Waiting on God's Timing

Psalms 62:1 - Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

Have you ever made a decision that you quickly realized was a mistake? Naturally, we all have. For me, the biggest mistakes I've made have been the times when I didn't pray and ask God what He thought before I made my decision. Or worse yet, there have been times when I prayed and felt a check but went ahead and did what I wanted to do anyway. Then when things went wrong there was no one to blame but myself. Thank God for His mercy!

The word wait in this verse from the Psalms carries the meaning in Hebrew of sitting quietly. It means to sit and not be troubled or bother anyone else until we are given instructions. Much like a child who is told to sit quietly in the corner while mom or dad conducts business with the banker. Remember those days? How hard it was to just sit and wait. Patience doesn't come naturally to most of us. It is something that has to be cultivated within us. There is a reason that Jesus told us that we must become as a little child to please him.

We are taught in Sunday School to pray and ask God for what we need and He will answer. Then many times, when we pray, it seems as if nothing is happening. It is not that nothing is happening but that it is not time for us to move yet. Just like the child who has to wait on his parents, all of us have to wait on God at times. In those times we have a choice to make: Will I sit quietly and wait with confidence or will I fret because my answer hasn't come yet. Sounds easier said than done? It is. Yet if we can discipline ourselves to wait with patience we will have much more peace in our lives.

Remember that it is always worthwhile to wait on God's answer. He has information that we don't have and His timing is always perfect!

Waiting,

Spanish Pastor Jones

The Power of Words

 Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

 

 The power of our words is so amazing. We can create things with out words and we can also destroy things. I remember one night I was preparing a Sunday School lesson and I leaned back in my chair and glanced at the ceiling. I live in a wooded area and there was a big wood roach over my head that had apparently gotten in from outside. I grabbed a towel and went to kill it but I missed. As I swung I said "You are a dead roach." I knew I didn't hit it but at the moment I spoke those words the roach fell to the floor dead. I was stunned and then I immediately heard the Holy Ghost say, "your words have that much power. You killed that roach with your words. You need to watch what you say."

I know that may sound crazy to some but we all know how much power is in our words. It is with words that man's imagination is ignited. Countries have been compelled into war by words and words are used to make pacts of peace. Words cause people to feel well and to feel bad, both physically and spiritually. Words of truth bring clarity and words of deception bring confusion. Words of encouragement bring hope and words of doubt often bring fear. 

 

Let us be careful of every word for we will answer to God for every idle (vain or evil) word that we speak. Why? Because by giving us the power of speech God has given us the power of creation.God created the world by His word and our words are the creative factor that is with in us. Doesn't it then stand to reason that we can affect destiny with our words. Let's not create things God didn't want created; let's use our words to build his kingdom. It's the only thing worth building!

Where is your trust?

 Psalm 33:17 - A horse is a vain thing for safety; neither shall he deliver anything by his great strength. 

There is the tendency in all of us to put our trust in the known or in what we are good at. Yet life has a way of surprising us with things we could not have foreseen. It is in those time that we see just how inadequate our safety nets are and we must trust in God. I am so glad that when we need him the most, our God never fails.

A friend of mine once told me the following story. I'll call him Jack since I didn't get permission to use his story.  When he was in college he and his girlfriend (now wife) were at a nice restaurant celebrating his birthday. As they left the restaurant a man pulled a gun on them in a dimly lighted portion of the parking light. The man demanded Jack's wallet and his girlfriends purse. Jack asked the man if he could keep his driver's license and the man only became agitated and demanded the wallet again. His girlfriend was urging him to just give the man what he wanted in hopes that he would let them go. What happens next is truly only something only God can do.

Jack said that at first he was just going to do what the man asked. But he said, "All of a sudden I felt a boldness that can only come from God." Jack looked at the man with the gun and said, "I rebuke you in Jesus' name." The man laughed and replied, "I rebuke you too." Jack then said, "But I rebuke you in Jesus' name." By this time the man looked stunned. Jack then said, "I rebuke you in Jesus' name the third time."

When he did, the man with the gun started to tremble and cry and dropped the gun. He began to confess and tell them that he had never done anything like this before. He told them that the only reason he was doing it was desperation. He said his wife and baby were at home without any food and he had been without work for a long time. Jack began to witness to the man and prayed with him before they parted.

Now my intention in telling this story is to be neither political nor to talk about gun control. I simply want to say this: as a grandmother in our church used to say, "My God will do to depend on." When all of our safety nets are stripped away, there is safety in the name of Jesus and He will never let us down.

Trusting Him Daily,

Spanish Pastor Jones