#”God-Wrestler” are you a “Jacob?”

Genesis 32: 25 NOG “When the man saw that he could not win against Jacob, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that it was dislocated as they wrestled.”

Can you imagine wrestling with God?  I think it was something amazing to experience.  Jacob seemed to be a strong man and he was very determined not to give up.

I wonder what God thinks of us when we step into His wrestling ring.  As you place your foot on that mat and grab hold of God.  Are you willing to wrestle with God for something you need in your life this very minute?  Do you think it’s just not the right thing to do?

If you continue reading Genesis chapter 32 you will see that in the end “the man said, “But no longer, your name is no longer Jacob.  From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”  Oh my goodness, Jacob persevered and won.

We have many battles and we should choose them and not step into every fight we encounter.  The war is still to come and while we are still preparing for that great day we need to say focused.

Every time something happens in your life and you seem to be struggling and just cannot move forward, wouldn’t you say this is “wrestling with God?”

Think about it, sometimes everything is a struggle, you just cannot find the right job.  You just cannot say the right thing, then there is a fight.  You just cannot do the right thing then you are in trouble.  You just seem to be struggling with your finances and you seem to be struggling with life as a matter of fact.  Think about it are you in God’s arena right now? Is this your WWE smack down?

Prayer

What a privilege it is to come into Your presence today Abba Father.  If we have been selected to come into your arena right now we pray for the necessary wisdom and insight that You want us to learn.  Our struggles seem so hard and difficult at times and we don’t always seem to understand everything but today, we pray help us understand what You want us to learn.  Teach us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen

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You are covered by day and by night

Exodus 13: 21 AMP “The [presence of the] LORD was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of the cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they would travel by day and by night.”

Reading the Hebrew words and their means for some the words today I want to tell you about the word “Ananei HaKavod which means the Cloud of Glory.”  I was so impressed by the meaning I really wanted to share my thinking.  It is said that the Jewish Rabbis called this cloud the “Ananei HaKavod.”  They teach that in this cloud God provides for His people and that God keeps them safe.  Now that is inside the cloud.  I also realized that without the cloud the people would have been fearful but the knew God was with them during their travels because of the cloud, they saw His presence with them.  God sustained them during their travel through the desert for 40 years.

Life can come at you from all angles and you might just be facing a trial right now.  In my own life, I am also going through situations, things that I just cannot control and I do not have any control over them.  It isn’t fun and I do get frustrated but today as I sit here thinking about the Cloud of Glory I feel confident that I too may approach the LORD and ask Him to cover me.

I believe that God is still the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  I believe that He will keep me and that He will sustain my life.  I may feel that I am in the desert right now, but I also believe that His cloud is covering me by day and the Fire column at night.  I believe that I am covered day and night.  So are you.

Prayer

I stand here in absolute awe of You LORD God Almighty.  My life is in Your hands and I believe that Your Cloud of Glory is covering me this very minute.  I cannot go anywhere without You.  You are with me now and always.  In awe and adoration I praise and worship You for the knowledge and I thank You, Lord, that You are with me.  Each and every day in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  Amen

pEople pLeasers?

Galatians 1: 10 NLT “I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God.”

It’s easy to fall into that trap of trying to please everybody and trying to keep everybody happy because you want some peace and quiet at home.  The problem with that is that you are constantly walking on eggs.

Then there are times when you are supposed to be doing things that are pleasing to the Lord but you also have to keep everybody around you happy.  Causing you to slip up with your quiet time and bible reading.

If you are anything like me, you need to stand up for what you believe in, I am supposedly a freak because I can only speak about the LORD.  I have other interests but to be honest I love to talk about God.

I found when I was working that people couldn’t really get along with me because they felt uncomfortable in my company.  I was told that I acted “holy than thou” which to my way of thinking wasn’t the case.  I was just trying to be friendly and kind, listening to what people said and if I thought of something that they were doing I would say where it could be found in the Bible.  This made a number of people mad.  Do not tell them stories in the Bible that reflect on their lives.  I never thought it was a bad thing but apparently, it was.

I haven’t changed much I still enjoy talking about the LORD and I still remind people of what they are doing may or may not resonate with the LORD.

Who are you pleasing, God or people?

Prayer

Lord, it is difficult to be different and stand out from the crowd, I always feel like a square being pushed into a round whole.  I never seem to fit in and I don’t always understand people’s point of view.  Lord, help me to never disappoint You.  I don’t want to be a people pleaser I want to be on Your side all the time.  Show me the way forward and lead me in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen

tHe Darkest hOur oF the Night comes Just bEfore the dAwn.

Galatians 6: 9AMP “Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap if we do not give in.”

I am thinking of a specific person in my personal life, this lady is hard working and really goes the extra mile.  I just feel sorry that she has been influenced by someone in her own personal life.  This lady has the ability to be friendly, stay kind and is normally very generous.

The funny thing is this person was always doing good deeds and never trying to receive accolades and cheers of greatness until the person she knows started pointed out that she is not getting these important accolades.

