Visual Prayer

A photo to prompt prayer

[visualprayer]

Read and Eat

Father, feed me from Your pages. Help me understand and ingest the buffet laid out in the pages of Scripture. Use this scriptural meal to make me strong within, that I may do Your work. 

Love, Your Little Warrior

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Can you imagine God's patience with us as we cower and tremble and cry, when He is gently reminding us, "Hey, Child, I'm here; look at Me. You have nothing to fear. Nothing is greater than I am, nothing worries Me, nothing threatens Me. You are in My hands. Nothing - NOTHING - enters your life without My knowing. I am the God who sees (Genesis 16:13). NOW. Trust Me, and let's get going. I've got plans for you, and they do not include hiding. Come on ... I've got you." 

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Ephesians 5:1,2 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

“Walk” verses: Dt 10:12,13 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Amos 3:3 Do two walk together, unless they agree? Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Isaiah 30:20,21 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or to the left. Jeremiah 6:16 Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me! (I love this old language) Isaiah 40:31 They who wait for 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. Galatians 5:16 Walk by the Spirit. 2 John 6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.

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So you look up, and wind from angels’ wings moves the hair from your forehead, and you hear a thundering, rolling, powerful cry, borne of experience and battle: 

“WORTHY! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! JESUS is worthy! 

He is worthy to receive power [and many angels raise their swords] 

and wealth [and many angels look to the souls of the earth] 

and wisdom [and many angels cover their faces as they remember the cross]

and strength [and many angels glance toward His defeated foes]

and honor [and ALL the angels lift their eyes and wings toward Him]

and glory [and all the angels bow, sweeping their wings low and whispery]

and praise [and all the angels erupt in holy flight]!

WORTHY is the Lamb who was slain! Hallelujah!

[visualprayer]

