WALK AND TALK WITH JESUS
…I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. - John 15:15
Where you find a healthy friendship, you’ll find open communication. And that’s what the Lord wants with you. He wants you to come and talk to Him whether or not you are in the “right” mood. Jesus will always listen. When you are happy, talk to Him. When you are angry, you can talk to Him too. In fact, it’s better that you talk to Him when you’re angry so that you won’t fly into a rage and do something you’ll regret. Let His peace swallow up your anger.
Even when you are struggling with a temptation, you can talk to Jesus about it.
My friend, He is God and He knows what you are thinking. And when you are open and transparent about it with Him, you allow His grace and wisdom to fill you. This will empower you to overcome the temptation. You’ll begin to see the situation through His eyes and walk in His wisdom.
Beloved, talk to Jesus about everything. When something unexpectedly good happens to you, see Him behind it and thank Him for His favor. When He paints a rainbow or a beautiful sunset in the sky, tell Him that you love how He put it there just for you. Cultivate that friendship with the Lord. You’ll find even the mundane things of life pregnant with divine meaning and purpose. Everyday life will become precious to you!
REPENT OR PERISH
Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
Repentance is a word that is not used much by today's popular preachers who are more entertainers and life coaches and not truth tellers and friends. But Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life has no problem telling it like it easy including the fact that we need to repent or we shall perish! Continually we must examine our lives and character versus the word of God in the New Testament and see where we need to repent and turn away from our wicked ways and deceptions or will we will find ourselves in deep trouble and disqualified:
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? --- unless indeed you are disqualified.
JUST TRUST GOD’S GOODNESS AND PRAY IN THE SPIRIT
1 Corinthians 14:14 - For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
God has given us a powerful prayer gift—praying in tongues, which is not limited by distance, time or head knowledge. When you pray in tongues, you could be praying for your future or even a loved one overseas. You won’t know what you are praying unless God tells you. This is because your “understanding is unfruitful”—your mind is not involved.
“But Pastor, I must know what I am praying!”
Sometimes, it is better not to know what you are praying. In 1993, I had a long season of praying in the Spirit. If I had known then everything that I was praying in tongues, I would have freaked out! For example, I would have been afraid if I had known that the Holy Spirit was saying, “Father God, in the year 2002, anoint Joseph Prince to preach six messages every week to more than 10,000 people.” That has come to pass. But back in 1993, one service was enough to tire me out!
So I thank God that I don’t know what I am praying when I pray in tongues. I simply trust His goodness and pray in tongues for everything that He has planned for me to come to pass in His perfect timing.
Beloved, don’t stop praying in tongues just because you don’t know what you are praying. You could be praying for the safety of a loved one in a life and death situation. Especially when you feel an urge to pray because you sense danger, pray! Pray until you sense a release as the burden is lifted. The Holy Spirit will know exactly what is going on, who is in danger and how to pray for deliverance. (Romans 8:27)
You may say, “Well, I can just pray in English.” You can, but your prayer will be very limited because you don’t know everything. It is better to pray in tongues because the Spirit knows all things.
My friend, you don’t belong to the natural, limited realm. You belong to God who is unlimited! So pray in tongues, and see great things happening for you and through you.
Thought For The Day
It is to our advantage to pray in tongues because the Spirit knows all things
STRESSED OUT ABOUT MONEY? (2)
'God has not given us a spirit of fear.' 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
To overcome financial anxiety, you must:
(1) Understand where your anxiety comes from. Unless your name is Bill Gates, the chances are that you’ll experience some degree of financial anxiety. But when fear becomes your fixed state of mind, something’s wrong; it’s time to unwrap the package. Fear can be hereditary, passed from generation to generation. And it can trap you in a cycle that’s hard to break. But you can break it! Gideon tore down the altar where his family had worshipped idols for generations—and they were angry with him when he did it (Judges 6:25–30). But Gideon knew that in order to win in life, he must trust in nobody but God.
(2) Rise above your past failures. Have you made bad investments and now you’re afraid to take a risk? Are you hoarding as a hedge against future failure? Here’s the problem: nothing ventured, nothing gained! In football, the players who score the most goals are often the ones who miss the most chances. But they keep trying because if they don’t aim for the goal they can’t win. A barn filled with seed doesn’t produce a harvest. Furthermore, when the farmer plants his seed, drought and frost and pests can wipe him out. Yet if he doesn’t plant, failure is guaranteed. Getting the idea?
