Rees Howells: Intercession

Thanks Jeannie for the great teaching on Intercession!

I've found me in more and more a position of Intercessor and sometimes I thought I was going crazy, praying so much for a person or a situation, even when others were telling me I was silly, or that I should stop. A couple of times I even questioned God, and each time He answered strongly...through signs and wonders that I was doing His will.

Well, this past Prayer Retreat really helped me understand what God has birthed and burdened me with...intercession. So I need to get the book, Rees Howells; Intercessor, by Norman Grubb

I've found a great synopsis on Rees Howells' understanding on Intercession and you can click on the title of this blog entry to go straight there. Included is the following information:

Intercession

Principles of intercession by Rees Howells. Identification.
As the crucifixion of self proceeds, intercession begins.
The Holy Spirit can take the intercessor into extremes to fulfil the intercession like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea, who are some of the great intercessors of the Bible.
Agony in intercession. "if it dies, it brings forth much fruit" -Jesus.
Authority. The intercessor finds a place of prevailing prayer with God.
The gained position of intercession can be used in other prayer situations.
Entering the "grace of faith". The measureless realms of God's grace are open for the intercessor to prevail upon.




More teaching from Rees Howell's College about intercession
Intercession for many is a word that is hard to understand. But there are some basics:

God gives you a prayer that you are responsible to pray through.
When the Lord shows you the prayer, you are committed to it whatever the cost is and for how ever long it takes.
Intercession is completely voluntary. You are never forced into prayer. The intercessor needs to be willing to enter into a new place of intercession.
The intercessors love God so much that they want to obey. They will pay the price because of their love for the Saviour.
The intercessors will discover wave upon wave of evil as they prevail upon God to see the spiritual systems that have held millions of people in bondage for centuries broken.
There is death involved in intercession. But the focus is never just death. The Spirit of God is gaining ground all the time. You will gain tremendous power over the enemy.
Intercession in many ways is hidden. The world does not see the prayer until it is completed. Jesus, The Intercessor, was misunderstood in His intercession. Not until after the resurrection did the disciples begin to understand why He came. Only after His ascension did they begin to understand His work as the, great High Priest, who entered into death to destroy it.

Wholesome Water

I was reading in I Kings this morning. The lives of Elijah and Elisha were filled with miracles and any miracle is awe and faith inspiring, but this morning the following story caught my attention.

"The men of the city said to Elisha, 'Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.'
'Bring me a new bowl,' he said, 'and put salt in it.' So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according the the word Elisha had spoken."


There is something about that last line that stirs my heart. An entire community was effected by this bad water. It caused death and made their land unproductive. From the day Elisha threw salt and blessed it, it brought life. Not just to the people who lived in that area at the time, but for future generations as well. Oh, how I long to see God heal in ways that effect generations.

What are some of the things around us that bring death and stop productivity? Is it to much to ask God to allow us to bless those things so that they change and begin to cause life and productivity - cause them to become "wholesome water?" I would encourage you to wrestle with God a bit about this. Are there people or places that He is ready to bless through us? How?

I would love to hear your thoughts. For those of you no longer in Hawaii, please participate anyway. :-) I believe your input is valuable as well.

Continuing to Pray Until God Manifests His Answer

I am wonderfully in awe of how God allows us to be in relationship with Him and to talk with Him. I love these two parables found in Luke:

Luke 11:5-13
[5] Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: “Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would say to him, [6] ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ [7] He would call out from his bedroom, ‘Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed. I can't help you this time.’ [8] But I tell you this—though he won't do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won't be damaged.

[9] “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. [10] For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.

[11] “You fathers—if your children ask* for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? [12] Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! [13] If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Luke 18:1-8
[18:1] One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up. [2] “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who was a godless man with great contempt for everyone. [3] A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, appealing for justice against someone who had harmed her. [4] The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she wore him out. ‘I fear neither God nor man,’ he said to himself, [5] ‘but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

[6] Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this evil judge. [7] Even he rendered a just decision in the end, so don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who plead with him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? [8] I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when I, the Son of Man, return, how many will I find who have faith?”

I believe, at times, God will allow us to persuade Him to answer our prayers as we desire, other times, I believe He will answer, but in “no”. When and where these occur are entirely up to our Sovereign Lord.

Again, I am fascinated that the Bible reveals there are times when God has changed his mind, as influenced by man:

We see in the stories of Noah and the flood; Israel’s turning away (often) from God while traversing the desert; Jonah and Nineveh; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and elsewhere that God did change His mind (Okay the cities of S&G were still destroyed but some people were rescued because God listened to Abraham).


These are some scriptures that demonstrate where God did change His mind:

Genesis 6:5-7
[5]Now the LORD observed the extent of the people's wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. [6]So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart. [7]And the LORD said, "I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created. Yes, and I will destroy all the animals and birds, too. I am sorry I ever made them." [8]But Noah found favor with the LORD. (NIV)

Exodus 32:9-14
[9] "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. [10] Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."

[11] But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD ," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? [12] Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. [13] Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.' " [14] Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Numbers 25:10,11
[10]Then the LORD said to Moses, [11]"Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by displaying passionate zeal among them on my behalf. So I have stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my anger. (NIV)

Ezekiel 4:12-15
[12]Each day prepare your bread as you would barley cakes. While all the people are watching, bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel and then eat the bread. [13]For this is what the LORD says: Israel will eat defiled bread in the Gentile lands, where I will banish them!"

[14]Then I said, "O Sovereign LORD, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or that I found dead. And I have never eaten any of the animals that our laws forbid."

[15]"All right," the LORD said. "You may bake your bread with cow dung instead of human dung." (NIV)

Ezekiel 20:19-22
[19]`I am the LORD your God,' I told them. `Follow my laws, pay attention to my instructions, [20]and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the LORD your God.'

