What are some things you hope for? Could it be financial stability; promotion on the job; more time to relax; a dream vacation; peace on earth; a loved one to be delivered from an addiction; a prodigal child to make their way back home and to find the right path; do you want to be more healthy; more fit, etc? You get the idea;.Fill in the blank with whatever you desire. There are so many things that you may be hoping for and only one way to get it - prayer. Exercise your faith today. Pray.
I don't know about you, but there are multiple things listed above that I hope for, but don't always pray about them. If you want things in your life to change, give God the reins, or in the words of a popular song, let "Jesus take the wheel." There are so many times we try to do things on our own, only to find out that it would've been much easier and a road less traveled if we had just sought the one who has every thing in our life already planned out. However, He has given us a free will and He lets us make the choice.
Ask Him to help you make the right choices - choose the right job or position; choose to make time for yourself; choose to make every day into a life that you don't need to take a vacation from; choose to be at peace with everyone; choose to let God intervene in your loved one's life; choose to let God guide your child; choose to eat the right foods; choose to exercise, etc.
Whatever it is you are hoping for, believe that God is in control and He is working it out. Not only will you have peace, but you will be at peace with yourself and others. You will not be anxious or fearful. The storms you face will not phase you. Jesus showed us how it was done. Read Mark 4:37-40. There was a great windstorm and the waves were crashing into the boat and filling it with water, and Jesus stays asleep. He had to be awakened! I don't know about you, but I would've woken up a little panicked. The guys on the boat were not only fearful, but a little annoyed. They questioned him about whether or not he even cared about the fact that they may die. What does he do? He rebukes the wind and commands the sea to "peace, be still." Then he looks at those who were afraid and said to them in verse 40, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" Say what?
I admit, I would've probably had an attitude and been like "wait a minute, don't tell me I don't have any faith just because I was a little fearful I might be thrown off this ship into the raging sea."
Well, faith is hope, not fear. Have confidence in the fact that even though we don't see it or feel it, God is working it out.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
Monday, November 23, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
Spirit with a Soul Living in a Body
I heard a long time ago while sitting in a church service that we were a spirit with a soul living in a body. Then read it in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV) "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; any may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I knew that to speak with the Lord (prayer) was spiritual, but guess I never thought of it as being "spirit". We communicate with God through our spirit; and by doing this daily, without ceasing, will keep us blameless. Seek Him in ALL things. There is nothing that happens to us that takes Him by surprise. He knows what we will say before we say it. He knows our situation before we are faced with it.
Our soul is our mind. We need to renew our mind on a daily basis, sometimes hourly, sometimes moment by moment. Depends on the day. Read His Word daily so that we can keep our thoughts on Him. As we face things in our every day activities, our mind will be able to remember the promises given to us through His written word. Also, our mind can help us control our emotions, our choices, our reactions and not allow us to give into temptations or the lusts of the flesh.
Ah, our flesh, which is our body. It is a fickle structure. It operates on the senses. Taste - we want to eat things that taste good, not necessarily what is good and beneficial to the rest of the body. Touch - we will choose soft things over itchy, rough-feeling items. Hearing - we only want to listen to things we choose to hear, whether that be music, positive vs negative comments, the people around us. You can tell when someone only half listens to what you are saying because they answer you in the wrong way or interrupt without realizing you were still speaking. Smell - we prefer pleasant odors, and even this is not the same for everyone. Just ask any lady who bought a candle and one of the males in your household wants to know what "stinks". Sight - we have an opinion on what we see as beauty, works of art, etc.
FitFaith came out of realizing that we need to be fit in all areas - spirit, soul, and body. Future blogs may not be so long as they may deal with only one of these areas. It could be through devotion, motivation, nutrition, exercise, a thought of the day, etc.
Stay posted. If preferred, you can sign up for email. Hope you enjoy them. :)
I knew that to speak with the Lord (prayer) was spiritual, but guess I never thought of it as being "spirit". We communicate with God through our spirit; and by doing this daily, without ceasing, will keep us blameless. Seek Him in ALL things. There is nothing that happens to us that takes Him by surprise. He knows what we will say before we say it. He knows our situation before we are faced with it.
Our soul is our mind. We need to renew our mind on a daily basis, sometimes hourly, sometimes moment by moment. Depends on the day. Read His Word daily so that we can keep our thoughts on Him. As we face things in our every day activities, our mind will be able to remember the promises given to us through His written word. Also, our mind can help us control our emotions, our choices, our reactions and not allow us to give into temptations or the lusts of the flesh.
Ah, our flesh, which is our body. It is a fickle structure. It operates on the senses. Taste - we want to eat things that taste good, not necessarily what is good and beneficial to the rest of the body. Touch - we will choose soft things over itchy, rough-feeling items. Hearing - we only want to listen to things we choose to hear, whether that be music, positive vs negative comments, the people around us. You can tell when someone only half listens to what you are saying because they answer you in the wrong way or interrupt without realizing you were still speaking. Smell - we prefer pleasant odors, and even this is not the same for everyone. Just ask any lady who bought a candle and one of the males in your household wants to know what "stinks". Sight - we have an opinion on what we see as beauty, works of art, etc.
FitFaith came out of realizing that we need to be fit in all areas - spirit, soul, and body. Future blogs may not be so long as they may deal with only one of these areas. It could be through devotion, motivation, nutrition, exercise, a thought of the day, etc.
Stay posted. If preferred, you can sign up for email. Hope you enjoy them. :)
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