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Be intentional

Increase Your Prayer Life

by Kate Muguira April 15, 2022

The power of prayer is undeniable. We see it’s power throughout history and throughout our own lives.

Before we even talk about ways to increase our prayer life, I want to direct you through a 30 second exercise that will easily take you into the presence of God.

Take 30 seconds to remember a time God has answered a prayer and thank Him for it.

Psalms 100:4 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

We enter His gates with thankfulness. It doesn’t have to be an hour long, but, as you just did, a 30 second “Thank You”.

Now that we’re stirred up and ready, here are some ways we can increase our prayer lives.

GET CONSISTENT

Have you been feeling a lack in your prayer life? That means it’s time to get consistent.

If you’re anything like me, if it’s not your calendar it probably won’t happen. We can budget our time like we budget our finances. This way we can be good stewards of what we’ve been given.

There are times when I haven’t gotten intentional with my prayer time and I find myself craving time with Jesus. I’ve learned how to avoid this…. Put it on your calendar.

No, it is not wrong to put a time with Jesus or prayer time on your calendar. Actually, it’s really helpful!

BE INTENTIONAL

Have you ever intentionally sat down to pray only to find you weren’t sure what to pray for or ran out things to say or prayer for?

Make a list of things you would like to pray for and if you find yourself at a loss for words, pray over your list.

You can also make a list of prayers and declarations you would also like to pray for yourself. Have a vision for your prayer life and like Habakkuk 2:2 says, write it down and run with it!

We can also get intentional with listening in prayer. We don’t always have to say something but can just sit and listen as well.

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing.

This is one of my favorite times of prayer. It’s not that we have to always be praying out loud to where we can’t have a conversation with anyone or think a different thought other than prayer.

It’s more of an awareness that the Lord is with us and we can talk to Him throughout our day!

I hope this encourages you to get consistent and intentional in your prayer life and remember that the Lord is all around you throughout your day!

Let’s Find the WOW – NOW!

by Corine Channell April 7, 2021

written by Corine Channell

“Let’s find the wow.” I was thinking about what I hope to leave behind to my family and friends, and how I hope to be remembered. I realize how short this life journey really is. And how little time I have left to leave behind something of worth and value. For me, it looks and feels a lot like just the outward flow of WHO I am.

This is birthed and given through the things that I write. Daily social media posts, films, blogs, books. And of course offering my prayers (of which are stored in heaven with my bottles of tears.) “This is what the Lord says, Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strength of their strength or the rich boast of their riches. But let the one who boasts boast about THIS – that they have the understanding to know ME.” (Jeremiah 9:23) THIS is what I am able to boast of. Jesus! I KNOW HIM!

Find The Wow: What We Leave Behind

We can all look at our accomplishments or successes and hope that they matter in the bigger picture. I hope when I get to heaven there are people there because of me. Maybe I witnessed to them on the street when I was a teenager, or they heard me give a speech on the Jesus Revolution in high school. Or I taught them in Sunday School. Perhaps I had them in a music class. Or they watched a film I helped produce or read a blog I wrote.

All the little parts of who we were along the way, are the same parts we leave behind.

How I would feel to meet any of those people would be, “WOW! Really?” I would be humbled and honored and shocked.

I realize I want to feel the wow NOW. Getting to heaven and seeing all the pieces fit, and the people who made it because of me, THAT is when I finally get it? Why can’t I capture the essence of that NOW? And why can’t I find that WOW factor while I am doing it? Why can’t I more intentionally embrace my journey with the joy and wonder of my purpose? I am rather exhausted by my own insecurities and fears.

I don’t want to just show up in heaven and be like, “Really?” If I had known that THAT mattered that much, I would have done it sooner. And I would have done it more. Perhaps I would have given my all. I don’t want to just exist here with that Eeyore attitude. “Oh well, it will probably rain anyway. Always does.” NO! I want to embrace the RAIN and dance IN it. And see what God can do with that rainstorm.

