Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Praying For The Coming Of The Lord

My Prayer: Come Lord Jesus! Until you do, work in us Your Spirit and will and the power to live Holy and Godly lives.

Here is a really encouraging thing. “You ought to live Holy and Godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” 2 Peter 3:11-12. We don’t know when the day will come, but we can have an effect on how soon. The way Christians live and pray in this world has a direct impact on the history of the world. One of the Christians community’s earliest calls to worship was the prayer, “Maranatha!” “Come Lord!” Hope in the coming of Christ will make us live Holy and Godly lives and pray Holy and Godly prayers.

Monday, August 23, 2010

He Is Waiting For You

Jonathan Edwards: “There is no way that Christians in a private capacity can do so much to promote the work of God and advance the kingdom of Christ as by prayer.

Matthew 1:1-17 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

When did God start thinking about Jesus? Actually, the orthodox and correct answer is, God never started thinking about Jesus. God the Son (Jesus) was always with God the Father.

When did God start thinking about us? Genealogies tell us that God has been thinking about saving us for a very long time. The genealogy names are synapses in the mind of God, leading up to the great name he speaks in Jesus. The names of these genealogies are the connection in God’s thoughts about his plan to save the world through his son Jesus Christ. His thoughts began before these people. “For he chose us in (Christ) before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).

Before you speak to God today, know that he has been speaking to you. To pray is to enter into conversation. Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”, Matthew 6:8. That is because he knew you before you knew him. There is nothing you can say that can possibly surprise him, no sin you might confess, no need you might want to express. He has been waiting for you to talk with him for a very long time.

Prayer: Father in Heaven! I come to you today knowing that you have been thinking about me for a long time. Thank you for making me part of your eternal plan, and that I can join in our grand purpose as I pray. In Jesus’ name I pray this day. Amen.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Prayer and Money

Malachi 3:10 – Test me in this, “says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.”

What we do with our finances has a direct bearing on our prayer life. Robbing God certainly puts a strain on the relationship. There is a deeper reason for its importance: Jesus said giving was a form of investment, of storing up treasures in heaven, and added, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).

This is where money and prayer intersect. Prayer is a matter of the heart; a bad heart makes for bad prayer, a good heart makes for good prayer. If our heart is somewhere other than with the Lord, then our prayer life suffers. If we put our treasure in God, then our hearts will be there too. It is simple. “Return to me and I will return to you”, says the Lord (Malachi 3:7). We can grow closer to God by what we do with our money. When we give, we imitate God; we act like him, and form a deeper fellowship of love.

My Prayer: Gracious and generous God, you are our treasure; if giving you our money brings us closer to you then no amount of giving is too much. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Malachi

Disappointment with God takes us to very predictable places. Bitterness sets in and we think thoughts that were once unthinkable. “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord” Malachi 2:17. Worship becomes listless and disgusting to God. “Oh one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my alter! I am not pleased with you. Malachi 1:10. We hold so tightly to whatever security we think we have, especially money, that we rob God. “Yet you rob me.. in tithes and offerings” Malachi 3:8. Even marriages suffer because of it. Hearts that grow cold toward God will soon grow cold to those nearest us, “You have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant” Malachi 2:14.

Malachi provides an agenda for prayer in a time of disappointment with God. First praise God for his faithfulness in the past and his promises for the future. Remember to “guard yourself in your spirit”, and that “I the Lord do not change” Malachi 2:15; 3:6) Second get back into conversation with God. Talk to God more than you talk about him.

Malachi 1:11 “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Holy Exaggeration

Luke 1:46 “My soul glorifies the Lord”.

What do people do when they have an encounter with the Lord? Whatever else they may do, they start moving. The angel Gabriel has just told Mary that she will be the mother of the Son of God. Mary surely has incredibly mixed feelings. She will be privileged to give birth to the Messiah; yet being unmarried she will undoubtedly become the object of skepticism and ridicule. But, she is so anxious to observe the sign the angel told her about her relative Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy, so instead of sitting still in Nazareth she packs up and makes the long journey to Elizabeth’s house. Luke 1:36. When she arrives the baby in Elizabeth’s womb gets moving too, and leaps for joy.

When Mary’s feelings are voiced, she sings a song the church has echoed for centuries. It is traditionally known as “The Magnificat” from the Latin “to glorify” or “to magnify”. My soul glorifies (or magnifies) the Lord”, Mary sings.

The word “glory” in the NIV is perfectly accurate, but “magnify” offers some refreshment to the imagination. There are two kinds of magnification: the kind that makes the small seem big, as in a microscope; and the kind that shows what seems small to actually be big, as in a telescope. The world’s glories are the microscopic variety; what is really tiny is made to look big. God’s glory is the telescopic variety. As with the pinpoints of light in the night sky, so with the embryo in Mary’s womb; what seems small is discovered to be gigantic when seen through the lens of faith.

Mary exaggerated what the world neglected. That is what Mary did the day she sang her praise to God. It is clear from her Son that God also exaggerates what the world neglects, and neglects what the world exaggerates. The lowly will be lifted up, and the high and mighty will be brought down. Praise is a great corrective lens for existence. To learn to glory in what God glories is to see things as they really are.

Praise God and be moved!

The Magnificat:

"The Magnificat (Latin: [My soul] magnifies) — also known as the Song of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung (or spoken) liturgically in Christian church services. The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:46-55) where it is spoken by the Virgin Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with the future John the Baptist, the child moves within Elizabeth's womb. When Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, Mary sings what is now known as the Magnificat in response.

