Staying in Touch

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you

great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Jeremiah 33:3

When first introduced to this verse, a missionary speaking to my church dubbed it as "God's phone number." Ever since, God's phone number remains top on my contact list. With all of this garbage bombarding us on a daily basis like the wacky economy, unemployment, election chaos, cancer and illness (to name a few), we need someone to call, someone who will listen to our woes.

God has provided us with a hot-line and it comes in the form of prayer, but we have to step off the merry-go-round of daily living, sit still for a few minutes and listen. If all we do is call and never listen to the voice at the other end of the line, we won't be able to hear him telling us great and unsearchable things we do not know. I take it God is talking about the future here. We all desire security during troubled times, so I trust finding out what we don't know will give us strength to face any future here on earth, whether bleak or promising.

I'm asking God again to open the ears of our hearts. Please join me in doing our part by taking some time out of our day to sit still and wait for him to tell us some great stuff. One simple way I have found to listen is to do a media fast--turn off the radio in the car when I am by myself. Silence while driving works. Be creative, I'm sure there are plenty of other things we can turn off or refuse to do to make time for listening.

Stay in touch and always listen!

Information Update

Hello Listening Hearts!
I realized that I had asked you to be praying for the Queen family on the September 22 blog entry, but did not let you know the result of your prayers. Yes, Sandra Queen is perfectly healed. She went home to heaven on Thursday, September 25, 2008. Thank you for praying. :)

Little Miracles

I'm using a book in my prayer time called, "Loving Your Spouse Through Prayer" by Cheri Fuller. While praying and reading one morning, God did one of his little miracles in my life that I wanted to share with all of you. For me, God's little miracles tend to be just as exciting as the big ones.

I laid my concerns at God's feet for my husband (esp. his work) and our nation. We are in difficult times so the chapter on a future and a hope (based on Jeremiah 29:11) was just what the Master Physician ordered that morning as my spiritual RX. Anyhow, after I finished reading the chapter I opened my journal, that just so happens to have a verse or a quote at the top of every page, and guess what verse was there? Jeremiah 29:11!!! Can you believe it? I bet you can. God was saying loud and clear. "This book is exactly where I want you right now, praying for your husband, despite all of this garbage going on around you." And "Yes, I do have plans to prosper you and not to harm you, (no matter who I allow to become president of the USA or if your husband gets laid off again). I have plans to give you a hope and a future."

Yes, this promise is open to us all, but there is one thing about it that we should not forget. The Israelites were in exile when God gave them this promise. If we are to take hold of our promise, we need to understand that our future and hope is in God, not in homes, money, or even government.

My soul finds rest in God alone;

my salvation come from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

May God bless your day with the miracle of hearing his magnificent voice. There is nothing like it in this world. Amen!

Pray Big

Teresa of Avila said, "You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him." This quote made me ask myself, "When was the last time I asked great things of God?" My thoughts went to a precious family in my church. The mom has a horrible case of rare bone cancer. Her family has an Internet journal (Caring Bridge) that keeps friends and family apprised of her condition. When her husband writes his beautiful, God-honoring journal entries he encourages me to take Teresa of Avila's advice. His writings reveal that he is positive God will heal his wife from this cancer. But today she is very weak and on a ventilator. God may choose to heal her completely and perfectly by bringing her home to heaven. Please join me in praying for the Queen family.

Despite his wife's dire condition, his closing remark on today's entry was, "Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave and strong. Your every action must be done with love. 1 Cor 16:13-14" I'm inspired by his faith. He compliments God every day by asking Him to do great things. My plan is to pray bigger than I ever have before. What about you? Have you sent any accolades to heaven lately?

Renewed by a Psalm

Praise the Lord, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

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.

Psalm 103:1-5

These few verses say it all, don't they? They give us everything we need to live in this fallen world. They rejuvenate us and give us strength. I am sad to say, however, that I could not look at this Psalm for a long time. It hurt me deeply not to be able to look at a part of God's precious word. And this all because of a person in ministry who stole from me and hurt me terribly in the name of Jesus. This Psalm was her ministry motto, so every time I ran across it I thought of the horrible time I went through as a result of being involved with her. This happened the first time I became serious about serving God.

