Category: Human

The Lowly Prayer Journal

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It has been my observation — Using a simple book (Journal) of blank pages or lined pages to keep a written record of the ideas and experiences in prayer and bible study is not uncommon. Many prayer warriors keep one to remind them of their successes (discovering God’s will) and their failures (stepping outside the swim lane).

This Journal will be full of their ideas, requests, notes on when and how they met the objectives, how they felt, what they talked about, and how God responded. And, most importantly, what they learned while reading and meditation on scripture.

Most people who keep the journal (wall of truth) do not talk much about the journal they are keeping. Occasionally they publish excerpts of their prayers as poetry or prose on electronic media or the printed page – or perhaps an essay or two.

Sometimes the entries are used to develop lyrics for songs. For the most part, their content remains private. If they keep a journal, you know they are spiritual warriors. They stand toe to toe with Lucifer. You would be wise to give them a bit of respect. I do.

The notion of expressing your prayer in writing is as old as the psalms. When David, a mere shepherd by was anointed to King by Samuel, he gradually began to journal his thoughts (inspired by the Holy Spirit) in the form of psalms. You may recall he was a musician and a dancer. It was a small step to integrate his prayer into music and lyrics.

Others such as Asaph, Moses, and the sons of Korah, created a wonderful library of inspired prayers and laments. These songs became the tools used by the Israelites in worship; they psalms become part of their knowledge about the things of God – they became a wall of truth.

This flow of journaled prayer morphed into the early church. Songs and recited liturgy were based upon the journaled prayers of the priests, monks, and scripture. The psalms (journaled prayers) have brought comfort and clarity to many people through the ages who sometimes use them as a beginning point for their own prayers and song lyrics even today. This is how the catechism came to be.

Many psalms are prayers to God and express a wide array of emotions, questions, and conclusions as the writer wrestles with life situations. One reason God placed the book of Psalms in our Bible was to give us examples of the kind of prayers we can create. The prayers in Psalms are honest, heartfelt, and pure streaming thought. We should do no less. We may never rise to the level of David in our thoughts, but we can make notes and write the things that come to our mind. As we review the thoughts, we can see our gradual growth in Jesus.

A prayer journal is an excellent way to keep our thoughts focused as we bring them to the Lord. Prayer journaling also helps document seasons of our lives – things that are important in one part of our life lose importance in other periods of our life. Writing our thoughts on paper helps us clarify them, and, like the psalmists, we gradually are able to develop a proper line of reasoning by the time we finish journaling. During the development process, the eraser is our best friend.

Even our darkest musings can be a seed for a wonderfully honest praise. For example, look at the power of Psalm 121. It starts with a question — I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? The psalm ends with the answer – the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. He is our help. This is an extraordinary flow of thought. Comforting and honest.

I think a journal is a grand tool for the thoughtful focused prayer warrior. The tool is a wonderful register of how God leads us to think about things while studying scripture and how he answers prayer. When we read the history of our life in conversation with the one true living God, we stand a bit easier, knowing he is there. 24/7. We stay on task because we want to stay on task.

For those who are called to pray and study, I thank God you have embraced this calling – you are the vanguard of the living truth.

I choose Jesus.

The Pursuit

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It has been my observation that all of us who trust in God can always have confidence in the one true living God. In Psalms 97 we find a God of power and dignity. A God that delivers his people from troubles. We find the author of our salvation. For me, I see a God who reached into my dismal shell of a life and renewed his grace within me.  Let us take a look at the details.

Psalm 97:1-7 says — The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all people see his glory. All who worship images are put to shame (NIV).

When I had nearly given up hope of ever being ‘in service of the King’ again, he reached out to me, a person whose life was the definition of a rebel. He called me back. There was no place for me to look for salvation except in the grace of Jesus, nothing else has any value. I tried. There was nothing. I looked in philosophy, I looked in history, I looked in science, I looked in Math, nothing. There is nothing else but Jesus. There is no other name on the face of the earth that can bring us hope. None.

For the Hebrew nation and for me Psalms 97 speaks about Jesus, the author of our salvation. Our salvation is assured by God’s power, it is treasured and delivered in God’s grace, it is guaranteed to be secure, permanent, authoritative. We are saved by his strong tower, we are enabled to run the race, we are permitted to take shelter in the tower, we are safe. If I look beyond this deliverance, from my life as a rebel to the deeper things of the Spirit, I quickly notice the messianic salvation, my everlasting ransom, the repair of my soul, my rescue from death. and the restoration of my walk in Jesus.

