The Faithfulness of Intercessory Prayer

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

Several years ago I was offered work as a consultant. This job required full-time travel. My husband and I discussed the benefits and risks at great length. We concluded that it was the right choice for us at the time, but our agreement did not end my fears for our marriage under the stress and temptations of frequent, lengthy separations.

My fears forced me to look for a way to protect our relationship. I doubted we could face, in our own strength, temptations that had felled many strong people. Although I had tried and failed to maintain a regular prayer time more than once, I made up my mind afresh that I would start each and every day with prayer.

In the years since that decision, I have learned a great deal about prayer. It was soon obvious that my good intentions were no match for personal weakness and forgetfulness.

For example, one friend said to me, “My daughter has become so distant. Yesterday she told me that she wishes I were dead. Please pray for us.” I promised, of course.

The next morning, when I began to pray, I forgot all about it. I prayed for my husband and me, I prayed for our church, and I prayed that my own children would be safe. Sadly, I forgot to pray for my friend and her daughter. Days passed. Then I received an e-mail with further news about the troubled relationship between my friend and her daughter. My stomach ached. I had forgotten to pray for her. How cruel.

I could tell you many such stories. Each time I agonized about my failure. How can I ever remember all the people I agree to pray for? After a few such experiences, I developed a new strategy. Each time I received a prayer request, I prayed right away. Having done so, if I forgot my friend the next morning, at least I had done something. That idea helped my self-esteem, but it only mitigated the problem. Many, many requests involved long-running problems. Relationships, illnesses, even politics – a moment’s prayer for such things was only a beginning. Fervent, persistent prayer was required, but I simply could not remember everything.

A simple solution came to mind. I started keeping a small notebook. In this notebook I wrote down prayer concerns. I recorded the requests of friends. I listed concerns motivated by news reports. I wrote things that bothered me about national politics or a local murder. Maybe I noted only a date and a name, but sometimes I wrote a whole paragraph of thoughts and prayers. My notes helped me to remember my promises, but it soon presented a new problem. I remembered more than I could handle. Prayer time became a lengthy, heavy burden.

Discipline was required, even for prayer concerns. I had to find the middle ground that met my commitment without burying me. I decided that a month was long enough for most things. Because I dated each entry, I could always go back one month from the current day. If something rolled off before I was ready to stop praying about it, I created a new entry. If something were resolved before the end of the month, I wrote “Thank you!” beside that entry.

My little prayer notebook produced some very good outcomes. First, I continued to pray my “Thank you!” for an answered prayer until that item rolled off the calendar. It was wonderful to give thanks in the midst of ongoing petitions. Thanksgiving sustained my hope and nourished my faith that God heard my prayers. Further, by the time a month had passed, I knew more detail about most requests or concerns. If a month of prayer proved inadequate for any item, the new entry often included new perspective. It is important that persistent prayer not become a rote process, and my notebook entries motivated me to give more attention to long-running issues.

Keeping the notebook is a discipline. As with any discipline, the commitment is easier than the performance. It has enriched and informed my prayer life, but it would be wrong to tell you that I have solved all my prayer problems this way. I sometimes forget even to write a request in the book. I sometimes pass over an old request as if it did not matter as much as the more recent ones. I have been known to fail to recognize God’s answers.

I am still a prayer toddler, hoping against hope to become a big girl some day. Yet my little notebook is clearly a part of God’s lesson plan for me, an important element of my growth. My prayer notebook is a tool that is helping me to mature in the life of grace and faith.

God gave me the gift of opportunity to grow professionally as a consultant. The price was regular separation from my husband, a potential disaster. I had to learn how to use God’s gift as a steward and an obedient servant. The challenge of the gift was an opportunity to grow in faith as well.

The discipline of daily prayer became a new gift I now treasure. The professional benefits of becoming a traveling consultant could easily have posed a great risk to our marriage.. I believe the fact that the risk motivated me to commit to daily prayer is the most important part of God’s gift of the job. I thought this job offer was about advancing in my career, but in God’s economy, it was his chosen next step for my personal growth.

Each of us must deal with our prayer concerns in the way that fits our own lives and our own relationship with the Lord. My little prayer notebook is working for me. Maybe it will work for you, too.


Comments:


Great Article
by: Anonymous

I thank you for this inspirational peace. I have had the same problem - remembering to keep my commitment to pray and have quiet time with god the minute I wake up and just before I go to bed. God has been so good to me and I too enjoy praying for others and not just for me and my family. It makes me feel like I'm making a contribution to somebody else. Thank you for the notebook tip. I hadn't thought of it, but will start using it.



by: Lynn Mosher

Hey, Katherine! I loved this. It's a great idea. I have something similar but I need to be more diligent in writing requests down. Great job!

Faith Overcomes Betrayal

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted completely? Have you ever felt as if God must be punishing you for some sin you didn't know about? It happened to David, and it happened to my friend Margaret.

Many are saying of me,
"God will not deliver him."
Psalm 3:2 NIV

For three years Margaret had worked hard for her employer. But just when she thought she would reap the rewards of all her hard work, she was passed over, shunted aside. She thought she had reached the end of the rainbow, but suddenly the pot of gold turned to ashes.

The manager Margaret had assisted for three years left the organization for other opportunities. Margaret thought she had earned prime consideration for the opening.

On the night the Board reviewed the applicants and made their final selection, they asked Margaret, who ordinarily recorded the minutes, to sit in the next room while they deliberated. They forgot, and she didn't know that the panels which divided the office space in that building were extremely flimsy. Margaret went where she was told, and sat where she was told, and she heard every word that was said. She asked herself many times afterward if she should have worked harder not to hear, but what was done was done.

Margaret listened to the comments the board members made about all the applicants including herself. They eventually whittled the list down to a choice between Margaret and Joyce, an applicant who was the manager for a smaller sister shop. She heard good comments about herself, but then one member said, "Margaret has done a great job, but I think we should choose Joyce. After all, if she doesn't work out, Margaret will always be there."

Margaret did not hear the remaining comments. Her head was whirling. Her stomach felt as if she had been kicked. She even looked down to see if she were bleeding. She was being taken completely for granted. What had happened? Where was God? How could he let her be so completely abandoned? She could almost feel people wiping their muddy shoes on her back.

When David's beloved son, Absalom, mounted an insurrection, he struck David exactly where the Board of Directors hit Margaret. Has it happened to you?

Betrayal hurts. The very person we might have turned to for comfort is the one wielding the knife. We say to ourselves, this can't be happening.

