Be the Light

I am grateful for the many friends I have had in my life. My parents taught me to love all. My Great-grandparents came through Ellis Island when they migrated to America for a ‘better life.’ Because of this, my mother was mistreated, made fun of, had rocks thrown at her for being a ‘foreigner’ Her school told my grandfather to walk her to school through the back streets (which thankfully he refused and fought back.)

Mom loved all races and ages of others. She led others to let go of racism. She taught it - She lived it.
Gratefully, she welcomed all my friends from every background they came from. I not only had friends of many different races, but friends with different religious beliefs. My mother’s love for others brought Joe and I together. They worked at the same business together. The owners of the business practiced a religion much different than what Joe and my mom practiced and believed. I am blessed to have been taught differently. However, as we know, not everyone has been raised that way.

I do not know what it’s like to walk around with different colored skin. I don’t know the fear in that. I am sickened at the video of George Floyd and I am hurt hearing the voices of my black friends crying out.

Racism is sin. Prejudice comes in all shapes and sizes. We are living in a world where there is as much hate for different political parties as there is for any other prejudice. I believe we are all capable of looking down at someone or treating them differently because they are different.

I keep coming back to 2 Chronicles 7:14. “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭7:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/116/2ch.7.14.nlt

We have lived too long in a self-seeking, self-serving world that we don’t have room for Jesus because we can live comfortably without him. The problem is- the more comfortable we are - the less we need him. The less we need him, the less we seek him (and his will.) The less we need Him, the more confident we are in ourselves - and others like us. We start listening to man over God. We shape scripture to our point of view. We believe traditions and stories over the Bible. We all have a belief system enshrined in us from the way we were raised, and in a moment, society is living for itself and reckless pleasures. We lie to ourselves and repeat lies about ourselves and others. We are so glued to our own belief system that we refuse to see truth. Until we can lay our belief system down, and yield humbly to God and his word- then this cycle will repeat itself until Jesus comes back. We will keep perpetuating our views, our hatred, our rights- and we will fall. We will divide and never see this racism boat turn around.

No, we don’t understand and cannot comprehend the past and the hatred on both sides. All we can do is choose to come together and lay this at the feet of Jesus. If we can walk hand in hand laying our differences down and humbly seek Christ’s face- then we can let him form and teach the solution to this hate. There is too much hurt to erase. There are too many mistakes to make right- but if we can move forward from this moment - could we try to work together and walk forward- not only humbly listening to our God, but humbly listening to each other?

I know what I can teach my son. He has a cousin of another ethnicity and color. My cousin and her husband adopted him. We had to figure out how to explain and teach our 3 and 4-year olds that God made all of us different. Our desire is that our sons never treat others differently for being different.
I can’t however go into homes of others to teach them.

Our generation could be the one that stands up to racial intolerance by teaching through love. But we have to work together. We have to be willing to listen. We have to be willing to yield to new ideas. We have to move forward differently than the past.

My prayer is that God would heal our land- of so many things. My prayer is that people will come forward from all colors and choose to work together in this. We must lay the hate down. I know there is a program called ‘Be The Bridge’ led by Latasha Morrison.
Check it out. https://bethebridge.com/
This runs deeper than what has been happening. Only Jesus can fix it, but we need to go to him for help.

Prayer for the Church

What would God do if he had one heart sold out to him?

What would God do if he had 5? We saw what he did with 12. What would God do if we fell on our knees humbly and ask him to come revive us.

What would he do?

Do we know?

Do we want to know?

I do. I do. I have been praying so many things in my heart for years. Years. He has certainly taught me praying through and praying it out. So, I have prayed for something to happen since before I met Joe. And I think it is now. I believe ‘it’ is upon us. What is ‘it’? Well, I’m not sure the extent of everything ‘it’ is, but in my heart of hearts I have wanted to matter. I have wanted the words I say be words that lead others straight to the Father. I have wanted hearts to yield and turn to him. I have wanted to see what would happen with hearts that are free of chains and strongholds and insecurities and fears – and just allowed to run free.

I want that for you! God has had me praying about throwing off not only the sin that easily entangles – we all have those – but also throwing off the weights that hinder. One big weight is ‘what if.’ What if they don’t like me. What if they make fun of me? What if they stop being my friend? What if they are offended?

There comes a time when the will of the Lord exceeds the ‘what ifs’. What if we are about to enter the ‘end times’? What if Jesus is coming back soon? I’ve been thinking about the term living like you were dying. What if it was our last few days? Years? I know living with a deadly disease is something I do not and cannot comprehend – and this is not what I’m talking about. I am saying if we knew Jesus was coming back soon –we are healthy, full of the gifts he gave us and his holy spirit… what would we do?

I keep thinking – take a many as we can with us. Yes, there are things I would love to do – a bucket list. But I am telling you – where I stand, if he is fulling a promise he has given me for over 20 years…then I believe that promise will be worth more than anything distracting me at this time. I want revelation from God. I want to make a difference. I want lives to be transformed and I want people to find Jesus.

I am one person. I am praying. I am talking to people. I am encouraging and pouring out my heart about this.

I am pretty sure ‘this’ or ‘it’ is revival. We stand at the door of something unprecedented. We are coming out of a global catastrophe no one expected. We are seeing hints of what it could be like after the saints are taken home, and before the great tribulation. We are the ones that have a hope in this pandemic. It’s Jesus. But what about those that don’t? What about those that will be left behind?

So this is what I am wondering. What if all of this was for nothing? Did we just have a global crisis for nothing? I can not believe that. I will not believe it. What do we do with those that do not know Jesus.

IT IS UP TO US. We have the message, we have the good news. This is up to the body of Christ. So what do we do now? Billy Graham is already home.

We get on our knees and pray. God has put a revival formula in his word. He is waiting on us. Jesus told the disciples that the harvest is ripe, but the workers are few. Don’t you want to be a worker. Don’t you want to be the ones that make a revival history?

I do. I want to make history. I want to stand before my Lord as a person that took what she was given and I want to multiply it. I want to tell others. I want them to join me. And I want to harvest. I want to take them with me. When get to heaven, all these things that seem so important will wash away. We will be standing at the feet of the One. The great I Am – the Lamb of God.

Who is with me?

Who will join me in this prayer?

God. Forgive me. Forgive me distractions and living a comfortable life with out really including you in it. Forgive me for letting others be my source of you and not seeking you for myself. Forgive me for putting everything else in front of you – until I need something. God forgive me for ______________________

God. I seek your face. I seek your heart. I seek your hands to go and your understanding. I seek boldness to do what you have called me to do. I seek You. And God, I seek revival. Your word tells me I can boldly approach the throne of Grace. Your word also says that where two or more are gathered, you are there among their midst.

God we may not be standing side by side, but we are standing united asking you to forgive our people and heal our land.

With a penitent heart, we are turning from the idols of distraction and laziness and turning to you and your mission.

I believe you for this. I believe you are seeking many, many hearts turned back to you in repentance.

And when we do God – we can stand firm as one body – praying for the souls that need to come join our body. You said you so loved the world, so that is who we are praying for. We are praying for our friends, our family, our neighbors, our towns, our cities, our regions, our states, our countries, God – our world. Lord, bring them to you and lead us to them. We are the hands and feet, but you don’t need us. We are grateful that you would consider using us. Will you use us?

God will you do something big in our time? In our generation? And let it begin with me.

And who knows, maybe we have been created for ‘such a time as this?’ I don’t want to let you down.

Now to you who are able to do immeasurably more that we ask or think – hope or imagine,

We collectively pray for revival. And let it begin with us.

In your son’s name,

Amen

To all the Moms out there...

Today,

I feel the need to reach out to you moms. Times like this are just plain unnerving. And kids catch everything (I’m talking colds, the flu, etc.) … This morning I felt pulled in 5,000 directions. There were needs everywhere, Joseph was crying, the dogs were barking, I realized something I hadn’t done yesterday and all I wanted to do was clean out the dishes! After losing it on my husband who I couldn’t get a hold of because he was recording something at work, I finally sat down with God.

