Showing posts with label God's Timing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Timing. Show all posts

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Eyes On the Conductor

Oops! Alexandra started before the conductor gave the signal. He looked at my granddaughter and she immediately stopped. Not a good beginning, but she is learning. Timing is important and beginning too soon was not ideal. The rest of the concert went well, no more glitches. I must say that the seventh and eighth graders played extremely well and the music was beautiful. I am an extremely proud grandma. 

I began to reflect on the fact that Alex began on a wrong note, even though her violin playing had improved. These reflections allowed God to teach me some new lessons and to relearn forgotten ones.

Practice is important. We don’t play our notes well or at the right moment if we don’t practice. Alex’s playing had improved with practice. The first time you share the gospel may not work so well. Keep at it, keep practicing. We all need to practice kindness, faithfulness, prayer, and witnessing. The list can go on and on. Watch a small child or a new believer pray. Often they don’t know how to begin or what to even pray for. 

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Twenty Building Blocks Of Vision


1.     A vision begins as a concern.
As a pastor, you probably have a vision of great revival for your city. But it began as a concern for souls, then it grew into a burden for souls. It grew till it consumed your thoughts. This is the birthplace of vision. God has placed that vision there.

2.     A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.
When God speaks to you, he may not be giving you a vision for the immediate.  God’s timing is not our timing. When David was anointed king, he did not take the throne for many years.  He went through many hardships before he finally became king.

3.     Pray for opportunities and plan as if you expect God to answer your prayers.
The Bible says that the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. Begin to pray for the right people and opportunities to be brought into your life...God will order your steps.

Tuesday, 4 June 2013

God's Timing - Not Ours

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him..." - Psalm 37:7a

I don’t know about you but I hate to wait. Do you hate to wait? You know you can go and have an appointment at a doctor’s office, say at 9:00 am. You get in there, sit down, 5, 10, 15 minutes go by, and they haven’t called you. You go over to the magazine rack and you start looking around and all you find is a 1995 Readers Digest and it may be 1/2 hour, 45 minutes, or an hour before they get to you. I hate that. I don't like to wait in long lines at restaurants, being stuck in traffic during rush hour, or being put on hold by a computer. 

In our culture, waiting is a waste of time. But one thing's for sure: What we need to do is to trust God and be willing to do His will, in His timing, not our own, for the right action at the right time equals the right result.

So, what does it really mean to “wait on the Lord?” I’ll tell you one thing, it doesn’t mean just to stand still and do nothing, that’s not the idea. I know that is the way we wait in many areas of our life. We have to stand still and be quiet and not do anything. 

Monday, 27 May 2013

Dreams Deferred

Written by Kristi Huseby


What to do when God has you waiting .
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33-34)
Have you ever had a dream that didn’t come true?  Have you ever had one that you felt God gave to you and you are still waiting for it to happen?  I have had a dream since I was a child that I’m still waiting to see come to fruition and I have lived almost a half a century.  I believe that it is a desire that God has put in my heart, at times it has been a burning passion and at other times just a quiet longing.
Why does God put a dream in our heart and have us WAIT? 

Sunday, 19 May 2013

Trusting in the Promises of God


Written by Brenda Miller


devo-interact-icon-42x421Take today’s next step: Learn how to pray the promises of God. 
And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.” (Genesis 21:1-2, NKJV)
God is always faithful to His promises. His word is absolute truth. We can be assured that God will not see His word return void when He sends it out to achieve important purposes in our lives.
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Humans must die for earth’s survival – “Go Green” to the extreme


by Sheryl Young in Arts & Culture

The Green Movement, enlisting humans to save the planet by “going green,” is no longer enough for some environmentalists. The fast-spreading word is that humanity must die out to save the earth.

Listed with a starting date of 1996 at their website, the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is several steps ahead of the old Hemlock Society. The Hemlock Society, now called Compassion and Choices, came to the forefront in the late 1950’s to advocate “death with dignity”—voluntary euthanasia for people with terminal illnesses. The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT, pronounced vehement) simply suggests humans should no longer procreate.

While voluntary euthanasia goes against the biblical principle of waiting for God’s timing, VHEMT simply suggests not to breed any further humans for the sake of the earth. They equate God’s leaving one family behind to re-populate earth after the flood as an “OOPS,” and state that some other “being” will be needed to help in this situation (see this page at their website, under the question “When and Where did VHEMT start?”).

