Sing the praises of the Lord,
you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.Psalm 30:4
A prayer to constantly praise and thank God
Mighty God, I admit that when things go wrong in my life I am quick to ask for help. But when my life is running along smoothly or even when a prayer is answered I’m equally quick to forget to thank you. Each and every morning when I rise, I commit to thanking you for what you will send my way that day – even the “not-so-good.” Because even in those times I know I have the opportunity to grow in my faith. And throughout my day I will remember to thank you even for the little gifts you send my way. LORD, at the end of my day I’m frequently so tired. But you are never tired of hearing my praise for you. I will, before my eyes close, remember the ways you revealed yourself to me that day. Whether you acted as my counselor, comforter, King, creator, or protector, I will praise you. In your son’s name I pray, Amen.
In the late Spring of 2020, I was led to learn more about how to pray. Using what The Navigators call, “The Prayer Hand,” I learned the five parts to highly effective prayer. That’s not to say we can’t or shouldn’t pray short, on-the-go prayers throughout the day, but the Prayer Hand revealed to me what was missing from my prayer life – praise.
Praise is different than “thanksgiving” I learned. When we praise someone, such as our children or a friend we compliment them for what they themselves have done, created or just are such as their patience or sense of humor. When we thank them it usually involves something to do with our relationship. We thank people for helping us or making things easier in a situation. The same is true for our praise and thankfulness toward God.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise
his name.Psalm 100:4
This concept was so foreign and awkward for me — it seemed that “praise” was so flowery and silly – that I dove headfirst into figuring out how to “do” it. And so, I created my 30 Days of Praise blog series. I took all the different characteristics of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and set about praising them for well, just being the amazing Triune God.
And although that 30 days was pretty awesome, I still struggle with daily praising Him. And that has revealed something else about me. I have a hard time praising others (and myself to be honest). I’m great at thanking people when they help me out. But just unabashedly praising people? I realized that effort and awareness requires me to look outside myself and my own “things I gotta do right now” world. I need to pay attention to the human beings around me. I mean really pay attention. To the salesclerk, the deli guy, the mailman, my neighbor, that person I see walking their dog every single day, my husband, my children, my friends – I need to look at them and see them and praise them. Why? Because they too are God’s creation. And I can praise God for putting them in this world.
Praising God means honoring Him for the rain, the sunrise, the puffy clouds, the air we breathe, the Son He sent, the joy He provides, the Word we read, the awesomeness of the universe. We praise Him from whom all blessings flow! I love the doxology I used to sing in a previous church and it takes on full meaning to me now:
Praise God from whom all
blessings flow, Praise Him
all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly
host, Praise Father, Son and
Holy Ghost, Amen
I will keep working on my path to praising God each and every day. I want to be His thankful daughter. I seek to find ever more reasons to praise Him. And in doing so my eyes are moved off me and onto Him.
If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!
And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him,to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.Isaiah 56:6-7
These months of Coronavirus lockdowns and limitations have led to varying degrees of modified social gathering, decreased family contact and less human contact than any time in my 55 years on this earth. Certainly, the psychiatrists and social scientists will write about this period of time for decades to come. The scientific themes and research will revolve around isolation, depression, anxiety and the overall physical decline of those who were compromised and the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
There is no question that decreased physical contact and changes in routines and habits can throw all of us off our game. So many have lost their solid hold on the anchor lines of routine, comfort and familiarity. But did our dependence on other people for our happiness and joy make us vulnerable in ways we never expected?
Happiness or Joy?
During the last nine months, I’m confident in saying we all have experienced the side effects of these pseudo government-imposed quarantines, confinements and solitude from limited human contact. Not many of us think it has been good for us and others, the social animals amongst us, think it has been the work of the devil himself.
Personally, I have learned some very valuable and lifelong lessons from this pandemic imposed by the changes to our day-to-day lives. Most importantly, my joy is not dependent on those around me and what they bring to the game. My joy comes from within and from above.
