Holy Spirit Auto Correct

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." -- Romans 8:26-27

Auto correct seems to have a mind of its own -- it corrects and chooses words for us and often those words change the entire meaning of the sentence. Take the example above. Spell check doesn't recognize the word "Disney" and so it auto corrects and chooses the word "divorce." Ever had this happen to you?

I actually had something similar happen to me the other day and boy did it cause an avalanche! But it got me thinking about how poorly we are at communication. It's been said that communication is comprised of 55% body language, 38% voice tone, and 7% content of words. And now that we've become an electronic generation -- often preferring to communicate via text messages, email, and Facebook, we've taken body language and voice tone out of the communication equation altogether. No wonder we struggle so much!

But there is one area where we don't have to struggle. I like to think of the Holy Spirit as our "auto corrector" when we're praying to the Father. The Spirit understands the will of God and prays for us according to His will. And one thing is certain, we don't have to worry about the Holy Spirit choosing the wrong words. Now that's an auto correction I can appreciate! ;)

The Stuff You Use

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." -- John 16:33

Delays, flat tires, sick pets, sick kids, fender benders, leaky roofs, missed appointments .... the list goes on and on. Beth Moore calls these things the thistles of life. But we know that God uses everything to develop our character, to conquer our frustrations, to break off our impatience, and to polish out the rough edges. So, of course it was fitting to wake up to this song:

Francesca Battistelli, This Is The Stuff

I lost my keys in the great unknown

And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff that's getting to me lately

In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing

It might not be what I would choose

But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35

Sirens and fines while I'm running behind

Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff that's getting to me lately

In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing

It might not be what I would choose

But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience

Conquer my frustrations

I've got a new appreciation

It's not the end of the world

Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy

This is the stuff

Someone save me

In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed

This is the stuff that gets under my skin

And I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing

It might not be what I would choose

But this is the stuff You use

Oh Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff You use

Let The Waters Rise

"When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." -- Isaiah 59:19

I went to bed last night praying for a situation that seems unfair to my natural mind. And although it seems like the flood waters are rising and about to overtake, I was reminded that God uses everything. All through scripture, God used good (and evil) rulers to accomplish His will. And so I drifted off to sleep saying, "God, I don't like this situation and it would be my preference if "x-y-z" happened, but I trust you no matter what. I woke this morning to the song, "Let The Waters Rise" and I had to smile. That's our God. Always faithful; always speaking; always calming the hearts of His children.

Let The Waters Rise (lyrics by Mikeschair):

Don't know where to begin
It's like my world's caving in
And I tried but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here

Sometimes it's so hard to pray
You feel so far away
I am willing to go where You want me to
God I trust You

[Chorus]
There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If you want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will swim in the deep
Cuz You'll be next to me
You're in the eye of the storm and the calm of the sea
You're never out of reach

God You know where I've been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You'll be faithful again
I'm holding Your hand

[Chorus]

God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I'm holding on to You

God your love is enough
I will follow You
I will follow You

[Chorus]

Strong Tower

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." -- Proverbs 18:10

I love the way God uses my alarm clock to speak to me. This morning I woke up to "Strong Tower" by Kutless and I immediately thought of the verse in Proverbs 18:10 that says "The name of the LORD is a strong tower." No matter what is going on around us or in us we can always call on His name; He is our strong tower; a place of safety and shelter. LORD, I run to your name today.

Strong Tower, by Kutless

When I wander through the desert
And I'm longing for my home
All my dreams have gone astray
When I'm stranded in the valley
And I'm tired and all alone
It seems like I've lost my way

I go running to your mountain
Where your mercy sets me free

[chorus]
You are my strong tower
Shelter over me
Beautiful and mighty
Everlasting King
You are my strong tower
Fortress when I'm weak
Your name is true and holy
And Your face is all I seek

In the middle of my darkness
In the midst of all my fear
You're my refuge and my hope
When the storm of life is raging
And the thunder's all I hear
You speak softly to my soul

I Will Follow

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." -- Ruth 1:16

Twenty-five years ago, my husband and I uttered these vows from Ruth, and when I heard Chris Tomlin's song this morning, "I Will Follow" it occurred to me that there are a few things worth following no matter what. First, I will follow Christ, regardless of people, or hardship, or high water. I will follow the Holy Spirit's leading and guidance even when it doesn't make sense to my natural mind or the mind of others. I will follow righteousness (but not self-righteousness) and leaders who uphold that truth. I will follow the Inerrant Word of God and carry that Sword daily. I will follow the model of Christ by offering grace and mercy to my fellowman, being diligent to be generous and loving especially in their time of need. In these things I choose to be a follower.

I Will Follow, by Chris Tomlin

Where you go, I'll go

Where you stay, I'll stay

When you move, I'll move

I will follow...

All your ways are good

All your ways are sure

I will trust in you alone

Higher than my side

High above my life

I will trust in you alone

Where you go, I'll go

Where you stay, I'll stay

When you move, I'll move

I will follow you

Who you love, I'll love

How you serve I'll serve

If this life I lose, I will follow you

I will follow you

Light unto the world

Light unto my life

I will live for you alone

You're the one I seek

Knowing I will find

All I need in you alone, in you alone

In you there's life everlasting

In you there's freedom for my soul

In you there joy, unending joy

and I will follow

Top Secret

"Praise God forever and ever, because he has wisdom and power. He changes the times and seasons of the year. He takes away the power of kings and gives their power to new kings. He gives wisdom to those who are wise and knowledge to those who understand. He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and light is all around him." -- Daniel 2:20-22

No secret is so hidden that God does not know it fully. He knows all. He sees all. And when He chooses, He can even make known our secrets to others. Who can fathom the mind of God? It is so perfect that no human can understand. There is no randomness with God. If he reveals your secrets, be assured it is for a greater purpose.

