Thank You Lord!

Luke 17:15,16 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. In ancient times, lepers were social outcasts because of their highly contagious disease. In this passage, ten lepers came to Jesus begging for mercy and He graciously healed them. Can you imagine? These lepers had an awful disease. Their bodies were slowly deteriorating — and worse, they were shunned from their friends and family and forced to live in a community of only those who were too withering away. Suddenly merciful Jesus comes along and "poof!" the sickness leaves them! How life changing! These people must have been overjoyed! Now they could go back to their families, their homes, their communities and live normal lives! But as I reread this story today something struck me. Only one of them returned to thank the Lord! But how often do we do the same? We get so focused on our blessing and forget about the One who gave it! Just as the Samaritan returned to Jesus to thank and worship Him who had redeemed his life, we too must thank God — for every good and perfect gift comes from Him and He deserves all the honor and the glory! And as a matter of fact, one of the cornerstones of effective prayer is entering His gates with thanksgiving and praise. Let's start thanking God for all His goodness toward us! It's easy to get caught up in the blessing — God has given us so much! But let’s be sure that we make daily habit of thanking God first! Love, Bertrina

Check Your Heart

If there’s one thing that needs a constant check up, it’s the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 describes the heart as being deceitful and desperately wicked. Perhaps this explains why David cried out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). There’s so much the Bible cautions and says about the heart, however, I would like to briefly talk about the heart in relation to ones prayer life. Let’s look at this Biblically in James 4:1-3 for insight: What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:1-3 reveals the importance of praying with right motives. Motives are clear indicators of what’s in the heart. Although scripture tells us that if we pray and have faith we’ll receive what we’ve prayed for (Matthew 21:22), James 4:1-3 shows us there’s a prerequisite to praying and receiving – your motives must be pure. It’s a matter of the heart. It’s important to assess why you’re asking God what you’re asking Him for. Are you seeking self-pleasure or the will of the Father? Don’t allow flesh, self-centeredness or an unclean heart to become hindrances to your prayer life. Prayer God I pray that you cleanse the heart of the brother or sister reading this. Father, I ask that you would remove every unclean spirit and ungodliness lurking around in their heart. Just like David, I pray God that you would create within them a clean heart and renew within them a right spirit Oh God! Lead them by your Holy Spirit to pray prayers that stem from pure godly motives in Jesus name! Lord I thank you for the blood of Jesus that cleanses away all our debts and sins! I thank you for the Blood of Jesus that cleanses away the filth in our hearts! We receive you’re cleansing oh Lord! Help us Lord to pray your will and not our own will in Jesus name! Keep the Faith Elder Bertrina