Philippians 4:6–7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. When faced with a challenge or crisis, our tendency is to get all anxious about it. But God does not want us to react this way. He does not want us to be anxious about anything. Instead, whatever the problem is, He wants us to go to Him in prayer and supplication, telling Him what we need and thanking Him for the answer. When we do that, His peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds from all worries, anxieties and fears. “Pastor Prince, it is easy for you to say, ‘Be anxious for nothing.’ Try living with my husband for one day. Try disciplining that wayward teenager of mine. Look at the balance in my bank account! How can I not be anxious?” Hold it! I am not the one who said, “Be anxious for nothing.” The apostle Paul said it. Yet, it was not him—he was prompted by the Holy Spirit. And when Paul wrote that, he was a prisoner under house arrest in Rome. He had been sent to Rome because he had appealed to Caesar regarding his death sentence. The Jews in Jerusalem wanted him to be put to death. (Acts 28:16–20) Yet, under those trying conditions, he wrote these words: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” My friend, if you are anxious or worried about something, remember those words. Let’s say that you are anxious about a huge debt. Go to the Lord and pray, “Lord Jesus, I no longer want to be anxious about this problem. I hand it over to You and ask for supernatural cancellation of this debt. It is in Your care now. You are in charge. I thank You for taking care of it.” God is true to His Word. As you pray this prayer and cast your care to Him, you will find His peace setting your heart and mind at rest. So be anxious for nothing—let the One with whom nothing is impossible take care of it for you! "Prayer is your declaration of Dependence. When you don’t pray it’s your declaration of independence. It’s your way of saying 'I can do this without God.'" (Unknown)
God prompted us to encourage you to pray for your spouse (or the person you will marry) and for yourselves this week. If you aren’t regularly praying for your spouse we hope this will be a new beginning for you. Your marital partner needs you to uphold him/her in prayer. If not you… then who will? Also, who should? For those of you who do pray often for your spouse we hope this message will bless their hearts and yours. And for those of you who aren’t yet married, you can pray for your future spouse. The prayers we will feature for this message are found in the excellent books, “The Power of a Praying Wife” and from “The Power of a Praying Husband,” both are written by Stormie Omartian, along with her husband Michael. The first is for the wife to pray. You can use it as an outline, to pray as God inspires, or use these very words, putting your heart into it: “Lord, help me to be a good wife. I fully realize that I don’t have what it takes to be one without Your help. Take my selfishness, impatience, and irritability and turn them into kindness, long-suffering, and the willingness to bear all things. …Take the hardness of my heart and break down the walls with Your battering ram of revelation. Give me a new heart and work in me Your love, peace, and joy (Galatians 5:22-23). “I am not able to rise above who I am at this moment. Only You can transform me. Show me where there is sin in my heart, especially with regard to my husband. I confess the times I’ve been unloving, critical, angry, resentful, disrespectful, or unforgiving toward him. Help me to put aside any hurt, anger, or disappointment I feel and forgive him the way You do —totally and completely, no looking back. Make me a tool of reconciliation, peace, & healing in this marriage. “Lord, I pray for Your protection on my husband’s mind. Shield him from the lies of the enemy. Help him to clearly discern between your voice and any other, and show him how to take every thought captive as You have instructed us to do. “You’ve said in Your Word that ‘there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love’ (I John 4:18). I pray You will perfect my husband in your love so that tormenting fear finds no place in him. I know you have not given him a spirit of fear. You’ve given him power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). I pray in the name of Jesus that fear will not rule over my husband. Instead, may Your Word penetrate every fiber of his being, convincing him that Your love for him is far greater than anything he faces and nothing can separate him from it.” Heavenly Father, tune up the ears of my husband’s heart to hear the call You have on his life. “Help him to realize who he is in Christ and give him certainty that he was created for a high purpose. May the eyes of his understanding be enlightened so that he will know what is the hope of Your calling (Ephesians 1:18). Lord, when you call us, You also enable us. Enable him to walk worthy of his calling and become the man of God You made him to be. Continue to remind him of what You’ve called him to and don’t let him get sidetracked with things that are unessential to your purpose. Strike down discouragement so that it will not defeat him. Lift his eyes above the circumstances of the moment so he can see the purpose for which You created him.” The following are prayers for the husband to use as an outline during prayer time for your wife, or to use these words, with your heart being expressed to God for your his wife: “Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10). Show me where my attitude and thoughts are not what You would have them to be, especially toward my wife. Convict me when I am being unforgiving. Help me to let go of any anger, so that confusion will not have a place in her mind. If there is behavior in me that needs to change, enable me to make changes that last. Whatever You reveal to me, I will confess to You as sin. Make me a man after your own heart. “…I pray that You will bring my wife and me to a place of unity with one another. Make us be of the same mind. Show me what I need to do in order to make that come about. Give me words that heal, not wound. Fill my heart with Your love so that what overflows through my speech will be words that build up, not tear down. Convict my heart when I don’t live your way. Help me to be the man and husband that You want me to be. “Father, as much as I love my wife, I know You love her more. I realize that I cannot meet her