Tag Archives: Lord

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Formula For Prayer?

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Psalm 145:1-21 (ESV), “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the raise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”

In January our Church always begins the New Year with a corporate fast. We spend extra, set-aside time in prayer and fasting. We fast things such as food, food groups, media, entertainment, etc. This year I added “fasting” fiction books. I love to read, but I felt compelled to read only Non-fiction Christian books for the month of January. I included some books on prayer and fasting. Let me start out by saying that I receive good, sound, biblical teaching on this subject at my Church so it wasn’t that I needed new information, I just wanted some encouragement and confirmation.

Sadly, only a few of the books I read were a real blessing. Oh, they all had a few good things to say about fasting and prayer, but some of them were trying to give a “formula” for prayer. Of course, that isn’t what they called it, but that was exactly what they were doing. Over the years I have read great books on the subject, some by Derek Prince, Charles Spurgeon, and Andrew Murray (just to name a few), so I am not saying don’t read a book on prayer. I am warning you that after reading a book, or while reading, if you are left feeling like God isn’t pleased with the way you are praying, STOP and pray before continuing. It may just be that God is showing you a better way, or it may be the enemy trying to get you to back away from prayer.

Some of the things I have recently read included, but was not limited to, the concept that you should never ask God for anything, only ask Him “what should I do” and the rest of the time thank Him. Their argument was that since God already knows what we need, we shouldn’t have to ask. I have read that you should never go to God in prayer unless you exalt Him and spend time in praising His name first. I have also read that we can’t be too familiar with Him, that He is Holy and that we need to approach Him with reverence and fear. Another one was that we should always pray out loud using His Word. Now, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water here, I approve of some of the thinking behind these statements. However, the problem is that if we try to limit how we talk to God or what we can say to Him we are hurting instead of helping our relationship with Him. A red flag went up with some of those “never” and “always” statements. Yes, He is Holy. Yes, we should reverence and honor Him. Yes, we should always thank Him, but that isn’t all that we can or should do.

So this morning before my daily Bible and prayer time, I simply asked God, “Abba, am I too familiar with you? Are You displeased with my prayers? Is there a certain “formula”, a certain set of words that I need to use when talking with You?” (I purposely used this term of endearment for God to make sure.)

This is the answer that God spoke into my heart, “My desire is to spend time with you, one on one and face to face. It does please me when you pray according to my word and take the time to listen to my response. I always hear you, but My word spoken verbally in faith has a power to accomplish what I intend. I also enjoy our simple conversations. Speak to Me in your heart and with your mouth. I hear them all. There is time for quiet prayer and time for shouting. There is time for supplication and time for fellowship. I love you. My word is true and alive. You are dear to me. Honor Me, show your love, and trust Me. That pleases Me.”

I couldn’t ask for a better Daddy! As I pondered on this I thought about a parent’s relationship with their children. We love for them to ask us for thing and to ask us questions, but we especially love it when they just want to talk and spend time with us. We don’t refuse to listen because they haven’t used the right words. I think we should teach our children manners. However, when they are coming to talk to us, don’t use that time to correct their grammar. God brought to my remembrance a time when I witnessed a child come and ask an adult if they could use the restroom. This was a toddler who had almost waited too long and was doing the “potty dance” this adult kept that child standing repeating to the wiggly little one “how do you ask?” expecting this little one to use the correct “may I go to the restroom.” I cringed when the little one stammered, “can I go to the restroom, please,” only to have this adult respond, “you are capable of going to the bathroom, but that is not how you ask.” I finally couldn’t take it anymore and told them and stage whispered, “ask-MAY I go to the bathroom, please.” There were no accidents that day, but I couldn’t help wondering how many sets of clothing had to be changed as this “lesson” was being taught. Thankfully God is not like that! He wants to give us good gifts; He says we can ask Him, in fact He said, “ye have not because ye ask not.” He is not expecting us to use certain language.

