Feeling Down? Ways to Keep You From Crying

We don’t want to spend our lives feeling down or blue; first off, it does not feel good. Secondly, it kills our productivity. So how can we pull ourselves through it as quickly as possible?

Proven Strategies That Will Keep You From Crying

1. Take a step back and look at how you’re living your life.

Our society has become rush, rush, rush! In his book CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked & About to Snap! Strategies for Coping in a World Gone ADD, Dr. Edward Hallowell says that being too busy can have effects including, “increasing toxic stress, making people sick, causing accidents and errors, turning otherwise polite people rude, and reducing the general level of happiness in the population.”

Are you constantly committing yourself to more than you can handle or comfortably produce? If you find yourself feeling down about being able to live up to your obligations it may be you are trying to accomplish too much.

Or do you have too high a standard for yourself? My advice is: Don’t be so hard on yourself. Recognize that no one is perfect and that disappointments are part of life. Even the most successful people have to deal with failure and disappointment, but they’ve learnt how to use it to get to the next level of life.

2. Take time out to relax and exercise.

Exercise, or some form of physical activity can do wonders. When you exercise, your brain releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins trigger a positive feeling in the body similar to morphine. Regular exercise not only has a physical effect on the body such as strengthening the heart, lowering blood pressure and reducing body fat, it also helps with feeling down, depression and reducing stress levels.

Engage in some activity that you enjoy. I find walking along the beach my way to distress. May be you enjoy shopping, reading, swimming, dancing, walking, tennis or even yard work. You will feel better doing whatever you enjoy!

3. Think on good things

Learn to dismiss negative thoughts. The Bible is full of wisdom.  It says to: “Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are true and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.” Philippians 4:8

4. Do something good for someone

The reason this technique works is that it takes the focus off yourself. It’s easy to become self-centered and overly focused on your own problems.

I’ve found that one of the most therapeutic things you can do is make someone’s day. Visit someone, send a text message or phone and give them a word of encouragement or compliment.

5. Find meaning in life

Having inner peace and being content when you are alone will allow you to not depend on anything external to yourself. It gives you freedom in that these external factors don’t control your mood.

What this movie called, ‘Living Free’. It will help you find meaning to life.

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Feel free to bookmark this post for the next time you feel like crying and giving up. It may come in handy.

Do  you have days when you feel down? Then these proven strategies will give  ways to keep you from crying when you feel down.  We all have days when we feel down, for life is full of setbacks and challenges.

About Jesus

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“God’s mercy is great, and he loves you very much. Though you were spiritually dead because of the things you did against God, he gave you new life with Christ.” Ephesians 2:4-5

JESUS GIVES YOU PEACE

 “My peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your heart be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

JESUS GIVES YOU FRIENDSHIP

Jesus said, “You are my friend… I will be with you always… I will never leave you. I will never forget you.” John 15:14a, Matthew 28:20b, Hebrews 13:5

JESUS ANSWERS YOUR PRAYERS

Jesus said, “If you remain in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you.”John 15:7

JESUS GIVES YOU HOPE

 “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good life.” Jeremiah 29:11

JESUS GIVES YOU FULFILMENT

Jesus said, “I came to give life – life in all its fullness.” “The world and everything that people want in it are passing away, but the person who does what God wants lives forever.” John 10:10, 1 John 2:17

Who is Jesus? You will learn about Jesus, how he fills the emptiness inside. About Jesus Christ  giving you peace, friendship, direction and more in this movie.

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Help me Jesus. Teach me how to pray

James 5:16 in the Amplified version assures us that “the earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available – dynamic in its working.”

You don’t have to be some kind of spiritual giant, or have some special calling to see answers to your prayers.

God answered Elijah’s persistence in prayer for rain, and the Bible says he was just like us.

We can learn much about how to pray from the Bible in Mark 11:22-24.  It says, “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.  “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours!”

Let’s examine these verses together:

1.  The teacher of prayer

It is no mere man who is teaching these truths in Mark 11:22-24.

Verse 22 says, “Jesus answered.”

Then verse 23, “I tell you the truth.”

And verse 24, “Therefore I tell you.”

This passage is in the context where the apostle Peter said, “Rabbi (Teacher) the fig tree you cursed has withered.”

Christ is the true teacher of all prayer.  In Luke 11:1 we read how Jesus taught the well known Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus said in John 16:13-14, “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”

Jesus has promised to give us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, which includes truths concerning effective prayer.  Expect to learn the best truths about prayer by sitting at the feet of Jesus in prayer.

2.  The foundation of prayer

We are looking at Mark 11:22-24.  Verse 22 says. “Have faith in God.”

Perhaps the most significant, though easily over looked statement in this passage is “Have faith IN GOD”.

Prayer is not power in itself.  The power is IN GOD.

The power of prayer is really the power of God released through prayer.

Jesus did not say, “Have faith in faith” nor “Have faith in prayer”, but “Have faith in God“.  Literal translation is; “Have the faith of God”.

The foundation of all true prayer is God Himself.  This is why our concept of God, is more important than our concept of prayer.  Many have the concept that God is down the end of the corridor with a big stick.  They feel He is someone to be feared rather than ‘a friend’!

I love the words of this song, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.”

How we view or know God determines how we pray.

The foundation of prayer therefore, is knowing God intimately as explained in Daniel 11:32. It says, “The people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.”

3.  The student of prayer

Mark 11:23 says, “If anyone says to this mountain.”

Christians treat prayer as a unique spiritual gift reserved for only a select few.  On the contrary, the anyone or everyone (of Mark 11:23) applies to everyone whose sins have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  No true follower of Jesus can use the excuse that he does not qualify to pray.

To become a student in prayer is a choice we make!

4.  The mystery of prayer

The second part of Mark 11:23; “If anyone says to this mountain.”

Mystery is defined as: – `Any assumed truth that cannot be comprehended by the human mind, but must be expected by faith’.

Look again at verse 23, Jesus said, “If anyone says to this mountain, `Go throw yourself into the sea’.”

Here we discover a kind of praying that is beyond our understanding.  We are not told to ask God to cast that mountain into the sea.  We are clearly instructed to command the situation to take care of itself.  This is a real mystery of prayer.

God has delegated to us authority to speak to things, into and out of existence.

 5.  The focus of prayer

Mark 11:23 goes onto say, “What he says.”  And in verse 24; “Whatever you ask.”

In verse 23 Jesus refers to `what things’ the person praying says to happen.  In verse 24 we read – “Whatever you ask“.  Whether saying or asking, Jesus is referring to the specific things in which we are to pray.

God is just as concerned with the little things as well as the big things.

The Word of God says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

What a difference it would make if we took everything to the Lord in prayer.

Christ simply says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it shall be given.”  The `it’ is very important in prayer.  Our `it’, is for every specific thing.

6.  The desire of prayer

Mark 11verse 24, “Whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The King James Version of verse 24 reads, “What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray.”  The construction implies intensity.

The more we desire or crave a blessing the greater our intensity of prayer.

Prayer depends, not only on the words that cross our lips but the desire in our hearts.

In Jeremiah 29:13 in the Amplified Bible we read God words, “You will seek Me, inquire for and require Me (as a vital necessity) and find Me; when you search for Me with all your heart.”

If we really desired to see God revive us and people saved from a lost eternity, we would pray with such intensity that we would see these things actually happen!

 7.  The requirement of prayer

Mark 11:24 goes onto say, “Believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

The Bible makes it plain in Mark 11:24 that we are to believe completely in order to receive the blessing from God, for which we have prayed.

Thus the true requirement of prayer is FAITH.  Without it, the Bible says it is impossible to please God.  (Hebrews 11:6.)

Romans 4:17 says that God…“calls things that are not as though they were.”  A more literal translation is, `He (God), calls those things that don’t exist as existing.’

If we are going to be heard of God we have to – ask in faith.

If we are going to receive from God we have to – receive by faith

 8.  The promise of prayer

Jesus assures us in Mark 11:24, “And it will be yours.”

Jesus said to His disciples, “Whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received it, and IT WILL BE YOURS.”

If you prayed today that God’s hand be upon your family, friend or church workers – personalize it – something happens today in the life of your family, friend or church workers.  The answer is a certainty, whether or not you receive even the slightest indication of an answer to your prayer.  God’s word says of your request, “it will be yours”.

In view of all that we have said about prayer thus far, we must mark one fact clearly – PRAYER WORKS!

Is your prayer, ‘Help me Jesus. Teach me how to pray’. In a free online movie and article you will learn what is prayer and how to pray. Trust it helped teach you how to pray.

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Difference Between Praise and Worship

What is praise? 

To praise God is to esteem or prize God.  Praise comes from the old French word PRESIER which means `TO PRIZE’.

Praise is to acknowledge God for His virtues (nature) and His accomplishments. Praise lifts your eyes from your circumstances – to your Almighty Father Who is ruler over all.  Praise lifts your eyes from the battle to the victory, for Christ is already victor.

As King David declared in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth”. (AMP.)

 “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, let God be magnified.”  Psalm 70:4. (KJV)

 We see clearly then, that praise to God means that we have an understanding and appreciation for God’s nature and what He has done for us.

 We praise God:

1. Praise God for His righteousness.

“My tongue will speak of your righteousness and your praises all day long.”  (Psalm 35:28)

 2. Praise God for His Word.

“In God, whose word I praise.”  (Psalm 56:10)  literally: to praise His promises.

3.  Praise God for His Name.

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory.”  (Psalm 115:1)

 4. Praise God for His works.

“One generation will commend your works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts.”  “All Thy works shall give thanks to thee, O Lord.”  (Psalm 145:4,10 NAS.)

Praise verses Worship

Praise is a command, worship is a privilege.   Praise is our declaration of Who God is - God you are wonderful, compassionate, loving.   Worship is participating in Who God is - God you really are wonderful, compassionate, loving.

According to Steve Fry of Church On The Way in California, “Worship allows the very presence of God to be experienced by us.  It is a moment by moment walking in love with Jesus.”  Worship is a lifestyle of being totally committed to Christ, every day of the week and every moment of the day.

This is what Romans 12:1 means when the Apostle urges us to: “Offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship.”

There is no way we can passively worship if we understand the real meaning of worship. Steve Fry also states, “Where we have a people who worship, we have a people moving in evangelism and having power for effective spiritual warfare.”

What is worship?

 Worship is: Adoring the Godhead

1.  The Godhead worships

Though difficult to understand, from a human point of view, we can affirm that, within the three Persons of the Godhead, there is an interchange or expression of worth and appreciation.

 Holy Spirit – Jesus

Speaking of the Holy Spirit, “He shall glorify me”. John 16:14 (KJV)

 Jesus – Father.

“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.’ John 17:4

Father – Jesus.

“I have given them the glory that you gave me.” John 17:22

 Father, Son – Holy Spirit.

“Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.” Mark 3:29

2.  God created us in order that He could give Himself to us  – unselfishly.

Adoration is a selfless expression of appreciation.

3.  God made us to worship - all worship something – (car; sport; job or money)

4.  It is God’s purpose that our lifestyle be the overflow of our adoration to God.

Can you imagine angels coming into the presence of God with their wings in their pockets?  No!  It is unthinkable.   Likewise, we should understand that to truly worship, the object of our worship (God) should demand all our attention.  For God’s presence provokes complete response - captivating your whole mind.

Worship is: Communion with God

Spiritual intimacy is essential so that a praying person can reproduce God’s actions in the practical day to day world.

Scripture: Daniel 11:32. “…..But the people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.”

strong = firm, durable

exploits = daring acts/bold deeds

Hebrew word for ‘know’ is: “YADA”.   The same word “YADA” is used in Genesis 4:1: “Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived.”   “koinonia” is the Greek word in the New Testament with the same meaning for communion, fellowship, intimacy.

In our world, the human illustration of the spiritual dimension has been marred.  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  This is a profound mystery – but I am talking of Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32)

 God’s desire is to establish a spiritual intimacy with His people, in order that He may reproduce His glory and blessing in and through us.  Listen to God’s heart being grieved, because of broken communion.

Jeremiah 13:11 says, “`For as a belt is bound around a man’s waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me’, declares the Lord, `to be my people for my renown (lit.- a name) and praise and honour.  But they have not listened.”

How do we worship God in Spirit and in Truth?

“…..true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks”. John 4:23

 To worship God in Spirit is to be consciously being led by the Spirit in the act of worship.  The Holy Spirit crafts the worship.

To worship God in truth is having our lives reflect our worship. e.g. what we sing should reflect the way we live.  Our lifestyle should reflect the content of our praise; otherwise we are not walking in truth.

What is praise? What is worship? What does it mean to worship and praise God?  Trust you have learnt how Christian worship and praise are different and discovered the hearty of worshiping and praising God…

You Were Created With A Destiny

 What is your destiny? Would you like to be sure of your destiny? Destiny’s Child is a pop group but you too can become a child of destiny! According to pop artist Guy Sebastian, “This website will help you find your destiny and become the person you were meant to be.”

Life is full of questions. Some are simple to answer. Others can be more challenging – like life’s questions:

1. How can I be sure of my final destiny?
2. How can I find purpose in my life?
3. How can I deal with past mistakes?
4. Is there anyone who really cares about me?

The free cartoon network flash presentation will give you the answers to these quesions and help you be all you can be. Start by clicking on one of the cartoons below.

You Were Created For A Purpose -With A Destiny

Have you ever asked yourself, “Is there a purpose for me being here on earth?” Or “Is there any meaning to life?” If you have asked these questions you are not alone. Millions of people around the world are searching for the meaning of life every day.

Only in God, our creator, can we discover the true meaning and purpose for life.

Without God life makes no sense. God created you for a purpose.

You Were Created To Be Loved

The Bible says God loves and cares about you. You matter to God. He will not only give meaning and purpose to your life but will help you make a fresh start.

Make A Wise Choice!

This website has pictures of cartoons and movie that will help you understand how you can be sure of your destiny and how you can reach your God given potential.

Your destiny is your choice! The flash cartoon network is a presentation composed of cartoons linking to one another taking you through the necessary steps to help you make a wise choice.

The reason why we chose cartoon pictures is because cartoons are a language everyone can understand and enjoy. In making a point sometimes words alone aren’t enough. A cartoon drawing communicates!

Phil Spratt, the cartoonist on www.ydyc.org comments, “It is said that cartoons cause people to laugh for 5 seconds and think for 5 minutes”. We trust the cartoon characters will help you do just that! Enjoy the cartoon characters and have a great day!

Don’t have flash? Watch the movie, “Your Destiny Your Choice” and become sure of your destiny today!

What is your destiny?  Trust that through the cartoons in the free cartoon network  helped you find your destiny and become the person you were meant to be.

