Asking God
Something that Pastor Rick Warren said in one of his teaching videos that we’re watching through the week as part of our church’s “40 Days of Prayer” really caught my attention. He talked about imagining in heaven, that an angel showed you a massive room filled with every kind of blessing and answer to prayer you could ever imagine and more! “These are all the blessings and answers to prayer that God wanted to give you while you were on earth.” Our natural response would be, “Why didn’t I get them when I needed them?” And the angel replies, “Because you never asked for them!”
James 4:2 “…you do not have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” Often times I don’t pray because I know that God knows what I need and if He wants to give it to me, He will! Some of you may feel that way, too. In fact, in Matthew 6 just before Jesus teaches His disciples what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus says, “Your Father knows exactly what you need before you ask!” However, after Jesus reveals that truth, He goes on and says, “Pray like this…” God wants us to pray about everything, talking to Him and listening to Him. Part of our prayers is “supplication” – asking God to meet our needs.
Pastor Rick’s illustration helped me to understand more fully that our Father loves to answer our prayers. And He also loves to have His kids (you and me) come into His presence and ask Him to meet our needs. He loves our “Father-child” relationship. This is why we were created: for God to love us and for us love God in a personal, up-close relationship. And because of Jesus and His work on the cross, we can have this intimacy of “Father and son,” or “Father and daughter.”
I love when my kids come and ask me for help. (For decades I was the “official jar opener” when no one else could do it!) I love to feel like they still need their Dad, even though there’s much they can do themselves. Our Father in heaven feels the same way. Everything is His, and as His children all He has is freely given to us – but, He loves us to ask! He loves when we depend on Him and trust Him with every area of our lives. He loves when we come to Him admitting our need and our own inability to meet that need ourselves, and then asking for His help. In all things big and small, God wants us to pray, asking for His help and depending on Him.
One of my decisions and commitments made so far in our 40-day journey is to be more intentional in having an ongoing conversation with God including asking Him to meet my every need. Not just the ones I can’t manage by myself, but every need so I grow more and more dependent on Him.
So, how about we make it a point to pray and ask – and empty that storehouse in heaven of all the blessings and answers to prayer that God wants to give us?
Blessings!
Pastor Bill
Teachable Spirit
I want to go until my death with a teachable spirit.
When I asked Pastor Bill what he likes the most about my man, Biff Cox, he said, ‘He’s teachable.’ And he is. It is one of his most endearing qualities (he has many.)
Last week I got a call from a dear friend from the Dallas area of Texas. A friend for over 30 years touched base. We caught up on what God has been sharing with us in the last few months. I got a little excited. ‘What amazes me, Sharon, I know how to pray. You know how to pray. We’ve been praying for years and years. I love to pray. I pray all the time. I really didn’t see a need to get into this Rick Warren study on 40 Days of Prayer, but we decided to do it for cooperation with our body of believers during this Lent Season.” Now, Sharon knows I’m not bragging when I say this, not blowing a horn for attention. She too has been on this Jesus Journey since her thirties. But it is true. We do know how to pray. Then I continued. “But since I opened the book and asked God to teach me afresh, this new fire is kindling. Sharon, I’m being re-awakened to truths I haven’t meditated on in years. It feels so fresh and new and lovely. I am so thankful, there is never a time when we can’t experience more with God.”
Sharon just giggled and said, “That is what is happening to me too. We are going through a Lent study and the book we are reading in church is just igniting me with His words.”
Sharon and I are no spry chickens. We’ve been in Women’s Ministry in church and all over the world for over thirty-five years. But having a teachable friend is delightful. Being a teachable person is refreshing.
One of the comments I’ve heard about the workbook we are using by Rick Warren: “Well? I don’t understand why it is such a big deal. He could have written more. These are the same questions over and over again. Just the verse is different. “
I have to giggle at that statement. As an educator I understand the reasoning behind Rick Warren’s open-ended questions with each verse. Don’t ask me to do anything mathematical, or mechanical, or IT related. But brain stuff, information about how it works and how to push it forward, this is the stuff we educators sink our teeth into. And oh, I’m sinking my teeth into those ruminating questions after each verse in the book. They are open-ended. Don’t really have a correct answer (right or wrong). They are questions that cause you to think about and ruminate over the verse. And what is thinking about and ruminating? It is meditating. And what does God call us to do? He calls us to feed on his word and hide it in our hearts. (Chew on it.)
