Inspired by . . . Winter's Blessing

The long wait of winter. The patience of spring.

Why endure? and not just endure but find JOY and contentment in the waiting?

What is the blessing of winter? Of any dark, long season of waiting?

New Life.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Cor 5:17 NKJV)

*** 

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3 NKJV)

Just as when we are born from our mother's womb, we continue to grow and mature after our spiritual birth as well.

Saved. Redeemed. Sanctified. Justified. Love. Faith.

These are all active verbs, working in the life of a believer.

God does not save us and then leave us alone. Beyond the amazing and incomprehensible saving grace of Christ's redemption is a relationship with the God of all creation. [click to tweet] A relationship that deepens as we pursue Him, even as He is pursuing us.

These seasons of waiting on God, often without understanding and sometimes with much pruning, are typically viewed as unfavorable trials.

Our culture has taught us that restfulness and waiting are negative and unproductive activities.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,So are My ways higher than your ways,And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

However, in God's economy, rest is actually a command and waiting increases our faith and reaps a blessing.

While it's true that this world is not our home, God has so much more for us than just stoic endurance here on earth. [click to tweet]

Faith is forged in the silence of our spiritually dry seasons. When we walk as those who are blind and cling fiercely to the hand of the only One Who knows the way.

Our dependence on Him is no crutch. Rather, like the lost puzzle piece, it completes that part of our souls that hunger and yearn for something more.

And in His perfect timing, we emerge like diamonds reflecting His love in the summer sun.

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:
#TellHisStory, Faith On Fire, Grace & Truth,
Inspire Me Monday, #HeartEncouragement,
Thoughtful Thursdays, #w2wwordfilledwednesday,
Sitting Among Friends, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty
Counting My Blessings, Grace Moments,
#DanceWithJesus; Imparting Grace

Inspired by . . . Winter's Growth

I thought it might be a little difficult to continue writing about Winter once Spring started to make her appearance. But then, two noreasters blew through the eastern states and this morning I woke up to 32 degrees and frosty windows! I know that many of you have snow for the first time all winter.

Spring can be a tease and Winter a hard taskmaster. We can experience similar seasons in our spiritual lives. Just when we think we're ready to zoom and bloom, God tells us to slow down and wait.

Unlike snow and ice that gives no thought to what it might destroy in its wake, God's timing is always perfect - - seeking only our good. Rather than be frustrated when God asks us to wait, we should view the time as an opportunity for growing in faith and seeking deeper communion with Him. [click to tweet]

Our culture has taught against this but waiting is a gift, an opportunity to invest our "talents" wisely until the Lord returns. (Matthew 25:18-30)

My flower beds don't look like much right now; brown dirt and dead leaves. 

It's only when I rake away the dead leaves that I can see the growth underneath. During the long wait of winter, the perennials have rested, dormant, waiting. Their growth hidden beneath the ground and decaying leaves.

Our spiritual growth can be like that sometimes. We don't always realize how God is equipping us until the challenge (good or bad) appears. In my own life, I've found that God is often working most profoundly during those times when I feel the weakest - - when I am most unaware. Those slow and restful walks down from the mountaintop experiences prepare us to cross the valleys below. [click to tweet]

It is important to remember that the valleys are not always dry, harsh places of pain and wandering. Often they are valleys of vision. A place where God speaks to us and gives us words and works to share with others. (Eze 3:22) Sometimes they are valleys of strength where God provides rest and refreshment. (Psalm 84:6-7)

No matter which valley you find yourself traveling in today, I hope that this season of spring with its tender shoots of new growth will be a reminder to you that God is working. He's working quietly in our lives and in the world around us. 

His work is a redeeming work of mercy and grace. A work of rendering broken hearts and making them whole again; preparing them to walk in another valley one day. It is a valley wide and deep with little bands of pilgrims scattered here and there. All of them walking beside the river of the water of life. A river that shines as bright as a crystal flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. (Rev 22)

I hope to see you there.

