YOU CAN'T HELP GOD

"The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Genesis 16:2

Have you ever felt that you were supposed to receive something from God but it just hasn't materialized?

You wait and wait until finally, you decide that maybe God wants you to help out the situation.

This is exactly what happened in the case of Abraham and Sarah.

God had promised them a son, but as years passed by, they were still without a child.

They took their eyes off the One who had made the promise and decided to take matters into their own hands.

So, Abraham lay with Sarah's maidservant, Hagar, and she bore a son, Ishmael (see Genesis 16).

The son of promise, Isaac, came later through Sarah, just like God had promised. However, as a result of this act of disobedience, the maidservant and her son became a torn in the flesh of Abraham and Sarah.

The way to avoid making "Ishmael" decisions is to seek God fully on the matter in prayer. It pays to wait on God until He tells you "go". Seeking the counsel of more experienced people can also save you from bad decisions.

It is also helpful to be in an accountable relationship with your spouse and other close associates who know you well. The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"(Jere. 17:9).

Whenever we desire something passionately, we place ourselves in a dangerous position because we no longer look at the matter objectively.

We think 'the end justifies the means.' We become venerable to Satan's deceptions, and if we do not take care, we shipwreck our destiny.

Prayer: Ask the good Lord to shield you from mistakes that have potential to derail your destiny.

Scriptural Reading: Genesis 16:1-6

Do you Recognize God's still Small Voice? Then Read!

I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. The thought kept going through my mind: “What if I died tonight? I’m not ready to go to heaven.” Since I could not shake the thought, I got up, went downstairs and waited for my parents to come home from their meeting. When they did, I announced that I wanted to get saved, and they took me straightway to the pastor’s home, where he explained the plan of salvation and led me in the sinner’s prayer. I was 15 years old when I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior.

It was God’s voice that was speaking to me that night, calling me into His kingdom. His voice came as a spontaneous thought inside my head. However, I didn’t define this as the primary way God’s voice is heard until I had completed a desperate, 10-year search to hear Him clearly.

Christianity is unique among religions, for it alone offers a personal relationship with the Creator beginning here and now, and lasting throughout eternity. Jesus declared, “This is eternal life, that they may know [God]” (John 17:3). Unfortunately, many in the church miss the great blessing of fellowship with our Lord because we have lost the ability to recognize His voice. Though John 10:27 promises us that Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice,” too many believers are starved for that intimate relationship that alone can satisfy the desire of their hearts.

I was one of those sheep who was unable to identify the voice of my Shepherd. I hungered for deeper spiritual intimacy with God, but I could not find it. Then on the 11th year of my Christian life, I had the spontaneous thought that I should take a year of my life and focus on learning to hear God’s voice. I decided to act on that thought and devote a year to focused effort, learning to hear His voice. Unbeknownst to me, it was the Lord calling me to invest that time.

That year the Lord revealed four simple keys, all found in Habakkuk 2:1-2, which unlocked the treasure of His voice. Using the four keys together allowed me to easily hear God’s voice on a daily basis. Don't worry about the order of the keys. Just make sure you are using all four keys. It was the most transforming step I have taken in the 45 years of my Christian life! I would like to share them with you so you can try them and see if they do the same for you.

Key No. 1: God’s voice in your heart often sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts.

Habakkuk knew the sound of God speaking to him (Hab. 2:2). Elijah described it as a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12). I had always listened for an inner, audible voice, and God does speak that way at times. However, I have found that usually God's voice comes as spontaneous thoughts, or flowing thoughts.

For example, haven't you ever been driving down the road and had a thought come to you to pray for a certain person? Didn’t you believe it was God telling you to pray? What did God's voice sound like? Was it an audible voice, or was it a spontaneous thought that lit upon your mind?

Experience indicates that we perceive spirit-level communication as spontaneous thoughts, impressions and visions, and Scripture confirms this in many ways. For example, one definition of paga, a Hebrew word for intercession, is "a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting." When God lays people on our hearts, He does it through paga, a chance-encounter thought “accidentally” intersecting our minds. We consider it chance encounter in that we didn’t reason it up; however, it is purposeful because God sent it to us.

