Communication With God

"Blessed and joyfully nourished by God's goodness are those who hunger and thirst for right standing with God, for they will be completely satisfied" (Matthew 5:6 Amplified Bible).

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord, JESUS!

A while back I was running errands, and as I was pulling into the parking lot of a craft store, I realized I left my cell phone at home.  I was too far from home to turn around and get it, but the thought crossed my mind.  Instead, I rushed to get everything done so I could hurry home and get my phone.  It felt weird to be unplugged and disconnected from the rest of the world.  I send a bunch of texts throughout the day, and I am always on the alert for any messages from family and friends.  And who can live without “Breaking News” bulletins?

When I finally made it home and grabbed my phone, there was nothing new.  No missed calls, no messages, no alerts, N-O-T-H-I-N-G!  The world did not, in fact, end because I was unplugged from it for a couple of hours.    

Can the same be said of our relationship with the Lord?  Can we stay unplugged from Him for any period of time and be okay? Can we stay disconnected from the One Who nourishes our souls without it affecting us? When was the last time any of us felt the urge to “turn around” from whatever we were doing so we could connect with Jesus? Do we ever find ourselves “rushing” to get to Him? Do we even feel anxious when we forget about Him? What if we were as diligent in our communication with God as we are in our communication with everyone else via every device and social media available? 

Are any of the six questions above important?

YES!, and the answers will determine the quality of our lives.

When we become active seekers of God our strength is renewed (Isaiah 40:31), our prayers are answered (John 16:24), joy is abundant (Acts 13:52), we will be led in peace (Isaiah 55:12), and our paths are made straight (Proverbs 3:6).  These are just a few of the wouldn't-want-to-live-without-em' blessings that are ours when we plug in and connect with Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are so passionate about our communication. Most of us can’t go for an hour without checking our phones, myself included. And we thank You for the ability to keep in touch with family and friends.  But You are the source of every good thing in this world and in the world to come; staying connected with You blesses us in immeasurable ways, and we are grateful. Thank You for reminding us today that the greatest relationship we will ever have is the one with You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~     

THE QUALITY OF OUR LIVES DEPENDS ON IT!

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord, JESUS!

Last week I was running errands, and as I was pulling into the parking lot of a craft store, I realized I left my cell phone at home.  I was too far from home to turn around and get it, but don’t think the thought didn’t cross my mind.  I found myself rushing to get everything done on my list so I could hurry home and get it.  It felt weird to be unplugged and disconnected from the rest of the world.  I usually send texts throughout the day to different folks, and I am always on the alert from any messages from my family and friends.  And who can live without “Breaking News” bulletins?

But when I finally made it home and grabbed my phone, there was nothing new.  No missed calls, no messages, no alerts, N-O-T-H-I-N-G!  The world did not, in fact, end because I was unplugged from it for a couple of hours.   

Can the same be said of our relationship with the Lord?  Can we stay unplugged from Him for extended periods of time and be okay? Can we stay disconnected from the One Who nourishes our souls and have joy? Peace? Health? Hope? Faith? Trust?

 

When was the last time any of us felt the urge to “turn around” from whatever we were doing so we could connect with Jesus? Do we find ourselves “rushing” to get to Him? Do we even feel anxious when we forget about Him?

What if we were all as diligent in our communication with God as we are in our communication with everyone else via every device and social media available?  Is any of this even important?

I will only answer that last question: YES! The quality of our lives depends on it!

When we become active seekers of God, our strength is renewed (Isaiah 40:31), our prayers are answered (John 16:24), joy is abundant (Acts 13:52), we will be led in peace (Isaiah 55:12), our paths are made straight (Proverbs 3:6) etc…etc…etc…

I had to put three “etc…s” because there are just too many blessings to write them all down.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are so passionate about our communication. Most of us can’t stand the thought of not having our phone with us for more than a few minutes.  I, for one, enjoy reaching out to my grown up children at least once a day, and thank You for letting that happen. But You are the source of every good thing in this world and in the world to come; staying connected with You blesses us in immeasurable ways, and we are grateful. Thank You for reminding us today that the greatest relationship we will ever have is the one with You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~     

The Quality of Our Lives Depends on It~

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord, JESUS!

