Tag Archives: Christianity

April 30, 2014 · 7:48 AM

Prayer For Wisdom

Heavenly Father,

I want to start this prayer by saying, “Thank you.” There is so much in my life to be thankful for. You have blessed me in so many ways that I often over look some of them and treat them as ordinary. The truth is, nothing that comes from you is ordinary. Nothing you give me is common and I don’t want to treat it as such. When I sit down and think of all the ways you bless me daily, it gets overwhelming. I don’t deserve your goodness, but I’m thankful for it. I can’t repay you for the blessings. I can only offer a heart full of gratitude.

I confess that I don’t always appreciate the gifts you give. In fact, sometimes I even complain about people and things you bring into my life. I lose perspective on why you bring them into my life. I forget that you want me to make an impact on them by treating them with your love. I look at them as problems, distractions or annoyances. I don’t want to think about people or things in my life like that. I want to love them the way you love me. I want to treat them like you treat me, but I need your help to do that. Open my eyes to see beyond the distractions so I can see their needs. Give me wisdom in how I react and treat them.

You said in James 1:5 that if I lacked wisdom, I could ask you for it. Today, I’m asking for wisdom. I need divine wisdom for the situations I’m facing, for how to handle the relationships you’ve given me and with making decisions about my future. I can’t see very far into my future, but you already have it scripted out. My future is already history to you. I just want to make sure that I make the best decisions so I can have the future you have planned for me. I don’t want to make decisions based on knowledge. I want to make them from a position of wisdom and understanding.

I know that you have plans for me. I know that you want what is best for me. I understand the mindset of a father who wants the very best for his child. I know the love that pours out of me towards my own flesh and blood. If I feel this way about my own child, how much more do you feel for me? I can’t even grasp the depth of your love and desires for my life. I can’t comprehend the magnitude of what you want for me. Just like my child doesn’t understand the full concept of my love for him, I don’t understand the full concept of your love for me. I want to, but I don’t have the capacity.

Help me to live my life out of gratitude for all you’ve done. Show me the paths you want me to walk down in order to receive the future you’ve written out. Give me the courage to make the hard decisions that I have to make in order to be where you need me to be. Let your peace reign in me when the hard times come. Help me to make right decisions based on your wisdom instead of my emotions. Lead me along the paths of righteousness. Open my eyes to see people you’ve placed on my path to help along the way. Open my hands to give away what you ask me to give away. Open my mouth to speak wisdom into other’s lives and open my ears to hear your voice above all else.

I ask these things in Jesus’ name,

Amen.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 24, 2014 · 7:53 AM

Broken Vessels

I was listening to Tullian Tchividjian speak about the disciples that Jesus chose. He mentioned that Jesus didn’t choose religious or wealthy men. He chose men who had nothing to bring to the table. He also said that God doesn’t need perfect vessels to carry out His will, He needs broken ones. There’s a lot in just those few statements that speaks to me. I think that the 12 men whom He chose to give His life changing message to says a lot about who God is and what He sees in people.

I was teaching a sales skills class by Brian Tracy recently and he talked about he studied companies with the lowest turnover in employees. He found that those companies had one thing in common: they didn’t hire based on qualifications. Instead, those companies hired based on attitude. I think God does the same thing. He doesn’t care what credentials you hold, how many times you’ve failed, how little you have to offer or how much you make. What He cares about is your willingness to do what He asks.

When Jesus chose the disciples, He pretty much walked up to them and said, “Come follow me.” They didn’t ask Him who He was. They didn’t say, “Let me finish doing this task.” They didn’t ask to go say goodbye to family and friends. They dropped what they were doing, left family and friends to follow Jesus. They were chosen because their attitudes were the type that was willing to do whatever a God asked without worrying about everything else that typically stops us from doing His will.

These men were not perfect either. Peter had a big mouth. Thomas was a skeptic. Judas was self righteous. Matthew was a tax collector who had cheated people. The list goes on. God does not choose people to carry out His will based on what they offer. He chooses people based on their inabilities. If we could do everything He asked on our own, where would faith come in? If we were confident enough to say what He tells us to say, we would think we were doing it in our own strength. If we had the credentials and expertise, pride would swell up in us. Instead, He finds broken and chipped vessels to put together to do His will so He can get the glory.

Have you limited yourself in what you feel God has called you to do because you don’t have the skills or ability? Have you thought God wanted you to do something that was over your head but turned Him down because you couldn’t do that on your own? You don’t have to have a degree in Public Speaking to share what God has done for you. You don’t have to have a Masters in Anthropology to help the needy. You don’t have to have a Doctorate in Theology to discuss with others what you found in God’s Word. You simply have to be a vessel that’s been broken and ready to use by Him for His purpose and His glory. He will give you all you need to be successful in your calling.

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 22, 2014 · 7:47 AM

Nothing Is Too Hard For God

A friend of mine asked me to pray for his brother who was sick and being taken to the hospital. When he told me the diagnosis, I replied, “That’s not too hard for God.” The truth is that there is nothing too hard for Him. When we hear a diagnosis, run out of money, get our hearts broken, lose our job or anything else that affects the way we live, we tend to look at it with our human eyes. We see the impossibility of recovery instead of the God who makes all things possible. We see the negative instead of the positive.

We get so used to walking by sight that we box God in. We tell Him what He can do and can’t do. We limit His ability to make a way where there seems to be no way. We look at the situation we are trapped in and desperately try to find a way out, but all we see are blocked paths. Sometimes that’s the way it is. There’s no way out. “When God closes a door, look for a window” is not in the Bible. God allows us to be in those moments where there’s no way out so that He can show us that He’s still in charge. He wants to remind us that He is able. He wants to grow our faith.

Nothing drives us to our knees faster than being in a no way out situation. Nothing makes us depend on God more than to have no power over a situation. The Israelites were up against the Red Sea when they were leaving captivity in Egypt. Pharaoh and his army were closing in fast. There was no where to turn, no weapons to fight with and panic was setting in. They were exactly where God led them, yet they were cornered into a desperate situation. Instead of crying out to God, they complained and said they would have rather died as slaves than to be killed in the wilderness. They would have rather gone back to a life of sight than a life of faith.

In Exodus 14:13-14, Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent (ESV).” Think about that in the situation you are in today. Don’t fear. Don’t panic. Stay calm and trust God. He will work for you today. Then it says that The Lord will fight for you. He will fight your battle so you don’t have to. You only have to be silent. Just stand back and watch God work.

He sees your situation. In fact, it’s part of His plan for your life. He’s growing you through the tough times. When your back is against the wall and there’s no way out, that’s when God does the most amazing things. It takes us not acting in fear in those times to see the victory. It takes us holding on to God’s Word to get us through. The outcome may not be the way we thought it should have happened, but it will happen the way God intended it to. No one in Israel thought The Lord would part the Red Sea. His answer may not come in the way you think it will, but it will come right on time. Remember, there is nothing too hard for God.

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27 ESV)

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 15, 2014 · 6:37 AM

Holy Week: Day 2 & 3

On day 2 of Jesus’ final week before the crucifixion, Mark 11:12 tells us that Jesus was hungry. He looked up, saw a fig tree with leaves on it and went to it because fruit typically appears at the same time as leaves. There were no figs on it yet because the season hadn’t yet come. Jesus cursed the fig tree and moved on. Jesus expects us, as much as that fig tree, to produce fruit. He’s hungry for us as believers to tell His story and to show them the way to forgiveness that can only be found at the cross.

Jesus went to the temple for the second day in a row. He found that nothing had changed since He overturned the tables the day before. A holy anger came over Him and He began flipping the tables over again. He saw people using the temple as a shortcut and stopped them. They would walk through it instead of around it. I see in this that we need to be repeatedly cleansed by Jesus. We need Him to come into our temple daily and to cleanse it. We all have sin that seems to come back often. We need to be vigilant against it and keep turning over the tables on it. Church is not a shortcut to getting past the problem. Prayer is how we break the cycle.