Praise the Lord! For he has heard
my cry for mercy. The Lord is my
strength and shield. I trust him
with all my heart. He helps me,
and my heart is filled with joy.Psalm 28:6-7
While happiness is temporary and fleeting, joy is deep, sustainable and long-lived if based in the promise of God’s plan for lives. Happiness is equivalent to a thread that can bind items together but has little strength under pressure and strain. Joy is a thick, tightly-woven and multistrand rope created to anchor and restrain heavy items like a ship or a barge. When joy is fixed in our soul and anchored to Jesus’s love for us the anguish, the discomfort, and the turmoil we feel during a pandemic doesn’t knock us down to our knees.
Joy is my equalizer that levels the panic and threat level and brings everything back into focus. I am not dependent on other people for my joy and my peace. My anchor rope is fixed to my Father who has promised strength, protection, salvation and joy.
Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
John 16:24
“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said. “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”
Mark 10:29-31
There was one point in my life – actually a few weeks ago (I hate to admit) – where I would sit on my couch in utter angst and anxiety. No, not about important things, but about wall décor. Yup, you heard it. I would sit on my couch with anxiety about the lack of cute, trendy wall décor and decorations in my apartment. I was so anxious about what people would think of us when they came over, I was so anxious about having cute Fall décor before “Pumpkin Spice Season” hit. What was I going to do? Hobby Lobby FOR SURE by now has already off-loaded all of their Fall décor for Christmas stuff – the best stuff has already been bought and picked through. What was I going to do? As my heart rate started to rise, I heard the Lord say to me “Do you think I care about any of this?” My anxious thoughts stopped. I listened and heard again – “Do you think the things on your walls are treasures you will store in Heaven?” Woah – I heard the message loud and clear.
I was toiling over useless, temporary, meaningless possessions INSTEAD of spending that time storing up REAL treasures in Heaven. I was convicted.
Now, I’m not saying decorating your house or shopping at Hobby Lobby is a sin. What I am saying is to consider the weight we put on those things. I’m asking us to consider if we’ve made material things idols in our lives.
Jesus’ words in Mark 10:29-31 cut me deep to the core – I hope they do for you too. These verses stir me to ask myself, “How much of my life is spent toiling over temporary gains?” Reading Jesus’ words over again alleviate many of my silly – yet very real – anxieties about possessions and material things. We must remember that the Lord God does not look upon us and see the things we’ve collected, the money we’ve made or the beautiful house we’ve decorated for Fall. No – He sees His son standing as an eternal sacrifice for our sins. He sees us as his prodigal children whom He loves.
This truth truly amazes me. As the world tells us that we need this, we need that – this will give you favor in the eyes of man and this will surely bring you pleasure and happiness – God says lay it all down. Give it all up. And for those of you that ask, “Does He really mean ALL of it?” I would say – to some extent – yes. Our first fruits (earnings) should always go to the Lord, and as Jesus said in Luke 16:
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
Luke 16:10
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Luke 16:13
If I am covetousness of what little I have – how much more will sin grow within my heart the more I gain? The Lord was speaking a very important truth to me that day. For material things are not of ANY value to Him. He wants my heart. He wants my attention. He wants my full dedication – things that cost nothing – but everything at the same time.
The disciples couldn’t believe what Jesus was saying. For their entire lives they saw the Chief Priests and Kings lavished with riches and luxuries. To them, those were the people who were closest to God. They were experiencing a real-time paradigm shift. You mean to say that now the lame, the weak, the poor are the blessed? Not the rich and noble? Pretty amazing stuff!
What Jesus was getting at here is that the more possessions one has, the more divided his heart becomes. The more his money has gone to things other than Kingdom purposes. He warned his disciples loud and clear that being rich was not the way into the Kingdom of God. No, it was intimacy with the Father, sacrifice and a dedication to seeing salvation sweep across the nations.
So – why are we so enthralled by things of this Earth? I urge you to spend time in prayer today asking God to reveal what you’ve been idolizing recently. I pray that the next time you find yourself coveting someone else’s possessions, you direct your thoughts, your anxieties and worries to the amazing God-given things above – blessings that will reward you many treasures in Heaven.
