The God of Broken Dreams

Just when you think that you can’t hold on a moment longer Jesus enters your situation. I shouldn’t say He enters it because He has been in it all along. Sometimes we cannot see or hear Him because our focus is redirected elsewhere. The Lord knows exactly what you need when you need it most. He has trekked this way long before our very inception. He is well aware of the treacherous terrain on which we tread. Never be tempted to believe that God is too busy to be concerned about you!” We are constantly in the forefront of His mind. Don’t take my word for it; read Jeremiah 29:11.

When you cry, He hears you and He bottles up every single teardrop. The state of our heart and emotions are of great concern to Him. I can remember after my divorce I thought that God had forsaken me. I was completely and utterly wrong. Instead it was not until after the divorce that my mind and spirit were freed up to hear Him more clearly. The Lord positioned me to be in a place of openness to Him, much more than when I was married. I now understand what Paul meant when he said he wished we were all like him…single and able to devote our undivided attention to the things of God (See I Corinthians 7). Since I no longer have the distraction of pleasing a husband, I can dedicate myself to focus on the things God has need of me to deal with.

I am happy because I am being used of the Lord. I am better learning who I am. I am sensitively aware of the needs of others. The Holy Spirit attunes me to some of the problems of my sisters and brothers in Christ. Therefore, I am able to go before God on their behalf in prayer and supplication. Am I living in Utopia? Not at all but my wounds are being healed as I concern myself with others rather than dwelling on myself.

Be assured in knowing that Abba is truly the God of Broken Dreams. No matter what the dream! Spiritual family continue to hold on to God’s unchanging hand. It won’t be long now. As the song says, soon we will be leaving here.

Blessings and peace, written by Pastor Teresa Miller

A Pattern of Prayer

Matthew 6:7-15

In Matthew 6:7, Jesus cautioned against meaningless repetition when talking to the Father. Just two verses later, He left a pattern to help us pray. However, in using this passage, which is known as the Lord’s Prayer, we’re often guilty of the very thing Jesus warned against: Instead of thoughtfully praying each line, we run through the words mindlessly. But if we take time to carefully examine Christ’s words, we’ll find the pattern that can transform our prayer life.

Adoration of the Father (Matt. 6:9). God the Father is the focus of all our prayers. We should never forget what a privilege it is to bend our knees on earth and reach almighty God in heaven.

Submission to His Will (Matt. 6:10). Prayer should reflect a desire to align ourselves with God’s goals and purposes, not to get Him to follow our plans.

Petition God for our needs (Matt. 6:11). We are dependent upon the Lord, and He wants us to come to Him with our requests.

Confession of sins (Matt. 6:12). When we repent and forgive others, we maintain fellowship with God. But if we hold grudges, that fellowship is broken. God loves to answer our prayers when the lines of communication are not disrupted.

Deliverance from evil (Matt. 6:13). Our enemy is too strong for us, but Christ has already won the victory over him.

Jesus ended the prayer where He began—with praise to the Father for His kingdom, power, and glory (Matt. 6:13). Next time you say this prayer, concentrate on each verse. Then, following this pattern will result in a more dynamic and effective prayer life because it will be God-centered.

Reference Intouch.org

Praise Jesus

Praise Jesus – written by Pastor Teresa Miller

Where He leads me I will follow. I am not my own. Who am I to tell Him, I will follow you here, but not there. I will do this, but not that. I will accept your will for my life in this area, but not in the other. I have been bought with an expensive price. Jesus paid my ultimate penalty, by shedding His precious blood to ransom me. Therefore, I am a soldier in God’s army under His divine authority. My job is to follow His commands. I cannot do my own thing. He is my Commander and Chief. I choose to wait on His divine instructions and guidance for each new day.

Sure, I have had losses and experienced pain. Life has taken some undesirable turns for me that was unexpected, but I will not become bitter. I dare not question His Omniscience. As my father used to tell us growing up, “no accidents happen to the people of God.” My life is directed by the Lord; and everything that I have experienced has brought me closer to Him. The voyage has been a little tumultuous and turbulent at times, but it has never overtaken me. Each trial, each resisted temptation is treasured oil in my alabaster box. I am being equipped to help someone else. I am yet standing because of the mercies and grace of God.