The next day, Jesus came back to Jerusalem. As they passed the fig tree, Peter noticed it was withered to the root. Surprised about it, he shouted out for everyone to notice it. Jesus was matter of fact in verses 22-25. He said, “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it and nothing will be too much for you.” He then told them that if they would include everything in their prayers, they’d get everything. Too many times we don’t fully embrace the faith we profess. We embrace the parts of it that we want and try to do the rest on our own. We don’t get everything we ask for because we haven’t yet trusted God for everything.

He also says in this teaching that when we “assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive – only then will your Heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.” I spent a lot of my life making my prayer time nothing but requests. I’ve learned that the relationship God wants to have with us is not for us to use and abuse Him. He’s not a genie sitting there waiting to grant our wishes. He wants us to know Him personally. He wants us to become more like Him. He wants us to forgive others the way He forgives us. He wants us to let go of people’s past the way He let go of ours. When we get this, we’ll experience all He has for us.

Finally on day 3, Jesus went back to the temple. This time the priests were waiting on Him. I wonder if the money changers were sitting there and started packing up their stuff. The priests asked Jesus what authority did He have to come in and wreck the temple each day. Jesus responded with a question of His own, “Who gave John the Baptist his authority?” They were trapped and refused to answer. He then told several parables to them and they continued to try to trap Him with questions throughout the day. His message to them and to us is that He will not be tricked into doing what we want. He wants us to be in obedience to what His will is and then we will receive the blessings that follow obedience. Life is not about us, it’s about Him. To whom does your life point?

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 14, 2014 · 6:48 AM

Holy Week: Day 1

This week I’m going to follow the last week of Jesus before His crucifixion. I believe there are some important things that we can find when we trace His final steps. It started and ended on a Sunday and that’s what I’ll be covering. Yesterday was Palm Sunday. We also know it as the triumphal entry. Jesus was coming from Bethphage and He sent a couple of disciples over to a nearby village. He told them there would be a donkey and her colt, and then He asked them to bring them to Him. He said to tell anyone that asks, “The Master needs them.”

I think the donkeys represent you and I. We are stubborn at times. We don’t always want to do what God asks us to do when He asks us. We are tied up with things that prevent us from doing everything we could do for God. It takes one word from Jesus to set us free. Others may try to stop us and keep us from serving the Master, but He needs us. We’ve got to learn to be obedient when He asks and live our lives so that we won’t get entangled by the things of this world.

The next thing Jesus did was to ride the colt into Jerusalem. As He did, people began to take off their cloaks and lay them on the street in front of Him. Other climbed trees and cut down Palm leaves to lay in His path. As He rode through the city, they cried out, “Hosannah to the son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of The Lord.” As I think about the clothing being laid in the streets, I think of God’s provision. In Matthew 6, Jesus said, “If God clothes the grass of the field, will He not much more surely clothe you?” We have to learn to recognize that what we have has been given to us by God and we need to lay it at His feet to give back to Him.

Jesus then rode the colt all the way to the temple. When He went in, He became angry and drove out “all who bought and sold in the sacred place.” He said to them, “The Scripture says, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer.'” In the New Testament, our bodies are the temple. They are sacred and should be treated as such. We should think of the things we allow in them that would upset Jesus. What do we put in our minds, our hearts or our souls that keep us from being houses of prayer? What are the things that distract us from communing with God. We’ve got to chase those things out of our lives and return to prayer.

