MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS By Nina Keegan

WHAT'S IN YOUR HEART..? What are we making room for in our lives and what are we just letting pass us by because we are so distracted by the enemy wearing us out in his persistent schemes to overwhelm and exhaust us?

The Bible says it's the small foxes that spoil the vine… In other words, we can get so distracted by all the little, monotonous, things... We can be so inundated with the seemingly important things that we are not making room for the truly important things ...

These humdrum, little, time steelers are all the things that keep our eyes off of Jesus and keep us overwhelmed and living in sheer frustration. When we as a solo act of one,  are trying to keep all the balls in the air,we are merely living in the Word of God that shouts, 

'APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING!'

1+ JESUS = A MAJORITY...

He is the vine.. 

John 15:5

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

We need Jesus! 

This day-to-day juggling act that causes us to drag ourselves to bed at night declaring in complete exhaustion,'that we made it through another day, is not of God! 

"No… !"

Life was never meant to be this way…

We are supposed to have and enjoy our every day life, we are supposed to live and move and have our being in Christ… And that doesn't mean being worn out and exhausted ... we are not supposed to be heavy laden with burdensome and exorbitant activities… We are supposed to have an easy yoke… we are to cast our cares on the one who has the ability to carry it all.. we are supposed to rest in Him.. REST IN JESUS..

How do we do that..?

We need to make room for the things of GOD FIRST! SEEK HIM FIRST..  Matthew 6:33

I was reading 2 Kings about the story of the Prophet Elisha, he was a very powerful man of God, he had a double portion of the anointing of his predecessor Elijah ... He performed many miracles and walked in the spirit in all he did... 

Elisha would continually pass through the town of Shunem ..

The Bible says a woman who lived there, took notice of him and told her husband, "I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God, let's build a room for him"

2 Kings 4:8-10

And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

What were they doing… ? 

They were making room for the things of God they were giving God's anointed a place in their home… They were taking care of the things of God and putting God first.. 

They  were inviting All things of God into their lives.. 

What caught my eye is that in the scripture it said that Elisha continually passed by them ..

How long was it that he had  been passing by before they took note of him and made room for him?

How many of us are letting the things of God continually pass us by because we haven't made room for them in our hearts or we've been too distracted and busy to even notice? 

 Is God first place in your home?  Do you read the Word? Do you seek Him first?  Do you praise him… Do you attend a Spirit filled church and worship him with other believers, or is church something you only manage to squeeze in on holidays..? 

We all can become complacent and stagnant in our walks… We must be careful to watch what we spend our time on .. what we make room for… What are you watching on TV..? What are you allowing in your life? strife, hatred, jealousy, unforgiveness, pride, What's on your computer screens..? 

Everything is supposed to be for his glory… Is that happening in your life ? When we do not make room for God, we can be very easily overcome by the things of the world and the distractions and enticements that lead to sin and distruction..

The enemy loves distracting us with everything imaginable to get our eyes off of Jesus… He wants to fill our timesheets and to do lists with everything

but the things of God...

Proverbs 4:27

Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Ezekiel 38:7

"Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them.

We must be prepared we must stay on guard… And we must make sure that we don't let the things of God pass us by… We must make a place for Him in our hearts, in our homes, in all we do… We must be the reflection of Jesus… And we   are to become his image and 

exemplify more and more christlike qualities..we gain this through spending time with him… When we are in the presence of God ,miracles happen… Seeking him first in all things sets the precedent for the entire day… He will order our steps and lead us and guide us by the Holy Spirit… When we spend time with the Lord, we won't miss out on what the Lord has for us.. 

This woman who prepared this room for Elisha had no idea that her kindness towards him would be greatly rewarded far beyond her wildest dreams!

 Later Elisha would save her child and raise him from the dead… She had made room for the things of God… And God was indeed blessing her! 

Elisha's prayer and his method of raising the boy from the dead showed how God personally cares for hurting people.. his love and mercy never ends…

God longs for a relationship with you ..he wants to know you and he wants you to give him your whole heart..

I think it's time we make a room… I think it's time that we sweep it clean and prepare it… Let us be the empty vessels washed clean and ready so that we don't miss out when the things of God pass by…

God bless you all mightily!

1. Matthew 15:8 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

2. Revelation 2:4 “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

6. Romans 11:36 “Everything is from him and by him and for him. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen!”

7. Colossians 1:16 “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

6. Romans 11:36 “Everything is from him and by him and for him. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen!”

7. Colossians 1:16 “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

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GOD LISTENS BY NINA KEEGAN

WE CAN PRAY THE PRAYER OF THE POWERFUL, AND BRILLIANTLY WISE, KING SOLOMON..

