“If you pray very little it’s probably because you believe that prayer accomplishes little. Actually, action without prayer is arrogance…”
-Reverend Run
Practical Tips to deepen our Prayer Life:
1. Make Room For it: Put it on your schedule. Stick to it. If you get off track, jump back on.
2. Use a Script: Make a prayer-list. Write down things to pray for in a prayer journal.
3. Mix a in a Fast: Fasting (abstaining from something for the sake of seeking God) shapes our appetites. It brings focus to your walk with Jesus. It trims back the rule of your flesh (flesh is our own human will) over your life and allows us to submit ourselves to the leadership of Jesus.
4. Listen: In the book, “Secrets of the Secret Place” author Bob Sorge speaks about listening to God. After spending time pouring our heart to God (our frustrations, our bitterness, our anger, our pain, and our hurt), get still before God. Just listen. Take time to write down what comes to you.
5. Get Right with God: James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous persons availeth much.”
That means that a righteous person prays with great power. It doesn’t just say the prayer of a “person”, but a person right with God. It also gives us the means. Repentance, Confession, Healing, Forgiveness.
It is our job to ask for rain, it’s God’s job to send it.
“You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God…This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame.” - William Booth
This week in our ‘Going Deep’ series we talked about the prayer life of Elijah (to listen, click here).
There are 5 things that stand out (from 1 Kings Chapter 18):
1. Purpose of God-Elijah prays the will of God. He doesn’t Pray his “own thing”, but prays according to the revealed will of God. We discover the purpose of God’s is according by on consulting the word of God.
2. Pattern of God-Not only does Elijah pray according to God’s purpose, he prays according to God pattern. As the old saying goes, “God works in mysterious ways”. This requires us to pay close attention to where God is leading.
3. Passionate Persistence in Prayer-Elijah doggedly persists in prayer, when there was zero evidence that God’s will would be realized. When in similar situations we must cling to God’s word in spite of what he see.
4. Provision of God- Elijah knows what the nation needs to move forward and for the curse to be broken over the land. But having the right knowledge, and doing the right thing isn’t enough. We must do our part. But we cannot produce the super-natural. When we are faithful to our part, God adds His part, and something truly special happens.
5. Power of God-After Elijah pressed through he was launched into another dimension. His body was super-naturally empowered to run faster than a chariot down to the city. When we trust God, believe God, pray to God, we receive the grace from God that gives us the ability to perform, respond, and react beyond our naturally ability.
It is our job to ask for rain, it’s God’s job to send it.
Carl is a balloon salesman who along with his wife Ellie, have a dream. Their dream is to visit a place called Paradise Falls.
The couple has grown old together in the restored abandoned house. Unable to have children, they repeatedly try to save up for their trip to Paradise Falls, but something always seems to come up that requires their savings. One day, Carl is finally able to buy tickets to South America. On the day he plans to surprise her, Ellie gets sick with what will become a fatal illness.
The rest of the film details Carl Fredrickson’s quest to honor his wife’s legacy and redeem the dream that had gone unfulfilled for so very long.
And through a harrowing adventure that contains talking dogs and a flying house, Carl steps into his dream at long last.
In the real world exists many Carl Fredricksons.
People that wake up everyday to unfulfilled hopes and unrealized dreams.
There are countless stories behind these sleeping dreams.
Mistakes. Missed opportunity. Injustice. Lack of access.
And there are millions of reasons why these dreams sleep, but there is only one reason that they awaken:
Someone decides to wake them up.
Someone stops making excuses. Someone stops blaming others. Someone stops regretting the past. Someone stops focusing on the why-nots.
Someone makes a choice to live differently.
To be courageous.
To be dangerous.
To take a leap.
To renounce the familiar.
To do something never been attempted.
And yes, it’s risky.
But a dream has never been redeemed without exercising a little faith.
“But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.”
-1 Kings 3:7
I love this line.
It comes from the prayer of Solomon, when he was asking God to give him the gift of wisdom. Faced with the overwhelming challenge of succeeding his father as king over the nation, Solomon cried out to God for help.
God heard, and granted the young king his request.
One of the many reasons that I love this sentence so much is because I have used it so often myself.
In fact, I used it today.
The task that God has before us is much too big for us. Like a little boy in his father’s clothes, we can become swallowed up in the largeness of God’s vision for our life.
But we must remember, that to effectively do God’s work, we desperately need God’s help.
So as the little children of God that we are, we humbly ask for His help.
Because God always hears.