So as the Christian song says, “courage my soul and let us journey on. Though the night seems dark, it won’t be very long. Thanks be to God the morning light has come. And the storm is passing over hallelujah!” Praise Jesus!!!

Our Paraclete

“Our Paraclete” by Pastor Teresa Miller (9/17/16)

How many can attest to having learned that God is a very present help in the time of trouble? I have discovered that I can rely upon Him even when I’m not sure of what is going on in life. When the enemy tries to bring fear or an unsettled spirit within me, I choose to continue to trust Jesus anyhow. I am learning more and more to refuse to buckle down under the enemy’s intimidation.  After all his threats are just that, threats. He has to get permission from my Daddy to do anything to me. God has already assured me that He would not put more on me than I can bear. So I know if it comes to me, the Lord is going to bring me through it. And it could be worse. Someone else somewhere is going down in despair for the third time. I know in Whom I believe and I am persuaded that He is walking me through my journey. He is never very far away. He sees what I am going through before it comes upon me; before it enters my domain. He’s a watchful, diligent parent. I also know that if He sent immediate relief to me my faith would not grow. I would not learn to trust Him to lead me, to guide me or to order my steps. Therefore, I will be still and see the salvation of my God. I will be a first-hand eye witness to my deliverance.
Lord, I ask that You give me a heart and a mind to submit my total allegiance to You. People of God we have to go through the process so that we can help someone else. Let us not be selfish or afraid and try to escape the procedure just because it is difficult. If we endure the course of action, we will reap the benefits of knowing how truly awesome Abba is. God has come through for us in prior experiences so I, for one, am not going to doubt Him now! He has brought me too far for me to shrink under the pressure of the storms of life or to fold because of periods of lightening or rain. He is our Omnipresent covering and umbrella. He promised that if we suffer with Him, we are destined to reign with Him. So in spite of whatever… I’m here for the long haul and looking for surefire victory! How about you???

Devotional Prayers – Thy Will be Done

Thy Will be Done (Or the Challenge Of Surrender)

Father, if I pray that Thy will be done, I must be prepared to stay before You.  I cannot hear from You by simply praying a quick prayer and jumping up in my spirit from my surrendered stance.  I must take time to allow You to infiltrate my heart and mind.  All of the cares, and confusion of the day have to be laid at the altar and I must direct my thoughts God-ward.  I realize that it is important that I sit in Your presence and allow You the opportunity to download what it is that You want me to perceive for the day.  You are Almighty God and I cannot put You on my time clock.

Life is hectic and I realize that there are things that must be done throughout the day.  But it is imperative that I reserve designated time for You.   If I have to, I will arise earlier than normal to assure that my day begins by giving You my allegiance.  You are number One in my life Jesus.  I must consciously move everything and everyone else to a distant second in my life.

A  Prayer written by Pastor Teresa Miller

Devotional Prayers – Destiny

Destiny (Or My God-Mandated Purpose)

Heavenly Father, I know that there is a plain path or destiny designed just for me.  No one else can fulfill my calling.  You have sculpted my heart and my life to reach specific individuals for Your Glory.  People are waiting for me!!  If I do not concede my life will not Related imagebe as gratifying as Christ intended it to be.  Someone will continue to wander in this maze called life.  They need what God has given to me for their life to flourish.

Today I will seek Your face and Your will for direction.  I will live so that my light shines.  The rays will be seen by someone walking in darkness giving me an opportunity to direct them God-ward.

A  Prayer written by Pastor Teresa Miller

Devotional Prayers – Emphatically Trust God

(Thank You Jesus for answering my petitions!!)

Emphatically Trust God (Or Trust God In Spite Of)

Dear Lord, teach me to yield to your Holy Spirit.  I don’t have the foresight, wit, intelligence, or the know-how to make correct decisions for my life or anyone else’s.  But I do know that you have given prayinghands1me One who is well-equipped and grasps all.  He knows my ending from my beginning.  The Holy Spirit wants to lead me and guide me.  I must allow Him to do that.  It is my responsibility to surrender to Him.  He will never impose His will upon me.  He will simply stand aside and wait for me to realize my frailty.  I refuse to allow my pride to cause me to miss out on the lavish, abundant life that Christ paid the price for me to enjoy.

Today I purpose to believe God unequivocally!  I will not weaken the Word with my human wisdom.  I emphatically trust God!  His Word says to ask and I will receive.  I am going to ask believing and then expect results.

