NEHEMIAH SHOWS US HOW TO DO "COURT-CASE PRAYER"

NEHEMIAH’S SHOWS US HOW TO DO “COURT-CASE PRAYER”

Nehemiah was one of the Israelites who was taken into captivity in Persia. God gave him favor and made him the personal assistant to the King. When Nehemiah found out that there was a big problem in Jerusalem (over 900 miles away), his heart went out for the people, much like our hearts go out to the people we care about. The first thing Nehemiah did was pray. But it was a different kind of prayer than many of us are used to. Nehemiah asked God for a hearing. I call this kind of praying “court-case prayer.” It’s a little more involved than regular praying, but well worth the effort, first in what we learn about ourselves and second, what we learn about what God likes in a close relationship with us.

 

There are several places in the Bible where God shows us how to pray this “court-case prayer.” In at least one situation, He required it of Isaiah. He says to Isaiah: “Meet me in court! State your case and prove that you are right.” That’s the Contemporary English Version. The Amplified reads: “Remind me [of your merits with a thorough report], let us plead and argue our case together; State your position, that you may be proved right.” And the KJV: “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified” (Isa. 43:26).

 

We can see the elements of court-case prayer by looking at the record about Nehemiah.

 

1. RECOGNIZE THE FEAR OF GOD. Nehemiah addressed Him: “I beseech thee, O Lord God of Heaven, the great and terrible God” (Neh. 1:5). The word “terrible,” in the Hebrew means “to be feared, or morally to revere. It means to cause astonishment, to be held in awe or godly fear.

 

Nehemiah was well aware of the wrath of God Almighty, the vengeance of God that took place when He merely took His hand of blessing off of people and let them reap the consequences of bad behavior. The results, as Nehemiah had experienced personally, were perilous, destructive, miserable, full of anguish, failure and deep depression—all the things the devil loves to put on God’s people.

 

Nehemiah verbally recognized God’s right to be angry.

 

2. REMIND GOD THAT HE IS A GOD OF MERCY. Nehemiah reminded God that He is the God “that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments” (v.5).

 

3. CONFESS AND REPENT FOR SINS. Nehemiah not only confessed and repented of his own sins, but he also confessed and repented for the sins of the people. “I pray before thee now, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee and have not kept the commandments” (vv.6-7).

 

Notice that Nehemiah mentioned the sins of his father’s house. There are sins we commit on purpose; we know better but we do them anyway. Then there are “sins of our fathers.” The Bible term for this is “iniquity.” These are patterns of thinking and acting that we “naturally” fall into, sins in our blood line. They are sins we may or may not even be aware of until we see the painful consequences they bring to our lives. Nehemiah’s heart was broken when he heard about the people in Jerusalem, and he knew that they had fallen back into bloodline sins: apathy, moral compromises, rebellion, stubbornness, pride, abuse, ungodly priorities.

 

Nehemiah understood and repented for the people.

 

4. PRESENT THE EVIDENCE. This is where Nehemiah went back to the scriptures to present evidence of God’s mercy to His people even after they sinned. He reminds God of how He worked in the time of Moses, how He told Moses if they didn’t do right, they’d be scattered and how if the people would turn back to Him, He’d gather them back and bless them. Then Nehemiah put his plea forward and basically said: “Since you did it for Moses, how about us?”

 

5. ASK FOR PARDON AND A WAY TO MOVE FORWARD. Nehemiah then asked God: “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer” (v.11). In the same verse, Nehemiah also asked God: “Prosper [move forward and make successful] thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man [the King of Persia].”

 

Nehemiah’s court case with God was a huge success. As it turns out, God blessed Nehemiah by working in the King to send Nehemiah to Jerusalem to take care of the problems. The King also sent letters to those in authority to make sure Nehemiah had all the physical supplies he would need to totally rebuild the walls and gates of the city. Building the walls and gates turned out to be much more of a blessing than just protection. It unified the people, strengthened their hearts, turned them back to God’s ways and healed them.

