Thursday, May 24, 2012    

Praying for Kim

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and
pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.
Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick,
and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins,
you will be forgiven.  Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed.  The earnest prayer of a righteous person has
great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:14-16. NLT

As most of you know, my sister-in-law Kim has cancer. She has been doing pretty well over the last year until just recently. And last night we got a call to let us know that she had been taken to the hospital. She had some abdominal pain that got bad enough they took her in. They did a scan in the ER and found two new tumors…on in her abdomen and a new on in her lungs (where the other tumors are).

It’s frustrating! We thought she was healed…at one point the tumors were gone and she was feeling well. Then over the past few months her cancer score has gone up and now this. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not fair. She has four beautiful kids…two of them are still babies. They need their mom. We need her.

So I have been praying. I confess that I am not much of a “healing prayer” kind of guy. I know God can and does heal…I’m just always wrestling with the fact that I don’t know His plans for our lives. Sometimes He heals. Sometimes He doesn’t. So I pray for healing, but I’m not always sure if I have the right faith. I know we’re commanded to pray and that prayer is powerful. So I pray and trust God.

I do know that God loves Kim more than I can imagine…more than anyone else does. I know He has a plan for her. I know she loves and trusts Him. Beyond that…doesn’t seem like I know much, but that’s enough. I am asking God to heal Kim once again…and trusting His heart and His plan even though it doesn’t make a bit of sense to me. I’m rambling a bit…but that’s okay…it’s cathartic and it’s how I’ve been praying. It’s how I think my prayers will go all day.

Will you pray too? Maybe you have the gift of healing prayer? Maybe you have the right kind of faith?

We can trust Him together…

26.08.2009 Family, Prayer No Comments

QB Apples and Oranges

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Listening and reading about the QB comparison between Orton and Cutler this past weekend made me wonder how the two compared in their respective games. Mainly because Broncos fans have a “the sky is falling” attitude about Orton while the Bears fans have a “second coming of Montana” attitude about Cutler. I know that the circumstances over the off-season are leading to the comparisons…but wanted to take a look at the actual stats from the last game.

Here they are:

Comp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int
Player 1 18 26 69.2% 182 7.0 1 1
Player 2 8 13 61.5% 121 9.0 1 0

It’s not hard to figure out which player is which just based on the passing attempts, but take a look at some of the others numbers and they aren’t that different. The completion percentage is very close and they both threw one TD. Yes, Orton threw the interception but it was bogus…and should have been a TD on the play before (which would make the numbers look that much better for Orton).

Am I saying Orton is better than Cutler? No. I’m just saying the numbers are not really that much different and Orton is playing in a different kind of offense. Also, the Giants had over half of their DEF players out of the game…so it wasn’t exactly like Cutler was playing the SB Champs of last year.And Orton plays in a style of offense that is going to yield lower passing averages than Cutler will…not better or worse, just different.

Just an interesting observation on the perspectives for each of these two players. Similar numbers with two VERY different reactions. I for one am not freaking out yet…and I’m looking forward to the game on Sunday.

24.08.2009 Broncos, Hobbies, Sports No Comments

Listening Day 4: Teacher Beware

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Yesterday I got some sleep and was back into the mode of listening to God’s voice. It’s still not an “easy” process (I wonder if it ever will be…and maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be). This morning God led me to a curious verse in James:

Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church,
for we who teach will be judged more strictly.
(James 3:1, NLT)

This verse has always been a little bit curious to me for a couple of reasons:

  1. I am called to be a teacher…so there is a certain level of direct, personal warning here. God is saying that I am walking right into the frying pan…that I am one of the few who will be “judged more strictly”.That’s serious business…but it’s also my calling and my passion.
  2. I never really fully understood how this verse fits into the third chapter of James which is focused on the power (and destructive nature) of the tongue. Yes, teachers speak so it applies, but the chapter isn’t focused solely on teachers. It just never quite seem to fit…but it still speaks to me directly.

Now, why did God take me to this verse? Not sure. Still meditating on that one. Is it an admonition or a warning (or both)? Simply a reminder that the path He has me on is serious business? He and I are talking about that…probably will be for a long time.

Do you have a verse or passage of Scripture that stands out…makes you nervous or curious? Something that you wrestle with often? Let’s hear it…

21.08.2009 Devotional, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Listening Day 3: Nada

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

This morning was Day 3 of my journey in listening to God this week…and it proved once again that I have a long way to go. I got a call at around 2 in the morning for a work issue and had a tough time getting back to sleep. I also have a funeral to prepare for on Friday. I was tired and my mind was racing in a thousand directions…except towards God.

Plain and simple…I just couldn’t quiet my spirit long enough to hear God. There was too much noise…too much distraction. I decided not to push it too hard. And I know that God isn’t going to hammer for it. Because I know he loves me. And I know He was with me all day…at work…at the home of a family that has just lost their dad…at home after it all. He was with me as I started putting together the memorial service.

It’s comforting to know that God is always there, even when we aren’t at our best. So, I plan to get some sleep tonight and get right back into the saddle tomorrow…I know He’ll be there waiting for me with the right word(s). And at least I’m learning not to feel so guilty when I don’t live up to my own expectations…guilt is not fruit from God (it’s from that other dude!).

