Draw Closer to God

Forwarded by Treva

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you...” (James 4:8, NLT)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

God promises that He will draw close to you when you draw close to Him. How do we draw close to Him? First of all, this verse goes on to say that we must turn away from sin because sin separates us from God. When we turn away from the things that displease Him, we are turning toward Him. That’s the first step.

Then, the Bible tells us to come into His presence with thanksgiving in our hearts and give Him praise. When you have a thankful heart, you are drawing closer to Him. Thirdly, scripture tells us that God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. When you live with an attitude of humility, you are drawing closer to Him.
Friend, there’s nothing more important in life than drawing close to God the Father. Seek Him with your whole heart, and you will find Him. Let Him speak to your heart by reading your Bible, praying and meditating on His promises every single day.

Worship Him with a humble and open heart because when you seek Him, you will find Him, and He will fill you with His peace, comfort and joy all the days of your life!

FUNNY!

Hi ladies,
You have probably read this somewhere but I thought I share :) Enjoy!

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed: "Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through, so please allow her body to switch with mine for a day. Amen".

God, in His infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish.

The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman. He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, awakened the kids, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their lunches, drove them to school, came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and balanced the checkbook. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog. Then it was already 1pm and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. Ran to school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home. Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their homework, then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing. At 4:30pm he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper.
After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed. At 9pm, he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: "Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back."

The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, replied: "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were. You'll just have to wait nine months, though. You got pregnant last night."

:)

A Healthy Thought

Being pro-active is definitely a healthy practice.  When you find yourself involved in an organization, system, or department etc..., you may encounter different instances that may need a few adjustments or changes. You may need to shut some ideas down or put some other ideas on the shelf. This is called an evaluation of practice.

The key to self-assessments and evaluations is being honest with yourself, and being real with the situation you are facing and open to new approaches.  Don't stay boxed-in!

This practice is very essential and can be very beneficial to you, your company, your business, your ministry, and your personal journey in life; because not only does it humble you in many ways, it also positions you to be pro-active and ready for the future.

The Bible teaches us that Noah built an ark.  The interesting and bizarre thing about this ark is that it was built BEFORE any possible signs of rain.  Noah was directed by God to build something that seemed ridiculous at the moment but was infact what was going to save & protect them in the future.
Naturally, Noah faced criticism, judgement, finger pointing & rejection from the people but he stayed the course. 
Let me ask you this: have you ever felt this way?  Where you feel that you must prepare for the future but no one understands and everyone is criticising you for it?

Being proactive is healthy!  You might actually be the vessel that saves your job, the ministry you are a part of, your company etc..

Ladies, do not be afraid to speak up if you see that something is not going right.  God will give you wisdom to verbalize it properly, but please do not box yourself in and become a part of the problem!  Release the anointing within you and bring solutions to chaotic situations.

The Heart of Matter

- Shared by The Maddox's

The Great Commandment: Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself. Our primary responsibility in this life is to love God which then allows us to love ourselves and others.

 

Barrier to receiving God's Love: In relationships, the real issue isn't love, it is the condition of our heart. When our hearts are in the right position, love flows automatically. The heart is the vital core of one's being (Proverbs 4:23).

 

The condition of our hearts need to be open, not closed. An open heart feels involved, concerned, connected, emotionally alive, loved, tender and available. When we live a willful life of sin, our hearts become closed and disconnected from God. When a relationship does not feel emotionally safe, our hearts will close and we will withdraw from that person (Genesis 3:10). Other issues might be that we have allowed past hurts to embed themselves in our hearts, and therefore, we have believed the lies that come with it. Or we have willfully chosen to be selfish and proud; rather than selfless and humble.

 

 

Heart Builders:

• How do we address our hearts, if they are in fact closed?
• Choose to live a life that is alive
• Identify what lies are written on your heart (Hebrews 4:12-13)
• Discover God's truth about you (John 8:32); Psalms 139)
• Take what people say and do to us to the Lord and discover His truth
• Give your heart a voice and learn to manage your emotions (Proverbs 16:32)

More than words

God intends for prayer to be an easy, natural way of staying in touch with Him - like having a conversation with a close friend.  But I don't think we see prayer as being that simple. As a matter of fact, I think a lot of us (Christians) have difficulty maintaining a strong, consistent prayer life because we're stuck believing what the enemy has told us. Things like: "God is mad at us. He's not answering our prayers right now", or "we don't pray long enough anyway, so our prayers won't really make a difference".

