The Waiting

What are you waiting on? Everyone is waiting on something: a promotion, a new opportunity to show up, a new love. The list goes on. Waiting can be painful and intense.  Waiting too long can make you quit.  Instead, take a little time to carefully consider what or who you are waiting on? If you are waiting on a person to make something happen, even yourself,  don't. People are limited and cannot always come through. Though they may desire to give you what you are waiting on (and some don't desire to) they may not have it in them to come through for you.  Their experiences are limited.  Their understanding is limited.  They're limited in pretty much everything.  If you're waiting on certain resources thinking that if you have them you will have 'arrived',that's not a good idea either. Unfortunately, even the best of resources are still limiting.  God is not limited, though.  His understanding, resourcefulness, and power reach far beyond what we could ever have need of. He is the only presence in our lives that is unhindered in the ability to see every intricate detail of everyone and everything around us and know exactly what fits where and what should not even be a part of our puzzle.  God knows how to orchestrate the change that you are seeking. Talk to God and ask him to order everything. Ask him to do whatever is necessary to get you beyond waiting whether you would be in agreement with his decision or not. What is so pressing about waiting is the lingering threat that what we are working for and waiting on will never manifest. What relieves that pressure is knowing that God always delivers.  He will put people in your life, adjust your situation, and/or adjust your understanding until either what you've been waiting on comes through or until you clearly see that it was never something you should have been waiting on anyway.  I've seen it happen too many times.  Wait on God. His work is always worth the wait.

Prayer:  Show us the benefits of waiting on and trusting in you Lord.

Believe

How precious are your kids to you?  Wouldn't you, without hesitation,  give your life to keep them out of harms way?  Most of us would rob, steal, and even kill if that is what safeguarding our children required. Thank goodness we have a God whose thoughts are not our thoughts and ways are not our ways.  Our father in heaven has a son we call Christ.  He loves his son dearly. He wants what we want for his Son. Safety, peace, honor, and love.  Still, because it was necessary to protect others, he removed his son from safety and allowed him to be put in harms way.  Jesus, God's son, was wise and pure and honorable.  He testified of God and God's truth.  He healed people and worked miracles that had never before been seen.  He lived a sin free life.  Nonetheless, religious leaders accused him of blasphemy and turned him over to the authorities.  The people judged him harshly.  They mocked him, ridiculed him, beat him to the point of being unrecognizable, and then hung him on a wooden cross by piercing his flesh with nails.  Even then, he asked God to forgive the people who were crucifying him.  He died on that cross. He died on that cross on our behalf.  He took on the death that we deserve and it is God's will that we honor his Son for his sacrifice.  He asks us to honor Him by believing what the Bible tells us about Him. The accounts of Jesus in the Bible are, to our minds, incomprehensible.   Believing requires accepting truths that stretch beyond what is humanly possible or easily understood.  Believing requires faith.  Faith is delicate and not easily attained.  It is precious.  It is productive.  Faith is a gift.  It is a gift that keeps on giving.  So in this season of giving, why not give someone the opportunity to develop their faith.  Find a way to introduce them to the truth of God and his Son.  Maybe give away a few Bibles.  Give some good contemporary Christian music. Books can also be enlightening.  It's amazing how a little trinket with a timely scripture on it, can open someone up to the faith.  Give someone Christ this Christmas.  Help someone believe.

Prayer: Lord the Bible says no one can get to you without going through Jesus.  In order for you to acknowledge us, we must acknowledge that it is truth that Jesus was crucified in our behalf and that he was resurrected and now sits with you in all power.  Lord increase our faith and show us ways in which we can gently lead others to believe.

