Seasons

Voice of Prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6  BUT concerning the times and the seasons brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us no sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Seasons come and go. We watch with anticipation for the flowers first bloom, even when the temps are barely able to climb into the fifties. Then we watch for the rays to cast longer shadows for the lengthening days and by the fourth of July we expect to see the days grow shorter and the warmth to turn to a shiver that travels from the face and down our spine. It is most certainly the right time to reach for that jacket or even a hooded jacket to keep the moist off the glasses to see clearly while taking that "short" walk around the yard or the neighborhood!

In 1 Thessalonians 5, we are reminded to keep watch as the one who believes the Gospel, the one who belongs to Christ Jesus and not to give way to a careless attitude where one is unconcerned about the seasons. Keeping in mind to keep God's word and foremost for that instruction leads us through God's grace and to the light and truth.  Our security is to be in the Lord and not in money or things or even in other people! It is not be centered in what we do but that the Lord is in what we do!
Was thinking about people who prepared for their children to go back to school. For in this new year, the parent or parents make certain the child or children have new clothes that fit, new shoes to start the year off right and to have a good outlook on their school learning. Had seen these teenagers interviewed this morning on their way back to school within the Portland, Oregon school district today and one teen said he thought he should be back at school for he was bored at home!

A friend we have known only a few years has a little one going to kindergarten, and we do not see them really anymore for they live in another community some miles away. BUT she had posted the child's look for school and her smile on Facebook and the little one's face spoke volumes about her starting school. Am thinking that the child will do well in her new surroundings indeed!

Preparation is always important. The Lord will come as we see in verse 3. There will be people who will be destroyed. Now no one likes that talk, right? Yet the Bible is firm on it. For we are told those who put their trust into things will not have opportunity to repent. For truly today is the day of salvation, to repent and turn toward the Lord God. If we keep putting off God, then why should we expect Him to answer when the "destruction" comes?


The Lord will come and many will see His coming manifested. He will come when they are not expecting Him to appear.
In the flood, Noah spent some hundred years to build and then the drops fell from the sky. Rain came down of which no one had seen before ever. And people did not repent! They did not stop what they were doing to heed God and the warning!

Jesus will return. And the warning is given to us that we make the changes needed to heed His plan and not ours.
Suddenly, yes destruction is suddenly, and will happen.  As a pregnant woman, that woman in travail (those labor pains) will grown consistently till the child appears. So too, the Lord Jesus has spoken of His coming.  And for any event, large or small people like to prepare. As for going back to school, preparation is key to having order and provide the needed supplies your child may need to be instructed in that which will aid them as adults.
For the Christian, the believer, we too must be equipped and watchful.
To be sober-minded, we keep awake and alert to the devices of the enemy. There was an event of a hurricane that was forecasted to hit the Texas coast last week and people were gathering their plywood on Friday and the storm hit Saturday. (seriously if you can trust the news on TV anymore) I wondered why many took it so lightly and not get out while the getting out would have been good to do! We should maintain vigilance to watch and understand what the Lord would speak to us for safety and keeping close to His heart when alarms are being sounded!

I know not how people live on the coastlines like they do. And many certainly continue to build in the pathways of destructive storms. If you look at the maps of all the former hurricanes they surely made their marks to be read about decades later. Still people will build in that same pathway!
If I am the Christian, and am told to live in that expectancy, am I doing that?

As the parent prepared for the child or children to return to school, should not we hold that place of action and be active in character to keep the Lord our priority? Do we leave church, and go somewhere to indulge in a meal? Do we leave a prayer service and go indulge in something hidden with the dark of night?  (Well, I took care of God's thing, now I am doing my thing?)

Seasons most certainly appear. They come and they go. And being ready should be important to each of us. Observation to keep watch, is the action in full view of others, that Jesus is our Lord. He is Lord, morning, noon and night. He is Lord when we eat at a restaurant. He is Lord when we buy groceries or when we drop by to get those special cinnamon rolls our kids like to eat. Jesus is Lord when we retire at night.  The seasons, well they last some three months....and with that we experience the height and depth of a cold and icy season, the extreme of a hot dog day summer or the extreme of a wind of 75 miles an hour in the dark of night.
Whatever our lives, they should reflect the life which when looked upon could be seen in a 24-hour period in the full blaze of a well-lighted day!

