Sunday, July 31, 2016

THE POWER OF A GOOD STORY

I love a good story: Agatha Christie who-done-its, Fairy Tales, Memoirs, Greek tragedies, C.S. Lewis epics…  To this day, I remain fascinated by the magic, mystery, and teaching moments of good fiction.  

There is an art to story telling.  If it is done correctly, it can serve as a mechanism to train, educate and entertain.

Jesus likewise understands the value of a good story.  The New Testament is full of wonderful Parables that elucidate God’s promises.

4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:  

5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’[a]  Luke 8:4-10

Admittedly, I have needed to read some Parables more than once to really understand them.  Thankfully, whenever Jesus presents a new Parable, He will take time to explain the meaning.

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.  Luke 8:11-15

God’s WORD is given to all.  

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

We are tasked with reading the WORD and turning it over and over in our minds until we understand it.  It is up to us to incorporate the WORD into our lives.  

The Word of God can be dense, baffling and confusing.  But, we are not alone.  God has promised that if we seek after HIM, he will reveal his truths to us.

7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  Mathew 7:7-8

When you read the WORD of God ask for guidance and for a right mind to receive, understand and correctly apply the WORD of God to your life.

Remember we are called to be a Perfect people.  

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  Matthew 5:48

But perfection does not mean to live without sin.  It means to be spiritually trained.  And, you cannot be spiritually trained without a thorough knowledge of the WORD of God.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.  Ephesians 6: 10-20

The Battle is the Lord’s.  But we must do our part to gear up for the challenges ahead.  

This is a promise, darling.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

ANIMATED ON THIS SIDE

I never find much comfort in the grim reality of the daily grind.  If given the chance, I’d prefer to live in an animated tv series with a perfectly green lawn and butterflies to greet me every morning.

Alas, life on this side of glory is not always joyful.  It is not always fun.  I realize this.  But thanks be to God there are ways to navigate this world with joy and laughter.

Paul speaks about a Power that enables him to thrive despite a series of setbacks that would cripple just about anyone.

I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.[a] 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.  2 Corinthians 11:23-27

Paul believes that it is the Christ in Him that makes all the difference. In other words, he is able to survive prison, betrayal, beatings, depression, illness not because of his mental prowess, intellectual reasoning, strong will, financial resources; but because of his partnership with Christ that actually completes and perfects him.

Where Paul is weak and flawed, Christ makes him strong and perfect. 

Likewise, if I develop a strong relationship with Christ, I will be strengthened in all the places where I am deficient.  I too will be made perfectly suited to handle the stresses, health crises, epidemics, terrorist threats, economic instabilities, and mean spirit-ness of this world.

Notice that the Power that Paul speaks of does not manifest itself as a sense of resignation.  Paul does not wallow in the fact that the world is evil.  Paul does not hunker down in isolation with an intent to bear the world’s trials without hope.  Instead Paul continues on his mission.  He continues to live his life in the face of tragedy.  He gets up every morning with a sense of Joy that he is not alone and that the victory is already his.  Why worry about the hardships that confront you when God has promised to provide the inner Power to deal with each and every tribulation come what may.  Not only can God work miracles but God can change your countenance so that the things that used to perplex and debilitate you no longer have any effect on you at all.

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.  Phillipeans 4:13

I admit that it is staggering to even consider that the obstacles that I face daily are already taken care of by a benevolent God.  It is amazing to know that even if I was placed in a pit by my enemies, the Christ in me would work it so that I would be ok.  The Christ in me would meet my needs and infuse me  with supernatural Power no matter what.  WOWEE!  

Just meditating on the impact of these statements is transformative and will enable you to skip through the tulips no matter the obstacles. 

It bears noting that the Power of which Paul speaks does not come by accident but develops naturally when we abide in Christ.  It is the resting in Christ that results in the Power of Christ.

And how do we abide in Christ?

It’s simple really- we must pray and meditate on Him daily. In other words, we must read about Christ’s methods, his life, his responses.  We must think about these things and apply the rules we extract from His life to our daily lives.