Name Calling

A prayer is spoken. The presence of the Spirit is more than apparent. The heart of the prayer is unmistakable. It was a prayer from and for God. Still the spiritual conversation isn't thought to be complete until it gets the final seal. We hit it with the consummate "In the name of Jesus". STAMP. Now that prayer can be delivered and the deal is sealed. There's been a misunderstanding. We think praying in the name of Jesus means closing our prayers with the signature phrase. It has become little more than a ritualistic end to our supplication. Or some say it believing, if the phrase is left out,  the prayer won't be heard.  We are right in believing God wants us to pray in Jesus's name. Yet overtime we have lost sight of what that means. When you do something in someone else's name, you are doing it in behalf of them. You are working in representation of them to further the meeting of their goals. Their heart is your heart. You are working for what they want. So when we pray in Jesus's name, the goal of that prayer should be to speak what Jesus would speak. If we are truly praying in the name of Jesus, even if what we want doesn't line up with what God wants, our prayer is such that it is understood that God's desires trump our own. If that is how you have prayed, then there is no need for the "In Jesus's Name" stamp at the end. God already knows you prayed in His name based on the prayer itself. Subsequently, a selfish prayer won't be validated by tagging it with Jesus's name. It's important to understand this, because the power of our prayer lies in the intent of our prayer. The prayers that line up with God's heart and mind will be answered. The prayers that aren't, won't. Liken it to a new reader who can fluently decode words. They can get through a whole paragraph in under a minute. Hit them with some comprehension questions though and they can't answer a thing. They aren't really reading yet. They are just word calling. Those words don't mean anything until they can apply meaning to them.  The same applies to prayer. Putting Jesus's name at then end of a prayer is not a bad thing. It's a step.  Still, until we apply the meaning of praying in His name to the prayer, we're just name calling.  Once we do mature in our prayer life and we begin to pray with God's heart in mind and put his desires over our own, whoo.  Now that's praying.

 

Prayer: Lord your word says some of our prayers aren't answered because the intent of the prayer is wrong. Lord direct us in our prayers and turn our hearts toward you.  Bless us with our hearts' desires when the words of our mouths and the meditations of our heart are acceptable in your sight.

Feeling Cramped?

Feeling cramped? Do you keep trying to spread your wings in your place of employment, but no matter what you do you can't get them fully opened? You work hard everyday, day after day, but the results are mostly mediocre. Even when the results are great, you still feel unfulfilled. Something is wrong with that.  It is an indication that you are not working your gift. Your gift is that thing that God has given you that you  are  powerfully good at doing.  In Proverbs 18:16, the Bible says that a man's gift will make room for him and bring him before greats.  So if you are feeling like what you are doing now is boxing you in, you are probably not working your gift.  What is that you do in your spare time that you are awesome at and can do almost effortlessly? Time and circumstances melt away into oblivion while you use this talent and it is productive and effective.  That's probably your gift.  Use it. It's time.   That doesn't mean you need to walk in your job with your letter of resignation tomorrow.  It may be that you will find a way to use your gift where you are working now.  Then you will find your career and sense of satisfaction quickly catapulted. It may be that you need an absolutely new environment for what God has gifted you to do. Or it could be that you are supposed to keep your job as a source of income and work your gift in isolation of your career. Only God knows. Pray about it.  Ask God to lead you into what he would have you do with your gift. Then work, work, work at it.  It's critical that you do.  God has given you that gift for reasons that go way beyond yourself. God has given you that gift because he wants you to use it for his purposes.  Your gift will meet someone else's need.  If you can't put your finger on what your gift is, ask Him to help you pinpoint it.  You certainly have one. Use it well and those wings that were once stuck and stifled will begin to spread like wildfire and command room be made for you. There will be no stopping you.

Prayer:  God your word says our gifts will make room for us.  Direct us in the use of our gifts.  Help us to use our strengths to strengthen others and to strengthen your kingdom here on earth.  May the talents you have blessed us with be a blessing and may our responsible use of these gifts bless us in return.

