Purity, Prayer, Power and Praise

Day 2 of Passion Week

Each day of this week Jesus draws closer to the agony, and the glory, His Father has sent Him to.

Knowing there are only days left to your life what do you do with the remaining hours?

Jesus has spent two and half years pouring into his disciples preparing them for the time when he would no longer be with them.

He showed them how to live in victory and now he would show them the ultimate victory of life over death for eternity. This was why he came, to redeem man back from the sin committed in the Garden of Eden.

On this day when Jesus entered the temple area His fervor for the House of God erupted in a fiery anger at what He saw. The area was filled with money changers and merchants. The Passover celebration meant big business to them. What Jesus saw was a blasphemy of what the temple was meant to be.

When they arrived back to Jerusalem he went to the Temple and began to drive out the merchants and their customers, and knocked over the tables of the moneychangers and the stalls of those selling doves, and stopped everyone from bringing in loads of merchandise.
He told them, "It is written in the Scriptures, 'My Temple is to be a place of prayer for all nations,' but you have turned it into a den of robbers." Mark 11:15-17 TLB

Those who came to the temple to celebrate the Passover were robbed by these merchants when they were charged exorbitant prices for animals for the necessary sacrifices and when they were cheated on the exchange rate of their international currency for temple coins. How can a person worship with a pure heart after this kind of treatment at the “house of God?”

The holiness of the temple and the Passover celebration were defiled by the deceitful practices of the sellers. Jesus was desperate to bring purity, prayer, power and praise back to the house of God, even using violence to reestablish it.

God yearns for us to examine our personal temples and plant the seeds of purity, prayer, power and praise so that our temples may once again be a dwelling place for Him.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Ps. 51:10 NIV

His Big Hands

Day 15 of 40 Days of Lenten Posts
With so many tragic things happening in the world it is frightening to watch the news.

What do we do with the questions that seem to have no answers?
We bow our heads in prayer weeping for those who have lost loved ones, homes, businesses.
We wonder; what would I do if that were me? Would I lose all hope? Who would I turn to for strength and peace?

Even though the fig trees have no fruit

and no grapes grow on the vines,

even though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no grain,

even though the sheep all die

and the cattle stalls are empty,

I will still be joyful and glad,

because the Lord God is my savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Good News Translation

We put our trust in God and He promises:

I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you

on the palms of my hands                    
Isaiah 49:15-16 NIV

He knows our pain and He weeps with us and then we must remind ourselves that He has the whole world in His hands. The whole world! He has not forsaken us.

NaNoWriMo Confession

Monday November 1, NaNoWriMo kicks off. For the third year I am setting aside the month of November to write a novel of 50,000 plus words.

The story that is rolling around in my spirit is going to be a difficult one to write because it will deal with heavy issues. After I had the idea I wanted to put it aside because I am so unqualified to write the story and it will require a lot of painful research, not painful to me, but for those I will seek out for the help I need.

I asked God if this was my idea or if it was the story He wanted me to write. He confirmed this was the direction He wanted to me go. Each time I think about this story the tears want to come.

It will be a story of healing and redemption but there will be much pain in getting to that place. Knowing this, I feel the weight of this project.

This morning while reading in the book of John so many scriptures spoke to me of God’s guidance over this story. I realize I need an extra heavy dose of inspiration and I should start each writing day seeking the Holy Spirit’s help.

I took the scriptures from John and made them into a personal prayer. I will lift this prayer to God at the start of each writing day to remind myself: I am not alone in this and I better not go off on my own tangents but have an ear to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to me. This will be the start of each of my writing days.

Father, your Word says to make use of the Light while there is still time, may I be the light bearer that you have called me to through my writing.

I thank you that the stories I write are not my own ideas, but the Holy Spirit will tell me what the Father says to tell me. I know His instructions lead to eternal life; so whatever He tells me to say, I say!

Father, I haven’t any idea where I am going with the story, so how can I know the way? I thank you that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and He will lead me in this. This is Your story.

“The words I say are not my own but are from my Father who lives in me. And He does His work through me.”

I pray I stay attached to You during this time of consecration to this work, for apart from You I can’t do a thing.

I remind myself Father that You chose me. You appointed me to go and produce lovely fruit always, so no matter what I ask for from the Father, using Jesus name, Father, you will give it to me.

Father, thank you the words You give me for this story will be used by the Holy Spirit to convince the world of its sin, and of the availability of God’s goodness, and of deliverance from judgment.

May love, grace and mercy ring through this work bringing healing and deliverance to the captives.

May I keep distractions to a minimum during this time but also include in my life the people You send to me.

Father, bring glory and honor to Your name.

In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.
       Scriptures: John 12:28, 12:36, 12:49 14:5, 14:10 15:5, 15:16, 15:26 16:8

Happy writing to all who are participating in NaNo 2010.
       My NaNo user name is Shortstuff if you would like to follow my progress.

MORE LESSONS FROM THE WEDDING AT CANA

Part two of Lessons from the Wedding at Cana
Story from John 2:1-10

4 “How does that concern you and me?” Jesus asked. “My time has not yet come.”
5 But his mother told the servants, “do whatever he tells you.”

Verses 4-5

What Scripture tells us:
     It looks like Jesus is not going to do anything about the problem.

What we would do:
     When we don’t get our prayers answered right away or in the way we
     think they should be answered we loose our faith in God and His
     promises. We turn away from Him and think, and say, that prayer (our request for God to fix our
     problem) doesn’t work.

What Mary did:
     Mary told the servants to “Do whatever he tells you.” She prepared them to receive instructions from
     Jesus. She knew who Jesus was.

What God wants us to learn from this:
     Trust God for the timing and the way He will answer your prayers. Be prepared to receive instruction.


How do you react when it doesn’t seem that God is hearing your prayers? Do you continue believing and listening for His voice? There may be instructions coming before your answer arrives.

Image: Yahoo Images

LIVING GETS IN THE WAY OF LIFE

Well it’s been a while since I have shown up at my blogsite.

Sometimes living gets in the way of life.

Guess that is where I have been at the past few weeks. I am beginning to poke my head out of my hole. Punxsutawney Phil poked his head out to see if he would see his shadow, I am poking my head out hoping it won’t get shot off. Seems I have been the target of spiritual attacks.

Not spending time in God’s Word and letting thoughts run through my mind that are clearly not God’s thoughts have caused some pretty scary feelings. Forgetting to admonish the scripture to take every thought captive and think on good things, makes for a lousy life. So glad God doesn’t give up on me. Getting myself back on the right track. I crave the peace that He is so willing to give to me and His forgiveness, oh, His soul cleansing forgiveness.

Determining to get back to first things first. God, His Word and Prayer. Truly, it is that simple.

Do you ever look up at where you are and wonder, how did I get here, it’s not where I was intending to go? The good news is you don’t have to stay there. Yea God, He provides a way out. Glory.

Photo:MorgueFile

Broken

Broken. Inside. Asking why doesn’t reveal answers, at least answers I am ready to receive.

Hurt. Physical ache in my heart.

Heading in the right direction? Or heading in the wrong direction?

Satisfaction is not in sight. Everything I do is not enough. Not enough in my own eyes.

There is a plug, holding back creativity, joy, contentedness.

A fountain of frustration and anger wants to erupt.
What will come out?
Is the frustration with others or myself?
I think myself.

Expectations. Too high? God has very high expectations.
Maybe too low? I hadn’t thought of that. Perhaps if the expectations are raised I will push hard. Push past the plug.

PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens.
Prayer, the communication with God that erupts from deep within your spirit, not from your mind. The mind is a swirling mass of information taken in over a lifetime, some good, but most useless. The useless is what gets attention. It is time to change that.

What makes sense? My life doesn’t right now. I have everything, but feel nothing. Nothing because, right now, in this moment, I am not producing for the Kingdom. I will not find satisfaction until I return to my first love. Until I relent to the work of my fingers on a keyboard, or pen on paper, pulling words from the fount of God’s eternal supply.