Category: Prayer

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What Did Ya Come For?

Yesterday we had a strange experience I’d like to share with you.

Dave and I have toyed with the idea of getting an RV since we fully retired 4 years ago. We are up here in the Spokane/Couer d’Alene area and there are a lot of RV dealerships. We decided to just go and look at what’s available.  Mid-morning we took off with our friend, and headed to a few different dealerships.

Since we’ve been thinking about this for a while we know what we want and what we feel would work best for us. We wanted to see what’s available in our price range. This was a fun fact finding mission.

The first place we stopped only had two 5th wheel trailers that matched our criteria. The sales person was very nice and helpful. He understood that he really couldn’t help us. Off we went to the next dealership.

Once again we explained what we were looking for and why. This salesman got his inventory list and was unable to find anything on his lot that matched our wish list. He told us they were having a big sale this weekend, Dave told him we wouldn’t be buying this weekend. Then he blurted out in frustration “then what did ya come in for”.

Oh boy!

Those words stuck with me throughout the rest of the afternoon and I woke thinking about them this morning, “then what did ya come in for”.

There are so many times I go to the Lord and I’m not really sure what I need or what I’m wanting. I have confusion and need clarity. Or it maybe that I just need to talk, uninterrupted and unafraid, as I sort through emotions and circumstances.

The Lord is always there for me and never once has He lost his cool and asked me what I came for. In fact, it’s just the opposite. He tells me to come and I will find help when I need it.

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

The Lord tells me to come when I’m tired and need rest.

“Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. 29 Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest.” Matthew 11:28-29 ERV

When I need wisdom the Father tells me to come and receive teaching that will give me a long and prosperous life.

“The young lions suffer want and hunger. But they who look for the Lord will not be without any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Who is the man who has a desire for life, and wants to live long so that he may see good things? 13 Keep your tongue from sin and your lips from speaking lies. 14 Turn away from what is sinful. Do what is good. Look for peace and follow it.” Psalm 34:10-14 NLV

I did a word search for “come” this morning and I found that there are over 2100 listings in the King James version. I will tell you honestly that I did not read all 2106 verses. However, this one from the book of John has to be one of my favorites.

“Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry. He who puts his trust in Me will never be thirsty. 36 I said to you that you have seen Me and yet you do not put your trust in Me. 37 All whom My Father has given to Me will come to Me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me. 38 I came down from heaven. I did not come to do what I wanted to do. I came to do what My Father wanted Me to do. He is the One Who sent Me.

39 “The Father sent Me. He did not want Me to lose any of all those He gave Me. He wants Me to raise them to life on the last day. 40 He wants everyone who sees the Son to put his trust in Him and have life that lasts forever. I will raise that one up on the last day.” John 6:35-40 NLV

I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me. 

What a promise!

He will NEVER turn away anyone who comes to Him. That is an absolute, all encompassing promise.

So forget the rude and frustrated salesman; forget the customer service rep; forget the harsh tone of the banker or the mortgage broker, forget the misdirected words of a mate or friend.

Come boldly and find help, rest, instruction and life. We’ll never be turned away when we come to the Lord!

 

 

 

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Don’t Forget to Call

With our most recent road trip only days behind me I stopped to consider this morning what really made it special and different from past trips.

It was the conversation.

Dave and I have traveled probably traveled hundreds of thousands of miles on the highways of the western United States in the past 25 years and this is the first one that was really filled with conversation.

Now don’t get me wrong, we spent other trips talking but it was generally about the work we had ahead of us. Making final mental notes of the preparations that needed to be completed, tweeking the last minute details of a trade show or streamlining the daily operations of our jobs was the general topic.

Take those moments and interject computer work, goggle searches for extra information, talk radio or the latest country hits and our time was gobbled up minute by minute without really listening to each other’s hearts.

This trip was 25 hours of enjoying each other’s company!

Have you noticed how text messages and twitter have reduced our conversations to brief snippets and how our cell phone conversations are disjointed and distracted? Does it bother you that we don’t just sit and talk?

So often phone conversations are one sided; I have to hurry and tell you all about me and when you start to talk about you, I get busy on my end doing dishes or folding laundry and I barely listen.

Important stuff like news stories have been reduced to snippets because the viewing public have shortened their attention spans and if you don’t catch my interest immediately I’m off to another channel. So everything appears to be a crisis or a breaking story.

