Lord

Not My Will

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“And shall I pray Thee change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
But, no, Lord, no, that never shall be, rather
I pray Thee blend my human will with Thine.

I pray Thee hush the hurrying, eager longing,
I pray Thee soothe the pangs of keen desire—
See in my quiet places, wishes thronging—
Forbid them, Lord, purge, though it be with fire” (Amy Carmichael).

I’m revisiting Shadow of the Almighty, the story of Jim Elliot. This time it’s the audiobook read by Elisabeth. My first impression is that sometimes I think Christianity in the early part of the 20th century seems quite a bit different than today’s version of it. For one thing, people talked a whole lot more about taking up crosses and laying doen lives for the sake of the gospel.

I wonder if all the prosperity and freedom of our present culture hasn’t made for a soft Church. You can go back and read that the Church grew the most when it was persecuted the most. A famous early Christian leader said that the blood of the martyrs watered the seed of the Church, and that’s why it grew the way it did.

But also, there’s something to be said for surrender. It’s one thing to pray “Thy will be done” glibly as part of the Lord’s prayer and not really mean it or think through what you’re praying. But as Elisabeth Elliot famously said, when you pray God’s will be done, you’re also praying that your own will be undone if necessary.

If you want to go beyond comfortable cultural Christianity, you’d do well to read the biographies of the faithful of old, especially missionaries like Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor, and Darlene Deibler Rose. They did more than talk of sacrifice. They did it. They gave up everything that was comfortable and familiar and took the gospel into places it had not been before.

The scary part of praying God’s will is that you don’t know where God will lead you, but the best part is that God will go with you, whether it’s to the other end of the world or across the street. It’s the prayer that never ever fails.

Refined

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“One day we took the children to see a goldsmith refine gold after the ancient manner of the East. He was sitting beside his little charcoal fire. (‘He shall sit as a refiner’; the gold- or silversmith never leaves his crucible once it is on the fire.) In the red glow lay a common curved roof tile; another tile covered it like a lid. This was the crucible. In it was the medicine made of salt, tamarind fruit and burnt brick dust, and imbedded in it was the gold. The medicine does its appointed work on the gold, ‘then the fire eats it,’ and the goldsmith lifts the gold out with a pair of tongs, lets it cool, rubs it between his fingers, and if not satisfied puts it back again in fresh medicine. This time he blows the fire hotter than it was before, and each time he puts the gold into the crucible, the heat of the fire is increased; ‘it could not bear it so hot at first, but it can bear it now; what would have destroyed it then helps it now.’ ‘How do you know when the gold is purified?’ we asked him, and he answered, ‘When I can see my face in it [the liquid gold in the crucible] then it is pure’ (Amy Carmichael, Gold Cord).

I love the idea that gold is considered pure when the refiner can see his reflection in it. The same goes for me. When my Maker can see His reflection in me, that’s when I know that I have been refined and made pure.

Lord, refine us so that we will faithfully reflect Your image wherever we go. No matter how long it takes or how hot it gets, keep us in the fire until we are purified from anything that hinders Your image in us. Amen.

Singing in Every Season

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“I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, so the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations” (Isaiah 61:10-11, The Message).

If you stop and think about it, you have way more reasons to sing from a heart of gratitude than to complain. Just like it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, it takes more effort to see the glass as half empty. Especially when you’re God’s child.

If you’ve truly been born again, how can you not help from singing? How can you not help but be thankful? How can you not see that the blessings far outweigh the bad, more so when you consider the future that awaits every saint.

Besides, there are so many commands and admonitions to sing and to praise all through out the Bible. Note that it does not say that you have to have an operatic voice to sing praises. You don’t even have to be able to carry a tune in a bucket. The Bible says to make a joyful noise, even if you sound like an orchestra of scorched cats and dogs.

Even if singing is absolutely not your thing, you can still express thanksgiving and gratitude toward God in any number of ways. I do think it helps to express your thanks out loud in some way, even if it’s only you in the room. But whatever you do, make sure you err on the side of joy rather than gloom.

Getting Hold of God

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“Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

If I’m not careful, prayer can become like my childhood letterd to Santa. Those typically started off with me stating how I’d been good all year and thus was worthy of all the loot I had coming to me. The specifics of those letters escapes me, but I’m sure that I was like every other kid back in the day who mailed actual letters in envelopes to an address somewhere at the North Pole.

We do the same with God. It’s like, “God, thanks for being God. Here’s what I want from You” and then the list of wants and needs begins. Sometimes, we even have a list of people we’re praying for (which is by no means a bad thing to do).

But prayer isn’t as much getting things from God as it is getting to know God. The more you know God, the more your wants and needs change. By the end, I suspect we’re praying God’s prayers back to Him. That means we’re asking God for what God wants for us and in us. We want the same things He does.

In the mean time, it is perfectly acceptable to come to God in prayer without asking for anything but simply to adore Him and thank Him for who He is. I think the less we’re concerned about getting answers, the more we’ll see God at work because our focus won’t be so narrowly limited to His hand.