This I know for sure — there is a world without end; and it will be well or ill with us according to our willingness to embrace the Grace of God. Plato had a feeling for this ‘world that does not end,’ but he did not find an answer to the question – is it real? Plato died when Alexander the Great was a child, Alexander the Great conquered Israel on his way south to conquer Egypt and build the city of Alexandria, soon the libraries he established became the global home of most knowledge known to man.

There are many historians that think the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) was retained in the Alexandrian library. Why does this matter? Because this library was a repository of known knowledge. This library would have provided an answer to Plato’s question, he was curious, but he died before the library was completed. Do not wait – God’s word is readily available. Read. Now. Not tomorrow. Now.

All of us, including me, know of the confusion we felt when we first became aware of our sin and the impact of that sin (before we knew Jesus). We felt trapped, unable to escape the effect, unable to bring ourselves to accept Jesus. We ran to and frow, looking for anyone with answers that could override Grace. We tried to build community in our sin and tell ourselves it was not sin; we became forward thinking people abandoning the age-old truths. We puffed up our little heads and glared at the one true living God. Defiant, we refused to submit. We joined hands with other rebels and resisted the gospel. We kept one another’s countenance as bright as possible and wandered in confusion together. Then it happened. The light of truth outran the darkness in our heart. In the light we saw we had no clothes on. We were standing in sin. No protection. The light exposed everything. Darkness can only be overcome by one thing – the way, the truth, and the light. Selah. We yield. I thank God he chose to pursue me.

I choose Jesus.

We Are Neither Forgotten Nor Abandoned

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It has been my observation that most people think Jesus and the story of Christmas are unnecessary because they do not believe there is a need for Grace. They just do not accept the situation as painted by scripture.

This is what I think — The birth of Christ is an amazing declaration, an eternal statement to all of us. The arrival of Jesus clearly established — God is real; God is just; God offers grace. The heavens were opened and a completely different world came into view through Jesus. The coming of the Messiah as our Savior is confirmed by the veracity of the Old Testament message concerning the new covenant. We know that humans are isolated from God, but we are not forgotten or abandoned. If we were forgotten, no Savior would have been required. If we were abandoned, no Savior would have come. Yet, the Logos came to us in the humblest of circumstances.

So, now what? We were made to traverse this world Walking with God. The birth of that lowly child is the bridge between the old self and the new self. Psalms 111:6-10 says “He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”

Isaiah 7:10-17 says — “The Lord spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’  But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’ Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and, on your people, and on the house of your father, a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.’ “See 2 Chronicles 28:14-27 (if you are curious about the king of Assyria).

Jeremiah 31:31-34 says “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

I wonder if Isaiah and Jerimiah understood the full depth and meaning of their prophetic message when they first spoke the message aloud. It is an amazing glimpse into the future, our future.

I choose Jesus.

Live By The Spirit

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It has been my observation; after listing the fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds the believers that they “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). This is his way of describing our turn from sin to Jesus.

In my house above the kitchen sink is a beautiful Christmas cactus, I have had it for a few years. I have watered it and ensured it gets light. It has graced me with growth, but none of its glorious flowers. Then a few weeks ago, I noticed that a bud had appeared, then the leaves changed color and the bud unfolded into a wondrous blossom. The transition this plant displayed was amazing. I think we are similar, the Spirit waters and gives us plenty of Light. This takes a while, but many of us do blossom into a magnificent flower with the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul says — For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin (Romans 6:5-7).

Being crucified with Jesus is the turning point – the place where we transition from death into life – the place where we start all over – the place where we experience the effect of free will for the first time. This does not mean we will never sin again, but it does mean we can move forward.

Paul says — Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:24).

I think, we are given an exceptional gift, a gift to walk forward, surrendered to God. Not so easy to surrender, goodness I know about resistance, being a rebel and all the things that go with not looking at the endgame, just looking at the pieces. Our surrender is an act of the will, our will, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Would we yield to him on our own? Not likely. Without help we just stand there, hoping no one would notice. Saying yes to God is no trivial thing.

I have noted when perusing both Romans 6 and Romans 12, putting God first is the only appropriate response to God. The only sensible response for God. The only logical response to God. If we embrace this response, we find the mercy he extends to us and the grace he created for us. If we continue to resist, well we will soon suffer a divided heart. We will have one foot centered in his will and one foot dragging behind, stuck in the world.

