THANKSGIVING

“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30 (KJV)

In November we take the time to be thankful for all our blessings, (i.e.) family, children, grandchildren, friends, church, jobs, wonderful spouses, and the list goes on and on.

If we took a tablet and pencil and just started jotting down all the blessings we are so thankful for, then as we wrote, it would begin to come into our hearts and minds all the blessings that we take for granted.  Blessings we sometimes forget to be thankful for.

The greatest blessing we have to be thankful for is that before time began, God planned for His Son The Word, to come into this world; born of a virgin;  be named Jesus, grow up and willingly give His life and shed every drop of His Precious Holy Blood on the cross  at Calvary to redeem mankind of their sins.  If Jesus had not been willing there would have never been a way that we could ever live in Heaven with God forever and eternally.

How, do you ask can a person such as I, live with God in heaven eternally? The answer; the same way I am going to, by accepting Jesus into your heart, ask Him to forgive every sin you have ever committed and let His Precious Blood wash your sins away, though your sins were black as coal when Jesus’ blood washes them, they become as white as the whitest wool.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16 (NIV)

I pray that you will not let this Thanksgiving go by without accepting Jesus as your personal Savior and The Lord of your life.

The fact that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior is my greatest thing I have to be thankful for.  Please accept Him as your Personal Savior and say with me,”Jesus you are my greatest blessing.  I am thankful for you more than anything else in the world AMEN.”

My precious readers Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Blessings Gloria.

Copyright 2013 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

WHEN GOD ASKS US A QUESTION

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said,”ask! What shall I give you?”  And Solomon said, “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You.  You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.  Now O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child, I do not know how to go out or come in.  And Your servant is in the midst of your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.  Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.  For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing, Then God said to him;  “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked long life for yourself nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold I have done according to your words, see, I have given you a wise and understand heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.  And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.  So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

Then Solomon awoke: and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. I Kings 3:5-14 NKJV

The Bible states in  2 Samuel  12-24 NIV, “ Bathsheba gave birth to a son and King David and Bathsheba named him Solomon (peaceable). The Lord loved him; and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.”  Jedidiah means –Loved by the LORD.  Since David means “beloved,” father and son were bound together by similar names.. God had told King David that this son would be born and that he would build the temple of God and He kept His promise.

 I am sure that as a child growing up King David and the Prophet Nathan gave Solomon wise and Godly counsel.  This teaching formed Solomon’s beliefs in God, his attitudes about living Godly, and formed his personal  need for Godly knowledge.

 Most king’s sons would grow up thinking (look at me, my father is king, I know it all, my every wish is everyone’s command.)  But not Solomon.  When God asked him what he wanted from God, his answer was, “More than anything he wanted an understanding heart, and wisdom to rule this great Nation.”

Before the death of King David he named his son, Prince Solomon as the one that would succeed him to the throne, even though Solomon was not David’s eldest son, Prince Adonijah was the oldest son of David, but God knew that he would not be a wise or fair king to the Nation of Israel. King David knew this also, so he chose Prince Solomon to succeed him to the throne.  

King Solomon felt as a child before the LORD and before the Nation he was to rule. He was meek and mild enough to know that there was no way without CONTINUAL,  DAILY great and mighty Wisdom  from God that he could not do this formidable task every day of his life.

We may never have the responsibility to lead a nation of people, but in everyday life there are many opportunities that we need the Wisdom of God to make decisions;  (i.e.), our Walk with God, our marriages, our children,  work, every decision we make should be based on the perfect Wisdom of God for us. “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without any doubting.” James 1:5,6a,NASB

God always wants each of us to remember that we can do nothing  to advance His Kingdom, without Him, and His Wisdom; but with Him, we can do everything that He leads us to do.

Precious Readers with God as our SOURCE, we are unstoppable, Love Gloria

Copyright 2013 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

IF GOD ASKS SOMETHING OF US, HE JUST WANTS US TO OBEY

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

Through the years I have heard the statement many times, “God does not call the equipped, He equips the called”.

Has God asked you to do something special for His Kingdom, and your first reaction was “HUH”, who you talking to God, surely not me.

I must admit that this is usually my first reaction, “Please Jesus not me I can’t even talk without stuttering or showering everyone around me with spit.” I mean what are you thinking?

But when God really calls you for a special task, YOU or I are the one He wants to do the job.  Not alone, but in His steps and in His strength.

For God to use us we must have a very deep spiritual root system that comes by prayer, devouring the Word and by praising Him for What He is and Who He is.

I really believe that even though when God asks something of us and it usually makes our knees shake, in our spiritual man we want Him to use us, we want Him to trust us enough to know that even though we may be a little scared, I think that every Child of God prepares each day to be used by God in some special way.

