Without Reservation - Reminder for 2015

Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God.
Romans 15:7

The church in Rome was divided. People were accepting certain religious customs and truths about God but  rejecting others. They were doing the same to the people who followed them. Their condescending attitudes were out of line with God's purpose and perspective. That truth is as valid today as it was almost two thousand years ago.

Jesus accepted everyone without reservation. He knew everyone inside and out - he knew the good, the bad, and everything in between. He accepted you long before you noticed him, even if you rejected him, and solely because he loves you unconditionally.

As you grow more intimate with the One who has fully accepted you, it becomes easier to accept those around you even those whose actions, attitudes, and beliefs do not line up with your own. You may not condone what they do or agree with what they believe, but you can still receive them with open arms, which is what the Greek word for accept really means. Being honest, authentic, and accepting in your love, even of people who misunderstand or reject you, helps them see what God's love is like. It gives them a real-life picture of how Jesus related to others - and ultimately related to them. When you accept others, it pleases God, as well as reveals him.

Pray for anyone you have difficulty accepting. Ask God to reveal any fear, anger or jealousy on your part. Then ask God to help you understand how he feels about the one you're praying for.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Keep God close to your heart during times of questioning the worth of a fellow brother or sister - prayer is key. We all have worth in the eyes of God. It is our earthly flesh that makes us blind. Let us be that mirror image of God and love without barriers. Let not the past, history, dictate our present actions. But look towards the heavens for direction on how to accept with open arms and an open mind. ~ MME Team

Power Source

God said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Three times the apostle Paul asked God to remove what Paul referred to as a "thorn in the flesh." Some historians speculate that this physical problem was some kind of eye disease. Whatever ailment was troubling Paul, the writer of this letter believed it was interfering with what God wanted him to do. God saw things differently. God will not always answer your prayers in ways you expect. Instead of curing Paul, God answered Paul's prayers by telling him that all Paul needed was God's grace, that God's grace was enough. God may be answering some of your prayers in the very same way.

God did not give Paul a reason for the pain he was going through. However, he did give Paul a promise. God promised that the apostle's personal pain would not diminish Paul's impact on the world; rather, his pain would expand it. Having to depend more on God, and less on his own physical strength and abilities, allowed Paul's life to reveal God's power in a greater way.

Your own personal weakness may be physical, like Paul's. It may come from a lack of confidence in your abilities, a financial setback, or the breakup of a relationship. Whatever struggle you may be facing, God's promise is as true for you as it was for Paul. Your powerlessness to change a situation provides a unique opportunity for God to reveal himself in a more powerful way to you and to those around you.

When you feel that God isn't answering a heartfelt prayer, take a fresh look at the situation. Ask yourself how God's power is evident through your problem. Thank him for what you learn as you persevere.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to God and give Him your hurt, disappointment, frustration, and all things that come from this earth that are not made by Him. Take comfort that our God is always available to listen to us and He does listen to every word we speak. Then take time to mediate over the words you have spoken and take peace in the knowledge that you have given it to God to battle. He is our leader in this spiritual war. He is the one and only Lord the Savior who has power to make all good happen for his glory and honor. "Answers" may not come to you as you expect but that is good; this means He is working on it. Many times we expect thunder and lighting as a form of being heard by God. But it is in the silence that he is doing the work. During this time He is growing our faith and strengthening our lighthouse so we do not get lost in darkness. ~ MME Team

Praise Without End

I will praise you every day; I will praise you forever and ever. The Lord is great and worthy of our praise; no one can understand how great he is.

Psalm 145:2-3

Creation praises God. Angels praise God. Infants praise God. One day every knee will bow as the whole world praises God. Scripture is filled with examples of praise, especially throughout the book of Psalms. Every one of those verses has a lesson to teach about honoring the Lord of the universe. The specific portion of Psalm 145 is significant because it is like a mini-primer on praise. It tells the who, what, when, where, and why of giving God glory.

The who explains God is the One most worthy of your praise. He is so deserving that it is impossible to run out of reasons for praising him. You can praise God for his gifts, but praise is broader than thanksgiving. What praise does is honor God for who he is, not just what he does. By honoring God through your prayers and actions you bless him. giving him pleasure. This alone is a great reason why you should praise God (along with the fact he deserves it!). Praise benefits the one giving it, as well as the one receiving it. Praise cultivates contentment by helping you develop a right view of God and yourself.

As for when to praise God, Psalm 145 tells you that it is appropriate to praise God every day. The psalm says that you will praise God forever, which means your praises will reach beyond the borders of this earth right into your eternal home in heaven. That's a where that you can look forward to.

The Hebrew word for praising God means "to celebrate his perfections". Put what you've learned into practice by taking time to do that right now.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to God and give him praise. Praise him during the good times, during the sad times, especially during the confusing and hurting times. We may not understand the events of our daily life but God does and if we praise him daily all events serve purpose to glorify God. ~ MME Team

Leaning on the Lord

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

If you are going to lean on something, the first thing you want to do is to make certain it can hold you up. The greater the risk, the more certain you want to be. You may not test the strength of every chair you're considering sitting on, but it's fairly certain that you will test the integrity of a bungee cord before attaching it to your feet and leaping off a bridge. Your trust in the strength and reliability of the bungee cord allows you to lean on its ability to save you. It still may take a lot of courage to go ahead and jump, however.

Believing in God is all about risk and trust. It tells you to turn away from what you're accustomed to relying on - your own strategies for making life work - and instead to trust God implicitly, even when what he's asking you to do may not make sense from a human perspective. Think about what God asked of Moses at the Red Sea or of Daniel in the lion's den. Moses and Daniel were able to rely on God instead of on their own understanding because past experience had shown them he was wholly trustworthy.

Every past experience was once a present choice. God challenges you to choose wisely today. You can lean on your own limited understanding and abilities or on a God of unlimited power and love. Only one choice can take you where you really want to go.

Put what you've learned to practice. List why you believe God is trustworthy, focusing on his promises and past faithfulness. Reread the list anytime you need the courage to lean on him instead of on yourself.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray and give thanks to a God that will always have your back. Man will change his mind but God's perfect love and mercy is 100% true no matter what the world puts out. Do not put your faith in man but in the God that moves man to live in righteousness. ~ MME Team

Consolation Prize

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The apostle Paul began his second letter to the church in Corinth just as he did his other letters, with a brief introduction that leads straight into thanksgiving. Paul's cause for thanks, however, sets this letter apart. You can be thankful for comfort only if you've know the pain of suffering. Paul certainly did, and so did his Corinthian audience. So does every individual who reads these words today.

Through levels of personal suffering differ, pain and heartache are universal. Yet amid that sobering truth, Paul gave reason for praise. God's comfort is at hand in every type of trouble. The original meaning of the old-fashioned-sounding word tribulation covers a lot of ground. It can mean "distress," "affliction," "persecution," or simply "great mercy." God's comfort fits any and every situation perfectly.

Through Paul, God provided even more good news: there is a positive, productive side to suffering. As God comforts you, you learn how to better comfort others. This is different from simply being sympathetic toward people and their problems. The Greek word for comfort implies action. It means "to come alongside and help." God actively comes alongside you with strength, encouragement, hope, and healing, and you gain the ability to do the same for others. When you are struggling with difficulty in your life, remember to reach out to God and then to others. God provides comfort to help you become a comforter like him.

When you're facing tough times, follow Paul's example. Praise God for the comfort he's already promised, and then ask him to help you use your own experiences to bring comfort to someone else.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to God and praise him in your suffering. It is in the suffering that we strengthen our faith and find peace and hope in the mercy and grace of our Lord. ~ MME Team

Panic Attack

Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Worry is a stealthy, yet formidable, enemy. Worry can creep into your life quietly, masquerading as an acceptable human response to living in an imperfect world. But worry is neither acceptable nor harmless. Worry is a dangerous diversion that leads you to focus on your problems instead of on God, who loves you and is in control. There is an easy, effective way to eliminate worry - pray.

