Wrestling of Blessing

I want to call "half-time" on the questions from Solomon's Survey for a moment and bring to mind a great message from Scripture about our persistence and how sometimes our Blessings come through wrestling with God!

Not Letting Go
In Genesis 32.22-30, we see how Jacob wrestles with God...

A man came and fought with Jacob until just before daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not win, he struck Jacob on the hip and threw it out of joint. 26 They kept on wrestling until the man said, "Let go of me! It's almost daylight."

"You can't go until you bless me," Jacob replied...And he blessed Jacob.

Do you feel as though you are in a Wrestling match with God?...keep going, your Blessing could be right around the corner!

Don't Give Up: The Book of Proverbs gives us a dose of wisdom...

Don't give up and be helpless in times of trouble. (Proverbs 24:10 CEV)

If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place. (Proverbs 24:10 MSG)

Are You In The Match?
Are you wrestling right now?...are you in the match of your life?...keep going...be persistent and don't give up...we want to hear about your wrestling of blessing!

Thanks for reading...God Save You and Grant You Success! Psalm 118:25 (NIV)

Solomon Survey: Stumbling Blocks Part 4

I will make this short and sweet...Christian sent me this verse and it blows me away...meditate on it...ask yourself if you live it...

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, 

      And those who love it will eat its fruit.  

~ Proverbs 18:21 (New King James Version) ~

What did we say today? What will we say tomorrow? Death and life hang in the balance...the way I look at it is this: I want to reserve what I say by Praising God and Encouraging others. I Pray I do not condemn with the same tongue I Praise God with...let's speak of life and life only!

Solomon Survey: Stumbling Blocks part 3

Welcome back to The Solomon Survey!...I want to hit on some more stumbling blocks to see if perhaps certain things in our lives are keeping God from entrusting us with certain Blessings, but some quick info first...

Mark Batterson has a great post on "Broken Windows," the theory of how small things can create huge disasters...it talks about how we must strive for excellence in all areas of our lives. That is what this survey and these questions of stumbling blocks are all about...where are some broken windows in our lives?...we must find them and repair them in order to be set apart for God's Purposes!

So off to the questions we go. Today's subject is on Sowing and Reaping. This verse says it all...

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

~ Galatians 6:7-8 (MSG) ~

1. What are we "planting?"

You harvest what you plant,
whether good or bad.

~ Proverbs 14:14 (CEV) ~

What we plant can come through how we treat those we are around and what we say to them. Are we criticizing, complaing, or condemning? Do you make fun of people on television, around town, or in person? Take a look around...do people enjoy being around you? What about other areas.... Are you in shape? How are your finances? What about our strategies in life, business, creativity, etc? Maybe we need to do a 're-plant' in order to receive all that God has for us.

2. How do we plant new seeds?

The Book of James tells us this:

But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. When peacemakers plant seeds of peace,

they will harvest justice.

~ James 3:17-18 (CEV) ~

Do you see how it comes back down to what we are "planting?"

3. Do we help those who are less fortunate?

Caring for the poor is lending to the LORD,
and you will be well repaid.

~ Proverbs 19:17 (CEV) ~

Most of the time we are always wanting more and we wonder why we have less than someone else. But have you ever ask the opposite question: "Why do I have so much?" Who can you and I help this week, this year?

The Lord says we will be repaid as lending to the poor is lending to The Lord....here is a link to a great organization called Compassion International....completely legit...tons of Churches and individuals are involved...you can sponsor a child through Prayer, Letters, Finances, Art work, you name it...great way to get involved with people all over the world...

4. Are you living out The Golden Rule?

The Book of Matthew tells us an amazing way to sow seeds of righteousness and reap what we sow....

Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.

Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

~ Matthew 7:12 (MSG) ~

I am not saying there is some formula for God's Blessings, but I don't think are any "accidents" either...If there is an area in our lives that is not how we want it, then there is probably a "broken window" that needs replacing.

