Get Noticed

God promises great blessings to His people, but many of these blessings require active participation. He will set us free from our fears, guard and defend us, show us goodness, supply our needs, listen when we call to Him, and redeem us, but we must do our part. We can appropriate His blessings when we trust Him, cry out to Him, take refuge in Him, fear Him, refrain from lying, turn from evil, do good, and search for peace, are brokenhearted, and serve Him.

The phrase, "they prosper in all they do, " does not mean immunity to failure or difficulties. Nor does it guarantee health, wealth, and happiness. What the Bible means by prosperity is this: When we apply God's wisdom, the fruit (results or by-products) we bear bear will be good and will receive God's approval. Just as a tree soaks up water and bears luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God's Word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God's Word in our hearts.

People often think they will be free if they can get away from God. Yet, inevitably, everyone serves somebody or something, whether a human king, an organisation, or even one's own selfish desires. Just as a fish is not free when it leaves the water and a tree is not free when it leaves the soil, we are not free when we leave the Lord. We can find the one sure route to freedom by wholeheartedly serving God the Creator. God can set you free to be the person He created you to be.

God doesn't judge people on the basis of race, sex, or national origin. He judges them on the basis of their faith in Him and their response to His revealed will. Those who diligently try to obey God's will are blessed. They are like healthy, fruit-bearing trees planted along a riverbank with strong roots (Jeremiah 17:7-8), and God promises to watch over them. God's wisdom guides their lives. In contrast, those who don't trust and obey God have meaningless lives that blow away like dust.
Only two paths of life lay before us - God's way of obedience or the way of rebellion and destruction. Be sure to choose God's path because the path you choose determines how you will spend eternity.

The simple statement that God created the heavens and the earth is one of the most challenging concepts confronting the modern mind. The vast galaxy we live in is spinning at the incredible speed of 490 000 miles an hour. But even at this breakneck speed, our galaxy still needs 200 million years to make one rotation. And there are over one billion other galaxies just like ours in the universe.

Some scientists’ say that the number of stars equal to all the grains of all the sands on all the beaches of the world. Yet this complex sea of spinning stars functions with remarkable order and efficiency. To say that the universe “just happened” or “evolved” requires more faith than to believe that God is behind these amazing statistics. God truly did create a wonderful universe.

God did not need to create the universe; he chose to create it. Why? God is love, and love is best expressed toward something or someone else – so God created the world and people as an expression of His love. We should avoid reducing...

Elisha helps a poor widow - 2 Kings 4:1 to 7

Poor people and debtors were allowed to pay their debts by selling themselves or their children as slaves. God ordered rich people and creditors not to take advantage of these people during their time of extreme need (Deuteronomy 15:1 to 18). This woman's creditor was not acting in the spirit of God's law. Elisha's kind deed demonstrates that God wants us to go beyond simply keeping the law. We must also show compassion.

The woman and her sons collected jars from their neighbors, pouring olive oil into them from their one flask. The olive oil was used for cooking, for lamps, and for fuel. The oil stopped flowing only when they ran out of containers. The number of jars they gathered was an indication of their faith. God's provision was as large as their faith and willingness to obey. Beware of limiting God's blessings by a lack of faith and obedience. God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

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For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the hevenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

 When you do not know how to pray or cannot find the right words to say you can simply ask God to teach you to pray. This is assuredly the one prayer request that is completely in line with His will and He will be delighted to answer.

When the disciples of Jesus came to Him to seek help and asked Him if He could teach them to pray, He told them in detail how to go about it. In Jesus’ day the Jews often used to pray alongside the streets so that they could be seen by other people. Jesus taught His disciples that this is not right.