The Psalmist said it very graphically:

GOD! Look! Enemies past counting!
Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
"Hah! No help for him from God!"
Psalm 3:1-2 The Message

How did Margaret survive this experience? How did David get through his dark days? How have generations of abandoned sons, abused wives, molested daughters and countless others endured pain whose magnitude was multiplied exponentially because the person who caused it was trusted and loved?

In Psalm 3, David gives us the answer.

But you, GOD, shield me on all sides;
You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
With all my might I shout up to GOD,
His answers thunder from the holy mountain.
Psalm 3:3-4 The Message

Margaret's first thought was that God must not care for her any more. He might have been a friend in the past, but he had apparently dumped her for someone who was more faithful in church or who prayed more fervently.

In fact, she had hardly absorbed the facts when her own sins rose up to haunt her. She was treated to a view of her whole life, and suddenly she realized that she didn't deserve anything. She needed to go soak her head and quit thinking God even cared about her.

Why would he care about someone who couldn't quite get up on time some Sunday mornings, who had told more than one little white lie and a few black ones? Satan was having a field day with her, but he didn't have a field day with David. David saw that he was under attack, but when he looked around, he knew that God cared, and he called out for help.

Was this because David was a better person than Margaret? Absolutely not. Adulterers and murderers are pretty low on anybody's list, and David was both. The reason David turned immediately to God was his faith.

The Bible teaches us that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 David turned to God in faith, because that is how we come to God. It is the only way to come to God. "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." Hebrews 11:6 David exercised his faith muscle and cried to God for help. Then he did an amazing thing.

I stretch myself out. I sleep.
Then I'm up again; rested, tall and steady,
Fearless before the enemy mobs
Coming at me from all sides.
Psalm 3:5-6 The Message

David looked at the pickle he was in, and he went to bed. This is arrogance, you might say. But you would be wrong. This is complete faith in action. David and Margaret were depleted of strength by events that had tumbled out of control.

If a load of bricks had literally fallen on them, they could not have been more devastated. David took a deep breath, cried out to God, and then lay down to rest. His faith was strong, but his body needed sleep.

Margaret had a difficult evening. After the Board officially announced their decision to her, she woodenly thanked everyone for considering her.

She drove home, even though she thought she was probably not a safe driver. She told her husband the bad news, and he made a few remarks about the board which were intended to be consoling. Then Margaret went into her bedroom and cried.

For a very long time she cried about what had happened. She cried because she must have done something wrong to deserve this. She cried because she must have failed to do something that would have made them choose her. But eventually, she cried to God.

Like a little child with a scraped knee, she
took her scraped heart to her heavenly Father and cried to him for help. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, she was able to turn away from Satan's parade of her sins and call out to the One who died to redeem her. She poured out her dreams and her pain. She asked why. Why? Why? And then she lay down to sleep. Just like David.

The next verse of Psalm 3 is very hard for a Christian to read. We can cope with "Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God!", but we have a little trouble with the gritty physicality of "For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked." Psalm 3:7 The Message

David went from his crisis into a real war in which his son, his adversary, was killed. He saw real physical vengeance on the one who had betrayed him. He wrote of what he knew.

When Margaret woke up the next morning, her first thought was despair. She cried out again to God. "Deliver me!" Then she remembered the advice of a dear friend who had said, "When you can't figure out what to do next, you need to ask the Lord for wisdom."

Margaret was still crying out, "Lord, help me," but she added a new prayer, "Lord, please give me wisdom. I have no idea what to do. Am I supposed to swallow this decision and go on as I was? Are they right to take me for granted? Do I think too highly of myself? Please give me the wisdom to do the right thing now." Then she went to work as if nothing had happened.

David survived the betrayal of Absalom. Margaret survived, too. God heard her prayer for wisdom.

She took a look at the resume she had prepared when she applied for the manager's position. It looked good. The woman in that resume was a seasoned professional. She had some serious accomplishments under her belt. She had skills which had never had the opportunity to
blossom. She was ready for something bigger.

Satan assailed her with self-pity, doubt and indecision, but she continued to pray both for wisdom and increased faith. She began to thank God for the blessings she had received in the work she was doing. She thanked God for all she had learned, and she prayed for wisdom to use her achievements and her gifts in His service.

One day, she saw an ad for a manager's job in a local business. She submitted her resume and she got the job. It was a good job, and she discovered new opportunities to grow and mature professionally in her new job.

Do I think God planned for Margaret to be hurt so he could send her to a better job somewhere else? I do not. God could have simply led her to the new job without all that pain. Do I think that God wanted Margaret to have this pain so she would learn to lean on him more? I think that with Satan always around, God need not plan for any of us to have pain. Satan's activity in the world assures that there will be plenty of pain to go around.

I think that like David, Margaret had an experience that stretched her faith. She took a bruising hit, but she cried out to God and He carried her through.

The deep disappointment of being taken for granted by people she trusted was not the end for Margaret. In fact, she told me that the day she started her new job, she felt like thanking the president of the Board who had rejected her. She did, in fact, thank God who had delivered her from doubt and despair, just as David had done, thousands of years before:

Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people!
Psalm 3:8 The Message


© 2008 Katherine Harms
All rights reserved

A Beautiful Tool for Prayer

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

The use of labyrinths in contemporary Christian life can probably be dated to an event in 1991 when an American tourist named Lauren Artress removed chairs which sat over the labyrinth in the Chartres cathedral. That labyrinth was constructed in 1201 for use by Christians who could not make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Pilgrims walked the labyrinth and prayed much as pilgrims today walk the Via Dolorosa. When Dr. Artress uncovered that labyrinth, it had been unused for hundreds of years. She has since made a personal crusade to encourage use of labyrinths as tools in spiritual growth.

Without adopting the stance of a crusader, I am happy to encourage anyone to explore this device as a tool for prayer. The many objects Christians have used to support or encourage prayer and meditation are testimony to the challenge we all encounter in these disciplines. Candles, incense, icons, crosses large and small, rosaries, hair shirts; all these objects have been used over the past two thousand years by Christians who yearned for a richer prayer life. There is no evidence to suggest that any of these objects has any inherent spiritual power, but there are many people who testify that using one or more of these objects assists them to make space in their lives for prayer.

No doubt, there are people who seriously misunderstand and misuse the objects, also. But just as we don't stop using knives to carve steak because some people use knives to kill people, we need not fear the use of objects as tools to help us grow spiritually. This is the reason I introduce my readers to the use of the labyrinth as a tool for prayer.

Intense prayer and meditation are not natural, and in today's high-tech world where multi-tasking is taught in the cradle, it is extremely difficult for anyone to step out of the frenzy and make time not only to talk to God, but also to listen to him. No object takes the place of real communion with God, but many objects have the potential to help us separate ourselves from normal daily concerns and make time for prayer.

If you research the labyrinth, you will find that some people believe that labyrinths have inherent mystical properties. I don't believe that. I don't believe any object has any mystical property, but I do believe that we can use objects to help us learn to be more spiritual. It doesn't work for everyone. My husband has never walked a labyrinth. He prays in other ways and at other times. That is fine. Tools are not prayer. We are not all alike.

Some people confuse labyrinths with mazes. They believe that walking a labyrinth would be confusing, a state of mind not conducive to prayer. In some very ancient stories the terms "labyrinth" and "maze" are used interchangeably. However, in modern practice, the terms have distinct meanings. A maze is a puzzle, and may be very confusing. If you find your way in, that does not mean that you will find your way out. A labyrinth, on the other hand, has a simple, clearly-marked path to the center, and with rare exceptions the path in is also the path out.

The simplicity of the labyrinth is disguised in a visually complex design. Labyrinths are beautiful, abstract patterns, often based on very specific design principles. Viewing a labyrinth can be a satisfying aesthetic experience, completely apart from any use as a tool for prayer. However, this experience can be incorporated into the practice of prayer, just as many other art forms encourage and support our religious practices.

Walking a labyrinth is a good way to achieve separation and focus. The design has clear boundaries. Outside is not the same place as inside. The path is clearly marked; if you stay on the path, you will get to the center, and you can turn right around and follow the path back to the entry point. The usual practice is to regard the path inward as a time of purgation, or letting go. The center is a place for illumination, or receiving, a time of quiet, communion, or simple waiting. The path outward is a time of union, commitment, returning.

For example, the path inward could be a time for confession. Resting in the center could be time to receive forgiveness and internalize it. The path outward could be time to make a commitment to God's "next step" in your life.

I have walked a variety of labyrinths. One was huge, marked with white stones, the path "paved" with bark. Flowers and bushes grew within its curves. An ornamental tree grew in the center, and tree stumps were set here and there under the tree where people could rest.

Another was much smaller. It was painted over bricks in a small courtyard near a city church. In the park, prayer was punctuated by birdsongs and the buzzing of bees. In the city, horns honked and the endless drone of the nearby freeway enveloped the simple path of prayer. Each had its unique character, but each gave me an opportunity to step out of the ordinary.

The labyrinth draws an imaginary line around the walker. It creates the perception of a space apart, even when it is very hard to feel that you are in a place apart.

Here is a model for using a labyrinth as a tool for prayer. This model incorporates the theme of denying self and committing to follow Christ in servanthood.

As you walk inward
This is a time for abandonment

* Abandon the need to be in charge
Abandonment is the casting off all selfish care (Madame Guyon)
* Abandon the need to be fulfilled
Abandonment is practiced by continually losing our own will in the will of God (Madame Guyon)
* Abandon the need to examine self; instead, be open to allow the light of the Holy Spirit to reveal truths about yourself.
We should depend on God for the discovery and knowledge of our sins, rather than on the diligence of our own scrutiny (Madame Guyon)

In the center
This is a time for rest

* Forget self
Self-denial is not refusing pleasures, but a refusal to make a god of self-gratification.
* Forget self-interest
The cross Jesus asks us to bear is the decision to accept His will instead of our own.
* Forget talking
Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

As you depart

It is time to follow Jesus

* Is the Holy Spirit nudging you toward a specific action?
* Do you have a sense of eternity in the goal that you see ahead of you?
* When you think of the outcome of your actions, do you see people praising the Lord instead of praising you?

Have you ever walked a labyrinth in prayer?
What is your reaction to the idea of using a labyrinth as a prayer tool?
Do you use some other prayer tool to help you find separation and focus when praying?

I invite you to comment on your experience with labyrinths, your concerns about using objects in prayer, or any questions this column raises.

Do You Feel Hopeless?

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

Have you ever heard your beloved child wish you were dead? Have you ever felt hopeless to restore a relationship with a spouse or a friend? Have you ever tried to talk with anyone who had really lost all hope?

My friend Linda wrote to me three times a day for several days. Her fifteen-year-old daughter Francine was behaving erratically. Days of belligerent silence were followed with days of abusive language and flying objects. Linda told me that she didn't know Francine knew those words. Several times Francine threatened to run away.

One day when Francine's boyfriend stopped by unexpectedly, Francine threw a few things in a tote bag, shouting "I wish you were dead!" as she stormed out the door and jumped into the car with the boyfriend.

Linda struggled with feelings of grief over the fractured relationship, relief at the cessation of violence after Francine left and deep fear for her daughter's well-being in the company of her immature and irresponsible boyfriend.

Linda felt helpless to change any of the factors that had led to this debacle. She was completely overwhelmed by all the problems she needed to address. She didn't feel like working or resting or sleeping or eating. Her mind churned in all directions at once, and she wrote to me constantly, long messages of despair, frustration, anger.

She recalled the day Francine was born, a day that brimmed with hope and happiness for the perfect little girl God had given to her. She railed at all the disasters which had befallen her family since that day, leading to a moment when she said, "I feel just like Francine. I wish I were dead, too."

The challenges of living in a broken world are more than any of us can face by ourselves. A newspaper reporter writing about gangs in Los Angeles called them "repositories of hopelessness." I often see the same horror in families.

The Bible encourages us to hope, but we cannot simply make up our minds to be hopeful. Our minds are designed by the grace of God to gather information about our surroundings, to analyze that information and to craft solutions in tune with reality. Unfortunately for us, when reality is hijacked by Satan, gathering information about it will not help us overcome our problems. The facts will reinforce our despair as one by one we list the things we cannot change.

I have known more than one person in my life who has gone through seasons when it seemed that all hope was lost. I have been there myself. Friends and family alike have experienced these dark nights which seem to have no end. Faith is the muscle that gives us the strength to walk through those dark valleys, but hope is the light at the end that draws us forward.

In 1859, Pastor John Angell James said, "The object of a Christian's hope is a redeemed, regenerated, holy, happy world." We feel hopeless when we no longer believe such a world can possibly exist.

This is a situation the apostle Paul knew very well. He wrote that there would be times of such deep despair that we would not even know how to pray. He said that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words." Romans 8:26]

This is how Linda felt in her dark hour. She wanted to pray, but she didn't know where to start. She told me that the best she could do at this time was to find some place away from people where she could sit without moving for a while. The most profound thing she knew to say was, "Oh, God. Help!"

It reminded me of Jesus' story about the Pharisee and the publican. The publican simply prayed, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Luke 18:13 Both Linda and the publican were overwhelmed and unable to be eloquent, but the Holy Spirit interceded for them.

Linda's relationship with her daughter was rocky for more than a year. As Linda struggled with her sense of being tongue-tied in the presence of God, I shared with her a tool that has helped me through more than one dark night.

Years ago, my life crashed and burned around me during a bitter divorce. As it became obvious to me that there would be no saving our marriage, I, like Linda, found myself unable to speak to God. I needed a way to break that logjam. The tool that worked for me was journaling.

Most of us know that we have some role in any troubles that come our way. Only a complete egotist would try to say that broken relationships fail through the fault of only one party. Husband and wife, mother and daughter, friend and friend; a relationship cannot be one-sided.

There are always two parties, and each party contributes to the whole relationship, whether to growth or destruction. Destructive behavior can develop so insidiously that neither party realizes it is happening for a while. But once it becomes impossible to ignore, an honest look back will always show that both parties contributed to the destruction.

This is a large component of our inability to pray. We know that we can't blame the other person for everything, because God knows better. We want God to reach down and rescue us and make everything all right, but as soon as we start to tell him our side of things,the light of His Truth shows us our own complicity in the disaster, and we are struck dumb.

This is where journaling can be a real help. For me, and for my friend Linda, journaling has provided the outlet to say what is on our hearts, for good or ill. We have laid our stories out before the Lord, and as we learned to be more and more honest, the Holy Spirit has provided more and more healing. My marriage was not put back together, but I was healed. Linda's
relationship with her daughter remains confrontational, but Linda is experiencing healing.

Because Linda is being healed, she is able to love her daughter with more grace and forgiveness. Linda's changed attitude has opened lines of communication that were previously barricaded by attitudes of resentment and pain on both sides. The journal does not work the healing; that is the activity of the Holy Spirit. The journal is the tool that helps the person writing the journal to get ready to hear the voice of the Spirit.

I started serious journaling in a time of crisis, but I continue to do it because it helps me to think quietly and listen to the voice of God. God speaks, as we know, in a still small voice. Sometimes I think he speaks through my own words. I write what is on my heart, but when I read what I have written, I see the issue from a new perspective. It isn't magic; it is a tool.

Linda tells me that it is for her as if the pain and anger flow through her fingers on to the page, and then the darkness begins to fade. With her frustrations and concerns on the paper, Linda says she can at least begin to pray.

Most important for her, she doesn't feel so hopeless. Her hope doesn't come from the journal, however. Her hope is created and nourished by the Holy Spirit. The journal is like a key that unlocks the door to her heart and enables her to welcome the Spirit and His healing work.

Do you feel hopeless? Is something happening in your life that is so overwhelming you feel unable to pray? Perhaps journaling would help you to quiet yourself before the Lord. The Holy Spirit is ready to intercede for you. Maybe journaling is the tool that will prepare you to receive the work of the Holy Spirit who enables you to "Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer." Romans 12:12]

God Comes Down

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent. Genesis 18:1

God comes down. I borrowed this phrase from Kelly Fryer after reading her book, "Reclaiming the L-word". It very graphically depicts how we come to be part of the church, part of Christ’s family, part of the fellowship that flourishes in the midst of agape love, the fellowship of the faithful who are saved by grace.

This statement is a reminder that we do not go forth and discover God, or even ourselves. God comes down to us, and he shows us ourselves. When we see ourselves as we really are – sinful, selfish, willful, and hateful – it is pretty discouraging. But God does not stop there. He forgives us and holds us close, and then he shows us who we can become. He does not leave us standing in open-mouthed dismay. He gives us work to do, and while we are busy obeying, we discover who we were meant to be.

When God came down to Abraham, he revealed himself by confirming that Abraham and Sarah would have a son. Abraham was reassured of God’s care by this promise, but as soon as Abraham had seen God revealed in the promise, Abraham had a chance to look at himself revealed in his response to God’s plan to punish Sodom. God saw in Abraham a man who would be the instrument of blessing for many, and in this moment Abraham took his first baby step down that road.

God came down to Moses.

The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush. Exodus 3:2

Moses was not looking for God. Moses was looking after sheep. But God came down, blessed Moses with a vision he would never forget, and gave him a surprise. The surprise was a command to do something very hard: go back to Egypt and bring out his family and all the rest of the Israelites. Moses saw himself for what he was at the moment: a man scared for his life, fearful of arrest if he returned to Egypt, and probably a bit settled in his ways after many years of the predictable, if not comfortable, routines of his life as a shepherd. God saw a man whom he had created for great things, and that is the man that he showed to Moses. God sought Moses out and led him to become what he was created to be.

Jonah was not looking for God, either. And when God came down to him, he took a look at himself and ran away.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because the wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. Jonah 1:1-2

Like many of us, Jonah found the challenge of living up to his potential to be more than he wanted to cope with. Sometimes when God shows us what we could be, we think we want to be something else. But God did not stop because of Jonah’s refusal, and he does not let our refusals stop him, either. He is always reaching down to make one more effort to get our attention and to love us into obedience and fulfillment.

Jesus was God come down to earth, and he came one day to the woman at the well. Like most of us, she tried to put on a good front, hoping Jesus would simply not notice her. Instead, Jesus reached out to her and showed her who she really was. Then his love and forgiveness touched her, and she was changed forever. He did not have to tell her what her work was; she immediately went to get everyone in the village, bringing them to the place where God had sat down among them.

The woman went back into the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.”John 4:29

One day, God came down to me, too. I know that I didn’t deserve it. In fact, like the woman at the well, I was more or less turning away from him all the time, hoping he would not even notice me until I got my act together. I know he had been reaching out to me for a while before I paid any attention. He took the initiative, and he met me where I was. It is the greatest miracle of all that God comes down to meet each of us where we are, loves us just the way we are, and leads us into satisfying, fulfilled lives in the midst of his grace.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14

© 2004 Katherine Harms
all rights reserved

Forgiveness is Really Hard

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

A friend once asked me, “How do I forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it?” My answer was, “Nobody deserves it.” The word deserve is part of our legalistic view of life in which good deeds earn points and bad deeds deduct them. Each of us thinks that when we drop money in the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas, God gives us a gold star on our personal daily chart.

