AMEN!! Thank you so much, Father God Almighty, LORD Jesus Christ!

Amen! Praise the LORD! Glory to God! Thank You Jesus! 🙌

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. 

Oh, how I wish our spiritual eyes were open to see the King of glory, the King of the universe standing in our midst. How could we be sitting so casually? We’d fall on our face and worship Him. How often we engage in conversations like, “What a boring sermon! What dull worship! There is no life in this church..” 

If the Lord were to speak to us. He would say, “I thought you came to meet Me…I thought you came to give me your praise and worship…I thought you came to intercede…I thought you came to listen to Me…”

Forget the music, forget who is there beside you or who delivers the word. Just remember the Lord is in our midst.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them,

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I am awake, I am still with you. Psalm 139:17-18

God's thoughts toward us even outnumber the grains of sand on the seashore! What imagery. The Father, who created you and who numbered all your days, is thinking about you all the time. He never stops thinking about you...And they are not thoughts of condemnation and judgement, but thoughts of absolute love and adoration.

In our limited understanding, this is just too good to be true...but it is true.

God is thinking about you right now!

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28

Why was Mary chosen to bear the anointed One? What I observe about Mary was, she was obedient, courageous, full of faith and morally pure. Obeying God mattered to her more than even her reputation.

Consider her response to God’s call. “Let it be to me according to your word. “ Let that be our response when God calls us to an assignment.

— Haruki Murakami: The wind-Up bird Chronicle

When the time for death arrives, your eyes wake up from the world that you have left behind, you witness the real truth. What you have done, what you have left incomplete, why you were sent here on Earth, how much time you had, how many signs came your way, what you were really supposed to do. Everything comes together like a jigsaw and makes sense and there’s not a single soul who does not reject. Each one then believes in God.

“You will come to know the reality of death, but in such a way that you will be unable to tell anyone about it.”

- Hazrat Sayyiduna Ali [Radi Allahu Tala Anhu]

— c / no one can give you what you can give yourself

The path begins where your foot ends. Just square your shoulders, friend, and walk.

james lee jobe

For my children.

May you learn how to empty your minds of the many things that are not real.

May you always find ways to be close to each other, long after your mother and I are gone.

May you learn to forgive others, and to also forgive yourselves.

May you never raise your hand in anger, or draw a weapon, or ruin your soul with violence.

May you learn that wishes are a waste of time, but not dreams. Dreams are golden.

May you come to know the ecstasy of Van Gogh, Neruda, and Coltrane.

May the sun, the moon, and the stars light your way while the truth shows you the path.

May you live every day of your lives knowing without doubt that I love you.

james lee jobe

i wish to be more poetic, more romantic, more classy yet i stumble around like a thirteen year old boy with no sense of direction

Romans 8:28. "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." This verse has helped people trust God through experiences that seemed utterly pointless, painful and evil. You may ask, "How can this hopeless situation work together for my good? I believe Joseph had this thought too-how can being put in prison for an offence I did not commit work for my good ? But you know the end of the story, how Joseph ended up being second in command to the Pharaoh. In all His dark and dry seasons, God was working behind the scenes, working towards Joseph's amazing success.

Will you choose to trust God to work all things together for good?

Hope

Your word is my source of Hope. – Psalm 119:114

Christ’s second coming reminds us that ultimately our hope is not in this world and its attempts to solve its problems, but in Christ’s promise to establish His perfect rule over all the earth. 

Matthew 6:34 ESV “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Ephesians 1:11 ESV In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Psalm 94:19 ESV When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

THIS!

What I have learned about prayer so far:

- Persistent prayer is powerful prayer. Sometimes it takes years and years of prayer before we see anything change. I know of a couple who has prayed for a man for 10 straight years.

- In prayer, we should not always expect the answer to be yes. Just because you pray for something a long time, does not guarantee it will happen. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it is no.

- God really does know best. He sees the bigger picture that we can’t see. Whether we understand His answers or not, we must learn how to trust Him. This is hard. It takes time and practice. But it’s not impossible.

