New Thoughts on a Familiar Verse

Today, I am considering something that I read this morning in Mark Batterson's Draw the Circle The 40 Day Prayer Challenge.
Yes, I am doing the challenge again, this time with our church staff.
Today's reading was one that I really enjoyed. Batterson told the story Mark Moore, who heard about a revolutionary food supplement called RUTF, a substance made from peanut paste that can be made cheaply and used to fight malnutrition around the world. When Mark heard about this, he immediately began a to form a company, which he called MANA to manufacture and distribute this food in packets to areas where there was widespread starvation. God worked in miraculous ways to help him build a 30,000 square foot facility that can produce 18,000 packets every hour, sending millions of these lifesaving packets around the world.
The idea for MANA began as a very big dream. Mark pursued the idea because he knew that it was not just a good idea, it was a God-idea. People have good ideas all the time, and maybe a lot of them are from God, but they remain an idea or a dream.
As Batterson said:
"When you get a God-idea, you need to take it captive. In the words of Paul, "Take every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Growing up, I consistently heard this verse interpreted in negative terms. Take captive sinful thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. And that is half the battle. But if we see only the negative implications and not the positive possibilities, it becomes a half-truth. This verse is not just about capturing sinful thoughts and getting them out of our minds; it's also about capturing creative thoughts and keeping them in our minds. It means stewarding every word, thought, impression, and revelations inspired by the Spirit of God."

This really excites me. We all have ideas and dreams. Not all of them are from God, I know, BUT, I think we are too quick to dismiss those ideas, or just let them slip away. If we captured those ideas and went to work on them, what would God be able to do with them???

Thoughts on Prayer (continued)

(continued from last post)
As I considered my experiences concerning prayer, I turned to Habakkuk, which happens to be the book I am teaching this week in Sunday School.
I realized that Habakkuk had some of the same questions concerning prayer that I did.

He starts out in Habakkuk 1:2

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!"and you will not save?

Psalm 73 asks the same question.

The wicked prosper. The wealthy live above the law and there is no punishment for them.  They think God does not know or see, and they do not believe that He will do anything. The psalmist says, in verse 13 "All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence..

I am not the only one who prays and wonders why God does not answer."

But look at verses 16-17

16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; 

until I went into God’s presence…I thought and considered and tried to understand. I used reason to figure it all out and I was weary and worn out by it, until I went into God's presence. The answers are in God’s presence. Not the answers to all of our questions. Just the answer that its OK, that God is still God, and God is in control.

Psalm 73:23-26

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Nevertheless. Whatever the circumstances, whatever my questions may be, when things don't make sense, I will stay in God's presence. He holds my hand, He guides me, and He has a glorious future for me. His presence is far more precious than answers to my questions. I desire Him more than receiving anything that I have asked for. 

The psalmist says My flesh and my heart may fail. (cease, end, perish, leave, pass away)  My body, and my heart, or my soul, my inner person may come to an end. 

But God is the strength of my heart. 

The word translated strength is the Hebrew word  tsur (tsoor);  a cliff (or sharp rock, as compressed); generally, a rock or boulder; figuratively, a refuge; also an edge (as precipitous), (mighty) God (one), rock, sharp, stone, strength, strong. 

My body and my inner soul, my heart may be without strength, fully exhausted, but God is my rock, my refuge. When I have lost strength due to lack of answers, I can stand on God. 

Can I Be Honest

I just want to be real...about prayer. I believe in prayer. God hears our prayers. God answers prayer.
I participate in prayer a lot. I pray in a prayer group, in a Sunday School class, in a couple of ladies Bible study groups, with our church staff, our Wednesday night prayer meeting, part of an email prayer chain, and I pray in private by myself.
But, honestly, I don't have a great track record. I have prayed for many many miracles; healing for my family, and for friends, babies for couples, jobs for the unemployed, restored relationships, salvation for unbelievers, growth of the church, freedom for friends who struggle, greater attendance in Bible Study, impact in my neighborhood, return of prodigals ... but I have not seen many of those prayers answered as I hoped.
I am not saying that God has not answered my prayers,  He has. I am just saying that I have not seen a whole lot of answers.
 I read promises in the Bible and go to God with boldness to make my requests. I read books that share testimonies of God answering prayer in big ways, and I use the methods I see there.
Then, after some time, I begin to have questions. God doesn't seem to be coming through like I expected. I am really OK with that. I know that He loves me, that He knows what I need, and that He has a wonderful plan. But, I have to ask, "Why do I pray?"
This morning I came to a realization. Why do I pray? I pray because I need to talk to God. He is my Father, my Daddy. He is my best friend, and my big brother. He is my teacher, my guide, my leader, my counselor. He is my comforter, the restorer of my soul.
I must visit with Him.
My prayer times are not just times to go to God and make requests that I believe, or at least hope, he will fulfill. My prayer times are times to be in His presence, tell Him what I am doing, ask Him for guidance, listen to Him as He speaks to my spirit, and feel the comfort and strength from just being with Him.
So, I am just being honest and real. I will continue to pray. I will continue to go to God with boldness and confidence. I will take my cares to Him, and make my requests, with faith. Yes, with faith. I believe that God will do what I ask, and if He doesn't, it is because He knows so much more than I know.
And, besides all that, as Mark Batterson says, "God doesn't always answer our prayer, but He doesn't answer 100% of the prayers we don't pray."

