Category: Meditations

Realizing how to put God’s Word into action.

Ask and Receive

When our older daughter was growing up, her friends started having their ears pierced, so naturally she wanted hers done. We told her she could have that for her 12th birthday present. Now why we made that condition, I have no remembrance since it was a long time ago. She may have asked more times but always had that limit; however, the time finally come and her desire was fulfilled. Our younger daughter is four years younger, and after a while she wanted the same thing, so got the same promise.

As I was thinking about prayer this morning and some prayers I’ve prayed for a long time, this memory came to mind. God often grants our prayers but puts us in a holding time first, for which He does not give us a reason. I’ve found though that we can learn tremendously more about God and ourselves during that time. Just as people hope for a cure to devastating diseases, so we long for an immediate answer to our prayers. Much research is done and one thing leads to another until finally one day two events come together to cause a cure to be found, we anticipate. In the same way, sometimes God orchestrates events so that our prayers are answered, but this may take much patience on our part.

As we pray and don’t see answers, we begin to see whether our motives are pure or selfish. Do I want this situation for my own convenience, or is it actually something that God desires also? Will it help or hinder someone else? Why do I desire this particular answer? Am I willing to wait for it if it doesn’t come quickly? Will I allow God to work in my life to make me more like the image of Christ, or do I continue to want my own way? What fruit of the Spirit am I lacking that God may impart to me during this time?

Galatians 5:22-24 tells us: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Perhaps this is what God wants to do within us while we wait. Are we willing for Him to do that?

We also learn whether or not we truly trust God during waiting times. Will we continue to believe He is able to answer our prayers, or do we give up on Him? Do we persist in our faith, knowing without any doubt that our Father is loving and faithful, far more than we will ever understand? Do we continually rely on these qualities in Him, no matter what our circumstances seem to be? Will we be obedient to what God tells us to do in the meanwhile?

Probably always, God will demonstrate more of Himself to us in a holding time. As we grow more dependent, He manifests Himself to us – that is He shows us more of His character so that we begin to know Him better. John 14:21 says, “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him” (The Message*).

As we grow spiritually, we learn to love God more, to trust Him to plan good for us (see Jeremiah 29:11), to become obedient to do as He says, and to do that quickly without hesitation. While I’m not there yet, I’ve come a long way from when I was a teenager and read the following verses, believing them with a strong, child-like faith.

John 14:12-14  I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (emphasis mine).

John 15:7-8 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (emphasis mine).

John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete (emphasis mine).

As I said, when I was a teen I believed these verses with a child-like faith; when that prayer was not answered after much heart-felt pleading, I allowed this to distance my heart from my Father, more or less spiritually running away from home. I continued to act the part of a faithful child on the outside but inside I felt betrayed and dismayed. I could not understand why God did not keep His word to me. Now this particular prayer involved someone else believing in Jesus as their Savior, and God will not make anyone a robot. Even if it means their eternity in hell, God will not go against Himself when He gave us a free will to accept or reject Him. I did not understand that at the time and was sincere in my desire for the other person. I could not say now if my prayer also had some selfish interest in the answer. But this was to be a life-long lesson to me. It took many years after that division, but I was God’s child and He continued to woo me back to whole-heartedness with Himself. My Father did not give up on me.

You notice that I underlined some of the above phrases; that’s because I think they are vital to the verse. Some of these are conditions but two are results. John 14:12 mentions we must have faith in Jesus. That is not the faith of salvation but rather the faith of totally trusting that God’s word is true, without any doubt. Oh, how hard that is to gain when our circumstances look unfavorable! That’s when we must look to God and depend upon His faithfulness while keeping our eyes from dwelling on our situation – in other words, living by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We do not deny our circumstances but realize that God is mightier than they are.

John 15:7-8 gives two conditions and one result: Jesus says we must keep on putting Him first in our lives; even when we are busy, our spirits can be praying and thinking about spiritual issues (see Romans 8:26-27). Also, we must keep on studying the Bible. That’s not just reading a few verses, but thinking about Scripture and how it applies to our lives, asking the Holy Spirit to show us all we need to understand from God’s Word. Our Father promises that when we do these things, He will bring about the result of us being witnesses of Him and thus bearing fruit for eternal glory.