I finally prayed. Do you know what happened? Two things: 1. I calmed down and had true peace. 2. I realized that at this moment, my most important job is Joseph. This is when tension is higher. Joe and I both are highly involved at church, yet he is the one who is on staff. He oversees modern worship and student ministry so he has to be there. We run into this every time there is a Sunday morning or Wednesday night Joseph is sick. I hope I don’t sound like I’m complaining. I just want you all to know I understand times that you can be conflicted as a mom.

It’s hard to be at home sometimes and it’s hard to be working. I want you to know I am grateful to have Joseph beyond anything I can say. I prayed for this child most of my life and marriage. He is the miracle we waited on for years. The thing is, I did a lot of ‘things’ while waiting on this child and life is totally different with children. I am struggling. I see needs I can meet but I can’t because one of us needs to be home. I know I can take Joseph with me, but there is a virus floating around and I am becoming uncomfortable with having him out.

What I am saying – that I heard today in my time with God – is that we all can only do what we can do. We can’t put pressure on ourselves to be the hero or the answer – we just need to be obedient with what God gives us to do. And honestly, even in these crazy times, we need to minister with our gifts – when we can, how we can. Sometimes I think we try to minister in ways that aren’t what God has asked of us. Then we feel guilty when we can’t fulfill the need or don’t want to. It’s time to give ourselves a break.

First, I realized God has given me an incredible son I (and Joe) need to take care of. Wisdom is part of that call and we need to be wise. Second, God has given me a computer I can utilize to minister through writing or talking (yes – God has given me the gift of a mouth.) Third, we have two dogs, eight chickens, eleven fish and a partridge in a pear tree. We have a home.

With all of that being said - we can only do what we can do. We are in a pandemic. The most important thing for all of us is to find that time with God – even if it’s 5:00 AM or midnight. Ask him what he wants you to do today and ask for grace to do it. We all can’t do everything; But we can go to Jesus.

So – all the moms out there – give yourself grace. Sanitize, feed your children, clothe them, watch an extra movie, cuddle and walk out of the room when it’s too much to handle.

God has this. We don’t have to carry it. This is one time we can’t spread ourselves too thin. My prayer is that we all receive extra grace from God to do this. And I can’t help but wonder what’s on the other side of this virus… Revival?

2 Corinthians 12:9 English Standard Version (ESV)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Atrophy

So, once again in my attempts at dominating the cooking skill, I had a setback. Sunday morning, right before church, I decided to cut some of the bread I made. I didn’t use the knife I normally use. This time, I chose the big butcher knife; (The one you see in all the scary movies.) In my third slice of bread, I did what you are thinking… I sliced my left index finger right along with the bread.

After calling Joe during his Sunday morning rehearsal, and my neighbor - who came to my house with curlers in her hair (thank you Susan Brown) - we assessed the situation, greatly bandaged my finger and off to church I went.

Since the cut was so deep, and I didn’t want stitches, she wrapped my finger in gauze and white tape. Thank the Lord, this worked perfectly, and I am recovering quickly. To avoid hitting the wound over and over, I kept re-wrapping the large bandage during the week.

About the 4^th day of recovery, I decided to leave the bandage off a little longer. I bent my finger to wiggle it, and noticed it was stiff. A week later, I started wrapping my wound in just Band-Aids. This time, when bent my finger, it hurt, and didn’t want to bend to its normal range of motion. I had to work it out some to get it moving smoothly again. It actually still hurts when I bend it now.

What surprises me is that the cut is on the tip of my finger – not my joint. We bandaged my entire finger for protection, which meant I didn’t use that finger while it was wrapped – therefore, my finger quickly became stiff. I expected my cut to be sore, but not my joint.

