Jim George's Blog, page 14

Ten Ways to Improve Your Prayer Life

David’s prayer life was oh, so powerful. In the wake of being betrayed by his son and a close friend, along with being ousted from his home and kingdom, David the prayer warrior testified, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud” (Psalm 55:17).

You see, David had developed the habit of prayer. Then when trouble arrived, David simply turned up the steam on his prayer-habit. All he had to do in order to do battle through prayer was kick up the heat a notch! He didn’t have to begin praying, or learn to pray, or determine that he needed to pray, or would pray, or should pray. No, he simply increased the intensity, frequency, and the fervor of his prayers.

The habit of prayer is vital! These ten suggestions will encourage you and help you develop a more consistent prayer life.

1. Use a prayer list or notebook.

2. Schedule a prayer time each day–maybe, like David, several times a day!

3. Spend time praying with others.

4. Pray using Scripture.

5. Borrow from the prayers of others.

6. Open and close each day with a time of prayer.

7. Gain inspiration from the biographies of others who prayed.

8. Study and reflect on the prayers of the Bible.

9. Follow through with your resolve: No decision made without prayer.

10. Feed your heart and mind with God’s Word.

Dear friend, like David, may you be able to declare to God, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up” (Psalm 5:3).

You Are Exceptional!

You are exceptional. Think about it! Christ lives in you. That should–and does!–make a huge difference in your life. That sets you light years above this world! You are markedly unique! When you came to Christ–became a believer in Him–you were transformed and changed on the inside which others see as it shows on the outside.

Now consider this: “Why would any person with a pure, holy God living inside their heart and soul want to fashion or mold themselves after the ‘world’?” This makes me think about bread dough. I’m sure you know the process for bread making. First you mix up a batch of dough. Then you mold it into any shape you desire. You get to decide! You can shape your dough into little clover-leaf dinner rolls or breadsticks or a loaf.

When it comes to people, to you and me, we’re not to let the world knead and form us like bread dough, pressing and working us into its mold. Amazingly, you and I have everything we need to be remarkable. With God’s help, you can avoid conforming to this world and follow your Lord with all your heart. To do this you need to remember that God, in His divine power, has already given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Rejoice! You already possess all the makings for exceptional living!

Understanding God’s Will

God’s will is a vital element in following God. Therefore, we need to gain a better understanding of God’s will.

God’s will begins with renewing your mind— When your mind is transformed, your thinking, reasoning, and spiritual understanding help conform you to the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God’s will gives meaning to your life–Life makes little or no sense without understanding that God has a plan and purpose for your life.

God’s will is unique to you–You are extremely special to God. He created you. He chose you. He loves you. And He has prepared a special purpose for you.

God’s will requires patience-God’s will isn’t hidden, but it may take time to become fully evident.

God’s will requires obedience-Discovering and fulfilling God’s ongoing will begins with accepting and obediently following His revealed purpose for your life.

Just for today, follow Him with all your heart,
as best you can, right where you are,
faithfully doing what He’s asking you to do
this minute, this hour, this day.

God Is With Us

Since God is with us whether we acknowledge Him or not, why not start actively practicing the presence of God? You can expect a huge difference in your life and in your faith when you remember to:

Acknowledge God’s presence in your life. With every activity, acknowledge God’s presence verbally or in silent prayer. When you get up in the morning, thank God for your life and for another day to walk with Him through whatever comes your way—surprises, catastrophes, and the never-ending dailies that sometime seem to drag on and not make much difference. Count on His presence. The harder your tasks or more terrifying your challenges, factor in your heavenly Father’s omnipresence. He’s right there with you, ready and able to comfort, encourage, strengthen and supply you with His divine wisdom, grace, and power–with everything you need.

Acknowledge God’s presence to others. Honor God and give Him glory by making His presence known to others. Your awareness of Him and dependency on Him is not something to be ashamed of or kept hidden. If you knew a celebrity or a great personality, you’d be proud of your friendship and want everyone to know. Well, who is greater than God? And He’s right there with you always! As you talk about Him to others, you’re announcing that you have a personal relationship with God and saying they can too. As the psalmist exclaimed, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psalm 107:2).

Thank God for His presence and together forge ahead in victory!

From Jim’s Heart—364 Days Ahead of You

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s “In the Word Wednesday” from Genesis that I posted on Facebook. Next week we will look at Exodus! But for now, just imagine, 364 new days left in 2014 for doing all sorts of things. I’ve heard it said that 15 minutes a day devoted to any one subject will make you an expert in 5 years. Well, consider this as Year One. What would you like to know, be, and do starting this year? If you want to be successful in God’s eyes, then spend this year reading your Bible. Here’s how it works:

“Do not let this Book of the Law [the Bible] depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8-9).

Notice the three keys to enjoying God’s promise of success for your new year:

Key #1 - Believe in the Bible’s authority: ”This Book of the Law.”

Key #2 – Study the Bible diligently: ”Meditate on it day and night.”

Key #3 – Obey the Bible always: ”…so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.”

God promises that when you follow His precepts, He will lead you into a successful life. This does not necessarily refer to financial success, but success where it really matters–success in the spiritual realm. God will bless you with success in your relationships with your family, friends, employer, and the countless others your life touches.

From Jim’s Heart–Take the Challenge

At first impression, the Bible looks and feels like any other book. Yet it claims that God Himself inspired and directed its 40-plus different authors over a span of hundreds of years to produce a singular message of salvation for mankind. And despite the fact it is 2000 years old and it has faced countless attempts to destroy it, the Bible is the most popular book that has ever been printed.

These facts should give you pause for reflection. If the Bible is what it claims to be–a message from God about your eternal destiny–wouldn’t it be worth your time and effort to take this next year to look daily at its message? You will never know how significant the Bible is until you open it and read its contents for yourself. Take on the challenge of reading your Bible daily in 2014. It will be THE most profitable thing you do each day. Keep these suggestions in mind as you approach the Bible:

Realize the Bible’s usefulness (2 Peter 1:3).

Read with a mind open to the truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Respond to the Bible’s message (John 3:16).

Resolve to live out the truths in the Bible (1 Samuel 12:24).

Reap the blessings of knowing and obeying God’s Word (Psalm 1:1-3).

To help you get started, I’m launching “In the Word Wednesday,” starting tomorrow, January 1, on our Facebook page. Each Wednesday, I will share a brief synopsis of one book of the Bible to help you become more acquainted with its themes and what it has to teach you today.

Also, don’t forget to visit my website (JimGeorge.com) to download a free “One-Year Daily Bible Reading Plan” and other helpful Bible study resources. (You’ll find them under the “Free Resources” tab.)

For a blessed New Year, commit to reading your Bible every day. “Blessed is the man” whose “delight is in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 1:1-2).

God’s Brand of Success

As you head into another year, think about your assignments from God—your role in your family, your work, your church and community. Are you approaching your tasks with God’s leading or are you going it alone? Look to God’s Word, find out what He says you’re to do, and then do what God says—do it His way. Would you like to have success in 2014? Then every day try to:

-Reexamine your life according to the three components to God’s brand of success: your heart for God’s Word, your heart for thinking on God’s Word, and your heart for obeying God’s Word.
-Relinquish how you may have defined success in the past and allow God to redesign your values.
-Reflect on your level of obedience. Have you been as careful as you should be in doing what the Bible says?
-Realign your practices and values to demonstrate the perspective and level of obedience God desires.
-Realize the impact of your obedience. What is God asking you to do? Obeying makes a huge difference, beyond what you can think of or dream of.

If your assignments are anything like mine and most of the people I know, they look daunting. But we have God. We must listen to Him and adhere to everything God tells us. We must believe in His plan for us, lock in on it, move forward, see it through, and finish.
Then we will know God’s brand of success.

From Jim’s Heart—Jesus: The Promised One

When the fullness of the time had come,
God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5

From the beginning of biblical history, God had promised a Savior for fallen man (Genesis 3:15). Abraham’s descendants were the race through which this Savior was to come. For centuries, devout Jews all over the inhabited world regularly searched the Old Testament prophecies in the hopes of understanding when and where this Savior, their Messiah, would appear.

In the “fullness of time”—God’s time—a star appeared in the sky. Wise men from the East, in Persia, recognized this bright star as the fulfillment of a prophecy: “A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17). They then began the long journey to find this King whose arrival had been predicted long ago.

The appearance of this star and the birth of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, were the culmination of thousands of years of anticipation. Jesus’ coming to earth as the Savior was the fulfillment of the covenant promises that were made to Israel that shape the structure of the Old Testament. From this point onward, the rest of history would revolve around the brief years that Jesus Christ lived among us.

It is impossible to treat Jesus as merely another man! He is unique. He is the Promised One who, through His birth, death, and resurrection, brings us into a relationship with God when we believe in Him. This, my friend, is the true meaning of Christmas!

Jesus, Your Precious Savior

“My spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.”
Luke 1:47

In the richness of Mary’s spoken “Magnificat” in Luke 1:45-55, notice she began where every testimony begins—in praise to God for salvation. Mary’s baby Jesus was the long-awaited Savior. He would take away the sins of the world—including Mary’s. Her song begins, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” Mary freely acknowledged she needed a Savior. She recognized salvation was through the divine grace of God revealed in His Son, her Messiah.

Are you wondering if you need a Savior? Consider what Jesus Christ, the Savior God sent, offers you. He…

Substitutes His sinless life for your sinful one (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Assures you of eternal life (John 10:28-29).

Vanquishes Satan’s hold on your life (2 Timothy 2:26).

Initiates you into the family of God (Galatians 4:4-6).

Overthrows the power of sin (Romans 6:1-10).

Reconciles you to a holy God (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Do you enjoy in Jesus Christ all the word “Savior” represents—the forgiveness of sin, the assurance of heaven, freedom from Satan’s power, fellowship with fellow believers, and a personal relationship with God? If not, accept Jesus’ offer right now! Pray,

Jesus, please forgive my sins.
Come into my heart today and forever.

Whether you have belonged to the Savior for a minute or for years, sing and shout, “Hallelujah! What a Savior!”

Finding Favor with God

This time of the year we can’t help but marvel again at the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was a very special young woman who, through her faith and humility, found favor with God.

Faith and favor with God have nothing to do with externals. But they have everything to do with how we respond to the externals. We don’t know for certain the details of how Mary’s faith was formed, but we do see how her faith in God performed… and found favor with God.

Mary exhibits the kind of faith you and I, as women after God’s own heart, must nurture in ourselves. She shows us how God can use any woman, regardless of age and status, if that woman will love Him, obey Him, and trust in Him.

Many women wrongly think that they’re not anyone special, that they are deficient in areas that the world deems essential, that they need more education, better clothes, a better resume, a better pedigree—the list goes on. But, my dear friend, as Mary’s humble life teaches us, if you love God—if you seek after Him with all your heart and if you obey Him because you love Him—you, like Mary, will enjoy His favor.

Do you want to do extraordinary things for God? Then start by simply loving and obeying Him. Mary’s love for God qualified her to be used by God. She was poor, young, and unknown, but she exhibited a faith that was pleasing in God’s sight, a faith that found favor with God.