There Is A God

Consider our world and how it works. The earth itself is a fantastic entity. In its enormity it revolves and orbits the moon causing day to turn to night and night to return to day with flawless timing. It is a natural system that dictates the ebb and flow of the ocean, the opening and closing of our day, and the sequence of the seasons. What about the creatures on earth? We share a commonality in that we are able to function by systems that are at work in us.  Nervous systems help our brains send signals to other parts of our body to make them work. Respiratory systems work to get oxygen to our vital organs.  Digestive systems get nutrients from our food to our blood system.  There are many other systems at work in us. All of these systems are made to work in specific ways by specific designs. Designs that we did not devise ourselves. Natural order is present all around us.  The rooster will never wake up and have beautiful plumage that it can fan out at will and the peacock will never intuitively know to announce the coming of the morning. The horse will never swim the depths of the ocean and the fish will not run at fantastic speeds.  They each follow their own design.  These designs are by nature predetermined.  Even in the fields of math and science there are principals or laws that are already set and established that cannot be defied. They dictate that certain things will always be ordered according to certain patterns and laws. For example, in math, when you add two odd numbers the answer will always be even.  In science, the law of motion states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an opposing force. Something amazing about the scientific laws is that most of them can be represented with a mathematical equation.  It is like each of the laws have their own personal blueprint.  We didn't create the order of these laws. They are sytematic principles that were already established.. Everything I've mentioned to this point leads to this.  Laws, systems, and order all hinge upon one thing: a pre-established design.  Designs do not create themselves.  A design is established by a designer. Order does not create itself.  Order follows rules that were created by design. Again, where there is design, there is a designer and the designer is always greater than the design.  Therefore the natural orders, natural laws, and natural systems we experience around us everyday all follow predetermined designs that were established by a designer.  Who designed them then? They are called natural because we know they are not made by man.  They could not have designed themselves. So it stands to reason that there is a master designer. A designer that is greater than math, greater than science, greater than man, and greater than nature.  That master designer is our creator. That creator is God.

Prayer:  Lord You reveal yourself to us in our everyday surroundings so we are without excuse for not believing.  Help us to see you everywhere you are. Give us eyes that see you, ears that hear you, and hearts that understand you. Amen.

What You Don't Know...

People can get you caught up. It's not right. It's not fair. It is true. Other people can unexpectedly thrust trouble upon you. There will be situations in your life that you would never be able to foresee... situations in which you've done your best to make the right choices and stay clean but someone else drags you in their dirt. It's times like these that our best judgment doesn't cut it. Instead of our good judgment, we need God judgment. What's the difference? The difference is that God's line of vision is by far greater than ours. So he can weigh and work through situations far better than we can. In Genesis 20, the Bible tells about King Abimalech. He was a King who was minding his own business when a man named Abraham and his sister Sarah entered his kingdom. King Abimalech took Sarah with the intent of making her a wife. Nothing was wrong with what Abimalech had done, to his knowledge. But God knew better. God knew that Abraham and Sarah were not only half brother-sister, they were also (as the custom allowed in those times) husband and wife. Furthermore God knew that Abraham was a prophet and for Abimalech to touch Abraham's wife would cost Abimalech and his people their lives. How unfair. Abimalech had no way of knowing that Abraham had withheld the important information that they were husband and wife from him. He saw a woman he wanted in his kingdom and his best judgment was to go and get her from her brother and make her his wife. Strangely, it so happened that all the while Sarah was with Abimalech, he never touched her. Then one night he had a dream from God that warned him that he had taken a prophet's wife and if he didn't send her back that was going to be the end of him. God said because of the integrity of Abimalech, he kept Abimalech from committing the sin of sleeping with another man's wife. Abimalech took heed to the dream and sent Sarah back to Abraham. Abimalech's God-judgment overrode his good judgment. It saved his life. Staying connected with God is important. Always try to keep a receptive spirit so you can recognize when God is sharing some insight with you. It will help you avoid getting caught in other people's pitfalls that you would never be able to foresee. There are countless things going on everyday that could directly affect us that we don't know about. There is nothing going on that God doesn't know about. Keep the line to your inside connection open, because what you don't know can hurt you.

Prayer: Lord give us the wisdom to call on you and a heart/spirit that is receptive to your voice. Reveal to us things that are hidden from us that we need to know. Please safeguard us in all situations.

