It was beautiful weather for a walk this morning. The clouds overhead provided a cool canopy as I got underway down the trail. I started out gingerly as my muscles screamed from yesterday’s squats and leg presses but I soon forgot about my legs as a chorus of songbirds began to serenade me. One bird seemed to be telling me to “walk down, walk back”, which is what I do each morning on my 3+ mile jaunt. Admittedly, the first few minutes of every morning, I am captivated by the beauty of the trees, vegetation, the smell of the woods, the sound of the water, and the flowering plants that line the path. Soon though, my thoughts rise from the splendor of the creation to thoughts of the creator of it all.
I’ve been praying about several situations that weigh heavy in my life. As I prayed, I asked God for new beginnings. Immediately my mind went to Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning”, the very beginning of time but not the beginning of God. He created the heavens and the earth. I thought of the sun. God spoke and the sun was created. I thought of the power of the sun and of how long the sun has burned without going out. I considered the force of its brightness and its consuming heat. That ball of continual, fiery, energy with its searing power came into being by one word spoken from God’s mouth. That’s power! “In the beginning”, God spoke and a force as potent and violent as the sun was created...out of nothing but a word. I marveled at the power that has to be present for something like that to happen and realized it can be found in the voice of God when He speaks just one word.
The creator is the same one who walks with me everyday, who put His Spirit inside of me, and who cares about every minute detail of my life. He is the captain of my life, the shepherd of my soul. He is the same God who chose a new beginning for mankind when He instructed Noah to build an ark and Moses to cross the Red Sea. This God is the one who redeemed Israel over and over again as He continually called them back to Himself. He is the same God that gave the Apostle Paul a new beginning and used him to change the world. He is the same God that redeemed Peter back to himself so that he could begin again to declare that Jesus saves! He is the same God that redeemed mankind by sacrificing His own Son that I might have a way to communicate and fellowship with Him, to be accepted in His presence. That’s powerful! As I pondered this, another bird call rang out and it seemed to be saying “I need Him, I need Him” and I joined in his chorus and began to tell God, “I need you, I need you!” I need new beginnings. I am desperate for new beginnings and as I did this, I felt His powerful peace wash over my heart just as the water rushes over the rocks when it makes its way downstream. I pictured in my mind’s eye God taking my burden and carrying it downstream to a place where it will never return. What comfort I get from putting my burdens in God’s hands and watching what He creates from them. He is a God of new beginnings. He always has been. He always will be.
I thought of my daughter. That girl was born with more spunk than any child should ever have and she was a huge hand full during her toddler years. While my three babies slept in the afternoon, I would lie on my bed and cry out to God, asking Him what to do to harness this young lioness He had given me. Often I would tiptoe into her room and lay my hands on her and pray because quite frankly, I was at my wit’s end with her. One day, I laid her down after a particularly difficult morning, laying my hands on her and asked God for what I thought would have to be a miracle in her life. When she woke up from her nap, she was an entirely different person and she continued to be an entirely different person from that day forward. When my parents came to visit, they noticed a profound change in her and asked, “Who is this child and what have you done with our granddaughter?” That is the power of God. He is still at work today creating new beginnings for those who look to Him, for those who need a miracle, for me and you.
So today, I would ask you to think about the WHO of your praying. Who are you praying to? What is He like? What has He said? How has He proved Himself in the past? Is He reliable, believable, trustworthy? Are you following His instructions for praying and getting answers or do answers seem to be fleeting? Why?
I am working on my next Red-Letter-Journey entry which deals with faith. It’s been a long time coming but as I thought about faith and prayer-answers it seemed that the subject was too broad. Volumes have been written about faith and prayer over the years by people way smarter and more knowledgeable than I am. But as I have taken this month of September to avoid social media interactions, to turn off the news, to un-crowd my brain of all the words that usually come into it during the course of a day, I’ve pondered what the red letters say concerning faith and prayer and came to the conclusion that faith is really very simple. It’s just not always easy.
I love how the Lord meets me just where I am. He created me. He hardwired me and only He knows the best way to communicate with me so that I get it! (By the way, I highly recommend taking some time from social media. I’ve always believed that the reason there is such shallowness in our culture today is because we take in so much information every day that there is no way to deeply process anything that we hear, including what we read, hear or see in our time with God. It will amaze you how your thinking patterns will change when you’re not filling up every moment with new information. Get a few thoughts and allow them to marinate a little.)
I love pickled eggs! The longer they sit in that beet juice mixture, the darker their color and the more flavorful they are. So as you read God’s Word, notice what jumps out at you. Write it down so you don’t forget and then find a quiet spot and think just on that. Do it for several days. Train your brain to think! You will be amazed at where God will take you as you allow Him to speak to you about it. For me, there’s nothing more thrilling than to know that God Almighty has taken time to personally speak into my life.
