Thoughts for Life: Search results for #109 Emotional Dependency

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Prayer Shield, rev. and updated ed.: How to Intercede for Pastors and Christian Leaders

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Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse
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Counseling, & Help) (Volume 1)

Thursday, August 7, 2014

#108 Spiritual Dependency

C. Peter Wagner shares with
us about spiritual dependency:

"It is a big mistake for the
pastor to become spiritually
dependent on the intercessors.

When this happens, the intercessor becomes a substitute for the pastor's own personal touch with the Lord.

Judson Cornwall mentions this in his excellent book, The Secret of Personal Prayer.

He says that as he traveled across America,

"I often found pastors dependent completely upon the
prayers of a few old-timers, known a 'intercessors.'

The pastors themselves had virtually no private prayer
ministry.

This may well explain the staleness, the decline in
morality, and the great insecurity that seems to
characterize much of America's clergy."

If you as a pastor feel you might be falling into the trap of cutting back on your personal prayer life, I suggest you do something about it.

I spent a good bit of chapters 4 and 5 stressing the need for us as leaders to develop quality prayer lives of our own, precisely so we could avoid spiritual dependency.

If it has been some time since you read them, I suggest you review those chapters.

{Some of Jean's posts from chapters 4 & 5:   #40 Do Pastors Pray Enough? ;  #41 Pastors Need to Pray More ; #47 Mediocre Prayer Habits?}

Also read good books such as Judson Cornwall's The Secret of Personal Prayer (Creation House), Dick Eastman's The Hour That Changes the World (Baker), Wesley Duewel's Mighty Prevailing Prayer (Zondervan), B. J. Willite's Why Pray? (Creation House), Donald Bloesch's The Struggle of Prayer (Harper & Row), Larry Lea's Could You Not tarry One Hour? (Creation House) or Bill Hybels' Too Busy Not to Pray (InterVarsity).

It is one thing to wake up some morning and say, 'Lord, I'm wiped out. Please let the intercessors carry the day.'

It is quite another to make a habit of doing this. No number or quality of intercessors can substitute for the pastor or other leader being an authentic man or woman of God."

#108, Spiritual Dependency,

in the series taken from C. Peter

Wagner’s book, PRAYER SHIELD,

How to intercede for pastors,

Christian leaders and others

on the spiritual frontlines.

(pgs. 191-192) by Regal Books

NEW UPDATED VERSION:

Retail: ~~$14.99~~ Save 20% ($3.00)

C. Peter Wagner

CHOSEN / 2014 / TRADE PAPERBACK

Let’s pray:

Father, help me
understand what
my responsibility
is.

Cause me to see
when I'm slacking off on my own praying.

What I do makes a large difference on my ability to be effective for the kingdom's work here in my area.

Thank You for urging me to be careful to pray. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Zech. 4:66 "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the LORD of hosts."

Today’s quote: : E. M. Bounds – “It is necessary to iterate and reiterate that prayer, as a mere habit, as a performance gone through by routine or in a professional way, is a dead and rotten thing.”

Some thoughts today: Don't blame your circumstances when things don't go your way. Allow Christ to help you work as to the Lord.

-Recognize the worth in your service, whatever it may be.

What we should do every day when we wake up...
(shared by Danica Sinclair Dunphey from sermon
notes of Ephesians, by Richard Sinclair on
http://www.cfconline.org/)

"Wake up and remind yourself that there is a God in heaven. And that you live to serve Him.

Wake up and remind yourself that Christ died to save you from your sins and reconcile you to God so that you can live every moment of every day in a way that pleases Him and brings glory to Him."

9th- Saturday’s post: Behind the Song: In the Garden

Diana Leagh Matthews

10th- Sunday's post: Doubt vs. Faith

Jean Oathout

10th- evening's post: To Him Be the Glory

Heather Ricks

12th- Tuesday's post: #109 Emotional Dependency

C. Peter Wagner

A popular post: Undaunted
Radiance Oswald Chambers
“The experiences of life, terrible
or monotonous, are impotent
to touch the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“Nay, in all these things, we are
more than conquerors through
Him that loved us.” Rom. 8:37

jowildflowers@gmail.com

AuthorsDen.com
Where authors and readers come together!

Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse
Kindle $2.99

Bridal Shower Devotional: Bridal

Wisdom for Women

Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse

My book in paperback $7.95

(Check out the Reviews on the

Kindle page of my book)

Wisdom for Brides (Christian Marriage,

Counseling, & Help) (Volume 1)

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Doubt vs. Faith

Jean Oathout begins our thoughts on
doubts and faith today, with some questions that should get us considering
how the one tends to take down the other.

