Current Mood: Faith-filled & Anointed & Prayerful

“To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3

Father, in the name of Jesus, I come to You with a feeling of shame and emotional hurt. I confess my transgressions to You [continually unfolding the past till all is told]. You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. You are my Hiding Place, and You, Lord, preserve me from trouble. You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. I have chosen life. According to Your Word, You saw me while I was being formed in my mother’s womb; and on the authority of Your word, I was wonderfully made. Now I am Your handiwork, recreated in Christ Jesus.

Father, You have delivered me from the spirit of fear, and I shall not be ashamed. Neither shall I be confounded and depressed. You gave me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that I might be a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that You might be glorified. I speak out in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, offering praise with my voice and making melody with all my heart to the Lord. Just as David did in 1 Samuel 30:6, I encourage myself in the Lord.

I believe in God Who raised from the dead Jesus, Who was betrayed and put to death because of my misdeeds and was raised to secure my acquittal, absolving me from all guilt before God. Father, You anointed Jesus and sent Him to bind up and heal my broken heart and liberate me from the shame of my youth and the imperfections of my caretakers. In the name of Jesus, I choose to forgive all those who have wronged me in anyway. You will not leave me without support as I complete the forgiveness process. I take comfort and am encouraged and confidently say, “The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm. What can man do to me?”

My spirit is the candle of the Lord searching all the innermost parts of my being, and the Holy Spirit leads me into all truth. When reality exposes shame and emotional pain, I remember that the suffering of this presents life are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to me and in me and for me and conferred on me! The chastisements needful to obtain my peace and wellbeing was upon Jesus, and with the stripes that wounded Him, I was healed and made whole. As Your child, Father, I have a joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. This hope will never disappoint, delude, or shame me; for God’s love has been poured out in my heart through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to me.

In His name I pray, amen.

Scripture References

Psalm 32:5-7AMP, Romans 4:24, 25, 1 John 1:9, Isaiah 61:1, Deuteronomy 30:19, Mark 11:25, Psalm 139, Hebrews 13:5, 6, Ephesians 2:10, Proverbs 20:27, 2 Timothy 1:7, John 16:13, Isaiah 54:4, Romans 8:18, Ephesians 5:19, Isaiah 53:5, Romans 5:3-5

Pray by author of Prayers That Avail Much—25^th Anniversary Commemorative Edition, written by Germaine Copeland, 1997.

If you have a Prayer Request you’d like to submit, please email us prayer@sgomonline.org.

.

© 2010, Ms. Lady Nai. All rights reserved. A part of Shekinah Glory Outreach Ministries International

Current Mood: Concerned & Edified & Happy & Humbled & Prayerful

The Body Divided:

Competition in the Church

David Huston and Jim McKinley

This paper is presented to emphasize how strongly God condemns a competitive

spirit among His people.

THE BIBLE TELLS US that Jesus Christ is “the head of the body, the church,

who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have

the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). The word “preeminence” means “to be first

in rank or influence” (proteuo, 4409). Jesus is first place in all things. He alone is

the Head of the Church, the one who created the Church, and the first one to be

raised permanently from the dead. As Spirit-filled believers, we are all

subordinate to Him, all members of His one body. Our functions may differ, but

our various functions do not effect our status within the body. No member is

superior in status to any other. We have all been equalized by the Cross.

In spite of this, John the apostle wrote of a man named Diotrephes, whom he

described as loving “to have the preeminence among them” (3 John 1:9). The

phrase “loves to have the preeminence” is actually a single word in the Greek,

which means “fond of being first, i.e. ambitious of distinction” (philoproteuo,

5383). Apparently this man was a leader of one of the churches that John had

intended to visit. His name is interesting in that it literally means fed, nourished,

or fattened by Zeus, who was the supreme god of the Greeks. From a Christian

perspective, Zeus is none other than Satan himself. Keeping this in mind, let’s see

if we can discern the spirit that was inspiring Diotrephes’ fondness for basking in

the limelight of human superiority.  Where do we find the origins of this spirit? Isaiah the prophet described it for us when he wrote:

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you

are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have

said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above

the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the

farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I

will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to

the lowest depths of the Pit (Isaiah 14:12-15).

Because Lucifer attempted to exalt himself above his fellows, he was reduced in

stature and will one day be reduced to the depths of the Pit. No longer is he

known as Lucifer, the shining one, but instead he is known as the devil and Satan,

the adversary of the people of God. And so will it be for every believer who

follows after Satan’s example to exalt himself.  In the kingdom of God, we do not take ministry upon ourselves, we give ministry to others in behalf of our Lord. As ministers of the gospel, we are working for Jesus, not for ourselves and not for the people we are ministering to. Neither we,

nor any other human being, determines the scope or nature of our ministry; Jesus

does (though He will confirm it through others). For this reason, we must be

careful to minister in the spirit of Jesus, that is, in the spirit of love and humility.

