Do you hate God? - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) October 18, 2022

Deuteronomy 32:41 - when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.

Do you hate God? This might seem like a ludicrous question, but we need to learn that it is possible for believers to actually hate God. Such people are described in Deuteronomy 32:15-18 - ...They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior. They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God—gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.

Notice the common denominator? These people were His children who turned away from Him to serve false gods and bow to idols. They allowed their lives to be controlled by things that were not God. And as a result, these people faced His wrath for abandoning Him. According to Deuteronomy 32:19 - The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters.

How do we - believers - not become like those who hate God? Well, Jesus gives us a pretty good clue in John 14:15 - If you love me, keep my commands. And how do we do this? Matthew 22:37 - Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

We must remember these instructions each day and live them. We can't love God and place the quest for money, fame, or power on par with Him. We can't love God and put our fitness or beauty regimen ahead of Him in order of importance. We can't allow social media or other people to control our lives when God is supposed to be our King. And, we surely must show practical love to others, putting their own needs ahead of ours. That might mean sacrificing a snack so someone else can have their first meal of the day. Or, praying for another person rather than focusing on your own challenges.

May the Lord help each of us to live righteously, to walk in fear and trembling, acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly before Him. That we may be among the number of those who love and not hate Him when we appear before the judgment seat, IJMN, Amen.

To read old posts related to today's topic:

1. Topic: Love

2. Let Go of Idols - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) May 11, 2021

You can also comment on this post in the forum - https://www.themiraclealley.com/forum/praise-pray/do-you-hate-god-tuesday-praise-pray-for-others-october-18-2022

The Second Touch - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) October 14, 2022

Do you remember the Bible story of the blind man at Bethsaida that Jesus healed? It's in Mark 8:22-26 and there, the blind man's friends brought him for healing. Jesus took the man, walked him out of the village, then spat on his eyes. When He asked, “Do you see anything?” the man replied, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Mark 8:25 - Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Did you notice Jesus touched this man "once more"? Did you notice that at the first touch healing started but the second touch completed it?

Now, what if the man had been satisfied to simply see men as trees? He'd have run off and likely run right into a tree someday, thinking it was a man. God didn't want that for Him. Instead, God desired perfect healing. Imagine if he hadn't waited for the Savior to touch him a second time?

Far too often, we are satisfied with God's first touch. There's nothing wrong with that per se, after all we are to appreciate whatever God does for us no matter how small it appears (Zechariah 4:10).

Nevertheless, we also have to be willing to remain before the Lord to receive the more He has for us. And believe me, there is always more for He is the unlimited God. In fact, Paul describes the Lord in Ephesians 3:20 as "Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (NKJV).

Therefore, we must seek the exceedingly and abundantly from the Lord because there's always another touch. If not, we'll be content to go from blindness to just seeing men as trees.

God has complete victory available for us - be it over family issues, work challenges, complications with finances or health problems. We need to be like the Blind Man of Bethsaida and wait for the Lord’s second touch. To do this, don't ignore God simply because you got what you prayed for. Continue to study the word, praise His name, fast and pray. We need to obey His commands and live in reverent fear of God. These may seem like much to many of us, but for those who commit to live righteously for the Lord, He has equally committed to help them do so.

Realize that by allowing God to guide you, we will receive the second touch which will lead to many more touches over the course of a lifetime and indeed, the lifespan of the generations to come.

Finally, please be aware that light has no business with the dark (2 Corinthians 6:14). In Genesis 1:2-4, God literally dispensed with the dark void when He declared "let there be light." This means, if you are seeking the Lord for something, don't blend ungodly things in your quest for the first or the next touch. That is not the time to infuse occult practices such as burning sage, bringing crystals and certain colored candles into your life. Stick with God and only God because if you fall for the temptation to bring the dark in, the light and its touch is extinguished.

May the Spirit of the LORD touch each of us and convict us to remain in His presence alone that He may touch us forever more, IJMN Amen.

Come leave your comments on this post in the forum - https://www.themiraclealley.com/forum/praise-pray/the-second-touch-friday-praise-pray-for-others-october-14-2022?origin=business_manager.

Would love to see you there! God bless!

Build Toward The Promise - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) October 11, 2022

When God speaks a word to you, you might notice it takes a very long time to see anything about it to materialize. That can cause many to take that word, smile in gratitude, place it in a pretty box and leave it on a shelf to collect dust.

However, what you do between when the Lord gives you a prophetic word and when that promise is fulfilled is crucial. You can either sit back and wait or you can start to build on the promise.

Even if it doesn't seem like it, there is always something we can do during the interim period between receiving a word and its fulfillment.

A key thing is to spend more time with the Lord and deepen your relationship with Him. This can happen in many ways including more Bible study, more praising, more prayers, more fasting, and more obedience. Living a life that keeps the instructions of God in mind and seeks to please Him.

Sometimes, there are other practical steps you can take in the direction of a prophecy or conviction received from God. No, I'm not suggesting you help the Lord and go ahead of Him. You don't need to create your own Ishmael because your Isaac is on the way. Frankly, I haven't heard of anyone who did that and found success. Ask Father Abraham.

King David provides a godly example on how to build on the promises of God in a way that glorifies Him, not helps Him. In 2 Samuel 7, David expressed a desire to build God a house. However, the Lord informed him that task would fall on his son, Solomon, instead.

Having received that prophecy, David could have relaxed, satisfied with the knowledge received. Not content to put God's word in a box and leave it on a shelf, he began acquiring the materials needed to accomplish such a great feat. David saw himself as the father of the man who would build God's earthly Temple and devoted himself to making that happen.

Not only did David seek and receive the designs from God, but He had detailed plans made. The Lord revealed the materials that would be necessary and he took steps to get them. We are given some details of this preparation in 1 Chronicles 29:2, With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.

David's determination to assist his young heir - notice, he wasn't helping His Maker - reflected His fear of God and full faith that the Lord’s promise would happen. You need to be the same. And to do that, you need to slow down, receive God's prophecy for your future, receive instruction on how to proceed, and in trust, build toward it.

Let me ask you a question, what promise has God made to you? Are you building toward it? If the Lord has told you you'll be a music minister, are you praying for God's hand to be on your future ministry? Are you perfecting your singing craft or learning about music production? If God has called you to be a parent are you studying His word to learn about parenting? Are you borrowing library books on the topic? Are you finding scripture to pray for yourself, your unborn children and the family that is to come?

How are you getting prepared to be who God sees you as? Even the smallest step counts and God will reward you for applying your faith through godly works.

I pray that if you are yet to receive God's word and vision of your future that you'll ask Him to show you today. I also pray that once you receive that vision from your heavenly Father, you will commit to take steps in that direction, IJMN, Amen.

See you later at noon EST for today's Praise and Pray (for others).