Sanctuary of Tranquility: Keep Praying...Never Give Up...

Sanctuary of Tranquility: Keep Praying...Never Give Up...: “If Christianity was something  we were making up, of course  we could make it easier... But it isn't."                 ...

Keep Praying...Never Give Up...

“If Christianity was something we were making up, of course, we could make it easier...

But it isn't."

                       -CS Lewis

We stumble through this world trying to do the very best we can. We eat, sleep, go to work and some take the time to pray. As with going to church, the amount of praying we do varies from person to person. I can only reflect on my own life and my own prayer habits. 

When I was growing up, I knew there was a God but I knew very little about church or prayer. When I was scared or worried and at bedtime, I would recite the Lord's Prayer. Sometimes silently inside of my head and other times out loud. It was and continues to be how I enter the Gates to the Lords Court, to His divine ears. Always with praise and worship, before any prayer requests ever enter my mind.

Psalm 100:4 (KJV)  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

My prayers were inconsistent and typically consisted of the Lords prayer followed by something like, "God Bless my mom and my dad and my brother" and whoever else happened to pop into my sleepy head. That was about the extent of it. 

As a younger adult, my prayers remained inconsistent. I have been involved in Bible Studies and other church groups where the individual leading would create and print a prayer list. The list typically contained the names of people those of us in the group felt needed prayer. Most of them I didn't know which made having the incentive to pray for them even more difficult, yet somehow I felt like it was God's desire. As with most of us, praying for those in my everyday life was much more personal and therefore more comfortable. 

I was 29 years old when my father died. He was in a hospital, over a thousand miles from my own home for nearly two weeks prior to his death. I managed to get there twelve days before he died. This was the first time in my life I had ever had anything of that proportion to deal with, and the first time as an adult that I was faced with the idea of the death of someone I loved so dearly. 

When I prayed it was in my own made up way, that consisted of anguished cries sounding something like "Please God, don't let my dad die. I need him, I love him, he needs to be here to teach my son about baseball...please God, don't take him away from us."

My dad was in a coma the entire time I was there, yet early on the morning of the twelfth day I crept into his room and perched on his bed. I told him that my son was very ill and that I needed to go home (1500 miles away) to take care of him. He opened his eyes and looked into mine and then he  told me to go home and take care of my boy. When I walked out of the room and told the nurse he had spoken to me I am reasonably certain she thought I was crazy. I went to the airport and boarded my flight home. Way up in the clouds I continued to pray and I thought about what a healthy man my father had been before his terrible accident. 
   
He had always been an avid outdoors man with a deep love for walking, camping, and fishing; and he had always been in excellent physical condition 
Because of who he had always been, my brain conjured up pictures of him confined to a wheelchair, and needing kidney dialysis to survive. So somehow the idea of praying that he would stay alive for little old me seemed very selfish and terribly wrong. It was at that point; way up in the clouds, that I gained a clear understanding of  Matthew 6:10  Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.

I was ashamed of myself and through my tears, I discussed this with God, a God I knew very little about and that was what I prayed for... God's perfect will. My dad died the next day.

Twenty- seven years later I went through something very similar with my mother. She was dying from cancer and was in a great deal of pain. I asked the doc what could be done about her pain and she said, "We can increase her morphine dosage, but it will cut short her remaining time." Without batting an eye I replied, "What are you waiting for, you need to do that,”

And my prayer to Jesus, "I love her and I will miss her every day of my life, but if it is your will to take her, please do it. Don't let her suffer anymore."
And my whisper to my momma, “Let go, mom! Go to Jesus. We will be ok.” 
She never even made it to hospice, she died that same night. 

Praise you Father, for your love for us, is the greatest love of all. 
Our prayers have to make sense to God and they have got to be for the good of the Kingdom.             I believe that prayers spoken out of selfishness miss His ears and are cast to the wind. 

God takes advantage of our prayers to grow us up. Think about a time when you prayed for something for quite a while. Maybe your prayer was finally answered and maybe you are still waiting. Whatever the case, think of how much you have changed and grown since your praying first began
. 
God is so amazing! He knows more about us than we know about ourselves. He knows what needs to be changed about us to prepare us for the fulfillment of our prayer and the future he has planned for us. He wants to draw us closer to him and what better way to make that happen than to use any difficult circumstances we are going through to teach us and reach us?

