Preparing for Jesus! Part 2

Inquire: ask for information

Require: cause to be necessary

As we talked about last week, we should be preparing for Jesus before hand as if each day were our last. As the Word tells us, He's coming like a thief in the night at a time when we don't expect - that's why we must be ready. We get ready by preparing our hearts, minds and souls every day. 

Matthew 6:33 gives us a blueprint for getting ready: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." In the Strong's Concordance, the word "seek" means to worship, to desire, to plot and plan purposefully, to inquire and to require. Last week, we looked at the first three words. This week, let's dig into the last two words a little more.

Inquire: When you inquire about things, what are you doing? You are asking. If we speak God’s word back to Him in prayer, what did God say he would do? Perform it! He will meet the needs in our lives according to His purpose and will if we would simply inquire. We should, everyday inquire of the Lord, "what is your Will for me today, what is it you want me to do, where do you want me to go, what is it you want me to say?" So many things revolve around us just having a conversation with the Lord and asking the right questions. Without asking, we don’t know how to go out and we don’t know how to come back in. As the Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not onto thine on understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.”

Require: Last but not least, we must require or cause things to be necessary. As you prepare for Jesus' arrival, you are required to do these things every day. Do we worship only once and then we're done? Do we plan things out one time? Do we desire and inquire one thing only? No! We do it repeatedly, over and over again everyday. If I want the Lord to do things for me or see Him move in my life, it is a requirement that I do these things daily.

Have you ever heard people wondering why the Lord doesn't seem to be working for them? Well first, that person's still breathing, so He is! And two, it’s more likely because he or she is refusing to believe what the Word of God tells them. These things only work if you work them.

Don’t misunderstand, the Lord has no problem with us doing things or having things. He simply asks us to "seek Me first." He’s the one watching over us, waking us up each morning, and tending over us throughout the day, even as you read this right now. Let’s put Him first by preparing for Him everyday!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

Preparing for Jesus! Part 1

Preparing: to make ready before hand for some purpose, use or activity.

We should be preparing for Jesus before hand as if each day were our last day. When we are expecting house guests, we start getting things prepared in advance. We stay up late at night cleaning, cooking, and doing whatever it takes to get things right for them. My friends, there is one who's coming who's far more important than any other guest. We don't know the day or the hour, so we need to be getting prepared now, because once He gets here, it will be too late.

Remember, He's coming like a thief in the night at a time when we don't expect - that's why we must be ready. We get ready by preparing our hearts, minds and souls every day. Matthew 6:33 gives us a blueprint for getting ready: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." In the Strong's Concordance, the word "seek" means to worship, to desire, to enquire, to require, and to plot and plan purposefully. Let's take a look at these words a little closer.

Worship: the first thing every morning, we should be expressing our thanks to the Lord. We should express to Him how important He is and let Him know how much he means to us. In other words, let Him know that we value Him more than the things we want to do. This worship must come from our hearts, deep within us, if not, then we have missed our first level of seeking. 

Plot and Plan: When we decide that we are going to do something major, we first plan. If we plan to live Holy, we can't change our lifestyle on the spot just because unpleasing situations are upon us. No, we must stay focused. When we are going to work, we don't typically roll out of the bed and go straight to our vehicles. We have a plan of activities - we clean ourselves up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then we head off to work. We must have a plan when it it comes to serving God as well. We get up earlier so we can worship Him first and recommit each day to serving the Lord that day - no matter what happens. 

Desire: If we didn't have a desire to seek God, how would we ever do it? People can't do this for us on our behalf. We must worship, plan and have a desire for ourselves. We simply wouldn't get very far based on someone else's desire. When the Lord sees our worship, planning and desire for Him, He's going to provide our natural and spiritual desires for us. Sometimes we block our blessings, because we choose not to Worship, Plan or Have a Desire to please the Lord. Don't be THAT person - stop blocking your blessings!

Check back next week as we continue our conversation on preparing for Jesus.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

We Need the Sun AND the Rain!

Rain: to fall as or kike ran, to pour down.
Sun: the shining celestial body around which the earth and other planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat.

God is so awesome, He knows when to allow the Sun to shine and when we need the Rain to fall in our natural lives, as well as our spiritual lives. Our God is truly wonderful, He gives us joy and pain; hot and cold; sunshine and rain. He's such a balanced God that He knows when we need each one and exactly how much of each we need in that moment. He gives us one, for example pain, in order for us to appreciated the other - joy.

We don't always like it, but consider this - how could we appreciate the Sun if we never experienced the Rain? If we only ever experienced the Sun our grass, flowers and gardens would burn up, but God in all His mercy allows the Rain to fall, so those very things could grow. He also does this in our personal life. If I never experienced sickness, then I wouldn't know that God is a healer. If I were never broke, I wouldn't know that God is a provider. The test and trails He brings to us are to teach us about ourselves and our inner workings. We will either be thankful for our situations or we will choose to murmur and complain.

We simply need to trust the Lord and know that He won't give us more Rain or Sunshine than we need. The Lord allows things to happen in our lives because He has something far more important for us to learn. We can choose to get bitter and not profit from it because of our attitude, but trust me, you can be assured that it’s going to come back around. It's not going to always Rain and the Sun is not going to always shine. We must make up our mind to have an attitude of gratitude for whatever God allows to cross our paths.

Just remember - the Sun is shining somewhere even when it rains, so rest assured the Sun will come back out in your life again - no matter how bleak the outlook might be. Trust and believe, my friends. As Psalm 9:10 tells us, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”

‭‭With all that said, let the church say Amen... and AMEN!

Bloom Exactly Where You're Planted!

Bloom: To flourish
Planted: To put or set in the ground for growth

Most seeds bloom exactly where they are planted. That's because the sustenance it needs to survive is provided above the ground right where it was planted. Beneath the ground, the plant is also provided with nutrients which allows it to take root. Once that plant takes root, it tends to flourish, right there where the seed was planted. We can be just like that seed -- meaning that we can bloom exactly where we have been planted -- but we must have something to work with. As the plant gets nutrients beneath the ground to help it take root, grow and bloom; we must use what's beneath our surface (or what's inside of us) to help us bloom. In our case, our root system is our foundation and it's our foundation that anchors us. We must have a vision inside of us that's set on victory, so when situations pile up on us, we can easily push through them and blossom right where we have been planted.

Of course, we know that everyday isn't going to be a good day. Without a doubt, there will be all kinds of unpleasant things going on all around us - we may get bad news about a loved one or we may lose our job. Though we may feel like we’ve never had such difficult struggles, if we can just keep on believing, keep on hoping, and keep on pulling from the sustenance we get from above, our God will see that we are going to bloom right where we have been planted and He will turn the situation around!

Paul and Silas are a great example of this. Paul and Silas were planted in jail, beaten with many stripes with their feet in stocks, but still managed to blossom right where they were. In spite of their situation, Paul and Silas didn't complain. Instead, Acts 16:23-25 tells us that at midnight they prayed and sang praises unto God. Now, that’s what I call blooming EXACTLY where you have been planted! There is a light in every situation, we just have to choose to see it and act on it!

Remember, when struggles come our way - we are not buried in that spot - we are simply planted, so we can bloom!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!