He is Worth Getting to Know~

Matthew 7:7 “"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

The first time I ever invited my now son-in-law, Emilio, to dinner, I made NY Strip Steaks.  The recipe is easy.  Punch them full of holes with a fork, pour A-1 all over, and broil in the oven four minutes each side.  This will create that melt-in-your-mouth on the inside but charred-on-the-outside crunch that we talked about in last Thursday’s DEVO.

The insides of these steaks were blood-red and screaming, “MOO!” As we sat down to eat, our mouths were watering, and we were in culinary heaven – most of us anyway.  For you see, Emilio, like my former self, preferred his meat more-cooked – a lot more.  Of course, God bless his heart, he did not say anything and started eating his steak.  In an ironic twist I gave him the most rarest steak of all, and I recall how Rachel, Jorge, and I were all commenting on how “perfectly cooked” his steak looked.  I was so proud of myself for having given him what was clearly the best steak, and then the circular motion began.

I noticed after a few minutes that Emilio was cutting into his steak in such a way that he was shaping it like a circle.  I asked him if everything was okay, and he assured me everything was.  Maybe that was how he was taught to cut steak.  What do I know?  It finally occurred to me, when the steak was the size of a quarter and nothing but a bright red disc, that he was forcing himself to eat it.  I honestly felt bad, especially when we all finished before he did and were just staring at him laboriously chewing those last few bites.  To his eternal credit he ate the whole thing—all 12 oz of it.

Fast forward two years and now Emilio regularly enjoys eating his steaks at a nice medium rare.  Why? He discovered that it actually tastes good.  His introduction to eating this way was a little awkward but something about it impressed him enough to continue on.  And to think -- he might have missed out if he wouldn't have taken a chance!

Sometimes this is the way it goes in our relationship with God.  We start off slow, not sure of what it will be like.  Will He hear me? Will He answer me? Will He help me? Is it worth it to keep on going?  Does He care? But if we hang in there, if we persist, if we take a step of faith, next thing we know we will realize what an awesome, amazing, beautiful, loving, prayer-answering, mighty God we serve! We will be given answers to prayers.  We will find that He has an inexhaustible supply of every single thing we will ever need, and the door to life will be opened to us! Most importantly, we will never go back to the way things were. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are worth getting to know.  You are worth our persistence.  You are the best thing that could ever happen to us, and we thank You that when we ask, seek, and knock, we receive, we find, and the doors open wide to bless us.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

If You Can't Stand the HEAT...Stay Put Anyway~

GO HEAT!

 

What a series, what a game, what a win!!!

 

Last night as all the revelers revelled way into the wee hours of the morning, and as I found it difficult to fall asleep with all the car honking, firecrackers (I hope that was what was responsible for the booming noises and not guns), and pot banging, I thought, "As everyone here in South Florida is celebrating is there anything we can learn from the HEAT?"

 

Yes there is, but not from the HEAT directly.

 

Tuesday's Game Six came down to the wire. It was a nail-biter, and some of the fans, sure we were going to lose, ditched the arena. Once outside the doors they realized that Ray Allen made a 3-point shot that tied the game and eventually led to an overtime thriller.

 

They rushed to get back inside, but NOPE! They couldn't come back in. Bailing early cost them the opportunity to eyewitness one of the greatest comebacks ever.

 

Even Lebron said it was one of the greatest games he had ever been a part of.

 

Truth is the fans at the arena weren't the only ones who couldn't bear to watch. Someone close to me, OK--it's Jorge--shuffled off to bed with his head hanging low prepared to wrestle with the adrenaline overdose that the highs and lows of the game had produced.

 

Lucky for him that he gets ESPN updates on his phone, and he just couldn't help it. He mustered the bravery to look at the score, and once it went into overtime, he pepped right up and watched the last five minutes standing at full attention.

 

Much like some of the HEAT fans, we give up. We throw in the towel. We decide that we have been praying too hard and too long for the help that will never come, so we stop. We disconnect. We hang out head low and resign ourselves to living with whatever has us bothered.

 

I know this because it has happened to me. There was a season in my life when I was bone-tired of asking, seeking, pleading, knocking, and yes, sometimes wailing like a baby about a certain thing before God's glorious presence.

 

Some days I didn't even feel like praying about it--to be honest. I wondered whether it made a difference. I wondered if maybe my time wouldn't be better spent reading a book or watching TV. I wondered whether God had lost interest in me. Whether He still cared, because surely if He cared He would have answered by now.

 

But because my mother, God bless her lovely soul, taught me--not so much by words but by example--to never give up on prayer, I prayed on.

 

I discovered that God welcomes our half-hearted, slightly disconnected, weak babbling because He loves spending time with us--even when we are at our worst.

 

I also discovered that if you persist in praying--no matter how feeble the offering--eventually you will find yourself re-energized to get back in and fully engage.

 

It's called being strengthened in faith, and it's what happens when we refuse to exit the game early because it looks like we're going to lose.

 

HANG IN THERE!!! You may be in overtime--you may be discouraged. You want nothing more than to check out and go to bed and sleep until it's all over. But if you do, you will miss out on a special powerful answer catered just for you.

 

Colossians 4:12-13 "What a trooper he has been! He’s been tireless in his prayers for you, praying that you’ll stand firm, mature and confident in everything God wants you to do."

 

These verses refer to a man named Epaphras. He is described in the Bible as a "dear and faithful minister of Christ."

 

He had a worthy goal of wanting to see folks standing firm, mature and confident, and the first step was to be tireless in his prayers.

 

Other versions of the Bible say he was "struggling in prayer," praying intensely," "combating earnestly," "wrestling in prayer," and "laboring fervently in prayer."

 

No wonder we feel like quitting sometimes; it's hard work!!!

 

But let's resolve today that we will not. It will be worth it to see those we love standing firm, mature, and confident in everything God has for them. I can personally testify that it is worth it!

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Don't let us give up. Too much is at stake. And thank You that when we get tired of wrestling, You re-energize us with Your perfect strength. We pray for those we love and ask You to help them stand firm, mature, and confidently today. In Jesus' name, AMEN~