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

He makes us wait. He leaves us hanging by a thread, just daring us to throw in the towel. He is testing our faith, He wants to know just how much we believe in Him and His promises. He is waiting for us to stop wondering if  He is going to handle our situation and start wondering,  just how in the world He is going to pull it off. 
God is so good.


I just ask that His Perfect Will be Done, because He knows what He’s doing

In this day of instant gratification, people get tired of waiting and they get annoyed with God. They give up, without ever knowing just how miraculous things could have and would have turned out if they had just hung in there. One more day, one more month, one more year...if they had just been patient.

The Bible speaks of people waiting on the Lord forty plus times. Psalms uses the phrase twenty-five times and the Book of Isaiah, eleven times. 
The phrase “waiting on the Lord”, seems to have originated with David, goodness knows he had more than his share of difficulties and must have spent a whole lot of time on his knees waiting upon God for help. People who believe the Bible to be fiction have never evidently seen miracles in their life, never heard God's voice and never waited on the Lord long enough to see the results of their prayers. 

God is not a Genie; He doesn't dispense money trees or new cars. But He does hear our prayers and he does answer them in His time, not ours. When we are waiting for our answered prayers He works on us and changes us to make us ready for whatever lies ahead. That big job, or a new home, a baby or special person in our life.

Whatever your prayer, God hears you. 
Listen to Him. He will tell you to be patient and eventually He will give you something greater than you ever dreamed of. Believe that!!    

You have only to hang on...wait on the Lord and allow His will to be done.  After all, this may be  your story but it was written by Him.

Sanctuary of Tranquility: The Power of Our Words

Sanctuary of Tranquility: The Power of Our Words:     It would be interesting to see just for one day, or maybe even just for a few hours of a day, how the words we speak are interpenetra...

The Power of Our Words

  

It would be interesting to see just for one day, or maybe even just for a few hours of a day, how the words we speak are interpenetrated by others. The impact that they have, how they are passed along and the thoughts and actions of others that are a result of those words. Words spoken casually, without forethought, often have a great impact on the one spoken to, the one doing the speaking and others who overhear.   

Mark Hall, from the Casting Crowns leads a tremendous Bible Study on the book of James. Marks studies are great, he easily understood and breaks things down making  himself appealing to any age group. One of the comments Mark made during the study really resonates with me. He said something like this, "Wow, James must have gone to a church filled with a lot of gossips to come up with all of this." Sad but probably very true.

 James 3:8 ESV But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 

Think back to when they were small, to your reactions to the comments people around you made to others. Can you remember any that really stand out? How you understood the comment and how it made you feel?

We never loose that little child in us, or that initial reaction to things spoken. Shock, fear, pain, guilt and confusion are just a few of the things we may have felt. 
I recall a baseball game I attended with my dad when I was about ten years old. I was sitting in the bleachers, innocently munching on some sunflower seeds or something while my father umpired the game. I was probably nervous to be alone in a crowd of adults in the first place and then my father made a call that evidently displeased the people sitting around me. Now, nearly fifty years latter I can still recall the a comment made by some stranger, "That ump should slit his throat, that call was b.s." 
I do not recall the individual who said it, but I will never forget how it made me feel. 
I remember asking my dad what it meant during the drive home. He may or may not have made an error in the call, that was not the point. His response was this, "People often say things they shouldn't. They are  not always right but they do it. I am sorry you had to hear that."

It changed me inside and made aware of how people can hurt your feelings with their words. I went on in life to have this happen to me many, many times, as have we all. I can not sit here at this computer and say I have never hurt anyone's feelings with my tongue, because I am certain that I have and that makes me very sad. I wish that I could apologize to each and every person I have ever made an unnecessary or rude  comment to. Unfortunately, that is impossible, but what I can do is think before I speak and pray that all of my words will be pleasing to God. I can ask him to help me guard my tongue, I can ask him to help me to be pure of heart and I can ask him to keep my lips closed when unnecessary words fill my mouth. 

When someone comes to me with a heavy load in their heart, may God keep me from offering unsolicited advice or commentary. When our hearts are heavy with sadness, fear or guilt, it is common for us to seek a friend, a confidant, someone to hear us, someone to listen. Unless we ask for feedback, and even if we do, we are not seeking constructive criticism or even advice. We are seeking an ear. A friend. If words are offered they should be words of encouragement, not words laced with bitterness or haughtiness. Gentle words that will dry our tears, calm our fears and give us strength to move forward and handle whatever difficulties we are facing with grace and confidence. That is what God expects from us. 

