Tag Archives: prayer

God’s business

August 22, 2012

Today I want to talk about something totally out of left field. …sort of…It has nothing to do with you.

When I say that, I mean it has to do with you, just that it’s not about you.

As I continue to read the book of Nehemiah, I am at the part where Sanballat and Tobias are continuing to harass Nehemiah so that they could beat him up (I am not sure…they might be trying to kill him too). If you don’t know the story, Sanballat and Co were not too happy that Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. But Nehemiah had heard from God about what he was supposed to do and he was determined to do just that.

When Sanballat and Co called for him to come away from the work, Nehemiah said

“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”- Nehemiah 6.

I found this interesting. Nehemiah could have gone down and allow himself to caught up in Sanballat’s nonsense. But he didn’t.

I tried to relate this to our everyday lives. You know, there are so many issues that get us down on a regular basis. But I wonder if we were to get caught up in doing ‘a great work’ for God if those problems would have the same effect on us?

I found that when I busy myself with the things of God, a lot of things don’t bother me. It doesn’t mean that the problems aren’t there. Just that I am too busy to notice them. By busying myself I don’t mean going to church or reading the bible. Of course I do that. While those are important, I mean doing something that takes the focus off of us and putting it on something other than us. Like trying to make someone else smile. Making dinner for some people who are not as well off as we are. Something like that. Last Saturday, I had someone offer to buy 25 pairs of flip flops for the kids that we’re going to support in Guyana. It was such a great opportunity to not think about all the other things going on in her life. Have you encouraged anyone lately, or are you always looking for someone to encourage you? Have you prayed for anyone lately, or are you always looking for someone to pray for you?

I think that’s what Jesus meant when He told us to “seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added to you“. He probably meant “stop thinking about you. Think about me and what my Kingdom needs and I will take care of your needs”.

I encourage you to just busy yourself with the things of God for a while. You’ll realize that the things of God are so much bigger than the small problems that are going on. That’s not to ‘downsize’ anyone’s problems. But I can guarantee you that there’s someone else hurting just as much or more than you. So what can you do to help them? You don’t have to go preach to someone. You can just invite a few people over to share your testimonies together. You could take some one that is feeling down, out for coffee. You could go through your ridiculously filled closet and prepare a clothes hamper for someone. The whole world is not about you or me or us. Our problems are there, and yes they do affect us, but talking about them all the time won’t change them. God knows what we need and He will provide those things at the right time. If we busy ourselves with His great work, our breakthroughs will happen so suddenly, that we won’t even know when they do.

Have a good day!

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: depression, encouragement, hope, peace, prayer, relationships

Feeling lonely…

August 15, 2012

I am back to my 6 am devotion schedule now. It’s funny, because I think I always hear the voice of the Holy Spirit a lot clearer when I awake at these times.

As I was worshipping, I heard him say this morning “Being alone does not mean being lonely”. I laughed out loud, because I couldn’t remember the last time I actually felt alone…or lonely.

We are all built to want companionship. God never created us to be alone, either spiritually or naturally. But somehow the enemy likes to throw it in your face that you’re alone. He plants a lie in your heart, that because there’s no special one in your life, you’re alone. I guess I am talking to all the single women out there (maybe some guys too), who feel the heaviness because everyone else around them has someone and they don’t. But the Word of God says that you’re NEVER alone. Even as you sit here right now, there are angels round about you, and the Holy Spirit Himself is WITH you. So you’re never alone. And yet, you feel lonely…

Maybe I should use an example. Not too long ago, I struggled with loneliness. I constantly felt depressed, and I compared myself to all my married friends. I kept asking God when it would happen for me. When would i find the right person? Or he find me. That went on for most of the winter. But then one day at one of my empowerment classes, my mentor prayed for me at random and she said “I break the spirit of loneliness”. I began to think about that afterwards. A new thing began to happen in me. At the Encounter weekend during the deliverance service, the spirit of loneliness was addressed, and believe it or not, I have never felt lonely since. Of course I am single. That’s a fact. But I am not alone, no matter how it looks in the physical. And I refuse to feel lonely because of what the circumstances look like.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think the spirit of loneliness is of God. And it’s not the same as being alone, though the enemy will tell us that it is. God’s word already promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. So we’re never alone. Loneliness on the other hand, is what happens when you look around in the natural and realize that there’s no one there to hold you or kiss you in the morning. It’s what you feel because you think you’re alone. Loneliness leads to depression, drinking, sexual immorality. It’s the feeling of unhappiness that lets us do stupid things.

