Prayyior's God Talk

I have been pondering what love really is. We all say we love someone, but in actuality, very few of us understand what love is. I was reminded that I had found the answer when I was in High School…I remember clearly the day I understood it. I determined that the word ‘love’ really has several meanings. Love when used about something other than a person or pet really means you “really like” something. Love when used between two people who are sexually attracted to each other is not love but a hormonal imbalance that creates an infatuation with someone. In effect, you can hardly think about anything else in this instance.
Love when you get to the true sense of the Word, means….what am I willing to give up for someone else? It means do I care more about them then about me? This is the Love that God had for us when Jesus came to the earth. First Jesus gave up his royal heritage, and took on the body of a human that he had created in the first place. He took the abuse and eventually the vengeance they heaped upon him, and finally he gave his life for us. No one took it from him the bible tells us, he gave it up, and even as he hung on the cross he could have called angels to come and take him off it and cancel the whole plan. But he didn’t.

So what that means to us, is…..What am I willing to give up for someone else. Will I give up my life? Will I do things for them, at the cost of not doing stuff for me? Will I desire the best for them, and take 2nd best? I think the biggest test of love is whether I am willing to put away my selfishness and control, so they can truly be free. If I don’t allow those I love to be free, then self concern for me has taken precedent in my life.

Ultimately we as people are selfish because we want everything our way….when we can’t have it, just like little kids, we throw ourselves on the floor and throw a fit. As we become more mature we realize that in this world there is trouble and we will never have it our way all the time. We also realize that throwing fits is not acceptable in our society.

It was interesting to me that once I really looked at the result of selfishness, what I found was that selfishness was at the root of every sin, every illegal act, every murder, everything. Can you think of any sin or any crime that doesn’t have it’s beginning in selfishness? I can’t….Every single one, when you follow it to it’s source will lead you to selfishness.

*Heavenly Father, help us to turn from our selfishness, and begin to love as you love us.

Pro 16:1 We may make our plans, but God has the last word.

  Pro 16:2 You may think everything you do is right, but the LORD judges your motives.

 Pro 16:3 Ask the LORD to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out.

 Psa 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 In most of our lives there is a desire that we may have expressed or perhaps not.  It is so deep within us that it seems beyond our capacity to understand it, and it seems  illogical to even consider it…..because it is just beyond our reach. (or so we think)

  It is the “thing” we want so strongly, and yet it is unreachable.  We see no way for this “desire” to ever come about in our life. It is just too big for us!

We hear almost from the time we are born that we should not expect “”too much”  because “who said life was fair” .  It is a place where only “some” people accomplish their plans.

We hear words like….”that’s stupid”  or “you will never be any good”  or “you are not as smart as”.  These are terrible words to get into our brain and worse yet into our heart.  These are lies.  They come from Satan and are intended to “cripple” you for life.  They are intended to steal your hope and your future.

The really unfortunate thing about these words, is that as children….well, even as adults we hear them over and over in various forms and we “believe” them.  Just because we believe something ….DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE!

Most of us operate with a distinct disadvantage because we have believed a lie.  What and who we believe in and about something can determine our journey through life, unless we figure out that what we DID believe,  really is not truth, when it isn’t.

There are many truths that we know and believe that really are true.  We can believe the Bible.  We can believe most scientific facts…gravity, the sun rising in the East evry day, Spring follows winter.  When choices as to what we are to believe arise, we need to choose to believe the Bible over some other piece of information, and if it is contradictory to the Word of God, it is not true.

Those desires you have deep within you are important to access.  Don’t let someone tell you that those desires are impossible to fulfill.  They are not.  With God all things are possible.

We often hear that “God gives us the desires of our heart”  and we think those desires are ones that we made up.  We can’t imagine why God would give to us the things we want most……  Those deep down desires were put there by God and when we are delighted by the Lord and His goodness, His mercies, His plans, then he has also placed within us the very thing…..our most passionate desire, which we will need in order to complete our work here on earth.  Those desires didn’t just come because you thought them up…they came because God places those desires deep within us.

Your passion for something is where you belong, It is the direction for your life.  It is the hope of your life.  It is the light in the darkness, because when God puts a desire in our heart, he expects us and wants us to pursue it with all the strength and courage we have.  That Desire is what makes us who we are, and points us in the right direction to accomplish all that God has for us to do. (Jeremiah 29:11) He know the plans he has for us…plans for good and not for evil……plans with a future and a hope.

When we recognize that not only did God place those desires within us, he also planned for us to complete them….They belong to God and they belong to us.  Once we understand that, then we are free to also understand that the completion of those desires will be accomplished, because God answers Prayer.

There are desires of the heart that don’t come from God!  You will recognize them, because they are filled with selfishness, lust, evil intent.  Those you just say NO to.

Selfish reasons never get us anywhere.  God is not selfish, and he doesn’t expect us to be either.  He expects us to be like Him.  He expects us to be faithful with what we have and what we do.

