Post by mommadee48 on Aug 7, 2022 4:58:01 GMT -5
IN TOUCH WITH CHARLES STANLEY, (ROMANS 8:26-28).
GOD HAS INVITED US TO COME TO HIM with our requests and concerns. Yet we don't truly know how to pray as we should, because we have limited knowledge, faulty motives, and misplaced desires. But we have a Helper who intercedes for us according to GOD's will.
The HOLY SPIRIT knows exactly what the Father desires to do in our life, and His prayers are always answered. For example, we may ask for relief from suffering or hardship, but the Lord's will may be to use these things to produce Christlike character within us. We may think our prayers have gone unanswered, but the Spirit has taken our desire for something good and turned it into a request for something better.
The Spirit not only prays for us according to God's will, be He also clarifies the Father's will to us. Scripture tells us what the Lord desires and how He works. As we renew our mind with His Word, we'll be better able to pray effectively YET there is great comfort in knowing that none of our prayers fall on deaf ears. The Spirit takes each one and interprets it to fit the Father's will.
NEXT:
IN TOUCH WITH CHARLES STANLEY, (1CORINTHIANS 2:6-16).?
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY SOME PEOPLE can read the Bible without understanding it?
The reason is because it's God's revealed Word and to comprehend it requires His wisdom. Those who don't know Christ have no ability to understand the things of God. But those of us who've been saved have the Spirit of God within us; He illumines our mind and teaches us divine truths.
In John 14:16-17, Jesus describes the HOLY SPIRIT as the HELPER. The truth is, no matter how spiritually mature or immature we are, we need His assistance every time we open our Bible. He teaches us the true meaning of the text and helps us connect concepts throughout the Word in order to gain greater understanding. Then, as we integrate each truth into our mind and life, He reveals more. The satisfaction and excitement we experience in learning and growing energizes us to keep digging into God's unfathomable Word.
To make the most of your time in Scripture, prepare beforehand. Ask the Lord to forgive you of any sin and cleanse your heart. Then request that He open your mind to His truths and give you a teachable and submissive spirit.
NEXT:
DAILY BREAD, (ZECHARIAH 7:4-10).
WATCHING OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER.
Jose, a seventy-seven-year-old substitute teacher, had been living out of his car for eight years. Every night, the elderly man bunked down in his 19907 Ford Thunderbird LX, carefully monitoring the car battery as it powered his computer for his evening's work. Instead of using the money earmarked for rent, Jose sent it to numerous family members in Mexico who needed it more. Early every morning, one of the teacher's former students saw Jose rummaging through his trunk. "I just felt I needed to do something about it", the man said. So, he launched a fundraiser and weeks later handed Jose a check to help him pay for a place to live.
Though Scripture repeatedly instructs us to watch out for one another, it's sometimes difficult to see past our own concerns. The prophet Zechariah rebuked Israel who, rather than worshiping God or serving others, were "feasting for [them] selves" (ZECHARIAH 7:6). Ignoring their shared communal life, they disregarded their neighbor's need. Zechariah made God's instructions clear: the people were to "administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another...[and] not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor" (vv.9-10).
While it's easy to be consumed with our own needs, faithfulness calls us to tend to the needs of others. In the divine economy, there's plenty for all. And God, in His mercy, chooses to use us to give some of that plenty to others.
WHO ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE TO CARE FOR?
WHERE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF CONSUMED WITH YOUR OWN CONCERNS?
GOD HAS INVITED US TO COME TO HIM with our requests and concerns. Yet we don't truly know how to pray as we should, because we have limited knowledge, faulty motives, and misplaced desires. But we have a Helper who intercedes for us according to GOD's will.
The HOLY SPIRIT knows exactly what the Father desires to do in our life, and His prayers are always answered. For example, we may ask for relief from suffering or hardship, but the Lord's will may be to use these things to produce Christlike character within us. We may think our prayers have gone unanswered, but the Spirit has taken our desire for something good and turned it into a request for something better.
The Spirit not only prays for us according to God's will, be He also clarifies the Father's will to us. Scripture tells us what the Lord desires and how He works. As we renew our mind with His Word, we'll be better able to pray effectively YET there is great comfort in knowing that none of our prayers fall on deaf ears. The Spirit takes each one and interprets it to fit the Father's will.
NEXT:
IN TOUCH WITH CHARLES STANLEY, (1CORINTHIANS 2:6-16).?
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY SOME PEOPLE can read the Bible without understanding it?
The reason is because it's God's revealed Word and to comprehend it requires His wisdom. Those who don't know Christ have no ability to understand the things of God. But those of us who've been saved have the Spirit of God within us; He illumines our mind and teaches us divine truths.
In John 14:16-17, Jesus describes the HOLY SPIRIT as the HELPER. The truth is, no matter how spiritually mature or immature we are, we need His assistance every time we open our Bible. He teaches us the true meaning of the text and helps us connect concepts throughout the Word in order to gain greater understanding. Then, as we integrate each truth into our mind and life, He reveals more. The satisfaction and excitement we experience in learning and growing energizes us to keep digging into God's unfathomable Word.
To make the most of your time in Scripture, prepare beforehand. Ask the Lord to forgive you of any sin and cleanse your heart. Then request that He open your mind to His truths and give you a teachable and submissive spirit.
NEXT:
DAILY BREAD, (ZECHARIAH 7:4-10).
WATCHING OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER.
Jose, a seventy-seven-year-old substitute teacher, had been living out of his car for eight years. Every night, the elderly man bunked down in his 19907 Ford Thunderbird LX, carefully monitoring the car battery as it powered his computer for his evening's work. Instead of using the money earmarked for rent, Jose sent it to numerous family members in Mexico who needed it more. Early every morning, one of the teacher's former students saw Jose rummaging through his trunk. "I just felt I needed to do something about it", the man said. So, he launched a fundraiser and weeks later handed Jose a check to help him pay for a place to live.
Though Scripture repeatedly instructs us to watch out for one another, it's sometimes difficult to see past our own concerns. The prophet Zechariah rebuked Israel who, rather than worshiping God or serving others, were "feasting for [them] selves" (ZECHARIAH 7:6). Ignoring their shared communal life, they disregarded their neighbor's need. Zechariah made God's instructions clear: the people were to "administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another...[and] not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor" (vv.9-10).
While it's easy to be consumed with our own needs, faithfulness calls us to tend to the needs of others. In the divine economy, there's plenty for all. And God, in His mercy, chooses to use us to give some of that plenty to others.
WHO ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE TO CARE FOR?
WHERE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF CONSUMED WITH YOUR OWN CONCERNS?