Now, if God’s will for his people is joy, why would He want you feeling lonely and miserable?

I can boldly say that I have been delivered from the spirit of loneliness. I wake up every morning fully charged and not worried about when I will get married, when the guy will come, if I am cursed. No. God is with me. And realizing that fact, I could never feel lonely. I laugh and smile now more than ever, knowing this fact.

So this morning I want to encourage all the single people out there who are struggling with feeling lonely. Know that you are never alone. No matter how it looks in the natural, you’re not alone. Don’t let the enemy put the spirit of loneliness on you.

I will finish this up tomorrow. Have a good one.

Posted by schadah in Tidbits for Love, Hope and Joy, Tidbits for Relationships Tags: encouragement, God, happiness, Heart, loneliness, love, prayer, relationships

1 comment

Testimony #3: The state of the economy has nothing to do with me.

August 9, 2012

I’ve been waiting for a while to actually have this testimony. But now I finally have it.

Being a grad student, I had the privilege of being a teaching assistant while I studied, which enabled me to earn a few bucks to help with cost of living. However, realizing that I needed to finish my thesis and really get out of the school environment for a while, I opted to not take another teaching assistantship and just focus on righting my paper. (I am not sure if I would have gotten the job anyway, because the University tends to prefer new incoming grads than older ones when it comes to giving those positions. In any case it was a four month contract

I didn’t renew my contract in faith that I would find a job. And unlike the times before, I wanted a full time job. But I needed to take my chances. I was going to trust God for a job.

Of course you can anticipate the outcome of this testimony. But I want to put the variables and the doubts that I had.

It’s a bad economy. Everyone’s complaining about that. And my field is Political Science with a concentration in Econ Development. I can’t tell you how many ‘career experts’ have said to me “there’s no jobs for your field right now”.
People are laying off not taking on more people.
I have no skills in Mcdonalds, retail, waitressing, etc. So some jobs, while I don’t mind working them, just wasn’t going to work for me.
Money was running low….really………..low.

I began to pray to God for the job. And you know what? I’d be honest. I had my doubts. It was like everyone that I prayed for got a job. Two for some people! And so I began to doubt myself. Not my faith in God. But I began to doubt whether I had done something to offend HIm. You know what I mean? That;s when the enemy puts you on a guilt trip to tell you there’s something you’ve done wrong. And that’s why God wasn’t coming through for you.
So from January to August 1st, I prayed. I cried. I also applied for jobs all over the world. But I got so many rejection notices, it just made me feel really bad and unqualified. In the mean time, life went from bad to worse financially. Like really, really bad. Like account in overdraft position-can’t use credit cards- emergency funds low—-bad. And it seems as if the bills just kept coming in, despite the fact that I had no income coming in.

In the back of my head though. I had some thoughts. And it was these thoughts that I held onto for dear life.

I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25
He knows my name. He knows my desires.
What father gives his child a stone when he asks for bread? Matt 7:9
God loves me. I don’t understand why things have to come to rock bottom. But I trust that He loves me. John 3:16
God has always provided a job for me in the past. Since I returned to Canada, I have never been without a job. He’s given me so much favour with man, that jobs were created just for me when I needed them.

I continued to do some other things too. Because faith without works is really dead.

I continued to tithe. No matter how small it was. My tax refunds, a small gift from someone. mysterious money appearing in my account. I tithed.
I continued to give and sow into other people’s lives.
i continued to give thanks (hence the 21 days of gratitude fast)
I continued to trust Him no matter how difficult.
I kept smiling

Then I told God my Father, what I want:

I said I want to stay in THIS city or close by, because I want to be connected to my church. That’s where i am fed. I also believe that this is where I need to be right now. (Mind you, Windsor ON, has the worst unemployment rate in the country)
I want a job based on my qualifications. What you have called me to do.
I want a job that is full time, and that will pay me a decent salary so that I can give back to your work (PS: When God gives you favour, you use it for your glory. I didn’t want a job to make myself look prettier. I wanted it to increase His Kingdom).

