"P-R-A-Y- Part 4 - "Yield Ahead"

"YIELD" To Oncoming Traffic

The last thing, in our four part study on praying, is that it is essential that we develop an attitude that is able to yield to the incoming reply. It doesn't do much good to ask if we are gong to delete every reply that we don't totally agree with. Many times we keep asking for the same things and God keeps giving us something different. Why do you think that this happens? Does God not understand what we are asking for? Is it possible that our prayer is getting intercepted by some other force and it comes out scrambled when it gets to God? I have thought about the many ways that my prayer must have been blocked on it's way to God! Then I thought about how so many times I look up into the sky or into the darkness of my bedroom as I prayed and wondered if God heard me; then coming to the realization that He hears every single word we say if He dwells in us. That's right! How can someone live in your house and not hear you? It's impossible unless someone isn't in communion with the other.

What if you had been ignoring someone who lived with you; maybe your spouse, your parent or a friend and suddenly you buddied up to them when you saw that they had something you needed? Do you think that would work out for you? What if it was the other way around and you had been trying to help the other person to do more with their life and they asked you for enough money and things to live out the rest of their life just like they had been living their life up to this point? Would you give it to them if you could and not try to help them improve? If you loved them, I believe you would have to stop and evaluate the situation and do what's best for them. Isn't that how it works sometimes when we ask for the things we want?

If we approach an intersection and we are merging into traffic, there is usually a sign there that says "Yield". Why should we yield to oncoming traffic in the first place? They can see me coming and they know I'm on my way into their lane! The fact is, that when we are moving ahead in life and looking for a change to take place, if we don't yield to God and move ahead when He wants us to move ahead, chances are we are going to find ourselves in a position that we don't really wish to find ourselves. It could even be off the shoulder of the road and stuck there until we can get someone to pull us out. Are you relating what I'm saying to life?
I'm not really talking about cars or roads in this message. What I'm saying is that the best way to stay on the course that God has for your life is to yield to Him when we decide it's time to make that right turn on the journey to reach the goals we have set. My dad always told us to stop, look and listen!
Pretty good advice; don't you think?
Romans 6:13,14
Neither yield you your body parts as instruments of unrighteousness to sin: but yield yourselves to God as though they are alive from the dead, and your body parts as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin will not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law but under grace.

P-R-A-Y - Part 3

ASK For What You Need

First we talked about Praising God for the things He has done for us and then yesterday we saw that repenting was the next step in praying that we need in order to go on to the next step. How could we ever ask our father or mother for something extraordinary when ew knew we were guilty of something they had taught us "not to do".

Think about it for a moment! If you parents knew you had done something wrong and you knew that they knew about it, would you be able to approach them as though nothing was wrong? When I was a teenager I remember my father sometimes just hinting that he knew about something I had done wrong, but he was waiting for me to come to him. Oh man, I hated that so much because I had to live with the conviction until I was willing to humble myself and take the punishment that came when I admitted to what I had done. That had to have been some of the most miserable times in anyones life until it was brought out into the open and settled! I could tell that my father was so glad to see me come to him and admit my fault and it was never as bad as I imagined that it would be. Satan had me fooled by my own imagination and guilt.

The really awesome thing about coming to God and repenting is that He is always ready to let us feel his forgiveness and reconciles us to a relationship that allows us to ask for the things that we need in life. You see, it is the believing and forgiven heart that gets it's needs met by our heavenly Father!

Paul said, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation." 2Corinthians 5:17-18

Jesus said, "Verily I say to you, he that believes on me, the works that I do will he do also; and greater works than these will he do; because I go to my Father. And whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I WILL DO IT." John 14:12-14

Praise, Repent and Ask!

P-R-A-Y - Part 2

Repenting Cultivates the Heart

Yesterday we looked at the first part of a prayer; that is when we praise God. If you missed this, you can scroll down and read it in the post below this one. Today we are going to go to the next step in prayer. This is the step that opens our hearts up to the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit cultivates our hearts we can see the things in our life that don't look like Jesus.

Being raised in the country part of my life, I remember the farmers talking about cultivating the fields. What they were doing was turning the dirt over so they could get the previous growth under the dirt. This not only did away with the plants on top but it also allowed their decomposition to help fertilize and feed the new plants that would be placed in this newly cultivated earth. I'm sure a farmer could add so much more insight into this whole process but that's about all we need to see for now to understand how the Holy Spirit works when we open our hearts to be cutivated and prepared for new growth.

When we repent of our sins we have humbled ourselves and allowed the Holy Spirit to convict us. It is our responsibility to repent. I haven't found anyone else who can do it for me yet; though I really have looked hard for a way to get out of doing this myself at times in my life. There were times when it was so hard to come before God in prayer and to even utter a word. It was in those moments when I felt that I could not come to God and the stress seemed to be unbearable, that God's loving mercy and grace enveloped me and carried me to His bosom in forgiveness.

I remember watching two boys who were being reprimanded by their teacher and the teacher was telling one of the boys to tell the other one he was sorry. Well, the boy just kept pointing at other boys in the room and I couldn't understand why he was doing this. Finally the teacher who had the experience and training to understand this unusual body language said to the boy who kept pointing at the other boys, "Tell me something, who hit Timmy? Did you hit him or did these other boys hit him?". Well, to that he just looked down. He became humble in conviction of his actions. Then she said, "If you hit Timmy then why should I make the other boys tell him that they are sorry?", so the little boy looked over at Timmy with tears in running down his cheeks and said he was sorry. Was it the act of apology that forgave him? Was it the saying, "I'm sorry" that brought tears to his eyes? I believe it was the Holy Spirit along with a persistent teacher bringing conviction that revealed to him that he had done something wrong and that is when this third grader knew he had to make it right.

Conviction is merely a revealing within of what we have become in comparison with the only perfect man, Jesus. It's ok to shed tears in prayer. That is a good sign that we have seen our need for repentance and we are truly sorry for what we have done.

The Lord gave me the following after I had written this message this morning and I felt He meant for me to share it with you today.

When I Could Not Speak
I learned ,when I could not speak a word in prayer, that it was not my words, but in my heart God found repentance there. The Holy Spirit, in my heart did glean and left me with a conscience clean. God forgave me as tears I cried; not one word spoken; but His Holy Spirit could see inside.

Luke 5:31,32
And Jesus answering them said to them, "They that are whole do not need a physician, but those who are sick. I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Luke 15:7
Jesus said, "I tell you that also joy will be in heaven over one sinner that repents; more than over ninety-nine just people, which do not need repentance."

"How To Pray"

P-R-A-Y
Praise God First

Recognizing God in our prayer as our Holy Father is how we glorify Him. I can think of many things to praise God for; His love; His forgiveness; my children; the way God has used me to minister to others; etc...

What is it that you could praise God for right now? I encourage you to call out and praise Him for those things when you bow your head in prayer today. You'll see the difference in your prayer life if you aren't already doing this when you pray. We often get so focused on our needs that we forget to offer to God what He desires from us in thankfully praising Him.

Isaiah 6:1-3
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

"Could You Use A Delivery?"

David Sings About The Power of the LORD's Deliverance

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

This is from a Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, written for the chief Musician. David sang to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him from all his enemies and from the devouring hand of Saul.

You could say that this was a song of triumph!

He felt victory over those who wished to do him wrong!
We could compare his situation with allot of things that we experience in our lives today. Maybe it's getting free from an abusive relationship. Maybe it's when you went to court and the final decision was finally in your favor. Or it could be finally getting a new job where your boss is friendly and respectful towards you. Maybe you've been bullied by someone that you couldn't avoid or someone trying to control every decision you make and suddenly they moved away from you altogether. This can also happen in ministry sometimes too!

Hopefully you haven't found yourself in the shoes of the one abusing others; the aggressor; the unfair boss or the controller in the examples I mentioned, but if you have and you wish that you didn't act like this; you ought to look at making some serious changes in your behavior by first of all searching your heart.

We have all worked for people who have not been fair and they may even be reading this message today. If so, you might find it offensive, but remember, it is you who can look into our own heart and see the person you really are. Only you can make a difference in your heart and actions. God holds us responsible for our actions and other people have to live with the consequences of your wrong behavior.

If we all depended on the LORD as David did in the battles that we face, we would find ourselves not loosing our cool in the heat of the battles we face in our lives.

David had found all he needed and he proclaimed it in this song to his LORD! Just the name that he used for "God" in verse two tells us so much about David. He said, "The LORD" which in the Hebrew means "(the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah".
Then he says that the LORD is his "rock" which means "literally or figuratively (a fortress): - (ragged) rock, stone (-ny), strong hold".

