And . . . ?

 

If you’re ever wondering how you can pray for me, pray that complaining words stop making their way through my lips. I know God doesn’t like it when we complain, yet here I sit – complaining far too often.

It’s silly, but sometimes I even feel like I need to complain just because others in the conversation are complaining. Perhaps my brain pacifies me with the old adage that misery loves company. Maybe complaining is just contagious.

But it’s not just when I’m with others sharing conversation. I can be happily doing the work in front of me when I fuss and complain to the Lord!

“I can’t believe the woman across the room from me is talking to her child that way, she’s making them feel so small and unseen.”

God: “And?”

“Lord, I can tell that man is cheating the system…”

God: “And?”

“That woman just stole from the store, Lord!”

God: “And?”

And just what do I think my complaining about it will do? I could just as easily pray instead of resorting to complaint.

“Father, please heal the hurt in that mother’s heart so she doesn’t take her frustrations out on her child….”

“Lord, show that man a better way to live. Open his eyes to the deception in his ways. Show him YOUR ways…”

“God, I know You’ve already made provision for the woman who just stole from the store, open her eyes to see YOUR provision.

Years ago, while complaining to God about a friend, He let me vent and then said, “You know, if you were praying for her, you wouldn’t be complaining about her.”

That was an embarrassing moment of chastisement! But I needed to hear it. It’s true for all of us.

Quickly I remembered Hebrews 12:5 & 6:

“Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives.” (ESV)

So, I’m in good company – God chastises and corrects those He loves!

Reminds me of the words to an old song, Little by Little.

“Little by little, one step at a time, He’s changing our hearts and renewing our minds. He’s teaching us how to be patient and kind. Little by little, one step at a time.”

Tis true!

How can I pray for YOU today?

What Good Do My Prayers Do, Anyway?

 

I thank the Lord that my prayers ARE fervent and effective and so are yours!  Hallelujah!

“….The effectual and fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much.” – James 5:16 KJV

While reading through a social media post the other morning, I realized suddenly, that my prayers are not without effect – even when I cannot see the effects they bring.

Mine is not the place to make decisions for others, but to pray God’s perfect will over their lives.

I can do that.

We’re all given free will, which at some point, we begin to exercise for ourselves. This includes our grown children, our friends and neighbors, our parents; all our relatives and loved ones. And yes, even the dictator in a foreign land.

What a sneaky ploy of the enemy to try to convince us that our prayers have no effect!

It’s a lie.

Satan speaks to what we can see with our carnal eyes, the eyes we see the world through – the eyes that look at circumstances instead of looking at what God has to say about it. And God – will always have the final word!

Hallelujah!

What an effective way to get someone to stop doing something: to convince them that it’s not doing any good at all.

What a cunning lie to plant in the mind of God’s people: to get them to focus on circumstances that seem frustrating at best.

All the while – God is at work on the hearts of our loved ones.

Guess where we were when God found us? Yes! In sin! Is there any doubt that that’s exactly where He’ll find our loved ones? (Romas 5:8)

Do not relent. Your prayers ARE fervent and effective!

“….The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16 NIV

Some may call into question my righteousness, or their own. But remember, we’re not righteous in and of ourselves, we’re MADE righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:21) So don’t let Satan twist that lie into your brain. Your prayers ARE effective and powerful because you ARE righteous! Jesus did that for you! When you asked Him to forgive your sin and to live in your heart – God made you the righteousness of Christ. You put on HIS righteousness.

Keep praying. And when you pray, listen for God’s direction.

He knows better than we do where the wounds are in our loved one’s hearts. He knows better than we do what will soften their hearts and open their spiritual eyes and ears. And He knows what blanket of lies they’re comfortable beneath, and fully able to rip it off of them.

By His GOODNESS He draws us to repentance. (Romans 2:4) With His great love, mercy and compassion, He holds us all in HIS heart.

Yes, the people we’re praying for get to choose for themselves. And yes, that can look scary sometimes.

But the “odds” are stacked against the enemy. He’s a defeated foe. He was conquered right along with death, hell and the grave long before Jesus even walked the road to the Cross, way back when the Trinity came up with the plan! On that Cross – Jesus suffered and died to provide for our redemption. His work is not in vain.

Have faith, my friend. For without it, it’s impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

We don’t need to fight Satan; Jesus took on that job.

We’re to fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)

And believe me, Satan will attack you on every front he finds available in attempt to steal that faith from you. BUT GOD gave you that faith. Hang on to it. Endure to the end.

You’ve still got it! Don’t rely on circumstances to be your measuring stick for successful prayer. Rely on the Word of God.

Yes, your prayers ARE fervent AND effective! Hallelujah!

“….The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” – James 5:16 NLT

 

Excitedly Sharing Marji's Podcast: Breaking Free From Insecurity

 

“I [Jesus] am in them and you [Father] are in me. May they [us] experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” - John 17:23 (NLT)

My friend Marjorie has a new podcast. Very exciting news. But even better, it’s GOOD podcast! Based on the truth of God’s Word, she’ll teach us how to ground and root our faith in God in ways that will free us and allow us to be secure in Christ and submit ourselves to whatever purposes He’s planned for us.