Schedules

I had the opportunity to hear Bill Hybels speak at Gateway Church on Monday night. Hybels tends to be very practical, very down to earth in his speaking and writing. Monday night, as he spoke, my thought was that it was good; not earth-shaking, life-changing, memory-making; but worth the effort to hear.
When I left the conference, I couldn't stop thinking about what he said. I think it was life-changing. He spoke about making schedules. The content could be summed up in one sentence, "When you make out your schedule, don't think about what you need to get done, think about what you want to be".
Think about what you want to be, consider what you need to do to become that, and make your schedule around that. "Plugging one item into a schedule can change your life."

Hybels had a lot of examples to illustrate. He recounted that as a young man, when his daughter, Shawna, was three years old, he was very busy with the church he had started, with a lot of meetings in the evenings. One night, after supper, as he told his wife and daughter good-bye, Shawna sweetly and innocently said, "Daddy, are you going to be gone again tonight?" That little statement broke his heart. He realized that one thing he wanted to be was a great daddy to Shawna. As he asked God what he needed to do to be a great daddy, God said, "Four nights a week." Bill wrote into his schedule "home" four nights every week, to be at home, focused on his family, attentive to his wife and daughter so that he could be the daddy, and the husband that he wanted to be.

Application: I want to be healthy. To be healthy, I need to exercise at least three times a week. So, I need to put exercise into my schedule three times every week. As long as I leave exercise as something I need to do, but don't put it in my schedule, the odds are not good that I will actually do it.

Much more important to me than that is that I want to be a radical, extreme, crazed follower and lover of Jesus, hearing Him speak and responding to everything He says.

I am praying about what I need to plug into my schedule to become that.

What do you want to be?
What steps do you need to take to become that?

Stop Striving

In the past week or so, I have thought about the new year; resolutions, goals, thoughts, dreams, new directions, not sure what the right word is. I have asked God to show me things that I need to change, new directions I should take, and areas that I need to improve. The one word that has come to my mind again and again is to stop "striving".  I have pondered that over and over.

Yesterday, I was reading  a book that mentioned Psalm 46:10  "Be still, and know that I am God", and said that the phrase "be still" also means "cease striving". That caught my attention.

I realize that I am a "striver".  By nature, I am...motivated...a "go-getter"...busy... a "busy body"... Not sure what the word is. But "still" I am not! That is OK. God created me with a lot of enthusiasm. I read a book and quickly want to respond to what I read. If I feel that God speaks to me, I want to act on it quickly. If someone asks me to do something,  I don't want to delay. Those are good things, things that I like about the way I am. And, for as many times as the Bible says to "be still", it says, "go immediately". There is balance.
The word strive means to devote serious effort or energy, to endeaver, to contend. It is not a bad word in itself.

Here is the thing. I have realized that I strive inwardly. I strive to please the Lord, when He wants me to just trust Him. I mentally strive in my relationships, worrying if I have met expectations, if my husband or a daughter is disappointed with me. I wonder if I am giving enough attention to my grandchildren. I am concerned that I am not meeting needs that I should of women in the church. I wonder if I am doing everything I should to reach out to my neighbors. It is the mental, emotional striving that God is telling me to stop. I don't think that I work too hard. I spend time alone with Jesus and enjoy being in His presence. I get enough rest. I spend adequate time watching TV or looking at Facebook!
I don't believe God is telling me that I am too busy.

The Spirit is speaking to me about striving to please people. I think He is telling me to do what He leads me to do, and quit thinking so much about it.

Check out the Ladies Retreat Speakers

Cottonwood LADIES RETREAT

Feb 28-March 1, 2014

Uniquely Designed

God created each of us with unique and individual gifts, abilities, and desires, and calls us to follow Him in personal and individual ways.  In celebration of that fact, we have a number of speakers who are living out their own unique calling with boldness and impact. 

Donnabelle Philips is a trauma and abuse Counselor, who for six years, she has ministered to women who have been rescued from slavery in India, helping them to experience healing. Her passion is to help women to live their created identity and purpose.

Brandi McIntosh knows that her calling is be the wife of Dan and mother of their children. Although her first priority is her family, she is actively involved with other moms, working to encourage and equip them as they serve their families.

Joy Sloan treasures her role as a wife and mother. As the C F O of Cross Timbers Clinic, she             also values the calling that she has in her profession, and the impact that she has as a Christian 

in the workplace.

Belinda Koestle never expected to be a single mom raising her daughter alone. Belinda shares her journey of learning to trust God, who proved that He was faithful to meet all of their needs.

 Gwen Schmidt and her husband Todd have served as missionaries in Turkey for 13 years, where they are raising their three sons. As the daughter of missionaries who has lived all over the world, Gwen has a love for people of different cultures and zeal for their salvation.

Linda Mattheus, after losing her husband of 50 years, became a part of the Texas Baptist Men Rescue Ministry. So far, she has helped with relief efforts after disasters in Texas, Oklahoma,

 and Colorado.

Pamela Moore worked for 7 years in the Netherlands with Brother Andrew, “God’s Smuggler”, and was assistant and traveling companion to Corrie Ten Boom from 1976-1983, served as director of intercessory prayer and spiritual life at Dallas Theological Seminary 1983-2003. 

This is going to be an amazing retreat!