In this state, One could say that we are of two minds, we want God’s sheltering protection but we are not so interested in living within his circle of influence. We are willing to walk away from sin when it is convenient, but we do not walk away from sin when it is not convenient. I can rationalize and make ‘excellent logical reasons’ why my decision is ok, but in the end, God is not impressed, and he waits. He patiently waits. How about you? Do you find yourself rationalizing?

CS Lewis says – If we let God – for we can prevent him if we choose – He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a … dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine a bright, stainless mirror which reflects aback to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness.

So, what does this mean? This essay is about His amazing power to transform us, the Holy Spirit will lift our heart and carry to completion the journey of transformation for you and for me – The transformation leads to the renewing of our mind. First comes conviction, then conversion and filling. Then comes transformation. The final step is the renewing of the mind. This ‘thing’ works from the inside out. We can collect scripture about proper behavior and feel good, basking in the sunlight. Or we can allow the word to transform our heart and then allow the Holy Spirit to renew the source of our behavior – our mind. Please do not lose sight of Proverbs 23:7 – as a man thinks, a man is.

Hanging with God, at the deepest level, our heart and mind begins to crave God’s grace and mercy, rejecting the old ways that seem so comfortable in the past… What do we do? How do we respond to the craving? As a man thinks, a man is.

I choose Jesus.

Unmerited Grace for All

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It has been my observation that we Christians look to the Bible for lasting meaning and hope; this search allows us to use our reasoning abilities as God intended. The Bible presents the reality of God (implied in Revelation 1:8), who has revealed Himself to all people (implied in Psalms 19:1-2).

The apostle Paul argued this point when he wrote, “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen; being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). This declaration, in which God reveals Himself through nature, is also shown to the heart of every person, for “that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them” (Romans 1:19).

John Calvin referred to this as the ‘sensus divinitatis’, which is an innate sense of divinity, an intuitive knowledge that God exists. Calvin wrote, “there exists in the human mind and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity.” He further states, “All men of sound judgment will therefore hold, that a sense of Deity is indelibly engraved on the human heart.” Calvin also wrote, “there never has been, from the very first, any corner of the globe, any city, any household, without religion, [which] amounts to a tacit confession, that a sense of Deity is inscribed on every heart.”

The problem is not with God’s clear revelation, but with the human heart which is rebellious. For those possessed with sinful persistence, they suppress the truth with their unrighteousness (implied in Romans 1:18). These rebels have a sinful heart that ignores God’s grace to pursue earthly passions.

In Romans 1:21-23 Paul wrote — For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. (NIV).

God never forces Himself on anyone. People are free to choose whether to accept Him or not. If they reject the gentle nudge from the Spirit of God, he does not render the final judgment upon them right away. Rather, God extends to them an undeserved period of kindness and goodness, regardless of whether they have yielded to grace or continue rebelling (implied in John 3:16). But death brings the period of kindness to closure.

This grace is dependent on God and not the attitude or actions of men. Jesus said of His Father, that “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). Paul affirmed this grace, saying, “In the generations gone by, He permitted all the nations to go their own ways [in rebellion]; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16-17). Here, God’s grace is obvious, Elohim provides what we need. He even blesses the unsaved and unrepentant. His love, mercy, and goodness are extended toward the undeserving entirely because of his earnest goal to see all of us yield to Grace before we die.

Salvation comes to us by grace alone (it is an undeserved gift), through faith alone (adding no works), by Jesus alone (as the only One who saves). Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation comes to us via the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (implied in Romans 10:9). We deserve death; but grace abounds through the ransom paid by the Lamb of God.

I choose Jesus.

Deprive the Oxygen

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It was my observation, when I was a young elder at a small church in Nebraska, to have a front row view of God healing a man from Bitterness (unforgiveness). I watched a skillful senior elder gradually help a person who had rejected his pastor because of a few stray comments made by the Pastor. Bitter-man (Bman) was not easy to visit with. This senior elder knew Bman was a contractor and went to the job sites to visit with Bman. It took several visits to contractor sites to bring Bman to the reconciliation table. It took months of meetings to help the two men reconcile. The trouble ran deep. After God resolved the problem, the elder mentioned to me – clinging to bitterness is much like drinking an extremely sweet poison while believing that the other person is going to die. He quietly said – The more we feed the foul stench of bitterness in our own heart, the more aggressively it pulls us towards darkness.

