The God who sees...

“…the God who sees me, for she said “I have seen the One who sees me!” (Gen 16:13 NLT)

El-roi – The God who sees

Sometimes it’s hard to grasp the idea that God does see all things, for many times we ask the question “God don’t you see what is happening?” At these moments our state of mind is not clear and neither can it remember any scriptures.  Hagar was in a precarious situation, she was running away from Sarai her mistress, because Sarai’s actions had cause her to be jealous of her handmaiden, who now was carrying her husband’s child.

You must remember this, that God sees even our mistakes, our evil hearts, our wrong motives and even our wrong attitudes as well as our ways and actions. Even our thinking is not hidden from Him:

            “The Lord knows the thought of man…” (Ps.94:11)

You see, sometimes our actions for the better good, (our own way) of solving a problem, only causes the problem to get worse, thereby causing our decision to bite us in the end. God also sees that we are not following His instructions when things happen:

            “Casting all your care upon him…” (1Peter 5:7)

He does see that we are trying to fix something that we are not qualified to fix. Know this, there is no problem too complicated for God to fix, but you must be willing to give it to Him completely and let Him work it out.  You never know what blessings God has in store for you, until you walk-it-out, walk out the pain, walk out the disappointment, walk out the frustration, walk out the anger and walk into blessings.

Now does God see you and all that is going on? I say emphatically YES, He sees and He is ready to help you walk through.  What must we do? Take every problem, every situation, and every negative event to God in Prayer, be comforted in knowing God is in control, be faithful to God and His promises, be strong to stand upon the Word, be grateful for the love God has for you and be sure that He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Prayer:

Father God, I thank you that you see and know what I am going through. Help me Lord to cast this burden upon you for you care for me. I release all my concerns, all my anxieties, all my fears and all my stresses and because you see, I can rest knowing that you are completely in control.  Thank you for your answer to my prayers and thank you for your loving care in my life. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

Chosen2Prayer

A conversation...

Father, I need to talk with you.  My heart is very heavy and my spirit is very angry. You see, there is a demonic spirit that is going around touching the hearts and minds of those who are open to his influence. You know them Father, these are the ones that have been assign in authoritative positions. I must admit Father, that I’m finding it hard to follow what you said; “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” [Luke 6:27 NASB].

Now many lives that should still be here have gone on home to you, and there are many angry and broken families that are trying to make it day by day. Some are trying to fix a system that has been one sided for years. How can a mother’s heart not remember the day her child was placed in her arms and not ache because her child is deceased, and how can a father go day by day looking into the face of those who despise him because of the color of his skin? Knowing that his child is no more. Father, I just don’t understand please help me to do your will. I don’t want to fall into that darkness that seems to have capture so many already.

“Harken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people” (Isa. 51:4). My child, I hear your concern and your heart. “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons” (Col.3:25).  For my Son came to save all “…they that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). So “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).  Therefore, “I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Luke 6:27-28). Finally, “therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head” (Rom. 12:20). So my child remember “let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

Ok Father, as you will help me through this anger and hurt, I ask that you will please help all peoples to understand your love for them. I ask that you will forgive me for holding others in condemnation, cleans my heart and my mind as I place these into your hands, for you to do what you do. I now release them in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, amen.

NinaJ

Chosen4God

They know me to…

It seems that we are having to deal a lot with many evil spirits that have been unleashed in the world today. We see and recognize the hand of Satan and his demons in many lives that are open to his leading. The enemy recognizes the Christ in many of who are believers in Jesus and we are attacked because of who we love and trust in. Many of our sisters and brothers have been murdered for their belief and faith, many are still in areas where there is no freedom of religious expression of their faith.

The Bible gives us many examples of the power and authority of Christ over demons and evil spirits at a time when it seem to be a common recognition of those who walked contrary to everyone else. Looking at Mark, Jesus gave strict warning to evil spirits that possess some people in Mark 3:11-12, “And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.”  

Even the evil spirits knew that Jesus was the Son of God, but they refuse to turn from their destructive behavior; they did not want to let go of those they possessed; as is still today. Now Evil spirits or demons are ruled by Satan and their purpose is to kill, steal and destroy. To kill your future of hope, to steal your faith and to destroy any thought of salvation.

