Jesus, Give the Order!

Tuesday greetings~

Matthew 8:23-26 “Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then He got up and gave an order to the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”

Let's examine a super duper sequence of events:

(1) A storm arises suddenly.

(2) The disciples freak out.

(3) They call on Jesus, Who is nearby and resting in the middle of the chaos.

(4) Jesus gives an order, and Bam! everything is completely calm once again.

My favorite number is four, so let's focus on that one.

Commanding the storm to calm down takes real power and authority, and Jesus has what it takes. This is reassuring to me as I am personally powerless to stop the storms in my life.  I want us all to think about where in our life we would like Jesus to give an order.  Now refer back to the sequence of events. Three comes before number four, so let's call on Jesus, Who is always nearby.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, We call upon You to restore calm in our lives. To bring in peace, joy, and hope, and remove fear, unhappiness, and discouragement. I ask You now to give an order to this stormy area of my life: ______________. Thank You that when You speak, everything and everyone must obey You.  In Christ's name we pray, AMEN~

No Coasting For Us!

And just when you thought I didn't have anything else to say about the tandem...

There was a time when I would pick up my feet and rest them on the bar while riding the tandem with Jorge.  He had no clue!  Yes, rude nosy bodies in my neighborhood would often yell mean things like, “Gorda, baja las patas!" (Loosely translated this means, “Fatso, lower your animal paws!) often accompanied by an obscene gesture. I would laugh and laugh and laugh at how upset this made Jorge because he had no idea that I was, in fact, coasting.

Then one day we went riding at night, and the illumination from the street lights cast the horrible truth: My feet were up on the bar, and the evidence was in the form of a shadow that Jorge could see, in of all places, right in front of him.

We both laughed so hard, and as Jorge explains it everything suddenly made sense. No! He wasn't developing some sort of sudden onset weakness or muscle atrophy. I was simply prone to resting whenever I felt like it leaving him to pick up the slack.

Is it fair for one person to do all the work? Is it fair to just sit back, relax, and let God handle it all?  You know – bless us, provide for us, protect us, heal us, infuse us with joy and peace, and then never so much as say a little thank You?

Not only is it not fair, it's also not biblical.

God encourages us over and over again to invite Him into our lives on a daily basis (ever heard of the daily bread?) so that we all can live our life to the full. When we fail to maintain a relationship with Him, we lose out on so much, and God loses too because He desires to spend time with His kids.

Acts 17:24-28 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.'"

Everything belongs to God.  He doesn’t need anything.  Still, as the Giver of our breath, He desires that we reach out to Him.  And He’s not far away.    

Much the same way that tandem bike riding is a lot easier when we both pedal, so is life more of a blessing when we reach out to our heavenly Dad and ask Him to be part of our journey.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You give us life and breath and everything else. Thank You. We reach out to You today because You are near and can be found. When we find You through prayer You bless us immeasurably more than if we never spent time with You.  No coasting through life for us! In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Tandem Tales Cont...

Greetings and blessings in the name of Jesus,

I have a sculpture that sits on a shelf in my little bedroom office that I love, but there’s a problem with it: It does not quite accurately reflect the truth.  It's a guy and a girl on a tandem bike, but the girl is sitting in the front.

One time Jorge went through all the trouble of lowering the front seat on our tandem bike so I could take the lead.  Everything went smoothly for about three minutes and then my legs literally felt like steel beams and I couldn’t move them. The harsh March winds out on the open trails of the Everglades in Shark Valley were to blame, and in the middle of the 15-mile loop around the park, we stopped and Jorge had to readjust the seat and take over.  Jorge was able to handle the turbulence way better because he has a broader back and horse muscles in his legs.  In other words, he was better equipped for the job.

Likewise, when we are facing adverse conditions in life it is also best to allow God to take the lead.

Deuteronomy 31:8 "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you."

God Himself will go ahead of us.  That’s right.  He will lead made-of-dust us, and He will not fail us or abandon us. Those are powerful and encouraging words! But how can we be sure God is taking the lead?

Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."

We trust and seek Him by praying and telling Him so.  Then He shows us which path to take.

I love how this concept of "tandem" runs throughout the Bible.  We have a role and God has a role.  He waits for an invitation, and hopefully we have enough sense to extend one.  It's time for many of us to switch to the backseat.  For far too long we have been waking up in the morning and going on about our day barely acknowledging God when as our heavenly Father, He wants to be part of our lives.   He has already seen what’s up ahead and can help us avoid certain dangerous paths if we would just include Him in our life journey.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You will never fail us and You personally direct our paths when we seek You.  Amen!  We seek You now so that You will guide us and those we love down safe paths.  Lead us into Your perfect purpose for our lives.  In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN~

In Tandem Cont...

Greetings,

Philippians 1:19 "For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance" (Emphasis mine).

Paul wrote this verse while under house arrest, and what I love about it is that he is confident teamwork will set him free.   He doesn’t hope, or think that prayers and Jesus will deliver him.  He KNOWS it.  Amen!

That word "deliverance" means liberation, a change in circumstances, rescue, saving.  And God, for whatever reason, has made it so that you and I get to participate in His handiwork.

This is a huge privilege and responsibility, and I trust we all take this seriously.

Think about it: We pray, and Jesus Himself changes our situation.

Notice how the verse does not say, “…as you pray for me OR as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me."  It says "and" because our words, petitions, pleas, cries for help, and convos with God go together and are in tandem with the Spirit of Jesus Who helps.

Where in your life do you need deliverance?  Maybe it’s someone you love who needs a change in their current circumstances.   Perhaps you are in need a full-out rescue.  The first thing to do is partner up with Christ by praying.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are humbled and amazed that our contribution in prayer makes a difference. Thank You that we can be proactive through prayer. We are blessed to be able to join forces with You – the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. Today I pray for ___________, who needs ___________. Help us have the confidence of Paul who knew You would help. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

In Tandem~

This DEVO was originally published July 8, 2013 :)

Tuesday Greetings~

I love to ride the tandem bike with Jorge. We can often be seen on the weekends waving to curious onlookers and tsk tsking the ones who are crude to me when I put my feet up to rest.

Favorite memories from our bike riding include the time he schooled me in the supreme importance of making eye contact with the driver in the car before proceeding through an intersection, and then at the very next intersection--in direct gross violation of his own lesson--he failed to make eye contact and yes, we got hit by a car.

I have a picture somewhere. No big deal. The car was stopped, and when we rode in front of it, it slightly accelerated and hit the back tire, and I crumbled very unballerina like to the ground. Please stand up and clap for me now because I did not say anything sarcastic or rude to Jorge. He was so temporarily blinded by grief at the thought of my being hurt that it would have been cruel to taunt him.

I waited three whole days before I attacked.

But what I love most about the tandem is that when we ride, Jorge and I are close--we're a team. I can drink water without fear of falling, I can talk on the phone. I can hand him things from his knapsack and wipe the sweat off his brow. I can kidney punch him just for fun. It's great, and it's a true joint effort. We can go twice as fast and twice as far.

What happens when we team up with God? When we ride tandem with Him?

Philippians 1:19 "For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance."

When these two things happen simultaneously--prayer and Jesus helping--deliverance happens.

Never ever underestimate your responsibility or the power of prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You have set up this universe that for whatever reason, You allow us to make an impact in our lives and the lives of those we love through prayer. Help us to never give up. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Any Kind Will Do

Hello, dear brothers and sisters:)

Part three of the four-part definition of bless is, "to bestow good of any kind upon."

And those words remind me of a time when my own flesh and blood child struggled with whether or not God was really interested in helping out with the ordinary stuff of life.

Let's face it--we've all at some time or another felt that maybe there are more important things for God to do than help us, say, finding a lost earring. Or that maybe He's too busy with world wars and famine to be bothered by silly requests. I will be the first to say that there are a million things that will always be more urgent than a lost earring, but who are we to say God does not care about these things? Over the years I have prayed fervently for someone who is sick and for Rayray to find the perfect dress for the prom. I have prayed for people who have lost their jobs and for little first graders to learn the difference between long and short vowel sounds.

