TUESDAY PRAYER
a weekly prayer for missionaries.
Every Tuesday morning - that Gary is not on the road - he writes and sends an email prayer to the missionaries we serve. If you would like to receive this prayer by email, Simply send an email stating so to [email protected].
Past prayer emails are posted below.
2018
Sept 19, 2018
In the song The Color Green, Rich Mullens wrote:
. . . every house must have it's builder; And I awoke in the house of God.
Where the windows are mornings and evenings,
Stretched from the sun, Across the sky north to south.
And on my way to early meeting, I heard the rocks crying out,
I heard the rocks crying out!
David wrote about creation in Psalm 19:2-3 saying of the heavens, “Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. (Psalm 19:1-4, NLT)
As missionaries we often find ourselves “on my way to early meeting”. It may be to a worship gathering, a discipleship time or simply taking the kids to school. Yet we are prone to rush across this earth that Mullens called “the house of God” without listening. The radio is on, the kids are chattering, the mind is rehearsing the next conversation or reliving the last and the noise both externally and internally is so much that we can’t hear the rocks crying out.
This week my prayer is that you look with new eyes upon the creation around you. May you stand in awe of a sunrise; may you hear the message of the heavens regarding the glory of your Father. May you hear the rocks cry out in praise and may your soul join in the song.
August 28, 2018
Psalm 123:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy.”
Psychologists tell me that a child learns it is accepted and loved by looking into his/her mother’s eyes. It is the gaze of love a child instinctively perceives in the eye of his/her mother that communicates worth. To borrow from the old Bible school song, “Mother loves me this I know, cause her eyes tells me so.”
Spiritually, whose eyes do you gaze into? Often the gaze of an overseeing committee communicates the demand for more productive work. The gaze of a local church may communicate endless needs to be met. The gaze of a friend unfamiliar with ministry might communicate confusion about your life. But the gaze of your heavenly Father communicates “this is my beloved”.
My prayer for you this week is that you will gaze into your Father’s eyes. That you will see there how much you are valued; how much you are cared for. May you lift up your eyes to meet his gaze and find yourself wrapped in his love.
August 21, 2018
Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . .”
It has been said that at creation, God made man in his likeness and since then man has returned the favor.
So, what does your God look like? Our culture influences us far more than we often realize in this matter. J. B. Torrance writes, “The counterpart of the rugged individualism of Western culture is the concept of a sovereign individual Monad “out there”. The counterpart of the Protestant work ethic, as of much medieval Catholic piety, is the contract-God who rewards merit. The counterpart of Western concepts of the human person as an individual endowed with reason is a Stoic concept of God as the giver of natural law – engraved on the heart of the individual and discerned by the light of reason.”
You might want to give it some thought if your God thinks like you, feels like you and has your values. Do you know the Father, Son and Spirit communicated by scripture or do you project onto scripture the concepts of God that are communicated to you by culture?
This week, may you be honest with your heart and your head about your spirituality. May you look to scripture and to those who know it well in order to see more clearly the One communicated to us by the living word. May you be transformed into his image rather than transforming him into yours. May you stand in awe, bow in reverence and be attracted in love to the Great I Am.
August 14, 2018
Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
So often we approach the Father with petitions for the needs of others, for help in hard times and for guidance. All of these are proper and should be done. But, how often do we approach him and ask for a deeper relationship with him? According to Luke, it is himself that the Trinity longs to give us. He is happy to pour himself into us.
This week, as you approach work and play, may you do so with a prayer in your heart to draw closer to the Father. May you take time to specifically ask for a closer relationship. May you take him at his word when he says he is happy to give himself to you.
July 24, 2018
John 15:1-4, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
It is so hard to not be the gardener. We attack our work as if it all depends upon us. We slowly begin to think that we are in control and have to solve everyone’s problems and grow the church. That is the work of the gardener, not the work of a branch.
Some might point to the admonition that unproductive branches are cut off and from this be motivated to work harder. Yet in the metaphor given, the unproductive branch is the one that has lost connection to the vine. Fruit comes to those who stay connected, those who remain in the vine.
