Loud Faith
What are we doing and how is God glorified? Tim Tebow is an ok quarterback, but he's crazy famous, because of his faith in Jesus, his loud faith. He promotes Christ with reckless abandon. I'm envious of Tim Tebow, not of his job or his money or his girlfriend, but of his unquiet faith in Jesus. He isn't shut him up by the masses, he openly speaks about Jesus and by his mouth Jesus is glorified. Truly, I dig that.
We need to start telling people about Jesus. If we let the Lord use us more, then more people will be saved. We need to rebuke fear and speak blessings to people in Jesus' name. If God wants us to do or say more, then he'll tell us.
Father, I choose to have loud faith in Jesus, to speak of him everywhere I go, to tell others what you've done for me through Jesus, and to speak blessings to and over people in Jesus' name. I can't make it happen, but you can, so I ask for this in Jesus' name and I thank you for it.
Lord, Help Us With Our Unbelief
Mark 9:23-24
23 Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.
24 And immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
Jesus said, all things are possible to those who believe, then the father of the child cried out, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.
I remember reading this verse years ago, but I never asked God for understanding. Well, the other day, I asked the Lord, if we believe, then how can there be unbelief? He immediately reminded me of Rom 8:3, which says, God sent His Son to do what the law couldn't do, because of the weakness of our flesh.
That's it, we have unbelief because our flesh is weak, though we are following Christ, we are still following the ways of the world. Our flesh or carnal nature is of Adam and it wants the things of the world, because it's of the world . Ephesians 2 says, we were dead in the trespasses and sins, in which we once walked, following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air, aka the devil. We once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of our body and the mind, by nature, we were children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. It also says in Ephesians, a few verses later, that we who were once far off, have been brought near by the Blood of Christ.
God covered our unbelief with His grace, through the Blood of His Son. Jesus is the perfect and spotless Lamb, chosen by God, to be the perfect and final sacrifice. Though we still have a carnal nature to contend with, God, in His infinite love, reconciled us to Himself.
Eph 2:19, 22 ESV
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
We are now citizens in the Household of God. How cool is that? We are being built together into a dwelling place for God. Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. He said in His Father's house are many mansions. Verse 22 says, we are being built together into a dwelling place for God. We are being built into His Father's house, where there are many mansions, we are the mansions that Jesus is building us into. All for God's glory! Hallelujah!
John 14:2 ESV
2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Jesus is preparing a place for us, by preparing us to be a place for God.
God bless
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
I BELIEVE
I believe in God. I believe He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because the Bible says so. (I also believe the Bible is His inerrant Word spoken to us, by His Holy prophets, so we will know His Will and what He expects from us.) I believe He is One and I believe He is Three. He is a Threefold God. This is spoken throughout the entire Bible. Why do people in the church believe in the Trinity, but not the actual working of the Holy Spirit or Spiritual Gifts?
Matthew 28:19 says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" KJV
Why would He say baptize them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost/Spirit, if He wasn't a threefold God? (Spirit and ghost are the same Greek word, pneuma, pronounced pnyoo'-mah.)
Genesis 1:26 says “...Let Us make man in Our Image, after Our Likeness..." KJV
This verse uses the words Us and Our, these words imply more than one. Why then, does most of the body of Christ not believe He is Three? I'll tell you why. Actually, I'll quote scripture.
1 Tim.4:1 says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." KJV
Read the entire chapter to see what He's talking about.
God is a Triune Being, that means three. He is the Father, He is our Father, as spoken in
Romans 8:15 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. KJV
We are adopted by Him, He is our Father, our Dad, our Daddy. Also, He is the Son, God in human form, our Saviour, our Example, the One we seek to emulate or be like. Also, He is the Holy Spirit and He has many Names and parts to play in our lives. He is the Comforter, He is an Intercessor, He is also a Tutor, as spoken in
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.
8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see Me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. KJV
I pray our Father will open your eyes and ears and let you receive Spiritual Truth. I pray He will let you receive the Truth spoken in this blog. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ.
God bless
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