A 2016 CALL TO PRAYER-Christian Meditation

God Morning Family!

 As we push towards deeper prayer we must understand that our thoughts or opinions, desires, and emotions (in other words our souls) can greatly influence if and how we pray.

Eph 6 tells us that as we put on the full armor of God that we are also pray in the Spirit at all times and to be watchful.  It is not just the devil we need to be on the look for but our very own selves.
Unfortunately we are very easily influenced by false doctrine, other people, entertainment, this worlds system, and anything else that agrees with our flesh.  For this reason we need to stay rooted in God's Words to us.

We have all heard this phrase.

"You are what you eat."

This is not only true with our bodies but with our spirit.  Whatever we take in through our eyes or ears has the power to shape our thoughts.  Whatever dwell on in our minds has the power to change our hearts. And out of our hearts flows our words and actions.

As we take this time to let God search our hearts and help us to commit to consistent and deep prayer I ask you to consider what are you allowing in that distracts you from God or causes you to think or meditate more like the world instead of like Jesus.  Novels, videos, movies, music, self help books, talk shows, and  people are all preaching to us.  The issue is not these things but the message.  If they are preaching a message that is birthed from the Word of God, brings us to repentance, and helps us become more like Christ our time in prayer and the Bible will reflect that.  However if these things feed our pride, push us to carnality, and lead us away from Jesus to sin then we need to cut these things out of our lives.

Let us dig out scripture and memorize it.  Memorizing scripture is not just for kids.  Hiding Gods word away in our hearts will insure we always have His word with us.

Let us speak it out, take it apart, do word studies, think on it, and pray about it until we are one with it.  This is what meditation does.

Let me also say temperance in even a good thing is needful. Books, videos, godly friends with the right message are helpful but should never replace our intimacy with God and our need to hear His voice.  Lazy Christians would rather eat of the fruit of anothers' time with God then search Him out themselves.  Meditation on Gods work requires time and effort.  It's work.  But the fruit of it is well worth the effort.

Here is a link to an excellent article on Christian Meditation that I encourage you to read.  Then...

GET TO WORK :)

http://www.allaboutgod.com/christian-meditation.htm

A 2016 CALL TO PRAYER-He Is The Be All And End All

God Morning Family,

This morning I went to the Lord with no agenda but to pray that we would all allow God to search our hearts and to listen for His voice.

He showed me something that is difficult to express in words but I will try.

I saw what looked like a man trying to break out of rubber, or a dark, slime like substance.  The substance covering him was so thick I could not see the mans features.  I could only see his form through the rubber. His outline was one of a runner pressing towards the finish line. My sense was the elasticity of the rubber was so strong it was trying to snap him back but he was using all his strength to break out.

Then a word came to me that summed all this up.

STRAIN

meaning force (a part of one's body or oneself) to make a strenuous or unusually great effort 

Two scriptures come to mind.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer 29:13

And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. Mark 12:30

God wants our effort.  He wants fervency in our hearts and fire in our words.  He wants that we strain against the complacency, the apathy, the deadness of our souls and reach for

HIM.

Prayer begins and ends with a desire to know God. He is the Prize.  Our intercession must be rooted in this.  Our cries for His help must be seated in the realization that we our His and He can do as He pleases with us.  Even our fire to do His will must be tempered with the fact that only He can bring the increase.  Whatever the outcome of our obedience God is the be all and end all.

God wants us to be His ministers of flame.  But it is our worship of Him before anything else that brings Him pleasure.

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
Rev 3:15
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16

A JAN 1, 2016 CALL TO DEEP PRAYER FROM MY MOM DIANA BRICE (9 Oct 1044-Nov 2, 2015)

My mom was a brilliant woman who was always learning and growing.    At 16 years old she started her freshman year at the University of Missouri in Columbia.  She earned her Bachelors in Home Economics and Two Master degrees (Public Administration and Library Sciences) while working full time and raising her children.  She gave her life to Jesus on Feb 11. 1996 at my wedding and never looked back.

     My mom loved cooking, crafts, hosting get togethers.  She LOVED words and books.  To her throwing a book in the trash was a sin :) She believed reading was key because if you could read you could learn how to do anything from baking bread to building a bomb.

