Making Daily Appointments with God in 2016

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God desires to spend time with us. He wants us to live in His Presence. Many Christians are too busy for God – too busy with work obligations, family obligations, chores, errands, and entertainment. They are too busy to spend time with Him. Yet, time with the Father is so crucial to our spiritual well-being that throughout Scripture we are told to pray (communicate with Him), fast (draw closer to Him), and worship and fellowship both alone and with other believers (simply spend time with Him).

If you don’t make daily appointments with God, 2016 is a great year to start. Below is a simple How-to guide for spending more time in the Father’s presence.

– Make an appointment. Treat this appointment with respect and consistency. You aren’t just meeting with your Heavenly Father – You are meeting with the King of Kings. If the president wanted a meeting with you, you wouldn’t tell him you’re too busy to talk; instead, you’d rush to the meeting. When you make an appointment with the Creator of the Universe, keep it.

– Cancel and block out any distractions. You would never meet with a friend for coffee and then stare at your phone the entire time. Instead, you would be focused on your friend if you wanted the relationship to grow. If you want your relationship with God to grow, you need to focus on Him. I once heard Robert Morris illustrate just how important his time with the Father is. After one of Morris’ church members had given a very large donation, he requested a morning meeting with Pastor Morris. Robert explained that he was not going to meet with him because mornings was his daily appointment with God. Pastor Morris couldn’t be bought. Don’t let anything or anyone buy your time.

– Look forward to your time with Him. If you treat your appointments with God like a religious obligation, rather than a blessed, beautiful event, you’ll quickly burn out. It is an honor to sit in His Presence. If there is any part of you that dreads the thought of spending time with Him, pray that God would give you a longing and strong desire to spend time with Him. God CAN change the desires of your heart.

Making daily appointments with God will strengthen you spiritually. They will help you grow in faith. Your daily appointments are sources of joy and renewal. And remember that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Be blessed for 2016!

4 Beliefs You Need to Ditch if You Want to Be Happy

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Happiness experts all agree that it’s not what you have that makes you happy, but rather what you do and who you know. Despite evidence that things don’t make us happy, people still reach for stuff as if it might bring some joy to their lives. But the idea that stuff makes us happy isn’t the only belief that holds people back from happiness. There are a few other beliefs that keep people in a place of discontentment. Below are four beliefs that you need to ditch if you want to be happy.

The belief that you aren’t good enough. Low self-esteem and feelings of unworthiness bring unhappiness. In scripture, Satan is referred to as the “Accuser of the brethren.” He is a finger-pointer who attempts to bring shame and condemnation into the life of God’s children. If you want to be happy, you can’t live under condemnation. Instead, you must live in freedom, believing that the grace of God is sufficient for your weakness.

The belief that you aren’t loved. God loves you. You are loved. You are cherished by Him. You are not forgotten. We were created to be social creatures, and we are designed for relationships and love – so it is perfectly natural to yearn for love, approval, and acceptance. Thankfully, God loves, approves and accepts us.

The belief that your life needs to be perfect for you to be happy. Life will never be perfect. There will always be messes, bumps in the road, psychological fires to put out, and missteps. No one has a perfect life. If you wait for your life to be perfect before you choose happiness, then you’ll be waiting all your life. Choose to be happy even when life is a mess because perfection is unrealistic.

The belief that a bad past holds sway over your future. When people have a bad past, they are often fearful that their future has already been written, and that it won’t work out for their good. But scripture says the opposite: Romans 8:28 states that all things work together for the good to them that love God, and are called according to His purpose. Do you love God? Are you called to His purpose? Then things will work out for you, and your past has no sway over your future.

Corrie Ten Boom on Forgiveness

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In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom shares a true story of her experience in a church service in Munich, Germany. A former Nazi approached her to shake her hand after a church service. She spoke of the anger and resentment that boiled inside her as the man attempted to speak with her. She tried to smile and raise her hand to shake his, but she couldn’t. The unforgiveness wouldn’t allow it. But then she did something spiritual and noble, she prayed silently “Jesus, help me forgive this man. I cannot forgive him.”

She shook the man’s hand, and an incredible thing happened. What can only be described as a current passed from her to him, and her heart felt an overwhelming love and compassion for the man she thought impossible to forgive. She couldn’t forgive in her own strength, but could only do so with the help of God. She needed the Holy Spirit to come and help her forgive. I don’t think it’s possible to forgive people without Divine intervention.

Forgiveness is hard. We get stuck. We meditate on the offense. The anger continues to manifest in our behavior towards the person, and the unforgiveness lingers. But unforgiveness is like needle pricks of hatred – forgiveness, on the other hand, is a flaming sword of love. Forgiveness is powerful. It cuts through the hurt and pain, and it covers the memory.

Is There a Simple Way to Live a Holy Life?

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The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us. – C.S. Lewis

Is there a simple way to live a holy life? Is holiness something that simply comes to us when we accept the gift of salvation or is holiness something that we must pursue? Hebrews 12:14 makes it clear that holiness isn’t something that simply drops out of the sky. It isn’t something that comes to us because we confess that Yeshua is the Messiah.

Holiness comes when we pursue it. Holiness comes with work. Hebrews 12:14 tells us to pursue two things: peace and holiness. If it were something that was inherently within us, then there would be no need to pursue it.