My prayer for you this week is to “remain”. May you remember your true calling to be a representative of Jesus not just in work but in all areas of life. May your heart and soul be transformed by a continued deep connection to the vine. And when you feel like you need to work a little harder, may you work harder at deepening your personal connectedness to the life-giving Spirit of Jesus.
July 3, 2018
Tomorrow is July 4, Independence Day in the USA. In Venezuela, July 5 is Independence Day. I used to love having those days back to back – it made a great excuse for grilling two days in a row and kept me from forgetting a significant date for the Venezuelans.
Yet as I think about what both of those mean, I feel awkward spiritually. It was our drive for independence that led to all our problems. Adam strove to be independent from the Father and live his own way. Since then we have all committed the sin of Adam by being independent from the Father.
Then came the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-47) who showed us that life is not found in independence but in submission to the Father and participation in his will. He began and ended his ministry praying “your will be done” / “not my will but yours” (Matthew 6:10; 26:39,42).
This week, as many of your supporters celebrate independence, may you celebrate dependence. May you actively seek ways to submit to the guidance of the Father. May you sincerely pray “not I, but you.”
June 26, 2018
For most of my life I understood that King David's great sin was adultery. Perhaps that understanding of the text says more about the influence of American culture on my perspective – and that of my teachers – than it does about David. For when we read the text, it is not adultery that Nathan leads with in his rebuke. It is greed.
2 Samuel 12:7-8 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
Nathan does address the adultery but only as part of the consequences. His focus is upon David’s desire for more.
My prayer for you this week is that you will remember clearly how the Father has blessed you. May you take time to recall his blessings so that you find your delight and fulfillment in him. May you allow him to fully satisfy you and may you relinquish the restless insatiable desire for more of this world.
June 19, 2018
I commonly hear "God will not give you more than you can bear." I think it is a terrible misreading of "He will not let you to be tempted beyond what you can bear." 2 Cor 12:9
There is a huge difference in the two. Suffering, martyrdom, pain -- all indicate that we encounter more than we can bear. Yet, in the kingdom of God where the humble are exalted and the weak are called strong, that is a good thing.
Mike Erre in his book "Astonished" puts it this way. "We are convinced that He [God] is most interested in keeping us safe, but that is not true. He is not after our safety; He is after our faith and our love and to get both, He must expose us to risk and suffering. We'll never see His power if we refuse to have ours limited. God's way is not to take us out of trials, but to comfort us in the midst of them and to exchange our strength for His in the face of them."
So my prayer for you this week is not necessarily for your safety - though this morning I was praying that for several of you - but mostly for your faith and maturity. I pray that the Father works in your life to draw you into a more significant relationship with the Trinity. I pray that all that happens to you this week helps you exchange your earthly vision (American dream?) for a more lasting one. I pray that when you slam into the walls of your own limitations this week, that you will then turn to the Unlimited God for more than you can ask or imagine.
May 29, 2018
John 10:3-5, "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
At a retreat last week, one participant said the following about this verse. "We talk about knowing God's word; that's important. But Satan also knew God's word. When he spoke them, it was with a deceptive voice. There is a difference in knowing God's word and hearing his voice."
Are you content to know scripture or are you listening to his voice through scripture? Have you considered carefully how you listen (Luke 8:18)?
May 15, 2018
1 Samuel 3:3-5 "Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, 'Here I am.' And he ran to Eli and said, Here I am; you called me?" But Eli said, "I didn't call you."
As you know, the scene happened three times. Samuel had been dedicated to God at birth, was studying to be a priest and was living in God's house. Yet, when the Father called, he mistakenly ran away to someone else.
As a missionary you have dedicated your life to God, study diligently and live to serve God. Yet, when you feel stirred up, moved or called, to whom do you run? How do you respond?
1 Samuel 3:10 "The Lord came and stood there, calling as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel replied, 'Speak, for your servants is listening.'"
The Lord still comes and stands by his people. He still calls.
Are you listening?
May 8, 2018
"I'll pray for you."
How often do we say that to the people around us? It might be after a request or when we see pain. It might be when something they say reminds us of how special they are to us. It might even be a way to wrap up a conversation.
When the people asked for prayers, Samuel replied "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you." 1 Sam. 12:23
As Jesus' "royal priesthood" - 1 Peter 2:9 - we have the privilege of being intercessors for those around us. It is a key descriptor of our new identity in Jesus.
And have you ever noticed that Jesus never taught his disciples to preach; he taught them to pray.
This week, may you embrace the privilege and priority of prayer. May you lean into the amazing opportunity to take all the responsibility, concerns and anxieties you bear to the One who wants to bear them all without hesitation.
April 24, 2018
2 Peter 1:3-7
"Make every effort to add to you faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. . . . So that through them you might participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world."
Is that how we read the verse? If so, it is very wrong. We escape nothing through our efforts. The verse actually reads. . .
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, be diligent to add to your faith . . ."
My prayer for you this week is that you will remember that through the power of the Father, you have everything you need for life in Him and that you have already escaped from the corruption of the world. May you reflect on his work in and for you. May the effort you put forth be in response to his love rather than to gain his love.
April 17, 2018
Am I doing enough? Am I working hard enough?
How often do we ask ourselves this question? How often is this our message to others?
John 15
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
There is not much in this passage about working harder. The fruit is passive; it is a result. The effort and focus are on "remaining", a word that means abide, stay and rest.
May you reorient your focus this week so that you abide with Jesus rather than work for him. May you fill yourself up with him so that his life flows out of you. May your effort not be work but rather be "abiding."
April 11, 2018
It has been a few weeks since I sent out the Tuesday Prayer; thank you for your patience while we were serving in Peru.
This particular prayer is from a question Frances asked me a few weeks ago.
Luke 18 The story of the blind man by the road
"Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, What to you want me to do for you?"
If Jesus were to step up to you at this moment and ask the same question -- "What do you want me to do for you? -- what would you answer? Do you have an answer? Sometimes we become so occupied with what is happening minute to minute in our lives that we lose sight of the big picture. We kick into survival, busy mode and lose track of the more important aspects of life. We struggle to even identify our own needs. Can you define your heart's desire . . . for your ministry, family, soul?
May you take time this week to look into your heart and see what needs to be healed. May you develop a certainty about what you need to add to your life to be whole. May you ask the Father boldly for what you need to follow him more closely.
February 27, 2018
Matthew 6:4 (and 6:6) "Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Much of a missionary's life is evaluated by what happens in public - those few hours spent teaching a group, leading a discussion, preaching to a church. We are often judged based upon a small minority of the things we do.
In the life of Jesus, most of his time was spent in the quiet company of 12 guys. He poured his heart and soul into them when no one else was around. He then would retreat to a hilltop or garden for solitude time. The crowds only had time with him infrequently, when he came out of hiding. In fact, Dennis Podriadchikov recently pointed out to me that Jesus spent most of his time trying to flee from the crowds while we often spend time trying to gather them.
Perhaps Jesus knew that life change typically takes place in secret or in small personal communications rather than in large crowds. He knew that the expectations of the crowd were not the same as the expectations of his Father -- ultimately the crowds killed him for it.
This week, may you rejoice to perform your job in secret. May you be content to live and work behind the scenes, to give in ways that no one knows, to go into your secret place of prayer, close the door behind you and stay there in quiet personal communion. May you rejoice to do what others will never know about, all the while knowing that your Father knows because he is with you in your secret life and work.
February 20, 2018
Matthew 5:3-12 The Beatitudes
I'm not sure who named this section but it has always been unhelpful to me. I have struggled with the thought that Jesus started his gospel with laying down a new set of rules about what type of attitude we have to have, that is, Be poor in spirit, Be meek, Be etc. **
But what if I have been reading it wrong? What if the primary point that Jesus wanted to communicate was not what we should Be but how he wants to bless us. He saw people sitting around him in different stages of life and poured out his blessings on the unblessed.
Perhaps we should read it like this. "Jesus looked out at the poor, hurting, meek and persecuted and said 'What I want is to give you a kingdom, to comfort you, to give you security, to fill up your soul, to show you mercy, to show you the Father, to call you my child and to give you a great reward. This is what I call gospel; that is my deepest wish.'"
With that in mind, my prayer for you this week is that you will live and work knowing that Jesus' desire is to pour out blessings on you. He wants to give you a kingdom, to fill you up and give you an amazing reward.
