A Puritan Prayer for Today

A Puritan Prayer for Today....found in reading Ann Voskamp's A Holy Experience...

To be read, prayed, slowly…

                                                                            "O God,

I bless thee for the happy moment

when I first saw thy law fulfilled in Christ,

wrath appeased, death destroyed, sin forgiven,

my soul saved….

I want no other rock to build upon than that I have,

desire no other hope than that of gospel truth,

need no other look than that which gazes

on the cross…

May my cry be always, Only Jesus! only Jesus!

In Him I have all that I can hold;

enlarge me to take in more…

                                                     If I am tempted, and have no wit, 

give me strength enough to trust in Him…

If in extremity,

let me feel that He can deliver me;

If driven to the verge of hope

and to the pit of despair,

grant me grace to fall into His arms.

O God, hear me,

do for me more

than I ask, think, or dream.”

Sometimes all one can do is pray that the Lord grants them the grace to fall into Him, to rely on Him. Puritan prayers, are so simple yet so profound. May the Lord of all peace and strength, no matter what the situation you are finding yourself in, grant you the peace to fall into Him, the strength to persevere! May you have no other rock to build upon! And may He hear you and give you far more than you ever imagined!! He is Sovereign! Fall into Him!

Weekend Thoughts: Weed-eating...

Many of you do not know me or know anything about my backyard, but my backyard, well you could get lost in the weeds and truly never be found. My backyard looks like a scene from a popular dinosaur movie. This past weekend I decided it was time that I tackled my backyard. Prior to my moving back home last summer, I spent a lot of time and money fixing my backyard. My house was going on the market and I wanted it to look nice and inviting. However, throughout my time away, no one was here to continue to maintain the yard, and when tenants did live in the house, they let the yard deteriorate. As I began to pull weeds Saturday, a thought hit me (like a 2x4)...is this not a representation of my life? Of our lives as believers? Do we not let the weeds of the world come in and choke us and entangle us and grow right over what looked to be a nice, lovely garden of faith? 

As I said, a couple years ago I pulled the weeds out of my backyard for the upteenth hundred time. Since I had moved into the house, I had an issue with weeds. I would pull them up each spring and they would come back by the fall. But this time, I needed my yard to look nice because I was moving and was desiring to put my house on the market. So, I rolled out the "carpet" that was supposed to keep out the weeds, laid down the pine needles, put up a birdbath, planted some plants, and had what looked like a beautiful backyard. But the yard was not maintained, and as the year progressed weeds begun to sprout. When I arrived back home last summer, weeds had yet again started to take over my backyard, but because of various situations in my life, I neglected to pull them up. I continued to let them grow, let the roots sink deeper, and did not pay them much attention. My backyard soon became a jungle.

When I went out this weekend and begun working, I struggled. Some of the weeds were so deeply rooted, I could not pull them up and will need help; others came up rather quickly. But when I was done, I stepped back and what I saw was a mess. The foundational "carpet" was torn; there were holes all throughout it; weeds were strewn about the yard. What was under the "beautiful backyard" was a mess just waiting to be uncovered. I then realized what I had neglected to do when I was originally fixing my backyard was till the dirt, till up the roots and the weeds that I had continued for years to "pull up." Because I had not gotten to the heart of the issue, it was only a matter of time before the weeds reappeared and it was not until I completely cleaned my backyard of the surface weeds that I could see the true mess underneath. 