Look at this list of Jesus' questions. Some are so simple and timeless and penetrating. Some are like a punch to the gut. I hope you take them to heart ... because a good question is like a key that opens your heart and mind. Have fun.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? (Matthew 5:46) If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? (Matthew 5:47) Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:27) Why do you worry about clothes? (Matthew 6:28) Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3) Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (Matthew 7:16) Why are you so afraid? (Matthew 8:26) Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? (Matthew 9:4) Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? (Matthew 9:5) How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? (Matthew 9:15) Do you believe that I am able to do this? (Matthew 9:28) What did you go out into the desert to see? (Matthew 11:7) To what can I compare this generation? (Matthew 11:16) If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  (Matthew 12:11) How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man?  (Matthew 12:29) You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? (Matthew 12:34) Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? (Matthew 12:48) Why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:31) Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? (Matthew 15:3) How many loaves do you have?  (Matthew 15:34) Do you still not understand? (Matthew 16:9) Who do people say the Son of Man is? (Matthew 16:13) Who do you say I am? (Matthew 16:15) What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26) How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? (Matthew 17:17) From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes–from their own sons or from others? (Matthew 17:25) What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? (Matthew 18:12) Why do you ask me about what is good? (Matthew 19:17) What is it you want? (Matthew 20:21) Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? (Matthew 20:22) What do you want me to do for you? (Matthew 20:32) John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men? (Matthew 21:25) What do you think? (Matthew 21:28) Have you never read in the Scriptures? (Matthew 21:42) Why are you trying to trap me? (Matthew 22:18) What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? (Matthew 22:42) Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? (Matthew 23:17-19) How will you escape being condemned to hell? (Matthew 23:33) Why are you bothering this woman? (Matthew 26:10) Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour? (Matthew 26:40) Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53) But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way? (Matthew 26:54) Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? (Matthew 26:55) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) Why are you thinking these things? (Mark 2:8) Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? (Mark 4:21) What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? (Mark 4:30) Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? (Mark 4:40) What is your name? (Mark 5:9) Who touched my clothes? (Mark 5:30) Why all this commotion and wailing? (Mark 5:39) Are you so dull? (Mark 7:18) Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? (Mark 7:18) Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it. (Mark 8:12) Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? (Mark 8:17-18) When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up? (Mark 8:19) When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up? (Mark 8:20) Do you still not understand? (Mark 8:21) [To the blind man] Do you see anything? (Mark 8:23) Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? (Mark 9:12) What were you arguing about on the road? (Mark 9:33) Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? (Mark 9:50) What did Moses command you? (Mark 10:3) Why do you call me good? (Mark 10:18) What do you want me to do for you? (Mark 10:51) Why are you trying to trap me? (Mark 12:15) Do you see all these great buildings? (Mark 13:2) Are you asleep? (Mark 14:37) Could you not keep watch for one hour? (Mark 14:37) Why were you searching for me? (Luke 2:49) Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house? (Luke 2:49) Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? (Luke 5:22) Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? (Luke 5:23) Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46) Where is your faith? (Luke 8:25) What is your name? (Luke 8:30) Who touched me? (Luke 8:45) Will you be lifted up to the skies? (Luke 10:15) What is written in the Law? How do you read it? (Luke 10:26) Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? (Luke 10:36) Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? (Luke 11:40) Who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? (Luke 12:14-15) Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Luke 12:25) Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? (Luke 12:57) Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? (Luke 14:31) Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? (Luke 14:34) Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? (Luke 15:4) Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (Luke 15:8) So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (Luke 16:11) Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? (Luke 17:17) And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? (Luke 18:7) However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8) For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? (Luke 22:27) Why are you sleeping?  (Luke 22:46) For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? (Luke 23:31) What are you discussing together as you walk along? (Luke 24:17) What things? (Luke 24:19) Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? (Luke 24:26) Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? (Luke 24:38)   Do you have anything here to eat? (Luke 24:41) What do you want? (John 1:38) Why do you involve me? (John 2:4) You are Israel’s teacher, and do you not understand these things? (John 3:10) I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? (John 3:12) Will you give me a drink? (John 4:7) Do you want to get well? (John 5:6) How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? (John 5:44) If you do not believe Moses’ writings how will you believe me? (John 5:47) Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? (John 6:5) Does this offend you? (John 6:61) What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! (John  6:62) You do not want to leave too, do you? (John 6:67) Have I not chosen you? (John 6:70) Has not Moses given you the law? (John 7:19) Why are you trying to kill me? (John7:19) Why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? (John 7:23) Where are they? Has no one condemned you? (John 8:10) Why is my language not clear to you? (John 8:43) Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?  (John 8:46) If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? (John 8:46) Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? (John 10:36) Are there not twelve hours of daylight? (John 11:9) Do you believe this? (John 11:26) Where have you laid him? (John 11:33) Do you understand what I have done for you? (John 13:12) Don’t you know me, even after I have been among you such a long time? (John 14:9)       Who is it you want? (John 18:4,7) Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? (John 18:11) Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me? (John 18:34) Why question me? (John 18:21) If I spoke the truth, why did you strike me? (John 18:23) Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? (John 20:15) Friends, haven’t you any fish? (John 21:5) Do you love me? (John 21:17) What is that to you? (John 21:22) All Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.

[visualprayer]

Comparison and the Christ-follower

Yes, believe, me, I know. Jesus has been pointing out how often I have been comparing lately - and it’s an ugly picture. His correction came as I was studying John 21:22. Peter and Jesus were having a conversation about the fate of John, who was probably just out of ear-shot. Peter wonders, “Well, what’s going to happen to him?” (Suz translation.) Jesus pointedly said that it was not Peter’s concern what was going to happen with John; Peter needed to focus on following Jesus.

And the light went on: all of the good and beautiful things that God is doing around me are for His glory, under His care, and right. God was saying to me, YES, I’ve ordained this devoted woman to be hysterically dry-humored and capture the attention of the United States; YES, I’ve allowed that woman to create significant Bible studies that are sweeping the nation; YES, you are small and unknown and devoted and doing what I’ve asked. *Don’t take the bait of envy.* Look at ME, not at them; look upward, not outward.

“Yes, Sir,” I said, sorry that I had gotten distracted, sorry that I had felt restless and compared my self and job to others, sorry that I had forgotten Him and gotten consumed with me. So ... things He has taught me: His plans for me are good; His call to me is to be faithful; my job is being where He wants me to be and doing what He has called me to do; my focus is what He said: “You must follow Me.” YES.

[visualprayer]

Unfathomable God

Every step you take is an invitation to go deeper into God.

Every prayer, every plea; each time you stop and wonder about the growth and stars and color and insects and anatomy; every time a new pair of eyes opens to learn light and dark hues; every difference, every nuance as people of different cultures worship ... deeper.

Every wall, every block, every NO ... deeper. Every emotion ... deeper. Every travesty, every injustice; every harm, every breaking drives us to the T-junction: shall I continue pursuing You, going deeper with You, or shall I turn away from You?

Each YES, each question, each exclamation ... deeper into Him we can step, little by little, hearts open and fears lessening. Every opportunity to explore, every hope ... deeper.

Here’s praying you and I will go deeper today. Amen!

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What does freedom on the inside look like?

Less worry, less fear, less anxiety; giving up control and trusting that GOD HAS THIS DAY. GOD HAS ME, sees me, knows me, and loves me. I can relax and trust His love to order this day as He thinks best. I can pray about anything that is making me churn, LET GO, and grab His peace instead. I can quit worrying about performing and perfection and trust that I am loved in my imperfection - even treasured! - by God. I can rest at a deep level, sure and settled, because God is stronger than any sledgehammer, bigger than any boss, larger than any lie, and sovereign over every circumstance.

This is freedom on the inside, and I want to walk in freedom today - all day. Join me.

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When I was near her, I asked, “Father, what do I do with this woman?” I was vacillating between thinking she was part of a ring, pimped out for money, or really in need. 

The verse quoted above came to mind like a ray of sunshine burning away fog. If she misused the money, that was on her; what mattered now, between me and God, was what I could and would do, and what my attitude toward her was. 

So I touched her shoulder, spoke gently, calling her “Mama,” a universally understood word. An approachable word, a word without animosity. She turned my way slowly. I whispered a blessing, put in a coin, and left to join my group.

God forgive me if I was wrong; God forgive her is she was wrong. Amen.

[visualprayer]

When you're driving the roads, meeting your people, walking down the streets, going to a show, dining out ... your city needs your prayers. Lift them up!

People, animals, weather, government officials, safety, peace, racial reconciliation, hope, care, gentleness, service, strength, good decisions ....

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Jesus opens all He has & is to us; we open all we have & are to Him. We bind ourselves to Him; He to us, FOREVER. That's real. That's intimacy. Lean into the One who love you so dearly.

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Humility

Find humility or it will find you. This maxim flies above race, age, style, class, culture, and ethnicity. Pride in any language or color or region or style will be a snare to your feet, add blinders to your eyes, and taint your words. Take the alternative: humility.

Humility holds hands with kindness and truth. Humility brings patience everywhere it goes, and travels purposefully and without pretense. No pomp here: straight-forward honest living is the order of the day and night. Humility has shed masks, has lost the penchant toward self-aggrandizement, and focuses on a love far greater than itself: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

Humility has enough backbone to stare sin in the face and tell it to die, in the Name of Jesus. Humility has enough courage to cry out to the One who loves us best and most. Humility can receive another person's story and do no harm.

Add your thoughts on humility ... there's so much to learn.

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#takeadeepbreath and color outside the lines today!

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All people are made in God's image, and He is so creative! He is the ultimate in creative thinking. Who else would create a rhinoceros beetle and a butterfly and a star and refractive sunlight and water and fire? What does He want to create in you today? What does He want you to create today? What do you want to create today in your job, your home, your property? #takeadeepbreath, make space, and show who your Father is through creativity.

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Why did Jesus have to die, why the cross?