Bitterness is a mental poison. It is heavenly to bite into, is quite easy to swallow, and then gently brings darkness to us from the inside out. I think – when we cling to something that drags us into darkness, Lucifer has achieved his objective – his job is really easy at that point. How do we get out of the mess?

Deprive bitterness of oxygen. To strip bitterness of its oxygen, we must first know where the oxygen comes from. Proverbs says – Whoever would foster love covers an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends (Proverbs 17:9). We give bitterness oxygen by repeating the issue over and over in our mind. If we stop the pattern, we can break the power of bitterness over our heart.

Sometimes people love to bring up old issues when a new issue arises between them. If you are one of them, and you know what I am talking about, then the ‘replay’ never allows us to settle the matter. We are an expert at retaining infinite detail on the grievance and are very consistent in bringing it up. Sometimes we engage in constant repeating and reliving the issue with a third party, somebody that was not involved but we have deemed they have a ‘need to know.’  The bible calls this gossip (unless a crime or abuse has been committed). The tough part of gossip is that it hurts a lot of people. The transmitter of gossip is injured (see Proverbs 25:9–10); the listener of the gossip is harmed (see Proverbs 22:24–25); and the Spirit of God is grieved (see Ephesians 4:29-32). Just say no to gossip.

Whenever we do these things, we give the devil a foothold to sow more darkness and bitterness inside of us (implied in Hebrews 12:14–15). Paul says — Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:31–32). At some point, we must let go. Bitterness grows, or it diminishes, but it does not set still. Just hand it over to Jesus before you are consumed.

To starve our souls of one thing (to let go), we must feed our souls with something else. We let go of bitterness by refocusing our heart and mind on God’s love and forgiveness toward us. Paul says — Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8).  J I Packer says — There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love towards me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion Him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me.  We are free.

When we stray, Jesus is constantly in pursuit. He instantly celebrates when we repent and turn towards him (implied Luke 15:20–32). There is mercy waiting for every repentant sinner, including me, with our imperfect hearts seeking perfect forgiveness (implied in Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9).

I choose Jesus.

Declare What Is Right.

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It has been my observation that we see a recurring message in scripture that Elohim is to be trusted above all else in this universe.  Idols are man’s creation – they have zero power, they are inert, lifeless, useless. Elohim reveals himself when it is necessary to accomplish a goal or we are in trouble. When our free will gets us into mischief then God intervenes as necessary to be sure we do not get too far into the weeds.

Isaiah 45:15-19 says — All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgrace together. But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, for the ages everlasting. For this is what the Lord says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited— he says: I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, Seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right. (NIV)

Isaiah mentions the everlasting salvation to be sure we are not discouraged too much.  Yet, Elohim must be true to his own sense of fair play and justice, if we make mistakes and fail to repent then we can expect issues. Sometimes, if training is required, even with repentance, issues come our way. Our job?  Stay focused. Keep our eye on God. The growth of God’s people is delivered in layers of grace and training. We learn, we get better, but we still seem to stumble. Fortunately, Elohim is longsuffering and patient with us. He knows how timid and helpless we are when faced with huge obstacles. Elohim knows we charge ahead foolishly and get ourselves all tangled up in the brambles. He smiles, then at the right time Elohim pulls us out of trouble, every time. The Spirit of the Lord is always working on our heart (implied in Zechariah 4:6), therefore the accidental troubles we encounter are mere speedbumps.

Isaiah 57:14-16 says – Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people. For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry for then they would faint away because of me—the very people I have created. (NIV)

The people who make our distractions (graven objects) sometimes create public personalities that we aspire to be like (worship).  They are makers of Idols (chaff).  Then they say — you need this thing or you need to hear this or you need to see this event if you want to live life to the fullest.  They quietly place a fence about our life — we find ourselves generating loads of activity as we aspire to emulate the public personalities or accomplish the specified objectives. We are trapped.

The deeper truth — It is God’s hope that we get still, listen to the Holy Spirit, and reassign our adulation to the one true living God. The makers of the public personas and distractions often see the emptiness themselves and they pull away from the façade as they get a bit older. They become more honest in their messaging and we all benefit. Consider the transition of some aging rock stars as they settle down, abandon drugs, and start leading godly lives.  Usually, something occurred in their life (an uncomfortable event) that helped them to see their sin and yield to the one true living God. It is amazing to see this happen with people– we all need Jesus – it does not matter what we do or how we live – we all need the one true living God.  In this transformation – we are able to declare what is right and live for God.

I choose Jesus.