 

Just to confirm the five elements of Nehemiah’s prayer:

 

1.      RECOGNIZE THE FEAR OF GOD

 

2.      REMIND GOD THAT HE IS A GOD OF MERCY

 

3.      CONFESS AND REPENT FOR SINS

 

4.      PRESENT THE EVIDENCE

 

5.      ASK FOR PARDON AND A WAY TO MOVE FORWARD

 

I pray that God will help us to remember this type of prayer when we need it.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

USER-FRIENDLY BIBLE PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING by Carolyn Molica

Get your copy today 😊 WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH VOL. 2

 

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588607180&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

 

SNIPPETS OF HEAVEN

 SNIPPETS OF HEAVEN

I went out, tossed the hose over the fence, and started watering my side yard by hand. It was around 6 pm, a pleasant 70 degrees, the clouds were turning pink as the sun was setting, and it was perfectly still. Neighbors across the street were having a small get-together, children quietly playing and adults sitting at the table chatting. One father was holding his little baby, and everyone seemed to be having a nice time. Everything in that hour was so wonderful it felt like I was experiencing a snippet of heaven.

 

I really cherish those times when everything is good. I believe God wants us to have more of those sweet times here on earth. I know that we have work to do, and difficult things to take care of, and oh so many decisions to make, and so many serious problems to solve. But I also know God has given us the sweet moments of pure delight so that we can carry on with hope. Last night was one of those moments for me and I feel refreshed today.

 

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he said:

 

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matt. 6:7-8).

 

Note that Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t ask for things, because God already knows what you need.” Jesus said God knows what you need to ask for. Then Jesus goes on to tell his disciples a few of those things God knows we need, and snippets from heaven happens to be one of them.

 

Jesus continues:

 

“After this manner therefore pray ye: ‘Our Father which is in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth,’” [There it is!] “’as it is in heaven’” (v. 10).

 

Our God is in heaven. He knows how great heaven is, and it’s God Himself who wants us to experience His heaven, even if it’s only in snippets, here on earth! And not only that, but Jesus said that God says we need those experiences, we need those sweet times of heaven on earth. He knows we need it, and we are supposed to be asking Him for it. That’s what Jesus is trying to tell us about having a true relationship to the one true God, who has chosen us to be His children.

 

We are to recognize our God as a loving Father who knows we need times of heaven on earth, and He’s got them to give us. I’m praying for more times like last night for myself, and wonderful gifts of times of heaven on earth for all of you, as you begin to ask Him in prayer for those experiences, like Jesus instructed.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

USER-FRIENDLY BIBLE PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

Get your copy today 😊 WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH VOL. 2

 

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588607180&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

BLURRY PICTURES REVELAING THE MYSTERIES OF GOD

 

BLURRY PICTURES REVEALING THE MYSTERIES OF GOD

God will show us small pictures or visions at any time of the day or night, and not just when we are praying. He does it while we’re listening to someone or reading, while we are speaking or even just daydreaming, while we’re working, playing, anytime at all. They can seem to come “out of nowhere,” but they’re not out of nowhere.  They are pictures from the Lord. They usually have an ethereal, light, almost transparent quality and if we don’t grab them, they flee or drift off like a wave or a vanish like a wisp of smoke. But God wants us to grab those blurry pictures and look at them, really look at them because it’s when we observe them, that they become substance. The particles come together, and the picture is solid and clear.

 

Research in Quantum Mechanics has shown that an electron or a photon of light existing in the form of a wave changes into a particle when observed. The remarkable double slit experiment studied the nature of subatomic phenomena. A photon of light was to pass through two slits. When not observed, it acted as a wave. But when observed, it acted like a particle. We need to observe the pictures God shows us as quickly as possible so that they don’t float away or blow away like the wind, but, in fact, become substance.

 

It’s much easier to get God’s picture message if we describe the picture out loud or if we write it down. I’m often surprised at how many details my mind actually observed in a God-given picture message, once I start to focus on it and try to describe it—more details than I initially thought existed. When we concentrate on bringing the wave image into a clear image, we are going to get the revelation God intended.  

 

We are told several places in the Bible that we as believers can “crack” some of the mysteries of God as He reveals them to us. We do it through Christ. Colossians 1:27 says we have Christ in us. Jesus always received and understood the messages God showed Him. The Christ in us does that for us today.

 

Jesus told His disciples they would receive the knowledge of certain mysteries that others may not be able to grasp. “He answered and said unto them, ‘Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given’” (Matt. 13:11).

 

In Luke 8:10 He told His disciples that they could know the mysteries of how God operates, but others would have to be told in parables because they wouldn’t be able to see as clearly, spiritually, as those who had spent time with the Master.