Matthew 7:11 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English), “If therefore you who are evil know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him?”

It is important that we don’t ever think of God as an ATM or a fast food restaurant where we can zoom through drive through and place an order expecting the “product” in sixty seconds or less. We don’t demand, we don’t go to Him in pride and arrogance saying we deserve something, or try to negotiate and cut a deal with God. I am never saying that we shouldn’t have respect and show honor to the One who is worthy! We should be more concerned with our hearts than how spiritual we sound, or how long we pray, or in what position we pray. I have prayed in bed, in the car, at work, in my dreams, and even on the toilet! (God isn’t embarrassed by that, why should I be? He made my body and its functions.) I have prayed lying down, on my knees, eyes open, eyes closed, head bowed, head up towards heaven, sitting down, standing up, and my favorite, while walking. At Church and on our knees with eyes closed and head down, isn’t the only prayer place and posture.

So what is acceptable prayer then, and how should we pray? Prayer is a “solemn request for help, or an expression of thanksgiving” it is “communication with God.” I don’t think I would be off base scripturally to say that prayer is a child talking with a parent. Again, we can’t limit prayer to just one thing. Just as there are different ways we communicate with one another, there are different kinds of prayer. Let’s look at a few scriptures and some truths about prayer.
It’s ok to ask God for things and for help, for ourselves and for others. In fact, He wants us to.

Luke 11:5-13 (NAS), “Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, 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 tells the disciples this right after He leads them in the Lord’s Prayer. We are supposed to ask, and keep on asking! Yes, He knows what we need before we ask, but notice in Matthew 6, we aren’t told, “He knows what you need so don’t ask.” Keep on asking doesn’t mean begging, or repeating some “mantra” or chant. We ask, and then thank Him for the answer. We keep doing this until it is manifested. No whining, no complaining, and no bargaining.

Matthew 6:7-8 (NLT), “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

If we are “asking” we need to ask the Father in Jesus name.

John 16:23 (NIV), “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

What day is Jesus talking about? After His death and resurrection. Jesus is not saying that we can only “communicate” with the Father! We have full access and every right to talk to God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. They are ONE. When we talk to the Son, we are talking to the Father, and when we talk to the Spirit, we are talking to the Father. You can’t separate them. They each have a purpose in our lives, a vital purpose. So when we ask, or petition the Lord, we ask the Father, but it is perfectly acceptable and strongly encouraged for us to speak with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is ok to say, “Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me,” or “Holy Spirit, thank You for leading and guiding me this day.”

Prayer isn’t just talking. Like any good communication it should involve listening. If you noticed, that was one of the things God said to me. I have to admit; sometimes I am not a good listener with Him. Now, with people, I find it easy, but with God, I tend to say what I want to say and move on, giving Him little time to speak with me. Thankfully I am improving in this area. I shudder to think about how much I have missed out on by being in too big of a hurry or by manipulating the conversation with my Father, not even hearing what He wanted to say to me. I can “hear” Him throughout the day as He speaks to me, but there is something special about that intimate time of communicating, just as any parent knows.

God is so worthy of Honor and He is HOLY. It is so important that we never take that for granted or get so comfortable with Him that we forget how awesome He is. If I pray, “Heavenly Father who created everything and holds it all in the palm of Your hand. Holy are You Lord, and worthy to be praised. I come before you today to humbly thank You for supplying all my need according to Your riches and Glory in Christ Jesus” in my quiet time with Him, or if I say “Thank You, Father” during the day when something simple yet wonderful happens, He hears them both. They please Him not by our quantity or quality of words, but for the simple fact that our hearts are thankful and we are taking the time to tell Him. Both of those prayers are equally acceptable to Him. He is too wonderful to even find words for, but we don’t crawl to Him on our bellies like a worm. Because of the work of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus, we have unhindered access to the father.