God instituted a way for humans to be in intimate relationship with Him. Because sin separates us from God, we needed a way to have relationship with Him ... we needed to get back to closeness with God, since our sin puts space and harm between us. No human could fix this. Lots of us tried and still try ... “be good enough.” I know myself well enough that that just doesn’t work; I’m not good enough. Who is arrogant enough to think they are good enough for God? What do they do with their failure, their sin, their guilt, their pride?

God is a God of life; He created life, He loves life. When we choose to live apart from God, when we choose our own way rather than trusting Him, when we say NO to Him, disregard, go against, or ignore Him, that is called sin. Sin brings death, because it separates us from the God of LIFE. 

How does God then create a clear pathway back to Himself, when we have strayed away from Him or sauntered far in rebellion? He created a visual in the Old Testament: the system of blood sacrifices. An animal shed its blood (death) to pay the price to bring us back to God (life). But can the blood of a lamb really cleanse my body, conscience, and spirit of sin? No. But I do understand the picture He was giving us. He was pointing us to this momentous time in history when His Son, His very own Son, would care-full-ly pay this price once and for all.

Jesus was called “the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.” That’s because He was the ultimate sacrifice, the One who chose to save the world from this wretched situation of hate and harm and sin and death. His bodily sacrifice was on the cross, and happened on the morning of Good Friday. It’s called that because of the good that comes from His sacrifice ... because His incredible sacrifice fulfilled God’s requirements. Because Jesus’ blood paid the price for our sin, we can again be in intimate relationship with a holy God.

Jesus made a way.

Pray about this. Think about it. Read the book of John in the New Testament. Know yourself--who you are, your limitations, your fault, your fractures, your sin. Live honestly with yourself. Then reach to God, speak His name, and ask Him for His help and His love. He will receive you into His holy, unfathomably remarkable Presence through Jesus. He is your Father, the One who loves you most and best, who sees you as you are, who chooses to make a way for you to find His great heart.

[visualprayer]

In Easter with Jesus

This day catches me every year like a hand on my throat, and I want to stay in bed and sigh and cry and recount Good Friday. It goes something like this: “Father, now He is with Pilate -’Truth? What is truth?’ Now they are releasing Barabbas instead of Him. Now the stripes, the awful, unfathomable stripes. Pilate washing his hands. Now the Via Dolorosa, the stumbles on the way to the cross, and Simon, whose life was forever changed by carrying the cross for an exhausted, tortured, depleted Son of Man. And now the nails, the being out of joint, the thirst, the pain, the labored breathing, the mind fighting to love and forgive and die well.”

I go through all of the details ... the crown of thorns, Mother Mary, Pilate’s wife’s dream, the vigil at the cross, the soldiers, the mockers literally quoting Psalm 22 ... it’s completely overwhelming yet it is the basis of my life, my story. I am changed and new because of this Man on the cross. He has given me a vibrancy about life ... but not today. Today is too sad. It’s hard to bear, to stay in the moment with Jesus.

So rather than rolling out for Zumba, I rolled over, imagining Jesus. Once I got into the shower, I made up a new little chorus as the water washed me clean: “Jesus, by Your blood, wash my sins away, wash my sins away.” “Jesus, by Your blood, raise me up to live, raise me up to live.” “Jesus, for Your blood, I fall down to me knees, I fall down to my knees.”

Rather than go to work, I sit on my porch and ponder, trying to stay in the timeline and not jump ahead to the good news, the resurrection, the glory, the angels, the hope, the freedom, the powerful risen Savior of the world! For now, He has allowed Himself to be wounded for our transgressions, not powerful; He has declared His love through nails and trauma, not grand, heavenly edict of angels; He has taken our iniquities, not our worship. He has made Himself small, vulnerable, limited to fulfill this mighty, remarkable, upside-down plan of salvation that was desperately needed since the days of Adam and Eve.

What boundless love binds Christ to us,

What love does hold Him on the cross!

What love has crowned our Savior, torn

That we may know His holy love.

[visualprayer]

Hold On

A hard marriage, an ailing parent, a wayward child, an uncooperative body, a failing business ... hold on, friend. #takeadeepbreath and hold on to the Father who loves you, He is your anchor in this storm.