The Whole Picture

Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture." -- Psalm 73:17

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and I won't argue that point. But I would like to add that a picture also hides a thousand words. Take a snapshot anywhere, anytime, and there is one thing you won't capture -- what happened immediately before and what happened immediately after. There is a story behind every person you encounter. I've stared into countless eyes (and you have too). Only God sees the whole picture. Just a reminder that snapshots are deceiving and snapshot judgments are rarely accurate.

Today's prayer: "God, forgive me for all the times I've taken a mental snapshot of someone's life and thought I knew their story. You and You alone know the beginning from the end. You see the whole picture. Give me a sensitive heart to a hurting world. Amen."

Never A Whit

A poisonous pill is never a whit the less poisonous because it is gilded over with gold; nor a wolf is never a whit the less a wolf because he has put on a sheep’s skin; nor the devil is never a whit the less a devil because he appears sometimes like an angel of light. So neither is sin any whit the less filthy and abominable by its being painted over with virtue’s colors.

~ Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices

Mercy

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." -- Matthew 5:7

"And what is it to be merciful? To be merciful is to be kind in every direction: to the guilty as well as to the unfortunate; to the loathsome as well as to the winsome; to insect as well as to man. To be merciful is to be full of mercy to all that God has made."


Excerpt from:
The Kingdom: The Emerging Rule of Christ Among Men
The Original Classic by George Dana Boardman
Compiled by Bob Mumford and Jack Taylor

A Tribute To A Servant Of All

"Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last and the servant of all." - Mark 9:35

This morning as we gathered at my mom's house in preparation to attend dad's funeral, I watched my daughter put pen to paper and write a tribute to her grandpa. She captured the essence of who he was in less than ten minutes -- servant of all. 

Today, she read her tribute at his funeral:
"My grandpa, Paul Bowers, was known as a handyman and it was a title he was proud of. Whether he was in his workshop, on a rooftop, or under a sink, he was fixing something. As a child I thought he could fix anything. If my toy was broken he was the first one I went to; if I had a splinter in my foot he would take me into his office, pull out all his tools and fix me up. He liked to spend his weekends at Trader's World and Big Lots. That's where this handyman collected most of his tools. As I got older I began to question my grandpa's "fixing." His Trader's World fixes were not brand name or new. Now that I am grown I realize that this was his way of loving on people. Raise your hand if Paul ever fixed something for you. Grandpa had a workshop, office, two garages, and a shed full of "fixes."  If you needed a battery, just open a drawer. If you needed a bandaid, he had four cases. If you needed a cell phone charger, he had fifteen. He never had one of anything. One may ask why one man needed so many of one thing. That's because he didn't buy them for himself. They were provisions for serving the ones he loved. They were ways to love people." 

By Beth Reddix

A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

During prayer the other day I was tugging on God's sleeve like a little child, kind of begging Him to speak. Feeling a little weary I just needed to hear His voice. All of a sudden I heard the song "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" and I had to laugh.

Sometimes I think God wants a little less talk from us and a lot more action. For example if we pray "God, feed the hungry" I think His response is "You feed the hungry." Stop talking about it and do it. We often pray for something that God has already given us the ability to "act" upon. So, here's to a little more silence and a lot more action.

["A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action" is the title of a song written by Keith Hinton and Jimmy Alan Stewart, and recorded by country music singer Toby Keith.]

Don't Poke God In The Eye

"Whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye." -- Zechariah 2:8

This is too good not to share. Our Pastor reminded us yesterday that when we come against one of God's children or when someone comes against us, that we are actually touching the apple of God's eye -- which is the pupil. This shows how near and dear the Lord's people are to Him. And then he said, "So, don't poke God in the eye!" Thanks Pastor Shawn for that brilliant word picture.

He Will Not Delay

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. " - Psalm 121:1-2

When my foes rise against me, I will lift up my eyes. My God will not delay! Thank you God for being my refuge and strength. Your promises are true. You always come through!

Always lyrics, Kristian Stanfill
My foes are many, they rise against me
But I will hold my ground
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always

Troubles surround me, chaos abounding
My soul will rest in You
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
From You Lord, from You Lord

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always, always

SMILE

"Warm me, your servant, with a smile; save me because you love me." -- Psalm 31:16, MSG

I love this song. It reminds me of someone very special and it reminds me of GOD. He is better than the best. I'm lucky just to linger in HIS light. He warms me with His smile. He makes His face to shine upon me.

Uncle Kracker: SMILE

"You´re better then the best
I´m lucky just to linger in your light
Cooler than the flip side of my pillow that´s right
Completely unaware
Nothing can compare to where you send me
Lets me know that it´s ok
Yeah it´s ok
And the moments when my good times start to fade

You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

Even when you´re gone
Somehow you come along
Just like a flower poking through the sidewalk crack and just like that
You steal away the rain and just like that

You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

Don´t know how I lived without you
'Cuz every time that I get around you
I see the best of me inside your eyes
You make me smile
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild

You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile
Oh, you make me smile
Oh, you make me smile"

Weeds?

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." -- Luke 12:27

The flowers of the field are beautiful to behold, but there are much less desirable plants just as beautiful. What mother hasn't had her heart melt when given a bouquet of clover or dandelions? Mere weeds to most! But my grandsons haven't yet been "taught" which flowers are most desirable by man and I love that about them! And it makes me wonder about my Heavenly Father. I think He delights in our bouquets of weeds also ... for a bouquet of weeds from a child is as grand as a bouquet of the most exotic beauties on earth.

Today's prayer: "God, today I come to you with my bouquet of weeds. I picked them just for you. I know that when you put them in your eternal vase they will shine with the perfection of Heaven. Amen." 


[This bouquet of clover was picked by my 3-year old grandson, Leland, for his mommy. Heart melting ...]

Sing!

"O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth." -- Psalm 96:1

I love to sing, but I'm not gifted in that way. So most of my singing is done in private before an Audience of One. I recently came across a teaching done by Jake Hamilton called "Revelation through Meditation" that has absolutely rocked my world and set me free in song! 

Jake encourages us to make up new songs using verses from the Bible. He says, "SING IT [scripture]. Not word for word. Make up your own song using any verse." He goes on to say, "I know what you're thinking; you're thinking, 'well, I don't sing.' Even better! You know why that's even better? Because it doesn't cost you anything to sing a song because you know you can sing. When you sing, and you don't know how to sing, it becomes a sacrifice only you can give to God. And it's not a song you sing in your heart. Stand up and begin to sing to the Lord. Sing to him a new song!"

Remember, when Jesus sent out the disciples, he didn't divide tasks by skill (all singers sing, teachers teach, etc.), he said everyone do everything!

And this is the part I absolutely love!  He says:

“If you begin this discipline of singing new songs from scripture, a year from now, you’ll have hundreds of songs that only you and God know. Have you ever heard anybody talk about a secret history with God? You’re building one. You won’t even remember the song tomorrow, but guess Who will? You’re gonna get to heaven one day, and God’s gonna say to you, ‘I loved your song about John 3:16.’ And you’re gonna say, 'how did that go again?’ And He’s gonna remember it. And you’re gonna have hundreds and thousands of little songs just like a child sings.”

Today's prayer: "God, I love how you put music in all of us, and it doesn't matter if we can harmonize or sing in tune. You love to hear your children sing! As a mother, I know I smiled every time I overhead one of my children making up songs and singing them with their whole heart. Most times they were completely unaware that I was even listening. Thank you for keeping track of all the songs in my heart. Let's sing tonight!"

Will You Let Me Drown?

"When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!" -- Isaiah 43:2

A true drowning victim does not wave their hands and flail about, as depicted in the movies. No, in the drowning there is silence and inactivity. As long as I'm still fighting, still waiving my hands about in praise, still shouting to my King, I'm not about to drown. He will not let me.

I woke up early this morning with this one verse from the song Something Beautiful playing in my heart:

In your ocean I'm ankle deep,
I feel the waves crashing on my feet;
It's like I know where I need to be
But I can't figure out,
I can't figure out

Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your wave washes over me,
There's only one way to figure out
Will you let me drown?
Will you let me drown?

[Something Beautiful, verse 1, Neadtobreathe]

Today's prayer: "God, thank you that you will not let me drown."

Out Of The Box

"Drinks were served in gold cups, no two of them alike, and the king was generous with the royal wine." -- Esther 1:7

I love this verse because of the words "no two of them alike." Our God created us with individuality and acceptance, but the world would scream NO -- you must fit in our box. Well, here's to climbing out of the box and being the unique individual God created you to be.

There is a scene in the movie Martian Child in which John Cusack's publisher asks the question: "Why can't you just be what we want you to be?" For me, that's the pivotal question in this movie and also the pivotal question before us today. And I believe the answer is a resounding: "No! I can't be what you want me to be, but I can be everything God created me to be." Coming out of the box ...

Today's prayer: "God, how many times have I echoed the words of John Cusack's publisher? Forgive me. Help me to see the value you created in individuality. And, keep me true to my own unique purpose in You. Amen."

Shut The Door

"But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you." -- Matthew 6:6

Jesus was always wandering off alone to pray to the Father. I'm sure if he had a prayer closet he would have shut the door. Our pastor urged us to do the same -- to enter our prayer closet AND shut the door! Let the storm rage outside the door. We cannot fix people. We must leave them to God. [good teaching last night Pastor Shawn!]

My Steps

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way" -- Psalm 37:23

God orders my steps .... all of them!

Today is the Day of Salvation

"For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation." -- 2 Corinthians 6:2

The Greek word for salvation is sozo, and it is used numerous times in the New Testament. It means “to save or make well or whole,” and, according to Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, also means “to save, deliver, heal, and preserve.”

When you pray, pray believing that TODAY is the day of "sozo" -- the day of salvation, healing, and deliverance. Always pray believing that TODAY the answer will come. And if it does not, keep praying, for when tomorrow arrives, it will again be TODAY and TODAY is the day of salvation or sozo.

Plan A: Pray like the answer will come today.
Plan B: If the answer does not come, keep praying.

Searching

"But God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in bed." -- Job 33:14-15

"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter." -- Proverbs 25:2

I love dreaming with God. In fact, bedtime is like a treasure hunt. God uses dreams to speak to us, warn us, and give us direction. These dreams can take us on a wild ride and most nights they certainly do! But what I love more than the dreams is the searching. God wants us to search out the messages he conceals in our dreams. The searching is often more important that the actual meaning of the dream because the searching leads us to seek Him, to read the Word, and to pray! 

Today's prayer: "God, I love how you speak in dreams and visions of the night, but don't let me ever get so caught up in their meaning that I miss the most important part -- seeking your face!"

The Well

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water." -- John 4:13-15

The new album "Come to the Well" by Casting Crowns has some great music on it. How many times do these words echo my life? How many times do I look to the world for a remedy to the deep things that can only be satisfied in HIM? The first words of the song "The Well" tell us to leave it all behind. He has everything we need. I'm running to the well!

"The Well" (Casting Crowns)

 

Leave it all behind, Leave it all behind, Leave it all behind, Leave it all behind.

I have what you need, but you keep on searching,

I've done all the work, but you keep on working,

When you're running on empty, and you can't find the remedy, 

just come to the well.

You can spend your whole life, chasing what's missing,

but that empty inside, it just ain't gonna listen. 

When nothing can satisfy, and the world leaves you high and dry,

just come to the well.

 
CHORUS:

And all who thirst will thirst no more, 

and all who search will find what their souls long for, 

The world will try, but it can never fill, 

so leave it all behind, and come to the well.

So bring me your heart, No matter how broken,

Just Leave it all behind, just come as you are, When your last prayer is spoken, 

Just rest in my arms a while, When you come to the well

Leave it all behind, Leave it all behind, Leave it all behind.

And now that you're full, Of love beyond measure, 

your joy's gonna flow, like a stream in the desert,  

Soon all the world will see that living water is found in me, 

Cuz you came to the well

The city on the hill

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14 AMP)

This Casting Crowns song really spoke to my heart tonight. God, let us not be the city on the hill that fades away.

VERSE 1:

Did you hear of the city on a hill?

Said one old man to the other

It once shined bright and it would be shining still

But they all started turning on each other

VERSE 2:

You see the poets thought the dancers were shallow

And the soldiers thought the poets were weak

And the elders saw the young ones as foolish

And the rich man never heard the poor man speak

CHORUS:

And one by one they ran away

With their made up minds to leave it all behind

And the light began to fade in the city on a hill

The city on a hill

VERSE 3:

Each one thought that they knew better

But there were different by design

Instead of standing strong together

They let their differences divide

CHORUS 2:

And one by one they ran away

With their made up minds to leave it all behind

And the light began to fade in the city on a hill

The city on a hill

And the world is searchin' still

BRIDGE:

But it was the rhythm of the dancers that gave the poets life

It was the spirit of the poets that gave the soldiers strength to fight

It was the fire of the young ones, it was the wisdom of the old

It was the story of the poor man that needed be told

It is the rhythm of the dancers that gives the poets life

It is the spirit of the poets that gives the soldiers strength to fight

It is the fire of the young ones, it is the wisdom of the old

It is the story of the poor man that's needing to be told

CHORUS 3:

One by one, will we run away?

With our made up minds to leave it all behind

As the light begins to fade in the city on a hill?

One by one, will we run away?

With our made up minds to leave it all behind

As the light begins to fade in the city on a hill?

The city on a hill

END:

Come home

And the Father's calling still

Come home

To the city on the hill

Come home

Audience of One!

"I will fix my eyes upon Thee." -- Psalm 32:8b

We can get caught up in numbers, especially when we plan an event and attendance is poor. I used to feel guilty when the numbers at the House of Prayer didn't meet my expectations. Did you notice the word "my" in that sentence? That's right. Any sentence containing the words I, me, and my are focused on me.

It's not about the crowds when we're worshiping the King. It's about the King and the King only. Here's to getting our eyes off the crowd and onto the King of Kings! We are here for an Audience of One!

Blank Canvas

"[We are] the work of a Master artist! (Song of Solomon 7:1, The Message)

"And yet, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand." -- Isaiah 64:8

Do you ever want to be someone else, look like someone else, talk like someone else? We have all done it. The question is why? Why can't we accept the canvas God has painted that belongs exclusively to us? If you have brown eyes it's because God said "this one will have brown eyes." The same thing applies to spiritual gifts. Why does the teacher want to be like the evangelist or the evangelist like the prophet? I love this quote by Jean Pierre de Caussade:

"We must offer ourselves to God like a clean, smooth canvas and not worry ourselves about what God may choose to paint on it, but at each moment, feel only the stroke of His brush."

Today's prayer: "God, when I look in the mirror let me see Your hand on this canvas, completely perfect in Your sight. Let me not care that the message of this world tells me I must change this canvas and distort its image until it becomes acceptable in their sight. Thank you for making me just the way I am and giving me the spiritual gifts you desire me to have. Amen."  

P.O.W.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." -- 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

stronghold: A fortified place or a fortress

pow: prisoner of war; also representing the sound made by a punch, blow, or shot

I heard some of the best teaching on the pulling down of strongholds last night by Pastor Shawn at Oxford Church of God. A stronghold is a fortified place or fortress in your mind that cannot be cast out but must be pulled down! These imaginations or thoughts build a fortress in your mind and allow the enemy to keep you in offense. We must take these thoughts captive just like you would capture an enemy in times of war, showing no mercy.

P.O.W. stands for "prisoner of war" but also spells "pow" (representing the sound made by a blow, punch, or shot)! Here's to taking some P.O.W.'s in my mind and giving them a mighty blow!

Today's prayer: "God, today I take captive every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of You and I will be merciless against these enemies in my mind. I will destroy their fortified castles in my imaginations and render them obedient to Christ. Amen."

Measure Up

"With one sacrifice he made perfect forever those who are being made holy." -- Hebrews 10:14

Did you ever wish that people would use the Mary Poppins ruler when deciding if we measure up? Well, that's the type of ruler our God uses. In fact, HIS is much better! With one sacrifice, His Son, has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Now that's a ruler I can appreciate. :)

Trust

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." -- Proverbs 3:5

Do you ever struggle with trusting God? I saw this exchange on Facebook today and thought it was worth sharing:

Me: God can I ask you a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise you won't get mad ...
God: I promise
Me: Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?
Me: .... Well, I woke up late
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay
Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Hmmmm
Me: On the way home, my phone went dead just as I picked up a call.
God: All right
Me: And on top of it all when I got home, I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax, but it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
God: Let me see, the Death Angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that~
Me: (humbled) Oh
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me: (embarrassed) Okay
God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me: (softly) I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me in all things, the good & the bad.
Me: I will trust you
God: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
God: You're welcome my child. It was just another day being your God and I love looking after my children.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. 'Yes,' replied Jesus, 'have you never read, From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'?" -- Matthew 21:16

As adults we tend to make everything so complicated, so mysterious, when really some spiritual things can be made quite simple.

We can learn from these two examples:

A skeptic approaches a pastor to question him about a reported glory cloud in their service. He asks, "What if it's not from God?"

Before the pastor could answer, his 6-year old grandson chimes in with the answer: "That's easy. If it's God, worship God. If it's not God, worship God and it will leave." Brilliant!

His 8-year old sister reported the following: "One night a voice woke me up saying my name but I wasn't sure who it was so I said, "Satan, if that's you, be quiet. God, if that's you, keep talking." After that she didn't hear anything so she went back to sleep. Again, simple and brilliant!

Today's prayer: "God, help me to approach the supernatural and the often unexplained spiritual things that I encounter on this earth just like a child: not rattled, not needing a 'scientific' explanation, but just by turning them to simple acts of trusting you. After all, you know my adversaries. They are all before you (Psalm 69:19)."

Hypocrite

"I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours." -- Mark 11:24, NLT

A hypocrite is a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. You are acting like a hypocrite when you pray but don't believe for the answer. Let us therefore pray bold prayers and then run to make provision for the answer.

Today's prayer: "God, help me to not be a hypocrite in prayer. When I pray for rain, let me be quick to set out the buckets to hold the water; and when I pray for the rain to stop, let me be quick to put away the umbrella. If I pray to you for one thing let me not speak the opposite out of my mouth. Amen."