Hebrews4:16 (NIV), “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

As in so many areas of our Christian walk, there is no easy formula for prayer. Let the Holy Spirit lead you. Those hour- long groaning and weeping prayers of intercession, those quick shoot-from-the-hip prayer of “thanks” or “help”, those times we just quietly tell Him about our day, when we boldly proclaim His word over our lives and speak out His promises, and the times we listen to what He wants to say, are all important prayer times. We should never just limit ourselves to one. They are all necessary and all pleasing to God. I haven’t even covered all the types of prayer, or mentioned where, or when we can pray.
There is not a “correct” posture or place for prayer. I have prayed in my bed, on my face on the floor, on my knees, in the shower, at the shopping mall, on the scariest carnival ride ever, and even on the toilet (God made this body and its functions so He is not embarrassed by it). I have prayed anywhere and everywhere, any time and anyway that my heart wanted to. I can think of only one kind of prayer that God isn’t pleased with…

Luke 18:11-12 NLT), “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’”
Matthew 6:5 (NIV), “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

The prayer of the self-righteous and the hypocrite. He’s not so happy about those.

So is there a formula for prayer?

Love and honor+ heartfelt two way conversation = PRAYER (That’s the only formula I can find).

James 5:16b (Word English Bible), “The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.”

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About Midnight

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Acts 16:25-26 (NIV), “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

Midnight is generally the darkest part of the day, just like noon is the brightest. Paul and Silas had not had a good day. They were about the Lord’s business of preaching and teaching, evangelizing the gentiles in Philippi. Unfortunately, when they cast the spirit of divination out of a young slave woman, all hell broke loose, literally. Her owners were not pleased.

Acts 16: 20-24 (N IV), “They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”

There they were, beaten, surrounded by soldiers, feet in stocks (metal manacles chained to the wall or floor or wooden beams with holes for your feet), and what were they doing “about midnight?” Yep, they were praying and singing hymns to God. Now, I think I have been a little distracted by the pain, or maybe in the throes of the biggest pity party ever, but not these men of God. They kept their focus and the other prisoners were listening. They weren’t mocking them, or cursing them, they liked what they were hearing, it gave them hope! So about midnight, at the darkest hour, God came through for them, and not just for them, there were glorious salvations from that act of praise.

Acts 16:27-34 (NIV), “The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”

That isn’t even my favorite part of the story, the next morning those same government officials sent word to let Paul and Silas go free. This wasn’t acceptable to Paul.

Acts 16:37-40 (NIV), “But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.”

There darkest night turned into a morning of honor as the magistrates came and escorted them out of the prison!
Never lose hope, never give up or give in. If God is for you, who can be successfully against you?

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Without Hypocrisy

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Romans 12:9 (NASB), “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”

James 3:17 (KJB), “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

There is nothing that irritates me more than phony people. After years of working with kids, it was obvious that they can spot a phony from a mile away. Jesus railed on the Pharisees for being fake and phony.

Matthew 23:23-33 (NIV), “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”

There were a lot of things He could have found fault with, their non acceptance of Him for one, but what He calls them on the carpet for is their hypocrisy, their phoniness, the fact that they wanted to appear righteous, but on the inside were still full of sin. I love the analogy of the whitewashed tomb! Now, before we judge those Pharisees too harshly, let’s take a quick look at The Church. Historically, we have spent more time trying to change our out word appearance than our hearts and minds. Some denominations have lists of what you can wear, what you can eat, and who you can hang out with; they even want to regulate how you can pray. Again, if you don’t go to one of those Churches, let me caution you not to judge before we take a look at our own lives.

How many of us put on our “Christian Mask” before going to Church on Sunday, or when we invite the Pastors over to our house for dinner? How many of us behave and talk one way at work and at home, but behave in a completely different manner at Church? Do you hide your past? Are you afraid to share what is in your heart, the temptations that you face? Then we are a new breed of Pharisee. It ought not to be so!

It is time that we are real. We have not been perfected yet. We are all working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Putting on a “mask” is detrimental to the Body of Christ. People can see through the cracks and they will label you as a hypocrite. This never brings glory to God. The whole concept of the mask is to either hide your insecurities, or because you are full of pride. It’s either one or the other. Neither one is about Him, and neither one will build the Kingdom. When we accept the liberty that Jesus bought for us, that God has called us to, we don’t have to wear a mask. Our security and confidence isn’t in what we can do, it’s in the finished work of Christ. We also have nothing to be proud of, it wasn’t our righteousness, it was and is all His.

This is the way God showed me the whole concept of being real: I saw a scarecrow in the middle of my garden; he had the shabby clothes, the worn hat, the burlap bag face, and straw sticking out everywhere. His job, his calling was to keep pests out of the garden. God then asked me a simple question, “Why does the scarecrow look like a man?” My immediate answer was that crows and other little garden pests are afraid of men. So, the scarecrow is a fake man. He isn’t real, he can’t move, talk, or yell at the pests. He can’t fire a BB gun, or bang a few pans together. He just stands in one place and pretends to be a real man. That is a picture of us when we “play Church” or put on our Christian mask. Just like Pinocchio wanted to be a real boy, shouldn’t we want to be real Christians? That scarecrow will work for a while, maybe longer on some of the less than sharp minded pests, but eventually they will figure it out. We have all seen scarecrows with crows perching right on their heads or outstretched arms. That is like us trying to wear our mask and rebuking the devil. He is smarter than any crow or rabbit. He knows who is really surrendered to God and who isn’t. He has to obey those that don’t wear the mask. He doesn’t have to obey the ones who are pretending to follow Christ.

We don’t even have to be perfect! To walk in our calling and fulfill the purposes and plans God has for us, we just have to be real and to allow the Spirit to lead us, humbly allowing ourselves to grow in the things of the Lord. So what if you are still a babe in Christ, that’s better than being a carnal Christian. Determine to grow up and in the meantime, serve Him. Let’s go back to the garden analogy again. Let’s say the pests have gotten wise to our friendly scarecrow, so instead we put a three year old in the garden. Can that little one fulfill the call? You bet! They may trample a few plants, and get distracted by a few bugs and butterflies, but they will make enough noise and move around enough to keep every pest away. The few plants that get lost can’t compare to the damage that those pesky pests can destroy. I know I had every bean and pea plant destroyed by those cute little bunnies! The goal would be that as that little one grew up, less damage would be done, and there would be more focus and fewer distractions.
God is that patient with us. He isn’t waiting for us to be perfect to use us. He doesn’t want us to pretend that we are, that again is either pride or insecurity. We are real, we make mistakes, we get distracted, and we stumble. However, God tells us that the righteous may stumble, but that they keep getting back up. (Romans 24:16, Psalm 27:34)He also promises that those who obey Him, and love Him, that even if they make a mistake, He will turn in around for our good. (Romans 8:28) He chose us, the messed up ones, on purpose. When we get something done for the Kingdom, or stand up and rebuke the enemy, or resist temptation, it’s not us, it’s Him in us, and He gets all the glory!

God has called us to liberty. In this freedom, through Christ, there is never any reason to put on an act, to pretend we are something we aren’t. We aren’t sinners saved by grace. We were sinners, now we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. No, we aren’t perfect, far from it in fact, but God chose us, He called us, and if anyone has an issue with who we are then they can take it up with God. This is never permission to sin, or to cause others to stumble. We stay humble and acknowledge our need for Him. We allow the Holy Spirit to use us. The key word is USE. God wants to use you. He wants to use us. He has big plans for us. Walk in the liberty He gave you. You can’t earn it, it is a gift.

Get real with God, with each other, and most importantly with yourself. Be who God created you to be.

Take off the mask.

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Book Review for “When Godly People Do Unglodly Things: Arming Yourself in the Age of Seduction”- Christian Non-fiction

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I think this book has been one of the most important books I have read to date. I strongly encourage every Christian to read “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things: Arming Yourself in the Age of Seduction”. Not only would this be so helpful for someone who has fallen into sin, more importantly it will help prevent a fall to begin with. Beth Moore is a great teacher, she is kind and simple in her writing style. I am going to recommend this book to all of the ladies at our bible study and to all of my followers. I give it five stars only because I can’t give it more. Appropriate for teens and up.

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Be Thankful

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Philippians 4:6-14, (NIV), “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.”

In the United States the spirit of ungratefulness is running rampant. Look at our Media! They preach to us constantly how we don’t have enough, or that we need this one thing, or that someone else knows what we need best. We aren’t the first people to allow this bad attitude to take over, and probably won’t be the last. The Israelites grumbled. Sometimes reading Exodus is like reading the “Who’s who” list of world renowned whiners and complainers. I get frustrated for God or sorrowful for Him when I read it. I get angry at their ungrateful, stiff necked, hearts…until I start complaining about some trivial thing. Isn’t the Holy Spirit faithful to do His job? There must have been some New Testament grumblers too; otherwise Paul wouldn’t have had to warn the Church at Corinth using those professional complainers from Exodus as bad examples.

I Corinthians 10:10-11 (ESV), “nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

In one of his recent messages, our Senior Pastor, Dr. William Hohman explained the danger of allowing this spirit of ungratefulness in our lives, “Complaining looses the destroyer in our lives. Thanksgiving shuts the door to the bottomless pit and opens the door into the presence of God.”
Revelations 9:11 (NIV), “They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).”

Did you get that? The “king” over the bottomless pit is THE Destroyer. When we complain and grumble we are opening the door to the bottomless pit. We are letting him loose. The very worst thing of all is that we are giving him (the destroyer, Satan, the devil, and his minions) a personal invitation to mess with us! When we have an attitude of gratitude, when we live with a heart of thanksgiving towards God and others, we shut that door. That’s why the bible tells us that “praise stills the enemy and the avenger.”

Psalms 8:2 (NIV), “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” (Emphasis mine)

Psalms 8:2 (NET Bible), “From the mouths of children and nursing babies you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.” (Emphasis mine)

Every person still living on this earth has something to be thankful, if only the fact that you are alive. Ok, I know there will be some that say, “If you knew what my life was like, you’d wish you were dead.” I know, I’ve been there. However, if the alternative is hell, than thank God you’re alive. If your final destination in Heaven be thankful that God isn’t done with you yet, because if your work here was done, God would have taken you home. Be honest, most of us have a myriad of things to be thankful for. If you are a born again Christian, just think for a minute where your life was like before you were saved, and then thank God for where you are now!

If we really know who God is we will not have to hunt for something to be thankful for. When we fall so in love with God our hearts will be so full of gratitude that we can’t help but sing and shout His praises! We won’t even care if we can carry a tune or not, it won’t matter what anyone else thinks. We won’t be able to help ourselves. Have you ever been around someone who is in love for the first time? Do they talk of much else besides their new love interest? How excited do they get when they have a date scheduled, or a wedding? Yep, that kind of crazy love, only even greater.

I love God, I have since I found out He loved me at the age of six. Growing up, I walked away from Him and didn’t live right. After years of living in the world, I forgot how much He loved me. Even after years of walking with Him, even though I thought I loved Him, it didn’t compare to how much I love Him now…or how much I will love Him tomorrow. What changed? Me! I allowed Him to show me how much He loved me, I read His word and searched out every ounce of His goodness and kindness. I rehearsed and meditated on all the good things He had done for me, and I practiced an attitude of thankfulness. Am I thankful all the time? No, I still have my “would you like some cheese with that whine” moments. But, I am pleased to say they are fewer and farther between.

Do you know what else I discovered? An attitude of thankfulness touches others. When we are thankful for what we have and are willing to share. Think about that little boy with five loaves and two fishes. He had to have been thankful for that little lunch that someone had packed for him; otherwise the disciples wouldn’t have even known that he had the basket of goodies. I can hear the question, “does anyone have some food?” and our little hero says, “I do, my mom packed me two nice fish and five of her best little loaves”. Can you hear the thankfulness in his voice? I am sure the disciples wouldn’t steel a little boys lunch, so it is safe to say he offers to share. When you appreciate what God has given you, you don’t get greedy and selfish, you know He will provide again. So, they bring that lunch, big enough for one little boy, and what does Jesus do- yep, He gives thanks! Now, I know it is hard to wrap our heads around this, but force it if you need to, that little lunch fed five thousand men, along with untold numbers of women and children.

When we are thankful for the people in our lives, we treat them with respect, we honor them, and we aren’t constantly looking at their faults and failures. When we are thankful for our jobs, we work harder, behave better, and show up for work on time. When we are thankful for our Church family, we show up for service, we offer to help out, and we don’t gossip and finger point as much. Are you starting to get the picture? It is something that has to be actively worked out, worked on. God doesn’t just implant thankfulness in us. We become thankful on purpose. Now I am not one to encourage “faking it” but sometimes we have to do things that we don’t feel like doing. You may not feel thankful, but you better start saying “Thank You”. Tell the lady who checks out your groceries, the man who held the door, the mailman who delivers your package, your husband for taking out the trash, thank you! Yes, I know that some of that is part of their job descriptions, but so what! Thank them.

Get a pen and paper when you have finished reading this and write down everything that you are thankful for today. Nothing is too little or too big. Then every night before you go to sleep, look back over your day and thank God for what He has done for you, given you, or just for Who He is. Do this for fourteen days and a new wonderful habit of thanksgiving will be birthed in your heart. If you have allowed your heart to dry up, or your neck to become “stiff” like those wondering Israelites, it may take a while before you feel it. Dive into the word and search out scripture that talk about the goodness of God. Read His promises and if they haven’t manifested yet, thank Him for them anyway. They are coming.

Colossians 2:6-7 (AMP), “As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him. Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.”

Allow those roots to be firmly and deeply planted in Him, the outcome will be abounding thanksgiving. You won’t be able to keep it in. It will overflow.

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Am I Committed?

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II Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV), “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Did you ever know someone who was great at getting involved, in starting new projects, enrolling in a college classes, setting goals, and making resolutions…but they weren’t so great at finishing anything. I have, several in fact. I was brought up to finish what you started. You ate what you put on your plate, if you signed up for ball; you went to every practice, you stuck it out. In fact it was such a big thing, and I had very little self confidence, that I hardly ever committed to anything. If I knew I could do it, without a doubt, then I’d go for it. Thank God, I have found my confidence in Him. I’ll give just about anything a try if it pleases Him. If I mess it up, it won’t be from lack of effort. So, you’d think I would have a lot of “success” under my belt.

We have a real enemy that tries to get us off the track. He will do anything to derail us, slow us down, or get us to even move backwards. That’s who he is. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10). He doesn’t have a single other agenda. To put it simply his job is to get us to quit, back down, or give up. You can’t get him to stop attacking. That happens when we get to heaven, and he gets to hell. Don’t lose heart though, you can repel, and counter attack anything and everything he throws your way…if you have surrendered your life to the One who is all powerful. God has given us weapons, and protective gear. He has warned us of the wiles of the Devil, and placed before us simple instructions on how to overcome. Jesus already did, He defeated the devil over 2000 years ago. We just carry on in that knowledge. We battle a defeated foe, a lion who can only make noise because his teeth have been pulled.

So why does it feel like we have gotten our ears boxed? Or maybe you have been in the same battle for years, and you haven’t even given much thought to the war. What’s the problem?

Honestly there could be various reasons, but today I am going to talk about one of those reasons. Take a look at something our Senior Pastor said while preaching a series about “Changing Your Perception.”

“The enemy attacks, that’s who he is, but when he consistently gets the upper hand it is because our perception is wrong.” Dr. William Hohman

Since you didn’t hear the message, I’ll clue you in on the concept.

When we know, not with our head, but in our heart, truly know, who God is we have unlimited power at our disposal. Think of it in this way, if you know God is your healer, you believe with all of your heart that Jesus’ stripes purchased your healing, you will stand firm against every bodily attack. You won’t be fighting the sickness, you will be fighting the fight of faith, the fight to remain true and committed to God and His word. Look at Job, Satan had permission to wreck havoc on Job’s life, yet Job didn’t “curse God and die” as his loving wife recommended, no, he kept his faith. Sure it wavered a little, we are human, but he never gave up on God. He stayed committed to the One who was able to bring him through.

When we know that our Father is the King, we can walk in our authority as princes and princesses. We command those who are subject to us (which according to the word is pretty much anything that is in the way of us fulfilling our destiny in God.) The key is to know who He is, know who we are, and submit to the King. When we know what His plan is, we can walk on the right path, recognize the obstacles, and command them to move.

We have to be committed. We have to “set our faces like flint”, “quite like men”, “run the race with patience”, and “stand firm”. It’s only when we do those things that we will receive the promises.

Hebrews 10:36 (NIV), “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Romans 12:11-12 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English), “Be diligent and do not be lazy; be enthusiastic in spirit; be working for your Lord. Be rejoicing in your hope. Bear your afflictions bravely. Be persistent in prayer.

Ephesians 6:13 (NLT), “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.”

Have you mastered the art of quitting, well quit it! Press on to master the art of loyalty and commitment. He is worthy of our commitment! We won’t be the only ones who will benefit from our perseverance. When we fulfill the call God has placed in our lives, when we use the gifts and talents He gave us, so many people are blessed. Lives are changed! The Kingdom is built!


Are you committed?

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The Pursued Becomes The Pursuer

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God pursued me. He chased me down, romanced me, and never let up until the day I said, “I do.” The amazing part about it is that no one else wanted me; He really had no other competition at the time. I wasn’t some special “catch” and I certainly wasn’t perfect bride material. Yet, there He was, consistently, constantly, telling me how much He loved me. He wooed me. That is an old word that we don’t use too much anymore, but here is the definition: to seek the affection or love of a woman in order to marry her. Since I was only six years old at the time, I didn’t understand anything other than the fact that God was my Father, He loved me, and He wanted me. Through a great teacher, I realized I wasn’t good enough on my own so God’s Son, Jesus, took away all my “bad stuff” and gave me a new heart. I was so desperate for love how could I say no to that?

Over the years I backslid and fell into the lifestyle of sin, again, God revealed His love for me and the wooing began anew. By this time I had experienced, all negatively, the so called “love” of the world and all it did was leave me broken and bitter. God healed me of all of the hurts by His great LOVE.
Now, I am so grateful for the changes in my life, the blessings, and so many un-imagined ways that He is real in my life that my heart’s desire is to get closer to Him.

The pursued has become the pursuer.

It shouldn’t be hard really. After all, I had a good teacher. He wasn’t nonchalant about it. In no way was His pursuit of me a low priority. He aggressively pursued me. If you are unsure of what I am talking about, read the Song of Solomon. It is all about His love, His pursuit of His Bride, and if no one has ever told you, you are His bride too, male or female, young or old, you are His Bride if you have said yes to His proposal. Here are just a few scriptures that talk about His love for you.

Songs 1:15 (NIV), “Behold, you are fair, my love; behold, you are fair; you have doves’ eyes.”
Song of Solomon 4:10 (NIV), “How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice!”

Song of Solomon 5:1 (NIV), “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Friends Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love.”

Deuteronomy 7:8 (God’s Word Translation), “You were chosen because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors. So he used his mighty hand to bring you out. He freed you from slavery under Pharaoh (the king of Egypt).”

I Thessalonians 1:4 (NLT), “We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.”

There are hundreds of these. I could go on for ages, but you need to do a word study yourself. Just know, God loves you!

Now, how does one go about wooing, pursuing the Creator of the Universe. It’s not like I can buy Him candy and flowers. What would please Him, how can I bless Him? I can start by getting to know Him better. I can read the scriptures with the purposeful intention of finding out more about His heart, who He is. I need to remember where I was, and where I am now. This one is very important; I need to do what He says.

John 14:15 (KJB), “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Jesus clarifies this later by saying that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and the second was to love one another. So, not only should we do what He says, but we need to share His love with those around us. Yes, even the ones that you think are hard to love. It wasn’t hard for God to love you, so it isn’t hard for Him to love anyone. How then can we withhold our love. Now let me clarify, loving someone doesn’t mean we have to agree with all of their actions, or love what they do, we just love them, who God sees them to be. He may not want flowers and candy, but He does want His family to grow. What greater gift can we give Him than souls saved?

Next, we need to pursue righteousness. He gave it to us when we surrendered our hearts to Him, but we need to be in constant pursuit. The running isn’t just to God, and His ways, but we need to run away from some things as well.

II Timothy 2:22 (NLT), “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”

When we do this, really do it, our lives are transformed. When we pursue Him who first pursued us, our hearts are overwhelmed by Love.

Here is what David said, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-8 ESV)

I realize that some people serve God out of fear. They are afraid of death, or hell, or life in general, they are afraid of what others might think or say, and there are some who are afraid of God, and not in a healthy reverential way. They don’t love Him, they are just trying to appease Him. They see Him as hard, or distant, or uncaring, so they go through the motions of vain traditions and religious duty and their lives are never transformed. In fact, most of the time they only get worse.

Fear is the wrong motivation! The only true motivation is LOVE. Fear has bondage. Perfect love casts out all fear. Let’s take a quick look at Adam and Eve in the garden. They are a good example of the motivation of fear.

God tells Adam that he can eat of any tree in the garden, except one. God reserved that one for Himself (think of it as the tithe). He then warns Adam that if he did eat from that tree, he would die. Take notice that Eve has not been created yet. It is just Adam and God. However, when the serpent (Satan) comes to tempt Eve to eat, what are her words to the lying devil? “We can’t eat of it or even touch it.” Who gave Eve her instructions concerning the tree? That’s right, her husband. Why had he added to the simple command of God? He wanted Eve to fear, possibly he even feared himself. I once thought that he just loved her so much, but had his motivation been love, he never would have allowed Satan into the garden, and he certainly wouldn’t have stood by and watched her take the fruit.

I believe it played out something like this: the serpent casts doubt in Eve’s mind about God’s intentions (doesn’t he always!) then Eve touched the fruit. Remember Adam had said they couldn’t touch it or they would die. She touches it, she is safe, it looks good, smells good, and there is Adam watching to see what will happen. Finally she takes a bite. It tastes good, and then we see Adam too, partaking of this forbidden fruit.

Could this all have been prevented if Adam hadn’t lied, hadn’t added to God’s command…maybe.

Love motivates us for good, it takes away, drives out any fear in us. God loves us perfectly, better than any other ever would or could.

Sometimes when I really contemplate His love, I just get so full that I either cry, or can’t stop smiling. I want this love to be two sided. I have had enough of one-sided love to last me a lifetime. I would never, ever leave my husband, (we’ve been through too much!), but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want me to show him how much I love him, to still pursue him. In the same way, Jesus said he would never leave us nor forsake us, but are we going to just take that for granted and act like it isn’t a big deal? I am not. I want Him to know how much I love Him. Don’t be like the husband who won’t tell his wife he loves her because “she already knows I love her.” Don’t just give lip service to God and tell Him you love Him without any actions to back it up.

Don’t ever stop chasing Him, He will never stop chasing you.