Friday, Jun 27, 2008

TWG - June 27, 2008

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TWG - June 27, 2008
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Exodus 32; Psalm 44; Acts 6

Today is June 27, this is time with God, I’m Pastor Dennis - I’ve been waiting here for you. Welcome to our life transforming community. TWG is a complete turn of events; it is a 180 degree turn around. God is changing us and turning us around as a community. This is not business as usual, this is transforming, this is spiritual, this is essential.

It was tough to wake up this morning… that PM decongestant I took really knocked me out! But here I am, and still a bit stuffy. Yesterday I spent the day working on the bulletin, getting ready for camp, doing Sunday’s message called “Bad start, Great finish.” Wayne and Cathy stopped in. I put up a picture of them on the blog at timewithgod.mypodcast.com. check it out. Phil dropped by. We spent several hours talking about the ministry. What a great time we had. And we spent some time in prayer. After work I ran to Whistlers Bend. Kyle & Marcia were there, as were Connie and Karri. Carl & Sonja, Terri & Vicki also showed up to visit with us. Then I took off home because we forgot the decongestant. So here I am.

This week’s theme verse is Jeremiah 29:11-14 “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD”

God’s plans for you are directly related to your prayer life. If you want to find God’s plan for your life you must first find God. There is no such thing as discovering God’s plan without finding God. In life you can get most any map without ever knowing the map maker. In fact most of us will never meet a map maker. But in God’s world you must get the map directly from The map maker Himself or you don’t get it at all! No God, no plans. Know God, know His plans. It all begins with an honest cry of the heart. It is a cry of desperation. “God I need you! I want to know you!” When you call on God, He is always ready to answer. He eagerly waits to hear from you, ready in an instant to reveal Himself. If you were to hear God speak I believe He would say, “I’m listening! I’ve been waiting here for you! I have always loved you!” But don’t stop with one call. The reason we don’t connect is because we are not desperate or persistent enough. When you are serious about finding God, you will come to him in concerted and intense prayer... The kind of prayer that is willing to seek Him with all your effort, time, intensity and all your heart. In the Hebrew, there are two words used for “seek” in this verse. The first one means “to seek” in the sense of a needy request or inquiry. It might be understood like this: “Lord are you there? I’m crying out for you. I need you! Please show yourself.” The second word used for “seek” is one which means “to search.” And it is a term which implies frequent investigation. We don’t just search once, we come again and again seeking God. Knowing God and His plan demands that I lay my heart out before God every day. The picture I conjure in my mind is a black and white drawing of a man sprawled across a chair, kneeling in prayer. His clothes are disheveled, his hair is a mess. His face is contorted with emotion. He is intense. His eyes are tightly shut and he is mouthing passionate cries from the heart. Day after day he has been here. The clock ticks incessantly. But he has lost all sense of time, nor does he pay it mind, because this man is desperate for God. He will not leave until his heart touches the heart of God. How can we expect our prayers to move the heart of God if it does not first move our hearts? When you seek God with all your heart, he will be found by you.

Oh Father! I need you! Here I am seeking you with all my heart, soul and might. I do want to know you. I do want your will for my life. My heart cries out. You are my crying need. Please fill me with your presence. Forgive me for not putting enough intensity and concerted effort into my prayer life. I am willing to come as often and stay as long as need be to find you and your plan for my life.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:32 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

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