A little food for weekend thought...on prayer (Part I)
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." Eph.6:18
"I call on You, my God, for You will answer me; turn Your ear to me and hear my prayer." (Ps.17:6)
Prayer is hard work--or at least it is for me. I'm so easily distracted--"prone to wander, Lord, I feel it!"--and prayer time can quickly degenerate into a sudden remembrance of miscellaneous things I "need" to do or into a laundry list of requests that are focused more on wants than needs, more on physical than spiritual, more on family and friends rather than also on God's big world and His big, grand redemptive plan.
Now praise God He hears us and loves us and answers prayer--according to His perfect will--even with our (or at least my) piddly, sometimes shallow and self-focused prayers. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't aim higher! We're told repeatedly to pray, because there is great power in prayer. Prayer brings the supernatural, transforming, redeeming power of Almighty God to bear in this world and in our lives. The One who knows all and can do all wants us to communicate with Him--to come to Him as our beloved Abba, our Daddy. Why on earth wouldn't we?
Moreover, communication with those we love isn't confined to a laundry list of things that need to get done, right? My brothers and sisters and I loved and adored our earthly daddy, and when we talked to him, we talked about all sorts of things, all sorts of challenges, all sorts of concerns, all sorts of joys. We laughed. We wept. We spoke. We listened. We learned. We cried out. We asked. We thanked. We requested. And we didn't communicate only in some daily one shot deal. No, we talked and shared whenever we were around our earthly daddy.
Shouldn't that reflect our communication with our Heavenly Daddy? All sorts of communication, all sorts of emotion, and at all sorts of times? Praising and worshipping Him throughout the day--"Oh Father, thank You for that sunrise...Praise You for Your glorious grace...Thank You for those that I love...Praise You for Your steadfast love...Thank You for these eyes to see, ears to hear, feet to walk, tongue to taste, hands to hold...Praise You that Your mercies are not just "new every morning" but new every moment of every day and every night!
But not just praising and thanking....also confessing and requesting and listening. Speaking His supernatural Word back to Him--not because He needs to hear but because we do and because there is real power in the Word of God, and in the spoken Word of God.
The bottom line for me, and I suspect for most of us, is to stop searching for some perfect formula of prayer and simply start--and continue--speaking to the Perfect Object of our prayer.
And who is that Perfect Object? He is the righteous, holy, omniscient, omnipotent, all-gracious, all-forgiving, all-loving, all-sufficient, all-sovereign, infinite, eternal Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
We have the privilege and the joy of coming to such an Almighty One and calling Him my Father, my Abba, my Daddy. To call that astounding and stunning is completely inadequate. So we'll just call it glorious and wondrous beyond all imagining.
So in this new week the Lord has so graciously given us, let's keep those lines of communication with our Heavenly Father constantly open. Let's come to Him with our sorrows and joys, our challenges and triumphs, our doubts and questions, our confessions and our praises. Don't hold back and don't give up. No matter what, let's never quit or give up! For as He's told us in His Word--
"Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." (Lk 18:1)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Phil. 4:6)
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col.4:2)
Father, thank You for Your priceless and wondrous gift of prayer. Teach us to pray, Lord. Help us to pray. Give us we ask--for You know how we need even this--the will and desire to pray. We are weak..but You are strong.
And help us, Abba, in the words of I Thess.5:17, to "pray continually." Starting today. Starting now.
To God be the glory.
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Our Almighty God and His unshakeable Kingdom
Sometimes life can be complicated and confusing...or downright frightening and discouraging. Our culture feels like it's coming apart at the seams with vitriol flying in every direction. The news relentlessly bombards us with killings, bombings, kidnappings and on and on. Not to mention we're all facing the challenges of getting older and wearier.
And then God steps in to remind us of Who is really in charge. Who is truly sovereign and perfect in all His ways and dealings. Who will never run out of energy or wisdom or power or grace or forgiveness. Who is always and forever steadfast in His perfect love. Who will never ever leave us nor forsake us. Who is always and eternally for us, never against us.
