Proverbs 24:27 NIV

“Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.”

Ezekiel 38:7 NIV

“Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them.”

God is getting ready to do something great in the lives of his people. Be prepared to receive it. Put everything in order in your life. Prepare for the blessings to come.

When you get ready, stay ready, and encourage all around you to do the same, for it is coming quickly.

So very excited about the 30 day prayer challenge. Set yourself to really hear from God with a thankful and obedient heart. Keep writing in your prayer journal. God will provide you enough to build your house – both spiritually and naturally.

Have a blessed night OTP family.

Please feel free to adjust the challenge to include a specific thing or situation that is on your heart. Pray earnestly and consistently. Don’t give up, but truly seek/pursue God on behalf of someone else, or the situation, and watch God move.

Your journal entries are important because it will chronicle your journey and allow you to write the things God has spoken in your spirit.

At the end of the 30 days you will have your journal as a tool to remember what God said. Or a gift for the person for which you were praying.

The blessings are two fold – You will draw closer to God, and you will gain experience on hearing from God. The additional blessing is that you will also gain experience in obeying the voice of God.

Please feel free to post your comments on this thread throughout the challenge.

Have a blessed night and enjoy the challenge.

God wants your obedience not your bribe.

1 Samuel 15;22

“And Samuel said,

Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

God wants you to obey his word as well as that thing that he has been whispering in your spirit. As Nike said, just do it.

Have a blessed day.

Definitions:

Revived is to restore to life or consciousness.

Refreshed is to give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate.

Renewed is to resume (an activity) after an interruption.

Romans 8:18-19

“18. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

19. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.“

Many times we forget that the gifts, anointing, callings, talents, etc. give to us by God is not just for us. They were entrusted to us to use faithfully to build up the kingdom of God and to bring glory to his name. Because of these gifts we suffer. But the scriptures warn and encourage us that to whom much is given, much is also required (Luke 12:48). But we are all designed (by God) to win. The suffering is not to kill us, it is to build us. It is to strengthen and prepare us to use these gifts in excellence and to be effective.

There are times, however, when we forget the fight is fixed and we lose our way in the suffering (trials, trouble, sickness, etc.). There are times when we need a jump start to continue the race that is set before us.

Isn’t it wonderful to know we serve a savior who can revive, refresh and renew us? The word of God has regeneration power. The word itself is spirit and life (John 6:63). When we read, study, or meditate on the word of God, we are breathing in spirit and life. The word quickens and inspires us pick up and continue on in Jesus’ name.

Romans 8:18-19 reminds us that yes, we will suffer for the cause of Christ, but we must continue because the world is waiting on us (the children of God) to take our place. The world needs us to work these gifts, anointing, calling, talents, etc. so the body can be delivered, strengthened and set free.

We are the church of the most high God. It is time to stop looking and acting like the world. It time to be set apart and holy. It is time to work while it is day, for the night is coming and no man can work. Get up, accept the reviving, refreshing, and renewing from God. Work in the ministry that God has called you to, and be effective.

Do not wallow in self pity, allow your gift to make room, and fill up the space provided. Do not compare your self to another. If you do, you are doing yourself and God a disservice.

Be encouraged and know that God called you because he has a work for you to do. Let that knowledge be enough and get to work.

Have a blessed day.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

“15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

There is comfort in knowing that this present world is not all there is. It is reassuring knowing that everything we go through in this world is for a reason, that there is a purpose to the pain and suffering. This knowledge also helps us to better appreciate the good and happy times we have as well. We have a comfort in everything and at all times that the world can’t take away, nor the cares of life can diminish. That comfort is knowing that I am on God’s mind and that he is making preparations for me.

Comfort by definition is a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. The easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress. Console.

The comforter is a person or thing that provides consolation. The Holy Spirit.

This comfort allows me to keep my head up, no matter the situation or circumstance. This comfort even allows to to face hardship as a soldier. A soldier’s goal is to conquer, to gain ground or hold fast. Never to retreat. To retreat means that you acknowledge your defeat. God has made us to be victorious and always causes us to triumph.

But we all face times when we lose sight of who we are and to whom we belong. In those instances, the body of Christ needs to be there for one another to offer (remind) each other this same comfort. We need each other. Our father requires that the strong encourage (and even carry if necessary) the weak. There are times when the intensity of a situation is extremely high. But we still are able to stand because our brethren are there with comfort. Eventually you will regain your strength and will be able to offer comfort to someone else.

Be strong and have a blessed day.

Praise to the God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV

“3. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

4. who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

The scriptures say “it is better to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). This attitude of giving should be a hallmark of every believer. But I also ant to expand on that attitude of giving. God desires to give to his children, he wants to give us his spirit, his peace, his love, etc. So we, his children, must learn to receive from God with the same attitude of giving.

We receive from God so that we can give it out again to those who come across our path. We must be willing to share what we have. Most of the time this giving does not translate into dollars (although sometimes it does). It will always involve your time. We must take time to reach out to people. A simple smile goes a long way. Sharing the comfort of the word of God to those who are grieving or mourning. When words are not sufficient, a hug and your prayers will work wonders.

God gives to us with the expectation that we will keep it going by giving to others. We as believers do not have the privilege of being afraid to speak to people. God does not have coward soldiers. He does endow us with a spirit of boldness to do his will effectively. We must trust God enough to step out on faith to do his will.

Have a blessed day.

Proverbs 20:24 NIV

“A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?”

Psalms 37:23-24

“23. The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;

24. though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”

By definition, learning is the process of acquiring new or modifying knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences.

The person who refuses to learn also refuses to grow. Learning can take place anywhere, and you can learn from anyone, and in every situation. You just have to be willing to hear.

The same is true for scriptural learning. God can and will use any situation to open your understanding to a deeper level.

I found this to be true (again) on 2 separate occasions this week. The first instance I found myself giving into an old temptation. However, I thought about God and how far he has bought me. At that moment I understood that I truely wanted what God wants for me, and nothing less. I found myself repenting and refused to let the enemy keep me in guilt. This brought freedom and deliverance to me. The word of God is true, though I stumbled, I did not fall. Why? Because God held me hand. He used my weakness to help me learn what I truely valued. And that is walking in the manifestation of the calling on my life.

The second thing I learned was small things make a big impact. I was lead to do a small task before leaving the house on Tuesday. It may have taken me all of 3 minutes to complete. I put the items in my purse and went on with my day. On Wednesday, when I was at the gym working out, that small item was needed. I was able to use it while I was witnessing to someone. Then I understood, my steps are directed by the Lord. God drops a quick word in your spirit, and you find yourself taking actions that may seem unconnected at the time. However, God always has a purpose. I learned to obey God in the small things, and not to overlook or discount them as meaningless. If God told you to do a thing it is because you will need that thing at some point in the future. It is all for his glory.

My advice for today – follow God as he leads. Listen to that still small voice when he speaks. In the end you will find success and bring glory to God.

Have a blessed day.

“Mercy and grace are often confused.
While the terms have similar meanings, grace and mercy are not the same. To summarize the difference: mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve, and grace is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it. Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is extending kindness to the unworthy.”

-Caroline Austin

The bible says “with all that getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). Grace and mercy are foundational truths that every believer should know and be able to explain to others.

Don’t get hung up on your past and all the wrong you have done. Understand that God is willing and able to forgive you. No matter what you have done. You just need to repent with a sincere heart and turn away from that sinful behaviour. Receive God’s spirit and walk in the newness of life.

All made possible because God’ s grace and mercy.

Isaiah 1:17 NIV

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

As the bible warned us, we are in perilous times. Here in the U.S. we see tragedy after tragedy with gun violence. Violence of all kinds portrayed on television so that these awful things are common place to us. This is a sad state of affairs.

Many solutions have been put forth by many different groups. However, talking fails, but actions speaks volumes. The child of God must lead by example. We have to do right and seek justice for all. We must live the life of love – always.

Love does what is right, even when it is easier to do wrong. We have to defend the oppressed. We can’t allow acts of injustice to go unchallenged. But we must always walk and act in love.

More importantly, we must teach the next generation to show the love of Christ in everything they say and do. This is how we live through and lessen the occurrence of these terrible tragedies.

Stay prayerful and be blessed.

2 Timothy 3:14-15

“14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Sometimes as believers we can get distracted from what God has called us to do. When you are distracted it can be challenging to stay on the appropriate path. The temptation to take a more alluring direction is always present. What we must do is keep going in the things that we have learned from God (and from godly men and women), those things which have given us a solid foundation.

There will be times when you feel like you just don’t know what your next move is or should be. But I encourage you to trust the scriptures and follow them. Find your solace in them, let them be a lamp unto your feet and a light to you pathway. The scriptures will make you wise unto salvation (freedom from the things which bind you), through faith in Jesus. Study the scriptures, seek God, and you will find direction, your compass to show you the direction you need to go.

Continue in what you know is right. Do not allow anyone or anything push you in a direct that the scriptures have not illuminated for you. The scriptures also gives us a warning, “there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is destruction ,” Proverbs 14:12.

Understand that success can make you a prime target of the enemy. You find yourself mingling with a different sort of people. Some may not have gotten to where they are according to god’s will or law. These people tend to give advice and encourage you to make moves that are not God ordered. We must remember the same thing that helped get you to the successful level are the same thing that you must continue to do. This is where many fall. We have all seen it time and again.

But I encourage you. As you reach success in your gifting, talent, ministry, or chosen industry don’t forget God. Remember to continue in the things that you have learned, trust and stand on this foundation through faith in Jesus.

Have a blessed day.