Is that SMOKE?

Voice of Prayer: September 6, 2017

I really have no liking for the smell of smoke. And I care less for that which causes smoke. In the last 14+ days we have seen smoke in this region of the northwest. Much had been from fires in the region of Oregon, both in the mid-section of that state and also further south on their state line border with California. The air quality at times is questionable, that it has been ranging to good air quality to really bad quality. I understand that if it is of the 400 it is essentially going to kill! Now that of course is warning to those who keep their oxygen at close hand, who have a physician on call and has the needed meds to get through such a horrendous time or ordeal. Yet, we have continued to see people work outside in such conditions. We saw a man working on building his home in the White Salmon area that first week of September.

When it is still considered summer and the days really warm, it is hard to stay inside. There is the thought of wanting to go sit outside, maybe walk a mile or two or just take a tour around the yard at the back of the house just to enjoy the day!
Of recent days, we had to leave our home due to mischief of those desiring to use fireworks in the area of a dry forest. While being let go with fire, these fireworks started with a loud sound like waters roaring..a sound of rushing rampantly.....and the consuming started. Although this occurred on the Oregon side, still the Washington side got a front row in the viewing.

We must be so totally consumed with God that no other consuming force should take His place; not to our homes, and not to our community and to that which God is doing in our lives. We must be willing to pray for our neighbors, both near and far! And yes, we should pray for them to seek the wisdom of God to make decisions.

While staying with our daughter and family while the evacuation had occurred, we continued to pray and lift up those fighting the forest fires, those maintaining those lines and for those who rescued the animals of those being evacuated from several areas of this region.
We saw horses, yes, and goats, too plus a few pigs being sent out of harms way.

All we do within our own sphere will ultimately affect another in our daily walk. Whether here within the house, within the grocery market, out on the highway or even playing in the river, someone else can be affected by what mischief or other thing devised against another.

Prayer is so important to open the door to God our Father and allow Him to show each of us how He truly cares for us. Prayer involves our humbling ourselves that we cannot do with out Him. It is always a good thing to be thankful for the good we see in our lives

From labor day of September 4 and left our home in the hands of the Mighty God, we returned about 12:30 pm Thursday the 7th to find it all snug and safe just like He had shown me early Monday morning when I had risen from a long nights rest! Yes, the fire had begun on that Saturday around 4 pm and we happen to be on I-84 when we saw the vehicle pulled over by the police. We had been about 35 miles west of that sight and saw this spiraling smoke going towards the sky.
Yes, something was going on!

Later we saw on the news and started to hear who started it! At this point it had affected many people, caused damage across the National Forest and proved to be a bad thing for this teen and his family. Yes, someone will pay for it.

I am thankful we have a Savior who died for our sins. I am so thankful to be a child of God and to have His continual protection over my family, our home and over our neighbors as well. For my husband and I desire others not to suffer. We desire for all to come to know the goodness of God and His abiding protection when we reside in His presence always.

Yes, someone will create some mischief and cause problems for maybe you or someone you know but we are to continue to give thanks to God, not for the mischief but because we have a loving God who looks over us and to keep us safe.  Our eyes must be open to see the ploys of the enemy and be alert to apply God's word over our lives, our neighbors and of those who live in other states and other countries.

We are all connected in some way or fashion. We all affect others, but ours, those who know their God will pray for the safety of mankind, pray for their souls to be saved and that people will know His love always.
It is easy to judge another, but that is not what the Lord desires for us. Ours is to forgive and move forward. Ours is to be about the Father's business, just like Jesus spoke of.
Will you be about your Father's business? Will you move forward when smoke appears, fire lights up the hillside? Will you continue to move and make a difference for His kingdom?

We pray for all who read these blogs. My husband and I pray all who read them will be motivated in their walk with the Lord, to see their family come to Jesus and know the good of God for their lives. Today we pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to you in the comfort of God's love. May you know your life is not over and know the best is on its way when we make the Lord our priority. Please know that God can and will work through your life to others and that He is true, He lives and He is for them!

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which (you and I) have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)
Amen!

(also available is a Youtube teaching found at this address of the fire at Eagle Creek, Oregon) Abiding in His Presence


Notice: 

New teaching at: Voice of Prayer  

Be Righteous Still

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7sEj5LaNt0

You can also visit my You Tube channel Voice of Prayer 

for more teaching at:  http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV

New teaching at: Life Giving Wells

Abiding IN HIS Presence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80WB2Xxa7F4

Also visit Life Giving Wells You Tube Channel for more teaching:

http://bit.ly/2wgu1kw

Unbelieving or Just Misbehaving

Summer always makes it mark on a year! If the tulips opening on a rainy day don't do anything for you, then the 4th of July Fireworks with the loud kaboom and bright lights and gunpowder smell might bring a smile to you and yours.

Was meditating on "a thought" today from the book of James. Unbelieving or Misbehaving.  From the passage of James 3, we look at the wise and understanding and those with good conduct. They are those who look to live by truth. They do not live by "just enough to get by with" but seeking to live in truth.
In looking at the book of James, we find this kind of wisdom of God to be a package deal. That is, wisdom is attached to His peace. And in looking at the word peace from James 3:17

James 3:13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  NKJV

I was intrigued with this kind of 'PEACE'. AND IT COMES FROM GOD ALONE!

