Prayer

Your Will, Not Mine

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Luke 11:5-13

5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.[a]

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “You fathers—if your children ask[b] for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Jesus taught His disciples the importance of being persistent in prayer so that they could obtain what they needed. Often times, when this disciple doesn’t get the answer I want, I respond like a self-centered child by throwing a hissy fit…and then I just stop talking to God altogether. Of course, that never brings about the desired result of getting my own way, all it does is separate me from the One who holds the keys to what I need to receive, find, or be opened to in the Spirit.

IMG_4382There are three items on my prayer list right now that I’ve been asking the Lord about for years. YEARS. One, in particular, He has remained silent on……I’m continuing to ask Him about it, but recently, my prayers have shifted from me stomping my foot, demanding an answer (right NOW!!!), to me demanding my will to submit to His. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, my focus has miraculously become less about the prayer that I want answered and more about the One who answers my prayers. Jesus modeled this most humbly, as he faced impending death on a cross:

Matthew 26:39

39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

On another prayer request, I’ve received an answer in the form of a promise. Since then, I’ve continued asking Him to confirm what I believe I heard through His Word- and others. As my doubt has begun to evaporate, transforming into faith the size of a mustard seed, I keep knocking, declaring “may Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done!”

Matthew 6:9-10

9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven,
 may your name be kept holy.

10 May your Kingdom come soon.
 May your will be done on earth,
 as it is in heaven.

My final request has become a daily act of obedience. God, in His infinite wisdom continues to give me the manna I need to survive –just for the day. Realizing that He made me to be a planner, He knows that what I need (before He answers), is to know how to trust and follow His plan for my life. Just as with the other two requests, He is teaching me to submit my wants, my will to Him, so that I can learn how to love Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. After all, that is what my prayers should be about- His will, His purposes, His Kingdom, His power, His glory….not mine.

“Christian”

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Luke 24:44-53

44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations,[a] beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.

49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. 52 So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53 And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

In today’s culture, there seems to be a myriad of beliefs and religions lumped into the title of “Christian.” Its original intent of reflecting a Christ follower has been diluted into a politically correct label for everyone to use.

IMG_2961To be a disciple of Jesus Christ, however, is an entirely different matter. For disciples earnestly desire to live their lives as fully devoted followers of the Son of God. They are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. They pray without ceasing. Their minds are opened to understand Scripture. And, they realize the importance of forgiveness, which only comes through repentance. To be a disciple means they no longer follow their sinful nature, but instead follow the Spirit, just as Jesus did, so that they are always, always, always, glorifying the Father.

Romans 8:1-4

8 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.[c] So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. 

In order for a “Christian” to become a fully devoted follower of Christ, who believes Jesus is the only way to the Father, and who is submitted to following His teachings, he/she MUST:

  • Stop diluting sin by dismissing it as “struggles”
  • Stop squelching the Holy Spirit because we’re afraid of His power
  • Stop replacing the Word of God with mans interpretation (there are some great bible studies, sermon series and self-help books on the market, but they should NEVER replace the Word of God).

Now, before we all start jumping on our preverbal soapboxes and begin pointing our fingers at those people, we must first get rid of the log in our own eye.

Matthew 7:5

5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

By daily:

  • Praising God
  • Submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit
  • Praying without ceasing; seeking to know and obey His will for our lives
  • Devoting our time and energy to studying Scripture, asking the Lord to open our minds in order that we may understand and apply His truth to our lives
  • Asking the Lord “what do I need to be forgiven for?” & confessing, repenting and fleeing from our sin.
  • Sharing the good news with others, inviting them to follow us, as we follow Jesus.

Only then will we, His Church, be able to love God, love others and go make more disciples by proclaiming Christ’s message to all the nations:

Matthew 22:34-40

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 28:19

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

A Lesson from the Ants

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Proverbs 6:6-8

6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!

7 Though they have no prince
 or governor or ruler to make them work,

8 they labor hard all summer,
 gathering food for the winter.

Proverbs 30:25

25 Ants—they aren’t strong,
 but they store up food all summer.

Every summer an army of ants invades our kitchen. We’ve used traps, pellets and homemade concoctions to kill them, but they keep coming back to gather food! IMG_4369

In utter frustration yesterday I told myself “I am DONE! I give up! I can’t get rid of these suckers!” But then, that still small voice whispered inside my head and said “hmmm….I wonder if there’s a lesson in this?!”

Lesson #1: Sometimes I am a lazybone in my communication with God. After a few months of praying the same thing over and over and over without hearing a reply, I become frustrated and stop talking- or listening to Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Lesson #2: Sometimes I am unwise in believing my power comes from my abilities. In my pride I think I am capable of storing up food all summer, BY MYSELF! Eventually, though, as I continue to carry all my breadcrumbs alone, they become too difficult for me to handle and the weight of them begin to crush me spiritually, emotionally and physically.