My dear friend doesn’t lose heart and do not grow weary and do not become discouraged in doing good, for you will receive at the proper time and you will reap if you do not give in.  Life can be trying at times and it isn’t easy but I think God wants each and every one of us to get up and dust ourselves off.  Do the good we can and never stop being kind and loving.

Time moves fast and before we know it, the time has run out for all of us.  The thing is we are all growing older and older each and every day.  We have to do what we can and it is expected that we do our best all the time and if not our best we should strive to do our best.  This business of giving up isn’t allowed in our lives.  We have to continue and never ever give up, these words must not come out of our mouths.

We all are God’s precious jewels, He bought each one of us with a price, the Life Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Come on people, lets us never give up on God or people!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give us the strength to stay focused and never grow weary or become discouraged in doing good.  Lord, we need Your strength and we need You to help us face each day.  We cannot do this on our own we love and worship You with all our heart, body and mind and soul in the lovely name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  Amen

 

Prayer of Thanks

 

Daniel 2: 23 “I thank You and praise You, O God of my Fathers, For You have given me wisdom and power; even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us [the solution to] the king’s matter.”

Some battle can be intense I mean really intense you feel that if you don’t win this battle your whole life is going to fall apart.  Then you find on the other hand that in the midst of the battle you actually should have been praying about this particular problem but the carnal you thought better.  Are you able to relate?

My battles are intense for me but in fact, they probably aren’t that big of a problem, I think they are more focused on relationship issues and to be honest I have to work hard at it.

Daniel was faced with a problem and it would have affected all of them Daniel and the rest of the Kings wise men.  Daniel was a Godfearing man and spoke to God all the time.  What I like about Daniel is that he brings praise and worships the LORD God his Father for the wisdom and power that Daniel received.  Daniel didn’t believe he was this know it all, we asked the LORD to help him and then God answered Daniel.

As you know I have been going through a number of battles and my mood and attitude was also affected by these circumstances.  I have had to deal with family issues, relationship issue and other issues that I just can’t talk about.  The thing is I always want to see if I can sort the problems out first before I actually bring it to the Lord.  So carnal wouldn’t you agree, but that is exactly what I do.

As of late I have decided enough is enough, I am not able to deal with all of this nonsense and I cannot do this anymore.  Losing weight and feeling stressed because I lost my appetite and feel miserable and stiff-necked all the time isn’t doing me any good.

I sat on my bed one morning pouring out all my problems before the Lord, crying and fighting and crying.  After all the praying, murmuring and moaning, I asked the LORD humbly to forgive me.  To forgive my family and my forefathers and anybody that may have been instrumental in making God angry.  I also was thinking of Nehemiah and thought let me also ask for God’s promises to be realized in my own life.

With that said and done, I reminded God of His promises and I left it at that.  Confessing of sin and walking away from them is important and getting right with God is even more important.  This is where I need to come in with the Praising now.

Everything said and done, I believe that God is faithful and that He listens to our heartfelt cries, He can see the pain and hurt we are enduring.

Praise You, ABBA Father for being there when I needed You most.  Praise YOU. LORD for answered prayers.  Praise You for the time that I can spend in Your presence.  Praise You for the loving kindness and mercy You have towards me.  Praise You for answered prayers.  Praise You for being kind and merciful.  Forgiving me and helping me face a new day.  For gifts undeserved.  For supernatural favor in my life.

Lord, You are awesome and wonderful and I love YOU with all of my heart.

Prayer

Abba Father, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I want to bring praise to Your Holy Name, I want to say thank You for answered prayers.  Thank You for hearing my cries, thank You for being there for me.  Showing me Your mercy and loving-kindness, thank You also for keeping me still under Your wings.  I take shelter with You and praise You with all my body, heart and soul and mind.  In the Lovely name of the Lord Jesus Christ Amen

 

Write it down

Proverbs 16: 3 KJV “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.”

As I sit here thinking about what it is that I want, it occurred to me that I have a tiny little ministry on the go.  You know I love blogging and I love to write down my thoughts about a given topic.  It, of course, is my heart’s desire to spread the Good News across the world.  I have been working on this for about 7 years and to be honest, it is a slow crawl for me.  I have a number of regulars that give my blog a quick view and move on, as most of us actually do.

While I have been meditating and thinking about what it is I actually want I decided to write it down and bring it before the Lord today.  As I read Proverbs chapter 16 verse 3 it reminded me that for something to really happen I need to check in with the most important person in my own life.  Who is that?  Well the LORD of course.  So here we go, you are my witness and I am writing down my thoughts and hopes and dreams.

LORD God, You are my only point of contact and without You I am nothing.  You also know how many times I have messed up.  So here are a couple of things I want to bring into Your presence today, I want to present my Book Daily Devotional Ebenezer to You, you will be done as in Heaven so on earth.  I also want to bring my Blog pages to You.  WordPress and Google Blogspot.  You will be done so in heaven as on earth.

I have great expectations but I am bringing these desires to the LORD to see that it falls into His perfect will for my life.

Is there something you need to write down and bring before the LORD today?  Do you feel you want the LORD to make your paths straight?  I do, I want to ask the LORD to make my paths straight.