What is love?  How to love

What is love? There is much confusion today on the subject of love because there is a broad range of meanings of the word ‘love’. Does it mean the same when I say, “I love my husband, I love animals, I love flowers, I love my friend”?  Obviously not!

There are at least four different types of love. They are:

1. Love displayed in parenting

Nurturing love is the affection a parent has for a child.

2. Love displayed in friendship

Friendship love is a love where two people benefit from each other in a mutual way.

3. Love displayed in the way we love our lovers

Lover’s love is that head-over-heels feeling we get in a relationship.

4. Love that is displayed through selflessness

This type of love is totally selfless, for whether the love given is returned or not, the person continues to love.

Nurturing love, friendship love and romantic love comes naturally to us, but selfless love, loving when love is not returned, is unique to us. It is the kind of love that God has for us and gives us so that we can love others selflessly!

How to love

It was a rainy day when Gary and Christina were married, but it didn’t dampen their love for each other.

Two years on Christina was expecting a baby and they had purchased their first home.  Life was good!

Then one day, Gary went from having an income and being able to pay his way, to being out of work; struggling to pay the home mortgage. Despite numerous job interviews, Gary was unable to obtain another job and became very depressed.

Gary turned to alcohol! Sometimes Christina tried talking to Gary about the problem.  But every time the conversation came up he would storm off and get drunk.

With tears flowing down Christina’s cheeks, she shared with Gary’s parents the problem.  They encouraged Gary to seek professional help.

Although Gary was seeing a professional councilor, he was furious with Christina for ‘turning him in’.  He accused her of ruining his life and continually threatened to leave her.

But Christina didn’t react.  She would say, “I love him.  You’ll see, he’ll recover!”

When Gary got a job and conquered his drinking, he thanked her for loving him during the times he was unlovable.

Christina loved Gary with a selfless love – the kind of love described in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

Love quote:

“Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way.

It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

If selfless love is unique to us, what made Christina so selfless? What enabled her to ‘hang–in–there’ and seek the welfare and betterment of Gary regardless of how she felt?

Christina didn’t do it alone! She was drawing upon God’s love.

In a short movie called ‘Living Free’, you’ll see how you can have a personal relationship with  God and draw upon his love daily too.

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What is love? We all long to be loved.  So what is love?  Did you learn how to love and discovered that there is a difference on how we love.  There is a parent’s love, friendship love, lover’s love and selfless love.

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           Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Fiction?

Written by Rusty Wright

At Easter, some might wonder what all the fuss is about. Who cares? What difference does it make if Jesus rose from the dead?

It makes all the difference in the world. If Christ did not rise, then thousands of believers have died as martyrs for a hoax.

If he did rise, then he is still alive and can offer peace to troubled, hurting lives.

Countless scholars–among them the apostle Paul, Augustine, Sir Isaac Newton and C.S. Lewis–believed in the resurrection. We need not fear committing intellectual suicide by believing it also. Where do the facts lead?

Paul, a first-century skeptic-turned believer, wrote that “Christ died for our sins…he was buried…he was raised on the third day…he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve (Disciples). After that, he appeared to more than five hundred…at the same time, most of whom are still living.” Consider four pieces of evidence:

1. The explosive growth of the Christian movement. 

Within a few weeks after Jesus was crucified, a movement arose which, by the later admission of its enemies, “upset the world.” What happened to ignite this movement shortly after its leader had been executed?

2. The Disciples’ changed lives. 

After Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, most of the Disciples fled in fear. Peter denied three times that he was a follower of Jesus. (The women were braver and stayed to the end.) Yet ten out of the eleven Disciples (Judas committed suicide) were martyred for their faith. According to traditions, Peter was crucified upside down; Thomas was skewered; John was boiled in oil but survived. What turned these cowards into heroes? Each believed he had seen Jesus alive again.

3. The empty tomb. 

Jesus’ corpse was removed from the cross, wrapped like a mummy and placed in a solid-rock tomb. A one-and-a-half to two-ton stone was rolled into a slightly depressed groove to seal the tomb’s entrance.

A “Green Beret”-like unit of Roman soldiers guarded the grave. Sunday morning, the stone was found rolled away, the body was gone but the graveclothes were still in place. What happened?

Did Christ’s friends steal the body? Perhaps one of the women sweet-talked (karate-chopped?) the guards while the others moved the stone and tiptoed off with the body. Or maybe Peter (remember his bravery) or Thomas (Doubting Thomas) overpowered the guards, stole the body, then fabricated–and died for–a resurrection myth.

These theories hardly seem plausible. The guard was too powerful, the stone too heavy and the disciples too spineless to attempt such a feat.

Did Christ’s enemies steal the body? If Romans or Jewish religious leaders had the body, surely they would have exposed it publicly and Christianity would have died out. They didn’t, and it didn’t.

The “Swoon Theory” supposes that Jesus didn’t really die but was only unconscious. The expert Roman executioners merely thought he was dead. After a few days in the tomb without food or medicine, the cool air revived him.

He burst from the 100 pounds of graveclothes, rolled away the stone with his nail-pierced hands, scared the daylights out of the Roman soldiers, walked miles on wounded feet and convinced his Disciples he’d been raised from the dead. This one is harder to believe than the resurrection itself.

4. The appearances of the risen Christ. 

For 40 days after his death, many different people said they saw Jesus alive. Witnesses included a woman, a shrewd tax collector, several fishermen and over 500 people at once. These claims provide further eyewitness testimony for the resurrection.

As a skeptic, I realized that attempts to explain away the evidences run into a brick wall of facts that point to one conclusion: Christ is risen.

The above does not constitute an exhaustive proof, rather a reasoned examination of the evidence. Each interested person should evaluate the evidence and decide if it makes sense. Of course, the truth or falsity of the resurrection is a matter of historical fact and is not dependent on anyone’s belief. If the facts support the claim, one can conclude that he arose. In any case, mere intellectual assent to the facts does little for one’s life.

A major evidence comes experientially, in personally receiving Jesus’ free gift of forgiveness. Worth considering?

© Rusty Wright. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The resurrection of Jesus, is it fact or fiction? Trust this movie about Jesus and the facts why Jesus had to die helped you. Plus the article showing the evidence that Jesus was resurrected.

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 Who’s Got the Body?

Written by Rusty Wright and Linda Raney Wright

Who cares? What difference does it make if Jesus rose from the dead? It makes all the difference in the world. If Christ did not rise, then thousands of Christians have lived and died for a hoax.

If, however, He did rise, then He is still alive and can act now to straighten out our chaotic world. Facts always speak louder than opinions. Let’s take a look at some of the historical evidence for the resurrection and see where the facts lead.

One preliminary consideration: countless scholars–among them, the apostle Paul, St. Augustine, Sir Isaac Newton and C. S. Lewis–believed in the resurrection. We need not fear committing intellectual suicide by accepting it also.

Paul wrote that “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, He was raised on the third day. He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now. {1}

Consider also these four pieces of evidence:

1. The Explosive Growth of the Christian Church

Within a few weeks after the crucifixion a movement arose which, by the later admission of its enemies, “upset the world.” {2} Something happened to ignite this movement a very short time after its leader had been executed. What was it?

2. The Changed Lives of the Disciples

After Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, most of the disciples were frightened. Peter, for instance, denied Christ three times (twice to two servant girls!) Yet 10 out of the 11 disciples were martyred for their faith. Peter was crucified upside down; Thomas was skewered; John was boiled in oil but survived. Something had happened to revolutionize these men’s lives. Each believed he had seen the risen Christ.

3. The Empty Tomb

Jesus’ dead body was removed from the cross, wrapped in graveclothes like a mummy, covered with 100 pounds of aromatic spices and placed in a tomb.{3} The tomb had been hewn out of rock{4} and apparently contained only one cavern.{5}An extremely large stone{6} was rolled into a slightly depressed groove at the tomb’s entrance.{7} Some have conservatively estimated the weight of the stone at one-and-a-half to two tons.

A crack “Green Beret” unit of Roman soldiers was placed out front to guard the grave.{8} The military discipline of the Romans was so strict that severe corporal and often capital punishment awaited the soldier who left his post or failed in his duty.{9}Sunday morning, the stone was found rolled away, the body was gone, but the graveclothes were still in place.{10} What happened?

Some say that Christ’s friends stole the body. This means that either one of the women sweet-talked the guards while the other two moved the stone and tip-toed off with the body, or else guys like Peter (remember how brave he was) and Thomas (how easily convinced he was) overpowered the guards, stole the body, and fabricated a myth.

These theories hardly seem plausible. The guard was too powerful, the stone too heavy, and the disciples, not yet experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit were too spinelesss to attempt such a feat.

Others say that Christ’s enemies stole the body. Yet if the Romans or Jews had the body, they would have exposed it publicly and Christianity would have died out. They didn’t and it didn’t.

Then there is the “swoon theory,” that Christ didn’t really die but was only unconscious. The expert Roman executioners merely thought He was dead. After a few days in the tomb, without food or medicine, the cool air revived Him. Then, according to this theory, He burst from the 100 pounds of graveclothes, rolled away the stone with His nail-pierced hands, scared the daylights out of the Roman soldiers, walked miles on wounded feet, and convinced His disciples that He’d been raised from the dead. This one is harder to believe than the resurrection itself.

In other words, if Jesus was put to death, who’s got the body? All that we do have is an empty tomb.

4. The Appearances of the Risen Christ

For 40 days after His death, Christ was reported to be seen alive on earth. Some say these were hallucinations, but do the accounts show that?

Only certain high-strung and imaginative types of people usually have such psychic experiences. Yet a woman, a stubborn tax collector, several fisherman and more than 500 people at one time claimed they saw Him. Hallucinations are very individualistic–contrasting with the fact that over 500 people saw the same thing at the same time and place.

Two other facts undermine the hallucination idea. Such imaginations are usually of expected events, yet the disciples had lost hope after the crucifixion. Also, psychic phenomena usually occur in cycles, but the appearances came in no set patttern.{11}

Attempts to explain away the appearances run into a brick wall of facts. The facts point to one conclusion: Christ is risen.

The above does not constitute an exhaustive proof, but rather a reasoned examination of the evidence. We must each consider and evaluate the evidence ourselves to determine the truth of the resurrection claim. (Of course, the truth or falsity of the resurrection is a matter of historical fact and is not dependent on any individual’s belief.)

If the facts support the claim, then we can conclude that He arose. In any case, a mere intellectual assent to the facts does nothing for one’s life.

A major evidence comes experientially, in personally receiving Christ as Savior and Lord. Jesus said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him.”{12}

Care to give Him a try?

Notes

1. 1 Corinthians 15:3-6.

2. Acts 17:6.

3. John 19:38-40.

4. Eusebius of Caesarea. Theophania; quoted in Latham, Henry. The Risen Master. (Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, and Co., 1904). pp. 87,88; quoted in McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands a Verdict. (San Bernardino, CA.: Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc., 1972). p. 209.

5. Ibid.

6. Mark 16:4.

7. Holloman, Henry W. “An Exposition of the Post Resurrection Appearances of Our Lord” (Unpublished Th. M. Thesis: Dallas Theological Seminary, May, 1967). p. 38, quoted in McDowell, op. cit. p. 216.

8. Matthew 27: 65,66.

9. McDowell, op. cit. pp. 218-224.

10. Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:1-6; Luke 24:1-3; John 20:1-11.

11. Anderson, J. N. D. The Evidence for the Resurrection. (Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1968). pp. 20-23.

12. Revelation 3:20.

A Short Story

There was once a rich man, who dressed in purple and the finest linen, and feasted in great magnificence every day. At his gate, covered with sores, lay a poor man named Lazarus, who would have been glad to satisfy his hunger with the scraps from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs used to come and lick his sores. One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, where he was in torment; he looked up, and there, far away, was Abraham with Lazarus close beside him.

“Abraham, my father,” he called out, “take pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue, for I am in agony in this fire.” But Abraham said, “Remember, my child, that all the good things fell to you while you were alive, and all the bad to Lazarus; now he has his consolation here and it is you who are in agony. But that is not all: there is a great chasm fixed between us; no one from our side who wants to reach you can cross it, and none may pass from your side to us.”

“Then, father,” he replied, “will you send him to my father’s house, where I have five brothers, to warn them, so that they too may not come to this place of torment?” But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.” “No, father Abraham,” he replied, “but if someone from the dead visits them, they will repent.” Abraham answered, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets they will pay no heed even if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16: 19-31, New English Bible)

©1976 Rusty Wright and Linda Raney Wright. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What is Easter about? This movi or rightly spelt movie explains who Jesus was and what Easter is about.  It is a Christian movie that tells the story of Easter and about Jesus’ death.

How Do I Find Peace?

  by Wilma Watson

What do you think about when you think of peace?

Do you think of peace as freedom from turmoil and strife? The peace we are talking about does not mean that you will be in a place where there is no turmoil or strife. It’s the kind of peace that places you in a position where those things no longer affect you.

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world without hatred, war and terror?  Growing up, I became the ‘peacemaker’ in our family. My mum and dad had a love-hate relationship. Add nine children and you have World War III! Even to this day I hate seeing people fight. I’m so grateful that I have a loving husband and fighting is not on our agenda.

Tribal people find peace

My husband and I spent many years in Ethiopia helping people rise to a new level. We worked in a very remote area southwest of the capital city, Addis Ababa. Towards the end of our stay, tribal war broke out. Seeing firsthand the destruction of peoples’ lives and homes is devastating, particularly as we knew and loved many of those murdered.

There is now peace between the tribes involved because many have found inner peace. They have found a clear ‘Roadmap to Peace’.

How did they find peace?

They were introduced to someone who is called the ‘Prince of Peace‘. His name is Jesus.

According to the Bible, Jesus said before he returned to his Father in Heaven, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives.”

What DO YOU think about when you think of peace?

Do you think of peace as freedom from turmoil and strife? Actually, the primary and basic idea of the word ‘peace’ in the Bible is completeness, soundness and wholeness. Is that what you long for? Jesus loves you and wants to bless you with completeness, soundness and wholeness!

You can rise to a new spiritual level and obtain inner peace today. The peace we are talking about does not mean that you will be in a place where there is no turmoil and strife. It’s the kind of peace that places you in a position where those things no longer affect you.

Watch this short movie called, ‘Living Free’ and you’ll discover how you can obtain inner peace now!

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 How do I find peace? Help me find peace! This article and movie that will show you how to find peace and help you find peace of mind, wholeness, completeness and soundness.

 How do I get to Heaven?

In the movie ‘Your Destiny Your Choice’, Ryan gave little thought to life after death until he faced death…he was afraid! When his sister Nicky comes to visit in hospital, she shows him a computer program that could make him sure of his destiny. Will Ryan  choose a new spiritual destiny?

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Have you travelled to another country? Whether you have travelled overseas or not, we are all on a journey, because life is like a journey!

