All the Lonely People

The Beatles wrote a song about all the lonely people.  You can be in a crowded room and still feel all alone.  You can have people emailing you and calling you everyday and still feel like no one is really there.  Lonliness isn't about how many people you connect with or even talk to in a days time.  Lonliness is a longing for a relationship with someone who truly cares.   The psalmist said to God, Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. psa. 25:16.  And again the psalmist said, I lie awake, lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.  Psa. 102:7  One of the hardest things to face is when you feel as if God has also left you, all alone to fend for yourself.  In the book of lamentations we read  Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?

Have you ever thought to yourself, "If my life were a book of the Bible it would be something like Job or Lamentations, but others seem to get Acts or Proverbs.  Sometimes we look at ourselves and we think,  "why are others so active (ACTS)  and wise (PROVERBS), and I am chained to these burdons (JOB) and sorrows (LAMENTATIONS).  We think of all the good things that we really wanted to do if we only had the strength. Sin is a strength zapper, but it isn't just the sin that we ourselves commit that zap our strength, but even the sins of the people we are close to can just wear us to a frazzle.  I have heard alot of selfish people with ignorant speech make a comment like this, "I know I'm doing wrong, but I ain't hurting no one but myself."  WRONG.

The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God's instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.  Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.  Isa. 24:5

Not only do those who are close to us suffer when we commit sins, but a curse comes on this whole earth because of our sins.  I have talked to many people that were devestated and crushed, not because they were on drugs, but because they had a close loved one that was on them.  Problems that other people around us create for us can grow so overwhelming that our strength is gone and our friends are no where to be found.  Often when you are going through your greatest crisis, your closest friends seem to vanish.   With no one helping you carry your burdons you can face a situation in which you are hurting, alone, and your strength is almost gone. 

I have found a place of safety and rest.  It is here that you will find the strength and the grace that you need to take you through even the darkest of nights.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord (wait upon the Lord) will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.   Isaiah 40:28-31

Take your rest in Jesus.  Put your eyes on him in hope.  Wait upon him and he will renew your strength.

The world has enough hope suckers

Have you ever been in a situation in which the doctor is offering you no hope?  You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear you have a 50% chance, or 40% chance when you are told there is no hope.  I remember the day that the doctor told me at Children's hospital that there was no hope for my daughter.  He said, "There is nothing we can do, take her home and make the best mother that you can for her." \ I told the doctor that I believed that God would help her and that she would eventually be able to do things.  Later, I looked on the doctor's chart and these words were written, "Mother is in denial"  HA!  When you are offered NO HOPE, you should be in denial! 

We have all heard testimonies of the world that offer no hope.  Often people will say things like, "Once an addict, always an addict."  Or something like, "All teenagers rebel, it is a part of life."  I myself have prayed for many addicts that stayed clean, witnessed several teens that went all the way through puberty without ever rebelling.  The world often offers us little to no hope.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Prov. 13:12

There are hope suckers out there in the world.  They suck the joy and life out of everything.  It is very hard to be paired up with a hope sucker.  What does hope do for us?  It is hope that causes us to carry on, instead of dragging along.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Rom. 15:13

Our God is a God of hope, and joy and peace.  What would happen if every person in the world was overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit?   As many of you know, Angela was born blind, and her eyes roamed different directions at birth.  It looked alot like the cookie monster on sesame street, one eye went one way, the other eye went the other way.   I still remember the doctor telling me that my baby could not see, and never would see.   If I hadn't believed that she could see, I wouldn't have spent all those hours holding up pen lights to see if she would turn to it, and putting different objects in front of her view.  Against all hope, I still believed, because I serve a God of hope.   Yes, it was hopeless, but, I still had hope because of my faith in God.  It became obvious at about age one that she could see some,  and her vision has continually gotten better, so then they began saying, likely she will never walk.  If I had believed that she could never walk, I would have never spent all those hours leading her from object to object, showing her how to feel her way along.  And yes, she can walk independant of me or any objects to help her along now.  Then they started saying that she would never be potty trained more than likely.  That is a hard thing to hear when your child is already 6 years old.  If I had believed that she would never be potty trained I wouldn't have spent all those hours putting her on the potty. I got to the place in which I would put her 15 minutes on the potty, and 15 minutes off of it, but I'll never forget the day that her eyes got this spark, and she went over to her potty chair and sat down to tinkle on her OWN.  What a glorious day!   We had a party in the McCann household that evening, it was the hope that caused us to carry on, the hope that God was more than able to take a child, no matter what the handicap or IQ and help her move beyond her level of possiblities.  My faith was in God.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be.  Rom. 4:18

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone is reading this right now who feels as if they are in a situation, and it is completely hopeless.   It may be a hopeless marriage,  a hopeless financial crisis,  a hopeless relationship with a child,  a hopeless drug addiction,  a hopeless physical condition like my daugther faced, a hopeless past.  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed!  There may not be one reason to have hope in the natural way of thinking, but put your mind on the supernatural, there is hope in God no matter how dark the problem is right now.   We are living in a day in which everything just sucks the hope and the joy and the peace out of you.  We are living in a time in which people are just overwhelmed with the impossibilities, and the darkness of this world begins to close in, because we have lost our hope of a brighter day.  It is God that restores, it is God that renews, it is God that fills, it is God that cleanses. 

where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?  Job 17:15

You are not without hope and without God in this world.  Get up and brush yourself off and press on in the hope in which you were called.  What if I had taken the doctor's words concerning my daughter to heart?  It took alot of time and effort to help her learn things that she was likely to 'never be able to do'  If I hadn't held out hope to that child,  today she may not be able to see, or walk, or use the toilet...what are you missing out on in life because you lost hope to get up and make an effort.  We lose hope and we stop praying.  I have heard people say, "Well, you can pray, but it won't do no good..."  Hope suckers.   I can't, never did.  But to say that God can't or won't is calling him a liar.  The truth is that my daughter received help from God to do the things that she is able to do, but, I had to hold on to hope.  Will you hold on to hope today?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  Rom. 8:25

Attitude speaks louder than actions

 You have heard it said that actions speak louder than words, well attitude speaks louder than actions.  When Bobby and Kristi were little, if they got in an argument I would have each of them apologize to the other.  Well, they did the right actions, said the right words, but OH boy what attitude.  Do you know that you can say "I'm sorry." with your teeth clinched!   The attitude in which we do something means alot.  It isn't the gift that a husband brings to his wife that impresses as much as the attitude that he brings it.  An attitude that throws the gift on the table, and then says, here it is, without even looking at her- is just useless.  My dad coached sports alot, and he was never impressed with the players that had attitude.  He would often say, "Put some mustard on that hotdog."  Dad was right, players that had attitude  had a way of ruining the game for us all.

