Have you asked?

Story of the day:  Have you asked?

I love when my kids tell me stories, or get excited about things they have never seen before.   I can sit for hours and listen to how they discovered something new.  The look on their faces, the excitement of it all, makes my life as a mom so worth while.  When we went home this past weekend, my Uncle had shared with my son a new toy that he purchased at the Dollar Tree.  It’s just a little ball like figure that you can turn inside out and when you drop it on the floor, it bounces up pretty high in the air. 

The look on Joshua’s face, was one as if he had never seen anything like it before.  This little ball was new and so interesting that it kept his attention for hours.  He tried to figure it out, and the more and more he did, the more excited he got about it.  It’s all he talked about on the 9 hour drive back to New Mexico.  “Mama, when we get home, can we go to the Dollar Tree and get one of those bouncy things?”  I told him, son, “The store may be closed by the time we get home, but I promise, I will get you one tomorrow. 

When Joshua arrived home from school the next day, he was so excited to find one of those bouncy balls for him and his brother.  He couldn’t unwrap that toy fast enough so that he could begin playing with it.  He played with it all night and found a special place hiding place for it so it wouldn’t become lost in the night.  It’s funny how the smallest things make him happy, and it’s even better hearing about it as a parent, hearing about how thankful he was for getting one.  He loves his little bouncy ball, this gift that to him, was beyond what he could imagine.  Because it was all he talked about, it made getting the gift so much more worth while.   

 Joshua’s request to ask me for one of those bouncy balls is so similar to when we pray to God.  We may talk about it, pray about it, and think about it all the time.  We may even think that God gets tired of hearing us come to Him in prayer about it.  And though we may not get our prayers answered right away, just like Joshua didn’t get his ball right away, God will open the door to His prayer store, and once He does, be prepared to be blessed at how He answers your prayers.

Quote of the day:  John Fischer

“He’s eager to hear our prayers because He has never heard it quite the way we say it.  We are all unique.  We have our own signature attached to all we do and say.  Our lives, our experiences, and our faith expressed to him are never old.”

Bible verse of the day:  Matthew 7:8 (NIV)

“For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for children.  Their faith is so amazing.  To speak what they believe and to say what comes to mind, that truth is so refreshing.  Father, as I get older, may my prayers be with that child like faith.  May the passion for knowing You burn deep inside.  Fill me with Your Living Water and and send me out this day as Your vessel to love others and to serve with an open heart.  I thank You for this blessed day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

Resentment towards another, not healthy!

Story of the day:  Resentment towards another, not healthy!

I have found myself in situations where a person I feel has intentionally tried to sabotage my happiness.  Bitterness towards the person began to set in and I found myself asking God to honor my passions in life.  But as the negative thoughts raced through my mind, I found that my passion wasn’t coming to pass.  But what was it that was keeping me from doing all that God had intended for me?  Was there more?  Surely these resentful thoughts of the people that had purposely tried to make my life a living nightmare wouldn’t have anything to do with it?  Or was that it?  Was that what was keeping me from living the life God had intended for me in the beginning to it’s fullest?  I found myself asking God to show me those areas that were keeping me from fulling my calling and that were robbing me of my joy .  The following story came to mind and fit me to a T.   In Restoring Your Spiritual Passion, Gordon MacDonald writes:

One memory that burns deep within is that of a plane flight on which I headed toward a meeting that would determine a major decision in my ministry.  I knew I was in desperate need of a spiritual passion that would provide wisdom and submission to God’s purposes.  But the passion was missing because I was steeped in resentment toward a colleague.

For days I had tried everything to rid myself of vindictive thoughts toward that person.  But, try as I might, I would even wake in the night, thinking of ways to subtly get back at him.  I wanted to embarrass him for what he had done, to damage his credibility before his peers.  My resentment was beginning to dominate me, and on that plane trip I came to the realization of how bad things rally were…

As the plane entered the landing pattern, I found myself crying silently to God for power both to forgive and to experience liberation from my poisoned spirit.  Suddenly it was as if an invisible knife cut a hole in my chest, and I literally felt a thick substance oozing from within.  Moments later I felt as if I’d been flushed out.  Id’ lost negative spiritual weight, the kind I needed to lose:  I was free.  I fairly bounced off that plane and soon entered a meeting that did in fact change the entire direction of my life.

You see my friends, Spiritual passion cannot coexist with resentment. 

Quote of the day:  Craig Larson

“The unforgiving spirit saps the energy that causes Christian growth and effectiveness.”

Bible verse of the day:  Ephesians 4:31 (New Oxford Annotated)

“Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

It is easy to hold in feelings of resentment towards others that have hurt us.  I come to You right now and ask that You search my heart for any areas that may be hiding resentment and that You bring them to the light.  Life is too short to hold any grudges and I don’t want to hold any in my life.  I thank You for forgiving me for all the times that I have hurt You and because You are a perfect example of how to forgive, I pray to do the same.  I love You and thank You for this blessed day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

God is our consuming fire

                                                                                                              Story of the day:  God is our consuming fire

   There are many different definitions of consuming and fire in the dictionary.  In Hebrews 12:29, the two words consuming and fire work together in meaning that our God is our strong and urgent, burning passion.   I got to thinking about this some more and found in Scripture one account where Moses encountered God’s consuming fire through an actual burning bush.   “The Angel of the Lord” in Exodus 3:2-3 “appeared to Moses in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.  Moses looked and the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not burned by the fire. 

   And although Moses didn’t know at the time , that leading people out of Egypt would become his burning passion, he like most of us was unsure of what to expect and began to question God.  He said in Exodus 4:10,13, “Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, and I am slow of speech and slow of tongue, please send someone else.”  Then God in His Evident Grace spoke back to Moses and said, “Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” 

   God wants to spark in each of us His consuming fire so that we may know Him as the great “I AM”.   He wants us to have faith in knowing that what He is calling us to do, is part of His plan and if we are obedient and follow what He is saying without question, then that consuming fire will be lit in each of us and we will be consumed by it.  So don’t worry if you have yet to know what God has planned for your life, instead continue to live by faith and He will begin to show You the calling that He has set before you.   

 Quote of the day:  Bill Hybels

“God calls us to be committed to Him, to be committed to making a difference, and to be committed to reconciliation.”

Bible verse of the day:  Hebrews 12:29

“For our God is a consuming fire.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for being my consuming fire.  May I continue to live with a passion that is burning deep within my soul.  Continue to spark in me a willingness to obey what You are asking of me and to do so with a faith that comes from knowing You.  Father continue to mold me into the person that You have created me to become and do so in a way that brings honor to Your name.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen