Day 25: October 25th, 2009 - - Hebrews 13:14-16

“POINTS TO PONDER” – Day 25
Written by M. Hall
Please feel free to agree or disagree with points made, and feel free to comment if so desired. If you would like, you could write your own thoughts on the verse of the day, and include that in your own comments below. Thank you and may you be blessed!! =)

“Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise, coming from lips that speak his name. Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God.” Hebrews 13:14-16 NCV

OH GOD, WE CRY OUT FOR YOUR MERCY... OH GOD, WE CRY OUT FOR YOUR GRACE... OH GOD, WE CRY OUT, SET US FREE... OH GOD, WE CRY OUT ONCE AGAIN... ONCE AGAIN!

Do we honestly cry out to the Lord, or is it more like whining? Do we honestly take the Lord at His word, and believe that when we ask, we will receive?

God wants to hear us. When we talk to or about Him, He blesses us. In the Bible, many times it speaks of people being healed by Jesus, because of their faith. How is our faith? Is it seriously smaller than a mustard seed? Or do we trust Him completely with our lives? It also says in the Bible, that these people came to Jesus, they didn't wait for Jesus to come to them. In some cases however, when they couldn't see or walk, to make it to Jesus, they CRIED OUT IN A LOUD VOICE. How many times have we cried out to Jesus in a loud voice? Do we take time to tell Him what is really on our hearts, although He already knows? He wants us to speak to Him. God is tired, and I am tired of people who just seek after Him in troubled times... and then complain that He isn't there, or He doesn't answer prayers, or they blame Him for the trouble. If we sought God everyday, and at every time of the day, we wouldn't have time to get ourselves into trouble, because there is no way we can stray away from Him, if we are completely focused on Him. Isn't that a truth and a half? WOW! Thank You Lord for Your wisdom.

We don't just cry out for ourselves either, we cry out for those around us. Even if they do not even know you are crying out for them. We want God to get the glory for their answer to prayer, not us. We don't want people worshipping us, we want them worshipping God. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Phil. 2:3-4 NIV

At the OUTPOUR Conference, one of the pastors spoke about Bartimaeus the blind man, who cried out in a very loud voice, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me". We had a time of crying out to the Lord for mercy and grace. During the 'EXPECT a HARVEST' Conference on Sunday night, we again were taught on crying out for mercy. This time it however had a little more of an impact on me. WOW! Obedience brings rewards. I have always tried to 'dance' when the worship song says, 'I will dance'. I have always tried to 'clap' when the worship song says 'clap'... yet when the worship song says, 'I will shout', I sometimes do, and sometimes don't, and when I do, it's not all that loud all of the time. However, when I was younger, someone once (probably more) told me that if I can shout and cheer at a hockey game or a sporting event, how much more should I shout and cheer for Jesus? I have always remembered this, and thought of the verse 'to worship in Spirit and in truth'. It's not really worshipping in truth, if I'm singing, "bow to my knees" and I'm standing. It's not really truth, if it says, "I will sing, I will shout..." and I'm singing quietly. During the AM church service, we sang that song, "I Will Do the Same", and I shouted, but yeah, it wasn't really loud, and for some reason I felt silly like people would stare and wonder.

That night at conference, we had an altar call, and I didn't really feel the spirit moving for me to pray for myself, yet I had the desire to pray for others. I didn't go up to the altar, I sat quietly interceding... that was until the pastor spoke the words 'Why are you still in your pew?'... and started saying that we should be breaking for others, and crying out for them. He had spoken on the 10 lepers, and how 10 were cleansed, but only one came back to praise Jesus and give Him glory, so he was not just cleansed but healed. Jesus asked the man where the other 9 were... and as the pastor said, 'If Jesus doesn't know where they are, then they are really lost'. We are called to cry out for the lost... lost family, lost friends, lost co-workers, and lost strangers. Well we were all on our face, well as far as I saw before I lay down on my face... and we were praying and crying. We were clinging to Jesus, and crying out... yet still really quiet. The pastor spoke about clinging to Jesus, and that struck my Spirit, and so I started clutching my hands, and I hit something, I opened my eyes wondering who's leg my hand was near, and when I opened my eyes, I saw I was at the foot of our cross. WOW, what a powerful moment, and that's when my Spirit wanted to cry out and groan. But again, fear of man started to creep in, and the pastor spoke the words regarding the silence, and how the people in the Bible cried out in a LOUD voice... so overcoming the fear of man, because God is STRONGER, I cried out loudly! I shouted in a really loud voice, in obedience to the Spirit, and that helped others to cry out. Not taking any glory, because it certainly was not me, it was the Spirit in me that cried out for the lost. What a powerful time there, at the foot of the cross. 'I want to cling to you Jesus'.

