Fall. Leaves. Good-bye summer, hello fall! This month we dive into identity. Who are you? Who am I? And what does who we are mean for the rest of our lives? We also share a pumpkin bread recipe (we’re in full fall mode if you can’t tell), and a review of Porch Swing Girl by Taylor Bennet… plus some other fun stuff! Enjoy!
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Another month has come and gone. We say this frequently, but it always seems to go by so fast! Wouldn’t you agree? A friend once told me that maybe that was another proof that we were created to be eternal and to live in Heaven outside of time.
Anyways, I hope that your month has been fun, especially as you are finishing school or preparing for summer. 🙂 In this month’s magazine, we are talking about time management. Time is a precious gift and a unique commodity. Once it is used it can’t be used again, yet we are using it constantly. I know that for myself, I waste much more of it than I would have hoped. What about you? well, today, we’re tackling how to use our time wisely for God’s glory.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please comment down below! We love to hear from readers.
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It’s October! Fall. Cooler weather. Settling into school routines. What does your October hold? At Th!nk this month, the theme is respect. Respect for others, respect when it isn’t deserved, and more. Also, enjoy an easy crockpot recipe, a fun craft, the Liebster award, and all the rest.
Is praying intimidating? I mean, think about it… we are talking to the King of the universe! Do we dare address Him as Father? Do we dare even speak to Him at all? You’d think not, wouldn’t you? But our wonderful Creator wants us to talk to Him; and not just talk to Him, but pour out our hearts to Him, to ask things of Him, the great things and the ridiculously small things. Oh, how we don’t deserve this! Our King asks that we ask things of Him! He asks that we ‘bother’ Him! Scripture is full of examples of this! Think of the Psalms, all the dark, hurting and doubting ones, to the awe-filled, worshipful, dancing ones! The early patriarchs sure talked a lot with God too, often demanding things of Him. Jacob wrestled with Him. And don’t forget Abraham’s conversations with Him in Genesis 18. Or fast forward a few hundred years and think of Moses! God has commanded us to be bold in prayer, we must not be afraid to talk with our King, our Father, to ask Him things.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31-32 (NIV)
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13 (NIV)
“If we have faith the size a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Yet, we are so pathetic in our faith and our prayers. It is time for me (us) to stop rendering God useless in our minds. We need to start having radical faith. And, we need to see that our “mountains” (struggles, sins, addictions, etc.) are nothing compared to our God. Instead of talking about our mountains, we need to begin talking to them. Declare them to be smaller than your God, and then turn away. They are not worth your time. Your God is bigger and better. We can so easily become distressed and worried. As children of God, we need to pray about this and ask God to make us unshakeable.”
-Emma Roth
So I challenge you: dare to pray. Dare to ask. Dare to trust.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16b (NIV)
And in Christ we are righteous!
*Note: We do not post the full Th!nk magazine on this blog, to read the full magazine for free monthly, emails us at thinkauthors@gmail.com!
My mom always prays this from time to time:
“Father, please let our house be a house of peace. A place of spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental refreshment. That all who walk through these doors, may feel safe, may fee at peace to let go of their burdens for just a minute, and to let their guard down. To breath. Please let Your Holy Spirit rest here.”
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I challenge you to pray that same thing. And not only by yourself, but as a household. Gather your family, and pray this together. Houses of peace are hard to find, and hard to maintain. And the ultimate answer is God’s work and presence. But we also do have a huge part in the peace of the home. Things that disrupt the house of peace are things like strife, argument, complaining, a bad attitude, lack of sensitivity and awareness towards others, etc. How many of those things are your guilty of today even? Pray that God may work on you specifically to help bring about a house of peace, a house of God, then allow Him to work on you to your best ability. The key is also, that you are asking Him to fix YOU, you are not focused on how others need to change! I am sure you can work out why! Even just a change in You will change the whole household. By no means don’t pray for your family, though, or household, the opposite instead! By praying for them you work to change not only their hearts, but your towards them. Please join me in prayer this month for those in the household to which you belong: every member, the leaders, and the disruptive ones, and the apparent helpful ones.
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Some Suggested Resources for Houses of Peace:
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*Note: We do not post the full Th!nk magazine here each month. To read the full magazine, subscribe for free by emailing us at thinkauthos@gmail.com
| Dissect it! “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”John 6:44 (NIV) So. Dissect this verse. Okay, so the first part is this: ‘No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them’. This calls for two steps of action on our part! We can preach at people as cleverly, convincingly, and passionately as we want, but without God it will all come to nothing. We cannot save them (who was is on the cross?), we cannot change their hearts, and neither is it our job. This is freeing! We are still called to do our part, but God is responsible. Woe be to us, however, if we try to do it without God. Okay, I’m getting distracted. The two steps of action. Right. Well, the first one is to pray. To pray for the people you want to witness to. To pray for the people’s hearts. That they may be ready to receive God’s truth. Without prayer and without God, trying to share the Good News with someone might cause more harm than good. So pray. Pray that God may draw them. May prepare and call their hearts.This also means that we need to have our own close relationship with God. If you need to, maybe reevaluate your relationship with Him. Many times I will pray and ask God, “Give him/her a hunger, and desire for You unlike anything they have experienced before. That they may not be satisfied until they find You.” (Matthew 7:8) Now for the second step: Share! And trust God to ‘raise them up on the last day’. For He will be faithful. He loves them more that you can ever imagine or comprehend and He wants to spend eternity with them in Heaven. (Philippians 1:6) |
‘For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.’
2 Peter 1:16 (NIV) 1 Corinthians 3:7 (NIV)
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n Everyday Missionary should always be praying. 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I think that verse is really good to know because it says to be rejoicing ALWAYS and praying CONTINUALLY. Do we really do that though? Are you always praying and continually in contact with the Lord? After reading this verse I definitely noticed how much more I need to turn and talk to Him. Whether it’s when I’m writing a page for Th!nk or going to school everyday or maybe just having nothing to do I should just pray and I encourage you too to do that. How this ties into our theme is that we should always be praying for our community, country, government, etc. You may not realize how important it is to pray. The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:12, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” God will always hear us when we come to Him. How often are you communicating with Him? James 5:16 also says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
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Th!nk Magazine 