"Living Single" Memphis

Join us next Tuesday November 15, 2016 for our "Living Single" Memphis. This is an event you won't want to miss !

Surviving "The Great Drought" in your life

This Sunday Pastor Henry Lavender spoke from 1 Kings 17. If you are unfamiliar with the passage, it is quite intriguing. The chapter opens with the prophet Elijah proclaiming a drought to the wicked King Ahab as penance for his evil doing.  It is said that the drought would go on for many years until the Lord declared it to be over. During this time God instructs Elijah to travel east where there is a brook of water that will sustain him during the drought. Elijah is also instructed that ravens will bring him meat and bread which will also sustain him during the drought.

Circumstances associated with the drought caused the brook to dry up sometime later, leaving Elijah temporarily without resources to survive. The key word here is temporary as we know that by Elijah serving the true and living God, that he will not allow Elijah to die before his appointed time.

Elijah is then instructed to head towards Sidon where he will be met by a widow that will help to sustain him with food, water and shelter. Upon arrival Elijah is greeted by the widow, who eagerly brings him water to drink but quickly explains that she has no bread, only a "tiny" morsel of flour.

Instead of seeing this issue as a problem, Elijah takes the time to pray and also instructs the widow to "not fear" and to trust in the Lord. Elijah prays and then declares that their source of food will not run out until the Lord restores rain to the lands.

Sometime later the widow's son becomes very ill, never recovers and later dies. The grief stricken widow accuses Elijah of intentionally doing her harm and begins to question in her heart if Elijah really is a man of God. A heartbroken Elijah goes and prays for the deceased boy "three times" before the boy is then resurrected and re-joined with his mother.

The sermon taken from this passage of the bible is quite poignant to what many of us face today. The biggest takeaway that the reader of this can get is that "Wherever God guides, he ultimately provides." This example is seen when God provides Elijah with food and water despite Elijah essentially being "homeless".  Another takeaway from the passage is that there is true growth through earnest prayer. Elijah had several instances where he could have quickly panicked or gotten angry with God but instead he prays making his situation turn from dire to more than okay.

The last takeaway from the passage deals with "Operating in Love". Elijah never once chastised or rebuked the widow for her accusatory manner or lack of faith but he instead tells her what the Lord says in love and later effectively turns her into a "believer" through his faith and obedience in God.

The True Meaning of Prayer

Today's word of the day is, TEFILLAH. This is the Hebrew word for PRAYER

How often do we use prayer as nothing more than an emergency call or a cold call to God?

Too often we only pray when we need or want something from God - which is understandable considering the English word "pray" means to "ask or beg". But the Hebrew word for prayer - tefillah - means to "self evaluate”. So to the Jews of the Bible, prayer was not a time when they asked God for things … it was a time when they examined themselves. They would use prayer as a way to compare their actions, behavior and attitude against God’s holiness.

Could this idea change your prayers today?

This Too Shall Pass.....

"When things get difficult, it’s easy to want to give up. It’s easy to get down and discouraged. But, that’s not God’s plan for us. God wants us to be so full of hope, so full of expectancy that we just can’t help believing for the best. He wants us to be prisoners of hope!"

"When you’re a prisoner of something, it’s like you’re chained to it. In other words, you can’t get away from it. I know people that are prisoners of fear, prisoners of worry, prisoners of doubt. You’ve heard them. “Nothing good ever happens to me.” “It’s never going to change. It’s just been too long.” No, you’re chained to the wrong thing. You need to break those chains and become a prisoner of hope. That means that no matter how long it’s taking, no matter how impossible it looks, our attitude should be, “I just can’t help it. I know it’s going to work out. I know I’m going to overcome. It may be taking a long time, but I know this too shall pass. It may be difficult, but I know that means I’m closer to my victory because I am a prisoner of hope!”

Here's what King Solomon said about the meaning of life.....

"So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can."

     

 

Ecclesiastes 3:12 NLT

Trusting In God In Times of Trouble or Adversity

In this life we all have dreams that we are  believing God for and situations we want to see turn around. All too often, we put God in a box and tell Him how to do it, when to do it, and who to use to do it. We’ve got it all figured out: how God is going to bring us out of debt, how He is going to change our loved one, how we’re going to meet the right person. We pray that things will unfold according to our plan. But we have to realize that God’s ways are not our ways. He is supernatural. His ways are higher than our ways. When God does something, it may not always make sense to our minds. If you have preconceived ideas of how you’re going to be promoted and how you’re going to get well, it can limit what God can do. You have to stay open. You may only see one way that it could happen, but God always has an option you can’t see. Why don’t you surrender your plans to Him today? Put your trust in Him because He is faithful. Let Him direct your steps because His ways are higher, and He knows how to lead you into the life of blessing He has for you.

