Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Prayer for Today

Posted on by

0

 

C S Lewis Quote

June 30, 2015

Father, at the beginning of the year, we made plans, set time lines and set goals for what we wanted to achieve this year. As we look at our plans we see some plans are behind the schedule we had set or some things we wanted to do have not been done at all. These realizations can cause us to feel like failures or to feel like we’ve not obtained everything we’ve been pursuing and, if we’re not careful; these feelings will cause us to give up. Remind us that our plans must take a backseat to the plans You have for us. Nothing we’ve planned is better than what You have already ordained.

Everything is not going to go the way we’ve planned, but we’re sure that everything will go the way You’ve ordained. Help us mature to a point that, when what You’ve ordained overrides our plans; we do not fret, complain or grumble. Instead, we rejoice knowing that You have our best interest at heart.

You planned our perfect path long ago and You know what’s best for us. You will perfect us until we fit into Your perfect plan. Thank You Lord for caring so much about us that You planned for our greatness. Therefore; we press towards the higher calling, which is in Christ Jesus!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Scripture References:

Proverbs 19:21

Psalms 65:9

Isaiah 25:1

Philippians 3:14

 

© copy written material

Being Destroyed from the Inside Out

Posted on by

0

 

Japanese beattle on rose

I Corinthians 3:16 – 17

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

I HATE, HATE, HATE Japanese Beetles!!! Can I say it again, I HATE JAPANESE BEETLES!!! They destroy everything in their path but they love roses. NASTY LITTLE CRITTERS!!! Okay, I feel better.

Japanese beetles grow underground where you can’t see them and hatch in late spring, early summer when my roses start to bud and bloom. They fly, crawl and have a hard shell which makes them difficult to kill. They get inside the rose buds or underneath the rose leaves and eat my roses from the inside out.  I can check my roses in the morning and they will look fine but, when I go out to look at them later the same day they have holes straight through the heart of them.

When I first moved to Maryland and started caring for my roses I didn’t know what Japanese beetles were because I didn’t have to deal with them in California or Texas. I was talking to a friend one day and telling him about this bug that was eating my roses and nothing I used got rid of them. He identified the pest and told me to get some Sevin and that would do the trick. That afternoon I went to a nursery and picked some up. My friend was correct. As soon as I started spraying my roses with Sevin the beetles began to fly away and die.

Now that I’ve lived in Maryland for over 20 years I know how to deal with the beetles. As soon as the humidity starts, I begin two-a-day spraying; once in the morning and again in the evening. The humidity seems to be the trigger for the beetles to come out and destroy.

We have things that are eating us from the inside out. Things like hate, envy, jealousy, pride, low self-esteem and feeling less than are just a few things that eat at our spirit persons.  There is also the spirit of control, you have to control everything and everyone or everything is wrong. Then there’s a competitive spirit, you have to win and be first in everything even when no one else knows there’s a completion underway.  The list of things eating us from the inside out goes on and on but there are three solutions; The Word of God, prayer and professional help.

We need to identify the triggers that cause our internal bugs to start their eating frenzy within us. We need to pay attention to our feeling and emotions when this happens, also called self-awareness and we need to spray our internal bugs with the God’s word and prayer. If necessary, we need to seek professional help to deal with our internal bugs. It’s okay! The goal is to kill that which is destroying you from the inside out.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other; so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:16 – 17

© Copy written material

No Longer Needed

Posted on by

0

 

Uprooted Grass

Isaiah 43:18 – 19

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

 

Three more days of digging in my backyard! My back, legs and arms are all sore and I’m not done yet! The weeds are out, for now, and the roses are in place but, I have to battle the grass that I have removed and displaced.

When I decided to put the roses in the back yard not only did I have to remove the weeds, but I had to remove the grass that had been growing there for years. Unlike the weeds, the grass had been needed and wanted in that area of the backyard but now, its services are no longer needed. The grasses usefulness has run its course and it’s time for it to go.

