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Chariot June 2011 - Norm Wakefield Upcoming
Speaking Events - You're
Invited! July
14-16: California
Home Educators Association Convention, Pasadena, CA July
22-24: Father/Son
Retreat - Evangelical Institute, Greenville, SC, www.eibibleschool.org
Sept. 30-Oct. 2: Father/Son Retreat - Peniel Bible Camp, Lake Luzerne, NY, Contact: Doug Allers, dallers@nycap.rr.com Oct. 21-23: Men's Retreat - Evangelical Institute, Greenville, SC, www.eibibleschool.org Oct. 27-30: Father/Son Camp - Walnut Point State Park, Oakland, IL, www.fathersoncamp.org Would you pray about joining the Elijah Ministries
Support Team?
We are excited
about inviting you to link arms with us here at The Spirit of Elijah
Ministries, International because of the blessing that comes from
participating in the ministry of the gospel. My availability and the
production of resources are only possible through the united efforts of
those who have a heart to see others blessed as they have been blessed
through the ministry. We are also excited about redoing the Equipping Men
Series in a format where each message is about 30 minutes in length, which
is more conducive to small groups. The Equipping Men Series is being used
in Sunday Schools, men's small groups, and prison ministries so we want to
produce updated DVD, CD, and MP3 versions of this popular series. Would
you pray about supporting Elijah Ministries with either a one time gift or
on a regular monthly basis? Each month I will send out a one page report
on what is happening in the ministry as well as a receipt of your
tax-deductible gift. Giving can be done easily on our website
by credit card, regular withdrawal from your bank, or by check. Thank you
for considering participating in The Spirit of Elijah Ministries,
International. Practicing God's Presence
One of the most
important truths to learn, live, and teach your children is to live in God's
presence. Awareness of God's presence heightens our sensitivity to sin.
Knowing God's nearness comforts us in troubled times. Practicing
fellowship with God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit taps us into
the source of wisdom and
knowledge. Consciousness that we are before the Lord can protect us when
tempted both in private and publicly. In this article, I hope to encourage
you with some effective ways to study the Scriptures related to God's
presence in our lives and some practical advise for practicing God's
presence in your own lives so you can teach it to your children.
"According to research, we remember twenty percent of what we read,
thirty percent of what we hear, and fifty percent of what we read and
hear, seventy percent of what we say, and ninety percent of what we say
and do" (Start Smart by Pam
Shiller, p. 115). Based on that, I suggest that everyone in the family
read the verses from their Bibles as someone reads, and say the words I
have italicized, and then participate in the suggested demonstration. Scriptures
Teach God's
Presence Psalm
139:2-10
The Scriptures repeatedly teach God's omniscience, omnipresence, and
nearness. Having your children act out the qualities of God that are
italicized in each of the verses below may impress the truths upon their
hearts. You're not asking them to be dramatic, but to simply act out what
you read. For instance, in the first phrase, have one person role play as
God, and another as themselves. The one playing God stands close to the
other when they sit down and rise up. Then you might discuss how often in
a day they sit down and rise up to help them think about God's presence
when they sit down to eat, rise up to go to work, sit down to study, etc.
You might add to the impact by having them say, "God knows when I sit down
to..." or "God knows when I rise up to..." Have fun now in family
devotions teaching Psalm 139!
You
know when I sit down and when I rise up; you
understand my thought from afar. You
scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are
intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on
my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know
it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Where
can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If
I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You
are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest
part of the sea, even there Your
hand will lead me, and Your
right hand will lay hold of me (Psalms 139:2-6, 8-10).
As you close
your family devotion time, use Psalm 139:2-10 as a prayer prompter. Ask
the Holy Spirit to help you pray through them with God's presence and your
next day in mind. Proverbs 5:21
Proverbs 5:21
can be a fun and powerful verse to act out and teach about God's presence.
You might begin the evening's family worship with a song about God's
presence. Then read Proverbs 5:21 together out loud. Ask, "What does God
do in this verse?" "What do you think He does while He's watching?" and "What
do we do?" Follow the discussion with another role playing exercise. One
plays the part of God and the other wanders around the room, playing like
they are going through their day. As the verse is acted out, note if the
person acknowledges "God's" presence with his or her eyes or
communication. Now have them do it again depicting the difference between
someone who practices God's presence and one who does not. In conclusion,
ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your attention what lesson is to be
learned from this verse. How can you know Jesus Christ better in this
verse?
For the
ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He
watches all his paths (Proverbs 5:21).
