A Time of Prayer

Prayer. How much faith do you as a Christian put in it? What are your motives behind it when you do pray? Is it important in your life?

If we can read in Scripture about Jesus taking time out to spend with His Father in prayer, shouldn't it be of great importance to us to do the same?

Look at how open and honest Jesus was to God in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene? He was open and honest with Him too. Did Jesus not ask God to take the upcoming path of being beaten and scorned and crucified away and ask Him if there was a better way to fulfill God's plan of salvation? But what was God's answer to His own Son? It was "no". God told Jesus no. So why do we imperfect humans get aggravated when our prayers are answered the same? When we do not get the response we want, let alone in the timely manner we think we deserve, why do we get angry and throw insults and doubt at God the Father?

God wants us to come to Him regardless of our situation. If things are going great for you, go to God in prayer. If things are not so good and you think your are barely holding on, go to God in prayer. But go in knowing that God hears you. Go not because you want something in return but because you just want to talk to Him and listen to Him. Go because you are excited just to bask in His presence and build upon your all's relationship. Go because you love Him, respect Him, revere Him, follow Him and you want to obey & serve Him. Go to Him in prayer knowing that He hears you and has already prepared the way for you regarding what you knock, seek, and ask. Go to Him knowing that as much as you have rationalized the idea or how much you'd like something to work out a certain way, go to Him with the trust and faith knowing that however the situation works out or whenever things turn the corner, you know the outcomes of the prayers lifted up by Moses and Abraham and Hannah and David. You remember His faithfulness to them and you can rest in knowing that those same things are promised to us.

It is not what we want but what He wants that should be our desire with all things. It is His will that we should seek for it is in relation to this that we will find true peace and joy. It is here we will be fully blessed.

So pray in all things. Pray in honesty. Pray in truth.

Waiting

Why is it so hard to do? Waiting to see someone, waiting to go somewhere, waiting to hear back about something, waiting to see if she checked yes/no/maybe...we are all waiting for something today. In waiting, we find out how patient or impatient we can be. Now, if you are like me, some days display better patience than others. What drives us to want RIGHT THIS MINUTE? Why do we get like this? Maybe there is an iPhone application that can help me with this or do this waiting for me? I doubt it. And I'm glad. For it is in waiting that we can choose the broad way or the narrow way. It is in waiting that we can discover. We can discover God's timing. We can can discover endurance and faith in a new way. We can discover growth in our trust of God. We can discover more of God. And it is in this discovery that we can be content and not only discover God but His love. For if God is love and love is patient, God is patient. And it is in this patience that we must trust. It is in this patience that we must be faithful waiting.

For what we are waiting for is "Not mine but thy will be done."

It is this waiting that will give us "new bodies, a new heaven and new earth, rest and rewards, our eternal family and home, the absence of sin and suffering, and being face to face with Jesus! Rather than acting like impatient children as we wait for God's will to unfold, we need to have confidence in God's perfect timing and wisdom."

So I wait. I wait for a job to be offered to me so I can help provide for my wife. I wait for one of my many applications to fall into the right hand, at the right place/company, at the right time. I wait for Him to open up the door He has for me in the here and now, so the talents He has blessed me with can be used more abundantly. But for now, that's all I can do is wait. But waiting does not mean to idle. In this waiting, I trust Him. And in this trust, I go do the part-time job that I do have. And I lift each day up to Him and hope that I am hidden and He is seen. I wait, yet I continue to grow. I am able to grow because I trust. I trust because I know what He promises. And it is in all of this, that I can wait and work on my patience.

May we continue to seek Christ in prayer and in His Word daily. Trust and obey for there's no other way.

Church

I've been thinking a lot lately about our churches.  In various books I've read, one of the few reoccurring themes is that of racism/segregation of our churches.  Granted that some areas of this country have less diversity than others, it is still embarrassing.  To those on the outside, whether it be because they believe different or do not believe at all, they see the segregation that exists in our church.  Go into most any Protestant church and what do you see, mostly all whites.  Now go down the road, the street, down a couple of blocks and here you will find the "all-black" church(es).  In some areas you can find the Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish, etc. churches.  If we cannot put aside our differences and come together to fellowship, worship and praise Christ, what do we think is going to happen when we get to heaven?  Heaven won't be broken up into sections where the whites hang out, the blacks hang out, the asians hang out, etc.  We will all be bunched up together, finally as one, just like He desires and wants.  I've read too many quotes from non-Christians and heard too many people outside the church who wonder how a group of people can claim to be followers of Christ, talk about His love and wanting to show it to others yet wonder why we can't even gather together with people who are of a different culture and skin color.  And if we can't do this, how on earth can we ever truly be the Church we talk about being and truly show Christ's love?  I wonder this.  I think the first step to take is in doing away with denominations.  But this will never happen here on earth because there are too many of us forgiven sinners who still push for our own ideas for church and push God's ideas aside all due to our comfort zone.  I'd love to meet with Christians in a setting where it is a vast mixture of races and ethnicities, coming together with all their culture and differences to worship and praise God in our time together.  

True Christmas

This time of year we can easily become depressed from dwelling on our problems.  Millions of people, around such holidays as Thanksgiving and Christmas, look at their situation of finances, being alone, selfish desires that have not panned/worked out and become angry and sad during a time when all we should be doing is worshipping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in praise and thanksgiving.  Why?  Well, if you are a person who has a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, heat and air, drinkable water, indoor plumbing, sight, hearing, etc. you are blessed to the nth degree.  How often do we think our lives are falling apart and God is not listening?  Yet, in our selfish thinking of what we want and think we need, God is there with us, continuing to shower us with His loving grace and mercy through providing us with the necessities that millions of others are unable to have.  In reading last months In Touch magazine, I came across a brief article talking about these very blessings that we so often forget are blessings.  Then in this months magazine, I came across what Christmas is really about.  Christmas is about our receiving of a gift.  A gift from God.  It's not about all the giving.  It's about our thanksgiving in humility of accepting and accepting God's gift of His Son.  Just like by saying we are Christians and our belief is backed up by our works and actions, so is our thanksgiving of the birth of Christ and our receiving of this gift acted out by wanting to share this with others.  Then, in our heart's motive, is our giving necessary and real, all stemming from our outward acceptance of God's gift and our honorable praise and worship of Christ.  Just like Nicholas of Myra (aka: St. Nick).

Not Gone, Just Almost Forgotten

What's important to you?  What do you seek?  Is it more money, an updated wardrobe, a new car?  If getting these would you be content in life?  Probably not.  You'd want more money yet again, new clothes again, and yet another new car.  What can allow each of us to be content with where we are currently at right this minute?  It's not looking at our life in a negative way that we are selfish and become wrapped up in what we want and don't have.  Being content with our current state lies in our view of God.  Are we satisfied knowing that He will meet our needs in ways He knows are best?  Can we view our own life in seeing it through God's perspective; meaning our focus is upon what we should do for Him thus for others, or can we not get passed ourselves and the feeling of what we believe is owed to us/what we should have?  We can see all of this in the Apostle Paul and in God's Son, Jesus Christ.  Look at Philippians chapter 4.  Paul is in prison yet again, being persecuted for sharing his faith and telling others about Christ.  Yet Paul is content and joyful.  He isn't caught up in what negativity is thrown his way.  Instead, he trusts God to meet his needs in all things, even if it means the courage to face his own death.  He goes on to tell the folks at the church of Philipi to rejoice (meaning that our inner attitude does not have to reflect our outer circumstance).  We are to find this contentment in our knowing that though we won't get everything that we want, we won't go through life without experiencing pain and discomfort in various formats at times, but that what we need while here on earth Christ well deliver.  He will always supply if we believe, trust and put our faith in Him.

This is extremely difficult at times to live out.  I have struggled a lot with this like all of us have.  Being reminded through Scripture of the above definitely helps me out.  Without Christ and His assurances, I do not know where I would be at mentally or what condition my heart would be in.  When I get caught up in things of this world and compare myself to others based off of materialistic things, I get really down on myself.  I grow angry because I am disgusted with who I am because of what I do not have.  But instead of concentrating on this selfish way of thinking, I am brought back to what is true when I turn to God.  He is my Comforter.  He has helped me from destructing.  He gives me peace in knowing that He has it all figured out already.  He reminds me of what is most important.  Through Him, I am refocused.  My eyes are turned back on Him and not upon my own self and the things Satan tries his hardest to lure us away from Christ; things of the world.  I am reminded of all the ways that God has met my needs, my wife and I's needs.  I am reminded of His love, care and protection in things of my past and in reading about His mercy and love to others throughout Scripture.  Then and only then I am brought back to Paul's type of contentment and joy in life, regardless of the circumstances and situation. 

A little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll

It is interesting to see how easy selfish thoughts can creep into one's mind.  As I sit here, I hold fresh and dear to me the phone conversation that just ended.  It was with a good friend and brother, whom in all our time apart seem to hold true to a sweet friendship.  It was in this conversation that I was reminded of what our life is really about and what is most important.  It is not of this earth.  It is not of this flesh.  It is that of what is to be and to come.  I'm speaking of life after death and the Second Coming of Christ.  For it is these two things that are most important.  We are to live for Him each day.  We are to set our minds upon Him.  We are to serve Him through growing in our understanding of Him, thus allowing us to grow in our relationship with Him.  We are to serve Him through putting ourselves aside and serving others, those we know (family and friends) and those we don't.  

In thinking, I wonder if I would put such an passion and be so ambitious in my understanding/relationship/service to Christ as I do my desire to act, what would I be like?  What could He accomplish in me and through me?  Sure I sit here thinking how I would love to be an actor in mainstream entertainment.  I want this because acting is something I enjoy.  I wish for this because I want to provide youth and others with a positive influence.  But I also wonder why I can't let this dream go.  I wonder if this is the real reason of why I pursue this??  I do not know.  I sometimes fear that my pursuit of acting is Satan's way of keeping me in his grasp, to hinder in my hearing of the Holy Spirit in the stillness so that He can guide me to where He is truly wanting me to go.  So He (God/Christ/Holy Spirit) can speak to me and I will finally listen.  I do think that Christ needs to be seen and heard in mainstream actors, actresses, musicians, but is being Christ in this field the real driving force or is it, in the end, more of the entertainment idea??  

I am an ambitious person.  There are lots of things I want to do and lots of places I'd like to go to/see.  But as much as I'd love to act, I want to provide for my wife more.   I want to take some of the financial burden off her.  I want to finally take her on our honeymoon.  I want to be able to treat her.  I want to be able to pay for meals for my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, my friends.  I know that God has blessed me.  I know He created me with the creativeness and gifts and talents and outwardness for a reason.  I know He has instilled in me a desire to help others and care a great deal about those in need for a reason.  I know that in this time of working part-time that He is teaching me new things, revealing things about me that are ugly that I didn't know about, as well as showing my wife and I how faith matters.  Faith in Him and Him alone.  He has provided.  He has met our needs.  And He continues to do so.  

Just a Spoon Full of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down

Yeah, that's right.  For whatever reason I have the song from Mary Poppins in my head.  And since I am home alone, I am audibly singing the song.  

I woke up this morning and read this for my devotion:

"Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting You.  Show me where to walk, for I give myself to You."

~Psalm 143:8

This came from one of David's prayers in the midst of a time he was experiencing hopelessness and depression.

I don't find it a coincidence that I read this verse today.  I find myself with a little less hope at times.  Hope in the world, hope in life, hope in others, hope in myself.  I find myself seeing more of the negatives in things and in people.  I don't want to be like that.  For losing hope in the world, in life, in others and in myself is doubting God.  And why do I doubt Him?  Because how I think things should go, be fixed, work out as I think they should don't?  That's very selfish of me.  It's from this selfishness that causes me to be easily annoyed and aggravated.  It's in this that I catch myself literally yelling at other drivers on the road.  Sure I don't really want to die in a car wreck and would like for their attitude of what I see as "I am the only person on the road therefore I can do what I want" to lean more toward thinking of others and obeying traffic signs and laws.  But I can't get caught up in others behaviors.  I can't change people.  

We aren't promised an easy, unhindered life when we put our trust and faith in Christ.  Just look at the Apostle Paul and the life he lived based upon his writings from prison.  And the biggest example of this is the life of our perfect sacrifice for our sins, Jesus.  Right before he was arrested, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He cried out to God to take this (the physical and spiritual pain He was about to endure) from Him.  He told Him that if there was another way to accomplish this that He would like for that course instead.  But, He then said that if there isn't and this is the only way that you and I can have the opportunity at forgiveness and being able to spend eternity in heaven then so be it.  He told Him, "Not what I want but Your will be done."  

So I need to worry.  I need to get caught up in what the secular world has placed all of its importance on.  I need not feel as if my life is in a downward spiral.  We go through things to help us out in the bigger scheme of things.  I am going through this to let me see thoughts and personality traits that I have that need to be changed.  I am going through this to grow in my faith.  I am going through this to grow in my knowledge of who Christ really is.  I am growing in my relationship with Him as well.  I am getting to see how He does love and care for us by meeting our needs and providing the essentials (just like He says He will).  There is good that can come from anything.  We have to want the good and sometimes choose to seek for it.  

I know He has a plan for me.  There are gifts and talents that He has equipped me with that He is using now (unbeknownst to me).  He knows my many interests that I have.  I don't want them to become my main confused focus because I still do not know what I should do.  I want to do too many things I think.  What matters to me is what we read two verses later in Psalm 143 in verse 10, "Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.  May Your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing."  That is where I need to put my hope and focus.  It isn't in a FT job, a house with some land so my wife and I can have a dog.  It isn't in having more money so I can take my wife to the beach for a week and take my mom or dad or brother & his wife out to eat.  Sure that would be very nice but it's not what is most important and what truly matters.  What matters is that even in what is perceived as a rotten situation, I do my best to keep hoping and trusting in Christ.  That I let His will to be done and not what I want.  For it is in this that others will benefit.  Look at the good that came from Paul's time in prison.  Look at the good that came from Jesus' arrest and death.  Good can come from, what can easily be perceived as, a crappy situation.  But it is only perceived that way when we look at it & think on it in a selfish light.  My life and my situation is not about me.  It's about my wife, my family, my friends, people I come in contact with, and most importantly it is about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  It is when we make our time worthwhile out of loving service for others that is key, regardless of the circumstance/situation...good or bad, positive or negative.  It is here we lose sight of self and focus on God and others.  It is here His light shines.  It is here His love endures forever.