People are Not Easy to Love no. 20

“Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see” (Messianic Jews (Heb) 11:1 CJB). Faith is an action. Hope is my confidence. And the most important part of my relationship with Him is prayer. People are not easy to love because people do not pray.

Earlier this year, I had a colleague come to me and discuss prayer. She said something to the effect that prayer wasn’t going to help anything. And rather than mirroring her secular thoughts on prayer, she was taken back when I affirmed the power of prayer. We have not had any further discussions on this topic BUT I always welcome these chances. People have given up on prayer. And that is because they are convinced that God does not hear. People are deceived into thinking prayer has no power. BUT there is no greater way to build our relationship with Him. There is no greater confidence and trust in His authority than affirming His power over all things. As Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “So we are always confident — we know that so long as we are at home in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord; for we live by trust, not by what we see” (2 Corinthians (2 Co) 5:6-7 CJB). I need to live by trust in what I do not see.

I cannot see God answer prayer. I have no idea how many things are going on with answering a prayer. There are so many things involved in prayer that are beyond my control. BUT the one thing I can control is my affirming His Kingship. I can act in faith by bringing my prayers to Him. I can show my confidence in Him by trusting in His authority. As He assured us, “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, trust that you are receiving it, and it will be yours” (Mark (Mrk) 11:24 CJB).

I see it in myself before my journey today, I did not spend too much time in prayer. That has drastically changed. I am in prayer a lot. I am in prayer intentionally. I have sought out prayer groups because the Spirit moved me to do such. There is a lot of power in prayer if we take the time to work on that powerful tool we all are given open access to using. We all can pray. We need to choose to work on being people of prayer.

If we spent more time in prayer, then we would build a better relationship with Him. Spending time in prayer affirms His rule over our life. Through prayer, we become better Ambassadors of His Kingdom and show His importance in our lives. Prayer is a powerful tool that helps us love Him, our neighbors, and our enemies and ultimately makes us easier people to love.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 208

“Now, my son, may Adonai be with you and give you success as you build the house of Adonai your God, in keeping with what he said about you. May Adonai give you common sense and understanding, and may he give you his orders concerning Isra’el, so that you will observe the Torah of Adonai your God. Then you will succeed, if you take care to obey the laws and rulings that Adonai ordered Moshe concerning Isra’el. Be strong, be bold; don’t be afraid or become discouraged” (Divrei-HamYamim Alef (1 Ch) 22:11-13 CJB)! When we follow God we should remember to, as David commands Solomon, “Be strong, be bold; don’t be afraid or become discouraged!” This isn’t our own mastery of fear BUT our assurance that God is in control. Because God has His plan, there is no reason to be afraid. I can walk boldly and take strength that all will work out. Faith is an action. Hope is my confidence. Courage is trusting in Him.

He is who He says He is. He does not lie about who He is, “My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mattityahu (Mat) 11:27-30 CJB). He will give us rest. He is gentle and humble. His yoke is easy and His burden for us is light. He did all the heavy lifting in defeating death.

Even when He was leading them out of slavery and not into the fulfillment of His promise, “All these people kept on trusting until they died, without receiving what had been promised. They had only seen it and welcomed it from a distance, while acknowledging that they were aliens and temporary residents on the earth. For people who speak this way make it clear that they are looking for a fatherland. Now if they were to keep recalling the one they left, they would have an opportunity to return; but as it is, they aspire to a better fatherland, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Messianic Jews (Heb) 11:13-16 CJB). We have a better kingdom to proclaim. We have a better hope in a perfect king that is not ashamed of us. And there is no need to be afraid. Faith is an action. “Be strong, be bold; don’t be afraid or become discouraged!” Hope is my confidence. “Look! God’s lamb! The one who is taking away the sin of the world” (Yochanan (Jhn) 1:29 CJB)! Courage is trusting in Him.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH