Answered prayer

Someone asked me recently why God doesn't answer their prayers. "I pray every single day for.....and it never happens." She said.

I didn't know what to say to her because for a long time I, too, was frusterated by unanswered prayers. I spent years praying for various things- a family member to be healed from cancer, a family member's marriage to be healed, a good grade on a science test, etc. And it felt like every prayer I prayed went unanswered. It felt like God was ignoring me.

But now that I'm a parent and I've had children come to me and ask for things- "Mom, can I have a new car for Christmas?" "Mom, can I jump off the roof into the pool?" "Mom, can we have cookies for dinner?" And I've had to say no to them...a lot. It occured to me that NO is an answer. LATER is an answer. WE'LL SEE is also an answer.

Just because God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want Him to, doesn't mean He's not going to answer it at all. He sees the whole picture. He knows what will happen if He says yes or if He says no or if He says later. He knows what's best for us and He will answer accordingly. If God is saying no, then He's saying no for a reason and we need to trust His good and perfect will for our lives. 

Maybe He wants to teach us something through the journey to the answered prayer. For example, when we pray for patience, we're not miraculously patient. God doesn't give us patience, He gives us opportunities to be patient. When we pray for wisdom, He directs us to His word and gives us opportunities to be wise.

Maybe He's waiting for us to learn what to ask for that He can say yes to. "God, please give me an opportunity to show someone your love today." "God, please show me how to better please you."

He'll say yes to those things and in answering those prayers, He'll bless you!

My prayer lately has been, "Please, Father, break my heart with what breaks Yours." And in today's mail was a book called No Longer A Slumdog by K.P. Yohannan. Oh my goodness! I've nearly read the whole thing already and I was sitting at work balling like a big baby. My heart is so broken for the people and the children of Southern Asia. I am moved beyond words and want so badly to do something, anything to help make these people's lives easier. What a tragic, beautiful book.

If you want your own free copy, go here: http://www.gfa.org/book/ and order a completely free copy of the book. I promise you that it's worth the time and the read.

God ALWAYS answers our prayers! We have to remember that sometimes that No is an answer.

What is this love thing anyway?

"I LOVE those shoes!"
"I LOVE this food."
"I LOVE that store."
"I LOVE that movie."
"I LOVE that actor."
"I LOVE......."

It seems like everywhere I go I hear someone saying, "I LOVE.....fill in the blank." I go on facebook and see status updates that state, "I LOVE.....fill in the blank" Even in my own house I hear my children say, "I LOVE that new band, those earrings, that car, etc"

Then when I hear someone say to me, "I love you", I don't know but it seems to have lost some of the luster of the beautiful pearl that love should be. We use the word LOVE so easily, so randomly, so absent mindedly, that it no longer means what it used to mean. Love used to be reserved for a special person, a parent, a very dear friend. Now we LOVE everything.

In the Bible, 1 Corinthians13 is considered the love chapter for good reason. It tells us what love is...and what love isn't.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on it's own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoings but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Love never ends.

So how do we go about teaching our children- the next generation- what real love looks like?

We have to SHOW them. We can't simply tell them, "I love you." Because the word love is so diluted and means next to nothing now days. We have to show our kids by helping others. By sacrificing for them and for others. Show them what love is by showing them the love of God.

And I know that I will be paying a lot closer attention to what I'm talking about when I say, "I LOVE..." Because for my family I'm reclaiming what love really is. I LOVE my God. I LOVE my husband. I LOVE my children.

A worm or a butterfly?

Our pastor, this morning, touched on an analogy that got me to thinking. Before we accept God and allow Him to change us, we are lowly, sinful, ugly worms (metaphorically speaking of course). We crawl around on our bellies, living the way of the world, following our own desires, eating and causing destruction wherever we go. Sometimes we get gobbled up by a bird or other predator and end up in the bowels of the earth, suffering eternity apart from God.

But some of us see our need for God and we allow Him to participate in our lives and lead us. At this point, we're wrapped in a cocoon where God works on us, changes us, perfects us as we learn and grow in Him.

God promises us in Philippians 1:6 that He will complete the good work He started in us. He doesn't promise that the work will be easy, painless, and/or fast, but He promises to finish it. That changing process is sometimes brutally painful, drawn out, agonizing, but other times it's joyous, wonderful, and easy.

In the end, when the work is done and the cocoon finally opens, we emerge a butterfly, colorful and beautiful, and full of God's grace and mercy. We are capable of soaring to new heights to show the world what God has done in our lives.

How true is that!? If we allow God to change us into the people He wants us to be, we can be transformed from a lowly worm into a beautiful butterfly. What a miracle! I am still in the cocoon and probably will be until I die, most of us will continue to change and grow until we're ushered into the eternal kingdom of God. What a beautiful promise, a beautiful thing to strive for.

Offering Forgiveness and Making Amends

Have you ever hurt someone and neglected to make amends for it? I know I have.

Has someone hurt you and you've been holding onto resentment and unforgiveness toward them? Guilty again.

A class I'm taking at our church has helped me search myself- and ask God to search me as well to point out things I might be missing- in order to see these things so that I can fix them and move on. Forgiveness is important- both the giving and the receiving. And if we don't ask it and offer it to those in our lives, how can we truly understand the gift we've been given by Jesus? If we hold onto the bitterness and unforgiveness we have toward someone who hurt us, who is it really hurting?

You.

Me.

I saw a bumper sticker once that said: Hanging onto unforgiveness is like swallowing poison and expecting someone else to die.

And that's so true. If we refuse to forgive those who hurt us, it eats US up inside, not the person who hurt us.

Being willing to forgive and/or offer amends is the first step in the healing process. God wants a willing heart because He willingly offered up His Son, He willingly forgives us and He can't forgive us if we refuse to forgive others.

 Matthew 6:14 says: "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you."

Forgive and you shall be forgiven. Letting go of that anger and hurt toward someone else is often a difficult task but it's one that we as Christians are called to. It's not a request, it's a command. God doesn't say, "Please do it." He says, "FORGIVE!" it's an order, not a choice.

And one more thing, forgiving someone doesn't mean you have to be friends with that person or that you have to let that person be a part of your life. It means you are letting go of the hurt, letting go of any payment or punishment you expect for that person. I have forgiven the man who abused me as a child but that doesn't mean I want him in my life or near my children. But I've let go of that hurt and the anger I harbored toward him and I pray he found salvation before he died. And doing so gave me freedom!

Let go and let God! He will do amazing things through you if you will let Him help you clean out the dark, dank closets of your heart. Offer forgiveness and make amends. Start fresh today.

Reaching the Lost

Ever since I started really working on my relationship with God, the spiritual condition of those I love the most has become an enormous burden on my heart. I never realized how many people in my family, close members, are lost. They either don't believe in God at all or have such skewed ideas about who God is that salvation is out of the question for them and it breaks my heart.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that the God of the Bible is real. The more I get to know about Him, the more I love Him and long to be with Him. Yes, there are stories in the Bible that, to someone who doesn't know the true nature of God, seem to paint Him in a negative, mean spirited light. Stories like Job for instance. To someone who doesn't know the true spiritual reason behind the testing of Job, it could seem like God and Satan were simply toying with Job and torturing him for no apparent reason. But I know that the purpose behind it was, for one, to prove to Satan that there are indeed men in this world who cannot be turned from God's side no matter what. And for another, to show future generations that no matter what Satan does to us, God will never leave us or forsake us. He will always be faithful through no matter what kind of trials we are faced with.

I know for certain that Jesus is God's son and that He came to this earth to show us the very image of love and to reconcile us to God through his sacrifice on the cross. I know these things, not in my head, but in my heart, in the very deepest part of my soul, I know these things to be true.

So why is it so hard to convince those I love the most? Why does it seem that my prayers are falling on deaf ears? Please don't get me wrong, I know God hears my prayers, but these family members are as defiant and determined to refuse God as they ever were.

Jesus is coming SOON! We are living in the end times and I believe with all my heart that the end of this world as we know it is emminent. And I'm so afraid for my family. The thought of them being left behind in such a terrible time breaks my heart. The thought of them dying before then and not having another chance to get right with God, tears me up. But I don't know what to do besides keep praying. I know prayer is key...but I feel so helpless. I wish I could say something to these beloved members of my family that would change their hearts and turn them back to the God who created them, who loves them in spite of their rejection of Him.

And what makes it harder is that they're 2500 miles away. I can't be there for them to see the difference God has made in my life. I can't be there to be an example for them. I love them so much and I'm broken by their lost state. If any of you read this and feel inclined to pray with me for these people, please do. I won't mention names, so just know they're my family. And I love you for praying with me. I know God will hear! I have faith that He'll move on their hearts and call them Home to Him before it's too late.

Generation Cupcake

I'm not sure who coined the phrase for this generation of pampered, spoiled, overindulged young people but it really seems to fit. And it's so sad. I know I'm generalizing here- there are some kids out there who are well mannered, hard working, and willing to sacrifice but the majority of young people- age 8 to 25- today have been raised with a 'the world owes me a living and I can do what I want' mentality.

Take for example the story circulating the web right now about the bus monitor who was bullied to tears on her bus route by a bunch of middle schoolers. This type of behavior is all too common today because parents (again I'm generalizing) refuse to take Proverbs 13:24 to heart. “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

When did it become okay for kids to abuse others- even their elders, authority figures, parents? Bullies have been around forever but it's nearly impossible to read or listen to the news these days and not hear of a new instance of a child being bullied so badly that they take their own lives, or children ganging up and abusing a teacher, grandparent, or parent. Why aren't parents willing to understand that this kind of behavior comes from a lack of discipline? If children are raised in a home where respect is demanded then children learn to respect others.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to beat your kids and rule with an iron fist. If you discipline in love that sort of punishment isn't necessary. A smack on the backside is sometimes necessary but if the parents will lead by example, it's rarely needed. So many parents have the 'Do as I say, not as I do' philosophy and that leads to a lack of respect by the children because they view their parents as hypocrites.

If you want your children to grow up treating others with respect, then you have to treat others with respect while your children are growing up. If you want your children to have a good work ethic, then you need to show them how it's done. If you don't want your kids to drink and/or smoke then you shouldn't either. Don't abuse your spouse and your child won't either. Don't do drugs and teach your children about the danger and most likely your child will abstain as well. LEAD BY EXAMPLE!!

Generation cupcake can still be saved but many members of this group are already so far gone there's no reaching them. They've been raised in schools where everybody wins, everybody makes the team, everybody passes every test. Their 'self esteem' is put above all else and because of this they feel they can do no wrong, they will never lose, and that the world will cater to their ever whim. And these are our future leaders folks! I don't know about you but that terrifies me.

Get ahold of your kids and introduce them to the rod!

You can be a missionary too!

Back in 2002, my mom got me all the Left Behind Dramatic Audio Series for Christmas. It was a wonderful gift and one I've enjoyed listening to several times since. This week I loaded them all onto my IPod and began listening to them again because it's been awhile and this time, it's hitting me differently than it ever has before. This time, instead of simply entertaining me, it's impressing upon me the urgency of this time we're in.

At no other time in history has the world been so primed for the events of the book of Revelation to take place. This world is a powder keg, just waiting for some cataclysmic event to light the match. An event like, maybe, the rapture of the church.

And when that happens, every single person who has never heard of Jesus, every single person who has rejected Jesus, every single person who has chosen to not make a choice...will be left behind in a world that none of us can even begin to imagine. A world so awful, so hateful, so terrifying that few will survive. 75% of the world's population that gets left behind will die before Jesus returns at the end of 7 years.

Can you see the urgency? Can you see why it's so important to support missions and to be missionaries?

If you, my friends reading this, are anything like me, you learned about missionaries in Sunday school and the vision of African villages was set in your mind. Wonderful people going to the other side of the world to help people living in mud huts and tell them about Jesus. That's the picture that always came to my mind when someone mentioned missionaries to me.

BUT THERE'S MORE! You can go right next door to your house and be a missionary! You can go down the street or to the next town over and be a missionary! You don't have to go far but God commands that you GO!

Help the widows and orphans, visit the prisoners, feed the homeless, clothe the naked....and show them Jesus! Make your neighborhood your mission field. Make the tellers at the local bank your mission field, the clerk at the grocery store, your child's teachers, and your children's friends. The United States of America is a mission field in desperate need of workers...and as Jesus says, "The harvest is plenty but the workers are few."

Will you be a worker for Jesus?