Many Waters and Bringing Blessing

Water is big in the news these days.  The state of Texas is experiencing the worst flooding in its history, as a result of the stagnant, sluggish Hurricane Harvey.  Due to a highly unusual set of weather circumstances Harvey arrived near Corpus Christi last Friday, moved inland to the Houston area and now seemingly refuses to leave!  The consequences are rainfall totals measured in feet.  The city of Houston appears to be drowning.

Houston is a city of 2-3 million people.  Although the city leaders knew Harvey was coming, to evacuate a city of that size in a matter of a couple of days would have "flooded" the highways with cars and put many more lives at risk.  In our nation's fifth largest city, government is incapable of meeting the needs of Houstonians who have been ravaged by this weather catastrophe.

Fortunately, relief agencies, such as Samaritan's Purse and the Salvation Army, as well as the American Red Cross, major corporations and celebrities have sprung into action.  Additionally, as Harvey continues to dump more and more rain on the greater Houston area, "ordinary people" are, for the most part, showing their better selves. Firefighters and other emergency personnel are working "round the clock".  Groups like Louisiana's "Cajun Navy" have traveled to Houston to search for survivors and rescue them in their boats.  The Southern Baptist group "Baptist Men" have gone to the area to help.  These and others like them are volunteers, who simply want to help their fellow man, many of them Christians who simply want to "be the hands and feet of Jesus" to those in desperate need.

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

Another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

And one who waters will himself be watered.

Proverbs 11:24-25 ESV

In our journey through the book of Proverbs we are going to explore the themes of riches and work. In this first installment, we are beginning to examine generosity.

Listening to a national morning news program today, I heard Franklin Graham of Samaritan's Purse being interviewed.  He testified that the greatest need in this ongoing, unfolding tragedy in Texas is the need for prayer.  I certainly agree.  All of us can pray for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, and well we should.  Is there something more tangible we could do, however?

The Lord has given all of us resources we can generously give, in most instances to nameless, faceless people we do not yet know.  This is giving with no hope of return on our "investment".  But, God knows.  And, God will "water us" in return.  Here is an example of a small businessman in Florida who wrote on the @LACajunNavy 's Facebook page just mere hours ago.

Trying to get in contact with some boots on the ground in the area. I operate a kayaking company and would like to volunteer between 32-64 kayaks and around 126 seats. We can be there in about 20hrs coming from Florida. We also have personnel trained in rescues. Please call my cell that i left for you in a direct message.

Thank you, Mr. Mahan.  Liberty University has trained you well.  You have a generous spirit, and God will "water you", according to His promise.

Let's each of us ask ourselves: "what would God have me do?"  Whatever answer He gives you, do it. And, not just in this present Texas disaster, either.  Anytime the Holy Spirit nudges us to give, may we have open hands, which spring from open hearts.

To volunteer and/or give:

louisianacajunnavy.org
samaritanspurse.org
texasbaptistmen.org
https://disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/give/

Pleading for Righteousness

Last night, I was worshipping with some online friends, which I do most Tuesday nights, and a video played in the chat room - - - the movie trailer for War Room.  (I won a DVD of that movie at an education sorority fundraiser, and I really need to make the time to watch it again.)  At any rate, Ms. Clara, the elderly mentor of the female lead, said this in the movie and it struck me so that I wrote it down.
"Plead with God so that He can do only what HE can do.  Then, you got to get out of the way and let Him do it!"

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.   At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Colossians 4:2-3 (NET)

"Plead with God"....
That is a contemporary rendition of "Continue steadfastly in prayer", (the supplication and intercession aspects of prayer anyway....)
But, what things are we to plead with Him about?  And how?  How do we know what to pray, about those concerns/needs?

Well, first of all, if you belong to Jesus Christ, if you have asked Him to be your Lord and Savior, you cannot pray wrongly.  The Scriptures testify that the Holy Spirit intercedes for you and presents your prayers before the Father's throne. (Romans 8:26) In so doing, He makes our prayers righteous, because He can do nothing other than to do righteously.  He is God, after all, the third Person of the Holy Trinity.

But, usually, we plead with God about things closest to our hearts, don't we?  Look, if what we pray lines up with Scripture, we are praying right.  If it does not, we aren't.  And, if we pray, "Lord God, You are sovereign.  May You receive all glory and Your will be done in this situation!", then we can't lose.  That prayer is ALWAYS going to be right, because it is scriptural and it is being prayed with a correct heart attitude.

Let me give you a current example from my own life.

Some friends and I are both in similar places as far as our "vocations".  We both seem to be in a sort of lull at the moment, a period of waiting.  As far as my friends are concerned, I have my own selfish wishes about what God's will is going to be.  But, that, frankly, is irrelevant.  What I am praying is that God will make His will known to my friends, in a very clear way.  Whatever that outcome will be, I am watching expectantly to see what God will do.  And, when He does it, I will celebrate Him, glorify Him and rejoice in His goodness.  I am always happiest when I and my loved ones are in the center of God's will, whatever and wherever that may be.

As for me, I too am seeking His will in how this blogging and vlogging ministry will grow and/or how He wants me to spend my time each day.  So, pray for me and for my friends, if you will, verse 3 above.  It would mean the world to me if you would!

When you are waiting on the Lord to make His will known, this is a spiritual discipline that grows the Christian's faith.  So, don't chafe against it, if you, too, are in a place of pleading with God and then waiting for Him to show Himself glorious.  Be watchful!  And, when you see God do His mighty work, when He works His beautiful plan, give Him all the glory.  Thank Him and bless His name.
His answer is coming, and it is always "right on time".

https://youtu.be/XlR9TRs-cbM

Father, I thank you that You are concerned with every detail of our lives.  Thank you for these verses, which remind us of the centrality of prayer in our ongoing relationship with you.  Help me to remember that prayer is not just about talking to You, but that it is also about a constant conversation with You so that I can also hear FROM You.  To You, Lord Jesus, be all glory and honor and praise, forever and ever!  Amen

Joy and Crown

What is your conflict style?  It is impossible for us to live without encountering some kind of conflict. How do you handle it?  If you are a Christian, does your faith affect how you deal with it?  Or, do you set your faith aside, to get your way?

