LEGAL PRAYER!!

"Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me". Luke 18:5 (1-8). My friend, I know you are so frustrated about not getting answer to your prayer. "I've been there and done it". You feel like "your prayer letter to God has returned and unopened", right? Are you feeling like " is there anybody else up there you can speak to? I mean- God hasn't granted the request, but BUT He hasn't closed the door either! In Luke chapter 18, Jesus tells us a story about a widow's persistent prayer. Now let me tell you what prayer is not. Praying is not trying to manipulate God into giving you what you want. Rather, prayer is asserting earthly permission for heavenly interference. And that permission is granted based on our legal position and rights as a child of God. We should know the rights that God has granted to us through His Word. Notice, twice in this passage , we read that the widow bothered the Judge because of her "legal" rights. Her appealing to him is not because she wanted something but she had a "legal" standing to do so. Hey, I can relate to this persistence in a request. Just like my children asking for somethings incessantly or our dog eyeing our dinner tables leftovers. The Judge couldn't send her away because her persistence was backed up by her legal rights. Bro: if you are being held in bondage by an illegitimate force in your life, you have the legal rights to cry out to God. You can pray for deliverance by appealing to Him based on your covenantal rights. Then, prayer becomes a legal meeting when you and your God come together in accordance with the Word and covenantal agreement. It becomes an act of holding God accountable to what He hold Himself accountable to: HIS WORD! Buddy, get more out of your prayer life rather than sending Him an email or kneemail of your shopping list! Y'all hear me...Yeah..yeah...GOOOOOOD.

DAILY QUIET TIME!!!

"This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it". Psalm 118:24. My friend, do you understand the priority of having daily quiet time with your Lord? No other part of creation has the privilege of fellowship, dialogue, communion, and communication with the creator like you and I. This is why God created us. Do you know Jesus drew strength from His daily quite time with His father? Christianity is not a legal relationship. Five thousands "don'ts" will never make you one iota more like the Lord Jesus. It is Jesus Himself who makes you like Him. But we need to spend time with Him. If the dedicated musicians, Olympians and other health conscious people can dedicate their waking hours to practice, train, and walk- we Christians, by enabling grace of the Holy Spirit - can surely dedicate some time everyday to spend time with our Lord. As you focus on the Word of God and meditate, let it permeate you. This is what I do- "Just a suggestion". Ask seven question to the Scripture portion you are meditating. 1) Is there a command to obey? 2) Is there a new lesson to learn? 3) Is there a sin to avoid? 4) Is there a promise to claim? 5) Is there a new truth to carry? 6) Is there any area I need to repent? 7) Is there any steps I have to take to reconcile with man and GOD? James says " Be ye doers of the Word" right? If you are facing loneliness or pain as once again you pick up your burden, you can draw on the Lord's resources and be a living testimony of His all-sufficiency. If you are filled with thanksgiving and praise, you can tell others of Goodness. BRO: Remember: Your spiritual train is running on two rails. One is revelation and the other is obedience. If either rail stops, YOUR TRAIN STOPS!!! TADA!!!

MATURITY!!

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things". 1 Corinthians 13:11. My friend, why are you acting like a child- fighting for toys, she called me this and he said that. Stop it buddy!! Have you noticed the phrase "Put away"- childish things. The Greek for put away is KATARGEO means the things that ceased are to be superseded by a more complete life of adulthood so advanced than the childhood. When my daughter was in the nursery school, she came home one day and complained "Nancy Pinched me". Well, lovingly drilling her for three minutes she said "before that I kicked her". Now being a mature beautiful woman, she is not doing that anymore. Bro: you know what is maturity? Maturity is the ability and quality one possess, to accept the differences in other's opinions, views, personalities, characters, positions and status without being threatened in your own security. Maturity is the product of security man. God cannot use someone who is always in a fight. What causes quarrels? Immaturity. It is hard to use a immature person. Buddy- always open to learn and grow, and as you do you will be used more and more. This is my five cents worth advice after our conversation last night. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!! OKAY!!!

DOUBLE FOR THE TROUBLE!!

"verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have been plagued, and chastened every morning". Psalm 73:13-14. My friend, don't pretend that you are so pious and holy. Just like Asaph, "I been there and have done it". Evil and suffering..What's the point God? Why suffering? Katrina, Sandy, Ivan, loved ones passing, accident, lay offs, 9-11, special needs children born to good people, tornado, split in the church, flooding, "HUMM- let me stop it. The atheist says " that proves that God doesn't exist". Pantheist explains why evil is not ultimately evil. We Christians struggle with this question, "What's the point God"? Years ago, In my 6-7 years old kids Sunday School Class I asked them to write a letter to God. Three of them read like this: "Dear God, are you really invisible or is that just a trick?". "Dear God, did you mean for a giraffe to look like that or was that an accident?". Dear God, if only the children of God walked through the dry land in the red sea, what happened to the grown ups? Asaph says in this Psalm: Ungodly appear prosperous and ungodly appear popular, What's up God?(Verses 3-5). Finally his inner conflicts explodes in verses 13 and 14. Hey hey, God is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Why should you and I who are not eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent expects to figure out God's ways? Like in the case of Asaph, God wants us to resist expressing doubts, He wants us to return to God, Review the big picture because the curtain hasn't fallen yet, and Re-establish faith in God. BRO. Like in the story of Job, when everything is over: GOD WILL BLESS YOU WITH "DOUBLE FOR YOUR TROUBLE"!! HE IS THE PRESENT IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE. Y'ALL HEAR ME!!!

DELIVERANCE FROM FEAR!!

"I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto Him and were lightened: , and their faces were not ashamed". Psalms 34:4-5. Everyone has felt the cold, dark, foreboding presence of fear in our life at one time or another. When the alarm clock sounds and as the day begins, instead of jumping out of bed, have you ever wanted to pull the blanket over your head and hide or wished it was only 2:00 AM. The fears deep down in your work place, down sizing, and uncertain about a business deal? May be your marriage stretched out to a point of snapping? Your sons and daughters are drifted out of control and doing drugs? The fear of your daughter coming home pregnant? Waiting for a scan's result? Dreading to take a phone call because you are afraid that is from your doctor with bad reports? In this Psalm David admits the reality of fear in his life. My friend, when we try to live our lives in our strength, we will fear and will fail. And if we don't fail, we will fall short of God's purpose in our life. When we live in the flesh, three things are always true. 1) We will lack the power of the Spirit and we will suffer fatigue. 2) We will always lack the vision of the Spirit and suffer frustration. 3) We will always lack the sustaining ministry of the Spirit and what we feared will happen. But I have a good news for you buddy- "If you cry like David (V4-5) and submit to the Spirit of the Lord: All of a sudden you realize something dynamic is going on that you have never experienced before. IT'S NOT YOUR POWER, IT'S GOD"S POWER! Bro: I know you are going through tough time and is fearful. But our God is "SHAMMAH" (RIGHT THERE) GOD. CALL CALL CALL unto HIM, HE WILL ANSWER!! HE WILL..WILL..WILL..

SPEAK A WORD IN SEASON!

"The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak, a word in season ..." Isaiah 50:4. My friend, learn to listen! Why are you trying to frame up a rebuttal before you hear completely what they are trying to tell you? How many times has someone spoken to you, who was right in terms of what was being said, but the way it was said just set you off course? This is how many arguments are started, especially between parents and children and spouses. Hey, do you know communication has the power to start or end a war; to make or break a marriage; to close a million-dollar business deal or lose it to a competitor; to build or destroy a friendship; to create intimacy with God or build a impenetrable wall? You must develop the art of communication if you want to live in this world with any measure of success. COMMUNICATION IS A TWO WAY STREET BROTHER. It takes two people: one to speak and the other to listen, with both parties taking turns speaking and listening. Hey note the phrase in the scripture above- "SPEAK A WORD IN SEASON". Let me talk to you personally this morning, can I? If you are coming back home from playing the best game in your life and your wife has been taking care of your two children with flu, you'd better realize she ain't in the same season or mood as you are, get it? Choose your words carefully, otherwise, you are in big trouble. I have a word of advice for you- understand what season and time you are walking in to and be prepared to minister in the area of the need. IN EVERY CONTEXT. Don't be a Gomer Pyle? Y'ALL HEAR ME?

