Author: Ragamuffingospelfan

Little Victories

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So last fall I did something a bit offbeat. I bought a tiny tent for Peanut. It was $20, so I figured it would be worth it to give Peanut yet another napping spot where she could hide from the world while she gets her 23 hours of beauty rest.

I didn’t figure on the required assembly, so it sat on my bed for a while before I finally dug up the courage to read the instructions and put it together. More accurately, I read the instructions, couldn’t figure them out, messaged the company, got sent an instructional Youtube video, watched the video, then put the tiny tent together.

Then Peanut showed her appreciation by sleeping right next to it. A couple of times, she poked her head in to look around but decided she wasn’t having any of it. Finally, today I put in a different blanket that she’s used before and voila! She finally decided to try it out.

Sometimes, life can be hard. There can be very little going right for you. That’s when it’s important to celebrate the little victories. Did you get to the end of the month with all your bills paid? Victory. Did you get to the end of the month, period? Victory.

Do you have a roof over your head? Victory. Did you have at least one warm meal today? Victory. Were the clothes you wore today clean? Victory. See? You have lots of little victories to celebrate if you think long and hard enough.

God is good even when times are tough. God is working even when we can’t see it or feel it. Once we get over our American entitlement mentality, we see that every single good thing in life is a gift from God. Sometimes the trials themselves can be gifts if they cause us to look up in prayer and desperation. Pain can be God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world, including those of us who profess to follow Him (with much thanks to C. S. Lewis for that one).

Give thanks for all the little victories, and maybe just maybe you’ll see some bigger breakthroughs in your life. At least you’ll see God more clearly.

Can God Use You?

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I think if God can use any one of these people, He can use you and me. The key is not our ability but our availability. God isn’t looking for charismatic leaders or powerful speakers or Billy Graham-type evangelists as much as He’s looking for those whose hearts are open and willing. Simply, God is looking for people who will say YES, no matter the question.

The beautiful part is that there is no expiration on God’s call. There’s never a time limit. You never age out of being useful to God. God wants people both young and old, to kids from 1 to 92 like the old Christmas song says.

The Bible says, “God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9, The Message).

You may be a child. You may be past retirement age. It doesn’t matter. God has a call on your life that is uniquely suited to you and no one else. You alone can accomplish God’s specific calling, and you will only know what that is when you step out in faith (like Indiana Jones in that last real Indiana Jones movie).

May our answer to God always be YES, no matter the question.

Just for Fun

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Back when I was a kid, I thought it would be great fun to get locked in the mall overnight. Of course in my fantasy scenario, I’d have access to all the stores and food court. Back then, all I cared about was the store with the mattresses and the toy store.

Looking back, I can see that my dream of living in a mall was maybe a tad unrealistic. First of all, every one of the stores gets locked up for the night every night. Second, the current malls are nowhere near as fun as the old malls from the 80s. There are no more toy stores or book stores or music stores in the mall. As far as I know, none of the stores in the mall sell mattresses. Basically, it’s all upscale clothing for kids and a Starbucks.

But I like the idea of a retirement community in a mall. If it were up to me, I’d make it as close to the 80s malls with all the loud colors and 80s music as I could get. I’d bring back all the fun stores and make the food court like it was back in the day.

But all this is just me thinking out loud. I think the best part is the memories I have. I imagine that what I remember is probably better than what I actually experienced. I probably have filtered out some of the boring or unpleasant parts.

Anyway, if you could live in the mall as a senior living center, what would you want in there? I’m curious. I’d definitely want an Orange Julius and a Dairy Queen.

Anointed with Oil

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Have you ever wondered why Psalm 23 talks about anointing the head with oil? I guess I always assumed it had something to do with David being anointed king or maybe it was a symbolic gesture. Here’s something I found that explains it quite well. It’s also a good word for those of us who have intrusive thoughts that won’t go away:

“I always wondered what this part of Psalm 23 meant. I thought ‘He anoints my head with oil’ was figurative language to refer to God keeping the psalmist healthy. I never knew this parallel.

Sheep can get their heads caught in brambles and die trying to untangle themselves. There are horrible little flies that like to torment sheep by laying eggs in their nostrils that turn into maggots and drive the sheep to hit their heads on a rock, sometimes to death. His ears and eyes are also susceptible to tormenting insects.