Are you an owl?  A turtle?  A fox?  A shark?

This morning's passage is Philippians 4:1-7 (NET)

1So then, my brothers and sisters, dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

2I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3Yes, I say also to you, true companion, help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.4Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! 5Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near! 6Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 7And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Conflict will arise in the best of situations: in that loving marriage, in that loving family, in that loving church, in that job situation, in any relationship into which you pour yourself ("joy and crown").  In the early verses of Philippians 4, we see that conflict has arisen between two godly women of the Philippian church.  And, although we are not told what it was, it was obviously no minor point of contention because it had come to Paul's attention.  In other words, someone had written him about it, and he felt compelled to intervene.  How did he do that?

1.  He reminds them all of their supreme worth to Him, to Paul and to each other.  He calls the believers whom he had won to the Lord "my joy and my crown".  He calls them his "dear friends", his "brothers and sisters".  When we have disagreements, our tendency is to alienate ourselves from each other, but Paul here is admonishing his dear ones to draw closer together in conflict.  Why?

2.  The goal is to find agreement.  Doing so is impossible if one of the parties runs away in avoidance. Doing so is impossible if one of the parties will do anything it takes to "win".   In verse 2, Paul begs the two women to "agree in the Lord".  What does that mean?   It means that each of their competing opinions must be held up to the standard of the Word of God, and that the Lord must govern their agreement.  Godly agreement is based on selflessness and on truthfulness.  Selfishness, lies and deception are tools of the Devil; they never lead to godly resolutions of conflict.

3.  Sometimes, outside wisdom is needed.  There are times when dear ones are so entrenched in their own positions that they prevent themselves from seeing a solution.  In verse 3, Paul appeals to a fellow brother to help these two ladies find a way through the conflict.  These types of situations often arise because the two sides have already ignored others' wants, needs, viewpoints.  This continues into a full-blown conflict, with the two sides becoming more and more blind to the opposing side's perspective and/or resolutions to the conflict.  An intermediary is needed to help one or both sides say, "Oh, I see it (a possible solution) now!"

4.  The importance of reasonableness is mentioned in verse 5.  The word "gentleness" is translated as "graciousness", "reasonableness" in other translations.  Agreement does not mean that one side "gives up" (turtle response) or that the other side "burns it down in order to be right" (shark response).

5.  The centrality of earnest prayer to counteract anxiety and to lead to peaceful resolutions.  I'm not talking about the type of prayer that is prayed to sway opinions.  You have, like me, heard people pray in public in order to lecture people through the praying.  I believe the admonition in verse 6 is for, first, personal, private prayer, and then for one-on-one or small group prayer, in order to draw closer to God, to align our requests more closely with His will, and to thereby hear more clearly the hearts of our brothers or sisters.

6.  The importance of rejoicing in all things.  This is a separate post in and of itself, but rejoicing in conflict is not my idea of a good time.  Not.at.all.  However, when we realize that God uses all things to conform us more and more into the image of His Son, we can even embrace conflict.  Rejoicing in all things brings peace, that supernatural peace which will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

So, we must not run from conflict in our most precious relationships.

I discovered a little tool this morning you might find interesting.  It is not a perfect tool for a Christian, because it doesn't take into consideration the Word of God or the moving of the Holy Spirit in the resolving of our conflicts.  But, it is instructive to show each of us how we tend to handle conflict.  Take it for a spin and see if it describes your natural tendencies well:

http://academic.engr.arizona.edu/vjohnson/ConflictManagementQuestionnaire/ConflictManagementQuestionnaire.asp

The website makes this point, and I agree with it:  no one style is appropriate at all times. Depending on the source of disagreement each can prove to be valuable.  "Is it a mountain worth dying on?" is an appropriate question here.  Note these examples from parenting:
1.  Your child gets dressed for school and did not put the clothes together in a way you would have chosen.  The entire look is modern, but not immodest.  You resolve the conflict more in the line of the "teddy bear" response, because it is not "a mountain worth dying on".
2.  Your child gets into the car with you and does not buckle his seatbelt.  You refuse to move the car until he "buckles up": shark response.  His safety in the car IS "a mountain worth dying on".

Again, love grounded in truth is the standard.

So, there are times when it is appropriate to use one conflict resolution strategy over another.  If, though, we treat each other as our "joy and crown", our relationships can survive our conflicts and become stronger for having made it through them.

Father,  please forgive me for when I have chosen the wrong approach to resolving conflicts in my life, and give me the wisdom to choose the right approach in the inevitable conflicts which arise, so that love and truth will reign.  In Jesus' name, amen.

An Essential Work

15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,18– since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength.

In verse 15, we see that Paul is commending the Ephesian church for, first of all, their faith in Jesus Christ and, second, for their love for their fellow believers.  This parallels the new "first and second commandments" Jesus enunciated in Matthew 22:38-39.  Paul is commending what he desires to see continue.  He issues similar commendations to the Colossian church (Col. 1:4, Philemon 1:5) and to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:13).

Paul goes on to say that he shows his love for the Ephesians by praying unceasingly for them.  What specifically does he pray?

• That God will give them wisdom as their knowledge of Him increases.  (They are not the same thing, you know -- - wisdom and knowledge.  You can know a lot about Jesus and not have Him in your heart.  You can have Him in your heart as Savior, and know a lot about Him and still not possess but a thimble-full of wisdom and discernment.)
• That they might have hope that His calling is steadfast, firm and sure.  (It's so easy to doubt that God is with us, isn't it?  So easy to doubt that He cares, at times?)
• That they might realize how very rich they are in Jesus Christ! 
• That, as believers, they might realize the extent of God's power (in their lives and in others')

I don't know about you, my readers, who are believers, but this has been my experience:  I don't pray for my fellow believers as much as I should.  There are about 1000 people who attend my church regularly, and while I pray for our church as a whole, I neglect to pray as much as I should for individuals with whom I minister, shoulder-to-shoulder.