Just as we need a passport and visa to confirm our citizenship and our right to enter an earthly country, we need to become citizens of Heaven to have the right of entry into Heaven.

How to get to Heaven

To find the answer, we need to go to a very reliable source – the Bible

God’s goodness will get you to Heaven.

God wants you to go to Heaven more than you do. You get into Heaven by God’s grace not by what we do.  The Bible confirms this: “You have been saved by God’s grace through believing.  You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.”  (Ephesians 2:8)

God has made a way for you to get to Heaven.

The Bible says, “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”  (John 3:16)

What is eternal life?

The Bible says, “This is eternal life: that people know you, the only true God, and that they know Jesus Christ, the One you sent.”  (John 17:3)

Eternal life doesn’t just begin when you die. It begins with having a personal relationship with Jesus now. “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 

God wants to bless you both now and in Heaven – the afterlife.

The Bible says, “God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on.  God has something stored up for you in heaven.”  (1 Peter 1:3-4)

 You can be sure of your citizenship in Heaven today!

 Click here for a short movie called, ‘Your Destiny Your Choice’.  It will show you how you can be sure of a place in Heaven when you die.

My question,’How  do I get to Heaven? How to go to Heaven?’  Most people at some stage in life think about Heaven, the afterlife and death. ‘What will happen when I die?’,  ’What is after death?’,  ’How do we get to Heaven?’,  ’Is there life after death?’, ‘Is there a Heaven?’,  ’Where is Heaven?’,  ’Is Heaven real?’  Trust this article and movie helped answer your questions about Heaven.

 Christian. Free Christian Movies Online

The ten ‘Living Free’ movies were born out of a passion and 43 years of ministry experience, including several years as a missionary in Ethiopia with my husband, Bill.  The Ethiopians shared with their friends and families the freedom they had found in Christ and many thousands were saved from the penalty and power of sin.

I AM A CHRISTIAN WITH A PASSION

There are those who are extremely passionate about saving the planet.  I’m extremely passionate about saving people! Why?  Because that is God’s heart!  He wants everyone to be saved and grow in their relationship with Him.

I believe that one of the main reasons why we do not share with our friends and family the freedom we have received is because we haven’t fully understood what Jesus did for us.  We haven’t learnt to walk in the complete freedom God has provided!

If we were to fully grasp the freedom we have, we would be really eager to share what we have been freely given!!

Watch the ten free 12 minute movies called ‘Living Free’ and discover how you can be free today and enjoy all that God has provided for you.

The sessions are:

Living Free Session 1a How to be saved

Living Free Session 1b How to receive form God

Living Free Session 2a  What is prayer?

Living Free Session 2b What makes prayer work?

Living Free Session  3a  What is faith?

Living Free Session 3b What makes faith work?

Living Free Session 4a  How to overcome weaknesses

Living Free Session 4b How to forgive when hurt

Living Free Session 5a  How to change wrong mind sets

Living Free Session 5b  How to pray for the unsaved

Enjoy!

Wilma Watson
Prayer Australia Director

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Enjoy the ten free Christian movies online called ‘Living Free’  - they will change your life.  Download free the good Christian inspirational teaching movies with encouraging Bible verses.

How to Enjoy Life With Your Companion

“Companionship – What does it look like?”

Normally when I think about companionship, I think of the kind you see between aging couples, I think of tartan knee rugs, cups of tea and crocheted jumpers for the grandkids. You know, just pottering around the house together until one of us finally kicks the bucket.

When some women think of companionship they think of strolls along the beach.

I’m not sure if this is how you think of companionship but there’s something you need to understand about your man. We are risk takers. We like driving fast and jumping out of planes and buying Harley Davidson motorcycles.

 Most men will never truly ‘grow up’. 

Sure I’ve taken on the responsibilities of adulthood, I’m a husband, a father and a productive member of society but no matter how mature I am I still want to go play paintball and shoot someone at point blank range.

Now as usual I’m speaking in generalities, some of the best times I share with my wife are the times we share a picnic, lie on the grass listening to music and just getting back in touch with each other on a romantic level. But this is more like that growing old together kind of companionship I mentioned earlier. Not the kind I’m trying to communicate here.

John Eldredge wrote a book entitled ‘Wild at Heart’; in it he states that every man has three underlying needs in life. These are a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue and an adventure to live.

It’s true, we men crave risk and we crave adventure, we get so bored with the mundane grind of daily life.

As John says in his book there are no little boys who want to grow up to be really nice guys. They all want to be firemen or astronauts. I can’t help notice that these are professions that are inherently risky and full of adventure.

The world we live in today is becoming more and more risk averse. The very nature of boys is under threat because boys naturally like to be rough, take risks and stomp around.

We spend all our time telling little Johnny to stop that, don’t climb that and get down from there. Poor little Johnny is only doing what God created him to do. He’s trying to live a life full of adventure! Be careful not to squash that in your
boys and in your man.

We need it desperately and if we don’t get it we can turn to other unsavoury things to fill the void… 

More on that later!

There is an advertisement for tyres on television at the moment where all the cars are those carnival bumper cars, the voiceover states, “we all want to live in a safer world, where life’s little mishaps can be fixed with a simple wave”. I hate that ad. I actually don’t want to live in a safer world, how boring that would be. I want to do something dangerous! Something that would be a great story for the grandkids! Imagine a granddad with no stories to tell, what a travesty!

Unfortunately risk takers are no longer celebrated in modern culture; If at all possible they are diagnosed with some disorder and given personality destroying drugs. We seem to be trying to remove all possibility of negative consequences from our lives but we need to take some risks in life or we become destined to live a meaningless existence.

It’s no accident that the vast majority of people who play video games are male and it’s also no accident that the most popular ones are filled with guns, killing and fast cars.

Men are bored pushing paper at work and helping around the house at night. Video game addiction is a growing concern and so it should be. Boys are growing into men who are still playing games into their forties! Could it be they simply need to ‘get a life’? I mean that in all sincerity, by ‘get a life’ I mean get some adventure.

I mentioned earlier that men can turn to unsavoury things to fill the void. Video games are ok as a past time but they can ruin relationships if there is an addiction involved. Pornography, alcohol and gaming are the most common but there can be many others. They give him a sense of adventure, there’s risk involved and, well, I hesitate to say it but you should be used to me by now, it can just be more exciting than life at home. This is in no way an excuse for his poor choices or his poor behaviour…

 I’m simply suggesting that we were created to live a life of adventure and if this need isn’t fulfilled in a Godly way within a loving relationship then it may get fulfilled in other more destructive ways.

Watch this short movie, called ‘Living Free’ and discover how you can have a loving relationship with God.

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 Its true men want adventure but it’s equally true that they want to share that adventure with someone! You and he were created to share a journey together that is unique, God inspired and adventurous. Do something crazy with your man!

Start taking some leaps of faith and see where you could end up. What you are actually doing is allowing him to become adventurous, and in the process you’re creating great memories together through the power of companionship.

Watch it revitalise your relationship, watch his youthful energy begin to return and you’ll be surprised that as you do more fun stuff together your ability to communicate will increase dramatically along with a hundred other benefits. He will talk to you like he has never talked before if you can get his blood going on the adventure of a life time, or should that be a life time of adventure?

Companionship isn’t something for old age when the kids have grown up and moved away. Companionship is a powerful force that can keep your relationship vital and growing today.

‘How to Enjoy Life With Your Companion‘ | Understanding Your Man Series – Part 5
Written by Mark Paul.

Get a life! Did you see how to enjoy life with your companion? How to create an exciting, life of adventure and  enjoy life with your companion?  This article will help you get a life by showing you how to work on your relationship.

Men and Women’s Differences

I against my better judgement am setting out to reveal some secrets about men that will perhaps help women understand why the cricket is so much more important than whatever it is you are trying to say. Here goes…

Women have been said to speak approximately 20,000 words per day while men only 7,000. This statistic has been widely accepted as truth and it has given comedians the world over unlimited material to fill their shows.

One of my personal favourites is this one: “Getting a word in edgewise when two women are talking is like trying to thread a sewing machine while the motor is running”. Hilarious! Unfortunately the science is flawed. The notion that women talk more than men is today regarded as a myth. It was originally made popular by Louann Brizendine when she wrote a book entitled “The Female Brain”. She revealed some time after the book was published that the numbers came from an “unreliable” study. Subsequent studies have suggested that in fact men and women share an average of about 16,000 words per day each! Fancy that, men talk as much as women!

So if we all speak the same amount of words in a day why is communication so difficult between men and women in  relationships?

It’s true that men and women are fundamentally different but it’s never more starkly polarised than when you look at how men and women deal with problems and how they communicate those problems. I could spend the remainder of this article telling witty anecdotes about everyday communication between men and women but I want to focus on how men deal with problems which will hopefully give you a further understanding of why he wont open up to you and why he would rather watch cricket or some other sport!

Does this conversation sound familiar?

Roslyn: “We’re going to the shops today because we need X, Y and Z, then we’re going here to get this and then there to get that, ok?”

Mark: “Sure thing babe, and by the way you’re beautiful and I love you”.

We then get in the car mere hours later…

Mark: “So, where are we headed?”

Roslyn: “To the shops”

Mark: “Why?”

Roslyn: “I told you all this before if you had bothered to listen! I hate having to tell you everything twice!”

Are men like this because what you say is boring to us? No way ladies we simply crave the headlines. If you give us too much detail we get all lost and confused.

All we really need to know is “You. Me. Shops. Today”. That’s almost too much for one sitting!

Women are great multi taskers while men specialise in linear thought or simply put; one thing at a time! 

From my experience women are adept at having numerous conversations at once; I have witnessed conversations between groups of women that have traversed innumerable topics in the course of only a few minutes! It’s a phenomenon!

When I want to share with my wife the things that are bothering me about work or some other issue I’m dealing with, often in a busy  family life we will have these discussions whenever there is a spare moment, I have discovered that my multi-tasking wife can do about three other things at the same time as listening to me.

It annoys me because I feel like she’s not interested unless she gives me her undivided attention. (One thing at a time). She’s annoyed because she has to stop what she’s doing to listen when she knows full well that she could have completed six other jobs during that time. (Multi-tasking). I try to have these conversations during a time when she doesn’t need to be doing all the other things so she can look me in the eye and non-verbally communicate that she is listening.

Even though I understand that she can multi task I still feel like she’s not interested if she’s not giving me her focussed attention. 

Be careful you don’t silently make him feel that you’re not interested or he may stop communicating the important things altogether.

Men have a lot of hidden worries that they don’t share with other people. Those hidden thoughts can sometimes take up a lot of mental space so when seemingly irrelevant details come through the filter they are discarded.

It’s not that we don’t listen to you, we really do, oftentimes there are other issues going on inside us and we don’t have the additional space to store the details. 

When my two pre-teen daughters come to me with their broken toys for fixing I have trained them to tell me about it and then write it on a list that I keep in the kitchen with the note pad and pens. They are learning that I am always working off a list other wise I simply won’t remember.

My wife makes lists for me. You should try it with your man, tell him the headlines then write it down on a list somewhere in the kitchen, preferably close to where the food is kept. He may need a little encouragement to look at the list proactively but there is a much greater chance he will remember what you’ve asked of him if it is on a list.

I mentioned that men have a lot of hidden worries that they don’t share with other people. This is a huge part of being a man and the crux of this article. It’s something that women often don’t appreciate. You may feel excluded from your man’s heart because he won’t “open up”. 

Hopefully what I say next will help you understand that he’s not shutting you out as much as he is problem solving the way God intended.

As usual there is always balance in these things and men desperately need to open up to their women and share things because that’s a healthy and important part of a loving and trusting relationship; however God made men this way. It’s something I have observed to be very difficult for some women to grasp. This is because God made women to talk through their problems and discuss them with other people, usually a girlfriend or a group of girlfriends. Every detail of the problem is up for grabs, every angle is analysed, and she thrashes that problem around until she gets her answer and in the process grows closer to the girls she took along for the ride. She’s a relational being.

Men do the exact opposite! They go silent. They retreat into a mental space where they internally grapple with the problem until they solve it, make a decision about it and then they come back out and move forward with their plan.

It’s that problem solving, ‘gotta come through’ type of thing that we have discussed in previous articles.

A lot of men feel condemned for not being able to communicate how they feel. If you can remember that he needs time alone to process then you can actually help him by encouraging him to go surfing, to the gym, play a game of golf, go for a motor bike ride or even to go camping for a night alone.

If he spends his time well, when he returns he will have much greater clarity and will be able to communicate with you clearer than you could have ever imagined.

When you push him too soon he will clam up, get angry, push you away and then he’ll feel terrible and you’ll feel even more alone.

I agree with you ladies, cricket is an awful sport, it’s boring and stupid but it may just be the alone time he’s craving to mentally sort out the things that have been worrying him.

Want to find peace of mind?  Watch this video, ‘Your Destiny Your Choice’ and discover real peace.

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Men and Womens Differences‘ | Understanding Your Man Series – Part 4
Written by Mark Paul.

There are differences between men and women!  How do men think? In this article the writer sought  to give communication skills to help you understand the differences between men and women and how to communicate better and be a better communicator!

What Men Want / What Men Like

What do Men want in a Women?  If I asked you, or your friend, or your neighbour or pretty much anyone else on the planet what is mans greatest need? You know what the answer would be!

That’s right. Sex.

It’s ubiquitous and we men love sex so much that we agree whole heartedly that it is indeed our greatest need in the hopes that we will get more of it. Is it really true though? I say no.

Before we begin let’s take a quick look at need. We need oxygen, water, food, clothing and shelter. These are the five basic survival needs that are the same all over the world.

I need a cup of tea in the morning. Believe me, this is a real need! But when looking at need by definition it’s not really a need is it? It’s more of a want or a desire because I can live without it.

There are men right now, all over the world that do not have sex and they still function in the world, they may be celibate for spiritual reasons, religious reasons or purely physiological reasons but they still function and they still survive. So does that mean sex is just a want or a desire for men similar to a cup of tea in the morning? No way, let’s just slow down a bit!

I believe sex really is a genuine need for men, I have no dispute there; it’s just the order of priority I have a problem with and if you’re going to understand your man a little better you need to know what I’m about to tell you.

Mans second greatest need is sex. Mans greatest need… drum roll please… is respect!

” R. E. S. P. E. C. T! “

Respect shows him he is valued and he is worthy of the responsibility of manhood. 

It literally explodes inside him; it lifts his head and pushes out his chest. You can put courage into your man and become the catalyst he needs to launch his life. 

The world needs men desperately to roll their sleeves up and set about changing the world. Just look at the sheer number of fatherless children even in our own nation. Look at all the girls desperate for a father figure doing crazy things for boys in an effort to find their own worth. We need our men to rise up and be the fathers and husbands they were created to be. Giving your man more sex is not going to empower him for greatness.

Respect is the number one need a man has if he is to become the champion that God wants him to be. 

Boy I hated saying that! Honesty really hurts sometimes! Seriously though, let’s look at this for a moment. If a man lacks respect he becomes a shadow of himself, his self worth is eaten away and his ego becomes emaciated. He becomes an empty shell, empty of desire, purpose and hope. Without sex he gets grumpy. See the difference?

We have discussed in previous articles mans need to be a problem solver, to ‘come through’ and how encouragement is like food for his soul. His ability to be all he can be and to become the confident, strong and able man that God has designed him to be is fuelled by the respect he can earn from the people close to him.

Respect is empowering. When a man garners respect, especially from his wife, it provides an empowerment that drives him to do his best and be his best. 

When a woman truly respects her man it gives him a sense that he can do anything.

Now, at this point a little balance is required.  A man who is constantly craving female attention has a need that he is trying to satisfy in the wrong place.

God is the only one who can ever truly meet your man’s needs.  Watch this short movie called, ‘Livign Free’ and discover how you can have a personal relationship with God.

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God has set the marriage relationship in place for a very good reason. Respect in a marriage empowers a man in a way that nothing else on earth can!

When a woman belittles her man, especially in front of other people it shatters him so deeply it’s hard to even articulate. It breaks him in a way that can sabotage his entire future!

 When she truly respects him for who he is, he will literally move any mountain to succeed.

I can almost hear some of you thinking “There is actually nothing to respect when it comes to the man in my life”. It’s a sad truth that some of us men are totally unworthy of any true respect.

Some men are guilty of the most horrendous acts of cruelty and selfishness, so much so that respect for some of you may be such a big stretch from where you find yourself right now that it may seem impossible.

Here’s a tip that may help to get you started if you have one of those men.

Respect his office. What I mean is that you can start by respecting the fact that he holds the position of husband.

Even if he doesn’t respect you! You respect him because of his title not his talent. 

It’s the lowest level of respect. The kind of respect you give to a police officer sitting at the bottom of a hill with a speed camera. You may not like what he is doing but you can still respect him as an officer of the law.

Your husband has been given a Godly role as husband. Start by respecting his office. As the journey progresses you will soon find things he does that you are able to respect. Then finally you may just find yourself being able to respect him for who he is. That’s the highest level of respect.

It’s a journey you both go on together, it can be a long journey, filled with pot holes but it’s also one of the most fulfilling.

Now that you know your mans greatest need you can relax a little about that other need… if he’s a bit grumpy, try a little tenderness if you know what I mean, but more importantly, always remember that respect is not just a song for the
ladies, it’s a favourite of the men too!

‘What Men Want‘ | Understanding Your Man Series – Part 3
Written by Mark Paul.

Click here to view all five artilces in the ‘Understanding Your Man’ series.

What do men want in a woman? What do men like in a women? What are the things men need? In this article in understanding men  where you shocked to discover that the greatest need is respect?

What Do Men Need? What Men Want in a Woman

 I have been accused of not being a good driver!

It’s a shocking revelation I know, especially seeing as I am a man. It’s the women drivers that are the subject of our derision, they are the ones to be belittled behind the wheel yet here I am accused of falling short of my very manhood. Yes it’s that serious!

I suppose if forced to have one of those rare moments of personal honesty, I could see that maybe there’s some merit to the accusation… I mean, I have crashed more cars than you’ve probably owned. Even so, I can’t help but be deeply affected by this. We men use driving as a metaphor for life; if I cannot drive I cannot live!

With the knowledge of my failures in hand I set about searching for absolution, I looked for an opinion I could hang my hope on but the more I searched the more evidence I found mounting against me. The cascade of firing synapses finally came crashing down on me and all the memories came flooding back. I will recount a few of those memories here for you, my already long-suffering reader.

I remember my own brother’s white knuckles leaving permanent indents on my dashboard. I remember catching a friend phantom breaking on the passenger side. I have memories of my friends gathering in small groups, whispering in hushed tones and then the conversation stopping when I entered the room. That last one may not be related though…

There is of course one timeless cliché that is able to bring any husband and wife to the very brink of divorce almost every time. You guessed it, it’s the driving disagreement. “He won’t stop for directions”; “she can’t read the map”. It’s such a tired old cliché that I’m tired just writing it down!

The funny thing about clichés though is that they have an annoying habit of being very accurate to real life, so when you come across one you should try to give it a moment of your time to see if it has anything new to tell you.

Why are driving disputes such a minefield of aggression and misunderstanding?

After reading my introduction it should come as no surprise that I have had many disagreements in the car with my wife; we still have them after 15 years of marriage and will probably continue to have them. I now understand that in my case the main reason for these disagreements is simple, it’s because of my inability to concentrate for more than 0.3 seconds and that scares her… half to death…

So why are these driving disagreements so frequent and so often the most aggressive disagreements we have with our spouses?

There is a very simple and elegant truth to it and it can be summed up in one statement: I may not be a great driver, but I don’t like to be told. It hurts my feelings.

Of course I won’t tell you it hurts my feelings, I’m way too manly for that but here’s the thing, secretly I want you to believe in me and I want you to tell me how good I’m doing. Remember, driving is a metaphor for life.

There’s no great hidden revelation here. It’s a simple and often overlooked truth, God made men with a fundamental desire to ‘come through’. Watch this video called,  ‘Living Free’ and discover how to ‘come through’ and gain the greatest relationship.  A personal relationship with creator God!

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We have a spiritual birthright which drives us to achieve outcomes, to get us there, to make it work and ultimately to be held responsible for the outcomes of our lives, and those of our families. He made women to be the ‘help-mete’. It’s an old word found in Genesis 2:18 and it simply means helper. He has been given a grand adventure by God and she is called to help him. This is to come alongside him and to join in with him, and to be an integral part of, that great adventure! So many times he treats her like she’s a spectator when she was called to play a very important role.

If you want my advice, get alongside your man, tell him he’s doing great and mean it. Then watch him change before your eyes and rise up to become everything God called him to be. There is a strength that pours into a man’s soul when he is encouraged. He will move mountains for the woman that believes in him! It’s one of his greatest needs and can only come from his ‘help-mete’. Will it fix his driving? Sorry, probably not. It doesn’t fix mine, but there are much more important things in life than driving skills.

Oh, and by the way, he probably won’t tell you, but secretly he’ll love you for it!

‘What do men need’ | Understanding Your Man Series – Part 1 Written by Mark Paul.

What do men need? What do men want in a woman?   Men want… Women did you learn how men think and how to dispel disagreements? Did you discover what encouragement can do to a man?

How Men Think

Pregnancy is a happy time for most women right? I remember our excitement when we had our first baby, we were married at 21 and made a conscious decision to have children young so we would get our lives back earlier and still be young enough to enjoy them. Now, I realise that once you start pulling at the threads of that kind of logic it really doesn’t take long before its completely threadbare but we were young, we knew better than everyone else so leave me alone!

At 24 we were having children; our first was going to be Jessikah or Josiah depending on the sex but in reality this first baby was never meant to be. I know from first hand experience how miscarriage can be a very traumatic experience both physically and mentally because I had to stand by and watch my wife endure it. It’s a difficult thing to deal with at any age but as immature 24 year olds it was tough. It was one of the first moments in my life when I had the acute feeling of needing to be ‘the man’ in a real life situation and to be honest I felt totally inadequate, underprepared and just downright lost. I couldn’t fix Roslyn no matter how hard I tried. When I look back at that time it is so clear to me that one of the God ordained parts of manhood was trying desperately to assert itself. The need to fix things!

Men are problem solvers and our first impulse when faced with brokenness is often to fix it.

Broken things desperately need fixing! This is clearly the heart beat of God as He sent His Son to earth to fix broken humanity in the ultimate sacrifice.

The next year we got our Jessikah and the journey of parenthood had begun. Our next child came three years later and when she was born we named her Chloe.

Jessikah is 11 years old now with a little 8 year old sister and it seems that we have the perfect little family. Yes there is a lot of estrogen in our house. Yes some days I lose count of the different moods and yes, some moods I don’t even know the name of! But it’s ok because in a house with three women my need to fix things is well and truly met.

We men really do like to fix stuff.

We fix cars, well I don’t. That’s why God invented mechanics, but I do fix a LOT of broken toys, my girls think that Dad and a tube of super glue can change the world! I keep telling them it’s not true but they just keep breaking more toys.

A few years ago we decided it was time for me to make things final and get… ‘The Snip’!

We had been planning on this for a number of years but the timing or the money or some other thing always put it off till later.

No small measure of this postponement was due to my unwillingness to have another man, well… You understand.

Late last year we had a pretty big scare when we had a breakage in the ‘protection’ department and I literally felt my world closing in around me, we were to my reasoning, lucky when the cycles of nature had their way and I felt that all was as it should be in the world again. Nevertheless I became very motivated and made the booking for the snip the very next day! As my appointment with permanent contraception was beginning to loom large on the horizon I came home from work to one of the most surreal conversations I’ve ever had.

“I’m late”.

“Come again?”

“I’m late”.

“Late for what?”

“You’re not listening, I’m LATE”

“Oh, that kind of late. But you got your period”

“Yeah but now I’m late this month”

“Um… Maybe your just late, these things happen don’t they?”

“Mark! I haven’t been late in 7 years.” <Insert tears>

In a strange parallel, the helpless feeling I had when Roslyn miscarried was the same helpless feeling I had when faced with her surprise pregnancy. There was nothing I could do to ‘fix’ her.

A few weeks later I was holed up on the couch after my ‘surgery’ clutching bags of frozen peas on the very same weekend that her morning sickness arrived in full force!

I can report that we are now very happy about our new little addition, we are having a boy and his name will be Josiah.

So what can you learn about your man from this story?

Even though I couldn’t fix the problem which made me very frustrated, I began to realise that in fact Roslyn didn’t need to be fixed, she just needed me to listen.

I was able to switch off my brains solution centre and just begin to hear her. When your partner begins to share her struggles, your first instinct will most likely be to try and fix the problem.

This is why you offer advice and then get annoyed when she keeps talking about it. She may even have heard you say something like this – “I told you what you need to do! If you don’t want to do it then what else can I do?”

Men and women really are different but the synergy that comes when a man and a woman come together and really listen to each other is truly amazing.

Woman – let your man know that by simply listening he is helping you fix the problem.

If you can remember this when all you want is for him to listen then you and he can begin to communicate on a much leveller playing field, he will begin to realise that it’s not always about the solution, sometimes its about hearing and understanding, and you can forgive him if he goes into fix-it mode because you realise that he’s only trying to help and to come through for you. It’s the way God made him!

Click here to view all five artilces in the ‘Understanding Your Man’ series.

How do men think? What do men like? Men think differently… Did you see how men like to problem solve?  Men like to ’fix’ things. Girls, if you’ve ever had trouble getting your man to listen, then this article is for you… This is all about ‘How Men Think’

What is dementia? - Memory Loss

The poems below describes what dementia is and how it can cause suffering for the carer and care giver.  This page is to encourage you that the light of day always follows after the dark night!

Trapped by Wilma Watson

I try so hard to be good for you
But I keep forgetting what to do
I don’t want to be such a burden to all
Who tenderly care for me lest I fall

Inside I’m crying as I see myself go
Deep in confusion, I really don’t know
How to get out of this deep hole I’m in
I feel trapped and now getting so very thin

“Can anyone help me”, “Where are you?”, I cry
I hate to be left lest alone I die
But maybe dying might be my way out
Of this awful dilemma which I don’t know about
I’ll then be healed of this terrible thing
That has caused me to suffer so deep within

A Carers Reward by Wilma Watson

How I need God’s help to proceed
I don’t like what has come to me
I get frustrated and angry as I see my love one
Change gradually on the inside to become
Someone I don’t recognise at all
Surely this is not my mother who stood so tall

The grief and guilt has taken its toll
And it feels like my life is now on hold
I comfort myself as I’ve come to see
What you sow you reap, it will surely be

Susan Boyle must have shed many tears
Caring for mother through her frail years
Susan now reaps what she has sown
With joy, her singing is well known
She’s an example to all and it gives us a clue
That what we sow, we’ll reap in joy too

Having cared for those who suffer with Alzheimer and Dementia, I want to acknowledge, through poetry, the pain and stress of both the carer and the person who feels trapped.
Remember the light of day always follows after the dark night!
Quote:

“He (God) helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:4

God loves you and sees your pain.

Watch this short movie called, ‘Living Free’ and it will show you how special you are to God.  Or this free online cartoon flash presentation, it too will show you how much he loves you!

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So what is dementia?  Is it just memory loss? Does your love one have Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Suffer from memory loss? Are you a family caregiver? Do you have caregiver depression?  Do you feel trapped? Then trust this poem and quote encouraged you…

Small Things

At times I’m so discouraged
With problems of the day
I fail to see the small things
That are along the way.

When troubles overwhelm me
It’s then my nerves may fray
That’s when I need to take the time
To simply sit and pray.

Reflecting on God’s many gifts
It makes me so aware
Of all the joy in little things
Around me everywhere!

I must try to remember
Though problems come my way
Not to miss the small things
And the beauty of the day.

Anonymous

This could be the best day of your life! God, the Creator of the Universes, wants to help you in your time of need. Watch this short movie called, ‘Living Free’, or click here for a cartoon flash presentation and discover how much he loves you.

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 Trust you have enjoyed the poem about small things. Discouraged? Facing challenges? Short poem encouraging you when facing a problem to reflect on the small things and pray to the God of small things.

We all have a choice, we all have a say
We are spectators in life, or we get in and play
Whichever we choose, how we handle life’s game
The choices are ours; no one else is to blame.

What is destiny? Your Destiny Your Choice

Life is made up of choices.  We all have the right to choose how we live. From the time we get up until we go to bed we make choices.  Some are good, some are bad.

The poem below ends by saying:

Whichever we choose, how we handle life’s game
The choices are ours; no one else is to blame.

Make a wise choice today!

In the movie ‘Your Destiny Your Choice’, Ryan gave little thought to life after death until he faced death…he was afraid! When his sister Nicky comes to visit in hospital, she shows him a computer program that would make him sure of his destiny. Watch this short free movie and discover how you, like Ryan, can be sure of your eternal destination.

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Some People

Some people SIT – some people TRY
Some people LAUGH – some people CRY
Some people WILL – some people WON’T
Some people DO – some people DON’T

Some people believe and develop a plan
Some people doubt, never thinking they can
Some people face hurdles and give it their best
Never back down when faced with a test.

Some people complain of their miserable lot
Some people are thankful for all they have got
When it’s all over, and it’s time to snooze
Some people win and some people lose.

We all have a choice, we all have a say
We are spectators in life, or we get in and play
Whichever we choose, how we handle life’s game
The choices are ours; no one else is to blame.

Anonymous

Olympic Diver makes a wise choice!

A true story was told some years ago of a diver who was training for the Olympics.  There were many things on the mind of this young man. After tossing and turning in bed one night he decided to go diving at the college indoor swimming pool.  The lights were off, but the moonlight coming through the window was enough light for him to reach the highest diving board. On the edge of the board he turned his back to the pool and extended his arms out.  With the moonlight now behind him, his shadow was on the wall in the shape of a cross.  

Click here for a cartoon flash presentation that will help you make a wise choice and get right with God too.

What is my destiny?  You have the right to choose your destiny.  It is your choice! This is my destiny…  A short movie and poem about choices of life that will help you find your life purpose and destiny.

The Love of God
by Michelle Archbell

Who can understand God’s love?
Who can measure the depths of it?
It is beyond understanding!

Like the vastness of the sea, God’s love covers me…
His love washes over me
Like the gentle waves on a calm day,
Lapping softly at my feet.

As the sun rises over the horizon;
So God’s unfailing love rises over me every morning.
I rest in the quiet acceptance of his love.

In the stillness of the morning;
God’s loves settles over me;
His loving kindness never changes;
It is as constant as the waves of the sea.

Immerse me in Your love O God;
Overshadow me; all of me;
That I may dwell
In the wonder of Your love forever…

God loves you so much. Discover how to tap into his love through a short movie called, ‘Living Free’ or a cartoon flash presentation.

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 Trust you enjoyed the poem about love – God’s love. Did you discover the depth and the wonder of the love of God for you through poetry and the short movie?

Parents Guide on How to Parent by Garry Mac

This article is ideal for new parents. It will help to guide parents in wearing different hats for different stages in a child’s life.

Parenting is seasonal and sequential and with every new season parents need to change hats. Parenting styles, ideas and tips…

No one can parent a six month old baby the way they parent a teenager. This may sound overly simplistic but it is incredible how many parents seem to suffer from lack of clarity when it comes to the season they are in and the style of parenting it demands.

The Nurse Hat

When your little bundle of joy comes home there is no chance they will steal the car, take illicit drugs, or start hanging out with a bad crowd. There is just a lot of sleeping, eating and awake time when you would like to be sleeping. This phase of parenting lays a strong foundation within a child of deep security, safety and connectedness to parents. There are a lot of tricks that can make this season a little easier but every family needs to find their own equilibrium of what works for them.

The Disciplinarian Hat

No one can deny that there is a point when a child’s own independent WILL starts to really kick in. This is usually around the time when they start walking but it varies from child to child. This is when the real work of parenting begins in earnest.

Some kids are incredibly compliant and require very little in the way of correction in order to learn to respect and honour the authority of a parent. However, many others are incredibly WILFUL and so (like it or not) it JUST WILL be a battle of the WILLS for a few really important years. Of course parents will be wearing the Teachers Hat a lot during this season too but it is often a surprise to a lot of people how much focus must be on discipline during the toddler season. Any child who does not learn to honour and respect parental authority will ultimately struggle to honour and respect other forms of authority.

The Teacher Hat

In a world of hard core internet pornography easily streamed in high definition to a phone handset, parents need to step up and teach their kids about life early. As a child graduates out of the toddler season and into what is meant to be the innocence of childhood. The parenting hat needs to read TEACHER more than any other during this season.

Child hood is when parents can fill kids up with wisdom and understanding about what lies ahead. In the years getting closer to the teen years parenting ought to be full of discussions about what to expect as a teenager and how to handle every situation. One of the best things you can do for your child is involve them in serving the community and expose them (in measured fashion) to society fallouts.

The Coach Hat

It is very difficult to play ‘catch up’ on past seasons once a child hits puberty. If a parent fails to teach a toddler to honour authority and how to be respectful in disagreements the teen years can be tough for everyone. If parents fail to teach their kids about the real world and expose them to the real ‘fallout’ firsthand, teens can be unprepared to face the very real challenges and temptations of the season of youth.

The lead up to seasons is vital but so too is the HAT change of parenting into the teen years. Teens simply do not need their parents primarily wearing the DISCIPLINARY HAT as they face the peer pressures and insecurities of the superficial teen universe. They need the constant encouragement of a COACH who believes in them.

Teens neither need Mum and dad to be wearing the TEACHERS HAT all the time lecturing them on everything. The smart parent will understand the power of older mentors and position their teen around the right people.

The teenage years are that slow journey from childhood or dependence into independence.
It is a time when your teen can rest in the knowledge that you are there to help them succeed in life.

The Friend Hat

Hopefully in all seasons families can remain the very best of friends. However, for any parent there can be nothing greater that to see their child grow to become a functioning, mature and independent adult who they just like to spend time with. Parents need to change Hats here and let their child run their life the way they see fit and just enjoy the friendship.
Hopefully this short article might help you just a little in your parenting journey so when that time eventually comes your kids still like you.

Article can be read in full in the Go Magazine.

If you weren’t able to effectively change hats in your parenting journey and now feel guilty, struggling to know how to handle your child’s behaviour. God loves you and has made a wonderful provision to remove all your guilt and shame.

Discover how much God loves you in a short, free movie called, ‘Living Free’. 

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Did the parenting plan with different parenting styles help? This article offered a parenting plan suitable for new parents. It gave suggestions for parents in parenting styles on how to wear different hats for different stages in a child’s life.

I love this quote: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”  This story of a man and his dog will be one of those moments that will take your breath away.

It’s a beautiful story that shows how much God loves and cares for us.  Watch this movie called ‘Living Free’ and see how much God loves you. Or  click here for a cartoon flash presentation.

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A Man and His Dog / Father, a Daughter and a Dog by Catherine Moore

“Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!” My father yelled at me. “Can’t you do anything right?”

Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn’t prepared for another battle.

“I saw the car, Dad. Please don’t yell at me when I’m driving.”

My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.

Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts…. dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him?

Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon. He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reviled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered gruelling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often. The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess.

The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn’t lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn’t do something he had done as a younger man.

Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing.

At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived. But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone. He obstinately refused to follow doctor’s orders. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone..

My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.

Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue.

Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counselling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad’s troubled mind.

But the months wore on and God was silent. Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it.

The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered in vain.

Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, “I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article..”

I listened as she read. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.

I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon.. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odour of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied
each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world’s aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed.

Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hip bones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.

I pointed to the dog. “Can you tell me about him?” The officer looked and then shook his head in puzzlement. “He’s a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him. That was two weeks ago and we’ve heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow.” He gestured helplessly.

As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror, “You mean you’re going to kill him?”

“Ma’am,” he said gently, “that’s our policy. We don’t have room for every unclaimed dog.”

I looked at the pointer again. The calm brown eyes awaited my decision. “I’ll take him,” I said. I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me.. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch… “Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad !” I said excitedly.

Dad looked and then wrinkled his face in disgust. “If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don’t want it” Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.

Anger rose inside me. It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples. “You’d better get used to him, Dad. He’s staying!”

Dad ignored me.. “Did you hear me, Dad?” I screamed. At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate. We stood glaring at each other like dualists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw..

Dad’s lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.

It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne. Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet.

Dad and Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad’s bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyenne’s cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father’s room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.

Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyennelying dead beside Dad ‘s bed. I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad ‘s peace of mind.

The morning of Dad ‘s funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life.

And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

“I’ve often thanked God for sending that angel,” he said.

For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article…Cheyenne’s unexpected appearance at the animal shelter, his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.

Life is too short for drama or petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly. Live While You Are Alive. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.

God answers our prayers in His time……..not ours..

It  has been a story of a man and his dog. A  beautiful touching story of man and his dog. It is a short online story of a man and his dog showing the answer to a daughters cry for help.  I love this quote: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”  This story of a man and his dog is one of those moments that has taken our breath away.

Soul Surfer: A Story of Determination and Hope

 By Meg Korpi and Rusty Wright

Kauai, 2003. A 14-foot tiger shark bursts through the waves and tears off 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton’s left arm. She loses 60 percent of her blood, and faces the end of her pro surfing dreams. Three months later, the unstoppable young teen is surfing competitively again.

If you’re looking for inspiration to thrive in tough times or to appreciate life more fully, Soul Surfer – the movie based on Hamilton’s brush with death and remarkable comeback – will knock your socks off. The Sony Pictures release, starring AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and Carrie Underwood opens across North America April 8^th.

Fantastic Surfing, Tough Competition, Heart-stopping Tragedy, Strong Character

The film’s breathtaking surfing footage and heart-pounding athletic competition will entertain sports enthusiasts. But Bethany’s true story of gut-wrenching tragedy, driven character, and hard-won victory is what makes Soul Surfer worth seeing.

Pre-attack, Bethany (Robb) is a lighthearted kid and skilled surfer. (At 13, she ranked #2 among 18-and-under females in the USA.) After the attack, Bethany emerges as poised and determined, with a well-grounded spirit. Where does a 13-year-old gain the fortitude to overcome a missing limb and rebuild athletic prowess, while remaining surprisingly good-spirited?

Why This? Why Me?

After the attack, Bethany struggles with the mundane (ever try slicing a tomato with one hand?), the profound (how could God allow this?), and the young-teen weighty (will a boy ever like her with only one arm?). But in addition, as a champion surfer, driven by love of the sport, Bethany confronts the likely loss of her career: How could she possibly paddle a surfboard, one-armed, through the impact zone (roughest part of the surf), much less re-conquer championship surfing maneuvers?

“I don’t need easy; I just need possible“

But a love of God also drives Bethany. Her youth group leader, Sarah Hill (Underwood), helps her gain perspective after the tragedy. Gradually, Bethany learns to rely on the biblical assurance: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘…plans for good and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope.’”

At the film’s NYC premiere, director Sean McNamara offered insight. “Her faith was amazing, I watched her overcome adversity and [attribute it to her] faith in Jesus Christ … I’d been through years of Catholic school, but it’s different when you actually see someone walk the walk and talk the talk.”

With remarkable determination, Bethany decides to tackle surfing again. She seeks her father‘s help. “It’s not going to be easy,” he cautions.

“I don’t need easy,” replies Bethany. “I just need possible.”

Inspiring Role Model

This film will not please moviegoers who expect dark drama and gore from a shark-attack film. Sceptics will likely scoff at the portrayal of Bethany’s resilience and positive attitude as too good to be true. In fact, the filmmakers appear to have toned down the real Bethany’s indomitable spirit for fear audiences would find her unbelievable. “They tried to portray her as being sad in the hospital,” Bethany’s brother Noah told us, “but she wasn’t like that. She was always upbeat.”

Good teen role models are hard to come by. Thirteen-year–olds who inspire adults to act more courageously are virtually unheard of. If you’re humble enough to accept that admirable and wise-beyond-their-years youth do exist (and we’ve met one), you could learn a lot from this movie – no matter what your age.

Soul Surfer is thought-provoking PG entertainment. The Hamilton family’s strong faith is portrayed as integral to the characters, not preachy. The shark-attack scene shouldn’t upset the squeamish. We found the movie hard to leave in the theatre, and instead carried it in our heads for days, reflecting on the individuals’ choices, wisdom and character.

Some of the real Bethany’s insights are so selfless and profound they are indeed hard for the rest of us to understand. She once said,

“If I can help other people find hope in God, then that is worth losing my arm for.”

View a short movie called ‘Living Free’ and see how you too can find hope in God!  Amazing. Grace.

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Meg Korpi studies character development and ethical decision-making through the Character Research Institute in Northern California. She holds a PhD from, and formerly taught at, Stanford University.

Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com

Determination and hope was what saved Bethany Hamilton. Her determination and hope of recovery after a shark attack and missing limb is played out in the film, ‘Soul Surfer’. This has been a thought provoking article…

My Angel Story – by Wilma Watson.

Who are Angels? Are Angels real? Angels are powerful spiritual beings who serve God and us humans in different ways. Read my angel story and you will see why I believe they are real.

I’ve said many times, “You’re an angel.” What I mean is, you have really helped me and I appreciate you.

Today we have angel mania. People are fascinated with ‘angels’. Perhaps we are longing for someone or something to relieve our pain and rescue us. I sure needed rescuing. This is my angel story…

Just months after I was married in my mid-twenties, I was all alone in the dark traveling on a mule in a very isolated area in the middle of Africa. Hyenas were circling around me and, without some intervention, I knew I was in trouble.

Now I can hear you saying to yourself, “What on earth was she doing in the middle of Africa alone in the dark?”

My husband, Bill, and I arrived by small plane on a dirt remote airstrip in south-west Ethiopia. I was providing medical assistance, while Bill was involved in educating the people. Although we faced many challenges during our 15 years there, it was very rewarding.

One of those challenging times was when I needed medical help and the plane was not available to take me to the nearest doctor. We had to go overland instead! The problem was that there were no roads, only walking tracks.

As Bill had a motorbike before going to Ethiopia, one of the first things he did when we arrived was have a motorbike flown in. I believed him when he said he could use a bike on the walking tracks!

What normally would take two and a half days by foot, to reach an American medical doctor, took us one and half by motor bike. Actually, for most of the first day I walked while Bill struggled to keep the bike upright!

Not long into our journey we discovered that due to the rain runoff from the mountain terrain, plus the heavy traffic of cattle and people, the sides of the trail were too narrow and deep for a bike. As Bill was continually stopping the bike to shovel his way through, I decided it was easier and quicker for me to walk.

After the doctor’s report though, Bill insisted that for my return, I not walk during the final stage over the steep, difficult mountain terrain. A mule was hired and Bill arranged for an Ethiopian who knew the tracks and spoke English to escort me. Sensing that the bike could take longer on the difficult sections than the mule, Bill decided to go ahead, expecting me to catch up to him.

The mule ride, however, took longer than anticipated. It was late in the afternoon and fearing the possibility of having to spend the night in an unknown Ethiopian hut, I decided to run the mule so I could get back before dark. Unfortunately, my Ethiopian escort was unwilling or unable to keep up with me, hence I rode alone.

Everyone, including animals, go into their huts after dark due to the hyenas. It was now dark and hyenas were beginning to circle around me. Alone along the way, I discovered that there were many walking tracks to choose from and now the foreboding fear of taking the wrong track and being lost gripped me.

I called out to God for help and immediately the mule came to a stop and refused to move forward (as the saying goes: “stubborn as a mule”). It was as if someone or something was standing in its way. I could see in the moonlight that there was definitely nothing there, so I released my hold on the reins and the mule turned itself around. It was as if the mule was being led! We travelled back along the track a distance and then the mule took a sharp turn onto another track. Could it have been an angel that led me and the mule home that night? I believe so!

There are a few things I have learnt about angels. Although in the Bible we read of times where they have been given the ability to reveal themselves in the form of human bodies, in the book of Hebrews they are described as ‘spirits’. “What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.”

Angels were created by God to be his helpers.

In God’s kingdom there are good angels. God is love, therefore his helpers are angels of love – they perform loving actions.

In Satan’s kingdom there are bad angels. The Bible says Satan robs, kills and destroys. He seeks to deceive us into believing that the bad angels are good for us! “Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

I needed rescuing from a dark, dangerous situation in the middle of Africa, but in reality we all need recuing from the darkness of Satan’s kingdom. The Bible says God wants to “rescue you out of the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and bring you into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:13)

God loves you and wants to set you free. Click here to view a cartoon flash presentation that will show you how God can rescue you! Or watch this short movie called, ‘Living Free’.

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Who are angels? Are angels real? Is there an angel of love? Was it an angel who rescued me? In my angel story I share why I believe angels are real. I believe I had a protection angel!

About Heaven – What is Heaven Really Like?

The strongest human drives are sex and hunger. Marketing campaigns seek to use either one or both in promoting their goods because they know sex and food sell. They also look for terms that describe the ultimate experience – like Heaven.

We often use the expression “It’s heaven!” when describing an ultimate experience, but none of us really know exactly what the afterlife and Heaven are really like.

Even though it is impossible for us to fully comprehend what Heaven is like, we can go to a trusted source who has experienced it.

Jesus Christ is a trustworthy spiritual authority. When you examine the evidences of Jesus’ resurrection, you’ll be convinced too that he can be trusted. If Jesus died and came back from the dead, then surely he could accurately tell us what death and the afterlife are like.

So let’s examine what Jesus and the Bible say about Heaven?

Jesus indicated that the after life in Heaven will be relational, enjoyable and eternal.

What does Jesus say about each of these characteristics of Heaven?

Jesus indicated that the afterlife in Heaven will be relational

Jesus defined life in Heaven when he said, “Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.” (John 17:3).

1. Jesus indicated that the afterlife in Heaven will be enjoyable

2. Jesus indicated that the afterlife in Heaven will be eternal

You can be sure of where you go when you die!

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrew 4:16)

This Bible verse tells us that we are to come to God’s throne boldly in time of need.

Do you have a need?

There are some internalised tendencies that cause people to be timid and fearful when approaching God.

Firstly, we tend to focus on our weaknesses, shame and sin, but God’s throne is where we find all the mercy and grace we need.

People are also timid in coming to God because they tend to think that God is a God of Karma and he’ll treat them with what they deserve. (Karma ensures that when you do good things, you’ll receive goodness in return, and if you do bad or sin, you’ll receive badness in return.)

While preparing this article a lady asked me, “What are you doing?” “I’m writing an article on Heaven,” I explained. “Oh”, she replied, “I’m not good enough to go to Heaven!”

None of us are good enough to go to Heaven. We go to Heaven because of God’s grace.

We read previously that God sits on a throne of grace! Grace means undeserved, unmerited blessing or favour.

God does not want to give you what you deserve. He wants to bless you with all that you need in this life and in the afterlife!

When you feel most sinful and unworthy and are sure you don’t deserve help, that’s the time to come boldly to God’s throne of grace – not the throne of Karma and futility.

My God will never treat you and me according to what we deserve, but only according to the richness of his wonderful grace. This resembles a doorway that invites us to go in.

Secondly, other people don’t come boldly to God because deep down, they feel that they don’t need God.

Some believe that if they live a ‘good’ life they will go to Heaven. Living the good life means different things to different people. Some people believe that the good life is attainable through the simple pleasures of life, the compassionate deeds you perform, the personal goals you achieve and the relationships you nurture.

I have asked others what they mean by a ‘good’ life and they indicate that living a ‘good’ life is following a set of morals.

The fact is, the Bible says we cannot earn our way into Heaven.

Humans, without the Spirit of God, would be like fish out of water, with no capacity to live in and enjoy Heaven.

John chapter 3, verse 5-6, is clear: “I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God.”

God, in his love, has made provision through Jesus’ death on the cross for all to become his child and have eternal life.

You can be sure of eternal life and your place in Heaven today. This movie called, ‘Your Destiny Your Choice’ will help you find out how!

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All about Heaven. Answering the questions, ‘What is Heaven really like? Is there a Heaven?’  Death and the afterlife; life after life. None of us really know exactly what Heaven is really like. Except what we read in the Bible. Trust you learnt what Jesus and the Bible say about Heaven.

Buddhist Finds Forgiveness And Freedom

I was born into a Buddhist family and grew up in a Buddhist environment. I always thought that getting to heaven would be very difficult for me. According to Buddha’s teaching, a man who will go to heaven is one who has no sin at all. I knew that was impossible for me because I knew I was a sinner.

A Buddhist can still eventually hope to reach heaven by earning “merit”, which comes from following sets of moral rules. As far as I could tell, Buddhist monks were the ones keeping those rules. Most young adult males in my country are encouraged to join a monastery for a period of time, especially since if you become a monk, your parents may also go to heaven though your merit. So I decided to spend some time at a monastery, where I studied Buddhist scriptures and found that there are more than 2,000 rules for monks to strictly obey in order to get to heaven.

I realised that it wasn’t possible. I’d spent many years of my life living sinfully, and I knew that from all I’d done I would definitely end up in hell. And now I didn’t care because I’d discovered there was nothing I could do about it.

I’d heard of Jesus from my studies at school, but all I knew was that He was the founder of one of the world religions. I never wanted to know anything more about Him. After my sister became a Christian and got married, I noticed she had changed. What had happed to her? I also got married, and came to live with her and her Christian relatives in Australia, where I began to understand more about the Christian life.

One day my sister told me that the death of Jesus had cleansed my sin already. “Is it true?” Why had He died for me? These and a lot of other questions came to my mind. I started reading the Bible to try and find answers to all my questions. I did come to believe that Jesus is The Truth, and I wanted to ask him to come into my life.

However, I thought I wasn’t good enough for Him to be in my life, because I was still a sinner. I tried to clean up my act so that I would be worthy of Jesus, but I found it impossible. Finally I realized that I needed Him in order to be cleansed, because of what He did for me, so I invited Him in to my life.

Not long after I had asked Jesus to come into my life, I realised my life had changed. I felt secure and safe. Things around me would burden me less as I give them over to Him. I learned to forgive because He has forgiven me. And I now know by heart what it mean when people say God is everywhere, because I feel and know that Jesus is with me always.

Discover how the death of Jesus has cleansed all of your my sin too.  Click here for a Thai cartoon presentation.  Click here for an English cartoon presentation.

Buddhist And Karma. Buddhist Beliefs. Buddha’s Teachings / My Story

I grew up in a Thai-Chinese family, which is also Buddhist. I was naturally Buddhist as well, and became very devoted to Buddha’s teachings. Because I believed in reincarnation, I wanted to follow Buddha’s way of getting out of that cycle.

My friend from university, who also is now my sister-in-law, went to live in Australia where she became a Christian. It raised many questions in my mind, because I wondered why she’d made that decision, or perhaps if she’d been influenced by others.

When the time was right, I came to Australia to study, and have been living with her and her relatives, who are all Christian. The more we discussed Christianity, the more questions I had and the more I thought I couldn’t accept it was true. I knew that if I accepted everything about Jesus, it meant that everything I’d invested to earn merit in Buddhism, was worth nothing.

There was a lot of information about Jesus available to me at that time, particularly the historical evidences and medical reliability for the records of Him in the Bible, and these things helped me accept He is real.

I had been told that Jesus came to live and die on the cross just to cleanse our sins. That was very hard to believe for a devout Buddhist, because of our belief in karma. Karma ensures that when you do good things, you’ll receive goodness in return, and if you do bad or sin, you’ll receive badness in return. No one can help you out with their own goodness, or erase your sins, because karma is a law. Therefore, the idea that Jesus really came to die for me too, was the hardest thing for me to believe – it seemed too easy just to accept Jesus, and then your sins would be cleansed.

With my struggle, I knew the only way I could believe it is if I knew God existed, so I prayed to God to ask Him to reveal Himself to me. Not long after my request, I was on the bus to university, and so were the usual people, whom I never talked with. While I had been thinking, the lady who sat behind me suddenly leaned close to me and whispered in my ears the unforgettable words “Jesus loves you.” I was stunned for a while, and then asked her to repeat what she said to me. She said “Jesus loves you” for the second time. I asked her why she told me so. She pointed to the sky and replied, “He told me to say that to you.” It was just amazing to me, because it was what I wanted to know from Him.

One night soon afterwards I asked Jesus to come into my life. Without knowing about my decision, my husband also prayed that night, and asked Jesus into his life. I accepted Jesus Christ with all my heart, soul, and intellect, and my life and attitudes have been changing gradually towards a more biblical view, as I learn more and more.

You too can discover how much Jesus loves you.  Click here for a Thai cartoon presentation.  Click here for an English cartoon presentation.

As a Buddhist I  followed the Buddist beliefs and believed in Karma. I was very devoted to Buddha’s teachings. I wanted to follow Buddha’s way and believed in reincarnation, but I longed to break the cycle. My story of how I found freedom…

Learn what is the difference between thanksgiving and praise to God. Prayer times should include praise and thanksgiving. “It is good practice to begin every prayer with thanksgiving and praise to God.  The former rejoices in the gift, the later in the giver.” (Virginia Whitman)

What is Thanksgiving? 

Praise is to love God for what He has done. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is to thank God for what He has done.

Thankfulness in prayer is an expression of faith, acknowledging that you are depending on God to answer our prayers according to his will.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 instructs us to “always be joyful and never stop praying. Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.” 

Our hearts would be full of continual thankfulness if we were to fully tap into what Jesus has provided for us.

Praise is verbalizing our love for God, thanksgiving is verbalizing specific “thank you’s” for the kindnesses of God. (Dick Eastman)

Praise is, without question, one of the most important aspects of prayer. Prayer is as incomplete without praise as life is without breath.  One is vital to the other.

  Prayer Of Praise to God

“I praise you forever, O LORD! You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all.  In your hand is power and might; and it is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all.” 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 – Bible based prayer

For more view this short movie called, ‘Living Free’ and learn how to pray.

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Did you learn what is the difference between thanksgiving and praise to God?  And how important it is for prayer times to include praise and thanksgiving?  As Virginia Whitman states, ”It is good practice to begin every prayer with thanksgiving and praise to God.  The former rejoices in the gift, the later in the giver.”

Words from the Bible that will bring peace. Prayer for peace and Bible verses to use when you need peace. Learn how to find peace of mind.

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Ryan finds peace 

Ryan believed the Bible when it said Jesus died on the cross and took away the punishment for his sins. However, he began to lose his peace and doubt a few months later when the feelings of excitement from his spiritual freedom had worn off. To overcome his doubt Ryan read verses from hew Bible that reminded him that he was still a child of God and the peace he first experienced returned.

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears what I say and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. That person will not be judged guilty but has already left death and entered life.”  John 5:24

Would you like to experience God’s peace and know for sure that all you have done wrong has been forgiven? Why not watch the movie that shares how you can find God’s peace?

Sarah Wanted Peace Of Mind

“Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

Sarah worried about many things. She worried whether the traffic would be heavy and make her late for work, or whether she would be able to make a sale, or if her boss would be unhappy with her work, or if she would find the right man to marry. And so the list went on.

Prayer for Peace

“Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving me your peace. I give all my anxieties and concerns to you (be specific) because I know that you will care for me.Thank you for blessing me today as I choose to think on things that are positive and pure. In Your Name I ask it. Amen “

Use the Word of God to resist Satan

Satan wants to rob you of your peace. The Bible says in James 4:7: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

How do you do this?  The same way as Jesus did, by declaring what the Word of God says.

I am cleansed from all sin by the Blood of Jesus. (1 John 1:7)

I am brought near to God by the Blood of Jesus. (Ephesians 2:13)

I am justified by the Blood of Jesus.  (Romans 5:8-9)

I have redemption through the Blood of Jesus. (Ephesians 1:7)

I am sanctified through the Blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 13:12)

I have peace with God through the Blood of Jesus. (Colossians 1:20)

I am in covenant relationship with God through the Blood of Jesus. (Mark 14:24)

I am purchased by the Blood of Jesus. (Acts 20:28)

The Blood of Jesus cleanses my conscience. (Hebrews 9:14)

I have confidence to come into the presence of God by the Blood of Jesus.  (Hebrews 10:19-22)

The Blood of Jesus Christ is precious to me. (1 Peter 1:19)

Testify to what the Blood has accomplished for you, then you can declare :- “Satan has no place in me, no power over me, through the Blood of Jesus, I am an overcomer!”

Words from the Bible that will bring peace. Prayer for peace and Bible verses to use when you need peace. Did you find peace of mind?

Prayer for Healing

“Christ carried the burden of our sins. He was nailed to the cross, so that we would stop sinning and start living right. By his cuts and bruises you are healed.”  1 Peter 2:24

“God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said, “He healed our diseases and made us well.” Matthew 8:17

“Thank you Jesus that you died not only for my sins but also for my sicknesses.

In your wonderful Name I stand against the powers of darkness and command this infirmity to leave.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for healing me of (be specific as to what you want healed).   Amen”

Young Boy Healed

Wilma’s four year old fell and split his tongue down the middle. The Doctor was reluctant to stitch the tongue together but became concerned when the tongue continued to bleed for six hours. “What we need it a miracle!” the Doctor said anxiously. Wilma quickly replied, “I believe in miracles.”  Wilma was able to contact her husband who was out of town at the time and together they asked God to heal the boy’s tongue. The bleeding stopped immediately and before Wilma’s eyes the halves of her boy’s tongue joined completely together.

What is faith? 

Several times in the Bible we see how Jesus met peoples’ needs in response to faith.  Mark 5:34 is just one example. “Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith.”

How did this lady obtain such great faith?

Can we have the same level of faith for God to meet our needs?

According to Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, faith begins with hope.  It says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.”

 Both natural hope and supernatural hope start with a desire, a longing, or a need.  Natural hope is founded in reasoning. It is wishful thinking. For example, you hope your sports team will win or you hope you will get better.

Supernatural hope, on the other hand, is a sure expectation founded on the promises of God. When it comes to God, we have to believe for things that we cannot see.

It requires supernatural faith to trust and obey God when you can’t see him.  When you asked God to be his child, you couldn’t see him and had no proof or logic in the natural as to how it could be possible, yet you knew in your heart that he saved you because you believed his Word and received inner peace.

The same God, who made you his child, wants you now on a daily basis to receive by faith his power, joy, love, peace, forgiveness, provision, healing, deliverance and protection.

Jesus instructs us in Mark 11, verse 22, to “have faith in God.”  In the original language, this means having the faith of God.   Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” 

 The Apostle Paul tapped into the faith of God daily and you can too.

How do we tap into the faith of God?

1. Continually remind God and thank him for the fulfillment of his promise

2. Do not be swayed by your emotions.

3. Encourage yourself continually by reminding yourself of the faithfulness of God.

4. Do not dwell on when or how you think God should answer your prayer.

You will learn more about,  ’What is faith?’  in Part One of this movie and ‘What makes faith work?’ is Part Two in the next movie.

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If you need healing – then pray the prayer for healing. Watch the movie to explain what is faith.  It will help you go from faith to faith as you take a leap of faith and put your faith in God.

A Word of promise from God Himself: “I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and tells you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’  Isaiah 41:13

Prayer For Fear

‘Lord Jesus, today I am feeling afraid about (tell him your fear). I give this to you and ask that you take me by the right hand and help me.’

The power of prayer

When my husband Bill and I returned from serving God overseas we had $500.00 in the bank.  We felt that God wanted us to buy our first home.  So we went out looking for a house by faith. Three miracles happened as a result.  Firstly, without a stable income we were able to get a loan.  Then someone offered to pay the deposit and thirdly God miraculously showed us the right house for a good price. It all sounds so simple on paper now but I can assure you they were all answers to prayer.

After the house was bought we had no money left to buy furniture.  We took our need to God and he assured us that if we went out and bought what we needed he would supply the money. (We would advise you not to do this unless God tells you too!)  Each time after praying into it and buying what we needed, the exact amount of money was in the mail when we got home.  It is important for me to tell you that no one except God knew our need.  It was our test of faith and a sovereign act of God’s love and grace in response to prayer. One cheque was from an old ladies’ estate.  Fifteen years previously, Bill showed love to this lady and had not seen her since. Coincidence?? I am convinced it was the power of prayer.

Watch this movie called, ‘Living Free’ and it will answer the question, “How to pray?”

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I hope you have found the Christian prayer in an online prayer for fear helpful. The power of prayer through movie and true story demonstrated the power of prayer.  It is our prayer that you have a greater desire to trust God more and experience the power of prayer for yourself. 

Protection – the Armor of God

We are exhorted twice in the book of Ephesians in the Bible to avail ourselves of the armor of God.

“Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age.  So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.”  Ephesians 6:11-14 GNB.

Resist means to stand against e.g. `antihistamine’.  Some drugs are used to minimize the effect of histamine in certain allergic conditions e.g. hay fever, bee stings and drug allergies.  We `put off’ and resist destructive forces cast against us, by equipping ourselves with God’s armor.

“So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you.”

The armor Paul is talking about here in Ephesians 6:14-18 is, in reality, the LORD JESUS CHRIST and, by placing the armor on, we are expressing our dependence upon God for His care and protection.

Truth as a belt

Jesus, you are my truth:  if we are to defend ourselves effectively against the enemy, then truth and honesty is our first defense against Satan.

Righteousness as your breastplate

Jesus, you are my righteousness:  the breastplate of righteousness covers our heart – the heart being the centre of our emotions.  It protects us against negative emotions.

Peace as shoes in preparation

Jesus, you are my peace:  the shoes are to help us stand firm on the truth of the gospel of peace – and their purpose is to prevent us from slipping and sliding in the battle.

Faith as a shield

Jesus, you are my faith:  by taking the shield of faith, we are protected against doubt and unbelief.

Salvation as a helmet

Jesus, you are my salvation:  just as the breastplate of righteousness protects us from emotional distress, so the helmet of salvation protects us from mental distress.  The mind is the focal point of satanic attack, where the powers of darkness seek to bring us into confusion, depression and doubt.  They also attempt to bend our wills in order that we might compromise and disobey God.

The Word of God as the sword

Jesus, you are my living Word:  nothing defeats more thoroughly and effectively than the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  (Revelation 12:11.)

Having put the armor on – stand firm.

Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then…”

Equipping ourselves with God’s armor is not a mechanical operation; it is, in itself, an expression of our dependence upon God.

This prayer will help you depend on Jesus and in so doing protect you from the devil’s attacks. This is how you put on the armor of God.

Prayer for Protection

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks.”  Ephesians 6:11

Thank you, Jesus, that your truth frees me from sin and its consequences. Help me to recognize the deceptions and lies of the evil one so I can replace them with your truth.

Thank you, Jesus, that others will see your good and holy nature through all I do and say today. Fill me with your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Thank you, Jesus, for directing my steps as I depend on your power today. Help me to stand firm and share with others how they can know your peace.

Thank you, Jesus, for promising to care for me when I trust you. Replace my fears and doubts with your faith as I ask you to help me with the challenges I face today (be specific).

Thank you, Jesus, that your salvation is blessing me with your goodness in every area of my life – healing, providing, protecting and delivering me from sin.

Thank you, Jesus, for your Word. It is written in the Bible that you triumphed over all the powers of darkness when you died on the cross, and through your blood, I will overcome today.

Ephesians 6:10-18, John 8:32, Galatians 5:22, Acts 1:8, Mark 11:22-23, Acts 4:12, Revelation 12:11, Colossians 2:15

 What this short movie called , ‘Living Free’ and learn about the power of prayer.

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What is the armor of God? Is the armor of God for protection only?  Trust you have found the prayer for protection and article on the armor of God helpful.  Did you learn how to apply the armor of God to protect you from the strategies and deceitful methods of Satan? Will you pray the prayer of protection daily?

Help me pray effective prayers

 Based on Ephesians 6:18, we discover five essential ingredients of effective prayer habits.

“Pray in the spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayer and requests, with this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

 Effective prayer is to:

Be consistent

Paul begins his challenge of Ephesians 6:18 with a three word command – “ON ALL OCCASIONS.”

His word to the Christians at Ephesus was a challenge on the importance of regularity in prayer.  Such consistency is essential to accomplish productive prayer.

Even our Lord, who lived a lifetime of unbroken prayer-fellowship with His Father, found it beneficial to withdraw from the crowds and from the busy-ness of life, on a regular basis, in order to be alone in prayer.  (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23, Luke 6:12, 22:41)

Have variety 

Paul also instructs us as believers to pray always, “WITH ALL KINDS OF PRAYER AND REQUESTS.”

The Amplified Version renders this expression, “WITH ALL MANNER OF PRAYER and entreaty.”

The Greek, from which we derive the expression, ‘with all kind of prayer’ could be interpreted as referring to the development of all types of prayer mentioned in the Scriptures.

PRAISE – a time to acknowledge

Praise is to recognise God “vocally” for His virtues and accomplishments. In praise we share with God those qualities about Him that we appreciate.

Scripture: “According to thy name, o God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth; thy right hand is full of righteousness” (Psalm 48:10).  “According to thy name” means, “according to who and what you are, O God I praise you.”

WAITING – a time to love God silently

Waiting is a time to silently “wait” upon God in a love experience.  It concerns a holy stillness enjoying God’s presence and His love for you and allows time to listen to what god is saying to you.

Scriptures: “Only be silent to God, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.” (Psalm 62:5)

CONFESSION – a time to admit personal failures

Confession clears the way for effective praying. It is a time, in order to remain in close fellowship with God, to acknowledge our wrong doing.

Scripture: “If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.”  (1 John 1:9)

SCRIPTURE PRAYING – a time to employ or claim a specific promise

To employ means “to engage the service of something.” It also means to “put to use.”

“All the mighty achievements wrought by people of God, have been accomplished by faith in the written Word.  Real prayer is taking God’s Words and letting them speak through your lips to the throne of God calling His attention to His own promises.” (E.W. Kenyon)

Each day we will have unique problems to face.  As you read the Bible, claim one specific verse for that day that will meet your need.  God’s Word will bring power to your prayer life.

Scripture: “There is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God’s message, you heard it and accepted it, not as a message from human beings but as God’s message, which indeed it is. For God is at work in you who believe.”  (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

INTERCESSION – a time to contend for others

To intercede is to engage in some form of spiritual warfare on behalf of another individual person or need.  It is an act of mediation.

Scripture: “First of all, I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them.”  (1Timothy 2:1)

PETITION – a time to share personal needs

Petition is that time in prayer in which we share our personal needs – whether they be mental, physical, financial, social, marital or parental.

Scripture: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  (Matthew 21:22)

THANKSGIVING – at time to express appreciation

Reflect on the specific blessings God has given you and thank Him for them.

Scripture: “Come and listen, all who honor God, and I will tell you what he has done for me.”  (Psalm 66:16)

Be in earnest

Paul not only challenges us to pray, “on all occasions and with all kinds of prayer,” but he prefixes, “PRAY IN THE SPIRIT”.

For our payers to be truly effective, we need to pray in accordance with what the Spirit is showing or saying.

1 John 15:14 says, “This is the assurance we have approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He will hear us.”

So often we want to change the effect of the problem by our prayers, when God wants to speak to us and treat the cause of the particular problem about which we are praying for. So go into your next time of prayer expecting God to speak and you will not be disappointed.

Be sensitive

To Paul’s challenge, in Ephesians Chapter 6, to pray in the Spirit on all occasions, he adds the challenge to BE ALERT so that we can find the specific `on target’ prayer needs.

The term `watching’, in the King James Version, is almost a reference to heightened spiritual sensitivity to that which is happening around us.

Sensitivity is essentially important in order for one to pray effectively in potentially dangerous situations or in response to specific needs.

Be persevering

Paul concludes his instructions in Ephesians 6:18 with the challenge that we engage in our prayer by “ALWAYS KEEP ON PRAYING FOR ALL THE SAINTS.”

Lack of persistence in prayer is one of the biggest reasons we fail to see answers to prayer.

James 5:16 in the Amplified version assures us that “the earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available – dynamic in its working.”

You don’t have to be some kind of spiritual giant, or have some special calling to persist in prayer.

God answered Elijah’s persistence in prayer for rain, and the Bible says he was just like us. He had all the same impulses, drives, emotions, feelings, and even became discouraged and depressed at times, but he believed in God’s faithfulness and power.

Persistence is holding on to a goal or promise, regardless of the circumstances.

Winning the victory, overcoming and being faithful requires a consistent relationship with God through prayer.

 “Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking (reverently) and the door will be opened to you. For every one who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds and to him who keeps on knocking it will be opened.”  Matthew 7:7 Amplified Bible

SO REFUSE TO QUIT!

Watch this short movie called, ‘Living Free’ and learn more about the power of prayer.

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 Was the cry of your heart,’”Help me pray!” or “How should I pray to God?” Did you learn how to pray to God? Praying to God is life changing! The Bible tells us that when praying to God, he hears us and answers our prayers. Trust you have been encouraged as you have learnt through the movie how to pray for people and how to pray for help.

Prayer For Help / Prayer For Work

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for supplying my needs today from your abundant resources.

Thank you for freely giving me your peace, in exchange for anxiety. Your love, in exchange for fear. Your joy, in exchange for heaviness. Your faith, in exchange for doubt. Your strength, in exchange for weariness.

Lord Jesus, your Word tells me that the same Spirit that raised you from the dead dwells in me. I need your power to help me to be in the world, but not of the world.

I yield myself to you and ask the Holy Spirit to enable me to be efficient, creative and honest. Help me to work today with integrity, diligence, self-control, faithfulness and forgiveness.

Your Word also declares that, if I lack wisdom, I can ask you and you will give it generously. I need your wisdom today, Lord Jesus, to enable me to make correct choices.

In the Name of Jesus I forbid the enemy’s schemes that would rob me of productive time by attacking me emotionally, mentally, physically or financially and claim your protection in every area of my life.

Help me to sow seeds of life, bringing encouragement and edification to those I meet. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for opening opportunities to share your love today.

Jeremiah 32:17, Daniel 11:32, Hebrews 10:19, Philippians 4:19, Romans 8:11, 1 John 2:15, James 1:5, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Ephesians 3:20

In this Session Three – Part One in this short movie we’ll seek to answer the question, “What is faith?”   “Faith is the bucket of power lowered by the rope of prayer into the well of God’s abundance.”  (Virginia Whitman)

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Faith is the key  – Prayers that work

If faith is the key that taps God’s power Satan is well aware, and will do all in his power to lessen the impact. To this end prayer’s enemy has devised several deadly “faith-killers.” A look at theses should help us prepares a counterattack when the enemy approaches.

1. The first deadly “faith-killer” is man’s reason.

Reason basically means “an explanation of an act” or “good sense” in a matter. Reason kills faith because it demands that everything be carefully explained. Reason kills faith because it demands that everything be carefully explained. Reason wants all the answers.  Reason demands that an experience be logical. Someone has said reason will readily take the place of God’s Word if you let it, for the Word doesn’t appeal to the senses.

 2. A second deadly “faith killer” is the expression, “I hope it all works out.”

If prayer is to be filled with power we must be rid of the expression “hope” in our prayer vocabulary. True, hope is important to the Christian because it looks ahead to future rewards and blessings.  But hope has no real part in present tense prayer.  We must never declare, “I hope God does this or that.” Hope is not faith.  Hope is tomorrow, faith is today. Don’t allow the Ï sure hope it works out”” to rob you of the faith needed to work out your situation.  The enemy would far rather see us hooping than believing.

3. A third “faith killer” is man’s senses.

It is always easy to believe in things we can see with our eyes. Thomas would not believe Jesus Christ was who He claimed until he saw the nail prints. Only then would he say, “My Lord and my God” (John 21:28).  But what was the Master’s response?  He said, “Blesses are they that have not seen, yet believe.”

Our Lord was making it clear that faith has nothing to do with “sense knowledge.” Sense knowledge involves knowledge that is acquired through the use of our senses.  To believe in Christ following this procedure, a person would need either to touch Jesus, or see Him, smell Him, taste Him or hear Him.  There would be no trust what soever in this form of experience.

4. A most series danger to faith is the next “faith killer,” doubt.

Leonard Ravenhill reminds us, “Doubt delays and often destroys faith. Faith destroys doubt. The blessed book does not say, ‘All things are possible to him that explaineth.’  God being who He is will never be explained in time; nor, we think, will He try in eternity to explain either Himself or His ways.”  

 Mark 9:23 says, ‘ALL things are possible for the one who BELIEVES.” Doubt is deadly to faith because it questions god’s promises. In all of Scripture one will never find a single place God promises to answer doubt-filled prayers. Doubt, to be sure, is deadly.  

Written by Dick Eastman. Every Home For Christ

We need prayers that work.  Prayers that work are prayers that are prayed! When you prayed the prayer for help and the prayer for work or the workplace you can be sure you prayed prayers that work for you were praying according to God’s Word, the Bible!  Did you enjoy reading about the “faith-killers” and learnt the importance of  faith for prayer to work?

“When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.”  Mark 11.25

 Prayer of Forgiveness

“Heavenly Father, you are kind and forgiving, and you always love me. Help me to love others with the same love that you have shown me.

I take responsibility for disobeying you by holding a grudge and not forgiving others as you have forgiven m. Please forgive me.