2 Corinthians 12:9

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Lesson #3: Sometimes I am motivated by others to work. Instead of receiving my marching orders from God, I look to people for direction, inspiration, approval, a sense of worth – and inevitably, when my expectations aren’t met and I become angry and discouraged.

Psalm 118:8-9

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 than to trust in princes.

So today, I have decided to put away the ant killer and take a lesson from the ants. After all, the Lord God must have created them for more than just ruining our picnics and invading our kitchens, didn’t He?!

I Urge You

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1 Corinthians 4:14-16

14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.

This passage, taken from a letter that Paul penned to the church in Corinth, appears to be written by a pompous and proud leader.

It isn’t.

Paul, who was the church founder, was writing to his beloved children to warn them of the evil that was operating in their midst. These “infant” Christians were still very susceptible to living by the flesh, instead of living in the Spirit. As a result, they were indulging in all kinds of sin; greed, cheating, sexual sin and worshipping idols, just to name a few. In order to continue training them in the way that they should go, Paul, who was their spiritual father- their mentor, urged these new believers to imitate him- as he imitated Christ. He was, as any loving parent would do, imploring his children to obey God so that they could enjoy a long life!

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child [a]in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Ephesians 6:2-3

2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

This parent-child relationship that was established in the early church doesn’t just apply to the Corinthians. It applies to today’s church in England, Africa, China, America….the world. It is critical that every part of the Body of Christ (whether we are “infants,” “teenagers” or “adults”) has a spiritual father or mother to disciple us. Without a mentor to teach, encourage, and yes, lovingly rebuke us at times, we, like foolish children are prone to disobey our Father in Heaven. Left to ourselves, we can easily become consumed by the evil in our midst, and succumb to the desires of our flesh. As a result, we (sometimes unknowingly), choose for ourselves a rod of punishment.

1 Corinthians 4:18-21

18 Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. 19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?

“Some people talk a lot about faith, but that’s all it is- talk. They may know all the right words to say, but their lives don’t reflect God’s power. Paul says that the Kingdom of God is to be lived, not discussed.”

-Life Application Study Bible

With love and a gentle spirit, I want to urge to find a spiritual father or mother. The mentor you choose should imitate Christ and live a life that produces good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). They should be a man or woman whose heart is submitted to obeying the Lord. They should be a person who is willing to humble him/herself, confess and repent for their sins not only to God, but also to others.

James 5:16

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

IMG_2963

And, they should be a person who is willing to invest their time, talent and treasure into training you to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus (NOTE: this person may or may not be your Pastor, Sunday School Teacher or Small Group Leader. In the past, I naively expected leaders in the church to provide the training I needed, but I quickly realized that their role was that of an apostle, prophet or teacher- not a mentor).

“Paul told the Corinthians to imitate him- to follow his example. He was able to make this statement because he walked close to God, spent time in God’s Word and in prayer, and was aware of God’s presence at all times. God was Paul’s example; therefore, Paul’s life could be an example to other Christians. Paul wasn’t expecting others to imitate everything he did, but they should imitate those aspects of his beliefs and conduct that were modeling Christ’s way of living.”

-Life Application Study Bible

Have Some Breakfast

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John 21:1-17

21 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied.

6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[e]”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

I am no stranger to burn out. In fact, almost annually I find myself in the same unending cycle of serving, serving, serving, with no hope of ever finding rest. If the cycle continues for too long, my body eventually refuses to perform at its optimum level by succumbing to infection or exhaustion. My emotions also tend to become unstable, ranging from overwhelming anger to intense sadness. The most damaging symptom of burn out for me however, is a spiritual disconnect. Although my mind knows I should be still before God, my heart struggles to engage with Him. Reading The Word becomes a chore, my prayers sound rote and my worship feels superficial.

My knee jerk reaction to all of these symptoms is to eliminate EVERYTHING on my schedule–immediately! Although this way of quickly controlling the situation does provide me with more free time, it rarely compels me to allow the Holy Spirit the opportunity to reveal the reason why I continue in this destructive cycle of performance.

All of us have a deep desire to be known- and loved. It was birthed in us by our Creator and was designed to be satisfied by Him alone. The unfortunate thing is, we sinners often look to other people to fill us with a sense of purpose, worthiness, acceptance and love. And since all have sinned and fallen short, others can never satisfy the need we have for our soul to be filled up by our Lord. Thus, we are left feeling disappointed, empty, unappreciated and unloved.

“If I am devoted to the cause of humanity only, I will soon be exhausted and come to the place where my love will falter; but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity though men treat me as a door-mat.”

Oswald Chambers

How then do we love, care for and feed God’s sheep without becoming exhausted?IMG_4033

We must love Jesus Christ personally and passionately BEFORE we serve humanity.