See, Paul really believed that God would work, move, demonstrate His glory, in response to Paul's prayers.  Because he believed that so strongly, he prayed "unceasingly".  I have to question my own level of belief when confronted with my own comparative prayerlessness.  My prayers tend to be narrow and more "reactive" than "proactive".  In other words, if someone asks me to pray for them, I will.  But, do I pray for them "proactively", as Paul describes here?  Not so much.

Do you know what happens when we fail to pray for our brothers and sisters (our shoulder-buddies) in this fashion?  We run the risk of loving them poorly.

Let me give you a painful example, painful to me, at least.  I was confronted last week with the reality that I had failed a sister in Christ, one who was most definitely a "shoulder-buddy".  (Get the scene of two people hooked together like two oxen who bear the yoke on their backs in order to pull the wagon.)  She had given clues that she had unmet needs in our local Body of Christ, but I was oblivious.  (If you are now thinking, "This can't end well"....well, you are right.)

When we don't pray for each other, we are not "in tune" with one another.  We become like a wonderful orchestra whose instruments are slightly off-key.  And, as a result, instead of producing heavenly music, what's produced is a ghastly cacophony of sound.  Have you ever gone to hear a live symphony or band performance?  Before it begins, the instruments are all playing....whatever they want to.  Cacophony!  Then, the concertmaster, usually the first chair violin (orchestra) or first chair clarinet or oboe (band) silences the group by giving one long, clear note.  Immediately, the musicians tune their individual instruments to that one unifying note.  When they next start to play a beautiful piece of music it is just that....beautiful!

Prayer does that!  It unifies believers in the heavenly realms.  I don't understand prayer more than just a little tiny bit.  If you are an expert, then please enlighten me.  But, in my view, prayer is like looking through the keyhole....You can see a very limited view, and what you DO see is distorted! You have no idea what else is "out there", on the other side of the door.  Our perspective of prayer is like that! We pray, not being allowed to see all that our prayers accomplish!  That is God's way.
Sometimes, He allows us to see clear answers; a lot of the time, He does not.  Almost all the time, we have no clue as to the effectiveness of our prayers.  Accordingly, we tend to think prayer does not matter.  Many Christians view it as merely a Christian "convention", an archaic trapping of religious gatherings.

How sad, when the Bible makes clear that prayer is indispensable to the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged.

Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 18:1 And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

The Happy Pastor says this:  "Prayer is the essential work – everything else flows out of it: worship, evangelism, ministry."1

You know, I've noticed that, when I blog about prayer, I don't get many hits.  Christians don't like to read about prayer because, like me today, it stirs their hearts with conviction.  Non-Christians view it as "talking to the sky".  Maybe you are like me and are convicted about your "prayer life".  If so, then let's take deliberate steps to go before God's throne of grace more often.  What a wonderful privilege it is!

Pray your own closing prayer here today.  :)


Source:

1   https://thehappypastor.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/the-centrality-of-prayer/

Hoping for the Impossible

Romans 8 is like a treasure box.  Even though I wrote on it in yesterday's blog, I can't leave just yet. Today's emphasis is on verses 24-29 and 38-39.

24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Romans 8:24-29

As I've blogged about before1, Scripture is full of paradoxes.  One of those is that the resplendent walk is characterized by both grief and joy, the two mediated by faith/hope.  And, that's ok.  It's all part of the "conformation process" God has ordained for His own.

My scales are leaning toward the grieving side this morning, for a number of reasons.  I am grieving over a lost world, my country careening seemingly toward destruction and loved ones walking in disobedience.  Just last night, I learned of two "impossible" health situations .... Do you have any "weaknesses" this day?  These verses help to clarify our vision and to refuel our endurance and, yes, our joy.

In hope we were saved.  The Bible defines "hope" as "looking forward expectantly to a certainty". Just as faith that is "proven" is not faith, hope that is seen is not hope.  Paul mentions the critical element of endurance here.  The King James Version translates the word as "patience".  Patience and endurance.

You may today, like me, be facing a situation that looks "impossible".  The greatest weapon in our arsenals, Believers, is prayer.  And, praise God!  We can pray for "the impossible" not worrying about whether or not we are praying in the will of God.  As long as we are not knowingly praying against God's will, we can pray fervently.  Why?  Because the Spirit of Jesus Christ the Son, the Holy Spirit, intercedes for us2, the saints.  WE are "the saints", not because we are "saintly" every moment, but because we are His. The Holy Spirit, who IS God, would never intercede before the Father to pray anything that is against the will of Elohim (the plural name for our Triune Godhead).

So, regardless of your "impossibles" today, take them to the Lord in prayer.  Ask other believers to pray with you.  This is very important.  There is something mystically powerful about the accumulated prayers of God's children, Jesus' brothers and sisters.  Accessing the throne of God our Papa (Abba, Father! vs. 15 ) is our right as co-heirs with Jesus Christ.  Don't let the enemy deceive you into believing otherwise.

King David earnestly prayed and fasted over his ailing, failing toddler son, whose name we are not told.  It was an "impossible situation", from a human standpoint.  The child died (2 Samuel 12:18 ).
The prophet Elijah breathed into the body of a dead youngster and, by the will of God, the child returned to life (1 Kings 17:17-24).
The Giver of Life and all good things is our Papa, but He works things out according His perfect plan.  He is Sovereign.  And, He uses all circumstances in our lives to "conform us to His Son's image" (vs. 29), to shape our souls to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Don't give up or faint.  Don't stop hoping/"faithing", or praying for "the impossible".  Patiently endure!  We serve the High King of Heaven, the God of the Impossible! And remember, no matter what the outcome, we are loved more than we can imagine, by the One who died so that He could know us and we could know Him (vs. 38-39 KJV).