Well, God provided a job for me. It’s not just any job. It’s a launching pad to the start of my career, because it’s in my field and it’s exactly what I’ve been called to do.The economy may be bad, but OUR GOD is ALWAYS GOOD. All the times when I compared, myself to people that had been given jobs, I actually got a position that is in my field. I didn’t settle. I didn’t get desperate.

In His own time, people, He makes everything right. And I know it doesn’t seem that way right now for you. But you keep believing, you keep trusting God and you will have what you’ve prayed for. God is preparing something so great for you, that it will blow your socks off. Don’t give up. When He presents it to you, you will have no other choice but to say,

“this is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in my eyes”- Psalm 118:23

Posted by schadah in How Great is our God, Uncategorized Tags: believe, Christianity, economy, encouragement, faith, favour, finances, giving thanks, goodness, gratitude, hard times, jobs, prayer, trusting god

1 comment

Day 7: Financial Blessings

July 6, 2012

Well then..it’s been 7 days… How many of you are still with me on the gratitude fast? lol.

Like any sort of fast, this fast is challenging. But I continue to accept the challenge of not complaining about things. And the more I feel tempted to complain or if I can’t find anything to be grateful about, the more I realize that there are some fleshly habits of mine that need to die. So if you are on this with me, I encourage you to keep pressing on. Fight the devil with your gratitude for what God has done.

Today, I am thanking God for Financial Blessings. I wanted to say a job, but I realize that God’s way of blessing you financially doesn’t always mean giving you a job when you want it.

Here’s one of my testimonies:
As you may already know I grew up in Guyana and moved to Canada in my teens. But at one point, I had to return to Guyana for a variety of reasons, and it was there that I finished my high school program. Having already been immersed in the North American school system, it would have been pointless for me to go back to the Caribbean education system. Let’s just say it would have been much harder for me to get back into the Canadian system.

So my mom decided that the best move would be to send me to the only school in Guyana that would allow me to graduate with a US High school diploma. It was an expensive school for ambassadors’ and diplomats’ kids. About $5000 US dollars per term. (Approx 1.2 million dollars- that was enough to buy a new house). My mom, the faith woman that she was, said that I had to go there and that God would provide. PS. My mom was a seamstress, and there was no possible way that she could get this money on her own. She did her best, and came up with $800 US which they took as a down payment so that I could get enrolled for the semester.

Well, no matter how much my mom tried to raise the other $4200, it just wouldn’t work. It was like all doors were closed. Her business even dried up. The school’s director allowed me to graduate with my friends, just because they really liked me. I was a positive influence among the other students. But if I could not pay the money by a certain time, I would have to return my diploma and the hat, and my scores. Without that diploma, I technically had no proof that I finished high school. But after waiting and waiting for a breakthrough, I returned it.

I remember my mom and I walking to church one night, and I was so despondent. I was not in a good place. I thought God had failed me. I really wanted to know that He was my Father, that He had not forgotten me. But He apparently did. On a dark alley, at 7pm that night, a black car pulls up and this woman asks us to get in. It was the vice coordinator for the school I attended. My mom and I got so scared, because we thought that we were in trouble. Once in the car, she asked where we were going. And continued to drive. Once we were at the church, she took out an envelope…legal size… and said “I’ve been trying to find you all for a while. I don’t even know why I was on this street. But I have had this sitting in my car for a while.” My mom opened the envelope. It was my US diploma and my scores and my hat. She said, “I paid the balance. You go on with your life. Do well and make your mom proud”.

God always provides financially. It may not be on our turf, but He does. Do you realize that despite your job status, the salary that you earn, all of your credit card debts… somehow, there are always financial blessings to rescue you? How many debts has God written off for you? How many has he frozen, so you can buy time? How many ravens has he sent to bless you? How many times has he provided the money that you need? How many times has he allowed you to find money, or run into someone who owes you money? The sale at Wal Mart for water and juice? That’s Him lowering the prices to meet your budget. The butcher shop where you get meat at a discounted price, that’s God dressing you in His financial favour. That’s what a Father does. You may not be the millionaire that you want to be. But He’s providing. Thank Him for financial blessings.

Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.Psalm 37:25

Posted by schadah in How He Loves Me, Thanksgiving Tags: believe, Christianity, encouragement, God, grateful, gratitude, jesus, love, prayer, trusting god

3 comments

No Really! What are you saying?

April 27, 2012

If I could summarize what I’ve learned about faith over the last few days I would say that

Faith is determined by what you see.
Faith comes by what you hear
Faith is operated by what you say

Yesterday I starting talking about the power of words, and I branched off into a direction about how words work. But today, I want to talk about how what you say puts your faith into action.

I thought about the whole faith thing, and I guess I visually compared it to a cycle (this is drawing from my Biology background, lol). Here is the cycle (PS: You may not see this if you’re looking at it from email, so go to the site.)

THE FAITH/FEAR CYCLE

Step 1: The word of God declares in Hebrews 11:1 that faith is the ‘substance’ of things hoped for (seen in the future). That’s the green part. So if we are to have faith, then we must be able to visualize something (what we desire, according to God’s will). If we cannot see what we want in the future, there is a problem. Because that’s how faith starts. But if we do see it, then we can move on to the second step.

Step 2: Faith for the things that we are hoping for then comes by what we hear (I think that’s the turquoise colour in the diagram). If we hear things that oppose what we believe for, we are building fear (e.g. you’re never gonna get that). NB. The opposite of faith is fear. We’ll get into that next week. But if we hear things that support what we believe, we are building faith (e.g. you’re gonna get what you’ve prayed for). It doesn’t matter if voice we hear is an external one from society or media, or from within ourselves (the devil does talk to you too). What matters is that what we hear determines if we’re building faith or fear.

Step 3: Whatever is heard must also be spoken (Purple part of diagram). So words are the framework for establishing or facilitating faith. The question is: whose words are we allowing to impact us?

If you think about it, two thirds of what we allow to come into our spirits through our ears are the words of people. We live in a time when we have what I call ‘passive communication’. Do you realize that for the majority of the day we have passive communication through texting, typing, bbming, whatapping, even reading this blog. Can you imagine how much information from the external word comes into your mind and spirit, and becomes part of your faith cycle?? We have not yet used our VOICES to speak. We even pray within our minds. Why is that? I don’t want to say its a demonic conspiracy, but…well. if God created us as speaking beings to creatively frame what we want to happen (Gen 1:26), what do you think the enemy’s number one goal would be? To steal the Word.

Mark 11:23 says this:

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he said.

Once upon a time, I used to be ‘vulnerable’. For years, because of my quietness and timidity, I allowed everyone around me to tell me what my life was going to be like. I don’t mean just family and friends. I mean, the news, the statistics, the movies (I watched this movie one time-500 days of Summer…good grief. That did a number on my hope for falling in love again!). But I couldn’t really blame any of these things. Why? Because the truth is I was letting them do all the talking. I wasn’t talking! I was just allowing their words and what I saw to impress upon my spirit. I kept praying (in my mind) for things to change. But there was no point really. Because I had very little faith in what I was praying for. And whatever faith I had, was being deteriorated by my negative words (when you’re down, you could really say a lot of foolishness). Then I got hold of the verse above: You shall have whatsoever you say. I thought about it. ‘Whatsoever’ I SAY. Well if I wasn’t saying anything, then I couldn’t really have what I say. But Jesus’ principle of Mark 11:23 is true! And because I believed what other people were saying, their words became the operating system of my life building false faith (fear). I then fell into a rut where all I saw for myself was a lonely life of misery where I’d never amount to anything but a piece of seasoned meat; where I wasn’t smart enough, good enough, forever broke, forever hurt by people coming into my life. The more they spoke, the more these ideas got into my spirit and the more I allowed their words soaked in, the more I saw it manifested in my life.

Point to note: Sometimes people say things that are not really intended to be harmful. But because of the state you’re in, the enemy uses what they say and fuels it to mean something worse. The more you meditate on it, the more it sounds like what you want to hear. Sooner than later, those thoughts impact you negatively.

So…what have you been sayin’ Lady? Sir? About your situation? What have you been saying in your prayers? Have you been a ‘Job’, complaining about the problem, rather than speaking life?

Have you been praying to God for your relationship to change, then confessing to others that it won’t?

Have you been believing God for something, but you believe and see something totally opposite for your future?

Or have you just been silent, allowing everyone and the devil to tell you how your life’s going to be?