NOT ENOUGH TO MORE THAN ENOUGH!!

"...His disciples came to him came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; SEND THE MULTITUDE AWAY, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals...Jesus said "THEY NEED NOT DEPART; GIVE YE THEM TO EAT". Matthew 14:15-16. My friend, "YOU BETTER RECOGNIZE WHAT THE LORD IS ABOUT TO DO IN YOUR LIFE AND MINISTRY"! Disciples were about to make a wrong decision and going in to a wrong direction, weren't they? How about your life and your ministry now a days? Are you about to abort a mission you are called to accomplish? May be in your inventory there are only five loaves and two fishes. Hey, He stopped them and showed them how to be men - that they are about to make a wrong decision and send the multitude away, not realizing why the people were there in the first place. Jesus said "THEY NEED NOT DEPART". But Jesus, They said, "Lord we have the inventory, only five loaves and two fishes". Lord, What are these against so many? My friend, can you see that the predisposed mind set of the disciples were out of line with the Supernatural ability of Jesus? Jesus said " BRING THEM HITHER TO ME". Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and BRAKE, and gave the loaves to his disciples..". WOW, "IT WAS NOT ENOUGH, BUT NOW MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!". Have you realized more than 15000 people, young and old going home, in to the villages and towns with pieces of God's miracle in their belly testifying about it? My friend, don't take permanent decision of the basis of temporary circumstances. The Lord is with you and He will come through your life. NOT ENOUGH TO MORE THAN ENOUGH, YOU HEAR???

GIVE, YOU SHALL RECEIVE!!

"But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly". Matthew 6:1-4. Martin Luther said, "There are three conversion a person needs to experience: The conversion of the head, the conversion of the heart, the conversion of the pocket book". Looks like majority of the believers when they were baptized, they were holding their purse, wallet, and check book high above the water. They need to be baptized. Recently when I was preaching in an ethnic church I said, "When the offering plate was passing in front of you, you were squeezing the dollar bill so hard even George Washington was crying". My friend, over and over again, our Lord comes back to motive, and He addresses it here when He speaks of giving. When we give, when we pray, when we worship, or whatever we do, God is looking at our hearts. Motive is everything. When you give, realize that God is aware of it. It comes down to this: IF we REMEMBER, God will FORGET, If we FORGET, GOD will REMEMBER!! Did you get it? Hey Hey "Leave the bookkeeping to GOD". More than fifteen percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions. Why such an emphasis you may ask? Well, there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money. Bro: NOBODY EVER GOT BROKE BECAUSE OF THEIR GIVING TO THE LORD! You want the devour of your finances to be rebuked- GIVE TO THE LORD. Y'all hear me? By the way, my pastor did not tell me to post this. This is my experience and I am enjoying the faithfulness of GOD!!

JUST ASK!!!!

"Wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it". Proverbs: 8:11. My friend, do you know " a man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package". When we think we have it all together, God's wisdom does not seems to be very valuable to us. Riches will not drive us deeper into God. Success doesn't automatically prompt you to worship God. But when wisdom is applied to wealth, success, relationships, we can keep focused on Christ so that all the good things in our lives can bring Him glory. People buy self-help books by the millions that promise answers for a better, more successful "you"- how to love yourself more, control your destiny, make more money, look and feel better, live better! But according to 1 Corinthians 3:19: " For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God..". Hey, hey, I am not talking about just knowing the Bible backward and forward. As a matter of fact some of the most educated theologians can quote the Bible chapter and verse and recite the Greek and Hebrew meanings of the words. But they still lack the wisdom of God. Even dogs can be trained to become police dogs to detect the presence of drugs or criminals by smell, can't they? That doesn't mean they are wise! True wisdom is gaining God's perspective through His word and then applying that truth to life. Wisdom for life- divine insight into how to make choices- is within the reach of every believer. James chapter 1 verse 5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom , let him ask of God, that give to all men liberally..". SO JUST ASK!!! JUST DO IT BUDDY!!!