You can find her on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Be sure to take a few minutes to listen to what she has to say, because she’s VERY encouraging. Her topic? Breaking Free From Insecurity  

That’s the name of her podcast and a topic she’s an expert on! She’s an excellent teacher and mindset mentor, and she’s the first missionary I ever met. She has a bio included on her podcast page, be sure to read it and prepare to be impressed.

Here’s a link to her 3- minute trailer episode:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/break-free-from-insecurity-intrusive-thoughts-mindset/id1892876547

From there you should be able to find the other episodes. So far, she has the trailer plus three episodes available for us.

I was touched deeply by everything she has to say. When she brought up the fact that God the Father loves ME as much as He loves Jesus, it blew my mind. I’m sure I’ve read that verse many times, but it hit me like a colossal revelation as I let it sink into my soul.

“I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” - John 17:23 (NLT)

As you read that one short verse, realize that Jesus is speaking to His Father in Heaven and He’s praying for US! In this prayer, He emphasizes how much His Father loves us. He loves us as much as He loves Jesus – His Son, Jesus! The Son He sacrificed for us. The Son Who loves us so much that He was willing to go to the Cross for us!

How much do you have to love someone to die for them?

I’ve shared the good news of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us many times here in my blog posts. But this should shed new light on that sacrifice.

As you’re driving down the road, perhaps complaining to yourself about your day, know this – God the Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus!

When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, too tired to whisper a quick prayer, remember this – God the Father loves you as much as He loves His only begotten Son, Jesus!

When you wake up tomorrow morning, too tired to face another day, recall these words – God the Father loves you as much as He loves the Son that was separated from Him through death and raised from the dead – to pay for our sin.

When your children rebel, when your paycheck is too little, when the rain won’t stop falling, when your best friend slighted you, when your boss insulted you, when the weight scale isn’t being friendly, when you’re feeling like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, when you can’t feel at all, know this, beyond anything else - God our heavenly Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus.

Selah. Ponder on that; let that sink deep down into your soul.

In His own words, “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” - John 17:23 (NLT)

 

Don't Keep It To Yourself

 “The next generation is your story away from glory.”

Many have made statements that sum up the same thought. Maybe I even overheard that line somewhere. But it came to mind and I want to briefly ponder it here with you.

When I look in the mirror, I no longer see the young vivacious woman I used to be.  I’m older, and I believe a little wiser. I also recognize that I won’t live forever. If I pay attention to my children and grandchildren, I notice that they too are growing older. Gray in the beards of my sons, grandchildren succeeding in their chosen career fields makes me contemplate what I’m waiting for.

The upcoming generations need to hear our stories, and the generations after them will need to hear their stories.

Some of us tend to be private people and courtesy of social media, we can sometimes feel like we’re connecting when in reality – we’re disconnecting from the people around us.

We tell ourselves, “They don’t want to hear my stories…. They want something quick and colorful; something they can read in a few seconds and keep scrolling.” Or perhaps, “I can’t share THAT story with her…”

But whether they want to hear our stories or not, they need to hear them – at least some of them.

I’m not suggesting you bear your soul to everyone. Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit as you converse with those around you.

We need to be sharing the good that God has done in our lives so that the people God brings across our paths can stir up their faith and build up their hope as they go through their own situations.

To reveal God’s redemption in our lives may involve telling some sticky stories we don’t want to revisit. We’ll find that sharing these victory stories involve sharing the battles they came from – and this will stir up our own faith as well.

So many times, in the Old Testament of the Bible, God instructs His people to recant their history for the upcoming generations. It wasn’t merely to record their history, but to demonstrate God’s power through each trial they faced and to point out the mistakes they made and how God dealt with them, so that the next generation could benefit by it.

Granted, we don’t always learn from the past or from the mistakes of the people around us. Sometimes we’re stubborn and have to test the waters for ourselves. But while we’re biting off more than we can chew, with victory stories from those around us in mind, we’re more likely to trust that God is – and that He loves us and will bring us through.

Our world needs hope.

God has already provided that hope – through His Word, through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus – and through the word of our testimony; the sharing of our stories.is His

Cast aside the fear of embarrassment. Even the Apostle Paul asked for prayer that he would be bold with the good news of Jesus and the words of his testimonies. (Ephesians 6:18-20 here)

A favorite scripture comes to mind.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their own lives unto death.” – Revelation 12:11 (KJV)

No One Can Possibly Relate to What I'm Going Through

Do you ever feel like no one can understand what you’re going through? That no one has ever felt as rejected as you might be feeling right now? Or as looked down upon? Or as unloved? Or as ignored? Or as passed over? Or as alone as you feel from time to time….?

Can you entertain with me that Jesus Himself has walked that mile in your shoes?

John 1:10-11 says this about Jesus, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

So, Jesus shows up in the flesh to live amongst the very people He created in His very own image and they didn’t recognize Him – they [most of them] didn’t receive him into their lives.

Ouch! Most of us can recall Bible stories of how He was scorned, tormented and killed. Yes, - by the people He came to save.