Daily Making A Difference

I want to use my daily opportunities to be a history maker and a life changer. Instead of seeing the glass of my ordinary day as half empty, I want to be like – OHHHHHHH LOOK! I still have HALF a glass left! I think this is what I have been missing. To not be consumed by the messes and the failures and the unanswered questions. And the ongoing struggles. But instead to embrace the wonder and mystery of the unknown lying in wait to be uncovered.

This really is what childlike faith LOOKS like. Think about how a child sees things. Exactly. THAT is how we need to view life. Where anything is possible and probably will show up in some unexpected and possibly upside-down form. But possible, nonetheless. I don’t want my ducks in a perfect row. But rather, I just want to appreciate them however they show up. I also want to take a second look before I panic.

Maybe a fifth look. I so do NOT want to miss a thing. I want all the wows NOW. This is a mysterious call we can each answer. To say YES to the unveiling of pain to purpose, as we use up ourselves to save others. What an honor and privilege.

Live With Intention

How about we give our all EVERY day? How about every single thing we do is offered with the WOW of what God can and will do with it? In addition, how about we feel WOWED just to get another chance to change a life? Or maybe to change history? How about we live in the light of eternity, instead of just waiting to get there? And finally, how about if we get EXCITED to give away our greatest gift, Jesus?

“God has made all things beautiful in their time, and He has set eternity IN our hearts.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) We are eternal beings and our hearts should be set on lock mode right into the here and after. Instead of being awed by what awaits us there, let’s plan for it! Let’s take risks and step up to action and take the road less traveled. If you (like me) are a blog writer, write blogs to change the world and to change generations yet to come. Purposely leave your mark. Look for a crack from which to shine light through.

Find The Wow

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19)

But how do we find the wow? Let’s purposefully and intentionally live in the light of eternity, ready to fully live here. And then just transition there knowing we gave our all on this all too brief journey.

Let’s find the WOW, NOW!

April 7, 2021 0 comment

Faith

Are You In Relationship With God?

by Alexxa Lowery January 6, 2021

written by Alexxa Lowery

As humans, we long for connection. We long to be loved and valued for who we are. Relationship is the core of our foundation in Christ. It’s how we’re able to identify ourselves not only for our own benefit but as well as for the people around us. Relationship with God is how we’re able to truly live relationally with people. We love because He first loved us. The key to this concept is first knowing how He loves us, so we’re able to love others the same.

Freedom

Someone once told me that relationship with God has a lot of freedom but had no idea how to comprehend it. Growing up, I perceived God through a religious lens that prevented me from truly knowing Him. I was almost afraid of knowing Him because of previously conceived ideas I had assumed about Him. But, those ideas didn’t seem to be true at all. Trust me, seeking God for who He really is instead of believing what people say is so much easier and will help you long term.

I started to know him for myself. I started making my own opinions based on my own personal encounters with Him. He isn’t scary at all. He’s all-loving, caring, and compassionate. I learned that He is a God of second chances, and even third and fourth chances to say the least. Through relationship with God, I learned that He values connection just as much as we do.

Presence

It takes two to have a relationship. God and you. Two people equally committed to knowing each other, and fulfilling each other’s needs. I’ll leave you with something that changed how I saw relationship with God completely. “What kind of relationship would it be if only one person got what they wanted?” God cares about our needs just as much as we care for His. The greatest thing is both can be fulfilled just by showing up! To know God is to know His heart. To know His heart is to know how to treat His sons and daughters. Relationship with God is the key to overflow around us.

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January 6, 2021 0 comment

Articles

Intentionally Move Away From The Unintentional

by Corine Channell October 1, 2019

written by Corine Channell

I wonder if I have any fellow sojourners out there on a well traveled road I have walked (and crawled) upon. It’s the least favorite road I have ever traveled; the one where I fall into many dark pot holes and I get stuck on the side of the road wondering if I really can finish this race. I call it ‘the broken road of guilt’.

I cannot forgive myself for things I know Jesus has forgiven me for.

Maybe that sounds like an oxymoron, but it is the truth. So the topic at hand is – how do I or maybe WE learn to forgive ourselves for things we feel are unforgivable. How do we really not forever walk on the broken road of guilt?

