Choose Wisely - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Choose Wisely

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track; the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.” (Proverbs 14:8, THE MESSAGE)

Have you ever gone down a wrong way, thinking at the time it was the right way, and end up somewhere you wish you hadn’t? Whether it be a road, a choice in life or a decision made hurriedly to avoid making another one, only to find out later it was just the wrong decision.

I have. And I have had to pay a price for it.

Sometimes it cost time. Other occasions it cost money. And then even at a more hurtful occurrence, it cost a relationship. Many times the wrong can’t be undone and you live with the pain and hurt for many years. Try as you might, there are repercussions to our actions that have to be walked out.

When I consider a lost relationship between friends, one that had taken years to build, I find myself trusting once again in the goodness of the Lord, after seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with them, ending with no positive results. Our times are in His hands, and we must trust that His restoration hopefully will come at some point.

There is one choice that many continue to decide to do, and that is to walk day by day without giving one’s life to the Lord’s plan and purpose for oneself. To me, that would be unthinkable. To go through this life choosing to do our own thing, without thought or consideration of having the Creator, the very One who created each of us, be unable to reveal His ultimate desire for our life because of our choosing not to let Him. To ignore His longing to give us the future and the hope promised to each, if only we freely choose to let Him in, would indeed be tragic. And yet many choose the unthinkable and do just that.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14, NKJV)

No one person, family or country can long seek their own way and reap the ultimate results of goodness without the love of God working through them. All around us we can see the lasting effects of those who have gone before us, choosing to live as one sang decades ago, “I did it my way.” And where did that get you?

Our lifelong choices not only affect our ending but decisions we make ripple down through those who follow behind us, possibly making the same mistakes as they too walk in our footsteps.

When I was in my late 20’s I heard a message from the pulpit, when the leader of the church gathering told us that choices we make today will have a long-lasting effect decades down the road. If we make the decision to go one way, even if just a slight turn off the correct path, ultimately we will possibly end up way off the mark, and the only way to get back on the right road would be to go back to that point and choose the right one. It is called repentance.

In my walk with the Lord, I considered this word quite often, and sought to have the Holy Spirit give me clarity and insight as to which road to choose each time I came to a fork in the road. Many times it wasn’t the easy choice, or the “multitudes” choice, but it was the Lord’s choice. To this day I can say I am very thankful for His guidance and direction He has certainly given.

My prayer is that today, when you are faced with a decision that will impact your life for years to come, that you will not depend on your own insights, your own feelings, or what is the “likely” choice, but that you will seek the roadmap the Lord already knows about and has laid out before you were born, and which we can know – through His Word and by receiving godly counsel from others. And then walk in faith no matter what the cost may be. It will affect not only your eternity but others around you.

We all have been given a free will, but we also have been given God’s Word, His Holy Spirit, and the fellowship of believers to help guide us.

Choose wisely.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

  

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

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Now Think On This #347 - in the year of our Lord 04.21.18 – “Choose Wisely”, Saturday, 9:45 am

Celebrating God's faithfulness to His Word and to Israel - Jan Willem van der Hoeven ISRAEL TODAY

Celebrating God's faithfulness to His Word and to Israel

Friday, May 05, 2017 |  Jan Willem van der Hoeven  ISRAEL TODAY

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Topics:

Christians

The uniqueness of the miracle of Israel is that historically it is the only nation ever that was out of her land for 1,900 years and regained it. Against all historic odds, Israel was reborn in one day in May 1948!

During the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles, we will celebrate God’s faithfulness to His word and Israel commemorating the following milestones:

• 120 YEARS SINCE FIRST ZIONIST CONGRESS 1897
• 100 YEAR SINCE BALFOUR DECLARATION
• 70 YEARS SINCE U.N. DECISION THAT LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE
• 50 YEARS SINCE THE LIBERATION OF JERUSALEM – JUBILEE

And the Lord their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they are as the stones of a crown, sparkling in his land. Zechariah 9:17

The Israelis are turning the land into an oasis and those who have had the privilege to tour this land have seen with their own eyes that they are as stones of a crown sparkling in HIS land!

So, how do we side with God and Israel in 2017 to celebrate the historic milestones of His faithfulness? We desire to spend seven days of joy but also of prophetic purpose in Israel!

Our programme is filled with interaction with the Israeli’s to comfort them that God is with them and will never leave them. More than any other year we focus on the covenantal promise that God gave this land to Israel! We will visit some key places that are a testimony of the covenant and faithfulness of God.

