Tag Archive | weakness

Philippians 2:25-28

But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.
Philippians 2:25‭-‬28 NASB

God, You are awesome!! Not only do I have 24 hour access to You but I have brothers and sisters in Christ who also have that same access. Anytime night or day we can come to you and convey our burdens, struggles, fears, needs, joys, praise not only for ourselves but on behalf of others.
God I pray to have a deep concern for Your church and for those who are led into sin, to keep them in my prayers.
What a true gift was given us of the Holy Spirit who also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Blessed are You, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by You. Praise to You for the fulltime access we have available through prayer on behalf of others. In Jesus name, amen.
Romans 8:26‭-‬27/2 Corinthians 11:28‭-‬29/2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NASB

🌹Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you;
1 Samuel 12:23a NASB

Continually Seeking Him, 

Sharon 

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Faithful to be Helpful

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
Romans 15:1‭-‬2 NASB

We all have strong characteristics and we all have weak characteristics. That is the marvelous blessing of the church. Together, where we are weak, we are strong. None of us are perfect but together we can uphold, edify one another, bringing glory to God in His church.

🌹Taking our eyes off of ourselves and looking to what is good for others will change the dynamics of a church and bring glory to God.

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
Romans 14:1 NASB

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Galatians 6:2‭-‬3 NASB

Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.
1 Corinthians 10:24 NASB

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Ephesians 4:12 NASB

Continually Seeking Him, 

Sharon 

Feast on Jesus

“Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”
Jeremiah 15:16 NASB

Jesus is the word made flesh.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NASB

Jesus is the bread of life.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35 NASB

God calls us to grace and mercy found and granted by Him alone. Called unto salvation. Called to a loving relationship with Him. Called to obedience that exudes out of our love for Him.

Are you missing the joy and delight of the Lord? If so, could it be that you are starving yourself?

He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. Ezekiel 3:3 NASB

The word of God is important to our spiritual health. Without the word to nourish our souls we are walking a misdirected path in weakness and Ill health. Just as our physical bodies need nourishment so does our spiritual bodies.

Let us not neglect the importance of God’s word. Feed in it daily. Chew on it throughout the day.

God’s word keeps us on the straight and narrow.

“I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
Job 23:12 NASB

“How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalms 119:103 NASB

Feast on His word everyday. Not only will they be sweet to the soul but you will get to know just how sweet our Lord is.

🌹 “O taste and see that the Lord is good;” Psalm 34:8

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

What?! Others first?

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his  edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” — Romans 15:1-3

What?! Life is not about just pleasing myself? I’m supposed to live my life to edify my neighbor for his/her good? I’m supposed to do as Christ did? There’s my answer if I am a true disciple/follower of Christ.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Weakness

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. — Romans 8:26-27

Oh how great our need! Our need for God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to fulfill His great purpose. We are weak but He is strong. We do not know how to pray effectively but the Holy Spirit does. Jesus, who knows our hearts, intercedes with the Father on our behalf to fulfill the will of God, just as Jesus did when He was in the flesh.

To God be the glory for the things He has done and has yet to do in our humbled weakness.

For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you. 2 Corinthians 13:4

Your Confidece

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. — Hebrews 10:35-36

Life changes. Your routine, well managed life is turned upside down. New events challenge your routine. The hours of your day seem to have gotten shorter, demands on your time come from all directions and your peaceful, close encounter life with Christ seems to be fading in the stress of this overwhelming turn of events.

Do you ever miss Jesus? Is your relationship with Him so close that when you start drifting away you miss Him and yearn for His presence?

No matter what happens in life “do not throw away your confidence”. Our confidence is found through the blood of Jesus allowing us entrance to the holy place*. We need that holy time with Jesus. It has a great reward. We need endurance to fulfill the will of God. That endurance comes from our time in the holy place with Jesus. For by our endurance we will gain our lives^. Jesus is our life and without Him our lives are filled with disappointment, weakness, lack of confidence and stress.

Don’t throw away your confidence to approach the throne of God. For therein lies God’s promises.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

* Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, — Hebrews 10:19
^ By your endurance you will gain your lives. — Luke 21:19

Prayer of Supplication

What is a prayer of supplication? A humble prayer spoken with earnest entreaty and petition.

God desires us to pray (He also commands it) for our benefit. What is our need, desire, anxious way in us? Don’t hold on to it and fret about it. Go humbly to the Father. He does not want us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.*

Why take it all to the Lord? For peace. We don’t need to carry fear, uncertainty, pain, difficulties, burdens, worry, etc. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful”.«

Some don’t pray because of pride. We won’t ask God for the things we need or want because we believe it is up to us to supply those things or we think prayer is for others who really “need” it. Our faith is dependent on trust in Jesus. Prayer is showing Him our dependence on Him. Humble prayer is a surrender of our will to His. Surrender and dependence go hand in hand.

So let loose and pray. Pray for your everyday needs, “Give us this day our daily bread”.» Pray for deliverance, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil”.< Our need is daily so our prayers need to be daily.

The great thing about praying to Jesus is that He knows what we go through on a daily basis. “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.> “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted”.~

Prayer brings us into a close relationship with our Lord and Savior. So close that He abides in us and “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”.#

Our prayer life is evident in our daily walk. We walk in peace, and how we live shows fruit. “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you”.’

So we pray asking for what we need to bring us to a point to ask for what will glorify the Father through His Son. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”. — John 14:13

Please don’t neglect prayer for yourself. It is necessary to glorify God.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

*Philippians 4:6-7
«John 14:27
»Matthew 6:11
Hebrews 4:15-16
~Hebrews 2:18
#John 15:7
‘John 15:16

Consistent Prayer

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. — 2 Corinthians 12:9

weakness: an inadequate or defective quality, as in a person’s character; slight fault or defect:

Weakness as defined above really describes all humans in the flesh. We are flawed, our person is faulty. Compared to Christ our quality is defective. But the good news is God’s grace through Jesus Christ. His grace is sufficient.

With grace we are given power through the Holy Spirit and strengthened by that power. Our inner person needs to be connected to the power. How? By prayer. We need to practice a consistent prayer life to receive the perfect power in our weakness. Jesus is that perfect power to do the will of the Father in and through us. We might be weak but with the Holy Spirit we are strengthened for the purpose of walking in power for the glory of God.

If you are not connecting with Jesus everyday through intimate, consistent prayer then you are walking in weakness instead of the power of the Holy Spirit of God in Jesus Christ. Would you make a commitment to Christ right now to practice a consistent prayer life? You won’t be disappointed. Jesus is waiting to spend some quality time with you.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, — Ephesians 3:16