Obedience…Our Gift to God

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Tamela

Obedience…that is a word that you seldom hear being used anymore to describe an interactive relationship between people. We live in a society where it is “man for himself”, “I can do anything that I want”, or “I don’t have to answer to anyone”. There is no accountability when it comes to our thoughts, actions or simply the way that we live our lives today.

Obviously, God did not make us to be or to live like robots, hence, He gave us free will, however, His desire for us is to live in obedience to Him and His Word. Obedience as defined by some people can mean an action to a set of rules. However, God’s desire for our obedience is the obedience of our hearts to Him. The reason why God desires our obedience is threefold:

He knows what is best for us
He wants us to experience all that He has for us
He wants to bless us

In addition, our obedience helps to build a stronger relationship with Christ. As we grow closer to Christ, our hearts desire will be to become more like Christ and to do things which please Him that will in return strengthen our relationship with God.

Here are three reasons for our obedience to God:

It shows our faith…When we are obedient to God it shows that we have total faith in what He has done, is doing and will be doing in our lives.
It shows our love for Christ…in John 14:21 it reads, “He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”. Our obedience is a true test of our love for Christ
It shows that God is important… Our obedience can also serve as a witness for God and the Gospel. Our obedience can show that God is worthy, valuable, trustworthy, good, wise and very important to our lives. Obedience can actually win over those to Christ who are simply observing the obedience of the saved. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven…Matthew 5:16

God does not desire our obedience simply because He can or it’s the “in” thing to do. God desires our obedience because that is the way He communicates with us, develops and strengthens our relationship with Him and it is how he chooses to bless us. We must remember that our obedience is our love language and gift to God. In addition, it is thru the obedience of Christ to the cross that we are now right-standing with God with the hope of eternal life.

Sharing in God’s Love,

Tamela

Filling in the Gaps

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Tamela

This winter we have been dealing with issues of unwelcomed visitors in our home’s attic. At first, we were not quite sure if it were squirrels, rodents or just an overgrown possum because of the extremely loud noises and heavy foot traffic. Usually, whenever we have this issue we just place a couple of traps in that one concentrated area of the attic and the noises seem to disappear after a week. But this time, it was different, the noises and heavy foot traffic seem to be all over the attic, so it was time to take drastic measures…we had to find the point of entry and fill up the gap!

Don’t we sometimes find our lives being played out like this scenario? Although this is a true scenario happening right now in my home’s attic, it was this scenario that actually helped me to see where I had gaps in my faith and my relationship with God that needed filling up.

You see I sometimes struggle with the fear of death, illness, sickness or disease. And I am sure that I am not the only one who struggles with these fears, but my fears can sometimes be so overwhelming to the point of my becoming a hypochondriac.

We all know as believers of Christ that being fearful is a sin and it is the total opposite of being faithful which pleases God. And anything that is tied to or around fear is directly from the enemy. In addition, being a follower of Christ, I always strive to please God in every area and aspect of my life. So just as we made the decision to stop temporarily fixing our unwelcomed visitors situation with traps, but instead to focus on finding and filling up the gap of their point of entry, I too decided to stop allowing the enemy to invade me with fear, but to find the point of entry and fill in the gaps with God’s Word.

Finding our unwelcomed visitors points of entry were pretty easy. All we had to do was to follow their trail of destruction and it led us right to their point of entry. However, it was not as easy to find the enemy’s point of entry in my life that was causing the fear. That is because it is all spiritual, not a physical point of entry. That is where I had to call upon The Lord so that He could use His spiritual eyes and wisdom to help guide me to the point of entry. And as such, because He is always faithful to His Word, He showed me exact gaps that the enemy used to send in fear.

Lack of Trust
Need stronger Faith
Quit making the situation appear to be bigger than God

Wow!…I had 3 points of entry that the enemy was using to send in fear! Now it was time to take drastic measures immediately! First, I had to go in, (go into my prayer closet and pray), second, clean out the fear, (bind up the enemy’s tactics), and third, fill up the gaps with God’s Word (reading and speaking scriptures into and over my life).

