Well I use to before I really knew the God I serve; before I knew that Jesus offers freedom and His house is a house of freedom.

This song says it all. There is freedom in the house of God. It’s God’s house or peace, refuge and deliverance, He expects us to cry out and receive His word, peace, love and freedom as well worship in His house.

Whom the son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36)

Be encouraged by Place of Worship by William McDowell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAkoQY-ofFw

John 12:23 – Let your seed grow and produce increase to share with others.

It came through loud and clear that I was where I was and what I was because of the decisions and choices I had made in my life. I made those choices based on the information I had, much of which was erroneous. The reality is, if I’m given the wrong directions to go from “point A” to “point B,” I’m not going to reach “point B” unless I change directions. It’s equally true that if I’m given the wrong directions on how to move from being broke and in debt to being successful and prosperous, I’m not going to end up at the place I want to be.

One important decision you can make even as you read these words is to think about what Thomas Sikking said: “You’re not the product of a broken home, a devastated economy, a world in the upheaval of war, a minority group, a family of drunkards or a poverty-ridden neighborhood. You are the product of your own thinking processes and whatever you’re thinking about today is the cornerstone of your tomorrow.”

If someone else has abused you in the past, it’s o.k. to give them credit for fouling up your past, but do not give them permission to ruin your present and your future. Take control of your thoughts and your future. Determine that you will have a better tomorrow. Make specific plans to do so and I will SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Zig Ziglar is known as America’s motivator. He is the author of 29 books and numerous audio and video recordings. See him in action!

 We as Christians are called to be Ambassadors of the Word of God in every forum, both offline and online. God makes our job description very clear: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 15:6)

 What’s your Facebook light like? Is it dim or bright?

 Let’s face it…out of our 200 plus Facebook friends, less than 50 of them know the Lord.

Time to Shine Online

Let’s “Facebook” the Gospel then…

 Here are some tips which will help you shine your light online so that your friends may read, see your good works (status updates, comments, questions and shared links) and come to glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 1.    Update your Facebook status with a verse or two a day. (A verse a day keeps the devil away)

2.    Share motivational articles on your profile page from Christian websites (charismamag.com, christianpost.com, lifeway.com, radiantmag.com)

3.    Tag your friends on these motivational articles

4.    Encourage comments on your notes by speaking about your own Christian experience

5.    Add sermon notes to your personal notes and share with your friends

1. Recognise your need for purity
2. Acknowledge that only God can make your heart clean
3. Be totally honest with God about the condition of your heart
4. Confess all known sin and allow the blood of Jesus to cleanse you
5. Fill yourself with the word of God
6. Concentrate on the finishing line
7. Value the Bible and Bible study
8. Assemble with God’s people
9. Select faithful companions (Proverbs 10:20)
10. Heed wise counsel (Proverbs 12:15)
11. Set your mind on the things above (Col 3:1)
12. Put sin to death. Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body.

Points provided by Pastor Murrell (Pegwell Community Church)

2 Spend a few minutes in silence, to quiet your mind and come into God’s presence.

3 During this time, ask the Lord to give you a sense of the things God wants you to pray for. Put aside your own agenda, concerns, and desires and unite yourself to Jesus’ heart. You may want to write down the things that God places on your hearts.

4 Briefl y refl ect on what you wrote down. What do you think God is leading you to pray for?

5 Pray for the things on God’s heart—for those who have no faith; for those who have fallen away from Jesus; for renewal and unity in all the Christian churches; for respect for all life; for all the lost, abandoned, or forgotten children of the world; for those under the power of addictions or bound by depression, anxiety, or bitterness; and for prisoners and service men and women. And, of course, pray for your own intentions and those of your loved ones.

6 As you pray, take confi dence in God’s power to overcome any obstacle. Stand fi rm in faith, and wait to see God work in power.

7 In your prayer journal, keep a record of what you prayed for, and of the ways God answered those prayers. Thank him and praise for all the ways he has worked through your prayer.

Jesus promised: “If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). One of the most powerful ways we can pray as intercessors is together with others. Consider forming an intercessory prayer team.

The final chapter of the Book of Habakkuk gives us a glimpse into the heart of an intercessor, both in praying for a mighty outpouring of grace, and in his abandonment and trust in God’s provision. Let us take Habakkuk’s prayer as our own as we intercede for the many needs of the church and the world:

O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)

Information Source: http://tinyurl.com/6ygkusm

This month will mark the first Father’s Day I have observed without my father being alive. His passing late in November 2010 is still fresh in my mind, and I’ve had a flood of memories about Dad, especially this month.

