Praying with Impact..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Praying with Impact

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 John 5:14-15

Since praying is such a common practice for believers, over time it's easy to fall into habits that result in a lifeless and empty prayer life. Instead of a dynamic conversation with thoughtful requests and active listening for God's response, our prayers can seem more like grocery lists. Because communication with the Lord is such a vital part of the Christian life, we occasionally need to step back and examine how we're doing.

Begin by asking yourself these questions:

How effective are my prayers? Is God answering my petitions, or does it seem as if they never go past the ceiling?

Who am I praying for? Are most of my requests for myself or others?

What am I asking the Lord to do? Have I looked in the Word to see what He wants, or am I trying to get Him to intervene according to my plans and desires?

When do I pray? Is it only during emergencies or when I need something?

If you discovered any selfishness in your answers, you're not alone. Most of us struggle to enter God's presence with our eyes focused on Him instead of our needs. But the only way we'll be able to pray with impact is to fill our minds with Scripture so we can find out what the Lord wants to do.

Your prayer life can become effective and dynamic if you'll approach the Lord with a clean heart (Psalms 66:18), align your requests with His will, and believe He will do what He says (Mark 11:24). Then you'll be able to pray with absolute confidence knowing that He will hear and answer your petitions.

All He Asks of Us is Love..... Craig Denison

 

All He Asks of Us is Love

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The greatest of all aspects of the Christian life is love. Love is to be at the foundation of all we do, all we are, and all we hold on to. If we focus on love and allow the Holy Spirit to strip everything else away, what will be left is a life of blessed simplicity rooted in face-to-face relationship with our heavenly Father. As we spend time this week looking at the simplicity of love, I pray that all the weighty, frivolous things of the world that rob you of an abundant life fall away in light of the glorious goodness of God’s unconditional and wholly available love for you.

Scripture:“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Devotional:           

One of the most life-giving, transformational truths of the gospel is that of everything we have to offer God, of everything in this life we have to give, he most desires our love. To love God is all-encompassing. Colossians 3:14 says, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” To love God is to pursue a life of wholehearted devotion to a King who is wholeheartedly devoted to us. To love God is to place ourselves in this never-ending, blessed cycle of giving and receiving limitless love.

The simple truth that God simply wants our love frees us from frivolous pursuits. It frees us from systems and practices that are rooted in “should” rather than true desire. God will take us however he can get us. He’ll take us if all we have to give is a belief that we should serve him or be with him. But he never desires to keep us in that place. He longs to love each of us to such a level that we would live and serve him out of a place of full devotion as the natural response to his overwhelming affections for us.

1 John 4:16 says, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Allow 1 John 4:16 to create an image in your mind for a second. Picture what it would be like to truly abide in God and have him abide in you. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a vision of what that would be like. What would everyday life look like if you were to truly abide in God and have him abiding in you?

So great is God’s love for us that he makes himself available for us to abide in him. So great are his affections for us that we could have him abiding in us. If we will pursue love above all else, we will discover a wellspring of simplicity and life rooted in wholehearted devotion to the God of love.

Cast off all other pursuits today in light of God’s call to love. Cast off the striving and tireless work of doing life rooted in the “should”and let God love you to a place of love-based obedience. Find rest today in the truth that God is simply after your heart. Open up to him and receive his vast affections. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done in love.” May you abide in the heart of your heavenly Father and allow him to come in and meet with you that all you do today might be done in love.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the call of God to love. Allow Scripture to fill you with a wholehearted desire to love God in all you do.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with a fresh revelation of God’s love for you. Receive the love of God and allow it to cast out all fear and reservation.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18

3. Respond to the affections of God with your own. Tell God how you feel in his presence. Thank him for all that he’s done for you. Enter into the cycle of giving and receiving affection.