The truth is, everytime we pray in faith, God answers.  He wants our prayer life to be fulfilling, exciting and full of hopeful expectation. You can have great freedom and creativity in your prayer life - but you need to stay focused on God and His promises, not the enemy's lies.

Prayer Builders:

• How often do you pray?
• Do you feel a connection with heaven, in prayer?

What a friend!

One of the greatest gifts God has given us as His children is His Holy Spirit!  Think about it! How many people do you know that you can call a friend, a counselor, a comforter, and advocate, an intercessor, a standby?  Do you know anyone that you can call all that? The truth is that the Holy Spirit wants to be that friend to each and every one of us...everyday!

He wants to help us have a good life....and enjoy it too.  He wants to strengthen us in hard times,  and comfort us when we're sad or grieving.  He also wants to listen to us when we need to talk...fight for us when we're weak..pray for us when we can't....I mean, who wouldn't want a friend like that!

With all that is going on in this world, He simply wants to give us the power to get through the situations we face victoriously.  He also wants to work in us to change us for the better from the inside out, so we can maintain victory in our everyday lives..

Be thankful for the Holy Spirit in your life!
- Joyce M

The Holy Land

A little Monday humor :) Thanks Ms. G!

****

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation in Jerusalem . While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband "You can have her buried here in the Holy Land for $150 or we can have her shipped back home for $5000. The husband thought about it and told the undertaker he would have her shipped back home. The undertaker asked him, "why would you spend $5000 to have her shipped home when you could have a beautiful burial here, and it would only cost $150?" The husband replied, "Long ago, a man died here, was buried here, and three days later, rose from the dead. I just cant take that chance!


:)

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

Forwarded by Mary A, thanks cousin!

I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed

I have Holy spirit power
The die has been cast,

The decision has been made

I am a disciple of Jesus

Therefore, I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still

My past is redeemed

My present is empowered

And my future is secure

I'm done with low-living

Sight walking, small planning, smooth needs, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, positions, promotions, praise or popularity

I don't have to win, be first, be right, recognized, regarded or rewarded

I now live by faith,

Lean on his presence

Love with patience

Live by prayer and

Labor with power

My goal is God's glory

My face is set

My pace is fast

My road is narrow

My way is rough

My companions are few

My guide is reliable

And my mission is clear

I cannot be bought, comprised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice

Hesitate in the presence of adversity

Negotiate at the table of the enemy

Ponder at the pool of popularity

Or meander in the maze of mediocrity

I won't give up, or slow up

Until I stayed up, stored up, prayed up, payed up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ
Christ has qualified me to become a part of the fellowship of the unashamed
I am His and He is mine
By. Bob Moorehead

Whatever a woman sows, she reaps

This is a fundamental truth.  What you sow is exactly what you will reap.  NO doubt about it.  If you sow in hatred, you will reap in bitterness; if you sow in desperation, you will reap results of unfulfillment and dis-satisfaction; if you sow in envy, you will reap a life of emptiness; if you sow selfishly, you will reap a selfish attitude....etc.

Note that we are not always the victim of a result of negative sowing. Sometimes, we are the initiators of negativity; thereby causing something negative to be produced in the reaping harvest of someone else's life.

I know we immediately, and naturally, think of how someone else's choices / sowing has negatively affected our results / reaping, but don't be too quick to point fingers. Let's examine ourselves too... we too, are not perfect, we are just as much sinners as the person next to us.

On the other hand, if you sow in cheerfulness, you will reap happiness; if you sow selflessly, you will reap an abundance of blessing; if you sow in total submission to God, you will reap in prosperity from heaven; if you sow sincerely into your friendships, you will reap rich long-lasting relationships.....etc.

Ladies, be intentional in your sowing, as its reaping will definitely come your way. Make your seed GREAT!

Seed Builders:

• What areas of your life, can you start sowing with cheerfulness and gratitude?
• How often do you sow negatively? How can you change that?