Please don’t get me wrong, the enemy is still going to try to come back to those points of entry just as our new unwelcomed visitors will try, just to see if it is still open or weak. But their ability to get back in will be determined on how strong or how weak your barrier is or the type of material you used to fill up the gaps. That is why it is very important that you stay in prayer and in God’s Word so that your barrier will always stand strong and be fortified!

Proverbs 18:10 “ The name of The Lord is a strong tower”…

Thanks for stopping by!

Tamela

How to Have an Effective Prayer Life in 2016

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Tamela

HAPPY NEW YEAR!…Let’s thank The Lord for granting us the opportunity to see another great year!

I am sure by now that you have began working on all those New Year’s Resolutions which I am hoping included spending more time in prayer…at least it is one of my New Year’s Resolution. So what better way to kick off the New Year of 2016 than by working on establishing an effective prayer life.

We all know that prayer works and that prayer changes things. But if we do not have an effective prayer life, it will be somewhat difficult to see the things and the people that we pray for come to fruition. I am not implying that there is a magical formula or a mandated style when it comes to effective praying, but knowing how to pray and to pray effectively is the key to communicating with our Heavenly Father.

If we could just look at praying as just a way of communicating with God, it should be easy right? Praying comes easy for some and for others it may seem as if it is the hardest part of being a Christian. In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus teaches His disciples about prayer and how to pray. In verse 2, it states…”and He said unto them, when ye pray say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the power, the kingdom and the glory forever amen!

So Jesus gave us a great starting point or opening statement towards having an effective prayer life. The rest is for us to seek and develop a genuine relational communication with our Heavenly Father. I know that may sound hard, but it is really less complicated…the first thing that we must do is to accept The Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior and then open our hearts to God in which He will place a desire for us to want to have a deep relationship with Him through our prayer life.

Here are some suggested practical ways that we can further nurture an effective prayer life:

War Room. If you have not had the opportunity to view this powerful movie, I implore you to go and watch this movie. The entire concept behind this movie ties into the first way and that is to go and pray in your prayer closet. Make your prayer closet to be in the most quietest area in your home away from all the noise and distractions
Keep a list of your prayer needs. Jot down the names of people who you are praying for, situations and circumstances
Pray out loud sometimes. This makes it much easier to stay alert and to concentrate more on what we are communicating with God
Include praise and worship in your prayer time. God loves it when we praise Him and give Him glory. In Psalm 22:3, it states that God inhabits the praises of Israel…His people
Carve out time each day to pray. Make prayer time as an appointment; schedule it in as the first thing on your “to-do” list. In addition, pray during your unused or unallocated times of the day…sitting in traffic, cleaning the house, or out on a jog or while exercising.

Our best weapon of defense against the enemy is when we are on our knees praying to our Heavenly Father. The enemy knows that if he can prevent you from having an effective prayer life, the line of communication between you and God will slowly diminish and render you ineffective at defending yourself against the enemy. We must always remember the truth in James 5:16, “…the effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much”. KJV

Thanks for stopping by…take care and be blessed!

Warmly,

Tamela

Renew Your Mind…and the rest will follow!

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Tamela

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God renew”…Romans 12:2

There is a reason why God wants us to renew our mind every day. We live in a world that can easily influence the way we live, treat others, and shape our way of thinking. Worldly thinking (carnal minded) is not always the right way of thinking and the majority of the time it is highly influenced by the enemy. In addition, it is this type of thinking that keeps us in bondage to the enemy. The enemy knows that if he can get our mind to think the way he thinks and take on a worldly view, that it will draw us away from God’s Word and His desire for us to have a Christ-like mind.

