The Necessities of Life

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Max Lucado shares with us, "The following is a one of 172 questions and answers from the new book, Max On Life.

QUESTION #145:
 In most of my prayers I ask God for things I need each day. These are legitimate needs.

(I’m not asking God to make me a millionaire, just to help me pay the mortgage.) Is God really concerned about the necessities of my life?

What is this daily bread Jesus spoke of, tucked inside the Lord’s Prayer? A loaf of warm Italian bread on my doorstep every morning? That would be nice.

Bread is a staple of every culture. From flat bread to yeast-filled loaves, grain has been mixed with water and oil and placed over a fire by every civilization.

What’s the first thing a restaurant brings before the meal? Bread. (Okay, maybe Mexican restaurants don’t, but those chips are made from grain. They’re just fried in oil.)

But how about a slight change to the daily menu: 'Give us this day our daily mocha chocolate chip ice cream' or 'Give us this day our daily beluga whale caviar'?

Those are luxuries, not necessities. Sorry, God does not promise those.

Bread is a valued necessity, tasty and welcomed, but certainly not extravagant.

Jesus tells us to ask for the necessities in life, but does he promise to provide them?

Soon after this plea for daily bread, found also in Matthew 6, Jesus presents his famous 'Don’t worry' passage: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (v. 25).

God takes care of birds, flowers, and grass and provides the basics they need to exist (vv. 26–30). Why not us? Aren’t we more important than a barn swallow, a multiflora petunia, and a blade of Bahia grass?

You bet a loaf of sweet sourdough we are.

In that statement comes a promise from God to provide his most important creation on earth with food, clothing, and drink (vv. 25–34). The necessities once again.

Jesus tells us to ask, then promises to give us the basics we need to survive.

So don’t worry; be prayerful. God has something wonderful for us baking in the oven. Can you smell it?"

“Give us each day our daily bread” Luke 11:3

MAX ON LIFE: Answers and Insights to your Most Important Questions

              Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2011) Max Lucado

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."  Jer. 29:11-13

Today’s 30th truth: If you are “born again”, you are daily overcoming the devil. John 4:4

Tonight's post:  Avoid Burnout 

Tomorrow’s post:     Are You Ready? 

Three Times Blessed

More than food

Cheri Swalwell shares with us, "Our family is among those who have felt the sting of finances in recent months. 

We were in a pinch and I wasn’t sure how we’d handle the expenses we were facing. 

Dipping into our savings account would have to be a last resort, and charging the costs to our credit card … a big no-no.

My option was prayer, so I went to my knees and prayed. 

God, I trust in your provisions. Thank you for never failing us. 

Still, I wondered how we would handle the expenses that quickly approached.

Two days later, we received our first unexpected blessing. 

Two days after that, another blessing arrived in the exact same form, addressing the same need. 

If that wasn’t enough to help my faith soar, God decided to drive the point home by providing again one week later. 

Three blessings, all needed, all appreciated, each personal and exactly what our family lacked. 

That was not a coincidence.

God, with unending patience, reassures us in His Word He will provide our needs.

My favorite verse refers to this promise and it brings such peace whenever finances or the state of the economy try to steal the faith I have in my Heavenly Father’s provisions:  

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear."

I challenge you to rest in God’s peace. 

Take your financial burden to Him. Lay it at Jesus’ feet. 

If God is willing to bless our family three separate times for one specific need, reassuring us of His power, I know He is waiting to do the same for you.

Be specific in your requests when you pray. Trust in the promises God offers, then sit back and watch how He will provide."
  
Three Times Blessed – Cheri Swalwell

April 9, 2013

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6: 25-27 NIV

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net and Grant Cochrane.

Cheri Swalwell describes herself as a Christ-follower first and foremost, wife, mother, and avid reader. 

If you want to hear more about the heart she has for marriage, parenting, and relationships from a Christian perspective, feel free to visit her blog: http://journeysfromtheheartofawifeandmother.wordpress.com or like her at Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/cheri-Swalwell/220762911373306.

Read Cheri’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Used by permission www.christiandevotions.us

Let's pray:  Father, I come to You today, asking for more faith to believe that when I pray, You not only hear my cry, but You are already planning on bringing the resources I'm in need of. In Jesus' name, amen.

Our prayer challenge: If Satan can take NY, the rest of our nation will fall! If we stand up to him and pray for God to bring a revival, the rest of the nation will follow!

Today’s Scripture:  Ps. 23: 1-3 "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His  name's sake."

Today’s quote: Mark Evens - God knows that you are in a battle, and His plan is for you to win! A stronghold is a fortress created in your spirit that cannot be penetrated by physical weapons. God wants those fortresses brought down so that His Spirit can work in power. 

Strongholds begin with thoughts and imaginations. The progression described is that our thoughts left unchecked grow into imaginations
which turn into strongholds in our lives.

Our thought today: We miss seeing our blessings by our ungratefulness.

Tomorrow’s post: #6 Of the Church Dr. R. A. Torrey

A Popular post: The Necessities of Life

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What to Do Under the Conditions

"We must distinguish between the burden-bearing that is right and burden-bearing that is wrong.

We ought never to bear the burden of sin or of doubt, but there are burdens placed on us by God Which He does not intend to lift off, He wants us to roll them back on Him.

"Cast that He hath given thee upon the Lord" (R.V. MARG.)

If we undertake work for God and get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility will be overwhelmingly crushing; but if we roll back on God that which He has put upon us, He takes away the sense of responsibility by bringing the realization of Himself.

Many workers have gone out with high courage and fine impulses, but with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, and before long they are crushed.

They do not know what to do with the burden, it produces weariness, and people say—‘What an embittered end to such a beginning!’

"Roll thy burden upon the Lord"—you have been bearing it all; deliberately put one end on the shoulders of God.

"The government shall be upon His shoulder."

Commit to God "that He hath given thee"; not fling it off, but put it over onto Him and yourself with it, and the burden is lightened by the sense of companionship.

Never disassociate yourself from the burden."

Taken from Devotions for MORNING and EVENING with OSWALD CHAMBERS (pg. 214 April 13)

I Surrender All

“All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live.

CHORUS

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit—
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me.”

Judson W. Van Deventer / Winfield S. Weeden

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Phil. 1:9-11)

"He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.—Berg

Each new day gives us new reasons to praise the Lord."

OUR DAILY BREAD
July2, 2012

Today’s 27th truth: If you are “born again”, you are more than a conqueror. Rom. 8:37

Tonight's post: Dumb Goose

Tomorrow’s post: Laying Hold of the Victory: Prayer Note # 54

After tomorrow's post, the next post, The Necessities of Life, will be Saturday afternoon, the 27th, when I've returned from a writer's conference in Rome, NY.

God is in the Crisis

Max Lucado Do you recite your woes more naturally than you do heaven’s strength? 

No wonder life’s tough. You’re assuming God isn’t in this crisis.

Isabel spent her first three and a half years in a Nicaraguan orphanage. 

As with all orphans, her odds of adoption diminished with time. And then the door slammed on her finger! 

Why would God permit this innocent girl to feel even more pain? 

Might He be calling the attention of Ryan Schnoke sitting in the playroom nearby? He and his wife had been trying to adopt a child for months! 

Ryan walked over, picked her up, and comforted her. 

Several months later, Ryan and Christina were close to giving up, and Ryan remembered Isabel. 

Little Isabel is now growing up in a happy, healthy home.

A finger in the door? God doesn’t manufacture pain, but He certainly puts it to use!  Your crisis?  You’ll get through this!"

God is in the Crisis  by Max Lucado

From You’ll Get Through This  

Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com

(Used by permission)

MY SOVEREIGN GUIDE

I am refreshed, dear Jesus,
By the little things You do.
You speak to me in different ways
But I always know it's You.

Today I heard a serenade
When I awoke at dawn,
And I still felt Your presence
After the songbirds had gone.

You often send me rainbows
When sun reflects on glass.
In troubling times, they speak to me,
"This too, my child, shall pass."

Sometimes a word pops off the page
While I'm spending time with  You.
Your Word shines light upon my path,
Confirms what I'm to do.

You always know what's best for me;
I trust Your perfect plan.
I'm blessed that You're my Sovereign Guide,
The Awesome, Great I AM.

by Frances Gregory Pasch

Double Vision: Seeing God in Everyday Life Through 
Devotions and Poetry by Frances Gregory Pasch 
published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. 
(Pg. 84)
  
Used by permission

Let’s pray:

   Father, we're coming to you for Your help and guidance, as we understand our need today.

   Please help us see You in our lives, and in the lives of those we know, that You are busy working things for our good.

  Forgive us for questioning You, and guide us in our ability to seek after You for all our concerns.

   Thank You for making Your will plain to us as we come to You for help. May our wills line up with Yours for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Today’s Bible verse: Jer. 10:10a "But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king."

Today’s quote: Mary Southerland – “My book, Hope in the Midst of Depression, is my story of desperation, brokenness and restoration. It is also the story of God’s power to help you overcome depression in your own life, and offers practical ways you can help someone you love deal with depression. Check it out.”  

Some thoughts today: Whatever you need, ask in Jesus' Name, to His glory.

- As strife is the most dangerous thing in our lives, do what you 

can to alleviate it, starting at home.

- James 14:1-3 tells us what our problem is...

26th- Sunday evening's post:  Grace and Peace  Apostle Peter

28th- Tuesday's post:  #57  How Moody Learned the Lesson  C. Peter Wagner

30th- Thursday’s post:  #58  Undue Humility  C. Peter Wagner

Feb. 1st- Saturday's post:  Husbands Need a Wife  Elaine W. Miller

A popular post:  The Necessities of Life  Jesus tells us to ask, then promises to give us the basics we need to survive.

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#103 Fasting As Self Denial

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: Fasting is a God- ordained form of self-denial. The  very nature of intercession calls for as much or more self-denial than any other form of spiritual activity.

   The major work of prayer and fasting from food is normally in secret. We think of fasting as abstaining primarily from food. However, fasting may include abstaining from such normal activities as sleep, recreation, and other special enjoyments. (Google image, Praying man).

Laying Hold of the Victory: Prayer Note # 54

 

          

  

Dutch Sheets shares with us, “Intercession, according to our definition, involves two very different activities. One is a reconciling, the other is a separating. One is a tearing away—a disuniting, the other is joining to—a uniting. 

This is what Christ did through His work of intercession, and it’s what we do in our continuation of it. In light of this, it is important to realize that much of our intercession must be a combination of the two.

It is often not enough to simply ask the Father to do something, although this Is most Christians’ total concept of prayer.

Many times it is necessary to accompany asking with a spiritual ‘warfare’ or ‘wrestling,’ enforcing the victory of Calvary.

As Arthur Matthews said, ‘Victory is an accomplished fact, but it does need a man to lay hold of that victory and precipitate a confrontation with the enemy, and resist him.’

Jack Hayford, in his book Prayer is invading the Impossible*, says:

“To see both sides of Jesus is to see both sides of prayer. 
It is to see the need for compassion, for care, for concern, 
for weeping with those that weep, for sympathy, for groaning, for aching deeply because of what you sense transpiring in human lives. And it is to learn the place and time for anger, when we see Satan’s wiles successfully destroying; for indignation, when the adversary’s program violates territory that is rightfully Christ’s; for boldness, when demonic hordes announce their presence; for attack, when the Holy Spirit prompts and advance.”

*(South Plainfield, N.J. Logos International, 1977; revised edition, Bridge publishing. 1995 p. 45)

Prayer Note # 54 - Laying Hold of the Victory, taken from Dutch Sheets’ book, Intercessory Prayer (pgs 136-137)

The next Prayer Note on July 10th – Paga Involves Warfare: Prayer Note # 55

Today’s 28th truth: If you are “born again”, you are establishing God’s word here on earth. Matt. 16:19

The next post on the 7th:  The necessities of Life

That night’s post:  Avoid Burnout

How to Show Love for Your Wife

 

How To Show Your Wife Love

Take all issues to God in prayer.

Consider her needs more important than yours.

Enjoy the physical pleasure she gives you.

Accept her compliments.

Be her friend and someone she can play with.

Find a mutual interest and pursue it together.

Spend time on your clothes, hair and cleanliness.

Give her honest admiration, and show it in public in front of her.

Tell her every nice thing she does.

Never compare her less favorably to another woman.

Affection to her symbolizes security, protection, comfort and approval.

Do the projects she wants done.

Say "I love you" often.

Give greeting cards on special and other than special days.

Give her flowers for no special reason.

Open doors and pull out her chair.

Listen—do not think you have to solve the problem.

Be honest and open about your thoughts, reactions and feelings.

Provide a steady income.

Realize that she needs a strong family unit. 

Let's pray-

     Father, may husbands learn to come to You with their issues with their wives, to have Your guidance, so they can have peace in their homes. May men be determined that their wives are more important to them than their personal opinions.

   Help husbands take pleasure in their wives, and to find ways to have fun with them in some playful activities and mutual interests they can pursue together.

   May it be a concern to them how clean they keep themselves and how to always be ready to be attentitive to their wives in public, mentioning nice things their wives do, and never comparing them less favorably to other women.

  When they are asked to do things around the home, may they be willing to get the projects done in good order, demonstratiog that they are loved, even saying "I love you" often.  

   Help them show affection to their wives, to demonstrate their desire to protect and comfort them, even giving them special cards or flowers at times. Simple acts of kindness, like pulling out their chair for them to sit on and opening the doors for them, are great ways to demonstrate their love.

   As possible, help them provide a steady income to provide for necessities and some pleasures together. May they not always think that they have to solve every problem, but gently offering their thoughts on the concerns she has. 

   Let the men realize that their wives need a strong family unit, and that the family needs to be in unity as much as possible, to live lives together in God's plan for them. 

   This is our prayer for husbands, that they will honor their wives with actions that demonstrate their love for them.

   In the powerful name of Jesus, we ask these favors for them. Amen

846-850 one-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted- 

 

846-Ps. 20:6 "Now know I that the lORD saveth his anointed; he willhear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand."

847- Ps. 112:3 "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber."

848- 1 Cor. 10:14 "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee idolatry."

849- Is. 32:17 "And the work of righteousness shall be peae; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."

850- Ps. 33:13 "The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men."

Quote for today-

~ Hudson Taylor: "Never mind how great the pressure is—only where the pressure lies. Never let it come between you and the Lord, then the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His heart!"

Words of wisdom-

~ Our quiet time, our prayer time, and the time we spend in God's Word is absolutely essential for a dynamic and powerful life as a Christian!

Today's Popular post-
   

 Seeing Others Through God's Eyes

Jill Savage tells us, "When talking about the challenging past year with a friend of mine, she asked me how I kept bitterness out of my heart when dealing with my husband’s depression and desert season as well as my son’s mental health challenges more recently."

Upcoming posts:

24th- Self-Control in God's Strength

   Kristen Holmberg

31st- A Key to Happiness

   Merlin Crothers

Jan. 7th- The Miracle of Salvation

   Kimya Loder

 

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Putting God First

Joyce McCullough tells us about her sister's thoughts:

 “How can I possibly feed my family this month if I also pay my tithe to the church?”

"My sister, Debbie, sat at the kitchen table mulling over her grocery list. Times were tough. (Google image, Wallet on Bible)