What Authority Do I Have?

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“You will ask Me nothing, most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My Name He will give you.” – John 16:23 

This verse, and others like it intrigue me. What am I missing? What am I “doing wrong”? I pray, like many others, in Jesus’s Name – and yet, sometimes fail to see my prayers answered. Or, at least, that’s the way it appears to me. And let’s face it, the way it appears to me effects my faith, and can stir up doubt and unbelief. 

Knowing Jesus doesn’t want me filled with doubt and unbelief, but with the faith of God He’s given me, I need understanding. 

As I pondered this today, it occurred to me that I’m not just using or borrowing Jesus’s Name. He’s given it to me; I am Christian, Christ-like. He is in me and I am in Him, in the same way that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. That’s why when I ask the Father for something in Jesus’s Name, I have the authority to use the Name of Jesus. Because He said so. 

I’m not supposed to just slap on the phrase, “In Jesus’s Name. Amen.” I am supposed to be in Christ; in Jesus, in the shadow of the Almighty, in His presence, in His Word, in HIM! Am I abiding (staying) in Him? 

Yes, I am. 

Satan will try to weaken my resolve with whispers of lies, and tell me I’m not in Christ. Sometimes my heart listens. 

“You didn’t spend enough time in the Word today, your prayers won’t be effective.” 

“You must be harboring some unforgiveness in your heart, you’ve been praying for this same thing for years now and yet, you see nothing.” 

“You missed church last Sunday, don’t even expect God to be listening while you pray for your friends.” 

“You were critical of that person yesterday, and you think your prayers for them today will be effective? Ha!” 

“I heard you say a bad word this morning. You can’t pray with that mouth.” 

“You fell asleep while praying last night. If your prayers are THAT uninspired, do you really think God was listening?” 

Satan has all sorts of lies and they’re all meant to tear us down and steal our faith. Fortunately, we always know when he’s lying to us – when his lips are moving. I know, old joke. And we can’t even see his lips moving. 

The fact of the matter is, God is not negative or confusing. He is not the author of confusion; He does not condemn us at all. When He looks at us, He sees the blood of Jesus, nothing here to condemn! Hallelujah! So, when our mind tries to tell us otherwise, those thoughts come from the evil source, not from ourselves, and certainly not from God. Dismiss them. 

Once we’ve submitted ourselves to God, He hears every prayer we pray – and He answers them. 

When we are in Christ, when we STAY in Christ and keep His Word in our hearts, His Words will always fill our minds. We may be pulled away from them for a minute or two. Okay, in the midst of a pity party, we may be pulled away for even longer. But His Words are always there to return to. 

With His Word in our minds and in our hearts, we can pray effectively because we can pray with authority. 

A woman once told me that she would pray for me. Then she quickly tacked on, “Not that I believe or anything like that….” What? Why would you even pray if you don’t believe that your prayers are being heard or answered, or for that matter, if you don’t believe in the very God you claim to be praying to? 

God wants us to believe IN Him and to rely ON Him and to snatch up the authority He’s holding out for us to grab ahold of and use. 

We can do things our way. 

Or, we can do things His Way. 

What is His Way? Jesus said, “I am the WAY, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6NKJV) 

When we submit our hearts to Him, His Way becomes our way. 

This is abiding in Christ. This causes the authority of Jesus Christ to operate in our lives. Jesus didn’t tell us that once we reach a point where we never mess up, THEN we can use His Name. 

We are perfect in Him; not as in we will never again make a mistake, but as in perfected, completed in Him. Once the blood of Jesus is applied to our lives, nothing can make us holier, and nothing will separate us from His love. Nothing else is necessary to gain access to God’s throne room. 

What holds us back? 

Believing those stupid lies. 

We DO have the authority Jesus gave us, whether we missed church last week or not, whether we used inappropriate language or not, whether we read God’s Word today, or not. 

But we have to believe that in order to operate with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. It’s that Spirit that fills us with the authority of Jesus Christ, Himself. 

But, Helen, you don’t know some of the things I’ve done! God would never extend that kind of authority to ME! 

Lies. Lies. Lies. 

The Bible tells us this beautiful truth: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 (NKJV) 

He’s seen our sin and knows the blood He spilled at Calvary is enough to pay the cost. 

Who better to believe than the One Who gave His life so that we could be free from sin? 

Dare to believe.

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Using Our Talent - Not What You Might Think

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Sometimes you get a nugget of revelation dropped into your soul. Your spirit already knows the truth of the matter, but you may need to ponder it for a while, to accept it and apply it to your life. Here’s a tasty morsel to chew on.

In the Bible we can read the parable of the talents. Here are the scriptures if you’d like to read it (Matthew 25:14-30); I’ll quickly summarize for those who haven’t.