Will we always know how others are affected by our lives? No. How many have had someone in their younger lives mentor them and be a spiritual father or mother but later lose track of that person? That happened to me with one special friend; she was sent into my life for a reason and a season, as the saying goes. She moved many years ago, long before the time of inexpensive phone calls or email, and we eventually lost track of each other; but she was there when I needed her most and one day we will rejoice with each other in heaven.

John 16:24 tells us basically that when we learn to truly pray in faith and see those answers, we will have incomparable joy. What a result! We don’t pray for this joy but receive it as a result of the work God does in our lives as we draw close to Him. Perhaps this is one reason God delays answers to prayer – so that we will get continually closer to Him and becoming more like our Savior Jesus Christ.

Whatever your unanswered prayer may be, first of all ask yourself if God will be honored by the result and if you’re truly praying in faith. Then ask your loving Father to give you a Scripture to hold onto – a signpost that no matter what your eyes may see, you will know that you know that God will grant your request. Oh, how that helps us when we can read those verses back to God as an answer to our prayer. Not that we need to remind Him but rather ourselves of God’s faithfulness to fulfill what He has spoken. That doesn’t mean we pick a verse at random and say God will do this for me. No His Spirit leads us and plants that deep within our hearts so that it becomes a part of us that circumstances cannot uproot.

Let me encourage you to keep on persisting in faith and prayer, whether or not you see the result. We don’t necessarily need to keep on asking God for the same thing repeatedly, though we may. Jesus prayed three times before Calvary that if it was God’s will, He would not have to face the agony of the cross. When Jesus had His answer, the issue was settled. Paul also prayed three times for a certain thorn, or difficulty of some kind, to be taken from him. In both cases God said no but brought victory out of the situation. Because Jesus and Paul prayed three times, that does not mean we must do the same thing. God does not want us to write rules like this about how He will work in our lives or the way we live. Three prayers are not magic.

Sometimes God answers immediately with only one prayer; other times, we may pray many times. However, when we believe fully that God has said He will answer a prayer, we can start thanking Him for that answer. This builds up our faith much more than repeatedly begging God, and often our lack of faith is a real hindrance. We must stand firm against all assaults from Satan, the enemy of our souls. Ephesians 4:27 tells us Do not give the devil a foothold. Prayer can be a battle between righteousness and evil; we may be a warrior and not be aware of it. Let your courage and faith grow. God is always faithful.

Perhaps you think, well I’m just not there yet. That’s ok. If we are willing, God will always take us where He knows we need to go. All He asks of us is our willingness, and that can often be our battle. I’m a peace-lover. I do not like friction or strife and am not a competitive person. One lesson I’ve had to learn is that often we must fight spiritually for the answers to our prayers. John 10:10 states: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. In other words, Satan wants only to do things that harm us and those God calls to Himself. Jesus came to give us a true fullness of life, so that we have the Holy Spirit living within us and we no longer simply exist until our time of death comes. Yes, we often have to fight but we know God is the Victor and through Him, we win the war.

I’m reminded of the story of Oswald Chambers, a great servant of God and a man of faith that few others are. He prayed and saw God provide food for orphans; when there was nothing in the home, someone would bring milk and another brought bread. Multiple times this happened, as well as many other miracles God provided in answer to his faithful prayers. However, one answer was delayed a great many years – that of a loved one’s salvation. Rev. Oswald prayed daily for that man but never saw the answer. Nevertheless, on the day of his funeral, that man believed in Jesus to be his eternal Savior. God was faithful, even though the prayer wasn’t answered during his servant’s lifetime.

Hang on, stand firm, battle wisely; if God has led you to pray for a certain person or situation, then He will one day bring that answer. Your Father is always faithful. Ask and receive that your joy may be complete.

————

* THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. All other Scripture is from the NIV.

Hidden Diamonds

A friend gave me a beautifully wrapped present, about 4″x4″ square but quite heavy – for no reason! Excitedly, I opened it and then knew she could see the disappointment on my face, but I couldn’t help it; I almost was crying. Inside the gorgeous box was a dirty, ugly rock. I wished she had not given me anything than something like that. What must she think of our friendship?