And God always helps.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
-1 James 3:15
con·tra·dic·tion [kon-truh-dik-shuhn] direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency.
“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God’s mercy to me.”
-Thomas Merton
Having the right answer it just part of the equation. Getting the right result is putting the right action behind the right things.
To do believe the right stuff and do the stuff we believe shows maturity and depth. Unfortuanately, we aren’t nearly as deep as we think.
We’re more shallow than we let on.
We contradict our beliefs and quickly question God when trouble comes.
Even when the trouble isn’t really trouble.
The boss looked at us funny(God, I thought you were going to take care of me?). The car had a flat tire(I thought you were with me?). One night we have an upset stomach(Why are you doing this?).
A shallow person is always one step away from re-evaluating everything whenever turbulence occurs in their life.
Circumstance dictates whether the shallow person has confidence in God. When things are good, predictable, the way that they want…they are with God.
But the moment that they are not…they are ready to abandon Him.
And if the shallow person doesn’t outwardly renounce their faith, they begin to live a life that espouses faith in God, but they live as though God doesn’t exist.
As Craig Groeshel writes in his latest book ‘The Christian Atheist’, “A Christian Atheist puts their whole faith in God but still lives as if everything was up to them”
Question: Do you believe in God, but live like you don’t?
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
“If you pray very little it’s probably because you believe that prayer accomplishes little. Actually, action without prayer is arrogance…”
-Reverend Run
Practical Tips to deepen our Prayer Life:
1. Make Room For it: Put it on your schedule. Stick to it. If you get off track, jump back on.
2. Use a Script: Make a prayer-list. Write down things to pray for in a prayer journal.
3. Mix a in a Fast: Fasting (abstaining from something for the sake of seeking God) shapes our appetites. It brings focus to your walk with Jesus. It trims back the rule of your flesh (flesh is our own human will) over your life and allows us to submit ourselves to the leadership of Jesus.
4. Listen: In the book, “Secrets of the Secret Place” author Bob Sorge speaks about listening to God. After spending time pouring our heart to God (our frustrations, our bitterness, our anger, our pain, and our hurt), get still before God. Just listen. Take time to write down what comes to you.
5. Get Right with God: James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous persons availeth much.”
That means that a righteous person prays with great power. It doesn’t just say the prayer of a “person”, but a person right with God. It also gives us the means. Repentance, Confession, Healing, Forgiveness.
It is our job to ask for rain, it’s God’s job to send it.
Posted in Prayer | 1 Comment »
Never underestimate the power of seeds.
What is sown in the name of Jesus, & in obedience to Jesus, always brings an awesome return.
Though the harvest takes time, if we remain faithful we will surely reap the goodness of God.
I was reminded of this reality when someone that I had been fervently praying for, called me out of the blue asking for help.
All of the sudden a life that seemed almost completely closed to the kingdom of God was sincerely seeking Him.
Out of the blue.
No warning.
No indicators.
No signs.
Just a seed breaking out of the ground that had been planted long before.
Never underestimate the power of seeds.
What is sown in the name of Jesus, & in obedience to Jesus, always brings an awesome return.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
-Gal. 6:9
Posted in Relationships, Transformation, Faith | No Comments »
“You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God…This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame.” - William Booth
This week in our ‘Going Deep’ series we talked about the prayer life of Elijah (to listen, click here).
There are 5 things that stand out (from 1 Kings Chapter 18):
1. Purpose of God-Elijah prays the will of God. He doesn’t Pray his “own thing”, but prays according to the revealed will of God. We discover the purpose of God’s is according by on consulting the word of God.
2. Pattern of God-Not only does Elijah pray according to God’s purpose, he prays according to God pattern. As the old saying goes, “God works in mysterious ways”. This requires us to pay close attention to where God is leading.
3. Passionate Persistence in Prayer-Elijah doggedly persists in prayer, when there was zero evidence that God’s will would be realized. When in similar situations we must cling to God’s word in spite of what he see.
4. Provision of God- Elijah knows what the nation needs to move forward and for the curse to be broken over the land. But having the right knowledge, and doing the right thing isn’t enough. We must do our part. But we cannot produce the super-natural. When we are faithful to our part, God adds His part, and something truly special happens.
5. Power of God-After Elijah pressed through he was launched into another dimension. His body was super-naturally empowered to run faster than a chariot down to the city. When we trust God, believe God, pray to God, we receive the grace from God that gives us the ability to perform, respond, and react beyond our naturally ability.
It is our job to ask for rain, it’s God’s job to send it.
Posted in Prayer, The Church | No Comments »
Up is a beautiful movie that tells the story of Carl Fredrickson.
Carl is a balloon salesman who along with his wife Ellie, have a dream. Their dream is to visit a place called Paradise Falls.
The couple has grown old together in the restored abandoned house. Unable to have children, they repeatedly try to save up for their trip to Paradise Falls, but something always seems to come up that requires their savings. One day, Carl is finally able to buy tickets to South America. On the day he plans to surprise her, Ellie gets sick with what will become a fatal illness.
The rest of the film details Carl Fredrickson’s quest to honor his wife’s legacy and redeem the dream that had gone unfulfilled for so very long.
And through a harrowing adventure that contains talking dogs and a flying house, Carl steps into his dream at long last.
In the real world exists many Carl Fredricksons.
People that wake up everyday to unfulfilled hopes and unrealized dreams.
There are countless stories behind these sleeping dreams.
Mistakes. Missed opportunity. Injustice. Lack of access.
And there are millions of reasons why these dreams sleep, but there is only one reason that they awaken:
Someone decides to wake them up.
Someone stops making excuses. Someone stops blaming others. Someone stops regretting the past. Someone stops focusing on the why-nots.
Someone makes a choice to live differently.
To be courageous.
To be dangerous.
To take a leap.
To renounce the familiar.
To do something never been attempted.
And yes, it’s risky.
But a dream has never been redeemed without exercising a little faith.
Posted in Media/Culture, The Future, Leadership, Dream Awake | No Comments »
“But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.”
-1 Kings 3:7
I love this line.
It comes from the prayer of Solomon, when he was asking God to give him the gift of wisdom. Faced with the overwhelming challenge of succeeding his father as king over the nation, Solomon cried out to God for help.
God heard, and granted the young king his request.
One of the many reasons that I love this sentence so much is because I have used it so often myself.
In fact, I used it today.
The task that God has before us is much too big for us. Like a little boy in his father’s clothes, we can become swallowed up in the largeness of God’s vision for our life.
But we must remember, that to effectively do God’s work, we desperately need God’s help.
So as the little children of God that we are, we humbly ask for His help.
Because God always hears.
And God always helps.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
-1 James 3:15
Posted in Prayer, Leadership | No Comments »
con·tra·dic·tion [kon-truh-dik-shuhn] direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency.
“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God’s mercy to me.”
-Thomas Merton
Having the right answer it just part of the equation. Getting the right result is putting the right action behind the right things.
To do believe the right stuff and do the stuff we believe shows maturity and depth. Unfortuanately, we aren’t nearly as deep as we think.
We’re more shallow than we let on.
We contradict our beliefs and quickly question God when trouble comes.
Even when the trouble isn’t really trouble.
The boss looked at us funny (God, I thought you were going to take care of me?). The car had a flat tire (I thought you were with me?). One night we have an upset stomach (Why are you doing this?).
A shallow person is always one step away from re-evaluating everything whenever turbulence occurs in their life.
Circumstance dictates whether the shallow person has confidence in God. When things are good, predictable, the way that they want…they are with God.
But the moment that they are not…they are ready to abandon Him.
And if the shallow person doesn’t outwardly renounce their faith, they begin to live a life that espouses faith in God, but they live as though God doesn’t exist.
As Craig Groeshel writes in his latest book ‘The Christian Atheist’, “A Christian Atheist puts their whole faith in God but still lives as if everything was up to them”
Question: Do you believe in God, but live like you don’t?
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Titus 1:16 (New International Version)
Posted in Worship, Discipleship | 1 Comment »
1st message in Going Deep series called, “Are You Ready?”
To listen or download, click here.
Posted in The Church | No Comments »
The more we resist God, the greater discipline we require.
The degree that we obey and submit to God, will determine how much of God’s correction is necessary.
The percentage of our correction is tied to the percentage of our submission.
Will we rebel and resist, or will be submit and surrender?
The choice is ours.
Posted in Discipleship | No Comments »
New message at Renaissance Church called “Beautiful You”.
To listen or download, click here.
Posted in Relationships, The Church | No Comments »
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
I love you.
Posted in Family | No Comments »
Final week of “The Talk”, a series about love, sex, and relationships.
In “Freedom’s Children” I discuss how to step into both the freedom and forgiveness of Christ.
To listen or download, click here.
Posted in Relationships, The Church, Media/Culture | No Comments »