(3) Anticipate God’s goodness. As you get older you become more risk–averse, more inclined to look for a safe harbour. That’s understandable, but you can’t let fear control your life. David wrote, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.’ (Psalm 23:6 NKJV) When God’s goodness is what you are believing for—God’s goodness is what you’ll ‘surely’ get!
LIKE A FLOOD ...
...When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. - Isaiah 59:19, KJV
We all have times when we feel overwhelmed by life. You get a bad report, unexpected news, or someone you trusted wrongs you. What does God do? He doesn’t sit back and think, “Too bad. Sorry your life is so difficult.” No, when the enemy comes in like a flood, God raises up a barrier. In other words, that injustice, that bad break, that sickness gets God’s attention. He doesn’t sit back. He goes to work!
It’s like a parent with a child. If someone or something is giving them a hard time, you don’t think twice. You stop what you’re doing and immediately go to help. That’s the way it is with our heavenly Father. When the enemy comes in like a flood, God steps up and says, “Hey, wait a minute. You’re messing with the wrong person! That’s my son. That’s my daughter. If you’re going to mess with them, you’re going to have to first mess with Me — the all-powerful Creator of the universe.”
You’ve got to realize that in the tough times, you’re not alone. You’ve got somebody fighting for you. The Most High God has your back, and He’s ready to raise up a standard to protect you when the enemy comes in like a flood!
GOD'S AWESOME POWER
John 18:6 "As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground."
It is evident that it was the power of God that made these six hundred men fall backwards to the ground, but why did it happen when He said, "I am he"?
In this verse, and also in verse eight, the word "he" is italicized. That means that the word "he" was not in the original text but was added by the translators to make the sentence grammatically correct. This serves a useful purpose and is very helpful in most cases. However, the translators put these additions in italics so that we could be aware of what the text literally said.
In this instance, Jesus literally said, "I am." Since Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, His statement of "I am," carried just as much weight as when He expressed it to Moses (Ex. 3:14). This is nothing less than the Almighty God releasing His glory through the powerful statement, "I AM." No wonder these men were knocked to the ground.
This graphically illustrates how Jesus could have easily defended Himself against any size army that would come to take His life. As He said in John 10:18, "No man taketh it (i.e. His life) from me, but I lay it down of myself."
There are many instances recorded in scripture where people fell to the ground as a result of being in God's presence. The same thing still happens today. Just as some people faint when they experience fear, when they experience the awesome presence of God, they become weak, and lose strength in their physical body.
GOODBYE
When the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. —Numbers 11:1
When Max Lucado participated in a half-Ironman triathlon, he experienced the negative power of complaint. He said, “After the 1.2-mile swim and the 56-mile bike ride, I didn’t have much energy left for the 13.1-mile run. Neither did the fellow jogging next to me. He said, ‘This stinks. This race is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.’ I said, ‘Goodbye.’ ” Max knew that if he listened too long, he would start agreeing with him. So he said goodbye and kept running.
Among the Israelites, too many people listened too long to complaints and began to agree with them. This displeased God, and for good reason. God had delivered the Israelites from slavery, and agreed to live in their midst, but they still complained. Beyond the hardship of the desert, they were dissatisfied with God’s provision of manna. In their complaint, Israel forgot that the manna was a gift to them from God’s loving hand (Num. 11:6). Because complaining poisons the heart with ingratitude and can be a contagion, God had to judge it.
This is a sure way to say “goodbye” to complaining and ingratitude: Each day, let’s rehearse the faithfulness and goodness of God to us.
Lord, You have given us so much. Forgive us for our short memories and bad attitudes. Help us to remember and be grateful for all that You have
provided. And help us to tell others of the good things You have done for us.
Proclaiming God’s faithfulness silences discontentment.
Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. Psalm 86:11
Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow. Psalm 5:8
NEED HEALING AND MIRACLES FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS
http://youtu.be/qth2CNaXPbU
Free Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com
http://walthope.wordpress.com
…I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. - John 15:15
Where you find a healthy friendship, you’ll find open communication. And that’s what the Lord wants with you. He wants you to come and talk to Him whether or not you are in the “right” mood. Jesus will always listen. When you are happy, talk to Him. When you are angry, you can talk to Him too. In fact, it’s better that you talk to Him when you’re angry so that you won’t fly into a rage and do something you’ll regret. Let His peace swallow up your anger.
Even when you are struggling with a temptation, you can talk to Jesus about it.
My friend, He is God and He knows what you are thinking. And when you are open and transparent about it with Him, you allow His grace and wisdom to fill you. This will empower you to overcome the temptation. You’ll begin to see the situation through His eyes and walk in His wisdom.
Beloved, talk to Jesus about everything. When something unexpectedly good happens to you, see Him behind it and thank Him for His favor. When He paints a rainbow or a beautiful sunset in the sky, tell Him that you love how He put it there just for you. Cultivate that friendship with the Lord. You’ll find even the mundane things of life pregnant with divine meaning and purpose. Everyday life will become precious to you!
REPENT OR PERISH
Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
Repentance is a word that is not used much by today's popular preachers who are more entertainers and life coaches and not truth tellers and friends. But Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life has no problem telling it like it easy including the fact that we need to repent or we shall perish! Continually we must examine our lives and character versus the word of God in the New Testament and see where we need to repent and turn away from our wicked ways and deceptions or will we will find ourselves in deep trouble and disqualified:
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? --- unless indeed you are disqualified.
JUST TRUST GOD’S GOODNESS AND PRAY IN THE SPIRIT
1 Corinthians 14:14 - For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
God has given us a powerful prayer gift—praying in tongues, which is not limited by distance, time or head knowledge. When you pray in tongues, you could be praying for your future or even a loved one overseas. You won’t know what you are praying unless God tells you. This is because your “understanding is unfruitful”—your mind is not involved.
“But Pastor, I must know what I am praying!”
Sometimes, it is better not to know what you are praying. In 1993, I had a long season of praying in the Spirit. If I had known then everything that I was praying in tongues, I would have freaked out! For example, I would have been afraid if I had known that the Holy Spirit was saying, “Father God, in the year 2002, anoint Joseph Prince to preach six messages every week to more than 10,000 people.” That has come to pass. But back in 1993, one service was enough to tire me out!
So I thank God that I don’t know what I am praying when I pray in tongues. I simply trust His goodness and pray in tongues for everything that He has planned for me to come to pass in His perfect timing.
Beloved, don’t stop praying in tongues just because you don’t know what you are praying. You could be praying for the safety of a loved one in a life and death situation. Especially when you feel an urge to pray because you sense danger, pray! Pray until you sense a release as the burden is lifted. The Holy Spirit will know exactly what is going on, who is in danger and how to pray for deliverance. (Romans 8:27)
You may say, “Well, I can just pray in English.” You can, but your prayer will be very limited because you don’t know everything. It is better to pray in tongues because the Spirit knows all things.
My friend, you don’t belong to the natural, limited realm. You belong to God who is unlimited! So pray in tongues, and see great things happening for you and through you.
Thought For The Day
It is to our advantage to pray in tongues because the Spirit knows all things
STRESSED OUT ABOUT MONEY? (2)
'God has not given us a spirit of fear.' 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
To overcome financial anxiety, you must:
(1) Understand where your anxiety comes from. Unless your name is Bill Gates, the chances are that you’ll experience some degree of financial anxiety. But when fear becomes your fixed state of mind, something’s wrong; it’s time to unwrap the package. Fear can be hereditary, passed from generation to generation. And it can trap you in a cycle that’s hard to break. But you can break it! Gideon tore down the altar where his family had worshipped idols for generations—and they were angry with him when he did it (Judges 6:25–30). But Gideon knew that in order to win in life, he must trust in nobody but God.
(2) Rise above your past failures. Have you made bad investments and now you’re afraid to take a risk? Are you hoarding as a hedge against future failure? Here’s the problem: nothing ventured, nothing gained! In football, the players who score the most goals are often the ones who miss the most chances. But they keep trying because if they don’t aim for the goal they can’t win. A barn filled with seed doesn’t produce a harvest. Furthermore, when the farmer plants his seed, drought and frost and pests can wipe him out. Yet if he doesn’t plant, failure is guaranteed. Getting the idea?