Likewise, when we tell someone a “little white lie” about a previous engagement when we don’t want to accept a dinner invitation to eat with a complete boor, we think God gives us a black mark. We keep mental charts on people the same way. If somebody hurts me, I remember.

When I was in high school, a girl I considered to be my “best” friend told me she would help me get a date with a boy I liked. She said she would talk to him and tell him how much I liked him. She made me believe that she could persuade him to ask me out. The next thing I knew she had a date with that very boy to the prom. Some best friend she was! I was hurt, and I didn’t think she deserved my forgiveness.

Situations like this make it hard to pray, “Forgive me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me.” We all ask, “How do I forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it?” The answer is that nobody deserves forgiveness. Forgiveness is all about restoring relationships after someone has done something that deserves God’s black mark.

After a gunman killed five innocent girls in an Amish school, the Amish gathered around his family granting them forgiveness. They forgave the killer, and they forgave his family. Some accused them of a failure to hold the man and his family accountable for unconscionable evil. The Amish, however, had learned well the lesson of the Lord’s Prayer. They recognized that forgiveness does not cover up or excuse evil, but it does refuse to let evil win.

Evil wins when a deed like the murder of five children sets off a campaign for blood vengeance. Supposedly, such a campaign is about justice of the “eye for an eye” variety. Evil masquerades as justice. Evil wins because it reproduces itself over and over as a consequence of one simple act.

If the Amish had been like most people, the dead murderer would have been excoriated and his family would be suspect, too. If the murder had happened in a crack house, each side would have used bullets or knives to get even. I could have avenged myself against my so-called friend by telling her new boyfriend that she said he kissed like a frog.

When we refuse to forgive the undeserving, we pretend that we want justice, but what we really want is revenge. Whether it happens on the schoolyard or in a gang shootout, the first act of revenge is always payback plus a premium for pain and suffering. It creates a cycle of retribution that leads to attitudes with no real focus any more except “us” against “them.” Evil will win, because nobody deserves forgiveness.

Forgiveness defeats evil by naming it and uncovering it and shining the light of truth on it. When somebody deserves a black mark for his behavior, forgiveness does not eradicate accountability.

Forgiveness wipes out the spirit of vengeance, however. Forgiveness enables me to say to my straying spouse, “I love you, I forgive you, and I want to work through this with the help of the Holy Spirit.” We may decide the divorce is the best outcome, but the process need not destroy everything in its path.

Forgiveness enables me to say to my child who lied about being at the movies when he was actually getting drunk at a friend’s house, “You can trust my love. You are grounded, but we will work through this problem together.”

Forgiveness enables the members of a murdered pastor’s church to say to the murderer, “We forgive you. We will stand by you during your trial and visit you in prison. We will not defame you even though we will not cover up the truth of your behavior.” Forgiveness promotes healing. Unwillingness to forgive creates a suppurating wound that will never heal.

Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer to teach us to pray, but the statements of the prayer also teach us how to live. One of the lessons of that simple prayer is that we are to grant forgiveness whether or not it is deserved.

The statement, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” does not require that the trespasser be deserving of our forgiveness. After all, as Paul wrote, Christ died for us before we deserved it. He showed us how to forgive people who don’t deserve any forgiveness. As he was being nailed to the cross, he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Broken relationships litter our world. Jesus came to earth to show us how to heal those relationships. He set a high standard when he told us to love our neighbors the way we love ourselves. We give ourselves mental gold stars when we show love to anyone, and we give other people black marks when they hurt us.

If somebody “deserves” a black mark, it is hard for us to think that he “deserves” forgiveness. We will preserve our right to judge the behavior, even if it breaks our relationships. Those broken relationships will not heal as long as we feel entitled to withhold forgiveness from the undeserving.

We must all learn from God who “proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)


Comments:


Forgiveness is, indeed, a blessing
by: Anonymous

Toni, thank you for your comment. It is quite true that when we forgive, we need to take the next step and love the one whom we forgive. That is what God does for us. He doesn't just forgive us and then dare us to hurt him again. He forgives us and wraps us in his gracious love. You have demonstrated in your life the real meaning of the Lord's Prayer when we say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others." You are living the way Paul taught us to live when he said "Let the same mind be in you that wasa in Christ Jesus." Thank you for sharing your experience.



by: Toni

Wonderful article on forgiveness! This hit home with me because recently I've had to forgive and found the process, as always, difficult and stressful.

It was only when I went to the Father and prayed the Lord's Prayer and asked for guidance on how to forgive and forget, that the answer came.

What I felt the Lord guiding me to do was to not only forgive those who caused me pain and anguish but to also pray that they be blest and find peace.

By doing this I was set free and have found peace and blessings that come from forgiving others.

Thank you so much for your words on forgiveness, for it is very hard to forgive but oh, the blessings and peace that come from it!

Toni



by: Fay Barlow

Thanks for a good article



by: Debra Elliott

Such a powerful message! God bless you

How Do I Make It Through This Mess?

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

When you listen to the nightly news, do you think that storm clouds are gathering? Has the storm already broken in your life? Are there hurricane-force winds, blinding rain, broken and flying debris everywhere you turn?

Garry McNamara was a passenger on US Airways Flight 1549. After several terrifying minutes, he found himself among those standing on the wing of the plane in the photos we all viewed as events unfolded.

In an interview later, he said that this experience led him to ask himself, "What am I supposed to do with this gift??" Garry recognized that his life could have ended the day that airplane crashed, but it didn't. Instead he is now unwrapping God's beautiful gift to him - the gift of life.

The writer of the book of Psalms went through some experiences just as terrifying as the nightly news, and he had days when he felt just like Garry McNamara. Circumstances made life look bleak, even hopeless, yet the psalmist, in his darkest moments was never hopeless. He said,

Not a day goes by
but somebody beats me up;
They make it their duty
to beat me up.
When I get really afraid
I come to you in trust. (Psalm 56:2-4)

When life is so confusing and discouraging, we feel as if we have fallen into a flooded river filled with rocks. We can't stop, we can't swim out, and if we simply go with the flow we will probably be beaten to death. In times like this we need to remember who the enemy is. It isn't government. It isn't big business. It isn't even human greed or huge lies.

The real enemy is Satan. The book of Revelation tells us that after he was thrown out of heaven, he "went off to make war on... those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus." (Revelation 12:17)

We can and should hold people in public and corporate leadership accountable for their actions, but at the root of all the bad news we hear daily is Satan's insidious work in the sinful hearts of people.

There is one response to this situation that addresses the root cause and brings about real change in our own lives. We can pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, saying, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6:13)

hen we pray this prayer, we confess that we, too, are subject to temptations, and we assert our faith that God will defeat Satan's attacks.

If it is hard to pray this prayer, if you wonder if God really is in control, if you think all the important things are falling apart, then I recommend that you make a gift list.

Get a piece of paper and a pencil. Walk around your house and look for all the presents that were under your Christmas tree in December. It has been less than two months since that big day. Write down any of those presents that are still in use, still treasured, still important.

That list may look a bit discouraging, especially if you are still paying the credit card bill for those purchases.

Next, look at your family, and write down their names. Then write down this sentence with your name in it:

God loved (your name) so much that he gave His only son so that (your name) may not perish, but have eternal life.

Like Garry McNamara, you have received a beautiful gift from God, a gift that will not wear out or go out of style. Nobody, not even big government or big corporations, can steal it from you. By God's grace, the charge for this precious gift has already been paid.

God's most precious gift to you is your life, the life you have today, the life that will go on into eternity. God loves you so much that when you feel battered and afraid you can run to God and be safe. He will go with you through the storm.

He will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent. (Psalm 27:5)

Just Be Still

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

Be silent before the Sovereign Lord. Zephaniah 1:7

“Hard work” is an American mantra. We apply it to success in business, family life and spiritual growth. We live by the notion that discipline means persistence in difficult tasks and ruthlessly focusing on a goal. The discipline of spiritual growth, however, may also mean choosing to do nothing. Casting aside everything that distracts us from knowing God may require us to do something that is truly extraordinary: be quiet.

The Bible tells many stories that include mention of being quiet before God. Some of those stories are more like reprimands than incentives to grow.

For example, Habakkuk wrote of a time when arrogant, power-hungry men scorned God’s people and God’s law. He asked “Lord, aren’t you going to do something?” paraphrase of Hab 1:13. The Lord’s answer was, “Absolutely, and don’t think their idols will save them.” paraphrase of Hab 2:19. Then God says, “Let all the earth be silent,” or, to paraphrase “Shut up and show some respect in my presence.” Hab 2:20

The prophets repeatedly recommend silence when they warn that God’s judgment will fall on the wicked. They say that those who think they can ignore him will meet him suddenly. In that moment, they will see themselves in the light of God’s glory, and they will be shocked into silence by the comparison.

The Bible also talks about another kind of silence. This silence also grows out of a feeling of awe in God’s presence. However, rather than a silence born of fear, it is awe rooted in worshipful reverence. It is silence that expresses the respect that grows out of the experience of being in God’s presence. It is a pregnant silence that brings forth praise.

In Psalm 39, the writer stands before God and feels so thoroughly humbled that he says, “I will put a muzzle on my mouth.” Psalm 39:1 He stands silent as long as he can, but then “as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.” Psalm 39:3 His reverent silence before the Lord as one unworthy to speak ends when prayer explodes from his soul. He says, “My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions.” Psalm 39:7-8 His silence has become praise.

A similar thing happens in Psalm 62:1. The imagery is less graphic, but no less compelling. The writer opens by saying, “My soul finds rest in God alone,” but he just can’t be silent. He is overwhelmed by God’s power and by this loving protection. “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him.” Psalm 62:8 He sees how valueless he is by comparison with God, but he can’t stop talking about how the Lord cares for him. “You, O Lord, are loving,” Psalm 62:12 he says, affirming the amazing truth that God loves people, even though a man is “but a breath.” Psalm 62:9

A “literal” translation of Psalm 65:1 might be “for you, silence, praise.” The feeling is one of speechlessness at the sight of God. The silence ends when the amazing and glorious presence of God simply draws out praise. Praise because “when we were overwhelmed by our sins, you forgave our transgressions.” Psalm 65:13 Praise because he “formed the mountains” and “stilled the roaring of the seas” Psalm 65:6-7 Praise simply because “you call forth songs of joy.” Psalm 65:8

This silence is not a command. It is a reverent reaction to God’s presence, but the very reverence itself explodes into praise. The Psalmist can no more contain his praise than the apostle Paul could contain the gospel. Reverent speechless silence becomes eloquent worshipful speech when someone truly sees God.

When I discipline myself in order to grow spiritually, I might say to myself, “Be quiet. Settle down. Quit fidgeting. Get ready to meet God.” However, I cannot force any growth by taking any action. Real growth only happens after I am shocked into silence by God’s glory. I will know that I am growing when I quit worrying about it and let God’s presence draw from me, as it drew from David, the praise our Lord deserves. “You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” Psalm 65:5

© 2004 Katherine Harms

all rights reserved

Gratefulness, the Heart of Stewardship

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

Do you ask yourself how much money a good steward would give to your church? Do you want to please God by giving the right amount? How do you define good stewardship?

All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord. Leviticus 27:30

You tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. Matthew 23:23

When I was a small child, I believed that stewardship was about money. Long sermons called congregants to responsible stewardship. Stewardship seemed to equal tithing. I struggled with calculation of my tithe like a Pharisee counting out garden herbs. Then some familiar words touched me with an unfamiliar emphasis.

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it. Psalm 24:1

I had become pleased with myself for tithing “my” money, but this verse shouted that it wasn’t mine at all. In fact, it appeared that there was no such thing as “mine.” The words were familiar, but the lesson jolted me. I owned nothing; God owned everything.

This was scary. And daunting. I had spent years learning the discipline of tithing. However, if God owned everything, then how could I give him anything? I was transported back to my childhood when my mother gave me money to buy her a birthday present. I felt impoverished and helpless.

You prepare a table before me. Psalm 23:5

Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

One day these familiar verses spoke to me as if for the first time. God was providing my food! I thought I was taking my money to the store and choosing and buying food, which I took home and prepared as I wished. I thought wrong. God was preparing the table. It was God’s provision that filled my pantry. God was giving me what he owned. When a person gives me the gift of a meal, I feel obligated to reciprocate, but God does not need to eat. I felt accountable for the meal, but I did not know what to do about it. God was not finished with me yet.

On my next trip to the grocery store I started, as usual, with produce. I selected a rich red, fully ripe tomato with a bit of green stem still attached. The flesh was firm but yielding to the touch. It even smelled like a tomato. The aroma carried me into a reverie wherein I savored the simple tomato-ness of that delightful fruit.