Jan Willem van der Hoeven who is the founder of the ICEJ and ICZC, and has ministered in the Land of Israel for 44 years. To find out more about the ICZC Feast of Tabernacles, visit www.israelmybeloved.com

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Tilt Your Head Up - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Tilt Your Head Up

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills — from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2 NKJV)

“Tilt your head up”, I heard the Voice softly say as I prayed.

As one normally does, I had my head bowed during my morning prayers, as I sat in my prayer chair in the corner of our home’s front room. I don’t recall that I was praying for anything real heavy at the time. But when He spoke, I also had the sensation of a father touching the chin of their child with their fingers, to lift their head in order to see into their eyes.

The Lord was telling me to look up; to see Him; to know that He was in full control.

“He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” (Psalm 121:3-8 NKJV)

The Lord’s loving-kindness and compassion to us are new every morning, as Scripture tells us. His faithfulness, to hear every prayer, and to speak to our heart, is a promise for those who take the time to seek Him. Therefore we can have hope and trust in Him.

“The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lam 3:22-26, NASU)

We can easily get weighted down with the daily cares of the world. The day in, day out routine, which can be a grind at times, fills our soul with anxiety. We simply get worn out. That is one of the strategies of the enemy that opposes us. If we don’t stop and let the Lord Jesus’ yoke become ours, we will be overcome by it all.

Daily prayer, with reading of the Bible, isn’t an option we can pick or chose when we want to, or feel like it. It has to be so normal in our normal lives that when we miss the time with Him, we know that we have missed it. May it be that our day will not be the same without time with Him.

I encourage you to make prayer and the reading of His Word a priority in your life. If it means going to bed a little earlier, so you can have that quiet time in the morning before the rush is on, then do it. Or if you are better at night, after things quiet down, then spend this time with the Lord then. Let Him know that He is a priority in your life. And as for you, you will be more aware of how you are a priority in His.

He wants to tilt your head up to Him, to look into His eyes, and know that He is in control.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc.

P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to support the families that we do, primarily in Israel, India, Pakistan and the hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have been given.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Click here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People. If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

Please share Now Think On This with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

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Now Think On This - In the New Year of our Lord 03.09.16 - #249 –“Tilt Your Head Up” – Wednesday at 6:30 pm

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

HEARING GOD'S VOICE IN A BUSY WORLD Written by John Paul Jackson

HEARING GOD'S VOICE IN A BUSY WORLD

Written by John Paul Jackson

Prayer is more than just speaking to God. It also means listening to God. It can mean quieting the soul, being still before Him, momentarily letting go of a busy schedule—and just listening.

The greatest “noise” that hinders us from hearing Him comes from our minds. My life is so full that my time is usually spoken for, and my mind is constantly working. Demands are placed on me. I’m recovering from radiation therapy and facing potential surgery. There is a lot of “noise” in my life right now.

In order to hear the still, quiet voice of the Lord in the midst of chaos and distraction, we need to develop the habit of meeting with Him on a regular basis. There, in His presence, we can practice two things that are capable of changing our lives forever.

1. Meditate on God

Some of my favorite times of prayer occur when I am meditating on God, focusing on His splendor and glory. When you look at Him—really, truly give Him your attention—you start to remember that He is good, that He is great, that His love is powerful and true, that nothing is too hard for Him. It is not uncommon to sit in His presence and wonder, How could I have forgotten that about You? In His presence, you remember who He is.

David would actually remind the Lord of what He had done in the past. These prayers have tremendous power as we recall the multi-layered promises God has given us: “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old” (Psalm 25:6).

2. Meditate on His Word

Second, you can meditate on God’s Word by slowly and deliberately reading the Scriptures. This is called Lectio Divina, which means “holy reading.” Essentially, it is praying God’s Word. You meditate on a particular passage and wait for God to give you greater understanding about it.

Lectio Divina is about taking it slow and really sinking your teeth into one section of Scripture at a time, letting it soak down into your heart. It is a way to practice giving God your full, undivided attention. The more you practice this method of reading the Scriptures, the easier it becomes to focus on God without the distractions of the day taking over your consciousness.

This type of prayer, meditating on the Word, will radically transform your life. It has certainly transformed mine.

The Raging River of Hope

I often tell people, “What you focus on is what you make room for.” In other words, when we focus on the Lord, we make room for Him in our lives. The apostle Paul talks about this principle in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed.” Beholding the glory of God transforms us. We become the people we were made to be—children who look more and more like their Father. Hope washes like a wild river through our souls, and we are restored.