Kings 8:56-61  (NLT)

56 “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. 58 May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors.59 And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the Lord be before him constantly, day and night, so that the Lord our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs. 60 Then people all over the earth will know that the Lord alone is God and there is no other. 61 And may you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.”

King Solomon was King David's son, He was an extremely wise man..

1 Kings 10:23

King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.

 I believe it would be very wise for us to pray in the same manner that this extremely blessed king prayed… So  let's break down his powerful prayer from the scripture above.. there are five basic requests outlined in this prayer that we can use as a pattern when we pray over ourselves and our families and over every need we have. 

Solomon also declares in this scripture that not one word of God ever fails… So when we pray according to God's will, we can wholeheartedly count on it because God watches over his word to perform it and he binds himself to his word.

Jeremiah 1:12

Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

Solomon, like his father David, praised the Lord continuously and when he prayed he always asked for: 

1) God's presence, 

2) for the desire to do God's will in everything, 

3)for the desire and ability to obey God's decrees and commands, 

4) for help with each days needs, and 

5)for the spread of God's kingdom to the entire world.

What could be better than these five extremely wise and foreordained requests? What could ever be better than continuously being in the presence of God? He inhabits the praises of his people… And when we are in the presence of God... miracles manifest!

In God's presence, our daily lives can be naturally supernatural ...

When we ask for GOD'S WILL for our lives...We are simultaneously canceling out our own plans and voiding our fleshy desires that could lead us down a destructive path that may cause us to live according to the world's  standards and not God's! 

May God's will always trump our own will!

 We know his plan is the perfect plan for our lives… It is the target we must aim for daily and we must seek God's help and guidance to do so. We can ask God to reveal to us his directives to help us obey the commands and decrees that he has laid out for us in his Word...

As it says in the Lord's prayer we can pray to not be led astray or into temptation of any kind.. Yes of course we are human and we live in the world, we are constantly subject to all the chaos that surrounds us on a daily basis… But it's the grace of God that brings us back… it's his unmerited love, grace, and favor, that draws us back to his glorious path... God's  perspective is always one of Love...He always sees the condition of our hearts… His pure love and endless mercy seal us on the path of grace! 

God knows that we are not infallible to the exploits of this world but he also knows if our true desire is to please him or the world...

We should additionally pray for God to help us with each day's needs… And pray for him to help us walk in the power of the Holy Spirit … we must pray for God to go before us and to take care of the needs that we will have each day, before we even know we need them… 

HE WILL SUPPLY ALL OUR NEEDS ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES AND GLORY BY CHRIST JESUS ..Phil 4:19

 When we pray this purposefully, we are making a decree…it is so important to entrust our lives and every concern of our lives to the only ONE who knows all things and is sovereign to see us through them all..

 God had promised David that one of his descendants would always be king. God promised David a dynasty. David humbly saw this fulfilled as Solomon was made king... David prayed a devout prayer of thanksgiving to God; making a note of of calling God his sovereign Lord… David knew full well it was only by the grace of God and God's love for him, that all of these promises would ultimately come to fruition ..God's merciful love and powerful redemption was being bestowed upon David, because God knew David's heart ..even though David had been a sinner… God's promise still prevailed.. God is a man of his word and he is not a man that should lie.. when we come to him with a repentant heart, when we obey his decrees and commands, we can prevail in the life God has planned for us.. and we can remember as in the scripture David's son Solomon prayed that not one word of God has ever failed! 

2 Samuel 7:16

"Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.''

DYNASTY FULFILLED...

David had passed down to his son Solomon, a love of praise and worship for the Lord…

Praise and worship was the cornerstone of David's life… If you read about the battles he won they all begin in praise… He worshiped, sang and danced before the Lord… He was victorious... and he was deeply loved by God... 

now his son Solomon was praising the Lord...

Of all the things that Solomon could've asked the Lord for, he asked for wisdom and understanding to be able to govern his people.. 

God was so pleased with this request that he gave him  many other blessings and riches as well... 

1 Kings 3: 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— 12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! 13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

We give God all praise and glory as we read the stories of how God moved to answer the prayers of these powerful men..

We can pray the same prayers for ourselves and our families and we praise and thank God that we will see him move mightily on our behalf .. in the Holy name of Jesus we pray! God bless you all!

