The Isaac Challenge Day 8

It seems that Blogger is messing with the post dates and so they are a bit out of order..apoligies...


So its day 8.

This is the second time I have sat down in the 8 days since starting the challenge.

The 2nd day i just couldnt be bothered.. i thought i'll just watch tv with breakfast and then stayed there watching tv as usual for a long time until i had to get ready for work. Then was tired after work.

The other days were similar. something came up, lunch with jas, had a really busy day thursday last week and then went away to the beach, got sick and just couldnt be bothered to make time.


However I am back at it again today..

I know I have a need for God in my life. I have very low motivation and goals and am wasting alot of my time. I hope that reading these books and my bible and cultivating a relationship with God throught prayer and reading the bible will help.



So day The 'Isaac Challenge' Day 8.

Got up today and watched tv with breakfast as I hurt my back when I was at the beach.. and i just really wanted to watch tv and take it easy. After a movie and a couple of discovery shows it came down stairs and read the Dick Eastman book which from now on i'll just call the 'prayer book'.

So todays thoughts and snippets..

Chapter 1
Praise The Act of Divine Adoration

• Praise is:
  The vocal adoration of God. Adoration is the act of rendering divine honour, esteem and love.

• Praise is more than a single aspect of prayer. Praise is a way of life..
  An old Presbyterian catechism explains, " The Chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." Praise helps the believer achieve this 'chief end'. In fact, Praise might well be the 'chief end'.
  
  
• "Here is one of the greatest values of praise: it decentralises self. The worship and praise of God demands a shift of center from self to God. One cannot praise God without relinquishing occupation with self. Praise produces forgetfulness of self-and forgetfulness of self is health."
  
  Paul Billheimer
  

• “Satan is allergic to praise, so when there is massive triumphant praise, Satan is paralyzed, bound and banished."
  
  Paul Billheimer

Some scriptural suggestions for your moments of praise..

1. Praise God for His name.
   "Not to us, O LORD. not to us but your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1
   ..the actual name is not specifically revealed until the pages of the New Testament (NT). His name is the Lord Jesus Christ."
   When praising the name of Jesus is prayer we may use expressions from scripture, such as those used by Isaiah: " And the name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
   
2. Praise God for his Righteousness.
   All that God is deserves our praise.
   " My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long." Psalm 35:28 Righteousness means "meeting the standard of what is just and right". God does more than meet certain standards; God is the standard. All that we can imagine concerning God's faithfulness, justice and mercy may become a theme for these moments of praise.
3. Praise God for His infinite creation.
   "Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his surpassing greatness" Psalm 150:2 Because we are challenged to praise god for his "mighty acts" there is no limit to praise.. All of creation is a treasure house of Praise.
4. Praise God for His word.
   "In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise." Psalm 56:10 How do we praise the Word of God? The answer is in Psalm 19:7-10.
   The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
   The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
   The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
   The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
   The ordinances of the LORD are sure and all together righteous.
   

Praise
Step One

1. Set aside, a period of time specifically to praise God at the beginning of your prayer.
2. Select a specific theme for praise, such as God's righteousness, His Word, or His creation.
3. Drawing on your selective theme, declare vocally all this is God.
4. Expand your theme as much as possible. Allow god to reveal new themes for worship as your time of praise develops.

I'm really excited about practising this. ive gotta get ready for work but i have some time to try this now. This totally makes sense to me what this book is saying. Totally practical and worth it.

Water Fallin Edits

Went to a Water Fall just out of Puanui at Easter...

The Issac Challenge Day 9- Waiting

So i'm a bit behind in writing up what I read..

Chapter 3
Waiting
The Act of Soul Surrender

"A young woman by the name of Madame Guyon had grown weak in her desire for God. She inlisted the help of a Old Franciscan Monk. After some time he commented to the woman.." Your efforts have be unsuccessfull, becuase you have sought without only what you can find within. Accustom yourself to seek God in your heart, and you will not fail to find him. This was Madame Guyon's introduction to the most vital element of prayer, that of silently waiting in the presence of God. All who would be used of God must learn the secret of silence."

"If we read the biographies of the great and wise, we shall find they were people of long silences and deep ponderings. Whatever the vision, of power, of genius there was in their work, was wrought in silence. And when we turn to the inner circle of the spiritual masters-the men and woman, not necessarily gifted or distinguished, to whom God was a living, bright reality which supernaturalized their everyday life and transmuted their homeliest actions into sublime worship-we find that their roots struck deep into the soil of spiritual silence"

Bridgid E. Herman

"We cannot be made a blessing to others without perceiving that virtue has gone out of us, and unless this is constantly renewed with loving communion with Heaven, our service becomes little more than dead works, and out message loses the ring which bespeaks its divine origin."

Unknown

"Work is not food for the spirit any more than for the body. Amidst a multitude of works the worker's soul my wither, and his activities will prove this in due time"

J. Gregory Mantle

Scriptural insights into the ministry of waiting..

• "I will wait upon your name" Psalm 52:9
• "My soul finds rest in God alone" Psalm 62:1
• "My souls waits for the Lord more than watchman wait for the morning" Psalm 130:6

The Isaac Challenge Day 10

"Praise is a life long love affair .."

Steven Jamison

So on Wednesday(day 8) I wrote this in my journal..

..."I wonder God if I really have to do this praise stuff outloud.. I guess the meaning of the word praise is aloud.. I feel a bit silly to be honest..

David wrote his thoughts down.. I feel like they can be more concrete if I write them down.. hmm..."

As it turns out I didn't have much of a problem praising outloud. I have always felt a bit silly praying outloud and so I told god that. But as I read the steps for praise I had a few ideas..

Praise
Step One

1. Set aside, a period of time specifically to praise God at the beginning of your prayer.
2. Select a specific theme for praise, such as God's righteousness, His Word, or His creation.
3. Drawing on your selective theme, declare vocally all this is God.
4. Expand your theme as much as possible. Allow god to reveal new themes for worship as your time of praise develops.

One was the way that I can just sit and stare at my girlfreind jasmine and tell her how amazing she is, how beautiful she is, how talented and go on for ever about silly little things she does. All of this comes with ease and yet it is from the heart and is I think a part of love. So I tried that with God.
I began just stoking on God, telling him as things came to my head why I love him and how stoked I am to be one of his children.

The second thing came to my mind after reading step 4.. Allow god to reveal new themes for worship.. so I asked God to help me and then into my head pops the idea to focus very closely on some part of creation. I love creation and so it wasn't hard. I used a Husky Puppy that I had photographed the day before and began to describe and thank God for all the minute tiny details, its fur, its eyes, its feet, the pads on its feet, their colour and texture and the amazing creation that such a small dog is..

This really helped me in my quest to try and praise God vocally. Praise is endless. The possibilitys for praise and ways to praise God are countless. If you get stuck you can always ask God for ideas.. or ask a freind how they praise God.. indeed

"Praise is a life long love affair .."

The Husky Puppy

I went to Piha Beach the other day and on the way back went to a little waterfall. It was awesome and freezing. As we were leaving a little Husky Puppy came along with its owner.. took two frames and this is one of them..

(Click on image to enlarge)

F.stop : f/7.1
Exposure Time : 1/500 sec
ISO speed : ISO-800
Exposure bias : -1.3 step
Focal Length : 210mm
Editing : Noise painted out, eyes slightly brightened and canvas made larger.