Just like knowing preparation is important for your children to return to school in good form, so too, we should be well prepared with an expectancy that the Lord is coming for His church, the believer's. What we do in any 24 -hour period should be for full display that we belong to Christ Jesus, with no if's, and's or but's about it. Belonging to the Lord is speaking His language, knowing His heart always and being prepared when He says "move"!
And then do it!

I pray today for those living in Texas and the children going back to school. I pray people would know in Jesus' name that power of destruction and that we should know God who keeps us in safety when we chase after Him, seeking Him while He may found and knowing there is a day coming when the Lord will come suddenly. Will people be prepared to know His coming? Today Lord is the day of salvation and may people heed the call to repentance. We pray today for children returning to school and may they be in safety and protection. May they be far from gun violence and far from the angry man. May people come to know the Lord Jesus and move in the places He has purpose for them. May they truly know His love and be bound to His plan of good. Lord we are thankful for those who are the lines in Texas in search, in rescue, in clean-up and and restoration. We pray today for hearts to be encouraged and show us who we might help and send money that would be the most useful. WE BELIEVE FOR THE GOOD TO COME TO TEXAS AND MAY THEY RISE OUT OF THE DESTRUCTION WATERS KNOWING BETTER IS AHEAD! LORD THANK YOU FOR LOVE AND SAFETY IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. AMEN!

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New teaching at: Voice of Prayer  

Anxious Thoughts or Offensive Ways: Swearing By God's Authority

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Behold the Beauty of The Lord : Psalm 27 

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That FOOTSTOOL

Isaiah  66:1-2
66:1 This is what the LORD says:

"Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?"
declares the LORD. NIV

In understanding the Creator, heaven is where He rests on His throne. The earth is where He has placed His foot,

These things, both heaven and earth were made by Him. It was of His plan. Man could never reach that place to build something that would be so grand to impress. But all that God asks is for the self-denying, the very serious person who has the intent to be humble before Him, and to tremble at His Word.

As the stool represents where He places His feet........might we consider when we need to put our feet on that stool to reach something.

In remembering our grand-daughter and her small stature as a two year old, I hold the thought of how a little blue step stool help her reach the bathroom sink to wash her hands. I think how it was kept close by the sink, as she would rise to meet that sink, and to work toothpaste over every small baby tooth she had in her sweet little head. Always pleased with herself, she would parade before all with the accomplishment she had done a good thing for her body and self.

Was thinking of the delivery stool used by the Hebrew women midwives.

Exodus 1:15-18

15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"   NIV

A stool was used to deliver one. It was an article of furniture that help the women do their job. For our grand-daughter it was helped to see from another vantage point. She was raised a foot off the ground to see over the sink area. Her vision expanded to see another place from another vantage point.

In seeing from God's view, we need to keep moving and not relax here on earth. We will rest and find peace, but the optimum word is that He placed His feet there as a stool. All was well beneath Him!

Matthew 5:33-37

33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not swear falsely, but you will perform your oaths to the Lord [as a religion duty]. 34 But I tell you, Do not bind yourselves by an oath at all either by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 35 Or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 and do not swear by your head, for you are not able to make a single hair white or black 37 Let your Yes be simply Yes, and your No,  be simply No; anything more than that comes from the evil one. Yikes!

Things are meant to help us, to give us an advantage. He made the earth and placed His foot on what belongs to Him. The earth is truly small compared to the glory of God the Creator who is to be honored for what He has done.

Our grand-daughter does not need that stool anymore. She has grown taller and has learned a lot about trusting the Creator to help her see.

She used to be led out to the park area to play. Today she leads others out. She points to those things that has for the time captured her attention, yet while she grows, she will remember that God rests His feet on the stool Quinn calls home. She will remember who He is, and What He did to bring Jesus to her for salvation.

