Video Bible Lesson - A Prayer for Restlessness By Gwen Smith

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

3/22/2020

A Prayer for Restlessness
By Gwen Smith

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”(Exodus 33:14)
R.E.S.T. {Reflect. Engage. Surrender.Trust.}
ENGAGE
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29, NIV)
The apostle Paul instructed us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, ESV)
Most importantly, we must engage with the grace of God through Jesus Christ, which comes from the confession of our sin. “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2, NLT)
SURRENDER
The best example of surrendering to God’s will is in Jesus. The night he was betrayed Jesus surrendered himself to God's plan. He prayed, "Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine." (Mark 14:36, NLT)
Here’s the beauty of surrender: when you lay down your mess, your hands are then free to pick up God’s rest. Because the One who captures us in surrender is the One who sets us free. And in the surrender, you are empowered to trust Him more.
TRUST
Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about this.
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? … So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (Matthew 6:31-32)
Friend, your heavenly Father knows that your job is stressing you out, that your marriage is hanging by thread, that you are bogged down with health challenges, that you are grieving that loss, that your finances are upside down… He knows the longings of your heart. He. Knows. What. You. Need.
What would happen if every morning you woke up and decided to R.E.S.T.? What if you determined each day to choose to trust God for what you need because you know that He knows what you need? Can you imagine living with that kind of faith? That is exactly what the Lord is inviting you into. His rest.
Lord, I really want to get this one! Please help me to turn to You in all circumstances – in the good, the bad, and the ugly. Give me the strength to surrender my will to Yours, and guard my heart and mind with the peace as I choose to trust You with my struggles today.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

God's Time

God's Time
Streams in the Desert

And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush… saying… I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt (Acts 7:30-34).

That was a long wait in preparation for a great mission. When God delays, He is not inactive. He is getting ready His instruments, He is ripening our powers; and at the Appointed moment we shall arise equal to our task. Even Jesus of Nazareth was thirty years in privacy, growing in wisdom before He began His work.
--Dr. Jowett

God is never in a hurry but spends years with those He expects to greatly use. He never thinks the days of preparation too long or too dull.

The hardest ingredient in suffering is often time. A short, sharp pang is easily borne, but when a sorrow drags its weary way through long, monotonous years, and day after day returns with the same dull routine of hopeless agony, the heart loses its strength, and without the grace of God, is sure to sink into the very sullenness of despair.

Joseph's was a long trial, and God often has to burn His lessons into the depths of our being by the fires of protracted pain. "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver," but He knows how long, and like a true goldsmith He stops the fires the moment He sees His image in the glowing metal.

We may not see now the outcome of the beautiful plan which God is hiding in the shadow of His hand; it yet may be long concealed; but faith may be sure that He is sitting on the throne, calmly waiting the hour when, with adoring rapture, we shall say, "All things have worked together for good."

Like Joseph, let us be more careful to learn all the lessons in the school of sorrow than we are anxious for the hour of deliverance. There is a "need-be" for every lesson, and when we are ready, our deliverance will surely come, and we shall find that we could not have stood in our place of higher service without the very things that were taught us in the ordeal. God is educating us for the future, for higher service and nobler blessings; and if we have the qualities that fit us for a throne, nothing can keep us from it when God's time has come.

Don't steal tomorrow out of God's hands. Give God time to speak to you and reveal His will. He is never too late; learn to wait.
--Selected

He never comes too late; He knoweth what is best;
Vex not thyself in vain; until He cometh--REST.

Do not run impetuously before the Lord; learn to wait His time: the minute-hand as well as the hour-hand must point the exact moment for action.

A Prayer for a Humble and Gentle Spirit

A Prayer for a Humble and Gentle SpiritBy Gwen Smith

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

In her book Love Story, songwriter and author Nichole Nordeman puts it this way. “Jesus sort of topples the model of traditional leadership. He starts at the bottom. First things first. Let's get those feet washed. This is how Jesus leads. And it’s why marriages and corporations and ministries thrive under his model of servant leadership. Stooping, not looming. Tending, not monitoring.”

I know this.
I really do.
I want this.

I want this for me, and I want this for my family. I want this for you. I want to live this type of radical life that showcases Jesus and pushes His fame to the forefront. Not only on the good days, but also on the bad days. Not only in the comfortable times, but also in the uncomfortable, fiery times. Don’t you?

I am thankful that God convicts my heart when I get bossy, start comparing, running ahead of God, or getting caught up in self-centered pursuits. His Spirit reminds me that my flesh needs to be put down because I am bound to Christ and He is my master. The Spirit of God reminds me that I am not to live as a slave to sin, but to live as a slave to righteousness (Romans 5).

