SAY "YES LORD"

But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." Luke 5: 5

When Peter said "yes" to Jesus' request to get into his boat, and after on to cast his net for a catch, the future apostle's plans and life were irrevocably changed.

The following three benefits Peter received for his obedience to the Lord will be yours when you also walk in obedience to Him:

• Moment of obedience as Peter's destiny was revealed to him. After Jesus had filled the empty nets with an enormous catch, He transformed Peter into a "fisher of men".

The Lord said to him, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men". Peter's life mission was made known to him through obedience.

• Obeying God allows Him to demonstrate His power in our life. Peter witnessed the miracle catch of fish that started with a "yes" to a simple request.

He could have said that would be a waste of time and effort, since they had toil all night without a catch. Instead, he took the Lord at His word and saw the power of God at work.

• Obedience always results in a deeper understanding of God and of ourselves. Having seen the miracle of the full nets, Peter gained fresh insight into who Jesus was and how he, Peter, was a sinful man.

Later on when Jesus asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven".

It was at that moment of obedience, I believe, Peter had this glorious revelation of Jesus of Nazareth.

Prayer: Lord, give a heart that is always obedient to Your Word.

Scriptural Reading: Luke 5:1-11

ACCEPT GOD'S SOLUTION

And when he had consulted with the people, appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever." - 2 Chronicles 20:21

Christians almost universally agree, "God answers prayer." But many people, if they were honest, would amend the phrase to say, "The Lord answers most prayers, but not mine."

A believer can fervently call upon God without receiving what he considers a satisfactory answer. The stumbling block isn't God's unwillingness or inability to respond, but rather our unwilling to accept His solution.

If we come to God with a pre-conceived idea of how to solve our problem, we will likely overlook His true solution.

Suppose King Jehoshaphat had decided that God could answer his prayer only by giving the army extra strength for the forthcoming skirmish. He would have called a war council, arrayed his soldiers in armour, and set up battle lines.

God's solution was entirely unexpected: First, send the choirs out singing praises, then watch the Lord save Israel. If Jehoshaphat's soldiers had attempted combat, they would have lost Jerusalem.

Sometimes we don't like God's solution. We desire freedom from physical pain rather than an extra measure of grace to endure the hurt.

Or we want a new job, not a command to seek the boss' forgiveness for our poor attitude.

In essence, we want the Lord to fix everything without requiring any effort from us. But our willingness to obey is key to answered prayer.

When He tells us how to resolve our problem, we must act just as He specifies, or we will never experience victory.

Prayer: Father, all Your ways are perfect. Show me Your ways.

Scriptural Reading: 2 Chronicles 20:14-25

Prayer for new week

Your little efforts will produce great results. You will change position this year. You will move out of the class of 'the rest' into the class of 'the best'. You will come out 'better' and not bitter. Wherever your helpers are, they will locate you.  God will preserve and keep you and your loved ones from evil, accidents, tragedy and calamity. 

The Lord is your refuge and your fortress, so you shall not be moved; sorrow and tears shall not be your portion. As the Lord showed favor to Joseph and promoted him in the middle of famine and economic predicaments; so shall you be highly favored even in the midst of tough economic situations and chaos around you.

Happy New Week from us ASB-World. 

The 4 Prophetic Words That Will Inspire Your Prayer Life

Sometimes you pray and you wonder if God is even hearing you. You grow weary in waiting for the answers to your prayers. I've been there. I get it.

But God does hear your prayers. In fact, He loves to hear you pray and wants you to keep crying out. I believe these four prophetic utterances the Holy Spirit shared with me will inspire your prayer life.

1. I Love to Hear You Pray

I love to hear your voice in prayer every morning when you awake. It's one of My favorite parts of the day. When you awake and begin declaring your love for Us, it moves Our heart. When you inquire of Me, it is My pleasure to answer. When you speak to My heart, it is My joy to speak back to yours. I hear your voice even when the hectic pace of life makes it difficult for you to hear Mine. So keep lifting your voice to Father in prayer. Keep telling Me about your struggles, fears, dreams and victories. I'm listening.

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 63:1; Psalm 27:4; Psalm 34:15

PRAYER: Remind me to begin each day praising Your name and lifting up my petitions to Father's throne—and help me, because I do not know how to pray as I ought. I trust in You to help me touch Father's heart in prayer.

