prayer

More About Blessings and Such

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For the record, I thought about calling this blog “Mo Better Mo Blessings,” but decided against it. Be thankful for that.

I had some more thoughts about blessings earlier today when I should have been paying more attention to the sermon. That’s actually where some of my best ideas for blogs come from. Shhh, don’t tell anyone, okay?

Some blessings are only found through suffering and trial and can’t be found any other way.

Some treasures are only found along the road through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but they turn out to be some of the dearest treasures you will ever find.

Sometimes, the words God speaks to your heart in the midst of great pain are the words that turn out to be life and light and healing. Those are the words you remember most and hold most deeply in your heart of hearts, for those are the ones that go deep and speak to the most hidden, secret parts of you.

Some joys born out of sorrow are the ones that last with you the longest. Long after the storms cease and the suffering ends, these joys remind you like the rainbow of God’s goodness and His faithfulness.

Sometimes worship means the most to you when it costs you something. David once said, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost me nothing.” Sometimes, the cost is tears. Sometimes, the cost is your time, your talents and your treasures. In some places, the cost of worship may very well be your life.

Hold dearly to these lessons learned in the dark. Treasure the blessings found in storms. Never let go of the words God speaks to you in the midst of your suffering. Those are what will carry you through to the end.

And may you always hear in the night the voice of your Abba singing and rejoicing over you in the night as He does every night.

 

Blessings for 2011 (So Far)

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“‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?” (Laura Story)

Sometimes, blessings from God don’t look like I think they should. Sometimes they don’t come wrapped in prosperity or popularity. Sometimes they come wrapped up in heartache and hardships. Sometimes they look like anything but blessings on the outside.

I had a friend pass away recently after battling brain cancer for 2 years. That doesn’t seem like a blessing on the surface.

My grandmother fell and broke her hip a little over a week ago and has a long road of recovery ahead of her. That certainly doesn’t look like a blessing.

I’m not saying that death and hardships are blessings, but that blessings are wrapped up in them for those with eyes of faith to see them.

I see blessings. I’m thankful to be reminded that this life isn’t forever and we’re not meant to stay in this imperfect, fallen, broken world. I’m thankful that while God chooses to heal us in this life, that every time He heals completely when someone crosses into eternity.

I’m thankful that I woke up this morning, healthy and happy. I’m thankful that I had access to clean water, shelter, clothing, and transportation, because so many people don’t. In fact, from a global perspective, having all these things make me wealthy. Even though I never considered myself rich, I am.

I’m thankful that God puts people in my life that sometimes I don’t truly appreciate until they are no longer there or until they are unable to give the way they once did. I’m learning to thank God every single day for these family and friends who made me who I am today and who I can never, ever hope to repay.

I’m mostly thankful that I know Jesus is still in control. I’m thankful that one day He will set things right. One day, He will wipe every tear from our eyes. I like to think that God turns all our tears into diamonds that Jesus sets in our crowns that we lay at His feet.

I’m thankful for all these blessings that came through trials and tribulations. I’m thankful that after all the suffering and heartache and troubles end, that the blessings still remain.

Thank You, God.

Lessons Learned This Past Week

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I am definitely not above learning new things and even being reminded of some old things I learned long ago but had forgotten. God reminded me of a few things again this past week:

1) Don’t take it for granted that those you love will always be around to hear you say the words, “I love you.” It’s easy, at least for me, to look at my family and friends and think that they will always be around and will always be as strong and healthy as they are now.

2) Life is precious. Treasure it and treasure those in your life while they’re in your life. Say the words so they can hear them and don’t assume they know.

3) Give the people in your life, family and friends,  every benefit of the doubt. I know I’ve listened to my fears about my friends and have been lied to. I choose to listen to the Voice of Truth that says that love hopes and believes the best for people and doesn’t assume the worst. The Voice that says that that kind of love wins.

4) Ferris Beuller was right. You should stop every now and then and look around. Life is short and many people who are trying to keep up with a day planner and make plans for living miss it. Sometimes, you have to sit at Starbucks and drink a peppermint mocha and just listen and watch.

5) God has a way of getting your attention that may not always look loving, but it is. If everything in my life went exactly as I wanted and no one in my life ever got sick or grew old or had pain, I probably wouldn’t see my need for Him. I’d probably go and do my own thing without even the remotest thought of God in my head. The fact is that I still live in a fallen world with the fallout from sin all around me (and sometimes in me as well). I need God every single second of every single day of the rest of my life.

That’s all. I know I’ve said this before, but if this blog was only just for me, it was worth it. I found healing just now getting these thoughts out. I hope you do, too.

Dear Friend

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Dear Friend,

I’m so thankful that you chose to be friends with me. It really is more than I deserve. Every time I count my blessings, I count you and I thank God for you.