She has parents directing her into learning some things she must know. She exercises her body, makes a way for others to be blessed when she outgrows those fairly new clothes, and she prays.

She is shown new things and to always look up. She is reminded that Jesus is returning and we are to be ready for His return to earth. Yes, the footstool is the place for our feet and they are to be about His business and to please Him.

Our continued hope is that she grow in that which is of God and where God rests. It is our diligence to speak truth of Him and His Spirit to that extent she can see Him creating the new for her to walk when she gives her heart whole heart to Him.

As the child, she was shown things like the the stool which raised her higher, and helped her to see from another vantage point.

Her security is not in the stool itself but in He Who first CREATED! That foot stool represents the sure place where there is an unshakable confidence that God will provide that stool when we will be required to see Him and what He is doing for us. In asking to see Him, our grand-daughter will be given the right "stool" at the right time for what she is seeking and how it will work in her life. 

In the vastness of God and His throne in heaven, we must understand that God did not create us in His image with no higher purpose that just to consume some food to live. But we are to live with the convenience that the foot stool might represent as in hiking up a mountain to take a look at His majesty in those great hills, or just to see through the most sophisticated equipment to see out past the stars, and yes, that stool is found in His very word. It will help us see and find the stool to stand and and help us reach.  When we reach for His Word, He helps us to stand in even the most uneven of places.

According to Habakkuk 3:19...it is the Sovereign LORD who is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

Whatever our grand-daughter's life brings, or even ours, we look up in awe. We expect the Lord's return. And we keep in our heart, that God is near us. He is ever mindful of us and that we walk where He created.

May we always keep seeking, keep reaching, and find that necessary stool of His Word to help us see past ourselves, and look into His divinity that is of holiness, is without blame and full of grace to walk in places we only dreamed.
Our God is ever present with us. Jesus came to set us free. No longer captives, we walk before our God with a humble heart. Our steps are to have that standard of the word of God that is the blameless walk. Isaiah 52:7...How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns!
Hark you seekers, those who find the footstool to seek.........lift up your voices, together they sing for joy; for they shall see eye to eye the return of the Lord to Zion. Amen!

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Praying and Not Persecuting SOLD OUT.....To Prayer

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Who Has the LAST WORD in My Life?

In any given situation, who has the last word in my life? In the blog title: HIGH RISK! you can certainly see how quickly things change, and how if we should respond when we do have the Word of God in us!
What determines how we will react to the "bad report" or even a really BAD REPORT?
I believe most people think that "bad things" happen to other people! I believe most go through life thinking that the bad will not touch them, because they have Jesus. But in truth, rain falls on the just as well as the unjust. (verse 45)


Matthew 5:43-48
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.    NKJV

Was thinking about this very thing in the last week. I thought of the infusions I have had and hopefully done with them, and how getting back to exercise is foremost in my thinking. I have always loved working out, either by skating long hours, running,  or going on those 6 mile walks. And of the latest report from the Dr. was that she was glad to see my weight coming to normal and exercising to keep my immune system in proper working order. 

In thinking about this, I got to thinking how I had already had implemented a program of exercise many years ago into my life. You can certainly ask our daughter or even my husband. I always sought strength in my body and that included being able to get the heart to work like it should and keep my body healthy.

Implementing a change of eating right foods starts before we have that "illness" that brings you either to your knees or to the bed. Eating right foods, exercising, and drinking those 6-8 glasses of water begin when we desire change for health and not for sickness. Years ago, after the birth of our first grand-child, our daughter and son-in-law gave us this wonderful Image.....treadmill. It is for that 10,000 steps program. I use it now everyday. But did not use it regularly at the beginning, as I could not figure out why some days I had strength, and other days I had fatigue. Of course, today we know why, but then I was puzzled about it, because I surely liked getting the amount of exercise I needed everyday to stay in optimum  health.

It was a choice!