Therefore, when you want to hear God’s voice, you tune in to chance-encounter, spontaneous or flowing thoughts. Even Satan’s thoughts come to us as spontaneous thoughts, which is why we are commanded to “take every thought captive” (2 Cor. 10:5). I am sure all of us have experienced spontaneous evil thoughts coming to us, even attacking us right in the middle of our prayer and worship times. So I conclude that analytical thoughts are mine, spontaneous good thoughts come from the Holy Spirit, and spontaneous evil thoughts come from evil spirits.

God’s thoughts line up with Scripture and with His various names: Comforter, Counselor, Teacher, Giver of Life, Healer and Deliverer. His thoughts edify, exhort and comfort. They are pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, and unwavering (James 3:17).

Satan’s thoughts line up with his various names: accuser, adversary, thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy. His thoughts bring jealousy and selfish ambition (James 3:14-15). They condemn and bring despair, rejection, fear, doubt, unbelief and, in general, misery.

Key No. 2: Become still so you can sense God’s flow of thoughts.

Habakkuk said, "I will stand on my guard post" (Hab. 2:1). Habakkuk knew that to hear God's quiet, inner, spontaneous thoughts, he had to first go to a quiet place and still his own thoughts and emotions. Psalm 62:5 encourages us to silence our souls before God. There is a deep inner knowing (spontaneous flow) in our spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds. If we are not still, we will sense only our own thoughts.

Loving God through a quiet worship song is one very effective way to become still. (Note 2 Kings 3:15.) After I worship and become silent within, I open myself for that spontaneous flow. If thoughts come of things

Arise, Possess Thy Possession

TEXT: JUDGES 6:33-40

Key verse: “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him” (Judges 6:34).

If we win our internal battles, external aggressions can be easily contained. Our inner fortitude propels us to withstand the storms of life as they come and victory is thus almost certain.

Gideon had just cleansed up the obstacle to spiritual advancement in his father’s house and that of his small tribe - the Abiezrites. The altar of Baal had been pulled down. The initial rage of his tribesmen became abated as the external aggression of the vast number of the Midianites, the Amalekites and the Arabians became imminent. Gideon, the man on whom the “Spirit of the Lord came”, blew the trumpet to gather an army unto himself. The Abiezrites, having realised their folly, were the first to respond to the call. Others, from the tribes of Manasseh, Asher Zebulun and Naphtali, came with zeal too. The leader needlessly again asked from God a confirmation of his being chosen to root out the enemy. The Lord graciously acceded to his request even though it was done out of unbelief. We need to be cleansed inwardly through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in order to overcome the temptations and trials that confront us in life and faith in God’s ability to save to the uttermost (1 Corinthians 10:13).

A people, tribe or nation will be defended by the Lord only if it walks with the Lord. Those that forget God would incur His wrath (Psalm 9:17). When we are faced with problems that overwhelm us, we need to call upon God in prayer to strengthen our faith. Our faith should rest on God’s promises so that we are not frightened by intimidating circumstances. Unity and oneness of purpose are necessary ingredients to defeat the foe (Psalm 133:1-3). God’s blessings attend our endeavours in such situations. No matter the strength of the enemy, or the arsenal they unleash, if we are right with God, we shall win the battle.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The Promised Land is for the valiant in battle.

Recipes: BRAIDED NUTELLA BREAD

Here’s what you will need:

½ teaspoon yeast
1 cup warm water
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup Nutella
Cornmeal for dusting
1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water to use as an egg wash

Let’s get baking.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in ¼ cup of the water. Let sit for 10 minutes to activate.

Meanwhile, combine flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. After add yeast and the remaining water, mix on low with a dough hook attachment. Turn speed up to medium, and knead dough for about 7 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and then set in a warm place. The dough is ready when doubled in size – about an hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to form a rectangle, roughly 12 x 15”. Spread Nutella in an even layer on the surface, leaving a ½ inch border of dough. (I found it helpful to heat the Nutella in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds. This makes spreading it much easier.) Roll tightly and place on a parchment-lined / silicon-lined baking sheet that’s been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cut the dough down the middle with a knife, leaving one end intact. Twist ends overtop each other, making sure to turn cut side toward the top. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let sit 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush surface of the bread with the egg wash. Bake bread for 20 minutes. Raise temperature to 425°F and bake until lightly browned on top, about 5-7 minutes more.* Remove from oven, and let cool before serving.

