Dear God, Please Make It Snow! – Matthew 19:14

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little-girl-praying“‘Allow the children to come to me,’ Jesus said. ‘Don’t forbid them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children'” (Matthew 19:14, CEB).

One Saturday morning my little girl woke up early and came in my room and crawled into bed with me. Since I wanted to sleep in, I told her to close her eyes and go back to sleep.

As we were laying there I heard her whisper this prayer: “Dear God, Please make it snow so I can build a snowman.”

Her prayer was cute indeed. But was it biblical? Was it a prayer that God really answers?

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Savage Faith – Lessons from John 6

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CrucifiedWithChrist“Jesus said to them, ‘I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Human One and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me lives because of me’” (John 6:53-57, CEB).

I’m not so certain that in these verses Jesus is just talking about taking communion. Certainly, communion celebrates the flesh and blood sacrifice of Jesus through the imagery of the bread and the wine. I suppose these verses might even be used to support the notion that the bread and wine of the Eucharist is somehow changed into the body and blood of Christ.

But I don’t think that’s at all what Jesus had in mind here.

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God’s End Game – Lessons from John 6

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GodsEndGame“They asked, ‘What must we do in order to accomplish what God requires?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is what God requires, that you believe in him whom God sent'” (John 6:28-29, CEB).

Most Christians are trying to find and do God’s will in their lives. In fact, a lot of our personal prayer and Bible study efforts are focused on knowing and doing God’s will.

As we attempt to find and do God’s will, we have a tendency to gauge whether a thing is God’s will by our circumstances. If things are going our way and we’re successful, then we must be doing God’s will. But if we’re facing difficulties and things aren’t going as planned, then we must be missing God’s will.

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The Devil Amongst Us – Lessons From John 6

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last_supper_restored_da_vinci“’Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?’” (John 6:68-70, NASB).

This declaration by Jesus spoken at the end of a lengthy John Chapter 6 may, at first, seem ambiguous. But, given the events of this chapter, Jesus’ response to Peter’s question is quite revealing. So, let’s do a quick recap of John 6 to see why Jesus would tell Peter that He chose a devil to be one of His disciples.

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God’s Favorite Child – Ephesians 1:5-7

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Favorite-Child“He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved. We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”  (Ephesians 1:5-7, HCSB).

I have two brothers and a sister. Growing up, my mother sometimes told me that I was her smartest and best-looking son and that I was her favorite. I must have believed her because I still think I’m smarter and better looking than my two brothers!

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An Effective, Fervent Christmas Prayer – James 5:16

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fervent_group_prayer-sm“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16, KJV).

Recently I was asked to give the invocation at a public gathering for a Christmas event. I had time to reflect on what I might say for this Christmas prayer. As I considered the words and thoughts most commonly expressed in public prayers, I began to realize that our public prayers are often uttered so as to offend no one in the gathering.

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Everything Is Awesome – Jeremiah 6:13-14

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LegoMoviePicture“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain. And from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14, NASB).

The LEGO Movie is an animated adventure comedy film based on the Lego line of construction toys. The story line is comical yet unnerving because it presents a seemingly plausible explanation for the state of the world in which we live. The Lego characters live in a world that is both utopian and dystopian. They live lives that are cheerily clueless.

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Willing To Do God’s Will – Philippians 2:12-13

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Willing“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13, NASB).

Recently I told a friend about an important life decision that I had made, yet I hadn’t received specific guidance from the Lord that this was what I should do. In my heart it just seemed to be the right decision and one that pointed in the same direction as God has been leading me.

My friend then quoted Psalm 37:23 (ESV): “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way.”

At first I thought that doesn’t seem very spiritual. How can the everyday decisions I make be established by the Lord? After all, I make a lot of bad decisions, too!

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Drift, Part 2: AWE! – Acts 2:43

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Awe_Baby“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” (‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭43‬ NASB)

Our spiritual life can begin to drift when we neglect the practice of our Christianity, our relationship with Christ, our salvation! “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it… how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭1,3; NASB).

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Wait Training, Part 3: Wait Watchers – Isaiah 40:31

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HawkWatching&Waiting“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, KJV).

When we wait upon the Lord, our faith is actually strengthened because the act of waiting develops God’s perspective in us. In other words, it’s Wait Training!

So, wouldn’t you rather be having faith for what you know God wants to do and wants you to do instead of hoping that what you want to do is what God wants you to do?

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