Change your talk! You will have what you say.

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: believe, Christian, Christianity, encouragement, faith, God, hope, jesus, prayer

Leap to Faith

April 20, 2012

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.- Mark 11:22

By nature, we are very stubborn human beings. Although as believers we’ve already confessed Christ as Lord and Saviour, there needs to be a process of bringing the rest of our souls (our will, mind and emotions or heart) and our bodies, to the Lordship of Christ. What does that mean? Declaring someone as the ruler of your life, is one thing. Actually accepting him as the one who governs your life is another. When I fully believe that Jesus is Lord of my life, I come into agreement with everything God is doing and has done through Jesus. I surrender fully. And as is written in John 15:7, I abide in Him and I let Him abide in me. If I don’t fully believe in Christ, it’s pretty darn hard to receive from Him. I need to have faith in Him to receive from Him.

But how do I get that faith? See, we talk a lot about keeping the faith but not about how to actually activate the faith. Romans 10:17 provides part of the answer: “… faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; but it doesn’t tell us how to activate faith. Let’s be real. Sometimes, it’s not that we don’t want to believe, but it’s just that taking that initial step of faith is really difficult because of our stubborn human nature. Well I asked God this morning to tell me how to activate faith. This was the tidbit I got in my imagination:

I’m in a battle and I am the only one on my side. I am being attacked by a bunch of people with guns and spears and all that (metaphoric representation of all the nonsense in my life), and I am fighting them off as best as I know how. But I am tired. I am afraid that I’ll lose if I stop fighting, so I keep fighting… on my own, even though I know I’m going to lose anyway. But the truth is I am tired. Tired of the fear I am feeling. Tired of the physical energy it is taking me to fight, Just then, a helicopter sounds above my head and a man tosses me a rope. “Take it” he says. “Who are you?” I ask. “Just trust me and take the rope. We’ll have time for questions later”. I’ve come to a crossroad: I can either die trying to defend myself against these hooligans, or I can take a leap of faith and take the rope from this stranger I have yet to know. It’s right about now that I have to make a decision to trust…to activate my faith.

When I received that bit of info, I zoomed in on the word “activate”. If I am to activate my faith, it means that I already have faith somewhere deep down inside of me. Romans 12:3 confirms this.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Each of us already have faith molecules inside of us. It’s the makeup of our spirit (Don’t over-process this). But God has given each of us faith. Activating your faith in Christ is as simple as it is profound: you have to take a leap. Let’s face it! The only way you will move into the realm of faith is if you leap. You have to make a conscious, split second, decision to take a leap from fear to faith. You can’t over process it – “Well, gee.. if I take the ladder, then what? How do I know that the ladder will hold? What if it breaks?’ No. the amount of time you spend thinking about these things, your enemies are advancing and you are placing your life in more danger. Every minute you spend trying to ‘figure out if the God thing is real, you are wasting an opportunity to live in victory. And more than that, you’re making your fear and your unbelief a lot worse.

It’s time for you to come to the Checkpoint. I’ve asked all week if you really and truly believe in the Christ that came. If we truly believe that He came, we wouldn’t do a lot of the stuff that we normally do. We wouldn’t allow fear to dominate our lives. We wouldn’t allow depression to rule. We wouldn’t allow the craziness of this world to overtake us. Why? We’ve got a way of escape (1Cor 10:13).

Isn’t it a low down dirty shame how much time we waste doing things that we need not do, fighting battles we need not fight, all because we don’t have (complete) faith in God?

How’s your faith? Does it need to be activated? Or re-activated? Take the leap to faith. In one quick second, make a decision with your spirit, soul and body that you will have Faith in God and the works of Christ.

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: believe, Christ, Christian, Christianity, faith, God, hope, jesus, love, peace, prayer, trusting god

Setting the atmosphere of Faith

April 19, 2012

All of the things that we discussed in the last few days have one thing in common- the need to believe.

Experience may have taught us that going into a relationship without trust and belief can be very problematic. These two things need to be established at the very beginning of the relationship. Can you imagine committing to a relationship with someone that you don’t trust?