Becoming

Sometimes in the process of developing our faith and spirituality, we feel uncertain and awkard.  In an effort to keep ourselves from a fall, we take our first step in faith and then try to run as fast as we can, even though we're just getting the hang of walking.  Then when the tumble comes, as it most often does, we feel too frustrated to make another attempt.  We have a lot to learn.  Yes, in the twinkling of an eye, we can become Christians by just acknowledging with our heart and mouth that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.  Yet becoming Christ-like is not so instantaneous.  Becoming Christ-like is a life journey.  It takes time.  So keep walking and working towards making inner changes and don't allow anyone, including yourself, to belittle your efforts.  More importantly, when attempts to overcome flaws don't go as well as planned, don't hide from God out of shame. Go to Him. In sincere prayer acknowledge your weaknesses and ask for help. God knows us.  He knows where we will fail.  He knows he could do a much better job with our lives than we can.  But God is such a gentleman.  He never forces himself on anyone and will only step in with permission. So let God know that you are letting him in.  Then give it time.  Others may not think much of us as we proceed on our growth journey because they only value the finished product.  We, though, should see ourselves as God sees us;  as the start of art. Every step of progress is God's stroke of genius. He enjoys the picture as it develops and so should you.  Look forward to what you will become and embrace the time of becoming.

Next Exit Frustration?

You’re doing it again aren’t you? You are trying to work it out for yourself, fumbling around with it inside your head, and wrestling with the problem.   On the inside  (and maybe even on the outside) you fight to fix or figure the thing out.  After all, God did bless us with the ability to problem solve. Shouldn’t we use it?  Yes, as best we can, we should.  But when a situation gets you to the point of frustration, just stop. I'm not saying that we should never get frustrated. Believe it or not, frustration is an emotion that was given to us by God. He didn’t mean for us to ever remain in it, though. It is supposed to be an early indicator.  Frustration is intended to alert us that we forgot to involve God.  We are relying on ourselves when we should be relying on God.  That is what is causes the struggle.  It doesn’t have to be so hard.  We have help.  We have wisdom shared with us in the Bible that can provide enlightenment for any situation.  We should have Godly confidants in our lives that we can call up and trust to give us insightful counsel. We also have prayer.  We can tell God about it and let him know that we want to hear from him about it and that we invite him to handle things.  When we deal with overwhelming situations without God, it’s like driving a car that is seriously in need of an alignment.  You may struggle through it , but it could have been much easier. Sometimes driving without proper alignment can make a bad situation worse or even cause a fatal accident.  So take care of those things you can take care of.  Handle those things you can handle.  But when it gets to be more than you can bear and the frustration alarm starts to sound, put your car in park and turn the wheel back over to God.

Prayer:  Lord help us to remember that you are in control and you fight for us.  Help us to be still and know that you are God.

The Intent of The Test

What's the answer? Better than that, what's the question? Remember the days of being in a classroom sitting face to face with a test that could make or break you? How well you answered, how well you recalled and applied what's been taught would determine whether or not you would move on or be held back. Assessments can be critical. There was a time when I thought exams were given so the teacher would know who was dumb and who was smart, or who to pass or fail. So if I passed a test...great. If I failed a test, oh well, on to the next one. Now I know better. 15 years of being an elementary school teacher has taught me the intent of the test. When I give a test, I pretty much know who will and will not pass before I ever hand that test out. How could that be? Because I know my students well and because when I introduce and overview lessons with them, I am already taking into account each child's response. When I walk the class and interact with the kids, I'm surveying strengths and weaknesses. It's not by accident when I question a child although they never raised their hand to be called on. If a child gets invited to my round table for a one one one session, it's for a reason. So when the set time comes and the district pacing guide requires us to move on to the next objective and I have to assess, likely the assessment will tell me what I already know. Little Johnny will need some more one on one time with this skill. Little Susie knows the content better than I do. So then why test? Good question. The test verifies for the student his/her strengths or weaknesses. When a student gets something right, they need to know that their thinking was on point. When a student gets something wrong, they need to know that they got it wrong and more importantly, they need to know how to change their thinking. So I tell my students all the time, it doesn't mean anything to know you got a 100, 90, or 50 unless you pay attention to how you were thinking and listen for how your thinking needs to change. That's where the power of the assessment lies. That F that you made on exam could be a life catapulting F if you pay attention to the results of that test and listen to the instructor on how to change your thinking. Wow. I know that's a long prelude to the point, but stay with me I'm at the home stretch. As Christians, we are very familiar with the idea of God testing us. The confusion I think comes in on our understanding of the intent of the test. The prevalent misunderstanding is that God gives us tests to see how well we will handle them. That just doesn't make sense, though. The God we serve is the beginning and the end. This is the same God that knew us before we were ever formed in our mothers' wombs. Why would such a God need a test to show Him what we are going to do?  He already knows us better than we know ourselves. No, that's not the intent of His tests. God assesses us for us to get a  better picture of ourselves. When he puts us in trying situations, it gives us a snapshot of our own growth or lack thereof. If we pass His tests, great! If we don't pass the tests, it could still be great if we pay close attention to the Instructor and learn how to change our thinking. We all have areas in our lives that we are tired of being held back in: careers, finances, diet, relationships, etc. The only way to finally be promoted is to stop focusing on the fact that we keep getting it wrong and start seeking out insight on WHY we're getting it wrong? What do we need to do differently? God is our teacher. He already knows we need more one on one time at His roundtable, but He needs us to know it too. That way we'll be more attentive students when he tells us where our thinking went wrong. You know that teacher you had? The teacher who always said, "Failure is not an option." Well God's got that teacher beat. He already has your cap and gown waiting in the wings for you. Listen to him. Learn from him. He is compelling you to pass. It's graduation time.

