Category: Addictions

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Take Matters Into Your Own hands; Pray

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I have another chapter excerpt from my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

This chapter  tells us there is a place to go when we are desperate. God is always listening.

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Chapter 24

 

Take Matters into Your Own Hands; Pray

 

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:22

 

Ever feel so desperate you thought there was no place to go for help? Ever felt like giving up?

I have.

That is when I know I need to get a grip, take matters into my own hands—so to speak—and pray to God for help.

Many people in the Bible went through trials just like you and I do. They were desperate and didn’t think they had anyplace to turn either. They were ready to give up.

David is probably the most famous example of someone who let things get so far out of hand that he had weeds all through his garden of life. He became so desperate that he ended up living in a cave for fear of his life.

He had lost all of the friends he had except for Jonathan. He banded together a new bunch of “friends,” who, like him, were misfits. He finally cried out to God from the cave, asking God to show him the way. And God not only helped him get out of the cave, He also helped him become the king of the land he had been banished from. All because he prayed.

Abraham thought that all was lost as far as having a child. He was getting very old, and his wife Sarah was also very old. They were about to give up. They thought there was no hope of having a child. Abraham asked God what to do and God promised him a child. Abraham and Sarah had a son when Abraham was 99. All because they prayed.

Paul could have easily given up. He was shipwrecked, beaten many times, put in prison several times and endured fear for his life at all times. He could have walked away from his mission, but he stayed strong, and led many people to Jesus. All because he prayed.

There are many other examples where a “last minute” prayer saved a life. There is Daniel in the lions’ den. The Israelites had nowhere go, so Moses talked to God about it and He parted theRed Seato provide an escape. Elijah was on the run and God provided ravens that brought him food.

Talk about last-minute desperation. How about having someone die and you think all is lost? You’re getting ready to bury your loved one? Hold on! Not so fast!

In each of the following miracles, prayer preceded them:

Elijah raised a boy from the dead.

Elisha also raised a boy from the dead.

Even after Elisha was dead, his bones raised a man from the dead.

Jesus raised a boy from the dead.

Jesus raised a girl from the dead.

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

Peter raised a woman from the dead.

Paul raised a man from the dead.

God is here today, tomorrow, and forever. He is the same God who stopped Abraham from killing his son; the same God who destroyedSodomandGomorrah; the same God who destroyed the Pharaoh’s army.

Our God, who can show strong force, is the same God who is there for us to soothe our desperate hearts. He is the same God who can be our place refuge, the same God who is there when we feel like giving up. The only step we need to take is to pray. He wants to hear from us and promises to help us in our darkest moments.

 

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts

and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16–17

 

Further Adventures

It’s time for a Bible study. (I just can’t take my teacher’s hat off forever, you know!) Look in the Bible for where prayer was answered. Your concordance should have that information for you. You don’t have to look up every situation. (I am an easy teacher.) But try to look up four or five.

See what God does after a prayer. Sometimes the prayer isn’t answered the way the person wanted. God knows each of us. He knows what we need, and it isn’t necessarily what we want.

See if God’s answer was the best for the person after all. I already know. I read the book.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that we pray for everything under the sun, but when it gets dark, we hide?

 

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You Need to Keep God’s Number on Speed Dial

 Please sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. It really helps in the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after the title. Thank you.

________________________________________________________

I have another excerpt from my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This books reaches out to those who may be suffering from, Anxiety fear, depression addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, or the many other usual suspects.

This chapter talks to us about needing to pray every day many times during that day. We need God’s number on speed dial.

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Chapter 23

 

You Need to Keep God’s Number on Speed Dial

 

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great

and unsearchable things you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3

 

Does it feel like the walls are closing in? Do you look out the window and see darkness in the middle of the day? Are all your good times turning into bad times? Do you look for help, but find none?

Join a few million of your closest friends in the world who are in the same boat as you. And the bad news is: The boat is overloaded and sinking.

I have been there, my friend, when none of the doors I’ve knocked on would open. You feel you’re surrounded like General Custer at the Little Bighorn and have no ammo left. I have been at the place when I didn’t think I would find a way out of the mire and muck.

What can we do when the all the world is on our shoulders and the weight is crushing us? Why isn’t there a place to go for help? Why isn’t there a website that advertises, “Come here with all your troubles, and we guarantee that you will leave here with all your worries taken care of”?

There isn’t such a place, so the issue of where to turn at a time like this remains.

There is a place to go for help! There is a place to be rescued! There is a place where we can find peace! There is a place where we can leave our worries and you not have to have them around to bother us.

That place is where God is—in heaven. He has a huge answering system that puts cell phone companies to shame. He can answer all His calls at once. There is not a phone company in the world that can do that.