Another incident we see in Mark 1:21-26, there was a man in the Synagogue, the Temple, the House of God, who was possessed with an unclean spirit, he said to Jesus “let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?... I know thee who thou are, the Holy One of God” (v. 24).  My question is “what was this demon doing in the Temple?” 

Throughout scripture we see that Jesus warned evil spirits not to reveal His true identity, because it not their duty to make known who He was and it was not in God’s plan that His identity be revealed through them. Jesus wanted to teach people about the kind of Messiah he really was – one who was far different than their expectations, who did not fit into their mold of the Messiah.

Christ kingdom is a spiritual one that begins with the overthrow of sin in people’s heart, and not with the over throw of governments, or political parties, or world issues – these will be dealt with by God.  Christ came to deal with the sin that is in our hearts, after all He tells us that “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man…:” (Mat.15:19-20).  He sees the truth of what is deep within us and this is where He starts to deal with our issues of life. If we can see what He sees, many would be running to Him begging for Him to clean out their hearts, we would be seeking repentance as we seek for riches,  “…for He knows the secrets of the heart” (Ps.44:21).

I have heard many say “I have a good heart” but truth be told, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it” (Jer. 17:9). Christ came to help us to deal with truth and our hearts, along with giving us eternal life.  But if we are not willing to see our condition as God sees us; “…desperately wicked…” what hope do we have in obtaining eternal life? 

NinaJ

Chosen4God

Time to come clean...

Sometimes the Word of God can be challenging in this day and time, but if you look at His Word as truth then there is always a purpose and reason for what He has said and what He will do. It comes down to our obedience and willingness to walk the path of truth. We must be willing to accept what God has said, we must be ready to face persecution when it comes, and regardless of the consequences, we must be ready to stand firm and strong on His Word.

We can see that our world has changed and it’s not a change that we can be proud of but rather one that destroys the idea of what a Christian nation looks like.  2 Chronicles 7:14 says “if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways…”  now this is not the world that He is talking to, but HIS people, HIS chosen, HIS called out ones; have our prayers reached heaven or the ceiling in our home? Have we ask God to “search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24). 

O God, “if I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; let me be weighted in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity” (Job 31:5-6).  “examine me, O Lord, and prove me: try my reins and my heart” (Ps. 26:2) “Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins” (Ps. 7:9). We must put ourselves under the microscope of God and ask ourselves some hard questions, have I been walking the way I should, have I compromise my values or morals just to go along, have I become lazy in my prayer life, do I justify my sins and do I faithfully read and follow my Bible, do I put other things before God?

There are many question, hard questions that we must ask ourselves, but most importantly we must be truthful. You see this is between you and God, there is no one else there but Him and if you can’t be truthful with Him then you are not truthful with yourself. If your condition looks like this then you are in need of repentance: the Word says “…because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” (Rev. 3:16-17).

For thus saith the Lord “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me…He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 3: 18,20,22). 

  

NinaJ

Chosen4God

Out of the darkness: “Let us thereforecome boldly unto the throne of g...

Out of the darkness:
“Let us thereforecome boldly unto the throne of g...: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16) ...

PRAYING WITH POWER

Out of the darkness:
“Let us thereforecome boldly unto the throne of g...: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16) ...

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16)

Prayer is talking with God, prayer is our one-on-one with the God of all creation, prayer brings us into a close and intimate relationship with God and prayer is also where we receive the love of God in our situations. It is through prayer that we get our healing, our deliverance, our faith is strengthen, our hope is encouraged and our lives are changed.  Prayer is the most important power key that we have been given by God to access the throne of heaven, the place where miracles happen, and the place where the impossible becomes possible.

God told us to “come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Prayer is this key that we must use every day, sometimes all day and it’s not just for the saved believer but for everyone who seeks help, hope, strength or whatever the need may be. This is where the believer goes to find the rest that they so desperately seek after, when life has become so confused, when you’re tired of all the stress and where you can find the answers to the many problems; for prayer touches the heart and hand of God.  