As I was pondering this, the Lord brought an analogy to my mind. When we spend less and less time with him our spiritual life becomes stiff.  Imagine if Joe and I slowly just stopped speaking.  We could have and occasional hello or some small talk, but no real conversation. What would happen? Things would start getting awkward. We would not know the needs of the other. Our marriage would not move in the same rhythm, or direction. We would make choices oblivious to what the best choice would be together. Then, when a crisis would hit, we are suddenly scrambling to figure out what to do. I would probably be demanding. Stress would prevail. Peace would be lost. We would be left trying to figure a situation instead of working together through it.

Then it hit me. This is what we do as Christians. We may be on fire and passionate for a while, but then slowly, we find other things to fill our time. Eventually, we become so busy or tired, that our time with God takes a back seat. If a crisis hits, we are freaking and trying to know what direction to turn in and not seeking the one who knows the direction.

The Life Group lesson we studied this week asked a question. It said, ‘What is your first reaction in a trial?’ The choices included anger, worry / panic, prayer and fear. I have noticed in my years of walking with the Lord, that the times I invest in him I have more peace in day to day circumstances. When I am walking on my own, I have a lot more anxiety in daily situations.

The cure? You gotta move. When I started using my finger again, it was stiff at first, but have now noticed I can used it as I did before. Repeated used of your appendages keeps them in working order. Not using them results in stiffness, and loss of full range of motion.

I now realize that my daily walk with God consists of so much more than what to do in a trial. I am learning that the more I dive into the word the more he sustains me. Daily, he shows up to bring knowledge and learning. Not only knowledge of him, but of his will as well. I am learning to yield to smaller promptings of the holy spirit. He is helping me see that interruptions in my day are divine appointments or delays. Have you ever run into someone at a store? Have you been stuck in traffic and realized you just missed being in a wreck?

Daily investing in God is worth every ounce of effort we give it. It’s worth turning off the TV. It’s worth getting off social media for a while. It’s worth staying up late or getting up early. God calls us friends in the bible. Friends are someone you spend time with. Friends are people you spill secrets to. Friends are the ones you call up (or text) to tell them about your day.

Try God out. Instead of looking at spending time with him as a monotonous routine that you need to check off a list, look at it as an invitation. Ask him to show you great things and mighty things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3.) Each morning, come before him, lay your requests at his feet and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)

A walk with God is exciting. It’s not a one-sided venture where you line up the same requests daily, expecting answers because of your many words (Matthew 6:5-15). It’s talking. It’s listening. It’s asking for revelation and receiving it. It’s understanding his will and walking in it. It’s asking him to show you what path to take – and he does. (Psalm 25:4)

I am speaking to myself. I see where I have been with him in the past, and what little time I give him.

Go to him. Start now. Spend time talking to him. Tell him your thoughts. Ask him his thoughts.

You might just be surprised at what you hear.

The Lord is my Banner

You know, I have always wondered what ‘Jehovah Nissi’ or the ‘Lord is my Banner’ meant. I have heard it being sung; I’ve created banners at VBS that said Jehovah Nissi. I’ve even seen it on beautiful flags made for church. Webster’s says ‘Banner’ is:

1a: a piece of cloth attached by one edge to a staff and used by a leader (such as a monarch or feudal lord) as a standard. 

Upon my research of the word ‘banner’ I kept running across the word ‘standard.’ Here is the definition:

1: a conspicuous object (such as a banner) formerly carried at the top of a pole and used to mark a rallying point especially in battle or to serve as an emblem.

What stuck out to me is - a rallying point - especially in battle.

I stumbled across the definition tonight. I was looking up a scripture about a staff being held up when I saw the use of Jehovah Nissi. The Lord is our Banner. God is letting me see this in action with a beloved mentor.

We all have different people who speak into our lives. We all have people who teach us. Some people show us what not to do as well. But one thing God put in my heart early on was a love for his word. I remember sitting at camp in my teenage years (as a counselor) and reading the scripture to prepare for lessons I would teach. I didn’t quite realize how God was working in me then.

I grew up in church and have had a lot of teachers. But the one God has used most dramatically in my life is Beth Moore. I heard her speak at a conference right out of college and loved her style. A friend invited me to my first women’s Bible study, ‘A Heart like His’ by Beth Moore. God started then using her over and over to teach me the study of his word.