When I resumed reality, I was humming some nameless tune. I had fallen through a hole in time and space into something eternal and ineffable. I became profoundly aware that this tomato, precisely this tomato, was God’s creation and a gift to me. Enveloped by this revelation, I continued shopping. Everything I picked up seemed extraordinary. My shopping trip felt like a succession of lovely surprises as I moved among God’s gifts to me.

The surprise led directly to thanksgiving. When somebody gives me a special gift, I always feel thankful. Some people have a talent for choosing gifts that fulfill a yearning the recipient has not even verbalized. God’s tomato was that kind of gift to me. I felt deep gratitude for the tomato and for all the other foods I purchased that day. My thanksgiving extended beyond thankfulness for the foods themselves. I thought about all the people who participated in bringing the food from field to shelf. I meditated on the miracle that God created a world where, instead of some chow called “peoplefood,” we are blessed with tomatoes. I did not own “my” food at all. God had lovingly created this rich gift for me. I was profoundly grateful to God and to all those people.

Overflowing with gratefulness, I prepared meals with this food. I felt about this food the way I felt as a child when my grandmother gave me Easter candy. I always feared losing some of the connection with my grandmother if I failed to taste and enjoy every bite of the Easter candy. Likewise, I felt that it would be an ungrateful to God’s generosity if I wasted one bite of that food by failing to enjoy it. I took time to taste and appreciate each bite,treasuring and appreciating this wonderful gift of food, I lived out my gratitude for something that had never been mine.

This experience opened my eyes. . If God created everything and owned everything, then everything I “possessed” was His. . Nothing was mine to waste. Nothing was mine to hoard. It belonged to God. It was a heavy responsibility.

You might say that in consequence I learned how to use my money and my purchases in a cost-effective way, but my change of attitude and behavior had nothing to do with money. It was entirely about gratefulness. I was so grateful for what God had provided that I couldn’t bear to waste any of it. I wanted each gift to last as long as possible. I wanted to enjoy each gift to the fullest. It almost sounds as if I became frugal.

We associate the term frugality with responsible use of resources. It sounds better than miserliness. We admire people who can do a lot with a little. We think those people exercise self-discipline. They rigidly distinguish between “want” and “need.” Frugality is associated with what my mother called “a made-up mind.” Frugal people decide to live with what they have, and they succeed. I admire frugality, but I did not become frugal.

I became a steward. The difference is huge. A steward uses what belongs to someone else. The steward is not concerned about much or little of someone else’s possessions. Rather, the steward accounts to the owner for the way the possessions are used.

After I was surprised by God’s beautiful gifts and overwhelmed with gratefulness for those gifts, I gave thanks for the blessing and committed myself to use God’s gifts in ways that pleased God. I did not need to measure how much to give Him. Rather, I needed to demonstrate my gratitude by the way I used all his gifts.

I discovered that stewardship is much bigger than what goes in the offering plate. I still consider tithing to be an element of my accountability to God, but that calculation is not the primary focus of my stewardship. Instead, I focus on my growing sense that I must use all of God’s gifts in ways that serve God’s purposes. God wants my family to be fed, clothed and sheltered, so I use the means he has provided to assure those needs are met.

However, I find that my definition of “need” is refined by my obligation to account to God for what I do with all his gifts. The gift of time. The gift of words. The gift of eyes to see what someone else needs. The gift of love that shares and serves. My gratefulness for the opportunity to be generous to God’s purposes protects me from both the grim discipline of calculating what I owe God and the smug self-satisfaction of feeling that I have paid God what I owe him.

Surprise, gratefulness, thanksgiving, stewardship. That is the road I have traveled. God has given me more than everything I need. He has given me plenty and to spare.

When I was growing up, I heard preachers and teachers on the subject of stewardship say, “You can’t outgive God.” They told stories of people who decided to tithe and were subsequently blessed with riches. I can’t address the truth or falsehood of such stories, but I think that whole idea is backwards. I don’t give to God out of a desire for him to give me more. I am motivated by the realization that I have already received “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.” Luke 6:38 God does not need to repay me, because I can never repay Him.

Prayer is Not Shopping

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

Who is like the Lord, our God,the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? Psalm 113:8

While shopping in Borders last week I was attracted to a book on the end of a shelf. The title included the words "prayer" and "praise." I immediately picked up the book and flipped over to the back to see what it was really about.

To my dismay, it was all about results. The blurb declared that if I could learn to praise God, lives would be changed, bad situations would turn around, unemployed relatives would find work, and so forth. I was assured that I could learn a "prayer" technique that would change the world and get results. I felt that I was being instructed in a method to trick God into thinking I liked Him so He would give me whatever I asked.

I put the book back on the shelf and moved on, but it made me think. There are a lot of people who believe that prayer is about getting results, and many people seem to think that getting results means getting what they want. How many times have you heard people refer to prayers that were not answered? They make it very clear that when they pray (translation "ask") for something and don't get it, then God has failed to answer them.

I find this idea very troubling. Have we reduced prayer to online ordering about which we are free to complain when the service is not up to our expectations? What is prayer, anyway?

How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
And call on the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:12-13

Sometimes I like to compare prayer to our relationships with our families. Think about a visit with relatives. When they open the door, you probably hug each other. There is a lot of flutter and chatter. "How are you?" "It is so good to see you." "It's been too long." "Sit over here where it is more comfortable." "Would you like some coffee?"

The conversation isn't very structured, and many conversational lines are lost as someone says "Oh, that reminds me". Probably there will be a meal, accompanied by oohs and aahs about the food and the table and the dishes. When the visit is over, there are more hugs and chatter and finally you leave.

In this setting, it is doubtful you ever make any request of greater import than "Please pass the potatoes." You want to know what is happening with your relatives. You want to tell them what is happening with you. You want to laugh and cry and talk together. You want to be in the same place doing the same things.

The sharing and the time together is what matters. Something important to the family relationship is nourished by simply being together, touching, talking, listening, becoming intertwined in each other's lives and hearts.

I don't observe that we often visit with God in this way, and I think we are missing something if we don't. The Bible certainly teaches us to show respect for God, and that respect ought to keep us from being too "chummy" with God. On the other hand, we are taught that He is our father, and many of us have warm memories of time spent with our fathers doing nothing in particular.

I remember fondly the hours spent with my father searching together for wildflowers and trying to find Saturn in the night sky.