Shalom,

The Winter Series:

Winter's Wisdom

Winter's Bite

Winter's Chill

Winter's Discipline

Sharing inspiration here:
#TellHisStory, Faith On Fire, Grace & Truth,
Inspire Me Monday, #HeartEncouragement,
Thoughtful Thursdays, #w2wwordfilledwednesday,
Sitting Among Friends, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty
Counting My Blessings, Grace Moments,
#DanceWithJesus; Imparting Grace

Inspired by . . . ashes and bone

There were only two Souls walking around the cemetery that day. My Dreamer and me.

Far from being a place of macabre, for me, the cemetery is a place of peace and tranquility. Of shelter and protection.

There is nothing sacred in ashes and bone. Nothing divine or holy resides in this place. Yet, what remains should be kept safe and free from defilement.

The part of us that is sacred, that part that has been set apart and sanctified, does not linger once it is released from the bounds of this earthly body. It immediately seeks its true home, complete in Christ. That which we knew in part has finally become whole.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1Co 13:12)

Some have a different view. They come and speak to the stones. They leave letters and trinkets. Little gifts of remembrance meant to comfort. 

Only the living are comforted. The dead remain.

We came searching for names. Sketching out the half-drawn branches on the family tree. As we walked, we remembered. And our memories brought the dead to life and clothed them in story. Each name fleshed out in a place and time. A blessing. A tragedy. A life well-lived.

Our lives may be just a vapor but they have a purpose. When we live for Christ we leave His divine imprint on every life we touch.

The seeds of faith are planted, or watered, or fertilized.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (1Co 3:6)

Remembering is like stirring the potpourri.  Our words release the scent of blessing again to another generation.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. (2Ti 1:5)

We honor the dead by telling their stories and in the telling, we bestow a blessing on those who will listen.

Who has left a divine imprint on your life?

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:
#TellHisStory, Faith On Fire, Grace & Truth,
Inspire Me Monday, #HeartEncouragement,
Thoughtful Thursdays, #w2wwordfilledwednesday,
Sitting Among Friends, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty
Counting My Blessings, Grace Moments,
#DanceWithJesus; Imparting Grace

Inspired by . . . two promises

Psa 1:1-6  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;  (2)  but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.  (3)  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.  (4)  The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.  (5)  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;  (6)  for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

***

The prayer ended, "Give me stability and contentment regardless of the circumstances. How I need that! Amen," and I realized the author was exactly right. To be content is a wondrous blessing and an admirable prayer. 

But it is not enough. Not for these days. We must be and must pray for, stability.

The stability of mind that comes only from meditating on His word. 

I'm reminded of this passage in James, "A man like that should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is always in two minds and unstable in all he does."

A man like that. A man like what? Answer: A man who doubts God.

Jas 1:5-6  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, Who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  (6)  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Not someone who doubts that God exists, necessarily, but one who doubts what God has said.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

From the beginning, the evil one has set about to twist the Truth in our minds so that we question God's goodness and His love for us.

Jas 1:13-15  Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one.  (14)  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  (15)  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

I've been reading C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and there are people in this age, in every age, who, like Digory's Uncle Andrew in The Magician's Nephew, believe that the rules don't apply to them. They either ignore Truth or deny that it exists. 

Uncle Andrew had made a promise to his late aunt. A promise that he did not keep. He had convinced himself that he was a "great thinker." Someone with "hidden knowledge" to whom "common rules" (like keeping promises) did not apply.

Uncle Andrew's broken promise brought a great evil into a brand new, innocent world: Narnia.

But all was not lost because Aslan, Narnia's creator, knew about the great evil and already had a plan of protection and redemption. (Another story for another time)

There is, however, one more promise in this story that I want to share with you. Aslan sends Digory to a garden high in the mountains to a tree bearing silver apples. Digory promises Aslan he will bring him back an apple from this tree.