Help me to obey you by forgiving those who have hurt me. I choose now to forgive the wrong and hurt that has been done to me. I forgive (name individuals, including yourself if necessary) for (list the things they did to you) and I no longer blame them for doing this to me. Release me from any resentment, bitterness, anger or hate I have held inside.

Father, as you have promised in your Word, please heal my wounded heart. I choose now to show mercy to those who have offended me and ask that you will bless (name individuals) in all that they do.”

This short movie called, ‘Living Free’ is for those who find it hard to forgive those who have hurt them.

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Why Forgive

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” Nelson Mandela

We forgive and extend grace to others because God has forgiven and extended grace to us

Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander along with every other form of malice.” (cruel talk) “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.”

“Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has freely forgiven you, so must you also (forgive).” Colossians 3:13  Amp.

We forgive so that our heavenly Father will forgive us

 “For if you forgive people their trespasses  – their reckless and wilful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment – your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”  Matthew 6:14

We forgive sp that our prayers will not be hindered

It is a sin to hold a grudge against anyone – sin separates us from God and having our prayers answered.

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your (own) failings and shortcomings and let them drop.”  Mark 11:25  Amp.

We forgive because God has commanded us to forgive

Jesus did not say that forgiving is a nice thing to do. No, He declared in Mark 11:25 – “If you hold anything against anyone FORGIVE him.” – it is a command.

We forgive because if we don’t forgive we give the enemy a foothold

“If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry – get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26

We forgive because when we forgive we are released

Luke 6:37 says, ”Forgive and you will be forgiven”.  The literal rendering of this verse is, “If you release you shall be released”.

This includes forgiving others and forgiving ourselves!

“If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”  Matthew 5:23-24

Often this choice has to be made daily until you are able to release the one who has hurt you.

 Praying a Blessing

“I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse (hurt) you, pray for those who mistreat you (slander) you.”  Luke 6:27

Jesus placed another emphasis on forgiveness that we appear to readily overlook. He said that we were not only to forgive, but to actively bless the one that has hurt us.

“Do not do wrong to repay a wrong, and do not insult to repay an insult. But repay with a blessing, because you yourselves were called to do this so that you might receive blessing.”  1 Peter 3:9

If you take action the Lord won’t, and then you allow yourself to be open to the enemy. This means we can short circuit God’s plan for that hurtful situation, as well as make ourselves vulnerable to Satan’s destructive forces. That is what it means when you `repay evil’, or take revenge, or indulge in criticism.

What should we do then?

Romans 12:21 speaks of love in action. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

“Bless those who persecute you: bless and do not curse.”  Romans 12:14.

How do we bless our enemies? The greek word for bless is `eulogeo’, which is where we get the word `eulogy’ from – meaning to praise or commend.

It is one of the hardest things to do, but it works. For by blessing the other person, God is able to make it a stepping stone to restoration and mutual blessing.

Why forgive? Why should we forgive?  Did you discover the power of forgiveness and how praying a prayer of forgiveness then a prayer of blessing releases us? Prayer of forgiveness to forgive others – prayer of blessing to bless others. Trust you were blessed by the movie as you discover the power of forgiveness and the benefit of blessing those who have hurt us.

Without the Bible, the Word of God, our prayers have no foundation. The Bible and prayer in claiming the promises of God adds life to your prayers.The Word of God is vital in prayer because the Bible reveals much about prayer.  A free movie called, ‘Living Free’ helps answer the question, “What makes prayer work?”

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The Bible and Prayer

E.W. Kenyon explains, “All the mighty achievements wrought by men of God have been accomplished by faith in the written Word.”

Why is God’s word vital in prayer?

1. God’s Word is vital in prayer because in it God Himself is speaking.

 The Bible is more than a collection of fancy sayings for a few religious fanatics.  Scripture contains the very words of God.  Kenyon preaches, “You can lean on the Word as you would lean on Him. You can rest in the Word as you would rest in Him. You can act on the Word as you would act if He had just spoken to you. The Word is always now.”

In a sense God, Himself, becomes a part of our prayer when we use His Word while praying. 

 To bring God’s Word into prayer is to bring God into prayer.

 2. God’s Word is vital in prayer because the Bible is alive.

When God is in something it will be alive because God is alive. A Chinese Christian says of this subject, “We must not come to the Bible only to learn and to understand.  The Bible is not the tree of knowledge; it is the tree of life! All Christians know that the function of the Word of God is to reveal God to us. Although this is true, this is not the main function.  The main function of the Bible is not only to give us knowledge about God and His love, but to impart God Himself into us.”

 In the Word we find life, so to add the Word to our prayer adds life to our prayer.

 3. God’s Word is vital in prayer because it reveals God’s nature and power.

Only as we know God’s nature can we know God’s will, which is essential to successful prayer. Here is why God’s word is so vital to prayer. In the Bible we discover the nature and power of God.  There is absolutely no limit to the ability of God as unveiled in His Word.

 This is why we need a thorough understanding of God’s Word if we wish to pray with power.

 4. God’s Word is the parent to all faith. 

“Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” Paul wrote to Romans believers (Romans 10:17).  Later in Hebrews we read, “Through faith w e understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3).

When God spoke, creation responded, He simply said, “Let there be light,” and light appeared.  Thus, God and His Worde are one. 

To live in the Word of God is to live in the faith of God.  Faith comes by familiarity with the Bible.

 5.       God’s Word is vital in prayer because it says much about prayer.

The entire Bible declares god’s willingness to answer man’s prayers. In a sense, it is the greatest book ever written on this subject. E.M. Bounds declares, “The whole canon of Bible teaching is to illustrate the great truth that God hears and answers prayer.”  Even a casual reading of Scripture reveals how much of this unique book is comprised of man’s communion with God. 

Thus, to learn about prayer our key source must be the Word of God.

Praying the Promises of God

“May your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  (Matthew 6:10)

“Lord Jesus, may your will be done in every area of my life.

Cause me to HEAR your voice today for your Word says, “My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me.”

Open my EYES that I may clearly see wonderful things in your Word.

Set a guard over my MOUTH O Lord, and keep a watch over the door of my lips.

Whatever my HANDS find to do, help me to do it with all my might.

Help me obey your Word, for it says to love you with all my HEART. I love you Jesus and desire to follow your principles in my life today.”

John 10:27 KJV, Ephesians 1:17, Psalm 119:18.TLB, Psalm 141:3, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Matthew 22:37

Without the Bible, the Word of God, our prayers have no foundation.  Trust you have been able to claim the promises of God and add life to your prayers. The Word of God is vital in prayer because the Bible reveals much about prayer.

A free movie called, ‘Living Free’ helps answer the question, “What makes prayer work?” and in the  previous movie you will learn, “What is prayer?”

Trust you have discovered that without the Bible, the Word of God, our prayers have no foundation. The Bible and prayer in claiming the promises of God adds life to your prayers. Also the Word of God is vital in prayer because the Bible reveals much about prayer.

Learn who is a Missionary and who is a Pastor. What to pray for them? A suggested prayer showing you how to pray for your Pastor, Church and Missionary. For worship and unity –  to be loving, fruitful, protected and giving.

Who is a missionary?  One who is sent on a mission especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country.

Who is a Pastor?  The word itself is derived from the Latin word pastor which means “shepherd”.  The design of the Lord’s gift of Pastors and Teachers, as supplementary to that of Apostles and Evangelists, is “the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12)

Pray for your Pastor, Church and Missionary

“I pray dear Heavenly Father, that (your Pastor or Missionary) will sense your presence and be given wisdom, understanding and discernment today.

Strengthen him/her by your great power that he/she will be encouraged and keep going what ever happens – always full of your joy.

I give thanks to you dear Father for (your Pastor, their spouse and children). Hedge them from every attack of the enemy. I claim that everything they set their hands to do shall prosper and that they be kept in health.” Colossians 1:9-11, 3 John 2, Psalms 1:3

CLAIM A PROTECTED CHURCH

CLAIM A LOVING CHURCH

“I pray that our church will be rooted and established in love. Help us to fully understand how wide and long and high and deep is your love. I                ask, Lord Jesus, that we may express your love and become a fellowship completely filled and flooded with yourself.” Ephesians 3:17-20

CLAIM A WORSHIPPING CHURCH

CLAIM A UNIFIED CHURCH

CLAIM A GIVING CHURCH

CLAIM A FRUITFUL CHURCH

Watch this movie and learn more about prayer.

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Trust you learnt who is a Missionary and who is a Pastor and what to pray for them. The suggested prayer showing you how to pray scripturally for your Pastor, Church and Missionary will help to bring worship and unity to God’s work –  it will make us more loving, fruitful, protected and giving.

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Praying For The Salvation of Others / Prayers of The Faithful

Life is filled with decisions.  Daily we face a continuing list of choices.  Some decisions are automatic; others require considerable thought.  But all decisions ultimately involve time.  Daily, we must make the decision to spend time praying for the salvation of our unsaved friends and loved ones.  However, we’ll not make that sacrifice of time and effort until we believe our unsaved friends and loved ones are lost and going to a Christless eternity.

Satan instils subtle thoughts that cloud our thinking, giving us the false hope that, with God’s love, they might make it.  But the Bible says in John 3:3, “Unless a man is born again He cannot see the Kingdom of God.”  Man, without the Spirit of God, would be like a fish out of water, with no capacity to live in and enjoy heaven.

God is no respecter of persons and wills all to be saved.

 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

 Suggestions on how to pray effectively for unsaved friends and family

 1. Pray expectantly

 1 John 5:14-15 says, “This is the assurance we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”

 “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

 How different our prayers would be, if we were fully convinced of the fulfilment of these promises.

 Mark 11:27. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”  According to this verse, no one is in the `too hard’ basket.

 2. Pray specifically

Claim by naming individuals as God’s purchased possession, in the Name of the Lord Jesus and on the basis of His shed Blood.

 3. Pray authoritatively

Has it ever crossed your mind why God needs us to offer prayers?  Why can He do nothing in the realm of human redemption apart from human co-operation through prayer and faith?

Paul Billheimer states: `To enable His church to learn the technique of overcoming, God devised the scheme of prayer. God has given her the on-the-job training, by delegating to her the authority to enforce His will here on earth.’

Christians are going to share with Jesus in ruling and reigning on the earth.

Revelation 5:9-11 says, “And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men and God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Although it is God’s will that all be saved, and although He has made provision for the salvation of the whole world, this salvation is entirely limited if we do not take our authority in prayer and claim the salvation of that soul.

Many times our prayers are not answered because we expect God to do something he has given us the authority to do.

“To all who received him, to those who believed on his name, he gave the right (authority) to become (and act like) children of God.” (John 1:12)

 4. Pray scripturally

It is Satan’s plan to prevent every unbeliever from receiving Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they can not see the light of the gospel..” 

But the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4,5, “I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by man, to knock down the devil’s strongholds. These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him.  With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God, and change them into men whose heart’s desire is obedience to Christ.” (TLB.)

I love this verse and so does the writer of the Back to the Bible Broadcast tract called, `How I learned to pray for the lost.’  She states: `After more than 20 years of fruitless praying, it seemed that there was no possible chance for my loved ones to come to Christ.  But after a few weeks of praying this verse their whole attitude toward Christianity has changed and all resistance seems to be gone.’  How did she do it?

She used God’s mighty weapons to pull down Satan’s strongholds by “casting down every argument (or reasoning) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God”. (2 Corinthians 10:5a.)

Cast down imaginations, that forms Satan’s strongholds.

Strongholds such as; false doctrine, unbelief, atheistic teaching and hatred, which the enemy may have built up in their thinking.

A professor at a leading Teachers College in Brisbane said to the prospective teachers, `There is enough evidence to cancel out evolution as scientifically viable, but the alternative is untenable to me, so until something else comes up, I will stick with evolution.’

What was he saying?  If he accepted creation, he would have to face the fact that there was a Creator. Satan had built up strongholds in his mind to keep him from that commitment.

The result of deception and unbelief was that his mind and conscience was corrupted. (Titus 1:15.)

Claim that their thoughts be brought captive to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5b says, “And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (KJV.)

 5. Pray deliverance

Claim their deliverance from the power and persuasion of the evil one.

We are literally taking that soul from the kingdom of darkness and translating them into the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:13.)  We bind satan and his lying spirits and command him to give up the one we are praying for.

6.  Pray the conviction of the Holy Spirit

Pray that they will be convicted of sin and their need of a Saviour.

`The only power that overcomes Satan and releases souls from his stranglehold is the power of the Holy Spirit and the only power that releases the energy of the Holy Spirit is the power of believing prayer,’ wrote Paul Billheimer.

The Holy Spirit has the power to so enlighten the mind, awaken the spirit and move the emotion of a man that he will find it easier to yield than to continue in rebellion. We see this of Saul on the Damascus road. (Acts 9)

Pray that they will ask questions.

Questions such as – What is my purpose in living?  Whom can I trust?  Where will I go when I die?  How can I cope?

As you pray with love and passion for your loved ones and friends, you will be alert to the Holy Spirit to take opportunities that He will give to you to lead them to Christ, or provide the opportunity for you to invite them to come under the sound of the gospel.  That is exciting!

7. Build in the Spirit

Picture with the eyes of faith.

See the ones you are praying for coming to Jesus – see them delivered and transformed.  By that I mean; just as an architect drafts a plan and sees what his building is going to look like before he commences it, so we too can see, through the eyes of faith, that one we are praying for coming to Jesus, delivered and transformed.  Some have `tough cookies’ as loved ones to pray for, but begin to see them through the eyes of the Spirit and God will build that which you declare.

 7. Pray frequently

Daniel prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10).

David prayed three times a day (Psalm 55:17).

Also, Jesus prayed four times for us to be one (John 17).

Claim your loved ones and friends regularly.

To remind you, write 2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV.) on the fridge door, bathroom mirror or on the dashboard of the car.

Some have found that the things they have been praying for have been challenged and the unsaved friend or loved one begins to act insecurely.

But don’t give up.  Keep pressing in. “Ask (lit. keep on asking) and it will be given you; seek (lit. keep on seeking) and you will find; knock (lit. keep on knocking) and the door will be opened to you.”  (Matthew 7:7-8)

When you are tempted to give up, remember God is always active. It is just that for some, more travail in prayer is needed to set them free from the powers of darkness.  This is a principle of intercession.

Suggested prayer

“Dear Lord Jesus, I cast down in (name) mind, every imagination and every high and lofty thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of Yourself, (name them as the Holy Spirit reveals them to you) and I bring every thought captive to obey you, Lord Jesus.  I command Satan to give up (name) and I ask the Holy Spirit to draw him/her into Your Kingdom.”

Prayers of the faithful using the Bible and prayer. We have sought to show you how people pray to God using the Bible for other’s salvation. For prayers of the faithful – through the Bible and prayer in this article and movie you saw how to pray Scriptural prayers for the salvation of your friends and family.