Did You Ask God First? - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) March 25, 2025

We are well into 2025. How have your plans for the new year gone? I'm talking about the resolutions you wrote down and the expectations you had for them. I ask because it is easy for us to create great plans without first asking the Lord what He wants us to accomplish. We humans tend to be self-focused instead of God-focused, after all.

And so, how is that working out? I ask this question so that if you—a believer—realize things aren't going so great, you can take this opportunity to pivot. And by pivot, I mean to turn to God and ask what He wants from you in 2025.

Having aspirations for ourselves is not inherently bad, in my humble opinion. Wanting to be better or desiring to have better of certain things can benefit yourself and others. However, the Bible teaches us to put people's needs before ours and to be wary of selfish ambition. These realities of our faith need more attention. By the Lord's grace, we will tackle them eventually.

The issue is that most of us pushed God out of the picture of our 2025 plans. We didn't make Him the starting point and thus didn't ask Him what He wants for us. Rather, we forged ahead with identifying our goals, expecting Him to bless what we wanted. We allowed little to no room for His input or instruction on how to approach the year.

This is not how those who have given their lives to Christ and walk in the Spirit of the Lord are to behave. Matthew 6:33 teaches, [b]ut seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Forgetting this may be why so many face headwinds that require you to expend more energy than necessary.

Thanks be to God for His grace and mercy. Despite the choice to move without His direction, He has shown kindness. This is why you've experienced some progress with certain of your plans.  Let us be grateful and thank Him for this, and then let us repent for not seeking His will in the first place.

Next, we must remedy what we did wrong by praying and possibly fasting to hear what God wants us to accomplish. That way we will move knowing that we have His approval as we take steps to do what He wants. As we honor Him first, He will bless us and we'll discover that much of what we wanted only needed our genuine submission to Him for them to come to pass.

If you prayerfully sought God's will for your year, I praise Him on your behalf. Please pray for those of us who neglected to apply that wisdom. Call on the Lord to show mercy and grant His grace as we seek to discover what He wants for us in 2025. May we all learn to make God the center of our lives so we seek Him first about everything, IJN, Amen.

Kindly share your thoughts on today's message so the group can be edified. We shall commence our offering of praise at Noon EST, then pray for the needs of others at 12:25 EST. And at 12:50 pm, we will petition the Lord to know His mind as to what He wants for our year. God bless you.

To learn more, please read:

1. Give God What He Wants To Get What You Want

2. God's Best is for His Children

3. Your Toolkit for the Promised Land

Responding to Scoffers - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) March 21, 2025

The Bible highlights scoffers as those who speak without knowledge. The term is also repeatedly used to refer to individuals who blaspheme God and treat the things of God with disdain and irreverence. These types are also called foolish. Consider Isaiah 32:6 - For fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the LORD. They deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty.

Nowadays, it is common to see and hear scoffers mock Jesus, the Christian faith, Christian institutions, and Christians themselves. This fellowship has not been spared, as we've witnessed the scoffers enter our midst to speak vile things about our God. Many Christians get emotional and end up entangled in debates as a result. Ungodly behavior follows and they forget that the true response must happen in the spiritual with non-carnal weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Yet, God's children must be careful how they deal with scoffers and apply the approaches prescribed in the Bible. It is important to keep anger at bay and behave in a Christ-like manner. James 1:19-20 - My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, /because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Apostle Peter also instructed believers to be prepared to explain to unbelievers why they hope in Christ and to do so gently and respectfully (1 Peter 3:15).

We tend to forget this given our conditioning to have a petty comeback for whoever disagrees with us. Alas, that is not what we are called to do as Christians. Instead, we are to endure. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. God also promised to grant righteousness and justice to those treated unfairly in Psalm 103:6. Therefore, we must allow God's word to guide what we do, say, and think when confronted by scoffers. It is not easy to do the godly thing but we have been called to be holy as our God is holy, even under tough circumstances (Matthew 5:48). The Lord who called us to Himself will not fail in helping us.