You showed me what joy looks like. You showed m what kindness looks like. Most of all, you showed me what Jesus looks like, because I saw Jesus in you.

I just wanted to let you know a few things.

I’m not about to stop praying for you. I’m not about to stop praying and believing God’s best for you. I’m still convinced that God has great plans for you and He will use you in ways that will amaze and astound you.

I’m not about to quit counting you as my friend. By the grace of God, I plan on sticking around for the duration and being the best friend I can be to you and being Jesus to you the same way you were Jesus to me.

There will always be an empty seat at Starbucks and a coffee drink with your name on it. I may not be at my wittiest or most clever, but I promise to listen to what you have to say and encourage you in any way I can.

If you decided you didn’t want to be friends with me anymore and never wanted to see me or talk with me ever again, I would still look on you as a blessing. No matter how long I live, I will always be grateful and thankful for your friendship.

I pray tonight that the God of all peace will surround you and hold you in His embrace. I pray you will hear the sweet voice of Him singing over you in the night. I pray you will wake up in the morning mindful again of new mercies and fresh grace.

Thank you for being my friend.

More Thoughts on Fighting From Victory (And not For It)

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chariots of fire

I normally don’t do follow-up blogs to ones I have posted. Kinda like the line about not repeating this ever again or something like that. Did I mention my brain is a little fuzzy this evening?

Someone posted a comment on my blog that got my attention. I failed to mention or say correctly that we should pray for strength. Absolutely. We should pray that God will strengthen us with power through His Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that sometimes we should claim the power that is already in us. The Bible states that the power that raised Christ from the dead is in us. It is in us because the risen Christ is in us.

The power that my sin couldn’t overcome. The power that death could not conquer. The power that the grave couldn’t hold down. That kind of power.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t pray to be strong, but rather that God would be strong through me. I want to be a vessel that God pours through, that God loves through, that God comes through.

Sometimes I know how I want to say something in my head and for whatever reason, it doesn’t quite come out in print. On a side note, I have become quite familiar with the taste of shoe leather for as many times as I have put my foot in my mouth and said really dumb things. That really makes me feel like a heel.

Pray for strength. Yes. Claim the power of the risen Christ in you. Yes. The point is that you don’t have to live defeated and downtrodden. You can live in victory because the Victor lives in you.

That’s what I am praying and claiming for myself and for all of you tonight. May God’s peace rule your hearts tonight, friends!

As Good as His Word

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Something Mike Glenn said at Kairos tonight really hit home. He said that in an age where people’s word is no longer their bond, we can always trust God because He’s as good as His Word.

The Word in question is the Word made flesh. This Word is fully God and fully man. This Word is the very image of God in bodily form with every bit of the fullness of the deity dwelling there. In other words, if you want to see God, look at Jesus.

God is as good as every promise He’s ever fulfilled and every lost cause He’s rescued and every defeat He’s turned into victory. His promises yet to come are so sure, you can talk about them in the past tense.

I needed that reminder tonight. Today, I was tempted yet again to doubt the goodness and greatness of God. The Accuser whispered in my ear that God really wasn’t as good as His word and I needed to hedge my bet, so to speak, and have my own backup plan ready. That Accuser tells me lies about me, my family and friends and my God.

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story (to borrow a line from a Casting Crowns song). The Word made flesh is the living proof that God is ultimately trustworthy.

I will choose to listen to and believe this Voice. I will take Him at His Word.

Will you?

Thoughts on Fighting From Victory (And not For It)

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chariots of fire

Today, God reminded me of something I knew but had forgotten. Lately, I’ve been praying for peace and stronger faith and for strength to overcome temptation and negative thinking.

I think what God was reminding me was that I already have these things in Christ. In Christ, I have everything I need for life and godliness, as it says in 1 Timothy. So maybe instead of praying for peace, I will claim the peace that passes all understanding.

Instead of praying for stronger faith, I will claim the promise that when I am weak, Christ is strong and that His strength works best in my weakness.

Instead of praying for the power to overcome temptation to anxiety and negative thinking, I will claim the verse that I can take every thought captive and take it to Jesus and leave it there. I’m not saying that I can claim a Bentley in faith and I will receive it. I am saying that God says to those who lack wisdom, to ask.

God says to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and keep wrestling with God until He blesses you. The victory is won. The enemy is a defeated foe. Never forget that. Death no longer has the final word and the grave is only a temporary resting place. Jesus holds the keys to death and the grave and hell.

Live out of the victory that’s already yours and fight from it and not for it. Believe in faith the promises of God not only for yourself, but for those around you.

Pray strong for someone when that person can’t pray for themselves.

Above all, if we are the winning side, we should be the most joyous, grateful people on the planet. Our thankful hearts will be what gets the attention of the world around us who is still looking for meaning and hope.

They are waiting to see someone whose testimony is not just talked out, but walked out, too.