In case you need reminding: "'To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?' says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because He is strong in power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?' Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:25-31)
That is our God, and there is none other!
But if you, like me, can sometimes be a spiritual amnesiac who not only forgets but is prone to wander along the barren, dead-end paths of worry and anxiety, here are a couple of sentences that resonated deeply within me. The more you contemplate them, the more they will encourage and strengthen your heart, for they are truth. And here they are--
"You are one in whom Christ dwells and delights. And you live in the strong and unshakeable Kingdom of God. His Kingdom is not in trouble, and neither are you." James K. Smith
Slow down and really think about that! In fact, put your name in there: "I am one in whom Christ dwells and delights. And I live in the strong and unshakable Kingdom of God. His Kingdom is not in trouble, and neither am I."
Yes, yes, yes!
The God of the universe dwells inside of you. Amazing. And He doesn't just put up with you (which would be remarkable in itself), but He positively delights in you. Mind blown. And no matter how crazy this world, how chaotic your life, His Kingdom is strong and absolutely unshakeable. Hear that--utterly unshakeable! And He's totally, completely, and eternally got it all and got you. No one and nothing can defeat or deter His Kingdom, and He's perfectly in control and untroubled by all that's going on. Because guess what? It's all, all, all a part of His good, perfect and pleasing plan and will. And that means you and I can resign our sham positions as worriers of the world and managers of the universe!
Thank You, Father! Thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Holy Spirit!
Today and everyday, might we live and move in this truth--that Christ dwells and delights in us. That we live in His strong and unshakeable Kingdom. And that His Kingdom is not now, not ever, in trouble...and neither are we.
You can unclench those jaws and relax those tight fists, because He's got it. And He's got you. Praise His great and glorious, His unshakeable and unconquerable name. To God be the glory.
And then God steps in to remind us of Who is really in charge. Who is truly sovereign and perfect in all His ways and dealings. Who will never run out of energy or wisdom or power or grace or forgiveness. Who is always and forever steadfast in His perfect love. Who will never ever leave us nor forsake us. Who is always and eternally for us, never against us.
In case you need reminding: "'To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?' says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because He is strong in power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?' Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:25-31)
That is our God, and there is none other!
But if you, like me, can sometimes be a spiritual amnesiac who not only forgets but is prone to wander along the barren, dead-end paths of worry and anxiety, here are a couple of sentences that resonated deeply within me. The more you contemplate them, the more they will encourage and strengthen your heart, for they are truth. And here they are--
"You are one in whom Christ dwells and delights. And you live in the strong and unshakeable Kingdom of God. His Kingdom is not in trouble, and neither are you." James K. Smith
Slow down and really think about that! In fact, put your name in there: "I am one in whom Christ dwells and delights. And I live in the strong and unshakable Kingdom of God. His Kingdom is not in trouble, and neither am I."
Yes, yes, yes!
The God of the universe dwells inside of you. Amazing. And He doesn't just put up with you (which would be remarkable in itself), but He positively delights in you. Mind blown. And no matter how crazy this world, how chaotic your life, His Kingdom is strong and absolutely unshakeable. Hear that--utterly unshakeable! And He's totally, completely, and eternally got it all and got you. No one and nothing can defeat or deter His Kingdom, and He's perfectly in control and untroubled by all that's going on. Because guess what? It's all, all, all a part of His good, perfect and pleasing plan and will. And that means you and I can resign our sham positions as worriers of the world and managers of the universe!
Thank You, Father! Thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Holy Spirit!
Today and everyday, might we live and move in this truth--that Christ dwells and delights in us. That we live in His strong and unshakeable Kingdom. And that His Kingdom is not now, not ever, in trouble...and neither are we.
You can unclench those jaws and relax those tight fists, because He's got it. And He's got you. Praise His great and glorious, His unshakeable and unconquerable name. To God be the glory.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Funerals...and being revived!
