Don't Make It Complicated

God Was Not Rejecting Him

Hebrews 4:10: For he that has entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works. Entering God's rest means stopping the struggle to prove yourself. It means ceasing from trusting your own strength. Peter learned this when his confidence failed him. God was not rejecting him, He was redirecting him. Human strength can only take you and I so far. Divine strength alone can carry us to the finish. When we surrender control, then God takes over and takes responsibility for our future. Stop trying to figure out the journey in your own thoughts. Yield your life to Christ and allow Him to live His life and His strength through you. As the Apostle Paul once said, it's Christ in us, or in me, that is the hope of glory. God is willing to give you what you and I don't have in ourselves. Talk to Him about it today. It's time to pray.

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, we pause to remember those who gave their lives in service to our country. Their sacrifice reflects the words of Jesus in John 15:13. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. As we honor today these heroes, we also find comfort in God's promises. Psalm 34:18 reminds us, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. If today brings sorrow, may you find peace in knowing that God sees, God cares, and God holds every tear. Let's not take for granted the freedoms we enjoy. Let's pray for the families who continue to bear the weight of this loss. May God bless you, and may He continue to bless this nation. Remember my brother, my sister. Be thankful for those who gave their all so that you and I can live in freedom. And when we pray, let's always remember this cost. It's time now for you and I to be thankful. It's time to pray.

Sincerity Is Not Strength

In the scriptures, Peter the Apostle sat at the table with Jesus and made a sincere boast of loyalty. He meant it when he said it though. "I'll be offended yet will not I." He was sincere to the core of his being. But sincerity is not strength. Jesus warned him that the night ahead would demand something he did not have. When Peter entered the garden, his confidence disappeared and silence took its place. Scripture says he had nothing left to say. Jesus was not condemning Peter. He was simply uncovering the truth. "The spirit truly is willing but the flesh is weak." What is of us alone will not stand in the fire. What is of Christ in us will remain. God brings us to this place not to shame us but to save us. Today I want to encourage you to lay down confidence in yourself and allow Jesus Christ to become your strength today. It's time to pray.

Yield Again And Live

Once we get back to the cross and yield our lives to the purposes of God, we can then say with the Apostle Paul, "I am crucified with Christ." That means my will, my plans, and my ambitions are laid down, yet I live not by my own strength, but by faith in what Christ did for me on Calvary. Paul understood that life flows from trusting what was purchased there. The old life is surrendered so that the promise of life that God gives can be received. This is not self-improvement. It's an exchange. God gives life where surrender has taken place. The Christian life is lived by faith in what Christ has already done, not by striving to produce our own righteousness. Return to the cross and trust God today to give you the life that He promised you. Yield to Him again and live. Live from what Christ has fully accomplished. It's time to pray.

Don't Make It Complicated

John 11:44. Jesus said, loose him and let him go. Don't make it complicated. "Lazarus, come forth." That is your part. He could have just yelled from the tomb, "I can't, I'm all wrapped up." He could have, but he didn't. He just got up and he came forth and his life became a miracle. Let Jesus Christ do what He needs to do today in your life. Let Him unwrap you. Let Him say, "loose him and let him go." That's what God wants to do for you. It doesn't matter what anybody else says. Doesn't even matter what you think. It matters what God says. Whatever that is, just get up and move today towards the sound of His voice. Join with us every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern time at itstimetopray.org when people from all over the world are coming out of the wilderness and taking their place at the resurrection table of Jesus Christ. It's time to pray.