The canticle echoes several Old Testament biblical passages, but the most pronounced allusions are to the Song of Hannah, from the Books of Samuel (1Samuel 2:1-10). Along with the Benedictus, as well as several Old Testament canticles, the Magnificat is included in the Book of Odes, an ancient liturgical collection found in some manuscripts of the Septuagint.

Within Christianity, the Magnificat is most frequently recited within the Liturgy of the Hours. In Western Christianity, the Magnificat is most often sung or recited during the main evening prayer service: Vespers within Roman Catholicism and Evening Prayer (or Evensong) within Anglicanism. In Eastern Christianity, the Magnificat is usually sung at Sunday Matins. Among Protestant groups, the Magnificat may also be sung during worship services."

Song Lyrics: The Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath showed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty, open our mouths to praise you, God of wonder, God of love. Teach us to exaggerate what the world neglects and to maximize what sin minimizes. In Jesus’ name I pray this day. Amen.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

The Road Less Traveled



The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

By...Robert Frost

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Love The Lord Your God With All Your Heart, With All Your Soul, With All Your Mind

Matthew 22:29 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Song Lyrics: Alabaster’s Box

The room grew still
As she made her way to Jesus
She stumbles through the tears that made her blind
She felt such pain
Some spoke in anger
Heard folks whisper
There's no place here for her kind
Still on she came
Through the shame that flushed her face
Until at last, she knelt before his feet
And though she spoke no words
Everything she said was heard
As she poured her love for the Master
From her box of alabaster

And I've come to pour
My praise on Him
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair
You weren't there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When he wrapped his love all around me and
You don't know the cost of the oil
In my alabaster box

I can't forget the way life used to be
I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound
And I spent my days
Poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box
I'd thought I'd found
Until the day when Jesus came to me
And healed my soul
With the wonder of His touch
So now I'm giving back to Him
All the praise He's worthy of
I've been forgiven
And that's why
I love Him so much

And I've come to pour
My praise on Him
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears
And dry them with my hair (my hair)
You weren't there the night Jesus found me
You did not feel what I felt
When He wrapped his loving arms around me and
You don't know the cost of the oil
Oh, you don't know the cost of my praise
You don't know the cost of the oil
In my alabaster box

Many people God uses to accomplish great things start their journey with him as real doubters. With all of them, “He wraps His loving arms around them”, and shows mercy and great patience.

Dearest Heavenly Father, God almighty, and thank you for what you have done and what you are in the process of doing in our lives. We honor you dearest Lord. You are worthy of all praise. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Waiting

I've Got the Joy In My Heart
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Where?
Down in my heart!
Where?
Down in my heart!
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay

And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
Downin my heart
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart.

I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus
Down in my heart
Where?
Down in my heart!
Where?
Down in my heart!

I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus
Down in my heart
Where?
Down in my heart to stay.

And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
Down in my heart
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart.

I've got the peace that passes understanding
Way down in the depths of my heart!
Where?
Down in the depths of my heart!
Where?
Down in the depths of my heart!
I've got the peace that passes understanding
Way down in the depths of my heart!
Down in my heart to stay

And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
Down in my heart
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart.

And if the Devil doesn't like it
He can sit on a tack!
Ouch!
Sit on a tack!
Ouch!
Sit on a tack!
And if the Devil doesn't like it
He can sit on a tack!
Ouch!
Sit on a tack to stay!

And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
Down in my heart
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart

The hardest part of prayer is the waiting. The faith of some has weakened and faltered because of it. What was true to Habakkuk is true for us. “Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

Habakkuk 3:3 – “His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.”

Habakkuk 3:17-19
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”

It doesn’t matter what other things are going on – We have a choice to have joy. God’s people need to live in the strength of his Spirit, confident in his ultimate victory over evil.

“Habakkuk asked God why evil people prosper while the righteous suffer. God’s answer: they don’t, not in the long run. God is alive and in control of the world’s events. We cannot see all that God is doing, and we cannot see all he God will do. We can be assured that he is God and will do what is right. Knowing this can give us confidence and hope in a confusing world.”

“No man ever prayed heartily without learning something” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our God Is An Awsome God!

When He rolls up His sleeves
He ain't just putting on the ritz
Our God is an awesome God
There is thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fists
Our God is an awesome God
The Lord wasn't joking
When He kicked 'em out of Eden
It wasn't for no reason
That He shed His blood
His return is very close
And so you better be believing that
Our God is an awesome God

Chorus:
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from Heaven above
With wisdom power and love
Our God is an awesome God

And when the sky was starless
In the void of the night
Our God is an awesome God
He spoke into the darkness
And created the light
Our God is an awesome God
Judgment and wrath
He poured out on Sodom
Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross
I hope that we have not
Too quickly forgotten that
Our God is an awesome God

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Walking In Freedom

(1) Believing Satan’s lies places us in bondage.
(2) The Truth has the power to set us free.

All of us need to be alert and on guard for Satan’s lies. Our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) His methods are cunning and deceptive. There is unhappiness, lies and self-destruction all around us.

The good news is that the truth is always stronger than any lie, just as our Savior Jesus Christ is always stronger than our enemy. Believers are not immune to Satan’s attacks, but we do have a weapon to protect us from them. We have the understanding of “God’s Word as absolute Truth”. God’s Truth alone has the power to help us discern Satan’s lies and then set us free. The more we study the word, the more the Truth will be in our hearts, on our minds, and on our tongues. The better acquainted we are with His Word, the better we will be able to identify Satan’s lies and bring to mind God’s Truth.

When we learn the Truth, we need to believe it, surrender to it, and live it, and we will find ourselves set free. Then we can life the life Christ meant us to live-life abundant!