This is our heavenly Father, for Pete's sake. He's The Lord of it all-- the easy/the hard, the good/the bad, the happy/the sad.

This is crucial, people. God is never too busy to bestow good of any kind upon you or your family. He does not have a limited supply whereby He somehow has to prioritize the prayer requests and hand out answers based on some sort of holy triage.

Matthew 10:30 tells us that even the very hairs on our head are numbered. Seems to me that if God were too busy with all the other stuff, He wouldn't care about our hairs. He wouldn't bother with this mind-boggling detail. And yet He tells us this to make it loud and clear that He cares about EVERYTHING. He is eager to let His goodness flow over us, for us, in us, and around us.

Let's take Him at His word!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We welcome Your goodness--of any kind--upon us. Let it invade every single area of our life. Bless us from the tops of our heads to the bottoms of our feet. Bless our health, our homes, our emotions, our finances, our relationships, and our families. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Here We Are, Lord!

Greetings,

Isaiah 6:8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

When I was a young pig-tailed second grader I loved cleaning the erasers at the end of the day.  A lot of my classmates enjoyed doing this, but as soon as the teacher asked for a volunteer, my hand always shot up first.  As a result, I was picked a lot and could often be seen outside in a cloud of white soot as I smacked those erasers together.

That is what I think of when I read this verse.  Not the erasers, but rather that when God was looking for someone willing to take a message to His people to change their ways, Isaiah was eager to please, just like my seven-year-old self.  Notice the exclamation point at the end, “Send me!”

God is still looking for those who are eager and willing to make a difference.

The greatest need all around is for prayer, and it makes a difference.  Our nation needs it, our families need it, our friends need it, and we need it. As per Hebrews 4:16, “Who is ready to walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give?”

All together now: “Here we are, Lord! We are!”

It’s quite possible the only time someone is praying for our kids is when we do it. Or the only time someone is praying for us is when we do it.  That right there is motivation enough for us to accept God’s invitation.

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, The Bible teaches that the prayers of one person can make a monumental difference.  Every prayer offered gives You something to work with. We ask You to strengthen us until we see a BREAKTHROUGH.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

There's a Verse for That!

Greetings~

Isaiah 55:10-11 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."

In these two verses God makes four mighty statements about His Word:  (1) He sends it out, (2) It always produces fruit, (3) It will accomplish what He wants it to, and (4) It will prosper everywhere He sends it.

If only we could send out His Word.  If only we could initiate the healing, help, love, comfort, joy, peace, faith, hope, and protection that is the prosperous result of coming into contact with God's word.  Oh my goodness! Wait a second! When we pray that is exactly what we are doing. And particularly, when we pray scripture directly over our situation, we can rest assured that something good will come from it.

Yesterday my sister had surgery, and she is 100% A-Okay.  AMEN. In the weeks leading up to her surgery, the verses above were front and center in my mind.  I prayed many prayers for her to have a successful surgery. 

Now that she is in recovery I am praying this verse over her based on Psalm 41:3 (The Message Version): “My sister is recovering in bed, be her nurse and nurse her back to health.”

It feels great to pray a verse that is specific to the concern. And I am holding onto God’s promise that it is producing something good in her life!

What's on your mind today? I promise you there's a verse for that. Check out this link: http://www.openbible.info/topics  Visit this website, type in a word like love, health, peace, children, marriage, discouragement, loneliness, etc…and several verses in the Bible on that topic will pop up and bless you.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Send Your word our way. We know the things You want to accomplish are always for our good. We need and desire good fruit produced in our lives. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Where Are We Going to Pitch Our Tent?