David’s Prayer of Praise

10 Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel,[a]may you be praised forever and ever!11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

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DO YOU HAVE DOUBTS..? By Nina Keegan

Revised! DO YOU HAVE DOUBTS... HAS YOUR FAITH BEEN SHAKEN..?

 MATTHEW 11:11

(Jesus talking about John the Baptist)

11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!

Jesus describes John as the greatest man that ever lived… And yet John himself while in prison, had doubts if Jesus even was the Messiah…

What had caused John to waver in his belief?

We all can have doubts from time to time when our faith has been shaken... when trauma  and turmoil rock our world, it can cause us to cry out and ask, "Is any of this real… "God are you really there for me?"

"Do you even know where I am on the map?"

Well my friends, you are in good company, we have all been there at one time or another… When our circumstances cause our knees to buckle... perhaps those times are the times that we've taken our eyes off of Jesus and put them on our circumstances… Even John the Baptist has a moment like this…

There's no getting around it, John the Baptist was extremely unique, he was described as a wild man…he wore odd clothes, ate strange food… And he preached an unusual message even out in the wasteland... he did not live extravagantly… He was given a mission and he aimed at complete obedience.

This wild looking man was given an amazing role to play in the world, he was to announce the coming of our Savior… He was relentless in putting all he had into this monumental task.

Since his birth it was announced that John would be set apart for the service of God and John never wavered in being faithful to that call.

His job was not easy, he was fearless and preached the theme of repentance… Even though he was given remarkable responsibilities, God did not guarantee him an easy life..He was uncompromising...

He even challenged Herod to admit his sin which caused him to wind up in prison.

John baptized Jesus and heard an audible voice from the Father saying that this was his son in whom he was well pleased… He witnessed the dove as representation of the Holy Spirit..

He witnessed much more as the Scriptures from John state:

The Father used John the Baptist to bear witness to Jesus (5:33-35). The Father used Jesus’ works (miracles) which He gave Jesus to do to bear witness of Him (5:36). The Father used the Scriptures to bear witness of Jesus (5:37-47). Since all of these witnesses line up, the case for Jesus is solid: He is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31).

So John knew his mission since birth ...he would be the one to announce the coming of Jesus. He baptized Jesus and witnessed many miracles… And yet while in his prison cell… He began to doubt…

In John's time, He did not have a Bible as we have today but he had read the Scriptures on the scrolls(Old Testament)  and had read what the prophets long before the time of Jesus, had prophesied about His coming as it says in Isaiah...

Isaiah 35:5-6

 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert..

John studied and understood these truths, this was the basis of what he proclaimed in his mission of declaring the coming of the Messiah... 

 He knew Jesus… He loved Jesus… He witnessed the miracles of Jesus… And yet....

Doubts came!

When he was in his trial… When he was in the middle of the circumstances of life… When he was in prison… His Faith was shaken to the core..

Matthew 11:2-3

John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?"

His doubts were clear.. if his purpose was to prepare the people for the coming Messiah and if Jesus really was that Messiah, then why was John in prison when he could've been preaching to the crowds and preparing their hearts? 

It made him think that he had gotten it all wrong....that he had missed his call..

But this is the message Jesus sends to him...

Matthew 11:4-6

Jesus told them, go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen, "the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the good news is being preached to the poor. And tell him, God blesses those who do not turn away because of me"

Jesus was fulfilling the Scriptures from the prophet Isaiah ...

 Jesus was performing the exact miracles that John had read about in the Scriptures… 

The same miracles Isaiah  predicted the Messiah would do long before Jesus ever walked the earth… And when he sent this statement to John the Baptist in his prison... Jesus knew that John would recall that scripture and know that the prophecy was being fulfilled  by the one and only true messiah...

Jesus knew that John would understand all of this… Jesus knew that John's heart would receive this and that John would know that he had fulfilled his call in preparing hearts for the coming Messiah…   John would be content in knowing he had paved the way for Jesus and he had been obedient to his call!

Jesus knew that John's faith was weak and yet as in the scripture above; Jesus still calls John the greatest of all who have ever lived!

Oh the precious love of Jesus!! 

Prophecies were coming to life… And John had been an essential and Integral part of it!

My friends we all have a call, we all have something we were born to do… We all have a purpose in Christ… The enemy would love to cause doubt and confusion and lead us away from that call… But nothing can stop what God has ordained for your life… Live on purpose for him, be obedient to the word...

