Burdened Only to Praise God

In my daily walk with God, I fall deeper and deeper in love with him. God is so unspeakably great and glorious, I must praise him every day. You see, the Lord God has blessed me with a deep understanding of how awesome, great and glorious he truly is. He has done this by revealing himself to me in marvelous ways. I perceive the power of God and the love of God in intimate ways. God has chosen me to dwell alone with him so that I can be available to him and open to him. In return, God and the Holy Spirit and even Jesus have revealed themselves to me in amazing ways. Therefore, I must praise God in return. I live a life that is pure and holy, as God demands of me, so that I am burdened by no sin. I able free to praise God and I must praise him for he is so amazingly great!

As I engage is different activities throughout my day, whether it be work, leisure or spiritual, God is truly with me in all that I do and he makes the activities more enjoyable and more rewarding. God is a source of great blessing and accompaniment to me, and I must praise him in return.

The Way to Salvation

In ancient times, the way salvation was revealed by God in glorious form through spoken words inspired by the great and glorious Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God spoke to and  through favored children of God and enabled and empowered those around them to live righteous before God. Long ago, near the dawn of mankind, there was a lack of written words and texts. The earliest known written scrolls date back only a few thousand years. Before that, man relied upon spoken words and illiterate drawings and etchings to convey meaning and preserve history. Long before the Holy Bible, or any other book for that matter was authored and/or printed, righteous and faithful men preserved their history through oral tradition. The way to salvation was contained in the stories and other accounts that men and women of tribes of people groups preserved.

Oral tradition is very important in understanding the origins of the Pentateuch. The first five books of the Holy Bible are known as the Pentateuch. This set of Books was originally authored by Moses for the people of Israel, and it covered a long period of history, over 2,300 years, before Moses himself ever lived. So how did the great Moses, man of God, know what to write? The answer to that question is “oral tradition” and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. More commonly known as storytelling, people would gather together, sometimes around a fire or a meal, in order to transmit the stories of their people group in truth. Storytelling and oral tradition are alike. However, it is important to distinguish that oral tradition dictates true stories, whereas storytelling can dictate lore or myth as well as true stories.

When the great Moses was young, he was raised in the house of the pharaoh of Egypt. He was not blessed with hearing the accounts of the people of Israel in oral tradition until he was older and had returned to his people to eventually lead them. After hearing the oral records of the patriarch Abraham and his blessed kin, Moses recorded their stories in scroll form, authoring the Book of Genesis. The rest of the Book of Genesis was authored by Moses with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and oral tradition inspired dear Moses to write about Adam and Eve and their blessed offspring. The people of God and their experiences are the focus  of the Book of Genesis, showing the importance of God’s people over the importance of his creation and it’s natural workings. Do recall that man was commissioned by the Lord our God to rule over nature and subdue it. It was both oral tradition and the Holy Spirit who was inspired Moses to write the Book of Genesis. Moses carried great authority, having performed many miracles with the power of God, so he was a perfect candidate to write such a book.

 

 

13 Reasons To Pray

Thirteen Great Reasons Why I Pray

1. When I pray I enter in God’s presence, filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit, feeling closest to him in a place of selfless prayer and worship.
2. I pray because I love God and I want people to know God and follow him more closely.
3. I believe that God will answer my prayers.
4. I believe that I can change the world with me prayers.
5. We are commanded to pray in God’s Word, the Holy Bible.
6. The Holy Spirit leads me into times of deep prayer.
7. It’s therapeutic, alleviating anxiety, fear, stress.
8. It helps us find our way, and uncovers what is deep inside of us.
9. Prayer often yields something from deep within us that we didn’t realize was there, such an issue, doubt or desire.
10. Prayer unburdens our heart and mind when we confess to God and Jesus.
11. To ask God and Jesus to change us on the inside.
12. To present specific requests to God and Jesus.
13. To present praise and offer thanks!

Prayer Talk

The Biblical scripture which preserves the heritage of the greatest men of faith in God shows us that prayer is led and inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. The great and wonderful Holy Spirit is a being independent from God, part of the Godhead trio known as the “Holy Trinity”. The Holy Spirit is classified in da’ Holy Bible as “The Spirit of God”, with great power and a wealth of gifts. Our great savior Lord Jesus tapped into these gifts, just as we now can As Christians we are called to follow our beloved Jesus, Son of God and we must imitate him in following him. The Holy Spirit helped Jesus in his speech and in his prayers, leading him and inspiring him throughout the day and into the night.

Dearly beloved, please tap into the prayer power of the Holy Spirit today, as Jesus did. Silence your mind and heart before God, listen and wait. Our God and his Holy Spirit are so great that they are never too busy to help you pray and speak with is most right. Find delight in the Holy Spirit when you pray and let your prayers come from him. Seek the Word of God and let that guide you in prayer. The Holy Bible is from him directly and it can show you what to pray. If you feel that you are missing something, review and re-read these scriptures. I have a practice that I may suggest to you that is very practical and worthy of learning and incorporating into regular prayer practice. Pray through a section of the Biblical Scripture, praying about what you read and what you can think of that is related. Some of the scriptures contain treasured and cherished ancient prayers, authored by noble men of God such as King David. For example, the Book of Psalms contains numerous prayers, some authored by the mighty David himself.

Prayer is never boring when your heart and mind and fully engaged. Passion and pain stir prayer. For a change, I would suggest music. Pray a prayer of praise and supplication with music, such as a guitar or piano if you have one, for we enter into our God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving. The Psalms show us that our Divine Father values the playing of musical instruments in praise. Offer reverence and offer yourself. Write a song to God, to beloved Jesus and/or to the Holy Spirit. You can ask questions in prayer, offer gratitude and pray for the Kingdom of God to advance and prevail. Don’t be afraid to open up to God. Show him your secrets and areas of concealment or neglect. Try to let him on whatever you don’t share very much with him, such as selfish ambitions or faulty behavior. Use the song to offer a sweet symphony of praise and penance. Perhaps you could record yourself singing your prayers and memorize them or write them down. You don’t need to write the song out formally. Let the Holy Spirit lead you and free-flow the lyrics. I actually believe that church worship pastors have the authority to free-flow and freewrite songs and to write their own new songs, especially those which and praising and prayerful, when accompanied by the Holy Spirit.

Please, don’t ever underestimate the all-knowing power of the Holy Spirit. One of the great benefits of becoming one with Jesus is that he gives all in him access to the Holy Spirit of God, the great worship leader and prayer leader. Once you enter into Christ as holy you gain access to the power and spiritual gifting of his Holiness through the Holy Spirit. Behold, the veil is torn and our beloved Jesus is to thank. Consider making time to pray to Jesus today, perhaps writing a song from the heart, thanking him for granting us all access as one to the cherished and great resources of the Holy Spirit in heaven. Praise Jesus! Praise God! Praise the Holy Spirit…forever!

 

 

LETTER LOVERS 101

Youth Ministry Activity: Writing Letters 101

Writing letters is like an art form. Jr. High or High School English instructors could teach a whole quarter or themed weekly section in the class on writing letters.

Teachers would include:

-Proper salutation

-Introduction/ greeting

-Body with main points

-Leading up to questions

-Bottom line

Formatting w/ date, spacing

Genres of letters include:

-Personal/love letters

-Informational letters

-Inquisitive letters

-Suggestive letters

-Critically-constructional letters

-Specialized letters including business-related, financial, legal and assaying letters

-Encouraging/love letters

-Multiparty authored/group letters

Students could research and report on additional genres of letter writing.

Assignments could include actual composition and sending of letters to:

1. A Teacher
2. Family member/entrusted neighbor
3. Celebrity of choice
4. Political leader
5. Issue related inquisitive
6. Self/future self
7. Military, elderly or prisoner (person in need)

Address finding and envelope printing would be covered. No threats or inappropriate content.

Multiple copies of letters sent to multiple sources.

Responses could be shared with teacher approval with whole class.

Letter writing is a great habit. Exercise your freedom of speech.

If you know any teachers or school administrator feel free to share this document with them.

Teachers could use letters to “stay in touch” with former students. They could send out annual copy form letters to students with bulk mail rates to participating students. Students may write back or visit, reporting progress in life for 10 years.

By Kevin T. Giles, MA

Please Pray for Parents to Have Power

Dearly, beloved- Please pray for 21st Century parents who are making inroads against the technology-based social media incursion which includes Facebook, Pinterest, and numerous others, et al. Parents have been largely blindsided by a first-generation vicious scourge that infiltrates our homes, beds, dinner tables, cars and even classrooms. These sacred spaces of security and communing have been invaded! Parents, it’s time to MAKE WAR on Facebook and other invasi…ve & intrusive tech (IT&T). There are no limits to this global gamete and it is so going, going, going on out.
I
Please pray that this very first generation of techie-provided programmers, punks and princesses will:

1. Compete and counterspy
2. Set limits and enforce limits with stern/severe punishment
3. Educate about the DANGERS of social media and tech-addiction including suicide, arrest, fighting, revenge sex, poor grades, financial decline, lost jobs, family fissures and fiancé flap out (after she discovers you have 263 female friends that uh… You never mentioned. Plus Justin Beiber.

May God truly help these parents to at least encourage honest and accountable communications and direct their young ones to “soul-saving sites” like church websites and social media portals. Many parents don’t know how to confront this issue because they don’t understand how it works. Parents see little or no danger. They lack the vocabulary and precedent of history. Let’s pray that this first generation of social media moms and dads KEEP UP and have fun with the challenge. And let’s pray that our church’s elders and pastors (especially unscrupulous and inexperienced youth pastors) make the efforts to keep up with their own sites, demonstrating reverence and seriousness at all times). Let us speak as if we were speaking the “words of God himself”, avoiding “foolish talk” and “god-excluding chatter”. Yes, little Jimmy and niece Jessica, that is from the Holy Bible…God’s book of the good.”

Another Great Reason to Pray

Another Great Reason to Pray

Psychologists have proven through extensive human studies that venting and talking about personal concerns and cares is therapeutically beneficial. In fact, talking through these areas of concern in life is so beneficial that an entire modality of therapy exists known as “talk therapy”. Well, I have good news for anyone concerned with demonstrating good financial stewardship and living on a tight budget- talk therapy is available right now via prayer with God. Communicating with the Lord God about your concerns, issues and problems with the dear Lord/Jesus/the Holy Spirit is a great practice, much like talk therapy. Sharing your cares, feelings, concerns, ambitions and experiences and asking God to grant personal requests leads to venting your issues and concerns in a prayerful way. “Getting it off your chest” and releasing, prayer is a valuable practice proven to be beneficial and therapeutic by studies. Even if your prayers aren’t answered it’s a good idea to let go and to let God know and intercede. Prayer is like talk therapy and the benefits are deeper and more profound than you realize. Praying through issues and life concerns causes us to think through them while with God, often unveiling solutions that come from him. Being in contact with the Lord God pleases him. Prayer calls our attention to him and his attention to us. It’s much better to release these things to someone that you trust, to someone that won’t hurt you. Don’t keep them bottled up inside and ready to burst. Pray today, I love you.

By Kevin Troy Giles, MA

An Expanation of a Pastoral Leadership Contract for Guest Presenters

As a future leader of the church, I’ve been blessed to discover news ideas and new ways to integrate men and women of faith into church leadership. Guest presenters are common today in the Christian Church including missionaries, para-church ministry organizations and visiting pastors. I even believe that lay congregants have the right and opportune potential to address the congregation from the pulpit. Miracles and visions are happening in the church today and we deserve to hear about them. The following document, which I authored, will facilitate the international inclusion of the priesthood. It may be copied from this WordPress.com blog and utilized in congregational order. Guest speakers and lay presenters should sign this in order to ensure that order is maintained and the church avoids upset.

Pastoral Leadership Contract for Guest Presenters

I hereby agree to the following terms and conditions as a presentational speaker at Calvary Chapel Metro of Santa Monica. I will abide by these terms and conditions throughout the entirety of my presentation or sermon. I will work in conjunction with the church’s pastoral staff and other appointed supervising staff in a cooperative and compliant manner at all times. Here are the terms and conditions:

1. I hereby agree not to make politically motivated statements at any time.
2. I agree not to disagree with church doctrine or church law, including any Statement of Faith or other positional faith-bases statement of the church, including church laws or other regulations.
3. I agree not to impose any false reports or information upon the church congregation or mislead them in any way.
4. I agree not to manipulate the church congregation or church leadership at any time for selfish ambition or personal gain.
5. I agree not to go beyond the limits of time allotted for the presentation or sermon.
6. I agree to have the church’s best interests in mind at all times, bearing in mind that the church as one congregational body is part of a globally connected inter church network.
7. I agree not to foster or breed quarrels, divisions or conflicts of any kind, being sensitive and respectful of our neighboring churches and of other religious faiths or community groups of good repute and good standing in the community or beyond.
8. I agree to be sensitive to the future direction of the church and do my best to act in accordance with the Biblical Scriptures at all times.
9. I agree to research my chosen topic or ministry field and otherwise adequately prepare ahead of time.
10. I agree to notify the church leadership staff at least one week ahead of time if I should back out and not be able to make the presentation, so that the leadership staff will have adequate time to schedule a replacement.
11. I agree to glorify the church and implement and/or follow the will of God throughout the course of the presentation of sermon to the church.
12. I agree not to read a transcript before the congregation unless absolutely necessary, that I may follow the leading of the Lord’s Holy Spirit.

I agree that should I divert from these terms and conditions I may immediately be cut off and asked to discontinue my presentation or sermon. Additionally, there may be church discipline in store should I fail to abide.

X____________________________________, Presentational Speaker

X____________________________________, Witness

X____________________________________, Pastor

12 Steps of Prayer Life Development

As a pastoral leader within the family of God in Christ, the Lord has inspired me to create the following “12 Step” plan for prayer life development and implementation. It was was truly done with the help of the Holy Spirit! Isn’t it generic? lol You need it, dear brothers:

 

12 Steps of Prayer Life Development 

 

1st Step of Prayer- Realizing that I am powerless to prayer and through it my life is more manageable 

 

2nd Step of Prayer- Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves truly hears us and receives our prayers, answering them in his timing and according to his glorious will.

 

3rd Step of Prayer- Made a decision to commit our prayer life development over to the care life over to the care of the Holy Spirit as we are one with him asking the Lord to lead and/or inspire you to prayer through the beckoning of the heart.

 

4th Step of Prayer- Made a searching and fearless prayer inventory, seeking to identify areas and/or times when we could prayer more fervently or continually.

 

5th Step of Prayer- Admitted to God that we are in love with him first and others second and allowing our prayer time to show that.

 

6th Step of Prayer- Became altogether ready to confess any sins to God the Lord consistently as a key part of our daily prayer life, so that we can stay clean.

 

7th Step of Prayer- Humbly asked God to reveal to us ways that we could improve our prayer.

 

8th Step of Prayer- Give birth to a spiritual practice of physical listing items that we could prayer for and following through in intercessory prayer.

 

9th Step of Prayer- Make sacrificially loving prayer practice essential, praying for not only those in our own lives but also those far beyond including our community, our great nation and even our perceived rivals and opponents should they exist.

 

10th Step of Prayer- Devote ourselves to continuity of prayer and not neglect it by doubt, disheartening or daily duties. 

 

11th Step of Prayer- Studied to strive through prayer practice and contemplative meditation to enhance my spiritual inter-connectivity with the Holy Spirit of God in Jesus Christ, seeking knowledge of the his Divine will for us and the empowerment to carry that through.

 

12 Step of Prayer- Having achieved a spiritual enlightening as the result of these steps, we seek to call to the attention of other Christians our growth and progress in prayer, in hopes that they will seek to improve their prayer lives too.

By Kevin T Giles, MA

The King with No Crown

The King with No Crown

By Kevin T. Giles, MA

There once was a king who was born of noble birth, of to the same bloodline as Jesus Christ himself, the royal line of David, King of Israel. He was so high in the eyes of God, and God wanted to protect him, so he had no earthly crown. God gave this man, who was exalted in his God’s sight, nothing to show off on the earth, that was of material value, such as a crown. This man didn’t mind, for he was satisfied with his relationship with God and who his God created him to be.

Historically, kings have been targets of hatred, theft and even injustice. Their closest friends and companions influenced them even more than God. It took a procession of 50 or 100 armored guards, horses and chariots just to leave the castle. The kings, like David, were usually surrounded by the same people and it limited the number lives that they could touch. It was usually hard to get near the king, so it actually limited his influence and the number of people that he could bless. Filled with more power of God than anyone on earth, the high king merely needed to raise his hand and ask God to bless anyone. God’s infinite blessings flowed through this king who walked the earth among the common people who came to his famous cities from all over the world!!! Once people get near the former kings, they were usually daunted, intimidated and/or ready to engage in insincere interactions essentially kissing his ass. It didn’t please God that much and there was much grumbling. Since they knew that he was king they would often manipulate him, pander to him, flatter or try to get the best of him.

So God did something new, and crowned a new king from among the wealthy of the common people. He gave him no crown, to protect him from the insincerity, hate, flattery, manipulation and discrimination. Kings often have detractors and critics, opponents and rivals. Usually they are jealous of the king and wish to knock him off or see him fall. Well, not this king. With no crown, this king’s an undercover agent of good and a super-secret source of sacred love, in a position to touch many. This king lived among the common people without a crown. No one could target him, no one could rival him, no one could steal his title, because he didn’t have one that was known. He still carried the authority of God in his prayer, his voice and the spiritual forces at his command. This is the king that will never fall, and he will never lose a crown, because he doesn’t really have one.