My biggest life change was her study ‘Believing God.’ I was a Mary Kay consultant at the time and wanted to become a director. I distinctly knew God was telling me to believe him for it; and I did. Six months later I became a director. This study taught me the importance of knowing and clinging to the word of God. I learned that God gives us specific scripture as we enter, then walk through, new seasons of life. I learned to look for the words God was saying. I learned to write down these scriptures on note cards, keep them at my side and pull them out when I doubted, or struggled, or needed a lift. I realized God was more than a Sunday school lesson. I realized he was real. He answered when I called on him. I saw his word stand in the darkest moments. What greater lesson than to learn God is who he says he is. The only way to learn this about God is by diving into his word. Knowing and understanding God’s word is knowing and understanding God. Beth Moore’s bible studies have been crucial in my journey of getting to know God through his word.

Why am I sharing this now? Because I am seeing a woman of God being needlessly attacked by fellow ‘Christians,’ calling her a heretic and other irrational things. Whether or not you prefer her style, Beth dives deep into scripture and brings out life-changing truth. I know she’s not perfect and she will tell you that. Nobody is. But when people spend their time trying to find flaws in a person of God and try to discredit them publicly, I wonder where their hearts truly are.

I am asking for you to pray for Beth Moore. She has a precious family who is also feeling the sting of this attack. I am praying that God protects her, her family and her ministry. I am asking God to close the mouths of those seeking to destroy. I would love for us to rally together and pray for this generation coming up in Christ to be a generation who puts energy into knowing the word. To spend their precious time encouraging and seeking out those who need Christ. Why are we wasting time pointing out each other’s faults, accentuating the negative? What if we instead looked for opportunities to praise people behind their backs, to catch people in the act of doing good? No wonder the church’s influence in culture and society has so sorely diminished. We don’t love. We parade around waving our morality police badges in everyone’s face.  

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. He then said the second is like unto it – love your neighbor as yourself. If we didn’t inherently love ourselves Jesus wouldn’t have said this. So, how do you want to be treated? How do you want to be loved? Your answer to these questions provide the blueprint to how you should love others. Trust me, I’m preaching to myself first and foremost. This convicts me.

So, where does ‘Banner’ come into play? When I was praying about this matter, as I said, I suddenly thought of Aaron holding up Moses’ arms during a battle.

Here is the story:

Exodus 17:8-16

Israel Defeats the Amalekites

⁸ While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. ⁹ Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰ So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. ¹² Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. ¹³ As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

¹⁴ After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”).¹⁶ He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now^[c] the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

Wow. Do you see the correlation? Moses was tiring from holding the staff so Aaron and Hur helped him with the load. When we see a fellow brother or sister in Christ suffering or going through something difficult, let’s take the time to truly pray for them. God designed us to need support, encouragement and ultimately love from each other. Just look at Jesus and his disciples.

But what struck me in this passage is Moses built an altar and named it, what? Yahweh-Nissi (the Lord is my banner.) The banner is what would be held up in battle. Sort of a way to signal what you’re fighting for. In this story, the staff Moses is holding almost represents a banner to me, and the significance is God won the battle. But he used two men coming to Moses’ aid to win the battle.

That’s amazing to me.

Let’s hold up each other in Christ, for his name’s sake and for his glory. He is the Banner. He is our standard, our emblem. Will you not only join me in praying for this sweet lady, but also join me in holding up and praying for each other? Let’s practice building up, not tearing down. None of us are perfect. God is the only judge. We need to stick to what God has commanded - go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). This is the right way to spend our time and energy. Let’s uplift this generation and teach them love, not criticize and hate.

Glow in the dark

2 Cor. 4:5-6

Glow in the dark Silly Putty.

Yes, I’m blogging about silly putty.

Why, you ask?

#1 I have a 3 year old boy.

#2 I have been spending countless hours holding the silly putty under a light so it would glow in the dark.