- You don’t have to pray long, impressive prayers. God cares more about the attitude of your heart than the perfection of your words.

- You’re seeking His will in prayer, not your own. When the desires of your heart conform to the desires of His, then you can apply Psalm 37:4. Many take this Psalm out of context, but it is not about getting whatever you want.

- Be honest with God about your desires, but always prepare to submit to His will. The more you know Him, the better you will understand His will.

- Pray with respect. You’re talking to your Heavenly Father who loves you, but you’re also talking to God Almighty. He is worthy of reverence.

- Take time in between asking for things to thank God for His blessings in your life. We don’t do this enough.

- The enemy does not want you to pray. I repeat, he does not want you to pray. He will try to prevent you from praying. He knows what it’s capable of. When you feel distractions or interruptions, pray all the harder.

- Even when you’ve been praying for ages, even when you’re exhausted, even when the case seems hopeless, even when you’re most tempted to, never never never give up. Settle it in your heart to pray for the rest of your life if necessary. When it comes to effective prayer, persistence is key.

- It’s okay if not every prayer is formal. You can talk to God about your day. You can cry to Him. You can lean on Him when you’re hurting or laugh with Him when you’re happy. He’s your Best Friend who loves you dearly.

- God cares about the things we think are unimportant.

- Pray for people’s salvation. Start praying for people’s souls and refuse to give up for the rest of your life. If there’s anything you should pray relentlessly for, it’s people’s salvation. While they’re breathing, they can be saved. Don’t. Give. Up.

- Having a “prayer time” during the day can help. I usually have the most energy at night, so I pray the most then. Of course you can do this during any time of the day.

- Don’t let shame hold you back from prayer - that’s the enemy working. If you feel shame, talk to God about what you feel. He still loves you even if you stumbled into sin again.

- Just like Jesus taught, get alone with God when you pray. Prayer is not about “putting on a show”, it’s about conversing with the Almighty. Remember the words of Christ: “when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret” (Matthew 6:6).

- Talk to God at school. Talk to Him when you eat breakfast, on walks, at work, at 3 AM, at the gym, anywhere. It doesn’t bother Him one bit. It’s okay to have an endless dialogue going with God throughout your day. It’s a good way to deepen your friendship with Him.

- Prayer is not only a “Christian responsibility”. It’s a way to draw near to the One who loves us most in the universe. It’s a way to build on our most precious relationship. It’s a lifeline for the lost and hurting. A way to plead for the unsaved and bless the broken. Speaking from very real experience, prayer is powerful. It changes lives. It changes hearts. And it changes us.

THIS

Lord Jesus, you chose to be called the friend of sinners. By your saving death and resurrection free me from my sins. May your peace take root in my heart and bring forth a harvest of love, holiness, and truth.

Dear God,

Maybe I’ve been fooling myself because I act like I don’t need You. I act like I don’t need Your pierced hands. I act like I don’t need the blood that ran down Your face. The very same blood that set me free the moment I gave my life to You. Why is it so hard to find the desire to open Your Word? The very same Word that speaks life into my bones. I don’t deserve You, Lord. But I need You. I need You because I am lost without You. I need You because I am afraid without You. I need You because I am weak without You. I need You because I fall short without You. I don’t deserve You, Lord. But I need You.

God does not say "if" anxiety strikes, He says "when" anxiety strikes. That means anxiety is going to come. Anxiety is going to be present. But God wants us to take refuge in Him. Think about when a hurricane hits. What's the first thing you should do? Seek shelter. A hurricane wipes everything in it's path, and if you don't seek shelter, it will destroy you too. It is the same with anxiety. We need to run to God just like we would run for shelter during a hurricane. If not, our anxiety will destroy us. It will destroy our faith. But God promises to be our refuge. To be our strength. He isn't going to leave us. He'll stay with us until the storm passes…even if it takes weeks, months, or even years. He is our refuge and He is good.