Friday Morning Devotion (Ignore the Crowd)

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

1When he came near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 2and told them, “Go into the village that is across from you, and as soon as you go into it, you will find a donkey tied up, on whom no human has sat. Untie it and bring it. 3And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The master needs it, and he will send it back here immediately.'” 4And they went and found the donkey tied up by the gate outside on the street, and they untied it. 5And certain persons who were standing there asked them, “What are you doing untying the donkey?” 6But they said to them just what Jesus had told them, and so they left them alone. 7And they brought the donkey to Jesus, and they threw their garments on it, and he sat on it. 8And many spread out their garments on the path, but others broke off leafy branches out of the fields. 9And they went before him and followed him, saying,

Hosanna
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David,
Hosanna in the highest!

11And he went into Jerusalem, into the temple, and he looked over everything, and it being evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. — Mark 11:1-11

Christians have a very nervous love-hate relationship with crowds and popularity. On the one hand we celebrate growing churches, new members, and newly opened mission fields where Christians are popularity. On the other hand, sometimes we almost revel in opposition, finding a confirmation of our “rightness” when others oppose us.

A key fact about the ministry of Jesus is that he never—except once—went along with the crowd. He didn’t give them what they wanted. He didn’t just answer their questions in ways they did not understand or appreciate. He challenged the questions themselves. He didn’t do what was expected of them. In fact, he did just the opposite.

But one day, on the way into Jerusalem, he called for a donkey, mounted it, and rode into the city in an action rich in symbolism. The crowds went wild. They cheered and yelled. They loved it! This was the Jesus they had been looking at. The scene gave every appearance of a popular leader on a procession with his followers. Looking with physical eyes, it looked like Jesus and the crowd were going in the same direction.

With hindsight, we know that this was the opening move in the series of events that went to the cross. The people followed one they hoped would be a king in to his future capital. The king rode into the city to die for the sins of his followers. Looked at spiritually they were going in opposite directions!

This story can teach us many things, but I want to emphasize three lessons about crowds:

1. At times, even when the crowd is following you, you will actually be suffering rejection. I remember once preaching a sermon that was well received. At the end of the service a number of people shook my hands, telling me what a truly good message it was and how well I had presented it. Over the next week, in conversation with many of the same people I learned an important lesson. Each person had heard just what they wanted to hear, and not the message I had intended to convey. I’m not sure whether I left too many loopholes in the presentation, or whether people were just determined to hear what they wanted to hear, but the impact of the sermon was, so far as I can tell, none at all. Just because the crowd is congratulating you doesn’t mean they’re with you.

2. It’s easy to get a crowd following you if you’re doing what they want. Jesus picked up crowds all the time, often on just the hope that he would do what they wanted. The crowd that gathered to follow him in the triumphal entry was there because they thought he was doing what they wanted him to do. They thought he was proclaiming the Messianic kingdom.

3. The crowd leaves when you depart from their plan. Notice the end of the story. The crowd just seems to melt away. Their goal will not be fulfilled. They move on to other issues. You can’t build up a following that will go with you to the cross by training them to go with you in ease and approval. They’ll leave you when you leave their plan.

This is why Jesus told people to take up their cross and follow him. He knew that if you follow for the bread and fish, for the water made wine, and even for the healings, you’re likely to drop out when it comes time to face the cross.

Are you a leader? Ignore the crowd. Go for the gold, and let those who truly want to go where you’re going follow. Are you a follower? Don’t find the leader who does everything the way you want it done. Find the leader who is going for the gold.

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Thursday Morning Devotion (Sharing and Listening)

Posted on July 5, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

?22? Without counsel, plans go wrong,

but with many advisers they succeed. — Proverbs 15:22 (NRSV)

The final part of the Bible study method I teach, though by no means the least important, is sharing. By sharing here I don’t mean simply telling other people what you have learned, but testing your understanding by presenting it to other people, especially other Bible students, and then listening to what they have to say about what you learned. In the prior step, I’ve suggested looking at what other great leaders of the church have said over the centuries. I would suggest you talk to them, but they’ve already gone on to glory, so you can’t. But the point is the same. It’s very easy for any one of us to misunderstand something in scripture, but by sharing with one another and testing what we have learned, we can become much more confident.