The Spirit of Competition

The antithesis of the spirit of Jesus is the spirit of competition. This spirit can be

recognized by what it seeks to accomplish. Rather than seeking the glory of God,

it seeks the glory of man. Rather than inspiring trust in God, it inspires trust in

human ability. Rather than yielding to the influence of God’s Spirit, it yields to

the dictates of human desire. And rather than striving to reach the stature of the

fullness of Christ, it strives only to be superior to others. The spirit of competition

detracts from personal excellence as defined by the Scriptures, since it seeks only

to be ranked above someone else. The spirit of competition is the dominant spirit of this world. It is the spirit that incites men to strive to be “better” than their fellows—not to be better than they

were yesterday, not to grow up into the likeness of Christ, only to be “better” than

their fellows so they can feel superior to others. But Paul wrote, “Now we have

received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God” (1

Corinthians 2:12). Like God, we ought to be emptying and humbling ourselves,

not striving to exalt ourselves above our fellow believers and fill ourselves up on

the accolades of men. As a matter of fact, Jesus warned that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). The devil is an

excellent example of the first part of this principle, and Jesus Himself is the

perfect illustration of the second. The Bible says that even though He would have

been taking nothing that did not belong to Him if He had insisted on being treated

as God, He nevertheless emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant.

Then, going even further, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death,

even the death of the cross. “Therefore,” Paul explained, “God also has highly

exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name…” (Philippians

2:9).  There are two directions in life that each of us can strive to move in: 1) vertically,

up and down, and 2) horizontally, side to side. Vertical movement has to do with

our status or position: how high or how low we are in comparison to other people.

Horizontal movement has to do with our connections or relationships: how close

or how distant we are to other people.  In the kingdom of God, ministry is a matter of moving vertically downward into servanthood and horizontally toward the people we are ministering to—the objective being to get close enough to influence them and help them. The only

upward movement we have in this life is spiritual: the ascendancy God gives us

over the powers of evil and our own flesh. Our ultimate upward movement is yet

for a future time when we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. In the

end, the only way any of us will go up is by willingly going down for the present.

Jesus’ Warning to the Disciples

The disciples of Jesus struggled with the spirit of competition. On one occasion in

Capernaum, He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the

road?” The Bible says they kept silent, because on the road they had disputed

about who would be the greatest among them. After calling the twelve together,

Jesus told them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of

all” (Mark 9:33-35).  The preeminent One was doing His best to model the spirit of love to His

disciples by taking upon Himself the form of a servant. He was demonstrating

what ministry is all about by humbling Himself and becoming obedient. He was

showing them, if you want to go up, you must first go down.  Apparently Jesus’ words didn’t sink in. Just a short time later James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” Jesus replied, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And they answered without the least bit of embarrassment, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory” (Mark 10:35-37).

What they were really asking for was, “Raise us up above the other guys. We

want to be higher than them.” And look at what happens when the members of

the body of Christ compete with each other for position and status. The Bible says

that when the ten heard it, “they began to be greatly displeased with James and

John” (Mark 10:41). At that point there were two factions among the disciples

and unity had been tossed out the window. Competition always results in strife

and division. Because of the way He was soon to achieve His exaltation, Jesus was

preeminently qualified to rebuke his competitive disciples with the words, “You

know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and

their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you;

but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And

whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.” And why could Jesus say

this so emphatically? Because, “even the Son of Man did not come to be served,

but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).

The Bible admonishes, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”

(Philippians 2:5). Oh, that all God’s ministers would heed those words today!

The Boasting of the Spirit of Competition

As we look down through the annals of human history, we can see the spirit of

competition at work in every age. This spirit is…

• The devil’s spirit, who said, “I will ascend…I will be like the Most High.”
• The spirit of Babylon, where men attempted to build a tower to heaven.
• The spirit of ancient Greece, where the Olympic games were born and the

“thrill of victory” dominated.

•  The spirit of idolatry, which is the worship of false gods and ultimately
• the worship of selfish interests.
•  The spirit of evolution, which has as its foundation the survival of the fittest.
•  The spirit of philosophy, which promotes the transcendence of human intellect.
•  The aristocratic spirit, which places power in the hands of the “best people.”
•  The spirit of Korah, who exalted himself against God’s appointed leaders.
•  The spirit of the sons of Zebedee, who wanted to be set above their fellow disciples.
•  The spirit of the Pharisees, who loved taking the best seats.
•  The spirit of the Saducees, who loved wielding power over the common people.
•  The spirit of Diotrephes, who loved having the preeminence in the church.
•  The spirit of the Nicolaitans, who were victorious over the people of God
• (Jesus said He hates their deeds and their doctrine).
•  The spirit of Gnosticism, which used esoteric knowledge to form an elitist
• club of pseudo-Christians.
•  The spirit of Roman Catholicism, with its domineering hierarchy and
• “infallible” pope.
•  The spirit of Protestant denominationalism, with its numerous divisions
• due to doctrinal rivalries.
•  The spirit of Nazism, with its vile teaching of racial superiority.
•  The spirit of professional sports, where superiority is the highest value.
•  The spirit of antichrist, who exalts himself against all that is called God.
• Most Americans come to God infected to some degree by the competitive spirit.

