Gathering Strength From Grace

When we are faced with calamity and chose to walk in The Spirit, God's magnificent grace becomes the source of our strength.

By receiving His grace and believing the beloved blood of The Lamb preserves us, we are able to maintain perfect peace while The Lord acts on our behalf.

And if our supremely great, almighty, all-powerful and all-omniscient God is with us, what can possibly prevail against us?

2 Corinthians 12:10
That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Psalm 46:10
"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 118:6
The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?

Isaiah 26:3
The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.

Intercession

Intercessory prayers reflect the very essence of God's own character...rich in unconditional love, grace and mercy.

Praying for others enables us to look beyond ourselves and increases our empathy, concern and compassion for others.

Think about this...who do you want to spend eternity with? Are there people you care about who do not know Jesus? Are you praying for them...interceding without ceasing?

Then, consider this...love and pray for your enemies. This is truly putting on the compassion of Christ and going beyond yourself in interceding for them.

Remember, prayer is sweet smelling aroma that pleases Him (Revelation 5:8). The Father desires our prayers! Prayer strengthens our faith and increases our intimacy with Him! In it, we are reflecting and glorifying Jesus!

Let us pray with sincere hearts and without ceasing on behalf of God's hurting children...that they will have a heart change and receive Jesus...that they will share in our eternal inheritance...and experience the riches, hope, glory and everlasting grace freely given by our Abba Father!

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

How To Study The Bible. No Commentaries Needed.

At our family Thanksgiving gathering this year, I was blessed to have a conversation with a young woman who recently accepted Jesus Christ into her heart and life as her Lord and Savior.  She exuded an overflow of the Spirit living inside of her. She was full of awe and wonder of how radically God has softened and changed her heart.  It was evident that the Holy Spirit is giving her a hunger, thirst and a deep reverence for the word of God. She was full of questions wanting to experience the whole counsel of God. This caused me to wonder how many young converts have the same yearning and hunger within, where they once were spiritually dead now made alive by the Spirit of the Living God residing in them, but aren't being exhorted to study the word of God for themselves. That yearning within can only be satisfied through  intimacy with God and the only way to have true intimacy with God is to peer into his heart and connect with him at a heart level by getting to know His character, the depth of His redeeming love for us and the covenant relationship we have with Him.  How do we peer into and get to know the very heart of God?.....through his word and by his spirit.

As I shared with my young friend, finding a solid bible teaching church is key to building our faith and growing spiritually,  but studying the word of God on our own is equally important. Bible commentaries are excellent and helpful tools to aid in the study of the word but nothing interprets the word of God like the word of God. In other words, scripture interprets scripture and we don't need a commentary to interpret what the word of God wants to teach us personally through his Spirit.

There are many who have written books on how to study the bible but I have found personally that no one quite explains it as simply as Anne Graham Lotz.  She  presents the simple 3-question Bible study method the she uses to study the Bible in context.

1.  What Does It Say?
2.  What Does It Mean?
3.  What Does It  Mean To Me?

It is designed to lead you on a personal journey through  Scripture to a fresh encounter with God through his word and by his Spirit. I love how she reiterates that when we read his Word, we must come to Him expecting to hear from Him through prayer. I pray that like Samuel we too can say..."Speak Lord, for your servant hears." (1 Samuel 3:9)