Gideon felt inadequate, he felt insecure. He lacked confidence. His self-esteem was pretty low. If you will allow Him, God will never leave you in that low state. Inside noise puts you into the pit. Insecurity will leave you there to waste away your days. But, Jesus is here to lift you out of the pit and establish your goings.
While on vacation, Bethany was speeding down a California freeway with three teenage friends. One of them, Jody, said she had dreamed the night before that they were in a serious wreck and that she, the only one with a fastened seat belt on, had survived. Hearing that, everyone fastened their seat belts. Later, their car swerved into the grass median and rolled. The investigating officer looked at the car and said, “If you hadn’t had your seat belts on, the outcome would have been a lot different.” Where did Jody’s dream come from? 1. In this weeks podcast, we will take a look at some of the other ways God communicates through His use of dreams and visions.
Are you saved by grace or just a Christian performer? The story is told in Spain of a father and his teenage son who had a relationship that had become strained. So the son ran away from home. His father, however, began a journey in search of his rebellious son. Finally, in Madrid, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in the newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon. All is forgiven. I love you. Your father.” The next day at noon in front of the newspaper office 800 “Pacos” showed up. They were all seeking acceptance from their fathers. A whole world of people are hungering for this basic idea of approval and acceptance. People have tried to acquire it though through an avenue other than the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have tried to attain it through performance thinking. Does it work? Are you accepted in the courts of heaven because of what you do?
BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — A Washington coach who was told by district officials to stop leading prayers after games went ahead with a prayer at the 50-yard line after a weekend game.
The Kitsap Sun reports Bremerton High assistant coach Joe Kennedy knelt as his players left the field and prayed on Friday. Players from the other team and others joined him.
It’s unclear what the district will do. Messages left the district’s attorney as well as district officials were not immediately returned Sunday.
Superintendent Aaron Leavell has said Kennedy’s long-standing practice runs counter to the constitutional mandate for separation of church and state. He said in a statement before the game that staff must refrain from religious expression while on duty.
Kennedy’s law firm, Texas-based firm Liberty Institute, says the district has no right to ban the coach from personally praying. They say he didn’t encourage or discourage students from participating.
Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
Many times people seek guidance from the Lord in ways He did not intend. It’s always best to stay with God’s Word in these areas. For in the pages of the Bible, the Lord Himself gave us clear instruction about how to be led by the Spirit of God. In fact, He detailed for us the number one way He will lead us in the affairs of life.
You will find that the moving of God in your life, that is the particular way that God leads you, directs, and uses you has a very definite pattern and that pattern is different from person to person. Over a period of time, through the use of a journal, you can learn how He deals with you. It will help you with the issue of obedience and gifts of the Spirit at work in your life.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has taken a high profile stand for religious freedom.
Pruitt officially told the state board that governs sporting activities that it can no longer ban student prayer at school sports events.
He argues that a current policy blocking public prayer at playoff events is too broad.
“You just can’t uniformely, arbitrarily say, ‘We are going to allow all speech except religious speech,’ and that is why it is overbroad,” Pruitt said.
For more on this story see: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2015/October/Officials-Defend-School-Prayer-in-Oklahoma-Alabama/
Are you sensitive in your heart to the promptings and the urges of the Spirit of God? Are you hearing Him? Are you easily moved by His gentle manner? Developing sensitivity of heart opens you to the life of God found in Jesus. For, the Spirit of God will lead you and guide you into all the truth about Him.
In part one of this series Soaring with Eagles: How to Know You Are Destined for Greatness we mentioned there are clues about man in the creation of the eagle. We spoke about the ‘swiftness’ of the eagle and how Johnathan and Saul were designated eagles. But there are other ‘eagle’ clues about you. Let’s look at a second one.
As long as you are alive, as long as breath courses through your body, there is a next step for your life. God is not the God of the dead-end.
John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
In close connection with listening to God is the idea of “waiting on God.” People are hindered from receiving direction from God simply because they are not waiting around long enough to hear what He has to say. We are religiously praying instead of spiritually listening. Waiting to hear is part of the prayer discipline.
A shooting took place Thursday at Umpqua Community College in Oregon where witnesses said the gunman specifically targeted Christians.
Fox News reports that the shooter, Christopher Harper Mercer, killed at least nine people and wounded at least seven, although some sources believe the death toll could be as high as 13.
The shooting took place in the small town of Roseburg, Oregon where witnesses said Mercer shot victims in a number of classrooms.
One student, Kortney Moore, said her Writing 115 teacher was shot in the head. The New York Post reports that another witness said the shooter began asking people about their faith.
“‘Are you a Christian?’ he would ask them, and if you’re a Christian, stand up. And they would stand up and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you are going to see God in just about one second.’ And then he shot and killed them,” said Stacy Boylan, whose daughter was wounded in the shooting.
For more on this story see http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/02/witnesses-say-oregon-gunman-targeted-christians-in-community-college-shooting/?intcmp=hpbt1