are still feeding from the fruit of the wrong tree, the tree of knowledge. The OT is the law and we see this, we say we are saved by grace and this is true. We say we are led by the Spirit and this is true in a measure, but we're still trying to conform to the law. We still measure ourselves to the law and this leads to death.
We must quit doing what we think we should do. We must quit trying to do anything. Yeshua said, deny yourselves, pick up your cross, and follow Him. These are simple instructions, but we aren't doing it. Maybe we should quit trying to force things to happen, maybe we should learn to rest in Him. Too many times, in church or around others, our egos take control and we have to put on a show to one degree or another. Why? Because we are so bound by fear and competetiveness that we can't just follow.
We've learned many wrong things, from so many people, just by example. Just by watching, these are things we've picked up with our subconcious. We need to quit what we're doing that's wrong and just rest in the Lord.
We are seated with the Messiah, at the right Hand of the God. Why don't we start by learning to be where we already are. Let's sit with and rest in Yeshua for awhile. He'll tell us what to do next.
So, how do we rest in the Messiah? To begin with, we must learn to trust Him. We need to believe that what's He's done is enough, that we are in Him and above every evil thing that exists. This is a good place to start.
What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
God Bless
Recent Comments
- gerry on Lord, Help Us With Our Unbelief
- Kayleen Edwards on We Were Told to Humble Ourselves and Pray
- Francis on Freedom Reigns In This Place
- Steve & Trachena Muchnick on Casting Crowns Shining the Light of Jesus in North Korea
- Hetty Siebens on True Love Thru Christ
