Guided by God's Spirit

If God is interested in what we eat and drink, (1 Corinthians 10: 31), He is certainly also interested in what we do and when we do it, even it is merely what we eat for dinner.

Following God's will during every decision He calls us to make insures our success in that endeavor. When we finish one task, we pray about what to do next.

Praying without ceasing for God’s direction for each moment of our day allows the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our steps. Then, we can ask His help in whatever He directs us to do.

The Serenity Prayer is very popular among self-help groups, but it is a blue print for walking in the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5-6. It teaches us that we can hear God’s desire for every situation in our life.

It also teaches us that if we cannot deal with our circumstances as they arise, we can put them in God’s capable hands before we go on to the next moment.

This practice keeps us from borrowing trouble from tomorrow ad from worrying about the future. We experience each moment fully and deliberately with thought, prayer and purpose.

If we can do something to change our situation, we do it. If we cannot affect the issues, we turn them completely over to God.

We give everything about the matter over to God, as well as all of the natural consequences of those issues. Then, we go about our day in the peace of God that passes all human understanding.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us the wisdom to know what situations we can change, and which to leave in Your hands. Give us the strength to deal with the issues that You reveal are our responsibility, and help us to turn the rest over to You. We ask You to help us to develop an attitude of acceptance about them.

If we cannot change them, then we will praise You for them, in them, and through them, even for the negative things. By doing this, we will end up walking in complete serenity and in the dynamic power of Your Holy Spirit. We pray that You will fill us through all of our being with all of Your fullness, and that we may have the richest measure of Your presence and become a body, which is completely filled with Your Trinity (Ephesians 3:19, Amplified).

Thought for the Day:

Serenity Prayer: “Father, grant me the patience to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”  

Emotional and Mental Health - The Center of God's Will

 

Most people are either on top of the world right now, or buried under the burden of frustration, discouragement and disappointment. Jesus Christ makes the difference in both of these instances.

Even if someone is totally successful and right where their goals led them over the last few years, they may be as unsatisfied and unfulfilled as they were when they started their journey to the top.

Many people give up at this point and opt for a simpler life, downgrading their salary and vocational expectations for a quieter and less stressful lifestyle.

For Believers, living in the center of God's will is the only place where we find complete contentment. He may continue to lead us in the vein in which we started - adding an altered mindset, or He may change our circumstances completely.

It all hinges on finding and fulfilling God's directives for our life (Proverbs 3:5-6). We completely surrender our will and plans to Him, and live by the direction of His Holy Spirit instead of our human desires.

Even if God leads us through some valley or trial, we find His purpose for us in it. We can witness of His mercy and grace to a fellow traveler, learn a needed lesson, view His provision for us in a whole new light, and grow in our intimacy with Him through it all (1 Peter 4:12).

We learn to depend on His Body during our trials, to grow closer to our spouse, family and church family; our faith grows in the fact that we can count on certain people to help us and that God never fails us.

Prayer:

Father God, some trials devastate us to our very core. They shake the foundations of our trust in You and our faith in humanity. Yet, we often survive these unhappy circumstances with enduring blessings that we never would have experienced without them. Remind us to focus on You in the good times and the bad, giving You praise for each instance as we focus on You - You never change (Hebrews 13:8).

Help us to see life from Your viewpoint rather than our limited, human perspective. Spur us to remain faithful to You in spite of them. We look at life now through Your unfailing love and comfort, according to Your promises and provision (Psalm 119:75-76). Demonstrate Yourself to us in all of Your power and majesty. 

Thought for the Day:

Prayerfully surrendering our trials to God allows us to gain His perspective on what seems like a turn of bad luck; we ask God's Spirit for His wisdom and direction; and we come through these times of testing with a deeper faith and stronger spiritual, mental and emotional fortitude than we ever experienced in our life in the past.

God is Not Mocked

 

We often take our success for granted. We feel entitled to receive the rewards of all we accomplish, because we forget where our blessings actually come from or to show gratitude to God for His provision in our life.

