Morning Thought

What a challenge to examine our hearts. On what or who am I depending for my stability, my sanctification, and my happiness?

"Is your knowledge of God a transforming knowledge? Have you so become acquainted with God as to receive the impress (as it were) of what God is?—for a true knowledge of God is a transforming knowledge. As I look upon the glory of God I am changed into that glory; and as my acquaintance with God deepens, I become more like God. There is a transfer of God's moral image to my soul. Is your knowledge then transforming? Does your acquaintance with God make you more like God—more holy, more divine, more heavenly, more spiritual? Does it prompt you to pant after conformity to God's mind, desiring in all things to walk so as to please God, and to have, as it were, a transfer of the nature of God to your soul? Examine, therefore, your professed acquaintance with God, and see whether it is that acquaintance which will bring you to heaven, and will go on increasing through the countless ages of eternity. 

And I would say to God's saints—trace the cause of much of our uneven walking, of our little holiness, and, consequently, of our little happiness, to our imperfect acquaintance with what God is. Did I know more of what God is to me in Christ—how He loves me, what a deep interest He takes in all my concerns—did I know that He never withdraws His eye from me for one moment, that His heart of love never grows cold—oh! did I but know this, would I not walk more as one acquainted with God? Would I not desire to consult Him in all that interests me, to acknowledge Him in all my ways, to look up to Him in all things, and to deal with Him in all matters? Would I not desire to be more like Him, more holy, more divine, more Christ-like? Yes, beloved; it is because we know Him so little, that we walk so much in uneven ways. We consult man rather than God; we flee to the asylum of a creature-bosom, rather than to the bosom of the Father; we go to the sympathy of man, rather than to the sympathy of God in Christ, because we are so imperfectly acquainted with God. 

But did I know more clearly what God is to me in the Son of His love, I should say—I have not a trial but I may take that trial to my Father; I am not in a perplexity but I may go to God for counsel; I am in no difficulty, I have no want, but it is my privilege to spread it before my Father—to unveil my heart of sin, my heart of wretchedness, my heart of poverty, to Him who has unveiled His heart of love, His heart of grace, His heart of tenderness to me in Christ. As I become more acquainted with God, my character and my Christian walk will be more even, more circumspect, more holy, and consequently more happy."

[taken from Octavius Winslow's Morning Thought]

A Hundred Prayers

Earlier today, I received this message from a dear friend of mine. I think it speaks for itself, so read on:

I was convicted today by a quote in one of my textbooks. I thought I would share. St. Patrick stated,

"Tending flocks was my daily work, and I would pray constantly during the daylight hours. The love of God and the fear of him surrounded me more and more-and faith grew and the Spirit was roused, so that in one day I would say as many as a hundred prayers and after dark nearly as many again, even while I remained in the woods or on the mountain. I would wake and pray before daybreak - through snow, frost, rain - nor was there any sluggishness in me (such as I experience nowadays) because then the Spirit within me was ardent."

Wow, to be in constant prayer, and never feel full! To have a cup that's overflowing, and still have room for more! To be in such communion with my God! And to know that no matter my circumstances, or physical capabilities, I would never fear of being "sluggish" or worn, because the ardent Spirit is within me, giving me all the grace I need! To dwell on this truth, and the be engulfed in it's richness and blessing is not where I am, but where I long to be!

Is the Spirit ardent in you?

Silence: the Deafening Din

I have, O Lord, a noisy heart. And entering outward silence doesn't stop the inner clamor. In fact, it seems only to make it worse.
When I am full of activity, the internal noise is only a distant rumble; but when I get still, the rumble amplifies itself. And it is not like the majestic sound of symphony rising to a grand crescendo; rather it is the deafening din of clashing pots and clanging pans. What a racket! Worst of all, I feel helpless to hush the interior pandemonium.

Dear Lord, Jesus, once you spoke peace to the wind and the wave. Speak your shalom over my heart. I wait silently...patiently. I receive into the very core of my being your loving command, "Peace, be still." Amen. 

(Prayers from the Heart. 1994, Harper San Francisco.)

As we prepare for a new year, the thought of a new set of 365 sets of 24 hours is refreshing. Though it is also somewhat daunting.  Too appealing is the temptation to mull over the worries and anxieties those days will bring through the trials and hardships that are sure to arise. The temptation to dwell on needs unmet, desires unfulfilled, and dreams crushed. Those things surely happened on some level over the past twelve months, so the coming year will no doubt be yet another roller coaster of crashing circumstances and surging emotions.