Praise be to God for His never-ending mercy, which is available for all who fail to respond in a godly fashion to scoffers. We need only repent and prayerfully consider where we went wrong in engaging mockers. We then receive wisdom and God's word from the Holy Spirit so we please God when next the scoffers appear. And as we allow the Lord to renew our minds we increasingly rely on spiritual weapons to address the challengers of our faith. Sometimes, addressing such individuals or organizations will require complete silence. God might instruct His own to engage in prayer and fasting, trusting Him to do more than they could ever have done with their lips.

This will require God's children to swallow uncomfortable insults and maltreatment, but God has interesting ways of resolving things. Remember, Saul of Tarsus hunted down members of the early church. God was not blind to this. He deftly captured the persecutor of His children and when He was done, Saul voluntarily changed his name to Paul, which means "humbled". He became a 'finished man' for God and His kingdom, enduring maltreatment and suffering to spread the gospel of Christ and transform the world.

That same God is not ignorant of the plight of modern-day Christians. He sees the scoffers. His eyes are not closed to the persecution of believers around the world. He has given His people authority over all the power of satan (Luke 10:19). Be rest assured that scoffers are not the real enemy. They are simply doing the work of the one the Bible calls "the accuser of the brethren" (Revelation 12:10). So the only question is are we putting our authority to work? Are we wielding the weapons of spiritual warfare to suppress the true challenger of our faith? Or are we allowing our reaction to devolve into a verbal spat? Something that only benefits the devil.

Pick up God's powerful weapons to deal with scoffers. Invite them to taste and see that God is good (Psalm 34:8). It's their right to reject this offer, so don't be offended. Thank God and pray they come to know who He is. Also, aim to have lives that speak louder about Christ than any words ever could (Matthew 5:16). And if scoffers offend with their actions and words, forgive them, and pray, remembering who the real opponent is. Leave it to God. He is more than able to deal with everything and our responsibility is to focus on obeying Him in all things. No matter what scoffers do or say.

To learn more, please read the hyperlinks above and

1. Consequences

2. On Fools

3. Remember

4. 1 Peter 2:17 (Respect everyone)

5. Consequences of Rejecting Jesus

6. Don't Cause Others To Sin

7. The Opposition We Face

8. Show God You Trust Him

9. Topic: Royal Law

Death By Embarrassment - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) March 18, 2025

Do you remember the story of the woman with the issue of blood? It is a classic example of how faith works to produce results in the lives of believers. The woman in question had been bleeding for years and per the Laws of Moses, she was meant to stay indoors. Women were deemed unclean during their menstruation. Since she bled almost all the time, one can only imagine the reclusive life she led.

However, she heard Jesus was around and dared to break the Laws of Moses to obtain her healing. Although a crowd had gathered around Him, she pushed through each person, finally making her way to Him. She took hold of His garment and Jesus stopped in His tracks.

Luke 8:45-46 - “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” (NLT)

And the woman had to confess that she'd been the one to touch the hem of His garment. She also confessed why she did it and that she'd been instantly healed. Luke 8:48 - “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

​Imagine if this woman had stayed in whatever room she'd spent most of her life bleeding in. Imagine if she had ignored that the potential source of her healing was nearby and stayed put. Imagine, if she'd been too embarrassed to push through the crowd to obtain the deliverance that is the children's bread.

She would have continued to bleed to death. A death by embarrassment despite healing being within reach.

There are others in the Bible who put their dignity aside in the presence of God. King David danced in worship with barely any clothing (2 Samuel 6:14). Zaccheus climbed a tree to see and be seen by the Savior (Luke 19). A blind man shouted, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” when others told him to be quiet (Luke 18:39). The Centurion and Jairus ignored their positions to get Jesus to bring healing to those they cared for.

May we not allow 'embarrassment' to deprive us of the blessings and privileges that are ours as the children of God. May we cry out to Jesus, the Deliverer, and chase Him down. I pray that we will ignore what others will say or think regarding our dealings with Jesus. May we never be ashamed to do whatever it takes to touch the hem of His garment and receive what is ours through Him, IJMN Amen.

To learn more on today's topic, click the hyperlinks above and also read:

1. Your Miracle Is On The Way

2. Take A Jairus Stance

3. Faith and The Centurion Worldview

4. Topic: Faith, Trust, Belief in God