Mark – Uplifting Christ

RECEIVING FROM GOD

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Uplifting Christ

For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]. (Mark 11:24 AMP)

Some believers quote and believe “Keep on asking and it will be given you”. (Matthew 7:7 AMP). Yet they do not receive. They ask but they do not receive answers to their prayers. Are you one of such people? Some believe what they asked for may not be the will of God for their lives. Well, I believe such people have not read what Jesus said that “If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7 AMP). As a child of God, you always have to abide in Jesus Christ, and His Words must be hidden in your heart. His word must be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. When you live in Him and His words remain in you, your requests are made in line with what His Words say. For instance, you wouldn’t ask for a new car because a friend has got a new car when His Words live in you. The scripture says “be satisfied with what you have”. So when you make request for your selfish desires, God wouldn’t respond. What you ask for must be in line with what His Word says. Friend, when you are in God, His will becomes your will and whatever you ask for will be His will for you.

Why are people asking according to Matthew 7:7 but they are not receiving?

I believe such people have left out what Jesus said in Mark 11:24 “BELIEVE (TRUST AND BE CONFIDENT) IT IS GRANTED TO YOU”. They ask but they doubt God’s power to perform. Abraham had Isaac because he believed in God’s power to perform. He was fully persuaded that God was able to perform. He didn’t doubt God when there was no reason for hope. He believed that God could create new things out of nothing. In the book of James, the apostle said “it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord”. So dear friend, after you have ask for whatever you need, you must have absolute trust and confident in God. You must be fully persuaded that God will grant you what you have asked for. You don’t have to look at your bank account, your sickness, your fears, your qualification, your business, your wealth, etc. You must trust that God is more than able to grant you what you have requested. Some of us who have applied for Jobs believe that their CVs can fetch them those Jobs. Some folks who are sick believe their money and doctor can heal them. Some people believe that their savings can save them in times of trouble.

These people pray to God but they doubt in their heart that God could bring something out of nothing. I remember one day a colleague said to me “brother, my CV has not been able to fetch me the Job I need”. I believe God could have gotten him the job he needed even without his CV. Let us believe that ONLY GOD has the power to grant us our needs through His beloved Son Jesus Christ.

Friend, whatever you have asked for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) it is granted to you, and you will get it. God has placed everything you need in Christ Jesus therefore trust that God alone has the power to supply your needs. Do not pause for a minute to ask how God is going to do His work as no one knows how He works. People who tried to understand how God works ended up doubting Him because His thoughts are far above our thoughts. You Job is to believe. ONLY BELIEVE.

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and [a]let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. (Mark 11:25 AMP)

Jesus spoke about three things we need to do in order to receive what we pray for in Mark 11. In verses 22 and 23, He talked about FAITH. He talked about BELIEVE in verse 24, and FORGIVENESS in verse 25. Forgiving people who have wronged us can be difficult considering the pains, or the harm they might have caused to our lives. But as believers, we have to forgive because our Father in Heaven forgives us when we go wrong. Friend, consider the price God had to pay to set you free from destruction; He sacrificed His only Son. Jesus loved you so much that He gave His life for you. When you choose not to let things go, they hinder answers to our prayers. “Say not, I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for his deed.” (Proverbs 24:29 AMP).

I believe we are going to Forgive people for their mistakes, Pray for whatever we need in Faith, and Believe that it is granted to us. And we will get it in Jesus’ Name.

God bless you

FAITH, SOUL FOOD

YOUR FAITH

Posted on June 8, 2012July 9, 2013 by Uplifting Christ

Jesus spoke about faith, and He walked by faith. Faith helps us to walk in the world of possibilities. I always tell folks that one word that can’t be found in God’s dictionary is impossibility. All things are possible with God. In order to experience or walk in this world of possibilities, you need to put your Faith to work. Practice what you hear. Let’s not forget that faith without deeds is dead. When you hear the Word, and you don’t practice it, it is as though you have heard nothing.

Let’s consider this scenario;

A guy who had headache went to see the doctor. The doctor put him on some tablets. This guy took the medications as prescribed by the doctor and was healed. My question is;

who/what cured the guy’s headache?

Was it the doctor, the medication? himself?

I have asked many people and most of them believed it was the doctor.

Think about this for a minute;

What if the guy didn’t take those tablets?

What if he never followed what the doctor had said, do you think He could have been healed?

I believed he played a very important role in the recovery process.

Like this guy, most of us have problems or are in situations that we have been struggling to find the way out. We have spoken to the Doctor (God), who has given us the tablets (His Word) we need to be healed (get out of the situation). But we are either not following the directions given, or not taking the medication. God has made it our responsibility, that is to use our Faith to get what we want.

Think about these scriptures:

A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” (Mark 5:25-28, 34 NLT)

Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road. (Mark 10:50-52 NLT)

But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!” Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed. (Matthew 15:25-28 NLT)

These people got their miracles because of their Faith. Have you ever thought of what your faith could do? Start practicing the word.

Jesus said “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27 NLT).

Practicing the word will help you stand in times of trouble.

Alright! This is what I want to talk about today. God works with your faith. It’s your Faith that will open the windows of Heaven. We walk by Faith, we live by Faith. The truth is without it, it will be impossible to please God. The good news is we don’t need any bigger faith to get our prayers answered. All we need is that of the size of a mustard seed. “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you! (Luke 17:6 NLT).

Every individual has got a mountain or mulberry tree to move. Some easily get the work done because of the knowledge they have had in the Word. Others are struggling. I don’t know which group you belong but what I can say is your Faith can produce the result you need. Exercise your faith.

I will close with this:

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

SOUL FOOD

Stop dwelling on the Past

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Uplifting Christ

This is what the Lord says- he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters…Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18

Do not dwell on your past success, business, happiness, friendship, relationship, etc. Do not dwell on the past life. Stop blaming yourself for what couldn’t go on well in the past. And do not keep the pains of yesterday.

If things didn’t go on well (probably last year, last month, last week, yesterday), let them go. Don’t start your day worrying about bad things that happened the day before. Remember what the psalmist said “this is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” psalm 118:24.

You can’t do anything about the past. However, you can make plans today to have a better tomorrow. God knows your future more than you knew your past. The only truth about the past is it hinders you from receiving the best from the Lord.

Paul said in Philippians 3:13 that “…But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” NIV

In verse 19 of Isaiah 43, God said “see, I am doing a new thing (in your life)! Now it shall spring up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” God will not say what He can’t do. As a matter of fact, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH HIM; Mark 10:17. He is what He says He is. If He says He is doing a new thing in your life, it means He is doing a new thing in your life. He is faithful. Where your strength ends is where He begins. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Where there is no Hope, He brings hope. Where there is no Joy, He brings joy.

I know the God I serve. He is I am that I am. He is the first and the last. I know what He can do in just a minute. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. He can do it for you.

He is telling you today to forget the former things and focus on what He can do for you today and tomorrow.

God bless you as you leave the past behind in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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