When our prayers are answered, do we thank God or do we have doubts that God is the One responsible?


I was reading The Intercessory Prayer book and it raised this very point. And I couldn’t help but think that sometimes that’s true. Why is it that it can take me a few moments to say thank you? After all, shouldn’t that be my immediate response?

For myself, many times my gratefulness and thank you are immediate. But there are occasional times when it takes me a little longer, when I hear that whisper in my mind, “would that have happened anyway?” That whisper-it’s from Satan. Banish him and give your thanks, and any doubts, to God.

For our Lord will appreciate the first and take care of the second ?

Before we speak. Is it True? Is it Good? Is it Wise?

A friend sent me this story,  it was so good, I couldn’t resist sharing 🙂

Once upon a time, in a remote village, there was reputed to be a person whom held knowledge in high esteem. All the townspeople, even some strangers that traveled from far away, came to consult with this person regarding personal questions or perhaps philosophy shared. One day an acquaintance met with them and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?” “Hold on a minute,” the wise person said. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the “Triple Filter Test”. The first filter IS Truth. Have you made absolutely sure what you are about to tell me IS True?” “Well, no,” the other person said, “actually I just heard about it and…” “All right,” said the wise person. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now, let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” “Umm, no, on the contrary…” “So,” the wise man continued, “you want to tell me something bad about my friend, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left – the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?” “No, not really.” “Well,” concluded the wise man, “if what you want to tell me IS neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
God’s Word shares with you that… the tongue IS a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is SO set among the members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature. That no man can tame the tongue. It IS an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it you bless your Heavenly Father, and with it curse others, who have been made in the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. That these things ought not be so. No spring yields both salt water and fresh…. God’s Word also shares…For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness IS sown in peace by those who make peace.

 

North Carolina city removes sculpture of soldier kneeling before cross

“Until a few days ago, a war memorial in a public park in North Carolina included a metal sculpture depicting a soldier kneeling in prayer before a cross. But city officials voted to remove the sculpture to settle a lawsuit claiming the artwork promoted Christianity.”-From Fox News

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” -From Mathew 10:32 & 33

Jesus on the Cross

 

Heaven is for real, but the gate is narrow.

man praying at sunsetThe Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”-Matthew 7:13

This is a verse that is being taught by many leading preachers throughout the country right now.   It means that only a “few” find the “gate” that leads to Heaven.

It’s a difficult verse for many of us because we can’t help but think of all of the people that we care about, people that we like, who may not find the “gate”.

So what do we do?

We share our faith in Christ and we pray.  And we put our trust in God.  For God loves us more than we can ever imagine.  And not only does God loves us, God loves all people, including those that we know and care about it.  And at the end of the day-that is going to count for more than anything else.

Heaven is for real, but the “gate” is narrow.  Don’t miss it; share it.

With God All Things Are Possible,

Following Jesus

 

Becoming Friends With Jesus Christ

nothing can separate us from the love of JesusIt’s when Jesus seems far away that we need to pray the most. Because although Jesus never leaves us, sometimes we leave Him

We convince ourselves we are too busy to talk with Jesus, or if we are being honest, perhaps too lazy.  But if we want to have a real friendship with Jesus, we need to do what we would do with any other friend, we need to spend time with Him; we need to share with Him, and we need to be honest and open with Jesus. Because that is the only way we are going to become “real friends”.

So share the happiness and worries of your day. Pray for those in need and those you love. Ask Jesus what His Will is for you, because Jesus loves you and knows best what will bring you the most happiness.  Ask Jesus every day to forgive your sins, grant you faith and be your Savior and Friend.

For if we do so every day, our trust in Jesus will grow and our faith will flourish.

And before we know it, Jesus who once seemed so very far away, will be our closest, most trusted, best friend, and Savior 🙂

May Jesus Bless Us All,

Following Jesus

 

Follow Jesus And The Feelings Will Come

Come unto me, all ye that labourIt can be so difficult to “know”   what to do, which path to choose. But sometimes the answers are easier than we think.  For those who have been “sitting on the fence”, when it comes to putting their faith in Jesus Christ, now might be a good time to choose.

So many think that in order to follow Christ, one must “believe”, which many of us equate with our “feelings”. But to begin following Christ, one need only ask Jesus to be their Savior, to forgive their sins– and start following Him.

Feelings just are.

But Faith in Jesus is not about how we feel on any given day, it’s about who we choose to follow every single day.

May Jesus Bless us all, each and every one.

Following Jesus

Fox News: “NBC omits “God” from Pledge of Allegiance… again”

Please pray for our country, for if America continues to turn it’s back on God, God may one day  turn His back on America…

children pray with flag

To learn more about this story, please visit Fox News:  “NBC omits “God from Pledge of Allegiance…again”