For example, if Jesus prayed all night for guidance before He selected his 12 disciples.  Then we must pray to God before we make major decisions. See Luke 6:12

We must ask Christ to manifest Himself in our lives.  Then we must leave the rest to Him.

The result of our action combined with Christ Power is unspeakable Joy even here on this side of glory.

It is a promise, darlings!

Sunday, July 10, 2016

A PRAYER FOR MY FRIEND

A few months ago, I was struggling with an obstinate issue- despite my prayers and quiet time with God, I did not perceive a resolution.  In fact, I felt as if I was in a holding pattern.  

Folks who know me, know that my patience is…well…limited.  So being forced to stand still was beyond difficult for me.

I spoke with a prayer warrior, my mom, and she inquired about my prayers.  True to form, I was praying for resolution.  I was praying for a miracle.  I was praying for relief.  

"What about praying for yourself?," mom asked.

"Praying for myself?," I thought,  "What a strange idea."

I pray for so many things.  I pray for healing for others. I pray for my finances.  I pray for wisdom.  I pray for a change in the heart of others.  But I have never really prayed for Mariessa.  I mean I never really prayed in earnest for Mariessa as if she was a friend.

Here is a prayer for my friend, Mariessa.

Lord, God, I know who You are.  You are the maker and finisher of all things.  You created heaven and earth and created me.  You know all about me and love me anyway; even when I do wrong and make mistakes.  You love me and all mankind so much that you sacrificed your son Jesus just so that we can pray directly to you despite our flaws.   Oh, you are a Holy God.

I know who Jesus is.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Son of the Living God.  Jesus is the ultimate example of what we can become when we link our lives up with God.  Jesus is human and divine and so He knows all that we go through on this Earth.  Jesus is a healer with power to raise the dead.  Jesus is my advocate and regularly pleads my case before God.  Hallelujah.

I know who the Holy Spirit is.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Living God that entered into me at baptism.  The Sprit is a supernatural power that is activated when I spend time with God.  The Spirit enables me to access special gifts that God has given me: wisdom, discernment, love, intuition, telepathy, capacity, feeling, receptiveness, judgement.  The Spirit hears my groanings and relays this information to God on my behalf.  When I don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit steps in and speaks for me.  When I am striving to live in God’s Will, I am living in the Spirit.  When I am living in the Spirit, I am infused with supernatural Power.

I am not alone. I am surrounded by a crowd: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Therefore I am not afraid and I can approach God boldly knowing that all is well.

Today I am praying for my friend, Mariessa.  Help her to activate her gifts.  Give her the strength to withstand the tug of the world.

Remind her that disobedience is death.  Because, only God has a bird’s eye view.  When God reveals truth to her.  Give her the courage to listen and obey.

Teach her that she has capacity to do all things.  She can defeat the evil one - she can find resources to take care of her needs, she can meet evil intentions with love, she can withstand temptation, she can live alone and in joy.  She can be at peace and happy in the present.

Teach her that she already has the ability to receive and hear the Word of God.  She can decipher the Will of God, not because she is a Prophet, but because God promised to reveal His way to anyone who diligently seeks Him.

Teach her that she is wise.  She knows the right way.  And she can remain on the right path because she is not alone.  There is a crowd (Father, Son, Holy Ghost, angels, and the assembly) around her.

Unstop her ears and destroy her will, her sensitive nature and her earthly limitations.  Replace her Will with THINE.  Remind her that break throughs come when her will is synced up with God’s Will.  

Teach her that she must not crave the things (food, circumstances) that are bad for her.  These strongholds must be broken.

Teach her that she is not in bondage to the belief that feeling comes from matter.  And therefore she need not run after the pleasures that appeal to the senses.  This is bondage.  

Remind her that it is better to dilligently seek a Spirit filled existence - this brings euphoria and real happiness.

Father, I am praying in earnest for Mariessa to have a quickening of the Holy Spirit.  She needs help to break up the strongholds in her life.

Only YOU can do it. 

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.