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Lord, I know that Your plans will always be more beautiful than all of my fears and "disappointments".  I understand that all the circumstances of my life enter my life with Your approval so that they will make me more like my Lord Jesus.  I thank You that you care enough to work Your sanctifying power inside of me.  There are days when my faith is weak.  If Your Holy Spirit did not live in me, the despair would be, at times, overwhelming.  I hold on to Your love at these times and to Your purposes, as You choose to reveal them.  I honor and worship You, my King. In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

1.  See resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com,  "Embracing the Paradoxes and Making the Trade", July 14, 2014.
2.  See resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com,  "Groanings Which Cannot Be Uttered", July 8, 2014.

When Siblings Sin

The other day I went hiking, by myself, in a state park.  The trail led alongside a steep cliff, down to a waterfall.  There were signs every few feet, warning hikers to "stay on the path!"  Those signs are there because the tendency for hikers is to get as close to the edge as possible, supposedly in the name of experiencing the hike to the fullest, or somesuch.  This is a great analogy of the Christian walk.  While Christians do not dwell in, wallow in sin (or else they are not truly Christians --- Galatians 5:21, for one...) there are times that we wander off the resplendent path.  What to do?

I'm continuing on in Galatians, almost ready to finish this Pauline letter.  Galatians 6:1-5, our text for this morning, is one of those neglected texts.  I have heard very few, if any sermons about it.  But, it is an important bit of teaching.  So, we are not going to gloss over it today.

Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. 2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.4 Let each one examine his own work. Then he can take pride in himself and not compare himself with someone else. 5 For each one will carry his own load.

First, notice that this passage (like the entire letter of Galatians) is addressed to believers, Christians. So, this is not to be applied to non-believers.  Regardless of an unbeliever's sin, their highest, greatest need is to enter in to a salvation relationship with Jesus Christ.  Trying to apply Galatians 6:1-5 to an unbeliever is like trying to "put lipstick on a pig" (to quote Sarah Palin, who I am deeply disappointed in, but that's another story...).  "Brothers and sisters" always refers to those who are Jesus Christ's children and followers, those forever saved by grace.

What Paul is doing here is instructing this young group of believers in how to deal with sin in the church, because Christians will lapse into sin.  "You who are spiritual" does not mean "the most perfect person in the church" - - - what a ridiculous concept!  It refers to a mature Christian who has examined his or her own work, as directed in verses 1 and 4.  We read in verse 2 that the Christian who has gotten bogged down in some sin - - that the situation is a burden to him.  Absolutely right! One of the marks of the Christian is that the HolySpirit will not leave him/her alone about a sin, but will pester and nudge and sometimes wallop until the believer confesses it and makes it right with those who have been wronged.

Mature believers who see another believer in a sin must, after self-examination, restore that brother or sister with gentleness.  Obviously, this is tricky business.

Sometimes, a brother or sister will confess his or her sin to a fellow believer, because this is scriptural:

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 5:16 NIV

In that case, the restoring brother/sister will listen with gentleness, comfort with gentleness, and advise with gentleness and pray for the other person.  It is a great blessing to be chosen by another believer in this way.  It is a sign of tremendous trust.  God promises His healing when we restore each other in this way.

At other times, believers do NOT realize their sin and go confess it to God and then to a fellow believer.  At still other times, believers DO realize their sin and don't want to confess it ... or give it up for that matter.  It is at those times that a loving brother or sister in the faith should prepare his or her heart and speak to the other person privately and gently about the matter.

What about that fellow believer who stubbornly refuses to confess and repent?  That's the subject of another blog post.  But, here are a couple of relevant scriptures for you to study:
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
1 Corinthians 5:9-13
And, if you want to read an excellent, thorough treatment of this subject, I highly recommend John MacArthur's commentary on it, which you can find here:
https://www.gty.org/resources/print/bible-qna/BQ081012

Here is where we fall down as the Body of Christ.  We simply do not do Galatians 6:1-5.  Let's just 'fess up, here.  We make all kinds of excuses to avoid doing it.  Here are a few:
"It's none of my business."
"If I'm honest with myself, I'm doing the same thing...or something worse."  (There's a real stinger!)
"It will ruin our relationship if I mention it."
"It's 'judging' ".  (total hogwash, and worthy of an entire blog post in the future! See the MacArthur link above, as a starting point.)

Let's consider for the moment the repercussions of not doing Galatians 6:1-5, of not examining ourselves, routinely confessing our own sins, and holding our fellow Christians accountable.
The number one, major result of this is a sin-filled church that not only doesn't win others to Christ, it propels them AWAY from our Savior!  A sin-filled, self-centered, hypocritical church is offensive to "the unsaved world", and it should be equally offensive to us, His Own.  Then, obviously, the sin is hurting the Christian who is sinning.  If we love our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we should long to see them restored.

In closing, let me emphasize that these matters MUST be bathed in fervent prayer.  Don't fire off the gun of your mouth with the hammer "half-cocked", as the expression goes.  When God lays on your heart to speak to a brother or sister in the spirit of this Galatians passage, hit your knees first...and stay there a while, listening to the Spirit give you wisdom and direction.  Then, proceed with gentleness, as the Scriptures command.

Father, first of all, make me even more diligent about allowing Your Spirit to root out my own sin, before I even notice the sins of my brothers and sisters.  On those occasions when you want me to speak to someone else, to share Your words with a burdened believer, fill my mouth, Lord.  Don't let me say one ungentle word, one unloving word or one word that is contrary to Your desires.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Minor and Unlikely

One of the many, great paradoxes of the Bible is that the only wise God, the omnipotent, omniscient God is also the God of the Minor.