When we accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our lives, deep down we want to do something special for the Kingdom of God.  There is a gnawing in our belly where theRiver of Living Water flows to just be a God Man or God Woman.

“I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.” Philippians 4:13 (TLB)

When God calls us, we begin immediately to prepare, begin to diligently study the Word, pray more, fast and have our spiritual ears open to His voice for His direction in the way we should begin, and go step by step until God says, "Well done faithful child of Mine."

The Apostle Paul depended on the power of Christ at work in his life., “I can----through Christ was Paul’s motto, and it can be our motto also. We need only to release God’s power in our lives by faith.

Dear Readers, I pray God’s special blessings on you.  Love Gloria

Copyright 2013 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

APPRECIATE THE PASTOR WHO DILIGENTLY LABORS AMONG YOU

“But we request of you, brethren that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the LORD and give you instruction and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” I Thessalonians 5:12, 13 (NASB)

We are to respect our pastor and his family for the countless value they are to the church and also to the community.

The flock is to know their pastor well enough to have an intimate appreciation of the many hours and sacrifice’s he makes to pastor and to spiritually nurture each of his sheep.  No one but God knows how many hours our pastor studies the WORD and prays for his flock.  There are many nights he is awakened in the wee hours of the morning with a heavy burden on his heart to pray and intercede for a church member or a member of the community.

His work in God’s chosen vineyard for him and his family is continually laboring and working sometimes to the point of exhaustion; he is “on call 24/7”.  He stands before his flock to lead them in the way of righteousness, and instructing them in the truths of God’s WORD.

The pastor’s calling is from the Throne Room of God, and there is no backing out if the going gets tough.  That is why the prayer warriors of each church are to hold their pastor and his family on their priority list of prayer.  Satan is always out to try to make a pastor slip and fall, because the world is always watching and looking for something to use against the church.  Please never, never let a day go by that you do not pray and intercede for your pastor and his family.  Just as Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses in a great battle against the enemy, so that a great victory would be won, we must hold  our pastor’s hands up through prayer and fasting. He cannot do it alone but must have all his sheep holding him up to God for strength and guidance.

In addition to knowing our pastor well and to remember to pray for him and his wife and family daily.  (Not just an “I lay me down to sleep, oh yeah, Lord remember my pastor, I’m sure he had to do a little something or other today for the church.) But to earnestly, wholeheartedly, shed some Holy Ghost felt tears for the heavy burden he carries for each of his sheep.  A true pastor feels responsible for the welfare and well being and the salvation of each one of us.

We are to esteem our pastor highly as a true servant, called by God.  Congregations are to think rightly and lovingly of their pastors. Not because of their charm or personality or preciousness, but because of the fact that they work for the Chief Shepherd as His special shepherd to his flock of sheep that God has entrusted to him..

This Pastor Appreciation post is dedicated to my Pastor, Dr. Thomas Batts and his wife Lynda,  and their son Todd, who are Pastor’s of Welcome Assembly of God Church in Dellwood, FL (just down the road from Two Egg, FL.)

We are having Pastor Appreciation Day service this Sunday, September 22, with a lunch after the am service. If you live close please come and share the lovely service and the lunch after, come and bring lots of your favorite foods to share.

Love and Blessings Gloria (one of my Pastor’s fat happy sheep)

Copyright 2013 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

GOD WANTS ALL MANKIND TO PRAISE HIM

“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing, Know that the LORD Himself is God, It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.  We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him, bless His name, For the LORD is good, His loving kindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100 (NIV)

This well known psalm declares the universal nature of God’s Kingship.  Most of the psalm is a call to worship Him and to praise Him, and thank Him for His goodness and lovingkindness to us.

The psalmist asks us to come before Him with joyful singing, because we know that the Lord himself is God. It is He and only He that has made us, we did not have anything to do with it.

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. This indicates that not only are His chosen people, (the Jewish Nation), but we who have been washed in the Cleansing Blood of His Son Jesus Christ are also counted among His sheep; and; we can feed freelyand with His Blessings in His pasture.

He is our God, Jesus Christ has freely shed His Blood for our sins and that joy should never ever,  leave us.  Yes, there are trials in this daily living, but these trials will pass; but we should choose to let the joy of the LORD overwhelm us and be aware of our NEED to thank and praise Him continually.

The psalmist asks us to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, I think that indicates that we should be spiritually ready to enter into His gates and into His courts with praise, and thanksgiving;  meaning that when we enter the parking lot of the church we should be prayed up and ready to praise. We should come into His House with a thanksgiving praise on our lips and a thanksgiving song in our hearts, in other words we should be ready to praise Him. 