It is through our mind and thought process that allows us to understand and grasp the truthfulness that is in God’s Word. It is this truthfulness in God’s Word that shapes and influences our lives. God’s Word influences how we treat others, make decisions, and how we choose to live our lives. If our mind is filled with the wrong ideas, sinful thoughts or worldly views, it becomes difficult for us to comprehend God’s Word; thus making it even more difficult for God’s Word to have an effect in our lives.

The renewing of our mind is not just a one-time event, it is an on-going task that must be done every day of our lives. We have to renew our mind so that it will line up with the Word of God.

Here are three ways to renew your mind:

Pray: Every morning I pray this prayer…”Lord, please renew the right mind and renew the right spirit within me. Then I also pray Romans 12:2.
Read God’s Word: Reading God’s Word on a daily basis is like taking a vitamin. We can compare it being a supplement for our mind. It gives us everything that we need to live a strong and healthy spiritual life.
Fasting: Fasting can help to cleanse our mind so that we can hear more clearly from God.

Mind renewal is the key to successful living as a Christian. It is God’s desire for us to become more Christ-like, so when we yield to having a mind of Christ, we are able to do the will of God for our lives.

Sharing in God’s Love,

Tamela

Learning to Be Content in These Times

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Tamela

“…for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”…Philippians 4:11

Many times in life, we find ourselves at some level of discontentment. It can be discontentment in our jobs or careers, in certain situations, and even within ourselves. It is normal to experience some form of discontentment, because it is sometimes the discontent that can give a person the drive to do or perform better. Discontentment only becomes a problem when it is left unchecked and allowed to manifest itself into other forms of conflict in our lives.

Here are three areas of conflict of unchecked discontentment:

1. Impatience: causes us to move ahead of God and abort the plan God has for our lives

2. Jealousy: causes us to become angry, unfocused on our lives, and become revengeful

3. Greed: causes us to never be satisfied, develop dishonest traits, and become selfish

Now we see how discontentment can breed other areas of conflict in our lives and rob us of our enjoyment of God’s blessings. But all is not lost, here are four ways to learn how to be content in our lives:

1. Get Understanding: a person should understand the difference between a need and a want. God provides all our needs (Philippians 4:19), and it is His desire to give us our wants as long as they are in line with His Will and purpose. Now I must add that God is not going to always fulfull all of our wants and desires because then we would run the risk of believing that we no longer need Him (Proverbs 30:7-9).

2. Practice Acceptance: A person should strive to be content and accept who they are, were they are in life, and the things they have been blessed with. Paul is a perfect example of contentment because even as he sat in prison, he was still content in his present condition. Paul was content because he know who he was in Christ and Who he belonged to. Paul relied upon the strength of God and the joy of the The Lord (Philippians 4:10-13).

3. Be Generous: When a person finds the opportunity to give to others, it helps with our contentment. A person does not have to have an abundance of material things to give, just simply the giving of our time can lead to contentment. Generosity can help to relieve stress (because a person is releasing and letting go) and it can help to bring out the joy that comes with giving.

4. Most importantly…Trust in The Lord: A person finds complete contentment when we give it all to Jesus! God is ALL that we need in life. God is our helper…not money, He is our provider…not an employer and He is our sustainer. He will daily give us everything that we need to be content and live a full life (Psalm 68:19). A person can also rest assure that He has THE BEST PLAN for our lives and is always working on it behind the scenes (Philippians 1:6).

Always remember this…”contentment is a state of mind. True contentment is only found when our hearts and minds are always centered on Jesus Christ and His goodness”.

Sharing in God’s Love,

Tamela

Practice What You Preach!

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Tamela

How many times have you had someone to say to you…”you need to practice what you preach” or you have said that to someone else? At least for me, I have had to remind myself along with a couple of other people on several occasions.

Now let’s look at the word hypocrite as it relates to “practice what you preach”. A hypocrite as defined in Webster’s dictionary is a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs. In the Bible, Jesus denounces the scribes and the Pharisees for behaving in this manner of hypocrisy in Matthew 23:3, “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” Now, I am sure that we all know someone who is like that, or we may have found ourselves sometimes behaving in such a manner.