A rich man gives of his fortune to his servants before he leaves for a journey. In the time the master is away, one servant greatly multiplies what he’s given, another doubles it, and one simply buries it, expecting to return it to his master, for whom he has no respect, later. Those who compounded the talent of money, are rewarded. The one who did nothing but bury his talent is cursed and has his share taken from him.

The parable has much to teach us, but let’s focus on the talent; the measure of money (called a mina in Luke’s account of the parable, found in Luke 19:11-27). It was given to each servant according to their ability. Since Jesus used parables to explain kingdom principles, what could that talent represent?

Since God has given us all varying gifts, we might conclude that these talents of money are actually God-given gifts of talent. Our western brains take things as we read them, so it would be easy to make this assumption. Perhaps you can sing, or you have a knack for teaching. Maybe you’re graced with the gift of hospitality, blessed with a talent for entertaining and meeting the needs of others.

But, what if the talent isn’t merely a talent? It’s a gift from our Master, whatever it is.

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My nugget says that the talent is actually authority. In our case, Kingdom authority. Some of us use our God-given authority like we believe it’s ours to exercise. Some of us use it only when we are desperate and feel forced into using it. Some of us bury our authority, because we don’t believe it’s ours at all, because we’re not believing and trusting our Master.

Since the talents were given according to the servant’s abilities, they shouldn’t have been overwhelmed; nor should we.

How different would our lives look if we consistently used our God-given authority? Would we rise above sickness, which is a curse from the enemy? Would we not be struggling in our finances? Would we more boldly share the gospel message?

Ponder, if you will, what you do with your God-given authority. What does our authority look like? How can we put it into action?

Are you walking in fear? In lack? In sickness?

Jesus Himself, said, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” - Matthew 16:19 (NKJV)

 

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“Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – Revelation 1:5-6 (NKJV)

 

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Song - I've Got A Key to the Kingdom

 

Steppin' on My Own Toes

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As a Christian, you’re God’s messenger. What’s your message? What message does your life convey to the world around you?

Is it fair to judge you by the actions of your children?

Is it fair to judge God by the actions of His?

Is it fair for the world to judge God by my actions? Yours?

Since when is life “fair”?

Clearly, the world doesn’t understand the love of God. Could that be, at least, in part, my fault? Your fault?

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I recall a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Ouch! It stings because it’s so true.

What’s one small thing we can do today to begin to turn this around?

What’s one small thing you can do today, to being to turn this around?

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Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35 (NIV)

January is often thought of as a month for new beginnings, a month for starting over, a month for self-reflection.

God is the God of new beginnings and He’s wildly famous for His grace that supplies endless second chances, and He’s the source of the power that raised Jesus from the dead, so when surveying our lives and habits and shortcomings, we can draw upon that same power to raise us from our slumber, from our negligence, from our lack of sharing His love.

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If we call ourselves Christians, the people around us are looking at us for a demonstration of God’s love. Let’s try a little harder not to let them down.

Like the world, we’re often afraid to extend unconditional love to those around us. But, we’re instructed to not be like the world.

John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 15:19 says, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 explains, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they [our weapons] have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

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This makes it clear, we’re not to operate as the world operates. We are to love as Jesus loves us.

I’ll conclude with the words of Jesus, Himself when asked what is His greatest command.

“Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

How Did He Teach Us to Pray?

 While walking and praying on one of my favorite trails, I saw revelation in the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father. My intention was to pray over one specific friend this morning, as I began my prayer, I joined myself to my sister and prayed, “Our Father….” We share this heavenly Father; she is my sister, whom I love dearly.

Our Father in Heaven. Heaven has reached into our hearts. The very kingdom of God is within us, growing and reaching into the lives of those we love.  As we allow God’s love to grow in us, we expand the kingdom of Heaven here on Earth.

Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your Name! Time for the hosannas and the hallelujahs as rejoicing breaks through my prayer time. How can one commune with our Father, even in times of despair or great sorrow, without allowing His joy to permeate our prayers, without reverencing all that is holy?

Thy kingdom come. By joining myself to God I allow His kingdom to come and reign in my life. I exalt Him as King of kings and Lord of lords; I submit to Him as God of my life, as God of all life. His kingdom is the only kingdom I want to explore. There are principalities and dominions I don’t understand that have hold in the lives of many around us, but, I choose to live in Christ and allow Christ to reign in me. Every facet of my life somehow revolves around expanding God’s kingdom reign in the world around me. Is He God of all? Absolutely! Has He given dominion of the world to man? Yes. Every unholy choice we make leads us further from the next line…

Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. I won’t claim to know God’s will in everything. It’s His will that we commune with Him, it’s His will that we know His Word, His Son, Jesus. It’s His will that we love, always. But, whether or not He wants me to take a specific job or to redecorate my kitchen, well…..sometimes He lets us in on which way to go, other times, I think He’s willing to bless what we choose. He always guides and directs us, but, He’s given us tremendous freedom as well.