As we pursue holiness, it’s important to understand what holiness is. The technical definition of holiness is total devotion to God. And in scripture, we learn that God Himself isn’t just Holy… but Holy, Holy, Holy. God is so holy, that His Holiness is repetitive. And so, logically, we become holy when we become like God.

If you want to be holy, live as Yeshua lived. Walk, speak, give, think, and love like Yeshua.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do- 1 Peter 1:15

God Doesn’t Show Favoritism – Acts 10:34

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The Heart of SantoriniVia Flickr

Peter didn’t want to go to a Gentile home. It wasn’t customary for a Jewish person to visit the home of a non-Jew. It wasn’t how that society worked – but God had a different plan for His church. His church wasn’t going to be a restrictive club that was unwelcoming towards people who looked a certain way. He wanted His Church to be a group of people from every nation… from all backgrounds and ethnicities.

God changed Peter’s heart, and Peter went to the house of Cornelius.

Peter was no longer bound by social boundaries or ethnic and racial parameters – God gave both Peter and Cornelius visions of His love for all. His desire is that all are saved – both Jew and Gentile.

God loves people. He died (and rose) for people. He doesn’t just love nice, friendly people who are hospitable and care about animals. Or people who volunteer and go to church. Or people who work with children or the elderly. God loves everybody – including the grouchy people who kick dogs and curse at others in traffic.

God expects impartiality from His followers – He doesn’t want us to treat people according to worldly standards, but by righteous standards. We must ignore the appearance, influence, wealth, status, ethnicity, race, personality or any other factors that we use to judge people by worldly standards. Like God, we are to look at the heart.

 

Sleep Paralysis is Spiritual – 3 Things You Should Know

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Via StockSnap – Sleep Paralysis is a Demonic Attack

Several years ago, I suffered from an episode of sleep paralysis. I hadn’t suffered from an episode of sleep paralysis since I was a child, and even then the episodes were not frequent, but instead only occurred twice. Both episodes left vivid memories. When I was 11 or so I suffered two attacks on the living room couch. The first time that I suffered sleep paralysis, I knew there was a supernatural undercurrent. I understood that it wasn’t just my mind playing tricks on me and my brain hallucinating, but instead, it was something deeper and spiritual that I didn’t understand.

The only way that I could articulate to my mother what was happening to me was to explain it as a ghost.

Several years ago, I suffered from my third episode of sleep paralysis. This time, I understood the spiritual components of this attack a little better. At the time of the attack, I was in a season of Divine Rain. My walk with the Lord was intense and the spiritual attack at this time made sense.

During this episode of sleep paralysis, I was, of course, sleeping in my bed when I woke up and realized what was happening. I understood that the sleep paralysis that had taunted me those two times on the living room couch had returned. I could both see and feel the evil that permeated the room and then the most amazing thing happened. I had an out-of-body experience.

If you’ve ever dealt with sleep paralysis or if you’re currently dealing with sleep paralysis, there are a few things that you need to know.

1. Sleep paralysis isn’t just physical – it’s spiritual. There are countless testimonies of people who have suffered these attacks and found release only through prayer. There is power in the Name of Jesus, and speaking or even thinking His Name causes the attack to cease.

2. When you’re under spiritual attack, you are either doing something right or doing something wrong. There is little middle ground here. If you find yourself under attack during a time where you are praying, fasting, and reading the Bible more, then press in even further. If you are attacked while you are living a life of sin and plagued by guilt, it’s time to repent and stop the torment.

3. All demons are subject to God. Satan is powerless to do anything against God. God is greater, higher, and the Creator. He rules over all. If you believe in Christ and you are filled with the Holy Spirit – the Holy Spirit in you is greater than any demon in the world. Take comfort in knowing that God is greater.

Praying the Hours: We Need Spiritual Discipline

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Acts 3:1 – One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer–at three in the afternoon.

When I first heard of praying the hours, I thought it sounded mystical – I assumed it was a spiritual practice associated with monastics or nuns. I was a little surprised to learn that praying the hours, also known as fixed-hour prayer is one of the oldest forms of spiritual disciplines, which roots back to Judaism.

Most people in the modern Protestant church are unfamiliar with the idea of praying the hours – or having a set, disciplined schedule of prayer. Yet praying the hours is a beautiful ancient practice seen in scripture.

King David perfectly understood the idea of praying the hours. In Psalm 119 (the Psalm of renewal) we learn that he prayed seven times a day.

Some might argue that by forcing yourself to pray each day (at appointed times) you are practicing vain religion – but I would counter that prayer at set times – even if it feels devoid of deep, emotional meaning is a way to become spiritually stronger.

Praying when you don’t feel like it isn’t a useless spiritual vanity. On the contrary, this is precisely when we need to pray – when we don’t feel like it.

Millions of people go to a gym each day, even when it’s tough, even when they’d rather stay home, even when their body is tired, and they would rather sleep longer. However, millions wake early for the gym because they understand that if they force themselves to go they will become healthier, slimmer, and stronger – praying the hours has the same effect.

Yeshua woke His disciples as night drew near. He forced them awake to pray. They were tired, exhausted even. However, Yeshua wasn’t going to wait for the disciples to feel motivated. He wasn’t going to wait until ‘inspiration’ struck and the disciples felt compelled to pray – He woke them to pray because the hour was nigh.

These are the last days.

The hour is nigh.

Let’s wake up and pray, even when we don’t want to.