Book Review- Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by David Jeremiah

This is a new book written by the author. It starts out describing how the World is in such terrible times, and how the Bible predicted that this would happen. It talks about the time leading up to Jesus’s return on Earth. He describes as Christians, that we do not have to live by the principles of this world. He gives ten concepts or idea’s on how we can survive and prosper well in the current state of the World. The first concept of staying calm , gives us the scenerio that trials and tribulations are going to come, its how we “respond’ to them that makes the difference. He described that Jesus understands what pressure is, and at certain times in his life he felt distressed at situations that were going on around him. It describes in John 14:1-6 that he was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the father except through him. The author desribe taht Jesus was the “ultimate in comfort.” He states that Jesus had asked us to believe in a person, Himself, and to believe in a place, describing the mansions in heaven. The third thing Jesus asked us was to believe in a promise, a plan. The second principle is staying compassionate. He describe what the “essence and expression of compassion was, and how to live that lifestyle while here. The author was very thorough in describing how to exercise compassion and gave biblical examples that I was able to follow along in my Bible. The third concept of Staying constructive talks and showed examples of how edification and it not being about us, would transpire into what we pursued, not simply what we talked about. The fourth principle of staying challenged explained what the purpose of being diligent was all about. He went on to talk about Diligence in a way describing the priorities, possibilities and examples of what it was. The fifth principle described how it is important to stay connected to one another, and what the incentives would be if you did so. The sixth principle described how to stay centered on God, by setting our hearts and minds on Him. The seventh principle of staying confident in this crazy world, and again gave Biblical example to follow. The last few principles of staying consistent, staying committed, and staying convinced showed me the possibilites and the predicted outcome of those who followed God’s laws and embraced his love. This was a very good, well written, easy to understand book and I would recommend it to a new christian as well as a mature christian.

New Christian Bible Study Group

I have felt like I needed to start a bible study, for in this area, there are actually very few. Part of the group, I want to be online, for those that can’t get out, but would still be able to participate. I have been praying about this, and if this is truly something that God wants me to do, it will materialize. We have six members thus far. The first study will be on the Holy Spirit. Don’t ask me how that came about, it truly was not from me.
For those that might be interested in joining our studies, please go to this link and sign up. We have a message board and thus far, and I hope to use this as our communications for our online portion of the studies.

To join: http://www.meetup.com/va-christian-bible-study

God’s Grace

I had to write about God’s Grace and Mercy tonight, for this past weekend was really an eye opener about how much a split second can matter. You see, we decided to take the RV down to North Carolina for the weekend, and we rented a tow dolly to pull the jeep behind. We wanted to see how much pull the RV could handle. Although the weekend was cold and rainy, we stayed one night and decided to head back to VA early. We were traveling down the two lane highway when around a turn, a woman decided to travel in the left lane heading towards us head on! My husband, a very good driver, managed to swerve the Rv off the road onto a side road missing the Car. God’s Grace!

On the same trip, the jeep was strapped to the tow dolly by the front tires with a band that overlapped each tire, secured by a “teeth” mechanism that locked the device into place. Somehow, during our travels, the front left tire came undone, and not only was slipping off the dolly, but the right tire decided to join in the effects. Had we not stopped for breakfast to check on this, this vehicle would have slipped off the dolly onto the freeway, God only knows what would have happened. God’s Grace and Mercy, again, twenty minutes later.

I dont care what people say, after this weekend, I know that God’s Grace and Mercy is alive in well. Not only did we return to Va, but later that night as it was quiet, I realized that things could have turned out alot different than they had.

My daughter and I prayed for safety before our trip, and I know God heard our prayers, as we prayed in Faith that all would return safe. We did, again, only by God’s Grace!

Blessings and Peace to you all.

How Do I Properly Pray?

God requires us to have open communication with him in the form of prayer. Prayer is your way of talking to God. God requires openness and honesty from you when you pray.

If you abide in me, and MY words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.
John 15:7

All I have to do is Ask? Yes, but there are conditions that have to be met when praying.

1. Must ask in Jesus Name. ( John 14: 13-14)

2. Must abide in Christ. ( John 15:7)

3. Must ask in Faith. ( James 1:5)

4. Must be specific about what you are asking for. (Matthew 6:8)

5. Must ask according to his Will. (1 John 5:14)

6. Must be confident ( 1 John 5:14)

7. Expect a miracle (Ephesians 3:20)

8. Keep his Commandments (1 John 3:21)

9. You must do only those things pleasing in his sight. (1 John 3:21)

Most of those things that are required are simple, you know what you want when you ask for it. Knowing his Will and keeping commandments, are revealed to you through his Word.

Things Not to Ask for……

1. You have not, because ye ask not (James 4:2)….. You cant have what you don’t ask for, simple.

2. You ask with wrong Motives…. (James 4:2)

3. You waver with doubt and/or unbelief. (James 4:2)

4. You have unforgiveness in your own heart. (Mark 11:25)

Prayer is one of the most important aspects of walking with God, however, it is the easiest one mishandled. In order to be effective, you must establish a pattern or a schedule of consistant prayer times. We often use busyness as an excuse, I take every quiet opportunity to talk to the Father, and often it is through out the day. Once you understand the power that prayer has, you will never lack in your committment to pray. Trust me, obstacles and difficulties will come up, that is the plan of the enemy to keep you busy and distracted.

There are times when I don’t feel like Praying or Interceding for others. I pray anyways.. I often will even explain how I am feeling, and pray for strength to get the Will. We have to be honest with God, he knows that sometimes we are just not “feeling it.” I guarantee, if you press on and start Praising and Worshipping God, it will come to you. You will begin to feel Alive, and the closeness that you are looking for will be there.

We are all called to Intercede or pray on behalf of others. We are not required to pray for everyone, however, but we will, for those that have been put on your heart, and assigned to us for prayer. The Holy Spirit will guide you, and continue to pray for this person until the Holy Spirit releases us.

What is my Life’s Purpose?

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

” In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. ” Ephesians 1:11

Rick Warren described it best in his book, “The Purpose Driven Life”, that although we as humans often have a life-long soul searching of what our purpose in life is, we often struggle as to where to truly find the answer. The secular world is filled with self-help books on building the better you, discovering what makes you happy. Goal-setting… although these are great traits to building a better you, you will never find out what your purpose is this way.

The bible states, ” Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” It also says that through reading the Word, that you will find that “God’s wisdom, goes deep into the interior of his purposes. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest, what God determined as a way to bring out his best in us.”

You could be like me, the rightful owner of about 300 self-help psychology owning books, or you could do what God says, and read it in his Word. The answers are all right there. You just have to pick it up and read about it. I have learned a part of reading the Word, is the prayer beforehand. I always pray for revelation and for understanding of what he is going to present to me when I read. I ALWAYS get a word from Him! You as a reader are looking for that Rhema word. Rhema words are that underlining message that is written directly to you, that you need to hear, during the present condition or time in your life. God’s Word is a Living resource, it comes alive across the pages of the Book. Expect a message or something to come directly to you… I have learned that through “talking” with God, I have a wonderful friendship and love for him. I also want to mention that before I read his word, I pray for forgiveness or repent on anything sinful that I have done, and I also pray for revelation of a sin that I may not be aware that I have committed. Sin seperates God from us, I dont want to take any chances on not hearing from Him during this critical time.

For those like me, that are just starting to dive deep into the Word. I have been told that it is much easier to start reading the New Testament first. I have chosen to start in Luke and John, for the overall message I get from learning about Jesus is a solid foundation.

I hope this helps.