    Towards the end of her life she knew her time was short on this earth and realized she had problems and concerns mere books could not solve.  She needed the power of God.  After seeing the movie War Room my mom was inspired by the Holy Spirit to become a prayer warrior.  To fight for herself (she was very ill having suffered Lupus for too many years) and loved ones in prayer.  To trust that God would hear her and act on His promises as she declared the Word of God.  She said YES to God and had begun turning her clothes closet into a PRAYER closet.

    Due to paperwork I found as I went through her things I believe she thought she had at least a few years left on this earth.  However my mom contracted a salmonella infection that ravaged her already severely weakened body, went into a coma, and died Nov 2 of this year.  She is now at peace with Jesus.

   The last thing she insisted I do (before she was infected) was watch that movie War Room.  I promised her I would and I did two days ago.

    I myself have felt a push for a few months to cast of worry and fear and go into deep prayer.  I have loved ones I worry about in my family and in my church.  I have seen too many I love turn away from God or back pedal from their commitment to serve Him with all their might.

   Not only that but a spirit of FEAR through terrorist acts, mass shootings, and hate induced crimes is permeating this country (USA).  I remember as a child living in a constant fear of nuclear war attack from Russia.  Then for some years we had a semblance of peace.  Now we daily arise wondering what will happen next.  Christians in other nations already have felt this type of uncertainty.

     My mom had it right.  She turned to God with a heart not only to go deep in prayer but to influence others to do the same. I too encourage you to watch or re-watch War Room and let it speak to you.  Or simply obey what God is already saying to you. :)

     Whether you are overwhelmed with life, fear of what will occur in our nation or the world, worried about family, experiencing chronic illness, struggling with mind battles, financial issues, life changing decisions or, to just stay saved, PRAYER IS THE ANSWER.

   I am asking you to let the Holy Spirit show you your next step.  Whatever you need to do;  create a prayer closet, carve out time in your busy schedule, repent and confess your faults, forgive, get rid of every carnal distraction, be accountable to a spiritual leader or partner with a bestie in Christ I believe God is speaking to ALL of us (leaders and disciples alike) to draw near to Him, pray, dive into His Word, and be used by Him in prayer.

    JAN 1, 2016 is the date! That doesn't mean to wait to pray until then.  In other words you and I have a few days to sit with God, take an inventory of our hearts, confess our helplessness without God, and commit to a disciplined prayer/Bible life. Write your vision down, make it plain, and post it in your house.

   This is NO season of prayer, 2016 resolution, or a few weeks of fasting then back to life as usual.  I am talking about a life change. If you and I can become people of deep, prevailing prayer and then HELP OTHERS to do likewise God Himself will build His Kingdom through us and the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church.

DO NOT FEAR FAILURE!!!  Any good habit takes time to develop.  You have the rest of your life. Any YES to God will meet resistance from our flesh and the enemy.  EXPECT IT!  Step out of the boat.  It's time for you and I to walk on the stormy waters!

     If you feel this is for you please comment and lets do this together.  I will be blogging and posting some practical stuff for all of us this next few weeks.

      This is His promise to us; 'Fear not for I am with you. Seek FIRST my Kingdom and whatever you need for this life I will add unto you. The rivers will not overflow you. You will walk through the fire and you will not be burned. Turn to me with all your heart and with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Rend your hearts for I am gracious and merciful. I will pity you as a Father pities His very own children. I hear the prayers of the righteous!'
  Is 41:10, Matt 6:33, Is 43:2, Joel 2:12-13, Ps 103:13, Ps 34:17

Tonight My Mother Died

It's quiet in my mother's house.  We don't really want to say or do anything.  Our lives just changed forever.

She had been in a coma, unresponsive since last Wednesday when they sedated her.  Day after day we went to the hospital and desperately clung to every piece of good news the staff gave us and then we were equally destroyed by every bad report.  Definitely an emotional roller coaster.

We hoped and prayed we would have a chance to look into her eyes, hear her voice, tell her we loved her but that didn't happen.  The doctors told us she was dying.  The infection in her blood was too strong for her but perhaps a procedure might save her?

"Go for it."

One last chance.  One last hope.

30 minutes into the dialysis her heart dropped dangerously low.  We only knew that because we saw the nurse wheeling the machines down the hall. 