"Will you not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation." (Ps.85:6-7)
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." (Ps.19:7-8)
Yesterday, the LORD gave me--and many others--the reviving experience of remembering and celebrating a life well lived to the glory of God--the life of Marilyn Lovett. Yes, surely it was a time of grieving and great sadness for her family and close friends. But at the same time, for all of us who were privileged to be there, it was also a time of laughter, rejoicing (and even some gentle conviction!) and recalling her incredible love for the Lord, for His Word, for His work, and for the people He had put in her path.
Although I didn't know her well, she was obviously a woman of tremendous intellect, drive, creativity, organization, and love for those around her. She was not just a "hearer" but a "doer" of the Word--and oh my, shouldn't that be true of everyone of us? I've never laughed so much and so hard at a funeral, and much of what I heard about her, reminded me of my dear Mama--especially in her relentless quest for everyone to use proper, grammatical english! "It's so-and-so and ME," not "I" she'd immediately correct everyone of us, no matter the occasion, the place, or the time.
But in contemplating all of this, I wanted to share a few brief observations. First, funerals can be excellent times for recalibrating our lives and our priorities. We can't help but be reminded at funerals that life is short, death is real, and eternity is coming. So we want to make each day on our all-too-brief spin around the planet count to the glory of God.
As I've heard it said, it's not YOLO but YOLF--"You only live forever." And since we're all going to live forever, how we live today can resonate for our good and for His glory forever...or not. Living in light of eternity infuses our everyday actions and choices with the potential weight of glory. Oh Father, help us to live this day well...to fix our eyes on You, to love--by your grace--You and others, and to live it all, all, all to Your glory.
But secondly, I was reminded how essential it is, especially in our busy, fast-paced culture, to daily come apart and spend time in God's Word. Marilyn was a woman who clearly loved God's Word, and His Word obviously sustained, energized, and revived her on a daily basis. Ps.19:7 puts it succinctly--God's perfect law revives our soul. Through His Word, our Heavenly Father revives our parched and weary souls...and when we are revived, we will find ourselves rejoicing. When I start feeling bone-dry, I've inevitably considered my schedule too "busy" to allow time quietly savoring, enjoying, and being fed and revived by God's supernatural Word.
So today, if you're feeling weary and worn, choose first to remember that life is short but eternity is both forever and unimaginably glorious. Fix your gaze on Jesus and live for His glory today, knowing that today's choices matter. And secondly, choose to put aside your to-do list and your all-consuming cell phone (or whatever is sucking up all your time and attention!) and instead come apart with the Lord and His Word. You will find yourself being filled and refilled, revived and restored. His Word never, ever disappoints, and His mercies are new every morning, every day.
Thank You, LORD, for Your ever-reviving Presence and Word. Help us this day and everyday to come to You and be revived and restored. Life is short...but You are good, Your Word is wondrous, and eternity will be glorious. And thank You for the life of saints like Marilyn. Help us to live to Your glory as well until You choose to take us Home.
To God be the glory.
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." (Ps.19:7-8)
Yesterday, the LORD gave me--and many others--the reviving experience of remembering and celebrating a life well lived to the glory of God--the life of Marilyn Lovett. Yes, surely it was a time of grieving and great sadness for her family and close friends. But at the same time, for all of us who were privileged to be there, it was also a time of laughter, rejoicing (and even some gentle conviction!) and recalling her incredible love for the Lord, for His Word, for His work, and for the people He had put in her path.
Although I didn't know her well, she was obviously a woman of tremendous intellect, drive, creativity, organization, and love for those around her. She was not just a "hearer" but a "doer" of the Word--and oh my, shouldn't that be true of everyone of us? I've never laughed so much and so hard at a funeral, and much of what I heard about her, reminded me of my dear Mama--especially in her relentless quest for everyone to use proper, grammatical english! "It's so-and-so and ME," not "I" she'd immediately correct everyone of us, no matter the occasion, the place, or the time.