As followers of Christ, we should always practice what we preach or at least behave in a manner that is consistent with or reflective of God’s Word. Reason being is that it shows the integrity of our faith and it provides a reflection of the light of Christ in our lives. According to Matthew 5:14, it states…”Ye are the light of the world…” and in Matthew 5:16…”Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”. We should always want people to be attracted to the light of Christ that is within us by the way we live and the words that we speak and share.

In addition, as followers of Christ, we are always being carefully watched by the non-believers and the unsaved. The Word and the scriptures that we share with others should also be reflective in our lifestyle and everyday living. We should be the same when we are at work, home, school and believe it or not, when we are on social media sites. We must be different from the world so that it will be encouraging for the unsaved and unbelievers to want to get to know and love the Christ that we know and love.

Here are three ways on how to practice what you preach:

Watch the words or comments that you say or speak. Are your responses any different from those who do not know Christ?
Your reactions should be Christ-like in every circumstance and situation
Our lifestyle should be the same in public and out of the public’s eye

If we are not practicing what we preach, how can we expect to be effective in sharing God’s Word with others? It is hard to persuade the unsaved and the non-believers the need for salvation, if they see the hypocrisy in us as believers.

Now ask yourself this question…”Are you practicing what you preach?”

Sharing God’s Word in Love,

Tamela

Quiet Time With God

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Tamela

It is very important that we spend quality alone time with God. It is during these times that we are able to hear from God and have a personal conversation with Him. I have found that many people have an exact science down when it comes to spending time alone with God. They pray at the same time, same location, with correct posture, and with a certain Bible during this special time with God. Now please, don’t get me wrong, that is all good if it works for them, but you can rest assure that God doesn’t want to burden you with a certain set of rules about spending quality alone time with Him…He just wants to spend time with you.

Here are four things that I have found that can help you to spend quality quiet time with God:

1. Quiet your mind.

The first thing you should do is clear your mind. Ask the Holy Spirit to clear and cleanse your mind from all things happening in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare a quiet atmosphere so that you can be prepared to hear and talk with God

2. Focus your mind on God.

I can always tell when God is wanting to spend some alone time with me. He gives me a song in my heart that I find myself singing or humming all day. This is my special way of worshipping Him and to get my mind focused on Him before I go into my quiet time with Him. Ask The Holy Spirit to help you get your mind focused on God.

3. Pray what’s on your mind.

Talk to God as if you were having a regular conversation with anyone else. Pray about the things that concerns you or whatever that is on your heart. Philippians 4:6 says, “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests by made known to God”.

4. Renew your mind.

It is important that we renew our minds everyday and especially after we have been in our quiet time alone with God. Romans 12:2 says, “and do not be conformed to this world, but the renewing of our minds, so that we can prove what the good and acceptable, perfect will of God”. When we are in our quiet time with God, He is giving us direction, guidance, correction, and wisdom. That is why we should always renew our minds everyday, so that we can apply what God has spoken or revealed to us in our quiet prayer time with Him.

Now, I would be remised if I did not say to not follow these things to the exact “t”…just use them as a guideline. I am sure with time, you and God will have developed your own special way of spending time with each other.

If you have a special way of getting ready to spend quality quiet time with God and would not mind sharing, then please leave your comment here or post it on my Facebook at…Face To Face TV3.

Thanks for stopping by and please go with Christ today!

In God’s Love,

Tamela

Waiting on God

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Tamela

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint…Isaiah 40:31

LORD when?…LORD, how long? How many times in our lives have we asked these questions of God when we are waiting on Him? By design, we are not programmed to be waiters. We live in a fast-paced environment where we have the convenience of being able to get what we want and when we want it. It is this convenience in our everyday living that makes it difficult sometimes for us to wait on God who works at a slower pace and on a totally different timetable.