When Jesus becomes our focus, we will be in the center of God’s will for us.

Today, for me, this probably means I will do more praying than social media posting or news watching. And it also means that when that certain mom bends my ear about the awesome accomplishments of her darling daughter, I will smile, share in her joy, and not respond with, “Well, my daughter just...”

Things go better for me when I choose humility, make a big deal about God’s greatness, and follow His lead by lovingly serving the people in my life. When I live by the instructions that Paul gave to the church of Ephesus, Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

My peace is greater when I look to the needs of others instead of my own, when I humble myself before our awesome Lord and beg for Him to be magnified in my words, thoughts, efforts, and decisions.

Jesus is the line leader.

I am just a girl in line who needs to keep her eyes fixed on the Guy up front.

Let’s Pray

Lord Jesus, Please lead me. Take the wheel. Take the whole car! Take my life. No more pushing to the front of the line for me. I want You, Jesus. I want more of You.

In Jesus’ Name I pray,
Amen.

Why You Must Study the Word for Yourself

Why You Must Study the Word for YourselfBy Courtnaye Richard

“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” - 2 Timothy 2:15

When you study the Word, this pleases God. Study the Scriptures for yourself. Learn to rightly divide it. The Holy Spirit will help you. This way, you won’t teach error to someone else or be deceived when someone else is teaching it to you. Reader…pay attention. We are indeed living in the last days, and the Bible warns us that there will be many false teachers among us teaching error, empty philosophies, man-made traditions, false doctrines, and leading many astray.

Colossians 2:8 alerts us saying, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.” And Jesus told the religious Pharisees, “And why do you, by your own traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?” (Matthew 15:3) There are too many who are teaching and preaching their own agendas, false doctrines, and causing many to reject Christ because they themselves cannot live out what they preach or say.

So…in order to NOT be deceived, you have to read the word of God and study it for yourself. You are not alone. Remember, the Holy Spirit will guide you. He will lead you to the right people who will teach you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And He will give you knowledge, understanding, wisdom and revelation when you pray and ask for it. Sometimes, the Lord will just supernaturally give you revelation knowledge of His word in one sitting!

I LOVE it when that happens!

I echo the words of Beth Moore who writes in her book Children of the Day, “We are blessed to have limitless opportunities to study under many pastors and teachers but, if we do not go diligently to the Scriptures for ourselves, the question is not whether we’ll be deceived, but how often.”

So I beckon you, as we await the return of Christ, DO NOT just go sit and hear a word from someone, and not take the time to go back home and study it out for yourself. It’s totally okay. Remember the opening verse 2 Timothy 2:15. Also, in the book of Acts this was written, “And the people of Berea were open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” (NLT) And they were! Praise God! Because there are great teachers, preachers, televangelists, bloggers, and authors who are teaching the truth.

But then Peter comes back to say, “…those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:16-17 – NLT) So be on guard.

The major point here is that it’s okay for you to make sure that you are not being deceived in this last hour. Because some words are true and some are taught in error. Some words are genuine and some are twisted. Pray for spiritual discernment (meaning knowing the difference between right and wrong, truth from error).

Now, before I close this very important post, I need to tell you why this point is so crucial for today. It’s a dangerous thing because wrong teaching, man-made doctrines, or incorrect instruction of God’s word will cause many to disobey God’s actual word, yield to man’s viewpoint or doctrine over what Scripture states clearly (which Jesus warned about earlier), and ultimately fall away from the faith. It’s dangerous to your spiritual health and others when you don’t study the word for yourself. So I encourage you to be sober and alert.

It’s not by chance that you’re reading this post today. It is my job to preach the word, instruct, encourage, correct, rebuke (in Jesus name) and warn. God wanted you to know the truth. I pray that you receive it, because it will make you free.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Pastor Jack Graham

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
--Luke 23:34

As we all know, words are powerful… especially dying words. And as we near Easter Sunday, it's important that each of us remembers just exactly what Jesus had to say right before His earthly life ended.

One of the last things Jesus said while hanging from the cross were words of forgiveness.

Today I want to ask you, if Christ could pray a prayer of forgiveness for those who were putting Him to death, can you pray a prayer of forgiveness for those in your life who mistreat you?

Despite what you may be going through today, can you look past your own "junk" and extend forgiveness to others?

Jesus' dying words on the cross are a powerful example of how you and I ought to treat those who mistreat us. Are you willing to follow His perfect example in every area of your life today? Will you extend forgiveness to those who don't deserve it?

I challenge you to pick up your cross today… and live out the life of forgiveness Christ has given you! 

CAN YOU FOLLOW CHRIST'S EXAMPLE AND FORGIVE THOSE WHO MISTREAT YOU?