Next, David calls the LORD his "fortress" meaning in the Hebrew "a fastness: - castle, defence, fort (-ress), (strong) hold, be hunted, net, snare, strong place."He follows this with "my deliverer" which refers to his escaping from the enemies capture. The Hebrew for this is "to deliver: - calve, carry away safe, deliver, (cause to) escape."

Then David addresses the LORD with a different title when he seems to pause for minute and meditate on how majestic his LORD really is. He says, "my God".

Many times we say this in prayer but do we really take the time to meditate on it's literal meaning and feel the power as we call out to "God"? The literal Hebrew meaning for the title of God used here is as follows;

The Hebrew word is 'êlIt is pronounced ale
It's meaning is strength; as adjective mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity): - God (god), X goodly, X great, idol, might (-y one), power, strong. Compare names in “-el.”

David starts again with more declaration of the what God means in his life as he sings out, "my strength, in whom I will trust".
The literal Hebrew would sound like this, "my refuge which is solid as a rock who I can run to and confide in when things seem hopeless". That reminds me of the song that was so popular years ago about someones love being "solid as a rock". It meant that it was unmovable; unbreakable through the ups and downs. A love that would not change! That is the message David is singing out in this Psalm. Let us rejoice with him as he praises our God Almighty!

Then David goes on to say that his Almighty is his "buckler" meaning a shield or figuratively a protector and is compared to the hide of the crocodile. David was covered from head to toe with the protection of his God!

Next David says that his God is "the horn of his salvation" and this is a bit confusing at first until we look into the Hebrew translation. The word horn is used figuratively in this Psalm meaning power. The word salvation is referring to "liberty,deliverance,prosperity: -safety,salvation,saving."
So when we put this together we get "qeren yesha"; "and the power of my deliverance". That is how David was able to remain a free man of God! It was through the Power of his God Almighty; not his own. David knew this all too well!
The last of his expressions in this verse are expressed "and my high tower". I'm just going to quote for you the literal Hebrew definition because I would probably mess it up if I tried to say anything else about this part of the verse.

The word in the Hebrew is miśgâb
It is pronounced mis-gawb'
Properly a cliff (or other lofty or inaccessible place); abstractly altitude; figuratively a refuge; misgab; a place in Moab: - defence, high fort (tower), refuge. H4869; Misgab, a place in Moab: - Misgab.

David had truly grown in his relationship with God through all of the trials and tribulations he had been through. Some of the psalms he wrote sounded as if he was in total despair, but now he is claiming the faith in his Lord that he had gained by experience.

It is so amazing how much more we realize when the storm passes, isn't it? Then we see how it was not by our power, but by our LORD God Almighty's Power that we were delivered and protected in His fortress high upon the cliffs, unreachable by the enemy. It is then that we realize we are coated with a hide like the crocodile that withstands the enemy's attack. We can see how when we felt as though we were defenceless, God was busy capturing those who meant us no good.

Our God is victorious and He calls us to run to him and confide in Him with ALL of our problems.

Many times I reminded other superintendents on projects, "There are no problems; only solutions!" What I meant by that was that we could solve every problem if we tried hard enough. The thing that I began to realize over the years was that I was only making my life more stressful and difficult when I believed I could do it all myself.

I believe we have abilities, but I also believe that as a believer in Christ, we can take everything to God in prayer. Do you believe that God can make a difference in everything you do? Can you say that out loud and believe it yourself? If you answer yes to this question, then say it out loud right now.
If your answer was no, then I encourage you to just try it and see what happens. David was not always so brave and seemed to be panicking at times, but he kept coming back to God for his help. Each step that he took in faith helped David's faith to develope a little bit more.

Remember this principle, faith developes as we step out. Not huge steps or ten steps all at once, but little steps one at a time and each time God works in us to build our faith stronger and stronger every day.

David didn't go out there to fight Goliath as his first step of faith to show God that he trusted in Him! David had been growing in faith as he protected his family's sheep. God had protected David when he killed the lion and David's faith developed a little more. Then God protected David when he fought and killed the bear and his faith developed a little more. You see, we don't have to prove ourselves to God; God wants to prove Himself to us!

I encourage you to write this verse down on a piece of paper and put it on your refrigerator or mirror where you can quote it each morning. This will remind you of just how much your LORD cares for you and to see what He is doing for you each day.

Let's say this verse together from the Hebrew translation,

"The self Existent and eternal Jehovah is my fortress and my defence, and my deliverer; my Almighty God, my refuge and strength who I will confide in and find hope; my sheild and defence, and the power of my liberty and safety, and my high fort that is in a high and inaccessible place. I will call upon the self Existent LORD, who is worthy to be celebrated and praised above all others, so will I be free from those who are hating me and wish to do me wrong!"

His only plan: a bold rescue - Nation/World - NewsObserver.com

His only plan: a bold rescue - Nation/World - NewsObserver.com

Click on the link above to read an article in today's paper about the rescue of the children's home director in Haiti and how he survived the obstacles! Pray for him as he recovers at the home of the Co-founder of "Hearts With Haiti" here in Raleigh NC.

"Through The Darkest Night"

NO MATTER WHAT YOU YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH IN LIFE, YOU'RE NEVER ALONE!

No matter what you or I have done, God is always right there by your side waiting for you to take His hand. Maybe You or your daughter have been through an experience like this girl on the video. She was looking for love and that's all she really knew when she gave herself away or was possibly forced into the act of sex. She was hurt and she felt as though no one else cared. Maybe nobody did really care enough for her but instead were too busy judging her. Then she turned to God with a broken heart and her dreams broken into a million pieces and it was then that God was able to comfort her through His almighty power in the lives of all who knew her.

If you have been through this in your life, I encourage you to share your testimony with other women, young and old. You will encourage them and help them to realize that God is always there. Fathers, we need to tell our girls and wives that we love them no matter what they are experiencing and demonstrate the love of God in our lives towards them. It is so critical in this day and time we live in to do this.

Young ladies, daughters, sisters and moms of all ages, you must remember that no matter what has happened in Your life, you're NOT ALONE! You've search for love and the night may come, but God will find you there where you are hiding. You may have cried yourself to sleep cause the hurt is real and the pain cuts deep. All hope seems lost with heartache your closest friend and everyone else long gone. You've had to face the music on Your own, but there is a sweeter song that calls You home. No, You are not alone for God is here. Let him wipe away your every tear.

God would say to you, "My love, Ive never left your side, I have seen you through the darkest night and I'm the one whose loved you all your life, all your life! Faithful and true forever, my love will carry You. Your not alone for I am here. Let me wipe away your every tear. I'm the One who's loved you all Your life!"

Contact Rob Bailes by email at: robbailesministries@yahoo.com or call (919)745-1210

"Hold Fast, Help Is on The Way"

As I thought about all of the heartache in Haiti this morning while I go about my day, I wanted to write this message to all who are trying to get through a storm of their own and encourage you to Hold Fast. Be strong and of good courage. God will never leave you, nor forsake you.

Will this season ever pass? Can we stop this ride?
Will we see the sun at last? Please do not let go!
I promise you there's HOPE! Hold Fast! Help is on the way!
Hold Fast! He's come to save the day.

You may think your all alone and you don't think there's any way that anyone could know what your going through.

If you only hear one thing, it's that you know we're all the same; just searching for the truth.
One thing I've learned in my life is that what's stronger than my strife is your Love!
Hold Fast! Help is on the way! Hold Fast! He's come to save the day!

One thing I've learned is my life is what's greater than my pain is your grace. Hold Fast.

Today's video is for my incredibly amazing 21 year old daughter who has grown and matured through her many trials and storms in her life over the past five years. I just want to encourage her and all of you who have or possibly still are experiencing hurt, abandonment, disapointment, pain, suffering, tribulations, needs, hopelessness and grief to please NEVER ever, ever, ever give up!

Hold Fast sweety, God's come to save the day! Call out to Him. He's waiting for us to take His hand today. I love you, dad




Contact Rob Bailes by email at: robbailesministries@yahoo.com or call (919)745-1210

"Is Your Courtyard Safe?"

You may be thinking,"But I don't have a courtyard!"

The courtyard is a place that is specifically built and prepared for entertaining special guests and a place where privacy can be maintained while relaxing in the company of those friends and family. In ancient times the courtyard was guarded well when in use because it was a time when those present were not on alert and watching for an attack by the enemy or someone who wanted to do mischief. It was in the courtyard that games were played and the laughing and music was frequently heard. People would share secrets and humor without any inhibition as they were gathered among friends who they trusted. Then there was something else that the courtyard was well known for, as it was privately located within the walls of the yard and secluded from the view of neighbors. The courtyard has been a place where people bathed and where the owners of the residence felt safe to lavish their true love with affection and romance. I'm sure you recall this scenario played out in the movies of the past and how the first kiss was stolen or the proposal was made; where else but in the courtyard. I also remember scenes from movies where there would be a party and someone would slip away from their date to the courtyard. It usually was to meet another man or woman.
Our first response may have been, "How could he?" or "What were they thinking?". It is true that they had broken the trust of their date but they couldn't seem to control themselves when they got into the privacy of the courtyard.