From the first day of Earth to today, God has been doing amazing things in our lives. And when Jesus preached and performed miracles, the Bible frequently says the people were amazed. Each day we get up to start a new day. Each day we put our feet on the floor, have breakfast, brush our teeth, and then go about our daily routine. We do the laundry, wash the dishes, log in another long day at work. It’s so easy to live in the humdrum of every day. But God is still doing amazing things!
I’ve spent much of my adult life being a pessimist. As I grew closer to Jesus it became almost impossible to continue looking at life, people and circumstances constantly from a negative point of view. God transformed me. And that, my friends, is pretty darn amazing.
Join me and my special guest writer as we explore all the amazing acts of Jesus starting November 1 through 29. My hope is that each day we will help you take these amazing Jesus acts and translate them into your amazing life.
Are you ready to explore and enjoy this amazing God-given life through Jesus? Join us by signing up today to receive your emailed posts!
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching
Last Christmas, my new son-in-law sat reading a large paperback book. I asked him about it. He introduced me to “Spurgeon On Prayer & Spiritual Warfare,” a 575-page book filled with Charles Spurgeon’s sermons on prayer. There are prayers on why to pray, how to pray, what to pray, and even when to pray. After skimming over my son-in-law’s copy, I decided I needed my own copy. I’ve only scratched the surface of the 54 sermons, but I’ve come to realize two important things about prayer: 1) Do it and 2) Do it earnestly.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
How many of us truly believe in the power of prayer? Let’s back up a bit. How many of us Christians truly believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light? Unfortunately, I know quite a few people who say they are Christians but won’t stand up with assuredness that this statement is true. We are so wrapped up in the idea of being judgemental – telling people their way isn’t the right way – that we are willing to give up this foundation stone. We want to put the capstone on our faith by calling ourselves “Christians” without the foundation. In doing so, we shove aside all the teachings of Jesus and how to express our faith out of love, rather than judgement. We also tear down the place Jesus holds in the eternal world.
Let’s say we accept the statement that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light. We are now miles ahead of the Pharisees. This was their stumbling block. So, if we accept this, we need to then look at prayer from that vantage point. When Jesus is our Way and our Truth then we also accept God as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And throughout scripture we are almost begged by God and Jesus to bring Him our trials, our joys, our sorrows, and our sins.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6
Notice scripture doesn’t say “well, only when you feel you need to pray.” It also doesn’t say to just pray when we are sick or worried. In EVERY situation we are to pray. Upon waking, eating breakfast, hopping in our car for work (or on our computer), when a friend or colleague starts gossiping, when a friend texts you with bad news, when you look out your window and see a blue sky, when you eat lunch, when you are working on a project, when you head home from work, arrive home safely (or after an accident), when you eat dinner, when you start worrying about things on the nightly news, when you lay your head down to sleep. EVERY situation.
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them.
James 5:13-14
I have to confess that God has revealed a painful truth to me about my prayer life. When I am most worried about a situation is when I have the most difficult time praying. I have a hard time slowing my mind down, focusing on Jesus, and asking Him to take control. Back when I was a softball coach, I couldn’t stand watching a game when I was off the field. I wanted to yell out directions to the players (I yell at the TV too). But when I took my seat in the head coach’s spot, I would become calm. It’s because I had some control over the situation. So, when I need to give up my worries it’s like standing outside that fence, letting someone else be in charge. And that is very difficult for me.
We have an agreement, a covenant that God enters into with those who pray to Him and are helped by Him.
Charles Spurgeon
In other words, we must acknowledge that God is trustworthy and has delivered us before and He will do it again. Our part is then to glorify Him through prayer and praise. Glorify – that sounds more than just a passing “thanks, God.” I’ve been guilty of that – if I even remembered to thank Him. Which brings me to being earnest.
If we believe that Jesus is the Way and God is the powerful King of Kings, we must honor this exalted position. Would you walk into the Queen of England’s throne room casually and just say, “hey, what’s up Queenie? If it were at all possible would you be able to help me find a new job? I get it if you can’t but maybe you can try.” Casual, and not very expecting. God is God. The One most High. We should come in reverence and expectation. He CAN do all. He has done it all. We need to plead with him, put our heart into it, and rap our knuckles as hard as possible against heaven’s door.
