Who Are You To Tell Me?

Oh Heavenly Father I come to You today to thank You Lord.  Father we worship You Lord, we honor You Lord. We give You all the praise Father that You so highly deserve.  Father, without You in our lives, guiding us and keeping us Lord, we would not be where we are today Lord, so thank You Father.

I pray for all the church doors that are open today God, I pray that they continue to sing You praises Lord. I pray for the pastors that are preaching Your word Lord, I pray that those words Father will touch someone today Lord, so they may give them self to You Lord. I pray that their eyes will be open to see how Awesome You are Lord.  How magnificent You are Lord. How worthy You are of our praises Lord.

I pray for our family and friends Lord that whatever they are going through, that they will turn to You Lord.  Because, Father we know that You are the only one that is able to get them through it Father.  Make not our will, but Yours.  And if there is anything that we have done Father, that was displeasing to You, we pray that you forgive us for it.  All these things I ask in Your Son Jesus name.  Amen.

                                                                                                                 Prayer by: Judith Notice

One of the challenges I have and have to accept is trying to witness to family members such as cousins, aunts, uncles, etc, and old friends.  They remember how I was.  They remember how I ran the streets.  They can recall the stories that were told, that makes for a movie.  They remember the bad.  To see me now on fire for the Lord, and have no desire to relive things of old is just too much for them.  They can’t see how I was able to quit cold turkey.  When I try to share how good the Lord is, and how much He desires to see them saved, I get the cold shoulder.  They are not trying to hear anything I have to say.  Bottom line, it is difficult to preach or teach to someone who is familiar with you.  Due to the commonality for some, it is hard to see pass it.  It reminded me of the story in Matthew which reads: “And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  "And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?"

So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."   Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”  (Matt 13:54-58)

Because they knew Jesus before his transformation, because they were familiar with his family, they were unable to see pass what they knew and dive into the supernatural.  Jesus was unable to do mighty works there.  It existed back then, and it exists now.  There are many men and women in our lives that God has touched to where they are a new creature.  They are now connected with a source that has an abundance of whatever we need.  They are connected with a source that can bestow change.  However, because we knew him when he was an adulterer, because we knew her when she used to steal, because we knew him when he used to run the streets, because we knew her when she was promiscuous, because we knew him when he was an alcoholic, we will reject what they tell us that can be helpful to the situation we may be going through.  We say out loud or to ourselves, “who are you to tell me…..?

The bible states that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Cor 2:9)  These are spiritual things.  These are things that reside in the spirit realm.  We are faced with challenges and circumstance that were brought on by things attributed to “wicked spirits in high places” (Eph 6:13).  But because we are unable to see pass the commonality, because we are unable to concede that the person who we considered lower than us, God has exalted, because he or she sleeps in the same house with us, we reject them, not realizing that God had sent them specifically to deal with that specific issue we called on the Lord for.  We do not realize the spirit we are entertaining when we do this.  We are attempting to tell God who to send our way.  God can raise stones for His purpose (Matt 3:9), God can use an ass to warn us from foolishness (Num 22-21-31).  What makes you think He is incapable of changing the adulterer, thief, thug, whore, or alcoholic to do His purpose?  Which task has ever been too great for the Lord?  You will tell them, that God is doing wonderful things in their lives.  You will even further say, that God has given them a word, but as soon as they use what God gave them to address the mess you are in, you huff and puff, and then reject.  Hypocrites!!!  Do you not know what spirit you are entertaining?

There is no limit to God’s awesome and transforming power.  God has placed many people in our lives for our own good.  He also sends the common ones to remind us when we are straying from the path.  Do not let their commonality prevent you from overcoming.  Do not let the familiarity prohibit you from receiving deliverance.  Do not let your pride cause you to reject the very help you prayed for.  Amen.