Thursday, 18 April 2013

Waiting Patiently For God's Perfect Timing

There was a family who had a small Scottish terrier who would go to their back door and bark and bark until someone finally got the message and let it out. One day, a handyman had come to do some work on the house while everyone else was gone. That little dog took up his station at the back door and barked incessantly all day. 
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
— 1 John 5:14

When the family returned home to find the handyman finishing up, he told them about how the dog had been barking all day at the door. The homeowner told him that his neighbors had said the same thing. “The sad thing is,” the owner said, “it never occurs to the little guy that all his barking is totally useless when no one’s home to hear!”

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

How God Works Behind the Scenes to Position You for Miracles

SANDRA CLIFTON, D. MIN.
(© Ctpaul / StockFreeImages.com)
“Wait, wait—look!” I exclaimed to my husband, Terry, on our morning walk. “Where did that come from?”

There, before our eyes was a flower, purple and pink with long soft petals. After a particularly long, cold winter, the flower was a miraculous reminder of spring!

But there was something else even more amazing than the first spring flower emerging after winter. This extraordinary, colorful flower had pushed through the least likely place—a dirty, ragged crack to the side of the cement sidewalk.

Snug and secure out of the flow of foot traffic, it looked as though this tiny flower had been placed there by a loving hand, for a reason—to simply grow and blossom, despite all odds.

God's Timing

"Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 'See that you don't tell this to anyone'" (Mark 1:42-45).

Have you ever had a problem keeping a secret? Especially if that secret involves good news. I have certain friends who can't keep a secret like this. They are sure to blurt it out to the wrong person at the wrong time.

There is a timing that is ideal for releasing information or moving forward with a project. Jesus understood the importance of timing. When He performed His first healing miracle He instructed the man he healed with leprosy to not tell anyone. Now that would be difficult - not to share being healed from leprosy with your friends who have known you and your condition. He could not keep the secret.

As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. Jesus desired to do more things in that city, but because the man could not keep quiet, He could not do so.

Monday, 15 April 2013

Timing Is Everything

By: David Feddes

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:11

Timing is everything. There’s a time to be happy and a time to be grumpy—and in my opinion morning is definitely a time to be grumpy. Some people leap out of bed before sunrise, smiling and singing and saying happy hellos to everyone they meet. I’m not a morning person, so these early—morning cheerleaders just make me grumpier than I already am. I agree with the Bible verse that says, “If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse“ (Proverbs 27:14). Bad timing can make a blessing feel like a curse.

Timing is everything, and everything has its time. Perhaps the best—known passage about timing in all of world literature is in the Bible at the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3.

Friday, 12 April 2013

Why Did God Sit Me on the Shelf?

Dr. Julie Barrier,


Just got home. Opened the frig. An odiferous gallon of sour milk reminds me that I should have pitched it days ago. Milk has a short shelf life. The rotten cow juice makes my Cheerios taste like poo.

Avocados are the food of the gods, in my estimation. Especially if you pair them with salsa and Doritos. If you grab avocados in the grocery, they are rock-hard and tasteless. Stick them in a sunny windowsill for two days and they become silky and succulent. Leave them too long and they become brown and pasty. Blech. Their shelf life is miniscule. 

Hostess Twinkies have a shelf life of fifty years. I’m not kidding. Hostess is out of business, but the cream filling may be re-purposed as cement for space stations in 2050.

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Instead of Trying Harder, Trust More


by Rick Warren
  
Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.” (Psalm 37:7a GW)

Surrendering your life means:
- Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you.
- Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come.
- Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide.
- Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don’t have to always be "in charge." Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.

Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.

Friday, 21 December 2012

God Sees You!

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 
 Luke 1:26-27

Late last year, I had the privilege of going to the Holy Land. It was my second trip, and it was so meaningful. One afternoon, we made the trip to Nazareth, a very busy, Islamic city today … but a very, very, very small Jewish community at the time of Christ, perhaps as low as 35 families. 

In fact, Nazareth was so small, forgotten, and disrespected that Nathanael even said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). (I believe we know the answer to that one.)

Monday, 15 October 2012

When the Weeds in Your Life Keep Growing

Most of us hate weeds. They take over our yards and our gardens and make life generally miserable. But what about the weeds in our lives? Can they serve a greater purpose?

Don’t touch those weeds! Here’s a story I wrote several years ago that illustrates what I’m talking about:


Saved by the Weeds

When the Weeds in Your Life Keep Growing
Photo by Rebecca Barlow Jordan


Farming, like other high-risk occupations, requires a great deal of faith, dependence, and trust in God’s timing and goodness.

Monday, 1 October 2012

What to Do When God Seems Slow to Act



What to Do When God Seems Slow to Act
Photo by Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Depending on who you talk to, you’ll hear varied opinions on what God is doing in the world today. Is God about to pull the plug on time as we know it? Are the bad guys winning? How do we make the most of our time here on earth? And when God seems slow to act on our behalf, what’s our next step?

