Pray, period. April 6, 2016

Boaz Ministries

Lord, I went to bed angry with my spouse and spent a sleepless night because of it. Then we went our separate ways this morning with tension between us. Forgive me for letting it go this long. Help us heal this breach, to Your glory.

Bible text: Ephesians 4:26-27

Pray, period. April 5, 2016

Boaz Ministries

I try and try, but my efforts accomplish nothing when I have not come first to You in prayer. I need to do things in Your strength or I am useless. I need Your power behind me when I speak. Allow Your Word to speak to me.

Pray, period. April 4, 2016

Boaz Ministries

Lord, help me to keep my priorities straight today. It's not all about what I do but how I treat others. Show me how to love those with whom I come in contact. Help me be a person of my word, a person of compassion. When people see me, I want them to recognize You.

Pray, period. April 3, 2016

Boaz Ministries

Within this early morning silence, speak to me, Lord. Tell me what You would have me do this day. Enlighten my mind, heart, and spirit. I await Your words. And when I come to You as night falls, lead me back to Your Word and give me the rest I need.

Pray, period. April 2, 2016

Boaz Ministries

Lord, I'm looking in Your Word for courage and strength. You are my rock and my refuge. Bring me up to where You are. I want to commune with You, to rest with You, to be head over heels "in trust" with You. Show me how to do that.

God Restores, and He Makes All Things New

I've blogged about broken relationships, forgiveness and the need for prayer, in all things. In my sharing, I try to be as transparent as possible, because ministry is most effective when we are willing to share our real life experiences and how the Lord has moved us from one place to another - higher and higher.

Today, I wanted to give a praise report about some breakthroughs that God has brought to pass; direct answers to prayers. Four years ago I wrote a piece titled, The Drop Kick - and two years later, I wrote about Consequences . Both posts had to do with interpersonal relationships between friends, and how we may find ourselves being dropped by folks we thought would always be in our lives, or having to drop people from our lives. Consequences, originally posted in November, 2014, was written in response to a Facebook post written by an acquaintance who was addressing Christians who find themselves in situations with "repeat offenders" who expect them, as Christians, to always "turn the other cheek" when they've been offended, over and over. However, as Christians, while we may forgive, our relationship with the offender may not remain the same.

When I revisited Consequences at the beginning of 2016, I prefaced it with a personal statement. A former friend of mine, S.C., when she was my friend, gave me a good word regarding the status of my situation with some individual(s) I had hurt in the past. She said I just may not be forgiven. It helped me to cope. Partly because I knew I had confessed to the Lord, and asked Him to forgive me. I was already forgiven.

I'm here to tell you that the two longtime friends from my post in The Drop Kick, have been restored to me! And the one, Agnostic/Atheist, friend now reaches out for me to pray for him on a regular basis! He knows that prayer works! God is moving!

And on the matter of my consequences for the hurt I caused others years ago - the Lord has worked that out, as well - to His glory! God has moved mightily, so much so that there is now a bond that is strengthening between me and the others. There is forgiveness, and acceptance, and fellowship -  which is even more than I asked or expected!

As for my former friend, who dropped me at the end of 2015 for reasons that seemed right to her, I had to accept and understand something that I always say: Not everyone will travel this journey with us all the way. I was hurt, as it was truly unexpected, and I didn't get a chance to respond to the issues. But God knows, and He does all things well!

In all of my life's experiences there have been lessons. Some I've learned, and there is more to learn. My hope and prayer is to be a blessing to those the Lord sends my way, and to live in His will, by His grace, power and love!

God is faithful to perform His promises! He gives us exactly what we need, and aligns our hearts' desires with His, when we delight in Him (Psalm 37:4)!

Amen.

Pray, period. April 1, 2016

Boaz Ministries

Lord, Your Word says that no matter how many times I am offended, if my friend apologizes, I am to forgive. Well, You're going to have to give me this power, because I have none left of my own. Help me to forgive my friend.
(Bible reference: Luke 17:3-4)