But in contemplating all of this, I wanted to share a few brief observations. First, funerals can be excellent times for recalibrating our lives and our priorities. We can't help but be reminded at funerals that life is short, death is real, and eternity is coming. So we want to make each day on our all-too-brief spin around the planet count to the glory of God.
As I've heard it said, it's not YOLO but YOLF--"You only live forever." And since we're all going to live forever, how we live today can resonate for our good and for His glory forever...or not. Living in light of eternity infuses our everyday actions and choices with the potential weight of glory. Oh Father, help us to live this day well...to fix our eyes on You, to love--by your grace--You and others, and to live it all, all, all to Your glory.
But secondly, I was reminded how essential it is, especially in our busy, fast-paced culture, to daily come apart and spend time in God's Word. Marilyn was a woman who clearly loved God's Word, and His Word obviously sustained, energized, and revived her on a daily basis. Ps.19:7 puts it succinctly--God's perfect law revives our soul. Through His Word, our Heavenly Father revives our parched and weary souls...and when we are revived, we will find ourselves rejoicing. When I start feeling bone-dry, I've inevitably considered my schedule too "busy" to allow time quietly savoring, enjoying, and being fed and revived by God's supernatural Word.
So today, if you're feeling weary and worn, choose first to remember that life is short but eternity is both forever and unimaginably glorious. Fix your gaze on Jesus and live for His glory today, knowing that today's choices matter. And secondly, choose to put aside your to-do list and your all-consuming cell phone (or whatever is sucking up all your time and attention!) and instead come apart with the Lord and His Word. You will find yourself being filled and refilled, revived and restored. His Word never, ever disappoints, and His mercies are new every morning, every day.
Thank You, LORD, for Your ever-reviving Presence and Word. Help us this day and everyday to come to You and be revived and restored. Life is short...but You are good, Your Word is wondrous, and eternity will be glorious. And thank You for the life of saints like Marilyn. Help us to live to Your glory as well until You choose to take us Home.
To God be the glory.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Don't miss the beauty along the way
The other day my daughter and I went on a long, lovely hike. Emphasis on both "long" and "lovely." The views were spectacular and the hiking was plenty challenging--in fact, this old bird had a bit of trouble trying to keep up with our daughter. Eight mile hike? Piece of cake, I was thinking...two hours max.
Ugh, wrong. That might be two hours on the nice, flat greenway, but it most definitely was not two hours on the stony path climbing up and down Mt. Albert. More like four hours, thank you very much, of determined hiking with only a wisp of a teeny tiny break to take a photo here and there. By the time we got back to the car, I was both exhilarated (by the glory of God on full display) and relieved (that I could finally sit down--Hallelujah!) What a Creator! What a creation!
But here's the thing--that hike consisted of step...after step...after step. Some steps climbing up and around boulders. Some steps hiking back down rocky, meandering paths. Some steps through lush green woods. Other steps passing amongst fields of blackberry bushes. If we wanted to reach the top, if we wanted to savor the views, we had to keep moving, keep taking one step after another.
When we began, I assumed we'd arrive at our destination in no time, so I set off with a jaunty, energetic stride. But then the hike went on...and on...and on. We--let me rephrase that: I--grew weary and thirsty and hungry. The beauty along the way took your breath away, but at times, that summit seemed impossibly far away; like when my daughter told me, "We're getting closer! Only two more miles"...but this was after we'd already been hiking for nearly three hours. I must confess a sense of discouragement set in at that moment. But my daughter was up ahead, so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Step...step...step...step. Until--glory!--we reached the summit!
The funny thing was, however, that the summit proved mighty anti-climatic. It consisted of a giant bolder perched up high in the middle of thick woods. No soaring view over the mountains and valley from the tip of Mt. Albert.
Nope. The views, it turns out, were all along the way, all along the journey. If we'd been too focused on our ultimate destination to notice what was all around us on the way there, we would've missed the glory, the wonder, the beauty in the here. It sounds so cliche but it's so true--don't miss all that God has for you along the journey in your drive to reach the destination.
The beauty and wonder of life consists of all its ups and downs, its ins and out, its joys and sorrows. As I once heard it said, each day has its share of Good Friday moments and Easter moments. We can't have one without the other...nor would we want one without the other. Rolled all up together, that long, sometime arduous, sometimes glorious journey, is a magnificent and beautiful tapestry...and its wondrous destination is our eternal Home.
The key, of course, is the One who goes with us every step of the way. Our Good Shepherd who leads us beside still waters. Who restores our souls. Who loves us and teaches us and guides us and corrects us and forgives us and who, most remarkably of all, actually enjoys us! His job is to do all that we'd ever need, all that our souls require, while still getting us to His ultimate and glorious Home. Our job is to keep stepping faithfully, day by day. To keep following our Good Shepherd. To keep loving Him and loving those He's placed alongside us in this journey.
Have you grown a bit weary in the journey? Today, ask the Lord to give you a renewed sense of His presence and an increased love for Him as your Good Shepherd. Ask Him to reveal to you the magnificent views along the journey. And then thank Him for each and every moment, each and every view, each and every gift He so extravagantly showers upon your path all along the way. Oh might we not miss the beauty--and His beauty--along the way.
To God--our glorious Good Shepherd--be all the glory.
Ugh, wrong. That might be two hours on the nice, flat greenway, but it most definitely was not two hours on the stony path climbing up and down Mt. Albert. More like four hours, thank you very much, of determined hiking with only a wisp of a teeny tiny break to take a photo here and there. By the time we got back to the car, I was both exhilarated (by the glory of God on full display) and relieved (that I could finally sit down--Hallelujah!) What a Creator! What a creation!
When we began, I assumed we'd arrive at our destination in no time, so I set off with a jaunty, energetic stride. But then the hike went on...and on...and on. We--let me rephrase that: I--grew weary and thirsty and hungry. The beauty along the way took your breath away, but at times, that summit seemed impossibly far away; like when my daughter told me, "We're getting closer! Only two more miles"...but this was after we'd already been hiking for nearly three hours. I must confess a sense of discouragement set in at that moment. But my daughter was up ahead, so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Step...step...step...step. Until--glory!--we reached the summit!
The funny thing was, however, that the summit proved mighty anti-climatic. It consisted of a giant bolder perched up high in the middle of thick woods. No soaring view over the mountains and valley from the tip of Mt. Albert.
Nope. The views, it turns out, were all along the way, all along the journey. If we'd been too focused on our ultimate destination to notice what was all around us on the way there, we would've missed the glory, the wonder, the beauty in the here. It sounds so cliche but it's so true--don't miss all that God has for you along the journey in your drive to reach the destination.
The beauty and wonder of life consists of all its ups and downs, its ins and out, its joys and sorrows. As I once heard it said, each day has its share of Good Friday moments and Easter moments. We can't have one without the other...nor would we want one without the other. Rolled all up together, that long, sometime arduous, sometimes glorious journey, is a magnificent and beautiful tapestry...and its wondrous destination is our eternal Home.
The key, of course, is the One who goes with us every step of the way. Our Good Shepherd who leads us beside still waters. Who restores our souls. Who loves us and teaches us and guides us and corrects us and forgives us and who, most remarkably of all, actually enjoys us! His job is to do all that we'd ever need, all that our souls require, while still getting us to His ultimate and glorious Home. Our job is to keep stepping faithfully, day by day. To keep following our Good Shepherd. To keep loving Him and loving those He's placed alongside us in this journey.
Have you grown a bit weary in the journey? Today, ask the Lord to give you a renewed sense of His presence and an increased love for Him as your Good Shepherd. Ask Him to reveal to you the magnificent views along the journey. And then thank Him for each and every moment, each and every view, each and every gift He so extravagantly showers upon your path all along the way. Oh might we not miss the beauty--and His beauty--along the way.
To God--our glorious Good Shepherd--be all the glory.
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