Sometimes we gorge on the WORD of God. We take in so many sentences and thoughts much of what we read gets barfed out (excuse me for my bluntness). We got the idea but we got none of the nutrition.
I have been with God in the cold loneliness of the nights. I have been with him on days I could barely move my feet through the day because I was so overwhelmed with life. The verses that massaged my broken spirit weren’t always the books of the bible, but the words like. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Or, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Or, “He holds onto me, and does not let me go.” Or, “I am a child of God. What does that mean? I am protected, provided for, loved, cherished, and fought for. I am loved by the Most High God, He goes before me and has already fought and won.” The list goes on and on.
These are the snippets of God’s Truth that rise up from my heart when the road is long and weary. These are the pieces of meat of the word that I have gnawed on over the years. Hidden deep in my heart, they rise up and fly out of my mouth as I walk or pace or cry or pray.
I encourage you to join us in this study. It’s not too late and it is refreshing. I invite you to join us, or buy it for your own pondering.
As for being teachable? There is a verse I am reminded of right now. “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” Mark 9:24.
Come along and join us in a little bone gnawing over the sweet promises in the Word of God.
Because He is the I AM, i am,
Robyn Rochelle Cox
RR&BC LLC ©2021
Please feel free to contact Biff and me when you have questions, prayer requests of just need a word of encouragement. We love God and our desire is to serve Him.
You can buy the book on line. Here is an Amazon link, but there are others. You can even order it from a book store with the #ISBN – consider it.
Facing the Fog
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
Psalm 56:3-4
It had been cold and snowy in the Berkshires, until a sudden warm front rolled in that January night, shrouding the old hills in a thick, velvety fog. I let Gracie (our Golden Retriever) out after dinner for her evening reconnoiter. I was poking the fire in the woodstove and when I heard her barking rather emphatically out in the yard. I looked out the window. There she stood in the mist, turning a slow circle and sounding off into the gloom. A deep, chesty bark, assertive but not aggressive, slightly muffled, the effort lifting her front paws a bit off the ground with each volley. “What’s got into her?” my wife, Julee, asked, joining me at the window. “The fog,” I said. “It messes with her night vision”. Goldens have superb eyesight, even in the dark. But not tonight. She couldn’t see past her own wet black nose. “Should I go get her? I asked Julee. “No leave her. She’s just doing her job.”
What a thought! Gracie was barking out warnings to any would-be-intruders who might infiltrate her yard under the cover of fog, warding off threats, letting the hills know she was on duty, keeping us safe. What a brave dog!
I wondered if I was that brave – brave when it counted, brave in my faith. I like to believe my faith is clear and unwavering and yet there are times when I can’t see my way, when my spiritual visibility is comprised by the fog of fear or doubt or regret. It is at those moments that I must stand in the dark and proclaim my trust in that unseen heaven.
“Gracie is too brave to let a little fog bother her,” Julee said. I would be brave, too, the next time a spiritual fog found me.
Prayer: When I grope and falter, when I fear and I doubt, lead me, Lord, through the gloom to Your eternal light.
Written by Edward Grinnan – 2021 Daily Guidepost
Submitted by Sharon Fryer
Hymn Devotional 2/22/21
“Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7 (MEV)
I’ve been singing at Hereford Faith & Life Church for as long as I can remember. I started out singing in Sunday School, then with the children’s choir, then joined the adult choir in my teens. I sang with the Praise Team for a while, and with the Coffee House band. Now I am the choir director for our traditional, classic worship service. Music is part of who I am. I sing the old hymns, contemporary Christian music, country gospel, and praise choruses. No matter what genre you prefer, it’s all music that praises God and connects us with our Creator.
I was texting with a dear friend and fellow singer over the weekend. We were chatting about what a blessing the hymns are. There are hymns for all seasons of the Church, and for all seasons of our lives. No matter what we go through, there is a hymn of encouragement, comfort or praise. I know a lot of people have a favorite hymn. For me, though, every time I turn the page, I find a new favorite. We have great well-known hymns like “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” “Amazing Grace,” and “It Is Well with My Soul.” And we have less familiar, but equally wonderful songs like “The Summons,” “God Is Here,” and “O God, Beyond All Praising.” They speak to our relationship with God. But sometimes our favorite hymns are so familiar, we sing the words by rote instead of really hearing and understanding what we sing. Our hymns – both traditional and contemporary – are great material to use in our daily worship time, and can be wonderful prayers.