The good news is that even if you feel you’ve been doing it all wrong in prayer and treating Him as Cosmic Santa, you can always start over in a sense. You can spend at least part of your prayer time in adoration and thanksgiving before processing to petitions. You can look for opportunities throughout the day to thank God for what He’s doing, even if you can’t always see what that is.

Again, the point as always is to pray. The best way to get better at praying isn’t listening to more sermons or reading more books about prayer but praying — and being around people who pray often and pray well. That has helped me a lot. I still think reading books of prayers is good, like the Book of Common Prayer or The Valley of Vision. But mostly just pray.

Grieving a Pet

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“I will never laugh at anyone for grieving over a loved beast. I think God wants us to love Him more, not to love creatures (even animals) less. We love everything in one way too much (i.e., at the expense of our love for Him), but in another way we love everything too little.

No person, animal, flower, or even pebble has ever been loved too much—i.e., more than every one of God’s works deserves” (C. S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III),

Thankfully, I haven’t lost a pet in a while, but I remember how much I grieved. My first cat Lucy was such a steady little presence in my life, and it broke my heart when she wasn’t there anymore.

No, I don’t think there’s any shame in grieving the loss of a pet. Absolutely not. There’s not a scale of acceptability over what kinds of loss are okay to cry over. It’s loss. It hurts.

Yout pets are constants in your life. They love you without conditions and without reserve. Even when you accidentally step on a tail or knock them on the noggin, they still love you. Even when you’re gone for days, they’re still just as happy to see you the next time.

And there’s a noticeable absence when they’re gone — a kind of void. The best way to celebrate the life of aa pet you’ve lost is to find another to love, preferably from a shelter or a place that rescues animals. Those are the kinds that need your love the most and will love you back the most.

But it’s okay to cry for a cat or a dog . . . or even a hamster or a parakeet. It doesn’t matter as long as they brought joy into your life and made your world better.

Another New Favorite

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I ran across another great worship song that strikes me as being a bit of a lament. It’s telling God, “This is where I am, and this is how I feel, but this is what I’ve come to learn about You.”

I hope these words will speak to you, especially if you’re in the midst of a struggle or a low period in your life. I’ve also included a video in case you want to hear it:

“How long will I have to hear the stories
Of how you were able
How long will I have to celebrate
The miracle that’s not my own
How long will I lift my voice and sing again
That you are always good
When I’m feeling all this distance
I thought I never would
How long

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me miracle or not

How long will I give myself
Before I give up waiting
How long will I have to hide behind this smile
That says that I’m okay
How long will I hold on to the promises
I thought I heard you speak
When every passing day
Just leaves me broken down and weak

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me miracle or not

I will sing it ’til my broken heart believes it
I’ll declare it ’til I smell the smoke of faith
And with my hands held high
I’ll scream it to the darkness
‘Til hope is finally louder than the ache

I will sing it ’til my broken heart believes it
I’ll declare it ’til I smell the smoke of faith
And with my hands held high
I’ll scream it in the darkness
‘Til hope is finally louder than the ache

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me
I know that you love me
I know that you love me miracle or not
Miracle or not” (Michael Farren / Mark Alan Schoolmeesters / Lou Fellingham)

A Prayer for Sunday Services

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“May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers” (1 Thes. 3:11-13, The Message).

Lord, I pray for all Your children who will be worshipping You around the world in various places and ways. I pray for all those who will come into Your presence with joy, and also for those come to You with deep grief. I know You meet each and every one of us where we are and at the deepest point of our need.

Help us to seek not what we can get out of the services or come to worship to be spectators seeking to be entertained but how we can outgive and outserve one another as we seek to please and glorify an audience of One.

Lord, I pray that in any case of division or strife within Your body, we will choose instead to leave our offering and go and be reconciled with our brothers and sisters wherever possible first before entering into true worship. I pray You will move to heal broken families and restore broken marriages. I pray You will deliver people from all sorts of addictions and bondages.

Above all, call out people in Your midst to the mission field and to the ministry. Call out those who don’t yet know You in faith to trust You for salvation by calling on Your Son Jesus Christ. May the worship we bring not cease at 11:00 or 12:15 or whatever time the service ends but carry on throughout our day and into the next week. May our worship not just be songs and music but lives surrendered and hearts laid down at Your altar.

Bless and multiply Your Church. Redeem and restore us. Rebuke us wherever necessary. Be mindful of our frailty and fallenness and come among us to make us more like You. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Love Standing in the Very Teeth of Suffering

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“Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering. The love of God is of a different nature altogether. It does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands in the very teeth of suffering. The love of God did not protect His own Son. The cross was the proof of His love – that He gave that Son, that He let Him go to Calvary’s cross, though “legions of angels” might have rescued Him. He will not necessarily protect us – not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process” (Elisabeth Elliott).

Pain isn’t always bad. Sometimes pain means that healing is taking place. Those with broken bones can attest that while the breaking of the bone is painful, so is the healing of the break. But while neither is pleasant, the pain of healing must take place for there to be mending, or else the bone stays broken.

We are the same way. We’re broken. God is healing us. There’s pain involved in that process, but it’s better than the pain of remaining broken. And sometimes for a bone to set and heal properly, it has to be re-broken so it will mend properly.

