A Lot of Kneeling Will keep you in Good Standing

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My book, “Sings of Hope: Ways to survive in an Unfriendly World,” is an ideal Christmas present for those on your list who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.  

There is a special Christmas sale going on right now. In the stores the book is $19.99, but is you order from this site, it is only $15.99. The shipping is cut in half as well. You will need to order by December 17th to make sure you get the book in time.

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Today’s excerpt is Chapter 14. Prayer is one of the keys to survival in a troubled world. Read how it can help you through the storms and trials.

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Chapter 14

 

A Lot of Kneeling Will Keep You in Good Standing

                                                     

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door

will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives;

he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 7:7–8

 

Have you ever heard someone say, “I will pray for you,” and then never even spend one second doing so? This is a phrase that is used over and over again that too often doesn’t involve much follow through.

In my Bible study group, we have prayer requests at the end. I asked for prayer for a good report at an upcoming doctor’s appointment, and a friend asked for prayer about his friend who was going through a crisis. My prayer was answered when the doctor told me I did not have leukemia. But I never heard anyone tell me they had prayed for me. I had to assume they did.

As for my friend who also asked for prayer, I did pray for his friend. And when I saw him again, I let him know I had prayed. He expressed great comfort in knowing that, and he told me the story of how his friend made it through his crisis. He thanked me for praying for his friend.

Two different situations in one group, two different outcomes. One person didn’t know if the group of men had prayed for him or not. The other person knew that someone had prayed for his friend and he was grateful.

Two opportunities for people to pray and let someone know they cared enough to pray for them, but many did not follow through.

I am not telling you this so you think I am better than another Christian brother. It is an example to show you that letting someone know you care does wonders for the other person. Knowing there is someone praying for you is a tremendous encouragement.

Every time I hear from fellow Christians about something wonderful that has happened to them, their explanation is that they had prayed. This has happened so many times that there must be something to it, don’t you think? It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see that if this happens so often, you just may want to try it!

I have had many experiences like this myself. I told you in my introduction about my desperation prayer to God onMarch 31, 2001. I have had other experiences that are on the same level. There were times during my younger years when I was a little worried about how I was going to pay the bills at the end of the month. I’d receive a check in the mail or got some money I wasn’t expecting.

Just the other day, I was completely out of cash when I got a call from a car dealer to help them move cars from their lot to the local fairgrounds for a weekend sale they were having. They paid me at the end of my time there. The day I ran out of cash a short-term job showed up for me. A coincidence? Of course not!

The real exciting answered prayer was when I prayed for God to use me for His purpose. It led to the writing of this book.

Prayer can change your life too. Prayer is powerful. God is close. God wants to listen to your prayer no matter how unimportant it may seem in the larger scheme of things. He loves to talk to you! Steady prayer is not only a way to inner peace; it will help you through many trials.

There are ways to have a productive prayer life:

  1. Thank God for who He is. It is God you are praying to—not some golden calf. Acknowledge Him, and thank Him for answered prayer.
  2. Be realistic. Don’t just go through the prayer time and say, “Well I did my prayers today. I guess I can go on.” Be earnest in your prayers to God. Be genuine in your requests to Him. Don’t just recite a prayer. Cause some blood, sweat and tears to come to you, and really talk to God in a way that He knows you mean it.
  3. Ask for forgiveness. You need to have a repentant mind. Always ask for forgiveness of your sins. It is good to do this in the first part of your prayer when you are also praising God for His love for you.
  4. Be unceasing. Continue to pray for a need, even if it isn’t answered right away. God has His own timing. He doesn’t always answer a prayer the first time. Remember that time means nothing to God. A few hours here, a few years there. God wants us to be patient and wait for His timing.
  5. Expect an answer. You must trust that God will answer. This may be the most important factor. You can pray all you want, but if you are not sure He will answer, He may not.

Start praying today and every day to God, and you will be amazed how you are able to cope with your daily life—no matter how tough it gets. God will help you know the purpose that He has for you.       

 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything

according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—

whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

1 John 5:14–15 (emphasis mine)

 

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,

and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Mark 11:24–25 (emphasis mine)

 

Further Adventures

  1. Ask people from your church how God answered prayer for them. Have them share how it changed their lives. Write each testimony down. Keep them in a safe place. Look at those testimonies any time you doubt that God will answer your prayers. What I have learned is that sometimes God is saying no to your prayer for now. He has His own timing, and He may be waiting for the right time for you.
  2. Read more in the Bible about prayer. There are many more passages in the Bible besides the ones I have suggested. I also recommend that you acquire a book that is full of Bible promises. This type of book lists verses that pertain to any subject, like prayer. They are great for speeding up your search.

