The Bible or the Cellphone?

What if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it with us always wherever we go?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we didn't miss checking it for messages everyday?

What if we forwarded and shared its messages to others?

What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?

What if we gave it to people as gifts?

What if we used it as we traveled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

This is something to make you go… hmmm… where is my Bible?


Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don’t ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected due to unpaid bills. Jesus already paid the bill!

And... it has more than a global coverage. It is universal.

You don't have to turn it off or on, it's always on.

It needs no recharging for it never runs out of power.

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And what if we are hooked to the Bible like we are so hooked to the internet?

You Are Blessed by God

What does it mean to have God’s blessing on your life? This is a question every individual needs to ask. The implications are enormous, once you understand what God’s blessing really involves. The blessing of God is powerful and life-changing, while the loss of God’s blessing is more serious than we have probably imagined. It will be fruitless to attempt to do something – even something great and noble - if the blessing of the Lord does not rest upon it. Yet with the blessing of the Lord, even our small steps of service will be taken far beyond what we could accomplish by our own effort alone. Every individual has gifts that God intends to use. Accompanied by His blessing, these gifts can have a powerful impact.

The blessing of the Lord is transforming, and is centered on Christ. The blessing of the Lord is not for selfish purposes - it is to touch the needy and the hurting, and to bring honor and praise to God. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below!” is a familiar doxology in many parts of the world. As we understand and experience the power of His blessing, may our lives bring glory to the source - the living God.

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Before God formed you, He blessed and consecrated you.

Your are the beads of pearl nestled in the orient sea.
Like the colors of Eleazar's vestment you were clothed.
Deep blue sky and white clouds are colors in your firmament.
Colors of crimson and of gold your robe is adorned with.
With the sun and the stars, your cloth is woven.
With the Covenant you were sealed; making you His own.

You are greatly blessed; and your season is drawing near.
In and out, near and far, your seeds shall flourish.
Their fruits shall replenish and restore barren lands.
And when nations shall have seen your luster,
Eyes will see and ears will hear the Lord's glory.

Praying: Conversing With God

By Jay Lowder
Crosswalk.com

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” - Ephesians 6:18

I have spent 20 years in full-time evangelism, traveling the world sharing God’s Word and speaking with people about life and spiritual issues. The hurts and frustrations of individuals run the gamut, but when it comes to our spiritual walk with God, one of the most common points of discussion is prayer.

There is a misconception about prayer that often hinders individuals from fully benefitting from this intimate act in which God desires us to take part. Too often, we view prayer as a reverent, eloquent monologue during which we use “thee’s” and “thou’s,” and we forget the essence of prayer is a simple conversation.

Communication is at the heart of our lives. Without it, our relationships would fail and we would live in isolation and frustration. Yet, every day we have successful conversations with friends, spouses, coworkers and even strangers.

God wants us to have this same type of conversation with Him, and applying some key principles can help strengthen your prayer life and relationship with God.

Avoid a Monologue

It is very easy for us to speak our prayer to God and move on with the next task, waiting for him to provide the answer. But if you really think this through, the concept seems a little odd. You would never call your best friend and speak for 10 straight minutes only to hang up without giving him or her opportunity to reply; so why would you do this to God?

Prayer is a two-way conversation. We need to practice the art of listening.

How do you listen to God? Sit alone, be quiet and wait on God to respond. Look at the example of Isaac in the Old Testament. He was not accustomed to waiting and hearing from God, so when God spoke, he did not even recognize His voice.

When you hear the voice of your best friend, you know they are in a room without even seeing them. If we take time and get alone with God and wait to hear from Him, we will hear Him. And the more you hear from Him, the more you recognize His voice.

God chooses to speak to us all in different ways – through Scripture, music and even other people. But if we aren’t listening for His voice, we may miss the good things he has to tell us.

Get Face-to-Face

We live in a technologically driven world. You can text your best friend, send a Facebook message or call them on the phone, but when you converse with them in person, there is a completely different connection. The same goes for our relationship with God. Intimate relationships require “face-to-face” connections.

Getting to know God and developing an intimate prayer life requires that we meet with Him in a place of intimacy. This will mean something different for every person. Just as a husband and wife may return to a special place on an anniversary, perhaps the intimate place you spend time with God is the place where you first met Him; a quiet place in your backyard; a favorite chair in your home; or a small closet in your bedroom. No matter where that place is for you, the important thing is that it’s yours and God’s – a place where you can have intimate conversations with Him.

Honesty is the Best Policy

What differentiates a relationship between a best friend from that of an acquaintance is honesty. For those closest to us, we are able to freely share our emotions, exposing the other person to a level of intimacy not known by others. We let our guards down and are honest with who we are – good and bad. God wants this same level of relationship.

We often think that in order to have this type of relationship with Christ, we must get our “lives together” before God would even want to talk to us. This is a lie from the enemy. In Isaiah 64:6 it says that the best we have to bring to God are like dirty rags to Him. Even on your very best day, you still aren’t good enough, but that’s okay because that is where God wants us. In grace and mercy He sees us blameless before Him because of His son, Jesus.

God is our creator. He knows about our fears, excitements, joys and concerns, but He wants us to tell Him about these things personally. We have to learn to be honest and tell God what is going on in our lives because He already knows and accepts us where we are.

Consistency is Key

For the most part, those who are near and dear to our heart are in our lives on a consistent basis. It’s rare that I go even a day without talking to my wife, even when I’m traveling, because I want to know how her day was. I’m eager to connect with her. In this same way, God is eager to connect with us and wants us to be consistent in our conversations with Him.

Forming a habit – good or bad – takes time, but once it is formed, it’s hard to quit. When you first begin praying consistently, it may be hard and out of the norm. You may not know what to speak to God about or how to listen to Him. But as time goes by, it becomes a staple to your day and you will begin to be able to converse with God with ease because you have formed a relationship. You will be eager to speak with Him.

So what is stopping you today from having an intimate prayer life? Don’t let anything hold you back from having a deep, personal conversation with Christ. He created us as a people who love community, and He wants to have that same intimate relationship with us.

Evangelist Jay Lowder is the founder of Jay Lowder Harvest Ministries, an organization dedicated to reaching diverse groups of people with the message of Jesus Christ. Through his ministry, Lowder travels the globe to football stadiums, schools, churches and even under shade trees in Africa to provide a message of hope to the hurting. He resides in Wichita Falls, Texas, with his wife, Melissa and their three children Lane, Kayley Faith and Graham.