As we develop a habit of meeting regularly with God, we prepare our spirits to hear from Him in times of peace as well as in times of crisis. We’re able to hear His voice even in the midst of “noise,” and the distractions that pull at us from the world will seem like actual distractions. We will recognize them for what they are, because we know the more important thing.

The Art of Praying the Scriptures book, CD-Set and Study Card are all valuable tools that will help prepare you to pray God’s Word back to him. The book contains 175 pages of practical instruction on the process of meditating on and praying God’s word and it includes some of John Paul’s favorite Scripture verses. The 2-CD Set goes deeper into this teaching with John Paul sharing several stories and anecdotes. To see the Art of Praying the Scriptures teaching series.

CLICK HERE

Source: Streams Ministries

Keith Miller: His Word Is Like Fire In My Bones

Keith Miller:

His Word Is Like Fire In My Bones

The Elijah List

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:37-38 NKJV

In this text, we see the word Lord in the context of the harvest. The Greek translation of Lord used here means "One who can empower harvesters; one who can literally oversee the harvest; one who can be empowered for harvest" [1]. Interestingly, the Greek word translated as "send out," ekballo, at the root level means "to drive out." Ballo is where we derive the English word ballistic.

In this we can see the force and sense of urgency, a driving out, a thrusting out of laborers into His harvest. We may be the instruments God uses, but God is the moving force for the harvest. 

We see this same word used in Mark 1:12 to describe Christ's actions after He was filled with the Holy Spirit at the Jordan River. It says, "Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness."

With that sense of urgency, Jesus isn't going to thrust us out ill-equipped. No, He's going to give us His effectual wonder-working power and authority to help us bring in the harvest quickly. He's going after the harvest, and He's empowering us for it!

As we see in Matthew 10:1, "...He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease." The Lord of the Harvest empowers us to harvest dormant promises and re-dig old wells in desolate places so we may see His harvest. 

He's giving us boldness to cast out every hindrance to breakthrough, to restore the lost dreams and visions of long ago. He's empowering and sending us out – and quickly! 

(Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Like He commissioned and sent out His disciples, He is sending us out today.

And as you go, preach, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8

As you go, preach! God calls every Believer to preach the Gospel with power. God will empower us to preach, to heal, to cleanse, to raise the dead, and to cast out demons – all to fulfill His purposes for each one of us. It's a multi-faceted purpose, for God will give us a word, commission us, and release us to fulfill it. Then He will give us another word and release us for another and another fulfillment of it until the harvest is in.

Likewise, we'll go from fulfillment to fulfillment to fulfillment of every true prophetic word ever spoken over our lives. His word will be in our hearts like a burning fire shut up in our bones. We won't be able to hold it back, just like Jeremiah: "But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not" (Jeremiah 20:9b).

As the Word becomes like a burning fire in our hearts and bones, our focus will be on the harvest, and it won't be denied us because we have freely received the Word and freely given the powerful Word of the Lord.

With the workings of the Word in us, we will become slayers of any giants that stand in the way of the harvest. Even if there's a wall, we will leap right over it, slaying the giants to bring forth the victory.

Get ready, precious friends! The Lord of the Harvest is releasing a fresh zeal of the Lord through His Word and the power of the Lord for harvest – harvest glory.

Not only will this mean multitudes of the lost coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but also a fresh zeal to stir up the Word of the Lord for our lives that releases the perpetual and ever-increasing flow of His power to see harvest of the promises of God for our lives, our families, our communities, our regions, our states, and the nations!

The Word and the power of the Lord are flowing together to release the plans and purposes of the Lord, according to the constant and ever-increasing flow of His power and ability.

Lord, thank You for the harvest! Empower us for the harvest, precious Lord. Let this time be one of increase for harvest glory – harvest for Your glory, precious Lord.

[1] F. Wilbur Gingrich, revised by Frederick W. Danker, Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Second Edition; University of Chicago Press, 1983), 58–59.

Keith and Janet Miller
Stand Firm World Ministries

Email: info@sfwm.org
Website: sfwm.org

Keith and Janet Miller minister throughout the U.S. and internationally, across denominational boundaries, with a vibrant teaching, preaching, and ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit, seeing entire cities and regions impacted by the glory of the LORD! Keith and Janet have founded and pastored a church. Keith is also a conference speaker, and he and Janet are regular guests on Christian television. 

They have put together Apostolic Revival Teams to see entire regions powerfully impacted with a fresh anointing, fresh oil, and an increase of a deeper passion for JESUS. Keith and Janet's hearts are to see God's people released and walking in their destiny for the LORD, to see the advancement of the Kingdom of God through each person's life, and the effective working of HIS mighty power through the Believer's life.

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