Don't you just love it when we tell each other our stories?  I love to listen for God working in them. Just last week a friend had open-heart surgery.  Afterwards, there was a scary time when it was feared he had had a stroke.  God chose to answer the prayers of many of His children on this friend's behalf, and now he is almost "back to his old self".  We are praising Him for that.

I am so glad that He is concerned with, what on the world scale, must be considered "minor incidents" or "the little people".  I am so glad that He chooses "minor characters" to become the heroes in history ("His Story").  If He can choose and use Zechariah and Elizabeth, He can use anyone.  Their story is found in Luke 1:6-17.

Zechariah and Elizabeth, both of the Levitical tribe, that is, both descendants of Aaron, were (beyond that) just an ordinary, old couple.  Most folks paid them little attention, I'd guess.  In a society where most things centered on the large, extended family, this old couple had none.  This is because, while they should have been at least grandparents and perhaps great-grandparents, they had no offspring, no descendants.  They were pretty much alone.  To their credit, we read in verse 6 that, despite what had to be this deep disappointment, they continued to honor God with their lives.  Two ordinary, old people whom God chose to play a leading role in mankind's redemption story, not in their timeframe, but in His.

At the beginning of the A.D. era there were approximately 7000 Levitical priests serving at the Jerusalem temple.  These were laymen, who only served there two weeks out of the year.  One of Zechariah's "weeks" fell during the feast of Yom Kippur, during the year in which this story is set. Of the hundreds of priests serving that week, Zechariah's name was drawn "at random" to go into the most holy place of the Temple ("the Holy of Holies") and make an incense offering.  This was a very rare honor.  Most priests like Zechariah would live all of their lives without having their name drawn. You might say he "won the lottery".  Then, if that were not miraculous or unlikely enough, he sees an angel, who delivers to him a miraculous message.

It is very significant that there had been no "word" from God since the book of Malachi was written, 400 years earlier.  There had been no recorded angelic appearances, no prophets. Don't be fooled, though.  God was not idle, even if He was "silent".  I am sure that many had decided that Jehovah's dealings with the Jews were "ancient history" and irrelevant to "modern people".  Not Zechariah or Elizabeth, however.  Their faith had not wavered.  What an inspiration they are!

Even so, when Zechariah saw the angel Gabriel and heard his message, his faith wavered.  Who can blame him?  Certainly not me!  (Most likely I would have pulled a "Sarah", and laughed.)  At any rate, Zechariah (whose name means "God Remembers") and his wife Elizabeth (whose name means "My God Keeps His Word") conceived and birthed that promised son.  And, Zechariah, who had been struck mute in the most holy place, found his tongue freed to praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when asked about the name of his newborn boy.  John - - - an unusual, one-of-a-kind name - - for an unusual, chosen boy.  This boy was filled with God's spirit while still in his mother's womb, causing him to leap for joy there when he heard the voice of His Savior's mother for the first time. God is sovereign, faithful and good.

In today's picture the old woman's hand holds the hand of her toddler son.  There are no "unlikelies" with my God.  Nothing is minor to Him.  You may be praying, as I am, for a Christmas miracle this season.  Keep praying.  God is listening.  He bends down to hear the whispered prayer of the broken, the anguished, the weary.  Keep praying.  He longs to give us not only our needs, but the desires of our hearts.

Oh Lord, Seer of All Hearts, You know our needs.  And, You know our deepest desires.  Your grace begins with giving us more of You, and Your blessings flow from that priceless gift.  None of us, none of our needs are either minor or unlikely.  Thank you for meeting them in the most unlikely of ways.  I love You, Lord, and praise You for Your goodness.  In Jesus' name, amen.  

Source:

Voskamp, Ann. The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. 

Embraces and Heartbeats

Good afternoon,

When I picture David in my mind, the first mental picture is of him dancing in fearless, fervent praise before His Lord (2 Samuel 6:12-14).  He was leading a parade down "main street", leaping and dancing, wearing nothing but a linen ephod (whatever that is).  I think it's safe to assume that he was scantily clad...

This behavior may make us shake our heads in wonder and maybe even have a sanctimonious response as did one of David's wives, Michal, (vs. 16).  It is David's same exuberant love for His God that led him to write Psalm 150.

1 

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary!

Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength!

2 

Praise him for his mighty acts!

Praise him for his surpassing greatness!

3 

Praise him with the blast of the horn!

Praise him with the lyre and the harp!

4 

Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing!

Praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!

5 

Praise him with loud cymbals!

Praise him with clanging cymbals!

6 

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

In addition to being a masterful musician (harpist and songwriter) ... and apparently dancer, the Bible tells us that David was "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22).  The Message translation puts it like this:   He’s a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.

Some of the sweetest moments in life come from embraces:  holding a newborn loved one, lying in bed with your spouse, holding in your arms a loved one who is insane with grief.  In those embraces and in others our hearts beat together.  Our spirits commune with one another as we share love with each other. Our hearts beat to their hearts.

When we pray together, even across time and space, our hearts are beating together.  It is such a mystical truth that, when we lift up our hearts in prayer together, our united "heartbeats" touch the heart of our Father in Heaven, hallowed be His matchless name!

David was a man who was not without troubles; neither are we.  In fact, if you look at God's blessing on your life as an absence of troubles, you will be deceived.  David was chased by Saul (Ps. 59 & 63) or frequently defended himself against enemies (Ps. 7) or had to deal with the many ungodly antics of his sons (2 Samuel).  Despite his challenges and hardships, we still see his name in the Hebrews 11 roll call of faith and this commendation in Acts 13:22.  Why is that?!

No matter what David was experiencing, he almost always ran into the embrace of His God.  Often, he wrote a psalm while there.  When God was holding David in His arms, David was able to hear the heartbeat of God, in all kinds of situations - - - wonderful ones...and awful ones.