In that passage we find a peace that comes in communion time with God.(teaching on Voice of Prayer Youtube, title AUTHORITY: HIS WISDOM.) link below.

Meekness of wisdom is that which is one of a humble spirit. They seek the good in the Father. They seek another's thoughts to help man kind. In this communion time with the Father, one learns the attributes from God; like mercy, grace, like agape love and yes much more. For from our Father of Lights flows gifts. And in this love, we receive more of the Son of His love, the life of God is given, and the Holy Spirit displays His wealth of power within us. What a heavenly light, when God has given us in and through our communion time with Him, the greater creative flow of the Son's life into ours, that the Holy Spirit through us gives this display of a heavenly beauty. People will see and observe. Yes, much like that elaborate display on the 4th..........and all you had to do was walk into the "prayer closet" with God........!

We come to worship Him, and moving from the last sung note, last sung word, and a quietness falling over the congregation, we find a slower pace. We see in our walking back to our seat, is a slower walk, a wrapping of His Presence around myself, that the air is electrical with His power flowing past my ears of hearing.
In this display of His glory in us, there is no fading of lights. His beauty will always continue. The more we speak of God and His glory, praying for believer's, praying for our neighbor's, the more area of the sphere of influence we will see that we operate in. It comes by humbling: the more we humble ourselves, the more the flow of His presence through our lives, we continue to mature in and through Him.

In Jesus, we saw the ultimate picture of humility. Philippian 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!” Ultimate picture of humility!    Matt 27:54 “ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" The very Presence of God made manifest as a result of the submission of Christ's humility! 

Asking and spending time with Him requires an open heart that is willing to be corrected and to move forward.

In the miraculous gift of the Cross, the Son went willing to His last moments doing the Father's will and with every ounce of trust in what the Father desired would be done on earth. In our daily walk are we just desiring to not believe, walk in unbelief and stumble forever with our lives ending much too soon? Or is it just the misbehaving: pretending I am only responsible for what I believe. We are responsible for what we have heard. Faith comes by hearing. And that hearing is about doing God's planned deeds.

We are not to live for ourselves. We do not live in Christ so that we may tell God what He must do, but we live for Christ, being pleasured to hear what God desires for us to do for the glory of His Son Jesus!   Teach us Oh Lord to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12) Teach us Oh Lord to walk in Your truth (Psalm 86:11) Teach us Oh Lord Your ways so we may know You. (Exodus 33:13) Teach us to do Your will Oh God, knowing Your Holy Spirit will lead us on level ground. (Psalm 143:10) Teach us Oh God we pray. May we submit to You as students, coming willingly under Your submission. Forgive us, in Jesus name for all the times we have acted in arrogance. The times we have crossed the line with You, and have gone from humbly seeking You in prayer, to demanding things from You, or demanding You move at our command. You are mighty, Sovereign, Holy, Awesome, to be Revered. May we always come in a posture of humility and in fear and trembling, remembering Who we are coming before..the God of ALL Eternity..King of ALL kings,,,Lord of ALL lords. That You Yourself say, Isaiah 66:2 “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word.” 

So very thankful for the Cross and so very happy not going to hell, but oh to shine gloriously for the Lord. Don't want to be listed with the "unbelieving", the misbehaving, but oh, to be labeled as those who shine for God. May we maintain His wisdom and His light moving through life in a sphere of influence that is packed with God's wisdom His peace and His love. Now that truly is a "thing" of beauty!
Shining bright for God and making peace with man every step of the way to glory is a personal thing.

The personal is offering time and fellowship with Him Who Created and He Who Made Us.

Because God is personal, all people can offer is prayer. However, sinners who have not trusted Jesus Christ for their salvation remain alienated from God. So while unbelievers may pray, they do not have the basis for a rewarding fellowship with God. They have not met the conditions laid down in the Bible for effectiveness in prayer.

It is Christians who recognize their dependence upon their Creator. They have every reason to express gratitude for God's blessings. But they have far more reason to respond to God than this. They respond to the love of God for them. God's love is revealed through the marvelous incarnation and life of Christ, His atoning provision at the Cross, His resurrection, as well as His continuing presence through the Holy Spirit.

Prayer cannot be replaced by good works in a needy world. Important as service to others is, at times we must turn away from it to God, who is distinct from all things and over all things. Neither should prayer be thought of as a mystical experience in which people lose their identity in the infinite reality. Effective prayer must be scripture based informed response of persons saved by grace to the living God. It is in our believing and adhering to that we gain His Wisdom and His peace. Spending time confessing His Word is prophesying to the walls, but to actually have conversation with a loving God, and to have Him answer you is like the 4th of July all year long.

Together may we seek Him, may we look to prayer for that one-to-one and may we hear Him speak above all else. Living for His glory is paramount, and experiencing His peace as we speak boldly His truth to others will show us that our future is bright and full of God's presence. Amen.

I HAVE A NEW WEB SITE AVAILABLE NOW WITH OTHER CURRENT BLOGS AND YOUTUBE TEACHINGS. I INVITE YOU TOO CHECK IT OUT.  THERE IS A PRAYER REQUEST SECTION ON THE SITE.

www.godsgoodnessandlove.com

Notice: 

The Voice of Prayer  has a new teaching published:

AUTHORITY: HIS WISDOM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpvmfoKg98s

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