How many of us actually have such low expectations of our prayers? We say them with rote numbness. My family used to say the exact same prayer at dinner time. It comes to mean absolutely nothing and is usually expressed with that same nothingness. My husband and I started praying in earnest this year over our evening meal. We express thankfulness and joy for good things that happened. We ask earnestly for healing of friends and family members. And we ask Him to use us and place opportunities to be His light in this world in front of us. It not only has helped us be in communion with God but it has also strengthened our marriage.
An earnest pleader comes out of his prayer closet rejoicing like a strong man ready to run his race.
Charles Spurgeon
I love that visual. After praying all my prayer cards in my “war room” I frequently feel emboldened to take on the world as one of God’s blessed daughters. How many of us who have children (or co-workers) and we’ve needed them to complete a task? We mention it half-heartedly. They pretend not to hear us or just roll their eyes. As a parent and coach, I eventually perfected “The Look.” That’s the look that says “mom is serious about this so it’d better get done.” That’s the look we need to have in our prayer life. Expectation that God will answer our prayers. It may sound sacrilegious to “expect God” to do something in our life but He himself has said to us over and over to trust Him, to ask Him, to plead with Him.
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
and forgive us our debts, as
we have also forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:9-13
Do you see the glorification and exaltation of God in the first sentence? Then, the trust and reminder that God’s will is meant to rule the earth. We then ask him to provide for us. Really, using the word “give” is like demanding. Pleading with Him to forgive us. And giving us hope for the future. Man, was Jesus so great with words! How many times have we recited this and not thought about what we are saying? Next time we speak these words make it in earnest, bring some emotion to it! Beg Him to forgive you and help you.
We are ordinary people asking extraordinary things from an amazing, loving, faithful, and powerful God. Throughout the Bible, people just like us asked for victory over large armies, the rain to fall and the rain to stop, for loved ones to be healed and even raised from the dead, for our never-ending ailments to be taken away, for our life of sin to be cleansed. And God abided. He healed us. He saved us. He made it rain. He has showered us for centuries with answered prayers.
If Jesus could lift a man from the dead, imagine what He can do with our prayers?
We must pray in earnest. It is a supernatural, powerful tool that Jesus gave us. Some of us use prayer like we are brushing our teeth – rote and without remembering all the benefits. Something we have to do. It’s time to take it up daily like a torch against the darkness, a sword against evil, and a golden gift presented to our Lord Most Exalted.
My youngest daughter is a poster child for God’s transformation. When she was a toddler, she constantly begged me to buy her bright and shiny things she saw advertised on tv then displayed on the grocery shelves. I left the grocery store many times during one of her meltdowns. As she got older, I heard on a daily basis of her “needs.” “I need more shorts (from the expensive store).” “I need more pants.” “I need a new straightener.” “I need a new (fill in the blank).” And then there were the social status issues: “Olivia’s mom gets her those, why can’t I have that?” We started calling her the family princess. My older daughter, who to almost frustration, never asks for anything. My prayer life was filled with asking for patience. This beautiful, smart, vivacious, talented, young girl acted like a spoiled brat. Thankfully, she reserved all the negative behavior for her home life. Away from home her teachers, coaches, and friends all loved her. But they didn’t have to live with her. My husband and I decided enough was enough. He started planning frequent mission projects for the two of them to participate in. She taught vacation Bible School. She got a job. We knuckled down on all those “needs.” And then we sent her off to college, waiting for her to start begging us for money each week.
Dad gives her one last hug
James first starts in chapter 1 that we should consider it pure joy whenever we face trials (James 1:2). I loved my daughter immensely during those younger years. I enjoyed her humor, her ability to make any situation into a song. She was a fierce, talented competitor on the field. She would burst into the house after school and shower me with love. That’s what I would thank God for, not for when things went off the rails. Without the hard stuff I might not have fully appreciated the good stuff. So, when I sent her off almost 2,000 miles away for college my house felt quiet, too quiet. And for her, she came to realize how good she had it at home. She faced terrible roommates, crazy coaches, and bored, lazy professors. But she also was led to a relationship with Jesus, thanks to being invited to attend an Athletes In Action meeting. Her “needs” became a need to live in God’s love – not the world of earthly desires. She surrendered herself fully and in turn, found what really matters in life – an eternal love plus the love and friendships that make us better. Now when she asks, she asks with the right motives. She asks for God’s will – not her’s.