2. Keep Crying Out

Sometimes when you stand up for what is right, people around you will call you a fanatic and say you are overreacting. But truth is truth, and you are called to proclaim it. Sometimes when you pursue Jesus with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength, people will say you are too fervent. But fire is fire. Remember blind Bartimaeus! He needed a touch from Jesus, so instead of remaining silent when the Messiah went by, he cried out to Him. The people around him told him to quiet his mouth, but he cried out all the more. Don't stop crying out for truth. Don't stop crying out for a touch from Jesus. Don't let anyone put out your fire. We love it!

SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:27; John 14:6; Mark 10:46-52

PRAYER: I want to burn and shine for You even when people don't understand my love for You. Help me to share Your heart with the people around me so they can know You the way I do and burn and shine with me.

3. You Can Tell Me Anything

You can trust Me. I am your Confidant. I am your Counselor. You can tell Me anything. Share your God-given dreams with Me, and I will help you bring them to pass. Share your fears with Me, and I will help you overcome them. Share your prayers with Me, and I will help you lift them to Father. You can trust Me. Seeing you walk in everything Jesus has for you—helping you reach your destiny in Christ—is part of My mission. I am on your side! I am for you, not against you.

SCRIPTURE: John 14:26; Romans 8:26; Romans 8:31

PRAYER: I need Your help more than I realized. Please hear my heart and help me to lean and depend on You as the Lover of my soul. Deliver me from evil, and help me become all Jesus died and rose again for me to be. Help me to trust You more.

4. I Can Do More Than You Can Imagine

Take the limits off. Do you realize that the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead dwells in you? Do you know that I am able to do more—much, much more—for you than you can ever imagine? Do you know that I want to? Will you believe in Me the way I believe in you? Take the limits off! Dream with Me! Let your eyes see, your ears hear and your heart dwell on what I have prepared for the one I love. Your best is yet to come. Only believe.

SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1:19-20; Ephesians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 2:9

PRAYER: Your promises are glorious, and I want to walk in every one of them. I want to see things the way You see them. Reveal to me the things You have prepared for me in love. Stir my heart to follow You toward Your perfect will.

Jennifer LeClaire

Relationship: 3 ways Facebook is killing your marriage

Facebook is great. It is something that most of us use almost every day. However, it shouldn't be surprising to hear that Facebook has been mentioned in many a divorce case.

Watch out for these three ways Facebook could be killing your marriage, and make sure that Facebook doesn't change your marital status!

1. Taking time away from your spouse

It's no secret that Facebook can be a great time waster. Sure, it's fun scrolling through endless pages of status updates from people you haven't seen in years (or, if your news feed is anything like mine, from people you can't even remember meeting). What could be more entertaining than reading about Jessie's 7-year-old's loose tooth, looking at what Joe ordered for dinner or watching mind-numbing videos?

Kidding aside, Facebook can become quite addicting and can consume inordinate amounts of time. Before you know it, you've wasted your entire evening staring at a screen instead of your gorgeous spouse. So, before you waste another minute, log off of Facebook and log on to your spouse.

2. Keeping track of old "friends"

Obviously, one of the best parts about Facebook is being able to stay connected with friends and family. It's easy to check a status update and instantly know what's going on with your cousin Mike — or anyone else for that matter. No doubt, it's a great way to find out about things you feel you should have already known about (Say what? My little brother's engaged?). And who doesn't appreciate those birthday reminders?

Unfortunately, this ability to stay "in the know" with anyone and everyone also has its downsides. Have you ever had that urge to check out what your high school sweetheart is doing now? Have you ever wondered what he or she looks like 25 years later? All too often, that temptation to just "see what they're up to" is the beginning of a slippery slope.

Let's be honest. People tend to overemphasize their virtues on Facebook. When's the last time you saw someone post a picture of himself first thing in the morning when he looked like a mess? Seeing the too-good-to-be-true side of your old "special friend" doesn't benefit your marriage. It can feed comparison and even lead to thoughts of "what could have been." That's certainly not a recipe for a happy and healthy marriage.

3. Reconnecting and developing relationships with old "friends" or other members of the opposite sex

One of my favorite things about Facebook is the ability to connect with people from around the world. For example, I lived in Sydney, Australia for a couple of years and have since lost contact with people whom I consider to be great friends. Facebook makes it easy to find and reconnect with them — to build upon friendships that would otherwise be lost.