But God renewed my youth. He took away the cynicism that often comes after growing up and having to deal with not-so-nice people. It took a while, but God healed my heart from the damage betrayal causes. Today I am able to return to these awesome promises and experience the renewal God's Psalms bring.

I can now tell you that I wouldn't trade that hard place in my life for a pot of gold. During that time, I started to attend Bible Study Fellowship International, an incredible, intense 7-year study. While there I witnessed a ministry that is obviously ran by the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit. It was like hearing God say, "You have experienced a ministry that is not run on my power, but now you see how it should be done." The lessons I learned put me on the fast track of training how to serve God in a way that pleases him, which was and is the desire of my heart. The promises above tell me that God satisfies our desires with good things and he has surely done that.

I pray you can see the same valuable lessons in the trials and tribulations you are experiencing. That God will redeem your life from the pit and fill your crown with the jewels of his love and compassion. May your youth be renewed like the valiant eagle's so you can fly high above the clouds of stress and strife, closer to the SON.

Walking the Old Path

This is what the LORD says:

"Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' "

Jeremiah 6:16

When I heard God's voice while reading this verse I wanted to know more about these crossroads and ancient paths. I took my Strong's Complete Word Study Concordance off the shelf and looked up the original Hebrew. I found out to stand at the crossroads and look, God is asking me to examine the pathways of my life, my modes of action. The word ancient or old (in the KJV) is olam. This word describes the span of time in which God is to be obeyed and praised. It also means a very long time. God wants me to ask for this path of obedience and praise. He also promises a reward for doing so--rest for my soul.

Now that I understand exactly what God is saying to me, walking God's good path must mean regular self examination, asking myself why I do the things I do. That takes time and reflection. Deep down I really want to walk the old path, but before I realize it, my body has stepped off the trail. Old paths are well worn and safe, so when I do leave the main road, I usually run into the briers of stress and worry. When I worry I am being disobedient, for Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life" . . . (see Matthew 6:25-34).

Despite my mess-ups, I have still managed to figure out that obedience and praise do bring rest to my soul, just like God promises. But, the longer I stay on the old path, the more help I need. In God's Kingdom things are often opposite than the way it works in the world. Usually, practice makes you better, but with God, it makes us more and more dependent and this is where we find the abundant life Jesus promises (John 10:10). The more we listen, the more dependent we are, the more dependent we are, the better our life gets.

So I pray, "Oh Lord, may it never be said of me that I will not walk on your old path. I am asking you where the good way is. I now know that I need to ask you for the ancient paths regularly. Thank you for the rest you give my soul and all you will give in the future. I love you Lord, with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Keep me on your old path. In your precious name I ask all of these things. Amen."

The Prayer God Always Answers

"Father, glorify your name!"

John 12:28

“In this brief exchange we learn everything we will need to know about prayer and what it means to follow God in this life. For in every situation you’ll encounter you will be offered two options in prayer: “Father, save me,” or “Father, glorify your name!” One will lead you to frustration and disillusionment; the other to the greatest wonders in God’s heart.”

From He Loves Me: Learning to Live in the Father's Affection by Wayne Jacobsen

Jesus had a choice between two prayers: "Father, save me from this hour" (John 12:27) or "Father, glorify your name!" We have the same choice. We can constantly beg to be saved from our trials and pain or we can purposefully pray, "Father, glorify your name!"

When I read the statement above by Mr. Jacobsen, it struck a chord in my heart. I immediately began to count the many times I prayed to God and asked him to take away the troubles set before me--"Oh Father, save me from this hour--this week--this month!" No wonder I have been so frustrated. I couldn't count them. I had prayed "Father, save me" way too many times.

Today, I want to avoid frustration and disillusionment completely. To do that I have to change my mindset. To pray, "Father, glorify your name!" requires trust. Jesus had perfect confidence in and dependence on his Father. By his choice to pray, "Father, glorify your name!" and die on the cross for all mankind he made it possible for me and you to have complete trust, too. We just have to hold on tight on not let go of his promises. Oh, the unspeakable joy we can experience as we discover the greatest wonders in God's heart.

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8-9

Father, glorify your name! Amen!