Quit Over-Complicating Prayer

Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Matthew 6:5-13, Luke 5:16, Matthew 21:13, Hebrews 4:16

Sometimes as we walk with Christ we can over-complicate things...and prayer shouldn't be one of those things. :-)
 
Prayer is a gift from God and just like having a conversation with a friend, you can humbly and reverently approach the King of Kings.
 
Jesus perfectly modeled prayer for His disciples as they asked Him to teach them how to pray. He also modeled it as He often escaped to a secluded place to have His time of prayer with God The Father as well. Jesus is the best example for you to follow as He truly made prayer a priority and in turn, He instructs you to be committed to it as well. 

There are many elements of prayer God’s Word models for you including: confession, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, praise, and more. 

Confession is your opportunity to tell God about how you sinned and to agree with Him about your sin.  Petition is your opportunity to ask God to provide for your needs while Intercession is your opportunity to ask God to provide for the needs of others. Thanksgiving is your opportunity to thank God for everything He has already done and continues to do in, through, and for you and Praise is a sweet time for you to speak words of complete adoration to Him. When you pray, you may consider incorporating these elements as time allows as you approach Him in prayer.

Through prayer you can praise His mighty name and bring thanksgiving. You can share your heart including your hopes and fears. You can seek wisdom and direction. You can intercede for others and confess your sin when you stumble. You can simply speak to Him anytime about anything.


In the good times and the difficult times, prayer should be your first response and not an afterthought. Furthermore, Jesus said that His house will be a house of prayer, and guess what? You're His house, the house that The Holy Spirit resides in! 
So, be a walking house of prayer!

Just like breathing, may you speak a prayer to the most high King remembering that He wants to hear from you often. 

So, don't over-complicate prayer and simply approach Him often and with confidence.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Your brother and servant,

Randolph Koch

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Having a Kingdom Perspective

Read: Matthew 13:24-52, Matthew 20:1-16; Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 25:1-13, Hebrews 12:28, Matthew 7:21,  Matthew 6:10, Luke 11:2-4, Luke 12:29-32,  Colossians 3:1-4  

Of all the topics in the Word of God that Jesus taught about, He had more to say about the topic of The Kingdom than pretty much any other topic. If it was as important to Him to teach so often about it then it ought to be important to us as well! 

The Kingdom is mentioned and taught about many times throughout the Gospels as well as other parts of the New Testament. 

The kingdom of God is synonymous with the kingdom of heaven and Jesus taught that we should have a Kingdom perspective and keep The Kingdom in mind in all we do.

There is so much one could teach about The Kingdom that one post can only scratch the surface on such a big topic

So what is The Kingdom and What is a kingdom perspective and How do you and I keep a kingdom perspective? 

The aim of this communication is to briefly touch on these topics in order to wet your appetite for your further study about this.

5 Tips From God's Word for Seeking Wisdom and Direction

It may come as a surprise to you, but, you and I do NOT have all the answers and by design, we need help along the way.

From the time we’re born until we depart, we need help from God and others in one form or another as we'll constantly experience situations, tasks, and circumstances where we'll need God’s wisdom and direction. We'll also need godly counsel from other's in the body of Christ.

It's a lot like going on a road trip and unless you’re a rare individual that basically has a GPS embedded in their brain…you need at least some pre-trip planning. (OK, maybe I read and watch too much SciFi sometimes) :-) Not only what supplies to bring but also a general understanding of what the directions are and what direction you're heading.

I remember the family road trips I went on when I was young, yes, I was young at one point in my life, and we used these things called MAPS… :-) They were paper and folded out so you could see the area you’d be traveling to and through including the roadways you needed. My family and I traveled all over the place with via maps We even went on trips to places like Yellowstone National Park and back as well as many other places.  

I still keep current road maps in my glove box as sometimes technology doesn't work and you still need directions! 

Now-a-days we have GPS technology built into our phones and other devices, but, a wise person stops and considers the directions and asks for directions as needed no matter if they use maps or GPS technology. Even using a GPS you have to look at the route so you understand enough about the route especially for a place you've never been before. 

Life is just like this as we need to continually seek wisdom and direction which in the life of a follower of Christ, always begins and ends with seeking God and His Word. 

With this in mind, I wanted to share the following encouragement and starting point for your further study as you continue to seek God's wisdom and direction.

9 Tips For Discovering The Will of God.

My Friend,

It's important to discover, understand, and fulfill God's Will for your life.

In life you may seek God's will about many things, such as: what career path you should take, what apprenticeship you should pursue, what college or trade school you should attend, where you should work, what does He want you to get involved with, whether or not He wants you to be and stay single or does He want you to get married, what investments of your time and money you should make, what home church you should be a part of, and many other things that require wisdom in your decision making.

Speaking from experience, there will be times in your life that you will seek God’s Will more often than other times.

I've heard people say at times that, "God's will is a mystery", but, His will isn’t as mysterious as we think it is because sometimes it takes time for Him to reveal it and for us to understand it and receive it, so we think it’s a mystery.

In fact, read the following passages for examples of how He makes His Will for you and I very clear: Romans 12:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Ephesians 6:5-8.

Take Romans 12:1-2 for instance,  to know God’s Will, you need to reject conforming to this world and instead, allow God to transform you by His Spirit. 

In many passages like this, He clearly lays out His will for you and I. As you abide in His Word, you will see His revealed will because it’s very clear! 

God's Will is knowable, (He wants you to know His will for you), and its clear, (He will make it clear.)

Another thing to consider is that while we serve the same God and reply on  and are empowered by His Holy Spirit, (The same Spirit), He may lead us the same or different direction as others and use us in similar or different ways than others. 

His Word also reminds us that we are one body but there are many gifts and we don't all have the same gifts (see Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12 for example). So again, He may or may not call us to be used the same way as others and He may not lead us in the same direction as others. 

My aim in this communication is to share a small glimpse of some of the Biblical and practical principles about seeking and understanding God's Will as well as practical tips and tools you can utilize so you can figure out what His will is.

Here are 9 Biblical and Practical tips that will be of help as you seek His will:

The Gifts That Are OK To Re-gift

Read: Ephesians 2:10, 1 Peter 4:10, Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; and 1 Corinthians 12:28. 

God created you specifically for the good works that He's prepared for you. He's uniquely given you the spiritual gifts you need, as well as the ability and capacity to grow in skills, talents and abilities to fulfill exactly what He's called and created you to do!

He's blessed you with these things so you can in turn serve Him with all that is within you and give those gifts back in service to Him. 

Now, there's an important distinction between Spiritual Gifts and talents, skills, and abilities as follows. 

He Is Risen!! Resurrection Sunday 2018!

HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Dear Friend in Christ,

I wanted to wish you a wonderful and peaceful Resurrection / Easter Sunday! 

He is the resurrection and the life! Read: John 11:25-26

May this Sunday be filled with joy as you celebrate and worship the risen savior Jesus Christ!

He is Risen!

With Love In Him,

Because of He Lives,

Randolph Koch

P.S. Here's a post sharing Historical Evidence For The Resurrection of Jesus: http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/2009/04/historical-evidence-for-resurrection.html