Prayer: Lord, you know us down to the very number of hairs on our heads. Help us to know ourselves as you know us and help us to get to know you better each day. You have already established a purpose for each of us and our contentment is contigent upon fulfilling our purpose. So we pray that you will keep strengthening  and compelling us to be good students. Give us eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that understand. May we study to be approved in your sight.

Can Do

Sometimes we feel so weak, tired, incompetent, unsure, limited...human. There are things we think of doing: big, incomprehensible, outlandish things, the kind of things we tell people we plan on doing and they double over in laughter. Something on the inside of us knows it's doable, but outside influences keep telling us that it's more than we can handle and that we can't make it happen. Well, the truth is, we can't. But God can. God can use us to do things that we never would have dared to dream of doing. Nothing is too hard for Him. So if we allow Him to work through us, then nothing will be too hard for us either. God is the master potter. Only he can clearly see the massive potential that hides in the shapeless lump of our lives. Time and again he skillfully works us into masterpieces, if we're pliable enough. So if you're seeing imminent miracles where others see a mess, you've likely tapped into our Father's vision. Let no person detour you. Pray about it. If God gives you the thumbs up, get it done. Prayer: Lord, help us to see beyond ourselves. Help us to understand that when you give us bigger than life assignments, completing them will meet someone elses need and will strengthen Your kingdom. Don't allow us to allow fear to stifle our productivity. We can do all things through you, God. You strengthen us.

Mind Your Amens

So be it. Let it be so. This is the meaning and intended purpose of the word amen. Today, though, it has mostly come to be understood as a signal indicating a prayer is closing. It has also become an automated response of affirmation that we'll throw in the atmosphere whether or not we really heard or really agree with what's been spoken. It's happened to me. A group prayer gets a little too lengthy and I fade out mentally for a while and miss a big chunk of what was said. I come to and wonder what was prayed as I simultaneously toss in my amen at the end not having a clue of what all I just confirmed before God that I wanted to be so. Or has a scenario like this happened at your church? The pastor may be informing the church of a recent tragedy and make a comment such as "People in the world are getting worse and worse by the day. Amen." And the church too says, "Amen." Unwittingly, the church and the pastor have just told God, "People in the world are getting

worse and worse by the day. Let it be so. So be it." God is very big on words. He let's us know that life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). There are several scriptures that teach the critical importance of being careful with our words. This leads me to believe that a word that signifies to God that we want a thing to be established cannot be taken lightly. All this said to say...let's make an effort hereafter to not use the word amen so loosely. Let's thoughtfully consider what's being said before we tell God we want it to be established. Let's mind our amens. Prayer: Lord thank you for the gift of prayer. Help us to think carefully about every word we present to you so we don't unintentionally pray anything that goes against your will. Forgive us for any misuse of prayer and please divinely intervene and reorder anything we have brought disorder to through poor prayer. May our prayers be pleasing in your sight and may we mind our amens. (Selah) Amen.