*My bread got a little bit darker then I would have liked. Keep a close eye on your bread when you increase the temperature.

Source: inspiredbycharm.com, stylishboard.com

The Sacred Call

TEXT: MATTHEW 10:1-15

Key verse: “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mathew 10:7).

Fishing, as an occupation does require much training, teaching, guidance, commitment, consecration and hard work. Soul winning is compared to fishing, except that the soul winner ‘catches’ souls into the kingdom of God.

In our text, the time had come for our Lord Jesus Christ to try out the men He had chosen as disciples and pioneer soul winners. He thus sent them out, as it would appear that they had completed their probation. The ministry of reconciling men to God is a great trust. Those chosen, therefore to carry out this task should only be those that are found fit. The disciples had been with Christ for sometime. They had watched Him, observed His methods, received instructions and assimilated His teachings. They had asked questions on knotty issues and had obtained clarifications. It was now time to go out and put their knowledge into practice. Though the manner and method by which believers are called today and commissioned may be different, the task of reconciling men to God remains the same. The urgency that Jesus communicated to the disciples as they were sent out has not changed either. Thousands today, die each minute and go to a Christless eternity in hell. How we need to urgently rescue the perishing.

When healing and deliverance follow the preaching of the gospel, repentance from sin and new life in Christ must not be relegated to the background. If men must make heaven and escape eternal damnation in hell, what they need is unrelenting warning against sin and its consequences. Pastors, preachers and true believers must address themselves to this task as true disciples of Jesus Christ.

Are you a Christian, born again and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ shed at Calvary? The commandment from the Master comes to you today ‘Go and tell men that the kingdom of God is at hand’. Persuade them to repent and believe the gospel. This is a sacred call that true believers cannot lay aside.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Christians owe the world the gospel message.

 

The Ten Behaviors That Keep You Single

 Are You Getting In Your Own Way?

If you are single, but would rather not be, I am sure you have given significant thought about why. I know what you’re thinking: Why is it that you don’t have a man yet certain people around you seem to hop (sometimes effortlessly) from one relationship to another? Well, one answer is it may not be your season. For many, it is as simple as that.

However, for others, it’s actually the right time but they’re practicing the wrong behaviors and essentially standing in their own way. (Now, before you get upset with me, just listen.) Here are 10 things I have personally witnessed my single female clients and friends do that keep them single. Are you guilty too?

You Don't Believe In Love: If you truly think you are destined to live life alone or you are of the thought that Michelle Obama married the “last good man on earth,” you’ll be right. Why? Because our belief is our reality.

You Hold On to Someone Who Isn't Available: There are many reasons someone may not be available to date. Is he separated or married? Perhaps he is living with his girlfriend? If you hold on to such a person, fully knowing you are shared with someone else, you illustrate the lowest form of self-love and that won't get you where you want to go.

You Don't Believe Him When He Tells You the Truth: Many times, men will directly tell you their outlook on the relationship. They’ll say things like, “I’m not interested in anything serious” or “I don’t see myself being married.” If you hear anything similar, don’t think you’re the one person who can and will change his perspective. Trust me, you can’t; you won’t. Moreover, you’ll just end up wasting your time and resources. You only have power to change yourself.

Being a Toxic Date: Toxic dates are the ones who complain all the time. They are the ones who always blame you. They may always turn things around to make it someone else’s fault. They overreact to bad events. If all of this sounds familiar, "they" could be you. Toxic people are a huge energy drain. No matter how outwardly attractive or successful someone is, toxicity just ain’t sexy.

You Do Nothing Differently: My favorite question to ask prospective clients is: “How many dates have you gone on in the last two years?” Most answer “zero.” (FYI - The average single in the U.S. has not been on one date in the last two years). Then my second question is always, “Are you happy with your number?” Most say no. My final question is always, “What are you doing differently to change it?” Most say “nothing.” The bottom line is that in every aspect of our life (dating included) we can’t do the same old thing and expect different results.

You Take Bad Advice from Friends and Family: I have written a full chapter on this in my book. Your friends are not relationship experts. Your loved ones often give bad advice. It’s well meaning, but awful, dating advice because they aren’t objective. Plus, they aren’t therapists or dating experts.