More to come…

19.08.2009 Devotional, Spiritual Musings 3 Comments

Listening Day 2: Stay With Me

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Day 2 of my 5 day process of spending time listening to God each morning was about as different from Day 1 as you could get. No direction to read a passage of Scripture that jumped off the page (although I did read Mark 16). No, Day 2 was more about hearing the Spirit’s voice spoken into my spirit. It’s not something I do well…it’s something He’s teaching me to get better at.

And what I heard yesterday morning was a repeat of a common theme in my spiritual journey:

“Stay with me, David. Don’t ever leave me.”

My spirit has a tendency to do that…to wander from God and try to manage on my own instead of staying connected to Him…remaining (or abiding) in Him as He said in John 15. None o this was said with even a hint of condemnation or guilt…simply a gentle reminder that my heart is prone to wander and I need to stick with Jesus or I will wander off.

How about you? What reminders do you get (and/or need) from God regarding your spiritual journey? What is your heart prone to do…?

19.08.2009 Devotional, Spiritual Musings 1 Comment

Listening Day 1: Sacrifice of Thankfulness

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Yesterday morning was my first of five days simply listening to God…hearing from Him instead of filling the silence. And did He ever come through (like there was any doubt?). I started with some simple, but heartfelt, worship…praises and adoration for a God that would chose to love me even though He knows all about me.

And then God took me to Psalm 50. I actually read it a couple of times while asking the Spirit to speak to me through His Word…to direct my thoughts to what He wanted me to see here. What He wanted me to see was this:

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
(Psalm 50:14, NLT)

I have to admit that this verse opened up more questions than it answered for me. How is thankfulness sacrificial? I mean, sacrifice is supposed to cost us something…right? Well, how does thankfulness fit into that definition? Thankfulness doesn’t seem to cost much…if anything.

Maybe it’s about me putting aside my self-sufficiency…thanking God from a spirit of utter dependence on Him??

I am thankful. But I’m also still wrestling with this verse and its personal implications.

How about you…what do you think this verse means? What is sacrificial thankfulness? Let e hear it in the comment section…

18.08.2009 Devotional, Spiritual Musings 2 Comments

Listening Week

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Over the past couple of weeks I have been challenged to mix things up in my morning time/routine with God. I’m not doing anything wrong, but anything gets stale if you leave it sit long enough. And over the weekend God has impressed on my to spend the next 5 days listening to Him instead of my normal routine.

It will just be me, my Bible, and a journal. And I’m just going to listen…hopefully hear His heart and His direction. It’s always hard for me to shut up and listen (in general and with God), but that’s what I’m going to work at for the next 5 days. And I will blog about it a few times along the way too.

So…I’m off for morning #1…always anticipation about what God might say when I actually take the time to stop and listen for awhile…

17.08.2009 Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Trust Me

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Have you ever had someone say to you: “Trust me”? What’s your initial reaction? I may be a little cynical, but my first reaction is, “Yeah…right. Not gonna happen pal.”

That is, unless I really, really, really trust that person. It’s just that most people have a way of letting us down…often when they are trying their darnedest not to. We’re human. We fail. We’re frail. We kinda suck. ;-)

But there is someone we can trust 100%. He never lets us down. He never fails. He’s strong enough to lean on. He definitely does NOT suck. And He tells us to trust Him…

Don’t let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God, and trust also in me.
(John 14:1, NLT)

I confess that too often I trust in myself or others to try and get me through. Sometimes I even try and let God be my assistant and/or guide to help me through  life. But I got a reminder this morning that this isn’t enough…Jesus doesn’t want to just be our “copilot”…He wants to be the pilot that takes us where we need to go:

Do you see Jesus as someone who has come along to assist you? Or do you rely on His dwelling in your heart? He is not just your example or your copilot. He is the substance of your life. You cannot know the Father, and you cannot get to heaven, with Him only showing you how to get there. He must take you there. Having been born of His Spirit, we must let His Spirit actually live in us. (Walk With God, page 224).

Yep, that’ll preach…

12.08.2009 Devotional, Faith, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Too Close to Home…

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

I saw this cartoon this morning and regardless of where you stand (or sit) politically, it strikes a little too close to home…

comic0812

12.08.2009 Humor, Politics No Comments

Binding Yourself

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

I have been slowly reading through the book of Jeremiah over the past couple of months. Sometimes the reading is good…sometimes it’s painful (a little slow and repetitive). Overall, the message is good even today: Stay true to God and don’t let idols come between your relationship with Him. That’s what Israel had done. They had the real thing—God—but they chose a substitute—idols. And boy did they ever pay for their actions…70 years of captivity!

We do the same thing…or at least I do (and I’m sure I’m the only one). I substitute my relationship with God to often. Why? I’m not always sure. Maybe because it’s easier? Maybe I think God will ask me to do something I don’t want to do. Maybe I’m just weak like the Israelites?

A lot of Jeremiah is about God talking about how angry and disappointed He is with Israel. It’s about His punishment of Israel…telling His children why He is punishing them. It’s hard to read because I often deserve the same sort of reaction from God (but thank Him for His grace and mercy through Christ!).

This morning I was reading in chapter 50 (almost done)…and I almost missed something important. God is talking about the end of Israel’s punishment…of the time when they will come home. And this is what He says:

They will bind themselves to the Lord with an
eternal covenant that will never be forgotten.
(Jeremiah 50:5b)

That  hit me right between the eyes (once God’s Spirit got my attention and brought me back to it). I need to bind myself to God too. I need to be so close to Him that I am bound to Him forever. Christ does that for us…I just need to get closer and let it happen.

11.08.2009 Devotional, Spiritual Musings 1 Comment

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