If we want to be in The Presence of God, then we must aim for excellence. Just as oil and water don't mix, God and sin don't mix either. So if we want God and The Blessings of God in our lives, then we must plant great seeds...we must sanctify/consecrate ourselves so that God will do His Miracel Wonders and Amazing things through us:

Then Joshua addressed the people:

"Sanctify yourselves. Tomorrow God will work miracle-wonders among you."

~ Joshua 3.5 (MSG) ~

Solomon Survey:Stumbling Block Questions Part 2

Welcome Back to Solomon Survey, today we will hit on Stumbling Block questions, part 2 and see if any of these areas are blocking our Prayers to God. Click the following to review part 1: Solomon Survey:Stumbling Block Questions Part 1

The following questions focus on our respect to God, our thoughts, and our words. Emphasis is added to all to all the following Scriptures where certain words are in bold.

#1. How do you treat the poor?
If you mistreat the poor, you insult your Creator; if you are kind to them, you show him respect.
~ Proverbs 14:31 ~

#2. What thoughts are you thinking? What words do you use around others?
The LORD hates evil thoughts, but kind words please him.
~ Proverbs 15.26~

Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.
~ Proverbs 4.23 ~

#3. How do you treat God? How do you treat people?
These two issues are directly related...Are you always in a hurry, never listening to people? Do you make time for them? Do you invest your life with your family, being intentional about how your relationship is with them, or are you always in a hurry only concerned with your own agendas?

It comes down to respect. If we respect God, He will respect our prayers. If we respect the people in our lives, they will respect us. Take a look around. Do people naturally gravitate towards you? Do they want to spend time with you? I am a firm believer that in relationships, there are no accidents. You will have friends if you are a friend. You will have trusted business contacts, classmates, and teammates, if they find you trustworthy. Sure, people may not always get along, but if you always make it all about you and do not respect the other person's point of view, then you probably do not respect God's point of view either.

Ask yourself, "How are my relationships with other people?" and I bet you will find that you have a similar relationship with God. Because if you don't take the time to listen to other people, then I can imagine you do not take the time to listen to God....and if you are always criticizing people or judging them on what kind of clothes they wear, if their hair is messed up, or how big their nose is, then I can almost guarantee you criticize God more than you Praise Him.

Respect and obey the LORD! This is the beginning of knowledge. ^[a] Only a fool rejects wisdom and good advice.
~ Proverbs 1.7 ~

If we truly love God, our sins will be forgiven; if we show him respect, we will keep away from sin. ~ Proverbs 16:6 ~

This will lead us to part 3 next time, where we will converse about 2 HUGE areas that deal with our Prayers being answered:
1. Sowing and Reaping
2. Fruits of The Spirit and what exactly are we filling our minds with and meditating on?

God save you and grant you success! Psalm 118.25

Are others willing to follow you?

Why would anyone follow you or me as a LEADER?

They will NOT...
UNLESS...we ARE COURAGEOUS!


Leonidas was Courageous
Simply put: LEADERS are COURAGEOUS.
In his book: Leadership Secrets of the 300, James Whitley says that King Leonidas showed incredible courage and integrity. By word and deed, he let nothing coward him into submission of mediocrity.


The result? His fellow Spartan warriors followed him, get this, into DEATH!


Leonidas was courageous.


Jesus was Courageous
No one; HOWEVER, was more courageous than the TRUE KING JESUS CHRIST. While discussing His death to come, Jesus said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified...Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!" (John 12:23;27; NIV)

The Hour Had Come
It was time: The HOUR had come to be a Leader with reckless courage. Jesus was recklessly courageous. The HOUR will come for you and for me to exercise courage as well! It will be for that hour that God has sent us to make a difference in someone's life and in the world. Even our own life...our families life...our churches life...our countries life! The only way we can be courageous in that hour is this: we must have a "GOD FOCUS". Jesus had a "GOD FOCUS". He said, "FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME!"

FOCUS
Leonidas had a focus: Sparta.
Jesus had a MUCH BETTER focus: His Father.