After all, competition is all around us. But we must never accept competition as a

valid method in working for God. Instead, we must diligently drive it out of our

lives. To do this, we must first be able to recognize it. Jesus revealed some of the

symptoms of this spirit when He cautioned, “Take heed that you do not do your

charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward

from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not

sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the

streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have

their reward” (Matthew 6:1-2).

Jesus warned not to go around tooting our own horn. In fact, the Bible has many

cautions about seeking after the praises of men. Why is this? It’s a trap that places

you in bondage to man. In the end, it prevents you from being a true servant of

God. As Paul wrote, “Do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would

not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). When you feel the need to tell how someone complimented you about your ministry, you are entertaining the spirit of competition. When you feel the need to tell how mightily God used you in some situation, you are again entertaining the

spirit of competition. In fact, anything you say about yourself that is calculated to

make yourself look good is nothing more than self-exultation which reveals our

spiritual immaturity. It may be subtle, but what you are saying is, “Aren’t I

wonderful. Aren’t I doing a great job. Come on, praise me.” And even worse, you

are saying, “Aren’t I better than so and so….”  Instead, we should be endeavoring to hide our accomplishments, not even letting the right hand know what the left is doing. If we were truly humble, we would desperately avoid letting anyone know about our accomplishments, since when we reveal them we are stripping ourselves of our eternal reward and accepting the

reward of human praise in its place.  This does not mean that no one will ever know about anything we do. It only means that they will not know because we felt compelled to tell it. As Solomon advised, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and

not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2). Our attitude should be that we are totally

undeserving of praise of any kind—that we are nothing. As Paul warned, “If

anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself”

(Galatians 6:3). The word translated “nothing” means “not even one.” This is the

value of man. We are dust. We have been given a great treasure, but we house it

in “earthen vessels.” The vessel has no value, only the treasure! The vessel is not

worthy of praise, only the treasure!  Every time we toot our own horn, even subtly, we are strengthening the spirit of competition within our hearts. Sometimes it can be very subtle and can seem justified. Let us seek God that He would give us discernment in this area. A

competitive spirit left unchecked can very easily take a sincere man in and eventually take him down.  The desire to appear to be in any way superior to others is wrong, prideful, and evil. As James warned, “But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:16). As believers we have but one thing to boast about: “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jes us Christ” (Galatians

6:14).

Note to the reader:

If you would like to comment on the contents of this paper, please contact us through our

website at www.GloriousChurch.com. We welcome and appreciate all honest comments,

questions, and criticisms.

Copyright © 2005 David Huston and Jim McKinley

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or

author; EXCEPT THAT PERMISSION IS GRANTED to reprint all or part of this document for

personal study and research provided that reprints are not offered for sale.

All Scripture references are from the New King James Version of the Bible, copyright 1990 by

Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, TN, unless otherwise indicated.

Published by

Rosh Pinnah Publications

PO Box 337, Carlisle, PA 17013 717-249-2059

www.RoshPinnah.com RoshPinnah@aol.com

Rosh Pinnah means ‘Chief Cornerstone’ in Hebrew.

© 2010, Guest Writer. All rights reserved. A part of Shekinah Glory Outreach Ministries International

Current Mood: Faith-filled & Anointed & Broken & Delivered & Humbled & Still-Standing

Joy eludes me and anger is trying to consume me;

Nothing is coming up roses;

Everything is coming up thorns;

Yet You still say, “Trust Me”

But I am angry with You, Lord;

~~~

When You told me to leave all that I knew to follow You, I obeyed;

When You told me to forsake my evil ways and give up my lustful desires, though I at times fell in the process, I obeyed;

When You told me to resign leaving my only source of income, as terrifying as it was, I still obeyed;

When You told me to speak no matter how hard the message or how high the cost, I cried then I obeyed;

When I was confronted with persecution and accusations, You told me to keep on going, and I obeyed;

When all seemed lost You still said, “My child, there is more that I require of you”, and I said, “Yea, Lord” and I obeyed.