Not only does He speak, He moves as a result of my words, when they are faith-filled words. That is where prayer answers come from. That is who prayer answers come from. It’s really very simple. Requests + Faith = Prayer Answers. But, but, but-yep, I hear you! It doesn’t seem this easy, does it? But that’s what the red letters say, folks. And this seems to be where it gets complicated, doesn’t it? Yet, we must be careful that we do not allow our experiences to form our theology. Perhaps, our theology needs some adjustment to come more into line with those red letters. Perhaps our faith needs a booster shot. Perhaps our theology needs a tune-up.
More to come!
I’ve been praying about several situations that weigh heavy in my life. As I prayed, I asked God for new beginnings. Immediately my mind went to Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning”, the very beginning of time but not the beginning of God. He created the heavens and the earth. I thought of the sun. God spoke and the sun was created. I thought of the power of the sun and of how long the sun has burned without going out. I considered the force of its brightness and its consuming heat. That ball of continual, fiery, energy with its searing power came into being by one word spoken from God’s mouth. That’s power! “In the beginning”, God spoke and a force as potent and violent as the sun was created...out of nothing but a word. I marveled at the power that has to be present for something like that to happen and realized it can be found in the voice of God when He speaks just one word.
The creator is the same one who walks with me everyday, who put His Spirit inside of me, and who cares about every minute detail of my life. He is the captain of my life, the shepherd of my soul. He is the same God who chose a new beginning for mankind when He instructed Noah to build an ark and Moses to cross the Red Sea. This God is the one who redeemed Israel over and over again as He continually called them back to Himself. He is the same God that gave the Apostle Paul a new beginning and used him to change the world. He is the same God that redeemed Peter back to himself so that he could begin again to declare that Jesus saves! He is the same God that redeemed mankind by sacrificing His own Son that I might have a way to communicate and fellowship with Him, to be accepted in His presence. That’s powerful! As I pondered this, another bird call rang out and it seemed to be saying “I need Him, I need Him” and I joined in his chorus and began to tell God, “I need you, I need you!” I need new beginnings. I am desperate for new beginnings and as I did this, I felt His powerful peace wash over my heart just as the water rushes over the rocks when it makes its way downstream. I pictured in my mind’s eye God taking my burden and carrying it downstream to a place where it will never return. What comfort I get from putting my burdens in God’s hands and watching what He creates from them. He is a God of new beginnings. He always has been. He always will be.
I thought of my daughter. That girl was born with more spunk than any child should ever have and she was a huge hand full during her toddler years. While my three babies slept in the afternoon, I would lie on my bed and cry out to God, asking Him what to do to harness this young lioness He had given me. Often I would tiptoe into her room and lay my hands on her and pray because quite frankly, I was at my wit’s end with her. One day, I laid her down after a particularly difficult morning, laying my hands on her and asked God for what I thought would have to be a miracle in her life. When she woke up from her nap, she was an entirely different person and she continued to be an entirely different person from that day forward. When my parents came to visit, they noticed a profound change in her and asked, “Who is this child and what have you done with our granddaughter?” That is the power of God. He is still at work today creating new beginnings for those who look to Him, for those who need a miracle, for me and you.
So today, I would ask you to think about the WHO of your praying. Who are you praying to? What is He like? What has He said? How has He proved Himself in the past? Is He reliable, believable, trustworthy? Are you following His instructions for praying and getting answers or do answers seem to be fleeting? Why?
I am working on my next Red-Letter-Journey entry which deals with faith. It’s been a long time coming but as I thought about faith and prayer-answers it seemed that the subject was too broad. Volumes have been written about faith and prayer over the years by people way smarter and more knowledgeable than I am. But as I have taken this month of September to avoid social media interactions, to turn off the news, to un-crowd my brain of all the words that usually come into it during the course of a day, I’ve pondered what the red letters say concerning faith and prayer and came to the conclusion that faith is really very simple. It’s just not always easy.
I love how the Lord meets me just where I am. He created me. He hardwired me and only He knows the best way to communicate with me so that I get it! (By the way, I highly recommend taking some time from social media. I’ve always believed that the reason there is such shallowness in our culture today is because we take in so much information every day that there is no way to deeply process anything that we hear, including what we read, hear or see in our time with God. It will amaze you how your thinking patterns will change when you’re not filling up every moment with new information. Get a few thoughts and allow them to marinate a little.)
I love pickled eggs! The longer they sit in that beet juice mixture, the darker their color and the more flavorful they are. So as you read God’s Word, notice what jumps out at you. Write it down so you don’t forget and then find a quiet spot and think just on that. Do it for several days. Train your brain to think! You will be amazed at where God will take you as you allow Him to speak to you about it. For me, there’s nothing more thrilling than to know that God Almighty has taken time to personally speak into my life.
Not only does He speak, He moves as a result of my words, when they are faith-filled words. That is where prayer answers come from. That is who prayer answers come from. It’s really very simple. Requests + Faith = Prayer Answers. But, but, but-yep, I hear you! It doesn’t seem this easy, does it? But that’s what the red letters say, folks. And this seems to be where it gets complicated, doesn’t it? Yet, we must be careful that we do not allow our experiences to form our theology. Perhaps, our theology needs some adjustment to come more into line with those red letters. Perhaps our faith needs a booster shot. Perhaps our theology needs a tune-up.
More to come!
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