This is one of the greatest things about prayer, no matter what circumstance impels us to pray.  We may arrive there frantic, desperate or thankful or joyful or serene.  But, no matter what our state when we arrive, He embraces us so that we can feel and hear His heartbeat, so that our hearts can align with His, so that we can discern His will or, if not discerning it, so that we can pray that His will will be done here in the middle of our circumstances.

I'll be honest.  There are times when I don't want to pray that His will will be done in a given situation.  Or, there are other things the Holy Spirit prompts me to do, and I don't want to do them. Does that ever happen to you?  But, the verse in Acts tells us that a key to why David's heart did beat steadily with God's was not just because he crawled up into God's lap; it was also because David was consistently obedient to God's revealed will.  The New King James Version puts the end of Acts 13:22 like this:  a man "who will do all my will".

"I will arise and go to Jesus.  He will embrace me in His arms.  In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are 10,000 charms." 1

His heartbeat...can you hear it?

Dear Father, thank you for Your all-surpassing greatness, Your perfect knowledge in every situation, Your flawless plan.  Thank you for calling us to a life of walking by faith, which has as a perk the permission to run and jump up into your lap on a moment's notice.    Thank you for sharing Your heart with us, as we walk in obedience to Your Word, and as we draw near to You.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LFW6pXC2wk  I love this choral arrangement of the old hymn...

Genie God

Good morning,

After yesterday's exhaustive post, we are going to change gears a bit.  I'm reading (for pleasure) a book by a man named Derek Prince, a saint who has gone on to be with Jesus.

In his early years, Dr. Prince was a professor of philosophy at Oxford University, in England.  Then, he got conscripted into the British military service.  A scholar of Plato, he had read all of Plato's works, in the original Greek.  Dr. Prince was a very learned man.  He had been meaning to read the Bible, simply because so much of philosophy made little sense intellectually, in answering the big questions of life, such as "Where did I come from?"  "Where am I going?"  "Why am I here?"  So, when he packed up his battle gear, he took a copy of the Bible along.

"Through reading the Bible, however, I met the Author.  And once I met the Author the book made the most wonderful sense to me.  I found there the answers that I had not found in philosophy.  I found a description of the beginning of things that explained me to myself.  When I read the story of the creation of man in Genesis 1-3, I understood what was going on inside of me."

Hallelujah!  Derek Prince went on to become a great prayer warrior.  He wrote a book, the one I'm now reading, called Secrets of a Prayer Warrior.  I began to read this book a few years ago, but never finished it, for some reason.  It is easy to read, but hard to digest.  Do you know what I mean?  There are things about prayer that I don't think I'll ever truly understand, no matter how well explained.

At any rate, in chapter 5, Dr. Prince shares his thoughts on The Lord's Prayer, one of my most favorites.  So, we are going to deconstruct it here.  Some of these thoughts are his and some are from other sources.  First, the passage itself - - Matthew 6:5-15 (NKJV)

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place;and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.[c]

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Verses 5 and 6 remind me of the prayer habits of the women in the movie War Room, which I've mentioned here recently.  Of course, we can pray anywhere, but going to a special place repeatedly to pray and doing so diligently with faithfulness is often helpful in order to maintain a consistent, effective prayer life.  Whether we clean out a closet and literally pray inside of it or not, it is absolutely vital that we pray consistently and fervently.  (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

The main point Jesus was making in those two verses in Matthew 6, though, was not to pray in order to "show-off" in front of others.  On the other hand, I've been in small groups as well as large groups of Christians who, when given the opportunity to pray out loud, decline to do so.  That is not what the Lord wants either.  Some of us are so timid about the very important function of corporate prayer (several believers praying together) that they simply will not do it aloud.  Dr. Prince makes the following comment about persistent prayer, using as an example the church of Jerusalem who prayed for Peter's release from prison in Acts 12.
"Sometimes God will not work merely through the prayer of an individual.  It takes the corporate prayer of a group of committed believers praying together."  Most Christians instinctively know this through the Holy Spirit, and that is why we ask other believers to pray for us about various things.

There is an important principle in verse 8.  What do we usually do when we pray?  We go straight to "Gimme, gimme, gimme", don't we?  It is as if we think that God somehow does not know what we need or that we think he is some sort of magic genie!  Some have described this as "vending machine prayer".  Jesus, in His example of how we should pray, points out that this is clearly "not cool".  It's not that we should not lay our needs at God's feet.  It is just that it is irreverent and disrespectful to ignore the praise, thanksgiving and worship aspects of prayer.

Jesus began, "Our Father, who is in Heaven, Your name is hallowed."   That is adoration, a statement of faith, an exclamation of praise, an attitude of submission and worship.  You might find it helpful to begin your time of prayer with a psalm or with a collection of praise verses.  Beth Moore has written a book called, Praying God's Word.  The subtitle is, "Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds".  Wow!  Her assertion, a biblical one, is that when we pray back to God the promises and truths of His written Word, we are breaking Satan's strong chains that have attached themselves to various aspects of our lives.  Amen to that!  Back on point, however, this book contains many compilations of scripture on various topics.  One such chapter concerns overcoming idolatry.  The scriptures compiled in that chapter are scriptures that exalt the name and glory and various attributes of God. These are wonderful to pray back to our Father, in worship, to exalt His magnificent, matchless name.  There are other, such as Baillie's A Diary of Private Prayer.  I was bemused to see that, when I took a break and went to read aloud the morning prayers for Day Eight (I did this after having started to blog about The Lord's Prayer) that very prayer was featured.  God makes no "coincidences".

Have you ever been confused about which Person of the Trinity to pray to?  Sometimes I am.  On the one hand, I think you can pray to any of the Three or to all at one time.  Perhaps it is a moot point. Usually, I pray to the Father, as Jesus did.  It is only through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that God becomes our true Father.  I only mention this because it is a matter I find a little confusing...