~~~

But now Lord, look at my heart as it bleeds and see how everything and everyone has fallen down around me;

There are some who think I’ve caused these calamities upon myself, while others simply question the level of my sanity;

The good name I worked so hard to establish has been utterly destroyed;

And the only means of transportation I had has been repossessed;

My home, the beautiful home You blessed me with has been foreclosed, and now homelessness awaits me;

I turn to the left just to find that I’ve lost a child and to my right are the remaining children seeking my strength and direction;

But I have nothing to give but pain and despair, yet, through it all You tell me to trust and follow You.

~~~

Burdens and hardship continues to mount up on every side;

The brook has dried up and You no longer command the ravens to feed me;

I cry to You, “Lord, what’s next?  Where is the provision?” Yet Your answer is deafening silence;

All the while the devourer lurks in the shadows seeking to do more than just destroy me;

He wants to use me to hurt You;

He uses soothing words to entice me and makes all kinds of promises in hopes of seducing me;

He even says he can give me beauty for ashes and gladness instead of the aching pain I feel inside;

All of these are mine, he says, if only I serve him.

~~~

But who can stand against the Lord and live?  And though I am broken, I am not ignorant of the enemy’s schemes and lies;

I know that no matter what, You are still God and there is NO ONE, including ALL of hell, who can stand against You;

Great and Mighty is Your Name, You are the Lord of hosts, the Great I Am, the great King of Glory;

You are everlasting to everlasting and there is NO wisdom, NO insight or NO plan that can succeed against You;

Though I am cast down, my heart still burns for You and aches for You, and I so seek Your glory, Oh Lord;

If You say You will never forsake me, then it is that which is true; therefore, somewhere provision lies and awaits me;

Arise, Oh Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered; renew my joy which is my strength; anoint me afresh with Your Spirit and bring me higher in You;

Restore me, Oh God, so that I may war for You, and through all of this mayhem, show me Your glory.

~~~

Your Word says the prayers of the righteous avails much and I know it is these prayers that brings me strength on this day;

While I continue to walk through this valley of death, continue to press their hearts to pray for me;

And let their words be not their own words but the words of the Greater One within them;

And help me, Holy Spirit, to keep my eyes steadfast on the Father and not on the place of isolation and desolation;

Forgive me for any and all sin, and even in my suffering be magnified and glorified, let the people of God be edified and the body of Christ purified;

And let me be healed now in Jesus’ Name, let my mind not wander to dark places but let it be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work and Word of the Lord;

You say in Your Word to let the weak say they are strong, so in Jesus’ name I confess now that I am strong!

Thank You, Lord, for rescuing your servant and for leading me down the path that brings a greater glory to Your wondrous and sovereign Name.

Real talk. 

Amen.

Originally written December 23, 2009 by MIT Naima Williams

© 2010, Ms. Lady Nai. All rights reserved. A part of Shekinah Glory Outreach Ministries International

Current Mood: Faith-filled

Father, thank You for sanctifying me by the truth; Your Word is truth. Jesus, You consecrated Yourself for my sake, so I’ll be truth-consecrated in my mission. In the name of Jesus, I repent and turn from wicked ways. I wish myself, make myself clean. I cease to do evil, and I am learning to do right.

Father, You dwell in me and walk with me. So I leave the corruption and compromise; I leave it for good. You are my Father, and I will not link up with those who would pollute me, because You want me all for Yourself. I purify myself from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Father, I confess my sins. You are faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Jesus has been made unto me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

I submit myself to You, Lord—spirit, soul, and body. I strip myself of my old, unrenewed self and put on the new nature, changing whatever needs to be changed in my life. The desire of my heart is to be vessel unto honor, sanctified, fitting for the Master’s use, and prepared for every good work.

Thank you, Lord, that I eat the good of the land, because You have given me a willing an obedient heart. Amen.

Scripture References

John 17:17, 19                                     Isaiah 1:16, 17

2 Corinthians 6:17 message               2 Corinthians 7:1 NIV

1 John 1:9 NKJV                                               1 Corinthians 1:30

Ephesians 4:22-24                               2 Timothy 2:21

Isaiah 1:19

Prayer from ‘Prayers That Avail Much’, 25th Anniversary Commemorative Gift Edition, written by Germaine Copeland; 1997 

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. II Timothy 2:21

.

© 2010, Ms. Lady Nai. All rights reserved. A part of Shekinah Glory Outreach Ministries International

Current Mood: Edified & Prayerful

Bishops Thoughts…

     You must be very careful, even in the place with the steeple, to be able to stay prayerful when dealing with people.  They can come to convince you to bear all of their problems.  Never just a single one, since they want you to solve them.  I am here to try to remind you that in your patience, you possess your soul. So  put people behind you and never give them control.  Hear this great truth that is still quite true.  You are the one God expects to be responsible for you.  So, don’t wait for others if life gets a little slim.  Your answer is not you and them, just in you and HIM!

Your servant, A. Ray Rouson

© 2010, Bishop A. Ray Rouson, Sr.. All rights reserved. A part of Shekinah Glory Outreach Ministries International