Prayer allows us to cast all our cares, all of our burdens upon the Lord knowing that He cares for us. There are those who may not pray to the “Living God” but they are hoping that their situations turn around, or that they get that job, or that the test will be negative. You see, when one hopes for their situation to turn they are putting their trust, confidence, and expectation that the outcome will be the thing they hoped for. In other words they are saying, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

There is power in prayer and there is praying with power that can move mountains, and this can change the course of your life.  The scripture says: “Let us therefore come boldly (Confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain (get, gain, acquire) mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”  God tells us how to approach His throne-with boldness, then He tells us to ask as He has instructed, to seek for the answers and to knock with perseverance till we receive what we are seeking.  We have been given “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19) for we have gain access without fear because of the blood of Christ.

Whatever your need, whatever your reason for approaching the throne of grace, God is waiting to hear from you, He’s waiting to hear your needs so that He can answer your prayers. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” knowing that He will answer.

Prayer:

 Father, I will therefore come boldly unto your throne of grace, for Jesus, through His blood has given me access, so that I may obtain mercy, and fine grace to help me in my time of need. Thank you Jesus for what you have done for me. In Your Holy name I pray. Amen. 

Nina

Chosen2Prayer

A simple lesson…

Sitting on my Patio the other day I notice the chirping of many birds all around me, I looked up in the trees to see if I could see a nest but there wasn't one. I then notice a small baby bird who had clumsily flown onto my patio.  I found that the nest was in the bushes located around the patio. I sat there watching him flapping and not going anywhere, then the baby bird started to whimper almost like a puppy crying for its mother.  Within a minute a mommy bird flew on the railing chirping something, then the baby bird clumsily flapped away into the bushes. 

The whole time this scenario was playing out, I was there sitting quiet and still as a little church mouse, watching the hand of God care for His creatures. Watching the love of a mother calling her young, little bird, who is just not ready to make it on its own, she was not too far from him that she couldn't distinguish his whimper, she was there within a minute.  Thinking about this brought the scriptures below to mind:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without

your Father, But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Fear ye not therefore, ye are of  more value than many sparrows.” [Mat 10:29-31 KJV]

In the same since, God cares for each of His children and just as much, if not more than this mother bird, His love for each of us is seen in His Word, its seen each day we wake up, the roof over our heads, the food in our house and the clothes that we have. No matter where we are God knows what we need and He provides for us. He hears our prayers when we call Him and He even enjoys our praise, God cares for us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us, so that we wouldn't be separated from His love and from Him eternally at death. Just as the Word says that we are of more value than many sparrows, God’s love for all His creations (even us) shows constantly every day in our lives whether we acknowledge them or not. What a mighty lesson I was taught from a baby bird and a caring and watchful mother bird.

Thank You Father for the gentle and loving teaching that You gave me of the baby bird. Father I know that You will provide for all my needs just as You provide for the sparrow. I thank You for loving me every day even in the smallest of details.  If I forget to say Thank You, your love will not be withheld from me and thank You for Jesus Christ who gave His all for me and who now sits at Your right hand interceding for me. In His Holy Name I pray. Amen.

Nina

Obedient Faith...

Faith is that one virtue that we say we have but when push comes to shove you find that strong faith has suddenly become weaken. Because of many situations our faith weakens and we frantically search for hope, then we have those moments when we try to pass on our strong faith to others and we really aren't that convince about what we are saying; it’s as though we’re trying to convince ourselves. None of this mean we are bad Christians, on the contrary, it only means we must check our faith with God, we must compare it to the Word to see why we have falter in the battle. We must renew our strength and faith in God’s Word.

There is nothing that we can do in or of our own selves, we must look to God who has blessed and anointed His Word which comes alive within our Spirits as we read it and apply it to our lives.  The Word of God is the “Living Word” and it has all the characteristics of God Himself. The Word gives us strength, healing, hope, trust, faith, guidance, instruction, discipline and most of all love.  We have to spend time seeking God, asking Him to direct us, to enlighten our understanding and to take us deep into His Word.  Seeking God requires dedication, commitment and a willingness to spend time with Him. Just as we see family and friends on a daily basis, we MUST dedicate daily quality time with God.

