A Pet's Prayer

     "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"  Matthew 6:25

     Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7  NIV (1984)

      Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.  Psalm 55:22

     We have a pet that we love.  Maxi is a country dog.  She is half beagle and half black lab and she is as sweet as your favorite candy.  Maxi is neither an inside dog nor an outside dog.  We force her to stay inside from midnight until daylight for her own safety; but during daylight hours through midnight, she can come inside and go outside as she pleases.  This, however, requires some intervention on our part.

     Maxi, being short and without thumbs, needs us to open the door for her.  She does not seem embarrassed or ashamed to ask us to do this.  When she wants to go outside, she stands by our front door and looks in our direction.  When she wants to come in, she makes noise by pawing the front door and then she waits for us to open the door.

     The point is that Maxi asks and then she waits for us to fulfill her request in our own time.  She doesn't worry that we won't open the door for her tomorrow or next week.  She doesn't seem to worry that when we let her out that we might not let her back in.  She trusts in our love.

     Do you trust in God's love?  Do you ask and then wait?  Do you worry that he might not always give you what you think you need?  There have been many nights when Maxi has asked to be let out around midnight and we have told her "no."  That doesn't reduce her belief in our love for her.  She just accepts the no and asks again in the morning.

     God knows us and loves us.  He knows our needs and wants to grant our requests.  Trust him to know what is best for you and wait on his responses to your prayers.  You don't have to worry that he won't be there tomorrow.

Adding Interest

Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to Him for protection. Do not add to His words, or He may rebuke you and expose you as a liar. (Proverbs 30:5-6 NLT)

Why is it that we always want to add to stories that we hear to make them more interesting or exciting? A 4.0 earthquake becomes a 4.6 and then a 5.0 and then a 6.4. A five car pile-up on the interstate becomes 10 cars and then 20. An old man who likes being alone in his apartment, refuses a wellness check and the police are called, becomes a sniper picking off students at the university half a block away.

God will not put up with His word being exaggerated or distorted. That is one reason why it is so important for us to study the Bible for ourselves. We need to understand what the earthly writer intended to say. When we convey it, we need to convey those thoughts and nothing more. God knows that we have a tendency to add to His words. Protect his words. Those who add to his words may have to eat their own.

Snow

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10

Rejoice in the Lord, always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Phillipians 4:4,5

    I've heard people saying for weeks now that they wanted snow.  There is a beautiful snow falling as I am writing this.  It is gentle, with big flakes.  When I got up this morning, I sat with a cup of coffee by our front window and watched it for a bit.   Then the phrase, Be still and know that I am God, came to mind.  Everything seems to slow down when it snows.  I like that.

    The Hebrew word for stillness that is used often has a negative connotation.  It is a word for weakness. . . lowering the hands and giving up.  The point is that once we have spun our wheels to the point of exasperation, and we finally give up control to God, we can sit back and watch Him act.  Then we will see what God's goals are.  We will understand that our purposes are not, necessarily, His purposes.  We don't like waiting; but, the Bible is full of examples of times when God forced His people to wait before He acted.

     Then, I thought about children.  They want snow for a different reason.  They want to play.  Children and snow bring to mind the making of snowmen and snowball fights and sledding down hills.  Children are active in snow.  And they are joyful.  The Lord is Near.

     So, when we finally give up and wait, we can see God at work.  Then we can join Him in His work and that is when we rejoice in Him, and know that He is near.

     Just as the snow gently slows us down, so does God force us into times of waiting.  But, when His timing is right, He makes it clear that it is time for action and it is clear that He is near.

God's Surprise

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.  1 Corinthians 2:9  NIV


There is more than enough room in my Father's home.  If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  John 14:2  NLT



     When there are small children in the house, much of the joy of Christmas morning comes in seeing the happiness and surprise on the face of the children when they get something they were eagerly anticipating or they are surprised by a gift that they didn't even think of as an option.

        God has a great surprise in store for us.  Paul says that we have never seen anything like it.  We have never heard of anything like it.  We have never even imagined anything like it.  But God has prepared something great for those of us who love him.

        We try to imagine Heaven; but, there is no way to imagine it.  We can only accept that it is awesome.  God has everything good in store for you.  How exciting! God loves us in this life and we can't even imagine what he has planned for us in the next.