The grass, unlike the weeds, was not a bad thing; it’s just no longer useful in the area where I planted my roses. Grass is useful in other places, just not with my roses.

This is how it is with our lives. There comes a time when things and people who were needed in our lives are no longer needed AND, sometimes, we are no longer needed in someone else’s life.

When God starts doing new things in our lives, He replaces the old stuff with new things and sometimes, He replaces old people with new people who can help us get where God is taking us or can help us mature so we can move forward to the next place God has for us. The old stuff can only keep us where we are, it cannot help us grow into the people God has for us to become.

Some people take an exception to the concept of letting go of things and people that/who are no longer useful fixtures in our lives. But, let me put it this way, if you have a friend who is still doing all the things you are trying to get away from or trying to leave behind as you press to be more like Christ, can you still hang out with them AND achieve your goal? If you have someone in your life who is happy and content with just enough to get by but you want God’s promise of abundance, can you still hold on to them AND receive your abundance?

To move out of the old and into the new takes work! To leave behind that which we have grown accustom to in order to become something more than we are today takes diligence, dedication and determination. Can we take the old with us as we change and progress in our lives and walk with Christ? The Bible states, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:21 – 22.

What do you say?

© Copy written material

Stop, Drop and Roll

Posted on by

0

stop drop and roll

June 9, 2015

Matthew 6:31 – 32

”’So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat? Or What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”’

Sometimes, just trying to do the right thing can be stressful! Have you ever been in a spiritual place in your life where your only goal was to please God and fulfill His purpose for your life? Doesn’t it seem like everything stands in your way or blocks your path to getting where you want to go? You just want God to stop the madness and just let you do what you want to do. It can be so frustrating!

Then, you see a clear path to get you where you want to go. You take the path only to realize it’s under construction- something has to be fixed or repaired in order for you to use the path to get where you want to go. Your credit score has to be fixed, your GPA has to be repaired or something else has to happen before you can take the path! Now, you’re irritated!

I’ve learned in times like these to Stop! Drop! And Roll! I stop what I’m doing, I drop to my knees and I roll my cares, concerns, irritations and frustrations onto Jesus.

I stop what I’m doing because obviously God wants me to do something else or, I’m working in my own strength and leaning on my own understanding and not allowing God, through the Holy Spirit, to direct my path (Proverbs 3:3 – 5).

I drop to my knees, maybe not physically but spiritually, because I need to humble myself under God so he can guide me and teach me His ways (Psalm 25:9).

I roll my cares; financial, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual cares onto Jesus because He cares about everything that concerns me (I Peter 5:6 – 7).

So, if you’re in a place where you need something fixed, repaired and reconstructed I suggest you stop stressing and stop what you’re doing, drop to your knees and pray,  and while you’re in prayer, roll the issues, circumstances or situations off your shoulders and onto Jesus’ shoulders. He carried the cross for us; surely He can care this too.

 

© Copy written material

 

 

 

 

Fighting to Become the Me I was Meant to Be

Posted on by

0

 

 

Basic Training

II Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”

Jesus’ disciple Peter was a trained to be a fisherman.  Historically speaking, he had been in fisherman training with his father since he was very young.  He would have learned all the tricks of the trade.

From Matthew to John and even in the letter to the churches, we also find that in addition to being trained in the art of fishing, Peter was capable of leading others to Christ; he was bold, loud, zealous, but, he was also fearful.  If the way got tough, Peter would turn his back on his friends, go into hiding or become a man-pleaser. Peter didn’t always exemplify Christ-like qualities.

Peter sometimes had a hard time fulfilling his Christ-life work of fishing for men, rather than fishing for fish (John 21).  He could be quick tempered and sometimey. In the Garden of Gethsemane Peter cut off a soldier’s ear when he came for Jesus, yet within a few hours, Peter was denying he knew Jesus. I’d call that sometimey!

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when things  didn’t go the way Peter thought they should, he went back to what he had been before Christ; a frightened man-pleaser. Rather than standing up for what he knew was right, he reverted to his old self in order to fit in and get along.  Sound familiar?

If we haven’t resolved to be what Christ has called us to be regardless of the cost, at one point or another in our lives, when it’s convenient and comfortable, we all go back to what we were before Christ. Some of us go back to gossiping about others because it makes us feel better about our own situations. Some of us go back to being afraid of what others will think if we do what the Holy Spirit urges us to do.  Some of us become men-pleasers because we want people to “like us”. Some of us we go back to the sin from which Christ delivered us.

Whatever we go back to, just know that God does not allow for folly, foolishness or sin in the name of our “previous training”. Once we come to Christ, we are new creatures.  We’ve joined a new army and our based training begins; Jesus is our Commander and Chief and the Holy Spirit is our Drill Sergeant.  We get a new training manual, which is the Word of God.  We must allow old things to pass away, so that the new training we are now undertaking can renew our minds.

Romans 12:2 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 

© Copy Written Material

Living Above Mediocrity,

Anita Wamble

E-spirational – Divine Inspirations

Sharing God’s Word: Motivating God’s People

http://www.espirational1.com

Prayer for Today

Posted on by

0

I pray that the prayers you’ve received and the scriptures you’veSacrifical lamb read throughout this Lenten Season have been a blessing to you and helped prepare you for the rest of your journey with Jesus Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God.

 

April 3, 2015

Father, I began this Lenten Season as a journey to know You better. Some days I stayed the course, other days I strayed away allowing other things to distract me from my journey. No matter what, I learned that getting and maintaining a relationship with You through Jesus Christ is a lifelong journey. I will mess up along the way, but if I stay the course, I’m still on the right path.

Along the way to finding out more about You, I found out more about me. As much as I love you, I still fall short but You knew I wasn’t going to be perfect, that’s why You sent Your Son to be my ransom; to take all my sins and carry them to the cross.

As much as I want to do everything You want me to do, my faith is lacking in so many areas. That’s why You sent Jesus, as a man, to show me the importance of prayer and obedience. In His humanity Jesus didn’t want to go to the cross, but out of obedience to You, He went anyway.

I want to be bold and courageous in the things You have purposed for me to do but I allow the things of my past to interfere with my future. That’s why You sent Your Son to be the anointment for Your forgiveness for me, one time for all time. Now, I need to forgive myself the way You forgive me.

On this Good Friday I look at the cross that Jesus died on a little differently. It wasn’t something He did for everyone; it is something He did just for me. Thank you Jesus for dying in my place and becoming sin for me so I can have everlasting life through You. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture References:

Matthew 26:36 – 39                     Romans 10:8 – 11

Romans 6:12 – 14                           Hebrews 9:14 – 15

Romans 10:4                                     Hebrews 10:8 – 10

© copy written material

Prayer for Today

Posted on by

0

Dont look backLenten season challenge: Read the scriptures that are referenced at the bottom of each prayer every day during this Lenten season!

 

March 26, 2015

This is the day that You, Father God, have made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Father, I’m going to celebrate myself today. If no one says anything good or positive to me or about me, I will say good and positive things about myself. I am great and mighty in Your sight. There is nothing too difficult for me to grasp, understand and then carry out.

Yes, I’ve failed in the past. Yes, I’ve come up short. Yes, I’ve made bad decisions. And yes, I blow it from time to time. But I thank You for Your grace and mercy. I will fail again, but I will put You first and place my wholehearted trust in You. Then, I will be victorious in everything You set my hands to do. I will conquer every place that You set my feet. Nothing will be impossible for me.

I stand ready to achieve the greatness You have locked in my DNA. I am ready, willing and able to do everything You have purposed me to do.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Scripture References:

Psalms 118:24

Luke 1:37

 

© copy written material

Prayer for Today

Posted on by

0

Prayer-faith-God-stonesLenten season challenge: Read the scriptures that are referenced at the bottom of each prayer every day during this Lenten season!

