First of All...Prayer

Restless! For several months I have felt a restlessness.  I have had to grab the four corners of my mind and shake it to attention.  Focus! Stop wondering to and fro!  Get it together!  Geeze... this kind of distraction hinders production and tramples all over my daily tasks and goals.  Because of distraction, my prayers have become shallow.  Group prayer has been a challenge.  How do I lead this group of spiritual babies if I cannot control my restless spirit? 

Jeremiah 29:

11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

 ¹²Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

 ¹³And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

 ¹⁴And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

First of all...Prayer!  I asked the Lord and received his reply.  Prayer must be the forefront of our daily walk with Jesus.  Distractions will come, schedules will be filled, phones will ring, babies will cry, and normal functions of life will continue to pull at you and steal your focus and time.  We cannot allow business to steal our relationship with Christ.  We cannot allow cluttered schedules to steal our relationship with our family. We must have the "mind of Christ" (1Cor. 2:16) and seek his will for us. 

Reggie: You Can't Change Your Past, but You Can Change Your Future

Is it possible to change your past? Of course not, however it is possible to use the disappointments of the past change your future. Dabbs, conceived as a result of a $20.00 decision is given up for adoption by his young mother and grows up in a Christian home. He is challenged by his worthless feelings and discovers that he has a choice of how he responds to life's challenges.

Reggie shares real life troubles and challenges with an inspirational message of positive choices. He writes about his many messages to youth and ends with a message of salvation and hope. The book contains pages of reflection and is a possible resource for small groups.

I received this book free from BookSneeze.

Praise Break

Leap of Faith

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."  Thomas Jefferson

What an amazing declaration!  More than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, the Continental Congress adopted the United States Declaration of Independence which was a formal declaration explaining why our original 13 colonies should be independent from the rule of Great Britain.

The  Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 representatives from 13 colonies uniting together for the common cause; turning their vision of freedom into reality.  Proclaiming independence from Great Britain and their union to each other, the thirteen colonies became thirteen independent states united together as one nation, now separated from the law and taxes of Great Britain.  

The Bible teaches the truth of Thomas Jefferson's proclamation.   Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).  Jesus told his disciples in John 8:32-33 that they should hold onto His teachings because then they would know the truth and the truth will set them free! If we want to experience liberty, we must seek the Lord and be filled with the Spirit because,"...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17b).

Psalm 146  proclaims this truth and today I declare that as a citizen and as a nation we need to acknowledge our Creator and follow the Word of God so that we can again become one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all! Then, we can practice our unalienable Rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness in God.

May you be blessed this Independence Day and find peace, love, happiness, life and liberty in your Creator, Jesus Christ - the flesh (son) of God.

 

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