In Jesus’ final week before the crucifixion, He started setting the donkey free to use it. He then accepted the praise of His people as He rode through. From there, He cleansed the temple setting the stage for the week that was to come. For us, we can reflect on that to see how God wants to use us. We can look into our lives for the things that tie us up. We can look at all we have and offer it back to Him as a praise offering. Finally, we need to let Him cleanse our temples. Ask Him to show you things in your life that need to be cleansed. There is so much God wants to do for us and through us, but we’ve got to be free and ready when He comes.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

April 10, 2014 · 7:49 AM

Replacing Trust

20140410-074721.jpg

How many times does God ask us to do something and then we see if it’s feasible before trying to do it? We try to get all our ducks in a row before “stepping out in faith.” It’s not really faith if we set everything up ahead of time to ensure our success. We trust in the things we see and know versus the unseen. We end up doing it in our own strength instead of His strength. We then wonder where our reward is for such an act of faith. The truth is we have our reward because we did it in on our own instead of trusting in Him.

In the last chapter of II Samuel, God was upset with Israel. David sent his army commanders out to do a census so he would know how many warriors he had. His officer replied, “May your God multiply people by the hundreds right before the eyes of my master the king, but why on earth would you do a thing like this?” He resisted David because he knew what David was doing and it wasn’t right. After years of serving God, walking with Him and talking with Him, David was still tempted to walk by sight.

David reiterated his command and sent the men out. In verse 10, it says, “But when it was all done, David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics.” The man, who once was indignant because an entire army was afraid of a giant defying his God, was now in the shoes of the army. He forgot that holy fire that he once had that wasn’t afraid of anything that came against God’s people. As he got older, he trusted God less and relied on what he knew instead. He forgot that God won his battles, not his numbers.

I think of my child who is willing to jump off of anything when I’m around. He trusts that I’ll catch him. As he gets older, he’ll try to push me away while he jumps off of things. He’ll get bumps and bruises and finally he’ll quit taking those leaps. His fear of gravity will overtake his trust in me. We do the same thing to God. We take leaps of faith early on in our walk with Him. We’re amazed when He catches us. Then we start trying to act independently of Him. We try to do acts of faith without Him. We fail and our pride gets bruised. We ask God where He was and why He didn’t catch us when we were doing things for Him. We then quit acting in faith all together. We end up only doing things for God where we are guaranteed success.

God asks us to trust Him completely. He asks us to trust a Him blindly. When we take those leaps, there is a time when we are free falling. Our stomach is in our throat. Our adrenalin is rushing. We are wondering if God will catch us because our destiny is not in our hands. That’s where God wants us to live. That’s where He wants our faith. He doesn’t want us to trust in statistics, numbers, things we can see or our own strength. He wants us to trust in Him alone. If He calls you to do something, don’t trust in what you see or try to make things work. Take the step of faith and have that child like trust that your Father will catch you.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 9, 2014 · 7:53 AM

Calling Me Out Of Darkness

20140409-075201.jpg

Lord,

I want to say, “Thank you,” because you’ve given me another day to walk this earth. It’s not something I take lightly or for granted. Because of what you set in motion so long ago, the sun came up this morning. Sometimes it reminds me that I have so much to do. Sometimes it reminds me of the problems I have to face. Sometimes it’s an unwelcome light because the night was too short. Each time it rises though, it reminds me that you are in control of everything that goes on in my life and in this world.

I know that because you live in me, there is nothing I will face today or any day that is stronger than me. There is nothing that is able to defeat me because you are greater than anything that will ever come against me. Sometimes I lose sight of that and start to feel defeated. Sometimes I think that the whole world is crashing down and it will take me down with it. In those times, I ask that you would remind me of your promise to never leave me nor forsake me. Remind me of who I am in you. Remind me that I am more than a conqueror through you.

When I think of the story of my life, I think of all the ups and downs, the good times and the bad times. Through it all, you have constantly been by my side. At times I couldn’t see your hand at work. All I could see were the problems that had me closed in on every side. Looking back, I can see your hand on me even in the darkest of nights. I can see that you were developing me and pushing me to grow closer to you. Like a seed under ground struggling to break through the dark, dirty soil trying to get to the light, you were using the dark times to strengthen me and to push me toward your light.