Questions.  Anger stirring.  Why isn't the doctor speaking with us?  Why so little communication?

As my sister and I stepped back into the hall, perplexed, we heard...

CODE BLUE

For a split second I couldn't connect that with my mom, but then I turned and went back into the ICU.
They began the resuscitation.  As they frantically tried to get her heart started we had only seconds to decide whether to release her or to try and hold on. 

Stop.  It's over.  Let her go.

Tears. Sobs. Quietness. Confusion.  Papers to sign. Prayers.  Decisions to make.  It's not what I imagined.

We walked back in to say goodbye.  But all I could see is it was my mother but it wasn't.
It's just a body.  Just a shell. 

This is what I said to my children,

 It's just a body.  Just a shell.  Mom is with Jesus.  No more lupus or steroids to wreck her body.  No more walker and frustration.  No more pain and asthma.  She is dancing and rejoicing.  She's on the other side and we will see her again IF we stay the course.

As we drove to her house from the hospital we all agreed Chicago would never be the same for any of us.

Halloween, Hell, and the Devil? Here's Why.

If you happen to follow me on Facebook you have noticed that almost daily since the beginning of October I have been posting about halloween, hell, and the devil.

Here's why.

I feel Christians have forgotten there is a devil.  Okay maybe not forgotten.  After all we believe in heaven and hell.  We know Satan was cast down.  And we know he still exists.

BUT...

I think a lot of us have forgotten he has power (limited though it be), he hates us, he makes war against us daily, he hates us, he can possess people, he hates us, he can still make stuff happen, and YES HE HATES US.

So daily I am posting little reminders that the devil is real.  I want us all to remember there is a supernatural, a spirit realm, and Satan is a deceiver who has come to steal, kill and destroy.

I want to remind us that there are unholy things that belong expressly to the devil and when we mess around with them we open doors to the enemy and allow him to put us in bondage, mess with our minds, and wreak havoc in our children and our marriages.

Please fight to pray family.  Return to the reading and study of God's holy Word.  Be convicted of sin again and repent.  Start going to church again.  Shut the door to the enemy and say YES to God.  Time is drawing short, Jesus really is coming, and Satan is frantic to steal as many souls as he can.

Let's not make it easy for him.

Trust Me I Know The Way

I have a memory that never fails to make me smile.

It was a very hot summer day and I was doing some work at my church. My youngest daughter was with me.

When we finished whatever task I was working on we headed home.

On foot.

I asked Salome if she would like to stop by the store and pick up something tasty. I warned her it would make the trip longer, and hotter, but she chose the "something tasty".

On our way home Salome began complaining about the heat. Our usual route home had very little shade, and was very hilly.

I decided on a detour.

"Mom?"

"Ya Honey?"

"Do you know where you're going?"

I had to laugh. At this time Salome was about five or six years old.

"Yes, Salome. I know exactly where we're going."

The detour we took was shady and less hilly, but unfamiliar to my daughter. So it wasn't long until she questioned me again.

"Mom, are you SURE you know where we are?"

"Yes, Salome, I know where we are. Stop worrying."

We hadn't walked much further when,

"MOM!!! WE'RE GOING TO GET LOST!!!"

I don't recall how the rest of the walk went, though we obviously made it home just fine, but ever since then God has used this memory to remind me that He knows the way.

All I wanted to do that day was make the way home a little more bearable for my daughter. She, however was more comfortable with the old familiar way. Never mind that it was hotter and a much tougher walk.

I'm sure I was tempted to get at least a little annoyed with her, except I could see myself in my little girl.

I'm a lot like that. The old ways may be harder, but at least they are familiar.

What is it about human nature that resists trusting God?

He is bigger than me, older than me, smarter than me...

Yet when He takes me along an unfamiliar path I hesitate, tense up, and with trembling voice I shout,

"GOD!!! I'M GOING TO GET LOST!!!"

With compassion He takes my little hand into His eternal one and says, "With me, you are never lost."

Nodding, I try to ignore my unfamiliar surroundings and just focus on His big, strong hand holding mine.

I keep following, but I'm still a little...

...afraid
.


Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Is 41:10 NKJ

The Devil Is Real

CBN testimony of John Ramirez. Ex-satanist redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxrldnzNqKA&feature=share