All is well. Digory has the apple in his pocket and is about to return when - evil makes her appearance. 

"Do you not see, Fool, that one bite of that apple would heal her? You have it in your pocket. We are here by ourselves and the Lion is far away."

Do you see how the evil one speaks directly to Digory's greatest desire? His mother was dying. His greatest desire was to heal her. Our greatest desires are not necessarily and not always bad in and of themselves.

But Digory had made a promise. He remembers the tears in the lion's eyes when they spoke about his mother. And as hard as it is for the little boy, he takes the apple back to Aslan.

With it, Aslan grows a great tree that protects all of Narian. Then, he allows Digory to pluck an apple from that tree to take back to his world and heal his mother.

Aslan grants Digory's greatest desire in the right way, at the right time. All is well.

Digory didn't know much about Aslan. Not nearly as much as we think we know about God. But he remembered Aslan's tears and he remembered enough of what his mother had taught him that the witch's words rang false and hollow.

What about us? Can we recognize the false and hollow words of the enemy when he speaks? We will if we know the Truth. [click to tweet]

And this, I hope, circles us back to the beginning.

Stability of mind and deed, the ability to be content in all circumstances. Knowing what to ask for when we pray. Waiting for God to act. All these things are realized only when we know the Word of God for ourselves. When we meditate on it day and night. When we seek God in relationship, not simply as a religion or a set of rules.

It's a tall order, friends. A life-long commitment. An eternal reward.

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:
#TellHisStory, Faith On Fire, Grace & Truth,
Inspire Me Monday, RaRa Link Up, Intentional Tuesday,
#WordswithWinter, Titus 2 Tuesday, Thoughtful Thursdays,
Encourage Me Monday, Wholehearted Wednesday,
Women with Intention Wednesdays, Word Filled Wednesday,
#GiveMeGrace, Sitting Among Friends, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty
Counting My Blessings, Grace Moments, Heart Encouragement
#DanceWithJesus, Salt & Light

Inspired by . . .  foolishness

Much of what I write about here may seem like foolishness to you.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Pro 14:12)

This man, Jesus, and what He did may seem foolish to you.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." (1Co 1:18-19)

I understand. Without the Holy Spirit to enlighten you, these things will make little sense.

The things of God must be spiritually discerned. However, God is easily found by anyone who seeks Him.

And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In Him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed His offspring.' (Act 17:26-28)

You have a choice when it comes to Jesus. To accept or deny Him. This choice can be put off, but it cannot be escaped. In the end, a choice you will make.

Your disbelief does not offend me. It grieves me. I pray that your heart will soften. That you will seek the Truth.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (Joh 8:31-32)

So what is the truth?

all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Rom 3:23)

Our sin separates us from a Holy and Just God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)

But GOD . . .

but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (1Pe 3:18)

The debt of sin must be paid.  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Heb 9:22)

For our sake He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2Co 5:21)

There is no magic formula to faith in Christ. You don't have to say special words or be forgiven by a priest. Jesus is our High Priest. Go to Him. Confess to Him your sin. Repent (turn away from your sin) and believe in Him.

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Rom 10:9-10)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1Jn 1:9-10)

Remember,

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

If you have taken theses steps of belief today, I greatly rejoice with you! You are a new creation!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2Co 5:17)

And just as a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis needs time to strengthen his wings before he can fly, you will need a time of strengthening, too. I urge you to connect with other believers in a Bible-teaching church. Let someone (I'd be honored if it were me) know about the decision you've made. I've listed some ministries at the end of this post that can give you guidance.

But most important of all - read His word! Get to know Your Savior! 

For He Is Risen!

Celebrate this truth today!