“The Truth has the power to overcome every lie. That is what the enemy doesn’t want us to realize. As long as we believe his lies, he can keep us in bondage…The Truth has the power to set us free and to protect our minds and hearts from deceptive thoughts and feelings…The Truth has the power to sanctify us-and to purify our minds, our hearts, and our spirits.”

My Prayer: Lord thank you for showing me the lies that have held me in bondage and the Truth that can set me free. Please help me to surrender to and act on the Truth every time a lie presents itself to me. Lord thank You for Your Word that tells me the truth about who You are, what You have done for me, and how much You love me. Lord thank You that Your grace is sufficient to help me even in my deepest need or strongest bondage. Lord thank you that I can find joy and freedom by relinquishing control of my life to You. I understand that true freedom is found by submitting to you. Lord, thank You that this life is a whole lot bigger than just me. I admit that often I am at the center of my own little world. The truth is, however that I am not on this earth for You to make me happy; I am here Lord to glorify You and to bring you pleasure. This is what I want to do dearest Lord, today and everyday of my life. As I do, You have promised that I will experience fullness of joy and the delights of Your pleasures. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

“In Christ and in His Word we have the Truth that sets people free. That is Good News! We must learn the Truth, believe it, surrender to it, and live it out-even when it flies in the face of our culture. Then we must proclaim the Truth with boldness, conviction, and compassion, seeking to turn sinners from the error of their way and to restore those who have wandered from the Truth”.

His Grace Is Sufficient

Our situations in life are varied as the people involved. How we react to our circumstances whether we believe the lies presented to us or embrace God’s Truth has a profound effect on everything else. Some circumstances are beyond our control. If we fail to see the hand of God behind our circumstances we will be vulnerable to confusion, frustration, bitterness, anger and despair”.

“One lie we believe is that if only our circumstances were different, then we would be different, we would act differently or that we would be happier. What we are saying is that we are victims of our circumstances and that we are powerless to control what we say or do. The truth is that we are not victims. Our circumstances do not make us what we are. They reveal what we are. We may not be able to control our circumstances; but by God’s grace we can choose how to respond to our circumstances”.

“Jesus never promised an easy life here on earth. On the contrary, the Scriptures teach that it is impossible to become like Jesus, to be holy, apart from suffering. Because we don’t understand the necessity and value of suffering, it makes us more concerned about getting relief from our pain than about discovering the pure fruit God wants to produce in our lives through the pain”.

“Believing the lie that our circumstances will never change will grow discouragement and temptation to give up when facing seemingly impossible situations”.

“In order to walk in freedom, we much exchange our temporal, earthly perspective for a set of heavenly eternal glasses. The years we experience this on earth are a microsecond on the timeline of eternity”.

1. We need to pray for God to intervene, but be when He doesn’t come as quickly as we would like.
2. We must “trust’, “hope”, and “persevere” even as we await His answers.
3. We must set our eyes on heaven!

“Another lie of deception is to give up and say we can’t take it anymore. Although when we do so we truly believe that God has placed too much in our lives. God promises, however that His grace is sufficient to help us in our weakness”.

“It is all about me has found its way into the fabric of our selfish society. Everything evolves around me, nothing is more important than my wants, my needs, and my desires. This attitude has broken marriages, families and hearts everywhere. The truth for believers is that this life is not all about them; it is all about God. He is the reason we exist, and we should live to honor and glorify Him”.

My Prayer: Lord, I confess that I often let my circumstances control my attitudes and my responses. I want to be controlled by Your Spirit. Please help me to trust in You, regardless of what is going on around me, and to learn to rejoice and be content in every circumstance. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

“All the New Testament authors recognized that there is a redemptive, sanctifying fruit that cannot be produced in our lives apart from suffering. In fact, Peter goes so far as to insist that suffering is our calling – not just for some select group of Christian leaders or martyrs but for every child of God”.

God promised to end Sarah’s barrenness and give her and Abraham a child. How long did they wait for that promise to come true? Gen 12:4-5; 21:5)

How long was Joseph in prison (for a crime he did not commit) after the cupbearer promised to bring Joseph’s case to Pharaoh? (Gen 40:23-41:1)

Joshua prayed for victory over his enemies. How quickly did God answer his request? (Joshua 10:12-14)

Mary and Martha knew that Jesus could heal their sick brother, Lazarus. How long did they wait before Jesus returned to them? (John 11:17)

My Prayer: Lord, at times when I am hurting my natural instinct is to cry out for relief. But I don’t want to forfeit the blessings that You can bring to me and to others through my suffering. Thank You that You use suffering to make us more mature, and more like Your Son Jesus, who suffered for us. Help me to embrace the pain and to allow You to fulfill all Your purpose in and through my life. In Jesus’ name I pray this day. Amen.

“Our night of suffering may go on for months or even years. But if we are a child of God, it will not go on forever. God has determined the exact duration of our suffering. It will not last a moment longer than He knows it is necessary to achieve His holy, eternal purpose in and though our lives”.

My Prayer: Lord sometimes it is so hard to endure when it seems like nothing is changing in my circumstances. Help me to wait for Your timing, Lord knowing that You will act at the right time. Until then teach to trust, obey, hope and persevere. Be glorified in my life. In Jesus’ name I pray this day. Amen.

“God will never lead us anywhere that His grace will not sustain us.” “He will never place more upon us than He will give us grace to bear”. When the path before us seems hopelessly long, take heart. We need to lift up our eyes and look to the day when all suffering will be over.”

My Prayer: Lord at times I feel that I can’t take any more. I feel so very weak. Yet You promise that Your grace is sufficient for me and that Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. Help me to walk in Your grace and Your strength today. Thank You that, by Your grace I can go on. In Jesus’ name I pray this day. Amen

“When we realize the reason we are living is not living to please ourselves but to live for the glory and pleasure of God we will be able to sing hymns to Him in the middle of our hunger and frustration”.

