Modern life?!

" Christians have been misled by a generation of soft preachers. Such men never mention words like conviction, commitment, and studying of the truth. But a committed Christian will show a strong desire for the cause of truth and will live with a set of spiritual convictions taken from the Bible. They will be the toughest to move in their stand for Christ." #Tozer 

Let us as a nation once again desire the things of God.   #revival 

Time is short

To the occupations of the world. It is right for Christians to be diligent in business. I often wonder how unconverted souls can be so busy; how, when you are bustling along, filling up all your time with worldly things, it never occurs to you that there will be none of this in eternity. How can I be so busy for my body, when my poor soul is unprovided for? But those in Christ may well be diligent. (1.) They have good conscience; that oils the wheels. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." A light heart makes easy work. (2.) They love to honor their Lord. They would not have it said that a believer in Jesus was an idler or a sluggard; the love of Jesus constrains them to all that is lovely. And yet a believer should buy as though he possessed not;" for " the time is short." Oh! believers, ye cannot be misers; for you are but stewards. All that you possess here is your Lord's; and the day is at hand when he will transfer you to take care of another property in a brighter land. You are but servants. It would not do if you were to set your hearts on the things of this lower room; for in a few days the Master is to call you to serve in his own dear presence. Dear believers, be ready to leave your loom for the golden harp, at a minute's warning; be ready to leave your desk for the throne of Jesus; your pen for the palm of victory; be ready to leave the market below, for the street of the new Jerusalem, where the redeemed shall walk. If you were in a sinking ship, you would not cling hard to bags of money; you would sit loose to all, and be ready to swim. This world is like a sinking ship, and those who grasp at its possessions will sink with it. Oh !" buy as though you possessed not;" for "the time is short."

Robert Murry M'cheyne

Intercession

What does it mean to intercede on the behalf of another?

Intercession is prayer that pleads with God for your needs and the needs of others. But it is also much more than that. Intercession involves taking hold of God's will and refusing to let go until His will comes to pass.

the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Christ Is Our High Priest

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 4:12-16

Intercession = Praying for Other People

Intercession, from the Latin word intercedare, means to make a plea on behalf of another. In a religious context, intercession is petitionary prayer (i.e. prayer that asks for something) on behalf of a fellow believer. Nearly all followers of the Christian religion practice intercession.

Christians are interceding whenever they pray for a friend who is worried about an upcoming exam, pray for their pastor to serve the congregation well, their president to lead the country well, their mother to be kept safe on her journey, or their ill aunt to recover quickly from surgery.

Christians of all denominations not only pray for one another, but often ask one another for this kind of prayer when facing a difficult situation.

What Is Intercessory Prayer?

United Pursuit - Hidden

United Pursuit - Never Going Back

Never ruffled

The post below is from yesterday's God calling. Enjoy! 

Even were I never to speak to you, you would be well rewarded for the setting apart this time, if you only sat still and longed for Me, if you just drew hungering breaths for Me, as you do for the fresh pure air of the open.

Be still, be calm. Wait before Me. Learn of Me, patience, humility, peace. When will you be absolutely unruffled whatever happens? You are slow to learn your lesson. In the rush and work and worry, the very seeking a silence must help.

In bustle so little is accomplished. You must learn to take the calm with you in the most hurried days.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is 

stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee." Isaiah 26:3

 

Here in the presence

When was the last time we as the people of god just stood still in his presence?  This day the day after valentines day I sit here at my kitchen table, when I should be at work but am home instead due to dangerous road conditions, pondering on the presence of the most high god.  Sitting here watching the birds eat from the snowy ground and from the feeders I constructed of scrap wood, I am reminded that no matter what we've gone through, no matter where we have been, the almighty wants to fill us with his presence.

If we will only be still and let him.  This day after valentines day I invite you to take some time to just be still in his presence.  Let the great i am see and hear the cries of your heart.

reference psalm 46, Matthew 7 and Matthew 6 :5-14

Rend Collective - Boldly I approach your throne

Vertical Church Band - It's Who You Are

"He calls us to open our hearts, to think and lift them heavenwards in real desire and prayer."
                    - Andrew Murry from "Thy will be done"

Rest In The One

The text below is an excerpt from a book by Andrew Murray entitled Thy will be done.  While reading it a verse from Hebrews came to mind  "so let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and will find grace to help us when we need it most." 

I invite you today, this moment to quiet yourself, lean into our heavenly father.  Tell him your deepest need, and rest in his arms. 

  (read hebrews 4: 14-16, matthew 7, matthew 6: 5-14)

One thought more—there is the will of God's Eternal Purpose. Our view of God's will in His providence, His precepts, His Promises, is often The believer, who through these longs to enter fully into all the will of God, will be led on into a wider and a deeper insight into the glory of its counsels. He will learn something of that Great Purpose which filled the heart of God from Eternity, which reveals nothing less than the triumph of God's Redeeming Love in a world of sin. As he is led by the Holy Spirit into the great counsels of redemption, into the meaning of the sacrifice by which God has sought to accomplish them, of the patience with which He is working out His plans, and the final triumph which is so sure and so glorious, he feels how little he has realised his position or the meaning of this prayer. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth! becomes the expression of his fellowship with God in His wondrous carrying out of His everlasting counsel of grace, of his intercession on behalf of a perishing world, of his joyful anticipation of all flesh seeing the glory of God. He feels himself as a mote floating in the sunlight of God's presence. He knows himself an instrument, a vessel, a member of the body of Christ, through which God's glory is working out His perfect will.

Believer, come and listen. This prayer needs your whole heart. It needs the teaching, yea, the indwelling of Jesus Christ in the heart, to be able to pray it aright. It calls for a heart, a will, a life, entirely given up to the Father in heaven, by His Spirit dwelling in us, to understand it aright. Let the glory of God doing His will in us and through us be met by nothing less than a will wholly given up to do His will on earth as it is done in heaven. Study how God's will is done in heaven. Yield yourself to do it even so on earth.