Times of confession are important if we are to maintain a clear conscience
before God. After reading 1 John 1:9 and James 5:16, close in prayer by
humbling yourself and confessing your "paths" to the Lord. Allow Him to
bring to mind the "paths" He has watched and with which He is not pleased,
then confess and thank Him for forgiveness through His death on the cross. Psalm 36:1-2
Knowing God is
watching and that we are going to give an account should affect your
hearts, namely, producing the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of knowledge, according to Proverbs 1:7. We want our
children to fear the Lord, but sin within our hearts does not. Sin speaks
to the heart and lies about God's presence and our accountability. Psalm
36:1-2 provide an important contrast to practicing God's presence:
thinking we are in private and can get away with sin. Have each person
read this verse to themselves and then aloud, emphasizing the words that
are meaningful to them.
Transgression
speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before
his eyes. For it flatters him in his
own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the
hatred of it.
A role play with
sin and the
heart may help you and your children grasp the importance of
practicing the presence of God. Sin tries to convince us He's not present! Begin a discussion by asking, "Why would sin want us
to think God isn't watching and is not present in our lives? Tell of a
time when this has happened to you."
After the
discussion, have two family members act out the first sentence, then
another two dramatize the second sentence. What did you notice? What can
you learn? You might do another play with how sin works in one person to
persuade a group of people to ignore God's presence. Discuss what your
children might do if they are in a group where those dynamics are at work.
Before concluding, give the Holy Spirit a chance to speak to all of you
about the danger of listening to transgression in the heart and ignoring
God's presence. Thank God for His provision through Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of sins where you have believed the lie that God isn't present
in your lives. Hebrews 4:13
And there is no
creature hidden from His sight, but all
things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we
have to do (Hebrews 4:13).
In contrast to
Psalm 36, Hebrews 4:13 teaches that God watches everything and everyone
and that nothing is hidden from His sight. Furthermore, we learn we must
all give an account to Him. Now that I've given you three examples above
of how to involve all the senses in teaching a lesson, ask the Holy Spirit
to lead you in teaching this verse to your family. How can you involve
your family in listening, reading, saying, doing, and experiencing the
truth of this verse? Write out your ideas below. Listening: Reading: Saying: Doing: A Practical Exercise to Practice
God's
Presence
Developing a
project that helps you learn something can be very beneficial. One
exercise that might be helpful is to place a piece of paper or 3x5 card on
your desk, kitchen counter, dresser, or in your pocket. Every time you
think about being in God's presence, put a mark on the piece of paper.
Tally the marks at the end of your work day or school day. Repeat this
exercise everyday for one week and see if the tally marks increase in
number (which they probably will!). You might have each person share how
many marks they increased from their previous day's tally during your
family worship time or during discussion at dinner (I recommend not
sharing the total tally because of competition). Share Your
Ideas
I hope this has
been a jump start for a month's study on the presence of God. I would love
to hear from you if God gives some exercises or testimonies to encourage
practicing God's presence in your lives. I'll share them in next month's Chariot
of Fire. Please send them to info@spiritofelijah.com
There
are many more verses that teach this vital truth. May your awareness of
the Lord Jesus' presence and your fellowship with Him increase as you
study God's Word and apply it to your lives. Would
you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team? The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team". Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.) The Chariot is also available as a podcast. You can automatically receive the Chariot each month in iTunes by subscribing here. (An RSS capable browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or Safari is required.)
If you
haven't visited our website, www.spiritofelijah.com,
please stop by sometime. You'll find: * Resources to equip you and your family * Previous Chariot articles * Norm's speaking schedule *
Free MP3 downloads * Subscribe to the Chariot Podcast here. * Various resources/pages translated and available in Spanish * An online store to purchase resources and make tax-free contributions by credit card
I invite you to be a part of the
moving of the Spirit of Elijah in your church, community, and the world.
How?
1.
Send this article to other men or families that you know would
benefit from it. You might inform them of the previous articles
available on-line at our website.
2.
Share resources from the Spirit of Elijah Ministries with others.
If Equipping Men or Rising to the
Call have been a blessing to you, then you know it will be
beneficial to others. Either share your resources, tell them about the
resources, or purchase a set or two as an investment in their lives. 3. Share with others what you have learned and put into practice in turning your heart to God, your wife, and your children. If God has done this in you, then He wants to affect others through you.
4.
Join the Elijah Ministries email prayer team and make
intercession for others that their hearts would be turned in revival to
the Lord, their wives, and their children. This can be done on-line at www.spiritofelijah.com.
Norm
Wakefield 06.11 To unsubscribe, click here.
Do not change the subject of the email that launches when you click
above; just press send. Or send an email with the subject Unsubscribe
Chariot to chariot@spiritofelijah.com.
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