In Jesus' Name

"At that time you won't need to ask me for anything.  I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.  You haven't done this before.  Ask, using my name, and you will 

receive, and you will have abundant joy."                   John 16:23,24

     I have trouble asking for things.  The reason is that I have learned through the years that when I ask people for something, they often say  'no.'   My priorities just aren't their priorities.  I have also learned, though, that when my priorities are God's priorities, he always says 'yes.'  

     There was a popular song when I was growing up.  The first line of the song was, "Oh, Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedez Benz?"

I have had my share of Mercedez Benz prayers through the years.  God, in his wisdom, turns these down.  But, when I pray in Jesus name, not saying the words like a magical formula; but, rather, praying for those things that I know that Jesus wants, God says 'YES!'

     Here's a thought:  discuss with God what you are going to pray about before you pray.  Your prayers may become a little more thoughtful and you will grow closer to God as you learn to pray in Jesus name.

Santa Claus vs. Jesus Christmas

Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.  And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.   

 Mark 10:14-16  KJV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 NIV

     I get a nagging feeling of discomfort every year at this time.  It comes from the Santa Claus Christmas vs. the Jesus Christmas debate.  Does participating in the Santa Claus myth take away from remembering Jesus at Christmas?

     Most of the time, the question is academic -- that is, unless you have little ones in the house!  Then some decisions have to be made.  Do you tell your kids about Santa or not?  Are the gifts left under the tree from Santa or from the person who really gave them  -- you, Grandma, Uncle Fred?

     We never told our own kids about Santa.  Of course they heard about him from others and so, when they asked us if Santa was real, we told them that he was real in the same way that Big Bird is real.  They could draw their own conclusions.  Right or wrong, that's how we handled it.

     Then it occurred to me the other day that there is a parallel between Santa Claus Christmas and how we respond to God in our Christian walk.  Children anticipate Christmas with excitement and huge anticipation.  They believe that there is someone who will give them gifts freely -- just because his love for them is so great that giving them gifts is the thing he most wants to do.

      Giving us the gift of Jesus and eternal life with Him is the thing that God most wants to do.  His gift is free to anyone who will accept it  -- just as are the gifts from Santa.

     So, there are two parts to the parallel between Santa Claus and God, God's attitude and ours.  Are we like little children who eagerly anticipate the free gift that is given to us.  It is a gift that we can accept without guilt.  Who ever heard of a child turning down a gift at Christmas?  Santa certainly reflects God's love in his desire to give free gifts to us.

     I do not know the answer to the question of whether or not you should tell your child about Santa Claus. I do know that you should tell your child about Jesus and there is a metaphor that describes, very well, God's great love for us.

How to Live for Jesus

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.     John 14:23

     My home church has an "altar call" at the end of each service.  A song is sung by the congregation and anyone who wants to accept Jesus and be baptized can come forward at that time.  Baptism usually follows immediately.  At the end of a service I recently attended, a young couple, around 30 years old, went forward with their children.  The minister asked us all to sit down and as the couple faced us, here is what he said:

     "Most of you know these two.  They have been worshiping and serving with us for a few years now.  I asked them if I could speak frankly with you today and they gave me permission.  They love the Lord and they want to live their lives as Christ wants them to.  So today, before we have a baptism, we are going to have a wedding!"

     They then went onto the stage, the minister put on his jacket and the minister's wife brought the bride some roses.  Then, without any rehearsal, without any invitations being sent, without rings, without music, without listening to Here Comes the Bride, but with a church full of encouraging witnesses, they repeated vows to honor and love each other until death they do part and the new husband kissed his new bride.  The couple then prepared for baptism and were baptized into Jesus before their new brothers and sisters in Christ and their children who were watching from the front pew.  

     What a great example this couple set for us all!  We all say that we want to live for Jesus; but we set up our own terms.  This couple could have decided to get married when they had saved enough money for a big wedding, as so many young couples today are prone to do.  But they chose, instead, to show by example how to choose Christ over the world, over their own dreams and desires.  They were an example to their children and to the rest of us on how to submit to Jesus.  It was simple.  It is we who make living for Jesus complicated.  It is we who argue with God over his timing.  I hope to never forget the example of following Jesus that I learned from this couple who want to live as Jesus would have them live and have the courage to do it.