Magazine Article: The Healthy Balanced Life

The link below will lead you to an article I was asked to submit to Grace & Peace Magazine. It is an excerpt from my book titled Relational Leadership and published in 2009 by Beacon Hill Press. I pray it will bring freedom to your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

http://www.graceandpeacemagazine.org/articles/the-healthy-balanced-life

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Magazine Article: In Celebration of God's Yet

The link pasted below will lead you to an article I was requested to write for "Holiness Today". I pray it's helpful in making your faith more devoted and desperate.

http://www.holinesstoday.org/nphweb/html/ht/article.jsp?sid=10005084&id=10009401

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Why Rest Awhile?

In a poem by Mrs. Chas. Cowman, these words hint at one wonderful reason why workers in the Lord's harvest, should take time for sabbath rest?

To cease awhile from all the joy of service,
To find a deeper joy with Him to share.

And Jesus said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. -- Mark 6:31-32 (NKJV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Possess Your Possession

Lord, my prayer today is:
"I am not my own, I belong to You."

Therefore, please Lord:
"Let Your Holy Presence Wholly Possess What You Presently Possess!"

Yes, Spirit of the Living God:
"Possess Your Possession. Thee in me. Amen."

Jesus, let the final seven words of Your prayer to the Father in John 17:26 be reality in my life right now: "...that I Myself may be in them." Yes, Lord, I need what You want! I want what You want! In Your name I claim my inheritance! "Christ in me, the hope of glory! Amen."

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Consecration Simply Defined

Consecration is simply a matter of letting God have what He has paid for, or returning stolen property. -- Mrs. Chas. Cowman

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) -- (19) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; (20) you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Jesus, You paid it all. All to You I owe. Let me live my life not only claiming "You are mine" but also declaring "I am Yours". In Your wonderful name, Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Live Careful Lives. Prayerful, too.

It was a Tuesday when I visited a hero of the faith in my life. Yes, Brother Charlie is now 74-years-old and lives in an assisted care home. A man of God and a church leader for most of his life, he now spends his days encouraging the residents and the caregivers within his seemingly smaller circle of influence.

I made the trip with Brother Charlie's grandson, who is now a ministry partner alongside me, and my own son also rode along with us for the fellowship. As we shared together, Brother Charlie kept holding his old Bible up and saying to us, This is a wonderful book. I wish everyone would read it. He also said that the one piece of counsel he would give to people today is: Live careful lives because people are looking to us as the Lord's witnesses.

Before leaving, I asked Brother Charlie if he would lead us in prayer. He said, Whenever I hear the word prayer, I come to a halt. Then he prayed the most beautiful prayer I have heard in a long, long time. With pin-point clarity he cried out to Jesus, offering splendid praises and specific petitions. In a way it was a Transfiguration-type moment, in that, his grandson, my son, and I were keenly aware that the moment was exceptionally holy and Jesus was indeed glorifying Himself through Brother Charlie's life.

Lord, help us to live careful and prayerful lives that glorify You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

"At One" or Aloof?

Lord, give me a desire to be always "at one" with You, and never aloof from You. Let me be aligned with Your blessed words recorded in Matthew 5:6, yes "hungry and thirsty" for a right relationship with You at all times. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

When We Pray, Do We Mean It?

God’s there, listening for all who pray,
for all who pray and mean it.
-- Psalm 145:18 (MSG)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

...We Will Never Pray.

If we wait until we know how to pray, to pray, we will never pray.

Lord, teach me TO PRAY! Lord, when I pray let my prayers be personal, intimate, and effective, not powerless, imitations, and ineffective. When I pray, let my foundation be a right relationship with You. In the Name of Jesus. Amen

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. -- James 5:16b (NLT)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL! I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

All Together in Prayer All The Time

They all joined together constantly in prayer... -- Acts 1:14 (NIV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

When We Rest...

It has been suggested:
"When we rest, God works!
When we work, God rests!"

Matthew 11:28-30 may hint to us that this is a very true suggestion.
Psalm 46:10 reinforces the hint.
What do you believe?

My Lord Jesus, please help me to live my life as if I believe wholeheartedly that Your Blood works so very much more effectively than my sweat. Help me to place Holy Trusting above human trying. In Your name, I pray. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Healing in His Wings

But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings...
-- Malachi 4:2 (NKJV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

If We Harbor Unforgiveness?

If we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts against others, the Lord will not listen to our cries for His mercy.

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
--Psalm 66:18 (NIV)

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.
-- Matthew 5:7 (NIV)

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
-- Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

A Child of Faith, A Man of God

At a wedding rehearsal, the father of the groom stood to affirm his son who was about to be married. It has been all joy to raise Adam -- our child of faith became a man of God.

