We All Have Expectations

Psalm 40

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

⁴ Blessed is the one
    who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
    to those who turn aside to false gods.
⁵ Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.

⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
    but my ears you have opened—
    burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
⁷ Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
    it is written about me in the scroll.

  

   Life is filled with expectations.  Look at our everyday lives.  Some of us wake up expecting the best in our work day or with our family or in our health or finances.  Others dread the day, or at best, never expect anything to change for the better. Childhood dreams and hopes might be crushed by comments that discourage rather than encourage. Disillusionment or disappointments can stop any positive expectations. What are you expecting in life? Whatever your expectations, there's a good chance you're going to get it. In other words, you get whatever you expect out of life. Please know that God is still ABLE to deliver you from low expectations.  Start believing for something better in your life. The Word tells us that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Expect it!

   Often times, in my own walk with God, I will have these problems. I have people at work ask me why I don't pray for God to give me a certain dollar amount of sells for the day. My answer isn't understood too often. But my heart's reply is always that I'm not going to put my God in a box of limitations. What I may perceive that I need may be different than the plan that God has for me for that day. Maybe God wants to bless you in a different way. Maybe He has different plans for your day than you do. Our prayer should be asking God to align our actions, motives, thoughts, and conversations to His will for us; not our will for us. 
   When we pray for God's will to be done in our life,the expectations will be different. God will give you what you ask and expect as long as it lines up with His will for you. If you are tired of not accomplishing what you want to in life ask yourself whose will you want to be done, yours or God's? Through a close, passionate relationship with God, your life expectations will change. You will start aligning your life with His will.
   

Proverbs 30:7-9

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.

GET BACK TO THE BASICS

 

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation 

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable... We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and set us free. Amen!'

 

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we once again can be called 'One nation under God!'

 

 Wow! That really drives home what our problem, as a nation, is. Could it really be that simple? Could we change the environment around us, just by lining up to the word of God? Yes, Yes, Yes! No one man can change this nation. No political party can reshape the torn landscape of our society. We need to get back to the basics. The following scriptures help us explore where to turn for answers. On this day of  the 9/11 remembrance, and the year of an election for Presidency; let us look to the ultimate source for our wisdom.

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe."
Hebrews 1:1-2

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 6:35

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 8:12

"You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 8:23-24

"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 8:28

"While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 9:5

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 11:25-26

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.

Notice that the last scripture states that Jesus is"the way", not a way, or an alternate way. He is "the" way, and as soon as we realize our nation is in need of divine intervention, then He will be able to heal our land. Let Rev. Grahams prayer be ours, and let our lives be patterned after God.

DEAR GOD HEAL OUR LAND! 

Do others see Christ in you?

Jeremiah 51:33

New International Version (NIV)

³³ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor
    at the time it is trampled;
    the time to harvest her will soon come.”

   The walls of Babylon were 87 feet wide and 360 feet high. Its palace and vast architectures appeared unconquerable. But Babylon's splendor and gigantic world empire did not keep God from bringing about its defeat after 70 years, as foretold by Jeremiah. ⁶² Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate forever.’

   The world as we know it, is a “system” as well as a “planet.” In Jeremiah,  Babylon represented a system in which there are many attractive things to entice the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (I John 2:16).

   However, behind all worldly activities is a hidden power that seeks to defeat and destroy the work of God. It's a satanic system that controls the world that . . . knew not God (I Cor. 1:21) and hated Christ (John 15:18). There are so many of these systems in the world. They include false religions, drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, and violence, as well as many others that draw us into sin.

   When God ordains the destruction of a nation, He does it right the first time. Unless He wills it, that nation is gone forever. There have been many great world powers: Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. All fell for one reason. The Word of God prophesied it. It is important to remember God has all the power. He is in control of all things. No army, no fortified city, or great human leader can stop the plan of God from going into motion. No, not even the president of the United States of America has power like that.

But what about other worldly activities? Things like football games, golf tournaments, vacations, and even our own jobs. We might think to ourselves that these are just recreation and our work. How could these things fall into this same way of thinking? Anything that could be found taking the place of God in our lives could be looked at in this light. However, we are told to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16). As a child of God, He should be in the forefront of our thoughts. We should use every chance we find ourselves in to witness for Him: Be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort (II Tim. 4:2). We need to manage our time, skills, and finances so that God gets His proper portions, which are our first fruits. God should not get only leftovers while we give prime cuts to the world.

Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues (Rev. 18:4). God wants our best, and in getting our best, we show this dark world Christ through our daily walk. Do others see Christ in you, or something else? This world is spinning sideways out of control, and everyone demands for you to conform. It is time we stand up for Christ, and help bring His people back to him. Are you ready to do your part for the Kingdom of God, or does this world have you too busy?