Have you ever found yourself in the position in which someone else's attitude was the thing that was giving you an attitude.  One of the hardest things is when a spouce, a child, a neighbor, a teacher, or someone that we care about comes at us with a bad attitude.  I have watched as people spent hours of thier time straining and struggling trying to figure out how to change someone that they care about, so that they would have a better attitude.  It's bad to have a loved one say, "I hate you."  But, it is even worse for them to utter those words only because you refused to give them MORE money, as if they hadn't already asked for enough!   We have to get ourselves in the place where we are no longer willing to let someone else's bad attitudes and bad decisions give us a bad attitude and bad decisions.  Attitude is what people use to control other people, it is our nature to do so. 



You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being
 corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; Eph. 4:22-24

God wants us to have a new attitude, but how do we do that when we are so frustrated by someone else's attitude?  The scripture says that attitude resides in your mind.  Our attitude effects our emotions, but, an attitude is developed in the mind.  What is the secret to peace in the mind?  God will keep us in perfect peace if our mind is constantly upon him.  The more we think about that hurtful thing other person is doing, the more we destroy our own mind.  If we place our mind on Christ Jesus and look to him for help, in time, he will bring peace and hope to all things.  Why is it that we don't like to take things to God and leave it there?  Sometimes it is because we are concerned that we will have to suffer some things before God finishes his work.  When someone hurts us, and that is their attitude towards us, it is in our nature to put on the same attitude and hurt them back, but in doing so we lose our own peace of mind and give way to strife that stays with us long after that other person is gone.   We must refuse to lower ourselves to their standard, we must keep the attitude of Christ.

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 1 Peter 4:1

It is our pride that gets hurt the most when someone is mean to us and causes us strife, and that makes us want to lash out.  Don't let your pride get the best of you.  Humble yourself under the hand of God and in due season, he will lift you up. 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Phil 2:5-7

 God can give you the attitude of a peacemaker in your home,  your work,  even in your own mind.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.   Matt. 5:9

Show me your glory

We are living in the land of the free.  Let freedom ring!  Since this is the land of the free, home of the brave,  why are so many people in bondage and fear?  The path of sin offers us freedom but delivers us to bondage.  God promises us a yoke, but leads us to freedom.  People are in bondage to many different things.  Acarophobia, Bacteriophobia, Claustrophobia, Demophobia, and one of the worst yet, Cacophobia, that is the fear of ugliness.  We fear and we fuss and we cuss and we gripe.  We do everything except Praise God.  Seems like alot of people can't find a church to go to, or a time set aside to praise him. We are in bondage to drugs, lust, cursing, cheating, hating, we have forgotten what it is to truly be free. 

In Egypt, the nation of Isreal had become the slaves of the Egyptians.  It was the only way of life that they knew.  They didn't know any other way to live.  That is how we get.  We curse and drink, and gripe and fuss and hurt, and we have done this so long that we don't know any other way to live.  We just belly up to the bar, and order another one, to try to make it all go away. We fret and worry, and complain and moan, then we go to the doctor to get some pills to make it all go away.  We are a nation in bondage.

 God sent Moses to deliver the nation of Isreal from their slavery.  Once they had left Egypt and were in the wilderness with Moses, many times the presence of God would come down and envelope the mountain, or the tabernacle.  This cloud was sometimes described as smoke and it contained the Glory of God.  Why were they needing his Glory?  They needed the Glory because the Glory contains his power, it means that he has come near.  They were in bondage and they needed delivered, and God sent his Glory before them to lead the way.

When God gave the 10 commandments to the nation of Isreal while they were in the wilderness, they saw the Glory of God and heard his voice.  And they became afraid, because of their sinfulness.

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."  Exo. 20: 18-19

The people who wanted to stay at a distance from his voice, and that wanted to avoid his glory died in the wilderness.  They never did obtain the fullness of God's promise of a land of milk and honey, they never got their full freedom.  This is how it is today.  If you want to be free, you must approach God yourself.  You can't stand at a distance and get your mom to approach God for you, or your priest, or your friend, or even your kids.  Sometimes we want others to bring us before God, rather than to approach him ourselves.  This will never bring you freedeom, but will always leave you in bondage.  Still today, people are afraid of God's voice, and afraid to approach him in all of his glory. 

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  James 4:8

God longs for you to draw near to him, because one touch of his glory, and you will be changed forever.

Lay down your burdons

There are times when we just come up short.  There are times when it is obvious that we don't have what it takes to get the job done.  Most of us feel this way at one time or another in our lives.  The higher the mountain you are trying to climb, the more you feel the heaviness of your own weight pulling against you.  Those that are putting out the greatest effort to acheive something in life are often the ones that face the most opposition.  Have you ever wanted to do something good, but felt powerless to accomplish the task?  Most people go with the flow in life and never step out of the status quo to try to make a real difference.  God gives us strength, and his power as well as the  endurance and patience that we need to step out and really make a difference in this world.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Col. 1:11-12

We are living in a time when parents are killing thier kids, and kids are killing thier families.  People feel overwhelmed by feelings of hate and depression.  We  can get this way when we try to carry the weight of our lives all by ourselves.  Apart from Jesus we can do nothing.  We put out our best effort at dating, at raising our kids, at earning a living, at loving our spouse...but our best efforts will always fall short and leave us feeling empty and void.  Each day we have a choice to make, we can let God carry our weight, or we can try to do it ourselves.  When we are prayerless and thankless, we are trying to do things in our own best efforts.  What we believe is important, but what we actually do is just as important as what we believe. 

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Zech 4:6

How can we be strong in the Lord?  I have taught children for a long time, and I have learned to say things in a way that a child could understand the lesson.  I often ask the kids if they have ever watched the ants on the ground.  You see this little tiny ant, he is so small that if you picked the ant up and put him in your hand the ant would have no idea where he was...the ant would not know that he was safe in your hand.  When you pick this ant up, he goes crazy.  He is searching and looking for a way to get out of your hand.   You can speak to the ant and say, "Settle down, I will help you."  But, the ants ears are so tiny, your voice just sounds like a giant clap of thunder.  The little ant hears the thunder of your voice, and gets more afraid.  Finally you put the little ant back down, and he finds the biggest load he can and puts this tiny piece of leaf on his back, and he struggles, and he groans and labors. He moves the leaf three inches and he thinks he has done a marvelous thing.  To him the leaf is so heavy, but to you it is as if a sneeze of your nostrils would blow the leaf away.   Now you are looking at this crazy ant and you are thinking, "If only you would let me help you."  But there he is struggling inch by inch with this leaf, that to him is a heavy load.  Finally you get bored and just walk away.  The enormous power and might that you could have given to the ant to move his little leaf is unused. 

 Jesus said, Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.  Will you rest in the hands of Jesus today, or are you running crazy like the little ant.  All though we see similarities here between God and ourselves we have got to realize that we are closer to the size of the ant than what we are to the size of God.  Why won't we trust him with our burdons?  Think of his might and his power, and yet, we chose to struggle along  in our own efforts.  Lay down your burdons, and he will carry you.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Eph. 6:10

How great is our God?

Most of us have heard the saying, "Nothing is greater than our God."  We use these words lightly and we often AMEN this saying, not really taking the time to think about what we just heard.  We could think of this problem or that problem, or this situation or that situation but we know that God is bigger than any problem that we could ever face.  But why is God so great?  Is it his mercy, or his kindness? 


The Lord is full of grace and righteousness; truly, he is a God of mercy. Psalms 116:5

Truly nothing is greater than God, nothing is too difficult for him.  Is God so great because of the great things that he has done?  He delivered Daniel from the mouth of the Lion.  He brought down the walls of Jericho.  He delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale.  And each of us can think of times in our lives in which we know that God intervined and brought us through  difficult situations.  Surely we can know that God is greater than anything because of his mighty deeds.

Who can speak about all the mighty things the LORD has done? Who can announce all the things for which he is worthy of praise? Psalms 106:2

There are many things about God that I could list that shows his excellent greatness, I've only mentioned a tiny bit of his wonder and his might.  Nothing that we could say about him, or what he has done can compare to who he is, and who he is explains his greatness. How can we describe God? One of the ways the Bible describes him is  simply God is love.  (1 John 4:16). 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16


God is love and 1 Cor. 13:8 says that love never fails.  God is love, and love never fails, HE NEVER FAILS.   We often think of love as something vague, a feeling or a gesture.  In our culture, we don't really even understand what love is in this world.  God is greater than anything that you will ever face,  he is mighty in deed and his love for you never fails.   God's love for you is not a passive love, his love for you is reaching out.

We have no need to fear tomorrow because God is love, and love never fails.  We have no need to worry about the past.  God is love and love never fails.  He will not fail you, he will rise up and take care of those who seek him for shelter.  He makes all things beautiful in his time.  "Nothing is greater than our God."

No regrets

The Bible talks about the seasons of life in the book of Ecclesiastes.

1There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace. Ecl. 3: 1-8

We also work our lives around the four seasons of weather.  When we think of the fourth of July, we think of summer.  When we think of Christmas we think of snow.  We get confused if it is 75 degrees at Christmas in Kentucky!  And most would grumble if it were 45 degrees outside at night on the fourth of July.  It just wouldn't make since to us that the seasons were messed up like that.   Just like the earth has it's seasons depending on how the earth is tilted reguarding the sun, so each of us have seasons.  Many times the seasons of our lives depend on how we are tilted in relation to God.  When we are a child, people expect us to act like a child.  People do not expect us to act like a child when we are 50 years old.  If we act like a child when we should be mature we are not following the normal seasons of life.  It is sad to be 50 years old and still have to get your mom to pay your bills, and wake you up, and wash your clothes.  The seasons of our lives are messed up when we don't mature as we should in life. Hanging on to your youth when you are an adult doesn't make you younger, it just makes you immature. 

We usually think of the seasons of our life as Baby, toddler, kid, tween, teen, young adult, adult, middle age, over the hill.  Seasons are defind by age, but they are also defined by other things.  Notice the seasons that God mentioned above in the book of Ecclesiates.  Many of those are not defind by age at all.  Most of the seasons mentioned in Ecclesiates could come at any age.  Wouldn't it be simplier to find your way in life if all seasons were defined by age?  Then we could know exactly what to expect in life.

If God is dealing with you about anything, it is your season to do whatever it is that he is speaking to you.  Why do we put God off when He speaks?  Don't you hate it when you tell your kids, 'clean your room' and they reply, 'I will later.'  If we wanted them to do it later we would have told them later.  We usually mean for them to get up and do it NOW.   If God is speaking something to you right now and you are struggling against it and have not been obedient to God it is time to turn around and obey HIM now.  Why?  Because your season to do that particular thing could pass, and you could miss it.  When we  miss God we always miss a blessing for ourselves and for others. 

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. Jn. 6:44

If God is drawing you to himself now, don't think that you have forever to decide.  He may not draw you later, you may not even have a desire for him later.  Don't think that the desire to give your life to him will stay with you always.  Don't miss your season.  Now is the time to say yes, when you are being drawn by the Father.  If God is asking you to preach, now is the time to say yes.  If God is asking you to give, now is the time to give.  If God is asking you to be a witness, now is the time to witness.  If God is telling you to go to church, now is the time to get up and go.  You may not have the desire to when this season passes, and you may miss the good thing that God would have done in your life.

He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." Jn. 6:65

That desire that you have for God is coming from the Father.  How many times do we look back on our lives and think, wow, when I had that chance, why didn't I take it.  Or we say something like, If I had it to do all over again I wish I would have...It is time to start living a life of no regrets.  Live each day as if it were the only day that counted, and do what God is asking you to do for this day.  Don't put it off to tomorrow, don't live in the excuses of years gone by, just live each day for the best. 

Have faith in God

One of the greatest treasures that you can find in life is someone that believes in you.  One of the best things that you can do for yourself is to believe in yourself, in your dreams, in your hopes, in your life.  One of the best gifts that you can give to your kids is to believe in them.  We are living in a time when it is getting harder and harder to find something or someone to truly believe in.   We are living in a time when it is getting harder and harder to find someone else that will take the time to believe in each of us as individuals.  How important is believing?  The people who find cures for our diseases would have never fought to find the cures if they had not believed that a cure exsisted.  They did not see the cure, could not find it, but they searched for it until they did.   When they found these cures they did not recognize them until they tested it.  When they got the desired result, they said, "We have found the cure." They knew they had the cure when they saw the impact it had on the disease.  This is how Salvation is today.  You can be looking at the cure, and you do everytime you see Jesus.  You will not recognize it  until you experience the impact that Jesus has upon your life.   A pessimist or agnostic towards medical research  would have a hard time finding a cure to AIDES or CANCER.  The idea that you want to see proof before you spent the research dollars,  would never work in this kind of lab.  You have to have faith.  Faith that you will eventually find the cure.  You have to spend millions and millions of dollars, and go through failure after failure, but they keep searching for a cure, because they believe they will eventually find one.  Spirituality also works, by faith. 


So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Gal. 3:11

How important is faith?  How angry does it make you when someone says they have no faith in you.  I have found with working with kids that when a child doubts your words it is usually because someone has let them down before.   We are following the devil when we do just whatever our flesh wants to do.  But this is how the flesh works, it disappoints.  For instance, drugs promise alot, and are easy to get, and easy to do, but when you get picked up by the cops, drugs abandon you then.  They turn on you and make you miserable as your body goes into fits because you didn't get the drug.  Drugs offer alot, but deliver very little.  They promise you pleasure but leave you in misery.  Drugs never deliver what they promise but bring destruction in the end.  Drugs will demand more and more of your life until there is nothing left.  This is the way of the world in general.  We are promised much, but receive so little.  We begin to lose faith as we get older.  We start to lose Faith in people, faith that goodness exsist, faith in our dreams, faith that a better day is ahead.

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Rom. 1:17

This great country was built by faith.  Try starting a business without using any faith and you will not succeed.  Try raising kids without faith, and you will always be upset with them.  Walt Disney has always said that he built the magic kingdom by an enduring faith that never let him give up in spite every obstacle that he faced.  You can't accomplish much without faith.  God knows the importance and power of faith. Faith will cause you to spend your resources to get a desired result, even long before you have any proof that what you desire will even work.  God has built his Kingdom on faith.   He has placed faith as the key to finding him. 

And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away."  Heb. 10:38

We use faith, and belief for every good thing in life.  Why should it surprise us that we would have to use faith to approach God.  The greatest thing you can ever say to someone else is "I believe in you."  We don't see the wind, but we see the effects of it.  You cannot see God, but the effects of His exsistance are all around us.  What is the powr of faith? How many people have impacted this generation like Walt Disney has done? Having faith to believe in something is not easy, because  we have to get up and accomplish our dreams, we no longer have an excuse to push them aside when we beleive.  It is not our good works that make us right with God, it is our faith IN HIM that impresses Him. 

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  Heb. 11:6

Perfect Love.

My husband's father passed away when Bob was only 7 years old.  He was fortunate to have his mother and his step-dad that raised him with love and care.  There are many orphans around the world who have no one.  When a child is born into your family, the child that you give birth to is what you get.  My mother-in-law likes to tease my husband about how his dad said was an ugly baby. Ha!  When we give birth we don't get to pick the hair color, or the eye color, or anything about the child.  When we adopt, it is our choice, our pick.  Could you imagine being taken into the foster home program or into an orphanage and wondering if anyone was ever going to adopt you into a 'real' family?  How special it would be for someone to hand pick us after they KNEW us!  Wow!  This is what God is doing today.  He knows us better than we know ourselves.  He knows our ups and downs.  Our successes and failures.  He even knows our secret thoughts...our dreams, our desires, our ambitions.  There is nothing about you that is hidden from his sight.  If you were waiting to be adopted and God were doing the chosing, and you wanted to be part of his family he would say, ABSOLUTELY!  Wow.


he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--Ephesians 1:5

So many people suffer from low self esteem.  Self esteem is exactly what it sounds like, an estimation of self.  Why not see yourself the way that God sees you.  God hand picked you to adopt into HIS family.  He picked you knowing exactly who you are, and was happy the day that you said, "yes" to His call. 

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."  Rom. 8:15

There is no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear.  So many are afraid that they are not measuring up.  Afraid of not measuring up as a parent, as a friend, as a spouce, as a provider, as a shepherd, as a child of God.  Realize that HE hand picked you!  God isn't trying to make his mind up about you, He is stuck on you...He has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us to himself.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Rom. 8:11

It is the Spirit of God that causes us to call out abba father, it is His Spirit that quickens our mortal bodies.  The Holy Ghost is the comforter.  Jesus said it is good that I go to be with the Father because if I didn't go, I could not send the precious Holy Spirit to you.  Ask the Holy Spirit to dwell within you, the Holy Spirit will envelope you in the Love of God.

My heart is fixed

In the old testament, the ark of the covenant was where the presence of God resided.  On top of the ark was the mercy seat.  The mercy seat represents God's throne that he sits upon in Heaven.  When you say, "Jesus sits upon the throne of my heart,"  you are saying that his presence is in your heart. 

Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,  1Cor. 6:19

God has made a better way through Jesus Christ, each of us are the temple of God, in which his presence resides as long as the blood of Christ has been applied to our lives.  Where is the mercy seat and the ark now?  These things reside in your heart, and God sits upon His throne in your heart.  Where are your treasures?  What is your heart fixed on today?

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.  Luke 12:34

When your heart is set on external things like love of another person, love of money, or love of pleasure, or strong drink your heart feels empty, because the presence of God only fills your temple when your heart is fixed on Jesus. When your heart is set on worry for another, you are trading the peace of God for your own efforts. We can't take care of ourselves without God moving on us, so how can we take care of another?  Let God handle that, only He can do it.   When Jesus is the pure desire of your heart, than the presence of God will fill your heart.  Even if you have already made Christ your Savior you will miss the joy and peace of your salvation if Jesus is not the center of your attention, seated on the throne of your heart.

Jesus said to the church of Ephesis in the book of Revelation, 'yet I hold this against you, that you have lost your first love.'  If you feel the emptiness of missing the presence of God in your life, let go of the things that you are holding to you right now, and make Jesus the center of your attention again.  In repentance and rest you will find the peace and joy of Christ enveloping you once again.

From faith to faith

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.  Romans 1:17

What is faith?  If someone made the comment to you, "I love you, but, I do not have one bit of faith in you."  How hurtful would that comment be to you? Few people actually understand what faith is in this life. Faith is powerful.  Faith gives you the courage to take a risk. Taking a risk is sometimes good, but it can also be bad.  Without taking a risk, few businesses would be born, few dreams realized, few hearts challenged. There are millions of people that take bad risk, living in risky behaviour everyday, life is not without risk.   Why is it that risky behavior is so easy for many people, but taking a risk to love someone is so hard?  I have heard so many people say, "Let's go ahead and do it...we won't get caught."  Now that is faith, risky behavior.  Why is it easy for many people to have this kind of risky faith, but they can't risk giving, caring, loving, hoping. 

 It takes faith to move from one job to another, even if the second job is a better job or better pay.  It takes faith to believe in a child enough to put into their lives, even if sometimes they seem unappreciative. It takes faith to accomplish most things in life.  Show me a life without faith and I will show you someone that has lived a life of missed opportunities! God ask us to live a life of faith.  It isn't by your good works that you will go to Heaven, but rather by your faith.  The verse above says that righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Revelation comes through teaching.  The teachers in school that impacted us the most were always the ones that took time for us, that relayed the message to us,  'I care for you, because I believe in you.'  A teacher that does not believe in the student is just putting in time...The teachers that impacted us the most  were to ones that took the time to care.    If a teacher loses that attitude towards the students, it is just time to retire.

The things that we are doing in life, are we doing them by faith or are we just putting in time?  God NEVER just puts in time when it comes to you.  God would not ask you to believe in him, if he did not believe in you.  By faith, Jesus carried his cross, walked up the hill of golgotha, and poured out his blood for you.  He believed in you enough to lay down everything, even his life.  God wouldn't ask you to be a person of faith, if he wasn't a God of faith.  The just shall live by faith.

Even if you don't feel loved, you are loved.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16

God is love.  We know who God is by His love.  Why is it so hard to believe that God is a good God that loves his creation?  He loves each of us and calls us by name.  Even the very heads of our hair he has numbered.  If he numbers the hair on our heads just imagine how he also knows everything about us and watches over us with care.  We love our kids dearly, but how many of us watch over our kids to the extent that we even number the hairs of their head?  We don't even number thier toys, we have no idea how many toys that have, we lost count.  But God takes the time each day to number the hairs on your head, he watches you to take care of you  that closely. 

How can we understand or even communicate the love of God?  It goes beyone comprehension.  The bible simply says, GOD IS LOVE.  So, what is love.  The bible describes love by it's attributes.  When you see the attributes of love, you see the attributes of God.

I Corinthians 13 first of all says that love is patient...so first of all God is patient.  When you get the idea that God is just tapping his fingers in heaven, just waiting for you to finally do something right, getting madder each minute...you have the wrong idea of God.  God is patient.  More patient than you can imagine, and yes, he is patient with you, not just with everyone else.

Then he passed in front of Moses, calling out, "The LORD, the LORD, a compassionate and merciful God, patient, always faithful and ready to forgive.  Exodus 34:6

Love is Kind... so God is kind...

So we can go confidently to the throne of God to receive mercy and find kindness, which will help us at the right time. Heb. 4:16

Love always protects...so God always protects...

Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. Prov. 30:5

Love always trust...so God always trust...

Keep the good thing committed to thy trust by the Holy Ghost, who dwelleth in us. 2 Tim. 1:14

Love always hopes...so God always hopes...

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.  Rom. 15:3

Love always perseveres...so God always peseveres...

May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. 2 Thess. 3:5

How can you know  the heighth, depth, and breadth of the love that God has for you?    God is always patient with you, and is NOT easily angered with you!  God is alway kind, and is not rude towards you in anyway...even when we take his name in vain, he is kind towards us still.   God is always protecting you, and is not self seeking.  God is always trusting you with good things and good gifts, and is not envious or proud.  God always holds out hope to you, and does not keep a record of wrongs as we come to him for help.  God always perseveres, no matter how many times we fail him, or push him aside, or put other things in front of him.  God does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth.  The truth is that God's love is never failing towards YOU...will you embrace the truth?

All you need is love...

Low self esteem is often the result of feeling unloved or unworthy.  When we feel like we didn't win the approval of our parents, siblings or friends growing up,  we can often struggle through life looking for the approval that we feel that we need.  Feelings of self doubt and low self worth plague many people today and can often be the reason for unhappiness in life.   You can find yourself in a place in which you have drifted from job to job, or marriage to marriage, relationship to relationship, without finding the approval that you desire.  Alot of times we look for love in the wrong places.  We marry someone that we aren't compatable with, just to have somebody.  We empty a whisky bottle, just to have some fun or peace of mind.  Sometimes we can be in a relationship with a good person, yet, still feel unsatisfied and unhappy.  In times like that we wonder 'what is wrong with me?'  And our self esteem falls farther still.

The Bible says, greater love hath no man, but that he lay down his life for his friends.  The roman cross was a means of capital punishment in the days of Jesus.  We have capital punishment today in the form of lethal injections.  Could you imagine giving someone today the sentence of capital punishment though they hadn't committed a crime.  In the days of Jesus, the crime of the person  was to be posted above the criminal so that all would know what crime they had committed.  The sign above Jesus' head said, KING OF THE JEWS, this was the only charge they could bring against him, because he had committed no crime.  The bible says, 'without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.'  The blood of Jesus is the sacrifice that rids us of the guilt of our sin.   Do you know how much that God loves you?  He gave his only begotten son for you.  It is one thing to give yorself to save someone, but, it is harder to sacrifice your sons life to save another.  How much does Jesus love you?  He stretched out his hands from one side of the cross to the other and said, "I love you this much."

We evaluate our self worth, and sometimes we feel worthless.  Do you know how much you are worth to God?  When Jesus came to this earth he knew there was NO WAY he could live without you!  Imagine someone that would look at you and say, "I can't live without you."  He gave up his life, so that you could be made one with God, so that you could have a relationship with him.  He wasn't willing to live without you, that's how important you are to him. He would rather die on the cross than to lose you.   He gave up EVERYTHING for you, and even today he is still saying,  "All you who are weary and heavy laden come unto me, and I will give you rest."  He didn't die for only the beautiful people, the important people, the big people.  You may feel worthless because someone treated you that way, but God is saying to you today, "I love you this much...and I need you, I can not live without you..."

Sometimes we feel like our problems are just too big.  We can get to the place where we just stop asking for help, and we just live life unhappy, unfilfilled, thinking that no one really has the heart or the ability to help us through.  We keep looking for that 'right' person that will come along and hold us and make everything better.  God is saying today, "My arms are big enough to hold you."  God can reach around this world with his saving grace, and not miss one person. He is reaching out to you and  anyone that reaches back to him will not be lost.  You are not so lost that he can't find you, He knows exactly what you need.

It's just that easy

We tend to make everything harder on ourselves.  Have you ever wanted life to be simple.  The Bible says that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.  Romans 14:17.   If you could package righteousness, peace and joy in a box and put it on the market what would be the market value?   Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking"  Why would Jesus say that it isn't about eating and drinking?  Why say that before telling us what the Kingdom is about?  Jesus said that the Kingdom was not about eating and drinking because this is what most people spend most of their lives seeking after.  In the morning we get out of bed, clock into work, work all day, come home exhausted...and most people on the planet do this so that they will have something to eat, a place to sleep a way to pay the bills.   We can find ourselves living our lives just trying to survive.

Since the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, how do we obtain it?  I see people struggling everyday to enter in.  Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard you try the Kingdom eludes you.  In desperation we often cry out, "Lord, where is the righteousness, peace and joy?" We read daily devotionals.  We search the Scripture for some 'new word' or revelation that will 'fix' our problems.  We call our friends and pour out our hearts looking for an answer.  We search and search and search, but somehow righteousness, peace and joy are no where to be found. 

If you struggle to find the presence of God, and the peace and joy of your salvation seems to have walked out on you today try not to make it too hard on yourself.  There is only one thing that you need to remember.  JESUS.  Just push everything else out of your mind and your Spirit and lay down everything and cling to Jesus.  You may think, "Oh, I can't let go of everything right now, there are too many important things and I got to see to this and that and take care of this in this other person. 

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  Mark 8:35

Don't hang on to those things that are driving your crazy!  Just put your mind on Jesus and let it stay right there.  It is that simple.  Why are the simplest things sometimes the hardest things to do?  When you feel your peace of mind leaving just remember that it is simple, think on Jesus.  He is peace.  When you feel your joy slipping away, just remember JESUS and your joy will come back to you.  When you feel unworthy and righteousness seems so far away, just remember it is about what Jesus did, not about you.  Just think about Jesus, and forget about yourself.  It is just that easy.

Life is like a bar of soap, the harder you squeeze it, the more it slips out of your hands.  Loosen up your grip today.  You don't have to run your life and the lives of the people around you.  No matter how big your responsibilities, God will direct your path if you will surrender it to him.

Need a change?

Sometimes change is a good thing.  Sometimes change is a bad thing.   Change isn't always what we want to see.  If someone has just started taking drugs it can become aparant by a change of look, change of behavior, change of grades...and these things go from good to bad.  Often when people are under stress the first thing they will do is try to find a joint, a pill or a drink.  It is because they feel like they need a change.  They want to be free of the things that are bothering them, and the drugs will change thier perceptions, change thier feelings, and change their thought and attitudes.  It is like a releif from the grief that they are carrying through life.

If you will let him, God will not only change you, but he will transform you.  What's the difference?  A butterfly doesn't just change from a worm to a butterfly, the worm actually transforms.  It comes out a completely new creature.  Narcotics may be able to change the way you feel about life, but, narcotics cannot transform you.  When the drugs or alchohol wear off you are still facing the same inner disatisfaction that you had before you began taking them.   God doesn't just change you, he will actually transform you. 

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^a act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer 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. Romans 12: 1-2

When we accept Jesus as Savior we are transformed at that time.  After I surrendered my life to God, the desires that I had changed, the habits I had changed, the things I desired to do were different.  I had been transformed into a person with different desires than what I had before.  But, it doesn't stop there at salvation.  God wants to transform us everyday, and renew us in the faith.   In the verses above we are told to no longer conform to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. 

 Your mind will either make you or break you.  What is going on in your mind?  We can get our minds all out of whack.  We get angry, HOW?  We think on things that make us angry, often times it is things we can do nothing about.   We get worried, HOW?  We think on things that make us worry ourselves to death, and then we wonder why we feel dead inside.  We get UPSET and FEARFUL.  WhY?  We put images before our mind and in our thoughts that get us all upset and afraid, and then we wonder why our blood pressure is through the roof.   You can get yourself in a state where you are acting after the pattern of this world by churning things over and over and over and over and over and over in your mind.  That is how the world does things.  We shouldn't pattern our lives after the pattern of the world, but after the things of God.

17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect^a the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  2 Cor. 3: 17-18

And what exactly are we free from?  We are free from worry, free from fear, free from stress, free from anxiety.  As a Christian, you only have to carry these things if you chose to do so.  When you transform your mind with the renewing of God's word you chose to let Jesus carry your worries, your fears, your stress, and you anxieties.  Transforming your mind with the renewing of his word doesn't mean just simply reading the bible, it means letting the Word of God be on the thoughts of you mind all day instead of that other junk that makes you so upset all the time.  If you are truly living by His Spirit you will be free to live, not bound up in mental anguish, anger and fears.  We are being tansformed into his likeness.  God is asking you to trust him today.  Let him renew your mind, and leave behind those things that upset you and make  you want to go get a drink.  Let him place himself and his word in your mind and his peace will transform your life.

Worries, Anxieties and fears...Oh my!

Jesus tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and that everything else we need will be added.  We each need to ask ourselves today, 'Did I really seek his kingdom first today?'  What does it mean to seek his Kingdom first?  This isn't talking about going to church or getting saved, because it is a daily seeking of him that is required because our needs are daily as stated in Matthew 6

31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own

Daily we have necessities, and things that cause us worry and grief, anxieties and depression.  Jesus said that we are to seek his kingdom and his righteousness first, and not to worry about our daily cares and worries.  Our daily worries and cares are like the thorns of life.  They pierce and destroy and produce nothing productive.  Most of the things we worry about never happen, and often these are things that we have absolutely no control over.  But, it is like we are restless at times.  It is like we just need something to keep our mind and heart busy, and we pick up worry and cares in an attempt to give that anxiety something or someway to release.  But thinking about our worries and cares only increases stress, it does not decrease stress.  So, since our stress increases, we worry even more.  It is like a hamster caught on a wheel.  Our minds run round and round and round in circles, never finding a place to stop and get some rest.

Rom 8:5-8

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

Why is it that we cannot get our minds to leave our worries and cares behind.  It is like we try to drop it, and forget it, but our mind is set...in a trap.  All day and all night our minds churn and turn, thinking about things that we try to forget but we can't seem to let it go.  This happens because our minds are controlled by our sinful nature instead of being controlled by the Spirit of God.  We feel restless and anxious because we have not filled our minds with God's word and with prayer.  If we were busy meditating on the word and bringing our needs to him in prayer we would not feel so empty and vulnerable.  It is through our confidence in his word, and the peace we receive when we pray that we have the power to walk without worry and fear.  We have not sought his kingdom first, nor sought his righteousness and we are open to attack.  Our mind fills with worry and fear.  Stress, anxiety, anger and depression then begin to rule our hearts and minds instead of Christ ruling there.

The bible declares, "you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is set on thee."

Where is your mind set today?  You may think, why don't I have the joy and peace that is promised?  Is your mind dwelling on him?  Have you put him first above everything?  Is he your all in all, more important than anything?  When he becomes everything to you, your mind will stay on him.

Why so downcast?

We all have times when we aren't feeling up to par.  But, there are  seasons of our lives when depression sets in and it seems like we can go for days without any joy whatsoever.    The psalmist said, "Why so downcast, O my soul?"

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Pro. 17:22

When your spirit is so crushed that you can't seem to bring any joy or laughter to your life you are oppressed and darkness has settled in over your life.  What kind of things crush our spirit?  Anything that causes you to loose your hope of a better day is a spirit crusher.  Living with someone that is abusive is certainly a spirit crusher.  Living with someone that requires alot of care that is demanding is a spirit crusher.  Having disabilities and physical problems that causes you to be handicap is a spirit crusher.  Financial problems that pile up like Mount Everest is a spirit crusher.  We are living in an age, in a day and time when many people are going through life with a crushed spirit.  It's like having splinters on the inside.  No matter where you go, or what you do it feels like that splintered wounded spirit on the inside is peircing you and it can feel like all hope is lost.   

 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit  Prov. 15:13

Many people go through this life, never feeling anything but inner pain and conflict.  The answer that the world often gives is to get on some medication to make the pain go away so that the inner tension and  pain will lift so that you won't feel depressed all the time.  This does not heal the spirit, it does not heal the heart, it is only a temporary fix, it is not the best that God has to offer.

Come quickly, LORD, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don't turn away from me, or I will die.  Psa. 143:7

We know that God can and will heal you of depression when you give your life to him, but what if you have been saved for a very long time, and you are very depressed as well.  The Psalmist said, "My heart cries out to thee O God, but you are not near."   There are times when we pray and pray for deliverance but seem to get no where.  What will deliver us in these times of affliction and pain?

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,  Isaiah 61:1

This passage is referring to Jesus.  There is an anointing that comes for the Holy Spirit.  When we fix our eyes on Jesus we can feel His presence and His anointing touching us today.  You have to seek him with your whole heart.  You can't hold onto your problem with one hand, and hold on to Jesus with the other.  You have to let go of everything and lay hold of Jesus.  He has to be everything to you.  You must be consecrated, sold out, focused on HIM.  As this anointing surrounds you, the depression will lift!   When Jesus becomes the very thoughts of your mind, the very passion of your heart, the very purpose of your life you will find the joy, the peace and the excitement that you need.  It will bring healing to your shattered heart.

Acts 3 says: 1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.




6Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.


They were going to the temple at the hour of prayer.  We wonder why we don't see more miracles than what we are seeing today in a majority of our churches.  It is because we do not go to the temple at the hour and times of prayer.  When you see miracles and healings taking place it is because someone went to the house of God during the hour of prayer.  This was their custom, they didn't miss prayer time.  We miss our prayer times over and over again, and then we complain that God doesn't do much for us.  Shame on us for accusing God when we were the ones that failed.  We don't miss our place at the dinner table.  We don't miss our favorite sports team.  We don't miss our doctor's appointment.  But we think it nothing to miss our time of prayer.  This is why we as a nation are ripe for judgement. 
 
We see a cripled man begging at the temple courts.   He could have stayed home and waited on a government hand out.  He could have said, "Just let me die, it's better than beggin'"  He could have said no use going up there, I don't get much and it ain't worth the effort.  How many people today become infirmed and just sit in a heap and give up.  They often say, "It ain't better, it ain't going to get better, ain't no use trying"  God never blesses a passive faith.  A passive faith is one that says, "I guess I will just sit in one spot and eat worms until God does something for me."  Get up off your pitty potty and get an active faith.  An active faith is someone that presses in daily because they still have a will to go on. 
 
We have a powerful combination here.  Men who made their daily prayer time, and a crippled man who hadn't yet given up on life.   He asked Peter and John for money, and those guys didn't have a dime to split between them.  Don't go whining around about how you ain't got no money in your pocket.  I see two men with no money and they ain't cryin' like some little baby, they are going to the house of God because it is time for prayer.  Peter wanted this man to receive a miracle.  He didn't pat the man's hand and say, "I'll be praying for you brother."  He didn't take a prayer request and start a prayer chain.  He didn't pray for him right there on the spot either.  He told the man to get up and walk.  He didn't have money for him but he had a miracle for him.  Peter had the power of God on his life and it was his to give away as well.  He didn't have to ask God, "Do you want this man to be healed?"  Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give."  He didn't ask God to heal the man, he simply told the man to get up and walk and took him by the hand to help him up.
 
Why do we spend hours trying to 'make sure' God wanted us to do this, or do that.  There are hurting people all around you.  Take them by the hand and tell them to get up and move ahead.  We quit reaching out to  others in the power of God for two reasons.  First we don't go to the house of God at the time of prayer.  Second, we don't want to take anyone by the hand and help them up.  We are lacking in the love of God and the power of God that we need to make a difference in this world.

When the Enemy refuses to move

There are times when we are praying that the enemy, the principalites and powers in the Spirit realm, are hindering our prayers.  Sometimes they refuse to let go of their strongholds, and it seems like we pray and pray and get no where.  Jesus told a parable on how we ought always to pray and to never give up.

1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’




4“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”



6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

The judge that didn't fear God nor care about men represents the devil.  This judge is not representing God because God loves us, and cares for us.  When Satan deceived Adam he became the one that had authority and dominion on the earth.  God had given all authority and dominion to Adam, but Adam forfeited that to Satan.  The devil is referred to as the god of this world.   Often we think that God is the one that is holding back the answer to our prayer, but, it is usually the devil that is blocking the answer to our prayers.  The bible says, your adversary, the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Alot of people don't even consider the devil when they are walking through life.  They don't take it to heart that they have an enemy to their soul.  The Bible says he is like an unjust judge, he has no respect for God, and he does not care for man either.  He does not give justice, the bible says that he has come to steal, kill and destroy.
 
Jesus said in this parable that a little widow woman kept coming everyday saying, Give me justice.   Note that this was a widow.  She had to come herself, so that means she didn't have anyone in her family to take care of her.   Woman had very little job opportunity in those days, so she likely didn't have much money.  If a woman inherited any property at the death of her husband she was considered valuable.  Each man being the next of kin would have the opportunity to take her into his home and provide for her, and then the property would become his.  More than likely she did not have any wealth at the death of her husband, as no one took her into his home.  She was likely just a poor widow woman and she was being oppressed by someone.  She kept asking this unjust judge to avenge her of her adversaries, and each day the judge told her no.
 
What you see in this parable is the same situation that exsisted with Moses and Pharoah in the old testament.  Moses kept saying, "God says let my people go."  Pharoah kept saying "No."  Yet, everyday God would send Moses back to say the same thing to Pharoah again.  Today it is the same.  Everyday you should speak in prayer  your rights as a child of God.  You should insist that the devil back off or yourself, off of your family, out of your life.  Of course he is a lawbreaker with no repect for God, so you will have to be persisitant like this little widow.
 
