WALK IN THE WAYS OF GOD

There are rewards for walking in the ways of God. But, in order to WALK in His ways, you need to KNOW His ways. There are five basic categories of the ways of God in the New Testament:

1. Walk in faith
2. Walk in love
3. Walk in light
4. Walk in the Spirit
5. Walk in fellowship

I really want to concentrate on the WAY OF FAITH. Blessed is the man that walks in the ways of the Lord! One benefit of walking in the ways of God is that you will PROSPER in all you do. If you walk in the counsel of the ungodly, you will be COMPROMISING. What is compromise? One definition is "spiritual erosion." It is the erosion of good intentions.

No one sets out deliberately to compromise. All of us have good intentions where the Word is concerned. We hear the Word and decide to walk in it, but sometimes our good intentions are eroded.

The way of faith causes you to go forward in life. The way of compromise causes you to go backwards. The way of faith enables you to remain patient and endure to the end - cleaving to, trusting in, and relying upon God to see you through. Those who have chosen the way of compromise end up drawing back, quitting, and turning their backs on God's Word.

The way of compromise "seems right" and "appears straight," but notice the outcome is DEFEAT AND DESTRUCTION." It produces undesirable fruit in one's life, and it always appears to be justifiable. Jesus illustrates in His teachings that to choose the way of compromise is to choose the way of the FOOL, and to choose the way of faith is to choose the way of the WISE.

WHICH WAY HAVE YOU CHOSEN?

The only way you can go forward in a world that is going backwards is to walk in the ways of God! Walk by faith and not by sight. Even though it seems that the way of faith is the "hard way," it is the way to victory! Even though standing in faith takes longer sometimes, it is God's way. It will have lasting rewards! CHOOSE THE WAY OF FAITH!

Today's Scriptures: Psalm 1; Jeremiah 7:23,24

Quiet Time Thoughts About Prayer

Prayer is a privilege. When we pray we have a personal audience with our heavenly Father.
Prayer is talking to God. Prayer is fellowship with God.
When we pray in Jesus name, we have instant access to God. No appointment is necessary; we can come boldly to the throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.(Heb.4:16)
No Pastors or Priests are needed as middlemen in our prayers.
Prayer is the foundation from which spiritual warfare is launched.
Prayer is an act of discipleship. The word discipline is derived from the word disciple. We will not always feel like praying. But the Bible exhorts us, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
Prayer is an act of spiritual servanthood. It is something that must be cultivated in our lives on a daily basis.

When we wait on God through prayer, He gives supernatural strength and power. The Bible says " He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak" (Isaiah 40:29)
We should pray earnestly:" Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6)
We should pray with tears: Hebrews 5:7
We should pray and believe: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" ( Mark 11:24)

The power of prayer is tremendous! Acts 4:31 tells us that after the believers prayed, the very place where they were meeting was physically shaken. They were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke the Word with boldness.

Find a prayer partner. Someone who you can share prayer adventures with. The Bible is full of references of God's people praying together. Acts 3:1 ; Acts 16:25 ; Acts 4:31 just to name a few. Pray with one another and people will begin to notice-- you have been with Jesus....