If you want the ultimate picture of suffering in love, look at Jesus. God did not spare Jesus one moment of suffering, but He instead spared us from the worst of it. While we still undergo pain, God made sure that the worst of it fell on Jesus. He went through hell so we won’t have to. That’s love.

On a side note, parents that never allow their children to suffer or even be inconvenienced aren’t necessarily doing them any favors. Just as the butterfly’s struggle to emerge from the cocoon strengthens its wings to fly, so children struggle to become adults who are strong enough to think and live apart from their parents and on their own.

And for the record, I don’t believe the idea that God never gives us more than we can handle. He never gives us more than He can handle. Sometimes, it’s more than we can bear on our own, so we’re forced to rely on the God who made us to sustain us. That’s when we become more like Jesus.

One United Choir in Heaven

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“Blessed be God for this. Some of all sorts are saved, some of all colors, ranks, nations, and ages are saved; some of all conditions of education and morals, some of the poorest, and some of the richest are redeemed so that when we all assemble in heaven, though we make a motley throng on earth, we shall constitute a united choir, having all our voices tuned to this one note, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain'” (Charles Spurgeon).

I confess that I’m often distressed by the discord in this country. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like America has never been more divided than it is right now. We’re to the point where we can’t even have rational discussions with those on the opposing side. It’s all about name calling and inflammatory rhetoric.

But that’s now how it is with God’s people. At least that’s not how it should be. But if I read my Bible right, that’s not how it will be. One day, we will be one united choir, singing one song to one Lord and King over all. The older I get the more I long for that day.

There will be no more Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. There will only be those who have been redeemed and washed in the blood of the Lamb. There will only be those who were lost sinners far from God who have been brought near by God’s grace and are now new creations in Christ Jesus.

I believe there will be people in heaven representing every single people group, even those who are as yet unreached. I believe that every language will be represented in heaven. I’m not sure if we’ll all speak one language in heaven or if we’ll be able to understand each other’s different dialects.

I know it will be glorious not for the golden streets or jewel-encrusted gates or the presence of all the saints who have gone before but because Jesus will be there. The Lamb slain from the foundation will be there still bearing the scars in His hands, feet, and sides. Suddenly, our petty squabbles won’t mean anything anymore because we’ll all be focusing on the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.

Lord, I long for that day more and more. Even now, make us one in You as You are one within the Trinity. Help us to draw outsiders into faith by how we love each other well. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

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I ran across this poem today and thought it was worth sharing. It’s a beautiful picture of the unfailing love of God toward His children. It’s written from God’s perspective, and feels very biblical in the way it describes God’s tender care toward those He has loved and redeemed. I pray these words will sink deep into your soul, and you will know beyond doubting the amazing love of God for you tonight.

“My beloved child,

I AM …Yahweh …
the One who is always with you,
the One who does not leave you.

I am not distant from you.
I have drawn near…
closer than your breath …
closer than your own thoughts.

And I am your Go’el …
your Kinsman-Redeemer.

I am not a stranger who rescues from afar.
I have bound Myself to you as family.

You are not alone in your story.
You never were.

I have taken full responsibility for you.

When something was lost …
I saw it.

Every place where your heart was left unprotected …
every place where fear entered …
every place where love should have held you and did not …

I did not turn away.

I became your Family-Redeemer.
I say to you:
What was lost, I will restore.
Not only what can be seen…
but what was taken deep within you:
your sense of safety …
your tenderness …
your ability to rest in love.

I am restoring these …
gently… patiently … surely.

Where you have felt bound …
by fear,
by anxiety,
by striving.

I do not stand over you in disappointment.

I come close to you.

And I say to you …

I have paid for your freedom.
You do not have to carry this alone.

I am not asking you to free yourself.
For I … Yahweh …
am your Redeemer.

Where your heart has felt alone…
where you have wondered if anyone would truly stay …

Hear Me:

I, Yahweh … am your nearest One.

I do not withdraw from you.
I do not grow weary of your need.

I draw nearer … still.
I hold you … as My own.
I am the One … who restores your future.

Nothing in your story has disqualified you.

I am weaving beauty …
where there was sorrow …
fruitfulness …
where there was loss …
legacy …
where there was fear.

You will not end in lack.
You will end … in fullness.

And I stand for you.

What has wounded you …
matters to Me.

I am not indifferent to your pain.

I am your Defender …
not with harshness,
but with steady, faithful love.

You are safe with Me.
My dear child …
You do not have to strive to be redeemed.
You are not reaching for Me …
I have come for you.
I have always been the One who comes.

So rest …
in Me.

Let your body learn what your spirit is beginning to know:

You are not alone.
You are not unprotected.
You are not forgotten.

You … are Mine.

And I … am your Go’el …

the One who comes close …
the One who takes personal responsibility for you …
the One who restores all that was lost.

Stay with Me, My beloved.

I am here.

I will not leave you.

I never have.

I have loved you …
with an everlasting love …
and you …
are Mine.

Your loving Father,
Almighty God” (Kirk Dearman).