Amen.
Blessings on your Easter,

Resources:

Online Bible Reading: https://www.youversion.com/

Truth for Life Ministry of Alister Begg: https://www.truthforlife.org/

How to Know Jesus: https://peacewithgod.net/

Online Bible Resource: https://www.biblegateway.com/

Sharing inspiration here:
Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Bird D’pot,
Saturday’s Critters, Life thru the Lens,
Wild Bird Wednesday, Our World Tuesday,
Community Global, Photo Friday, Little Things Thursday

Inspired by . . . Life thru My Lens 12:52

It's officially Spring! {in the northern hemisphere anyway}

You may have noticed a change in animal behavior around your house. No, I'm not talking about your human-animals. Although spring break does tend to produce some strange behavior.

Around my house the birds, more than anything else, announce the change of season. There is a lot of chattering, singing and chasing going on!

It's nesting season!

The black-crested titmice have been the most active so far this year - - I have several pairs flitting about. 

One couple decided to build a nest in one of the new fence posts we recently set up in the front yard. {new fence coming soon!}

He and his mate were enjoyable to watch, but I knew after last year's chickadee nest fail, I couldn't let the building continue. The pipes are just too narrow inside, and the babies can't get out when it's time to fledge.

After first making sure there were no eggs in the nest, I placed a cup over the top of the pipe. Imagine the little guy's surprise when he returned! There was quite a lot of chatter between he and his mate, to be sure!

Talking about birds and their nests always brings to mind the passage from Luke 9:

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Luk 9:58)

Here, Jesus is speaking of His poverty and lack of dignity in the world's eyes. He is warning those who follow Him to expect the same. As believers, we must be prepared to follow Him, no matter where the path leads.

The titmouse's nesting attempt reminds me of something else too: God's sovereignty. These sweet little birds were doing exactly what they were suppose to be doing, building a home in which to start a new family. But something stopped them. They don't understand what, who or why. 

It's like that for us sometimes, too. We're moving through life, doing good things, with good intentions. Then, suddenly, our life is thrown off track, and we don't understand why. Understanding may come eventually or, like the titmice, we may never understand. 

Either way, we have a choice.

We can choose to believe the truth, that God is good - all.the.time. or we can doubt His goodness, and believe Him to be a liar. It's really quiet simple, we either trust God, or we don't.

What about you? What are some of the things that might derail your faith? Or perhaps your life has already been derailed. I encourage you to decide now to trust in Him, no matter what may happen or how your current situation may unfold.

Take time to dive into the scriptures this week. Meet Jesus right where He is, on the streets of Jerusalem, preparing to die for your sins. Any one of the four gospels will give an account, but if you want to follow Jesus day by day you may start in Mark 11.

Or, if you prefer, there are several online sources that will walk you through. 

Bible Gateway - Journey to Easter

You Version - Lent & Easter Reading Plans

Meet with Jesus this week. You will discover that He is a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Can you relate? 

You'll find that Jesus can relate to you.

Shalom,

Sharing inspiration here:
Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Little Things Thursdays,
Bird D’pot, Saturday’s Critters, Life thru the Lens, Wild Bird Wednesday,
Our World Tuesday, Community Global, Photo Friday

Inspired by . . . God's faithfulness

I'm a speed shopper. I like to get in and get out, quickly. I have a list, and rarely am I a victim of an impulse buy. {except maybe the odd bag of peanut m&m's from the checkout line}

The Dreamer, who usually drops me off in front of the store, is always amazed at how quickly I emerge with the needed supplies.

I'm moving a little slower these days.

Since just after Christmas my sciatic nerve has been giving me trouble. Now I measure every step, plan every move. Going to my knees in prayer is okay. Going to my knees in the grocery store because of a sciatic attack, is not.

The nerve pain, my cedar allergies {sneezing is NOT an option} and pain from a cracked tooth {I have dental surgery on Wednesday} have all combined to make for difficult start to the new year.

I hesitate to share about this here, because I know many of you deal with so much worse, every.single.day.

But this is all new to me, and I'm struggling to maintain a JOYful spirit, rather than a spirit of despair.

Today started out as a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

At about 3:30am I had such an attack that the Dreamer was forced to carry me back to bed. For the next several hours I lay there, quite literally afraid to move. Pain does that. At least to me. It makes me afraid.