Very few take time to show sincere interest.

The sad thing is I find that happens more often than I like to admit in my relationship with the Lord. The saying “quality not quantity” leaves us making excuses for our actions. But what’s wrong with quality and quantity. Spending time, our only unrenewable resource with those we love especially, our Heavenly Father, should be first and foremost in our actions.

“You can be sure that anyone who serves the Lord faithfully is special to him.
 The Lord listens when I pray to him.” Psalm 4:3 ERV

“The Father gives me my people. Every one of them will come to me. I will always accept them. ” John 6:37 ERV

Our heavenly Father has set an open-door, open-heart acceptance policy for us to follow. He listens when we talk with Him and He accepts us into His presence.

Should we do any less with those that we love?

Write a letter, leave a card, put a note in a lunch bag, sit down and focus when carrying on a phone conversation, turn the TV and other electronic devices off during meals and just visit. There’s a true expression of love in being listened too. There is a difference, a big difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is the comprehension of sound but listening is understanding  the heart.

The Father always listens – He waits for each word and His desire is that we take time to listen to Him as well. Jesus related this instruction to John in Revelation about Christians and lukewarm relationship.

“Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together.” Revelation 3:20 CEV

Jesus is waiting to sit down and visit with you today. Do you have the time?

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Can You Hear Me Now?

Everyone in America and maybe around the world know what cell phone company used this slogan.

But before it was used by Verizon, millions of people in eons past have stood out in the open sky looking up toward heaven and they have all asked the same thing.

In the days when Ahab was king, the people of Israel were serving the false god Baal more than they were serving God. In fact Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, had many of the prophets of God killed.  Elijah was the best known of the prophets. He was tired of God being ignored so he challenged the prophets of Baal.

If Elijah had been a cowboy this challenge would have been as big as the gun fight at the OK Corral.

Anyway, Elijah told Ahab to bring 450 prophets of Baal to the top of Mount Carmel.

“ Elijah answered:  You’re the troublemaker—not me! You and your family have disobeyed the Lord’s commands by worshiping Baal.

19 Call together everyone from Israel and have them meet me on Mount Carmel. Be sure to bring along the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.

20 Ahab got everyone together, then they went to meet Elijah on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you try to have things both ways? If the Lord is God, worship him!  But if Baal is God, worship him!” The people did not say a word.” I Kings 18:18-21 NLV

Elijah’s challenge went like this. You call out to your god. Ask him to send fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice. If he answers we will know that he is the true God. But if he doesn’t I will call on my God and ask Him to send fire. If He does then you will know that He is the true God.

“Elijah said to Baal’s prophets, “There are more of you, so you go first. Pick out a bull and get it ready, but don’t light the fire. Then pray to your god.”

26 They chose their bull, then they got it ready and prayed to Baal all morning, asking him to start the fire. They danced around the altar and shouted, “Answer us, Baal!” But there was no answer.

27 At noon, Elijah began making fun of them. “Pray louder!” he said. “Baal must be a god. Maybe he’s day-dreaming or using the toilet or traveling somewhere. Or maybe he’s asleep, and you have to wake him up.”

28 The prophets kept shouting louder and louder, and they cut themselves with swords and knives until they were bleeding. This was the way they worshiped, 29 and they kept it up all afternoon. But there was no answer of any kind.” I Kings 18:25-29 NLV

I love it.

Elijah was taunting them and poking fun at their god and they fell for it. Then it was Elijah’s turn to call on his God, the Lord Almighty.

“He told the people, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it over the meat and the wood.” After they did this, 34 he told them to do it two more times. They did exactly as he said 35 until finally, the water ran down the altar and filled the ditch.   36 When it was time for the evening sacrifice, Elijah prayed:

Our Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Now, prove that you are the God of this nation, and that I, your servant, have done this at your command. 37 Please answer me, so these people will know that you are the Lord God, and that you will turn their hearts back to you.

38 The Lord immediately sent fire, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones. It scorched the ground everywhere around the altar and dried up every drop of water in the ditch. 39 When the crowd saw what had happened, they all bowed down and shouted, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”                   I Kings 18:33-39 NLV

“Please show these people who You are. Let them know that you are the true God!” Elijah’s prayer “hear me now Lord” received an immediate response from heaven.