We expect to live a pleasant life and to reap the rewards of our hard work and planning, regardless of our behavior. We even grow lax spiritually and compromise our holiness by dabbling in the devil's den of iniquity.

We can be sure, however, that our sin will find us out (Galatians 6:7; Numbers 32:23). We will eventually reap the destruction that we are sowing. Our quality of life may suddenly be jerked right out from under us as this devastation catches up with us.

We start to reap the rotten fruit, which is the result of the tainted seeds we planted in our garden of life for so long. We saw nothing wrong with our little indiscretions with Satan's suggestions, because we worked hard, provided for our family and lived for righteousness more than giving in to sin.

Yet, God will not be mocked, and evil corrupts our good morals and grieves the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:33; Ephesians 4:30). God will not endure our disobedience forever. There comes a time when we have to pay the dues of our corrupt flirting with sin.

We may experience God's discipline in small, compassionate ways, which brings our repentance; or we may harden our heart and continue in immorality until we eventually lose the blessings of God on our life, which we are used to experiencing.

We tend to get angry with God at times like these, railing against Him for expecting us to walk uprightly before Him all the time, comparing our self to the lives of other people rather to understand God's requirements that we live a holy life before Him (Luke 12:48).

If we stand firm in our pride and resist the Spirit's drawing, we will sink lower and lower into the mire of destruction and wickedness, continuing to blame others for our behavior and making excuses for our thoughts, words and deeds.

However, if we surrender to God's discipline, humble our pride and accept our fault in the circumstances, repenting with our entire soul and spirit for our duplicity, then God can favor us with His blessings once more.

Prayer:

Father God, human pride and self-assurance are snares of the enemy. You show us in Your Word how You want us to live our life. Unless we walk justly and love mercy and walk humbly before You, we will reap the corruption of our sin regardless of how inconsequential that we consider it to be (Micah 6:8).

Draw us close to You, never let us go, restore to us the joy of our salvation and help us to lay down our sins so we can hear You rejoicing over us with singing (James 4:8; Psalm 51:12; Zephaniah 3:17). Never allow us to grow so lax in our spiritual walk that we compromise Your values.

Thought for the Day:

When we choose to enjoy the momentary pleasures of sin, we set our self up for the loss of God's blessings in our life; sin is ultimately destructive and always leads to disparaging times of injury for us. - Hebrews 11:25

Intimate Communion

 

 

The word communion denotes a union, intimacy, fellowship, harmony, compatible communication, etc. God wants to share His sweet communion with flawed humanity. Yet, so many people reject His offer.

In fact, while we were still sinners, God died for all helpless humanity who are lost in a garden full of the thorns and thistles of sin (Romans 5:7-8).

Yet, the world hates being told that they are wrong and accountable for their choices and behavior. They want the happiness, success, riches and provision of the kingdoms of this world.

Very few hunger for forgiveness, peace and walking on the road of life that leads to heaven. The discipline it takes to learn sensitivity to the leading of God's Spirit is daunting to them.

Christianity also involves discernment in order to walk the straight and narrow path through a life with a smorgasbord of options. However, the Spirit of God takes the guesswork out of all of this.

If we seek God each moment of the day, He leads and we follow. We end up in divine appointments, which will blow our mind and provide godly results that further God's Kingdom in the earth.

All God asks of us is that we spend time in intimate communion with Him: worshipping the beauty of His holiness, sitting at His feet in humility and prayer, and waiting patiently until He leads us so that we can follow.

Prayer:

Father God, sensitivity to Your Spirit is the issue which makes us or breaks us as Your fulfilled child. You fill us with Your enthusiasm and You help us to walk in Your ways with Your truth. Teach us to walk in all the light You give us each day and to humbly serve You with our life.

You are always faithful to lead us by Your perfect peace and to keep us in the center of Your will as we spend time in intimate communion with You. We flourish in divine appointments and we see Your Spirit within us impacting the lives of people all around us.

Thought for the Day:

As we allow God's Spirit to lead us, His fruit replace the short-comings in our life and opens the door for the divine life of Christ to control us during each moment of the day.