We need to take quiet time alone with God, but we also need to let the Spirit groan in utterings that we do not understand. We need to cry out in a loud voice. MERCY... Have MERCY on us Lord. Do you know the difference between Mercy and Grace?? The pastor enlightened us this weekend...

GRACE - Getting something which we don't deserve. (eternal life)

MERCY - Not getting something that we do deserve. (eternal death)

Wow... that is so powerful! Thank you Pastor for being an obedient vessel, for God to work in and through! Thank You Lord for your Mercy!! Have mercy on us Lord we pray!!

Prayer: 'Father of life, seated on Your throne of grace. It's only by Your mercy we are saved. Lord, You have said if we call upon Your Name, we and our families will be saved. So we cry out Your Name, El Shaddai, God of grace - Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. We rely on Your grace, Adonai, crowned in praise - Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. Father of love, never failing to forgive. Each moment is a gift from You to live. We're only here to tell the world about Your grace, until the day You take us all away. We will cry out Your Name, El Shaddai, God of grace - Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. We rely on Your grace, Adonai, crowned in praise - Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. O, so we cry out Your Name, El Shaddai, God of grace - Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. We rely on Your grace, Adonai, crowned in praise - Lord Most High, Jesus Christ.' Help us cry out to You God, in a loud voice, not having the fear of man, but having the fear and reverence for You and who You are. Guide us in the paths You wish us to take, and lead us to those souls that we are to sow seeds into, water, and best of all harvest! In the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, AMEN! (*Words in 'quotes' taken from the song 'We Cry Out' by Kari Jobe - Gateway Worship)

Be blessed, and be a blessing as you choose to be ‘chosen’ & speak the Words of the Lord.
check out this video... we sang this song and cried out to the Lord... maybe its time for you to cry out to Him too!

Day 24: October 24th, 2009 - - Matthew 9:36-38 EXPECT A HARVEST!

“POINTS TO PONDER” – Day 24
Written by M. Hall
Please feel free to agree or disagree with points made, and feel free to comment if so desired. If you would like, you could write your own thoughts on the verse of the day, and include that in your own comments below. Thank you and may you be blessed!! =)

“When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them because they were hurting and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus said to His followers, ‘There are many people to harvest but only a few workers to help harvest them. Pray to the Lord, who owns the harvest, that He will send more workers to gather His harvest’." Matthew 9:36-38 NCV
WOW~ God is amazing! If you have been reading these devotionals, yesterday you would have read that I have been attending a Conference called Outpour. Today was the last day of the conference, there was an AM session, an afternoon session, and a PM session. Usually you feel a little sad that a conference is coming to an end, because the speaker is leaving, and leaving at a high note in your life spiritually. However, this Conference may be complete, but we have another Conference starting tomorrow night, with the same guest speaker!! Hallelujah God! Speak, your servant is listening! =)

So, there was a delay in writing this, part due to laziness, yet also I think part to God not being done speaking into my life on this thought and action. Harvesting... to a farmer, or a gardener that means alot. It means all the hard work has paid off, and you are reaping the benefits of sowing seeds, tending the field/garden, getting rid of weeds, watering, fertilizing, etc. Harvesting to us as Christians is basically the same, we reap what we sow. These past few years have been a great time of sowing for us. We have, so we give. When we haven't financially, we give in other ways, and God gives to us financially and in other ways, and we then give more financially to the Lord. Our acts of worship, teaching, and working FOR the Lord are also ways to give back to God.

Compassion... what a word. In this verse, it says Jesus saw the crowds and felt sorry for them. This does not mean pity, it means compassion. He had a heart for the 'multitudes', whether they were male or female; Jewish or Gentile; young or old; rich or poor; etc, you get the picture. As we learned back a few devotionals ago, Jesus is our Shepherd. A Shepherd has compassion for his sheep. I am thankful that I have a heart that breaks for His people, yet I continually need to ask God to 'break my heart for what breaks Yours'. He wants to harvest people. He is sowing seeds of love from the Father, to reap the benefits of more people in the Kingdom of Heaven, instead of in the clutches of the enemy. God wants to see everyone come to know Him, believe in Him and live for Him, but because He also gave us our free-choice, not everyone will make that important decision. We know there are millions and billions, and trillions and more people in the world who don't know Jesus, and what are we doing about it? Really?