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
-- Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Enter The Mystery

Psalm 40, verses 1-4, from the Message Paraphrase is a testimony and an invitation that touches the depths of the soul:

I waited and waited and waited for God.
At last He looked; finally He listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.
Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world’s "sure thing,"
ignore what the world worships.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

"Does It Hurt God?"

Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God.
-- Oswald Chambers

1 Thess. 5:19 -- Do not quench the Spirit...

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Bury the Wrongs. Press On.

I am pressing on... forgetting everything which is past.
Phil. 3:12-13 (Weymouth Translation)

In the very depths of yourself, dig a grave. Let it be like some forgotten spot to which no path leads; and there, in the eternal silence, bury the wrongs that you have suffered. Your heart will feel as if a weight has fallen from it, and a Divine Peace will come to abide with you. -- Charles Wagner

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Behold! He Is Praying!

Acts 9:11 (NLT) -- The Lord said (to Ananias), "Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you arrive, ask for Saul of Tarsus. He is praying to me right now!"

Acts 9:11 (NKJV) -- "...Behold! He is praying!"

It seems to me that perhaps the first greatest wonder (what's most atonishing) in all of the universe to Holy God might really be a person praying. Could it be that the second greatest wonder (what's also most atonishing) to Holy God is to think that we as humans realize this and yet neglect praying?

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Quietness Quenches

In The 23rd Psalm, verse 23:2b (MSG), The Shepherd Psalmist penned these words of thanks to His Lord, The Good Shepherd, pertaining to the way He cares for His sheep: You find me quiet pools to drink from.

Lord, indeed you lead me beside still waters. Let Your Sacred School of Silence be in uninterrupted session within my soul. Surely, in quietness, You prove to be the Living Water that quenches my soul's thirst. In the name of the Good Shepherd, I give thanks today and will continue to give thanks all of my days. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Double Portion

My God, I hunger and thirst for a right relationship with You. Don't let me settle for Your minimum presence, but let me inherit Your Maximum Presence in my life. I pray the words of Elisha recorded in 2 Kings 2:9 (NIV): "Let me inherit a double portion of Your Spirit." Yes, I ask for the double blessing, indeed I request a double portion of Your Anointing, Your Oil, Your Spirit, and Your Fire within me. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

No Such Thing

Do we belong exclusively to God? If so, let us be encouraged, in that, "there is no such thing as prayer unanswered or prayer unnoticed by our God." -- H. Bonar

2 Corinthians 4:13-18 (NIV) -- (13) It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, (14) because we know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. (15) All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (16) Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (17) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (18) So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Mercies For Miseries

Lord, thank You for the glorious exchange -- Your new and never-ending mercies for my old and temporary miseries. In Your Name, my Beloved Jesus, I am speechless with gratitude. Amen.

Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day.
-- Lamentations 3:23 (NIV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Subsitute For Joy?

Entertainment is the devil's substitute for joy.
-- Leonard Ravenhill

You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of Your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.
-- Psalm 16:11 (NLT)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Learn To Pray -- Not How, But Now!

There is no way to learn to pray but by praying.
-- Samuel Chadwick

And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.
-- Jude 1:20b (NLT)

Lord, teach us TO pray! Lord, teach us not merely how to pray, but mainly TO now pray!

Lord forbid it and Lord forgive us if we avoid praying not primarily because we don't know how to pray, but because we simply and sadly won't take time to pray. Even a child knows how to pray. Help us to become as children and to pray now. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Fragrance Cannot Be Hidden

Psalm 45:7 (NLT) says the fragrance of joy is to be the unhidden fragrance of our lives, poured on us, even in us, as an anointing from the Lord:

You love what is right and hate what is wrong.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you,
pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.

John 12:3 (NLT) is proof that fragrance cannot be hidden: Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance.

Dear Lord, Your Spirit of Truth is the Oil of Joy in us, yes the Holy Anointing that you have filled our lives with. Your Holy Spirit's fragrance cannot be hidden. Make our lives a living sacrifice, poured out at Your feet for Your glory and for the good of eternal souls. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

"Consecration" Simply Defined...

The word "consecration" may most simply be defined in this four-word declaration of devotion: "I am my Beloved's!"

Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?
-- 1 Chronicles 29:5b (NKJV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Free Indeed: A Place in The Family

John 8:34-36 (NIV) -- (34) Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. (35) Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. (36) So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Lord, thanks for the price You paid to give me a permanent place in Your Family. Yes, thanks for shedding Your innocent blood, not to give me freedom to sin, but to give me freedom from sin. I owe my life, my all to You, my Jesus, The Elder Brother of The Family. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Freedom From Sin

My Jesus, I am so grateful to You for the total price You paid to offer to the world and to me freedom from sin. Amen.

John 3:16-17 still amazes me.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful