2Minutes with Pastor Don- I stand at the door and knock!

Revelation 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Just as we need to Ask, Seek and Knock for God to respond to us as we cry out to Him in all things, so it is with us as well to open the door of our hearts when God knocks  it at any given time! In order to receive  the help and growth we need to live for God in this world that can be dark at times, we need to allow the power of God through the Holy Spirit to come in the doors of our hearts and do a changing work that only He can and will do, if we let Him!
Just remember: Colossians 1:27 “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’
Blessings,
Pastor Don Dukes 

http://www.prayerfortheharvest.org

2 Minutes with Pastor Don- All our righteousness are filthy rags

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV) But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags”

A rich young man ran up to Jesus, fell on his knees before Him, and asked, “good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good -except God alone.” Luke 10:17-18. NIV.
Jesus himself depended on the good of His Father alone. It is the same with us. We always want to act as if our righteousness have something to do with God’s love for us. “No”! It is by His grace alone, and our accepting what Jesus did on the cross for our sins.

Blessings,
Pastor Don Dukes
http://www.prayerfortheharvest.org

2 Minutes with Pastor Don- Create in me a Clean Heart!

There are times as we walk with God, we become discouraged because our hearts are not as pure before the Lord as we would like it to be. We might say: “God would do so much more with me if only I had a pure heart.” Well, don’t despair! Remember that only God alone can do a great work  in us as we walk  with Him daily through His Son Jesus Christ! God said to the Israelites: “I will give them one heart and I will put  a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh.“ Ezequiel 11:19 God is more than able to change a hardened heart into a softened heart towards Him! Rest, rely and  wait on Him! For as you seek Him, you’ll find Him waiting to minister to you and change the hard areas of the heart, to the heart of softness that you will desire to commune with Him and walk in victory!
Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Blessings,
Pastor Don Dukes

http://www.prayerfortheharvest.org/

Child like awe of God

Have you recently stopped to really pay attention to your children or other children at play? As you watch them, notice the sense of wonder they have! They are amazed at creation in it’s various forms, rainbows, snowflakes, things they can do on their very own, a sunrise, or a sunset. As adults, we don’t seem to have that sense of wonder  as a child does anymore. As we mature in age, we tend to get caught up in just trying to survive a living, instead of having an awe filled childlike amazement in God and what He can and will do in our lives! Read “Psalm 147” and meditate on it for a while. “Do not read this psalm in a rush“! This psalm will encourage us back to that childlike faith we as adults have lost along the way. I want that childlike faith to come back to me for today, and for the coming New Year. How about you? Let’s go to God the Father in prayer for Him to give us back that awe of Him in childlike faith! Amen! The Lord Bless You.

RECEIVE EVERY DAY AS A RESURRECTION FROM DEATH, AS A NEW ENJOYMENT OF LIFE… LET YOUR JOYFUL HEART PRAISE AND MAGNIFY SO GOOD AND GLORIOUS A CREATOR. William Law (1686-1761)

Psalm 147

 ¹ Praise the LORD.^[a]   How good it is to sing praises to our God, 
   how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
 ² The LORD builds up Jerusalem; 
   he gathers the exiles of Israel. 
³ He heals the brokenhearted 
   and binds up their wounds. 
⁴ He determines the number of the stars 
   and calls them each by name. 
⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power; 
   his understanding has no limit. 
⁶ The LORD sustains the humble 
   but casts the wicked to the ground.
 ⁷ Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; 
   make music to our God on the harp.
 ⁸ He covers the sky with clouds; 
   he supplies the earth with rain 
   and makes grass grow on the hills. 
⁹ He provides food for the cattle 
   and for the young ravens when they call.
 ¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, 
   nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; 
¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him, 
   who put their hope in his unfailing love.
 ¹² Extol the LORD, Jerusalem; 
   praise your God, Zion.
 ¹³ He strengthens the bars of your gates 
   and blesses your people within you. 
¹⁴ He grants peace to your borders 
   and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
 ¹⁵ He sends his command to the earth; 
   his word runs swiftly. 
¹⁶ He spreads the snow like wool 
   and scatters the frost like ashes. 
¹⁷ He hurls down his hail like pebbles. 
   Who can withstand his icy blast? 
¹⁸ He sends his word and melts them; 
   he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
 ¹⁹ He has revealed his word to Jacob, 
   his laws and decrees to Israel. 
²⁰ He has done this for no other nation; 
   they do not know his laws.^[b]
   Praise the LORD.

Turn from our limitations to a God who has none

Proverbs 30:2-4 (New International Version) ² Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding. ³ I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One. ⁴ Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!

 “How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in his heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains ; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless year." (A.W. Tozer).

Many times we are discouraged by our limitations no matter what we perceive them to be. Yet, God many times uses the simple things of the world to confuse the wise. Let's stop being so hard on ourselves about our weaknesses and focus in on the God who gives the strengths and talents that we have to glorify Him. We may not have all the wisdom we wish we had, but we know where to go to receive it. We go to the Author of life, THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT! With God, there are no limits!

Resentment!

As we work hard in our well laid out plans at any given time, interruptions or "hick-ups" can cause us to have some very unpleasant emotions that will cause us to say "God...why this?...why now! "I'm trying to get so much done for You", and "here it is...this interruption"! The point is the interruption which comes our way may cause us resentment if we don't see it in the eyes of God. Maybe He wants us to see Him in some special way that day or, He may want to reveal something of our character to us. Whatever the case, when resentment rise up inside of us, we are not to push it back down but allow it to come out into the light of the Lord! He will then take that load of resentment on His Shoulders and help us to deal with it in the light of His love. He will give us a new heart of gratitude and encouragement to replace any resentment that may rise up!

Read Psalm 139:23-24; 1 Peter 5:6-7.

SURRENDER TO THE LORD MEANS TURNING AROUND ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DEGREES-THAT MEANS A RENEWED PERSON AND RENEWED VISION....WE ARE NOT READY FOR THE BATTLE UNTIL WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD, FOR JESUS IS THE ANSWER TO ALL PROBLEMS.

Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983)

Day of Sun, Day of Gloom

There are days in our circumstances when we will find joy in God's Presents generously strewn along our life's path on a sunny day being content to breath or just to take the next step. On other days in our life's path, the days can be overcast and gloomy and we find it hard to have joy in anything. Whatever the case may be, God assures us that He is the Creator of this day and knows exactly what we are going through. He will be our greatest "Companion and Deliverer", and as we spend time with Him, we will have a change of heart in the midst of our circumstances, and a change of "mood" as well.

Read Psalm 27

“IT IS FAITH THAT BRINGS POWER, NOT MERELY PRAYING AND WEEPING AND STRUGGLING, BUT BELIEVING, DARING TO BELIEVE THE WRITTEN WORD WITH OR WITHOUT FEELING”.

Catherine Booth (1829-1890)

God's Love is Magnified

In the midst of trials Lord, You promise to be with us and to sustain us. During times of spiritual warfare, help me to know that I can choose to cast my care, my worry, and my concern on You because you care for me! If I were not sure of Your care, I would be overwhelmed with dread in the midst of spiritual warfare. When times seem dark, Your love is "MAGNIFIED" in the blessed assurance that you are with me and that I have this hope as an anchor for my soul which stands "firm and secure". Amen.

"But blessed is the man who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV.