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Posts Tagged ‘prayer’

Holy Roots

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

Isn’t the root issue always the most important? So often, we judge people and circumstances by first impressions or appearances without looking for the heart. But looking inside can be treacherous.

Romans 11:16
If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

In the plant world, roots have very particular responsibilities. They absorb water and inorganic nutrients and they anchor the plant to the ground. They also control how quickly a plant will grow and store nutrients for later use. (Wikipedia for more on roots)

This description is not much different than the work of the human spirit who ultimately directs our growth and maturation into adults. A child whose spirit is broken will not thrive. A wounded soul is incapable of experiencing the fullness of love or hope: essentials to happiness. A slumbering spirit will no longer absorb truth.

Some years ago I was active in the Elijah House ministry. This is where I first heard about the negative power of “bitter root judgments” [See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Romans 12:15]. It is so important to search out and prayerfully confront deep root problems. As long as these issues from a person’s past are boxed up and unattended, they will continue to impair and cloud daily life (sometimes without our conscious knowledge). Elijah House was instrumental in revealing some of these obstacles in my own life and how to become aware of their negative influence. Some of those roots had to be pulled out altogether and cast away. Some were cleaned and lovingly returned to the soil of my heart by the Holy Spirit: inner healing.

When a personal spirit is united with the Holy Spirit, the process toward wholeness [holiness] begins. It is just another way of explaining “sanctification.”

Sanctification works both directions, from the outside in and from inside out. Yes, we must choose to change our behaviors and extend ourselves outside the comfort zone: loving the unlovely, helping those less fortunate than we are, investing our “talents” in those people and areas that can use them. But we must also change from within, exposing our hearts and spirits to the Light of God’s Holy Spirit. And as our roots are healed, the outside choices become much easier.

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Jesus: My Access Point

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2010| 1 Comment »

I had fun today thinking about the kingdom of God like the Internet cloud and Jesus as the best access point ever, no downtime. Access is always there but I’m not always connected.

Romans 8:34
Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us? [Amplified]

All the other access points are letting through too much spam. Some of that spam is putting me in a bad light, taking my mistakes and embellishing them, blowing them out of proportion. Some of those access points are jamming the frequency and filling up bandwidth: less and less room for the good stuff.

But the Jesus pipe is always clear. Not only that, the Jesus connection has the best filter ever designed. It takes my complaints, digs out the root causes and carries those message into the kingdom as supplications.

Of course, when I turn off my inner WI-FI, the one suffers the most is me. I still have an inner computer, but it’s working with existing memory and software that hasn’t been updated. The longer I work with this inner computer, the less efficient it becomes.

I hope I can keep this little metaphor going today. After all, I sit in front of a computer all day at my day job. I want to remember how important it is to stay connected today.

The password is easy: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

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A Groaning Spirit

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , on February 20, 2010| 3 Comments »

Sometimes, I don’t know how to pray, not for myself or for anyone else. But there is this promise that the Spirit within knows exactly how to intercede. That is a great comfort to me.

Romans 8:26b
. . . We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

I did not realize until I meditated on these verses (Romans 8:26-28) that the Spirit within is not just praying or interceding on my behalf, but praying in a particular way: according to God’s will.

Mike and I used to joke around a lot about a teaching we once heard by a Jamaican/English minister from Florida, Peter Lord, long since off the scene. This particular teaching was called “How to … ‘ah’ … hear … ‘ah’ … God’s voice.” The message was good, but his delivery always cracked us up. This was all the rage back then: trying to ‘ah’ hear God’s voice.

But now I understand that I don’t have to struggle to hear God’s voice in order to be led in the right direction. The Holy Spirit, always with me, is already lined up with God’s will and praying for me. I may not understand the words. I may not understand the sounds, the whispers, the groaning, but I can be confident in the intent.

I think the harsh voice of condemnation has tried to bend my Christian journey into something far more grueling than necessary. I keep forgetting the promised “lighter yoke” [Matthew 11:30].

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Mind Games

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 15, 2010| 1 Comment »

When people say, “it’s all in your head,” that’s more true than not. The mind is at the core of who we are. The mind is quite mystical and unpredictable. The mind thrives within, not just in the head, but also in the heart, the gut, and the soul.

Romans 8:6
Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [Amplified]

The mind is also a lover. The question is with whom or what? The mind can be seduced. The mind can be fooled. The mind can be capricious (changing from one behavior to another). The mind can be a slut or a saint.

Joyce Meyer has an entire video series on the “Battlefield of the Mind” but sometimes I think it’s a little more like “speed dating.” Going from one thing/person to another, the mind is looking for the current fit, the “feel good,” the curious, the challenging, or the appealing.

Thank God the Spirit is patient.

It is in the mind that the story of Hosea and Gomer is truly played out on a regular basis. Gomer, the prostitute, who breaks covenant with her prophet husband, and yet, he forgives her again and again.

My mind is too much like Gomer. I am linked by promise to the Spirit, and yet I stray. Each year, I stray less and less. As my mind becomes more submissive, by choice, to the loving Spirit, the relationship strengthens. My mind is becoming more content.

God is teaching me how to feed my mind with prayer, scripture, music, reading, nature’s beauty, koinonia relationships, love, hope, rest, and solitude. When I feed my mind well, I am not so hungry for the “next new thing.” When I am disciplined and consistent, my mind experiences peace.

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Serve in the New Way

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

It’s been 2000 (+/-) years since the Christ died and rose again and Paul wrote his epistles, and yet, Christians are still struggling with the “new way” of the Spirit. I am no different.

Romans 7:6
But now, by dying [in Christ] to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

The struggle is caused by the domino design: one piece depends on the other. In order to do anything by the Spirit, one has to be in tune with the Spirit, that is, able to hear/feel/see the Spirit within. Another word for this is “abiding.” And in order to abide in Christ, we must know Christ. And to know Christ, we must spend time with Christ.

To serve in the “new way,” I must respond to the promptings of the Spirit to act. Service is action, love, and generally, outside my personal space. Service implies work that benefits “the other.”

One irony is that I am already serving. I mean, I am busy! My daytime job is service-based and I am spending 40 plus hours a week helping patrons and staff get the information and materials they need or want. I am a volunteer and serve on several committees and Boards. I am a Bible teacher and serve at my church. I am a mother/wife and serve my family (sometimes with joy but too often with that “unappreciated” feeling of irritation).

Am I serving in the new way? I don’t know. I don’t think so. There isn’t much room for serving at the prompting of the Spirit. Either I am too busy to hear or just too busy to add another task to my calendar.

I don’t want to drop into the “shoulds” of service. That’s not my intent. But I am saying I might be missing something better, sweeter, and more meaningful. There is freedom in the Way but there is also guidance. It’s not the rigidity of the law but wisdom.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” [James 1:5]

So be it. Give me wisdom oh God, that I might hear your still small voice and respond to the needs of others with grace and sensitivity. Guide my service.

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God Calls What is Not . . . into Being

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

This kind of faith could turn the world upside down: to truly hear and believe God’s promises. To believe that God, the creator, can speak and the impossible be made possible.

Romans 4:17b
He [Abraham] is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

There are hints and glimpses throughout the New Testament that we, as human offspring to such a God, could do the same. Jesus references moving mountains through faith [Matthew 17:20] and receiving anything we ask for in faith [Matthew 21:22]. Plus, the disciples, themselves, brokered healings and miracles both while Jesus was still with them and after he resurrected. But, as time went on, the miracles became fewer and fewer.

By the time we get to our own century, there are a few people who have appeared to operate in this miraculous realm: Kathryn Kuhlman, Aimee Semple McPherson, John Wimber, John Osteen, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, and Smith Wiggles Worth to name a few. But most of these people either died in disgrace or were exposed as charlatans. This certainly doesn’t encourage me to ask for “miracle-working” faith.

There are more meaningful (and fantastic) stories from the mission fields where no one becomes famous or well known, where no one is interviewed or tested for authenticity. And yet, the stories continue of blind people receiving sight, limbs growing where there were none, the dead coming alive, tumors disappearing, and so forth. But even here, in these mission fields, we don’t hear of mountains moving, fresh water gushing from a rock, or food growing in the desert sands.

What is lacking? Somehow, we have failed to identify and respect the source of all that power. As soon as power manifests, we humans appear to be changed by it.

One of my favorite (non-Christian) films about miracles is Resurrection with Ellen Burstyn (1980). The main character, Edna, becomes a healer inexplicably, but soon, she is feared, manipulated, tested, and shot. She survives, but chooses the life of a recluse instead of broadcasting her “talents.” There, in the desert, she continues to heal, but secretly.

We live in an age where miracles are suspect, at the least, and generally, considered impossible. Magic is only a trick. Healings are anomalies.

All believers are children of Abraham, the one who believed that his 100 year old body and is 98-year old wife would be come the “father of nations.” He had nothing but the Word of God to believe. There was nothing in his world to make him think it was possible. Was it the simplicity of their lives that gave them the ability to believe God in the face of overwhelming circumstances?

I don’t know the answer. But I do know, we’re missing out. Surely, if every believer had but a mere fraction of Abraham’s faith in God to change the world, we would see the healing of the earth. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to agree on what the healed earth should look like.

Healing miracles require unity of spirit. Instead, we’re like kids at a football game, with both sides praying for a win.

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Blind Guide

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , on January 22, 2010| 2 Comments »

It’s one thing to have knowledge and a desire to share that knowledge with others but it’s another thing altogether if we don’t apply that knowledge to our own behaviors. Am I guilty?

Romans 2:19-21
. . . if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?

Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s a way that God tempers rashness and bad choices. It’s like one of those dog leashes that releases for a long way, but eventually, the end is reached and the dog is pulled back into safety. I’m feeling some tugs today.

I love writing about the Word and what God shows me each day. But I think I need to be more careful about the voice I use. Sometimes, I read aloud what I have written and I must go back and change all the pronouns to first person, to acknowledge that the message is personal. It’s a reminder that I must teach myself. There are many things I have learned and and I have grown immeasurably, but the application of what I know continues to be a challenge. I assume, no more or less than it is for anyone.

I tend to be “results” oriented, but this Christian walk business is all “process.” I know and understand this in my mind, but the heart is slower to come around.

In my enthusiasm for the “message,” I forget to walk it. God forgive me. Let this day be a day of sensitivity to your counsel. Give me mindfulness. Keep me in prayer throughout the day.

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