It just makes sense that this place is called the "courtyard". It provided a safe place for people to court each other in the privacy of their own residence. As I think about the courtyard, I also think about a passage I read once in Luke that referred to protecting the courtyard. Let's take a look at this passage,

Luke 11:21-22
21 When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace:
22 But when a stronger man than he attacks him, and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armour that he trusted in, and divides whatever he takes from him.

In this passage, the word palace in the Greek actually means a yard (open to the wind); implying a mansion:-court. It is clear that a courtyard would be the more modern way of describing this word palace used in verse twenty-one. This passage was where Jesus was actually talking to the disciples and those who were gathered was written to warn us all of the vulnerability of our courtyard. The courtyard is open to the elements, yet contains enough privacy to disclose the secrets of the palace! Isn't that how our imaginations work? We are always being told to open our minds to new ideas and new beliefs in today's society. Be careful! Be on guard against the deceit of the world that comes to steal and destroy. If satan can get you tripped up and away from the Word of God, he will take your armor and whatever means the most to you and will divide them among his people. In verse twenty-two where it says a strong man armed, the Greek for the word armed is "fully equipped with armor". How will we be fully equipped with armor that protects our courtyard; our mind and our imagination?

How does anyone know if something is right, wrong, safe or dangerous? It is through knowledge and that is received through either experience or by understanding what we have been taught.

This even holds true for the rodeo clown that makes everyone laugh! I have heard that this job is one of the most dangerous jobs there is on earth! Yet it is by their knowledge and understanding that they are able to survive each show!

How will you and I survive when the world comes in through the recesses of our minds; slipping in through the imagination of our minds; taking us by surprise with a memory of a time when we lived for the flesh and we loved the things of this world? What will we do to be prepared? We can prepare first by covering our heads with the helmet of "belief" in Christ. Secondly by putting on the breastplate of righteousness that protects our hearts and vital organs. This plate only protects us when we receive it in humility from our leader, Jesus Christ. Thirdly we need the truth fastened to our belt as we move forward into action and just as important as the rest of the armor; we must wrap our feet with the gospel of peace. With the gospel of peace we cannot go where the flesh would take us. Our fleshly imaginations and revenge would lead us to ruin or defeat in our battles against satan. We need to always be aware of our steps.

There is the shield of faith that keeps us free of doubt. With this shield, our minds will not be overcome by doubt that we will receive what our Lord has promised us! The Word says that this is the most important piece of our armor in Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:16-17 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

This armor would protect us from the attacks, but we are not able to defeat the attacker without a weapon! How will we ever stop the enemy from trying to defeat us if all we have is armor? That is why we are told in the last part of verse seventeen that we are to take the sword of the Spirit and then it even tells us where to find this sword. The Spirit is of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we will find this sword in the word of God.

Have you ever been under attack without a weapon?

I remember when I was a young man at a camp retreat and I had heard that some of the boys were going to sneak up on me and my friend Tommy on the way back to the cabins after the evening gathering. So Tommy and I got the idea of going back through the field where everyone had eaten watermelons earlier. Why did we do that? Well, we needed a weapon of some type to fight off these guys when they jumped on us and that was all Tommy and I could think of to use for a weapon! We had gathered about twenty pieces of watermelon rhine all together and we hid in the woods outside of our cabins. When the guys began to look for us, we yelled so they would come into the woods and since it was dark they couldn't see us.

Well, needless to say, we really let them have it with those watermelon rhines and they were totally caught off guard! The thing we hadn't thought about, was what would happen when our weapons were gone and we were highly outnumbered. The next thing we knew, we were surrounded by those guys and they all had watermelon rhines too! Boy did we learn our lesson that night! We were not afraid and we fought our hardest but without a weapon, we lost the fight!

I can promise you this my friend! The Spirit of our Lord will never run low on protection when we keep the word of God in our hearts and our minds. Jesus said to guard your courtyard (stay in the Word) and all that you have(your mind and body) will be at peace.

That's a promise!

Contact Rob Bailes by email at: robbailesministries@yahoo.com or call (919)745-1210