For us, Salvation is the first commitment into a long life relationship with Christ. It’s a relationship that Christ asks us for, and we commit by saying “yes”.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10:9)

But saying “yes” to Christ cannot just be lip service. Like any relationship, when we say “yes” to Him we are saying “I am willing to trust you”, “I believe in the work you did for me on Calvary and I am totally ready to commit to you”. In saying “yes” to Christ we not only declare with our mouths, but we believe in our hearts whatever He says and whatever He promises us.
Now, many of us have a problem with believing in people. People have made promises and have broken them. There have been experiences where trust was lost and they have hindered us from opening up to others in the future. We do this to safeguard ourselves from being hurt, and that’s understandable. But many times, in shutting people out, we also shut Christ out. It’s subtle, because we’ve never seen Him and so we don’t really feel the impact of shutting Him out. But somehow, the enemy convinces us that we also can’t trust this Jesus and God that we haven’t even seen. And just like the rest of people who have hurt us, we place God and the rest of the Trinity in the same boat. Why do I say that?

When you have a good relationship with a friend, you are likely to do three things.

1. talk to them

2. boast about them

3. bring them into your private space (e.g. your home, your heart, etc)

But when the friendship goes sour, you do the reverse:

1. you stop talking to them

2. you stop boasting/ talking positively about them

3. you shut them out of your space.

Why? Because you stop believing in them.

Does that sound like our relationship with Christ? That’s how subtle it is to stop believing in Him.

The Holy Spirit has been challenging me in this area. He showed me that there have been times when people have hurt us, and we’ve allowed those sour relationships to dictate our relationship with Christ. As a result, there are parts of us that have stopped believing in Him even though we’re saved. There are even times when we feel like God has hurt us because we haven’t seen Him answer a prayer, or do something we thought He should do. And so we pray, but we don’t really believe that He will answer. Sometimes we even stop talking to Him. We’ve stopped talking about Him the way we used to. We’ve cut Him out of our private spaces.

At the beginning of this week, I had no idea what God was doing when He took me back to the Cross. But I now submit to you that if we do not totally believe in the Christ that came to give us a better, victorious life, we also cannot receive from God the things that He has for us. An atmosphere of faith must be established so that God can move. Hebrews 11:6 says

“they that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

We have to believe. I have had to deal with this in my own life, because although I said “yes” to Christ long ago, there are times the rest of me says “no”.

As a Christian, your mouth must have declared that you believe Jesus Christ is Lord. But now it’s time for the rest of you (your heart, your mind and your will) to say “yes”. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Does my heart believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He was raised from the dead?

2. Does my mind believe that Jesus Christ is Lord?

3.Is my will totally surrendered to the belief of my mind and heart that Jesus Christ is Lord?

When these three parts of you can align with what you’ve said with your mouth (that Jesus is Lord), you will have activated an atmosphere of Faith that is ready for God to move greatly in your life.

Pray for your mind, heart and will to align with the salvation of your mouth.

Posted by schadah in How Great is our God, Uncategorized Tags: believe, Christianity, faith, God, Heart, hurt, jesus, love, Pray, prayer, relationships

Soteria life.

April 18, 2012

The last two days, the Holy Spirit has been ministering to me on why Jesus came to earth, and I shared that with you. When you can truly lay hold of why Jesus came, it becomes easier to grasp why it means so much. His whole experience is relevant to your existence. He came to show us how to walk on earth, not as men, but as God’s son’s and daughters. He came to show us what we could do on earth as King’s kids, He came to give us eternal life. Because of Christ, we are strong, we don’t have to live in fear. We don’t have to live in depression. We don’t have to be without peace and joy. We don’t have to live in defeat.

Can you imagine a child, whose father was a King, and he lived like a pauper? Oh wait. That story has already been told:

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. (Luke 15:11-16)

This Prodigal son, had gone astray from his father and somehow found himself becoming a slave to the system. But his father was King! And here he was, miserable and unhappy in life. Living as a victim and not a victor. What an insult to his father! And how ironic for Him. This story doesn’t necessarily have to be about money. it could be about anything that is making you live a life of defeat. But I love how the story continues:

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father… (Luke 15:16-18)

It’s time for us to come to our senses. Do you know who your Father is? Do you know what He did for you? I had to come to terms with the fact that as a Christian, I have sometimes made the work of Calvary of no effect. How? For a long time, I allowed myself to live in the land of ‘Woe is me’. I camped out in ‘Defeat Valley’ quite often when situations came. As a result, I got no answers for my prayers, and the less God answered, the more I felt fatherless. But it wasn’t because God wasn’t being a good father to me. I just didn’t fully understand the power of the cross. If we truly understood Calvary, we would get that God wants what is best for us. He doesn’t give us stones, when we ask for bread. God allowed Christ to die so that we might receive salvation.