When we find our minds wandering in this direction, meandering through Memory Lane and making a wrong turn onto Regret Drive, we must stop and reevaluate our path. If we really believe that God is still in Heaven and that He is who He says He is, who are we to allow anxiety and worry to claim our hearts? A loving God dwells within us who reigns in ultimate goodness: holiness and love. I find that when I allow my perspective to be introspective and self-analyzing, my thoughts and emotions truly clamor within me to an unbearable level. However, when I turn my perspective to be God-analyzing and truly seek out the face and character of my Savior, my worries turn to prayers, my anxieties are overcome by promises, and my fears are ruled out with patience. What an awesome God we serve, and when we humbly recognize that He is in supreme control over every second of our lives, we can then rejoice in both the joys and sorrows that our days may bring. To spend our days wisely in spite of our emotions is to remember that when God made time, He surely made enough of it.

And when the clamor is too loud and the silence is deafening, we can quiet our souls with the cleansing promises of our Savior.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
{Psalm 139:16}

~ GE (College Sophomore)

All Out for Him

This is 2012.

By God's grace I will go all out for Him.

I will be a total "God-nerd" because God is the best thing to be nerdy about. 

If people say that I'm doing it for attention, I will strive to be even nerdy-er! 

I will be a true friend to my friends, and be the iron that sharpens them, if need be. 

If people say I'm a hypocrite, I will be an even sharper iron.

I will let Christ's light shine through me  in this dark world, and make sure that everyone can see something different in me.

If people reject me, or laugh at me, or treat me worse as a result, I will strive to tell them even more. 

I will read God's Word every day and tell as many friends as I can what I learned in God's Word as often as I can.

If people say that I'm just doing it to mark it off the checklist, I will strive to read and share even more.

I will not be selfish with my time, and will be ready and willing to help anyone that has any needs. 

If people say that I need to save my time for schoolwork or music practice, and that serving others with my time is for when you're older, I will strive to find more oppertunities to serve, and give up even more of my time. 

I will pray for my friends and acquantences every day, and remind them that I love them and are praying for them.

If people say that I'm doing to to try to prove my spirituality, I'll pray for them even more and love them even more.

I will go out of my way to talk to my friends about their spiritual walk, and help them if I can.

If people say that I can't help disciple Christians because I'm too young, I'll strive to make an even bigger impact in people's lives.

Why? Why would I do this? 

The answer: I want Christ to be the most important thing in my life, and I want others to have that same focus. 

Lord, you are the CREATOR! You made everything and everyone and have a plan for my life!  WOW!  

Approaching the King of Glory

Recently, I read Revelation 4 and 5. I encourage you to take the time to read it right now also, before reading my thoughts on it.

After reading those inspired words which were the result of John's revelation, given to him by the one and only Jesus Christ, I had no words. I mean, one one hand, the whole description and picture that comes into my head as a result of those words is awesome beyond description. JESUS is awesome beyond description.

Think about it. What would YOU do if you just had Jesus come to you and show you those things? I think that I would be at a loss for words in GENERAL, so taken aback by the glory and splendour that I just saw!
To think that John actually had to come up with HUMAN words to describe the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe... what an incredible task! To try to fit the radiance of the pure holiness and beauty of God, the only way John can put it into words is by comparing it to precious stones! How is that supposed to help us?

 Well, the point of this passage (and really the whole book of Revelation) is not to give a step-by-step "how-to-draw God and the angels" (and later on the demons, Satan, the lake of Fire, and the New Heaven and Earth), but rather, to give us the beautiful finished work of art that shows us what it will be LIKE!

But here's and interesting thought: Did it ever occur to you that when you pray, you are actually stepping into the very same throne room as is mentioned in this passage? You, the human being, are stepping into the full radiance of the Glory of God and are talking to Him. Sometimes thrusting His doors open, shaking are fist and yelling at Him.  I think that if we all REALLY understood that this Jesus mentioned in Revelation is the VERY SAME ONE that we love and serve today, we would totally reconsider our place compared to God!

Also, on a broader note: THIS IS THE GOD WE SERVE! For eternity, He WILL have milllions upon millions praising Him and worshipping Him in the purest way possible. God is so worthy! I can't wait for that day! But until that day, how will YOU live in light of this? Where is God on your priorities list? How does He influence your choices?

And finally, will your life be lived in such a way that when your life is over and you're standing in the presence of a Holy God, will you be content with the amount of your life that you gave to the only One who is worthy? In case you missed it, His name is Jesus. The King of Glory.

Jeremy T. (High School Sophomore)

Blessings in Disguise

The other night, after I had read my Bible, I was talking to the Lord and sharing that I would like to have more patience.  I told Him that I knew He would probably "give" it to me by giving me some situations in which I would have to practice patience, and that the situations would probably not be my ideal way to learn to have more patience. 

Two days later, I was at work dealing with a few difficult people and difficult circumstances.  I hadn't thought much about my prayer for patience since I had talked to the Lord about it, but the day after He was putting me in a place where I had  to practice patience, I heard this little song. 

Blessings

Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things


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

Lessons in the Waiting

Wait

by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

-
"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

-
"My future and all to which I relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

-
"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

-
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,

As my Master replied again, "Wait."

