Please Pray For India

I received a prayer request for India. Please follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and pray for India... here is the request:

"I am a Pastor from India.

Please Pray for me and for Our Ministries for The Salvation of The Perishing Millions.

If it is Pleases to God and if it is Pleases To You, Please send me an E.mail so That I can Write You about Our Ministries.

If it is God's Will and if it is Your Will, Please Expand Your Ministry Activities To India.

I and We Pray for Your Welfare and Prosperity.

In Christ Alone"

Follow this link to CSI Ministries for more information. Prayer is a very powerful tool. All prayers are answered. 

What does the Lord say about prayer? It says:

* "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer..." Psalm 102:17
* "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him." James 5:15
* "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God..." Phl 4:6

Everything is possible through prayer. So pray dear friends. Pray and the Holy Spirit will open up to you a world of possibilities, and a relationship to Christ Jesus, Yesous.

An old friend

Today I discovered an old friend. I struggled with the Lord for months trying to discern where I should go, what my next step should be. What's funny is that for no less than three years He has been telling me the same thing.

So why should I fight the Lord? Why is it so hard to simply say yes?

I think it is because for human beings, it is extremely difficult to die to the self. Sometimes, we lie to ourselves and try to convince ourselves that we are 'doing' something in the name of Christ.

"Oh Lord, I am doing this in your name, please bless my path."

"Oh Lord Jesus, I pray that you bless this move so that I may bless others."

Sometimes something may seem nice, even charitable. Heck, it may even be a good thing. But that doesn't mean that your heart is in the right place. The only time your heart is in the right place is when your heart is doing what God tells it to do. In other words, if your heart is obedient to the will of God, why then, your heart is in the right place, and the Lord will bless whatever it is you plan to do.

Yup. So even if you proclaim that you want to go on world missions, the Lord is not going to bless it if he tells you to go to the hospital next door and take up volunteer work there and pray over people. Yup. I mean it.

It seems incredulous. The Lord wants to bless whatever we do. He wants to proclaim his grace and provide for us. But he also sees into our hearts and knows everything we are thinking. And sometimes, whether we realize it or not, our motives may not be what they seem. Sometimes we think we are doing something magnanimous, but it is not in our best interests to do what we think is so great.

So back to my old friend. I had this idea for a praise and worship site for eons. The Lord was jumping for joy over it. Praise and worship, such a beautiful thing. The Lord loves it when we worship him. Oh, how much he loves it when we worship Him. And oh how I delight in worship. But I can't tell you how many times I would argue with the Lord.

Some ridiculous nonsense, like, "Lord, how am I going to support my family simply praising and worshiping you?"

Or, "Lord, you know I can't do that I have no stretch of talent in that area you are out of your mind!"

But you know what? I have come to realize that whatever the heck the Lord tells you to do you just better do it. Let the Holy Spirit figure the rest out. Sometimes one thing is simply a stepping stone to another. When you are obedient in small things, larger things will come. I typically roll my eyes at small things like this, but it is true. It is so true.

If the Lord tells you to pick up a pencil off the sidewalk, well then do it. Just do it. 

The chosen servant

1Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him

and he will bring justice to the nations.

2He will not shout or cry out,

or raise his voice in the streets.

3A bruised reed he Will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justice on earth.

In his law the islands will put their hope.9

Isaiah 42 1-9

 

What is the Lord saying here?

Whom is the prophet describing?

The idea of being chosen to do anything is far beyond what most people can comprehend. Yet, each and everyone one of us has a call on our life, a divine plan. This is true whether or not you believe in Christ. You don't have to go to church for God to have a plan for your life. It's true. You just have to have faith that someone loves you.

I remember a time when I was driving in my car looking out the window. There was about a week or so when I kept seeing the word "Chosen." There will be lots of times in your life when, if you pay attention, God will do everything in His power to get a message through to you. I remember another time when He was working very hard to get the message "beloved" through, but that was another message for another day, and another blog post...

Here is the beginning passage in the bible where the prophet Isaiah says:

1Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I remember thinking, yeah, right Lord, chosen! Who is chosen? Like we are chosen, ha! I am chosen, ha! Or, is it sow? Yes it is, as a result of the new covenant created by the sacrifice of the cross.

Ok. It is hard to think that in modern society people still do not understand what this means. Yet, on a daily basis, I meet people that do not have a clue what this means. In fact, I have been that person. Or rather, I have interacted with people that use language to define what this means that is so complicated, you would need eighteen dictionaries to decipher (interpret, understand) what they are trying to say. 

And, in modern society, it is not so hard to understand why people might have a hard time believing in something that they have no personal experience with. So let's experience.

To do that, let us continue in our exploration of the theme of the chosen servant.

In this passage, Isaiah is referring to God, speaking of Christ Jesus, whom God chose to be a servant unto all of us. Christ, in whom God delighted, in whom God poured out His spirit, so that all of mankind could be saved through His death and resurrection. 