Is this not like our lives? How many times does the Lord reveal to us the truth about a situation? Or the truth about a sin in our lives? Or the truth about a person? How many times does the Lord show us the things we need to change? And instead of tackling the heart of the issue, we offer up a quick "forgive me" prayer and roll out the "carpet" of forgiveness. Or we roll out the "carpet" of ministry and friendship. Or we roll out the carpet of "the Lord's will." And we place this foundational "carpet" down, we plant a garden and from the surface it looks great. Life seems to be going well, friendships are growing, we are having fun and enjoying life, we are going places and doing things we never thought we would be able to, we are happy. Some weeds even look great from the outside and the untrained eye would believe them to be flowers, but the heart of what they are is a weed, with a nice looking outside. Some sins and situations, some people in our lives from the outside  look great, but the hear of what they are is a weed that the world has masked as a flower. 
And then without our realizing, we slowly fade and  weeds start to sprout and slowly they come in and begin to choke the life out of our garden. We begin to experience a fading of our faith, a damping of our spirit, our laughter becomes silent. We feel a hopelessness in our heart; we are worried, anxious, fearful, bitter, angry, upset, discouraged. 
There are so many different weeds that can take hold of a life from situations, to sins, to people. And in many weeds, there may be a little truth, a masked flower. We enjoy the person, we enjoy the company, we enjoy the places we are going, we see ministry, we see friendships. Or we know that moderation is truth, but we do not have self control. Or we have had a situation of hurt in our lives and we can not let go of the hurt, so we continue to bring up the situation in order to remind ourselves and others of it. But we do it because we "care." And if we see ourselves going back to the same situations, the wrong friendship, the same thoughts and feelings, we need to take heart and be careful, because one situation can set off the growth of multiple weeds. Bitterness can lead to anger, to depression, to a falling a part of a family or relationship. Unhealthy friendships and relationships can lead to paths that are traveled down that lead to things and places and words and deeds that would have never been a part of a life and can lead to a falling a part of family and true relationships, can lead to a sinking faith, discouragement. Sins in our lives can entangle us and keep us from growing and maturing. 
But there is hope, once the farmer/gardner has pulled up the weeds and laid the mess out in front of Him, He comes along and tills. He tills the roots and the mess and what is left is clean barren land. After we tackle the heart of the issue, the Lord is ready to begin tilling. There lies a mess in front of us and He is comes along and desires to till and begin a new. Because what He desires next is to lay a new foundation,so a new garden, a new chapter, can be planted, watered, and harvested. If the steps are not done in the right order the garden will not grow. If there is not tilling, clean start, barren land, seed planted, watered, there will not be a bountiful harvest. Weeds will grow and the harvest will be choked and overcome. Before we can see the bountiful harvest the Lord has in store for our lives, we must let go of all the roots and weeds entangling our lives. We must evaluate where we are and where we desire to be. We must make changes and not be afraid of the consequences of those changes. We must not continue to dwell in the past but move forward to the future. We can pull up the weeds, we can see the mess underneath, and lay a foundation right on top of it, without tilling up the roots. And what will happen is the weeds will come back. But if we truly let go, let the Lord wipe the garden clean, we can start a new and what a harvest He can plant! Praise be to Him Who wipes away the mess we have made and plants a new garden in our lives!

Proof in the Empty Tomb

*"Let no one caught in sin remain, inside the lie of inward shame. We fix our eyes upon the cross and run to him who showed great love and bled for us. Freely you bled, for us..."

"Christ is risen from the dead. Trampling over death by death. Come awake, come awake! Come and rise up from the grave!" 

"Christ is risen from the dead. We are one with him again. Come awake, come awake! Come and rise up from the grave!"

"Beneath the weight of all our sin, You bow to none but heavens will. No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown, no burden great can hold you down. In strength you reign, forever let your church proclaim..."

"Christ is risen from the dead. Trampling over death by death. Come awake, come awake! Come and rise up from the grave!"

"Christ is risen from the dead. We are one with him again. Come awake, come awake! Come and rise up from the grave!"

"Oh death! Where is your sting? Oh hell! Where is your victory? Oh Church! Come stand in the light! The glory of God has defeated the night!" 

"Oh death! Where is your sting? Oh hell! Where is your victory? Oh Church! Come stand in the light! Our God is not dead, he's alive! he's alive!"

"Christ is risen from the dead. Trampling over death by death. Come awake, come awake! Come and rise up from the grave!"

"Christ is risen from the dead! We are one with him again. Come awake, come awake! Come and rise up from the grave!" 

"Oh death! Where is your sting? Oh hell! Where is your victory? Oh Church! Come stand in the light! The glory of God has defeated the night!" 

"Oh death! Where is your sting? Oh hell! Where is your victory? Oh Church! Come stand in the light! Our God is not dead, he's alive! he's alive!"

 "Rise up from the grave..."

"Rise up from the grave..."

*Lyrics to Christ is Risen by Matt Maher....

As we bask in the Resurrection, I can not help but to think of how thankful I am that I serve a risen Saviour. He is NOT there! I serve a God that when you go to His tomb there are no bones, there is no skeleton, there is nothing! The proof is in the empty tomb. No other god can claim he is risen, no other tomb can you visit and see an empty space. No other god is alive and actively working in the lives of his followers. My God is ALIVE! He is unchanging, unwavering, the same yesterday today and tomorrow! I have a hope because He is never going to fail me. He is never going to change. My world may be a living hell, there may be struggles all around me; I may be feeling like nothing will change, that my life is going to be the same. I may feel like I am living in constant frustration and discouragement. I do not know what you are going through, but there is power in the Resurrection! Take heart, persevere, and realize the proof is in the empty tomb! And no matter what you are going through you have the power of the Resurrection, the power of the Holy Spirit! Do not give up, do not be defeated! The battle has been won! He is NOT there, He has risen from the grave! 

Happiness vs Joy

Happy...an emotion, a feeling evoked by something or someone, by a circumstance, by an event. How many times do we catch ourselves saying "I just want them to be happy." But lately I have truly wondered, how many times does the Lord say "I want you to be happy?"I have no doubt the Lord wants us happy, but as I have begun to search Scripture and truly think about this word, I have realized He wants more than just a fleeting emotion....He wants us to experience joy, a gift only given by Him through His Spirit to believers, to be manifested by believers. Happiness....joy....two similar words but at the same time two words that are worlds apart. 

As I searched the Scriptures, I found (ESV) 8 accounts of the word "happy." All 8 accounts were in Old Testament scriptures and used to describe an emotion based on a circumstance the individual or country was experiencing. "Happiness" was found in 2 separate Old Testament scriptures, one in Isaiah "bring good news of happiness" and one in Lamentations "I have forgotten what happiness is." In all accounts, none are the Lord speaking on desiring His people to be happy, to have happiness, to count everything as happy, to possess happiness. However, as I searched Scripture, I found (ESV) over 171 Scriptures containing the word "joy," 19 containing the word "joyful," and 1 containing the word "joyfulness." They spanned the entire Bible, not just the Old Testament, and the Lord spoke directly to the people desiring the people to have joy, consider it all joy, count everything as joy. So why the staggering difference? What is the Lord truly desiring for His people?

Happiness...it is conditional. It is based on a circumstance, an event, a person, an object. We are happy when our team wins; we are happy when we receive a raise; we are happy when it is sunny and we can experience being outside and enjoying the creation; we are happy when we laugh with someone; we are happy when we have a weekend away. But the next game our team loses, there are bills to pay, rainy and cold days come, people aren't what we thought they were, and work starts all over again on Monday. Happiness, it is an emotion that comes and goes with the tide. 

Happiness...it may not be something positive. A child will enjoy the cookie they have taken from the cookie jar, even if mom said "no," they will be happy eating it, until they realize mom has found out. As you get older, you may make a decision based on what "makes you happy." And then you soon find out you were basing the decision on your feelings and things are not what they seem to be. A person living in sin may be happy with their sin, and then they feel convicted. Happiness, it is an emotion but it may not be a positive emotion.

Joy, it is a fruit of the Spirit. It is given not based on circumstances but to all who believe and is manifested through believers in word and in deed. The Lord says to "ask and I will give because I want your Joy complete!"The psalmist says "Shout for Joy all you people!" The psalmist declares "My heart is filled with Joy because of what He has done!" The Lord says to "consider it all JOY when you suffer!" Though we have not seen Him we "rejoice with great Joy!" Paul declares "May the Lord fill you with Joy and peace!" Joy it is something that is deep inside of us, that can only come from the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Joy is not based on the circumstances around us, not based on a person, not based on object, for we know all these will pass! Circumstances will rise and fall, people will fail us, objects are earthly, but Joy comes only from the Lord. We can have Joy in all circumstances, we can have Joy when people betray us, we can have Joy when we can not pay the bills. Does it mean we will not suffer? No! Does it mean we will not be happy? No! Does it mean we can not be happy? NO!!  Does it make any of these things easier? Yes! Because we know that in all circumstances the Lord is working. We know that the JOY of the Lord is our strength! 
Joy...it will always surround itself with positivity. We do not have to worry about being joyful over the wrong event, over the wrong person, over the wrong scenario. Joy can not surround itself with negativity, it can only be surrounded by positivity! Joy will come when we are in the midst of the Lord's will whether it is the most heartbreaking of situations or the highest mountain. Joy can be in the midst of our weddings, our childrens' births, and in the funerals of our loved ones. But Joy can NOT be present in the midst of our sin, in the midst of our lies, our deceit, our sinful hearts, our sinful lives. Can we think we feel Joy? Yes! Can we be deceived? Yes! The Lord's desire is for us to live lives of Joy, lives that reflect Him. The Lord's desire is for us to become more like Him! And Joy will radiate through our lives, despite our faults and our failures. Repentance, redemption, reconciliation, rejoicing....the Lord and the angles REJOICE over the sinner turned from their sin, not over the sinner sinning. 
Joy, it is the life we are called to live! Do I want those around me to be happy? Of course! Do I want to be happy? Of course! But I want to live a life that is in the will of the Lord, if I am in His will, there will be moments of happiness, but above all I will be filled with joy. If those around me are living a life in the will of the Lord, they will have moments of happiness, but above all they will be filled with joy! To experience joy, changes will have to be made, people will have to be pruned from our lives, jobs will have to be quite, moves will have to be made, jobs will have to be kept, moves may not need to be made, people will need to be placed in our lives, objects and idols will have to be crushed. But we will learn that even when it hurts, there is joy! Even when it is raining blessings, there is joy! Even when we do not know where our next meal is coming from, there is joy! Even when others have treated us unfairly, there is joy! When we live a joy filled life we begin to see that in ALL things the LORD is working for our good, that in ALL things there is JOY! Believers REJOICE! For the JOY of our LORD is our STRENGTH! He alone can fill us with songs of happiness! He alone can change our hearts to hearts of joy!