You Commit Too Soon: A top dating mistake that I see my clients make often is going from casually dating someone to exclusively dating that someone within a short period of time. This is a widespread issue. In 2012, the average U.S. couple became exclusive within just five dates. This is much too soon. Why, because it takes time to observe their values and it you also don’t know someone until you have witnessed them in a time of adversity.

You're Lowering Your Standards to Compete: If you are concerned that because there are “so many women” vying for the man you are interested in you must “compete” and do things not within your value structure (like have sex earlier than planned), stop it. The moment you bend on your boundaries is the moment you begin to bully yourself.

You're Adhering to Ultimatums: Love is not selfish. Love doesn’t come with strings attached. If you have to give in to get him, get out.

Being List Obsessed: Do you chase after preferences? (You know, like he must be 6-foot tall and have perfect teeth?) We all have preferences and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The problem is when we don’t secure our own needs first. These are what I call in my book, “your relationship vitals” (values, personality type, non-starters, and attraction traits) and become obsessed with them opposed to what’s on a list of frills.

By Paul Carrick Brunson

Health: 5 Health Areas for Parents to Monitor With Their Kids

There is nothing I enjoy more than raising my four children, but I have found it to be a challenge to raise healthy-weight children in today’s society. With the tripling of the child obesity rate in our country, there are record numbers of children experiencing health problems that a generation ago were primarily observed in adults.

As a physician's assistant in family medicine, my job is not only to treat patients for their various health problems, but also to educate patients on ways to prevent diseases.

Lifestyle changes can be challenging, but when I took a successful child obesity intervention and prevention program that I had implemented in my community, the “Family Fitness Challenge,” and brought it to my church, I found that by combining current medical research about behaviors associated with obesity along with Bible verses to meditate on, it further inspired parents to make changes in their household that had a huge impact on the health of their entire family.

While there are multiple contributors to the child obesity epidemic, here are five areas that parents need to pay the most attention to:

1. Sleep. Research shows that people who regularly sleep too little and at the wrong time suffer long-lasting consequences: an increase in obesity and risk of diabetes, heart disease and other health problems. American children are the most sleep-deprived in the world. Children should get 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night, teenagers eight to nine, and adults eight.

“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:11, NIV).

2. Eat enough produce. The recommendations for the servings of produce came out when it was discovered that five servings was the minimum daily amount that was needed to reduce heart disease, cancers and obesity. According to the American Heart Association, the cardiovascular health of today’s youth is foreshadowing bad news for their adult years and the future of our country’s public health, after a survey found that less than 1 percent of teenagers in America met this ideal dietary goal.

“At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead” (Dan. 1:15-16).

3. Limit media time. Of all the areas I speak to patients about, our society’s excessive amount of time spent on media is the habit that poses the greatest challenge. Most parents underestimate the amount of time their kids spend on media. Current data reveals that U.S. children spend an average of 7.5 hours a day staring at screens. This screen time is affecting their physical activity, slowing their metabolism, interfering with their sleep cycles, exposing them to toxic advertising, and taking over time that could be spent interacting with family, friends, honing their artistic skills or growing their spiritual life. It is recommended that children limit screen time to two hours or less a day. With the excess time that children and adults are spending on screens, their hearts and minds are being continuously bombarded with the material and sometimes corrupt values of the world.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8).

4. Get enough physical activity. According to a recent study, Americans are spending eight hours a day barely moving. Couch-potato adults are now raising couch-potato children. With physical activity no longer being scheduled into our daily lives, our society is experiencing the negative health consequences that accompany it. The Bible talks about when Mary and Joseph had the job of raising Jesus and how he “grew in wisdom and stature,” meaning they looked out for his intellectual health as well as his physical health.

It is recommended that children get at least one hour of exercise a day. As a working mother of four, I find this advice to be impractical—at the end of the day, I have no idea how much time each of my children have spent exercising. I needed a watchdog to make sure my kids are getting the exercise they need. My easy solution has been to invest in pedometers for everyone in my family. By having our brood wear pedometers, I can ensure that my children (and their parents) get the minimum of 10,000 steps recommended daily.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

5. Drink more water. Soda and other sugary drinks are the No. 1 source of calories in many Americans' diets and the food item most commonly linked to weight problems. The average American gets an extra 300 calories a day in the form of liquids. By replacing liquid calories with water, it is possible to see a dramatic impact on weight problems in a short period of time.

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:37-38).

 By J’nelle Ruscetti