Pull the Rope

"Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might." -- Charles H. Spurgeon

What powerful words from this great preacher of days gone by! As the old hymn says, "oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

Have you pulled the rope today?

"Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray." (Psalm 55:17)

"Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Some Things I Just Don't Understand

Certainly there are a number of things I don't understand. Computers. Automobile engines. Electricity. I'm sure that if I studied any of those subjects in depth, I would come to some level of understanding. But I haven't done that. So, I just accept that they work!

There are many other less complicated things I don't understand. I don't understand why so many college-educated people seem to have so much trouble understanding the difference between it's and its. (One is a possessive pronoun; the other a contraction. If you don't know which is which, look it up!). Similarly, there seems to be a great confusion between there, they're, and their. I can't understand it! I know that social media and auto-correct features on phones probably contribute to this confusion, but it still makes no sense to me.

I'm frustrated when I hear people say things like "I just got my hair did". It makes me crazy. I don't understand why they don't understand that is incorrect!

I don't understand why people make so much noise when they turn the pages of a book or a magazine. OK, I know that really isn't a big deal, but it makes me nuts, so I just threw it in!

I'm sure you're thinking that none of this really matters. And, in terms of eternity, you're right. It doesn't. So let's consider some things I don't understand that do matter.

I don't understand why so many Christians treat the Christian life as for "Sunday morning only".  Why they act as if life from about noon on Sunday until the following Sunday morning is completely unrelated to what they said/did/heard while they were at church on Sunday morning.

Or what about all those people who call themselves Christian yet never seem able to fit church attendance into their weekly schedule. All those people who are "too busy".

One thing I really can't understand is people who call themselves Christian but who never spend time in God's Word. How can someone claim to believe the Bible but have no idea what it says? Never read the Bible. Never study the Bible. I just can't understand it.

What if the only physical nourishment you gave your body was one meal per week on a Sunday morning? How healthy do you think you would be?

What if you only communicated with your spouse or your children once a week? How healthy would the relationship be?

The answer, of course, is not very healthy. How then can we expect our relationship with God to be healthy if we neglect it? 

The Christian life is not meant to be kept in a "Sunday morning box" or to be treated as an insurance policy that we pull out only when we need it. 

I don't understand it. It saddens me to know that so many people call themselves Christian, yet they neglect their relationship with the Lord and His Word. 

We find time for all kinds of other things that are important to us......work, sports, the mall, the gym, the beach. But we're too busy for God.

It grieves my heart. And I'm sure it grieves the heart of God as well.

"Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."  (1 Timothy 4:7b-8 NASB)

Remember

Yesterday was Memorial Day.

Yesterday we remembered those who had died in service to this country. Who had died for us. For you and for me.

There is a sense in which every day is a Memorial Day. Every day we have reason to remember. Every day we need to stay focused on the truth that there is One who died for us. There is One who gave His life that we might be free. There is One who died for us that we might have a relationship with God through Him.

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order to bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."  (1 Peter 3:18 NASB)

We must never forget that Somebody died for us.

Christ died for you. Christ died for me.

And because He died for us, we now live.

We now live in freedom. Not a political freedom, but a spiritual freedom. Christ has set us free from the slavery of sin. He has set us free to live for Him.

We need to remember that! 

Remember. 

And live for the One who died for us.

"So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.........Now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless principles of the world........For freedom Christ has set you free; stand firm therefore."  (Galatians 4:7, 9; 5:1  ESV)

Getting Ready for Memorial Day

 

 

We're approaching the Memorial Day holiday, which many view simply as a kick-off to the summer vacation season. But Memorial Day is so much more than that. This is a holiday which has its roots in the days following the Civil War and which began as a way to honor and remember those who had died in that war. Although in recent years it has been observed much like other patriotic holidays (Independence Day and Veterans' Day) as a way to honor all the men and women who serve in our nation's military, I believe it is important to remember why we have this particular holiday. 

 

This day is so much more than just a kick-off to summer, and it is so much more than a day to honor the military, as important as that is. We have Armed Forces Day (the third Saturday in May) to honor those who are now serving in our nation's military. Sadly, unless you are part of a military family or you live in a community near a military base, you may not even be aware of this holiday.  We have Veterans' Day in November to honor all those who have served in our nation's military.

This holiday, Memorial Day, is a day set aside to remember those who have died in service to our country. To remember that freedom isn't free. To remember that all those who went off to war didn't come home. Memorial Day is a day to remember.

In places like Gettysburg and Vicksburg. At Bull Run and Bunker Hill. In faraway places like Normandy and Argonne. Korea and Vietnam. Baghdad and Mosul. Kabul and Kandahar. In all these places and many more, somebody died for you. Memorial Day is a day to remember that. Somebody died for you.

As you're celebrating Memorial Day with family and friends, remember.

This weekend, while you're enjoying your day off from work, or your day at the beach, or your barbecue, or your ball game, take time to remember.

Freedom isn't free. 

Remember.

Somebody paid the ultimate price so you can enjoy all these things.

Remember.

Somebody died for you.

Remember.


"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  (John 15:13 ESV)

Morning Prayer

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life."  (Psalm 143:8 NIV)

Last Words

We celebrated Mother's Day earlier this week. In recent years, Mother's Day has been a mixed bag for me. I miss my own mother. I rarely get to spend time with my own sons on Mother's Day, one of the consequences of living so far from each other. Mother's Day has become a time for me to travel down memory lane, which results in lots of smiles and some tears as well.

One memory that always surfaces at this time of year is hearing the doctor say that we would never be able to have children. I remember the Mother's Days when I so wanted to be a mom and it seemed that would never happen. That's a painful memory, but one that is more than balanced by the fact that obviously the doctor was wrong and God had another plan. Two plans! Two sons! The joy I felt when that same doctor told me the pregnancy test was positive has never diminished!

Motherhood is not an easy job. And I haven't always been a candidate for "world's best mother".  I've made my share of mistakes. Perhaps more than my share. Bad decisions. Lost my temper. Said things I have regretted. But through it all, I have loved being a mother. I love my sons. And the daughters they brought into my life. And the grandsons who now bring us all so much joy!

As I travel down memory lane at this time of year, there are so many things that make me smile.  Sometimes even giggle a little bit.

I smile when I think of hearing I love you, Mom, no matter what day of the year it is.

I giggle when I remember the poor hamster named Roscoe who met an untimely end when Brian jumped off the top bunk and landed on him.

I remember the big bows my mother always put in my blonde curls. And there were the sweet smiles and hugs of my own little blonde boys (who aren't so blonde anymore!!).

I remember Baby Dedication services for our sons and our grandsons. Violin lessons and soccer games. Long distance calls from England when Brian was stationed there during his Air Force years.

And I remember the last words my own mother spoke to me. We knew her time was short. We left Minnesota, flying down to SC, hoping we would get there in time. We arrived on Saturday around midnight. She left us on Monday morning. But on that Saturday night when we got there, she opened her eyes, smiled a faint smile and said the last words I ever heard her say.

"I love you."

Those words are a treasured memory. And a reminder. We should never miss an opportunity to speak those words to those we love. Because we never know if we will have another opportunity.


"Love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." 
(John 13:34 ESV) \

As Mother's Day Approaches

As we approach Mother's Day, I find myself thinking a lot about about my mother and my grandmother, two of the women I admired most in all the world! How I miss them both! Each time I think of them, some verses from Proverbs 31 come to mind:

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also, and he praises her." (Proverbs 31:25-28 NASB)

As I do each year when Mother's Day comes around, I celebrate the joy of being a mother and a grandmother. I'm so thankful for the blessing of my sons, the sons God gave me, the ones the doctors said I would never have. I'm loving my role as Nana, being grandmother to two precious no-longer-little boys who are growing into young men and who bring me so much joy! I'm celebrating the mothers of those little boys, the daughters who came into my life because they are the women my sons chose, the women who love my sons. I celebrate the joy they each bring to our family, their unique personalities and gifts, and the blessing they are to all of us.

On Mother's Day, I celebrate my mother and my grandmother, and the countless grandmothers before them that I never knew, as well as those daughters who are now part of my life, all love the Lord and His Word, and I celebrate the commitment of each of those women to teach His Word and His ways diligently. I celebrate our commitment to have families who love Jesus. I celebrate our desire to honor Him in all we do and say.

My prayer for each of is that we be found faithful. There's a song called "Find Us Faithful" that talks about this concept: May all who come behind us find us faithful, may the fire of our devotion light their way, may the footprints that we leave lead them to believe.*

I'm thankful for the women who went before me who were found faithful, who left those kind of footprints. I'm praying that I will be found faithful, that the fire of my devotion will light the way for those who come behind me. I'm praying that I will love the Lord with ALL my heart and soul and mind. That my love will be evidenced in my behavior. That I will leave for my sons and my daughters and my grandsons, and all who follow behind me, a legacy of that kind of devotion to the Lord. That I will teach that diligently to my children and my grandchildren. That my sons and daughters will teach those things diligently to their children. I'm celebrating what God will do in and through us when we commit ourselves completely to Him.

And I am so thankful that I had a Mother and a Grandmother who modeled that kind of love and devotion.

 

L-R, my great-grandmother, Leona Harwell Knox; my mother, Helen Neil Austin, me, and my grandmother, Ethel Knox Neil


"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."  (Proverbs 31:30 NASB)


*Find Us Faithful: words and music by Jon Mohr

A Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Today there will be prayer gatherings, large and small, across our nation. On town squares and state house steps. In living rooms and conference rooms and around flag poles. It's inspiring and encouraging to see all these prayer gatherings. I'm grateful that we still have the freedom to pray publicly for our country.

On these public prayer days, a verse from the Old Testament book of 2nd Chronicles is often quoted. 

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV)

This word from the Lord was originally spoken to Solomon on the occasion of the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. A few verses later in the same chapter, the Lord warns of what will happen if His people turn aside from the Lord's commandments. There will be consequences for abandoning the Lord's ways.  (2 Chronicles 7:19-22.)

There can be little doubt that as a nation we have turned aside from the Lord's commandments and are not wholeheartedly following His ways. Even more troubling, there are many among us who call themselves Christian, and yet are not wholeheartedly following the Lord. Could it be that the troubles we are facing as a nation stem from this root? And if so, is there hope for us?

I believe there is hope, and the solution is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, God's people, follow the plan outlined in these verses, God will hear. Yes, in its original context these words applied to the Jews. But there's a principle here that still is valid.

If my people. These instructions are not to the pagans or the politicians. Not to the atheists or the agnostics. These instructions are to the people of God. To the people called by His name. What are God's people to do?

Humble themselves. And here we get to the root of the problem. We're not very good at humbling ourselves. We don't want to humble ourselves, before God or anyone else. We want to be in charge.  We think we know what is best. We think because we are American we have certain rights to do and say and think as we please. Yet God says we are to humble ourselves. This is much like what Jesus instructed when he taught His disciples, and us, how to pray. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10 KJV). Even Jesus humbled Himself before the Father when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42 ESV)

To humble ourselves is to acknowledge that we are not God. A while back when my husband and I were out and about, we passed a church with a sign at the end of their driveway that read "Remember, God's still God and you're still not."  Remembering that is the essence of what it means to humble ourselves before God. Remember who's in charge!

Pray. We think we understand what prayer is, don't we? Too often people think of prayer as giving God our list of wants and concerns, a kind of to-do list for God to handle. Is that really all there is to it? Is prayer really only giving God a list, or reciting a memorized poem, or mumbling a quick sentence before we go to bed? Is that really what God meant when He said His people are to "humble themselves and pray"? I think not. 

Prayer is communication. And communication is two-way, meaning there is speaking and there is listening. Certainly one blog is not adequate to explain all that prayer is, but I definitely think God is expecting more than just a hastily mumbled mantra every day. Does that mean that longer prayers are better, somehow more spiritual? Does God hear us more clearly if we talk longer or use bigger words. Of course not. In fact, Scripture cautions against "empty phrases" (Matthew 6:7 ESV). The point is to be sincere in our communication with God.

Seek my face. This is an extension of the point about praying. Many years ago I heard someone say that we should "seek the Blesser, not the blessing". How often when we pray do we seek what God can do for us, rather than just seeking God Himself. Because God desires relationship with His people, He desires that we seek HIM and not just seek what He can give.

Turn from their wicked ways. This is the very definition of repentance, to turn from sin, to change direction. If we have sincerely sought the Lord, have humbled ourselves before Him, we will have become aware of those things in our lives that are displeasing to Him and we will want to repent.

Then. When we have followed God's instructions, He promises to hear and to forgive our sin and to heal our land. When we do things His way!

Will our land be healed because people gather in groups one day a year to pray for our nation? No.  It's a good thing when people gather together to pray. But it's a better thing, a more important thing, when individuals come daily before the Lord in prayer. To intercede for the nation. To intercede for families. To intercede for the lost. To commit themselves to doing things God's way.

A day of prayer is a good thing. A lifestyle of prayer is even better.

"Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1 ESV)