Our proverb today advises us on something similar. Without counsel, without discussion and input, plans go wrong. We’ve all experienced this. Visionary thinkers are especially subject to this problem. They envision some massive project complete with all the frills and the wonderful results that are sure to follow. Often, however, they do not count the cost. I’m guilty of this. I can imagine and vision many great things, but I need others to help me flesh them out and make them work.

On the other hand there are some people who can’t imagine anything. Their vision is limited to the known, the stuff that has been proven possible. They know all the reasons something won’t succeed. To them, this sounds safe. The problem is that while they will waste less resources on their own than the visionaries, they will tend to accomplish very little.

Combine the two, and you will see great things accomplished. In order to combine them, however, you will probably need a multitude of counselors, as our text says. Even more importantly, everyone will have to learn to listen to their counsel.

Now this in itself is an important spiritual lesson. But today I’m using it as an illustration for our spiritual life and our church life. It’s a natural human tendency to listen to the people closest to us. They are familiar and safe. But they also tend to be people who already agree with us and like the things we are going to say. I’m a member of a United Methodist congregation. Our tendency can be to look around only at what other Methodist churches use for curriculum, how other Methodist churches do worship, and how other Methodist churches organize projects. You can extend the list, I’m sure. Our friends down the road, whether they be Assembly of God, Baptist, Presbyterian, independent, or wear any one of a number of other labels, will also tend strongly to learn from other people with the same label.

But just as with my personal study and life, or with any physical project, if I limit the ideas that I hear, I also limit my possibility. With many counselors, there a plan is established.

Just this week I was discussing a topic on the Internet, when suddenly somebody mentioned another tradition, in this case the Eastern Orthodox. That tradition, he told me, has something to say on the topic. I did some reading this morning and indeed, there is some wonderful new perspectives for me to consider.

I don’t know how far afield you’re ready to travel. Often we’re afraid of reading things that just might contain error. I’m not suggesting that you agree with or absorb everything someone says. Your best approach might be to argue vigorously. But you need to hear some things that are a bit off of your current path. It will help you grow.

What new thing will you learn today?

Note: This is Henry, Jody’s husband. Jody has decided to go a bit out of her comfort zone and started a blog for commentary on news that is of interest and so forth. She plans a couple of entries there a week. We will continue posting the devotionals here, and we will still share the writing duties. To check out her new blog, go to jodyneufeld.com.

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How Do You Get Back to Trust?

Posted on July 3, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

(To the director, for the order of Korah, on high notes, a song)
1God is our safe hiding place,
Easy to find when danger strikes.
2We won’t fear

When the world is broken,
When mountains crash into the sea.
3When roaring waves crash over us,
As mountains shake at the sound.

4There is a river, with streams that make God’s city glad,
The holy place where lives the Highest God.
5God is there, right in town!
The city won’t be moved.
Early in the morning,
God will help.
6Nations are troubled!
Kingdoms totter!
God shouts!
Earth trembles!

7YHWH is here with his army.
Our parents’ God is our high ground.

8Come! See what YHWH has done!
The kinds of places he’s wiped out.
9He stops wars anywhere-now!
He splinters bows and breaks spears!
He burns chariots!
10Calm down. Know that I’m God.
All nations will know that I am boss.
The world will know that I am in charge.

11YHWH is here with his army.
Our parents’ God is our high ground. — Psalm 46

This is my own modernized translation of Psalm 46, taken from a blog post I wrote more than a year ago. It’s hard to translate poetry, and it is especially hard to translate popular Psalms. I am guessing that the majority of you will be unhappy with the sound of my modernized translation. If so, go look at the article on translation, and read my other options. That may disturb you even more.

Why do these translations disturb us? I believe it is because we have incorporated this familiar Psalm into our worship and our experience of God. Many of us have had times in our lives when the words of Psalm 46 or one of many other familiar Psalms have been something that we can hold onto. We want to hear it in the same way as we remember it. We want to feel the power not only of the words, but of the way God has used those words before in our own lives. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.