My Prayer: Lord, I confess that my natural tendency is to look out for myself, my interest, and my happiness. But I realized that it is not about me. It is all about You and Your kingdom, Your will and Your glory. I do not exist so You can make me happy. I was created to bring pleasure and glory to You and to reflect the light of Christ onto others. I know that I will only find true joy as I lay down my life to the end. In Jesus’ name I pray this day. Amen

“Whether we choose to believe it or not, if we are a child of God, the Truth is that “His grace is sufficient for us. His grace is sufficient for every moment, every circumstance, every detail, every need, and every failure of our lives.”

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Don't Let Satan Deceive You With His Lies

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, open our eyes so that we will not be deceived by Satan’s lies. Sometimes a course of action seems right when we don’t stop to think about Your “Truth” or the consequences that could result. Teach us to consider our choices in light of Your Word. In Jesus’ name I pray today, Amen.

Adam and Eve failed to heed God’s warning. Gen 2:16-17 “But the Lord God warned them, You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden – except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit you are sure to die”.

“They did not understand the reasons for His command. So they chose to act in another way that looked better to them. All of God’s commands are for our own good, although we may not understand the reason for them. People who trust God will obey because God asks them to, whether or not they understand why God commands it.”

“There are no harmless lies. We cannot expose ourselves to the world’s false, deceptive way of thinking and come out unscathed.”

Please Father God, show us any way that we have made ourselves more vulnerable to Satan’s lies by the kinds of influences we are choosing to allow into our life. Help us to fill our minds and heart with the truth. Amen.

“Satan is a powerful enemy. His primary weapon is deception. His lies are powerful. But there is something even more powerful than Satan’s lies – and that is the “Truth”.

Please Lord, God I pray that you will show us clearly what lies we have believed. Then show us the Truth that will set us free. Thank You for Your Word and for Your Holy Spirit that poins us to the Truth. Help us to claim Your Truth and to walk in Your Truth today and every day. Amen.

“There is a unique sense in which Satan targets us for deception. That is part of his strategy. He knows that if we buy into his deception, we will influence others to sin, and our sinful choices will set a pattern for subsequent generations to follow.”

“The forbidden fruit was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. It if hadn’t seemed so attractive, do you think Adam and Eve would have fallen for the offer? Of course not. What makes Satan’s offers so alluring and so deceptive is that they look so right.”

Friday, August 13, 2010

Lord, Help Us To Discern

Lord God, we know that Satan is a very real enemy and that he would like nothing better than to make us ineffective for You and Your kingdom. I ask that you will help us to stay in Your Word and to be aware of the truth that no matter how powerful Satan is, You are more powerful. Amen.

“Most people mindlessly accept whatever they hear and see…Few Christians seriously consider the consequences of their choices. We simply live our lives responding to people, circumstances, and influences around us…It all looks so good; it feels so right; it seems so innocent. But we end up in abusive relationships, head over heels in debt, angry, frustrated, trapped, and overwhelmed. We have been deceived”.

Hebrews 5:14 “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

“In order to grow from infant Christians to mature Christians, we must learn discernment. We must train our conscience, our senses, our mind, and our body to distinguish good from evil. Can you recognize temptation before it traps you? Can you tell the difference between a correct use of Scripture and a mistaken one?”

“Our capacity to feast on deeper knowledge of God “(solid food)” is determined by our spiritual growth. Too often we want God’s banquet before we are spiritually capable of digesting it. As you grow in the Lord and put into practice what you have learned, your capacity to understand will also grow.”

My Prayer: Heavenly God, Father Almighty, help us to grow our ability to discern good from evil and to make Godly choices. Show us if there is any area of our life where we are currently being deceived by input that is contrary to the Word of God. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

Will The Lord Find Faith When He Returns To The Earth?

Below is a message from my dear friend Cathy.

Today as I look at all the struggles we go through..I heard...Will the Lord find faith when He returns to the earth???
Then I felt in my heart, faith is being nurtured to grow in this season....I thought of this story when I felt the growth of
faith.....

A man saw a worm in a cocoon..he watched it for awhile.....he noticed the worm began to struggle inside the cocoon for
a while and the man decided to help the butterfly out...he cut open the cocoon and let the beautiful butterfly out...
he knew the wings had to dry for sometime before the butterfly could fly....so he waited...and waited....and waited....for
some reason the butterfly could not fly...he called a science teacher he knew and explained what had happened and how
he helped the butterfly out of the cocoon...he asked what would hinder the butterfly from even trying to fly?

The science teacher began to explain...the butterfly has to struggle for a period of time inside of the cocoon to gain the
strength it will need to fly...only in the struggle can a butterflies wings get strong enough to carry it in the flight ahead....
without the struggle, it will not fly.....the man was sad to know, he truly hindered the butterfly from flying....

Today, if you are struggling...know that God is with you, but He is letting your faith grow..He does not answer us quickly
or even the way we think He should for the reason He is allowing your faith to grow..He will not hinder, stop or block
your faith in anyway...Remember, you will come out of the situation you are facing, strong enough to fly above it...it will be
put under your feet....