How do we do that?

Every day we must put our tunic on, jump out of the boat and swim to shore. We must allow the Holy Spirit to nourish our soul by sitting and having some breakfast with Our Savior (and it can’t be a bowl of artificial colors and flavors – we can’t live healthy lives on that! We need life giving sustenance to keep us going; eggs, bacon, waffles, fruit and Starbucks coffee!!!).

And…..

At the beginning of every fishing season we must ask God, “what do I need to eliminate from my schedule so that I can have breakfast with you every day? What, or who do I need to say “no” to so that YOU are once again the priority in my life?” Once He answers, we must be willing to drop our nets and trust that He will provide others to pull in the fish while we are away.

All My Fears

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Psalm 34:4-7 

4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
 He freed me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
  no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
  he saved me from all my troubles.

7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
    he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

IMG_4003Even before WRAL’s Dual Doppler 5000 sees a blip on its radar screen, our dog Maggie alerts us to an impending storm. Her eyes widen as fear consumes her and she begins to pace, drool and pant like she’s run a full marathon. We’ve tried everything we know to soothe her; petting her, lying beside her, whispering assurances, putting a thunder jacket on her, kenneling her, but nothing seems to eliminate the terror inside.

Matthew 14:29-30 

29 “….So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strongwind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.”

Although I don’t tend to drool or pant when a storm arrives in my life, I have some of the same tendencies of our chocolate lab when fear begins to consume me. I start to obsess about the circumstances, my mind becomes bogged down with “what if’s” and my emotions fluctuate between rage and uncontrollable weeping. Unfortunately, by the time I’ve reached these stages, my will has already decided to cling to fear. Even though my mind may not be cognizant that I am trying to control the wind and waves, I am essentially saying to God: “I don’t fear you…..I don’t trust that you can, or will save me.”

Deuteronomy 13:4

4 Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.

Sadly, I tried a lot of things over the years to try to sooth myself; taking prescription drugs, over eating or drinking, engaging in sexual sin, blaming others…..before I decided to lift my eyes above the storm and look to the Lord for help.

Thankfully, however, I’ve since discovered that the “F” word CAN be eliminated from my life when I crucify my pride, discover the Truth found in God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where my debilitating fears come from. When I do, He is always faithful to scoop me up out of the water and place me safely in His arms, where I can be still… and know that HE is God.

I wonder if He’d be willing to do the same for Maggie so I can get a little sleep tonight!?

Hebrews 13:6

6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.

A Little Child Will Lead Them

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Isaiah 11:6

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
 the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
  and a little child will lead them all.

Before our whirlwind family trip last week, Doug and I began preparing our children for what they may experience in the big cities we planned on visiting. We told them about the noise, the smells, the sights, the difficulty in navigating busy streets, the traffic, the multitude of people, the venders selling things to tourists, etc. etc. etc. What we could not prepare them for, however, was their reaction to the poor.

We passed several people on the streets of Philadelphia during our 2-day visit, but one man in particular stood out to our son. Our family was completely oblivious, however, to his encounter until we left the noisy streets and returned to our less noisy hotel room. Moments later, our son began to weep uncontrollably. After multiple attempts to console him, he was finally able to sputter out a few words as to why he was so distraught;

“that man…… sitting on the street……was hungry….and had no where to live……”

Although I was moved by our son’s compassion, I’m embarrassed to admit that my initial thought was “yeah, he probably lives in some posh apartment and pays for all his luxuries by begging tourists for money.” Moments later, as I continued to watch our sons heart break, I realized my judgment (based on prior experiences) was an indicator of my heart- which was not being motivated by love.

A short time later, with a changed heart, I prayed with our son, right there in our hotel room in the city of brotherly love, and asked God to fulfill every need for that man. Afterwards, I told our 7 year old that the next time he saw someone in need to SPEAK LOUDLY so we could stop and do something.

IMG_8806Four days later, as our family was walking down 5th Avenue in New York City, we passed a man sitting on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign. I slowed my pace, waiting for our sons voice to ring out above the noise of the people, the taxi drivers blasting their horns and the construction equipment rumbling overhead…..a heartbeat later I heard, “MO-OOOOOMMM….there’s a man!!! I want to give him some money.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, turned around to look at my husband, who was already pulling cash out of his pocket, and watched, through tear filled eyes as our son, escorted by his father, walked back up the crowded sidewalk to give a tangible gift of love to a man in need. After the gentleman accepted the money, he looked at our son and said “God bless you both.” Indeed, He already had- for a little child had led us to a greater understanding of how to love our neighbor; whether they are poor in spirit, poor in relationships, poor in truth, poor in hope, poor in joy, poor in kindness, or poor in possessions.

Mark 12:31

31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.”

Proverbs 19:17

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!