every need and expectation, but you can. I pray that You will give her the fulfillment of knowing You in a deeper and richer way than she ever has before. Help her to be diligent and steadfast in her walk with You. Make her strong in spirit and give her an ever-increasing faith that always believes that You will answer her prayers. “I pray for my wife and ask that You would calm her spirit, soothe her soul, and give her peace today. Drown out the voice of the enemy, who seeks to entrap her with lies. Help her to take every thought captive so she is not led astray (2 Corinthians 10:5). Where there is error in her thinking, I pray You would reveal it to her and set her back on course. Help her to hear Your voice only. Fill her afresh with Your Holy Spirit and wash away anything in her that is not of You. “Lord, I pray that You would help my wife to ‘be anxious for nothing’ (Philippians 4:6). Remind her to bring all her concerns to You in prayer so that Your peace that passes all understanding will permanently reside in her heart. ... Teach me to recognize the ploy of the enemy every time he tries to steal life from my wife by bringing fear to torment her. I stand against any enemy attacks targeted at my wife, and I say that a spirit of fear will have no place in her life. Strengthen her faith in You, Lord, to be her Defender.” ………………………………………………. There is nothing better you can do for your marriage than to pray for and pray with one another. When you do, God draws you closer together as you unite your heart with His. It is the prayer of our hearts that God will bless you in such a way that as others see how you treat your spouse, they will be attracted to the love of God, and will want to know our God better! Cindy and Steve Wright “We’re doing our best setting things right.” (2 Co 6:7, MSG)
Are you giving your best? Or, like so many others, do you just cruise along merely doing only what is acceptable. Paul the Apostle said, “Whether we are at home with the Lord or away from him, we still try our best to please him” (2 Co 5:9). Indeed, we are called to do our best at setting things right in a world gone wrong. Nothing more could be asked, and nothing less would be acceptable. The story is told of how the great Leonardo Da Vinci had started work on a large canvas in his studio. A few of his students watched as he worked at it — choosing the subject, planning the perspective, sketching the outline, and applying the colors; all with his own inimitable genius. Then he unexpectedly paused, the painting still unfinished, and, summoning one of his students, invited him to step up and complete the work. The student protested that he was unworthy and unable to complete the great painting which his master had begun. But Da Vinci answered, “Will not what I have done inspire you to do your best?” You think that Jesus might be saying a similar thing to you? Your life can honor God greatly, and benefit some many others in positive and lasting ways. Everything you need for this has already been provided by Jesus. Believe it, take hold of it, press on with it, and give it your best shot. Surely you can do no less, seeing how much He has done already. Do your best — for Jesus believes in you. I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me. Php 3:14
Most of my life I've been a closet slob… Then I got married… I enrolled in a twelve-step program for slobs. ("My name is Max, I hate to vacuum.") A physical therapist helped me rediscover the muscles used for hanging shirts… My nose was reintroduced to the fragrance of Pine Sol… Then came the moment of truth. Denalyn went out of town for a week. Initially I reverted to the old man. I figured I'd be a slob for six days and clean on the seventh. But something strange happened, a curious discomfort. I couldn't relax with dirty dishes in the sink. What had happened to me? Simple. I'd been exposed to a higher standard. Isn't that what has happened with us? … Before Christ our lives were out of control, sloppy, and indulgent. We didn't even know we were slobs until we met him… Suddenly we find ourselves wanting to do good. Go back to the old mess? Are you kidding? In the Grip of Grace (Max Lucado) "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." Hebrews 2:1-2
In life, being out of position makes us unprepared for all the challenges that come our way. God has given us the Bible as our playbook and guide as to how to be in the right position as we take on life. God is the ultimate coach for successful living. We can be confident in placing our complete trust in His wisdom. When following His playbook to the "t", we will always find ourselves in the proper position to succeed in life. A good player will be prepared having studied his playbook regularly. Allow God's Word to prepare you for the challenges of life. Happy is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. Psalm 32:1
If we are already forgiven, then why does Jesus teach us to pray, "Forgive us our debts"? The very reason you would want your children to do the same. If my children violate one of my standards or disobey a rule, I don't disown them. I don't kick them out of the house or tell them to change their last name. But I do expect them to be honest and apologize. And until they do, the tenderness of our relationship will suffer. The nature of the relationship won't be altered, but the intimacy will. The same happens in our walk with God. Confession does not create a relationship with God, it simply nourishes it. If you are a believer, admission of sins does not alter your position before God, but it does enhance your peace with God. The Great House of God (Max Lucado) First John 2:15 urges us not to love the things that are in the world, instead we should love people and use things to bless them. This is hard for us to do if we love things too much! You and I must strive to keep possessions in their proper place in our lives. Always put people first and love them .
Basically what God was saying in Ezekiel 25:15-17 was that He would take vengeance on the Philistines because they have taken vengeance upon their enemies with spite and malice in their hearts.
When people hurt us we are wise to not take our vengeance upon them, instead we need to turn them over to God. Waiting on God to make things right is an act of trust and it is the smartest response we can make |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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