_______
** Bet you never saw an email with a footnote, but here it is.
I did a little checking and "Beatitude" is not the same as what I have always heard in my head (Be Attitude). In fact, beatitude comes from the Vulgate where the word "blessed" is the Latin "beati".
February 6, 2018
Psalm 134
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
Have you ever thought about priests and Levites who served only at night? 1 Chronicles 9:33 mentions them but few other scriptures do. The Talmud explains that 3 stations of priests and 21 stations of other Levites were assigned to be on guard duty every night in the temple. The captain of the guard would check on them at different times in the night; anyone caught napping was beaten.
We tend to think of priests and Levites as those who led others in worship, received the sacrifices and served as visible spiritual leaders. How would you have felt being a priest with the duty of standing guard at night when no one was around?
In ministry and missions, there are times when it feels like our work is unimportant. When others are totally oblivious to our existence and the importance of what we do. When we serve "by night in the house of the Lord."
When you find yourself in this situation, may you "lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord." May you recognize that you are a servant of the Lord, you are in his sanctuary and you are watched by the Father.
So this week, regardless of who knows about your service, may you serve faithfully. May you be attentive and watchful for the presence of the Father as you go about your work in "the night". And may he - the Maker of heaven and earth - bless you from Zion.
January 30, 2018
One of the primary issues determining missionary longevity is resilience. Here is an excerpt about it from the book "Running on Empty" by Fil Anderson.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite toys was an inflatable punching bag with the likeness of a Disney character on the front. It was tall, with a high center of gravity, but was weighted at the bottom so it would maintain an upright position despite attempts to knock it over. For the same reason that kids everywhere punch or kick a blowup character, I would punch or kick that bag and marvel at its ability to bounce back for more.
One day when I was unable to resist the urge to know the secret to my punching bag's resiliency, I cut it open with my dad's pocketknife and found at the base a bag of sand, what we call ballast. Years later I learned the value of the ballast of the soul. When I meet God in solitude and silence, he adds ballast into my life. I have strength to live and face life's challenges with confidence in God's nearness and provisions. I can taka a punch and return for more.
May you practice the discipline of opening up your soul to the Father so that he made add ballast to your life. May you take the time to place yourself before him in order that he might place his Spirit inside you. May he bless you with resilience for the week ahead.
January 16, 2018
Psalm 131:1-2
My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Trying to figure out life, ministry, family can be exhausting. We often spend a lot of time with the question "why?". When life brings confusion, tragedy and ongoing irritation, we want answers. Yet the Pslamist learned to let go of "great matters" and quiet himself.
The picture of quietness is that of a weaned child. For years I read this and envisioned a recently nursed child. Yet that is not the idea.
In Israel - as in many third world countries - weaning is not conducted till a child is 2-3 years of age or more. It can be a shock to a child that is accustomed to nursing when he/she finds that nursing is not longer offered. Yet, over time the child learns to not allow the emotions to escalate, to avoid frenzy and frustration and still find deep solace in the embrace of a mother's arms. Rather than demand that which the mother refuses to offer, peace comes from rest in a loving embrace.
Though this week - and year - might bring many reasons for frustration and you feel that the Father is not responding in the way that you desire, may you still find rest in his embrace. May you still and quiet your soul in his love.
*********
This week please keep Justin and Tia McEntire of Huancayo, Peru in your prayers. Justin's brother was killed in a car accident last night and his father was injured (later released from the hospital). Justin, Tia and family are in route to the states now.
January 2, 2018
Happy New Year to each of you; may 2018 be a wonderful year in which you grow deeper in your relationship with the Father.
Thank you to so many who have contacted us and prayed for us during the passing of Frances' father. Ray was a special man and we were blessed to move in with him for the last six weeks of his life. He passed early Christmas morning with Frances on one side of the bed and me on the other. We prayed and sang over him as he departed.
As you begin the new week and the new year, my prayer for you comes from Psalm 123.
"As the eyes of a slave look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us mercy."
Often we start the year with new goals and hopes. Frequently, we look to the strategies of other missionaries for ideas. We look inside to find more energy. We look to our calendar to find more time. My prayer is that this year, you will look to the Father for his mercy.