I then thought of those who say "they will give a million dollars into some ministry" when they win the lottery! Well, if you do not give now into any ministry, how will that change when you get that million dollars?  Because if you choose to hear what happens to those who gain those "millions" you will find that most of them are: either dead today because of someone gaining their trust to get at those millions or said winner could not balance a check-book at the beginning of said win of millions, so they could not keep up with what they had .............AND SPENT IT ALL! (and one could go through all those millions when they have someone helping them to spend it on "nothing" that brings life........but death!)

And then too, you find all those "relatives" who show up that you did not know you even had at the time of said win.

Yes, it is a choice!

In that place within walking distance of the hospital in the city, there is a place many people go to get their infusions. Many though are there for that chemo thing.  Those going through the hour to several hours of infusions take time for those sick with something they cannot see. I was there, but not for any chemo anything. But I saw them, talked to some, and especially the nurses. It is a place I believe many people did not plan on visiting ever in their lives. They are different ethnicity, certainly speak a different language, and some need interpreters. They are of many different age groups!   Some were just quiet, some were very vocal, and some......well, they had a joy that comes only from the Lord. One, we saw, was a man taking calls from his church and was about the bulletin for the church that had to be ready for a service. This man was probably seventy, acted like he was thirty..........and had this chemo therapy..........got on his way to do what needed to be done. I really believe he was the "pastor". He had joy in his heart, was always kind with every word he spoke and with every movement of his body...........he glowed with life. I expect him to have a long life filled with the presence of God in everything he does for His kingdom that has come.

We should certainly hate sickness and know that God did not bring cancer on anyone. We should also know that God is aware of our every circumstance. He is also aware how we will act in and through a really BAD CIRCUMSTANCE. Yes, rain will fall on the just (the righteous) and the unjust (the wicked).........but we choose how we will stand, fall or just give in to being sick.  We choose today how we will act tomorrow. I want to be found with those who have faith to put trust in life everlasting........in Jesus who came to give to us abundantly above what we can ask or think.

From the blog: High Risk!

In receiving Jesus, we are regenerated into life and out of death. As we put on the "New Man" and being renewed in our minds to God's Word and His ways and thoughts, we come out of the grave of death, and defeat and move into the realm of Victory and are people who live by faith with trust in our God!
It is taking God's Word on healing, and raise the standard of our health. When we have sought out His word on healing as for salvation, our condition changes. WE reach forward by faith to receive what we are expecting!
It is a daily walk and receiving that Word that will build us up to receive that which we are expecting.

David said of the Lord; “My times are in Your hand;” (Psalm 31: 15). “Times” here means in the Hebrew; event, experiences, fortunes, occurrences, occasions, permanency, continuing future, ancient (used of past time), forever (used of future time; used of continuous existence)..forever (used of God's existence)

We are a mist, a moment in time, and all of our times are in His hand. All of my future and all of your future conditions, any occurrences are known to Him. It is so vital to stay close to the Creator, the one true God!


Who has the last Word in my life? Well, the Father Who created me and I have what Jesus died to give me on the Cross. And with the Holy Spirit I rise out of the tomb to live the life Jesus died for. I am regenerated into life. They get the LAST WORD IN MY LIFE!  and not me..........

If we will heed His instructions and follow His plan for our lives, we cannot miss the mark. We can be the victorious, and see our lives healthier and whole. Making those needed changes can add years to our lives and help us live in His glory! PLEASE ............stand with me today and believe for the best in your life, and in your body. Those changes are important and they can be done to ensure you finish that race He has for you to run. Amen!


You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV

Finding the Treasure

Recently we had some time out by the river! We had food galore. The weather was beautiful and the day was quiet. The place we found had no one present to disturb the quiet of the beauty of such a place. Our grand-daughter wanted to look for treasure. She started out with a smaller plastic type little garden shovel. She would move sand from one place to another. She would write her name in the sand and then start all over to dig and move sand again. Well, her grandpa brought her a little bit bigger shovel he had in his truck. Was just the right size for her to move greater amounts of sand. Well, in all her digging, at the end of the time allotted for our visit to this beautiful place, she found some money in the hole she dug up! Was she expecting to find something?  Yes! What would be the point of digging, if not to look for something, right?