 

“And he [Jesus] said, ‘Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand’” (Luke 8:10). When we see through our spiritual eyes, we have the privilege to focus and the Christ in us works quickly to put those wavy, ethereal pictures into solid particles of revelation.

 

Have you ever wondered why God is so mysterious, why He doesn’t always talk to us in a distinct and unique human voice, rather than in such clandestine ways? Proverbs 25:2 tells us: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”

 

God wants us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to seek Him. When He gives us a message in a wavy, fleeting vision, He wants us to capture it, seek it out, or it will quickly disappear. Kings search out a matter. And in Revelation 1:5-6 Jesus calls us the kings: “Jesus loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” Jesus is the King of kings, and He’s so happy to be with us and let us in on the great mysteries of His Father, God. He knows we will delight in knowing things He knows and sharing them with Him.

 

I don’t know if every born-again believer sees these small pictures, blurry snapshots, and translucent images, but if you are someone who does see them, next time take notice. Stop and focus because God is revealing to you one of the mysteries of heaven.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

M O R E of my TRUE STORIES ON CHRISTIAN LIVING:

WINGS BOOKS AND BOOKLETS:

 

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian-ebook/dp/B087DV8CT3/ref=sr_1_4?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1603322545&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-4&tag=jmbcsds-20

GOD'S FAVOR IN TURNING BACK TIME

 

GOD’S FAVOR IN TURNING BACK TIME

In April of 2014, I was driving to a friend’s house when it started to rain. As I turned into the far lane of the freeway on-ramp, the wheels on my pickup hit the grease in the road and it started to hydroplane just like hitting black ice. I turned into the skid, but then I was sliding in the opposite direction and out of control. The whole truck slipped one way then the other, then toward the cement easement.

 

I heard the forceful sound of crushing metal as my front end smashed into the cement. I heard the garish crunch, but I didn’t feel it. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, and I was the spectator watching a movie of myself.

 

This slowing down of time happened to me before in Michigan when a big truck jackknifed across the freeway right in front of me, and I nearly hit it but suddenly stopped only about five feet short.

 

I am convinced that God slows down time in these kinds of situations. In Isaiah 38:8 God said, “Behold I will bring the shadow on the sundial ten degrees backward.” That was about forty minutes. God can and will do this for us. And I pray for protection every morning and truly believe that angels surround us so that we don’t get hurt. Psalm 5:12 promises this: “With favor thou wilt compass him as with a shield.” I believe that with all my heart.

 

The back end of my truck jutted out into the oncoming lanes. Fortunately, there were only a few cars coming, and they were able to go around.  I managed to scrape my way across the two lanes and into the hotel parking lot.

 

A tall, good-looking man came over. He asked if I was hurt and I said I wasn’t. He said, “I saw the whole thing, and I can’t believe you weren’t hurt and that you can actually drive your car!” He pulled a tool out of his shirt pocket, “I always carry this with me.” It looked like a pair of pliers, but then he began to cut into the metal bumper with it and was able to bend out the bumper and use the tool again to loosen the last bolt holding it on. He put the piece in the bed of my truck. Then he used the tool again to pull the fender away from the wheel so it wouldn’t scrape. After a little effort on his part and testing on my part, I was able to drive freely. All I had was twenty dollars with me, which I gave him and thanked him profusely for the help.

 

A couple more miracles took place around this incident: my roommate found a place to get parts at the most discounted prices in America, and my neighbor offered to put them on for free. What I’ll end up paying is less than half of what I’d pay with the deductible on my insurance.

 

I’m not trying to say that all of this was a delight. Not so. After the accident, I had to grab my mind and mouth many times to keep out the negatives of worry, stress, and despair. But thank God I was able to do it. I’m learning to keep quiet and trust Him even in the negative situations, and He comes through every time.

 

As Jesus says in Luke 12:6-7: “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? ⁷ But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows” Or as the song paraphrases: “If His eyes are on the sparrow, He will surely watch over me” (Luke 12:6-7).

 

Love, Carolyn

THE GOD OF THE BIBLE, NOT PANTHEISM

 

THE GOD OF THE BIBLE, NOT PANTHEISM

The USA was founded as one nation under one God, the God of the Bible. As citizens of the USA, people can believe in just about anything they want, as long as they recognize that the government of this country is based on the belief system given by the Bible, the words and principles of the Judeo-Christian God, who we believe is the One True God. He is Elohim: The one and only divine creator of all of us. And there are inalienable rights under His system of love, and rules for life. He is El Elyon: The Most High God, higher and wiser than any other god. We are not one nation governed by pantheism, under many gods.

 

Before the Revolutionary War in America, Bibles written in English came exclusively from England. But with the war, importation stopped. Congress resolved to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland and elsewhere, into the different parts of the States of the Union. Becoming a new country without the reliance on the precepts of the Bible was unthinkable.

 

What makes the United States a Christian nation? Many people think it’s because of the forefathers of our nation, but that’s not it. Not all of them were even born-again Christians. Some think it’s because the people of our nation are primarily Christian, but that’s not it either.

 

Our country is a Christian nation because of its form of government. The ideas embodied in the constitution stem primarily from the Bible. At one point in modern history, this was challenged.

 

Consequently, a ten-year research study was done of the political documents of the Founders’ Era (1760-1805), and every quote or reference to a source outside the Bible was documented. The research was published in 1983, which showed that 94% of the ideas in our Constitution are based directly or indirectly on the Bible.

 

What we believe as Christians are the words of our God, the God of the Bible. He has been challenged in the past, both the far-reaching past and the past that is still lingering on our breath. I have to admit that in some categories I’ve been lulled into complacency, not even realizing it’s happened.

 

It’s like the story of the frog. If it’s put into a pot of boiling water, it will immediately jump out. If it’s put into a pot of cool water and the heat gradually is turned up, it will cook and die. (Horrible story, I know, but it gets the point across).

 

The deterioration of truth is slow and calculated perfectly to the human condition, to a person’s mental, emotional, and social state. Scientists probably know exactly how long it takes and the conditions for a carefully placed erroneous idea to infiltrate and begin to infect the mind of a normally sound person.

 

This infiltration happened to the Israelites of the Old Testament over and over, as well as to those who walked with Jesus on earth and those believers of the first-century church. The twisting of truth by the Leviathan spirit talked about in the Bible, has not stopped. That’s why we must continually refresh ourselves with the truth from God’s Word.

 

God’s will is to “have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2: 4-5). God formed our bodies.

 

Isaiah 44:24 tells us: “Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.”

 

He gave us the amazing brains we have. It’s the Most High God who placed the nearly incredulous gamut of emotions within us and the triggers that set them on fire. (Love, passion, grief, anger, jealousy, power).

 

Only the God of the Bible created us as everlasting spirit beings, with the ability to speak and the will to make choices. Numbers 16:22 tells us that the God of the Bible is “the God of the spirits of all flesh.”

 

Nebuchadnezzar knew and worshipped many gods, but when he witnessed the three men walking in the fire, he recognized that their God was greater than his.

 

“Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither.’ Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire.

 

"And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them” (Dan. 3: 26-27).

 

The God of the Bible is greater than any other god, in so many ways. Do we know Him? Not just His acts, but His ways? And what about His First begotten son, Jesus Christ? We have read and studied many great men and women and many great teachers, but there’s only One First begotten son of the One and only Creator of everything we know and don’t know. Do we know Him? I mean, really know Him?

 

We can know Jesus Christ better if we want to. There’s only one legitimate Lord of Lords, sent from the Most High God and that’s Jesus. Yesterday I saw a marquee in front of a local church that says: “God sent His only begotten son, not a committee.”

 

The principles taught in the Bible are the ones that have been put in place as a contractual agreement for the government of the people of the United States of America. And there’s good reason for that. As Christians, let’s get better acquainted with the principles and more importantly, with the God who authored them and the son who showed us how to apply them.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

CHECK OUT MY BOOKS ON AMAZON

 

USER-FRIENDLY BIBLE PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

Get your copy today 😊 WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH VOL. 2

 

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588607180&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

 

JESUS WORKS WITH US AND CONFIRMS WITH SIGNS FOLLOWING

 JESUS WORKS WITH US AND CONFIRMS WITH SIGNS FOLLOWING

This event happened in 2015 when the Lord confirmed to me the stress-releasing power of the Word of God. I was grinding on some fiberglass sculptures. It was really hard work; there was lots to do, and we were in a rush to get the project done. I was taking it way too personally like I had to get it all done by myself, and I was stressing out. There were only two of us working on it, and my partner was feeling sick, so he wasn’t able to work as quickly as usual.

 

My arms were getting so sore from grinding, and I noticed that my shoulders were super tense. I had them raised up by my ears in a tight and pinching way. Mentally and emotionally, I was worrying and stressing out, questioning whether I could keep this up. Was this going to end in total failure?

 

Then I remembered the scripture Jane and I repeat every morning in prayer: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off they shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing” (Isa. 10:27).  The Lord told me to physically put my shoulders down. I let them ease down as the next thoughts rolled in: “This is not my responsibility. The burden is off my shoulders.”

 

For the rest of the day, I continued grinding, and the whole time my physical shoulders were at ease, relaxed. At the end of the day, the painting boss came over and told me he was sending all his guys over to help with the grinding so we could get the project done on time. It was amazing. I quietly thanked Jesus for what happened.

 

From that time on, I noticed that I stopped the mental stressing, and my shoulders stayed at rest. The few times I started to hunch them up, I quoted the scripture again, and they instantly released.

 

To literally have my shoulders relax back down from being hunched up around my ears was a sign—a confirmation that I was truly released from all the stress.

 

In the next week and a half of work, there were more opportunities to get stressed, but my shoulders weren’t hunching. I had a physical confirmation that I was free mentally and emotionally, and it was GREAT!

 

From that once incident back in 2015, I learned a lesson I’ve used over and over in situations where I would have gotten stressed: physically put your shoulders down in a relaxed position, and claim Isaiah 10:27. It really works.

 

As Christians, we should be expecting righteous signs and confirmations. The Bible tells us that when Jesus gave instructions to His apostles to preach the gospel, “they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following” (Mark 16: 20).

 

We often just hope we’re doing the right thing and never really ask for the Lord to confirm it. Here it says that He confirms. We have a relationship with our Lord Jesus, where we can ask Him to kindly confirm. And here it is in scripture saying that He is totally able and WILLING to do it! “He confirms with signs following.” Isn’t that so great?!

 

As I was thinking about the Lord confirming what the Bible says, God showed me that even Mary needed to get some confirmation about what the angel told her about having the Christ child. She went to visit her cousin, and sure enough, Elisabeth confirmed the angel’s words with a prophecy over Mary: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb…that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Luke 1:42-43).

 

Mary believed in her spirit, but it was only after Elisabeth’s confirmation that Mary got her soul in line and, in her entirety, really truly believed. “And Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord” (vs. 46). Her mind, emotions, and decisions were now settled and in solid agreement. (Read Luke 1:26 – 56).

 

The Lord Jesus confirmed that the work burden was off my shoulders. He gave me the physical sign of releasing those tight shoulder muscles. Mary, the mother of Jesus, got a confirmation in the form of a prophecy from a relative.

 

Jesus Christ is our personal Lord, and He knows the details of our lives. He knows that, being human, we often have difficulty in believing the awesome things God has for us and that we can greatly benefit from confirmation.

 

It’s my prayer that our relationship with Jesus Christ becomes more intimate. I pray that as we do our best to live and preach the gospel, we will be asking Jesus for true confirmation as we go. I pray that we will receive more of the deliverances and healings that we need and desire for our spirit, our souls, and bodies. And I pray that we will enjoy our discipleship and our freedom in Christ more than ever before.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

CHECK OUR MY BOOKS ON AMAZON

 

USER-FRIENDLY BIBLE PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

Get your copy today 😊 WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH VOL. 2

 

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588607180&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

HOW TO GET BETTER AT LISTENING TO THE LORD

 

HOW TO GET BETTER AT LISTENING TO THE LORD

The other day, two of the artists at the AREA 15 project introduced themselves to me. I tried to remember their names, and I did well with one. The other, well I totally forgot. In a couple of days, when I saw her again, I guessed at her name, and I was wrong. I asked her again and then I repeated it to myself several times as I hurried on toward my work area. When I got home that day, I wrote down the names of the six new people I’d met that day. It was a bit hard to remember each of them, so I stuck the sheet in my pocket, in case I forgot, but during the day I tested myself, and now I know their names well. It means a lot to a person if you remember their name, and even more if you remember the content of what they might have told you.

 

We let ourselves get distracted by our own thoughts, rather than listening with our full attention to what the other person is saying. God puts certain people in our paths for many reasons: to bless us, to teach us, to wake us up to something new, or so that we can be a blessing back to that person.

 

Many times, we get busy thinking about so many things that our brains are racing into future events, instead of staying in the present. The result is that we miss out on quality time just listening to each other. We’ve forgotten how to have a conversation.

 

What if we slow down enough to really listen to each other? Besides practicing consideration and love for each other, it’s great practice for listening to the Lord. First John 4:20 say: “For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” I could say: “For he that listens not to his brother who he sees, how can he listen to God who he doesn’t see?” Listening is an act of love. If we want to get better at hearing from the Lord, we can take some steps in the right direction by practicing listening to each other. Here are a few tips that I think will help me and you too.

 

 

When we make the effort to listen to someone, we don’t want to let our minds take a selfish trip to the past, or an anticipatory trip to the future. We want to do our best to let our hearts and minds engage in the present.

 

I hope I get a chance to spend a few minutes more with some of the new people I’m meeting. The general contractor sometimes has a special lunch for us construction people, so that would be a great time to make the effort to be a great listener.

 

Love, Carolyn

WINGS: A Journey in Faith –Volume2.  True stories to ENTERTAIN, INSPIRE and ENHANCE your spiritual growth.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588607180&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

 

ANGELS, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

 ANGELS, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

In the last couple of weeks I‘ve shown you a little about what normal looks like in the Bible. I’ve shown you something about angels, dreams, and open visions. Today I want to show you where God used a combination of these along with signs and wonders to get important messages to a man named Gideon. The people of God had turned away, leaving themselves open to oppression. When their way of living was demolished, they finally turned back to God and cried out for help. It’s recorded in Judges 6 - 9. For brevity’s sake, I won’t go over every verse, but I hope you’ll read it for yourself as soon as you can.

 

“And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them” (Judg. 6:3).

 

“They came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord” (vv. 5-6)

 

Enter, an angel from God, to begin the deliverance of His people:

 

“And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak” (v. 11) “And said [to Gideon], ‘Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” (v. 14). 

 

This next verse is important for us to remember for later when God gives Gideon a message from a dream.

 

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house’” (v. 15)

 

Now here comes another Biblical normal: Gideon asks God to give him a sign that all of this about him being a hero is for real:

 

“And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, ‘If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. (vv. 16-17).

 

Up to this point, Gideon thinks that this person who came to him is actually a flesh and blood man who is delivering a message from God. Gideon wants to know if the message is really from God, so he asks for some kind of a sign. He then tells the “man” to wait while he goes and prepares a meal for him. When he brings the meal back out to the person he thought was a man, a very interesting thing happens:

 

“The angel of God [who Gideon thought was a man], said unto him, ‘Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.

 

“Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord” (vv. 20-22)

 

So, Gideon got his prayer answered and God gave him the first sign that he asked for. We need to realize that God is more than willing to give us whatever it is that we need, to carry out our missions for Him. We may be the ones who pray the perfect prayer for our neighborhood, or we may be the perfect person to speak to the parent/teacher group. Whatever it is that God is urging us to do, we can do it, but God never expects us to do it alone. He will give us an angel, a sign, a dream, a wonder, whatever it takes to help us to be the heroes He’s called us to be.

 

Then later in the story, it’s time to actually go into battle. All the Israelites are enthused and ready to go for it, but God tells Gideon no. God can’t let everyone do the fighting because He knows they are too egotistical.

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me’” (Judg. 7:2).

 

God showed Gideon how to minimize the number of soldiers down to only 300.

 

“And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude” (7:12).

 

Gideon must have been terrified at this point, or at least hesitant about taking only 300 soldiers against a huge multitude of enemies. And this is where God sends Gideon a message through another man’s dream.

 

“And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, ‘Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 

 

When Gideon heard this man tell about his dream, Gideon knew instantly that it was another message from God for him. Remember how Gideon responded to when the angel first came to him? He said, “My family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judg. 6:15). Barley for the Israelites was considered poor men’s bread. So when Gideon heard this dream, he knew that the cake of barley bread that would take down the Midianites was none other than he himself and his mere troop of 300 men. Finally, Gideon was totally convinced.

 

“And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, ‘Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian” (7: 13-15).

 

Gideon and his 300 men went on to defeat the enemy and there was peace in the land for the next forty years.

 

It took a lot of supernatural things to convince Gideon to go ahead with God’s plan, but God didn’t complain, He just kept giving. God is no less compassionate toward us. We’re all heroes like Gideon in His eyes, and all worthy of angel visits, signs, miracles, wonders, dreams, and visions, all to the Glory of our God.

 

Love, Carolyn