May you recognize your need for mercy in all areas of life and ministry and persist in waiting upon him to meet your needs. May we all "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." (Heb. 12:2).
In the song The Color Green, Rich Mullens wrote:
. . . every house must have it's builder; And I awoke in the house of God.
Where the windows are mornings and evenings,
Stretched from the sun, Across the sky north to south.
And on my way to early meeting, I heard the rocks crying out,
I heard the rocks crying out!
David wrote about creation in Psalm 19:2-3 saying of the heavens, “Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. (Psalm 19:1-4, NLT)
As missionaries we often find ourselves “on my way to early meeting”. It may be to a worship gathering, a discipleship time or simply taking the kids to school. Yet we are prone to rush across this earth that Mullens called “the house of God” without listening. The radio is on, the kids are chattering, the mind is rehearsing the next conversation or reliving the last and the noise both externally and internally is so much that we can’t hear the rocks crying out.
This week my prayer is that you look with new eyes upon the creation around you. May you stand in awe of a sunrise; may you hear the message of the heavens regarding the glory of your Father. May you hear the rocks cry out in praise and may your soul join in the song.
August 28, 2018
Psalm 123:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy.”
Psychologists tell me that a child learns it is accepted and loved by looking into his/her mother’s eyes. It is the gaze of love a child instinctively perceives in the eye of his/her mother that communicates worth. To borrow from the old Bible school song, “Mother loves me this I know, cause her eyes tells me so.”
Spiritually, whose eyes do you gaze into? Often the gaze of an overseeing committee communicates the demand for more productive work. The gaze of a local church may communicate endless needs to be met. The gaze of a friend unfamiliar with ministry might communicate confusion about your life. But the gaze of your heavenly Father communicates “this is my beloved”.
My prayer for you this week is that you will gaze into your Father’s eyes. That you will see there how much you are valued; how much you are cared for. May you lift up your eyes to meet his gaze and find yourself wrapped in his love.
August 21, 2018
Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . .”
It has been said that at creation, God made man in his likeness and since then man has returned the favor.
So, what does your God look like? Our culture influences us far more than we often realize in this matter. J. B. Torrance writes, “The counterpart of the rugged individualism of Western culture is the concept of a sovereign individual Monad “out there”. The counterpart of the Protestant work ethic, as of much medieval Catholic piety, is the contract-God who rewards merit. The counterpart of Western concepts of the human person as an individual endowed with reason is a Stoic concept of God as the giver of natural law – engraved on the heart of the individual and discerned by the light of reason.”
You might want to give it some thought if your God thinks like you, feels like you and has your values. Do you know the Father, Son and Spirit communicated by scripture or do you project onto scripture the concepts of God that are communicated to you by culture?
This week, may you be honest with your heart and your head about your spirituality. May you look to scripture and to those who know it well in order to see more clearly the One communicated to us by the living word. May you be transformed into his image rather than transforming him into yours. May you stand in awe, bow in reverence and be attracted in love to the Great I Am.
August 14, 2018
Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
So often we approach the Father with petitions for the needs of others, for help in hard times and for guidance. All of these are proper and should be done. But, how often do we approach him and ask for a deeper relationship with him? According to Luke, it is himself that the Trinity longs to give us. He is happy to pour himself into us.
This week, as you approach work and play, may you do so with a prayer in your heart to draw closer to the Father. May you take time to specifically ask for a closer relationship. May you take him at his word when he says he is happy to give himself to you.
July 24, 2018
John 15:1-4, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
It is so hard to not be the gardener. We attack our work as if it all depends upon us. We slowly begin to think that we are in control and have to solve everyone’s problems and grow the church. That is the work of the gardener, not the work of a branch.
Some might point to the admonition that unproductive branches are cut off and from this be motivated to work harder. Yet in the metaphor given, the unproductive branch is the one that has lost connection to the vine. Fruit comes to those who stay connected, those who remain in the vine.
My prayer for you this week is to “remain”. May you remember your true calling to be a representative of Jesus not just in work but in all areas of life. May your heart and soul be transformed by a continued deep connection to the vine. And when you feel like you need to work a little harder, may you work harder at deepening your personal connectedness to the life-giving Spirit of Jesus.
