Very Busy Next 2 Weeks, Need Your Prayers, Pray-ers
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Easter and the Open Grave
Before the Dawn
I like to get up at about 4:00 am (when I can). There is something about getting up, making myself a large cup of Honduran coffee. I always put more sugar and creamer in it than I should, but I can sit on my sofa and spend some time in the presence of the Lord.
Two thousand years ago a bunch of women did the same thing. They got up early and prepared themselves to go and be in the presence of their Lord.
But you know the difference, right? They went to do what? They went for the purpose of COMPLETING the burial process. What do you and I get to do? We get to enter into the presence of a LIVING Lord! We get to talk to a Father, who has already been listening to an interceding Son.
Foolish Choices
Now before you consider those women, “so foolish,” after all, they didn’t remember what Jesus had told them. They didn’t expect Him to do what He said. In fact, when they saw the tomb empty, their first reaction wasn’t, “Hey, He said He’d arise and He did, surprise surprise. No! Their first reaction was, “Yo, gardener, where did you re-position the dead body that was here?”
Do you mind if I draw a parallel between them and us?
There are numerous promises that the Lord has made, that Scripture clearly states and that we just as clearly blow-off. May I be so bold? When I hear the way people plead and plead with God, about the things He has ALREADY promised, I have to tell you, they sound more like they are calling God a liar!
Sufficient What?
Let me finish with a simple and profound promise that the Lord has been reminding me of lately. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB) Paul recounts what the Lord told him, and by application, tells us too. He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
Now what is the problem with this half of the verse? THE NEXT HALF! Paul then gives us his application to what Jesus said. Paul says, “Well, if He’s given me sufficient grace, then of course, ‘Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.’”
And that is the problem my friend. You and I are not willing to remember AND THEN APPLY to our lives what God has already said. When we want God to deal with a difficulty in our life our attitude is. “Hey, if He doesn’t get rid of it, then clearly He has not answered my plea!
I don’t know your circumstance. Maybe you are estranged from a loved one, and yet you desire their company. Maybe you have an illness that just isn’t going away, though you ask the Lord to take it away. Maybe you have a sin and temptation that keeps harassing you, although return to the Lord often.
My friend, His grace is sufficient. Trust Him. And then watch the Lord work in your life. You truly will be able to return to His presence, boasting to Him and in Him, FOR YOUR WEAKNESS that He has dealt with by powerfully dwelling in you.
Sufficient Grace!
Just like the ladies two thousand years ago who left the garden with consternation, you and I have a tendency for looking at our problems as UNRESOLVED if they are not taken away. But what has the Lord told us, and Paul demonstrated to us? Simple, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
And how does that promise allow me to respond? I can, you and I can respond with, “Of course, ‘Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.’”
Happy Easter My Friend,
Our Mid April E-Letter
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The Storms of Life
A Blip on Your Radar or A Downpour?
What are you going thru right now?
And how does it fit your view of your relationship to God?
In the 3 minute video below I begin to address it:
But in this video BELOW, my friend Dave Butts talks about the way he and his wife are dealing with their downpour.
Take the 2 minutes to listen to his quick story. And if you are wondering if he is sincere or not, I can tell you that after knowing him for nearly a decade, this IS who he and Kim are!
Blessings,
Good Juju or Good Prayer
Leonard Ravenhill used to say something similar to, “If you want to know how popular the church is, check out the crowd on Sunday morning. If you want to know how popular the preacher is, check out the crowd on Sunday night, but if you want to know how popular Jesus is, check out the Wednesday night prayer service.
What he meant was, if you have a vibrant relationship with Christ it will be reflected in your prayer life!
In the secular world there is this thing called “sending good Juju.” Now the truth is there’s nothing secular about it as its roots are witchcraft, plain and simple. Juju has turned into this karmic belief system that is another way of saying, “sending good thoughts. . . ”
But my concern is for the church, and I believe that we in the church have turned prayer into something as worthless as “sending good juju.”
A good friend of mine just recently challenged me on this very prayer issue, namely, “are our prayers being said because we heard from God and let Him direct us or not?” Now in some ways I think that he is way out in left field, however he did make me stop and re-think what I teach about prayer.
Here is my question to you, when you pray is it true “God-hearing/directed” prayer or is it just “sending good Juju” to the heavens?
If it’s the latter, “it ain’t making it through the ceiling, baby!” And if it’s the former, it needs to be based upon God’s Word.
Sooo, here’s the next question, when you pray, do you take the time to pray with your Bible open?
Real PRAYER, far from being a karmic experience (like sending good Juju) is the life-blood of a vibrant relationship with Christ.
Abide in Him, and He’ll abide in you AND THEN you’ll ask whatever you want and it will be done unto you (John 15:7).
WHY? Because as He abides in you, you’ll be asking what is on Christ’s heart, no longer your own inclinations.
Do you want to “send good juju” or do you want to pray from the heart of Jesus Himself?
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