May God the Father be your focus and my focus as we courageously follow the Lord and Savior, King Jesus into life and into death! May others follow us as we follow the Lion of Judah!


"My king. It’s an honor to die at your side. It’s an honor to have lived at yours."
- 300

Solomon Survey:Stumbling Block Questions Part 1

Your frustrated...you feel as though God is silent and you want Him to stop "working behind the scenes" and start answering your Prayers now...not tomorrow, but now....so why is it that sometimes our Prayers go unanswered or that we feel as if God is silent in our lives?

Their are many answers to this question, but the one I want to focus on for this post has to do with 'stumbling blocks.' I like to think of stumbling blocks as "sin block." Sort of like when you go to the beach and you put on a "sun block." The purpose is to keep the light out...to keep you the sun's radiation from getting to your epidermis. That's what a "sin block" does. It keeps the light out of your life and hampers your Prayer life...

I will divide these blocks up over the next one or two posts...this post will focus on three types of blocks.

So take a look at the next few questions and see if you can identify any of these areas in your life. You and I must be honest in these areas...analyzing ourselves is extremely difficult, no one likes to point out "sin blocks" in their lives, and maybe you need a trusted person to help point them out to you, but you must identify these areas and correct them if you want to understand what God is teaching you through these times of unanswered Prayer or lack of direction for your life so that you can open yourself up to all of His Blessings!

1. Confession and Repentance
Are you going to God and confessing your sin? Are you repenting? You may not know what sins your are committing...so ask God to reveal any dark areas in your life so that you can become aware of them. Good starting points are Psalm 51 and Psalm 32.

2. Husbands, Honor Your Wife...Wives, Respect Your Husband
I am not married but man does this verse slap me in the face!!! So men, if you are married, wow, you need to meditate on the following verse:

If you are a husband, you should be thoughtful of your wife. Treat her with honor, because she isn't as strong as you are, and she shares with you in the gift of life.
Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.
1 Peter 3:7 (CEV) (emphasis added)

And for the ladies out there, Ephesians 5.33 says....

".... and the wife must respect her husband." (emphasis added)

3. The Three C's and Relationships
In his amazing book, "How To Win Friends & Influence People," Dale Carnegie writes a MEGA important principle about the fundamentals in handling people and Scripture shows how these fundamentals can become problems in our relationship with God. In the very first chapter, Mr. Carnegie says, "Don't criticize, condemn, or complain."

So the question is, are you criticizing, condemning, or complaining? Their is a difference between criticizing and critiquing. A critique is an observation meant to build up or improve. Criticism is negative and usually reflects back on the insecure person who makes the criticism.

Every time you and I make fun of someone's nose or ridicule someone we see on T.V. for their hair, etc, what we are really doing is saying that God is not a good artist...and in turn we are condemning ourselves. (See Romans 2 reference below). Being critical of others and making fun of them is a hallmark sign of INSECURITY. We are not comfortable in our own skin and so we deflect this reality by criticizing other people...what do you think God would have to say to us when we are making fun of someone that He created??

Many verses in The Holy Scriptures point us to these "sin blocks" in our lives that deal with the three C's. They are very important to meditate on because they may not just reflect our view of people we never speak to, but they bleed into how we treat our family members, our co-workers, our teammates, and people in our community.

Here are some amazing references that we can check ourselves on:

Do you really love life? Do you want to be happy?

Then stop saying cruel things and quit telling lies.

1 Peter 3.10

Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself.
Romans 2 (emphasis added)

Kindness is rewarded--but if you are cruel, you hurt yourself.
Meanness gets you nowhere, but goodness is rewarded.
Try hard to do right, and you will win friends;
go looking for trouble, and you will find it.
Prov 11.17-18, 27 (emphasis added)

Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say. Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins. Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.
Ephesians 4.29-32

Are we making God's spirit sad? When it comes to having our Prayers answered, it may not be that God is quiet, it may be that our criticizing is loud.

It comes down to relationships and viewing others through the lens of Christ. By meditating on The Scriptures, it looks as if the way we are Treating our spouses, our family, our friends has a direct effect on our Relationship with God. We need to Confess and Repent and then be radically changed...

But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace,
whether they are Jews or Gentiles. God doesn't have any favorites!
Romans 2.10-11 (CEV)

The Solomon Survey - Questions 1&2

Welcome to the first part of the "Solomon Survey" where the questions begin and the self-analysis digs deep!

In the last post, I mentioned how we were going to begin the conversation with the fact that we are not accidents....I want to retract that (we will still cover this topic) and instead begin with how we start our Prayer life, when do we pray and how are our prayers structured?

First Things First
#1. When do you Pray?

Jesus Prayed bright and early in the morning. Of course He prayed at all times and without ceasing, but Scripture is very clear that He went to God first thing in the morning. Doing this helps to frame our mind and prepare us for the day ahead! I know the sports section is tempting, but dig in to Prayer and Scripture first!

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house
and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Mark 1:35-39

Structure Of Prayer - Out Of The Blocks!
#2 Do you begin Prayers with Praise or do you just jump in thinking it's all about you?

We need to start out our Prayers with Praises To God! Our Prayers are not based on religion, they are based on a relationship. Prayer is not something you get done with and check off of your to-do list. Prayer is conversation with God, through Jesus, led by The Holy Spirit.

Solomon's Example
Remember the story about Solomon from First Kings? Solomon is having a conversation with God, he's not just going through some monotonous ritual that he needs to hurry up and get over with. Notice that even when God asks Solomon what he wants, see 1 Kings 7-8, he still begins the conversation by praising God...saying that God is loyal, reminding himself that it is God who gives, and understanding that he is God's Servant. Then in verse 9, Solomon makes his request understanding that it is impossible to live God's Will for his life without God's help.

Self Reminder

Don't get me wrong, there is not a formula for Prayer...all Prayers should be led by The Holy Spirit. However, we must Praise God first and foremost. It's not that God needs to hear us brag on Him, it's that we need to remind ourselves that He is The Almighty who can do anything and everything, and that nothing will block His plans. Take a look at the 'model' Prayer that Jesus teaches us to Pray and notice how it starts with Praise:

"This, then, is how you should pray:” 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'

Matthew 6:9-10

So Instead of starting out with the typical Prayers of, "Lord, Bless me, bless me, bless me," begin with Praise. For Example, Start with Ps 145 to remind your self how AMAZING God is...verse 18 says: God's there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it. Come to God in Praise and mean it!

Nothing Wrong With It

There is nothing wrong with asking God to Bless you, you will see Prayers for Blessings through out Scripture...we are even told in Matthew 7.7, and Thanks Be To God, to Ask, Seek, and Knock. In fact, God wants to Bless us and that is why Praise is so important. Take a look at the first book in The Bible, Gen 28.13-18 tells us how God wants to Bless our families and that He will be with us wherever we go..He already knows what we are going to Pray for anyway, so what Praise does is remind us how much He wants to Bless us and allows us to Pray with Confidence and Boldness!

Relationship Parallel

Can you imagine talking to your spouse, your boss, your team, etc and all you do is say, "Me, Me, Me, it's all about me...here is what I want you to do for me...." That would not be a very good relationship....So next time in Prayer, Start with Praises to God...you will be amazed at how much Peace will flood your soul as you are reminded how powerful God is and how awesome it is when Christ is at the center of your life!

Stumbling Blocks
Please tune in to the next post of "The Solomon Survey" and see what may be causing a stumbling block in your Prayer Life. How do you treat others? The Bible tells us that we "reap what we sow." Are you sowing good seeds? Are you criticizing? Romans 2 is very clear about criticism. If you criticize, you are saying that God is not a good artist....so tune in and see if you need to hold your self accountable and remove any stumbling blocks so that God will be able to prepare you with Blessings that He can trust you with!