July 3, 2018
Tomorrow is July 4, Independence Day in the USA. In Venezuela, July 5 is Independence Day. I used to love having those days back to back – it made a great excuse for grilling two days in a row and kept me from forgetting a significant date for the Venezuelans.
Yet as I think about what both of those mean, I feel awkward spiritually. It was our drive for independence that led to all our problems. Adam strove to be independent from the Father and live his own way. Since then we have all committed the sin of Adam by being independent from the Father.
Then came the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-47) who showed us that life is not found in independence but in submission to the Father and participation in his will. He began and ended his ministry praying “your will be done” / “not my will but yours” (Matthew 6:10; 26:39,42).
This week, as many of your supporters celebrate independence, may you celebrate dependence. May you actively seek ways to submit to the guidance of the Father. May you sincerely pray “not I, but you.”
June 26, 2018
For most of my life I understood that King David's great sin was adultery. Perhaps that understanding of the text says more about the influence of American culture on my perspective – and that of my teachers – than it does about David. For when we read the text, it is not adultery that Nathan leads with in his rebuke. It is greed.
2 Samuel 12:7-8 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
Nathan does address the adultery but only as part of the consequences. His focus is upon David’s desire for more.
My prayer for you this week is that you will remember clearly how the Father has blessed you. May you take time to recall his blessings so that you find your delight and fulfillment in him. May you allow him to fully satisfy you and may you relinquish the restless insatiable desire for more of this world.
June 19, 2018
I commonly hear "God will not give you more than you can bear." I think it is a terrible misreading of "He will not let you to be tempted beyond what you can bear." 2 Cor 12:9
There is a huge difference in the two. Suffering, martyrdom, pain -- all indicate that we encounter more than we can bear. Yet, in the kingdom of God where the humble are exalted and the weak are called strong, that is a good thing.
Mike Erre in his book "Astonished" puts it this way. "We are convinced that He [God] is most interested in keeping us safe, but that is not true. He is not after our safety; He is after our faith and our love and to get both, He must expose us to risk and suffering. We'll never see His power if we refuse to have ours limited. God's way is not to take us out of trials, but to comfort us in the midst of them and to exchange our strength for His in the face of them."
So my prayer for you this week is not necessarily for your safety - though this morning I was praying that for several of you - but mostly for your faith and maturity. I pray that the Father works in your life to draw you into a more significant relationship with the Trinity. I pray that all that happens to you this week helps you exchange your earthly vision (American dream?) for a more lasting one. I pray that when you slam into the walls of your own limitations this week, that you will then turn to the Unlimited God for more than you can ask or imagine.
May 29, 2018
John 10:3-5, "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
At a retreat last week, one participant said the following about this verse. "We talk about knowing God's word; that's important. But Satan also knew God's word. When he spoke them, it was with a deceptive voice. There is a difference in knowing God's word and hearing his voice."
Are you content to know scripture or are you listening to his voice through scripture? Have you considered carefully how you listen (Luke 8:18)?
May 15, 2018
1 Samuel 3:3-5 "Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, 'Here I am.' And he ran to Eli and said, Here I am; you called me?" But Eli said, "I didn't call you."
As you know, the scene happened three times. Samuel had been dedicated to God at birth, was studying to be a priest and was living in God's house. Yet, when the Father called, he mistakenly ran away to someone else.
As a missionary you have dedicated your life to God, study diligently and live to serve God. Yet, when you feel stirred up, moved or called, to whom do you run? How do you respond?
1 Samuel 3:10 "The Lord came and stood there, calling as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel replied, 'Speak, for your servants is listening.'"
The Lord still comes and stands by his people. He still calls.
Are you listening?
May 8, 2018
"I'll pray for you."
How often do we say that to the people around us? It might be after a request or when we see pain. It might be when something they say reminds us of how special they are to us. It might even be a way to wrap up a conversation.
When the people asked for prayers, Samuel replied "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you." 1 Sam. 12:23
As Jesus' "royal priesthood" - 1 Peter 2:9 - we have the privilege of being intercessors for those around us. It is a key descriptor of our new identity in Jesus.