"Hallowed" - - what does that mean?  It means "holy".  When we pray this, we are acknowledging the utter perfectness, the holiness of our Father.  That realization and acknowledgement should bring us to our spiritual "knees" in reverence.  His name is completely holy.  Matthew Henry has this to say about that:

1. Hallowed be thy name. It is the same word that in other places is translated sanctified. But here the old word hallowed is retained, only because people were used to it in the Lord's prayer. In these words, (1.) We give glory to God; it may be taken not as a petition, but as an adoration; as that, the Lord be magnified, or glorified, for God's holiness is the greatness and glory of all his perfections. We must begin our prayers with praising God, and it is very fit he should be first served, and that we should give glory to God, before we expect to receive mercy and grace from him. Let him have praise of his perfections, and then let us have the benefit of them.

We'll continue our study of prayer tomorrow.

O Lord, my God, You re very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.  You wrap Yourself in light as with a garment.  You stretch out the heaves like a tent and lay the beams of Your upper chambers on their waters.  You make the clouds Your chariot and ride on the wings of the wind.  You make winds Your messengers, flames of fire Your servants.  (Psalm 104:1-4)

Sources:
http://www.lords-prayer-words.com/meaning_commentary_matthew_henry_2.html#ixzz3l9ynPJC5
Moore, Beth. Praying God's Word. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2009. Print.
Prince, Derek. Secrets of a Prayer Warrior. Grand Rapids: Chosen, 2009. Print.
Bailie, John. A Diary of Private Prayer. N.p.: Charles Scribners & Sons, 1949. Print.

War Room

Good morning,

Last week, right in the middle of the play performances, I needed a break, lol!  The movie, "War Room", was in its opening weekend.  Because I had heard that it was a great movie with a Christian message, I asked Hubster to take me to see it Saturday night.  If it was "that good", I wanted to give my money on opening weekend.

I was not disappointed --- great movie.  If you have not seen it, and you are a Christian, go. (Even if you are not a believer, you will find it provocative.)

Why blog about this?

Yesterday, I mentioned that I'm preparing for a mission trip to Peru.  I've been asked to teach Bible to a group of Peruvian ladies in Cusco.  One of the topics I've been asked to teach on is how the women can lead in their churches.

The religious culture of Peru is highly Roman Catholic.  There are a few charismatic Christian churches there as well.  The group we will be working with is called Zona Zegura.  It seeks to make Christian converts and start home churches, of which, last I heard, they had about 12 active, vibrant home-churches established.

This is, of course, a very different model from what we have here in the States, for the most part. There are no huge Sunday School programs to oversee, no children's choirs, etc.

The movie, "War Room", dealt with relationships, specifically relational troubles between human and God, and between husband and wife.  Some of you may find this strange, but before women can minister effectively in the church, regardless of that church's design, first their relationships with God, and then with their husbands (and children) must be right.
That's where we will begin.

We have a mutt dog, named Charlie. He loves to go to the park, which is allowed by city law, as long as he stays on a leash.  However, my idea of walking in the park and his idea of the same are totally different.  Charlie's path is not linear.  It is zig-zaggy, wherever his nose leads him.  He smells everything, licks most things, pees on a few things to mark his territory and, yes, usually wants to make a big...."deposit" (which I, as a dutiful citizen, then clean up).

Let's consider Romans 8:14 (NIV).

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

We who are Christ-followers must allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead us.  We do not lead the Holy Spirit as Charlie wants to do at the park.

The Greek word for "are led" in Romans 8:14 is ἄγονται, , or "agontai".
The meaning or word picture is of an animal being led on a rope or bridle .... or leash.  We get an English word from this Greek word, and it is "agony".  Are you surprised?  Probably not.  Even for the transformed, redeemed soul, the human will does not want to be led.  It is an agonizing struggle. Yet, it is one we must face.

Before we can lead anyone else, we must allow ourselves to be led by God's Spirit.
Ok, so HOW do we do that?
The beautiful message of "War Room" showed us the way.  It's not "magic"; but, well, it IS supernatural.

We are led by the Holy Spirit when we can hear His voice and follow.  And, how do we hear it?  By immersing ourselves in prayer and in the Word of God daily.  (You knew that was coming, didn't you? Oh, I feel the tension in the rope.  The digging in of the heels has begun!  Beloved, I feel your agony because I resisted for over 50 years.)  This is where the battle begins, where leadership begins. If this is not right, none of the rest will be right.  This holy relationship is the foundation for all Christian leadership.  To lead well, we must first follow.

"Lord, I want to learn how to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I know that You sent Him to be a Leader and a Guide for my life, so today I open my heart to Him. I ask You to help me learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice and to know what He is leading me to do. With all my heart, I request that You help me become sensitive to Him so that He can lead me in all the paths You have designed for my life".1  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:
1 http://www.renner.org/holy-spirit/learning-to-follow-the-leader/
2 http://biblehub.com/text/romans/8-14.htm

Do Our Prayers Really Matter?

Good morning!

Do our prayers really matter?

James was the son of Mary and Joseph, Jesus' half-brother.  After Jesus' resurrection James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem until his martyrdom.

In chapter 5 of his book, verses 13-18, he is talking about the power of prayer.  The centerpiece of this passage is verse 16:  "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."  James then cites the example of Elijah, who prayed for 3.5 years that there would be no rain on the earth in his country.  And, God withheld rain.  Afterwards, Elijah prayed that it would rain; and, God then sent rain.

2 Kings 20:1-11  In this passage, King Hezekiah had been told by God that his days were short.  God basically said, "Get your house in order, boy, 'cuz you are comin' home!"  Hezekiah was appalled to hear this and begged God to give him more time.  As a result, God gave him 15 additional years.

