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But Prayer…

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I have unashamedly borrowed my title from my pastor’s message Sunday night. When a thought is that good it needs to be shared. I did not take notes, I just loved the title and the scripture lesson and I knew I wanted to write about it. I hope I can do it justice.

In the Book of Acts, the 12th chapter, Herod the King is a little upset. The Church is flourishing, that is not on his agenda, so he has James, the brother of John, killed. And when he sees that makes him a pretty big guy with the Jews he then has Peter put into prison.

So I love this part, Herod is so afraid of the Church, or of Peter, or of SOMEBODY, that he has “four squads of four soldiers each” guarding Peter. It takes 16 soldiers to keep hold of one measly fisherman who is “fastened with two chains between two soldiers” and even “others stood guard at the prison gate”. Acts 12:6.

But while Peter was in prison, asleep, the Church was praying, the Bible said they were praying “very earnestly”.  Suddenly a light shines in the prison and an angel of the Lord comes to Peter, strikes him on the side, raises him up and says, “Quick! Get up!”  The chains fell off his wrists and the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals and your coat and follow me.”

Peter leaves the prison, following the angel but all the time he thinks he is having a vision! He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They pass the first and second guard posts and nobody stops them! The Bible doesn’t say why, it doesn’t say if they were seen or not but just says they passed by but the posts were surely guarded. Then they come to the Iron Gate leading to the city and this opened for them ALL BY ITSELF.

Once they walked through the Iron Gate, the angel suddenly leaves Peter and he finally realizes it is all real. “The Lord has sent his angel and save me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” Acts 12:11. Peter probably thought he was to meet the same fate as that of James! He wasn’t expecting to be delivered and now it has really hit him that a real rescue has taken place.

So Peter goes to the source of the miracle, he heads to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where the prayer meeting was taking place. He knocks and Rhoda comes to open the door. She is so excited when she hears Peter’s voice that instead of opening the door she runs back inside to tell everyone he is there.

But they aren’t convinced. “You’re out of your mind!” they said. But when she keeps insisting, they decide it must be his angel.

Maybe they were praying for him to be bold and strong in the face of adversity or even death. It isn’t that they didn’t have faith to believe for a miracle, but they had just seen James killed for his beliefs and were probably sure Peter was next.

So, poor Peter? He is still out there knocking! Rhoda finally opens the door and they realize that their prayers have not just kept him strong in the face of adversity or ready to face martyrdom, but their prayers produced a miracle!

But Prayer!

Prayer made the difference! They came together, they travailed, they interceded, there was unity, there was power because they prayed!

Are we like that group that gathered for that prayer meeting so long ago? Are we desperate for our prayers to be answered?

What about those that are “chained” among us? Those with addictions, mental illnesses, “issues” that others don’t want to mess with?

Will we “go to bat” for them? Will we care enough to lose sleep over them, even lose a meal or two?

Do we see the power of united prayer? Of the meaning of “…where two or three are gathered in my name there I will be in the midst of them…”? Matthew 18:20.

Will our prayers mean enough that a light from Heaven will shine down and break those chains where they can stand up and not only be free but run past all of those addictions that have them bound?

Matthew Henry says “We that live in a cold, prayerless generation can hardly form an idea of the earnestness of these holy men of old. But if the Lord should bring on the church an awful persecution like this of Herod, the faithful in Christ would learn what soul-felt prayer is.”

But Prayer

 

 

 

Feel Worthy!

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“Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:35, 36 NIV.

Do you feel unworthy of the love of God? Do you just feel unworthy period? Many struggle with feelings of unworthiness but God doesn’t want us to! He died for us, gave His very life for you and I so that we might have life eternal and as the verse above says, “…If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

I’ll be worthy if I can lose 20 pounds.
I’ll be worthy when I can get that promotion.
I’ll be worthy if my parents are proud of me.
I’ll be worthy when I am finally sober.
I’ll be worthy if we get that bigger house.

And the list goes on, and on, and on. But it doesn’t work that way. If it did we would never be worthy. And we would never be happy. The enemy wants us to believe the lie that our worth is based on our achievements! We would forever be oppressed! Forever without joy and forever de-pressed.

We do not have to earn the love of God. We cannot do one thing to make Him love us more or one thing to make Him love us any less. He just loves us. And He wants us to live victoriously in that love every day.

“His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to! Now all praise to God for his wonderful kindness to us and his favor that he has poured out upon us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.” Ephesians 1:5-6 TLB.

It is not what we have done for Him but what He has done for us! “Which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” The sixth verse in the Amplified version.

We have access to come to the Father any time because HE made a way through the cross! “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him.” Hebrews 10:19-21 NLT.

Another version says we can go “boldly” to the throne of grace! That doesn’t mean we march in demanding that fix everything that is on our list and oh, by the way, throw in a few nice extras for good measure. If that is what you are looking for you are really missing out.

This is about relationship. And when it is about relationship then you will learn what it is to have someone to turn to and someone to count on to be there in times of trouble and trial. He is a Way-Maker, the Comforter, Redeemer, Lily of the Valley, All Sufficient One, Peace Speaker, Almighty, Master, Lord Who Will Provide, Most High God, and our Alpha and Omega.

Feel worthy today, love Him, serve Him, and give Him your time, your talents and your life. He gave all for you.

John 8-32

Now Fear This!!

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“What time I am afraid I will trust in thee.”  Psalm 56:3.

Studying 1 Peter again we were looking at the “fear of the Lord”. Some have trouble with that phrase, the thought of cowering before God, “shaking in their boots” in fear. I kind of liken it to the Wizard of Oz when they finally reach the Emerald City: Dorothy, the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow are scared stiff of the Wizard!

Here is this terrifying, booming voice and imposing face that tells them what they must do to be “saved”. Then Dorothy’s little dog, Toto, runs up and pulls back the curtain to reveal the “Wizard” is really no wizard at all.

Elton John sings, “Oz never did give nothin’ to the Tin Man, that he didn’t, didn’t already have…” We want to believe that there is nothing to be afraid of, that God really isn’t a God of fear. That if we pull back that curtain that there is just a man standing there pulling knobs and buttons. A fake.

But that’s not the way it is at all! God is a God to be feared! Just the thought of not being in the Lamb’s Book of Life is enough to instill the fear of God into anyone! We do need to have some sense of the fear of God in our lives. “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Luke 12:4,5 NLT. There will be a Judgment Day friend!

That doesn’t mean that we live our lives in fear, once we have given our hearts to Him, there is no more fear! We no longer live in terror of anything else because the One who is in control of anxiety and panic now reigns in our hearts! He has taken away the fear of this world and fear of the enemy no longer has power over us.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 NIV.

Remember this “fear” of the Lord is also a respect and “awe”. He is a wonder! He is perfectly holy and completely without sin. Consider His majesty, His omnipotence, the vastness of eternity, the brevity of time, all of this is the beginning of wisdom. As we learn and grow in knowledge of the Lord our wisdom increases and our Godly fear moves into a fearful adoration.

I experienced a very real spirit of fear when we arrived in the country of Latvia, in the former Soviet Union, and the Lord literally delivered me from it in an instant! You can read about Faith Journey here.

If you are struggling with fear today, you don’t have to carry it! Fear of the Lord means we no longer need to fear anything or anyone else! Not man, not circumstances, not death, not our health, our finances. A friend said it so beautifully, “Fear of my Heavenly Father frees me from all other fears!”

Ed Cash co-wrote Whom Shall I Fear with Chris Tomlin and tells Chris the story of how the song came to be: “Ed told me his wife wakes him up in the middle of the night struggling with anxiety and fear and attacks when she’s wrestling in the night and can’t sleep. Those thoughts and fears come in the night and grip her. She asked him to pray for her, and not long after that he started writing this song as a praise to God during the night. Ed said he didn’t even know where the words came from, but he started praying the lyrics to the song: ‘I know Who goes before me / I know Who stands behind / The God of angel armies / Is always on my side / The One who reigns forever / He is a Friend of mine.’

He played me that chorus, and I knew this song was exactly what I wanted to sing. ‘And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.’ And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-18.

This message is exactly what the Church needs. Our story is not a story of fear; it is a story of faith. Everywhere you turn it is fear. Fear of the economy collapsing. Fear involving relationships. Fear of cancer and sickness. Fear of divorce. Fear, anxiety and depression holds us back like we are in chains. It seems like more and more that the world is getting crazier. Fear affects old and young people. Whom shall I fear? In the midst of crisis or anything that comes against, it is powerful to know Who stands behind and goes before us. The God of Angel Armies is always by our side.” (newreleasetuesday.com).

And of course you can listen to my favorite song by Chris Tomlin Whom Shall I Fear!

Be encouraged today! There is no fear in love!

fear