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

-
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .

and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

Full Schedule v. Full Life

Most of us are very busy most of the time, but lately it seems that I, and most of the people I know, have been extra busy and exhausted.  

Busyness is a funny thing, because it causes so many different emotions: satisfaction, and accomplishment, along with stress, irritability, etc.  

Often, being busy means we have to prioritize and be organized and efficient in order to fulfill all of our responsibilities, needs, and a few wants.  We have to eliminate unnecessary things in order to ensure we are able to do the important things. 

In many cases, Satan uses busyness as the perfect opportunity to attack.  We can be the most vulnerable during times that we are busy, so we must be careful to recognize the attacks the Enemy puts in our path and be able to guard against them.  

On the other side, God is using this time to push us and to teach us that we can't "do it all" in our own strength or on our own schedule.  We need to rest in the assurance of God's perfect plan and must wait on Him, prayerfully seeking His will throughout our day.

When we are stressed and tired, normally minor irritations become great annoyances.  More and more things seem to go wrong, and it seems like we can't catch a break!  The burdens increase, the road seems longer, and what's required of us seems so much more unattainable.

Does Jesus Care?

Have you ever wondered if Jesus really knows and cares about every detail in your life? I have at times.  Though I don't consciously wonder that very often, my actions show that I do. The Bible teaches about God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Most of us who have been taught these truths would have no trouble agreeing with words that they are, indeed, truth. However, I'm ashamed to say that often our actions prove contrary to our words.

In the past few weeks, many of my prayers have been answered and events have unfolded which were undoubtedly God's doing. Unfortunately, I'm not always so quick to recognize that God is the one that is planning all of my moments. I think this is often because I fail to pray throughout my day, consulting the Lord before I make decisions. Usually, when I am conversing frequently with Him about things, it's so much more apparent when He does things that I had asked Him for or talked with Him about.

Underwater and Helpless

 

In the summer of 2008 we ran a teen camp for our church teens at the Circle K Ranch in southwestern Colorado. It’s located in a beautiful spot in the mountains. The temperatures are wonderfully “cool to cold.” It’s a nice break from the Arizona daytime heat of 105-115˚.

We focus on spiritual things and have lots of fun, too. One of the highlights of the week is a 3-4 hour rafting trip down the Animas River. It’s a fairly easy run with a lot of wet fun. The only challenging part for beginners is toward the middle of the run (where pictures of each raft are taken): a section of rapids that is perhaps 100 yards in length. 

Before the whitewater adventure begins we are given instructions on what to do if someone falls out of a raft. The person in the water is told what to do to be recovered, and those in raft are told how to recover the raft-less one. They were simple instructions which stressed teamwork and safety.

At the beginning of the rapids our boat got hung-up on a rock, so we all moved to the low side (as instructed) and bounced up and down in an effort to free ourselves. It worked perfectly. The boat slid down the rock and we scrambled to our seats and our footholds. Did I say perfectly? Well, perfectly except for one small detail, I became separated from the raft. For all you slow people - I fell in. The thought that I might have fallen all by myself is untenable, so I imagine that the lady sitting next to me must have pushed me. I’ll stick to that story.

10 Mattresses, a Car, a Rope & a Prayer

The video was taken this afternoon in Chandler, AZ around 4pm on the 202 during rush hour traffic. The vehicle was doing 55-60 mph with eight layers of mattresses roped to the top. There were 4 twins and 6 larger mattresses. It was a very unbalanced load that was constantly shifting. Most of the other drivers were laughing just like us. Mrs. Max recorded the event as I drove. Many of the drivers (and I did say drivers) were recording the event with their cell phones. I’m sure this will be on YouTube soon. I hope they made it safely. Foolish? Well, of course. Read on.

Often when I counsel struggling teens, they admit to not praying and not reading God's Word. Because of a lack of surrender, they do everything in their own wisdom and with their plan. They miss out on the direction and power that God would otherwise supply (Psalm 1). Internally they are bored and empty. Externally they appear bored and directionless. When in conflict they typically respond fearfully, angrily, or bitterly.  


When asked if they want to do right, the answer is usually YES. When asked if they are willing to do right, the answer is NO. When asked if they are willing to be made willing to do right, the answer is a resounding NO. This is hypocrisy: hypocrisy that is often hidden behind churchy faces, churchy words, churchy apparel, and churchy actions. They know how to play the Game of Church.

Voice Recognition

Call to me, and I will answer you,

and show you great and mighty things,

which thou knowest not.

Jeremiah 33:3

I am writing this piece using a voice recognition program.  I will not be editing anything on it, so what you see is what you get.  Voice recognition programs need training. It takes a while four the program to recognize the voice, and even then, there kin be errors, as you have probably already seen.  Isn't it a good thing that prayer isn't like a voice recognition program.  There is no learning on God’s bee half.  He understands not only what I’m saying, but he knows who is saying it, and he answers accordingly.  Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing.  God hears, God recognizes, God understands, and God answers. 
PM