Can our prayers change God's mind?  It appears so.  In fact, in other parts of the Old Testament, God says that He was sorry that he had created man (Genesis 6 The Message version) and that they had broken His heart.  This led Him to bring the Great Flood on the earth.

When the Scriptures record Abraham "bargaining" with God in Genesis 18:23-33, it appears that God changed His mind.  This is one of the most amazing portions of Scripture, because it is recorded that God took on human form (theologians call this a theophany of Jesus Christ) and came walking across the desert with two angels beside Him, to visit Abraham.  And, then, we read that Abraham had the gall to beg God to change His mind!

The point I want to focus on here is that God wants us to commune with Him in prayer.  Does He really change His mind?  I don't think so.  Our God knows all, from beginning to end.  He knows what will happen in every circumstance long before it begins to unfold in our time-bound earth.  The psalmist said that God "does whatever He pleases" (Psalm 115:3).  However, when we pray, He is allowing us to deepen our relationship with Him by having a part in His marvelous, perfect will.

It appears that the two actions are contradictory, and it is a tremendous mystery, but they are not.  God's all-knowing (omniscience) and His all-powerful (omnipotent) attributes allow our prayers to make an earthshaking difference.  Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 that if we pray in faith that a mountain will be moved, it will happen.  That is an amazing statement!

God created and established prayer, prayed in faith, as a powerful weapon in the ongoing spiritual war, in which we play a powerful role.  A key element of effective prayer is that we believe our prayers make a difference.  Someone once said that if our prayers are the key, our faith is what puts the key into the lock and turns it.

One of the most effective weapons of the enemy, that old devil, is to convince us that our prayers don't matter.  There is a school of philosophical thought called nihilism which says basically that nothing we do matters.  The belief that prayer is meaningless is born out of this satanic school of thought.  Don't fall for it, Believer!

Believe what the Scriptures say, even though we have in this life an unclear understanding of how prayer works.  Keep on faithfully praying!  It will strengthen your relationship with your Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, please help me to remember to pray to You about even the most minute circumstances of my life.  I want to be more dependent on You, as opposed to "driving the wagon" myself.  Thank you for giving me the privilege of deepening our relationship through prayer.  I am so grateful that You hear me 24 hours a day and forever.  You, the God of the Universe!  I don't understand it; but, I am so very grateful for Your indescribable love.  In Jesus' name, amen.    

"No, Slow, Go"

Good morning!

Today, I want to share more about prayer.  I've heard some say, "I don't feel like my prayers are heard."  I touched on this at the beginning of yesterday's post.  But, remember, the truth of God stands, in spite of our feelings.  The promises of God are reliable.  He never lies, nor does He ever fail.

So, don't pray based on your feelings.  Faith is not governed by feelings.  Basically, your feelings can lead you astray.  Prayer, like much of the Christian life, must be a conscious act of the will, an act of obedience.

"But, I don't know what to pray for...."  There are two things which you can pray for that will always be right.

The first is to pray that God will have His way in every situation about which you are praying...that regardless of the outcome He will receive the glory in it.  For example, a loved one is very ill.  You pray that God will heal him or her, but you are concerned that this may not be God's will.  Pray for healing and that God will be glorify Himself in the situation.  To pray this way is not to pray against the will of God.  We are told in James 5:14-15 to pray for the sick, that they might recover.

The second is to pray the Scriptures.  I had a boss several years ago who shared with me that she prayed every morning Psalm 91 over our school.  If you read that psalm, you'll see it is asking God for His divine protection.

Christian brother, sister, don't worry that God is not hearing your prayers.  He is.  And, he will answer.  One of my former pastors, Ike Reighard, used this little phrase to help us remember how God answers prayer.  The phrase is:  "No, Slow, Go."

Sometimes, God's answer to our prayers is "no".  This is when He reveals to us that our petition, our request is not one that He knows is best.  So, as a good Parent, He says, "no".

Sometimes, God's answer is "yes" or "go".  In those cases, we see that He grants our request.  Or, He speaks to our hearts and lets us know that He wants us to move forward with what we were praying about.

Sometimes, God's answer is "not right now" or "slow".  These are the hardest, because these are the times when we feel like He is not listening, that our prayers don't "rise past he ceiling".  These are the situations that deepen our faith.  I want to share with you an illustration that helps me in these times.  Basically, one of my besetting sins is wanting to control situations and people.  I have a forceful, passionate nature, one of those "git 'er done" types.  Predictably, things sometimes don't go the way I think they should, and I get all twisted up about it.  I've had to learn to pray through these times and turn situation after situation after situation over to God.  I'm STILL learning this, Friends!

Right now, I have one of those "slow" situations that is tearing my heart in two.  If you do too, we are right there together, in the spiritual trenches.  But, our Savior, Father and Spirit are right there with us!

Have you ever looked at a piece of needlepoint?  If you look at it from the area that is to be viewed and appreciated, you see a beautiful scene (well, not if I did it, but if a master of needlepoint did!).  However, if you turn it over, you do not see beauty.  You see knots, and sometimes threads all crossed up.  The picture on the underside, behind the scenes, resembles nothing like the beauty that is on the viewing surface.

This is much like how God works in our lives to answer our prayers.  Often, He does not choose to answer them the way we would like!  In those cases, He is asking us to trust Him, to yield to Him, to see things the way that He sees them.

Lord, again this morning, remind us of how much You love to commune with us in prayer.  Help us to remember to exercise the discipline of prayer throughout the day as we go about what You have called us to do.  Help us to remember that, if our hearts are sincere, we can't "pray wrong", and even if we do, your Holy Spirit "helps our infirmities" (Rom. 8:26).  You know how we are formed, because You formed us!  You remember that we were created from the dust of the earth.  (Psalm 103:14).  Yet, You love us with an everlasting love.  Draw us to You with those cords of love today.  In the precious and matchless name of Jesus, Amen.