He created us in HIS own image….so our task for today is to look in the mirror and see if you can see God…you will catch a glimpse of him…….then pick up that desire you have left laying idle, ask God how to use it, and what to do with it, and then….proceed with courage and expectation, asking God to lead you and bless you and bless the desires of your heart, to accomplish HIS plans for you!

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John 3:16  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

What does this really mean?  What does it say?  Perhaps you have heard it 1000 times, and you know the meaning….or never heard it before……but this Valentine’s Day, I am inclined to take the liberty of using it as a love letter.

Dear *insert your name here,

On this Valentine’s Day I want you to know how much I love you.  I have loved you since before you were even conceived in your Mother’s womb.  I see everything there is within you and know everything that will happen to you… forever.

I invite you……yes…..want you to spend eternity….beginning right now, with me.  In order to honor the rules I have made, I could not bring you to me unless I first dealt with your Sin.  Sin seperates you from me, and anyone who has ever sinned is not able to come to me.

The penalty for sin is death and since I could not break my own rules, I needed another solution to this problem.

I did this by sending my own Son, my only son, who is part of me to come to earth and to come on a level playing field.  He had to come as a mere man, into a world full of sin, full of betrayal, lying, hating, selfishness, and so many more sins.  He came to earth totally helpless, as a baby.  He had to grow up, become a man, and never ever commit a single sin.  He had to be perfect in order to do what I asked him to do.

First he turned water into wine, indicating that he did not have to wait for time to pass, but he was Me, and therefore had the power to overcome the rules of the earth.  My Son healed people who had been sick and blind and crippled as you so often are.

He called out to me and asked….Is there another way?  and I said no…there is no other way.  I sent an angel to strengthen Him before the big day.  He was taken and found innocent, but was sentenced to die.

I can’t tell you how my heart felt during this time.  You cannot even imagine what it is like to watch as your only son is beaten to within an inch of his life.  Beaten so badly that he was unrecognizable, then he was made to carry his own cross up the hill to the place where his earthly life would end on a viciously cruel cross.  I watched as the people I had sent him to the earth for, laughed at him, taunted him, spit on him, threw rocks at him, and eventually nailed him to a cross, naked, for all the world to see.

I then placed all the sins of the world’s people upon him. It was at that point that I had to draw back.  I could no longer see him, hear him, or show him my favor.  I had no choice but to forsake him.

He died on that cross, all alone…that day, in front of those who loved him and those who hated him….The King of the Jews was dead.  My Son was dead, and because he carried all those sins into death, he immediately went to hell, where he remained for a time.  I ripped the curtain in the Temple from the top down, and the sun quit shining, and an earthquake shook the earth.

All seemed lost to those who mourned for him, and he was laid to rest in a borrowed tomb.  My Son didn’t even have his own burial site….but then he wouldn’t need it for long.

Up from the grave he arose…..Triumphant!  He had won the peoples of the earth.  He was and is the ONLY super hero.  My Son…courageously laid down his life so that You ***Insert your name here** , would not have to suffer and die for your own sins.  Your sins went to my Son for you.

You now have two choices….

The first choice is to do nothing. The gift of my love is free, but if you do nothing, then you get nothing.  A gift must be received, accepted, picked up and opened.  Otherwise that gift is just a pretty box on the table that no one claims.

The second choice is to reach out and take the gift of life eternal, the gift of forgiveness for whatever sin you have in your life….past sins, present sin and future sin  NO SIN is stronger than my Son’s blood that was spilled.  All sins are forgiven to whoever would come asking and recognizing what My Son did for you.

When you take the gift, you become a new person,  fit and clean and able to draw near….You make a commitment that will last eternally if you will trust your life to the Gift….MY Son…JESUS.

Please make the choice to trust Jesus with your Soul….It is in safe hands!  I want to call you my Child…..because I love you!  Please come…..Please….

To those of you who already have…..I am glad you did…I have awesome plans for you and for your entire life!

My Love, forever and always,

GOD

This is from Breaking Christian News:

The Deacon – God said, “Linger Here and Begin to Pray in the Spirit”

As he turned off the bike he heard the Holy Spirit call him to prayer: “Linger here and begin to pray in the Spirit.”

Our nation has been in awe over the speedy recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head on Saturday, January 8, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona. During a community event outside a shopping market on the corners of Ina and Oracle a man opened fire into a crowd of people. The first reports were sketchy; one news agency presumed her dead, with six others, while many painted a gloomy end to her critical condition. The doctors began to give hopeful reports and downgraded her condition quickly. Within two-and-a-half weeks she was transferred from one care facility to a place where she could begin rehabilitation from her brain injuries.