She quickly tells me that she has verified that a diamond in the rough is inside and will train me and give me the tools to dig it out for myself. Really, if she wanted to give me a diamond, I’d rather not have to get it from that batch of coal! Of course, I couldn’t  tell her that.

I think this is the way it is with God sometimes when we are sick and ask for healing or for other types of prayer. We have no doubt that He can heal us: He is still the same as He was when the Old Testament prophets walked the earth and did miracles, the same as when Jesus walked the earth and the same as when John, Peter, Paul and the other disciples healed people. They prayed and God answered. HE HAS NOT CHANGED. So why doesn’t our Father who loves us so much heal us?

Perhaps at times He gives us what looks like a lump of coal and we need to do the work of discovering the diamond inside. Isaiah 45:3 states: I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Our Lord doesn’t tell us what kinds of treasures we will gain, but He will be faithful to provide them if we are faithful to dig, scrap and clean until we find that diamond. After that, God may bring us the healing we desire and crave. However, we do know that many of His faithful people are not healed here on earth. We do not understand this, but God also tells us that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Even though we don’t understand all about healing, it is still right for us to pray for it because Psalm 103:2-5 tells us: Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (emphasis mine). In the New Testament, we read James’ admonition to all Christians, Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:14-16).

Certainly, we do not understand God’s ways of dealing with us, but when we do not get an answer to prayer, whether it’s for healing or something else, let us consider this little story of my friend who is God, the gift that looks like a lump of coal, and the diamond that’s the treasure our loving Father will give us when we continually seek Him. Whether or not our prayer is answered the way we desire, God always has our best interests in mind, so therefore, we can trust Him in all our circumstances.

From Today to Forever

I was reading the Bible this morning about Rahab, a prostitute who drastically changed her life by saving the lives of two spies when they came to check out Jericho before Israel conquered it. She understand that their God was far mightier than the gods her people served and knew they would be overcome. She asked the spies to save her family when they returned and then let them out a window with a scarlet cord so they could escape from the city. They promised anyone in her home would be spared as long as that scarlet cord was in the window. And so it was done (see Joshua 2). Jewish tradition says she went on to marry one of the spies, and we know she’s listed as the great-grandmother of King David (Matthew 1:5). Her name is even listed in what we think of as the “hall of fame of the faithful” in Hebrews 11:31.

As I pondered Rahab’s story, I thought how her life suddenly had been totally reversed – from prostitute to a protector of God’s people; what tremendous consequences that had not only for her and her family but then for the nation of Israel as a whole. It made me think of possibilities of change for me and for you also. We’re moral people and probably believers in Jesus Christ as our Savior; we consider ourselves ‘good people.’ But yes, we can change too. As I grow older, I keep finding myself telling God, “I want to live the rest of my life to honor you, however that looks.” Now that’s been a goal for many years, but I find it more important the longer I live. When our hair turns white, we know that whatever time we have left is vital if we’re going to make our lives count for eternity.

While I’m not ashamed of my past, I want my future to be even better, counting more for Jesus than ever before. I’m not content to simply relax in my recliner and let the days and years drift by. No, life must be meaningful and will be most so if what I do benefits God’s Kingdom rather than my own. Yes, I enjoy and am proud to be a good wife, mother and grandmother, but that’s not enough. I want my life to count to more than my own family when I’m gone. I want a spiritual legacy that invests in other people’s lives. While I’m not sure what all that entails and how it will come about, I want to be a part of the team that reaches into eternity and pulls down help for those who need comfort and peace. I want to share the love of God our Father and the Friend we have in Jesus with those who don’t know Him. How precious it is to know you are wrapped in God’s huge arms of love! Even on days when our world crumbles around us, we are still wrapped in Father’s loving arms. Even on days we act like a spoiled kid, they are still there when we least deserve them.  That’s the story the world needs to hear.

John 3:16-18 reminds us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Let’s look for ways we can spread this Good News to others and be an example of the love that Jesus came to bring to the whole world, if they would only accept Him. Let’s make our lives count for eternity, rather than just having “a good life” here on earth.

   A good character is the best tombstone. 

     Those who loved you and were helped by you

will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered.

Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.

~Charles H. Spurgeon

Be a Barnabas

When was the last time someone surprised you with a word of encouragement or praise for a job well done? Perhaps a friend wrote a note simply telling you they appreciate you. Whatever happened, it brought a smile to your face and made you feel just a bit better, didn’t it? We all appreciate such thoughtfulness and it inspires us to do even better in our work or family.

Let’s take the opportunity to encourage others as much as we can. A good example was Barnabas, an encourager par excellence. We all remember how he traveled with Paul on the first missionary journey, but even before that he was well-known to fellow Christians. Many people had heard the Gospel in Antioch and believed in Jesus as their Savior, as it was preached by those who had fled the persecution in Jerusalem. Acts 11:22-24 tells us News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Later Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). Saul’s name had not yet been changed to Paul, the Greek form of the word.

Wouldn’t you like to be more like Barnabas? I certainly would! One of the spiritual gifts is encouragement, and Barnabas had it. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. . . if it is encouraging, let him encourage (Romans 12:6a, 8c). Perhaps we’d think, ‘Well, that’s not my spiritual gift, so I don’t need to encourage others.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone needs reassurance from time to time, and we may just be the person who can see that need and minister at a particular time. God can use anyone in any way He likes, so our biggest job is to simply be available for the way He wants us to serve daily.

I’ve heard people preaching the salvation message when they were simply talking in a small group of people; that did not mean God called them to be a pastor. He was only using an available person to speak to one who needed to hear. In the same way, God can use you and me to give a cheerful word to someone who may need it at that very minute. So, let’s simply being alert to the feelings of those around us wherever we are. See how God would use you in someone else’s life to bring a good word for the day to them! I pray blessings for each of you.

 

 

God the Father — Daddy, Papa, Abba

I hope you were (or are) blessed as I was to have loving Christian parents in your life. What a difference that makes! Both of them are in glory now, but their influence remains in my life and the lives of our children. But if we are a child of God – if we have received Jesus Christ as our Savior, believing His death on Calvary covered our sins and made us right with God – then we also have another Father, who is even more loving, compassionate and forgiving. We often think of God as simply God or maybe even as Father, but how often do we think of Him as ‘Daddy’?

Using three references, I want to look at Abba in the Bible; it is the word used for Daddy or Papa at that time. It is only used in the New Testament since Jesus was the first to use it in addressing God, the Father. Because of His substitutionary death for us, we are now given the privilege to use this special word in addressing the God of the Universe. Mark 14:35-36 is the first use of that special word: Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

A reference on these verses by IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament states: “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “Papa,” a term of great intimacy and affectionate respect. It was normally the first word a child would utter, but adults could use it for their fathers as well, and students sometimes used it of their teachers. Perhaps because it implied such intimacy, Jewish people never used it of God (though they did call him a heavenly father) except in an occasional parable by a charismatic teacher.

Romans 8:13-15 gives us the next use of Abba: For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

From the same commentary, we read about these verses: Although only a few Roman Jews spoke Aramaic, Jesus’ special address for his Father as “Papa” had become a name for God in early Christian prayers (Gal 4:6), perhaps by Jesus’ design (Matt 6:9). Roman adoption — which could take place at any age — canceled all previous debts and relationships, defining the new son wholly in terms of his new relationship to his father, whose heir he thus became.

Galatians 4:6-7 says: Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Referring once more to that commentary about these verses, we read: Roman adoptions required a witness of the transaction: the Holy Spirit performs this function here. That the Spirit should testify is natural, because Judaism understood the Spirit especially as the one who inspired the prophets; the Spirit here inspires believers, speaking to them as he did to the prophets, to remind them of their calling as God’s children. (From IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament by Craig S. Keener Copyright © 1993 by Craig S. Keener. Published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.)

Now that we understand the special relationship that Abba means, are you ready to address Father God as your Papa or Daddy? He has been waiting for you to take that step. He intends each of His children to have such an intimate relationship with Him that we fully come for each of our needs and also for each of our thanksgivings and praises. Then we can approach Abba on behalf of other children of God as well.

What a special place! As much as we may respect and love our earthly fathers, so much more does our heavenly Father want to be our Abba, our Papa, our Daddy. Doesn’t it absolutely amaze you that the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of the universe and all else that is, implores you and me to call Him our Abba, our Papa, our Daddy? Will you give Him that opportunity?

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