“Praying with a THANKFUL Heart”

 “Praying with a THANKFUL Heart”

 

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.  Colossians 4:2

Many American families will gather together, on Thursday, Nov. 27th and share a HUGE meal together.  They will laugh, cry, sing, and carry on.  But I wonder how many households will offer up a PRAYER of THANKSGIVING with a THANKFUL HEART.  I’m sure a lot of CHRISTIANS will, but will they REALLY PRAY with a THANKFUL HEART?  If we are TRULY, SINCERELY THANKFUL to the ALMIGHTY GOD for ALL the things HE has provided for us, to help make this life on earth more tolerable, the LEAST we can do is OFFER up our PRAYERS with THANKFUL HEARTS and a lot of PRAISE mixed in. 

Here are some challenges to EFFECTIVE PRAYING.  The Apostle Paul is speaking to the COLOSSIANS, who have GIVEN their HEARTS and LIVES to God through the SHED BLOOD of His ONE and ONLY SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who DIED and was RESURRECTED, in order for all mankind to RECEIVE SALVATION and to become the BORN AGAIN CHILDREN of the LIVING GOD.   

The first challenge to have EFFECTIVE PRAYERS is to DEVOTE YOURSELF to PRAYER, in other words DEDICATE yourself to PRAYING, make it a point to incorporate it into your DAILY, MORNING RITUAL. Now, don’t tell me you DON’T have time, if that is the case, then you MAKE TIME by getting up EARLIER in the morning, or do some things, that you can, in the evening.  Make sure you DON’T forget to PRAY over those PRECIOUS CHILDREN that GOD has BLESSED you with. And your SPOUSE, if you have one, we all NEED PRAYERS, and DON’T FORGET to PRAY with a THANKFUL HEART!

Another challenge is for us to NOT be SLUGGISH in our PRAYER TIME; Paul tells us to be ALERT!  Have a MIND that is EAGER to TALK to your HEAVENLY FATHER. You will find that He is EAGER to HEAR from His Child.  And Don’t FORGET to have a THANKFUL HEART!

The last challenge is PLEASE, don’t let your PRAYERS be only FILLED with REQUESTS, but LACKING THANKSGIVING.  You NEED to STOP and REFLECT on ALL the things that FATHER GOD has allowed you to POSSESS.  Let the VERY FIRST THING be your SALVATION. 

And if YOU have NOT GIVEN your HEART and LIFE to God through His ONLY SON, JESUS CHRIST, then God will NOT HEAR your PRAYERS, because you have SIN in your HEART.  In Psalm, chapter sixty-six, King David says that: “If I had NOT CONFESSED the SIN in my HEART, the Lord would NOT have LISTENED.” (V-18) But God did LISTEN to David’s prayer, because David CONFESSED HIS SINS to God. 

Now is the TIME for you to COME to God by calling on the NAME of JESUS and ADMITTING that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS, and YOU MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for you and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST Be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. You MUST ACCEPT God’s GIFT of SALVATION and have a SURE, EFFECTIVE PRAYER-LIFE, that is FILLED with THANKFULNESS and PRAISE.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

“Evidence of Our Relationship with the Invisible God”

 “Evidence of Our Relationship with the Invisible God”

 

No one has ever seen God.  But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His Love is brought to FULL expression in us.  1 John 4:12

 

There is NO REASON to doubt the EXISTENCE of God just because you or no one else has EVER seen God.  You can’t see the WIND, but you know that it is there because you NOTICE the EFFECTS of it.  Such as, the trees swaying or bits of paper swirling in the air.  And we TRUST that it is there, because we are still breathing it. 

One of the MOST IMPORTANT EVIDENCES that those who have GIVEN their HEART and LIFE to God, is the RELATIONSHIP we have with Him.  In verses seven to the end of the chapter, it tells us that God is LOVE, and ANYONE who LOVES is a Child of God and KNOWS GOD. Therefore, they would have a RELATIONSHIP with Him. Anyone who does NOT LOVE  does NOT KNOW GOD, for GOD IS LOVE.

God showed how much He LOVED US by sending His ONE and ONLY SON, JESUS CHRIST, into the world so that WE might have ETERNAL LIFE through HIM.  This is REAL LOVE, EVERLASTING LOVE, AGAPE LOVE. Not LOVE like a love between a man and a woman. But it is a PURE, UNENDING LOVE.  It is NOT based on the fact that we LOVED Him, BUT that HE LOVED US. And SENT His Son as a SACRIFICE to take AWAY our SINS. 

And since the INVISIBLE GOD LOVED us that much, we surely ought to LOVE each other with a LOVE like God loves us.  And if we LOVE EACH OTHER like that we will have a RELATIONSHIP with HIM, and the EVIDENCE of that RELATIONSHIP will be EXPRESSED to a LOST and DYING WORLD, through US, the TRUE CHILDREN of the INVISIBLE, ALMIGHTY, EVERLASTING GOD, CREATOR of ALL THINGS.  

Do YOU have a RELATIONSHIP with Him?  Anyone who will CONFESS that JESUS is the SON of GOD, has a RELATIONSHIP with Him, and it will SHOW that GOD ABIDES in THEM.

This is what you MUST DO:  ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, God’s ONLY SON, JESUS CHRIST.  You MUST BELIEVE that JESUS, the SON of GOD, SUFFERED, BLED, DIED, and was RESURRECTED from DEATH and the GRAVE.  And that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK HIM for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and SHOW that you have a RELATIONSHIP with GOD by the EVIDENCE of your LOVE for Him and His Family.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

“The Hearing and the Believing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

 “The Hearing and the Believing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

 

He is the One all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name.  Acts 10:43

There are two things a person MUST DO in order to obtain SALVATION, and Eternal Life in Heaven.  One is HEARING the WORD, but you MUST BELIEVE what you are HEARING, in order to RECEIVE God’s WONDERFUL Gift of SALVATION, which brings God’s PROMISE of an ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN. 

A person can HEAR a lot about JESUS, and thus they have a KNOWLEDGE of Him.  Yet they DON’T REALLY KNOW Him and so, even though they may have a KNOWLEDGE of Him, and REFUSE to ACCEPT HIM as their SAVIOR and LORD, mainly because they don’t BELIEVE in what they have HEARD. They will still face God’s Judgment and Condemnation because of their UNBELIEF. 

The Apostle Peter tells us: “Each of you MUST REPENT of your SINS and TURN to God and be baptized in the NAME of JESUS CHRIST for the FORGIVENESS of your SINS. (2:38) He also tells us that: “There is SALVATION in NO ONE ELSE! God has given NO OTHER NAME under Heaven by which we MUST BE SAVED.”  (4:12).  It’s JESUS CHRIST and HIM ALONE!!!

Don’t be a HEARER ONLY but HEAR and BELIEVE in the LORD JESUS, because there is NO OTHER WAY you can spend your ETERNITY in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS and ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there. 

This is what you MUST DO; ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  And BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT GOD’S GIFT of SALVATION and BELIEVE in the LORD JESUS CHRIST as YOUR MESSIAH.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!