Now, pause right there! Because salvation is a word that we often undermine. Salvation comes from the greek “soteria”. Soteria means to be delivered, preserved, kept safe and saved from all things; deliverance from the molestation of enemies; in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the soul’s safety or salvation. It is also the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.(Strong’s interpretation)

Many times as believers we say “I am saved!”. It’s true. But do we really get that? Or is it just lip service? Salvation is a full package- a VICTORY package. It would be like winning the lottery! All of your impossible needs, wants, desires become possible when you receive Christ’s salvation. This is why He kept stressing that we could ask the Father anything in His name and it would be done (John 15).

I’ve come to understand that my salvation because of Christ has to be as sure as my name. My salvation defines my new status in God, as an heir, as a King’s child and as one who receives all good things from Him when I ask Him. If I am not certain about what Christ did for me though, the Cross and Jesus Christ’s purpose for coming to this earth is worth absolutely nothing. Simply put, God plan to crucify His own Son, would have been a complete waste of time.

So, again. Do you believe in the Cross and what it has done for you?

The success of what you’re asking God for hinges on that.

Posted by schadah in High, Healed, Delivered, Hunger, Uncategorized Tags: Christian, Christianity, God, jesus, pea, prayer, religion, salvation

Why did Christ really come? pt 2

April 17, 2012

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

I recently heard a Pastor recall an encounter he had with God. He said he once thought that once he got out of the world, it wasn’t really much of his business to save the world. But then God spoke to his heart. In essence this is what God laid on his heart:

You weren’t there when then they cursed My Son, called Him a liar, spit on Him. You weren’t there when they nailed Him to a tree even though He had no fault before the courts; you weren’t there when they beat his head till it bled, whipped him with a thornball thirty nine times, gave Him vinegar to drink and then pierce Him in the sides to make sure he was good and dead. You weren’t there when He cried out “Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?” You weren’t there. But I was. And I had to standby and WATCH them do everything to hurt my ONLY begotten Son and do nothing. Why? Because I had to allow His blood to be shed so that the rest of this world could have access to me. So that you could all know that I loved you enough to give my only Son; so that you could have a triumphant and eternal life.

I thought it was a grand story. But more than that, I received this revelation. Do you know how absolutely pointless it would have been for God to send His Son to go through all of that, if there was nothing to gain from the experience? What did He gain? He LOST a son. What did Christ gain? The dude was crucified! Really and truly, the beneficiaries were us. Think about it this way: Let’s say you can see the future and you can see that if you sent your child to a particular store for food, a lunatic would come in and start shooting everyone including your son until everyone in the store was dead. Having this knowledge, would you send your son to that store? No. But God, omniscient God, sent His Son to die. Why? It was the only way to REDEEM man to his original position in God. If we could not be redeemed to God, then the whole coming and dying of Christ was absolutely pointless.

Let me explain. Because of the sin of Adam we fell under a curse in which we had lost every inheritance and connection to the Father. But when Christ came, He paid the price with His blood so that we could once again be heirs of the Kingdom. If you think about it, the only way anyone could gain an inheritance, is if someone dies. When Christ died, all that was His because He was the sole inheritor to His Father’s Kingdom, became transferable to us. What did we inherit? Everything that Christ received from the Father.

Believe it or not, I am still very much on the subject of prayer. But here’s something to tease your brain? How real is your salvation to you? See, when Christ lived on the earth, He came to show us that whatever He asked the Father for, His Father would give Him (John 14:13). He assured us that we would be able to do the same once He had died. However, I think the realness of receiving from God the way Christ did, comes with the understanding of what He did for you. The cross that we cling to is much, much more than not going to hell, although that is a great and awesome deal. But if we can understand that God really sent His Son so that we can rightfully lay claim to all of the blessings that He had intended for us, then it becomes easier to receive.
So I ask again. How real is Christ to you? Why do you think He came? And what was the point of His death? If you can truly believe that He came so that you can have access to everything that God has for you, then your prayers are ripe for answers. But do you truly believe?