Praying about both the big and the small things in your life is a way of constantly realigning your point of view with God's perspective. Prayer is more than simply asking God for help. It is also a time of worship and thanks. Thanking God for his past help and blessings is a gift to yourself, as well as to God. Every thank-you serves as a personal reminder of God's love and faithfulness in your life, and it provides you with a source of comfort, strength, encouragement, and peace.

Peace and worry cannot coexist. Where worry is the potential enemy, peace is the faithful sentinel guarding your mind and heart. There is nothing passive about the word guard. It's a Greek military term that paints a picture of a stronghold being protected by vigilant garrison of watchmen. When you allow prayer to defeat worry in our life, God's peace will be your watchman through any and every situation.

At the first sign of worry, practice the life-changing principle found in Philippians 4:6-7. Tell God what you're anxious about. Thank him for who he is, for what he has done, and for the peace he provides.

Pray to God and give thanks for the sustainable peace he provides us when we declare that he is in control. ~ MME Team

Watching and Waiting

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 

James 5:7-8

          God's timing is always perfect. He parted the Red Sea when his people needed it most - when they were trapped between the rushing waters and an approaching army. God allowed the water to flow again, but only after Moses and the Israelites had made it safely across. God provided what the people needed at the precise moment that it would make the greatest difference.

          For a human vantage point, it isn't always easy to recognize that opportune moment. Waiting for God's answer, when your own internal timer has already gone off, can make you feel as if God isn't listening or he simply doesn't care. When you find yourself in that situation, take a lesson from this important verse in James and put yourself in a farmer's shoes. You can't rush a perfect harvest or an answer to prayer. As a farmer waits for the fruit of his labor, he doesn't just sit around complaining about how long the growing season is. He continues to work. He trusts God, and his patience grows right along with his fruit.

       James provides a valuable tip for those who wait. He advises you to establish your heart, which means "to firmly plant your life and expectation in the fertile soil of God's truth." There is a bountiful harvest as certain as the fulfillment of God's promises: the Lord will return; the hard times you face will end; and God will answer your prayers when the time is right.

          The image of a patient farmer is an encouraging visual picture for prayer. Picture every prayer as a seed planted in God's will. As you wait, picture them ripening, trusting in God's perfect harvest time.

          Pray for God's grace to intervene and plant in your heart patience rooted in faith as big as a mustard seed. ~ MME Team

Praying Like Jesus

You should pray like this: "Our Father in heaven, may your name always be kept holy. May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the food we need for each day. Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us. And do not cause us to be tempted, but save us from the Evil One."

Matthew 6:9-13

          These verses are some of the most-often-repeated words in the Bible. Various Bible translations differ on a word here or there, but the heart of the Lord's Prayer remains the same. Right before Jesus shared how to pray, he emphasized how not to pray. One of the things he said not to do was repeat the same words over and over again without thinking about what is being said. That's exactly what many people do with the Lord's Prayer.

          Use the Lord's Prayer the way Jesus intended. Let it help you better understand, and put into practice, three vital elements of prayer: praise, petition, and confession. Jesus's prayer began with thanks for who God is, a Father deserving honor. Then Jesus requested help by sharing personal needs, both physical and spiritual. He asked for the basic provision of food, as well as for the protection and the strength necessary to do what God wanted. He also prayed for the needs of others, asking that their lives would align more with God's desires.

          Jesus had nothing to confess, but he knew those listening did, so he modeled how to ask for forgiveness. Confessing where you've failed keeps communication with God honest and open and helps you become more merciful to those who fail you. As Jesus demonstrated, prayer is simply inviting God to play an active role in your life.

          The Lord's Prayer is Jesus's most concrete lesson on prayer. Pray as Jesus did. Share your deepest concerns with God, and invite God to make your heart and your will more like his.