Only Just Believe

Speaking To The "Storms" In Your Life

Have you ever thought about the fact that a boat can be surrounded by water, sailing through a vast ocean with water for miles in every direction, but it’s not any problem unless the boat starts taking on the water? If the boat starts allowing the ocean to come inside, before long, it will sink.

The same principle is true in life. You can have trouble all around you—stress, frustration and worry. But the good news is, just like that boat, you don’t have to allow what’s on the outside get on the inside. When difficult times come, you don’t have to be overwhelmed by the waves of worry or fear. What should you do? Follow the example of Jesus. When He was in the midst of the storm, He stood up and spoke to the storm.
Always remember, no matter what storms may come against you, the Greater One lives on the inside of you. Turn to Him and walk in His power. Don’t let the storm in, and speak peace to every area of your life!

Follow God

“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.”
(Deuteronomy 28:1–2, NIV)

God rewards the people who seek after Him. Every time you obey His Word, His blessing will follow. If you’ll learn to obey Him in the small things, if you learn to pass the small tests, there’s no limit to how high God will take you. The scripture says, “When we fully obey God, blessings will chase us down and overtake us.” You can’t outrun the good things of God.

Always remember, when you obey God in the small, He will release big blessings. He has big opportunities, new levels of favor, healing, restoration, vindication, promotion, planned in your future. As you stay faithful to Him, you’re going to step into the fullness of your destiny and be all that God has created you to be!

Work, Give, Love & Rest .....

It’s safe to say that we’re not good at resting. Life is busy, and just keeping up with what’s going on is enough to make our heads spin. I’m getting ready to leave for vacation, and before it even gets here, I find myself planning to fill up the time with books I want to read and activities I want to do. And that makes me worry about vacation hangover. You know what I mean: the 24-hour lull that takes place upon returning, where you feel more tired than you did before you left.
It’s a biblical mandate established all the way back in Genesis 2 when God rested from His work of creating the universe. He commanded His people from the very beginning to rest from their labor in order to celebrate and worship. And I have no idea how to do this.

Getting Closer To God

“If I want to get closer to God, I have to stop walking in sin - not just because I don’t like the effects of sin but because I want to draw near to God and you cannot be sinful and get near God. Yes, God promises his rewards to those who diligently seek Him - but knowing Christ for the sake of knowing Him far surpasses rewards - the reward of knowing Him is more than enough. His grace is sufficient.”

Have you read Romans 10:8-13 ?

What does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

A Guide To Finding & Keeping A Relationship With Jesus

"Most of us battle with the fact that God is distant. Intimacy with Christ is difficult to obtain, & our prayers don’t seem to be heard. But God says, “You will seek Me & find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13). Most of us feel we don’t have enough time for prayer & seeking God. But we don’t even consider giving up our nightly TV time, our weekend movie fests, or our iTunes fetish in exchange for spending time in His presence. First Timothy 5:6 says, “She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” That’s a sadly accurate description of today’s young Christian woman. (Boys too). We can quote our favorite lines from a hundred different movies, but the only Scripture we know is John 3:16. & we wonder why Christ feels distant."

"Shift Your Way of Thinking ! "

    There has been a situation in your life that has been causing you lots of grief, heartache and trouble. You might even think that you are going against the grain but when trouble arises you must take a step back and look at the power that is already in you. Psalms Chapter 3 verse 6 states " He had declared to the people the power of their works''. Each one of us has a power source, and that source is Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah stated that "He gives power to the weak".

   The old way of thinking makes people believe that they must revert back to old ways and habits that are ungodly as a way to decide the outcome of a situation. When God gives you power to overcome a situation, Satan  essentially becomes harmless.

   Decide to live and to not allow Satan to hurt you any longer. Live a life of victory. We serve a God that is too great to allow us to quit. So remember, when things get tough just continue to push, trust God and pray.

Don't Live In Defeat !

Put The Devil Under Your Feet !  ~ Romans 16:20  Says that the Devil's time will soon come to an end. It is his job to frustrate and disrupt your life but God comes to heal, save and lead your broken life so that you aren't living in defeat. Dedicate your life to God today !