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be
weary and they shall walk and not faint...Isaiah 40:31

Keep the faith and keep it growing...Jesus will find faith on earth when He returns if we keep on keeping on...Do not quit
or stop...Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways
and He will direct your path....Proverbs 3: 5,6

Blessings to you all...Love, Cathy

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Stand In The Gap

Does God look for anything? Is there anything he seeks? Whenever the bible speaks of God’s searching, it usually has something to do with prayer. Three examples will suffice: When Asa forsook prayer for a military alliance with Aram, God said, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him”( 2 Chronicles 16:9). He is on the hunt for people who will ask him for help. When Jesus discussed worship with the Samaritan woman, he said “his Father seeks those who will worship him in spirit and in truth “ (John 4:23). God is on a search looking for true worshipers. Worship and prayer are integral to each other.

Then there is Ezekiel 22:30-31. The picture is of a crumbling wall around a city, with an enemy army poised to rush in and destroy everything in its path. The army is savaged and heavily armed, shouting with their swords drawn and bows bent. The gap is small enough for one man to defend but big enough for an army to rush through. Only a brave man would step into that breach to fight. God is looking for that kind of a person. Moses was such a man; he stood in the breach for the Israelites (Psalm 106:23). So was Jesus who in his suffering and death made intercession for sinners (Isaiah 53:12).

The passage in Ezekiel is one of the most vivid and dramatic pictures of intercessory prayer. It says the stakes are high in intercession: between life and death, heaven and hell. It says it takes great faith and courage to pray. It says God’s call for us to intercede is a call to great dignity and responsibility and that prayer is a great mystery! We can only speculate as to why the sovereign God who needs no help from anyone, would choose to depend on our prayers. But the fact that he has is clearly noted in Scripture. If we don’t intercede until we understand why, we will never intercede and some will die Ezekiel 22:31). God is looking for people to stand in the gap.

Prayer: Here I am Lord, I will stand before you in the gap for the sake of your holy name, and the lives of those I pray for. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

See The Need, Touch The Hurt

The word compassion is one of the oldest in Scripture. The New Testament Greek lexicon says this word means “to be moved as to one’s bowels… (For the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity).” It shares a root system with splanchnology, the study of visceral parts. Compassion, then, is a movement deep within—a kick in the gut.

Perhaps that is why we turn away. Who can bear such an emotion? Especially when we can do nothing about it. Why look suffering in the face if we can’t make a difference?

Yet if we could? What if our attention could reduce someone’s pain? This is the promise of the encounter.

Then Peter said, “ Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping and praising God. (Acts 3:6-8)

What if Peter had said, “Since I don’t have any silver and gold, I’ll keep my mouth shut?” But he didn’t. He placed his mustard seed sized deed (a look and a touch) in the soul of God’s love. And look what happened.

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Mark 6:34

My Prayer: Gracious Lord, in he Bible you are called “the One who sees me”, and I know that your eyes are always upon me to guide, protect, bless and correct. You have given me eyes too, and I ask that would grant me the power to use them to truly see. Help me see those you put in my path-really see them, with all their hurts, their desires, their longings, their needs, their joys and their challenges. And as you open my eyes, prompt me to open wide my arms to offer whatever help and encouragement I have to give. In Jesus’ name I pray today, Amen.

Open Your Door, Open Your Heart

Acts 2:46
They ate together in their homes, happy to share with joyful hearts.

1 Peter 4:9-10
Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, you have given me so much. Every breath I take is a gift from your heart. Even so, I confess that sometimes my own hand remains tightly closed when I encounter the needs of others. Please open both my hands and my heart that I might learn to delight in taking advantage of the daily opportunities for hospitality that you present to me. Help me remember Lord, that when I show your love in tangible ways to “the least of these”, I am ministering directly to you. As you help me open my heart and hand, O Lord, I ask that you also prompt me to open my door to those who need a taste of your love and bounty. I Jesus name, I pray this day, Amen.

Open Your Door, Open Your Heart

Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community. It is no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same word. They both lead to the same result; healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: “You matter to me and to God”. We may think we are saying, “Come over for a visit.” What our guests hear is, “I’m worth the effort.”

So many people need this message. There are plenty of singles who eat alone, young couples who are far from home, co-workers who have been transferred, teen who feel left out, seniors who no longer drive, etc. Some people pass an entire day with no meaningful contact with anyone else. Our hospitality can be their hospital. All we need is a few basic practices.

1. Issue a genuine invitation.
2. Let them know you are interested in them.
3. Address their needs.
4. Send them out with a blessing.

Martha Stewart’s voice, the voice that says everything needs to be perfect. The house must be perfect. The china must be perfect. Meal, kids, husband, everything must be perfect. Scented guest towels, warm appetizers, and after dinner mints.

If we wait until everything is perfect, we will never issue an invitation. What is common to us is a banquet to someone else. In our mind our house may be small, but to a lonely heart it is a castle. We might think our living room is a mess but to the person whose life is a mess, our house is a sanctuary. We may think our meal is simple but to those who eat lonely every night, pork and beans on paper plates tastes like filet mignon. What is small to us is huge to them.

We as Christians need to open our hearts, our table and our circle as well. We need to be certain to invite, not just the affluent and successful, “but when we give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, those who are hurting and we will be blessed. “ (Luke 14:13-14)

The Greek word for hospitality compounds two terms: love and stranger. The word literally means to love a stranger. All of us can welcome a guest we know, but can we open our hearts to welcome a stranger, someone who is lonely, someone who is hurting, or someone in need?