This amazing, transformed, daughter of Christ has plans. But they’re God’s plans. Her creative mind and her earthly tendency to “want stuff” is still there. It’s amazing to watch her pull it back in. You can tell that peace dwells more frequently in her. Before they got married about a year ago, she and her husband went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace program. Having the desire to do it in the first place showed their spiritual maturity. They both have great jobs after having graduated college. And they could have a lot of “stuff.” But they made a plan with God in mind. My little girl who demanded so much is now so incredibly disciplined. And yes, she has thanked my husband and I many times over for instilling so many morals and values in her. But it’s God’s work that fully planted those in her heart. I truly believe the trials she went through while in college gave her a choice – to go down the earthly path or to turn and surrender to God.
James 4 was a message to my daughter.
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.” (v3)
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?” (v4)
“Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (v7)
“Instead, you ought to say, if it’s the Lord’s will we will live and do this or that.” (v15)
James 4 is a message to all of us who struggle day in and day out with trying to control our lives. Trying to get all our “needs and wants” satisfied. It’s a message to all of us who have put “Self” in front of God. It’s also a message of hope that when we do what we ought to do, when we submit and surrender everything to God, He will draw near to us. We have a role to play and unless we take our required steps, God cannot finish the work in us. How many of us who struggle with money are willing to spend the next few months going through Financial Peace University?”
And lest we think “those people” are the ones that need to hear this message, the work God had to do in me with my relationship with my daughter was huge. When I finally surrendered her over to him, when I finally threw up my hands and said, “Ok, I’ve failed, I’ll try it your way,” I could start mending our relationship. When I started praying His will, and not mine, great things happened. The planning of her wedding was God’s gift to both of us. Had she been the “girl before God” she would’ve demanded expensive, well, everything. Instead she and her fiancé put together a tight budget. We made decorations. We eliminated needless activities. God sent them people who would make a cake for $60, a free videographer, an inexpensive caterer. They wanted the focus to be on Jesus. It was so darn fun.
God’s gifts to me, my two beautiful daughters, are just that – His gifts. And like my finances, and my marriage, and my home, I need to be a good steward of His gifts. So, I pray for His will be done. And may the devil flee.
So here we are — Day 30 of 30 Days of Praise! And although my daily prayer praise of the Almighty doesn’t end with today, my challenge to find different ways to write about God’s amazing characteristics is complete. When I started this more than 30 days ago I was on a journey to help me learn a new way of praying. I felt comfortable with thanking God, asking God for help, and asking Him for forgiveness. But praising God seemed so strange and uncomfortable to me. True to His character He placed a challenge on my heart and mind to help me grow.
I heard a great comment about God’s character yesterday. “God never allows us to fail a test, he just gives us the test over and over until we pass.” It goes right along with Charles Stanley’s Life Principle #7:
The dark moments of our life will last only so long as necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us.
Charles Stanley, 30 Life Principles
God Allows Us to Be Reduced to Brokenness
You see, I didn’t start my journey of learning how to praise God 30 days ago. I started the day God spoke to me in my bedroom a few years ago. While I sat enjoying my little pity party God said, “Enough is enough.” He shook me with the simple statement: “What have you really done?” You see I was whining about being such a “good Christian” and yet my life felt like a mess. He spoke those words loudly again, “Yes, what have you really done?” He had been letting me do things my own way for a long time. But He loves us too much to let us continue down destructive paths for too long. That day started my training. And it was intense. He taught me that the secret to a peace-filled life was a lot simpler than what I imagined. I didn’t need to be “doing” so much. I just needed to obey Him — no matter the consequences, no matter how outlandish the request sounded. 1 John 2:25 says:
But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
1 John 2:25
Not only was I reduced to brokenness but God was right there to put me back together as a much more simple, faithful Christian with one goal: Obey.