(3) Anticipate God’s goodness. As you get older you become more risk–averse, more inclined to look for a safe harbour. That’s understandable, but you can’t let fear control your life. David wrote, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.’ (Psalm 23:6 NKJV) When God’s goodness is what you are believing for—God’s goodness is what you’ll ‘surely’ get!
LIKE A FLOOD ...
...When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. - Isaiah 59:19, KJV
We all have times when we feel overwhelmed by life. You get a bad report, unexpected news, or someone you trusted wrongs you. What does God do? He doesn’t sit back and think, “Too bad. Sorry your life is so difficult.” No, when the enemy comes in like a flood, God raises up a barrier. In other words, that injustice, that bad break, that sickness gets God’s attention. He doesn’t sit back. He goes to work!
It’s like a parent with a child. If someone or something is giving them a hard time, you don’t think twice. You stop what you’re doing and immediately go to help. That’s the way it is with our heavenly Father. When the enemy comes in like a flood, God steps up and says, “Hey, wait a minute. You’re messing with the wrong person! That’s my son. That’s my daughter. If you’re going to mess with them, you’re going to have to first mess with Me — the all-powerful Creator of the universe.”
You’ve got to realize that in the tough times, you’re not alone. You’ve got somebody fighting for you. The Most High God has your back, and He’s ready to raise up a standard to protect you when the enemy comes in like a flood!
GOD'S AWESOME POWER
John 18:6 "As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground."
It is evident that it was the power of God that made these six hundred men fall backwards to the ground, but why did it happen when He said, "I am he"?
In this verse, and also in verse eight, the word "he" is italicized. That means that the word "he" was not in the original text but was added by the translators to make the sentence grammatically correct. This serves a useful purpose and is very helpful in most cases. However, the translators put these additions in italics so that we could be aware of what the text literally said.
In this instance, Jesus literally said, "I am." Since Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, His statement of "I am," carried just as much weight as when He expressed it to Moses (Ex. 3:14). This is nothing less than the Almighty God releasing His glory through the powerful statement, "I AM." No wonder these men were knocked to the ground.
This graphically illustrates how Jesus could have easily defended Himself against any size army that would come to take His life. As He said in John 10:18, "No man taketh it (i.e. His life) from me, but I lay it down of myself."
There are many instances recorded in scripture where people fell to the ground as a result of being in God's presence. The same thing still happens today. Just as some people faint when they experience fear, when they experience the awesome presence of God, they become weak, and lose strength in their physical body.
GOODBYE
When the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. —Numbers 11:1
When Max Lucado participated in a half-Ironman triathlon, he experienced the negative power of complaint. He said, “After the 1.2-mile swim and the 56-mile bike ride, I didn’t have much energy left for the 13.1-mile run. Neither did the fellow jogging next to me. He said, ‘This stinks. This race is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.’ I said, ‘Goodbye.’ ” Max knew that if he listened too long, he would start agreeing with him. So he said goodbye and kept running.
Among the Israelites, too many people listened too long to complaints and began to agree with them. This displeased God, and for good reason. God had delivered the Israelites from slavery, and agreed to live in their midst, but they still complained. Beyond the hardship of the desert, they were dissatisfied with God’s provision of manna. In their complaint, Israel forgot that the manna was a gift to them from God’s loving hand (Num. 11:6). Because complaining poisons the heart with ingratitude and can be a contagion, God had to judge it.
This is a sure way to say “goodbye” to complaining and ingratitude: Each day, let’s rehearse the faithfulness and goodness of God to us.
Lord, You have given us so much. Forgive us for our short memories and bad attitudes. Help us to remember and be grateful for all that You have
provided. And help us to tell others of the good things You have done for us.
Proclaiming God’s faithfulness silences discontentment.
Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. Psalm 86:11
Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow. Psalm 5:8
NEED HEALING AND MIRACLES FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS
http://youtu.be/qth2CNaXPbU
Free Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com
http://walthope.wordpress.com
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