One example that I have used through the years is The Bible Promise Book from Barbour Publishing. The copy my daughter DG gave me many years ago has a 1985 copyright date and Barbour now has several different editions for teens, graduates, nurses, men, etc. I have used my copy many times to help me when I need reassurance.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how turning to God in prayer gives you a peaceful mind, and a grateful heart?

A Day Hemmed in Prayer Keeps Your Day From Coming Unraveled

I am very pleased with the amount of daily hits I have been getting here. There are now over 900 a day. Thank you for dropping by each day to read. I would also like you to sign-up for the RSS feed. It raises the ranking on the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after title and sign-up, if you haven’t already.

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Just a reminder about ordering my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” You will need to order it by December 17th to make sure it gets to you in time for Christmas. This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, or hopelessness.

There is s special sale going on for now until Christmas. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab above to take a look at it.

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Below is anothe exceprt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive an an Unfriendly World.” We spend to many hours in a day fight through the muck and mire of life. We need to know we have someone to go to through prayer, who will take us by the hand and lead us out of the pits of dispair.

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A Day Hemmed in Prayer Keeps Your Day from Coming Unraveled

 

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

 

Ephesians 6:18

 

A survey in which 47,000 people participated on the comcast.com website revealed the following reasons for divorce:

Money 26%

Growing apart 22%

Easy way out after the “honeymoon is over” 22%

Personality conflicts 16%

Infidelity 15%

Cultural differences 1%

Religion 0%

 

These results are very interesting. The root of all evil, which some say is money, is the number one reason for divorce. This is alarming because so many people feel that money can buy happiness. If the poll is correct, then money does nothing to buy happiness. In this instance, it “buys” discontent with a marriage partner.

We look in the wrong places for happiness. Instead, all we have to do is look around us—in our own homes. Happiness comes in many forms. You see your children growing. You have a home for them to live in. You have friends to help you be happy. Why would you let money destroy everything you already have? You even have God who lives within you.

Think of the little things you have that are more important than money. Think small. It’s often the little pleasures in life—not the big things like lavish parties or cruises or exotic vacations—that bring happiness. Having all your family getting together for a holiday can be a source of happiness. Think about each member of your family and what each means to you. Money can’t buy that feeling.

If everything above makes sense to you then you shouldn’t use money as an excuse in your marriage. Time could be tough for your family because of the lack of money, but don’t make the family be torn further apart by having a fragmented home.

Study the rest of the poll to see where you may fit in as far as where you are hurting. Then concentrate on ways to erase that problem from your memory banks. Any of the excuses have a way to be turned around and made into a positive.

Living for God eliminates all of the excuses.

Each of us has to realize that we are not perfect, and that our spouses aren’t either. Don’t expect a spouse to be the dream person you pictured when you were in high school. Accept them for what they are, and realize they are not the enemy. They love you, and they want you to love them.

The word hurting describes what happens when we say awful things to our spouses. We often say things that cut deeply into their hearts. Remember to use words that heal, not hurt. I have a prayer in my daily devotions that simply says, “Help me to say nice things that do not hurt.”

Write your own hurts in the sand and your blessings in stone. (Another great bumper sticker!)You will be going in the right direction if you can do this.

To me, the most striking result of the survey is that no one out of 47,000 people listed religion as the reason for divorce. That is amazing. Perhaps it is because people who have religion/Christ in their lives seem to handle differences in people much better. I think a lot of it is how they stay close to God and turn their troubles over to Him.

As the bumper sticker says, using prayer to keep your life intact is the most important thing to do. Pray without ceasing, and God will be there for you.

 

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

 

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.

Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

John 16:24

 

Further Adventures

“Survey says …” Have you ever watched Family Feud? The family gets together and tries to come up with a good answer to the survey question. What a great idea for a marriage! Whenever you feel hurt or left out by your spouse, get together and try to come up with a good answer.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how we always seek perfection when we should concentrate on progress instead?


 

Don’t Put a Question Mark Where God Put a Period

Just a reminder that today is the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I was two yesr old. Thank a soldier for the sacrifices they go through to keep our freedoms.

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I am very pleased with the amount of daily hits I have been getting here. I now get over 900 a day. Thank you for dropping by each day to read. I would also like you to sign-up for the RSS feed. It raises the ranking on the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after title and sign-up, if you haven’t already.

__________________________________________________________

Just a reminder about ordering my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” You will need to order it by December 17th to make sure it gets to you in time for Christmas. This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, or hopelessness.

There is s special sale going on for now until Christmas. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab above to take a look at it.

___________________________________________________________

I have another excerpt from my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This chapter talks about how we spend so much of our lives searching for love and comfort. All we need to remember is that we are never alone. We are never forsaken, and we are never unloved.

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Chapter 11

 

Don’t Put a Question Mark Where God Put a Period

 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us

from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38–39

 

I wrote a letter to my kids and sent it to them by e-mail. I wanted to talk to them about acceptance. This is something I had trouble with for many years. I never knew if God really loved me.

 

May 12, 2005

Guys (and gals):

I have been thinking again (and I know that is dangerous!), but I want to share some thoughts with the most important people in my life.

            As you can agree, I have spent much of my life seeking love and acceptance. It had been a constant struggle for me to feel like I am a person of self-worth. I always rode a roller coaster. I would do great for a while, and then I would be in serious trouble with deep depression.

I had an incident last week, and it was the worst timing. It was on our wedding anniversary. I was out of control. I couldn’t stop crying. It took a heavy toll onCharlotte, but she was beside me the whole time, letting me know she was there for me.

Why did I allow myself to feel unwanted, and unloved?????

I knew I was a Christian, but I didn’t know I was ACCEPTED by God because of my past sins. It is one thing to ask for forgiveness, but another to feel that God will accept you for some of the things you have done in the past. I knew He loved me, but did He accept me?

            Let me give you guys an illustration:

            I love you very much, but have you always known I accepted you? I know you are sure that I love you, but acceptance could be another thing. It would be easy for me as a father to wish that each of you had become a lawyer, or a doctor, and that those professions would let me accept you more.

RUBBISH!!! I accept you as you are. I accept what you have done with your lives, and how your lives have turned out. It means unconditional love—ANDunconditional acceptance!!!

            That is exactly what I was struggling with!!! I knew God loved me, but did He accept me? I fell down every time I did just a little sin. I decided that I am not worthy of His love or acceptance.

            The Bible has helped me a great deal with this. Greg and I have been hearing wonderful sermons on acceptance and love from God at Morning Star Community Church. I am also going to a Bible study on Monday nights, plus I am doing a great deal of reading. What is happening is that this 66-year-old dad of yours has finally come out of his cocoon, and is becoming a butterfly. It was a struggle, but I see many more good days than bad days, and it is getting better as I read God’s Word. I needed to feel righteous in God’s eyes, and I felt I was failing at that.

            Let me give you another illustration I read in a book: 1

            A man was doing a seminar with a group of men and he started his seminar with these questions:

“How may of you are as righteous in the sight of God as I am?” Every hand was raised.

“How many of you are as righteous as Billy Graham?” About half of the group raised their hands.

“How about the Apostle Paul?” About 10% raised their hands. 

He then asked the final tough question: “How many of you feel you are as righteous as Jesus Christ?” Only three hands went up in the whole place!!!

            Now the question could be how could those three people raise their hands? No one could be as righteous as Jesus!

            He blew them away by saying, “If you are a true Christian, then you are as righteous as Jesus.”

He just had to read one passage from the Bible to clarify what he meant: “For if, by the trespass of one man [Adam], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of THEGIFTOF RIGHTEOUSNESS reign in life through one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans5:17(emphasis mine)

Righteousness is a gift. WE DO NOT HAVE TO EARN IT!!!

            What that is telling me is that if I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I am accepted, and I am as righteous as He is as long as I stay in His love.

            A word in the Bible is “justified.” It comes up a lot in the New Testament. In Greek, it means “totally righteous.” Jesus used it often to say, “You are totally justified to be in theKingdomofGodby believing in me.”

            It is that simple!!

            We are loved! We are accepted just as we are!!! We are righteous, because Jesus is righteous!!!

I feed on these thoughts daily now. I want you to know that you are loved! You are accepted just as you are, and you are righteous because of your commitment to the Lord!!!

Love,

                                                                                                            Dad

 

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken.

Isaiah 54:10

 

Further Adventures

Parents, think about your own children. How do they perceive you as parents? Do they accept you for who you are, and love you unconditionally? Perhaps they don’t see you that way. What could you do to change that outlook? A Bible-based home with Christian values can make a big change in your whole family. It is up to you to take the first step.

Young people, do your parents accept you? If they do not, what do you think is happening? What steps could you take to turn that feeling around? Do you have peace in your own heart that Jesus accepts you? If not, seek Him right now. Ask Him to forgive you for any past sins you may have committed, and then you know you are accepted by your heavenly Father if not by your earthly father.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that when your newly born child first holds your finger in their little fist, you are hooked for life?