What I have first come up with is to search out God’s words on self guilt and on self forgiveness. I have lived long enough to know that how I FEEL is not necessarily a truth. If God has forgiven my failures, what then is His thoughts to me on how to forgive myself? I sincerely have tried, and I can not.

We all fail.

Wow. Psalms 103:10 says – “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear Him.” If He dealt with me as harshly as I judge myself, well – He doesn’t.

As I have said before, God knew we needed a Savior, so He sent us Jesus. Regardless our sin, He will forgive us because of His love for us. Psalm 32:10 says, “I acknowledged my mistakes to You, and You forgave them.” Romans 3:23 says, “We ALL fall short of the glory of God.” Quite honestly, I get that and I believe that. I just have a hard time letting go of my failures, especially when I realize they touched others. I think that is the guilt part for me – that in my mistakes, I caused the pain of others. As a spouse or parent or friend or sibling or any part of any relationship, none of us want to be the reason for another’s pain.

So let’s explore the wrong that has been done – it was given to God and forgiven, however we stored it in our own mind and heart and it is forever attached to guilt or shame or sadness. If your mind and heart feels so strongly about what you uploaded into them, you will always feel exactly the same way when brought back to the doorway of the failure.

Unintentional failures.

First of all IF we hurt or failed someone, most probably it was NOT intentional or we wouldn’t have done it to begin with – not to someone we genuinely loved. Maybe we made decisions based on those current situations and thought processes at the time, and maybe not born out of real truth or real knowledge or intention.

If we are at the point to actually admit we DID fail, that really is a good thing. It is? It is. Not fun, but essentially good – because ultimately it is only in facing the painful truth that we are free from its tight, suffocating grasp of guilt. In owning our failure, it is the foundation for moving past it. If it hurt someone else, that feels tougher. There lies the relentless guilt that gets a firm grip on us. I think it really IS all about whether or not we can truly believe we are forgiven.

Time to move on.

After Jesus forgave the adulterous woman He said, “GO and sin no more.” There is seemingly nothing profound in those 5 words; no long sermon or theological thesis. However, it truly holds the key to forgiving ourselves! Two parts in 5 words – GO. First He told her to GO. We could interpret that as telling her to get up off the ground (groveling in the dirt in her guilt and reproach), and then – AND SIN NO MORE. “Go, and sin no more.” Whatever she did before (sin, failures, regrets etc.) – stop doing it! WOW. I asked God to forgive my failure, but I remained face down in the dirt in my shame and reproach when what I NEEDED to do was simply move on from it, and change whatever it was I failed at.

I think I got this!

“Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (I Timothy 1:15) Sometimes we feel like the chief sinner, the chief failure, the one who knocked the earth off its orbit by our mistake. For THIS reason, Jesus came. For my sin, Jesus came. For my failure, Jesus came. For my shame, Jesus came. For my redemption, Jesus came.

“No one who believes in the Lord will be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11)

Time to get up – dust ourselves off – move on and be better and do better.

Time for making intentional successes out of unintentional failures. Time to see our Savior make a message out of our messes. It is time to see the weight of our sin become the weight of His glory. Trade it in. It is time.

#MovingOnWithIntention

October 1, 2019 0 comment

Articles

How To Love And Serve The ‘Least Of These’

by Veronica Sutherland November 26, 2018

written by Veronica Sutherland

“When Jesus Christ comes in His glory, sitting on His glorious throne, surrounded by His angels, He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous.” (Matthew 25:31-46)

What criteria will He use to determine who are righteous and who are unrighteous?

Jesus sees the righteous as being like those persons who: fed Him when He was hungry; quenched His thirst; took Him in when He was a stranger; clothed Him when He needed clothes; cared for Him when He was sick; or visited Him in prison. Note He did not say: present in Church every Sunday; you prayed for your friend when she was sick; sang in the choir; how many sermons you preached; how well you prayed on Sunday; how good a Sunday school teacher you are; or how sweetly you lead praise and worship.

God is practical and He is loving. He is the God of action. The God of compassion and mercy. He has instructed us to love Him with all our heart, soul, strength and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves (See Luke 10:27). Note He did not use love as a noun, but as a verb. In Christ, love is not something you possess but something you do.

