"He will give you the desires of your heart"

Psalms 37:4  NKJV  " Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart."  

So many people take this to mean that God will bless us with whatever material blessings we may desire.  Let's look at what is actually meant by "delight yourself also in the LORD".  The Hebrew word translated “delight”  literally means to be delicate or feminine (Strong’s, עָנַג), pliable or sensitive.  In this context, it means to be dependent upon God and to derive one’s pleasure from Him. 

Therefore if we delight in the Lord, we will be deriving our pleasure from him.  As we delight in Him, we will find that His desires will become our desires. In other words... He will plant His desires in our hearts and those desires are what will come to pass. 

God thinks good thoughts towards us and only has our good in mind.  Jeremiah 29:11 NIV "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

We can rest in this that God has our best interest in His mind and will bless us as we take delight and are dependent on Him. There is peace in knowing this for it ceases our striving for things, purpose etc and releases us to walk in God certain of Him and His promise of abundant life.

Pastor Sandy

Tyranny of the urgent or peace?

Tyranny of the urgent... so often we have so much on our plate we seem to go in circles. Can you relate? I certainly can.

The way out of the maze and off the merry-go-round is to meditate and base decisions on our scriptural priortites: Love the Lord your God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and others as ourselves. (Paraphrase Mark 12:30-31, Matthew 6:32-34).

Base your priorities on these commands while letting the Holy Spirit lead you through His peace in all things. (Philippians 4:6-8; Prov. 3:5-6)

If you do this, you'll find your life moving forward being directed and led by your Father, who is the Sprit of Truth and won't lead you astray.

Praying Christ's peace over you,

Pastor Sandy

http://www.raphactr.org/

Spirit and Truth

When you are in a worship service, and the praise Team is singing, where is your focus? Let us exam ourselves and worship in Spirit and in Truth.  Spirit-- entering in to the Holy place with a clean heart for God is a Spirit and He speaks to our spirit. Having a clean heart means repentance, forgiveness, truly worshiping our King not just enjoying the performance of the musicians.  Truth-- for He is the Truth and holds answers to all of life in Him, so we must approach Him with a sincere heart and mind open to Him. Once we worship in Spirit and in Truth, we will find ourselves in the Holy Place where He will speak to us, where He abides and we will become One with Him, we will then encounter God and be changed into His likeness.  Jesus Christ, He alone is worthy to receive all honor, all glory, all our worship!  John 4:21-24  Pastor Sandy

Christians, "For such a time as this"...

Brothers, Sisters... never feel that you don't have a purpose, or that your existence doesn't matter. 

Your time is now to love and be loved.  Each act of kindness for another has great eternal impact.   Jesus Christ's ministry was only 3 years long, but He impacted all of humanity for all eternity; Abe Lincoln's time in office as President lasted only 2 years before death, and we still talk about the impact he made for freedom for millions of people.  We have been given today, this moment in time... what will we do with it?

The kind word you sow, the smile you give, the hug you offer, the scripture you share, the "I love you" you say to your friend... may have an impact beyond that which you know.  Just one small act of kindness may change a person's life forever.  We each are only given an allotted span of time to be on this earth, "....And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b)

 

"Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light..." John 12:3

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people..." Galatians 6:10

"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 

1 Thessalonians 1:3

 Let's make an eternal difference in the lives of others, let's follow in Christ's footsteps fulfilling our purpose... "For such a time as this"  we are born!

Be not afraid when all the earth is shaking....

"Abide in Me, and I will abide in you." When all the earth is shaking, we need not fear. Get into God's Holy Place, His Throne Room, through worship and you'll find Him! We enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise... so worship and He'll meet you there. It is in His presence that you will find peace, safety, provision, guidance, love. Once you are in His presence, in His Holy Place... let Him speak to you... be quiet and listen. He speaks through His Word, through godly counsel, and to you directly to your heart.

Over time, as your heart starts to learn how to hear Him, you will find you hear Him often through the day, more and more.... He will bring scriptures to your mind to encourage you, He will whisper to you when you are about to go in a wrong direction, He will envelope you in His love just at the moment you need a warm hug, He will never leave you and will give you comfort when you are lonely, He will become the Lover of your Soul.

So be not afraid.   Worship Him.  He is worthy of our praise.  Peace, be still.   Shhhh... He is speaking.

Where is your focus?

FOOD FOR TODAY:

Nothing more to add to the following Words from the Lord, if we will but meditate on them, letting them bring truths to our heart... not reading them through just once, but many times... seeking God for revelatory knowledge to release us from any anxiousness we may have. Anxiety is really the opposite of faith. It is not trusting in God. We must choose who we trust, by an act of our will.. by choosing to trust God, we are acting and causing faith to grow within ourselves. His Word is true... so therefore if He says be anxious for nothing... we should trust that He has a greater plan and will take care of whatever we are getting into anxiety over. Faith... acting on His promises... choosing to trust our Father!! Thank You Lord!!

Philippians 4:6-8 (New King James Version)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Want to be used by God more???

Ever want to be used by God more, but no money, no idea of how, and no open doors?

Think on this: He has given us the greatest weapon to advance His Kingdom...  it is free to us to use, available all the time, and all we have to do is give up a bit of our time.  Even Apostle Paul said he used this weapon more than all, and to use it constantly.

So what is this Weapon?    It is PRAYER!!

Pour out your heart on behalf of others to God, and expect Him to answer!

Psalms 116:1 "I love the Lord, because He heard me and answered my prayer."

Mark 11:24 "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." 

National Day of Prayer is May 5th... every day should be.  Let's use our weapon, the Sword of the Spirit-- His Word, in Praying for others!!!