 Ephesians 4:29  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

 

  May God shine through our words, as well as our deeds now & forever! 

Blessings, Lori



Click on MARK HALL to see the Bible Studies he offers on You Tube

Who Makes You Better?

I love this poster! What a great way to feel about the people that God places in our lives! 
  
I enjoy spending time with people who have humility, people who quietly step up and do things for others without needing a pat on the back. I enjoy people who can just hang out in their sock feet, enjoying a cup of coffee and playing cards or just watching a movie. 
People who love God and enjoy learning and sharing about him; discussing his word and developing a better understanding and relationship with Him. I enjoy real, sincere people who love to laugh and possess a great sense of humor. People who teach me things I didn't know, and open my eyes to things that I didn't understand before. 
People who inspire me to research something new. 

I love to cook and bake new things, listen to music or just kick back and visit or watch a movie. When Friday night rolls around, I'm comfortable doing whatever, I don't mind just staying home and curling up with a good book, working on my Pinterest boards, or writing in my blog. 
Although enjoying a great meal out can be a treat, gone is that feeling that I am missing out if I don't go out. I often opt to invite friends over to just kick back and relax over a meal, some good music, conversation or a movie.

It is that inner "Jesus" peace that has grounded me, and made me comfortable with myself. 
Thank you Jesus for that peace! 

SO JUST DO IT!
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON!

Finding 'friends' we can enjoy and confide in is tricky. As we look around at work or church or even in our group, we may wonder how many of these people are truly our friends, friends who care enough about us to pick us up when we're a mess and be honest with us, or friends who would quietly, lovingly pull us aside and speak with us about something they have noticed we are doing that is just not o.k. What kind of friend are you?

I read an article recently that said that the number one most quoted scripture used to be John 3:16

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

It is now Matthew 7:1-5  

7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

How sad is that? What about the part that says...

¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Would you ignore the co-worker that is stealing or the buddy at church that is cheating on his wife? Would you walk out of a restaurant without paying for a meal because the others you are with are doing it? Would you be with others who would do that? Would you inform that gal that you don't really like very much  that her dress is caught in her pantyhose or would you just sit back and giggle and enjoy?

Life is tough, why make it tougher you ask?

Well, Because God expects you to, that's why. He is watching. He is our heavenly judge, the one who makes all the notes in your book. The one who already made the final determination regarding where we go from here. Why annoy Him needlessly?

We can at any time pick up the Bible and read it the way we want it to be written, take the scriptures out of context and use it to our own advantage. This only serves to prevent people from facing the truth. It gives people an easy out. An excuse to say "Don't judge me, you have no right" or "A person doesn't really like having their Christianity questioned", as if saying something like that gets them off the hook, maybe it does, but only in their own mind.

It is a wonderful thing to have a positive attitude about life, everyone should have one. We can't allow what others say or think about us to define who we are. In fact, what others think about us is really none of our business. The only one who's opinion matters is the one who created us. It is His laws and His opinion that we should be the most concerned about living up to.

God is a gentleman. He never makes us feel bad about ourselves. Ask Him to open your eyes to the things about you that He would like to see changed. Tell Him, in all sincerity, that you want to be the person He created you to be and No One Else. Ask Him to point out any and all qualities within you that are not pleasing to Him. And then let the fun begin.
The things He can do for you if you only ask are incredible. He is gracious and loving and will provide mirrors with the intention of showing us how we look. And more mirrors that show us how we used to look so we can see what His love and mercy can do and has done.
 
It is He, and no other who has the ability to make us squirm when we feel shame or guilt.
He is the one who can make our world come crashing down if He decides we need to learn a few things. He is also the one who can pick us up and get us back on track, because, He is the one who loves us more than anyone else in this world possibly could. It is His thoughts about us that should concern us, not our boss, not to our friends, not even to our families. If you are in with God, you are in with the very best! There is no one, absolutely no one who loves you more than God.
No one who wants you to be the very best that you can be more than Him.

Be Blessed & Stay Blessed,
In Jesus Holy Name. 
Amen

Robert Henderson's 'Navigating the courts of Heaven' (ASK HIM) is an excellent, eye opening way to experience prayer. I recommend it, it will broaden your relationship with God.  

Sanctuary of Tranquility: Being a better friend...

Sanctuary of Tranquility: Being a better friend...: I love this poster! It is exactly how I feel about my life and the people that God places in it.  I enjoy spending time with people who ...