When troubling thoughts come, are we going to realize them as from the evil one?

Will we remember to recall the words of faith that we've received, and will we take action to come against the doubts bombarding us?

Knowing that our faith is being tested on what we're trying to accomplish, will we take the effort to build our hopes up enough to keep on with what the Lord has directed us to do?

You'll find that the Lord brings a word of encouragement
soon after the doubting thoughts come.

I experienced this recently. I'd read the posts on Discernment vs. Criticism Part 1 and Discernment vs. Criticism Part 2 to my friends at our writers meeting, when doubting thoughts came
to me that I'd failed to do a good job, and that I'd have to make many changes!

I failed to speak out about what I was thinking to the group, and just accepted the thoughts as "true."

Thankfully, the Lord moved on someone there before I left, to
give encouraging words, which renewed my faith that I'd done right, and the approval the Lord had told me in my journaling time was the real truth.

What is something to not believe?

1. Negative thoughts and words
2. When what we've heard makes us discouraged
3. When we doubt what God's told us

These cause us to focus on the problem, which takes our
mind off what God can do.

Take depressive thoughts captive and realize they are lies,
and were meant to destroy your faith. Don't spend any
time being in allegiance with them! Don't make them
your own.

Many negative thoughts originated in our younger years,
and need to be broken from their hold on us.

Someone said that we should read three chapters in Palms out loud daily for a week, if they have such a hold on us, to help break the doubting thoughts that we have to deal with.

This helps us to combat the depressive thoughts. What we
say has a great effect on what we believe!

Say this: I break all allegiance with lies I've believed,
and give the hurt of them all to Jesus.

"The Truth will set you free!" John 8:32

When times of serious illness come, depression can hit pretty hard. Our thoughts may not be on positive things, unless we make an effort to read, think, say, and hear what God has to say.

Meditate on God's Word. Believe it! Confess your needs to Him.
He is not surprised, and is pleased in your honesty. He is not
moved by your need, but is moved by your faith!

Let’s pray:

"Dear Lord, help me choose my words wisely, for tomorrow I may have to eat
them.

Help me speak life into those around me
today-to be a source of encouragement
rather than discouragement, of hope rather than hurt, and of love rather than pain.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen."
Sharon Jaynes www.girlfriendsingod.com

“How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,

I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;

How often, when trials like sea billows roll,

Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul." --
Cushing

Today’s Bible verses:

Eph. 6:16, 17 (NIV)"In addition to all this, take
up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

Matt. 21:21 (KJV) "Jesus answered and said unto
them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and
doubt not..."

Today’s quote:

~ Rev. Phillip McClelland - "When we struggle with God
with our own doubts, God uses the struggle for His good
purposes. Our doubts cannot overcome God, but those same
doubts do not overcome us either. Through the struggle, God remakes us, gives to us a deeper understanding, a stronger
trust in Him.
When you struggle with God, He is holding on to you. If
you ever think God has left you, just remember it is then,
during the struggle, that God is holding you tight and pressing you close to His heart."
www.philipmcclelland.wordpress.com.

Some thoughts today:

~ Continuing faith is built over time. Take Gideon for example: He had his faith built to where he believed God for the impossible. You can do the same. Get your directions from God, put your feet to the ground, and run with it!

- Jesus habitually prayed and fasted at times to be ready to take
care of any need. Seems as though He'd like us to do the same.
We can have influence on those around us when they find they
can relate to us.

10th- evening’s post: To God Be the Glory
Heather Ricks

12th- Tuesday's post: #109 Emotional Dependency
C. Peter Wagner

14th- Thursday's post: #110 Physical Dependency
C. Peter Wagner

16th- Saturday's post: My Cooking Will Be Grand!
Debbie McEwen

A popular post:

What Faithful, Committed Intercession Brings
C. Peter Wagner shares with us bout the
seriousness of faithful, committed intercessions,
and what they bring." Charles G. Finney, one of the
most effective evangelists of the last century, met
Daniel Nash early in his ministry."

www.dianaleaghmatthews.com

Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse

Bridal Shower Devotional: Bridal

Wisdom for Women

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Behind the Song- In the Garden

Diana Leagh Matthews shares

with us: "Dr. Adam Geibel, a
music publisher, asked
pharmacists and composer,
C. Austin Miles, to write a
hymn that would bring hope.