# 3 He keeps saying, ‘do it again mommy.’ So, I feel compelled to hold the putty under the light.

Today he asked me, why I was holding it under the light. I started explaining to him, that for the putty to glow in the dark, it must remain in the light, and return to the light.

And it hit me… You probably know where I’m going…

For us to make a true difference; for us to be a light in the darkness, we must spend time in the light.

The longer we stay in the light, the longer we will glow in the dark.

It seems so simple, but do we truly take this to heart?

We are in a battle you know. We are in a battle of distraction. We are in the ‘phone age’ and this is definitely worse than the computer age, or even the gaming age. We are in a busy time on the kingdom calendar. We have jobs, school, friends, church, practice, tv, movies and any other activity that keeps us occupied (especially the phone.) We run from place to place, activity to activity and land at home ready to jump into bed, all to start over again at dawn the next morning.

No wonder we are having a hard time being effective in the darkness.

Since moving last month, my time with Jesus has dwindled. I can feel it. I can tell, and I’m exhausted. We truly find rest in him.

So now it’s time. It’s time to turn back. Time to get into the word. The word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. How? When I read the word of God, It’s alive and active. I stop to think and pray before I make decisions.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. What does that mean? When I enjoy spending time with God, truly seeking him, talking to him, giving everything over to him and trusting him with it, then he starts putting desires in our hearts that are of him. Joe and I spent a lot of time seeking God in a personal way over the last few years. We could feel him moving, and we wanted to make sure we were moving in his direction. The more we spent time and sought him the more he lightened our path. Answers weren’t always in front of us and we did not know the end result, but I believe he led us here now because we sought him back there then.

Spending that time with him gave us the strength and power to go through several moves, not really knowing where we were going to end up. It also zeroed us in on his will. (Psalm 25:4) It brought us to a point to blindly trust when things seemed dark - like a hurricane almost derailing the sale of our house.

Spending that time with him also brought us to a place of humbleness and listening. The more you spend time with God, the more you realize you don’t know. He is always showing new things and new ideas. If we had been hard hearted, we would have missed this door he was opening.

Spending that time with him fine-tuned our faith. We were literally stepping out and then answers would come. We lived with family, we moved into a rental – never understanding what was taking so long to get settled – well, we weren’t settling there. God wanted us here.

I want to recommend a book, Made For This by Jennie Allen. I know I have mentioned it before, but Joe and I were going through this together and God brought us to a point of surrender that led us to his perfect will. Once we made the step to move yet again, God started showering us with confirmation. We found a house before we had the job acceptance letter. People we did not know cleaned our house before we moved (and now that we know those people, we love them.) They prayed over our house. They welcomed us with warmth and love. We have truly felt at home since we have arrived. It’s funny that our Pastor says ‘welcome home’ on Sunday mornings during the service. He doesn’t know it, but we know those words are straight from God to us.

It’s time to get back in the light. God has a mission for us all. The mission lies in dark places that haven’t seen the light. For us to be strong and useable in the dark, we must stay connected to the light. Talk to God. Tell him what you need. Ask him what he wants you to do this day for him. Ask him everyday. Read his word. Find a great bible study, book or podcast that draws you closer. If you need recommendations, let me or Joe know. I am going to list a few of our prayer / faith reviver books. Stay in the light. It’s time to glow in the dark.

Books:

The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson (Prayer)

Fresh Wind Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala (Prayer / Faith)

Made for This by Jennie Allen (Surrender)

Whisper by Mark Batterson (Listening to God)

Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning (God’s unconditional love / grace)

Believing God Bible Study by Beth Moore (Believing God)

Dream of You by Jo Saxton (Becoming who God created you to be.)

The Bible 😊 I love the Psalms, I spent years in them when we lived in NYC and God has used them over and over in my life because David cries out to God openly and honestly.

                The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Acts. Romans, etc.

                The story of Joseph Genesis 37-50.

                Creation – Genesis 1-2.,

                Noah, Jonah, Elijah, Elisha, Joshua, Abraham

There is so much in the Bible. So many ways God speaks through his word. Why aren’t we in it more? (and I’m talking to myself)

I know I keep saying it, but it’s time. I am praying God reestablishes a love for his word in us. I am praying that we are eager to get up and meet him in the morning and wait expectantly (Psalm 5.) I pray that we ask, seek and find (Matthew 7:7.) I am praying for a revival of souls to get back into his word and to walk boldly into the darkness, finding the lost sheep Jesus longs to rescue. If we don’t, who will? It is up to us to make a choice to go. It is up to us to stay in the light. It is up to us to be bold in the dark. It is up to us. We are the hands and feet who bring the good news. Let’s make sure we know enough about the word to know what the good news is.

Let’s go.

Courage

2 Chronicles 7:14

1 Timothy 2:1-6

I have seen several acts of courage over the past few weeks. These acts have left me wondering what we are doing.

To back up a little, I have been discouraged the last few times I have checked twitter.  There are so many hate storms. Ugly words. People trying to force their opinion.

In the end, who has the right opinion?

I have seen people tear each other apart - in the name of the Lord. But I see no evidence of the Lord in their speech. Are we truly seeking the Lord, the Bible or the truth before we utter a word?

I am not trying to leave myself out of this. I know I speak before I think. But here is where I am coming from….

We are filled with a world of true problems. People dying. Homelessness. Starvation. Slavery. Trafficking. And we choose to sit and write or speak mean, ugly words about people. I have seen atrocious words spoken about good people fighting the fight of truth in the faith. I have also seen things spoken about those who haven’t earned the right for a kind word. But what are we supposed to do as believers trying to show the light of Christ?

1.       Humility. Who am I? Do I seek truth, or validity from the world?

2.       What does the word say? Am I seeking the Bible on the issues I am complaining about?

3.       Am I spending regular time with the Lord to be in tune with Him?

To get to my point…  

A little over a week ago, I sat in the living room of a dear friend that was walking the end of her road with cancer. This was a rough site to see. The room was also filled with other close friends of mine – and hers. They had been taking turns staying with her around the clock. These friends had walked good days with her before the cancer – and were now walking these horrendous days of watching her die. While we were there, she asked for songs to be sung… ‘I bowed on my Knees’, and ‘I will not be shaken’. I watched these friends sing with quivering lips, a cappella, honoring a woman that loved the Lord. I watched hearts breaking. And I knew – I was in the presence of courage. I saw courageous people giving of themselves in the hardest of ways. I saw them trying to bring joy to a friend that they would soon see no more.

 On Sunday, Joe showed me a video of another act of courage - a man of God praying for our president. The president showed up unexpectedly at his church asking for prayer. That man honored the president. He prayed for him, other leaders and our country. He used 1 Tim. 2:1-6 as a frame of reference. This is what it says.

A Call to Prayer

1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,

2      For kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

3         This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

4         Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

5         For there is one God, and on mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6         Who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

 My husband mentioned something to me that stuck. What if we took all the time we used on twitter, Instagram, etc, to express our opinions, and instead used that time to pray for our leaders. It is a call of God. It’s a call to pray. That is one of our privileges as humans: We have the opportunity to meet face to face with the creator of the universe. We can choose to sit down and talk to him. We can ask, seek and fin d(Matthew 7:7). We can bring our requests to him (Psalm 5:3). The bible is filled with verses of praying. Jesus prayed regularly. He drew away from the crowds to pray. He prayed before the cross. He is our example.

I wonder – if we took what we think are courageous words against people, politics, misunderstandings – and instead gave all of our thoughts to God first, then prayed for our leaders. Would we see change? I believe we would… Why? It is written…

2 Chronicles 7:14 (LEB) [then if] my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

I believe we have to be humble first. That is very hard, but if we can come humbly before the Lord and ask for help, we will see it.

Can we choose to pray for our leaders? Our churches? Our land? Could we courageously pray for God’s will instead of what we think? I think it’s time for revival in the land. It starts with us.

Here is the video of the pastor, and a letter to his church.

https://twitter.com/plattdavid/status/1135582753662164994