The nation’s prayers after the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords have proven to be effective. But, what about prayers that took place before the event? I know one man who was called to stand and pray one week before the shooting took place.
Photo: Deacon Dickie

Dick Tesi, affectionately called Deacon Dickie from Restoration International, was riding his motorcycle through Tucson on Saturday, January 1, 2011. He pulled into a gas station at the intersection of Ina and Oracle, next to a Safeway store. He felt prompted to turnoff his motorcycle before entering his next destination into the GPS. As he turned off the bike he heard the Holy Spirit call him to prayer: “Linger here and begin to pray in the Spirit.” Always willing to co-operate with the Father, Dickie stood and prayed while his eyes scanned the area. He was unsure why he needed to pray right then and there. Still, he remained until he felt released. Back on the road; his work was completed.

When the news reports aired, telling the horror that took place, Deacon Dickie stopped to remember his call to prayer the week prior. He realized the prayer was strategic for the tragic event. Dickie expressed his concern regarding his “ineffective” prayer in light of the six lives lost that day. My premature response said, “It could have been worse, we don’t know.”

As the reports of Congresswoman Giffords’ remarkable progress begun to flow to the nation, I gained insight connecting these two events. Over seven years ago Deacon Dickie experienced a miraculous recovery from a brain injury due to a motorcycle accident. Dickie was on full life support, bringing him to the threshold of eternity. Then the healing power of Jesus intervened. His brain was so swollen, part of it had to be removed. The miracle continued by making him whole and restoring his memory. I believe this made him the perfect candidate to stand and pray with authority over the events to come. Dickie had faced a similar frontal lobe injury as the Congresswoman, and had victory, making him a conqueror. Dickie had the right resume’; God called the right man to stand in the parking lot and pray over the brain injury to come.

Follow those promptings and calls to prayer. Pray from the spirit and partner with Father’s plans. You may not have understanding or think the prayer is ineffective. But, a time may come, like it did for my friend Deacon Dickie, where you will look back and be struck with the awe and mystery of God.

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, never so much as imagined anything quite like it—What God has arranged for those who love Him. But you’ve seen and heard it because God by His Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that He not only knows what He’s thinking, but He lets us in on it. 1 Corinthians 2:10-13 (The Message)

Perhaps you noticed the unusual aspects of this story. Things like it had been seven years since Dickie’s accident where he [was on the brink of death], and he prayed seven days before the accident—demonstrating God’s completion. Even the names of key players are relevant; the street corners of Oracle—means “speaker” or “word” and Ina—is translated “pure”, the store named Safe-way, and Gabrielle—means “Hero of God.” There is a story within the story. This adds to the mysteries of God.

Written by Ralaine Fagone and reported by Breaking Christian News.  

Anger is normal.

It happens in a split second, or builds over the day….maybe weeks, months and even years.

How you handle your anger is another thing.  I tried throwing things one time…..but what I threw was glass.  Needless to say it splintered into a million pieces.  Shards of glass all over the furniture, in the carpet, and I was left to clean up my own mess.  I decided after that, I wouldn’t do that anymore.  It was a good lesson.

Lots of times since then, I have wanted to express my anger by throwing something, but I have never given into that “weakness”.

The Bible tells us (Proverbs 25:28) that “He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”  (Proverbs 16:32) says that “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.”

Anger happens, but out reaction to it is “choice”.  It is “just an excuse” to say things like, “I was so angry I couldn’t control myself!”  “It’s your fault that I hit you, because you made me so angry I couldn’t see straight!”  ” I wouldn’t have thrown that if you had not kept on me.”

Those are excuses that are used to cast the blame for our actions away from us.  We are the ones who choose to throw something, hit someone, curse at someone, break things, or say ugly hurting words to those we love.”

What is wrong with us as a people?  Why do we allow excuses to survive?  Why do we not talk about it?  Where do we go for help?  How do we fix this?

There are places we can go to be treated for Rage.  Rage is Anger that we have allowed to take control of us, and we have failed to rein in.  This is something we can do.  It is not Ok to blame our anger and our actions on others.  It is not OK to make excuses.  It is not OK to hurt someone with words or violence.  It is not OK to use our Anger to control someone else, to make them do what we want them to.

Our society is a power-hungry society.  It is a shame to us, when we refuse to discipline ourselves.  We are able to control our actions, and God expects us to do that.  It is our responsibility to show our children how to handle anger, to teach them that with God’s help they are powerful….they can do this.  It is much easier to learn to handle anger as a child, because the consequences are less.  Adults who cannot control their anger, end up in jail, prisons, psychiatric hospitals or dead.

Let us start a new day, and work on controlling ourselves, never, ever let someone tell you the answer is….. to cause anger to rise in your heart….to get mad…to fight….

That is not, nor will it ever be the way…..

Ephesians 4:26 tells us to –  Be angry and sin not!  Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath.

Deal with it now….decide that the next time we get angry, we will control ourselves.  This is the time to pray, asking God to help us find a way to let the anger subside, and to deliver us from ourselves.

May God’s will be Your Will…

Prayyior