John 16:23 says: “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
Notice the word whatsoever. Through it, we get a glimpse of the magnanimous character of the Heavenly Father. Whatsoever covers everything. It touches every base, fills up every bag, with no limits.
"Whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” In other words, God will give you what you ask for if you ask in Jesus' name. Why will God do that? Will He do it solely because we ask in Jesus' name? In John 16:27, Jesus tells us why: “for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”
I do not know if you really appreciate what Jesus is saying here. He said the reason God will give you what you ask is that He loves you. The Father loves you.
We know Jesus loves us. He told His disciples in John 15:13-14, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." He then laid His life down for them and for us. We know that is love because when you give your life for someone that is the ultimate demonstration of that love. When you give your life, you do not have anything else to give.
You need to recognize that the Father loves you, then begin to love yourself, and think about yourself like the Father thinks about you. One reason many people have a problem accepting that God loves them is that they do not love themselves. But if the Heavenly Father thinks you are worth loving, then you should think you are worth loving, as well.
Some people do not understand that concept. They think it is idolatry when you love yourself, but it is not. You have to love yourself. If you do not think it is worth it to love yourself, what makes you think it is worth it for God to love you? Have you ever thought of that? There must be something in you that is worth loving for the Heavenly Father to love you.
Also, if you do not love yourself, you do not have the capacity to love anyone else. If you do not love other people, you are effectively out of the will of God. Loving one another is a commandment of God, as Jesus points out in Mark 12:28-31: “Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He [Jesus] had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shalt love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater then these.”
If you do not love yourself, how are you going to love me? You have not even started in the game yet, and you have problems, if you do not love yourself. You have to get a vision of your own self-worth, in the face of Almighty God. You have to see yourself as someone important.
So many churches have taught us that we were nothing. The ministers in those churches thought they were keeping us humble, but they were downgrading us by telling us how no-good we were, that we were all just sinners saved by grace. But we must be worth something. If we were not worth something, God would not have paid the price that He did to save and redeem us.
You do not spend a million dollars on a piece of property that is no good, and God spent more than a million dollars on us. He spent the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us, so we must have some value. Therefore, you need to get a vision of your own self-worth in the sight of God -- not to think more highly than you ought to think, as Paul states in Romans 12:3, but to see yourself as God sees you, as an object of love.
Begin to love yourself as the Father loves you, not to worship or idolize yourself, but because you ought to love and appreciate yourself, just as your heavenly Father loves and appreciates you.
By
Dr. Frederick K.C Price
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Become God's Friend
Another step in developing friendship with God is: Choosing to be honest with Him! God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but He does expect you to be honest. If perfection was a requirement not one of us would qualify. In the Bible God’s friends were honest about their feelings, sometimes even complaining and arguing with Him, yet He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, He encouraged it. God listened patiently to David’s accusations of unfairness, betrayal and abandonment. He didn’t zap Jeremiah for claiming God had tricked him. Job was allowed to vent his bitterness and God actually defended him for being honest. On the other hand, He rebuked Job’s friend for faking it: “You haven’t been honest either with me or about me--not the way my friend Job has…My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer” (Job 42:7 TM). To be God’s friend you must share your true feelings with Him, not what you think you ought to feel or say. Until you understand that God uses everything for good in our lives, you’ll harbor resentment towards Him over your looks, your nationality, your economic background, your unanswered prayers, your past hurts, and the things you’d change if you were God. Actually, revealing your feelings and releasing your resentments to Him are the first steps to becoming spiritually whole. Isn’t it encouraging to know that God’s closest friends felt just like we do, but instead of masking their feelings in pious clichés they voiced them openly. Why? Because expressing them leads to healing and a deeper level of intimacy with Him.
From
Newlifeoakwood.org
From
Newlifeoakwood.org
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Eyes of True Love
I looked in the mirror yesterday, and focused on what needed fixing. I did admire my disarming smile. But far more time was spent bemoaning my dreary, droopy eyes caused by another hard day’s work. Can you relate?
Funny how God sees something totally different when He gazes at me. I am not quite sure we realize just how crazy God is about us. In Isaiah 49:16, He says “I have inscribed you in the palms of my hands.” Only someone who is madly in love with you would take the trouble to tattoo your name in the palm of his hands!
If that was not enough, Psalm 17: 8 says, “Keep me as the apple of Your eye…” No doubt you’ve heard that scripture before. It sounds quite comforting. But what does it really mean to be “the apple of God’s eye?" Check it out in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. The original Hebrew translation for the word "apple" is not a fruit. It’s “pupil” or “the middle.” It’s also translated, “little man.”
When you look into the pupil of someone’s eyes, what do you see? A small reflection of yourself! Look closely next time. A little you looks back at you.
When God looks at us, He sees a small reflection of Himself! We are a reflection of God. How awesome is that? Just imagine how this one revelation could transform a destructive person’s worthless self-image. Depression, fear, self-defeat would all vanish if we saw ourselves as God does--through the eyes of His pure love.
The pupil is the center of the eye. Since we are the apple (pupil) of God’s eye, it’s reasonable to conclude we are the center of His attention. His daily focus is on us. Psalm 34:15 says “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” This love affair baffled another writer who asked, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:4-5)
Our Heavenly Father looks at us and sees His undying love for mere mortals. His adoring gaze reminds Him of Jesus’ great victory at Calvary. That act re-united a father with his children who were lost and destitute. He calls us His “Beloved.” That means we are dearly loved. Now the question is what are we calling ourselves?
Take another look in the mirror; not the one in your bathroom. Take a look in the mirror of the Word of God. When you do, you are actually looking into God’s eyes. And when we look into God’s eyes (the Word, the Light), we see a small reflection of ourselves.
That’s one reason why it’s so critical to consistently read and study the Bible. It obliterates darkness and confusion. It reveals who we really are. It describes our worth and value to God, and our responsibility to Him. We learn to see ourselves as God sees us. It’s all written out in His “will and testament.”
There is no need for Christians to walk around defeated. Go back to the mirror and gaze in the Father’s eyes. Be reminded of who you are and “whose” you are. And also remember, “For he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” (Zechariah 2:8), and there will be hell to pay!
You can’t help but love such a God more dearly.
By
Sharon Frame
Funny how God sees something totally different when He gazes at me. I am not quite sure we realize just how crazy God is about us. In Isaiah 49:16, He says “I have inscribed you in the palms of my hands.” Only someone who is madly in love with you would take the trouble to tattoo your name in the palm of his hands!
If that was not enough, Psalm 17: 8 says, “Keep me as the apple of Your eye…” No doubt you’ve heard that scripture before. It sounds quite comforting. But what does it really mean to be “the apple of God’s eye?" Check it out in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. The original Hebrew translation for the word "apple" is not a fruit. It’s “pupil” or “the middle.” It’s also translated, “little man.”
When you look into the pupil of someone’s eyes, what do you see? A small reflection of yourself! Look closely next time. A little you looks back at you.
When God looks at us, He sees a small reflection of Himself! We are a reflection of God. How awesome is that? Just imagine how this one revelation could transform a destructive person’s worthless self-image. Depression, fear, self-defeat would all vanish if we saw ourselves as God does--through the eyes of His pure love.
The pupil is the center of the eye. Since we are the apple (pupil) of God’s eye, it’s reasonable to conclude we are the center of His attention. His daily focus is on us. Psalm 34:15 says “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” This love affair baffled another writer who asked, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:4-5)
Our Heavenly Father looks at us and sees His undying love for mere mortals. His adoring gaze reminds Him of Jesus’ great victory at Calvary. That act re-united a father with his children who were lost and destitute. He calls us His “Beloved.” That means we are dearly loved. Now the question is what are we calling ourselves?
Take another look in the mirror; not the one in your bathroom. Take a look in the mirror of the Word of God. When you do, you are actually looking into God’s eyes. And when we look into God’s eyes (the Word, the Light), we see a small reflection of ourselves.
That’s one reason why it’s so critical to consistently read and study the Bible. It obliterates darkness and confusion. It reveals who we really are. It describes our worth and value to God, and our responsibility to Him. We learn to see ourselves as God sees us. It’s all written out in His “will and testament.”
There is no need for Christians to walk around defeated. Go back to the mirror and gaze in the Father’s eyes. Be reminded of who you are and “whose” you are. And also remember, “For he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” (Zechariah 2:8), and there will be hell to pay!
You can’t help but love such a God more dearly.
By
Sharon Frame
Monday, February 7, 2011
Starve Your Doubts
It was unbelief not giants that kept the Israelites from entering into their promise land. God never intended for the children of Israel to quit or settle. Their wavering faith caused an entire generation to die in the wilderness when God had promised to take them safely through.
A doubting mentality will always cause you to give up, surrender, and forsake the dreams and visions that God has birthed in your heart. How you comprehend and view your situation in the midst of challenges will determine your destiny. On two separate occasions the Bible declares that the children of Israel were willing to resign themselves to a life of slavery because they doubted God’s Word.
Our story begins when the Israelites were about to cross over the Red Sea. Reluctantly Pharaoh had agreed to let God’s people go. When the Israelites saw their enemy approaching, they reacted in fear. Satan’s goal is to cause you to doubt the power of God.
“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.”
Yes they were trapped; their backs were against the wall, the enemy was coming against them, and what they were seeing in the natural caused them to get amnesia in the spirit. Why is it when the storms, crisis and disappointments of life come, we forget what God’s already done to deliver us?
When God commanded Moses to send twelve spies into Canaan, it was a doubter’s mentality that caused the Israelites to renounce the promises of God a second time.
“But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’” (Num 13:31 NKJ)
Once the Israelites saw the giants, they became discouraged. Satan will use discouragement to cause you to doubt the plan God has for your life. The enemy uses doubt and discouragement to “neutralize” and stop your actions. Discouragement is a tool the devil uses to “cut short” your vision. The devil wants to keep you from moving forward. When Satan desires to paralyze you, he uses doubt to cause you to “conform” to your present situation.
Did you know that how you view yourself in relation to your problems could change your whole future?
Remember that faith is confidence in the integrity of God. Today, I challenge you to feed your faith and starve your doubts.
By
Dr. Sherry Gaither
A doubting mentality will always cause you to give up, surrender, and forsake the dreams and visions that God has birthed in your heart. How you comprehend and view your situation in the midst of challenges will determine your destiny. On two separate occasions the Bible declares that the children of Israel were willing to resign themselves to a life of slavery because they doubted God’s Word.
Our story begins when the Israelites were about to cross over the Red Sea. Reluctantly Pharaoh had agreed to let God’s people go. When the Israelites saw their enemy approaching, they reacted in fear. Satan’s goal is to cause you to doubt the power of God.
“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.”
Yes they were trapped; their backs were against the wall, the enemy was coming against them, and what they were seeing in the natural caused them to get amnesia in the spirit. Why is it when the storms, crisis and disappointments of life come, we forget what God’s already done to deliver us?
When God commanded Moses to send twelve spies into Canaan, it was a doubter’s mentality that caused the Israelites to renounce the promises of God a second time.
“But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’” (Num 13:31 NKJ)
Once the Israelites saw the giants, they became discouraged. Satan will use discouragement to cause you to doubt the plan God has for your life. The enemy uses doubt and discouragement to “neutralize” and stop your actions. Discouragement is a tool the devil uses to “cut short” your vision. The devil wants to keep you from moving forward. When Satan desires to paralyze you, he uses doubt to cause you to “conform” to your present situation.
Did you know that how you view yourself in relation to your problems could change your whole future?
Remember that faith is confidence in the integrity of God. Today, I challenge you to feed your faith and starve your doubts.
By
Dr. Sherry Gaither
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