Mine enemy

 The enemy of the future is the present.

Father Knows Best

God's will is want I'd want for me if I knew all that He knows. 

1 John 5:14 (ESV)

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 

Take the jump

Take the jump from where you are to where God would have you to be. 

M. H. Dennis 

God, the weight lifter

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV), 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Since a lot of things that we must go through as Christians are tough, how can this passage be true?

In your mind’s eye, picture two oxen yoked together, plowing a field. 

One ox is big and tough, and the other is little and weak. 

As we watch the two oxen plowing the field, 

we notice that the big, 

tough oxen 

is doing most of the pulling, 

and the little, weak oxen 

is just walking along in harmony with him. 

It is true that a lot of things that we go through are really tough, but Jesus has an offer for you. 

Will you be yoked together with me? 

I won’t take advantage of you, 

and I'll pause throughout the day to allow you to catch a breath. 

Sure, 

there is a lot of heavy work ahead of us, 

but if you’ll follow my lead, 

I’ll do all the heavy lifting.

M. H. Dennis

God's Will

I beg you by and because of our merciful God... 

that you offer your body upon His altar for Him to live through, walk within, and breathe inside. 

This is only reasonable as a true act of worship;

therefore, do not be molded into the world's image by its eternal pressure, 

but use that pressure to be transformed inside by continuously remembering who you are in - Christ. 

Then, and only then will you be able to understand God's will for your life. 

This is God's good, perfect, and well-pleasing will. (loose paraphrase of Romans 12:1-2)

M. H. Dennis

Attracting God

Of the over 6 billion people who live here on planet earth, 

which of them gets God’s attention and how do they get it? 

Jesus reveals a glimmer into the inter working of God’s mind. 

When He said, make God number one and focus on being tight with Him. 

Then and only then, 

will God move you to the front of the line ahead of the other 6 billion, and give you His undivided attention (Matthew 6:33). 

If not, stand in line.

M. H. Dennis

Enter into God's Presence

Pause.

Be still. 

Lean in. 

Listen. 

If you pause to stop and think about God, then He’ll pause to stop, and think about you. 

This is the trigger into God’s presence. 

Think about it. 

You can usher yourself into God’s presence inside His very throne room (a loose paraphrase of James 4:8).

M. H. Dennis

A Law of Attraction

Trust attracts God. 

Reasoning dilutes trust. 

Don’t try to figure out everything in your head. 

Throughout the day, routinely pause to listen to God’s voice within. 

Then and only then, will He’ll nudge you right or left. 

(a very loose paraphrase of Proverbs 3:5-6).

M. H. Dennis

Do I Trust God?

"The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time." (Psalm 34:19 NLT)  

We've got to focus on the first part, which is remaining right with God.

Instead of focusing on the rescue part, which is God's responsibility.

If we focus on God's part, it shows a lack of trust and offends God. 

It disqualifies us for the promise.

M. H. Dennis

Does your faith work?

And Jesus answered saying to them, 

"Have faith in God. 

Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 

'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' 

and 

does not doubt in his heart, 

but 

believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 

"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 

["But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.] 

Mark 11:22-26 (NASB)

The basis of our faith is in God. 

Ask...
1). Can God do it? Matthew 19:26

2). Is it in line with His will (His word)? I John 5:14

3). Will it bring honor to God? Matthew 6:9

4). Do I qualify for the promise? Matthew 6:33

If your request meets the test above, it still might not happen, but why not?

1). Do you express doubt in your prayers and your everyday speech? James 1:6-9

2). Do you believe that it will happen?

3). Do you forgive others?

M. H. Dennis

Where the fish bite

Don't waste your time sharing Jesus with people who couldn't care less. (Matt. 7:6) 

They will only discourage you. When you fish, don't you think about when and where the fish might be biting?

Just like fishing when you're witnessing... 

Study who might be willing to listen, where might they be, what strategy do I need, and when is the best time to approach ? 

Don't let disinterested people discourage you. Change fishing spots.

M. H. Dennis

When God Can't Answer

Although God is all powerful, He will not break His word. 

Therefore, God will not break His word even to answer your prayers. 

When you pray, ask yourself, is this promised in scripture with conditions? 

Are there conditions in that promise that I'm not keeping? 

Ask God please give me the insight to understand what changes that I need to make to qualify for this request? 

(I John 5:14)

M. H. Dennis

The Fight of Faith

In James 4:7B he said, "Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you." 

In this passage, we are commanded to get our minds off the temptation and resist the source of the temptation, which is the Devil. 

Why are we commanded to resist the Devil if it is God who is supposed to be the one doing it for us? 

If we don't resist the Devil, does this command imply that God will step in and do it for us? 

No! If you won't resist the Devil, then you are own your own. 

God will allow whatever you allow. 

God never blesses disobedience. 

If you do resist him, then God will come to your aid. (Phil. 2:13)

M. H. Dennis

Faith Blocker

When we don't hear God, it's because our minds are upon other things.

Focusing upon our problems is called worry.

It interferes with our ability to hear God.

Worry is having faith in our problems.

Faith in something besides God blocks our ability to hear Him.

Faith in God begins by believing something that at the time doesn't appear to be true to be true because of your confidence in Him, and what He has promised. (Luke 8:50,52)

M. H. Dennis 

My Faith Fix

Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2); however, it is my responsibility to increase it. 

It is not Christ's responsibility to increase my faith (Luke 17:6), but it is mine. I cause it to increase by use. (Luke 17:6-10). 

I exercise my faith as I refuse to surrender to my circumstances.  

I must stand firm trusting what God says about my situation. 

I must never give my faith a day off until my faith has finished accomplishing its task.

M. H. Dennis