God Re-Uses Lessons To Get Us to Listen
Throughout my continuing journey I have experienced many times when the same lesson pops up over and over. It’s when I give in and say, “ok, ok, I get it!” that He finally moves on. From podcasts, to daily devotionals, and songs on the radio to a Bible study, His Word weaves its way seamlessly throughout our lives. On August 1, I started with my devotional, “New Day, New You” by Joyce Meyer. The day’s lesson? “Simple, Believing Prayer” based on Matthew 6:7. “And when you pray, do not heap phrases as the gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking.” Good start as I then turn to my “30 Life Principles” Bible study lesson for the day: “Listening to God is essential to walking with God.” In it the question was asked, “What does Jesus say about the use of many words?” Based on, guess….. Matthew 6:7. I saw a message forming here. I then decided to read a bit of my “Spurgeon on Prayer & Spiritual Warfare.” I don’t read it everyday but I felt led to that day. And lo and behold, the topic was approaching God with reverence, joy, submission, confidence and sincerity. Not babbling on with useless words intended to make myself sound “christian-like.” Point taken.
What if through this odd little coincidence, or answered prayer, He’s sending you–you… out of all of those billions of people–a direct personal message of reassurance? To stop worrying? To keep the faith? That everything will be all right?
Squire Rushnell, Godwink stories
God Takes Trash and Makes It Into Something Beautiful
Each Sunday we would see him. A man in about his 40s dressed to the 9s. Not just full suits but “zoot” suits. Big shoulder pads, double breasted suits. But what was most impressive was his hair. I dated a guy back in the 80s who played in a 60s throwback band with that same hair — pumped up, rockabilly pompadour. He stood out among the mostly white, upper class 60-80 year olds. It came to pass we ended up in the same membership class. I told him how I enjoyed seeing what cool and interesting outfits he was going to show up in each week. And, I was definitely impressed with his hair. Both being named Chris/Kris we of course, hit it off. When it came time to tell our testimony I realized what a blessing it was that God put me in the same group as Chris. He told us how his family growing up were Christians. But he rebelled. He wanted long hair, hard rock and a free spirited life. One day when he was 15 his father came to him and said, “We are going to Africa to be missionaries. You have two choices, you can cut your hair and come with us or you stay here in California and find your own way.” He chose to keep his hair. He also decided that Los Angeles was the place to become a rock star. He played bass and guitar. He ended up on the streets, homeless. And he turned to drugs which eventually led to heroin. He told us he should’ve died at least 10 times. But God was not done with him. He pulled him from the fire after yet another devastating drug-fueled, car accident. And led him on the path to recovery. He now goes all over the country speaking on the perils of heroin and his faith in God. He jumped in to help mentor middle school and high school kids at our church. He’s one cool cat. Chris was like the trash that rolls along our city streets, finding its way into doorways. Crumpled up and seemingly useless. God transformed him into a true follower of Christ — a thing of beauty. His transformation story gives me hope for my, much smaller problems.
I praise God today for all the work He has done and will do in our lives. He whispers to us. He shouts at us. He shakes us and he nudges us. He will never force us to follow Him. And He will never fully let us go. Click on the photo below to enjoy the song, “Raise a Hallelujah” by Bethel Music — but here’s a hint, play it loud and raise your hands high!! I look forward to having you join me on my next challenge — “His Works Project”– coming soon!
When I was a kid one of my most favorite shows was, “I Dream of Jeannie.” My friends and I would take turns playing the Barbara Eden character, Jeannie, and the Larry Hagman character, Tony. Major Anthony Nelson (Tony) crash landed his space capsule on a remote beach. He discovered a beautiful bottle and opened it. With a puff of pink smoke out popped a gorgeous, blonde genie. She, of course, offered him three wishes and the opportunity to be her “master.” Being a gentleman, he refused not only the wishes but to be called “Master.” She fell deeply in love with him. Jeannie and her bottle came to live with Tony in Cocoa Beach, Florida. As the tv seasons went on, Tony also fell in love with Jeannie and eventually, they married. The problem along the way was she kept calling him “Master.” He always insisted she call him “Tony.” It was a way of life she lived for 1,000s of years. In that time the rules stood – when someone opened your bottle, they were your master. It took a lot of training to break that habit and eventually call him “husband.”