Huh? Yep. God chose Christ to become a servant, to us, so that we may receive eternal life. Now, for those of you "in the know" Christ humbled himself to the lowly status of man so that he could become a servant, that we might be saved from death. Now, you may be thinking...awesome. 

Show me the money, right? Prove that Christ rose from the dead. Ok. Sure. All you have to do is ask him. I am serious. Why is it that people have such a hard time just asking for what it is they need to see? Christ says this: "Ask, and ye shall receive..." Yes? 

Christ wants to give you what you want. So, if you want Christ to come into your life, it is plain as day simple. Ask. He is the Lord of the universe. I have no doubt that if you truly (truly) want him to visit your life, he will. Thomas needed to touch his wounds to see that he had come back to life.  I recommend relying on faith and not arrogance, but do what you need to do.I needed a real kick in the pants to realize that he was operating in my life. 

A lot of people do today. So if you don't think that he is real, and need a swift kick in the pants to real eyes that he (yep) came back to life and was a real man, and died, and was resurrected, why you go ahead, and ask. Or, you can just have faith and believe that he died on the cross for your sins and you just have to believe in him to receive eternal salvation. That means that you live together in paradise with Him for all eternity. A better option than death for certain. It's much better to have faith, than to ask for well, arrogant proof.

I promise you, it's much better. Now, you can have a relationship with him, by asking, and He will gladly give it to you. This is a much better way to go than asking for proof in an arrogant self-righteous manner. God wants to pour out his blessings on your life after all.  

Chosen and Choosing

Can you believe that God would love us like Jesus? Well, He does. Isn't God amazing? We are so beloved by our Lord and Savior. Why? We too, are chosen, by God, to love. To love Him, and one another. We are chosen to serve one another, just as Christ did. So that we too may save one another from the debts of sin.

So that we may bear our crosses. Can we provide one another with salvation? No! Christ did that. Can we encourage one another in the faith, and bless one another, and heal one another? Yes! We can!

Can we impart the spirit of God to one another, in faith and good cheer? Yes, we can! These things and more, if only we believe, and have faith, in the finished work of our Lord and savior. So, what does all this mean? Well, more about that next time...

 

The sound of water and winds rushing through my ears..

God is amazing.

He is everywhere...

Have you ever heard the sound of many waters, and seen a sight like the earth shining with His glory? If you have not, don't fret. This can happen to you. I remember laying in bed one night, deep in prayer. Suddenly, the sound of a rushing wind and waves hit my ears, and I practically jumped out of  bed.

Normally I have this constant ringing in my ears. It is quite loud. If anyone out there suffers from tinnitus, they will understand my meaning. This was nothing like that however. This was a great noise, much like when you apply a conch shell to your ears. I began crying, because the sound was not unbearable, or hurtful. Rather, it was incredibly beautiful, and soothing; as if in the distance and yet; 'twas right there. It continued to pulse until it penetrated into my heart in a way that was...indescribable. My heart began to beat quite loudly, as I realized it was the sound of many waters. It was a rushing wind, and waves. And my breath became larger than life.

I began to perceive the glory of the Lord, and became pinned to my bed as light showered about me. My dark room was filled with an effervescence that no words may define except to say it was bliss, brilliance, life. I could utter no thing, except to proclaim, My God, My God, My fine Savor.

No matter what trials and tribulations you endure, no matter what hardships you face, the Lord is near to you. When you supplicate yourself to Him, when you cry out into the night. When you remember to praise and love, He is there. When you thank in good times and bad. When you remember that He is magnificent, the Creator of all things, He is there.

When you remember to give thanks, when you remember to sing praises, you will find refreshment, because, He is there.

You never walk alone, because His footprints are in the sand. And when you least expect it, He shows up. He showers you with grace, with mercy, compassion. Because, He loves you.

It is, as simple as that. I love you. May you be blessed, encouraged, and delighted in the beauty that is your life. No matter what trials or tribulations you face in this day or the next, let us give thanks for His mercy, compassion and grace. May the Lord bless you each and every day.

Ask and ye shall receive women in need for salvation in christ

You know, it's good to know people for who they really are. And, before I speak this, I want to say, I am blessed! Yet, I seem women in need every day. While I speak of this situation, in no way do I feel...poor. I am blessed. I am in a situation that requires, an influx. But, I feel blessed. I thank you for reading.

One of the greatest things I have learned in my journey is to pray...a lot. Three hour prayer sessions are nothing uncommon, and will bring you to terms with a lot of the things you have to come to terms with if you want to learn what love is.

Let me tell you a little about the situation now, and why I am on this website asking for money. Sometimes, you have to be humbled to the point of a beggar before you can really rise again to be a true worker of anything.

I don't want you to get the impression I have a victim mentality. I don't. I am no victim. I am a champion. I have a plan. Rather, the Lord has a plan for my life, and it is a good one. I have been praying for some time about how to get out of the jam I am in. For more information about this jam, please see our Help Support Our Cause Page. May you be blessed and remember, help support women needs.