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: believe, Christ, Christianity, faith, God, jesus, prayer, praying, trusting god

While you wait and Praying the Promises

April 13, 2012

Just to wrap up from where we left off yesterday, there are other things that we can and should do while we wait. I left these for last because they can seem pretty weird when you’re waiting.

Give thanks.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done- Phil 4:6

This scripture teaches us that we tell God what we need, and then thank him for all he has done. Another version says,”by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known”. It seems bewildering to the human flesh that you should give thanks for something that hasn’t happen. Especially when you are operating in a spirit of complaining, the last thing you want is to give thanks. But I think that’s the whole power of thanksgiving, If you can get your mouth to break past what you ‘feel’ like, and what you ‘see’ in the natural, you have moved into the spiritual. Giving thanks in advance is as spiritual as you can get because it is evidence that you are walking in faith and that you truly believe God can do what He promised.

Wait in Patience.

But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.- Romans 8:25

Waiting is not my thing. Is it yours? This scripture tells us that when we’re looking for God to do something, we must do it patiently and confidently. What does that mean? I remember a Pastor giving this demonstration once. He said if you had a friend that said he was going to pick you up after work, would you be worried about if he was going to pick you up? The answer depends on how well you know that friend and how much you trust his word. If you truly trust him, then you will sit and wait, with the EXPECTATION that he will come. Waiting here is not being anxious, It’s continually expecting God to do what He’s promised because you trust Him totally. Patiently waiting is a calm assurance that He will come through.

Build up yourself.

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost-Jude 1:20

Here’s the final truth. You may be asking God for something that you think you are ready for. He’s heard your prayer and it has not been forgotten. Let’s use the example of the car again. Daddy buys you a car, but he knows that you need one. But he holds the keys. If you ask him for it, He may say “It’s in the garage”, Why didn’t he just say exactly where it is? Because he wants you to learn something.

God does that…many times. You will ask Him for something and He will give you two-word or one word answers. Sometimes He won’t even answer right away. Don’t get frustrated. Ask Him, “Dad, what are you trying to teach me here”. Many times, God wants us to build up ourselves in faith or our character before He releases His blessing. Don’t question it. He knows more than you, that if you received the blessing prematurely, you will lose your faith. And He needs to push you a little harder so that your faith is strong, or so your relationship is still intact, even after the blessing has come. It’s at this point, that you humble yourself and build up yourself in faith.

Well, although I don’t think I am done with understanding prayer, I think that’s all I can glean from this principle. I hope you’ve learned something. I know I have each day.

Summing it up, I wanted to provide some scriptures to help you pray God’s promises. Note, there are some things that you don’t need to ask God for because it’s in His will. Here are a few. When you pray, you may want to use these scriptures to back up your prayer. (You may have to pull out your bible to quote these scriptures! I can’t write em all out!)

1. Healing: Isaiah 53:5

2. Peace- Matt 11:28-29, Phillipians 4:7

3. Joy Isaiah 61:3, Job 41:22; Psalm 30:5

4. Marriage (your already given Husband or Wife): Mark 10:9; Gen 2:18 (I think this one can also be used if you’re single and wondering if it’s God’s will for you to marry).

5. Children: Psalm 113:9, Isaiah 54;1

6. Salvation- Romans 10:9.

7. Victory. Romans 8:37-39

8. Food and other necessary provisions Philippians 4:19; Psalm 37:25.

9. Strength – Isaiah 40:29-31

10: Restoration; Joel 2:25

11. Fatherhood- Psalm 68:5. (when you feel fatherless)

12. Defence- Psalm 3:3; Job 16:19-20.

I am sure there are many more promises. Here’s a link I found for 365 Promises for the year.

For those promises that you can’t find in the bible, e.g. if you should marry a person, His will for a specific type of job, house, decision, your promise is Roms 8:26

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

God has promised that the Holy Spirit will help you to pray the right things for these areas, and God will reveal His will through the Holy Spirit to you.

Posted by schadah in Uncategorized Tags: believe, Christian, Christianity, encouragement, faith, God, hope, jesus, prayer, promises, trusting god

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