When I was a young boy, my father would regularly take me with him to do his Saturday errands, usually involving a number of stops in the downtown area of the small steel town in western Pennsylvania where I grew up. Traffic in our small town was hardly a problem. Nevertheless, as a young boy, I never crossed a street without holding my father’s hand. Every time we stood together on the curb, he would extend his arm toward me, waiting for me to take his hand before we crossed to the other side.
 I didn’t need to know where Dad was headed or what we were going to do when we got there. He knew. My job was simply to take his hand before we crossed and hold onto it until we safely reached the other side. That’s all I had to do.
 Such a simple action. But such a vivid, enduring picture in my mind.
Our First Step

Doesn’t it make sense that in every decision we make and every direction we take, our first step ought to be to take hold of God’s outstretched hand?
     Over the last few years, a Scripture that has become especially meaningful to me is Jeremiah 33:3 (nkjv), where God says: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” As I compared this passage to similar verses, I discovered one striking truth. Almost without fail, whenever the Lord tells us to call to Him, His next words are, “. . . and I will answer you.”
     When we are facing a question of guidance or direction, what should be our first step? To reach out actively to God’s extended hand and take hold of it. That action takes the form of calling upon the Lord as a first priority, assuring Him we will hold on to Him through the process.
     The second point I have appreciated in this passage concerns what the Lord promises to show us. One note in this translation concerning the word “mighty” gives its meaning as “inaccessible.” There are matters we simply will not know unless our hand is in His. Those matters are “inaccessible” to us under normal circumstances. With our hand in His, they become clear to us. We may not always know where we are headed or what we are to do. He knows. Our job is simply to hold on to His hand as He leads us “across the street.”
     Such a basic action. But such an essential step for each of us in fulfilling His plan.
Putting Your Hand in His
Derek Prince lived out this concept of deliberately placing his hand in the Father’s. One principle he especially emphasized was seeking the Lord’s involvement first before moving ahead. In a radio message entitled “Waiting for God,” Derek talks about three reasons why we need to rely upon God’s leading in our lives.
What is it, then, that’s so important about waiting for God? What are the results that it will produce in us? I’d like to suggest that in waiting for God we acknowledge God in a very special way. We give Him His rightful place in our lives. It builds a relationship with Him that cannot be built in any other way.
 In particular, there are three ways we acknowledge God by waiting for Him. First, we acknowledge God as our source. That’s why the psalmist said, “Wait for God only.” He was saying to his own soul, “What you need can only come from God. There’s no other source for what you need.” So, it’s in vain to turn in any other direction. You have to keep your heart and your mind focused on God by waiting for Him.
Secondly, we acknowledge God’s sovereignty, and that is so important. The initiative is with God. The timing is with God. We can’t tell God when to do it. We have to wait until He in His infinite wisdom reveals the time that it needs to be done. That way, we are acknowledging God’s sovereignty in our lives.
 Thirdly, we’re acknowledging our dependence upon God. That is something that’s painful for all of us, because as a result of man’s fall, there is ingrained in every human being a deep desire to be independ­ent—even to be independent of God. Waiting for God deals with this desire for independence. It continually reminds us we are dependent upon God. The initiative comes from God. The only source is God. And so it humbles and subdues that carnal impulse in us which is continually striving to be independent of God.
Reaching Out to Him

As Derek has pointed out in the section above, seeking the Lord first is an essential part of finding and fulfilling the will of God for our lives. In doing so, we have to take that first essential action of reaching out to Him.

Are you ready to take the first step to find direction from the Lord? Reaching out to take His hand is not a complicated process. If you want to do so, please join me in the following prayer:
Father, You know the decisions I am facing right now. I want to follow only Your guidance and direction for my life, and I certainly don’t have any desire to “go it alone” or to move ahead of Your timing.
By a deliberate act of my will, I call to You now. Lord, I thank You that You hear me as I call. I see Your hand extended to me, and I deliberately place my hand in Yours. Father, I will hold on to Your hand as You lead me and guide me in the days ahead.
I trust You, Father. And I thank You that You will show me great and mighty things which I don’t presently understand. My hand is in Yours from this point onward.
Hand in Hand
If you have just voiced that prayer, you can be confident that you are being held firmly in God’s hands. That doesn’t mean the road will be totally smooth or that you will perfectly see every aspect of His plan for you. What it does mean is that you now acknowledge Who is leading you and Who is holding on to you. That will make all the difference as you move ahead.
It’s a wonderful gift to hold on to your Father’s hand. In fact, I wish I could grasp my dad’s hand once again. I’m so grateful that just six days before he passed away, my wife, Cindi, and I were able to visit with him in my home town. When we came into the room that day, Dad was lying in bed on his right side, and his right hand was extended up by the pillow on which his head was resting. As I was sitting beside him, I clasped his right hand with my right hand, and he squeezed my hand as I expressed my love and apprecia­tion for him.
Numerous times during that visit, Dad simply said, “I just want to go home.” That day, the roles were reversed. He was holding on to my hand as he was preparing to “cross the street,” and it reminded me of a favorite Scripture in Isaiah 41 (nkjv). So, with my right hand in his right hand, I read the Lord’s words to him: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” As I read that passage to Dad, I felt I was symbolically representing the Lord taking my father by the hand.

Derek Prince Ministries