Being Ready

There are two main passages of scripture I would like for us to take a look at today, but because of their length, I will not be inserting them directly into this post. Please click on the links and you will be redirected to Biblia.com where you will be able to read each section of scripture pertaining to today’s post.

Matthew 25:1-13
The 10 virgins - 5 were prepared and ready, with extra oil, 5 were not. Those who were not ready missed the bridegroom entirely. 

Matthew 26:36-45
Jesus asked His disciples to keep watch and pray. However, they could not keep their eyes open and kept falling asleep.

We are much like the disciples who grew tired and the 5 virgins who grew lackadaisical in their desire to see Christ, in turn, causing them to be unprepared for Christ’s return. We need to recognize that God is not calling us to a spiritual sprint, but rather to a spiritual marathon battle. 

Several months ago, attended an intercessory prayer meeting. The entire goal of the meeting was to seek the face of God for revival, unity, and healing for this divided and broken nation. The portion of the meeting I was able to attend lasted just over six hours. I found it truly interesting just how many times I had to continually refocus my attention back on Christ. I found myself drifting away into thoughts of how tired I was. In those moments of my non-engagement, I realized I was nothing more than an unprepared virgin and a sleepy disciple. It’s hard work to keep our attention on the face of Christ. This is the very reason why He calls us to these types of intense times of intercession. Jesus knows that it is a true sacrifice of our flesh. Our flesh can always come up with a million other things that it could be doing that seems to be more fun than interceding for a lost and dying nation, but the fact of the matter is this, if we don’t, who will?

The burning of my heart has always been for the lost, but lately, it seems more urgent and more desperate. I am not one who has studied out the “end times,” but all I know is that there is a groaning in the spirit realm. The heavens are roaring for God’s people to rise up and take hold of the altar, to storm the gates of hell for the unsaved! The breaking of God’s heart can be heard in the spirit realm. It’s like a woman in labor screaming in pain, desiring so desperately to see her baby in her arms. God desires so deeply to see a generation who will rise up and stand for righteousness, not grow weary in well doing, but to reap a harvest. We will never reap a harvest by warming a pew! What are we doing about it? Are we shaking heaven, or are we being shaken up by the storms we see raging around us? We need to grab hold of Christ, keep our eyes focused on His face and He will never let us down! The heavens are calling us to wage war like no other time before! As we look around us we see our culture making a drastic shift towards unrighteousness. Why does it seem like we are seeing people frantically sprinting toward hell convinced that they are racing towards heaven? I’m not sure I have the answer to this question, but I know that we, as born-again Christians, have an immense responsibility toward these people. We have sat back and watched too many people go to the grave only to spend eternity separated from their maker with little to no regard for them. When are we going to learn that sitting back was never meant to be something we are to be lukewarm about? The condition of people’s souls is something that will affect them for eternity. 

It is a scary thought to think that we are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) and give an account for the life that we have lived here on earth. Are we going to hear, well done good and faithful servant, or will the Father ask us about each and every person He placed in our path that we just let walk away without uttering a word, with no regard to the eternal implications? We don’t make the decision of who goes to heaven and who doesn’t, but we can make the decision whether or not those around us will hear about heaven from us. Silence is the gravest of sins in these final days. As Christians, we hold the words of life and death on the tips of our tongues. For some people in our paths, our silence is like us sentencing them to death. For some, we may very well have been their chance at heaven. Eternity is too big a thing to risk staying silent about. 

Prepare your oil, be ready to stay awake in the dead of night when Christ calls you to the prayer room. We do not know whose lives we will be able to save all because we were ready.

Heavenly Father, we know that your heart breaks for the most vilest of sinners! Give us the desire to get ourselves into a position of readiness. Help us to speak life to those around us. We know there is a sense of urgency in the spirit realm. Let us not grow weary or lukewarm, but rather to be steadfast and blazing hot for the things of your kingdom. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Dodging Bullets

I had shared in previous posts about our trip to Liberia, Africa. This trip has hurled us into a much larger plan that God has faithfully been revealing to us little bits and pieces at a time. We recently  found ourselves packing our bags for a whirlwind trip to Florida for an interview that would directly affect our ability to raise funds more on a full time bases for Liberia. I can only figure that satan felt directly threatened by this because he desperately tried all he could to distract us from the greater picture. He was shooting bullets at us left and right and all we could do was dodge them as they came and try to keep a good attitude while it was all happening. I wanted to share with you the events that took place surrounding trip so that you could see just how hard satan will work in our lives in hopes that things will go his way, as well as share with you a heart lesson that was learned in the process of being shot at.

The attack begins

Two days before our flight my husband was in a car accident. Praise God it was nothing too serious, but enough that caused us to recognize the attacks of the enemy when we saw them. That same night someone smashed our mailbox with a baseball bat, while this may seem unimportant and unrelated, we recognized that satan was kicking into high gear in hopes to distract us from the plans and purposes of the Lord. Unfortunately for him, we had already made up our minds, so we towed the car to our mechanic and straightened up the mailbox and headed for Florida. Once we got there, the attacks did not stop. I ended up leaving my purse on a chair in the airport, of which we quickly had to run back and snatch up before someone else did. By this point I was starting to get weary in the attempts to derail what God has already orchestrated. Once we landed in Florida we got a taxi from the airport to our hotel. While in the taxi, my purse fell off the seat onto the floor and I did not realize until several hours later that my phone had fallen out and was riding around in the taxi for the remainder of the afternoon. Upon discovery, we called my mother in law who was able to locate my phone using a simple app. We were even able to set an alarm off on my phone which then alerted the driver to call my husband's cell phone. We were able to reconnect with the driver and my phone was back in my hands by the next morning.

Round two

The interview came and went and you would think that by now satan would have given up. Nope, he was stubborn enough to keep shooting the bullets right at us. Our return flight was canceled due of a major snowstorm on the east coast. This forced us to reschedule our return flight and stay another night in Florida. But instead of being able to stay in the hotel that we were currently staying in, we were forced to find other accommodations because along with our flight, over 1,000 other flights were also grounded, so needless to say we were in a race with many other passengers to find a place to stay. We decided to book a room closer to the airport. Now, we just so happened to be in Florida over spring break, and the closer we got to the airport, the closer we got to the beach. And the closer we got to the beach the closer we were to unsupervised college students who were foot loose and fancy free to say it kindly. Now, I was a college student at one time. I did not enjoy the party scene then, and I have found that I enjoy it a whole lot less now that I am older. However, our new accommodations found us smack dab in the middle of a party we did not want to be in. I guess satan figured that by now, the interview was over and decisions had been made so now he was just going to torture us. We lay in bed listening to screaming and yelling college kids until about 3:00 a.m. At 1:30 a.m. one guy actually tried quite vigorously to get in our room, by pounding on the door and yanking on the door handle. I guess he thought it was his room. My husband forcibly reminded him without opening the door that he had the wrong room. (My hero).

The REAL Battle

As I laid in bed that night, all I could do was think about all of the emptiness that these young people were more than likely experiencing. They probably would not be able to remember what they had done that night or whom they had done it with. One guy walked past our room yelling “I don’t know where in the world I’m at. I don’t know how I got here.” That young man had drank himself right out of his cognizant mind and was left wondering around unable to navigate life in the slightest. My heart hurt for these young people who will more than likely spend eternity separated from the saving grace of our loving heavenly father. I prayed earnestly for their eyes to be open, for their hearts to be broken and for their lives to be transformed in the name of Jesus. As I lay there, I knew there was nothing I could do to save them from the choices they were making. My heart ached for them. I wondered if this is how our heavenly father must feel as He looks upon us when we make the conscious choice to choose sin over Him. Oh, how his heart must break as He watches his creation choosing the worldly idols to worship over their own loving creator. Yet, despite the scorn, rejection, and scrutiny the Lord still loves and desires that one day each one will look at Him with adoring eyes rather than eyes of disdain. I can’t even begin to imagine how bad that must hurt Him.

Our battles truly are not against flesh and blood, but the battles we face are in the spirit realm. We are called to battle for the hearts and souls of this generation, for a lost and dying world, a world that does not even realize they are lost and ding.  Our Lord does not want any to perish, but all to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). We are to stand in the gap in prayer for these people!

While this trip started out causing me to dodge one bullet after another, it ended up with me learning so much more about the heart of my Heavenly Father. This trip allowed me to see a world full of brokenness, hurt, and emptiness, a world desperate for the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart will forever be impacted by the faces that I saw bowing the knee to their own selfish ambitions. My heart was broken as I realized that the path these young people were on will never satisfy them, in fact it will do just the opposite. It will leave them more tormented than ever before.

Father God, I am so thankful that you allow us to have trials and hurdles come into our lives so  we can see the things of your heart. Thank you for showing me just how much this world needs you. Please continue to deepen my heart of compassion for those who do not know you.  I pray that each of us learns what it means to have your heart of compassion. Fill us with your love for the lost because we know it is not our desire that anyone should perish. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.

The Battle Is Not Ours

We so often want to pick a fight when we have no business ever picking anything up in the first place. We want to take matters into our own hands when it was never a matter that was ours to begin with. There are so many battles that are not ours, that will never be ours, that were never meant to be ours, but sometimes we feel the need to play God and fight for things we are better off laying at His feet and letting the Lord do the fighting.

The battle belongs to the Lord

“...For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15 b

Several years ago my husband found himself being yanked into situation that ended up making national headlines. Yes, I did say national! And while you will never find his name associated with any of the news national news reports, his good name was drug through the mud in so many ways it was ridiculous! Actually, it was beyond mud. Tar and feathers was probably a little more of an appropriate picture of the mess that was being hurled at him on the daily. You see, with mud you can clean that off yourself, but with tar and feathers you need some professional help to clean that mess up. My husband had been blamed for all kinds of things that he never should have been blamed for. We watched people turn their backs on him who in the past, had supported him and it was disheartening to say the least. But through it all my husband remained silent to the finger pointing and accusations that he was being bombarded with. He knew that if he opened his mouth to speak that his words would inevitably be twisted and thrown right back in his face. So, instead of fighting back, like he so desperately wanted to, He laid his heart before the Lord daily!

“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

God has can sometimes have a funny way of working things out to bring justice to a situation and yet restore a man’s name to an even better standing than it was before the whole thing got started. My husband was not only justified, but praised for standing up for what was right in the midst of extreme pressure. He faced the tar and feather flinging with more integrity and dignity then I had ever seen from anyone.  Did he have moments of doubt? Yes! Was he scared? Yes! Did he worry? Absolutely! Who wouldn’t be when your good name is being ruined? But when things got really bad, all he could do was set aside the doubt, worry and the fears and cry out to the Lord.

“The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10

All we could do in the midst of the chaos to was run to the Lord because we knew that there was protection there! The Lord never backs down on His promises. My husband and I remain grateful that the promises of the Lord do not return void! I know that if my husband had tried to fight his own battle it would only have tainted his reputation more than it already been tainted. In the end we found that the Lord did not forsake. The Lord had gone before him and brought to light the injustice that my husband had seen from the beginning. The Lord used someone else to bring into light the truth. This was what brought the restoration of his good name.

Call to action

Is there a situation in your life that you are fighting with that really should be laid at the feet of Jesus? The battle belongs in the hands of Christ. I want to encourage you to hand over your weapons that you have been fighting with to the Lord and wait to see what He will do with the situation. Stop fighting and start running. Start running into the protection of the Lord. You just might be surprised with how the situation turns out.

Related posts: My Battle Verses

Related Song: The Battle Belongs To The Lord

Lord, thank you for going before us in battle. Thank you that you are willing to fight for us. Help us to remember that there are times when we should lay down our weapons and let you take over our battles for us. Help us to run to you in our times of need rather than running head first into a fight we should not be fighting. Thank you for going before us, protecting us and keeping us. We put our trust in you today knowing that you are more than able to bring victory to our biggest battles. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Challenge #10 - Pursuing Prayer

My last post was devoted to the importance of praying without allowing doubt to hinder our minds. I am using this post on prayer as a springboard for our first challenge of 2017. This challenge is our prayer challenge. I am not setting any specific guidelines in terms of the amount of time or how often, but I do want us to make prayer a part of our daily routine. The Lord is our friend and like a friend we should desire to converse with Him regularly.

“pray continually” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

What exactly does “pray continually” mean? We can not always be locked away in the prayer closet in intense prayer, but we can have a spirit of prayer about us everywhere we go. We can have the Lord on our mind throughout our day and I truly believe that this concept is what this verse is referring to. To be ready and available to stop what we are doing to pray for those whom God brings along our path throughout our day; to stop what we are doing and just thank God for what has just taken place. These are examples of what it means to pray continually. Having God at the forefront of our minds in whatever we are doing and wherever we are going, in our conversations and in our times of quiet.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4

I don’t know how you view prayer, but I tend to think it should be a healthy mix of thanksgiving, praise and requests. God is not our grocery store list that we can sit down and read off all the things that we need and be done with our prayer session for the day. He desires communion. Sometimes that requires more effort on our part. Sometimes that requires us to cut out the distractions of life, get to a quiet place and seek the Lord’s face with all that we are. Sometimes it means for our minds to be (as mentioned earlier) continually on the things of God.

I am encouraging you to pray continually, with thanksgiving in your hearts each and every day to your Lord and Savior. See what transpires from a month dedicated to focusing on prayer. May your walk with the Lord be radically changed as you determine in your heart to seek his face each day.

Prayer

Our trip to Liberia was filled with impromptu prayer sessions. We prayed for a lame man, a blind man, we prayed for parents, children, leaders, teachers, and families. With our experience in Liberia, we found that there was never a bad time to pray. We would be visiting a church, and the next thing we knew the church members had gathered around and we were laying their needs at the feet of Jesus Christ. These moments truly were powerful experiences. This is something I feel like we don’t take advantage of near enough of here in the States. The Librarians seem to have come to a place of realizing that it’s either God or death. There is no other choice for them. Here in the United States we have packed away a nest egg for emergencies and extra food in the pantry for when the next storm hits. We don’t really have a reason to rely on God like those who have nothing. When we get sick we have the ease of mind of knowing that help is just a phone call away, or a short trip to the doctor’s office. In the third world, if there is a doctor even available they are fortunate! Most of the time the doctor is not even an option and for many of them even if the doctor was available, they would never be able to begin to pay any of the bills from their visit. So, the only hope that they have is in the Lord! Here in the States we have a tendency to rely so heavily on ourselves that we can push God right out of the picture. For many of us, we are not in a position where we have no other options left. We are not desperate enough. This is so disheartening because the Lord desires for us to long for Him, to need Him and to desire Him to move in our lives!