Thursday greetings,

Growing up my parents would send me to Camp Calvin in Hampton, GA every year.  I still recall singing songs like , Kumbaya, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, and Magalina Hagalina.  I loved every minute of the arts and crafts, cafeteria food, canoeing in the murky lake, and swimming in the huge pool.  I used to climb all the way to the top diving board and jump into the deep end.  I also enjoyed all the relay races, group competitions, playing with the seemingly millions of tiny wood frogs, and the endless field of sunflowers that acted as shade when we would practice archery.  But my favorite part of camp was sleeping in the hogans.  A hogan is hut made of logs and earth, and the ones we slept in where covered in canvas, smelled earthy, and were secure.

The counselors, on the other hand, slept in tents.  Regular, pegs-in-the-ground tents that, if necessary, could be moved from location to location.  While we had to climb a few stairs to get into our hogans, at least we had a door we could shut.  The counselors simply unzipped the front of their tents to gain access, but I recall seeing a hole or two where a snake could easily crawl in.  I always wondered if the big black rat snake that was once dangling from the limb of a tree that was rooted on the shore of the lake and came perilously close to falling into a canoe that was paddling right under it, was still roaming around the property and looking for the warm body of a counselor to nuzzle against.  At least I knew it could not get into my hogan, and I always felt like we were getting the better end of the bargain as far as housing was concerned -- until I learned the counselors regularly slept by the lake, by a fireplace, or out in the field under a thousand stars.

In other words, they had options that really enhanced their camping experience, and we do too.

"...I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope Acts 2:26 (The Message Version)."

Where are we going to pitch our tent?  Those camp counselors could have set up their tent over an ant's nest or muddy pit, but how wise of them to always pick a prime location.  We have those options as well.  It's up to us.  Shall we dwell in the valley of despair and fear? Or shall we set up shop in the lush green meadows and still waters of Psalm 23?

We pitch our tent in the far superior, healthier, immeasurably blessed land of hope when we decide that no matter what is happening all around us we will focus on our Lord and His goodness.  We refuse to pull at the stakes and move our tent when when the going gets rough.  We do as it states in 1 Corinthians 15:58 and, "stand our ground."

Prayer is the key to keeping us firmly rooted and focused on the Lord!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We have decided to pitch our tents in the land of hope.  Whenever we are tempted to move out of that land into a negative one, use your holy hammer to drive those pegs deeper still so that we stay tethered to hope. As the source of hope in our lives, fill us today until we are too full to move.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

ASAP!

Greetings,
 
This past Saturday Jorge and I finished a 40-day prayer adventure.  It was a time of joy as we realized that no one else on this planet cares about our needs and our children’s needs more than we two do, so who better than us to pray together!  (I highly recommend Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson). One thing that kept coming up was our desire to see our prayers answered ASAP. But aren’t we all kind of the same?  We want what we want, and we want it now!
 
Our Lord, however, makes it clear in Acts 1:7 that “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business (The Message Version).”
 
Knowing when a prayer is going to be answered is none of our business; it’s God’s business.
 
Well, that’s a little discouraging until we read verse eight, “What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” 

Even though we don’t get to know the time, we get something better.  We get the Holy Spirit.  Who is the Holy Spirit?  He is that part of the Trinity Who guides us, leads us, empowers us, comforts us, teaches us to pray, washes us, brings unity, sets us free, reveals the deep things of God to us, speaks to us, strengthens us, gives us access to God, infuses us with joy and more…

The disciples received Him and were empowered to be Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the world.  And when we get Him, when He comes on us, we will be able to (fill in the blank). I highlighted that part of the verse above and then again in this paragraph to draw attention to the fact that there are certain things we will only be able to do because we have the Holy Spirit’s help.  

Do you need to be able to forgive someone? Know what decision to make regarding a business matter or relationship issue? Do you need strength for a crisis you are facing?  Does your hope need restoring? No matter what it is, as we leave the timing of our answers to the Lord, we must embrace the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Having Him is better than knowing when.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You so much for giving us the Holy Spirit Who empowers us to live a blessed life.  We welcome Him into our lives ASAP and are ready to receive all the good He is wants to do in us and for us.  Fill us now with the joy that comes from having Him in our lives.  We know You know how impatient we can be while waiting for answers, but even as we wait we pray for renewed strength from the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~