Let God's word transform you as you take up your cross and follow him… He turns all things around for the good… I pray right now that you all would have the mind of Christ… That your thoughts would be his thoughts… And that the living Word of God would be forever etched in your hearts as he leads you on the glorious path that he has for you!

God bless you all!!

Psalm 119:147

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words.

1 John 5:13

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Psalm 119:116

Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.

Genesis 28:15

"Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

John 20:31

but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

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LIFE IS A COLABORATION WITH GOD... by Nina Keegan

Life has always been meant to be a collaboration with God.

We were never meant to go it alone… It seems to me that often times in the Bible God would lead people to go somewhere or do something without them knowing the big picture.. He would just say go… many times God doesn't want us to know the whole story, it might be too much for us to handle all at once… We would see the impossibilities of what God is asking us to do

And we would not see how completely possible it is because it is of God… If he said it...then he will do it, if it's his plan, then he will make a way….. many times just one word is all we need.. it's all we can handle.. we don't have to know everything… God is calling us to simply trust him!

We don't have to be perfect God just wants and loves obedience… When I was reading in Romans about Abraham… God's promise was to give the whole earth to him and his descendants, this promise was not based on obedience to God's law but on a right relationship with God himself..and that comes by faith. If God's promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and promises are pointless. In Romans 4 :16 -17

it says,

So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abrahams. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, "I have made you father of many nations."This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping, believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God said to him .."that's how many descendent you will have.."and Abrahams faith did not weaken even though at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead and so was Sara's womb. 

But Abraham never wavered and believed in God's promise in fact,

His faith grew stronger!

Just think about how strong your faith must be when you are surrounded by complete and utter impossibilities on every level concerning the promise over your life... how was it that he was able to see past all of that and stay focused on the promise of God?

Friends it's time for us to take the leap into a new deeper level of faith in God… We can learn to navigate gray in a black-and-white world!

We don't have to hold the entire blueprint in our hand… Step out hand-in-hand with our Lord... He will never leave you or for sake you!!

One small step at a time… Have faith, trust Him!

Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill his promise. Abraham's life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures as well as by wisdom and goodness, but he consistently trusted God. His faith was strengthened by the obstacles he faced ..and his life was an example of faith in action. 

If he had only looked at what his own resources were... he would've been faced with only absolute impossibility's and complete despair. But Abraham looked to God, obeyed him, and waited for God to fulfill his word, his brilliant promise.

Faith is in what we cannot see… If we knew the whole picture start to finish of what God wants us to do, we would deem it impossible before we ever took a step… we would give up before we ever even started ....That's why we are only allowed to see in part and we are only given small instructions to follow at a time… Yes life is a collaboration with God

We mustn't ever rely on our own understanding..but just keep taking small steps in the right direction, 1 foot in front of the other in obedience… That's all it takes… Just get up and get moving… Through that simple act of obedience God will lead you and guide you… It's like God will drop the breadcrumbs on the trail all we have to do is follow them…

We don't have to know everything before we start our journeys..we just need to know that if God said it...then it will be glorious and he will do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or think.

Faith will always bring joy, the Bible says in Romans 5, therefore, since we have been made right in God's site by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 

This hope will not lead to disappointment. 

For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

We can now be at peace with God ...peace with God means that we have been reconciled with him, there's no more sin blocking a relationship with him, peace with God is possible only because Jesus already paid the price through death on the cross...

 Let the Holy Spirit be your guide,let the collaboration

form as we become completely dependent on our wonderful Lord for everything we need, he will give us all things we need pertaining to life and godliness, his plan is so much better than any plan we could ever think up.

We were once weak and helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save ourselves...

Christ came at exactly the right time in history according to God's own schedule. God controls all history and he controls the timing, the messages and the events surrounding Jesus' life ....while we were all yet sinners, God sent his son to die for us not because we were good enough, but just because he loved us!

Whenever you feel uncertain about God's love for you,and his plan for your life, remember that he already loved you and had a plan for your life before you ever even knew him...

 Let his love for you through the Holy Spirit guide you every day.. that same power that raised Christ from the dead has saved you and is available to you in your daily life… As God's children , we reserve the power and the love to call on our Lord and Savior each day to help meet every challenge or trial or need!

Remember life is a collaboration we have all we need.. grab a hold of God's hand and fly! 

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. | Philippians 4:19 

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. | 1 Peter 4:12 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. | Ephesians 4:32 

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. | Romans 12:14 

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. | Romans 5:8 

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. | 1 Peter 3:15 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. | 2 Corinthians 12:9 

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. | Hebrews 7:25

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