Month: May 2021

God Reveals My Continence To Others Through His Premise

On By tgifmastermindsIn Prayers About God and Me, Prayers For Peace4 Comments
ON ANY GIVEN DAY, HOW DOES GOD SEE YOU?

                                

All kidding aside, and absolutely without bragging or being presumptuous, please allow me to explain the title of this blog.  Ask yourself these two questions:  How would you like to be perceived by others, and which spiritual entity are you striving to mimic?  You have only two choices:  Truth or deception.

During my current octogenarian years of residing in a senior living lifestyle, regretfully, I do not socialize with immediate family members, old life-time friends, and acquaintances as often as I used to.  Two to six months could easily go by without making face to face or social contacts with them.  Whenever we do hook up, I am often greeted with endearing expressions of reunion like this: “Oh, how good it is to hear your sweet voice.  I have missed your laughter and spirit.  And I have longed to sit and listen to the wisdom you impart and to have you relive all your exciting adventures you encountered while on foreign mission trips.”  They also sometimes express that they were just thinking about me the other day, and here I am calling them today.

“Somebody upstairs must really like you!”  That is often their conclusion.

Please, please do not think I have been exaggerating this recounting of loved one’s greetings towards belated reunions.  For after receiving these warm comments, I am truly humbled, mystified, and grateful as to how others perceive me.  And, above all, I give God all the honor, all the praise and all the glory for His infusion and sharing of His love and compassion in my life.  I truly praise Him for allowing the Holy Spirit to infuse me in such a godly manner.  I praise Him for going before and after me.  My sincere prayer is that He will do the same for you.

Therefore, please allow me to continue in prayer for all of you out there:

Dear Heavenly Father, we all stand in awe of You.  And we wish to express our gratitude by kneeling before your throne of grace and subjecting ourselves to the righteousness of Your Son, Christ Jesus.  Our prayer is to always remain in constant touch with You by living close to You and obeying Your precepts and commandments.  It is reassuring to read in Your holy word that You will never leave us nor forsake us.  So, according to Your love and kindness, please continue to lead, guide, nourish and protect us daily, and show us Your will for our lives.  May we always be a reflection of your continence and glory as You order our steps. Amen and Amen!

Now sit back and enjoy this Gospel Song and be refreshed, renewed and refilled with the presence of the Almighty?

Just click the title below, skip the commercial and tune in:

ORDER MY STEPS IN YOUR WORD – YouTube.flv – YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com › watch4:57http://www.hearandplay.com/go/?p=music45&w=gospelkeys.Mar 19, 2012 · Uploaded by account5able

Scripture Lesson: Jehosaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.” 1 Kings 22:5

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.wordpress.com every Friday for a new post from The Master’s servant manager…Me!

God Allowed Me To Enlighten Others Regarding Spiritual Things

On By tgifmastermindsIn How To Pray For Others, Prayers About God and Me3 Comments

This has been a strange week for me.  For some reason I feel more organized than usual.  I have also been more centered and grounded in my daily pursuits.  I have found myself thinking ahead and making a concerted effort to give only one emotional thought my undivided attention and concentration, instead of trying to resolve all the world’s problems in one day.   This week I have been free from frustrations and despair. Hallelujah!

I must confess (as the late soul singer
James Brown used to sing) ….
”I feel good. Doodah…doodah…doodah
…do!!” 

So, now that this week has just about come to an end (today is Friday), I want to pause in all my ‘doing’ and give thanks to how the Holy Spirit has organized my time and allowed me to ‘just be’ in the moment.  There is no doubt that the weekly instructions I am imparting to a few residents at my apartment building on mindfulness meditation are strengthening me, too.

Do you realize that most of us go throughout our day ‘doing’ a host of things that are merely filling a void of not ‘being’ organized.  And because we did not actually complete any of those tasks, they are still on our plates the next day.  This cycle is repeated day after day.  We never truly clear our minds of rehashed problems.  The sad part is that we expect certain situations to complete themselves based on our inadequacy or inability to resolve it in a timely fashion.

Because life is difficult, during this week, the Holy Spirit led 3 people to me to give spiritual advice to that could help them un-clutter their minds from the trials and tribulations of this world.  Thanks be to our Lord and Savior that my countenance and demeanor were free to receive their dilemmas.  As I reflected on how I assisted them, I soon realized that my response to each one was the same.

With the aide of the Holy Spirit, I reminded them that both the man Job in the Old Testament and Jesus, the Son of God, warned in the holy scriptures that man is born to endue trouble.  And because of that biblical truth, we can expect our share of difficulties. 

My first encounter was with a friend who had just experienced a car accident.  According to her recollection of the mishap, she was innocent because the pedestrian carelessly ‘walked‘ into the side of her car.  The second encounter was with a male friend who wanted me to justify his decision not to accept a volunteer leadership position while on a mission trip because God had only imparted to him to ‘become‘ a missionary and not an ‘unpaid‘ organizer with extra responsibilities. (His emphasis was on the word ‘unpaid’.) And the third encounter was with a female friend who felt ‘guilty‘ because she had made a promise and signed up to participate in something that required a small monetary contribution, but later reneged. She was seeking forgiveness.

While none of these incidents were earth-shattering to me, they were wrecking havoc on my friends. Therefore, I did not make lite of them. I listened with sympathy…AND…with putting all else aside, gave each one my undivided attention. I even inquired of them what else they were troubled with. And that question opened up another half-hour of discussion time. I tried to be encouraging and in the end gave them comfort in knowing that in the midst of all these difficulties, no matter how great or how small, they can depend on the fact our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has already overcome the world. That in spite of everything, they should look on the bright side because it is during hardships and difficult times that draws us more closely to God.

While praying for them, I also reminded them that trials and difficulties are good for us because they also help to nurture perseverance and strengthen our tenacity to grow in faith. Amen.

Scripture Lesson: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.wordpress.com every Friday for a new post from The Master’s servant manager…Me!

  

God Played a Joke On Me…He Gave Me An iPhone 11 for Mother’s Day

On By tgifmastermindsIn How To Pray For Others, Prayers About God and Me, Prayers For New Beginnings3 Comments
White Egg With Painted Face And Crown Of egLeaves
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 TNIV

It’s my fault.  I guess this time, I went too far.  Even in knowing that God is a God of his Word, I was still surprised and pleased when he allowed Jesus Christ to honor my latest prayer request.  And just as His promises are His bond, I put Him to the test…and asked for a brand-new Apple iPhone 11 for Mother’s Day!  And guess what, I received one!

My bio-logical son gifted me with this awesome piece of technology that can do everything, but bake a cake!

Also, while giving thanks for my marvelous gift that will soon have me stepping up to the plate as a ‘tech-key’, I ran across another one of Jesus’ parables in Matthew that will help me to witness to a dear friend who is experiencing some remorse as to the manner in which he spoke (or as he put it), berated one of his older sons for carelessly exposing other members of the family with Covid-19.  This friend spoke at length in a vehemently mannerism and indicated to me that he intends to continue the discussion with his son the next time he sees him.

Ouch!

At the time of this conversation with my friend, I was in no position to prayerfully witness to him, nor was he in any state of mind to receive any words from on High.  But after reading and meditating this week on the following Scripture passages, I will make a concerted effort to re-rehearse our earlier conversation and offer him, with the aide of the Holy Spirit, a more civil way to engage his son in conversation. For it is written in Matthew 7:1-6 TNIV:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from the other person’s eye.” 

Now, let’s get back to my new iPhone 11.

This week, I am prayerfully asking you guys out there to send up a special partition for me and any other persons who have just received some sort of communication device that they will be using to lead or draw someone closer to Christ.  First pray over the instrument and dedicate it for the use of the Kingdom.  Rebuke all wicked and evil spirits from flooding the atmosphere, highways and byways with disruptions, confusions, misspoken words and gossip.  Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you to make a concerted effort to be in contact with those persons whom He desires to communicate with.  Thank Him for loved ones, friends, family members and provisions that make it possible for everyone’s needs to be met while we are still here on earth, and our traveling days are not yet over.  Please pray to the Lord for us and ask Him to forgive us for at times, finding it hard to share our faith with others.  Help us to always be able to witness freely and in a godly manner about You and Your words of wisdom and understanding.  In the precious Name of our Lord and Savior…Jesus Christ.  Amen!

Scripture Lesson: “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me His prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. (2 Timothy 1:8)

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.wordpress.com every Friday for a new post from The Master’s servant manager and prisoner…Me!

   

God’s Image Bearers…Me and You!

On By tgifmastermindsIn Prayers About God and Me, Prayers For Understanding4 Comments

2. Uniquely Made

“Though made of dust, we are uniquely made in the image of God.”

Have you ever wondered why God created the heavens and earth before he created people?

Well, I have! 

And of course, I went to the Lord for my answer. 

The first thing the Holy Spirit revealed to me in conversation was the fact that; “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein”. (Psalm 24:1)

And the second thing He revealed was that we, mankind, were made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27)

Go figure!!!

Is that all you’ve got, Holy Spirit, I asked befuddled.  Can You make it a little more comprehensible? 

The next thing that happened was my eyes fell upon my library books and migrated along the shelves until finally it landed upon a devotional book I often turn to when I really need to pray with all my might.  Written on the first page that fell open to me were these words:

“An old Jewish rabbi once remarked that every person should carry two stones in his pocket.  One on which should be written: I am but dust and ashes; while the message written on the other should be:  The world was created for my benefit.  The rabbi went on to explain that we should use each stone as needed.” (*)

So therein lies my answer.  God created the world first and all its splendor just for you and me.  And what does that say about us.  Well, I’ll tell you.  Man is extremely puny.  Helpless.  Worthless and incomplete.  God knew that we would need help, in order that we should survive.  So, He created the earth and its fullness to stand at the ready and to infuse our intellect to search for knowledge.  “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” (Matthew 7:7)

(*) Note: In Touch with God (The name of the devotional journal,)

My prayer for you…

Dear Heavenly Father…the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Please help us to come to the realization that without You and Your provisions, we could do absolutely nothing.  We realize that we are wretched and undone.  So please help us to be more respectful of the universe and to preserve the environment.  Help us to keep our feet on the ground as we obtain vast knowledge on how to safely explore and incorporate the science you allow us to extract from nature.  Remind us that we are also a part of science, for we are made of dust. BUT, we are definitely the crown of God’s creation!  Please help us to never become a proud and arrogant species, but always to remember our shortcomings and hope in You. We thank You and adore You. We ask all of these blessings in the matchless Name of Jesus…Amen and Amen!

Scripture Lesson: “What is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:4-5)

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.wordpress.com every Friday for a new post from The Master’s servant manager…Me!