Last week I was running errands, and as I was pulling into the parking lot of a craft store, I realized I left my cell phone at home.  I was too far from home to turn around and get it, but don’t think the thought didn’t cross my mind.  I found myself rushing to get everything done on my list so I could hurry home and get my phone.  It felt weird to be unplugged and disconnected from the rest of the world.  I usually send texts throughout the day to different folks, and I am always on the alert from any messages from my family and friends.  And who can live without “Breaking News” bulletins?

But when I finally made it home and grabbed my phone, there was nothing new.  No missed calls, no messages, no alerts, N-O-T-H-I-N-G!  The world did not, in fact, end because I was unplugged from it for a couple of hours.   

Can the same be said of our relationship with the Lord?  Can we stay unplugged from Him for extended periods of time and be okay? Can we stay disconnected from the One Who nourishes our souls and have joy? Peace? Health? Hope? Faith? Trust?

When was the last time any of us felt the urge to “turn around” from whatever we were doing so we could connect with Jesus? Do we find ourselves “rushing” to get to Him? Do we even feel anxious when we forget about Him?

What if we were all as diligent in our communication with God as we are in our communication with everyone else via every device and social media available?  And is any of this even important?

I will only answer that last question: YES! The quality of our lives depends on it!

When we become active seekers of God, our strength is renewed (Isaiah 40:31), our prayers are answered (John 16:24), joy is abundant (Acts 13:52), we will be led in peace (Isaiah 55:12), our paths are made straight (Proverbs 3:6) etc…etc…etc…

I had to put three “etc…s” because there are just too many blessings to write them all down.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are so passionate about our communication. Most of us can’t stand the thought of not having our phone with us for more than a few minutes.  I, for one, enjoy reaching out to my grown up children at least once a day, and thank You for letting that happen. But You are the source of every good thing in this world and in the world to come; staying connected with You blesses us in immeasurable ways, and we are grateful. Thank You for reminding us today that the greatest relationship we will ever have is the one with You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~     

Grantor~

Greetings from rainy Miami~

There's just one little phrase left to our verse, and it is the most important one.

1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. 

Someone once said that the value of prayer is that God answers it, and we see that it was true for Jabez.  

God is the great Answerer!  But allow me to ask a rhetorical question: Can God answer a prayer that has not been prayed?

There is so much emphasis in the Bible on asking, seeking, knocking, persevering, persisting, petitioning, etc...that we can only conclude that God desires a relationship with us that thrives through prayer.  Prayer is a lovely word for communication.  

The foundation for any great relationship is communication.  Think about your relationships.  They are either thriving because the communication is solid or frustrating you because there is mis-communication or a lack of understanding or even an atmosphere where you feel you can not speak freely.

How can we get to know God if we do not speak to Him?  How will we ever "be able to take in the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God,"

(Ephesians 3:18 THE MESSAGE) if we keep Him at a distance.  Not only does God desire for us to reach out to Him, we are the ones who need Him more than He needs us.  We forfeit peace, joy, and hope when we fail to plug into the One Who so freely gives us all these things and more.

Whatever ails you right now, take a moment to turn it over to Him in prayer.  Take a huge and bold step of faith and let us pray.

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank You that You answer prayers.  We don't know what holds us back sometimes from asking, but we come to You today with renewed hope that You are the Grantor of requests.  It's a powerful mystery why You would even listen to us, and maybe we don't fully understand how this all works.  But we do know Who You are, and You answer prayer.  You let the blessings flow when we put our trust in You.  You scoop us up in Your arms and cradle us when we need help.  You love us and love listening to us and love answering us.  Amen and Glory!