Refueling

Christians are often told they need to reach out to others, to those with needs; whether physical or spiritual needs.

Although this is true, there may be times when you feel like you need to be ministered to. You feel flat, with nothing to give. Be encouraged there is hope for you too! :) Surround yourself with an environment of praise and worship. Fill your house with praise, worship, music that inspires you. Place discs of God's word in your car. Get around family, church friends and people who will make you feel nourished and  encouraged. Ask the Holy Spirit fill you continually from the inside out. I like to read the Psalms in times like this. Whether you need healing, a financial breakthrough, or a relational miracle, remember, our God is able, and He will never leave you or forsake you. Let yourself fall into the safe arms of Jesus and His peace and great joy will fill you.

Psalm 105:1-2  Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His Name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him, talk of all His wondrous works!

Why We Ask 'Why?'

 Mark 9:24 (NASB)  Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

Do you ever find yourself in a tragic situation and asked God, 'Why? Why is this happening to me?'

For one moment, let's imagine that God actually answered that question. Would His explanation change anything? The effects of the tragedy would still be with you, and the pain would be just as severe as it was before. What would you have learned?

When we ask God that question, I think the real questions we're asking are: 'God, do You love me? Will You take care of me in my sorrow and pain? You won't leave me alone, will You?' Is it possible that, because we're afraid God doesn't truly care about us, we ask for explanations?

Instead, we must learn to say: 'Lord, I believe. I don't understand, and I'll probably never grasp all the reasons bad things happen, but I know for certain that You love me and are with me, always.'

I believe it often takes more faith to go through something victoriously than to be delivered from it. Put your faith in God and you'll come out stronger on the other side.

Prayer Starter: God, I believe in You, even when circumstances try to fill my mind with doubt. Help me to remember Your love for me and to put my faith in You, no matter what happens.

Devotional by Joyce Meyer

Make Bold Requests

God wants to give us BIG gifts. He loves to bless us. We receive, in direct proportion to our faith. In James it says 'we have not because we ask not'. So how are we asking? What are we asking for? Are we asking God to just get us by or are we boldly asking for Him to go above and beyond.

Psalm 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance.
 So stop praying those 'get my by' prayers! Start asking for your biggest dreams. Elisha asked for  a DOUBLE portion of Elijah's spirit! The blind men at the gate did not ask Jesus for conveniences or for help to get around, or for shelter or food; they asked for their sight! Go for the big guns! Start asking God to bless your business so that you can be a blessing to others, ask God for sales and promotions so that you can bless ....a village in Africa...those who are trapped in human trafficking...those who suffer from everyday ailments without access to medical treatments... and the list goes on.


Psalm 81:10 says "open your mouth wide and I will fill it!"

When we ask for little things and just to get by prayers we are not opening very wide. It's like a young girl who asked for prayer to get a 'C' on an upcoming test because the best she ever got in that class was  'C'.  Ridiculous!  you say, why not pray for an 'A'?  She didn't 'open her mouth' wide enough to receive an 'A'. In the same way, start praying for your kids to become great leaders that make a difference in their culture and in their world, instead of  "Lord, just keep them out of trouble",  say "God I want to be free of this illness"; "I know that I  will come through this health issue a better person". Pray, all the while believing that God will keep His promises.

Actively Waiting on God

We spend much of our time waiting. In line at the grocery store, at the car wash, for the coffee to brew, water to boil, the mail to come, at a stop light, on our spouce to get home from work. In each of these waiting situations we are expecting something while we wait. Much like this, we wait for God  to work on our behalf. We must not just sit and wait and do nothing waiting for Him to rescue us, we do what we can while we wait; expecting Him to come through. For example, if we have credit card debt...we need to start putting every extra dollar towards paying off our debt. Maybe I don't have $10,000 to pay it off, but I can put this $5.00 toward the debt today, and maybe $5.00 next week.  If we do what we CAN do, God will do what we cannot do. We take little steps toward the goal having faith that God will take over when we can no longer make progress. God wants us to depend on him.  He is honored when we ask Him to move on the behalf of His children.
    Psalm 62:5&6 says that my hope and expectation are of Him. "I shall not be moved," meaning that I will not give up. God likes when we say "I'm expecting You to keep the promises you made."  Lamentations 3:25&26 says that God is good to those who wait, hopefully. We must expect Him to move. Don't just sit idle and say... 'well, I'm waiting on God'. If we have a need we have the right to expect Him to work on our behalf.
Don't give up...do as much as you can while you wait for Him to complete the job. It is so much fun to watch how God will step in for us. He is so creative.

"Blessings"

 
Does God 'bless' us by NOT giving us what we are asking for? I love this song! Although God does not send suffering into our lives, He does allow Satan to do so. (see the story of Job). The outcome He desires to see from the trials, is that we draw closer to Him and what Satan plans for evil, God uses for good! Everything that happens to us is for OUR good!

Job's example is so rich. When he heard that all his children and all his livestock had been killed, this was his response,   Job 1:20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.  Praise the name of the Lord!” 22In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

In the end Job received twice as much as he had to begin with. Job 42:12 God blessed the latter part of Job's life more than his beginning.

4 more thoughts

Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go; try to be who you really are, because life is short, and often only gives one chance to do things.

The really lucky people do not necessarily have the best of everything, They are the ones who make the most best of whatever is thrown at them.


The most splendid future will always depend upon the necessity to release the past. You cannot move forward in life unless you learn from your past mistakes and move on.


When you were born, you were crying while everybody around you was smiling; Always live your life smiling even when other people around you are crying.

3 thoughts for today

In life there are moments when you miss someone so much, you that you wish you could grab them out of your dreams and hug them tight.

When a door closes another one opens, but often we stand there so long looking at the closed door, we don't even see the one that's opened.

Do not look at physical appearances, they can be deceiving. Do not look at riches, for they are only temporary. Look for someone who makes you smile; because sometimes it only takes a smile to brighten up a very dark day. Look for someone who makes your heart sing!