The Bible gives us many, good examples of warriors of faith, who was given a Word from God and they all believed and with unwavering trust and obedience they accomplished the impossible. Their confidence in the faithfulness of God brought about a loving and obedient heart. Take Noah for example, (Gen. 6-9), he lived in a time when sin and iniquity was abounding, but In verse 6:8 it says "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."  God found in Noah something that the world did not have and Noah found favor in God’s eyes.

Noah was considered perfect in his generation, he was consistent in character, he did not turn from the truth (this in itself is a monumental feat at that time) and he walked with God. Even though the world was so wicked it did not persuade Noah nor influence him to walk according to the flesh; he remained faithful. As you read the sixth chapter of Genesis you will see that God was angry with the people of the world: "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (Gen. 6:12).   Much like today, “…the wickedness of man was great…every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…” (Gen.6:5).

   You might ask what has this to do with walking by faith.  Well, I see Noah as an ordinary person who loved God, who conducted his life as close to God as possible. Noah was no different from you or me only that: “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen. 6:8). And he obeyed the Word that came from God, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so die he.? (Gen 6:22).

 We who believe have we found grace/favor in the eyes of God? Are we trying to walk with the world and with God? And are we standing strong in our faith in our belief against the evils of this world?  Finally, are we being lights in this dark and evil world or are we turning off the light?

I’m sure the battles were raging all around Noah, he was persecuted, ridiculed and mocked by many. But Noah kept his faith in God, he continued doing what God had instructed him, no matter the amount of persecution.  We are all fighting some kind of battle, and no matter what we face, we must find strengthen in our daily walk with God. We must believe without any doubt or wavering that God is in the midst and that He promised never to leave us or forsake us. We need to have strong faith as we are going through persecution, ridicule and taunts from the enemy, for it is when we are in the midst that our faith should arise and nothing will be impossible.

Be bless…

NJ, Chosen4God

Lord I want to know you...

Many of us have said that we want to know God deeper, we want His Word to take us deeper, and we have a desire that hungers for more of God.  What exactly does this mean to know God deeper? Well, it can mean a few things; one it can mean how far are you willing to go to know Him deeper? Is it possible for us to know God with such depth that only a few have reached? Consider Enoch who “walked with God three hundred years…” (Gen.5:22) and a few verses down (5:24) “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” We see a continuation in Hebrews 11:5 “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

Now Enoch had the deepest relationship with God (Elohim); that I know of; other than His Son, Jesus Christ that I have seen in the Bible.  We are told that Enoch 1. Walked with God 2. He pleased God 3. By faith he was translated. Not much else is given to us, but to see and read that “he pleased God” brings a myriad of questions to mind. Like, what did he do to gain such favor? Is it still possible for us now? And can we reach the same level that Enoch had with God?  We can only interject our thoughts to fill in the blanks, you see, Enoch did not have the gospel that we have today to read, there was a personal one on one with the God of creation.  There must have been the sense that God was right there with Enoch talking with him, just as God came to Abraham to let him know that he was going to have a son.

Abraham is another example of loyalty and dedication to God, so much so that God referred to him as “…my friend…” in Isaiah 41:8. Obedience to God was and is the prerequisite to faith and qualifying as God’s friend. Look at Abraham’s faith:

·         By faith when he was called he went (Gen. 12:1,2)

·         By faith he sojourned in a strange country (Heb. 11:8)

·         By faith, when he was tried, he offered up his only begotten son (Heb. 11:17)

So I guess the next question for us is will you leave if God calls you to go? Will you receive His calling for your life even if it’s far from what you thought? And how strong is your faith and trust in God’s will?  Faith is critical as we strive to get closer and go deeper in God, we want to be known as God’s friend, and we want to have a walk that is pleasing to Him.

Let’s consider a few ways that would lead us in His (God) direction; first you can delve into the Word with a fury learning what He says, learning how He desires for us to act, and where to go in times of trouble and knowing that we can lean on Him for all of our needs. Two when we experience trials and troubles they have a way of guiding us to our knees seeking Him with our whole heart, calling upon Him with desperation to answer our prayers. Finally, change is another way that we can get to know God in a deeper way, change is not easy at times and it’s not wanted, for God will enable us to manage change, for in Phil 2:13 tells us that “it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”.

