The Prayer of My Heart Today

Psalm 102: 17-20 “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD: ‘The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.’”

I have been working my way through the Psalms this year. This morning I began reading some verses in Psalm 102 when I received an edition of Buckner e-News Now. One of the articles in this was entitled: “Families Urgently Needed to Adopt Russian Orphans.” The link to this is ( http://www.buckner.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIHM_russianorphans ). When I opened the link, I found the pictures of some beautiful children, two of whom I met when I was in St. Petersburg on a Buckner trip in 2005. Dima is 14 and his sister, Kristina, is 13. They have been separated in the orphanage because of their ages.

I’ve had these two on my heart since 2005 and seeing this article combined with the scripture above has hit me with the question, “What is my role in seeing that these precious teenagers aren’t condemned to potential death on the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia in a few years when they are too old to remain at the orphanage?” I know I can pray and I can tell others about them, but what else should I be doing?

Please pray for God to help Dima and Kristina to be adopted and for those God has in mind to be their parents to hear and heed His call.

Crucifixion Day - A Prelude to Victory

On the Friday before Easter each year, we remember the tremendous sacrifice that Jesus made for each and every person who has ever lived or who will ever live. The sacrifice was for me, for my sin. Yet this sacrifice made possible the victory over sin and death for all of us!

How am I to respond to Jesus for what He did for me? Today the words from Psalm 96 seem to say what I would like to say were I as eloquent a writer as the one who wrote these words. Note all of the verbs in the excerpts of verses from Psalm 96 [New Living Translation (NLT)];

“Sing a new song to the Lord!...praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does…He is most worthy of praise!...He is to be feared above all gods…O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong…Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!...Bring your offering and come into his courts…Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor…Let all the earth tremble before him…Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”…He will judge all peoples fairly…He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the nations with his truth.”

As I prepare to celebrate the Resurrection this Sunday, I need to be ready to participate in worship as instructed in these verses.

Lord, may You be glorified as only You are worthy. Amen! So be it!

The Easter Story from the Perspective of the Apostle Peter

After denying Jesus on Friday, Peter and the other ten disciples were in a state of bereavement and bewilderment. Even a report from some women that the tomb was empty was not sufficient evidence of anything more than a case of a missing body. It was crazy to believe that Jesus had arisen, even though He had said this would happen. Seeing the empty tomb, Peter went away wondering what had happened.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples later on Sunday, “They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost” John 21:37 (NIV). After hearing Jesus speak and seeing his hands and feet, “…they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement…” John 21:43 (NIV).

At this point, one might assume that the three years Jesus had invested in the disciples was not producing the results He intended; yet, His time with them in the last 40 days plus the indwelling of the Holy Spirit brought forth a commitment to Him that has been used to change the lives of so many.

The bewildered denier, Peter, became a bold declarer in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost where three thousand became believers.

Peter wrote the following in the book of 1 Peter (NIV): “3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

How can I become one whose faith will result in praise when Jesus Christ is revealed? Could it be that I need to claim the promise that I am behind the shield of God’s power and boldly go about doing what He has called us to do – to be a witness unto Him?

The Purpose of Easter – To Provide a Light in the Darkness

John 3 (MSG)
16 -18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

34 -36"The One that God sent speaks God's words. And don't think he rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces. The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to him so he could give it away—a lavish distribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn't see life. All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that."

I love the way The Message describes why God sent his Son into the world. It was not “to point an accusing finger”, but “to help, to put the world right again.”

This raises a question in my mind. Are we who have accepted God’s gift of live to spend our time accusing the lost world of sin (“telling the world how bad it” is), or should we be to be busy sharing what God has done for us? Are we to shine a light into the darkness or share with one in the darkness how dark the darkness is?

In the past several years I have been privileged to travel to Latvia and to Russia. In both places I have seen magnificent buildings that were erected as churches, yet today they seem to function primarily as museums. How did this happen? Could it be that the focus of the church was on itself, in isolating itself from the darkness, or in telling the world how bad it was, rather than shining light into the darkness?

Jesus answered these questions himself in Matthew 5:14 -16 (MSG) "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

We are to turn on our lights!

Scriptures from The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Praise be to the Lord God

I praise God for his healing for our grandson, Eli, who had emergency surgery one week ago. As the verses below indicate, God “alone does marvelous deeds.”

Psalm 72:17-19*
17 May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.
18 Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.
*New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

These verses reminded me of the lyrics of this song:

How Great is Our God
Artist: Chris TomlinAlbum: ArrivingTrack: How Great is Our God
”The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

he Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing

How great is our God
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God”

Written by:Chris TomlinEd CashJesse ReevesCopyright 2004 worshiptogether.com Songs/sixsteps Music/ASCAP (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)/ Alletrop Music/BMI All rights reserved. Used by permission.

How great is our God, my God!

Burdened?

Psalm 68
3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds his name is the LORD—and rejoice before him.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
34 Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies.
35 You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

When the burdens of life seem to become more than we can bear, what are we to do? We can give in and give up; we can assign blame; we can seek to drown the burden in substances or in activity; or we can share the burden with someone. Why do we hesitate to share our burdens – is it pride?

Psalm 68:19 indicates that God “daily bears our burdens.” How many times do we seek to retake the burden away from God and carry it again for ourselves? The selected verses from Psalm 68 mention the burdens of being an orphan, a widow, lonely, or a prisoner. All of these people can easily focus on what they are missing, but in reality missing the ministry of God in our lives is a significantly bigger problem.

What happens when we fail to release our burdens to God? We become a prisoner of the burden we bear. Our approach to the difficulties of life is so much a matter of attitude. For example, we may be more than happy to exercise to prepare for a hiking trip or a race; yet, we would be severely unhappy to have to walk the same distance because our car was out of gas. Last summer I saw a group of people working in the heat and sleeping in a hot un-air-conditioned hotel and enjoying what they were doing because they were serving a group of orphans in Latvia. Serving God by serving others brings joy, not a burden. In like physical circumstances, I can let the problems of life become a burden if my focus is self-directed. Verse 6 indicates that my rebellion can put me in a “sun-scorched land”

My focus must be on the magnificence of God rather than upon the magnitude of the problems at hand. God’s infinite resource is always adequate whereas my limited resource is more than likely depleted. I must remember the promise of verse 35 “the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!”

The Secret of a Full and Powerful Life

My maternal grandfather was a farmer. Even during the 1950’s when he was in his 60’s he insisted on farming using a horse or mule rather than a tractor. He was successful in rearing a family on a farm of about 75 acres in East Texas because he worked hard and he knew the secrets of the farming life. One of the things he did in planting his crops was to ensure that the soil was properly prepared each year.

He also knew the secret of a full life. My Papa was what I would call the strong silent type. His example of life was a strong influence because he lived his faith. When he spoke, his words were honest and consistent. He loved and cared for others. Even though he was not rich as measured in dollars, he was rich in the wisdom of his words and his strong faith in God. He accomplished, in my mind, what God intended for him to do. He knew the secret revealed in these verses.

Ephesians 3 (NLT)

14 When I think the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21 May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.

Scripture quotation taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

The secret of a full and powerful life is not in the wealth of this world, but in knowing and experiencing the love of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Having Christ in my heart is a necessary first step to achieving the life God has for us, but there is a difference in having Christ in my heart and experiencing Christ’s love in my life. I can go to Colorado, buy a lift ticket at a ski resort, ride the lift and then ski to the closest warming hut and spend my day. I could then say I have been skiing. Or I can spend my entire day experiencing all of the runs I am physically capable of handling, and maybe a few I am not capable of handling. There’s a difference in dipping my toe in the water and diving headlong into the water.

I believe that we are called to experience the full understanding of God’s love by putting ourselves in the place where we can see God “accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.” I confess that I’m not there yet, but I have seen someone I know very well come very close to the challenge of these verses. I count it a privilege of calling him my friend. May others rise to the challenge you put before us.