C. Austin Miles

Miles retreated to ” a cold,
dreary and leaky basement
in New Jersey that didn’t
even have a window in it let
alone a view of a garden,”
according to his great-granddaughter.

Miles turned to his Bible and read John 20:18 about the meeting of Jesus and Mary Magdalene in the garden, after the resurrection.

Miles said he could see the scene unfold before him while he read the scripture passage. He wrote the song and thought that it would make a great Easter song.

Miles would later explain the experience this way:

“One day in April 1912, I was seated in the dark room,

where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. I

drew my Bible toward me; it opened at my favorite

chapter, John 20—whether by chance or inspiration let

each reader decide.

That meeting of Jesus and

Mary had lost none of its power

and charm. As I read it that day,

I seemed to be part of the scene.

I became a silent witness to that

dramatic moment in Mary’s life,

when she knelt before her Lord,

and cried, “Rabboni!”

My hands were resting on the Bible while I stared at

the light blue wall. As the light faded, I seemed to

be standing at the entrance of a garden, looking

down a gently winding path, shaded by olive branches.

A woman in white, with head bowed, hand clasping

her throat, as if to choke back her sobs, walked slowly

into the shadows. It was Mary.

As she came to the tomb, upon which she placed her

hand, she bent over to look in, and hurried away. John,

in flowing robe, appeared, looking at the tomb; then

came Peter, who entered the tomb, followed slowly

by John.

As they departed, Mary reappeared; leaning her head

upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself,

she saw Jesus standing, so did I. I knew it was He.

She knelt before Him, with arms outstretched and

looking into His face cried, “Rabboni!”

I awakened in sun light, gripping the Bible, with

muscles tense and nerves vibrating.

Under the inspiration of this vision I wrote as quickly

as the words could be formed the poem exactly as it

had since appeared. That same evening I wrote the

music.”

The popular hymn was first published in 1912. The song

was originally made popular by Billy Sunday Evangelistic

Campaigns and many people around the world fell in love

with this hymn.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans recorded a popular version in

1950, In the Garden was one of the hymns Elvis loved to

sing, (watch him on www.youtube.com/watch?v=

BPVMuti9ThQ,) and Governor Earl Kemp Long of Louisiana

had the words of the hymn inscribed on a bench by his

grave."

http://about.me/DianaLeaghMatthews

Diana Leagh Matthews

www.trinitychristianlifecoaching.com

www.alookthrutime.com

www.singingthesonginmyheart.com

www.twitter.com/dileaghmatthews

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Leagh-Matthews/169932029770995?fref=ts

Let’s pray:

Father, it's such a blessing

to see where the old songs

come from, as there's always

a story of faith connected with

them.

The old favorites seem to be

coming back to us, and I, for

one, am thankful.

We ask for more information on songs, like what Diana shares with us. Bless her efforts to help us understand what folks went through, to give us songs of faith. www.singingthesonginmyheart.com

May we appreciate her efforts, and others, to share with us information that blesses us, and helps us appreciate what others have gone through in order to give us such blessed songs of inspiration.

I ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Ps. 17:6, 8 "I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings."

Today’s quote: David Roper – “God doesn’t call us to find fulfillment in the amount of work we do for him, or the number of people who are a part of that work, but in faithfully doing our work for His sake. Serving our great God with His strength in a small way is not a stepping-stone to greatness — it is greatness.”

Some thoughts today: As a Christian, you have the best Boss there is! If you have excellent ethics, it'll effect all that you do. It should allow Christ to help you be the best you can, in whatever you do.

- Let the Light of Christ shine through all you choose to do. Dig up old dreams and visions, and begin to walk in them with His help.

- As in the post above, let your simple efforts become big in God's Hands. Big opportunities hide in oppositions. Don't despise small beginnings.

10th- Sunday’s post: Doubt vs. Faith
Jean Oathout

10th- evening's post: To God Be the Glory
Heather Ricks

12th- Tuesday's post: #108 Spiritual Dependency
C. Peter Wagner

14th- Thursday's post: #109 Emotional Dependency
C. Peter Wagner

A popular post: Do We Know What God's Up To?

Outrageous Grace was written by missionary Grace Fabian In this book, Grace quoted the following from pgs 39-40 of Elizabeth Elliot in Worldwide Challenge. January 1978: “In almost anything I offer to Christ, my reaction would be,‘what is the good of that?’ "

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