Monday, August 9, 2010

Prescription For Revival

Song Lyrics – Third Day – Cry Out To Jesus

To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

Chorus

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith and love
They've done all they can to make it right again
Still it's not enough

For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you're not alone in your shame
And your suffering

Chorus

When your lonely (when you're lonely)
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus

To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

Chorus



God gave me this scripture both yesterday and today:

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It goes on to say, “Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

Prescription for Revival:

For centuries Christians have viewed this ancient prayer-promise first given to Israel as a kind of prescription for revival in the church. What is revival? There are a lot of ways to think of it, but this could be a picture. Have you seen the photo booths at carnivals where people can put their head in holes over paintings of the bodies of muscle men and princesses and cowboys? The result usually is very funny. We may see our Grandma’s face on the body of a muscle man or our bookish uncle on the face of a pirate. The humor is in the strangeness. Sometimes the actual faces of the people who make up the church and the body of Christ, seem strange in the extreme. The result isn’t funny at all. Our faces are the way the Bible talks about our inner selves. They don’t look like they belong on Christ’s body and look very strange. Revival is what happens when spiritual vitality is restored in such a way that the faces and the body match again.

The prayer promise says there are four things that must happen for God to revive his people.

1. We must humble ourselves; renounce pride and self-sufficiency.
2. We must pray. Genuine prayer comes only from humility. We need to think of the classic postures of prayer such as hands folded, head bowed, hands open and raised toward heaven, face down, prostrate-all are postures of humility and deep dependence on God.
3. We must seek God’s face. God’s face is his inner self, or his heart. He shows it only to those who want to know him in a personal way. To seek God’s face is to have our first love restored.
4. We must turn from our wicked ways. The word is repent. We can not seek God’s face if we have been seeking something else.

The word prescription really isn’t a good word to use for this revival prayer promise. It is too much of the mechanical and automatic. If it helps to underline the certainty we have that God will keep his promise then keep the word, for he said, “then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty – “Restore us again, O God our Savior …. Will you not receive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” Psalm 85:4,6)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

God Hears Our Prayers

“God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.”
(2 Chronicles 30:27)

This message can give us great encouragement to prayer, especially prayers of repentance and sorrow for sin.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked way, then I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” If this promise is true (as all of God’s promises are), we can be confident that God has a good future for us, no matter how dark and sordid our past.

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 2 Chronicles 7:7

2 Chronicles 6:19 “Give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence.”

2 Chronicles 6:40 “Now my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

Saturday, August 7, 2010

The Ministry of Silence and Prayer

When Job’s friends arrived on the scene and saw Job’s suffering. They sat on the ground and were silent for seven days and nights. The moment they started opening their mouths Jobs suffering got a lot worse. Job hadn’t yet asked why he was suffering but in case he did his friends wanted him to know why. The reason was in their way of thinking simple. Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. The universe is morally ordered by a God who punishes evil and rewards good. Bad things happened to Job, exceedingly bad things. They thought Job must have done some exceedingly bad things. But Job’s friends were wrong. Job knew they were and God eventually said they were. Job 42:7

Job’s friends errors can be put this way: They were superficially right but fundamentally wrong. God does punish evil and rewards good – the Bible says so. But when it comes to the timing in this world, there are exceptions and mysteries. Job’s friends were following the letter of the law; they looked at Job’s symptoms, checked their listing in the index, read the appropriate pages, and drew their conclusions. The problem is that God’s Word isn’t an owner’s manual because God isn’t a mechanism. Job isn’t either. Both are persons. The moment we forget that obvious truth, we make ourselves the god of God. We elevate our theology to what we think about God, and to the level of God.

It would have been so much better if Job’s friends would have been slow to speak and quick to listen. (James 1:19) It would have been so much better if when they spoke it was to ask questions and listen to Job and then pray with him. Especially pray with him. A ministry of silence and prayer would have been healing to Job and honoring to God. The Spirit who moves us to pray is the Paraclete, the Spirit of encouragement, who comes from the God of all comfort. (John 14:16, Romans 8:15-16, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4). We need to consider how quiet his ministry is and do likewise.

My Prayer: Holy Spirit of God, great comforter and friend! Teach me to listen and pray with those who suffer. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

“Satan cannot deny but that great wonders have been wrought by prayer. As the spirit of prayer goes up, so his kingdom goes down. Satan’s strategies against prayer are three: First, if he can he will keep thee from prayer. If that be not feasible, secondly, he will strive to interrupt thee in prayer. And, thirdly, if that plot takes not, he will labor to hinder success of they prayer.” – William Gurnall

“The prayer that prevails is not the work of the lips and fingertips. It is the cry of a broken heart and the travail of a stricken soul.” Samuel Chadwick

“We are all work, finite, simple human beings, standing in the need of prayer. None need it so much as those who think they are strong, those who know it not, but are deluded by self-sufficiency.” Harold C. Phillips

Job 33:26 “He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God’s face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state.”

Friday, August 6, 2010

Prayer and Depression

My Prayer: “By day, O Lord, direct your love toward me, at night your song is with me – a prayer to God of my life.” (Psalm 42:8) “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God for I will praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Not all depressions are the same. Some are circumstantial, the result a of loss or disappointment or fatigue; some are clinical and more complex. Whatever their nature or source, their symptoms are very similar; the numbing dread that the darkness and grief are impenetrable and immovable; the lie that what is passing is really eternal. Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 provide some helpful clues as to how we can deal with depression.

The first is to talk to God about our depression. That is what these psalms are addresses to God about how the psalmist feels. We can be brutally honest, as the psalmist certainly is. “I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:9-10). It is always better to talk to God about how we feel about him than to talk to others about how we feel about God. The most destructive aspect of any depression is the sense of abandonment by God. That’s why we need to talk to him about it. Prayer can turn the deep hole into a bridge.