God has given us so much and yet we can have a tendency do so little. In Liberia, we saw people with so little doing so much for the Lord. It truly humbled our hearts to know that out of their nothingness God was moving among them! We heard stories of God’s supernatural healing, provision and moving flowing from the testimonies of their lips. They were so thankful and grateful to the Lord for moving on their behalf. This is entirely different than here in the States. When we see God move we can be quick to justify it away because our medicine is advanced, funds are usually available and we have friends with influence. We rob God of the joy of even trying to move supernaturally in our lives because we are too busy taking care of the situation ourselves instead of relying on God to move on our behalf. And when we are faced with a situation that we have no other choice but the Lord, we approach God in a prayer mixed with doubt. We come to the Lord hoping that he will move on our behalf rather than believing by faith that He will! Oh we of little faith! I share this because I too am guilty of allowing doubt to rob God of the ability to move. Scripture is very clear about what we can expect from the Lord when we mix doubt with our prayers:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:6-8

God is not a liar

We should not pray Lord, “if” but rather Lord, “your word says…” We need to hold God to His word! The Lord is an unchanging God and what He says He will do, HE WILL DO! God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). He does not say one thing and do the complete opposite. So why do we pray as if He is a liar? Why are our prayers riddled with seeds of doubtful thinking, wishful thinking, and hopeful thinking? Why do we have such little faith? Is it because the miracles that we read about in scripture have not transpired before our very eyes? Is it because we have not actually prayed for a lame person and saw them get up and walk with our very own eyes? Let’s just be real here for a moment shall we? Jesus walked with the 12 disciples and made the lame walk, the mute talk and the blind see right before their eyes and yet they still doubted. So what makes us think our minds will change by seeing these things transpire in front of our own eyes when the 12 lived it everyday and yet still doubted? Our faith does not come from seeing. Our faith comes from hearing.

Faith comes by hearing

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

When we hear the word of God, not just with our physical ears, because we all know that things can go in one ear and out the other, but with our spiritual ears then faith is truly imparted! May I be so bold as to say that when we pray with doubt it is because we are lacking faith. We are lacking the faith that comes from hearing the word of God with our spiritual ears. In other words, if we truly had faith, we would have no problem praying for the lame, mute, deaf and blind. It’s when we hesitate that we can truly see our level of faith. Sobering isn’t it! I have to admit, I have shied away from many moments of prayer because the voice of doubt was greater than the voice of faith.

Let me give you an example of how bad that voice of doubt has influenced my prayers or stopped me from praying altogether. When we were in Liberia I met a man who had survived a stroke, just like I had. The difference was that his stroke had left some very apparent outward evidences where mine had not. You would think I would have been gung-ho about the opportunity to pray for someone whose shoes I have walked in and understand oh so well. But instead of jumping at the opportunity, I let fear and doubt be my companion in this situation. The fear and doubt flooded my mind as I thought, “look how much worse off he is than you were. God may have been able to heal you, but he certainly can’t heal this man.” At this I should have looked fear and doubt right in the face and reminded them both of the fact that just a few short years ago I was just like him and no different! I should have shouted at my fear that if God can do this for me surely, He can do this for someone else! The Lord is no respecter of persons! (Acts 10:34 and Romans 2:11) But instead of building myself up with faith I simply let fear and doubt have their way that day and to this day am kicking myself for not taking the opportunity that was placed before me.

Our prayers truly have the power to open the floodgates of heaven. We do not need to see physical evidence of God’s power to have faith. Our faith does not come from physical evidence, our faith comes from hearing the word with our spiritual ears. So, let’s open our spiritual ears so that we do not miss out on hearing the word. This may mean we need to close our natural eyes for a little while and forget about what we see going on around us. Seeing is not believing. Hearing is believing.

For more on how God answers prayers and is still working miracles see: "Miracle Working God."

Lord, we  can be so full of doubt sometimes. Help us to be hearers of your word in such a way that it builds in us a faith that destroys all doubt and fear. Help us to rehearse the promises found in your word so that in those moments of prayer we will know how to pray because we are able to pray out your promises. We know fear and doubt is not from you. We know that the enemy is trying to keep us from praying for others by filling us with thoughts of doubt. Fill us with your spirit in those moments that we can overcome the enemy and pray for those who need a touch of your spirit. Help us not to shy away from those situations that seem impossible. We know that nothing is impossible with you! We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.