There are many kinds of treasures in the world today. Many people covet their paycheck to put in the bank, or spend. There is the treasure in winning the lottery or the slots at some casino. There are some who seek to have the same clothes, same hairdo and same shoes they saw the model wear on the latest Runway for Fall 2015 or the New Trends for 2016. There are treasures in jewelry and even in travels, and some search out silver and gold!
But the treasure I write about is this one!
Proverbs 21:20......20 There is desirable treasure,  And oil in the dwelling of the wise,
But a foolish man squanders it.  NKJV

That treasure is the Holy Spirit in us! The truest riches is in His Presence. That oil is the anointing! Those who value that oil are the wise.

2 Corinthians 4:7.....7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. NKJV
A treasure in us, a richness that comes from God and not of us. We certainly house that treasure, but the power is all God. He infuses us with His power to do something specific.

Those rich truths as stated by Jesus......was compared to the pearl of great price!

Matthew 13:45-46......45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
NKJV

That price paid was great. To have that continually infusing of the Holy Spirit into our lives, takes a lot of time in His presence. It takes more quality time in knowing Him and enjoying the time together.

Luke 12:13-21.........13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14 But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" 15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' 18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' 20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."      NKJV


Matthews 6:19-21.......19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.   NKJV

The treasure God has for us is found in Him. That treasure is spiritual. It is one appointed to you when you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is not only the Water Baptism that we are to partake in after receiving Jesus as Lord, but also the Baptism of the Holy Spirit according to Acts 1.

All of this is an impartation, a gift God has placed in you.

Seeing that come and to be revealed will take prayer time in Tongues. 

What treasures can we unlock through our time in prayer? What can be revealed to us in that time of prayer? We will find those treasures in the mercies and blessing of our Father God who loves us and desires for us to devote our time to fellowship.

 Prayer will change our lives when we heed Jesus’ words to us, “always ought to pray and not lose heart” Luke 18:1.

Our grand-daughter did not lose heart. She kept right on digging and digging. She went up the river and found some treasure. It was something she could take home with her and I believe she sowed it into the "kingdom of God".

This encounter should be one that reveals who we are to pray for and what to expect when we do pray.  The greatest treasure is knowing the Holy Spirit and that He can lead us through prayer for those who need it the most.

Jude 17-24

17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you, 18 that in the last times there would come these scoffers whose whole purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable. 19 They stir up arguments; they love the evil things of the world; they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them. 

20 But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit. 

21 Stay always within the boundaries where God's love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. 22 Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. 23 Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren't pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners. 

24 And now-all glory to him who alone is God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord; yes, splendor and majesty, all power and authority are his from the beginning; his they are and his they evermore shall be. And he is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, into his glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy. Amen.

TLB

Father, we thank You for the greatest treasure of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We thank You today for the Holy Spirit Who leads us on the path ever leading us to the divine plan You have purposed for our lives. Continue to give us discernment to know the advice we are receiving is from someone YOU have sent to us. We desire to never miss Your leading because of closed ears and blind eyes.

Enable us to use the gifts You have placed in us to help others. We pray to be those who always lay a foundation in prayer beforehand so we will know without a doubt those who are ready to receive from the Lord. We pray to be those who will always communicate in love, to our families and to those YOU send us to minister to for today and tomorrow. Father, we are told in Philippians 1:9 that Paul prayed a prayer stating: "and this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and discernment." Our prayer is to have Your knowledge and discernment, knowing that it comes and is evident in those whose love is abounding or growing.
As Jesus laid down His life for us and sent us the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, we pray to consistently lay down our lives to pray for others, redeeming the time.

We pray to always hear as we pray and seek YOUR wisdom, and we receive Your discernment to identify the ploys of the enemy for families, for friends and for our neighbors, those we know and do not know. 

We pray that YOU the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory will give to us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that our eyes of understanding will be enlightened and we will always know what is the hope of Your calling on our lives. (Ephesians 1:17-18)

In Jesus’ name, we pray. amen

You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV