As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?

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David wrote this Psalm when he was in exile from Jerusalem. He longed to go back there and worship daily in the Temple because that was where God resided. It would be many years before Jesus would come to earth as a man, die on the cross, rise from the grave, and ascend to Heaven so the Holy Spirit could come back to earth to live in the heart of every person who accepts Him as Savior.

David had to physically go to the Temple worship services, and be a part of the chorus of praise that rose up to his Heavenly Father during one of the sacrifice times before he felt he had truly worshiped God.

A hart is an animal (like our deer today) that is fond of feeding near the water. When hunted he will go into the water and stay submerged as long as possible, then get in the middle of the river and swim downstream, not touching any tree branches on either side so dogs won’t be able to follow his scent. In a chase he becomes faint, and longs for  water intensely.

The word “panteth” as David uses it here means not just a quiet longing and inward desire, but audible panting produced by an agony of thirst – the intense desire and overwhelming sense of want.

This exact word occurs only twice in the Bible,  here and in Joel 1:20.  It  properly means to rise, and then, to look up toward anything; to long for. It refers here to the intense desire of the hind (female deer), in the heat of day, for water; or, in Joel, to the desire of the cattle for water in a time of drought.

There was an intense thirst that needed to be quenched, and nothing would help until water was found.

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How much do you thirst to truly know God? Does that thirst consume your very being?  Are you satisfied just being the way you are right now, whatever that is?

God has a plan for every Christian life, but many times He doesn’t reveal that plan until He sees how thirsty you will become to find out what it is.

In these last days, He wants to use His People to do an awesome work. Will you be willing to get rid of all the unnecessary baggage that has been holding you back and completely surrender your life to Him? It probably won’t be easy, but in the long run it will be well worth it. There is nothing greater than living a life of peace and harmony with God.

Now that is truly living!!!

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We use the excuse that we don’t have a degree in theology or Bible, or the Pastor is the one who is supposed to make sure we know these things. There is no possible way he can do that in a couple of hours a week. You must read and study the Word for yourself – then if you have any questions you should ask your pastor or another mature Christian to explain what you don’t understand.

If you don’t really know the truth, it will be easy for Satan to make you believe a lie. Usually he will give you just enough truth to make you think that everything he says is the truth.

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If we sometimes looked a little more to the connection of sentences, we should be kept from very dangerous errors. The Bible ought to be treated in conformity with common sense, as you would use any other book. If you took the writings of any author, however carefully he might express himself, if you picked out a sentence here and a sentence there, [you] might make the man to say what he never believed; nay, even make him to be the supporter of opinions which he abhors. So it is with the Bible: if you pay no regard to the connection and general run of the passage, you miss the mind of the Spirit of God, and rather thrust your own mind into God’s words than bring out God’s mind from the words of the Holy Ghost.

From a sermon entitled “Working Out What Is Worked In,” delivered July 12, 1868.

The Daily Spurgeon

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No matter what version of the Bible you read, you will never truly be able to understand it without the Holy Spirit opening your mind, comprehension, and ears to hear the real truth – not just the truth as you have always perceived it to be.

If you don’t read the Bible with the determination that you want to know the truth, your mind will filter the parts that make you uncomfortable, telling you that the changes you need to make are far beyond your grasp or helping you justify why you don’t need to change.

*  If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, make it a point to read the Bible for a few minutes each morning. You can start out with 5 or 10 minutes, asking the Holy Spirit to show you truths that you have never seen before. It won’t take long for you to look at the Bible differently. It will change your life to the point that you will never want to go back to where you were before.

Don’t let Satan make you believe the lie that the Bible is boring or just an old fashioned irrelevant book that is out of date for today’s times. Its Words are life, health, and well-being for the one who reads it and applies its words to their life.

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The schoolmaster, not fluent in English, asked the local priest if he knew
the meaning of WC. Together they pondered possible meanings of the letters
and concluded that the lady wanted to know if there was a Wayside Chapel
near the house…a bathroom never entered their minds. So the schoolmaster
wrote the following reply:

Dear Madam,

I take great pleasure in informing you that the WC is located 9 miles from
the house. It is located in the middle of a grove of pine trees, surrounded
by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding 229 people and is open on
Sundays and Thursdays. As there are many people expected in the summer
months, I suggest you arrive early. There is, however, plenty of standing
room. This is an unfortunate situation, especially if you are in the habit
of going regularly.

It may be of some interest to you that my daughter was married in the WC as
it was there that she met her husband. It was a wonderful event. There were
10 people in every seat. It was wonderful to see the expressions on their
faces. My wife, sadly, has been ill and unable to go recently. It has been
almost a year since she went last, which pains her greatly.

You will be pleased to know that many people bring their lunch and make a
day of it. Others prefer to wait till the last minute and arrive just in
time! I would recommend your ladyship plan to go on a Thursday as there is
organ accompaniment. The acoustics are excellent and even the most delicate
sounds can be heard everywhere. The newest addition is a bell, which rings
every time a person enters.  We are holding a bazaar to provide plush seats
for all since many feel it is long needed.

I look forward to escorting you there myself and seating you in a place
where you can be seen by all.

Sincerely,
Schoolmaster

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After Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, we were separated from God and had no way to reach Him on a personal level until Jesus died on the cross. He bridged that great gap and made it possible for us to have a personal relationship with the Living God once more.

The photo above gives a wonderful word picture of what Jesus did. He reached down and grabbed mankind with one hand and reached up to grab the Hand of God with the other. He became our intercessor and bridge to God when there was no other way to reach Him.

We can now come to our Heavenly Father without being afraid or ashamed, because Jesus is always interceding on our behalf and always has our best interest at heart. It is truly an amazing love that He had for mankind to endure the torture and suffering of the cross.

Don’t throw away what Jesus did for you on the cross. Run to Him, tell Him all your problems, and let Him intercede to the Father on your behalf. If you have asked Jesus to come into your heart, the Spirit of the Living God (Holy Spirit) lives inside you and is patiently waiting for you to ask Him to give you guidance in everyday situations.

Learn to hear Him when He speaks to you and be obedient. You will find that you never want to do things your own way again. There is so much peace and comfort in knowing that God only wants to give you His Very Best. That will be something different for each person, but it will always be exactly what you need at just the right time.

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**********

23 Elements of the Lord’s Prayer

1. Relationship: Our Father

2. Recognition: which art in heaven

3. Adoration: hallowed be thy name

4. Anticipation: Thy kingdom come

5. Consecration: Thy will be done

6. Universality: in earth

7. Conformity: as it is in heaven

8. Supplication: Give us

9. Definiteness: this day

10. Necessity: our daily bread

11. Penitence: And forgive us

12. Obligation: our debts

13. Forgiveness: as we forgive

14. Love and mercy: our debtors

15. Guidance: And lead us

16. Protection: not into temptation

17. Salvation: but deliver us

18. Righteousness: from evil

19. Faith: For thine is the kingdom

20. Humility: and the power

21. Reverence: and the glory

22. Timelessness: for ever

23. Affirmation: Amen

NOTE:

The first 3 petitions of the prayer make 7 points concerning God

The last 4 petitions make 16 points concerning man

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Over the years I have had some great pastors, and some that all they seemed to do was manipulate and control circumstances and people like they were puppets without any mind of their own.

There have been numerous times when I wanted to leave and go to another church that I felt might be better. After all, who wants to stay in a church where there are numerous problems and you have a lot of people acting in the flesh trying to accomplish their own agendas?

This was several years ago, but at one point the only thing that did keep me from leaving was God spoke to me and said these words: “You are not to leave, but you are to stay and pray and fast for this church.”

I can truly say that these were words I didn’t want to hear. I was not in a church where error was being taught outright, but there sure was a lot of stuff going on that had nothing to do with God. I really don’t think He was included very much at all in plans that were made even though it was said they were done in His Name. Anyway, things were a real mess and I wanted no part of it.

I couldn’t understand why God would want me to stay in a situation like this, but I had no choice if I wanted to be obedient to Him, so I reluctantly told God that I would stay.

It would have been much easier (at least I thought at the time)  to have left and gone to a church that had it all together and where I could just sit back and receive the wonderful word from the pastor, without me ever having to dive into the Word deeply for myself. That is what I thought I wanted, but God knew so much better. I really was seeking His Will for my life, but I didn’t want that Will to take me out of my comfort zone.

Because of the situation I was placed in, I had to dig into the Word for myself and find out what it said. God was working in my life and placing in me a desire to truly know Him. What I thought was such a terrible time turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. When I started to study the Bible, God met me right where I was and started to show me things I had never seen before. I started to get excited about God and everyday He showed me more and more.

It was still hard to go to church because of all the mess, but I knew that I was doing the will of God. If I had gone my own way and left the church, I would have missed so much from God. In fact, I would have been out of the Will of God since He had told me to stay.

You might be reading this and find yourself in the same situation I was in or something similar. Maybe you can’t see that things will ever get better and you just want to leave and go to another church.

I encourage you to not make a decision based on the way you feel, but to ask the Holy Spirit to show you the heart of God on the matter. Don’t ever make such a crucial decision without consulting God, because you will end up making a decision based on feelings alone.

Looking back through history, there are many people that God used greatly even though they had to minister in terrible circumstances. If they had looked at things around them and made a decision based on that, their name would not be known today as someone who was sold out to God enough to let Him use them in such a mighty way. After all, they certainly couldn’t see the BIG PICTURE of what would happen in the years ahead. In some areas of the world, God was able to use just ONE PERSON who was completely sold out to Him to impact that whole area, and sometimes that impact was felt worldwide.

I’m sure if you could go back in time and talk to some of those mighty warriors for the Kingdom of God, they would tell you that sometimes things got so tough they wanted to give up and take an easier way out. They couldn’t, though, if they wanted to be stay the Will of God.

Sometimes God just wants you to stay where you are and pray until things start to change. You might be one of the few people who sees the truth about the situation, and God might be planning to do an “impossible” work that you wouldn’t have thought of in a million years.

Instead of complaining the next time you feel you have been placed in such a position, feel honored that God sees something in you that would make Him want to use you to carry forth His Work. You never know how God can use just ONE PERSON who will be completely surrendered to Him.

Right now make the decision that YOU will be that person who is fully surrendered and waiting to walk in total obedience to His Word – even if it doesn’t always make perfect sense to you.

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Why can’t we as Christians understand that everything we do matters to someone? Our Christian testimony goes with us in whatever we choose to do.

Somebody is always watching how you act and what you do when you face everyday situations and even major ones that you have no control over. First thing each morning, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in every step you make.

You may never know the positive effect you can have on people for eternity if you will remember that you affect others around you much more than you realize.

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What does it really mean to surrender every dream and every single part of your whole life to God?

For much of my life, I thought this kind of surrender meant that God would tell me to do something I didn’t want to do; then I would be stuck in a miserable existence, forcing myself to be obedient to Him day after day but wishing I had chosen another path.

My perception of God was so wrong. How could I have ever believed that my loving Father who created me would ever want anything less than His best for my life? My only answer is that I felt I was smart enough to do things on my own. It’s funny how we always try to make ourselves believe that we are in complete control of all situations when, in actuality, there are very few things we have any control over at all.

It is a scary thing to make the decision to turn your life over completely to God if you don’t already know something about His Character. His dreams for you are much better than any you have ever had, but you will never understand Him with head knowledge only. You must read the Bible and let its words soak into your heart to change your way of thinking.

If you have come to the conclusion that you don’t have everything under control and can’t make things right no matter how hard you try, give up your own way of doing things and give God the steering wheel. He will meet you exactly where you are at this moment and start to direct your ways.

Once you start to see His Character, you will find that you can fully surrender every area of your life to Him and know that He is leading you in the right direction.

Total surrender is just being obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit (God living inside the Christian.) You don’t need to have all the answers when God already knows them.

John 16: 13-14

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall  he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

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Many times we go to church expecting to be entertained instead of going with an expectation of God doing something in our life like convicting us of sin or reminding us of things that need to change.

The motto of the world today is “What is in it for me?” or “What can you do for me?”

God wants you to prepare your heart for worship before you ever enter the doors of the church. If the songs are biblically sound, don’t think so much about the style as what the words say. When you start to truly worship Him, the style of music will fade into the background where it should be anyway.

Don’t let Satan trick you into falling for the lie that you can’t worship God unless you are singing a certain style of music. God can get through to your heart with any style as long as there is TRUTH in the words.

Make the choice that you will prepare your heart to truly worship God the next time you go to church, and don’t allow yourself to concentrate on any other thing.

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God is truly with you no matter what is going on in your life. He loves you like no other person on earth ever could, and only wants to give you His Very Best. If you are hurting right now, run to Him and let Him give you comfort. He wants to be there for you in the worst of times and also in the best of times.

It is the natural response to run away from God or blame Him when things start to fall apart. If you have done this, fall on your knees, repent, and get back into a right relationship with Him. Let Him steer the boat through the rough waters until you get to the other side of the storm. It is an awesome feeling to know that you will never be alone if you give God control.

He Is With You – Mandisa

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