Can you imagine His perfect will, as it is in Heaven, surrounding us here on Earth? According to the Bible, I don’t think that will happen until a new heaven and a new earth are ushered in….but, can you just imagine it? Yes, we pray come quickly Lord Jesus, and we agree in prayer, Let Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven. I want God’s perfect will accomplished in my life, and in the lives of those I love. And yes, in the lives of everyone on the planet.

How pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

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Give us this day our daily bread. We generally consider our daily bread to be our meal. Jesus Himself said that His meat was to do the will of the Father. So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that our daily bread isn’t just our physical meals, it includes all the sustenance we need from day to day. It includes our food, but so much more! 

What else do we need to thrive? Not just to exist from day to day, but to really thrive! Our greatest need is something many of us push away, as if we don’t deserve it, as if it’s a special treat reserved for the truly worthy. Our greatest need is love; God’s love!

We all need to feel loved. It’s not just a want, it’s a God-given need. We’re not asking for something God can’t provide. He created us with a built-in need for His love, and for the love of our fellow man – and perhaps that of a spouse.

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God freely gives us His love – and more; everything we need is within our grasp.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Many years ago, I read a column (as they were called before the word blog became popular) which told the story of a mother listening as her child prayed at bedtime. Reciting the Lord’s Prayer, he said, in part, “forgive us our trash passing, as we forgive those who pass trash against us…” That’s the way I hear it in my head now. Cute? Yes, adorable. But, just as true.

I think perhaps, this might be the scariest prayer to pray. Forgive us as we forgive others?

But – what if we’re not so forgiving of others?

Ouch!

Mark 11:25 says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (NIV)

Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (NIV)

Yeah, to me, that’s some pretty heavy stuff. “But, God…..” we whine.

There’s the story of the man who was forgiven much then turned around and demanded that another who owed him a pittance pay up immediately or he’d have him thrown into debtor’s jail. In Matthew 18:21-35 Peter asks Jesus how many times we’re to forgive those who wrong us. Jesus explains the parable of the unmerciful servant. Because forgiveness is so important within the kingdom of God (which reigns in our hearts), I’ll include the story here.

“Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

Personal note here, that was a forgiving king! He didn’t just agree to be patient until the servant could pay him, he forgave the debt altogether. I wonder how the servant came to owe the king so much, or how he ever thought he could pay it. But, the king shows mercy, so it’s kind of irrelevant. But, the parable goes on….

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion o your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him.

“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (NKJV)

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Yowza! It doesn’t sound like Jesus is making light of the powerful act of forgiveness, does it? I’ll just leave that there for us to chew on.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. None of us wants to endure trials, as they tend to stretch us. But evil? No, none of us ever want to experience evil, personally. Most of us are grieved to hear of others enduring evil. Although, plenty of us seem to enjoy watching it on television or at the movie theaters.

Deliver us from evil – when we ask God to lead us in His ways, to turn us from the path of evil, we’re asking Him to direct our footsteps. We’re giving up the right to choose to walk down a road that’s filled with consequences, some we know of, some of which hide in the darkness along the way. But, we’re directly asking God to spare of us all that.

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Then. Sometimes. In our own stubbornness, we continue down that road, because the temptations seem so rewarding in the moment. Then, we wonder why God allowed such evil to befall us. In a word; consequences.

God chastens those He loves. Yes. But, punishment is reserved for the wicked. Consequences follow when we walk where God has clearly shown us not to. We can’t feign ignorance, we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us.

If I tell my granddaughter not to ride her bike in the middle of the road, and she defiantly does so anyway. She may get hit by a car. Being hurt by the car isn’t a punishment for riding where she was told not to, it’s a consequence. My telling her to be careful not to pedal there was a warning out of love, not me playing dictator and keeping her from “all the fun”.

For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory – forever and ever. Amen.

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Here comes the rejoicing and the hallelujahs again. What a thrill to share in God’s kingdom and in His power and in His glory! It’s all His, but, He chooses to bless us in all of it, simply because we are in Him and He is in us! Hallelujah! Ponder His kingdom, His power and His glory!

Along the trail, God brought my attention to a tiny ant carrying a stick that was measurably, much bigger than he was. As he made his way across the smooth sidewalk, I was impressed. He skittered down the edge of the sidewalk and through the grains of sand, that looked like boulders around him. He didn’t seem to let the harshness of his terrain deter him from his task at all.

Sometimes, our hearts are heavy and we carry them around for everyone to see, or we hide the struggle as if we’re punishing ourselves for feeling the crushing weight of whatever it is we’re going through.

Though our terrain changes, God is still God and at the end of the day, He’s still the One Who carries us. He’s still the One Who gets all the glory. He’s always the One Who never gives us on us; Who will always answer our call.  He is still, our Father.

Song: To Him Who is Able....

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” – Jude 1:24-25 (KJV)