I have always grown the most when I couldn’t see the light. It was hope that helped me push through the hard places. At times it seemed like I would never come out of the darkness, but you were there with me, encouraging me, pushing me and calling me into your marvelous light. You weren’t content to leave me as a seed sown in soil laying dormant. Your plan for my life is to use the dark places to grow my roots in you. To make me stronger once I reach the light. To have me firmly planted so that when the winds of life blow and the rain beats down on me, I’ll look back, remember what you’ve done in my past and my roots will hold strong.

I don’t know what the future of my story looks like, but with each sunrise, you give me one more day to live it out. You give me one more chance to trust you, to open up and share your beauty. Keep writing my story as you always have. Keep giving me opportunities to grow and to trust in you more. Let the water of your word feed me and strengthen my roots. Let your face shine on me and draw me closer to you. Let the story of my life show that you are a faithful God who never abandons His children and calls them out of darkness into light. I love you with everything in me.

Thank you for all you have done and are going to do in this story.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 2, 2014 · 6:56 AM

A Prayer For God’s Love

Dear Heavenly Father,

When I stop and consider who you are, I’m humbled that you would desire to use me. Everywhere I look in creation, I see your fingerprints. I see your handiwork in the stars at night and your compassion in the love of a child. I can’t help but try to imagine how big you must be since everything exists in you. I also can’t help but wonder how you care so deeply for me when you have so many other things you’ve created that you can be proud of. I’m in awe that you bless me daily with your presence.

I confess that I’m imperfect and am unworthy of your love. I do things that grieve you and make you disappointed in me. I fall short of who you want me to be so often. I don’t understand how you can still love me or desire to use me. My life is full of broken pieces that somehow you use to create a beautiful mosaic. Your desire is that when I sin and when I’m broken that I come to you and offer the pieces for you to use. My sin may be great, but your grace is even greater. I’m thankful for the forgiveness you offer when I don’t deserve it.

Thank you for the work you did on the cross. The blood that flowed from your body still offers forgiveness and healing today. The stripes you took on your back from the whip still offer healing. The crown of thorns that they placed on your head still pierces my heart and convicts me. Thank you for not calling 10,000 angels to come and rescue you. Thank you that you chose the Father’s will instead of your own. I’m forever grateful that your love for me was stronger than the pain you endured. It was stronger than the desire to come down from the cross, destroy the world and to start over. I don’t ever want to think of the love you have for me as ordinary.

I pray that you would help me to not only receive your love daily, but also help me to show it to others. Teach me to extend grace to those who need it most. I don’t want to be like the man in the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor. I recognize that you have forgiven me for a lot. Help me to forgive those who have wronged me. Help me to express your kind of love to them. I want to overflow with your love until that’s all that comes out of me. Let me be the expression of your love here on Earth. Let your love flow through me so I can point others to you. It doesn’t matter what I do in my life, if I don’t show your love, it’s all in vain.

Walk with me today. Open my eyes to see those in need of your love. Open my ears to hear what others are really saying that they need. Open my mouth to speak the words you want me to speak. Open my hands to give what you want me to give. Open my path to lead me where you want me to go. Give me the strength to go where you’ve called me and give me the courage to do what you ask me to do. Let my life make a difference in someone else’s today. Let others see you in me today so they can see how you can take an imperfect, broken vessel and use them anyway. I love you, Lord.

I ask these things in Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 20, 2014 · 7:12 AM

Preparing For Whatever

Each time I go on a trip, whether it’s for work, missions or vacation, I like to sit down and plan things out. I make sure I have packed everything I need, I check in for my flight 24 hours in advance, I get to the airport well in advance, I try not to check a bag and I like to pick my seat on the plane with easy access to the exit. I like to make sure I’m prepared so that my traveling experience is as easy as possible. It bothers me when others haven’t prepared and are in a state of panic. They have to ask everyone else who did plan and prepare to make exceptions for them.