Hebrews 4:15 tells us that we have a Savior Who knows exactly how we feel and what we face in this world, stressing that OUR High Priest DOES sympathize and understand everything we go through. He was tempted in every way we can be tempted. Yeah – let that sink in. He knew exactly how it feels to be human. Even though he was 100% God, He was also 100% man. He had to become human in order to pay the price for the sins of humanity. He sacrificed His throne in Heaven to step down and become man for a moment in time, simply to redeem us from our own selfish sin.

This is how the Amplified version states it, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin.”

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah told us about Jesus long before He was born and Mary laid Him in that manger when he said, in part, “He [Jesus] is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…” – Isaiah 53:3

Jesus came into this world with the foreknowledge that He would be hated and rejected. He already knew the plan; He knew He would experience sorrow on a level we can’t begin to understand, no matter how much grief we’ve endured. His rejection wasn’t the rejection of a parent or of a lover or a child. He was rejected by the whole world at one point, while in the process of paying our debt.

I’m not stating this to minimize what you might be going through right now or to say your pain pales in comparison to what Jesus went through. I’m telling you this to emphasize to you that Jesus really does know how you feel and completely understands everything you’re going through.

No matter how untrue that feels, let it sink in.

He CAN relate to you. You can tell Him anything, you can share everything with Him. Always. He’s patient. He’ll wait. You can pour out your heart even if it’s filled with anger – even if that anger is directed at Him. He can handle it, because He knows how it feels. He can empathize with you.

He’s literally the only One Who has felt exactly what you’re feeling. He’s the ONLY One you can completely confide in, trusting that He can relate and will sit with you in the dark and hold you close to His heart till your own heart beats in sync with His.

This is why you can trust Him. With anything. With everything.

Jesus Himself calls out to you with His own words of love and comfort, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” – Matthew 11:28 (AMPC)

Feelings deceive. They lie to us, sometimes. And they’re easily manipulated.

Try trusting Jesus over your own feelings. He’s never disappointed me, even when it looked as though He may have. I’m not saying things always go the way I want them too – but Jesus has never disappointed me. He’s already seen my future; He knows all my potential. Even though He knows what’s best, He allows me to choose. Always.

The Joy of Holy Week

 Holy Week: A Week of Reflection

We rejoice in Christ year-round.

This season brings out the ugliness of the Cross AND the joy that was set before Jesus to endure it. The exciting news is that WE are that joy that was set before Him!

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)

We’ve heard the song (or at least the phrase) “While He was on the Cross, we were on His mind….” For me, that’s the most intimate part of the crucifixion. It’s deeply personal. He looked through time and saw me, and He saw you during the most painful experience of His earthly life. And when He breathed His last breath, He said, “It is finished.” The requirement for our sin was met, He willingly paid the price, because He loves us so much.

“For God so loved the world (US), that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not die but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world (US), but in order that the world (WE) might be saved through Him.” – John 3:16-17

The almost-too-good-to-be-true news! It doesn’t get any better than this! All He asks of us is that we believe – that He IS and that He’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) And He’s already given us the measure of faith required to believe in Him! (Romans 12:3)

So many people reject God’s love simply because they don’t believe that God made it that easy to please Him. The Old Testament covenant was filled with laws and regulations to prove to us that we couldn’t measure up. But then Jesus came to fulfill the law and bring His new and better covenant to us. He calls it GRACE and He gives it to us freely!

What are you reflecting on this Resurrection season?

Yes, it’s good to reflect on what Jesus sacrificed for us. But oh, the joy of reflecting on why He did it!

Having Trouble Believing?

Recently I heard someone pray, ‘Lord, help me fully believe ____________________.’

Hmmm. What am I not fully believing God for? Prayers that have gone unanswered for decades? A clear concise answer from God on something specific? Or something even bigger?

Because I know people who live in a different reality than I do, I’ve heard tell that they don’t ‘believe in God’.  Or that to some, God is merely a higher power – out there somewhere beyond the universe. Or they have some concept of God that differs than mine.

Because I love these people, I’ve tried to put myself in their shoes for a minute and imagine what existence would be like without God. For me, it’s impossible. Because nothing would exist without Him, and I wouldn’t exist in the nothingness.

Without doubt, I can state that God is – and that He’s given to each of us a measure of faith. I can say this confidently, because His own Word tells us so, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” – Romans 12:3 (NIV)

So even the atheist has been given his measure of faith.

What we do with that faith decides our future.

We can put that faith in ourselves. We can put our faith in karma, or in a god we don’t know. OR we can place our faith in the One Who gave it to us in the first place.

That’s what I’ve chosen to do. Because yes – it’s our choice.

Scripture tells us, “…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

The only thing necessary to please God, is to place our faith (our trust) – in Him and believe that He rewards us for seeking Him out.

Our doubt doesn't scare Him. Just give Him that when you give Him your heart.

Sounds too easy, doesn’t it?

The God that created us doesn’t expect us to perfect ourselves and then come to Him. He knows we need to come to Him in order to be perfected (made complete).

“Seek first the kingdom of God (and everything else will be given to you).” – Matthew 6:33

How would you fill in the blank? What do you need help believing?

“Lord, help me fully believe ________________.”

I’ll believe with you….