Greetings my loyal and faithful readers!
November has come and is on its way out of here. November 2020 was beautiful. Here in Michigan we usually have snow and extremely cold weather for November. We had a mild November. There were days I was outside with a short sleeved T-Shirt on! Thank you Lord for allowing us to enjoy the outside a little longer than usual. God is so gracious, ya'll. He knew we have been locked in the house for months. He allowed us to still get out and enjoy fall. Thanks Jesus!
Let me take you down memory lane for a little bit....
I was in my thirties and I attended this church named St. Marys. St. Marys believed in visiting churches. Every, Every and Every Sunday we had 2nd service. If we had more hours in the day we would have had three services. One weekday we visited this church which had an out of town guest, a Prophetess who was the speaker for their revival. The church was small and we all squeezed in where we could. The lady was filled with energy and she began to share the importance of being a tither. She said a couple came to her for prayer about purchasing a home. They wanted her to pray that God would allow them to get this house they bid on. The first thing she asked them was, if they were tithers. They said no. She said, "I can't pray for you because you are under a curse because you don't tithe. God is not going to bless you with that house." Of course the couple was upset and they left her church.
I always believed the Prophetess was in error. God rains on the just as well as the unjust. Matthew 5:45. God blesses those that are not even saved and those who are. God says he does not withhold any good thing from those who walk is blameless. Psalm 84:11-For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. If we are in Christ, our sins are forgiven and we all fall short of the Glory of God. That means that everyone falls short somewhere in their life of hitting the God mark. So who are we not to pray for people because of their shortness in God. How could
God dying on the cross take care of every curse BUT the one attached to not tithing? I am not saying don't tithe, because I tithe. If you don't tithe, you are not cursed. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” ), (Galatians 3:13) This blog is not about tithing so lets get to the real!
As Christians, we will withhold prayer or be judgmental about who we pray for. A person will bring a prayer request to you and you will think, "He is living in sin. God is not about to bless him." That self-righteous spirit will creep in unaware. Trust me I know. God brought all this to me because I was beginning to have that attitude. God reminded me about James 5:16- Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. If I feel that I am so righteous than my prayers should availeth much. I should be able to pull down every stronghold and release that person from Satan's grip. How dare dusty ole redeemed by the Blood Jesus me, refuse to pray for someone because they made a mistake or living in sin. We don't have the authority to say what God will or won't do for a person. God has mercy on whoever he desires to. Romans 9:18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
Next time someone comes to you for prayer, don't judge, pray for them. Allow the Holy Spirit to pray if your flesh won't allow you to pray out of a pure heart for that person. I hope you get what I am trying to say. Pray don't judge people and certainly don't tell them that God won't bless them. I have seen God rain (bless) on people, that I know were not even thinking about God.
So think about what I said. We must get rid of self-righteousness from our hearts. It is only by grace that God looks at us and finds us blameless. Let's extend that same grace to others.
Until next time...Your Favorite Ruby Girl