Heavy questions. I was reminiscing about a woman named Martha the other day, and this incident prompted my response to one of those questions:


Several years ago I was with a group in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. On a small-scale “Holy Land” tour that same day, we met a woman regaled in biblical garb and walking about in a cool, dark cave.

She introduced herself as the character “Martha,” a keeper of the cave where Jesus was born. She and her retired husband had moved to Eureka Springs, she told us, with nothing but an availability and willingness to serve God. Her voice increased a few decibels with each sentence as she narrated her familiar script.

Sunday, 30 September 2012

The Lost Is Found


map and compass
(© Werg/StockFreeImages.com)
There are moments in time that invade our everyday lives—circumstances in which the paths of strangers cross as part of a God-designed plan. The end result causes us to stand in awe knowing that He is and He delights even in the small details of our lives.
My husband, Mark, and I had traveled many hours on I-10 across the Florida panhandle on our way to Baton Rouge, La. After a quick pit stop and fresh lipstick, my legs were ready to hit the trail around the rest area. Mark was still in the restroom with the keys to Bella (our Mini-Cooper), so I wedged my small black zippered make-up bag between the locked car’s side mirror and window.
When we later re-entered the highway with increased speed, the little bag flew from its perch, and I knew right away I had forgotten to retrieve it. “It’s OK, Mark.” I quickly directed, “No need to go back. The bag is old and lipsticks are easy to replace. Let’s not take the time.”
How many times have we faced a horrifying moment when reality hits? So it was as we stopped for lunch and I reached into my purse for my wedding ring—the wedding ring I had slipped into the make-up bag the night before for safekeeping.
Oh, no! I couldn’t believe this was really happening. But in the midst of regret and self-condemnation, the Lord brought comfort, strength and even—surprisingly—the words of a song that brought my focus back to Him. “Lord, You are more precious than silver. Lord, you are more costly than gold. Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds. And nothing I desire compares with You!”

Saturday, 7 July 2012

Wait for the LORD

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." - Psalm 27:14

It's difficult sometimes to wait for the Lord's time, but it's important to stay strong and remember that His time is the right time. 



As you go into this weekend, remember that and keep your eyes on Jesus.


Have a great day!


GodVine 

Thursday, 21 June 2012

When God's Timing Is Taking Too Long


by Joyce Meyer

We all want good things to happen in our lives, but too often we want it now...not later. When it doesn't happen that way, we are tempted to ask, "When, God, when?" Most of us need to grow in the area of trusting God instead of focusing on the "when" question. If you're missing joy and peace, you're not trusting God. If your mind feels worn out all the time, you're not trusting God.
The tendency to want to know about everything that's going on can be detrimental to your Christian walk. Sometimes knowing everything can be uncomfortable and can even hurt you. I spent a large part of my life being impatient, frustrated and disappointed because there were things I didn't know. God had to teach me to leave things alone and quit feeling that I needed to know everything. I finally learned to trust the One who knows all things and accept that some questions may never be answered. We prove that we trust God when we refuse to worry. 


Thursday, 7 June 2012

God’s clock and timing are always crucially important

Jesus goes on to develop this whole theme and we have Christ’s last public sermon and teaching, recorded by John in Chapter 12. 

Jesus is saying – before I go to the Greeks – before I go to the Gentiles – I am going to the cross. I have to die. The hour is approaching. The road My Father has willed me to walk is the road of personal sacrifice. If I came to you Greeks now, that would be a short term policy.

These are Christ’s last words to the public, and in verse 26 it is an ultimatum.

The hour had come. God’s clock is important. God’s timing is vital. It was nearing the end of Jesuslife, and this coming hour was to become the pivotal point of all human affairs.

It is good to be sufficiently sensitive enough to God to know that God’s Hour has come for you to do his will.

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

On Eagle's Wings

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. Deuteronomy 32:11-12
God compares His relationship with Israel with the eagle who observes the feathers of its young to determine when they are ready to fly—and then deliberately pushes them out of the nest.
Often we do not know when we are ready to step out in faith, but God does. When we need to step out in faith, He will thrust us out of the nests of comfort and ease we have constructed for ourselves. As in the manner of a young eagle soaring for the first time, we can also soar because we know it is His timing and He is right there with us as we go forth.
As the eagle leads her young from the nest, she flies under them, guiding their journey. And if they become weary, she carries them home on her wings. When we cannot go on any longer, He carries us to our destination. You can always count on His strength that will never let you fall.
Lord, teach me to fly. Push me out of every nest that I 
construct to keep myself from risking faith 
and trusting You. Amen.
http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/new-man/daily-tune-up/daily-breakthroughs/20463-on-eagles-wings-