There you have it, this is just a small list, but it will grow and grow as you and I dig, research, enquire and explore the Word of God. Many more resources are available to us today than back in Enoch and Abraham’s time. I suggest that you get good reference materials, utilized the internet (with caution) if necessary and study the Word of God with an open heart ready to receive and a mind full of faith as you get to know the Lord deeper.

Be bless…

Chosen4God

My Gift to you...

The Holy Spirit drop something in my Spirit the other night and I have prayed on it and now I’m giving it to you. For the coming New Year I want to pray for you, for your family, friends, whomever you would like for me to pray for. I will pray for the needs, salvation, finances, healing, job situation, addictions or whatever is needed.

When we know that there is at least one other person praying for us or our situations it feels good. This is my Christmas gift to you this coming year. All you need to do is email me the first name of the person (s) and what need to pray for at Chosen2God@gmail.com . I must be obedient to the Holy Spirit and what He is leading me to do. Whether it’s one person or one thousands I will be praying all of next year for you and your love ones and friends.

God doesn't just do something for nothing, I know that I know that it is Him that is leading me to do this. There are so many hurting people not only on Facebook but other sites that I frequently visit. Prayer is key when we are going through, and it’s a necessary weapon to our Spiritual Armour and I have seen personally what prayer can do.

For the next year I commit myself to praying for you and those you want me to pray for. When we all begin to pray together we will destroy binding yokes, chains of oppression, heavy burdens, sickness, poverty and disease. This is my gift to you if you choose to receive it.

God bless

Nina
Chosen4God

Women of the Bible...Bible study

Summer's end...

From my last post you know that I have been on a journey with God through prayer, and I must say it has been an AMAZING journey.  Even in my learning more about prayer and believe me I haven't even begun to scratch the surface, I have found myself caving in to old (bad) habits that had me bound.  But God’s grace an mercy is stronger than any bad habits I am working to break.

I have come to realize that the enemy (Satan) does not ease up, he does not give you a moment of slack, neither does he take a few hours of rest.  He constantly has tried to make me falter in my learning about prayer.  You see, prayer is so key in our Spiritual walk with God, we must communicate with Him all the time, about everything.  This may sound like you will be walking around praying all the time, well that’s not what I’m trying to say here.  Just as I’m talking to you now and how you talk with family and friends, is the say way you must talk with God. 

There is a learning process that we all come into when we talk with God.  You see the enemy wants to keep our minds so occupied with worries, frustrations, losses, failures, short comings, all the negatives that we won’t find the strength to go to God in prayer.  On the contrary, this is the perfect time to go to HIM, we must fight through the negatives and ask the Holy Spirit to bring the Word to our minds.

As I have been reading about prayer and reading what the Bible says, I’m putting the Word in me so when I call upon the Holy Spirit He brings the Word back to my memory.  You will find that there are levels in which God will take you as you grow in His Word.  Everything that has happen in my life just from reading, studying His Word and learning about prayer is also available to each of you.  God is no respecter of persons, what He has done in me He will do in you.   

If you are hungry, if you are tired from the battles that you have been fighting with no ground won, then it’s time to turn your life over to one who knows all about you.  It’s time to put your trust in one who loves you regardless of the sins you have committed, and are engaged in now.  God loves you, and He does not want any to perish:

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” [2Pe 3:9 KJV]

Please, don’t believe the lie that God won’t or can’t forgive you of sins for He tells us; “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake” [1 Jn. 2:12].  For “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all” [Isa. 53:6].  “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;” [Rom. 3:23]. 

All we must do is believe in Jesus and the work of the cross that He endured for each of us.  He took our sins away from us, His blood has washed us clean, His life He gave, freely so that we who believe will have eternal life.  Jesus is the door and no man may come to the Father but through Him.  

Seek God for your journey, so that His Word will come alive in your life and change your life.  Each and every journey is not the same, but the results are the same for each of us “In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” [Jhn 14:2 KJV].

Even in heaven He is still working for those who have chosen and believed on Him.

Be bless

Nina

Chosen4God