Author: Dr Glen

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” ¹⁰ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Many times when we pray, we put God in a box by what we ask for in prayer. When we take a look at the prayer of Jabez, one of the first things we notice is that Jabez did not put a limit on what he was asking God for. Jabez asked God to enlarge his territory, but did not ask for a specific amount. “And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory”.  This kind of praying will take the limits off of what God can do for us.

Our thought life can have an effect on our prayer life. If we think small or continue to have small thoughts, then we will continue to pray small prayers. Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (NKJV)  

Instead of praying and asking God for a new car, we can pray and ask God for a car dealership. This way when the prayer is answered, we not only receive a blessing for ourselves, but will be in a position to bless others also. We have enlarged our territory and have not put God “in a box”.

This kind of praying will require faith and believing, without having any doubt. Matthew 21:21-22  “²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you,if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (NKJV)

We serve a God that has no limits; He is bigger than big and larger than large. God can do anything but fail. So when we come to him asking, we must believe that He hears and will answer our prayer. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (NKJV)

Jabez also reached out to God for guidance in receiving the enlarged territory. Receiving “enlarged territory” comes with having “enlarged responsibilities”, and a person has to be very careful with what God has blessed them with. Jabez wanted to be sure that he was being led by God      in making the right decisions “that Your hand would be with me”, and also not to become greedy or hurt others with the blessing he received “and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!”  God heard the petition from Jabez and granted everything that was asked for “So God granted him what he requested”

The prayer of Jabez is a powerful example of the kind of prayer that not only will take the limits off of God, but also will not put “God in a box”.

 “God I thank you for not being a God of limits. From this day forward, let the prayers of the righteous be without limits, and outside of the box. “ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” In Jesus name, Amen!

Continuing in His service…Rev 

“Seeking His presence”

I have noticed on several occasions robins hunting for worms and after doing some research, I found it to be quite remarkable of how they find them. Basically, robins have 3 methods of finding worms. Robins find worms by;

• Vision—they turn their heads to one side and focus on the dirt moving, or to see if the worm is coming out of their burrows.
• Sound—they listen for movement of worms in the ground
• Touch—they stand still to be able to feel movement of the ground under their feet

These methods are effective with how the robin finds worms.

The 1^st most important step for the robin is to seek the worms that it wants to find, because the worms do not come to the robin on their own. If the robin does not go in search of what it wants, seeking what it wants to eat, it will go hungry.

And so it is with God. The scripture tells us in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him”.

As it is with the robin being diligent with seeking worms, we must also be diligent when we are seeking God.

One might ask “so how do I seek God”? Again as with the robin having several methods of seeking worms, we have several methods of how we can seek God.

• We can seek Him thru prayer 2^nd Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.

• We can seek Him with fasting Matt 6:17,18 “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly”.

• We can seek Him with our praise Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord”!

• We can seek Him with the reading of His word Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”.

• We can seek Him by being sitting quietly, and being still to listen for the sound of His voice Psalm 131:2 “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child”.

• We can seek Him with our worship Matt 2:11 “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh”.

God is not a respecter of persons, He will acknowledge whoever comes to Him seeking His presence.

Matt 7:7,8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened”.

“Abba Father, give me the strength to remain diligent about seeking you. In Jesus name, Amen!

Continuing in His service, Rev

“Your Spiritual Appetite“

Deuteronomy 8:3 “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” [NKJV]

Jesus also quoted this scripture in Matt 4:4. “But He answered and said “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. [KJV] The oblivious message of this scripture is that there is no survival of the soul without God’s Word.

God supplied the Israelites with manna each day to feed and provide nourishment on a daily basis. As manna provided daily nourishment to the physical man, the Word of God can provide daily nourishment to the soul and spirit man. It is the word of God that will satisfy the hunger and thirst of our souls. That is why believers have to spend time reading the bible each day.

Do not be deceived, nor let no one suppose spiritual survival is possible for long without nourishment from the Word of God. 1^st Peter 2:2 declares that God’s Word is as essential to the believer as milk is to a new born child “As new born babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” [NKJV]

Psalm 42:1,2 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. Vs 2 My soul thirsts for God, the living God.” [NKJV]             

Psalm 63:1 “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water”. [NKJV]

We as believers should be excited about reading, and experiencing the benefits of the Word of God. Spending time in the word of God should a top priory in starting our day.

“Dear God, it is my prayer that today will be the beginning of making it a priority to not only start every day feasting on your word, but to also take every opportunity that presents itself to spend more time in your word, in Jesus name. Amen”

Continuing in His service

Reverend Glen  

IT IS FINISHED!

 “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” John 19:30

Webster defines procrastination as “the action of delaying or postponing something”. Often times we procrastinate because the task is something that is unpleasant or is tedious. We will find excuse after excuse as to why we just simply don’t want to complete the task. Until the last minute, when the hour, minutes and seconds are ticking down on the clock, then do we finally realize that “I’ve got to get this done”!

Procrastination will and can rob anyone from having the feeling of “completion”. Procrastination really is finding ways to avoid doing a task which needs to be done. It is also stalling, being hesitant, or delaying something because it is something that may be unpleasant or boring to do. When a person avoids doing a task that needs to done, or continues to find excuses not to do something, they are in the act of “procrastination”. Waiting until the last minute to get something done is the “fruit” of procrastination.

At the tender young age of twelve, Jesus was focused on completing what He was sent by God to do. When He and his parents travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate the yearly Feast of the Passover, when it was time for them to leave, Jesus was found in the temple, “sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking questions”. [Luke 2:46 NKJV]

Upon finding her son, she asked Him, “Son why have you done this to us? Look your father and I have sought you anxiously”. (Luke 2:48). In verse 49, Jesus responded, Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?

Suppose Jesus procrastinated or lost and changed His focus on completing His Father’s business. Imagine if He procrastinated about going to the cross? What would have happened if Jesus found ways to avoid being crucified or waited until the last minute to go to Calvary?

Our Lord and savior dwelt here on earth among us and was a living example of what it truly means to finish whatever He started. We as the children of God, should learn from the example that Jesus set.  We should remain focused on the task at hand and put forth the effort to finish what we start regardless of the cost, the difficulty, the tediousness of the task. Once we have completed the task, we not only will have a sense of accomplishment, but we will be able to say just like our Savior, “It is finished”.   

Lord Jesus, help us to follow Your example of completing what is set before us. Give us strength so that we will not procrastinate and instead give us the ability to complete the tasks that lie before us. Give us a sense of accomplishment and allow our works to always bring favor to others and more importantly, glory to You.

In Jesus name, Amen!

Continuing in His service

Reverend Glen