And have you ever noticed that Jesus never taught his disciples to preach; he taught them to pray.
This week, may you embrace the privilege and priority of prayer. May you lean into the amazing opportunity to take all the responsibility, concerns and anxieties you bear to the One who wants to bear them all without hesitation.
April 24, 2018
2 Peter 1:3-7
"Make every effort to add to you faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. . . . So that through them you might participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world."
Is that how we read the verse? If so, it is very wrong. We escape nothing through our efforts. The verse actually reads. . .
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, be diligent to add to your faith . . ."
My prayer for you this week is that you will remember that through the power of the Father, you have everything you need for life in Him and that you have already escaped from the corruption of the world. May you reflect on his work in and for you. May the effort you put forth be in response to his love rather than to gain his love.
April 17, 2018
Am I doing enough? Am I working hard enough?
How often do we ask ourselves this question? How often is this our message to others?
John 15
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
There is not much in this passage about working harder. The fruit is passive; it is a result. The effort and focus are on "remaining", a word that means abide, stay and rest.
May you reorient your focus this week so that you abide with Jesus rather than work for him. May you fill yourself up with him so that his life flows out of you. May your effort not be work but rather be "abiding."
April 11, 2018
It has been a few weeks since I sent out the Tuesday Prayer; thank you for your patience while we were serving in Peru.
This particular prayer is from a question Frances asked me a few weeks ago.
Luke 18 The story of the blind man by the road
"Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, What to you want me to do for you?"
If Jesus were to step up to you at this moment and ask the same question -- "What do you want me to do for you? -- what would you answer? Do you have an answer? Sometimes we become so occupied with what is happening minute to minute in our lives that we lose sight of the big picture. We kick into survival, busy mode and lose track of the more important aspects of life. We struggle to even identify our own needs. Can you define your heart's desire . . . for your ministry, family, soul?
May you take time this week to look into your heart and see what needs to be healed. May you develop a certainty about what you need to add to your life to be whole. May you ask the Father boldly for what you need to follow him more closely.
February 27, 2018
Matthew 6:4 (and 6:6) "Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Much of a missionary's life is evaluated by what happens in public - those few hours spent teaching a group, leading a discussion, preaching to a church. We are often judged based upon a small minority of the things we do.
In the life of Jesus, most of his time was spent in the quiet company of 12 guys. He poured his heart and soul into them when no one else was around. He then would retreat to a hilltop or garden for solitude time. The crowds only had time with him infrequently, when he came out of hiding. In fact, Dennis Podriadchikov recently pointed out to me that Jesus spent most of his time trying to flee from the crowds while we often spend time trying to gather them.
Perhaps Jesus knew that life change typically takes place in secret or in small personal communications rather than in large crowds. He knew that the expectations of the crowd were not the same as the expectations of his Father -- ultimately the crowds killed him for it.
This week, may you rejoice to perform your job in secret. May you be content to live and work behind the scenes, to give in ways that no one knows, to go into your secret place of prayer, close the door behind you and stay there in quiet personal communion. May you rejoice to do what others will never know about, all the while knowing that your Father knows because he is with you in your secret life and work.
February 20, 2018
Matthew 5:3-12 The Beatitudes
I'm not sure who named this section but it has always been unhelpful to me. I have struggled with the thought that Jesus started his gospel with laying down a new set of rules about what type of attitude we have to have, that is, Be poor in spirit, Be meek, Be etc. **
But what if I have been reading it wrong? What if the primary point that Jesus wanted to communicate was not what we should Be but how he wants to bless us. He saw people sitting around him in different stages of life and poured out his blessings on the unblessed.
Perhaps we should read it like this. "Jesus looked out at the poor, hurting, meek and persecuted and said 'What I want is to give you a kingdom, to comfort you, to give you security, to fill up your soul, to show you mercy, to show you the Father, to call you my child and to give you a great reward. This is what I call gospel; that is my deepest wish.'"
With that in mind, my prayer for you this week is that you will live and work knowing that Jesus' desire is to pour out blessings on you. He wants to give you a kingdom, to fill you up and give you an amazing reward.
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** Bet you never saw an email with a footnote, but here it is.