Sitting Still

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Today I had an epic fail. I was supposed to meet a friend for the 11 am service. I thought I had plenty of time to get one of those white chocolate mochas with a shot of hazelnut (which are fantastically good and you should try one some time). It turns out I did not.

By the time I got my awesome beverege, I was already ten minutes late and not at all in a reverential mood. More like impatient and frantic and stressed and mad at myself. By the time I got to the sanctuary, there was no way I was going to be able to find my friend, so I ended up sitting in the balcony.

But God reminded me of the sermon I had just heard about Mary and Martha. Martha was the one frantically scrambling to get everything just right and Mary was sitting silently at the feet of Jesus in the posture of a disciple. Martha had good intentions, but Mary did the better thing.

I took a moment to steady my thoughts and quiet my heart. I prayed for peace to replace the chaos and I took a few deep breaths. Then I was fine.

We often get so caught up in school, work, play, and doing things for God that we have precious little time for God. But if we want our desire to be more like Jesus to go from wishful thinking to reality, we must make time to sit at His feet and be silent.

I am the worst. When I try to be silent and still, my brain doesn’t want to cooperate. I will conjure up  whole conversations in my head, hear snatches of songs, and think of things I forgot to do or that I still need to do. In other words, my ADD kicks in with a vengeance.

But the more I come to sit at Jesus feet, the more I am learning to capture my anxious thoughts and give them to Him. The more I am learning to let everything else go and listen to the Voice that still says good things about me.

Come to Jesus all you who are at the breaking point of exhausting. Come, be still. He will give you much needed soul-rest even in the midst of a busy day. He will speak peace and healing over you. He will refresh your spirit and renew your mind.

So just come.

God, I’m Sorry

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God, I’m sorry that I took even a single moment of the time I had today for granted. I’m sorry I forgot that every moment of this life is sacred, for You inhabit all of it.

You’re in every frame of every scene in my life, speaking to me through the Word, through your people, through circumstances, and loudest of all, through the Silence that echos the calm before the storm.

I’m sorry I failed to give you as much room to work in the lives of my friends as You took to work in mine. I’m sorry I doubted them and mistrusted their motives instead of looking for and believing the best about them and giving them the benefit of the doubt, as You taught and showed me how to do.

I’m sorry that I listened to my fears instead of to You, and they lied to me. I’m sorry that I believed what they said: that eventually all the people in my life will find out what I’m really like underneath my plastic smile and decide that I am simply not worth the effort and they will walk away. I name that lie and give it to You for good.

I’m sorry I was living my life at the I-level, living in the me-story and focused on all things Greg. I forgot that what You have for me is so much bigger than me and what my little world can hold. Your plans are God-sized and the God-story You are telling me is so much better than mine (thanks to Karla Worley for the imagery).

I’m sorry that tomorrow, I will need to be reminded of this all over again. I will forget You and how constantly You have taken care of me.

Thank You that You are slow to anger, steady in love, and ever patient with me, never wearying in reminding me of who I am and Whose I am. Of how much stronger Your voice is than all the other voices that speak to me and that Your voice is saying good things about me and calling me Beloved.

Thank You that You won’t give up, give in, let go, let me down, or turn on me. Thank You that you will absolutely finish what You started in me and then it will all have been so much more than worth it.

Thank You. Amen.

Communion

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I took communion today as a part of the worship service. It really hit home and reminded me of how great the price Jesus paid for me. If I had a communion prayer to express my thoughts, it would go something like this:

When I was lost and couldn’t find You and couldn’t even find myself, You came down and found me.

When I was dead to you and the things in life that really matter, You made me alive to the wonder and beauty of the world You made and mostly, alive to You and alive in You.

When I was a stranger and an outcast looking in from the outside, You took me in and made me one of Your own and called Me Your child.

When I was a captive to my sin and fears, You opened the doors to my prison and set me free forever.

When I was exhausted and couldn’t find rest from all the anxious thoughts running around in my head, You simply said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” You took those anxious thoughts from me and gave me sweet sleep.

When I was in darkness, You were the light that helped me find my way.

When I was Your enemy, You loved me anyway and paid much too high a price because You thought I was worth dying for.

When I felt alone, You were with me in the night, holding me in Your arms and rejoicing over me with singing.

When I couldn’t speak, You were my Voice. When I couldn’t pray, You were my Prayer. When I couldn’t sing, You were my Song.

When I was weak, You were my Strength. When I had nothing in me to give, You were my Sacrifice.

As I take your bread, I remember Your body broken so that I might be whole and healed. As I take your wine, I remember Your blood spilled out completely for me that my broken pieces might be put back together again.

With this communion, I say again, “Thank you for my life. It’s Yours for whatever, whenever, and however You want to use it. Pour it out for others. May it be broken and blessed to feed the multitudes. Make me a blessing and an answer to prayer and Jesus to someone today.

Amen.