The shepherd then anoints his entire head with oil. Then there is peace. That oil forms a protective barrier against the evil that tries to destroy the sheep.

Do you have moments of mental torment?

Do worrying thoughts invade your mind again and again?

Are you banging your head against the wall trying to stop them?

Have you ever asked God to anoint your head with oil?

It has an infinite supply! His oil protects and makes it possible for you to fix your heart, mind and eyes on Him today and always!

There is peace in the valley! May our good Father anoint your head with oil today so that your cup overflows with blessings! God is good and faithful!!” (Francisco J. Toledo).

Worry Vs. Joy

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“Hey Soul? Looking ahead at this week? Worry is a place of pain — let’s come away from there. Worry is practicing the absence of God’s presence; Joy is the practice of breathing in God’s Presence…God’s very name YHVH (יהוה) means “Presence” — I AM.

‘You make known to me the path of life: in Your PRESENCE there is fullness of JOY.’ Ps. 16:11

The present moment is the only place joy can be received — because it is the very place where God’s presence is: I AM. So just for today? Keep breathing deep & Practice the Present Moment: Joy is always the practice of breathing in God’s Presence… #HappyMonday#PreachingGospeltoMyself” (Ann Voskamp).

That’s true about worry. I’ve found that anxiety is where I doomcast (which is like doomscrolling combined with predicting the future) every scenario where God is not present and I have to solve the problem myself. It never ends well. Also, 99% of what I fear will happen never actually ends up happening. Yet still I worry.

I love the idea of joy being the practice of breathing in God’s presence. The Bible say that in God’s presence is fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11), so the more you come alive to God-With-Us, the more joy you have.

The only problem is that you can’t experience joy in the past or in the future. It only comes when you are fully alive to each moment and fully present in the present. That’s the only place where you can hear God speaking. That’s the only place where you can breathe deep God’s peace and find that fullness of joy.

Only when you cast your cares on Christ and bring all your prayers and petitions to God with thanksgiving can you find the peace that passes all understanding and rest.

40 Days of Prayer

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Last year, my church participated in a Chronological Bible reading plan that involved all nine campuses. This year, we’re starting off 2025 by doing a 40 Days of Prayer initiative where we focus on specific local, national, and global partners in the gospel going forth to all nations in all the world.

I’m also doing my own personal prayer focus with books like the Book of Common Prayer and The Orthodox Christian Prayer Book. I’ve always believed in the power of prayer, but this year I’m trying to be more intentional and not just haphazardly praying whatever comes to mind.

I truly believe that the greatest and most underutilized weapon in the Church’s arsenal is prayer. We very rarely spend any significant corporate time in prayer other than between the worship set and the sermon. For those of you who remember the old Wednesday Night Prayer Service, you know that most of the time that ended up being just another regular church service with full sermon and not a lot of actual praying.

There’s something powerful about agreeing in prayer as a body of believers. Samuel Chadwick once said, ““Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.”

William Cowper also said, ““Satan trembles, when he sees the weakest Saint upon his [or her] knees.”

There is untapped power in prayer as both individual believers and together as the Church of Almighty God. I’m convinced that if Satan can keep us busy doing anything and everything but praying — even if that is worship and preaching and evangelism — he will have succeeded, because nothing is more impotent than prayerless worship, prayerless preaching, and prayerless evangelism. We end up going through the motions with nothing to show for it.

I confess that I’m not very good at praying. My mind wanders all over the place and it’s easy for me to get distracted by social media or a song on the radio or something on TV. Many times I will fall asleep in the middle of prayer.

But even my weak attempts at prayer are better than not praying at all. Satan trembles when any of God’s children — including me — get on their knees to pray because He knows the power is not in the pray-er or even the prayer but in the One who hears. Satan knows that we have not because we ask not but when we do ask, the heavens are opened and God’s riches and blessings are unleashed.

So I’d love to pray for you this year. If you want to email me your prayer requests at gmendel72@icloud.com, I’d love to pray over you in 2025.

A Prophetic Post?

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Sometimes I find things I posted in previous years that apply more to me now than they did when I posted them. Tonight I found another seemingly prophetic post from the devotional Come Away My Beloved by Francis J. Roberts.

The gist is to trust God while you’re waiting for answered prayers to increase your own faith as well as the faith of those around you. It’s proverbially praising God in the hallway while you’re waiting for God to open the next door.

`i’ve been trying to start a new habit for 2025 where I thank God in advance for what He’s going to do instead of waiting until it happens. I believe all of God’s promises He’s ever made are as certain as if they’ve already happened. Here’s the post from 2021:

A Bold Prayer

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“Bold prayer : “God, change anything about me that isn’t about You” (Taylor Johnson).

I posted this little prayer on Facebook 11 years ago today. That was a good prayer in 2014 and still is in 2025. It probably will be in 2026 and beyond until Jesus comes back.

Another way of praying it is “Thy will be done,” the prayer that never fails (for those who are familiar with Jan Karon’s Mitford series and Father Tim Cavanaugh, you will get the reference).

It’s the prayer of the refiner where everything that is dross in us is burned away until all that remains is refined and the Maker can see His reflection in us.

Of all the things I could pray for and ask for (and there are lots), I think nothing trumps this one. To be more like Jesus is the ultimate goal, the endgame, the final destination because Heaven beyond all the gold streets and mansions and pearly gates is where Jesus is and where we’ll finally be fully mature and where our faith will finally be sight.

So in the meantime, my prayer is still “God, change anything about me that isn’t about You.”

Make me a disciple who makes disciples and who isn’t ashamed of the gospel. Make all of us bold in our faith to have gospel conversations with anybody, anytime, anywhere wherever we live, work, or play. Amen.

Those Two Little Words

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If I were to quote a passage, do you think you’d catch it if I left something out? Like this:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7, Legacy Standard Bible).

Did you notice anything missing? Now let me quote the verse with the missing part put back in:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7, Legacy Standard Bible, emphasis added.

I added the bold to make it obvious. Two little words “with thanksgiving” were missing from the first quotation. But that’s what is missing in a lot of our prayers and petitions. At least I can speak for myself and say that I go through a lot of requests in my prayers without ever giving thanks. But I think that’s the key.

I’m not saying that a few magical phrases will automatically make God grant you everything you ask for. But I wonder if sometimes if the gratitude part is what keeps us from seeing God at work in our petitions. Maybe the giving thanks part is like praying in faith believing you have already received what you ask for.

The answer may not always look like what you expect. But you can be sure that God honors His promises to give us what we ask when in faith with thanksgiving.

And note that it does not say that we’re ever to give thanks FOR everything but IN everything. We shouldn’t be thankful for cancer or car wrecks or wildfires. But we can give thanks in the midst of those things because God is working even in those cases for good. Out of those ashes will come something beautiful.

But let us be thankful people, regardless. Even if God did nothing else for us from here until eternity, we’d still have a million reasons for gratitude and thanksgiving. We could still give thanks if for nothing else than salvation and the next breath.

So let’s not leave those two little words out next time. Or, maybe I shouldn’t leave out those two little words next time.

Out of Control?

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“When I obsess over things out of my control, it makes me act out of control. A much better place to park my mind is to look for God’s protection, provision, and lessons on perseverance in the midst of whatever I’m facing” (Lysa TerKeurst).

If you watch the news at all or even glimpse the headlines across much of social media, you can easily find yourself in a state of panic. There’s so much going wrong these days with the wildfires in California and so much suffering and pain all over the city, state, and country.

But if you can find a place to listen to the still small Voice that whispers peace, you will find that the current state of affairs is not the final outcome. Because of the resurrection, your worst day will not be your last day and your story will not end with ashes (with thanks to Elisabeth Elliot and Frederick Buechner).

I like the idea of parking my mind in God’s protection and provision. I like the idea of keeping my mind stayed on God’s promises. I love that God is bigger than anything I’m facing or that anything anyone is facing at the moment.

God has not called any of us to carry the weight of the world or to try to fix every problem for everybody. What He calls us to is to trust and to pray. He tells us that in quietness and rest, not striving and worrying, is our salvation. As I heard in a movie, everything will be fine in the end. If it’s not fine, it’s not the end. God’s still at work on seeing your story through. The end won’t be ashes but glory.