I don't want to be afraid. I want to be faith-filled, and trusting that God is with me no matter what the circumstances. Which, of course, He is. I know this, but I want it to be real to me in the dark moments.

Eventually, the sun kissed the sky and I eased into my day. Monday is the busiest day of the week for me. As I turned on my computer, my thoughts were already filled with all the work that awaited me.

The typical symbol appeared, the little loopy thing did it's looping, and then . . . nothing. Blank screen. Black. Dead. No response. I re booted. Same deal. Little loopy thing, then nothing. Black screen. Dead. No response. Times four.

I wanted to cry. Really, Lord? I've had this computer less than two weeks. I saved for six months to be able to buy it. Really, Lord? 

I can't take one.more.thing.

I'm guessing that there are at least a few of you out there who feel the same.

You're at the end of your endurance. You just can't take one.more.thing.

Like me, you need to be reminded of the truth about God.

He cares.

He cares about the big things, like pain and serious health issues. He cares about the little things, like whether or not your computer works on the busiest day of the week.

He cares. It matters to Him. YOU matter to Him.

Really.

Mid-way into my morning I decided it was time to spend a few hours minutes on the phone with tech support. After all, maybe it was an easy fix. Before picking up the phone I decided to pray over my computer. I prayed that God would fix it; that I would get a tech person who spoke clearly and knew the product. 

When I laid my hands on the keyboard - they lit up! My computer had been OFF, and here the keys are lighting up!?! The screen came on and this is what I saw:

Really, Lord?

Really.

So Wednesday when I'm sitting in that dentist chair waiting for

the dentist to . . . well I'll just end that word picture for you right there . . .

I'll be thinking of my computer keys lighting up.

And I'll know that God has already answered my prayer.

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:
Playdates with God, Testimony Tuesday, #TellHisStory,
Thought Provoking Thursday, Grace & Truth, Weekend Whispers,
Inspire Me Monday, RaRa Link Up, Intentional Tuesday,
#WordswithWinter, Titus 2 Tuesday, Thoughtful Thursdays,
Encourage Me Monday, Wholehearted Wednesday,
Women with Intention Wednesdays, Word Filled Wednesday,
#GiveMeGrace, Still Saturday

Inspired by . . . brown-eyed visitors

They eat my blooms and knock over the birdbath, yet they have a gentleness and grace that quiets my irritation.

They have a light in their eye that touches my soul. And I know I would have to be suffering a great hunger before being willing to snuff it out.

 

 

They came this day to quench their thirst.

The earth, after drinking in nearly a year’s worth of rain one weekend in May, was once again dry and cracked. The summer had dragged on . . . cloudless.

 

 

It’s been a year of feast or famine.

Highs and lows.

Mountain tops and valleys.

My spiritual life is like that sometimes. One moment a bubbling brook of Living water, resting in calm, deep pools of faith. Or running merrily over jagged rocks without a care. Then, suddenly, the riverbed is dry and cracked. I find myself tired and weary, wondering where God is in this barren wilderness.

If I’m honest, I’ll tell you the riverbed didn’t dry up overnight. It happened gradually, just as the moisture moves deep within the earth to fill it’s cavernous depths. It happened as I put one more thing ahead of time with Him, time in His word, time in worship and in prayer.

 

 

The deer know when they can’t find water anywhere else, they’ll find my birdbath full. It’s a risk, they have to come near the house to take a drink. But the water quenches their raging thirst.

In the same way, I know that Jesus is the Living water. Only by abiding in Him will I have life. Drawing near to God has its own risks. God accepts us as we are, but He doesn’t leave us that way. When we come into His presence we are changed. Change can hurt. But the kind of change that God brings births freedom, and peace.

The deer come in the early morning light to drink, just as I should come each morning to Him.

The deer will be thirsty again.

In fact, this big guy visited me this morning.

 

 

But Jesus promised that when we drink of Him, our thirst will be eternally quenched.

In Him we are satisfied. The deep pools of our soul’s deepest longings are filled, and our faith once again bubbles merrily along the way.

 

 

Shalom,

Sharing inspiration here:

Playdates with God, Testimony Tuesday, #TellHisStory,

Thought Provoking Thursday, Grace & Truth, Weekend Whispers,

Inspire Me Monday, RaRa Link Up, Intentional Tuesday,

#WordswithWinter, Titus 2 Tuesday, Thoughtful Thursdays,

Encourage Me Monday, Wholehearted Wednesday,

Women with Intention Wednesdays, Word Filled Wednesday,

#GiveMeGrace, Still Saturday

 

Nature Notes, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Through My Lens, Little Things Thursdays,

 Saturday’s Critters, Life thru the Lens,

Our World Tuesday, Community Global

Inspired by . . . Lessons from the Fig Tree: Faith

Last time we looked at the fig tree, we saw Jesus’ judgment on unbelief. We paused and asked the question, “Is this, in any sense, a picture of me? When Jesus looks at me, is He finding in my life fruitfulness and faith?”

Then, suddenly it seems, in almost the next verse, Jesus is talking about faith, prayer and moving mountains into the sea!

 

And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,

'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart,

but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer,

believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mar 11:22-24

 

 

The lesson of the fig tree reveals the mystery of how fruitfulness in a believer’s life comes out of faithfulness and prayer. Out of the absence of prayer in the temple, Jesus gives His disciples, and us, instruction.

We have the power of God at our disposal, when we act in believing faith.*

The object of our faith is God, Himself.  The issue is always the object of faith that gives faith its significance. Ours is not a faith for the sake of faith, or faith in ourselves.

Examine your faith. What is the nature and extent of your faith in God?

Are you, like Abraham, fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He has promised?

 

In hope he {Abraham} believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations,

as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be."

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body,

which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old),

or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God,

but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,

fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Rom 4:18-21

 

I want my faith to be audacious! To believe in a God Who can do the impossible!

A God Who is:

~too wise to make mistakes

~too kind to be cruel

~too powerful to be subjugated to the natural universe (unless He choses to be)

The verse about the mountain was used figuratively about incredible things. The term was used in Rabbinic circles and would have been understood by those to whom Mark was writing, and to whom Jesus was speaking.  Just as with Abraham, whose body was a good as dead when God promised to make his descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore, it is a picture of doing the impossible.

We need to believe that God is more than willing to respond to our cries of faith.

 

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer,

believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mar 11:24

Now before  you take this bold statement and gallop off with it in one or two extreme directions, remember it is important to interpret scripture with scripture. And we should keep asking, keep knocking until we have a clear view of what scripture, as a whole, teaches. So what does scripture teach us about prayer?

Some characteristics of prayer include:

Humility, consistency, sincerity, charity {love for all}, sovereignty and submission to God’s will.

This is the scriptural framework for our prayers.

We can also learn about prayer {and many other teachings} by looking at how it played out for Jesus in His earthly life.

Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane is a good example.  It shows us a balance.

Jesus prayed with complete confidence in God’s ability to answer His prayer. “all things are possible”

And He prayed in complete submission to God’s will. “yet not what I will”

 

 

*Has anyone ever told you that you did not receive what you asked for because you did not have a enough faith?

Do you think Jesus lacked faith?

It was only the sovereign purpose of God that restricted Christ’s prayer. Not a lack of faith.

Beloved, the same is true for our prayers.

 

“Those who trust God for the right things, in the right way,

may have confidence that God will always make the right response.” ~Alistair Begg

***

I hope these words have encouraged you today.

Won’t  you would share some aspect of your faith journey with us in the comments?

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

 

Words and reflections inspired by a sermon series by Alistair Begg, Truth for Life Ministries

Sharing inspiration here: