Tuesday, July 20, 2004

When We Pray Selfishly... When We Pray Selfishly... Great Thoughts From Today's Daily Discipleship - By Leroy Eims On "From The Hand Of God" Today's Scripture: Psalms 104-106 - (NIV) (NASB) (KJV) (The Message) Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:16 Did you hear the one about the old Iowa farmer who got sick and tired of farming, so he left the farm and opened a hardware business? His best-selling item was a hammer that sold like hot cakes. He bought them for fifty cents apiece and sold them for a quarter. When a friend questioned the man's wisdom and told him he'd lose money, he said, "Oh, I know I'll lose money. But it sure beats farming." Maybe so, but his hammer sales were a bad bargain. And that's the lesson we see in Psalm 106:14-15. Speaking of the children of Israel, it says, "In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them." Any time we purchase physical pleasure at the expense of spiritual health, it is a poor bargain. Our temporal lives are but a breath, but our souls are eternal. Notice how the people felt when they finally got what they wanted. They had cried and complained about their boring diet of manna, and they pestered the Lord for meat. Finally He said, "I'm going to give you enough meat to last a month, so much it will come out of your nostrils and become loathsome to you." And that's exactly what happened. The lesson: If we badger the Lord day and night with selfish prayers for something, He may just give it to us. But there will be no satisfaction with it. Prayer Lord, Your will be done in my life. Amen. To Ponder When we pray selfishly, neglecting to seek God's will, what we get may not be what we really wanted. The text for this devotional comes from the NavPress book Daily Discipleship, which features devotionals taken from radio broadcasts by long-time Navigator LeRoy Eims. For more information or to order a copy, visit the NavPress website.     12:48:58 PM    comment []

Programming 101 - Overcoming Doubt Programming 101 - Overcoming Doubt Have you ever prayed for something - but kinda/maybe/sorta doubted whether or not God would honor your request?   Well, I think that does happen to all of us - however as Christians we can be certain that God will hear and honor requests (Matthew 21:22).   When we have these "doubts", three things that Charles Stanley recommends we consider are as follow: Identify The Source Of Our Doubt - Identify Doubt Recall Past Successes Where God Has Answered Our Prayers - Replace Doubt Meditate On The Word Of God (Joshua 1:7-9) - Prevent Doubt While we can be sure God will answer our prayers - we also must understand that God's answer may be different that what we request.   He certainly reserves the right - as the "greatest" parent - to give us not only what we ask for - but beyond what we ask for - in ways we might not have imagined.  Additionally, he may also determine that what we have asked for is not in our best interest - and substitute a better, more appropriate answer.   We need to understand that this is not a rationalization of why the answers we receive may be different from what we ask - but a reality that comes from his meticulous personal interest in ensuring we get the very best as his children. As Christians, we need to ensure we meditate on the word of God - as this meditation will help (using a technology term) "program our minds" to identify, replace, and prevent doubt when we approach our Loving Father with our petitions of prayer. Matthew 21:22 22- If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Joshua 1:7-9 7 - Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. (Today, the "law" can be equated to the entire bible - as it is God's word to us). 8 - Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Again, today, the "book of the law" can be equated to the entire bible - as it is God's word to us). 9 - Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." 8:58:59 AM    comment []