Feel free to look up Psalm 46 in your favorite Bible translation, read it, and let the words flow over you. Can you remember those times in your life when “Be still and know that I am God” (the KJV, which is the one I remember) was precisely what you needed to hear, and you did hear it?

My point today is not about Bible translation. I’m just using that point to illustrate an important fact. We each have different ways of getting our focus back, of reminding ourselves that God is present and still sovereign, and that he has things under control. Unless you’re a very exceptional person, there are times when you doubt. Your world is shaken. You’re really, really worried. What do you do then?

All of us pious folks will tell you to just trust in God. He’ll take care of you. But how do you go from the place of worry to the place of trust? That generally isn’t nearly as easy. It’s so frustrating to all the perfect people around you when they see that you just can’t quite “get it.” They know you know, you know you know, everyone knows, but you just can’t get there.

I have a suggestion. Ask yourself just what it is that you have done before when you felt overwhelmed and worry was taking over. I’m going to assume that you’re in a place of faith this morning, or that at least there have been good times since your last crisis. How did you get back?

For many people, I know, it’s a time of prayer. Often the longer the time of prayer the better. If they can rebuke Satan enough times, and call on God enough times, they will begin to realize that God is still sovereign, and remember their faith and trust in him. Please don’t hear this sarcastically! If you look back in your life and realize that it was in such a time of prayer that you have overcome the times of doubt, fix that in your memory. Then when the next crisis comes, do it!

For me, it’s usually Bible reading or study. I don’t mean that prayer is unimportant, but I’ll come out of those long sessions that help others still uncertain. I have to go back to scriptures, like Psalm 46, and read them for myself, and my speed, appreciating each line. That’s when I hear God speaking to me, and I remember him, and my sense of trust is restored.

There is no formula, and it’s not just about God. We like to make the pious statement that “It’s all about God.” But to God, it’s all about YOU. That’s why he sent Jesus to die for YOU. God isn’t having a crisis of trust or faith. He’s fine. He knows his throne is established. So it’s OK for you to have your own needs, your own way of getting your confidence back.

Once you have it, practice it regularly. That’s the way to avoid having a crisis in the first place.

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Monday Morning Devotion (Crying Out)

Posted on July 2, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

46Now they came to Jericho, and as he was coming out of Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sat by the road. 47And when he had heard that Jesus the Nazarene was coming, he cried out and said, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me.” 48And some folks began to rebuke him so that he would shut up. 49But Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Calm down! He’s calling you!” — Mark 10:46-49

This is part of the featured text for the Bible Pacesetter Podcast today, in which I’m dealing with what we need to do in order to heal our blindness to spiritual things.

The story isn’t explicitly about spiritual blindness. In it, Jesus encounters a blind person—physically blind—along the way, and heals him. I believe, however, that in the way the story is placed in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is trying to get across to his disciples, and Mark is trying to tell his readers, how they can get past their own inability to see what God is doing.

In Mark, starting with Mark 8:31, Jesus has tried to get across to his disciples the nature of his kingdom. Each time the disciples display how thoroughly they misunderstand him. In Mark 10:32-34 Jesus again tells his disciples that he is going to die. Immediately afterward, James and John ask for the seats on the right and left. In our 21st century 20/20 hindsight, we can picture Jesus on the cross with someone crucified on either side. Could those “seats” have been reserved for James and John?

We’re all ready to ride up to Jerusalem with Jesus for him to take his throne. Are we also ready to go there with Jesus to get on his cross?

It’s an important question. Judging what God is doing based on opposition and hardship is very dangerous. You can undergo opposition and hardship because you are on the right track and the enemy wants you stopped. You can undergo similar hardship because God is training you for a new mission. You can undergo difficulty simply because there is evil in the world, and here you are.