No matter what changes we face in life, there’s usually a period of time before it where we are to prepare. God gives us time to prepare for what’s next, but many of us use that time to take a breather instead of preparing. Life becomes more like an emotional roller coaster when that happens. It’s feels like we get hit with one storm after another with no chance to breathe. The truth is that there is time to breathe between them and those are the times when we’re to prepare for the next one.

I’m in a time of preparation now. God spoke to me over a year ago and just said, “Prepare.” I asked, “Prepare for what?” All I heard back was, “Prepare.” I thought, “At least Noah knew what he was preparing for. David knew he was heading to a battlefield when he prepared. Jacob knew he was about to meet his brother when he prepared. Why can’t I know what’s coming?” I struggled with how to prepare for a while. Then I started think how I could prepare for whatever. I thought of the parable Jesus told of the wise man and the foolish man. Only one prepared for the rains.

If you’re unsure how you need to prepare for what’s coming next in your life, you can’t go wrong with building a strong foundation that will stand no matter what life throws at you. You build a good foundation by putting God’s word in your heart and mind. You take time to go beyond reading it, and find ways to understand it. You spend time searching through it for pearls of wisdom versus reading a chapter and closing it until the next day. You spend time thinking about a particular verse, truth or story for hours until you get different insight into it. You ask others what they see in it as well.

Preparation isn’t something you have to do alone. It’s just something you have to do in advance of whatever comes. Ephesians 6 tells us to have our feet shod with the preparation of the a Gospel of peace so we can be sure footed when the enemy comes. If you haven’t prepared, you’ll lose your footing when under attack. You’ll slip and fall when temptation comes. But if you’ve prepared, you won’t be knocked off your game. Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Do what matters now so you’ll be strong when changes come.

6 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 19, 2014 · 7:42 AM

A Prayer For Trust

Lord Jesus,

I come to you today knowing that you are in control of my life, my country and my world. You are the God who spoke into darkness and created light. You spoke and the world took shape. In fact, the words you spoke back then are still creating today as the universe continues to expand and birth new galaxies. Your word is powerful beyond anything I can imagine. It creates rivers in the desert, life in dry bones and hope in impossible situations. I honor you for who you are and because you take an active interest in my life.

I confess I don’t have everything figured out. I try to create things using my own power and wisdom instead of relying on yours. I constantly make a mess of things and then ask you to come clean it up. I often act as though I’m independent as if I don’t need you. I think I’m helping you out when I don’t see how your plan can come to pass and I try to figure it out on my own. I know that the closer I get to you, the more dependent I should become, but my selfish nature wants to prove to you and others that I can do things on my own. Somehow I lose sight of my role in our relationship.

I thank you that you forgive me when I’m selfish and try to do your job. You are always right on time when you come in and pick up the pieces from the mess I’ve made. I’m in awe when I watch you put them back together again in a fashion that is more complete and greater than I could have ever imagined. Thank you that you don’t get tired of me making a mess so often. Thank you that no matter what I do, you still love me and call me your child. I’m honored that you do and I don’t want to take it lightly. You sacrificed everything to give me that honor and in return, I sacrifice myself daily for you.

I ask that you would help me to become more dependent on you each day. Teach me to trust in you and your plan. I don’t know why things happen the way they do, but I know you are in control. Give me peace when I look at everything around me and I can’t see the way from point A to point B. Help me to stay still when you ask me to. Give me courage to move and step out when there’s no dry land around. Teach me to be patient when I don’t understand why things happen. Remind me that you’ll show up in time like you always do so I won’t worry. I want to do my part and let you do your part.

Give me strength to face today and peace that you have tomorrow under control. Put people in my path who I can speak life into and who can in return encourage me. Help me to build relationships with people who will help me accomplish more for you than I ever dreamed. Stir up the gifts you’ve placed in me so that they are active and are ready to be used by you at a moment’s notice. You are my God and my king. I owe my life to you. Let me live that way today and show others who you are by my actions, by my faith and by my trust in you. I love you with all my heart.

In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,