Sometimes as Christians we want a face-paced, right now relationship with God. We want a “microwave God”, where we can put in our wants, desires and situations, set our timer and then expect for God to pop out a finished product. Unfortunately, it simply does not work that way. God works according to His own time and schedule because He has the best outcome for our situation.

In the Bible, there are several examples of God working according to His timetable in the lives of others. For example, Isaac was the miraculously son born of Abraham and Sarah. Sara was way past child-bearing years, but God’s timing was such that they would have to acknowledge that it was God who blessed her womb with Isaac…”For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him:…Genesis 21:2 Jesus is the perfect example of waiting on God. Jesus Himself had to wait until He was 30 years old before God baptized Him with the Holy Spirit and anointed Him with His power to go on His 3 1/2 year miracle ministry before He went to the cross to get all of us saved.

Here are three reasons why we should wait on God:

Waiting builds up our faith
Waiting teaches us patience – Patience being one of the Fruit of the Spirit
Waiting produces God’s best outcome for our situation

As we wait on God, we can rest assure that He is working on our behalf behind the scenes. He is changing hearts, creating perfect situations and circumstances, closing the wrong doors while opening the right doors. He is working on a perfect recipe for a great outcome to our prayers.

If you would like to learn to be patient and wait on God, the pray this prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus and ask that You give me the spirit of patience so that I can learn to wait for You as You work on my behalf. I know that You have my best interest at heart and that You are working on creating the perfect outcome for my situation and in answering my prayers…Amen!

Sharing in God’s Love,

Tamela

Leaving A Spiritual Legacy for Your Children

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Tamela

Leaving a Spiritual Legacy for Your Children

Ask yourself this question…”What type of legacy am I leaving for my children?” I am not speaking of a financial legacy; I am speaking about a “spiritual legacy”. Are you aware that as parents we are supposed to leave a spiritual legacy for our children? In Deuteronomy 6:7, it states…”And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up”. Spiritual legacy is a passing down of a believing faith in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So when we are parenting in the spirit, we are able to leave a spiritual legacy of faith in God, obedience to God’s Word, a model of Christ-like behavior, and the opportunity to prepare our children to become servants in God’s Kingdom.

I like to parallel parenting in the spirit to that of an investment model. We have our children as the gifts or products and God as our investor, and we are the trusted stewards. Anything that God does or “invests” in, He is always looking for a return on His investments. This can be seen in Luke 19: 12-27 and also in Matthew 25:14-30 where it talks about the Parable of the Talents. In addition, it is also in scripture in Isaiah 55:11…”So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it”.

That is why it is important that we are good stewards over our children because God is looking for a return on His investments…and that is children who are raised in the admonition and fear of the Lord, children fulfilling their God-purpose and plan, and children becoming servants in His Kingdom. And this can only be done by parenting in the spirit.

Here are some following examples of ways to parenting in the spirit:

Acknowledge and reinforce spiritual truths
Incorporate spiritual principles into everyday living
Attend church as a family on a regular basis
Let them see you reading The Bible and praying on a daily basis
Pray and prophesy over your children daily

If you want to leave a spiritual legacy for your children, then please pray this prayer…

“Dear Heavenly Father, it says in your Word in Deuteronomy 6:7 that we are to teach our children about You. Lord, we want to leave a spiritual legacy of faith in God to our children. Please help us to be good stewards over our children so that we can provide a good return on Your Investment. Lord, help us to parent in the spirit and not in the flesh. In Jesus Name, we pray and ask…Amen”.

Tamela

Tamela Bowie Ministries

Sharing God's Word in Love

Obedience…Our Gift to God

Filling in the Gaps

How to Have an Effective Prayer Life in 2016

Renew Your Mind…and the rest will follow!

Learning to Be Content in These Times

Practice What You Preach!

Quiet Time With God

Waiting on God

Leaving A Spiritual Legacy for Your Children