Harvest time… Yes Lord, it’s harvest time! We need to be out ‘planting seeds’ if we expect to reap a harvest! We need to do some harvesting, but we also need to pray for others, so that there will be more harvesters. Lord, send more people to gather the harvest! Your harvest, for Your glory! We have to have a heart for the people. A heart like Jesus! I have been praying for a long time, and more recently & more often with the children I work with, for God to help us love others, like He loves us. WOW! What a statement, but when prayed with faith and believing it makes all the difference! Jesus was out with the people. Jesus talked with the people, even the ones no one wanted to talk with, or even hang out with. People that others hated or despised, or ones that were basically left to die. We need to start reaching out more, in love. Not expecting something in return from them. We can certainly expect somethng from our Father in Heaven, because He promises that we will reap what we sow. If we are sowing words of judgement, and ignoring other's needs around us, why in the world would we expect to reap a life of favour? WOW... I am speaking to myself on this one too, so don't think of me as nagging on you. But really, sometimes we need to be shaken up a little. Most of us have family members and close friends who are not saved. Yes, they may have said the cute lil' sinner's prayer when they were 5, but really, how are they living now? They have to experience God for themselves, and sometimes we have to be that 'first impression'. It's been said many times that “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”. It's also been said that we are sometimes the only Bible that people will get to see/read. We are the hands and feet, and mouth and ears... etc... of Jesus! We may never get a second chance to share the gospel with some people. Others in our lives may hear it over and over. Keep pressing in, and pressing on! Persevere through... Be the best example of Christ that you can be. People need us, because people need the Lord! We need to share that JOY with everyone.

We love the advancement in our world, but have so many things in our way today, and technology is a great thing, yet also a hassle. We love things like blogs, Facebook, MySpace, IM's, and more... yet, how much time do we spend on them, and how much time do we give to the Lord? I know I am guilty of this one too. (so don't take me wrong) This one is totally for me too! Writing the words, and speaking the words will help encourage me to do the Word and the words. I can use the 'excuse' (as that is a good excuse right now in the Christian circles) that I use Facebook, and my blog to minister and spread the good news, because that is definitely true. But that's not all I use it for, I also spend time on the silly things, like too many silly quizzes, and reality-based Social games. Do you notice that they can't just have ONE social based game (ie: Yo-ville), they have to keep adding more... and we keep accepting.... pretty soon these applications bog up our system, and that's all we can do. We think, I have 6 hours before I have to come back and take the cake out of the oven in the Yoville sweets factory, which should give me lots of time to check out my fields and crops in FarmTown, and of course its counterpart FarmVille (just incase you need more than one farm); yet I also have time to serve people in my restaurant in Cafe World or the Restaurant one (whatever its called). Oh, I can't forget I have to go help my Mob boss kill somebody, before they kill me in Mob Wars or Mafia Wars... but wait, I forgot to go back and take the 'French Onion Soup' off of the stove in Cafe World, so its gone to waste. Because I was too busy getting the hit man, I missed harvesting the crop of corn in FarmTown, so it has gone to waste.... and so on and so on, and soon our time with Jesus has gone to waste too! How our mindset changes, to think that feeding people every minute in Cafe World, or harvesting fields in FarmTown or FarmVille is totally a necessity. We fret when the preacher talks too long, because we have to 'serve our homestyle chicken dinner' in Cafe World before it goes to waste. What are we thinking??? Really...?? God's Word says, "Why spend your money on something that is not real food? Why work for something that doesn't really satisfy you? Listen closely to me, and you will eat what is good; your soul will enjoy the rich food that satisfies." (Isaiah 55:2 -NCV)

I was going to write a devotional before on harvesting, and on FarmTown, because the Lord was showing me things about sowing, reaping and harvesting. I was getting tired of the game, yet, I did however keep the application on, and checked in every now and then. I haven't planted any crops, and allowed my trees to grow, because for some reason crops go to waste, but trees stay fruitful. (Is there a spiritual meaning here, yes, and I'm sure God will reveal that to me more later.) You keep some games/applications on your page because your friends are playing it, and you are helping them. Pfffttphh... are we really helping them?? I can use all the excuses to why the applications were still on my Facebook, but in reality I just wasn't giving top priority to the One who deserves the top priority in my heart and life.

More about FarmTown, as that's the one that hit me first... Here are some pictures from the game, incase you don't have the application (and please, this is not a paid ad for FarmTown, so please don't go and add the application, unless you are willing to apply it to your life).








So, by these pictures, you see that there are many different 'signs' showing what's going on, so you know what you are to do. The first picture says 'plowed field', so you know that you can sow seeds, and in time they will grow into the crop that it says. The second picture says 'harvested field', so this shows that you just harvested a crop, and now can plow it and sow a seed. The third picture shows 'Apple Tree - Ready to Harvest', meaning you can now harvest the fruit from the tree, and then it will grow again and produce more fruit. The last picture shows a 'Potato Field Gone to Waste'. How sad is this picture? This means that you didn't harvest it in time, and you can not harvest it anymore, or get anything back from those seeds that were sown. You know the name of the crop, but its gone, so its no good anymore. Fortunately in the game, you can plow over the field, and start fresh, planting new seeds. The Lord is revealing a new truth to me, as I said He would in the above paragraph. The crops go to waste, yet the fruit trees remain fruitful. When we let seeds that were sown, die & not get harvested, or get choked by weeds, or eaten by birds, they go to waste. In other words, if we leave people un-harvested, they will go to waste, living a life of eternal damnation in hell. (Yes, hell is a real place.) Yet, when we harvest the fruit of love, joy, salvation in people, they in turn become more fruitful, and harvest fruit of their own. How amazing is God?? Now, wouldn't it be so much easier, if we all had 'signs', like the apple tree in the picture. Walking through the mall, and observing people, and seeing signs that say 'Ready to Harvest', would sure be a help wouldn't it? We would get excited I think, and go and speak to people more. Yet, taking the other side, what if we walked through the church, and saw signs that said 'Gone to Waste'?? Would it be too late to plow their hearts? Fortunately and unfortunately, we don't have physical signs, yet if we allow the Spirit to speak to us, He will tell us His heart for the people.

There is a book called 'The Heart Reader', and in it the man gets the spiritual gift (for lack of a better word right now) to be able to read the hearts of the people around him, and he can help them according to their desires and needs for the Lord. For the secular world, there is a movie called 'What Women Want' starring Mel Gibson. In this movie, Mel's character has an unfortunate (or fortunate in his case) accident, and he is able to hear the hearts of women and their desires and needs too. He in turn helps out many women because he can hear what they really want. However, this can happen in the real world, as I said above, if we allow ourselves to hear what the Spirit is saying.

We need to approach every day with God, expecting a harvest! Who knew when I put 'fall harvest conference' and 'expectation ministries' together, that coming up with 'Expect a Harvest' would mean sooooo much? Even if the title just ended up being special to me, and God speaking to me, that would be awesome. But I know that many others were touched at this conference, and will continue to be from Sunday night, to Tuesday night, and long after. (For those of you who couldn't make it out to Conference, or others who may be reading this, if you desire, you can contact me here to order yourself a CD set - - they are $5 a CD, and there will be 3 CD's) EXPECT A HARVEST! Pray for an OUTPOUR of His Spirit! Hallelujah Jesus!!
I'm not even going to touch on Cafe World, or the others, yet how much more important are the hungry people in this world, who need the 'bread of life', rather than a bowl of cyber soup. "Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God's grace, not by obeying rules about foods, which do not help those who obey them." (Hebrews 13:9 NCV) I am not condemning anyone, (as condemning nor convicting is my job), I'm just speaking the truth, and this is for my own benefit too. As I said, I am not condemning you if you have these applications on your Facebook, and maybe you will or will not be convicted by the Holy Spirit to change. Maybe you are okay in your spiritual walk, and can spend time on these frivolous activities. As long as you spend more time with God then you do with the Mob...
Think of the word 'applications', how do these really apply to your life? For the most part, you have to think of what you are actually playing. The innocent "killing", because its not real, and the innocent "stealing tips" because its not real, is still technically killing and stealing, and those are two of God's 10 commandments. Gets ya thinking doesn't it?? How much more fun would it be to go out and share Jesus, and get your friends sharing Jesus, and hearing the angels rejoice in Heaven over a lost soul coming home? Think of your Heavenly rewards, and our Lord saying, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant!"

Prayer: Wow, where to begin Lord. What to say Lord... I thank you above all that you do not want us to 'go to waste'. I thank You God for the truths that You have spoken and confirmed through your Word, and through your prophet. God help us to truly put You first in all we do. Lord, help ME to put YOU first in all I do. (I cannot speak for others, but because my heart breaks for them, I do). Thank you for showing me the silliness of it all, and how serious You are about Your people. They are not just crops and fruit, they are Your people, Your children, none of whom You want to see perish! Help us not want to see them perish either. As I have prayed on many occasions, help us love them like You love us. Help us see them through Your eyes. I pray for the Spiritual Words of wisdom and knowledge that I have used before, and let go to the wayside, to be refired in me. Help me to hear people's hearts, and to speak Your words into them. Words of life, and not death; words of peace, & not war; words of love & not hate; words of encouragement & not discouragement; words to build up & not tear down. Show me Lord the ones who are ready to harvest, the ones who need more seeds sown, and the ones who the world has told them they have gone to waste, but they are still alive to you. We all have to die to ourselves, to live fully in You. Praise You Lord that You made me who I am, and help me to share your love and make a good 'first impression' for You and Your gospel! To give Your love, we must be full of Your love, so let us fall more in love with You. Show us how high, how deep, how wide Your love is. In the precious name of Your Son, Jesus, AMEN!

Check out this video... we sang this song to the Lord at OUTPOUR to our consuming fire~ 'Let us fall more in love with you'!

EXPECT a HARVEST!!!!!