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

This cycle of giving and receiving affection is really just a picture of what it is to worship. As we allow God to love us, our natural response will be to love him in return because we are created for worship. As we receive his love we will naturally love him and others. For a long time I pictured worship as this time where I had to drum up affection for God that I honestly didn’t feel. God never asks us to fake it. He never wants worship that isn’t truly from our hearts. He knows we need his love to love him in return. If you find yourself emptied of affection for him and others today, take time to simply let him love you so that you can live wholeheartedly today.   

Extended Reading: 1 Corinthians 13

Stay Salty..... BINU SAMUEL

 Stay Salty

BINU SAMUEL

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13 (NIV)

My entire pharmacy career has been within the walls of a grocery store … and it sure has its perks.

I have 24/7 access to sushi, coffee and warm chocolate chip cookies. Not to mention a ginormous chip aisle and plenty of produce! My mid-shift snack options are endless! Plus, I don’t need to make an extra stop for groceries after work; I’m already there! Staple items like bread, milk and eggs are always just a few feet away.

So it blew my mind when, a few months ago, I reached into my spice cabinet as I was preparing dinner and realized … I was out of salt!

How does a girl who works at a grocery store filled with almost every type of salt — Himalayan, Kosher, Sea Salt, Iodized, Non-Iodized — run out of salt?

Unfortunately, it happens. And apparently, I am not the only one to run out of salt before.

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells His disciples (with the crowd listening in),“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

“You are the salt …”

It’s a statement declaring their identity — not only who they are but also their purpose. And because I’m a follower of Christ, it’s my identity and purpose, too. Jesus created me to be salt and to stay salty (just not the way the urban dictionary defines it).

Salt does three things: adds flavor, makes you thirsty and preserves. How does this relate to what Jesus said in Matthew 5?

As believers, we must add Christ’s flavor to whatever environment He places us in. We are to preserve a Christlike culture in a morally decaying world. And we can cause others to thirst after the God we have inside of us.

I love the way the Message translation puts Matthew 5:13: “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.”

I’ve experienced times when I was on a spiritual high after attending a church conference, or I was ready to dive in and dissect more of God’s Word after attending a spiritually rich Bible study … only to lose my cool with my family within the first five minutes of being home.

The truth is, I can surround myself with Bibles, Bible apps and Bible studies. I can listen to sermon podcasts, read daily devotions and attend church services, all of which are great things. But if I am constantly moody and unkind or I ignore those around me, what’s the point? Being a believer and spending time with God should change us and, in turn, change those around us.

Just like salt has no practical use if left in the grocery store aisle, our God-given identity as salt is of no use if it doesn’t translate into our everyday lives.

As a child of the Most High God, I am an ambassador for Christ. He has called me to represent Him wherever I go — at work, at school and even at home.

I pray we never forget this mandate God has given us to be salt: to add His flavor, to preserve a Christlike culture and to cause others to thirst for Him. Oh, that the world would crave what we have!

Stay salty, my friends … “If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?” (Matthew 5:13c, MSG).

Father, thank You for the identity You have entrusted to us — to be salt. Please forgive us for not always being faithful to the call. Prompt our hearts and teach us how to bring You into every aspect of our lives. Thank You for empowering and entrusting us to do Your work here on earth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

When God Gives More Than We Can Handle..... By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 When God Gives More Than We Can Handle

By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

It’s a common saying among Christians: “Don’t worry, God won’t give you more than you can handle.” This is well-meaning in intent, but completely inaccurate. Over and over in Scripture, we see God giving people way more than they could take emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

Do you think Paul simply “handled it” when he endured prison, floggings, beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, robbers, abuse, false accusations, hunger, sleep deprivation, dehydration, nakedness, and cold, all for the sake of the Gospel? (2 Corinthians 11:21-29) Of course not. Paul wasn’t a superhero. It wasn’t that those awful things somehow just didn’t upset him. Rather, he learned to look to the true source of his strength—the Lord. He overcame in the strength of the Lord, rather than in his own power. The Lord sustained him in his hour of need.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

David also struggled with depression, anxiety, and physical toil in his life. The Psalms are full of his pleadings with the Lord for relief. But he didn’t give in to despair, rather, he kept redirecting his focus and attention to the way the Lord had come through for him in the past. Psalm 52:9b (ESV) I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly. He knew to wait for the Lord, to trust His will and His timing, even when times were unbearably hard.

