How Much Do You Love?

If you look at your calendar, you will see that we are just a day or two away from the "LOVE" month and that made up holiday called Valentine's Day (it must be made up since the banks will be open).  On that day, we are to express our love for those special people in our life with flowers, candy and mushy, sentimental greeting cards that pledge our undying love.

Now, while I am one who believes that it is good to express our deepest and most affectionate love on Valentine's Day, we need to do that with all of our days. It is not the giving of things that lets those we love know that we care for them; rather it is how we care for them in our prayers that shows our true and deepest affections.

Just look at Scripture and Paul's writings in Colossians 1: 9-14 that says, " For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin."

It is evident in this Scripture the great love that Paul has for the Colossians believers because he is praying for them in an intercessory mindset...He is doing what God has called each of us to do...Pray for those we love and intercede for them...CONTINUALLY!!!!

We are called by our Heavenly Father to love others and there is no greater way (short of giving up our own life) to show our love than to pray and intercede on the behalf of those we love. Does your spouse know how much you love them? Are your praying DAILY for God to work in their life as He helps them to grow in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord? Do you have a child or children that know how much their Mom or Dad loves them because DAILY and without CEASING, your are praying for God to work and have His way in molding your child into a child of the King....making them like Jesus because of your intercessory prayers. There are many ways, most of them admirable, in expressing our love for our family, our spouse and our friends; but there is none better than the example set by Paul as he prayed for those believers.

Why not show your love in a quiet place.... simply get on your knees and take those you know to the Throne Room of Heaven to intercede for them with your Heavenly Father. It will touch the heart of a loving Father and He will hear and answer your prayers...for He LOVES THEM EVEN MORE THAN YOU!!!! Make today the day that your love breaks through and shows those most special to you how much your really care...for your intercessory prayers will be answered and God will be glorified.

Praying for those I love...Continually on my knees,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

There are those in our lives

We love with all our heart....

And no matter what they do,

It's been that way from the start.

But we are called to share a greater love

One that draws us close and keeps us there

As we lift up the ones we love

And intercede for them in prayer.

We must take them to Jesus

And when we come on bended knee;

The hand of God will protect them

And the devil, he will flee.

For who can stand against Him

And the angels gathered there;

All because we sought His face

Through our intercessory prayer.

WPQ © January 2018

The One Consistency of Life....CHANGE!

It has been said there is only one thing in this world that remains constant…and that is CHANGE!!!!

If that is true, then it behooves one of wisdom to prepare for the inevitable. We have already been inundated (by both political parties) over the last several months to expect change. We only have to read the daily headlines to see that our world is in a constant state of fluctuation….financial disarray, rising unemployment, spiraling food and health costs…. All producing…change…Change….CHANGE.

Now for most of us, change is something of a dirty word, or at least one that makes us very uncomfortable. We strive to live our lives in a calm and peaceful manner; free from the upheavals of change. Yet, try as we might, change happens! In fact, God’s word tells us that change is coming; but praise be, it also tells us who is in charge of that change.

“I am the one who creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends the good times and the bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things. Isaiah 45: 7 NLT

Our typical response to change is one of fear and trepidation. We all too often begin to look at our circumstances rather than our provision. Unfortunately, change seems to always bring fear before it births faith. Fear seems to focus on the worst rather than hold claim to the best.

When God chooses to interrupt the natural flow of our life with change or something that we have never encountered before….we choose panic over praise. James, the Lord’s brother, wrote in his letter, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds (change, my interpretation), for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

Yes, when calamity or change occurs that is unsettling or disheartening, we can view the presence of the problem as the absence of God ….and our simplistic response is to try and run away from the mess we find ourselves in. Or… we can do the unexpected; we can praise Him from whom all blessings and problems flow!

We can take comfort in and find joy in the midst of any trial if we will but remember that God is on our side…and that He is in control. He is working all things out for our good… so that we may be perfect and complete in Him. We still have a responsibility to do what we CAN....but when we reach the end of what we can do, it is time to realize that what is left is not what we can't do; rather it is what God can and will do on our behalf. 

So….change is coming and you have two distinct choices….Prepare to Panic … or… Praise His Provision…for no matter the magnitude of the change that comes…our God is sufficient to meet and exceed ALL OUR NEEDS.

Standing firm….Praising His Provision,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

Sufficient for today are the problems we can see

As we wait upon the Lord in surrendered humility.

Never knowing what the future holds 
Nor where life's roads may lead...

We follow in His footsteps...we listen...trust...believe!

We hear His voice telling each of us 

That change will come our way;

For we need not fear life's outcomes

If we trust  Him and obey.

So welcome change with open arms

For no matter life's ups or downs;

When you're trusting in God's Holy Word....
You're planted in SOLID GROUND!

WPQ © October 2018

This is a reprint of a former post...May You Be Richly Blessed in 2018.

GPS for the New Year…

It was Christmas a year ago that my wife gave me a Garmin GPS system. Now, as any red-blooded American male would do, I thanked her profusely for her unselfish gift and thought to myself, “I don’t need some computer gizmo giving me directions…I can find where I need to go and how to get there ON MY OWN!”

Well! Here it is a year later and boy, was I ever wrong….this thing has been great. Over the first three months of 2009, I had a new job calling on businesses in the greater Greenville, SC area …going, or trying to go, to places I had never been before; some, in fact, probably did not even show up on a map. I was intrigued that every time I typed an address into the GPS, it gave me turn by turn directions to that specific location. This was nirvana for a manly man such as me….getting directions without having to ask someone.

You know, a lot of us treat God like that….we want to go where He wants us to go; we just don’t want to ask for His directions. Scripture says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes (directs) his steps.” Proverbs 16:9  We say that we want to be “in the Father’s will,” but then we set out to follow the desires of our hearts and hope that at some junction along our journey, our will and God’s direction will mesh in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, it hardly ever works out that way.

We become lost in life’s journey to serve a risen Lord when we fail to consult His GPS….God’s Placement System…..His Holy Word. God is ready, willing and totally able to direct and establish the roads that He wants us to take if we will only consult Him and read His word. The more we read, the more He directs, the more He establishes the way that is right ….the more we enjoy the journey. Proverbs 3: 5-6, a favorite verse that was given to me as a young man from one of my spiritual mentors says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path (steps).”

So don’t try to make it along life’s highway with just your understanding….tap into God’s GPS and acknowledge that He and He alone knows best. Read, study and ingest His Holy Word … let Him guide you and follow the path that He has set before you. And if, at some point, the directions seem fuzzy or you have gotten off course, do what my GPS does for me each time I make a wrong turn, miss an exit or travel too far down the road past my desired destination…..it screams at me,

RECALCULATING,RECALCULATING!!!!

The start of this New Year is a great time to recalculate where God is directing you in service for Him…or to confirm that you are firmly implanted on the path that He has directed you to travel. Either way, it’s a great time to get into His Word and become a better you. Yes, God’s Holy word is your GPS and it will direct you to where He wants you to go. The question is simple ….Are you too manly (or womanly) to ask the God of Creation for directions?

I pray that 2018 will be the best year of your life thus far as God directs your steps and you follow His heavenly directions…..and if you have a moment; from time to time, drop me a line and let me know how goes the journey…..

Traveling Life’s Highway ….Following His Directions,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

The start of a New Year

Is exciting for most of us;

As long as we're don't become mired

In the hoopla and all the fuss.

So set your sights on progress

As you contemplate your road...

And prepare for the journey

By lightening your load.

Just trust the Father's guiding hand

So that in his hands, you'll rest...

Spend time with Him in His Holy Word

And let it be your G P S!

WPQ  © Jan 2018