He accepts collect calls 24/7. You say, “Will you accept my call and the way I am?” He says, “Of course. I made you in My image, and you are My child.”

It’s a free service. No fees for long-distance. No fees for minutes used. No hidden fees that you have to repay. Just an open line where you can talk as long as you want. You can expect a good listener and someone who loves you very much on the other end.

You’ve made phone calls to companies seeking help, only to be sent through a mechanized system that has you pushing numbers in hope of talking to someone who breathes and has a brain. Then when you get to them, they don’t understand your problem or they brush you off like lint from a coat, saying they can’t help you. They ask you to send them a detailed letter about your problem and before they can get back to you with an answer.

By this time, you’re steaming and just give up. You don’t want to go through the hassle, and the bad guys win.

That doesn’t happen with God’s speed dial. He is right there in an instant, listening to your needs. You can talk to Him knowing He cares and wants to help you with your problems. You can talk to Him as if He were sitting right next to you, not like an operator thousands of miles away who doesn’t understand your problem or care about your needs.

I once thought that God didn’t have time to listen to my “little” prayers. I’ve had prayers like: “God, I’ve lost my cell phone; would You help me find it?” I’ve also prayed; “God, my car just died; I think the battery is dead, and I need someone to help me.” I’ve even said this prayer: “Lord, I fear I’ve lost my wife’s bag with all of her personal belongings in it. Please help us find it somehow.”

I’ve had all of these things happen. In every situation, God sent instant help. Right after I had prayed about my cell phone, I got a call from the local pizza place to let me know they had found it. Right after I prayed about my car dying, a man came up to my car and asked if I need help. He had jumper cables.

The last one was a tough one. I had put the bag withCharlotte’s makeup, hair products and skin care products in it on top of the car because it had rained earlier. The ground was too wet for me to put the bag there. After I closed the back of the SUV, I drove off. The bag fell off somewhere on our way home from a trip to the Coast.

We live seventy miles inland, and I didn’t notice I had lost the bag until we got home. I had to tellCharlottewhat had happened, and she not only was very angry, she broke down crying. (I know what you are saying guys: “It is only makeup!” But this caution, gentlemen: Never lose your wife’s makeup. You may not survive the aftermath!)

I lost the bag on a Monday. I prayed that night for God’s help. This would really need a miracle. It could have been anywhere along seventy miles of road.

Later that week, I got a call from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to let me know someone had found the bag and turned it in. It wasCharlotte’s bag and everything was in it. I had it back in her hands in a couple of days. Isn’t God awesome?

What are the chances of someone finding that bag and deciding to turn it in instead of keeping it? And of the Sheriff’s Department being able to locate us? The only thing in the bag with any identification on it was a prescription bottle withCharlotte’s name on it.

God takes care of the big worries and the little ones too. He doesn’t look at each one and say, “Boy, this one is pretty petty: I’ll just forget that one.”

He may not answer all our prayers the way we want, but even an unanswered prayer may be an answer to your prayer. Sometimes we pray for something God knows isn’t right for us. He knows every hair on our heads, and that means He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, and what is best for us. So if God is silent, we need to stop and think about what we prayed for and go back to Him. We need to ask if this is what He wants for us instead of saying this is what we want.

So if the dark side has been knocking on our door, if “the good life” is only a song in our mind, if we have been zigging when we should have been zagging, we need to call on God. He has humungous shoulders for us to lean on. He has big strong arms to hug us and hold us. He has an understanding that no other man can comprehend. He accepts calls in the wee hours of the morning. He accepts them when we are in a darkened alleyway. He listens when we are out in the middle of a lake. He can hear us when we are inside a cave. Cell phones can’t do that.

We can turn to God with ourSOSsignal for help. We can give Him all our hurts, failures, illnesses, divorce, addictions, immoral thoughts, and have Him throw them into the sea, never to be seen again. He wants us to have a long talking relationship with Him through our constant calling on Him.

And we may hear Him calling us, too. He has a way of ringing in our ears, with ideas about things He wants us to do. Let’s not hang up on Him. These are wonderful close encounters with Him. He doesn’t speak to us every day. When He spoke to me, it changed my life forever.

Give God a chance. Let Him walk with you through life. Give Him a call to help you in your time of need. After all it is toll-free, so it doesn’t take a toll on your life.

 

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,

who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:6

 

Further Adventures

Try spending a few minutes each day just sitting and talking to God. It is a good habit to get into. Sometimes it is good to just listen. Look at the word listen. Did you know that you can spell the word silent with the same letters? Listen and be silent before your God, and wonderful things will happen.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that prayer can move mountains, divide a sea, and save men about to be eaten by lions, but most people don’t believe in prayer?