I like verses 4 and 5 it gives us a picture of how to win the battle.  This widow wore the judge down.  Yes, when you come daily in prayer and speak your rights, and insist on the devil moving o ut of your way...you will eventually wear the devil out.   Every morning when I wake up,  I want the devil to say, "O no, here she comes to prayer again, this woman is going to wear me out."  The Bible plainly says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  Yes, you can decide in your spirit to be persistant like this little widow and before long the devil will start complaining that you are just simply wearing him out.  He will flee to bother someone else who won't pray so much.  I have found that if I praise God and walk in faith and pray like I should that the enemy does not like to hang around me much.  It is like he wants someone that has a pitty party, and somone that whines and complains.  If you speak praise and thanksgiving the devil just gets up and leaves that party!  He flees from us because our prayer simply wears him out.
 
Jesus ends the parable by saying, If even the devil will eventually give you what you want if you pray long enough, how much more will God give it to you speedily!
 
The last few sentences are the ones that grieve me the most.  Jesus said, "When I return, will I find faith on the earth."  He looked forward to the end times, the days we are living in now and he declared, "Will anyone on earth still be praying at all."    The bible tells about the 10 vigins, 5 were foolish, and 5 were wise, but ALL of them went to sleep.  How do we know that a church is asleep?  A church that is asleep is a church that isn't praying.  Dear God, help us to wake up, trim our lamps, and get back to praying.  You WILL wear the devil out, and you WILL see your prayers answered.  

Eyes of the Spirit

Sometimes life can seem like a constant struggle.  A never ending battle, a fight for survival at times.  We go through the motions of everyday living and often we think, 'How much more can I endure?"  And there are many times that we look at the ground we have covered and realize we have barely gained ground.  There may even be times when we realize that even with all the effort we have put into, we have lost ground somehow.  We can be plagued with the idea of giving up, thinking that our fight is not worth the effort.

In any battle it is possible to work hard, yet, get no where.  If you are watering your garden and you get a spoon, and fill it with water, and then carry it to the garden, how much work would it take to water an entire acre of land?    If you want to eat soup in your kitchen, and you pick up a fork, you may get some food in your mouth, but how much of it will be lost?   If we are going to spend time in prayer, we need to pray an effective prayer.  Often we pray and have absolutely no understanding of what we are doing. 

Ephesians 6:12 says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers,  against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against Spiritual wickedness in high places.

The powers and principalities, rulers of darkness and Spiritual wickedness are demons, which were the angels that fell from God's presence.   The nature of an angel is to serve and protect you.  The nature of a fallen angel, a demon, is to hinder and harm you.  When we begin to understand what is going on in the spirit realm, we begin to understand prayer. 

The nature of a demon is to torment.  We often think that people are the problem, or lack of finances is the problem, or that lack of health is the problem.    The root of the problem is not found in the earthly realm, but it is found in the Spiritual realm.  When you look at a fly, you can understand how a demon attacks.  Flies will buzz around and annoy you.  We get the fly swat, or we spray or do whatever necessary to get rid of the fly.  However, in some countries where people are poor and do not have the water to bathe properly flies are in greater numbers.  Often the battle with flies are so great these people will let the flies land on their faces or other parts of thier bodies and they don't even swat them away.  They give up the battle of fighting them, they just live with the flies and let them lite upon thier bodies.  This is how it is in the Spirit realm.  Some people just yeild to demonic powers, they are tired of the struggle. 

The book of Ephesians says to put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand.  If we don't have God's armour on, we are not even able to stand against the whiles of the devil.   Often when we are praying to God we come to him with a list of things that we want changed.  We look at the situation as if those things were the issues.  In every situation that you face, the real issue is  the principalities, and powers, the rulers in the Spirit realm, the demonic powers.  These things must be addressed in prayer before your victory will come through. 

When the Heaven's are brass

When the heavens are brass it seems like praying is a chore.  During these times it can feel as if our prayers hit the ceiling, and then fall back down into our laps.  Deuteronomy 28: 15-68 list the curses that would come upon us if we disobey the Lord.  God declares in verse 23 of the same chapter: "The sky above you will be brass; and the ground below you as hard as iron."

When the sky above us is brass and the earth below us is hard as iron our path is difficult upon this earth.  How do we get an open Heaven above us and a fertile earth below us?  Daniel had the same problem.  Daniel was living under a heaven of brass.  Daniel's country was the nation of Isreal, and they had disobeyed God and had been taken captive into another land.  Whenever we disobey God the enemy takes us captive.  We can become captive to many things.  Anger, Fears, Drugs, Addictions, financial difficulties, lonliness, depressions, and the list could go on for a long time.  In our captivity the heavens above us becomes brass, but why?  It is because demonic spirits control these things.  When you are depressed, there is a demonic spirit in the atmosphere around you.  When you are angry, or fearful or on drugs or any of these hardships of the flesh, demonic spirits control the atmosphere around you. Since the demons control these things they are a torment to us when we are taken captive by them.

Daniel prayed to God seeking an answer.  But no answer came the first day.  Why?  Because the heavens were brass, blocked up above him, by demonic powers.  He continued to pray the 2nd, 3rd, 4th day and still no answer.  Why?  The heavens were brass above him because they had disobeyed God and had been taken into captivity.  Daniel began to fast for an answer, and after 21 days of fasting and prayer, the heavens opened up above him and the answer came through.

In Daniel 10:11-13  An angel told Daniel that from the FIRST day that he had prayed, that God had heard him and sent the answer, but that it had been delayed by the prince of the Persian Kingdom (the devil, or demonic spirits), and that Michael the angel of war had to come and help him get the answer through to Daniel. 

 Sometimes when we pray we want to blame God if the Heavens seem brass.  We get mad because our answer does not come.  Have you ever thought that God heard you and did answer the moment you prayed, but the demons hindered the answer from coming to you.  How the devil laughs when he blocks your answer and then you turn around and declare, "God isn't real, my prayer went unanswered." The devil blocked Daniel's answer to prayer for a full 21 days. 

 When you pray you not only have to move heaven, but you have to move hell out of the way as well.  Demons will try to hinder you from receiving your answer from God.  When we have disobeyed God we give the devil the power to make the Heavens brass above us.  It blocks God from getting through to us.  We must repent (turn to God) and pray and fast until the devil's power over us is broken.

If you feel like your prayers are not going anywhere, it is because demonic powers are over you making the heavens brass.  You will need to pray and fast before you will get your break through.  It is worth it.  There is NOTHING like an open Heaven above you.