Love God?

How do we love God? We love Him with our heart, soul, mind and strength. In other words – with our whole being, withholding nothing – with everything.

John asks, in 1 John 4:20-21, “How can you say you love God whom you cannot see, yet hate your brother whom you can see? There is a disconnect there. If you love God you demonstrate this by loving your sisters and brothers whom you can see. You can’t love God and hate or be indifferent to other people.”

Jesus said: love your neighbor as yourself. Who is your neighbor? The little girl who lies and steals; the lotto scammer; the hardened criminal; the Rasta man; the annoying family next door that keeps throwing their garbage over the fence; your disrespectful son; the rich man who seems to need nothing. The list goes on… people we love, people we love to hate and those in between.

How should we love them?

As we love ourselves. How do we love ourselves? We don’t withhold any good thing from ourselves such as: forgiveness; accommodation; riches; clothes; nor blessing galore. So too we should love ‘those despicable people’ (our neighbors), you know the kind, yes them too. No good thing should you withhold: forgiveness, housing, riches, clothes, blessings galore.

We go back to Jesus’ return: “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?'” (Matthew 25:37)

His response: “Whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you do unto me.” (Matthew 25:40)

To please God – to do His will – we must ask Him to open the eyes of our hearts so we can see others as He does. We can look beyond the dross of – dirt on a street person, arrogance of the rich man, filthy speech of the curser, the person who refuses help – and see their heart as God sees them – a soul needing to be loved. The lamb, the Shepherd will climb rocky mountains to save.

God in His wisdom has instructed us to love. He will judge us on how well we love others, especially the disadvantaged.

Where do we find the disadvantaged?

Sitting beside us on a Sunday morning. Have we taken the time to really get to know the people we worship with each Sunday? Their joys, sorrows, needs and gifts? Do you know how many of your church sisters are dressed to the nines, smiling at you, praising God with their whole being, but are hungry and will not tell you?

In our families. Your “worthless” cousin – the same one who will not get up off her behind to go and look for work or the one who won’t stop running after men. Have you taken the time to sit and talk with your family members? Know how they think? What makes them happy, sad or gets them fired up? Do they have a need you can fulfill?

In the highways and byways. Hurting people surround us – people affected by crime; frustrated parents; angry drivers on on the roads to name a few. There is a general indiscipline in today’s society – both victims and perpetrators are hurting. Jesus requires us to be the balm for those who hurt. He has given each of us a gift to fill a need in someone else’s life.

Our main purpose as Christians is to lead others to the Kingdom

To do so we must go. How motivated are you to go?

In giving us the Great Commission (See Matthew 28: 18-20) Christ did not say we should make disciples by keeping a worship service. He said to go and make disciples of all nations. We must go and we must do. The growth of the Church (the believers in Jesus Christ) depends on us – every last one of us. The Church is as strong as its weakest member.

What’s preventing you from going? Job, spouse/significant other, lying, stealing, possessions, fun?

What do you need to go? A deeper understanding of the Bible, lack of knowledge about telling others of Christ, confidence, money, an education on the subject?

God knows all these things and has already provided them for you. He is saying the same thing He said to the Israelites caught between the army and the Red Sea – “step into the water”. He will part the sea. He has the power to do so, just rest on it and trust Him. He is saying the same thing He said to the disciples: I will tell you what to say, I will provide for you, seek first the Kingdom, everything else will come.

What is the benefit of going?

Eternal life – we get to live with God forever in a place that is beautiful beyond our wildest imagination. So will you go?

I challenge you to identify someone in your family who is not a Christian. Pray for a week that the Lord will speak to his / her heart and that He will open an opportunity for you to have a heart to heart talk with them. Continue to pray the second week and try to fulfill a need that person has. Invite him / her to Church the third week. Keep inviting them to Church, filling a need and praying for them until they give their lives to Christ. When that happens – start over with a new person.

Reflect on where you are in your walk with God

If He should return now, on which side would He place you? On His left or His right? Please leave your comment below.

November 26, 2018 0 comment