Prayer

LORD as it is written in Proverbs Chapter 16 verse 3, we need to commit all our work onto the LORD so that He may establish our thoughts.  In humble prayer LORD I commit the following into Your hands, a washing machine, my book, my blog and my life.  You know the rest but these are what are really very important to me at this stage.  My blogger friends may have something on their hearts, please Lord in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I pray for open doors of great opportunity, straight paths and blessed prayers and answered prayers.  Amen

Proactive thinking

Philippians 3: 13 KJV “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

Many people are hurting and have faced a couple of difficult situations, sometimes these battles are a fork in the road so to speak.  I had a couple of battles that I faced in my life that was the so-called fork in the road.

The thing that caught my attention today is once I relive or think back, I become so depressed and despondent it makes me angry and I feel worthless.

What is my answer to these really bad feelings?  I need to be proactive in my thinking, pushing these memories away and replacing them with happy memories or to start focusing on something new.

My proactive thoughts are now moving me to focus on the Word of God (Bible), as I page through my Bible I look for verses to help me feel happy, and move me into another state of mind.

I take practice and it is hard work because I also forget about being proactive and sometimes just feel totally sorry for myself.  As I think of the words of the verse above I stretch my thoughts and I start dreaming of something that I so desire.  Something that makes me happy.

Prayer

Abba Father, as we leave our hurt and pain behind from our past, we want to renew our thought life and be more proactive in our thinking.  Lord, we want to stay focused on the Lord Jesus and we want to cloth ourselves with You Lord.  As the blood of Jesus covers us right now we ask to help us let go of the past and move into a nother dimention of renewing our thought life.  Amen

Proactive thinking

Philippians 3: 13 KJV “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

Many people are hurting and have faced a couple of difficult situations, sometimes these battles are a fork in the road so to speak.  I had a couple of battles that I faced in my life that was the so-called fork in the road.

The thing that caught my attention today is once I relive or think back, I become so depressed and despondent it makes me angry and I feel worthless.

What is my answer to these really bad feelings?  I need to be proactive in my thinking, pushing these memories away and replacing them with happy memories or to start focusing on something new.

My proactive thoughts are now moving me to focus on the Word of God (Bible), as I page through my Bible I look for verses to help me feel happy, and move me into another state of mind.

I take practice and it is hard work because I also forget about being proactive and sometimes just feel totally sorry for myself.  As I think of the words of the verse above I stretch my thoughts and I start dreaming of something that I so desire.  Something that makes me happy.

Prayer

Abba Father, as we leave our hurt and pain behind from our past, we want to renew our thought life and be more proactive in our thinking.  Lord, we want to stay focused on the Lord Jesus and we want to cloth ourselves with You Lord.  As the blood of Jesus covers us right now we ask to help us let go of the past and move into a nother dimention of renewing our thought life.  Amen

Are you #suffering?

1 Peter 4: 19 DARBY “Wherefore also let them who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing to a faithful Creator.”

Before I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I heard people tell me stories of wealth and an easy life.  Then the reality of the situation came, suffering is a process that each and every Christian needs to go through.  It’s like the purifying of gold, in order to get to the gold it goes through fire.

In the many years that I have been following and serving the Lord Jesus Christ, it has been some ride.  The times when I felt I just couldn’t make it, those were the times that the Lord carried me through.  Do not be mislead! We actually all have some kind of suffering, even the non-Christians and atheist endure suffering in their lives.

One thing I truly am grateful about is that I don’t have to suffer the same way the Lord Jesus Christ suffered when He died on the cross for our sins.  I doubt I would have been able to endure so much.

Looking at our passage we see that Peter reminds us that “who suffer according to God’s will are to commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”  Doing good is expected of each one of us.  Let’s take up our cross and bear the suffering and keep up the good work.

Prayer

Abba Father, please help us stay strong during the times we suffer according to Your will, guide us and teach us.  Please help us to do good as You will it for our lives.  In the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

It’s alright to start again

Romans 5: 20 KJV “Moreover, the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”

Looking back over my life I honestly must say that I am a master at making mistakes and messing things up.  I actually don’t even have to try hard at making mistakes and messing things up.  It’s easier to do something wrong before we actually do it right, is it because of our sinful nature?  Yes, I think we are programmed that way.

Here’s the thing, God gives us so many chances to make things right with Him.  I don’t believe we have a license to sin but because we are people and we don’t intentionally want to sin, we still do.  Every day is a challenge for many people, we are all working on our positive attitudes, our words of grace and loving kindness.

The fact of the matter is that we mess up, we do and then most of the time we feel terrible about it.  We just have to dust ourselves off, humble ourselves before God and asking Him for forgiveness.  Because we know that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.  We are able to start again, try and try again until we get it right.

This process is ongoing we will never be perfect but we can work at doing our best in staying humble to the Lord God.  Constantly praying for guidance and help each day.

Prayer

O Lord God, what a privilage it is to come into presence each day, knowing that Your grace abounds and that we are able to start over.  We fall constantly like little children and then we cry, and get frustrated and angry.  We get up each day, dust ourselves off and humbly pray for YOUR abounding grace.  Lord we love you, in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen