Bible

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Thy Will Be Done


“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.”  Matthew 6:10

We have all heard the Disciples Prayer from Matthew 6, The Sermon On the Mount.  Jesus teaches His disciples His model for prayer.  Unfortunately, I think many of us fail to  realize it is HIS will that needs to be done.  Not ours.

Webster defines Yield in the following ways:

: to give or render as fitting, rightfully owed, or required

: to give up possession of on claim or demand: as a : to give up (as one’s breath) and so die b : to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another : hand over possession of c : to surrender or submit (oneself) to another

We get the concept of prayer.  We ask, and we expect to receive what we ask.  Do we yield to His will or are we upset when we have no answer by our deadline?  What if that is the answer?  What if it’s no?  People get angry with God when He does not answer the way they asked.

Through the years we have prayed for many situations and through many circumstances.  Sometimes, the answers were immediate … sometimes we felt we had no answer, we didn’t understand.  We were confused.  However,  God answers every prayer.  He does, He really does.  Prayers are answered according to His will.  Through cancer, surgery, plane crashes, tornadoes… every trial, He has answered. Is it not an answer to prayer when a loved one dies from an illness when you prayed they might be made whole?  Christians know that when they die they go to Heaven and are made whole.  No more suffering, no more pain.  The problem is not God not answering, it is in our praying.

So why pray if He’s going to do what He wants anyway?  Because in talking with God through prayer you learn the character of God, through Jesus by the Holy Spirit in you.  Prayer changes things … it changes you.  It makes you the Christian and the child of God He made you to be.  His will becomes yours.  Prayer is for molding you into Christ’s character.

Can you come to the point in your prayer life that you can truly pray and then honestly end with “Thy will be done”?  In one week we will go before foreclosure mediation.  God knows Phil needs a job.  He KNOWS we need a place to live.  We ask Him to give Phil a job and help us with finances, including our home.  We want to honor our debt.  God KNOWS  There is nothing wrong with the way we are praying, we are not praying amiss. So when we go (and we know God can give us that miracle we have been asking for), we will go asking His will be done, knowing it WILL.  His WILL. So if Phil does not have a job, and if we lose the house has God not answered our prayers?  NO, that is simply His answer.  His word says:

Jeremiah 29:11 (HCSB)

“For I know the plans I have for you” —[this is] the LORD’s declaration—”plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

I truly believe God has a miracle for us and am waiting expectantly for Him to reveal His plan.  It may not be the plan and scenario I asked for, but I know that whatever it is, it is good because He says so. 

So I will pray as He leads me, asking that I might receive and always asking Him in Jesus’ name, “Thy Will Be Done”.

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“Now I Lay Me ….


down to sleep” ; “God is great, God is good….”; “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name…”

      HOW DO YOU PRAY?

"Where two are more are gathered..."

I have noticed through the years that people pray as they have ‘heard others pray’.  We all grow up hearing the children’s prayers.  Some faiths have recited prayers.   Many pray only when in need or after they have tried everything else.

Children are sponges.  They soak up all around them as they grow. both the good habits and the bad.   So many times we inadvertently teach them to PRAY only as a last resort because all the other ‘praying’ is in recitation, not real prayer.   There is the ‘blessing prayers’ … “God is Good, God is Great.  let us thank Him for our food.”   One of my cousins when asked to pray would get to the point with, “Dear God, bless this bunch as we munch our lunch.”   There is the bedtime prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep … bless mommy, daddy, the cat … the goldfish …. oh and dear old Aunt ______ (P.S. please stop her from pinching my cheeks.)    As they get older we teach our children The Disciple’s Prayer:

Matthew 6:9-13, ” 9“Pray, then, in this way:  ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’(NASB)   This prayer was intended to teach us HOW to pray and while it is OK to pray it, it was never intended for us to ‘use it’ as a substitution for PRAYING.    Many people call that portion of scripture  The Lord’s Prayer but, it was the Disciple’s Prayer.  A prayer Jesus used to teach them HOW to pray.   (The Lord’s Prayer is John 17:1-5)

So how do you pray and how do you teach your children to pray?  You use the ‘model’ He gave us in Matthew 6 to teach them to TALK with God in Prayer.  It’s a conversation not a recitation.  Acknowledge WHO He is, praise Him, ask forgiveness, pray for others and THEN ask for your needs.  That is a ‘season’ of prayer. 

There are faiths that pray three times a day.  But, we as Christians are to pray unceasingly.  And we can.  What does that mean?  Well, even though in your morning devotions or night-time devotions you pray as the Lord taught His disciples, throughout the day you pray unceasingly.  You see a wonderful sight in creation and you pray, “thank you Lord … that’s beautiful”.  You see a homeless person on the corner and pray, “Lord be with them, meet their needs.”  A friend calls or is brought to mind, “Lord you know their need right now, meet them.”  You wake in the middle of the night and someone comes to mind, “Lord, I do not know what is going on right now, but I lift them in prayer asking you to guard and protect them, meet them where they are.”  You pray, unceasingly … when the Holy Spirit brings Him to mind or others to mind … you lift up a prayer.   This is intercessory prayer, interceding on the behalf of others as the Holy Spirit brings them to mind.  The Lord uses this way to teach you faith and draws you closer to Him through the Holy Spirit.  You learn to listen to Him. 

Sometimes you can close your eyes, other times you silently lift up the prayer.  The Word instructs us to have a daily time of prayer:  “Matthew 6:6  But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”  But you can pray at anytime and should.  It gives you peace to be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father.

Many times people live their lives (and this is the only part their children see) sending up ‘quickie prayers’.  Make sure you have a daily time of prayer.  If you only go to Him when you are in trouble, your children will only go to Him when they are in trouble.   People would call my Mom for prayer  because she had “camel knees”.  Everyone knew my Mom spent time in prayer on her knees …they said she had a ‘hot line’ to Heaven.  We all can have that ‘hot line’.  Unfortunately, many of us only use the line in time of need and is it any wonder we feel we are getting a busy number?

 

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♪♫♪♪♪♫If I Had a Hammer ….


…… I’d hammer in the morning.  I’d hammer in the evening … the whole day through” ♪♪♫♪♪   You’re welcome 😀 … the song is stuck in your head now right?  The lyrics to the song fit me (and many moms).  We try to fix things.  Right now my old computer’s on the fritz, the washing machine’s on the fritz; being my daddy’s daughter, I’m working on them.  Meanwhile I am on my ‘newer’  computer I passed on to my hubby when his died an untimely death.  Couldn’t fix it … but, I tried.

The point is most of us want to fix things.  Most women tease about men trying to assemble or fix things without reading the instructions.  But, you know, all of us try to fix things without reading the instructions.  We have the right tools usually, but we fail to use them properly.

When we try to fix things we can do more damage than good.  Sometimes beyond repair.  Okay, everyone is thinking of how someone else in the house (maybe a male?) tried to fix something and ruined it right?  Focus on yourself.  God gave you ‘tools’ to work with.  Gifts, talents … strengths that He expects you to allow HIM to use in your life.  Unfortunately, many times we pick them up without asking.  Sometimes we use the wrong tools.  We just steamroll ahead in our own power.

It is one thing to mess up your own things, your own life, but usually that messes up someone else as well.  Many times it is one of our children.  Sometimes it is a spouse or other loved one.   Maybe a friend is affected by the misuse.  God put us here and He has a plan that comes with instructions.  He gave us all we have, our ‘tools’.   Using them in our power without consulting Him makes messes.

There’s nothing wrong with the ‘tools’, it’s the user.  Place them in God’s hands and see what He can do.  Your children and loved ones are watching.  Teach them to lay each ‘tool’ down so God can receive the glory and use it for His perfect will.

What’s your ‘tools’?:  Your kids?  Your successful job? Those “A’s” on the report card?  The game winning ball? Trophies?

When you lay them on the altar and give them back to Him, He may take them away or He may give them back.   When He gives them back and you allow Him to use them to His glory, then He will be able to mold and shape you as well as others.

Just think what you’re doing with your ‘tools’ today and what could happen if they were taken out of your hands and put in the Master’s hands.

Psalm 143:10 (HCSB)

     “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground.”