"You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."
-- Psalm 139:1-12

Physician, Heal Thyself

Well-known faith healers, used by God to heal multitudes, had their share of sickness and trouble ... Kathryn Kuhlman died at the age of 68 following open-heart surgery; Smith Wigglesworth died of a stroke at age 65; John Alexander Dowie died of a stroke at age 60; and Aimee Semple McPherson died of an accidental overdose complicated by kidney failure, at the age of 54.

I was healed miraculously of an incurable disease 8 years ago, but I still have my occasional share of the common cold or viral infection, and each time the sickness takes its course and I recover in a few days. Does this mean that Jesus does not heal? Absolutely not! In James 5:14 we're told that when we lay hands on the sick and pray the prayer of faith that the sick will recover. I've recovered from every one of these illnesses, proof enough for me that Jesus heals! The Bible is TRUTH; God cannot lie; and I love what Bill Johnson said in response to someone not getting healed: "It would be tragic for us to use an example for which we have no explanation to cancel the clear mandate given and modeled to us by Jesus. Mystery is important, otherwise there's no reward for making the right choice."

We must continue to operate in faith, believe for every healing, and trust that God is sovereign and in complete control. Do not let sickness (yours or someone else's) make you doubt the healing power of Jesus.

The phrase, "Physician, heal thyself" is a proverb found in Luke 4:23, "Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"

The usual interpretation of this passage is that, during the "Rejection of Jesus," Jesus expected to hear natives of his hometown of Nazareth use this phrase to criticize him. Matthew 27:42 - "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him."

Jesus could have come down from the cross; He could have called ten thousand angels to his side; but Jesus will never conform to the taunts of man to violate the will of God. Let's be careful to not discourage faith healers from acting on what the Bible says, even when they themselves become sick.

This Is A Stick Up

"What can I offer the LORD for all He has done for me?" -- Psalm 116:12
It happened during worship this morning. As we were singing the line, "Everything that's in me praise the Lord," the phrase "this is a stick up" came floating toward me, seemingly out of nowhere, as I stood, hands raised high, worshiping the King. And I began to think about a stick up. Unlike the kind where a desperate person raises a gun to your head and demands your valuables, this one was as if the King of Kings was pointing all that He is -- all of His love -- straight toward my heart. This was a voluntary stick up. I wanted to give Him "everything that's in me." And then, to echo a line from Bob Hostetler's sermon, "What do you give to the God who has everything?" You give Him your thanks, with every breath that's in you. And if you missed the rest of his sermorn you truly missed a great blessing, for many people left this morning without their shoes. ;)

Pray Attention!

Woke up this morning with this phrase swirling about in my head: Pray Attention! So, of course, I figured God is up to something and true to His way with me I know we're about to embark on another treasure hunt, so I began meditating on this simple phrase: pray attention. I immediately thought of pay attention and what that entails: To heed; be attentive to; as in "pay attention" to these instructions.

There are over 25 scriptures where God says "pay attention."

Pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. -- Proverbs 4:20
Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. -- Isaiah 28:23

And so I think what God is saying to my heart is not only do I want my children to pay attention to my voice, but also to pray attention to my heart. Don't just come before me with your list. Come before me and let me give you MY list. In order to pray what the Father prays we need to "pray attention" to His voice in prayer. The more we recognize what He is doing the more he pours out his heart.

Today's prayer: "Father, I lay down my list and take up yours. What is on your heart today? Holy Spirit, guide my thoughts and prayers this day. May they line up completely with my Father's heart in all ways. Amen."

God Will Use Anything

He Owns the Elephants in a Thousand Jungles

Recently on the east coast of India there has been intense persecution of Believers, who are a small minority there. Church facilities were being destroyed and Believers murdered. Major political parties that had coalitions on state and federal levels turned the other way. Believers had no natural resources, and no one to intervene on their behalf. There was no one to bring justice. God worked in this intense situation to bring His people into fresh dependency on Him. They began to cry out to the Lord to intervene, and His ears were open to their cry.

Enter the elephants. In the capital city of this region, a herd of wild elephants had been coming into the city and causing all kinds of damage to vehicles, property, and businesses. As officials were trying to figure out a way of preventing the elephants from entering the city, they suddenly disappeared. Why?

God dispatched them. He gave them a very specific assignment. He had heard the cry of His people and decided to show himself strong on their behalf. The elephants reappeared several hundred miles from the capital city, and when they did, they had systematically gone through several villages absolutely destroying them and rendering them uninhabitable. The amazing thing is that the villages which were destroyed were the very same villages from which the most intense persecution had been based. Those villages and towns had been totally wiped out. However, the villages the Believers lived in remained untouched, even though they were in very close proximity to the destroyed villages.

God intervened on behalf of His people. No lives were lost in this demonstration of power, but the fear of the Lord gripped the region. Those who had formerly supported the persecution of the Believers began to say, "Don't do anything to harm the Christians, they have elephants!"
[post by Caleb Klinge, New Life Christian Center]

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." -- 2 Chronicles 16:9