Yes we come to His house to worship in singing and in hearing the WORD from our Pastor, but we should also come to bless those at church who are down and out spiritually and need a word from God, that is why we should pray continually to be a spiritual blessing to our church, not to just go and get a blessing, BUT TO BE A BLESSING.!  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes to see the needs of others, we do not have to know their need, we just have to be aware of the need to pray for them, and to ask Gods’ blessings on their lives and their needs.

God is the source and perfect example of  His lovingkindness, and His faithfulness in keeping His promises. to us.

Blessings on you my dear Readers,

Love Gloria

(c) Gloria B.Powell. All rights reserved.

GOD WILL MOVE YOUR MOUNTAIN

“….Do not sorrow, for the Joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)

Does God even care when we cry in the middle of the night?  We question, “Does God even care”? 

There is no mountain to high, no valley too deep, in our lives that God does not care about, and can remove.

In our humanness, we want God to move our mountains with just one fell swoop of His Mighty Hand.

But God is All Knowing, and He knows because of the busyness of our lives because of packed-full daily schedules that time alone with God for prayer and Bible reading too many times so very sadly gets pushed aside.  Maybe if we do pray and read we do it in such a hurry it just does not give proper honor to God. Most of the time we don’t even remember what we prayed or read.

Our faith becomes weak in these slack times and the ONLY way to grow in faith in God is DAILY personal conversation and reading His Word.  So when we are spiritually weak the everyday little obstacles become mountains looming larger and larger and the mountain is all we can see. 

We pray Lord I can’t stand this, “please remove it from my path”. But Jesus who was NEVER slack in His conversation with His Heavenly Father or in reading the Word (The Torah). He gave us the perfect example of prayer even when we have not been as faithful as we should in following His examples for a successful life in God.  In fact this prayer is the perfect prayer for all times and I pray that you are not like me and you do not sometimes get “too busy” to take enough time to pray and read His Word.

We must always follow the example of Jesus on the night He was arrested to be crucified for our sins on the cross.  He went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to His Father., "Father if I must drink this cup. Thy Will Be Done, Not My Will, But Thine.”

No matter how big the mountain, if we pray for Gods’ perfect will in every circumstance in our lives and really submit our heart, mind, spirit and pray earnestly for a godly attitude  and submit everything in our being to God, He will renew our resolve for His Perfect will, in every situation, and we will be content with His will. 

When we get our mind and spirit back to where they should be, completely spiritually in tune with the Holy Spirit, we will find that the mountain after all, was  mostly  just a molehill.

Dear Reader until next time,.. Gloria

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Copyright 2013 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

IS GOD OBLIGATED TO US?

IS  GOD  OBLIGATED  TO  US?

I have heard sermons preached and statements made that if Gods’ people will do so and so. that God is obligated to bless that person with so and so. Namely perfect health, monetary prosperity, worldly gain and the list goes on, and on.

DEAR READER GOD IS NOT OBLIGATED TO ANYTHING OR ANYONE,  GOD IS  ABSOLUTELY SOVERIGN.

God does not give us His complete love, mercy, grace and unmerited favor because He is OBLIGATED TO DO SO. HE GIVES IT TO US BECAUSE OF HIS NEVERENDING LOVE FOR US.  We are HIS and He gave His ALL, His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cruel cross and shed every drop of His Precious Blood, to pay our sin debt that He did not owe, and that we would never be able to pay.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

God loves us and His most earnest desire for us is to spend eternity with Him, not to be lost and spend eternity in hell with the evil one and his demons”

We give our tithes and offerings to our church in obedience to His Word.  We pray for healing of the sick and those in desperate need because the love of God dwells within us. We pray and read His WORD to draw closer to Him and have daily communication with Him, because He is our best and most personal friend.

Every time a seemingly impossible need is met by God we are amazed and awed at such an Overwhelming, Caring and Loving God.  He knows every need in our lives and He loves us enough to meet that need. Sometimes He meets the need in the way we ask, and if the way we ask is not His Will for us because our way is not always the best way, God answers the need in His Way. We see only the now, but God sees down the road around every corner and into the eternal.  God knows each and every one of us personally; He even knows our thoughts, motives and even every hair on our head.

God’s desire is for us to surrender our lives to Him, not for what we can get from Him on this earth, but because He loves and cares for us so much He wants for us a life secure in Him, and He wants us to spend our eternity with Him in the home He is preparing  in heaven for those who love Him with all their hearts. This is the only way to have that peace over every situation  that arises in each of our lives, the peace which that passes all understanding.

I love you dear reader, Love Gloria

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.