It takes a lot of work to be called a “master” of something. Journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell wrote about the 10,000-hour rule in his 2008 bestseller, “Outliers.” The rule is simple: mastery comes after someone practices one skill for 10,000 hours. And new studies show even that may not make you great at something. In some areas you still need talent or clearly defined ways in which you practice. When you break down the 10,000-hour rule it’s overwhelming. It can take more than 20 years to accomplish this feat for one skill.
God has been at work as Master of our world much longer. And who knows how long he has been Master of the Universe! I’m thinking He has gotten pretty good at being in charge, not only of our lives, but the entirety of our world. And yet we still buck under His authority. He doesn’t ask for a “master-slave” relationship from us. In fact, in Hosea, God clarifies His role in our lives. He wants to lead us, speak with us tenderly, shower us with riches. And when we respond in loving obedience He says:
“In that day,” declares the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.’”
Hosea 2:16
I think as Christians we struggle in life between seeing God as our “master” as in “the boss” and as our “husband” because we constantly try to pull away and lead our own lives. The sin that is created from this brings feelings of condemnation and pain. Instead we should see God as “The Master of the Universe” – the being who has put in way more than 10,000 hours of practice. He’s who we can lean on, trust, look for guidance, find hope in, and gain strength from. And with that, He wants a personal relationship with us — as a loving “husband.”
A lot of feminists bristle at the Christian ideal of family structure. A husband as the leader of the family brings up hackles. And yet men and women who truly know and understand the Bible realize God created a loving hierarchy in our families based on our God-centered, world hierarchy. There are no slaves with brutal masters. There are masters who had responsibilities to slaves throughout the Bible. There are business people who must treat their workers appropriately, just as God has treated them. And it’s very clear that both a husband and wife have responsibilities for loving and caring about each other.
God, the All Knowing Master, is also our betrothed. I praise Him for being both – a powerful force that I can rely on and love with all my heart.
The other day while out walking with my dog I was listening to a podcast by a well-known Christian speaker. She asked the question: “Do you remember a time when you sinned, I mean really sinned? How did it feel?” I stopped to think on this. I’ve never murdered someone. But I did encourage a friend in my younger days to get an abortion. I’ve never been a thief, although I have, at times, realized I wasn’t charged for something correctly and didn’t go back to the store clerk. I’ve never cheated on my husband. But do those lustful thoughts count? I check in with my mom and dad, through gritted teeth. I put God first. Well, except for the times I put money and my children first. I’m good to my neighbors even though I’ve spoken badly about some. See, I’ve only sinned a wee bit.
I realized that every single time I sinned “just a little” made me feel a “little bit” broken. At times it made me feel a lot broken. The Christian speaker went on to say, “Now imagine Jesus on the cross. He is the only person to walk the Earth who has not sinned. But at that moment His Father placed all your darkness, all your brokenness, all your pain caused by sin on Him. There is no one else who has experienced so much pain. Imagine how He must have felt.” It brought me to tears. It brings me to tears as I write this.
This visual is what I praise God for today. The understanding of Jesus’ pain and sacrifice made for us. I previously hadn’t made an emotional connection to this powerful, earth shaking moment in our time. I had the knowledge but not the emotional response. Baptist teacher Oswald Chambers once said about Jesus on the cross:
The Cross was a superb triumph in which the foundations of hell were shaken. There is nothing more certain in Time or Eternity than what Jesus Christ did on the Cross: He switched the whole of the human race back into a right relationship with God.
Oswald Chambers
My father is reading The Saxon series books. In it, a character refers to Jesus as the “Nailed God.” It brought to mind movies I’ve seen showing the crucifixion. With each hammering of a nail through Jesus’ feet and wrists I cried. But it was out of sadness and horror. That day, when I visualized Jesus on the cross pulling, drawing and tearing our sins from us and placing them squarely in His own heart and soul I was overcome with gratefulness and sorrow. I want to apologize to Jesus. His gift to us caused Him so much pain.
It’s a well-accepted fact that when we are forced to work hard for something, say a new car, home, a good job, we tend to take better care of it. I didn’t have to work for the gifts of salvation and redemption. I’ve proven over and over that sin is easy for me to commit. I need to keep Jesus’ pain, his suffering, and His willingness to take mine, closer to mind each and every day. His love for us can only be repaid with obedience and thankfulness.
As I sit here in my comfortable, middle-class, suburban home it’s hard for me to imagine living where rioting and violence have taken over cities in America. Now mind you, my neighborhood is very diverse. On my block alone live people from India, China, Philippines, Samoa, Puerto Rico, and Mexico — and there’s only 18 houses. What connects the tumultuous cities are a number of characteristics but what shocks me the most is the concept of “defunding the police.” There’s a lot of counterintuitive-ness going on in the world the last 10 years. What seems good and right, now is apparently bad and evil and vice versa. Loving your country and standing for its national anthem is evil but wanting to turn to Marxism, which only has ever brought about human suffering is good. A white woman screaming in a black police officer’s face about racism is good but a statue commemorating President Lincoln signing the emancipation proclamation is bad. Thank God I live under God’s plan which is steady and true.
Praise God that he takes the most unlikely people – ones who have created chaos and violence – and changes them. He is the “Super Cop.” He ferrets out those who hide in shadows doing evil. And he has no fear in standing in front of the powerful and saying, “you’re coming with me.”
I have a lot of respect for the police. Even though I once told my two police officer friends, “Sometimes cops are real jerks!” (and they agreed with me) I still value the difficult and varied roles they are asked to play in our society. For many years I was a security substitute in our local high schools. The role of high school security staff is many fold. We would ensure the morning drop off went smoothy in the parking lot as crazed parents cut each other off and cursed at one another. We then closed up the campus making sure the only people on campus were authorized to be there. We patrolled the campus – keeping kids in class and strangers out of the school. But we also counseled students. There’s the “always late” students who typically come from difficult homes. The student who you find weeping in the bathroom because of a romance failure or a parent who has left the family were not unusual circumstances. We were involved in altercations between students and staff which created opportunities to delve deeper into a student’s anger. I imagine a city police officer experiences these and much, much more. There are many difficult and dangerous situations they face and there are some uplifting moments in which it makes it all worthwhile. When I see a college educated, privileged person screaming in the face of a police officer who is doing their duty to protect our cities it makes me want to weep for both.
A black officer listens while a white protester calls him a racist.
Saul was a violent and angry man. His terror and violence against followers of Jesus was legendary. He took comfort in the Law of God. He thought of Jesus as being from satan, the false prophet. So, he intended to eliminate this “dangerous sect” before it destroyed the Jewish faith. But God met him on the road to Damascus and arrested him. One of the definitions of “arrest” is “to bring to a stop.” When God’s holy light flashed on him, he fell to the ground. The men with him were speechless. Saul knew immediately it was from the holy realm and asked, “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Wow, the authority in that statement! Instead of handcuffs placed on Saul he was blinded. He had to be led into the city. For three days he sat in the jail of darkness and did not eat or drink anything (Acts 9:9).
But God sent another of his officers to release Saul from jail. The disciple Ananias was told by Jesus to go to Saul and anoint him. He hesitated at first, knowing Saul’s reputation. When he entered the house, he placed his hands on Saul and called on the name of Jesus to fill him with the Holy Spirit. Immediately Saul could see and was freed.
How many times do we need to be “arrested by God” to finally see what life He wants for us? Some of us have seen the inside of life’s jail for far too many years. We justify our actions because it’s what the world wants from us. Or we twist the meanings of God’s Word to suit our actions. Like the city cop who knows the neighborhood junkie by name, God knows our names too. That cop has given so much help and advice to the junkie but he keeps going back to what hurts him or may even kill him. Jesus keeps putting His hand out to you and me. When He shines that light on us as we stumble in the dark alleys let’s grasp Him and let Him pull us free.
emboldened.net 