A  Prayer written by Pastor Teresa Miller

We Serve A Forgiving God

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT)

2 Chronicles 6-7 gives the historical events that took place after the completion of the temple. The temple that is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 6 & 7 is the temple that King David wanted to build for God, but God told David he shed too much blood and told him that his son Solomon would build the temple. The Bible says that King Solomon was full of wisdom and he was the wisest man that ever lived. After dedicating the temple to God, Solomon prayed for the people. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is part of God’s response to Solomon’s prayer.

Although this response from God was thousands of years ago, it still applies to us today. God wants us to know that even if we fall short and sin, he is ready with his arms open wide to forgive us and welcome us back. God requires that we humble ourselves, pray for forgiveness, seek his face, and repent from the evil that we have done. If we do not follow these instructions given by God, he will not restore us into the flock.

God is full of mercy and compassion and he does not wish for any of us to perish and go to hell. He desires that all of us have eternal life, but it’s a choice that we have to make. Over the centuries in scriptures we see in many instances where the children of Israel turn their backs on God and they suffered the consequences for their actions. We also see in scriptures where God forgave them when they repented and restored them back to him.

It is important for us as children of God to seek forgiveness as soon as we sin. Don’t allow Satan or people to condemn you and tell you God will never forgive you. That’s a lie of the enemy. God is a God of judgement, but he is also a just God. He is a loving and merciful God who is full of compassion. He is our Father who is there to protect us from danger. Let us always keep in mind that when we ask for forgiveness; he will hear us from heaven, forgive our sins and restore us back to him. Just the fact of knowing that although he is in heaven and I’m here on earth, he takes time out just to hear my prayer is awesome.

Missionary Judith Gilzene

Check Your Motives

Watch out! Dont do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, dont do as the hypocrites doblowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, dont let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4 NLT)

Have you ever taken the time to consider what your motives are for what you do? Is your motive a selfish motive, to be appreciated by others, or is it to bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ? I pray and hope it is to bring glory and honor to our Savior. Whenever we extend our hand to someone in need, that’s not the time for us as children of God to boast about what we did for others.  Boasting about it to others causes a person to lose the reward they would have received from God (Matt 6:1). As children of God we should be careful of our motives, we should make sure our motives are pure.

St. Matthew 6:3 tells us ‘But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing’. This Scripture does not only apply to helping the poor but also in our giving of money. What is your motive for giving, is it to be appreciated and honored by the leaders of the church or to be seen by others? If that’s the motive, then you already received your reward according to Scripture. The Bible says we should not let our left hand knows what our right hand does. That simply means, do not call attention to yourself to show your good deeds. When you help others, give money to others, or give to the church it should not be made public.

My prayer for each of us as children of God, member or leader, is to consider our motives before we do a good deed. We will never be effective in ministry if our motives are not right. We never want to lose out on God’s reward because our motives are not right. Please keep in mind that nothing is wrong if someone appreciates or honors you for doing a good deed, the problem arises when our motives are wrong. Always make sure that your motives are pleasing to God. It’s better to get God’s reward than man. God’s reward is eternal, men’s reward is temporal. With man, if you do something to offend them they will throw you to the curb. Seek to get the reward that will last and only God can do that.

Misn. Judith A. Gilzene Moodie

Do You Have An Unselfish Love?

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. 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (NLT)

The question I would like to ask today is ‘Do we really love those who labor amongst us in the gospel as we are instructed to love, or is it just a cliché that we use when we tell our brothers and sisters in Christ that we love them?’ It’s amazing how many Christians have animosity against each other or believe they are better than another person.

As children of God, we should strive to love each other as Christ loves the church. We do not have the ability to love as Christ loves, but we have the Holy Spirit within us to teach us how to. The greek word that is used for love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 is ‘agape’ which is God’s unconditional love for us and an unselfish love of Christians towards others.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 gives fourteen characteristic of what Christian love should be amongst believers and we should practice these characters with others. As Christians, we should not try to get back at those who offend us or hold on to wrongs others have done. It is important for us to let go of past hurts and forgive. Forgiveness is extremely important in the lives of believers. If we hold on to un-forgiveness, God will not forgive us of our sins. The Christian walk is a process, none of us are perfect, and we are all striving towards perfection so we are to love each other with an unselfish love.

Missionary Judith A. Gilzene Moodie