My Assignment as God’s Child …

Songs: Jesus is Love, Lionel Richie / Commodores (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS7Uf2uTd5o&playnext=1&list=PL51A35B19FBC1804A&index=26)
Name of Love, Israel Houghton, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOTzq-H02jU&feature=related)

Scripture:
1 John 4:7-12, 19-21, New Living Translation (NLT)
Loving One Another
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
19 We love each other[a] because he loved us first.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister,[b] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.[c]
Footnotes:
a. 1 John 4:19 Greek We love. Other manuscripts read We love God; still others read We love him.
b. 1 John 4:20 Greek hates his brother.
c. 1 John 4:21 Greek The one who loves God must also love his brother.

Hebrews 1:1-3, GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
God Has Spoken to Us Through His Son
1In the past God spoke to our ancestors at many different times and in many different ways through the prophets. 2In these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. God made his Son responsible for everything. His Son is the one through whom God made the universe. 3His Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s being. He holds everything together through his powerful words. After he had cleansed people from their sins, he received the highest position, the one next to the Father in heaven.

Matthew 22:37-40, Amplified Bible (AMP)
37And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
38This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
40These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.

Romans 8:18-30, The Message (MSG)
18-21That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
22-25All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
29-30God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
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My plan to do my Bible reading was interrupted recently by a phone call from a friend. We were discussing difficulties experienced in relationships when, for no apparent reason, the call dropped. As we tried to reconnect, nothing was working. I had picked up my Bible to get back to my planned reading, (since I didn’t think I was going to be on the phone) and of course it opened to a passage directly addressing the subject of my previous conversation. Just then my phone rang as my friend got through, and our discussion continued with a readjusted focus, “a more excellent way”: the Word of God instead of just what we thought or felt.

Another call came in for my friend, and while I was on hold, something like the following “dropped in my spirit”:

God is love. As His children, our job / assignment is to love others with His love in such a way that their response will be to love (us and others) and act according to God’s Word…
- bringing them closer to God
- glorifying God
- magnifying God in their lives, our lives, and in the earth.

It seems to me as though the onus is on us – we who consider ourselves part of the Body of Christ, followers of Jesus. Everyone has the choice in how to respond to love. If we say that we love God, our response to His love is obedience, and the command is to love. (See previous blog entry for September 28, 2009, Christ Our Example.) It is to us, His children, that this knowledge, this assignment, this “call” has been given. And because of Christ Jesus and all that He has done (and continues to do) for, in and through us, it is to us that the power to obey and to love like this as His children, through His Holy Spirit, has been given – we are not without help; we can steep in His love.

1 Peter 3:8-18 (New King James Version, GOD'S WORD translation)
Called to Blessing
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;[a] 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For
“ He who would love life And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”[b]
Suffering for Right and Wrong
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”[c] 15 But sanctify the Lord God[d] in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
18This is true because Christ suffered for our sins once. He was an innocent person, but he suffered for guilty people so that he could bring you to God. His body was put to death, but he was brought to life through his spirit.

Footnotes:
a. 1 Peter 3:8 NU-Text reads humble.
b. 1 Peter 3:12 Psalm 34:12–16
c. 1 Peter 3:14 Isaiah 8:12
d. 1 Peter 3:15 NU-Text reads Christ as Lord.

or, the same passage in The Message translation says:

Suffering for Doing Good
8-12Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good,
Here's what you do:
Say nothing evil or hurtful;
Snub evil and cultivate good;
run after peace for all you're worth.
God looks on all this with approval,listening and responding well to what he's asked;
But he turns his back on those who do evil things.

13-18If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

Matthew 10:8 (New King James Version)
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

James 4:17 (New King James Version)
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Romans 12:9-21 (New King James Version)
Behave Like a Christian
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“ If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”[b]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Footnotes:
a. Romans 12:19 Deuteronomy 32:35
b. Romans 12:20 Proverbs 25:21, 22

Luke 6:27-38 (New International Version, 2010)
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Ephesians 4:1-6 (CEV, MSG, NLT combination)
Unity with Christ
1As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own, worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. I, a encourage you to live the kind of life which proves that God has called you. 2Always be humble and gentle in every way. Patiently put up with each other and lovingly accept each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives, trying your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

4All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God's people. 5We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in and through all of us.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Contemporary English Version (CEV)
18God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.
19What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. 20We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God.

…and my journey with Him continues…

Choosing to worship in the silence

Song: I choose to worship, Wess Morgan (http://www.myspace.com/wessmorgan)

Scripture:
Revelation 8:1-5 (New International Version, ©2010)
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

James 4:13-16 (New Century Version - NCV)
Let God Plan Your Life
13 Some of you say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money."14 But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.15 So you should say, "If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that."16 But now you are proud and you brag. All of this bragging is wrong.17 Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning.
………………………………………………………………………………….
I lay in bed, just waking up to the silence. Because of the inclement weather, I wasn’t even hearing cars going by on the street as usual. I just lay there, listening to the silence.

Then I thought of where the Bible talks about silence in Heaven. Before I knew it, I was singing pieces of “I choose to worship” by Wess Morgan (out loud, under the covers.) As I sang, I remembered hearing someone say once that during this time of silence in Heaven, the reason it was silent was that God was listening to the prayers of His people.

I thought about how the city was pretty much shut down because of road conditions caused by the weather. So, in some places where there was usually noise, there was silence. In some places where there was usually activity, there was stillness. Where some things were usually filled, there was emptiness. Where people thought they were in charge, there was evidence – even if not acknowledgement – that they were not.

I thank You, Lord God, that You are in charge of all things. I praise You for Your majesty, Your boundless power. I humbly bow to You in worship…

…and my journey with Him continues…

Night Songs - Singing in my bed

Songs: Shout to the Lord, Darlene Zschech (performed with Ron Kenoly and Alvin Slaughter, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftuKUV8R-7Y&feature=related)
Surprises, Israel Houghton featuring Fred Hammond, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kwtGn6HPwg)

Scripture:
Psalm 149:5 (New International Version, ©2010 translation)
Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.

Psalm 47:1-2 (New International Version, ©2010 translation)
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
2 For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.

Psalm 32:11 (Good News Translation - GNT)
You that are righteous, be glad and rejoice because of what the Lord has done. You that obey him, shout for joy!

Psalm 98:4 (New King James Version)

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

Psalm 100:1 (New King James Version)[ A Psalm of Thanksgiving. ]

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
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Smiling at the Lord’s humor:

Was on my way to bed, and thought to turn on the radio to hear some music before / as I went to sleep, but decided against it. Found an old, unopened ministry newsletter from David Wilkerson at World Challenge, Inc., so I decided to read it before going to sleep.

In the letter accompanying the newsletter, Pastor Wilkerson said: “I hear his Word saying to me, ‘Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.’(Psalm 149:5, KJV).When was the last time you sang joyfully, out loud in your bed, before retiring?”

I laughed out loud. Maybe that was why I thought about some music, so I could sing in my bed, “before retiring” (though I certainly wouldn’t have thought of that!) I didn’t turn on the radio right away, though, thinking about what I should sing. “Shout to the Lord” just seemed to well up and come out of my mouth, so that is what I ended up singing, out loud, several times, under the covers. (Later, I did turn on the radio briefly, and sang my version of “Our God” with Chris Tomlin’s before turning the radio off.)

Then, I thought of another special time “Shout to the Lord” came up. Several years ago, after I first heard that song, it kept coming up in my spirit a lot. One day, I heard about a free concert that Donnie McClurkin was giving. Even though the information came at the last minute, I was able to go with my children. During the concert, I thought of “Shout to the Lord,” and thought that it would be nice if Donnie sang it. A few minutes later – you guessed it – Donnie did break from the other songs he was singing, and sang just a little bit of “Shout to the Lord.” That was a gift for me, to me, from my Lord. I was “giddy” happy then because it was - for me - evidence yet again of God’s Presence in my life, His attention to my heart, and His love for me.

And, Lord, it is because of things just like this, and the remembrance of them, that I just want so much to please You. I know that it is out of love that You shower us with little surprises like this – indeed, that You allow us even to experience surprise, and joy, and love. Thank You for having taken such meticulous care in creating us, and for Your taking such joy in our joy. For all that You do, for all that You are, for Your presence in which I experience gratitude and fullness of joy, I give You thanks, and honor, and praise. I love You, too.

…and my journey with Him continues…

The Accident that DIDN’T happen!

Song: Doxology, by Helen Baylor (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4aa6o_doxology-by-helen-baylor_music)

Scripture: (all New International Version, ©2010 translation)
Joshua 24:17
It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.

Ezra 8:31
On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way.

Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Psalm 20:1
[ Psalm 20 ] For the director of music. A psalm of David. May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

Psalm 32:7
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 40:11
Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD; may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

Psalm 91:14
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

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I watched the television coverage of the storm watch, paying special attention to the scenes of cars sliding around on the ice. I know what that feels like, to lose control of the vehicle you are driving. That happened to me most recently the other week:

Driving along in the rain, I remember thinking about things for which I had prayed that didn’t seem to be manifesting. Wondering if I had heard correctly what to pray, or if there was some error in my understanding either about the situation for which I was praying or in how I was to pray, I began getting thoughts that maybe I shouldn’t pray at all.

That’s when the car hit a slick part of the road, hydroplaned and veered right. Since I had been in the right-most of the three lanes going in my direction, the car then hit the uneven grade of the highway shoulder, which (with maybe a slight left turn of the steering wheel?) sent it swerving left, all the way back into the highway’s middle lane. That’s where I remember getting control of the car as it straightened up and continued on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

I looked around, and saw that there were no cars near me on the highway at all. I was about to get anxious, thinking about what could have happened had other cars been around, when a calm peacefulness seemed to descend upon me. I leaned back in the seat, and breathed a prayer of thanks to God for His protection. That’s when I was reminded that I had prayed for safe travel for this trip, and realized that what had just happened was part of God’s answer to that prayer. Considering the direction of my thoughts just before this incident, I can only be grateful to God, and leave the answering of prayers that I pray to His faithfulness, compassion, grace, mercy, and wisdom.

…and my journey with Him continues…

Feeling Better

Songs:
By His Wounds, sung by Mac Powell, Steven Curtis Chapman, Brian Littrell, and Mark Hall (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJwzfdtqAg8&feature=related)
We Fall Down, by Chris Tomlin (version with Steven Curtis Chapman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWItCM-ujKs)
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah – “traditional African-American” – (version by Staple Singers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7hrruXF7K8&playnext=1&list=PL47AA54F1DA74E3E3&index=12)

Scripture:
Isaiah 53 (New International Version, ©2010)

1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, d by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b] 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes[c] his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e]; by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g] and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h] because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Footnotes:
a) Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
b) Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
c) Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
d) Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
e) Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
f) Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
g) Isaiah 53:12 Or many
h) Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous


1 Peter 2:24-25 (New International Version, ©2010)
24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
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I’ve been fighting a cold these past few days. Since I’ve been drinking a lot of fluids, I’ve also been going to the bathroom a lot, especially at night. (Sorry – is that too much information? lol)

Anyway, the other night it seemed like I was getting up every 2 hours or so. But each time I awakened during the night, in my head I kept hearing, “By His wounds, we are healed” (from the song, “By His Wounds.”)

The next day when I woke up, I started hearing another song – “We fall down.”

I’m feeling better now… (this may be out of context, but now I’m hearing “I feel better, so much better, since I laid my burden down”) …

Thank You, Lord. Truly, O God, You are my healer. Thank You for loving me, for caring about me, for caring for me, for watching over me, for forgiving me, for desiring my highest and my best to bring You glory. I am so humbled, so grateful …

Exodus 15:26 (KJV)And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.


…and my journey with Him continues…

2011 New Year’s prayer

Attempting to fashion a paper New Year’s greeting to accompany a mailing by another ministry, I thought of Ephesians 3:20-21 as the Scripture verse to be included. As I looked at this verse in different translations, thinking about what else the greeting should say, I saw more of the third chapter and was impressed to (only) put the prayer from verses 14-21.

Then, it occurred to me to read and then pray this prayer for someone everyday. So I’ve started that (and I’m also writing down for whom I am praying it.) That same day, I was speaking to someone and thought of praying this for them.

Then, today on the television program “Discovering the Jewish Jesus,” the Rabbi was speaking of prayer, and mentioned the prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19 – saying we should pray it everyday for ourselves and others. (I think they are doing a study of the tabernacle, and how it is a pattern for how we are to approach God.) I really felt like that was a confirmation for what I was to do. Later, someone called me for prayer, and I had another opportunity to pray this for a specific person.

So, here is Ephesians 3:14-21 from http://www.biblegateway.com/ (without footnotes), the New King James Version (NKJV):

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Also, since that verse is speaking of love, I’m reading 1 Corinthians 13 everyday as well. Here, from the same source and translation as previous passage, is 1 Corinthians 13:

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And
though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

…and my journey with Him continues…

Readings...

i've been reading several books. One, entitled "The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of us? The answer that changed my life and might just change the world" by Richard Stearns, President, World Vision U.S., contained the following letter imagined by the author as one Christ might write:

A Letter to the Church in America

He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. -- Revelation 2:7 NKJV

To the angel of the Church in America write:

These are the words of the One who holds the seven stars and walks among the golden lampstands. I know your deeds. You live in luxury and self-indulgence, and you have forsaken your first love. I hold this against you. Woe to those of you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left. Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants.

Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded your wealth in the last days. You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” Yet it is those who are poor in the eyes of the world that are rich in faith. I have chosen them to inherit the kingdom I have promised to those who love Me.

Therefore, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Seek first My kingdom and My righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well. Remember, even I, the Lord Jesus Christ, though I was rich, for your sakes became poor, so that you, through My poverty, might become rich.

Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” but do not do what I say? Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says, for whoever obeys My commands – that is the one who loves Me.

What does the Lord require of you, you ask? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. In fact, the entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

There will always be poor people in the land. I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in the land. Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed.

Now let’s talk about fasting. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

No, this is the fast that I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke. It is to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

Even now, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Why spend money on what is not bread and labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Then you will call, and I will answer; you will cry for help, and I will say, “Here am I.” If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and the malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become as the noonday. I will guide you always; I will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Therefore, My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
--Jesus

P.S. I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.1


1The Scriptures used in this letter are based on the NIV rendering, but with additions and minor changes to improve readability. Verses used: Rev. 2:1-2; James 5:5; Rev. 2:4; Isa. 5:8-9; Haggai 1:5-6; James 5:2-3; Rev. 3:17; James, 2:5; Matt. 6:19-21, 33; 2 Cor. 8:9; Luke 6:46; James 1:22; John 14:21; Micah 6:8; Gal. 5:14; Deut. 15:11; Ps 82:3; Isa. 58:4-7; 1 John 3:17; Joel 2:12-13; Eph. 4:1-2; Rom. 12:2; Isa. 55:2, 58:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:58; Rev. 22:12.

From “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Stearns, (Chapter 20)

....hmmm - something to think about...

…and my journey with Him continues…