Thursday, June 5, 2008
Grace
Ephesians 2:8 (New Living Translation)
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Ephesians 2:8 (The Message)
The Message (MSG), Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson, [The Message at Navpress] [NavPress]
7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer
April 26
Prayer: Be Patient
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in
prayer.
--Romans 12:12
Think of the kernels of grain, the seed, that the farmer plants in
the ground in the fall of the year. How patient the farmer must be!
Throughout the long, cold winter the seed is dormant. There is no
evidence at all that it is there--covered by the cold earth itself.
The snows come and go. The ground freezes and thaws. Does the
farmer lie awake at night worrying that those seeds he placed in
the ground may be ineffective? He does not. He knows that spring
will come!
And in due course, the sunshine of March or April warms the air.
Spring rains water the ground. The farmer knows then that it will
not be long until green shoots suddenly break out from their
covering of earth. And in their own time, great waving fields of
grain are ready for the harvest. The farmer's faith in the seed he
planted is fully justified.
Likewise, God wants us to be patient with every prayer and
petition we sincerely send up to that heavenly altar. Our praying
done in the Spirit cannot be ineffective. It is as though God is
saying to us: "You have planted the seed. You have prayed for My
will to be done and for My kingdom to come on earth.... The
effective prayers of my son, Jesus, will join with the effective
prayers of righteous men and women. Be patient and put your trust
in Me, day by day!" Jesus Is Victor!, 122.
"Lord, I'm tempted to jot down, 'Give me that patience, and give
it to me now!' That's so typical of our hurried mind-set. Change
that mind-set for me today, Lord, and give me a patient,
steadfast faith, with a willingness to wait for the harvest.
Amen."
Prayer: Be Patient
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in
prayer.
--Romans 12:12
Think of the kernels of grain, the seed, that the farmer plants in
the ground in the fall of the year. How patient the farmer must be!
Throughout the long, cold winter the seed is dormant. There is no
evidence at all that it is there--covered by the cold earth itself.
The snows come and go. The ground freezes and thaws. Does the
farmer lie awake at night worrying that those seeds he placed in
the ground may be ineffective? He does not. He knows that spring
will come!
And in due course, the sunshine of March or April warms the air.
Spring rains water the ground. The farmer knows then that it will
not be long until green shoots suddenly break out from their
covering of earth. And in their own time, great waving fields of
grain are ready for the harvest. The farmer's faith in the seed he
planted is fully justified.
Likewise, God wants us to be patient with every prayer and
petition we sincerely send up to that heavenly altar. Our praying
done in the Spirit cannot be ineffective. It is as though God is
saying to us: "You have planted the seed. You have prayed for My
will to be done and for My kingdom to come on earth.... The
effective prayers of my son, Jesus, will join with the effective
prayers of righteous men and women. Be patient and put your trust
in Me, day by day!" Jesus Is Victor!, 122.
"Lord, I'm tempted to jot down, 'Give me that patience, and give
it to me now!' That's so typical of our hurried mind-set. Change
that mind-set for me today, Lord, and give me a patient,
steadfast faith, with a willingness to wait for the harvest.
Amen."
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Praying on Behalf of Others
April 24, 2008
Praying on Behalf of Others
By Robert H. Schuller
Praying on Behalf of Others
By Robert H. Schuller
I was taught in seminary, "Never assume that a person who is in a death coma is incapable of hearing. They probably just can't respond."
The call came that Stanley Reimer, a beloved friend and a beautiful elder on our church board, was on his way to the hospital with a heart attack. "He may not live until they get him to the hospital," I was told.
A fast drive to the hospital. "He's still alive," they told me when I arrived. "He's in intensive care."
As I stepped into Stanley's room, his doctor drew back from the bed, dropped his head and said, "He's alive – but probably not for long, Reverend Schuller." Without another word the doctor left.
"Stanley," I spoke softly, but strongly, my lips only inches from his ear. "Stanley, it's Dr. Schuller. I've come to ask God to save your life! Stanley, I telephoned the church. Countless prayers are being sent to God right now for you. Stanley, you had a twenty-minute cardiac arrest. You're hurt – badly. But you will recover, Stanley!"
Tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He heard me! "I hear you, Stanley! Your tears are speaking when your lips cannot. You heard me!" More tears came – his and mine.
In a matter of hours, Stanley's eyes opened. Speech – slurred but understandable – returned! He recovered, not completely, but enough to live, laugh, talk, and pray joyful prayers for another ten years. And he never forgot that day when the miracle of new life was given by God in answer to others' prayers on his behalf.
The call came that Stanley Reimer, a beloved friend and a beautiful elder on our church board, was on his way to the hospital with a heart attack. "He may not live until they get him to the hospital," I was told.
A fast drive to the hospital. "He's still alive," they told me when I arrived. "He's in intensive care."
As I stepped into Stanley's room, his doctor drew back from the bed, dropped his head and said, "He's alive – but probably not for long, Reverend Schuller." Without another word the doctor left.
"Stanley," I spoke softly, but strongly, my lips only inches from his ear. "Stanley, it's Dr. Schuller. I've come to ask God to save your life! Stanley, I telephoned the church. Countless prayers are being sent to God right now for you. Stanley, you had a twenty-minute cardiac arrest. You're hurt – badly. But you will recover, Stanley!"
Tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He heard me! "I hear you, Stanley! Your tears are speaking when your lips cannot. You heard me!" More tears came – his and mine.
In a matter of hours, Stanley's eyes opened. Speech – slurred but understandable – returned! He recovered, not completely, but enough to live, laugh, talk, and pray joyful prayers for another ten years. And he never forgot that day when the miracle of new life was given by God in answer to others' prayers on his behalf.
Intercessory prayer is where our faith in a living, loving God grows and glows.
* * *
* * *
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Read or Get Out of the Ministry
March: Pastoral Ministry
The work of a minister is altogether too difficult for any man. We are driven to God for wisdom.
This World: Playground or Battleground?, 86.
March 25
Pastoral Ministry: Read or Get Out of the Ministry
A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding
will attain wise counsel.
--Proverbs 1:5
When a very young minister, I asked the famous holiness preacher,
Joseph H. Smith, whether he would recommend that I read widely in the
secular field. He replied, "Young man, a bee can find nectar in the
weed as well as in the flower." I took his advice (or, to be frank,
I sought confirmation of my own instincts rather than advice) and I
am not sorry that I did.
John Wesley told the young ministers of the Wesleyan Societies to
read or get out of the ministry, and he himself read science and
history with a book propped against his saddle pommel as he rode
from one engagement to another. Andy Dolbow, the American Indian
preacher of considerable note, was a man of little education, but I
once heard him exhort his hearers to improve their minds for the
honor of God. "When you are chopping wood," he explained, "and you
have a dull axe you must work all the harder to cut the log. A sharp
axe makes easy work. So sharpen your axe all you can." The Size of
the Soul, 33.
"In the busyness of life, Lord, help me to always guard time to
sharpen my axe. Amen."
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
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