Do you think Gideon was incredibly confident and felt strong when the Lord slowly chiseled away at the number of the men in his army, leaving him with a mere 300?

Do you think Job, when he lost his livestock, wealth, friends, children, reputation, and health—all in a matter of days—shrugged and said, “oh well, I can take it?” No. He looked to the Lord and His power, and focused on God’s strength in contrast to his own weakness.

Tough times will come. Divorces happen. Financial strains come and go. Children rebel. Doctor’s reports come back with bad news. Parents age and conflicts occur between friends and people lose their jobs. The Lord promised us they would. John 16:33 (ESV) “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

He doesn’t leave us with tales of doom, however. He promised we’d have peace in Him, and in Him alone. He also gives us instructions on how be strong.

Ephesians 6:10 (ESV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

1 Chronicles 16:11 (ESV) Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

These verses, and many more like them, don’t command us to pull ourselves up by our boot-straps and figure it out. They don’t call for us to “handle it”. They don’t tell us that “big girls don’t cry” or “it could be worse”. They call for us to acknowledge our broken hearts (Psalm 62:8) and seek the Lord. Where we are weak, He is strong.

Sometimes, being strong in the Lord and seeking Him means crying out in prayer while taking a long bubble bath. It might mean listening to Bible Verses on audio while you jog. For me, when my husband initiated a divorce after ten years of marriage, it meant quoting Scripture over and over until I fell asleep in our bed alone.

We’re not equipped to handle anything on our own. We’re fragile, we’re weak, and even on our best days, we can’t sustain a “chin-up” attitude for long. The only true peace in adversity is found in Christ alone.

Will God give us more than we can handle? Absolutely. Not because He’s harsh, but because He loves us. He won’t leave us in the trial. And there will be purpose worked out through every hard moment—a purpose that is working in us for our good and His glory. (Philippians 2:13)

Romans 8:18 (ESV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Our Love Should Be Ridiculous..... by Stephen Sanders

 Our Love Should Be Ridiculous 

by Stephen Sanders

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Romans 12:10

Every once in a while, you meet a Christian who just flat out makes you feel good about life in general. It doesn’t happen probably as much as it should, but nonetheless, it’s always nice to see. Even though it may just be a brief encounter, you leave that conversation feeling important, hopeful and restored. Sometimes, it’s even so powerful that it inspires you to become a better person.

I recently had an encounter with a certain pastor who just flat out blew me away with the way he carried himself. This was actually my 2nd time meeting him, and I just can’t describe the attitude of this man. His love for God and love for people was simply contagious. Everyone in the room was just so peaceful and complimentary after he left. I found myself wanting to be more like that because, well, I’m not.

Showing “brotherly affection” towards others is not something that comes naturally for me. I tend to make a lot of excuses when it comes to being more outgoing and more loving. After all, it’s much safer to just ignore people I don’t know or have things in common with. That makes perfect sense, right? It’s wiser to just let someone else share God’s love with them; someone who can “minister to them more effectively than I.”

God continues to deal with me about this on a daily basis. Not only is displaying love towards one another one of the chief commands of the Christian faith, but it’s the core of who Jesus Christ was while he was on earth in the flesh. It’s easy to assume that Jesus would have gotten along easier with the “church folks,” but He actually spent all of His time with tax collectors, prostitutes and such; people with who He had absolutely zero in common.

The religious people of that day mocked Jesus for loving the way He did. Jesus’ love was ridiculous.

I’ve been studying the heck out of the book of Romans lately. It’s been great because I’ve begun to see this continuing contrast between the “church folks” and the “actual church” that Paul was ministering to in those days. The “church folks” were so proud of the list of regulations that defined who they were and set them apart from the society in which they lived. The “actual church” simply grabbed hold of the free gift of Christ and displayed it openly to that same society. The “church folks” disqualified others from becoming God’s Chosen because of what they were unwilling to do. But the “actual church” made no assumptions about who could and could not be “saved.”

