"Think On Good Things " - Inspirational Weekend

Many are wondering what this new year of 2019 will bring our way.  Many are just concerned about their New Year's resolutions.  Let us consider some up-building and encouraging Scriptures and Christian quotes to lift our spirits.   Let us not even think about politics or world chaos.  Let us think pure and joyful thoughts about life and the good Lord.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,  whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."  -  Philippians 4:8

What a positive and up-lifting verse that is !   You will be a much happier person and a better Christian if you do as it says.

A couple of years ago  I prayed and asked the Lord to please give me a much needed "hug" as I needed His touch and grace.  Shortly thereafter I found the following on the Internet and it was truly a great big hug from the Lord and I realized that in my daily Bible reading, I receive numerous hugs from Him.   For more on hugs from God, go here.

What a wonderful reminder of the power of God's Word !   The Bible is God's Love Letter to us, and also our Instruction Manual.  It can reach even a stony heart and it can transform the vilest person into a saint.  

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,  that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."  -  Romans 12:1-2

"Man's way leads to a hopeless end!  God's way leads to an endless hope !"  -  unknown

"Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ."  -   Oswald Chambers

"I don't need to read the Bible because I'm a great saint.  I read the Bible because I'll find God there.  It's about a daily walk with this person, Jesus."   -  Rich Mullins, a musician best known for "Awesome God."

Another thing, besides reading the Bible, is to be frequently in prayer; daily, hourly, whatever your soul needs and craves when you need to draw close to the good Lord, or to seek His guidance.

"Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  -  Philippians 4:6-7

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."   -  Jesus at Matthew 21:22

"Prayer is the nearest approach to God and the highest enjoyment of Him that we are capable of in this life."  -  William Law

"As a man prays so is he."  -  A. W. Tozer

"The best and sweetest flowers of paradise, God gives to His people when they are upon their knees.  Prayer is the gate of heaven."  -  Thomas Brooks

"To have God speak to the heart is a majestic experience, an experience that people may miss if they monopolize the conversation and never pause to hear God's responses."   -  Charles Stanley

A peacock struts around as if it is saying, "Look at me".  Peacocks, to me, are the epitome of pride.  God hates pride!

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."  -  Proverbs 8:13

"For all that is in the world,  the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."  -  1 John 2:16

Talking about pride is bordering on the negative in this "positive" article; but perhaps there is someone reading this that needs to be reminded that God hates pride.  Pride will keep you from having a close, personal, intimate, love relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Let us be humble and turn to the Lord in love and submission.  Let us endeavor to always please Him in every way, and to live as godly a life as possible.

Recently I came across the full version of the "Serenity Prayer" which was written by Reinhold Neibuhr, who lived from 1892 to 1971.  Like many, I was only familiar with the first paragraph of this beautiful and hopeful prayer.   I feel the Lord urging me to share it with you today.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things that I can; 

And wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; 

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

As it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

If I surrender to His will;

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with Him 

Forever and ever in the next.

Amen.

Don't let the world situation or your own personal trials wear you down; don't lose your joy.   If you are a child of God, you have much to rejoice about.  If Jesus is your Savior and you have been born again, then look up !  Your redemption draweth nigh!  (Luke 21:28)

True believers have a blessed hope (Titus 2:13).  Jesus will return soon to take His faithful followers  to be with Him in Heaven. 

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, now is the time to do so before it is too late.  Don't be left behind to face the horrors and wrath of the 7 year tribulation period.  Please do not lose your soul.  Please do not reject Jesus.  He is the only hope for us to gain eternal life in heaven.   

Jesus loves you.  

He will welcome you with open arms of love and forgiveness if you but repent and turn to Him in godly sorrow for your sins.  

Believe Jesus is the Savior.  Not with an intellectual knowledge, but with a heart full of belief that He and only He can save you by His shed blood at Calvary.  He died as a substitute in your place so that if you but believe in Him and that His shed blood can wash away your sins and make you a new creation, you will be saved and become a child of God.

Pray for forgiveness.  Repent.  Surrender to the good Lord with all of your very being.  The Bible tells us that we must also believe in Jesus' Resurrection.

Romans 10: 9, 10, 13 tells us:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13)  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

"Jesus saith unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."  -  John 14:6

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   -  John 3:16

Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend......and life!

"Prayer For Wisdom and Knowledge To Walk Worthy Of The Lord" - Inspirational Weekend

Do you ever feel at a loss as to know how to please the Lord?  It may be because you need to read your Bible more, because His Word is rich in showing us how to please Him and how to walk as Jesus walked, in total surrender to Yahweh.

Total surrender.  That is a primary way to please God the Father.

There are two prayers we will consider here that will show us how to please the Lord and to walk worthy of Him; one in Ephesians and the other in Colossians.  Both deal with prayers for knowledge and wisdom.  In truth, how can we please God and walk in His will without knowledge of His Word and without His guidance?   You might want to read a previous post on being wise by knowing God's will.  Here we will explore walking worthy of the Lord with the help of wisdom from Him and as found in His Holy Word.

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints:"   -  Ephesians 1:17-18

The above prayer for wisdom and knowledge in Ephesians is the first prayer we will discuss.  To know God is to be wise.  This is not just mere acknowledgment, but true knowledge.  The Ephesians did possess knowledge and enlightenment to some degree, but Paul prayed that they might more clearly and fully hold their present views.   Since we are imperfect humans and prone to error, we are not totally pure and we may have some dimness or not have a clear understanding where spiritual things are concerned.   That is why we need to be constantly reading the Bible and in frequent prayer.  Pray for God to give you a clear understanding of spiritual matters.

Until the Lord opens the eyes of our heart, we are as if blind.

I remember, before I was truly born-again, there was something like a veil that prevented me from completely comprehending revelations from the Lord; from understanding the Bible as I should have.   I may still understand in part, but the Lord has opened my eyes and my heart to a greater degree than ever I could have imagined.

Colossians 1:9-10 is part of the second prayer for wisdom that we will now consider:

(9) " For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;"

Let's just concentrate on verse 10 above, particularly "that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing."   We can see from this verse that to please God, we need to be fruitful in good works, and to also increase in the knowledge of God.   When we increase in the knowledge of God, we grow closer to Him and can therefore have a close and personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.  God wants to fellowship with us, and this is possible only with a close, intimate relationship with Him.  That pleases Him.  And if we have this close bond, we will naturally be inclined to please God in return and to obey Him and keep His commandments.  That is part of walking worthy of the Lord.  When we put God's kingdom first and endeavor to be as Christ-like as we possibly can, that is also pleasing to God and walking worthy of Him.  Put God and Jesus first in your life.

Be filled with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and walk in the Spirit and crucify the flesh, killing the lusts and desires which are of the world (Galatians 5:24-25).

All of these things may seem impossible to do but, if you are a true believer, the Holy Spirit will help you to walk worthy of the Lord.  Be constantly in the Holy Word and fervent in prayer; it will enable you to draw close to the Lord and to understand and do His will.

"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.  To know is not to be wise.  Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it.  There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool.  But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom."  -  Charles Spurgeon

"Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty, acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can Divine wisdom become ours."    -   J.I. Packer

I have not mentioned love.   "God is love" (1 John 4:16), "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."  Without love, we cannot truly begin to walk worthy of the Lord and please Him.
 If we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and with all of our strength (Mark 12:30), we will gladly obey Him and display true godliness, which enables us to walk worthy of Him.

First, be sure you are walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Get rid of all worldly lusts and desires and sinful thoughts.

"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."  -  Romans 8:8

You need to have vigorous faith to please the Lord, as that will enable you to be strong and to endure trials and to wait on the Lord, thereby walking worthy of Him.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight:"  -  2 Corinthians 5:7

"The just shall live by faith."  -  Galatians 3:11b

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."  -  Hebrews 11:6

"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and please God, so ye would abound more and more."                       -   1 Thessalonians 4:1