   

          Prayer is an act of love that demonstrates to our Lord, Creator, Heavenly Father that we are HIS PEOPLE. God made us and he wants a personal intimate relationship with his creation. Pray today to God; he is always ready to hear your prayers. ~ MME Team

Joint Venture

What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own.

1 Corinthians 12:20

         Your body is the perfect picture of how God designed community to work. Every part is interdependent and is vital to the health and strength of the other parts. If your lungs took the day off, your brain would cease to function. If your muscles went on strike, your feet wouldn't be able to get you out of bed and off to work. 

         Paul's picture of the cooperative human body illustrates how every individual is vital to the health of God's church as a whole. It also demonstrates how every part is significant. One part isn't more important than another. You should not regard the person who preaches on Sunday morning as more important than the one who cleans the building before the service. Each individual is necessary. Every gift God gives has a purpose a place to help fulfill his perfect plan. 

         People often encounter two pitfalls when they evaluate their significance by comparing their gifts with others': (1) they believe their gifts are too small or too big, or (2) they feel that what they do really doesn't matter or that everything would fall apart without them. Paul's words in 1 Corinthians guide you toward the true measure of significance. Through you are of eternal significance to God, your significance on this earth comes solely from what you are a part of - God's body here on earth.

         Understanding your significance, and the significance of others, will help you keep a humble, realistic view of yourself. It will also enable you to work more harmoniously in community with others.

         Pray for grace and mercy in all that God provides you to do as a community - as the body of Christ. For all that is done is for his glory and honor. ~ MME Team

Matthew 6:8

Jesus said, "Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him."

The more you recognize your dependence on God, the more thankful you become, and the deeper your love grows. 

Jesus gave his disciples the Lord's Prayer as an example of how to pray. Right before he spoke those famous words, Jesus shared a few reasons why one should pray. To do this, he provided two examples - negative ones. Jesus said the Pharisees prayed in public because they wanted to be seen as holy by other people. He also said idol worshipers prayed, repeating themselves over and over, because they believed that the more frequently they asked for something, the better chance they had of having their request granted. After those negative examples, Jesus spoke the reassurance that God already knows what you need.

At first, his words may seem to provide a reason why not to pray, instead of why to pray. If God knows what you need before you ask, why bother asking in the first place? Jesus's point is, the purpose of prayer isn't to be noticed by other people - or even by God. God already notices you. He knows everything about you and your life. Prayer is not a way to draw God's attention to your needs. It is a way to draw your attention to how much you need God. 

Your greatest continual need is to better know and love God. Communicating with him about details of your life keeps you aware of how involved he already is. It also helps you see how many of your needs he fills every day. The more you recognize your dependence on God, the more thankful you become, and the deeper your love grows.

The Lord's Prayer teaches you to pray for your daily bread. Jesus's words form Matthew don't contradict that lesson. They're a reminder that God needs to be involved in your life, not merely informed about it.

Pray now and thank him; submit to his will in your life and hold the hand of your Father, the Creator, who made you and loves you unconditionally. 

Amen,

~MME Team

God's plan for our life.

We may think we are in control of our destiny, our future, but how wrong we are. God is at the head of all our success and blessings. It is not how hard, how smart, or how brave we believe ourselves to be that defines our purpose, our placement, or even our success in this world. 

It is only by the grace and mercy of God's love that we live in peace, tenderness, love, and hope... all descriptive words that define how Jesus lived his life in this world. A world that is hurt and many times heart broken. It was not by the flesh that Jesus found salvation and eternal life but by the spiritual father's love, OUR GOD, that he/we are all saved and have the Holy Spirit to lean on daily during our battles with temptations and weaknesses. 

Let us not rely on ourselves but instead put all energy in our faith in our Lord that His plan is active and living in us. When we struggle then that is when we must fall to our knees in prayer and speak with our God in a private intimate relationship that only He and us will ever know. Your relationship with God is as unique and special as His unique individualized plan for each of our lives. Rejoice in God's goodness that His love is perfect and always available. We must only ask for it and we will receive it. 

God Bless  ~ MME Team