In the movie Bruce Almighty, there’s a scene in which Bruce is trying to manage the prayers that are coming in, and they’re overwhelming him. God tells Bruce he’s only dealing with the prayers in a few block radius. When a hurricane is coming in, we tend to yell to God, “Why are you letting this happen to me?” I sometimes picture God saying, “It’s nothing personal. It’s just a hurricane.”

But sometimes it feels like your life is a wreck, and the incoming hurricane is coming directly at you, and it is personal. What do you do?

Well, take a lesson from Bartimaeus. Cry out to Jesus. Don’t be afraid of bothering the crowd. Don’t let them stop you when they tell you to shut up and quit bothering the master. Keep on crying out!

But when Jesus comes and touches you, don’t be surprised if he heals your blindness, your lack of understanding about his purposes, rather than taking away your personal hurricane.

I think about 90% (or more) of God’s answers to our prayers does not involve performing a physical miracle or changing someone else. It involves changing us and our perspective. It involves putting us in the right place and getting us oriented to what God is already doing. We want to change God; God wants to change us.

Are you ready to let him work?

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Friday Morning Devotion (What Keeps YOU from Understanding?)

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

32Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them, and the disciples were amazed. But those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve aside again, he began to tell them again about things that were about to happen to him. 33“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the son of man will be betrayed to the high priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the gentiles, 34And they will strike him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him, but after three days he will rise up from the dead.”

35And James and John, the sons of Zebedee approached him and said, “Teacher, We want to ask you something and have you do it for us.” 36So he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37They said to him, “Appoint us [to positions] so that one of us will sit at your right hand and one at your left in your glory.” — Mark 10:31-37

In a short central section of the gospel of Mark Jesus tells his disciples three times that he is going to die. After each one, there is a strong indication that the disciples don’t understand. After the first declaration in Mark 8:31, Peter tries to rebuke Jesus. After the second in Mark 9:30-32 we are told outright that the disciples don’t understand, and then this is demonstrated when they continue to argue about their position in the coming kingdom. In our passage today, Jesus again tells them what is coming. This time there is no statement that they don’t understand, but it is pretty clear that they don’t, because James and John immediately request the positions of power. If you’re headed to the cross, you don’t ask for the leading positions!

We look back at the disciples and we shake our heads in wonder at how they don’t understand what Jesus is saying. But do we actually understand any better, even with 20/20 hindsight? We look for the best positions in the world, and hope that the kingdom doesn’t get in the way. If we serve the kingdom, we’re looking for the best positions there. But what if Jesus is calling us to something else?

Here are three things that can keep us from understanding what Jesus is saying:

  1. Our own agenda. When Jesus announces his death in Mark 8:31, Peter is so confident of what is really going to happen that he rebukes Jesus. He tells the master that he’s wrong! Have you ever had a discussion with someone in a church committee, for example, and after much effort you believe you have persuaded that person to follow you’re plan, yet when the time comes, they still follow the one they accepted in the first place? I remember how it was to argue with my dad. He’d apparently listen. He’d nod his head. But in the end, he didn’t change his mind.
  2. Fear. We can use simple fear to exclude certain possibilities. What are you afraid of in God’s kingdom? Is it poverty? The dangers of living in a hostile foreign country? Embarrassment? Loneliness? You may miss God’s call because it doesn’t fit your plan.
  3. Ambition. What position is God calling you to? You can miss his call because your ambition doesn’t fit his call. We commonly use this to tell people they need to accept a lower position. But many people refuse positions of leadership because they feel inadequate. Their ambition doesn’t match God’s! Be ready to listen even if God calls you to something you don’t believe you can do.

We have just as much trouble today hearing what God is saying to us. I pray that God will clear the clutter in our minds as we listen for his voice.

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Thursday Morning Devotion (Hearing the Truth Teller)

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name fills all the earth and overflows the heavens. You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies!