I did a little checking and "Beatitude" is not the same as what I have always heard in my head (Be Attitude). In fact, beatitude comes from the Vulgate where the word "blessed" is the Latin "beati".
February 6, 2018
Psalm 134
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
Have you ever thought about priests and Levites who served only at night? 1 Chronicles 9:33 mentions them but few other scriptures do. The Talmud explains that 3 stations of priests and 21 stations of other Levites were assigned to be on guard duty every night in the temple. The captain of the guard would check on them at different times in the night; anyone caught napping was beaten.
We tend to think of priests and Levites as those who led others in worship, received the sacrifices and served as visible spiritual leaders. How would you have felt being a priest with the duty of standing guard at night when no one was around?
In ministry and missions, there are times when it feels like our work is unimportant. When others are totally oblivious to our existence and the importance of what we do. When we serve "by night in the house of the Lord."
When you find yourself in this situation, may you "lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord." May you recognize that you are a servant of the Lord, you are in his sanctuary and you are watched by the Father.
So this week, regardless of who knows about your service, may you serve faithfully. May you be attentive and watchful for the presence of the Father as you go about your work in "the night". And may he - the Maker of heaven and earth - bless you from Zion.
January 30, 2018
One of the primary issues determining missionary longevity is resilience. Here is an excerpt about it from the book "Running on Empty" by Fil Anderson.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite toys was an inflatable punching bag with the likeness of a Disney character on the front. It was tall, with a high center of gravity, but was weighted at the bottom so it would maintain an upright position despite attempts to knock it over. For the same reason that kids everywhere punch or kick a blowup character, I would punch or kick that bag and marvel at its ability to bounce back for more.
One day when I was unable to resist the urge to know the secret to my punching bag's resiliency, I cut it open with my dad's pocketknife and found at the base a bag of sand, what we call ballast. Years later I learned the value of the ballast of the soul. When I meet God in solitude and silence, he adds ballast into my life. I have strength to live and face life's challenges with confidence in God's nearness and provisions. I can taka a punch and return for more.
May you practice the discipline of opening up your soul to the Father so that he made add ballast to your life. May you take the time to place yourself before him in order that he might place his Spirit inside you. May he bless you with resilience for the week ahead.
January 16, 2018
Psalm 131:1-2
My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Trying to figure out life, ministry, family can be exhausting. We often spend a lot of time with the question "why?". When life brings confusion, tragedy and ongoing irritation, we want answers. Yet the Pslamist learned to let go of "great matters" and quiet himself.
The picture of quietness is that of a weaned child. For years I read this and envisioned a recently nursed child. Yet that is not the idea.
In Israel - as in many third world countries - weaning is not conducted till a child is 2-3 years of age or more. It can be a shock to a child that is accustomed to nursing when he/she finds that nursing is not longer offered. Yet, over time the child learns to not allow the emotions to escalate, to avoid frenzy and frustration and still find deep solace in the embrace of a mother's arms. Rather than demand that which the mother refuses to offer, peace comes from rest in a loving embrace.
Though this week - and year - might bring many reasons for frustration and you feel that the Father is not responding in the way that you desire, may you still find rest in his embrace. May you still and quiet your soul in his love.
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This week please keep Justin and Tia McEntire of Huancayo, Peru in your prayers. Justin's brother was killed in a car accident last night and his father was injured (later released from the hospital). Justin, Tia and family are in route to the states now.
January 2, 2018
Happy New Year to each of you; may 2018 be a wonderful year in which you grow deeper in your relationship with the Father.
Thank you to so many who have contacted us and prayed for us during the passing of Frances' father. Ray was a special man and we were blessed to move in with him for the last six weeks of his life. He passed early Christmas morning with Frances on one side of the bed and me on the other. We prayed and sang over him as he departed.
As you begin the new week and the new year, my prayer for you comes from Psalm 123.
"As the eyes of a slave look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us mercy."
Often we start the year with new goals and hopes. Frequently, we look to the strategies of other missionaries for ideas. We look inside to find more energy. We look to our calendar to find more time. My prayer is that this year, you will look to the Father for his mercy.
May you recognize your need for mercy in all areas of life and ministry and persist in waiting upon him to meet your needs. May we all "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." (Heb. 12:2).