2.20.2008

Hello friends-

As I was flipping through my emails I received this prayer in a Forward; typically I don’t bother with forwards, but I thought that this one might be appropriate to send out in a weekly thing… I know that these are things I need to be reminded of to pray over more often. Prayer is so essential to our relationship with God and I hope this encourages you to find some time – in addition to this – to lift your words to our wonderful Adonai, our sovereign God.


Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness..

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control. Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth of my wrongdoing, and receive forgiveness.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me up lifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that You change people and You change things for good reasons. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every one of my family members and friends and their families. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

2.11.2008

Luke 9:23-25
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.


Hello!

I pray you are well, and learning abundantly from our Lord, and that you are seeing His graces every day. There has been a lot of things going on in my life recently or at least it would seem that way. Perhaps there are only a few things, but they’re weighty things so it seems like a lot. What’s good about having these weighty things on me is that it gives me all the more reason to praise God. They are a collection of good things… frustrating things… things that make me want to hold my breath. All still good things, and it opens the door for God to teach me a LOT about prayer and relying on Him.
Sunday, in going with how He’s been teaching me a lot, I was reminded of a very important element in being Christian: taking up the Cross, daily. I’m sure we hear that phrase a lot, say it a lot, or think about it now and then. We know it’s something we ought to do… right? But always good to be reminded of the simple fact that Jesus is to be central to our coming and to our going. Taking up the cross means offering myself and following the Author of life. Taking up the cross means taking God’s lead even when we want to be doing something else. Taking up the cross means – a lot of things, really. It’s the epitome of being a Christian. Repentance and forgiveness; rinse, wash, repeat. Learning and living and breathing all that it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ; doing mercy, loving justice, and walking with God.
Even when we’d rather do our own thing.
Even if what He’s calling us to do doesn’t make any sense at all.

Not just once but tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. Rinse. Wash. Repeat. It’s not really easy making the decision to follow Jesus every day. What is easy is to get distracted when maybe we intended to spend time with God (guilty as charged); it’s easy to gossip about that person you really don’t like and are completely annoyed by; it’s easy to be proud about how much I know about the Bible (yes again guilty as charged). Taking up my cross daily isn’t easy but by the grace of God. And His grace… is so good. Although it is very true that we ought to move forward with all that we can towards God… that no matter what we do, God still loves us. God still loves you. He knows what you’re like on the inside, the sins you want to keep buried- He still wants you. He still wants me. He still asks us to take up our cross and follow Him.

Praise be to God!

Romans 12:1,2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.


In love and in Him with prayers,
Your sister,
Yvonne