We need to talk to ourselves about our depression also. Three times the psalmist says “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (42:5,11, 43:5) Feelings can be like unruly children. They must not be allowed to have the last word. We need to let them sound off but also let them know about what is true. It seems a little strange at first to talk to ourselves this way, but he power of depression will spilt one off from what is true. It takes a piece of a picture and makes it the whole picture. We need to talk back to ourselves and affirm the truth and our intent. “I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” We need to allow our faith to speak to our faith. We need to remind ourselves what our deepest need is, whether we are depressed or not. God. Depression can be a reminder that we are not whole without God, no matter how badly or well we may feel. “We need to put our hope in God”.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit

What a way to go. What a way to pray as you go. “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.” The prayer is taken from Psalm 31:5. Some scholars believe that “into your hands I commit my spirit” was the first prayer every Jewish mother taught her child to pray before going to sleep at night. When Jesus prayed this prayer he added “Father” to it. Jesus died, the way child falls to sleep in his Father’s arms.

Right up to the end of his life, Jesus drew on the Scriptures to shape his prayers. Charles Spurgeon remarked with admiration how even the incarnate Son of God, the grand original thinker, prayed from the Scriptures.

How instructive is this great truth that the incarnate Word lived on the Inspired Word! It was food to him, as it is to us; and….if Christ thus lived upon the Word of God, should not you and I do the same? As I have seen a silkworm eat into the leaf and consume it, so ought we do the Word of the Lord – not crawl over its surface, but eat right into it until we have taken it into our inmost parts.

If this is the way Jesus prayed then how much more should we?

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me to pray as you taught your disciples, and as you taught us on the cross. Let your word find a home in m heart, mind and mouth. Teach me to pray as you did, from and through the Holy Scripture.


Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”. When he had said this, he breathed his last.

"Yes; Yes and No; and Yes, But"

Knowing our struggles are spiritual Paul asks the Romans to join him by praying for him and his work. Spiritual warfare requires spiritual weapons. (Eph 6:10-20) Prayer is a critical weapon in this battle, not because prayer is so powerful in itself, but because prayer calls upon the name of God who is powerful and can make us strong in the strength of his Spirit.

Prayer is also a fellowship in the fight. That’s way Paul asks the Romans to join him in his struggle by praying for him. God wills not only that we need him, but also each other, in order to stand and fight. We pray for each other not as a substitute for other forms of help, but as the fountain of help, and the foundation. The kingdom, the power and the glory are all God’s but he gives his kingdom and power and glory to his church when it asks for them in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

To pray is to fight in a fellowship of love, but finally, it is to surrender to God the Almighty. When we pray we do not bend God’s will to ours; we rather align our will with his. We can not conquer in his name unless he first conquers us. Paul’s requests are very specific that he be rescued from unbelievers when he travels to Jerusalem, that his service of presenting an offering to the believers there would be acceptable to them (Romans 15:25-27) and that he would be able to visit the Romans. As for the Jerusalem Christians’ acceptance of his service, God’s answer was probably “yes”. What about rescue? The answer was more like “yes and no”. He was arrested, tried and imprisoned in Jerusalem; but he was also rescued three times from execution one from a plot to kill him and once from beating. The trip to Rome? That was more like “yes, but”. When he did finally get to Rome it was as a prisoner.

We may ask God to do things in a way we think is best, but he always reserves the right to be God and do them in the way he thinks is best. His “yes and no” and his “yes, but” are as wise and as good as his “yes”.

My prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty I surrender to your perfect and creative will, weather it is yes and no, or yes, but. Although it seems difficult for me to understand what is going on in my life at times because I’m unaware of your perfect plan for me I am placing all my trust in you believing that you know what is best for me. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Simplistic Prayer

“Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Luke 23:42

Two lives were lived badly, but one ended well. One man went to his death cursing Christ, the other reached out to Him in faith. That’s one way to read this brief encounter between Jesus and the criminals as they hung dying on their crosses. There is great hope here for those who feel they have wasted their lives and who wonder late in life if there is any hope for them. “They can be assured that there is” --- according to this story.

The one who spoke to Jesus and asked for pardon was given an insight into Jesus that even the disciples didn’t have. When the man requested, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom,” he confessed a faith in Jesus’ victory that the apostles were despairing of at the moment. The criminal is very much like the workers in Jesus’ parable who get a full day’s wages for an hour’s work. (Matt 20:1-16)

The man’s prayer is one of simplicity. The criminal prayed, “Remember me!” What could be more elementary? Two important ingredients in prayer are: You must know your need, and you must know the only one who can meet that need. All genuine prayer is rooted in humility and hope; humility in oneself and hope in the Savior who “was numbered with the transgressors, and made intercession for our transgressions. (Isaiah 53:12 & Luke 22:37).

Jesus’ answer to the criminal was example of God’s eagerness to answer prayer. It was immediate – “today you will be with me in paradise.” And it was gracious. We might even say Jesus over answered when he added, “in paradise”. The criminal wanted simply to be remembered; Jesus promised that he would be by His side in paradise. The word “paradise” is synonymous with “Abraham’s side or “bosom” the place reserved for people the quality of Abraham. (Luke 36:22-23) The Persian root word referred to a king’s walled, private garden, the place of special honor reserved for a favored servant or subject to be with the king. Jesus gives more than we ask and better than we ask.

It is never too late to be simplistic and to cry out. “Remember me!” God is more ready to hear our prayer than we are to pray it.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, you know my foolishness and my gilt. You know the time I’ve wasted. Please be merciful to me for I pray with that dying criminal, “Remember me!” In Jesus’ name this day, Amen.

Will You Pray For Me?

My question today is not if you love me, but rather “Will you pray for me today?”

This past weekend the Lord placed upon my heart the importance of praying not only for those we love but also for those we don’t even know and those whom we would rather not think about.

A second question I have in mind is “does prayer come out of love for another human being or does love come from praying for another’s soul?” All these years my question to my husband has been, “Do you love me?” “Do you really love me?” For some odd reason, maybe even because society tends to lead us into believing that we as human beings need someone to love us, we in turn search for a everlasting love within someone else’s heart that somehow never seems to fill the void.

The bible tells us that “love is patient, love is kind, love does not provoke, and that love considers others”. We have all learned the golden rule as children is to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” That’s all fine and dandy when a relationship is new or we are just learning to love someone. But, what happens to that love after that relationship develops, and we get distracted when the newness wears off?

I believe in my heart that prayer is a key role when we love someone. Prayer not only allows us access to someone’s heart; it permeates their soul as well. Although our relationships get stale and our hearts grow apart, our souls stay linked with our prayers. I believe that both love and prayer are equally important within and out of a relationship. Although prayer can allow us to see clearly when mountains pile up and get in the way.

If I had to make a choice I’d rather someone pray for me any day than have their love. Love is an emotional experience and often times hurts and is temporary. Prayer is everlasting and can release miracles in someone else’s life. When we pray for someone else; our minds are truly on them and less on ourselves.

I have always told my husband and my children that the best gifts that I could ever give to them are my love and my prayers. Today, I would much rather they remember me for the times my prayers were there to get them through the trials of life rather than remember me for my love when life has been easy for them. My love has touched their hearts, but it is so much more important for me to know that my prayers will always touch their souls.

Sure, it is nice to have others love us, but honestly, I’d rather have them pray for me day in and day out because by doing so they are connecting my soul to God, The Father Almighty. I can’t get to heaven because someone on earth loved me. However my soul will rest more peacefully in eternity if they are praying me to get there before I die.

So I close this message by asking you to not only pray for me, but to forgive me for my transgressions towards you. In turn I will pray and forgive you as well. By doing so will allow us the necessary keys to open heavens gates when we die. I’m truly more interested that our souls are wiped clean than any love that you might have for me at this time.

So, the third factor here today is forgiveness. Wow, it is so simple but true. If we truly love others we know and do not know; not only in word but in deed, we will pray for them and forgive them and we will truly see things through God’s eyes and not our own.

My question to you today is, “Will you pray for me?”

My Prayers: Heavenly Father, God Almighty, I know that your message today is very simple, and I tried my best to convey the words that you placed upon my heart. I pray Dear Father that whom ever reads this message will obtain the forgiveness, peace, joy, and love that only you can bring to them today. Allow them to see the peace, love and happiness of this world through mankind’s eye is only temporary. Father God, please send your angels around them, and let them feel refreshed with your presence surrounding them like never before. In Jesus’ name I pray this day, Amen.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Daniel's Gloves (Author Unknown)

Daniel’s Gloves

This was sent to me by a very dear friend, and I hope it ministers to you as much as it did to me. (Author Unknown or is it? Please. Read on.)

I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.
As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.'
Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack.
I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.
'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'
'Have you eaten today?'
'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'
'Would you like to have lunch with me?'
'Do you have some work I could do for you?'
'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.'
'Sure,' he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. 'Where you headed?'
' St.. Louis ' 'Where you from?' 'Oh, all over; mostly Florida ..' 'How long you been walking?' 'Fourteen years,' came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'
Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.
He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God
'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.'
'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.
'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me but God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?'
'What?' 'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?' 'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.'
My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.'
I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked.
He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said.
'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
'Where are you headed from here?' I asked.
'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.'
'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?'
'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.'
He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.
'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked. 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.'
I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.'
'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.'
'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!'
'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked.
A long time,' he replied
And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New Jerusalem.'
'I'll be there!' was my reply.
He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'
'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.'
'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them.... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.
Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'
Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...
'I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.'
This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. God bless and have a nice day!
Daniel’s Prayer and Mine: 'Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious Name Amen.'

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, GOD ALMIGHTY, PLEASE BLESS MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY – Please continue to pray for me when you see something that reminds you of me. “What a humbling experience it has been for me daily to realize that God is using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me”. “For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.'” Sincerely - Bonnie

Everything Depends On The One For Whom We Pray

John 10:1-18, 27-30

John 10:11 “I am the good Shepherd”

If we are the sheep everything depends on whom we have for a shepherd. There are hired hands who are in it only for the money, or their selfish benefit, and the moment being a shepherd get tough, dangerous or a little inconvenient they resign and the sheep are left to wolves and thieves. The question worth answering is: Which is worse – hired hands or wolves? Wolves are honest and, they only do what comes naturally to them. Hired hands are profoundly dishonest and pretend to do what they don’t. God hates pretenders (Isaiah 56:9-12; Ezekiel 34). They can be any number of wolves licking their chops, wanting to eat the sheep, but if the shepherd is good, the sheep will be safe. If the shepherd is bad, it only takes one wolf to destroy the whole flock.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, in every way opposite of the hired hand. He is the gate. He keeps the sheep secure; no one can get to them except through him. He makes the sheep free; so they can “come in and go out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). The Good Shepherd knows the sheep by name, each one of them; everyone matters (John 10:14). Above all, Jesus is good because he lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11, 15)

When we pray, everything depends on whom we pray to. What is God like? Can we trust him? Will our lives be safe in his hands? Does he love us? When putting him to the test we will find that he listens because as the Good Shepherd he knows our name. He cares about us and laid down his life for us. He has plans for us and his purpose is to give us life in its fullness. God is no pretender, he hates pretenders. He is the real thing. We can go to him with confidence and joy.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty, please protect and guide me. Good Shepherd, forgive my sins, heal my wounds and refresh me, not because I deserve it bet because you are the Good Shepherd. In Jesus’ name I pray today, Amen