As a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
For he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14

When I was small, my father had to travel occasionally. If we could not go along, my brother and I missed him very much. When he came back home, we were excited to see him. He always brought us little gifts, and the gifts told us that he missed us, too, but the gifts were not the reason we were glad to see him. The real reason was that when he was gone, there was a huge emptiness at the supper table. After he came back, the kitchen seemed full of life and love again.

God wants to be related to us the way my father was related to me. He wants to be with us and share our lives. He certainly wants to give us gifts, and he doesn't even mind if we ask for gifts. In fact, He tells us to ask for what we need. But our conversations must seem quite boring and self-centered when all we bring to the dialogue is a shopping list.

We need to remember that our life in Christ is always lived at the intersection of the grace we receive and the acts with which we respond. Our prayers are the conversations we have at that intersection. Sometimes we tell God our troubles, and sometimes we tell Him our adventures. Sometimes we are needy, and sometimes we are excited. He wants to hear us talk, and He wants to talk with us. It is a family thing.

Prayer time with God can be like visits with my grandmother. My grandmother always welcomed us effusively, and set a groaning table before us. She always had some gift to give us before we went away.

I never will get even with my grandmother's giving spirit if I live to be a hundred years old, but the gifts were frivolous extras compared to the rich experience of just being with her. To visit with her was to be swept up in a joyful exuberance for life.

I can never get even with God, either. I don't even know how to be thankful enough for all I have received, and I am very grateful that He allows me to ask for what I need. But some of our time together is not about giving and receiving. Sometimes prayer is simply an exuberant and joyful visit with my heavenly Father.

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
Make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
Tell of all his wonderful acts. Psalm 105:1-2



Comments:


For Katherine
by: Toni

Katherine,

This is a wonderful article and felt like a journey from one heart to another. At the end of the article I was left feeling like what is most important is the path we walk with Christ and the fellowship with Him, rather than the end result of "what's in it for me?"

So often, many of us expect certain things from Christ when the very best of Christ is just being with Him, loving and trusting in Him...

Wonderful piece that will stay with me for a long time...



by: cgeewriter

So well put! I still go back to ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. When you truly ACT, your shopping list seems to grow smaller and smaller. As a prayer- warrior- in- training I do have a list of folks I pray for; however, when I'm truly visiting with my Abba, He already knows their needs & I can leave them in His hands. Scripture tells us to ask, tells us to join together in prayer & I wondered why if He knows everyone's needs. He answers with "I thought you'd never ask." Then I realize anew that my asking is a form of obedience & that I have been given the honor to bring those needs before Him. Imagine it: the prayers of the saints being placed into golden bowls (Rev. 5:8)at His altar!
Glad you saw that book,,, also glad you put it back. Keep writing the truth! cg



by: Margaret Wright


Very well explained about prayer.

It is a visit with the Father! Many times I'm before Him on my knees just so happy to be there and say nothing.
Other times I reminance my life with Him.
I enjoy His Presence all day long
I LOVE HIM AND SO THANKFUL THAT HE LOVES ME TOO.

God bless you as you enjoy your times with Father!
With love
Margaret

Where is Your Real Treasure?

by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)

Job had a really awful, terrible, bad day. A man wealthy beyond most people's dreams, esteemed by his neighbors for his wealth and power, was reduced to abject poverty in a single day.

A messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you."...Another came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you."...Another came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you."...Another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you." Job 1:14-19

All these messages appear to have arrived in rapid succession, maybe even within minutes of each other. Job had no way to know the reason for this terrible tragedy. For him, it would have been like watching the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapse into rubble. His world was crushed, destroyed, over.

According to popular legend Job reacted with patience. It is common to recall his story by saying things like, "This craziness would try the patience of Job." In that interpretation of his story, we are led to believe that he simply outlasted his troubles in the hope of better things to come. By an act of will, he overcame his problems. He refused to despair because he had inner strength.

Other people have suggested that Job simply accepted reality. Why fight what happens? You can"t reverse it. There is no way to go back and fix what is broken. Be a realist. Pick yourself up. Get on with life. Never give up. You can beat this. Easy come, easy go. Don"t worry. Be happy.

Neither of these explanations describes Job's attitude.

Like any of us, Job was hurt and confused by the turn of events. Unlike his wife, his faith was not shattered. Job endured and triumphed in this situation by keeping an important truth uppermost in his mind: everything belongs to God. He acknowledged that his possessions and even his family were lent to him by God. They all belonged to God. Job recognized that he held them all as a steward, not an owner.

In our daily lives, we are bombarded by a frenzied attempt to make us value possessions more than anything else. We are told that people will judge us by our possessions. If we want to be "cool" we will own a certain phone. If we want respect in the boardroom, we will wear a certain brand of suit. If we want the opposite sex to be attracted, we will look a certain way. Our bodies, our clothes, our houses, cars and even our watches can make or break us. We can achieve power by choosing the right possessions.

We are also told that our choices can propel us in the workplace. By force of will and a discipline enforced by the right planner and the right time management software, we can impress our customers and our superiors. We can rise professionally and earn more and more money, so we can buy more of the things that will impress people around us. Our will can drive us to our selected goals.

Jesus talked about a man who lived this way. We call this man the Rich Fool. One year, he had a harvest so large that he could see his way to a comfortable retirement. All he needed was a strategy to optimize his investments so they would take care of him forever. He pulled down his barns and built huge ones. He put all his wealth in those barns. Then he said to himself, "Self, you are set for life. Just enjoy!" That night God confronted him with his mortality. God reminded him that nobody takes a U-haul to heaven. (See Luke 12:13-21)

Ultimately, it is all about the location of our treasure. Jesus said, "Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." (Luke 12:33) The Rich Fool's treasure was on earth, in his big barns. Job's treasure was in heaven, in the Lord himself. That is why he could say,

["Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."


Comments:


Thanks!
by: Lynn Mosher

In this day of the world's way of thinking that grabbing all one can is beneficial to one's way of life, this is a great reminder to all of us that it is only the Lord's way that is beneficial for our lives and that He is our ultimate and true treasure. Thank you for sharing this.



by: Susan

I've never had a day as bad as Job's, but I've had some bad days. I wish we could easily internalize the message here, but it's very difficult. How do we as parents teach today's children, who are caught up in higher and higher price tag items for entertainment and peer acceptance? How do we adopt Job's attitude? Could any of us accept this as Job did? I'm afraid I couldn't.