When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers – the moon and the stars you have made – I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him! And yet you have made him only a little lower than the angels, and placed a crown of glory and honor upon his head. Psalm 8:1-5 TLB

I came home last night feeling pretty beat up. And I suspect with that statement, there are several nodding heads and half-smiles that tell me “Yup! Been there and felt that!” I drove home with no radio; just complete silence. That’s unusual for me because I generally love music with my commute. I wanted silence. I wanted the silence because most of my day had been a calliope of voices ALL DAY! Some of the noise came from the actual crowd that is physically part of my environment. Some of the noise was from ‘stuff’ that people screamed at me through their actions and bad attitudes! (Just because I might be paranoid – doesn’t mean they aren’t after me!) And some of the noise was an internal audio tape of ‘stuff’ that I have heard before or words that I thought on my own that people might be saying!

So I drove home wanting to hear THE TRUTH TELLER! I asked God to sift through the day and separate the truth from lies and speak to me. The words from this Psalm were the first words I heard.

Too often we allow ourselves to listen to the wrong ‘station’ frequency inside our heads or in our spirits. 1 Peter 5:8 says that the enemy is a lion the prowls about looking for an opportunity to tear us apart and eat us whole! We MUST intentionally SEEK God’s truth and soak ourselves in HIS TRUTH!

If I hear that I am ‘nothing’ or ‘less than’ someone else, may I recall God’s proclamation of love in Jeremiah 31:3 and Romans 5:8.

If I think God doesn’t see my struggles to meet the needs (not wants!) of my family, may I remember His promises in Scriptures that are numerous!!! They include: Psalm 103:2-3, Matthew 7:9-11, and John 10:10.

In this world, I know and see terrible suffering and events that appear so tragic and, yes, unfair, and wonder, “Where are you, God?” Remember that Jesus said in John 16:31-33 that while trouble may come, HE has OVERCOME the world’s evil. We know how the ‘story’ ends – Revelation 12:11 and 21:1-7. Jesus will walk in front of us and with us and hold us up – I am NOT alone and that is a LIE if that is what I hear!

So I got beat up a bit yesterday but last night I read God’s promises and I slept knowing that my Lord loves me and is with me. I speak that same blessing of truth to each one of you! Take time today and read these Scriptures and let God show you that there are even more!

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Wednesday Morning Devotion (God EXPECTS Me to Forgive)

Posted on June 27, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

How many sins have you committed today? If you are reading your email or surfing the internet while still in bed – it’s early yet! You may not find this a particularly encouraging way to begin a daily devotion – but always remember: God taught it to me first! J

Worry is a sin. Disobedience is a sin. Pride is a sin. Gossip is a sin. Anger is a sin. A critical spirit “falls short” of God’s glorious love! Un-forgiveness is a sin. OK. The debt that I owe is getting ‘way too high!

Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?”

Jesus answer: Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! Matthew 18:21-22 CEV

What am I holding in my heart that is creating a WEIGHT OF SIN that is too much to carry and crowding out the gifts of grace that God desires to put IN to me? How can I possibly pay the debt that I run up every day?

[Jesus continues] This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like: One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. As he was doing this, one official was brought in who owed him fifty million silver coins. But he didn’t have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt.

The official got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!” The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.” Matthew 18:23-27 CEV

Take some time today and read the whole story, Matthew 18:23-35. The forgiven official goes on to “roust” another official who owed him money (much less!) and when the king found out about that – he called the forgiven official an “EVIL MAN!” and sent him to be tortured until he could pay back what he originally owed. Jesus ends by saying, “THAT is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don’t forgive each of my followers with all your heart.” Matthew 18:35, CEV

If there are sins in my life that I seem unable to forget, even forgive myself and let go of them, holding them inside, the first thing I need to do is allow the Holy Spirit to examine heart for any un-forgiveness of others. Yes, un-forgiveness of others will create a bottleneck inside my heart that will not allow God’s forgiveness, God’s mercy to wash me clean!

I am a Child of God that is given gallons and gallons of God’s grace every day. You may have heard it compared to God depositing His grace into my spiritual bank account and it become an asset! When someone lashes out at me, I can draw on that account and extend the credit to others. God EXPECTS me to forgive others with the same speed that I receive HIS forgiveness!

Forgiving someone doesn’t “let them off”. Forgiving someone allows GOD to be the only judge in the situation – since He is the only one righteous enough!

Take the steps to forgiveness one at a time. Stop speaking/thinking badly about the person. Stop recalling all the reasons why they deserve to be un-forgiven. Pray for them. That’s right, pray for them. That means speaking blessings of the good gifts of God over them.

At the end of the day, I choose to live with what will live inside of me. I can live IN forgiveness and WITH forgiveness – or not. God is here and more than ready extend His forgiveness TO me. God is here and more than ready to help me extend that V-E-R-Y same forgiveness to others. It’s my choice to sleep with the peace of forgiveness. It is God’s gift.

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Tuesday Morning Devotion (Counting Blessings)

Posted on June 26, 2007 by Jody Neufeld

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One of the things that I am not very consistent about is counting my blessings; writing them down. If I am going to lay my requests before God, then it makes sense for me to also lay all the blessings He has given me.

Counting the gifts and blessings that God has given me keeps my eyes on the many, many reasons for me to rejoice in my life. It reminds me in tangible ways how extravagant my Heavenly Father is. Without taking time to do this will leave me too focused on the answers I haven’t received yet or the ways that I may wonder if an answer is going to come!

I was reading the story again of Abraham and Sarah. I get “antsy” and “stressed” if God doesn’t answer my request or question in the next hour or day or week! Abraham and Sarah had to wait DECADES to see the answer to their request about a child!

And what about Israel’s promise from God for a Savior? That answer came not in days but in HUNDREDS of YEARS! Some are still waiting! In that context maybe their ‘blindness’ is a little easier to understand!

The list of God’s gifts are not limited to Scriptures that have lists like 1 Thessalonians, Romans 6:23 and chapter 12, and 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. When I think of gifts I always remember my friend, Hannah, who has made these beautiful, HUGE banners that when you look at them you feel yourself PULLED into worship of God and want to fall to your knees in thanksgiving! Now banner making is not listed in any of the above Scriptures or any Scripture I can remember. Does that make her gift – not a gift? NO! When you see one – you KNOW it is a gift from God! Another friend of mine, Erin, writes wonderful worship dramas and has a great ability to teach them. Is that listed in the Bible? NO!

Each one should use whatever gift he has receive TO SERVE OTHERS, faithfully administering GOD’S GRACE in its VARIOUS forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (emphasis mine)

Here’s another word about God’s grace. It comes to us from the Father in the form of gifts that we are to use to serve others. It comes in many types of gifts. It makes sense to me that if God’s children are so diverse – so will be the gifts that He has given to each of us.

God is LAVISH – EXTRAVAGANT – OVER THE TOP – with His love for us and so I am going to stop right now and begin the list of all the ways that God has poured out His love (grace!) to me! I may have to take off my socks to count! I may have to even ask Henry to remove his socks!!! J

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Monday Morning Devotion (My Grace is Sufficient)

Posted on June 25, 2007 by Jody Neufeld

“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” Joshua 24:15 NIV

Henry shared a devotion with us on Friday giving five points that I should remember as I come to the Lord in prayer. I am reading Max Lucado’s new book, Every Day Deserves A Chance, and then my pastor as part of his sermon this week spoke about God’s grace. I think God is trying to get a specific point through to me!

Every day I have lots of choices to make. Will I get up on time or hit the snooze button and then rush through my morning preparations? Will I give 100% at work or slide by on 95%? Will I notice and comment on all the things Henry did or nitpick on the item he forgot to do? Will I lay down at night and remember the Believer that God put in my path to allow a time of encouraging each other or will I remember the three “jerks” that were also in my path today?

Every choice comes down to one key element: GOD’S GRACE.

“My grace is sufficient for you…” Jesus said to Paul and to me and to you. (2 Corinthians 12:9) God’s unconditional love is sufficient for all occasions and all situations. God’s love is poured out on me not so I can just wallow in it but to soak it up like a sponge and then squeeze it out on others and on situations that I walk through.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:1 NIV

Since God’s grace/love is not just warm and squishy! Yes, it can be. It can be that warm, soft, perfectly-sized blanket on the coldest and loneliest of nights. God’s love doesn’t leave me alone. BUT God’s love is also STRONG. It is armor that protects my heart, my mind, my spirit with God’s truth! It is the strength that lifts my arm to reach out again to someone who isn’t living in the grace of God! Including myself! There’s a good question: Do I allow God’s grace to pour over myself or do I keep beating myself up?

God’s grace is always enough. I need to steep myself in God’s grace. I need to soak in His words and all things that are Him. Worship Him. Listen to Him. CHOOSE (there’s that word again!) to do things that are from God! Do I answer EVERY phone call that rings in my home or on my cell? I LOVE CALLER I.D.! NO! I don’t’ talk to tel-a-marketers and survey takers! Do I let everyone that knocks on my door inside my house? NO! Some people get a small smile and a polite snap of the door SHUT! Neither should I accept every word that comes across a TV or news print or person who spouts their idea of truth or even a joke. Allowing God’s Spirit to put up a “Holy Filter” on my senses and my heart will keep me receiving God’s good grace and filter out the twisted filth of “the other guy”.

God’s grace is given in sufficient quantities and available for me any day, any time. It is up to me to open the gates of my heart to Him and allow that grace to come in to me. It is my choice … every day.

In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the RICHES of GOD’S GRACE that he LAVISHED on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7 NIV (my emphasis)

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Friday Morning Devotion (Affirming God in Intercession)

Posted on June 22, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

12 Our LORD , you are King forever
and will always be famous.
13 You will show pity to Zion
because the time has come.
14 We, your servants,
love each stone in the city,
and we are sad to see them
lying in the dirt.
15 Our LORD , the nations
will honor you,
and all kings on earth
will praise your glory.
16 You will rebuild
the city of Zion.
Your glory will be seen,
17 and the prayers of the homeless
will be answered.

Psalm 102:12-17 (CEV)

A few years back I was teaching a Sunday School class on intercessory prayer, and I worked from Psalm 102. I consider this Psalm to be an excellent example of intercessory prayer. It illustrates a number of valuable principles that intercessors should keep in mind as they pray for others.

But at the end of the Sunday School class a lady approached me, and said that I had presented five affirmations about God that I said we should always make in intercessory prayer. She said I had taken these from the middle of the Psalm, but she hadn’t been able to get them into her notes. What were they? There were no five points in my notes. When I looked at the Psalm I saw some affirmations, but they weren’t organized into five. I didn’t remember making five points. So I had to leave it at that.

A few days ago, reading Psalm 102 for my devotions these five points jumped out at me again. I’d like to share them with you. These are things that we say, or affirm, about God as we approach him in intercessory prayer.

First, God is king (verse 12a). We affirm that God is the ruler, that he is in charge, and that we, as subjects (and children) are under his will. This affirmation is an important antidote to the attack of pride against intercessors who may be inclined to start speaking about what they have done and what they have accomplished.

Second, God and his glory are eternal (12b). The Contemporary English Version that I read above says, “always famous.” The NRSV says, “Your name endures to all generations.” Not only is God in authority over us, but he was in authority over all of our ancestors, and will be over all our descendants. He is eternal.

Third, God is merciful (vs 13 & 14). This is a critical affirmation for the intercessor. It is God’s mercy that is at the root of intercessory prayer. When the king of Nineveh is told by Jonah that his city will be destroyed in 40 days he calls for city-wide prayer because, “God may relent and change his mind” (Jonah 3:9). And indeed the king was right, and God did not destroy the city.

Fourth, God is universal (15). God’s interest is not only in Israel, or in the church, but it is in the entire world. Israel, and the church have been called as instruments for God in that blessing, but God’s interest is always universal.

Fifth, God hears (17). Not only does God hear, but he doesn’t neglect those that society neglects. He hears and answers their prayers.

There is an element of worship and praise that is part of every prayer. In some cases it should be our entire prayer. In facing difficulty, thanksgiving may do us more good than any amount of petitioning. Often it’s our attitude that needs the most change, not the situation or other people involved.

But these affirmations let us know that we can pray with confidence to a God like this.

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