Category: faith

I Did Not Know What to Pray

Posted on by Evangeline

 

A friend died last week. He was not someone my family spent time with regularly, but he held a special place in our heart. He had impacted our lives intermittently but powerfully. I hope when I come to the end of my journey here on earth that a lot of people will say that about me— that I may not have impacted their lives on a daily basis, but when I did, I did so powerfully.

When I first heard the news about this friend’s death, I was shaken. I found myself wanting to pray for his wife and family but not knowing exactly what to pray. Sure, I asked God to comfort the family, to strengthen them in their time of sorrow, to help them rest in His peace in the days ahead; but that did not seem to be enough. After a few quiet moments, I realized that I had to ask the Holy Spirit to pray through me because I did not know what else to say when praying in my own understanding.

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”  ~~Romans 8:26 NLT

“For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.”  ~~1 Corinthians 14:2 NKJV

“Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.”  ~~ 1 Corinthians 14:15 NLT

How does praying in the Spirit help you to be confident that you’re praying what needs to be prayed?

 

Want Great Results?

Posted on by Evangeline

Ruth, a woman whose story is found in the Old Testament, was living a life that seemed desolate of anything good. Her husband had died, leaving her childless. Her father-in-law and brother-in-law had both died, leaving Ruth, her mother-in-law (Naomi) and sister-in-law without a family provider. She was living in a country that was not her own so she had no nearby relatives who could help her. There was famine throughout the land. Talk about unfavorable life circumstances!

But Ruth chose to put her faith in the God of her Hebrew mother-in-law. She was determined to see the salvation and deliverance that she believed God had for her. Even while she lived in seemingly unbearable conditions, she believed that God would ultimately show her favor.

Ruth and Naomi traveled back to Naomi’s homeland, hoping to find a family member who would show kindness and assist them.  Ruth chose to declare that God would help them and provide for them. She trusted that He would lead her to the right field to glean and to its kind owner. God honored her faith in Him. She began to see His hand of favor operate in her life. God led her to Boaz, who loved her and redeemed her. Instead of being a poor, childless widow, she experienced marriage, wealth, and motherhood. Faith in God’s favor produced great results!

Want great results in your life? Believe that God’s loving hand of favor is on you. Declare it every day!

Please come back and share the wonderful results you experience due to believing and declaring God’s favor in your life.

My Horizon

Posted on by Evangeline

When I was a little girl, summers were spent playing outside. I loved playing hand games with the other girls in my neighborhood. A particularly favorite hand game was about a sailor. Do you remember this?

A sailor went to sea, sea, sea

To see what he could see, see, see

And all that he could see, see, see

Was the bottom of the big blue sea, sea, sea.

The other day, that lyric came to mind as I was reflecting on what I choose to look at in my life. Do I hang my head and look down, focusing primarily on all the negative things that happen? Am I like the sailor, who could only see the bottom of the sea, even though there was the beauty of the horizon right in front of him to enjoy? Or do I choose to look up , focus on the positive things and find the joy that may be hidden in my  negative circumstances?

I hope that on a daily basis, I will look up and see Jesus and allow Him to be the author of my life story and the One who directs and perfects how the ending of my story turns out. I know that when I put my day-to-day life in Jesus’ hands, the horizon of my life will always be beautiful.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” ~~Hebrews 12:2 NIV

Focus Friday

Posted on by Evangeline

Focus on the following promise throughout the day. God said it and it’s what He desires. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak the Word continually and expect God to do what He has said!

” …by his wounds you have been healed.”

~~ 1 Peter 2:24 NIV

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Posted on by Evangeline

I’ve been thinking about the issue of trust. Nowadays, how do you know who’s trustworthy?

Look closely at this penny. It’s a great reminder about Who to trust!

Trust in Jesus’ finished work on your behalf.

Trust in the unshakable, true promises of God.

Hold tightly  to your dream. Don’t let circumstances break you loose from it.

Make a decision to believe in and stand on the Word of God as the absolute Truth in life. The Truth will shake up your circumstances in a positive way!

What do you use as a reminder to trust God in your circumstances? I’d love to know!

Pity Party in the Pit

Posted on by Evangeline

Pity parties only happen in the pit of despair. I hate it when I stumble into that pit.

The only way I know to shut down the pity party is to focus on the goodness of God, praise Him for all He has done for me  and remind myself that He constantly and intently loves me.

Psalm 40:1-3  NLT

I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.

Looking Beyond My Problems

Posted on by Evangeline

Psalm 121 [NKJV] opens by asking, “Where does my help come from?”

There were countless times when I wondered who was available to help me during my struggle with infertility. Doctors could only do so much in their role as a medical professional. Friends could sympathize but they couldn’t truly understand what I was going through.They had not experienced falling into the pit of infertility. Family members were supportive but couldn’t identify with the struggle either. My husband, even though he was kind and loving toward me, was also in the struggle and therefore  looking for support as well.

It seemed no matter where I looked, there was no one in my sphere of influence that could be the principal source of help that I needed. But, I learned that when looking for help, the quickest way to get it was to look to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). He could identify with my physical and emotional pain. He was my Savior. He was my Champion. He was the one who could do something about my problems when I stopped looking at the problems and looked to Him.

Determining Your Future

Posted on by Evangeline

What kind of future do you desire? Is it one filled with days of average outcomes or  outstanding results? Your words are seeds for your future. What you’re saying throughout your day today, will determine the outcome of your future days.

In a farmer’s mind, the seed has dominion over the soil. The seed is what determines the harvest. No matter how well-conditioned the soil may be, without any seed, there is no harvest!

Whether you believe it or not, your words are seeds for your future. Your negative words will bring about a negative outcome and be a snare in your life [Proverbs 18:7]. Your positive words will result in a positive outcome, bringing a harvest of “good success” [Joshua 1:8].

The best seed you can plant for your future is God’s Word from the Bible because His words are full of truth and life. They will always provide a bountiful harvest when planted in good soil. Isn’t it wonderful that YOU get to determine the harvest of your life through the seeds of the words you speak?

Make the decision to believe and consistently speak scriptures that contain the promises of what you desire to have happen in your life. Your fruitful future depends upon the seeds you sow today!

Posted on by Evangeline

Isaiah 30:15 says, “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” I hope you’re encouraged to live with a hope-filled focus and blessed by Jenne Acevedo’s post.

I’m Just Sayin’

Posted on by Evangeline

I have learned, and am still learning, how important my words are. Not only do they let others know what I think, but also they are actually vessels filled with the power to change things in my life or to keep things the same.

Zig Ziglar, a world-renowned motivation speaker said, “You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind.”  Other than images, words are what go into your mind. God designed this universe to respond to words. He spoke words and things happened (Genesis 1). That’s why He sent the prophets of the Old Testament, to speak the words that He spoke about things so that those words would cause His plan to happen.

Throughout the book of Isaiah in the Bible, we see so many prophetic words about what was coming in the future through the Messiah. Those prophecies proclaim the things to come so that the words would set in motion those things that God included in His plan for man. All of those words were eventually fulfilled, accomplished, and completed through Jesus.

God has placed that same significance and power in our words. Our words are able to change our personal world when we speak what God says about our situation. The act of saying what God says (His promises), initiates, strengthens and builds our faith. Believing and speaking His promises instead of repeatedly speaking our problems can change our personal world.

So if God said it, I choose to believe it AND I choose to say it (2 Corinthians 4:13).