As great as this ability to reconnect is, it can present a serious danger to your marriage. Too many people — both male and female — are seeking emotional connection, validation and understanding from people online rather than from their spouses. If they're feeling unfulfilled in their marriages, they look elsewhere to have their needs met rather than turning to the people who matter most. Unfortunately, seemingly innocent chats online can quickly lead to emotional infidelity and turn into meetings, dates and more.

Ask yourself this question. "What is my motivation in messaging this person?" If that motivation has anything to do with physical attraction, emotional involvement or getting back at your spouse, then perhaps you should reconsider your use of Facebook. The fact is, even if your motives are innocent, the ability to message and "like" someone of the opposite sex can send a message that may easily be misinterpreted, damaging your relationship with your spouse. read more here

So remember, as wonderful as Facebook is, it's not as wonderful as your spouse. Watching out for these three dangerous trends will help you avoid a lot of contention, heartache and regret.

KEYS TO VICTORY

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Revelation 12:11

Our victory in Christ is not achieved on our own merit but through the grace of God.

It is only through His grace that we overcome our eternal adversary — satan, as well as other challenges we encounter in life. We overcome on three counts:

• The blood of the Lamb: Jesus is the Lamb of God who was ordained from the foundation of the world to be slain.

The death of Christ on the cross of Calvary was the beginning of our deliverance which was completed through His resurrection. For our sins He died that we might be reconciled to God.

His blood is that which paid the price for our sins and delivered us from the power and control of satan.

Anytime we plead the blood of Jesus in our prayers, we re-affirm the great victory that was accomplished two thousand years ago on our behalf. The blood of Christ caused the defeat of satan.

• The word of our testimony: When we boldly declare the Lordship of Christ over our lives, we eliminate every other being or power that seeks to lord it over us.

Our testimony of what Christ has done and continues to do in our lives, keeps the enemy in his place of defeat.

• Loyalty to the end: Our long term-commitment to the Lord tells the enemy that nothing He does can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus. He can do his worst but we will remain committed to the Lord with our whole lives.

Prayer: Jesus, You are my Lord and Your blood gives me victory.

Scriptural Reading: Revelation 12:1-12

Do 2 Wrongs Make a Right? Read This.....

I know you have probably heard this question before, “Do 2 Wrongs Make a Right?” The answer is emphatically no! When you have two wrongs you simply have two wrongs. The is especially true when it comes to disagreements or should I say arguing.

When you find disagreements and arguments creeping up as a part of your life, take a step back and assess the situation. Yes, assess the situation. It may feel strange doing this if you are used to protecting yourself with your words.  However, if you want to lessen the arguments and disagreements you have in your relationships, stop, and take an assessment before blasting out words you cannot take back.
In the midst of a disagreement both parties think they are right. Each stands their ground to prove their point and show who’s wrong.

Once spoken, hurtful words cannot be taken back. In the heat of an argument words spoken can be cutting and hurtful. Once the fussing is over you are left trying to make amends and clean up the damage. It takes effort and self restraint but it is sooo much easier to take stock of what you are about to say before it parts your lips than to go back and try to mend strained relationships, hurt feelings, and broken hearts because words were spoken from a place of rage.
When in a relationship with another person whether it’s a parent, spouse, or child don’t let yourself get to a place of rage where you have no guard over the things that are coming from your mouth. In a moments time you can go from peaceful blitz to crazy rage. In that situation it is not the other person’s fault, they did not make you do that. If control cannot be established over “going there” then that is a personal issue that needs some attention.

Two wrongs do not make a right. You just end up with two wrongs. Take time to listen. Sometimes people just need to be heard. Listen, sometimes there’s a cry for help disguised in a rant. Listen, sometimes there’s an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Listen, with ears to understand and a heart to heal rather than an ear to condemn and find fault. A gentle answer turns away wrath. But a mouth that spews venom only adds to the poisonous mix. We all have to begin somewhere. The best place to begin is from the point you stand at today. The good thing about today is that it’s a doorway to your future. Read here

There will be times when you disagree with another person but arguing, fussing and heated disagreements do not have to be a regular part of your future. It is possible to live a peaceable life without these things. The next time you feel an argument stirring, stop, take assessment of the situation and handle it with good care.