Some weeks when Pastor Bill shares his sermon title and the scripture with me, I spend hours researching, and pouring over lyrics, and praying that God will lead me to the perfect hymns to support the week’s message. Often, though, I read a scripture, and a song immediately pops into my thoughts. That happened when I read this week’s memory verse for our “40 Days of Prayer” study. I read “Cast all your care upon Him…” and immediately started humming “Cares Chorus.” In Sunday’s message, Pastor Bill said that sometimes the simplest prayers are the most powerful. This song is a perfect example of this. Sing these words slowly and prayerfully, and release all your cares and worries to God.
Cares Chorus (TFWS #2215)
Words: Kelly Willard, 1978
Music: Kelly Willard, 1978
I cast all my cares upon you,
I lay all of my burdens down at your feet,
And anytime that I don’t know what to do
I will cast all my cares upon you.
This week find an unfamiliar “new to you” hymn to reflect on, or revisit an old favorite with new eyes. Is God speaking to you through the words of the songwriter? Are you learning new truths or gaining better understanding of God? Most importantly, are you growing closer to God by praising and praying through the hymns?
Have a blessed week,
Julie Morgan
Try A Little Tenderness
Try A Little Tenderness
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ~Philippians 2:1-4
“What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love…” “All You Need Is Love…” “They Will Know We are Christians by Our Love…” These songs reveal that culturally, we know that love IS the answer. It is a powerful tool for forgiving, compromising, healing and reconciling. It is the very essence of Christianity. And yet, in our supposed Christian nation, we find very little of it being exhibited on our streets, in our media or by our leaders, not to mention in our churches or the myriad households across the country. Certainly, it has been prophesied in the Bible: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” Matthew 24:12. But why?
I wonder if the problem is more fundamental. I wonder if we have failed to learn what real love is. The depictions of love in the media are very simplistic: romantic love, familial love, lust. These depictions show love as a contract: if you love me, I’ll do x; or as an obligation: you must love your children, your parents, your siblings. These are very far from the Biblical love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, patient, kind, humble, putting others’ needs before our own, dealing with personal issues privately. I can’t really say that in my 50 some years on the planet I’ve witnessed many examples of this kind of love. It is admittedly very difficult. Trying intentionally to live lovingly for the last 20 years has been a real struggle. And living with love conflicts with some strong cultural values, like holding a grudge, publicly airing grievances, being right, getting our way, having control, saying ‘I told you so’….
Love includes concepts of integrity, humility, compassion, compromise, tenderness, kindness, tact, diplomacy and self-sacrifice. These qualities are often portrayed as weaknesses which can be exploited by the savvy or cruel. I imagine very few textbooks on business administration link these qualities with success. And fewer practitioners dare to use them in the world of business, law or politics. Certainly, our recent and prolonged standoffs between the President and Congress are evidence of this.
Our personal actions always have consequences for those around us. Always. Although it can certainly be taken too far, it is nevertheless a good practice to consider the impact our actions will have. On a personal level this will change your life and relationships for the better quickly. On a national level, it can change the world. Politicians might decide to compromise rather than leaving innocent workers without a paycheck for months. They might consider actual capabilities and expectations before sending brave, intelligent, highly competent soldiers and patriots into harm’s way. They might come to realize that the only way to truly address the exploitation, violence and criminality of illegal immigration is to stay in a chamber room negotiating, compromising and considering until rational, well thought out policy can be revealed and passed. They might come to grasp that although fixing our crumbling infrastructure will take years of work which will not yield them many re-election votes, it is nevertheless crucial for the thousands of people and businesses using our bridges, ports, roadways, power grids and sewers.
And so, my prayer is that we, as a nation, and a world, might wake up to the power of tenderness. We need to stress this to our children and grandchildren. Instead of belittling strangers on social media, we might encourage and uplift. Rather than believing the worst about a public figure, we might reserve judgement and pray for them instead. Instead of pointing a critical finger at all that is wrong, we might seek to see what is right, and broadcast and nurture that. Or perhaps seek to fix it ourselves. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther and others saw injustices that were not being addressed and did not think it beyond them to step up and work for change. They started small, individually, and the rightness of their cause grew into a movement.
All of us have the power to brighten the corner we’re in. A kind word or gesture at work, shopping or dining. Pitching in at home. Biting our critical tongue. Refusing to repay meanness with meanness. Letting go of the need for the last word or revenge. Gently encouraging those we might have turned our backs on in the past. Nothing else could be more important. Nothing less will change the world for the better.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. ~John 13:35
Blessings,
Jen Jahromi