The early church let the good news of the cross speak for itself... and they would scream this truth to everyone... everywhere... even if it meant dying a gruesome death. Their love was ridiculous.

In today’s culture, self-sacrificial love to the point of death sounds just as extreme as it did back then. So many of us make excuses as to why we don’t need to love like that. Christians and church doctrines manage to create unwritten laws that shield us from having to actually love like the Spirit of Christ so desperately wants us to. We take specific scriptures and turn them into shields for our own protection. Take Romans 12:1-2 for example:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Until recently, I’d only recognized this scripture as an instruction to “beware of society and its influences.” And it’s true that the world does things way differently than the Holy Spirit does. But I’ve always overlooked the importance of “test and discern what is the will of God.” You see, we cannot “test the will of God” if we are so far removed from society that we are out of touch. The same “enemy society” that we are to not become influenced by is also the same exact place where God has strategically placed us to seek His will for our lives and display the gifts and talents He has placed in us.

Sound impossible? It’s really not... it just takes a ridiculous love for this lifestyle to be functional.

In actuality, it may appear to many as being very dysfunctional. But that’s okay! This Christian walk was never meant to be something that caused us to take ourselves more seriously than we ought to anyway. To tell you the truth, Jesus said that the “actual church” would “confound the wise and shame the strong.” So don’t be afraid to be excessively full of life, hopeful, positive and patient when others try to make that difficult to do. Look for excuses to just randomly meet the needs of others... especially your enemies! That’s love... that’s the sort of thing that everyone, Christians and non-Christians, long for deep down inside. That’s what the love of Christ is all about.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

I’m challenging myself (and you) to reach out in some way to someone every single day... starting today. God has radically changed our lives. He has given us something that is more valuable than anything. It’s time we share it, not from a soapbox or inside our church walls, but in the everyday hustle and bustle of where we already exist...

...and be proactive because, chances are, if you don’t then no one else will.

For further study:

Read Romans 12:1

A Prayer to Live an Unfiltered Life..... By Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 A Prayer to Live an Unfiltered Life

By Betsy St. Amant Haddox

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” - 1 Peter 3:3-4

We live in a filtered world.

A world that no longer accepts reality and instead demands that women master the charade.

Thanks to Snapchat, women no longer even have to post a picture of their actual selves. With a few swipes they can suddenly become a woodland fairy with butterflies nestled in their hair, don a crown of flowers, or turn their features into an adorable puppy.

There’s obviously nothing wrong with fairies and puppies. But why do you want to look like one? “It’s fun,” you said. “It’s silly. I’m just playing around.”

That’s fine too—if that’s true. But how many of women are telling the truth in those moments? I think deep down, if we really dig beneath the surface of the lighthearted “look at my silly post, I have polka-dotted ears and a button nose” we’ll realize that we’re hiding. We duck behind one mask after another, secretly wishing we could use these filters in real life and permanently hide.

The theme of 1 Peter 3:3-4 this verse is found in the phrase “your beauty should not come from”—meaning, don’t let your identity be your outward beauty. Don’t let those efforts or those items define you and your worth, and become more important than the condition of your heart.

Trust me—this isn’t an overnight fix, ladies. It’s hard to retrain our hearts and shut up the lies of the enemy. But the effort is worth it. So let’s stop hiding. Let’s put down the mask and the excessive use of products that hide instead of enhance. Let’s stop playing the comparison game that’s a guaranteed lose-lose.

Let’s live unfiltered.

Lord, help me live an authentic life. Help me see where my true beauty and worth lie – in being a child of the Most High God. Help me have the unfading beauty of a gentle spirit. Thank you for valuing me so much that you sent Jesus to die for me. Thank you that you take what is broken and ugly in me – my sin – and wash me white as snow. Help me live to glorify you, not myself. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.