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It’s All About The Fishin’


I love a sunrise or sunset walk along the beach; sun creeping up over the horizon or setting in the west.  The lap of the waves, the call of birds, the peace and beauty of God’s creation is all there at the beach.  I stroll, pickin’ up little treasures along the way; thinking, praying, singing.  At the beach my world is peaceful.  People smile and greet me, sometimes wanting to know what I have found.

A fisherman greets me with, “Find anything good?”  I smile, “not yet … just started … and you?  Catch anything yet?”   He smiles, “No, but it’s not about the catchin’, it’s about the fishin’.”   I continue to walk and think.  Raising kids, working, day-to-day living … it’s about the fishin’ not the catchin’.   God places each of us here for His purpose … the fishin’.  Sometimes we cast nets to get bait.  Other times we  re-bait a simple hook.  Fishin’ takes patience and time.  Sometimes you catch nothin’, sometimes you catch a lot.   Some days are beautiful and others stormy.   Life is a lot like fishin’ and we need to remember it is not about the catchin’.

Some days it seems you are always fishin’ and never catchin’.  Sometimes it seems like stormy days will never end.   Days turn into weeks, weeks to months and months to years.  It is so hard to focus on the fishin’ at these times.  It does not matter if it is struggles with raising kids, working at a job you dread, struggling in a marriage or whatever other difficulty you may be facing.  You have to face the day and focus on the fishin’.

When my husband takes our grandchildren fishing, he knows there will be little catching.  Mainly it will be re-hooking and untangling.  He has to focus on the time he has with them and not the results of the catch.  It’s about the fishin’ … being with them.                                                                                        

In our day-to-day life with others we need to focus on the time we are spending with others.  It may be our children, our spouse or other family members.  The phrase ‘quality time’ is over used, however, it is the best way to describe what God sent Jesus to do. He spent 33 short years on this earth, yet the quality of His time with those He came in contact with, and the effect on their lives, resulted in touching all mankind for all eternity.

Today, you are fishin’.  As a parent, spouse, employee, etc., your daily fishing touches others.  Make sure you spend time in the Word and in prayer (proper preparation for fishin’).  My husband takes our grandchildren through the steps of preparing to fish knowing it may be a long while before they are able to fish on their own, and even longer before they may catch anything.  We also must show others around us by the way we “fish” how to prepare for life.  Maintain your fishin’ equipment so that you are ever ready for the day-to-day fishin’ at home, work, school, the mall…everywhere.  Having dull hooks, broken lines, and a messy tackle box will keep you from being ready to fish.

Jesus never said you were to go out and catch.  Leave the catching to Him.  He simply says to prepare yourself.

Matthew 4:19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Renee’ Green Copyright 2011

RBGreenDesigns.com 2020

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IF I knew then …


How many times have you said (or heard), “If I only knew then what I know now?”  Sometimes we say to our children “you’ll understand when you’re older”.  We use all kinds of sayings to convey a truth that we ‘know’ … yet we do not live like we know.

IF I Only Knew ????

WHAT IF instead we said,  “IF I KNEW NOW … WHAT I WILL KNOW THEN?”  The waiting game … not knowing … worrying, fretting, stressing.  We all do it … yet, over and over we have to come back to the truth.  The truth is WE KNOW WHO DOES KNOW.   But, in our frail little human minds, we continually go back to pick it up and worry over things we have no control over.  God KNOWS … HE knows.  Our worries of the second, the hour, the day, the week, the month, the year(s) … HE KNOWS.

Time … He created time for us … the seconds, the hours, the days, the weeks, the months, the years … all so we could ‘manage’ and not be overwhelmed by life.  Our life is broken down into manageable increments of time for our benefit.  GOD does not need time to manage His plan.  We impose our need for time on God.

So we need to take a deep breath and trust and wait while He unfolds His plan for our life in time … time we need (not Him).  Remember, time means nothing to God … what seems loooooooong to us … is less than a blink to Him … not even one of our ‘seconds’.

No matter what you are going through … remember, you will KNOW someday so trust TODAY in Him that KNOWS today what will be THEN.  Also, remember that sometimes you may never know why but, you KNOW Him that knows ALL.

Jeremiah 29:11

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Amplified Bible (AMP)

5Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

    6In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.