We don’t have to wonder if God is going to hear us. We have the promise of His word.

“I have called to You, O God, for You will answer me. Listen to me and hear my words.” Psalm 17:6 NLV

“Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer. 2 I call to You from the end of the earth when my heart is weak. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For You have been a safe place for me, a tower of strength where I am safe from those who fight against me. ” Psalm 61:1-3 NLV

“I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my prayers. 2 I will call on Him as long as I live, because He has turned His ear to me.” Psalm 116:1-2 NLV

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart. ” Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLV

“Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 ERV

What I hope you are seeing from all these verses is that God is there when we call. He is waiting for us to come – come when we need help and instruction but also to come and just visit.

As parents we desire to provide for our kids. When they ask for something they need we don’t ignore them or ridicule them, no we lovingly help. But we don’t just want them coming only to get stuff – we want to have time to talk with them, listen to their dreams and have them spend time with us.

If we listen we can hear the Lord calling out to us.

 “Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. 29 Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NLV

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

The Lord is always waiting for our call!  He CAN hear us now.

 

 

 

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God Knows Your Name & Your Need

I have a list with the names of family, friends and acquaintances in my prayer journal.

I began talking to the Lord about the different names on that list this morning. Some of you I know have personal needs and so I was praying about those. But then I came to some of your names and I didn’t know what particular need there is in your life.

As I was hesitating in what to pray I felt the Lord say “It’s ok. You know their names, I know their needs.”  I love that about God. He knows all about us.

“When you pray, do not say the same thing over and over again making long prayers like the people who do not know God. They think they are heard because their prayers are long. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. ” Matthew 6:7-8 NLV

Look at the Apostle Paul. In the letters that he wrote to the different churches he always let them know that he was praying for them.

“ I thank God every time I remember you.” Philippians 1:3

“ In our prayers we always thank God for you. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Colossians 1:3

As I said, sometimes we know how to pray for a specific need and other times we just need to let the Holy Spirit direct our prayers because we lack the understanding for what is needed.

“Also, the Spirit helps us. We are very weak, but the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself speaks to God for us. He begs God for us, speaking to him with feelings too deep for words. 27 God already knows our deepest thoughts. And he understands what the Spirit is saying, because the Spirit speaks for his people in the way that agrees with what God wants.” Romans 8:26-28 ERV

A couple weeks back I had sent a friend a text early in the morning to tell her that I was praying for her. She responded back and gave me some specific needs that were immediate.

We were in the truck and on our way to an area where there was no cell service. Her text was the last that came in for several hours. I was disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to tell her that I was now praying specifically for those needs.

The Lord reminded me that although I couldn’t communicate with her that I could certainly pray on her behalf and that He wasn’t limited by a weak cell signal. He was moving to meet her needs.

God is so good!

What a privilege it is to pray for others. What a joy it is to know that our God isn’t deaf but He hears and answers our prayers.

” I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God. I write so that you will know that you have eternal life now. 14 We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say. 15 He listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us whatever we ask from him.” I John 5:13-15 ERV

We have God’s word so we know what He wants for us and we can pray for those things to come about in our lives and the lives of our friends and family. We can even join in prayer for those we don’t know personally.  Again, all we may know is a name but God knows their need.

Jesus is our example for life. He took every spare moment to pray. The night he was arrested and taken to be crucified He was in the garden praying. He was praying for himself and his followers and he was praying for us too.

“I pray not only for these followers but also for those who will believe in me because of their teaching.” John 17:20 ERV

We are those who have believed because of the teaching of His disciples. Jesus prayed for us  and now that He is in heaven He continues to intercede on our behalf.

Prayer is conversation with the Father. When someone we know or love comes to mind let’s talk to the Father about them.

Remember, we know their name and He knows their need.

 

 

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What Time Is It?

I’m late, I’m late for a very important date!

We seem to be a people obsessed with time. Everything is scheduled; appointments must be kept. No room for variance. Heaven forbid that something or someone interrupts our schedule.

Sun dials, sand timers, church bells striking the hour, and now probably the last thing many see each night is the clock on the dresser and alarms are set for morning rising.

I’ve hear it said that time is the most valuable commodity. When it’s lost it’s impossible to get it back. No one person has any more time than another. Wealth can’t buy it and poverty can’t deprive us of it.

The important question is what do we do with the time we have. Do we use it wisely or do we waste it? With the recent passing of Barbara Bush many have referred to a speech she gave at a college graduation. She talked about the important things in life, time. Time spent with loved ones, time invested into their lives far outweighs the time that is spent making a deal or gaining another step up the ladder.

If we follow the example that Jesus gave we will be more concerned with people than with things. He had time to play with the children, talk to a beggar, heal the blind and provide emotional healing to the outcast.  He had time for all these people because He first took time to spend with His Father.

“Jesus healed many of those who had different kinds of sicknesses…The next morning Jesus woke up very early. He left the house while it was still dark and went to a place where he could be alone and pray.” Mark 1:34 & 35 ERV

What time is it for you? Since we are connected through the internet it may be early morning – midday or perhaps you are reading this in the evening but whatever time it is  it is time to praise the Lord!

“I will sing praises to you, my source of strength. You, God, are my place of safety. You are the God who loves me!” Psalm 59:17 ERV

You could be in a time of trouble, a time of fear, good time, dinner time, party time, time of loneliness, time of sickness or time of concern. No matter, it is time to praise the Lord!

Why? Because He is Lord of all and Lord over all and all who trust in Him will never be ashamed! Just so you know, all those times listed above – I’ve been there and the thing that ALWAYS brings me through is praise time! Remembering that my heavenly Father is bigger than anything here and that He has a plan for me to prosper and have good success gives me reason to praise.

“I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace. 2 I will boast of all his kindness to me. Let all who are discouraged take heart. 3 Let us praise the Lord together and exalt his name.

4 For I cried to him and he answered me! He freed me from all my fears. 5 Others too were radiant at what he did for them. Theirs was no downcast look of rejection! 6 This poor man cried to the Lord—and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles. 7 For the Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him.

8 Oh, put God to the test and see how kind he is! See for yourself the way his mercies shower down on all who trust in him. 9 If you belong to the Lord, reverence him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs. 10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing.

11 Sons and daughters, come and listen and let me teach you the importance of trusting and fearing the Lord.” Psalm 34:1-11 TLB

Did you notice these verses are relational? King David wasn’t just focusing on his situation. No, he was taking time with others. Telling them what he had learned and experienced. He was investing in those around him and telling them of the goodness of God.

What time is it? Time to look up and be glad. Time to invest in the lives of those we love.

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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Have you heard the expression let sleeping dogs lie?

Interesting concept – but the idea behind it is one of cowardice. It creates the image of trying to sneak in and get something before you can be met with resistance.

We as Christians should be living offensively. Moving forward regardless of the obstacles and resistance.

“Do something, God! Scatter your hateful enemies. Make them turn and run. 2 Scatter them like smoke! When you come near, make them melt like wax in a fire. 3 But let your people be happy and celebrate because of you. 4 Our God, you are the one who rides on the clouds, and we praise you. Your name is the Lord, and we celebrate as we worship you.

5 Our God, from your sacred home you take care of orphans and protect widows. 6 You find families for those who are lonely. You set prisoners free and let them prosper, but all who rebel will live in a scorching desert.” Psalm 68: 1-5 CEV 

In another version of this Psalm the first words are “let God arise”. God is not a sleeping giant that we have to wake to come to our defense. No, instead He is always on point, always looking for ways to help us. He’s there even before we cry out for help.

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…” II Chronicles 16:9a NKJV

God is always looking for ways to help us. The problem is we aren’t always looking for or to Him. We try  to do things on our own and then after we’ve exhausted all our other resources we call out to God. Or we even blame Him, “why isn’t God helping me or why did He let this happen?”. When in all truth  we haven’t asked Him to help us.

Remember, we are told to “ask and it shall be given, seek and we will find”. It’s silly to blame God or make it His fault, if we aren’t asking. In one of the verses that I quote often  we find  that the Father is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him by faith.

To let God arise means we elevate Him in our own eyes; in our estimation we lift Him to a place of priority. He is the creator of heaven and earth and there is no one higher. Until we let Him rule in our hearts, we aren’t letting Him “arise over our situation and scatter our enemies”.

Let God arise today!

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Answering the Call

How many of you can remember the old rotary dial phones? I do. They were a part of my childhood. I really think the first phone I saw was on my grandmother’s desk.

It was very similar to the one pictured here. And there was this cute little pencil with a round ball on top that you could use to help dial the phone. You see we didn’t have a phone in our home until I was in 3rd grade.

Dave remembers having a crank phone with a party line when he was a kid. If you wanted to make a call you had to listen first to make sure no one else was using it.

Things have certainly progressed!

Now, nearly everyone walks around with a phone in their pocket or purse. Voice mail and text messages have given way to personal calls. Phones are more for searching the web, checking accounts, keeping a calendar and GPS navigation than for talking.

Oh the good old days. Hearing someone’s voice and being excited to let all the distractions go and just visit. We couldn’t walk around and do dishes, clean, water the plants, use the computer while we were on the phone. No, we were tethered by a cord and so we generally just sat and visited. We learned about each other – talking and listening.

This morning as I was having my Bible reading I came across a verse in Jeremiah. He was one of the Old Testament prophets that God spoke His message through – God reaching out to the people of Israel giving them guidance and instruction.

“While Jeremiah was still shut up in the open space of the prison, the Word of the Lord came to him a second time, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says Who made the earth. The Lord made it to last. The Lord is His name. 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.’ ” Jeremiah 33:1-3 NLV

Call me and I will answer!  How marvelous, we have God’s direct line! No going through phone trees, leaving voicemail or even sending a text. Call me and I will answer!

For the next several days, not sure how long, I am going to be on a private call with my Father. I need to have some time to spend with Him, sitting and hearing His voice. Learning what He desires for me to do and a lot of just catching up.

I want to learn those great and wonderful things that He is desiring to show me. Can you imagine the maker of the universe has asked us to spend time with Him?

I’m taking Him up on the offer. I hope you will too!

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Beggar or Believer

We’re at my Mom’s this morning in Yuma and I slept in. Since I have been sharing with you things the Lord has used as teaching experiences in my life I will be recycling this devotional from a few years back. Such a valuable lesson I learned from the Lord while waiting. The thing I was “begging” for was our move to Arizona. It took another year of living by faith and believing God to change the circumstances. But before He changed my living situation He changed my heart!

So yesterday, I had a situation I was talking to God about for most of the day. Ok, let’s be perfectly honest; I was badgering and almost begging because it seems it has been SO long and I haven’t seen any change in the situation. Anyway, on the last time I was reminding God of how important this was and I knew He had the power to correct and change it, I had this thought come up – are you a beggar or a believer?

What! A beggar or a believer?!

Ohhhh I’m sorry. Show me how to stop begging because I really thought I was believing.

Then examples from the Bible started flooding my thoughts. I love it when God speaks up on the inside and starts teaching me. First let’s start at the beginning.

Jesus had the perfect example of a “believer’s” mindset and we are to have the same mind or type of thinking as Christ, so we need to follow his instruction.

“Jesus told his disciples: Have faith in God! 23 If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will.” Mark 11:22-23

In the Old Testament there is a story about a famine in the land and 4 lepers who had to sit outside the city gate. (II Kings 7) People were starving inside the city, and the lepers were starving outside. It didn’t matter how much they begged no one had food to share so they devised a plan; they would go to the enemy and ask for food. “And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?” II Kings 7:4

Faith without works is dead – so they took action, went to the enemy and God did the rest. He confused the army, they began killing each other and then the rest of them fled, leaving all the food, tents, horses, gold, etc. for the lepers to enjoy. This one act of desperation brought salvation of the whole nation. They went from begging to believing.

In the New Testament we find similar stories. There was a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, who sat begging at the roadside. He heard a group of people coming his way so he cried out for alms and someone told him it was Jesus and to hush. But he cried out louder for Jesus to have mercy on him. Jesus told him to come and when he rose up to go to Jesus, he threw off his “beggar’s” garment and went. Jesus asked, what do you want. Bartimaeus said, to receive my sight (not begging but believing) and Jesus said go your way, your FAITH has made you whole. (Mark 10)

Then there was the lame man at the Gate Beautiful who had been there begging alms all his adult life. He saw Peter and John coming to the temple and began begging from them. Peter said “We don’t have any silver or gold to give you today but what we do have we’ll give to you. In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk”. (Acts 4) Immediately he jumped up and began walking.

“You see this man, and you know him. He put his faith in the name of Jesus and was made strong. Faith in Jesus made this man completely well while everyone was watching.” Acts 4:16

And now here’s another viewpoint on begging and believing. The poor man begged for food and the rich man had faith in his own abilities, his talents, his business dealings. He was a self-made man. Lazarus begged from crumbs from a rich man’s table and Lazarus died. The rich man also died.

“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;” Luke 16:22.

The verses go on to say that the rich man was in torment and he “begged” for Lazarus to bring him some water. However, that wasn’t possible. The rich man had faith in the wrong things – he had faith in himself. Jesus said we are to have faith in God.

There are several more examples I could share but I think you get the picture. Begging indicates a lack of faith, an uncertainty that what we are asking will get done. You’ve seen little kids beg their parents for something; they are insistent – please, please, please, pretty please with chocolate on it…

But faith is confident. We don’t dictate to Him, but simply tell Him about the need and believe in faith, that it will be taken care of. So I will ask you the same question I had to answer yesterday. Are you a beggar or a believer?

Have faith in God!

“I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God. I write so that you will know that you have eternal life now. 14 We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say. 15 He listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us whatever we ask from him.” I John 5:13-15

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Saved by a Jam Jar

Do you think the Lord talks to people today? You know in the Bible He sometimes talked to people with a voice from heaven or in a dream. Sometimes he sent angels and then, of course, there was Jesus living on earth and speaking with people on a daily basis but what about today?

I told you the story about praying for my friend and her family. I was on the tractor and just really “felt” like they were in need and so I began to pray. I continued to pray for them until I was at peace. There are other times when I think “I should call them/I should write them a note”. What about the times when I feel I should just do something nice for someone?

So many times our response is “that just dawned on me” or “I don’t know what made me think of that” or “it just came to my mind” or what about this one “it was just intuition”. I have learned through the years that these are all ways of the Lord speaking to me and I need to be still, listen and then obey.

At one of Jesus’ teachings he referred to himself as the good Shepherd who cares for his sheep (that would be us) and He said this

“ My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 CEV

We need to be more attentive to the Lord’s voice and then we need to be obedient. I’d like to tell you a story that happened to me personally.

Several years ago we were back in Iowa working for some friends. I had gone home from the airport early and planned to get some of my own chores done. I set up the ironing board, got out some shirts and got started. My friend, Melody, stopped by to drop off some papers. I got light headed but thought it was just the heat so didn’t mention anything to her and she left.

I got back at it and I hadn’t been working very long when I was hit with a terrible pain in my abdomen. It was so severe that I almost passed out. I began to pray and kept myself conscious. Then another pain came, it drove me to my knees and another and another. I crawled to the bathroom thinking I was going to throw up. All the time I was praying “Lord, I need help!”

Unknown to me, in my neighbors kitchen, Jan was washing dishes and there on her counter she saw a empty jam jar. I had made jam a week or so earlier and had given them a jar. They had finished it and now the empty jar sat on her counter top. She told her husband “I’m going to take that jar back to Kristi”. He asked, “Now?” and she said “yes, I need to go now”.

There should have been no urgency in returning an empty jam jar. She could bring it over anytime but she just sensed “I need to go now”. She didn’t know it but she was on a mission from God! Jan was the answer to my prayer for help! How silly was that – God used a jam jar to save me.

When she got there and saw what terrible pain I was experiencing, Jan helped me get my phone and I was able to call Dave and he came with Melody and they took me to the ER. From there it was a trip by ambulance to the nearest large city and a 6 day stay in the hospital while I recovered from acute pancreatitis. I don’t even think about what would have happened if Jan had put off returning that jam jar.

How many times have we had “a thought” and pushed it aside as being silly or unimportant? Maybe it was a prompting to do a kindness for a stranger and then we held back because we wondered what will people think. It could be that phone call we’ve been meaning to make, a word of encouragement that needs to be said or a prayer that needs to be whispered. Or maybe it was something we’ve done that didn’t turn out well and we’ve said “I just KNEW I shouldn’t have done that”.

“But He, your Teacher, will not hide Himself any more. Your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:20-21 NLV

It doesn’t take much to send a short text that says “I was just thinking about you and wanted you to know I prayed for you. I love you.” Or a quick call to say “Is there anything you need?” Jan could have thought, I don’t want to bother Kristi. She just got home. I’ll go later. She didn’t know she was the answer to my prayer but she was obedient to what her heart said and that’s exactly what I needed.

There was a young boy by the name of Samuel whose family had taken him to live with the priest in Israel. His parents had dedicated him to the serve the Lord. One night he was asleep and he heard someone call him. He thought it was the old priest, Eli, so he got up and ran to Eli. Eli was sleeping and said he hadn’t called Samuel so Samuel went back to bed. After he fell asleep, he heard the voice again. Same result – go to Eli, no he didn’t call and back to bed. A third time it happened and this is what Eli told him.

“ When the Lord called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, “Here I am. What do you want?”

Eli finally realized that it was the Lord who was speaking to Samuel. 9 So he said, “Go back and lie down! If someone speaks to you again, answer, ‘I’m listening, Lord. What do you want me to do?’”

Once again Samuel went back and lay down. 10 The Lord then stood beside Samuel and called out as he had done before, “Samuel! Samuel!”

“I’m listening,” Samuel answered. “What do you want me to do?” I Samuel 3:8-10 CEV

Now there’s the right response. We’ve all had times that we have missed God speaking to us, no point in getting condemned or upset about it. No point in looking back. The right response is “I’m listening Lord, what do you want me to do?”

I know I need to listen better and so I encourage you to listen and obey.

Maybe someone you know needs a jar of jam!

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Strength Training

This day is starting very early!

I woke at 1:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. I know when that happens it’s time to pray. Stopping in the kitchen to start the coffee, Glory by my side, I came to the living room, cuddled up on the couch with my blanket and began to pray for those who are near and dear to my heart.

Through the years I have learned to be obedient and pray when the Lord is prompting me. I remember years ago when we were farming that a friend and her family came to mind as I was swathing alfalfa. You’ve heard the expression “my heart was heavy”, well that describes perfectly how I was feeling. I began to pray, right there on the swather. And I continued praying until I felt lighter. It took me over a week before I was able to contact her and ask what had been going on. She told me that her young son had gotten terribly ill and had been hospitalized. There in his room she told the Father “I need strength. I need support. I need prayer.” It was at that very time that I began to pray. I know I wasn’t the only one but I’m glad I was obedient.

There have been numerous other occasions like this one through the years. Sometimes I haven’t always known who I was praying for or what the need was but I knew that’s what the Lord was having me do. At times like this I have to trust the Holy Spirit to direct my prayers to the need.

But this morning’s devotional is not on prayer – it’s on strength.

“Surely you know the truth. Surely you have heard. The Lord is the God who lives forever! He created all the faraway places on earth. He does not get tired and weary. You cannot learn all he knows. 29 He helps tired people be strong. He gives power to those without it. 30 Young men get tired and need to rest. Even young boys stumble and fall.31 But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again. They will be like eagles that grow new feathers. They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired.” Isaiah 40:28-31 ERV

These are verses I learned years ago while we were farming. Our days were tremendously long and physically exhausting. I was the mother of 2 small children, a homemaker and my husband’s #1 farm hand. He needed me to be strong and alert. It could be dangerous if I wasn’t. Many days and many times each day I would read these verses off my index cards, until I knew them by heart, and trust the Lord for the strength that I needed.

Another verse that went right alongside of these was

“I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.” Philippians 4:13 NLV

Mostly it was physical strength and stamina that I needed. But you all know that when you get tired physically it also affects you mentally and emotionally. I learned that no matter the situation, I could trust the Lord to give me the strength I needed to keep going.

I will be using these verse again today. It’s going to be busy around our house for the next few days, we have guests coming to stay at our BnB. There’s still quite a bit to do and so no time for a nap but I know that I will have all the strength I need.

Maybe you’re feeling weak right now. You’ve been going for days in a row with a child that’s sick or perhaps it’s a project at work that’s had you burning the candle at both ends, you’re exhausted. It could be that things at school are overwhelming. Have you been given the responsibility of caring for an ill and/or aging parent? Have you been battling a debilitating illness? No matter what the situation God promises to provide strength.

“He answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me. 10 I receive joy when I am weak. I receive joy when people talk against me and make it hard for me and try to hurt me and make trouble for me. I receive joy when all these things come to me because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Corinthians 12:9-10 NLV

Today Lord I come to you for strength training – You’re all I need!
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