 

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If God Would Just Listen to Me

A new year. A new month. A new week. A new day. It is time to refresh 0ur thinking, and work on things we feel we can do better.

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I want to thank all of you who stop by each day. I hope you find some comfort and thoughts that may help your day.

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I have another excerpt from my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” People often get very selfish and try to tell God what they want instead of asking Him. We need to realize that God has the final say in everything. We should pray with a humble heart. We should also remember: Never, ever, give up!

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Chapter 22

 

When Praying, Don’t Give God Instructions;

Just Report to Work

 

“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. Then you will pray to me,

and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me

with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:11–14

 

I could do well—if God would just listen to me! I would ask that peanut butter not be fattening; that I would never be overweight; that I had a beautiful house right onWaikikiBeachinHawaii. And while you are at it, God, could You help me to always catch the biggest fish when I go fishing?

Pretty silly, huh? People do get that selfish. They always say “give me.” They pray for a promotion, a new car, one more drink before they die, a great life as a beach bum—and the list goes on.

We would love to live the life of a beach bum, but like sand castles on the beach, dreams get washed away because of illness, divorce, death of a spouse, or bankruptcy.

There are no absolutes on this earth. God did not promise us a rose garden. He didn’t even promise us a garden.

What if we simply ask God to use us for His glory? A very short prayer—and God will be smiling when He hears it. You never know what God might have for you to do. You never know if He wants you to lead thousands of people out into the desert. He may want you to attack a giant with a slingshot. He may want you to lead many people to Christ.

He did that with Moses, David and Paul. They were very ordinary people like you and me, but God made them extraordinary people by having them report for duty. They didn’t plan to be the people they turned out to be, but God wanted each of them to fulfill a specific purpose and they responded.

What do you think God wants you to do? Have you ever thought God wanted you to paint like Picasso? Has God wanted you to administer to a school in the jungle, but you thought it was just a dream you kept having? How about becoming an evangelist traveling the world and leading many people to Christ?

Maybe these thoughts seem too far away for you to reach. You should never think that. And God might have completely different—and maybe what you consider “smaller”—plans for you, but He still has a plan for you. Every task has an equal place in God’s view. He planned yours before you were even born. It may be that you are to be a choir member at your church. It could be that you help out at the soup kitchen or usher at your church.

That is what I am doing right now. I am an usher at my church. At first I thought it would be rather dull. You walk people down the aisle and show them to an available seat. Boring! But I have found that being an usher can be a wonderful experience. On more than one occasion someone has tugged on my sleeve when I was passing the offering plate and asked for some help. They wanted someone to pray with them.

I alert what I call “the God squad,” and they have a person waiting to talk to and pray with that person at the end of the service. Each time the person has accepted Christ right on the spot. Pretty cool, huh? I am not just an usher—God is using me as an ambassador for Him.

I spent many years after I retired wondering what God wanted me to do. I was searching behind the wrong doors. It wasn’t behind door number 1 or door number 2; it was behind door number 3! Door number 3 was God telling me, “You can write. You have a talent to tell people about Me.”

As I sat down and began to write, I felt something I had never felt before. It felt as if God were directing my hands to write what He wanted to say. I am sure other Christian writers have had the same feeling.

What happened was that I had finally stopped searching and started praying. I asked God to show me what He wanted me to do for Him. I didn’t tell God what I wanted. I asked Him to show me what He wanted.

How about you? Do you tell God what you need and want, or do you ask Him to show you His plan for your life? You will be amazed what will happen if you are patient. God doesn’t always answer prayer by5 p.m.on the day you pray. He already knows what He wants for you, and He may be preparing you for that.

I was once writing a book about how to be a salesman in a tough world. I look back at my work on that book, and it was horrible! A publisher would be laughing me right out that number 3 door. But God let me work on that horrible book to prepare me for this book He really wanted me to write. It just wasn’t what I thought He wanted me to write. So here I am rambling away, happy as a clam!

Don’t spend your time asking God, for “goodies.” Spend time telling God that you are willing to do whatever He wants you to do. When He does open that door for you, enjoy the ride. You will never have to look back, and you will be serving God in a way that is pleasing to Him.

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all

without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5

 

Further Adventures

Moses went to the mountain and asked God for guidance. God loved Moses for coming to see Him and obey Him. What about you? Do you pray for a new car, or do you go to the mountain and seek what God really wants you to do instead of what you want from God? You will be amazed how many things God will provide for you if you follow His instructions for your life. It may not be that new car, but you will feel that you have really accomplished something that was meaningful and important.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that when we think we can, we do; but when we think we can’t, we fail?