 

March 19, 2015

Father, there is a song that says; “My faith looks up to thee, thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine! Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away, O let me from this day be wholly thine!”

Lord, if only I could be wholly Yours! I know my life would be so much easier if I just belonged to You but I belong to my family too and they pull me in so many directions. I belong to my job and it requires my time and effort while I’m at work. I belong to my church, to groups and other organizations that all require my time, talents and abilities.

Father, help me to strengthen my faith in You and in the finished work of Christ Jesus, by reading my Bible more and watching TV less. Help me strengthen my faith in You by letting go of some things that You didn’t tell me to do, I just decided to do, and let me use that time to go to Bible study or just spend quiet time with You in prayer and meditation.

Father, the more faith I have in You the more I become wholly Yours. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture references:

Isaiah 26:3

Mark 11:22

Romans 10:17

II Corinthians 5:7

Hebrews 4:1 – 2

James 2:17 – 18

 

© copy written material

Prayer for Today

Posted on by

0

Faith in Gods timingLenten season challenge: Read the scriptures that are referenced at the bottom of each prayer every day during this Lenten season!

March 16, 2015

Holy God, it is my sincere desire to mature in my walk with You and my faith in You.  I want to become all that You have purposed me to be and be an active participant as You fulfill every promise You have for me; but sometimes it seems that You allow things that concern me and cause me distress to linger in my life. It feels like no matter how much I pray, You still allow these issues to vex me. I know this is a part of the maturity process but Lord, it is so difficult!

Father I ask that You strengthen me so I do not allow the fear; fear of what other may think or say, fear of what I have done or, what I haven’t done, to stop me from growing in You. Do not allow me to fall into the trap of pride and think I can come up with solutions on my own.  Keep me mindful of how much I need You.

Father help me as I will allow patience and perseverance to have their perfect work. Remind me not move until I hear from You. I will rest, rely and recline my whole self on You, knowing that You not only care for me, but care about everything that concerns me. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture references:

Psalm 55:22                       II Thessalonians 3:3

Psalm 119:75                      II Timothy 2:11 – 13

Psalm 145:13                     James 1:2 – 4

Ephesians 4:13                 James 2:17 – 18

Hebrews 6:1                      I Peter 5:6 – 7

 

© copy written material

Hold On Part II

Posted on by

0

Ice age squirrel holding on

Hold On – Part II

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, ‘Never will I leave your; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”’ Hebrews 13:5 – 6

God has told us that he will never leave us; he will always be with us. This is why we don’t have to seek after the things of the world system. We don’t have to love money, fortune or fame. We don’t have to give up our morals nor ethics in order to fit in with the world. We don’t have to go along to get along with everyone else because God the father has made us a promise; ‘I will never leave your; never will I forsake you.’

This means as children of God we can stand and fight just like the Israelites stood and fought at Jericho, using unorthodox methods by the world’s standards. Who marches around a fortified wall and sings in order to bring the wall down? Who show’s love and compassion to the people who are trying to take their jobs, their home or their car? Those who trust in God do because we know, God is with us!

We can hold on when it looks like all is lost because we have confidence that our God is not only with us, but he’s for us! We can be strong and courageous, unswerving and stout-hearted because we know that no matter what happens God is standing beside us to care for us.

Even in the most desperate or difficult times we can keep our lives free from the love of worldly things  and be content with what God has given us because we know that God will provide for all our needs according to his riches in glory through his son, Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:19).

Proverbs 19:23 says it like this: “The fear (respect) of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” If we respect the truths of God; that he is with us at all times, that he will supply our needs and that no one can do anything to us that God hasn’t ordained, then we can rest untouched by trouble!

DO NOT GIVE UP NOW! God has been and will continue to be with you.  He sees what you’re going through and he’s right beside you to help you through it. This is not the time or place to give up!  Just keep your eyes fixed on Jesus because he is walking right in front of you; The Holy Spirit is leading, guiding and directing you down the correct path for you. Remember Gods’ hook, “Hold on, I’m here!”