[21]"But their children, too, rebelled against me. They refused to keep my laws and follow my instructions, even though obeying them would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness. [22]Nevertheless, I withdrew my judgment against them to protect the honor of my name among the nations who had seen my power in bringing them out of Egypt. (NIV)

1Thessalonians 5:9
[9]For God decided to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. (NIV)

Now, we also see in Scripture where God does not change His mind:

Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie.
He is not a human, that he should change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through? (NIV)

Ephesians 1:11
Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. (NIV)

Hebrews 6:17,18
[17]God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. [18]So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence. (NIV)

Hebrews 7:20-22
[20]God took an oath that Christ would always be a priest, but he never did this for any other priest. [21]Only to Jesus did he say,

"The Lord has taken an oath
and will not break his vow:
`You are a priest forever.' "
[22]Because of God's oath, it is Jesus who guarantees the effectiveness of this better covenant. (NIV)

So, what does this all mean? God cannot and will not change His nature, His oaths, or His promises. He will not change what is absolute truth.

Now, understand that God does hear our prayers. When prayers are within the scope of all that has been described He will respond. For, it is because of His very nature God is loving, gracious, merciful, compassionate, unfailing, and forgiving.

He hears the prayers of a righteous person; of a repentant heart; and of those He loves and has compassion for:

2 Kings 13:4
Then Jehoahaz sought the LORD's favor, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. (NIV)

2 Kings 19:20
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD , the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. (NIV)

2 Kings 20:5 (Isaiah 38:5)
"Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. (NIV)

Psalm 6:9
The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer. (NIV)

Psalm 116:1
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy. (NIV)

Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked
but he hears the prayer of the righteous. (NIV)

Ezekiel 36:37
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,… (NIV)

Daniel 10:12
Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. (NIV)

Zechariah 1:8-16
[8]In a vision during the night, I saw a man sitting on a red horse that was standing among some myrtle trees in a small valley. Behind him were red, brown, and white horses, each with its own rider. [9]I asked the angel who was talking with me, "My lord, what are all those horses for?"

"I will show you," the angel replied.

[10]So the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the LORD has sent out to patrol the earth."

[11]Then the other riders reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, "We have patrolled the earth, and the whole earth is at peace."
[12]Upon hearing this, the angel of the LORD prayed this prayer: "O LORD Almighty, for seventy years now you have been angry with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. How long will it be until you again show mercy to them?" [13]And the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

[14]Then the angel said to me, "Shout this message for all to hear: `This is what the LORD Almighty says: My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong. [15]But I am very angry with the other nations that enjoy peace and security. I was only a little angry with my people, but the nations punished them far beyond my intentions.

[16]" `Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I have returned to show mercy to Jerusalem. My Temple will be rebuilt, says the LORD Almighty, and plans will be made for the reconstruction of Jerusalem.' (NLT)

Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. (NIV)

Acts 10:30,31
[30]Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me [31]and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.

Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

God has emotions and He enjoys showing us His love for us, by answering our prayers, responding to our needs and requests (the answer maybe yes, no, or grow {not right now}). He also will not break His promises; His word is SOLID...SOLID ROCK!

Cool stuff, because in such a perfect relationship, with our Papa God, we are ushered into relationship and conversation with Our Father in Heaven and EVERYTHING that comes from Him is GOOD and PERFECT, even His “yes”, “no”, and “grow” (not right now) answers are prefect for us.

When God our Father considers our requests, sometimes He likes to partner with us over the things we want to do, what we like, and what we want to ask Him for….all bound up in His perfect love. So, consider that some of the desires of your own heart, when you take them to Him, became the desire of His heart to answer.
What a GREAT and GLORIOUS relationship we are invited into with our Papa in Heaven!

GOD so ROCKS!

MeiMei Writes: God Has Multiple Ways of Communication

MeiMei Lee has written an interesting and thought-provoking blog entry:

God Has Multiple Ways of Communication

Do you hear God in your life? God is one who has multiple ways of communicating to us. Here is a story of how God talked to me. When I was around seven or eight, I always saw my parents go to service. I would always think that my parents going to listen to the messages were just a grownup thing. Somehow I just did not see the reason for going to church. Until I started going to the services, I heard of how God communicates with us. I heard one messages of how God talks to us through people. He said some thing like if someone is telling you that you need to pray before you eat, that is God telling you pray and bless the food. Also God tells us things through putting the thought in your head. The hard thing about that is when we hear things in our mind from God, sometimes we just think that our brain is hallucinating and forget about it.


Another story is about my dad. By the way, God can talk to us through our dreams. Once, my dad was not feeing so well. So he checked with his doctor. Later we found out that he had cancer. He would have to go to Sacramento and go to a hospital and have a special surgery. My mom, dad and my sister would go to California with my aunty. The plan was that I would stay with my friend and her mom. I missed my family very much and they missed me to. When it was the night before the day of my dad’s surgery, I had a dream. My dad was in our back yard playing with every one in our family. He was in good shape and he had a bald head. When I looked at his face, it was so comforting. Then I saw that this dream could be a message from God telling me something really important.

Just before I woke up, I thought that I heard a voice saying to me “He will make it and will come back safely home to you.” When I woke up, I was so puzzled from my vision. Even though it was confusing it still gave me hope that my dad would survive. This feeling was very helping and it made my miserable days faster and I suddenly felt better. After a few more weeks, it was time for them to come home. God gave me hope. Then on the day of their return, I finally saw my dad well and happy.

The moral of my stories is when you are in your hard hours, listen and listen for God to talk to you and give you your answers. Whether it is through other people, your dreams, everyday thoughts and many different ways. Some people are so concentrated on their life they don’t leave some room in their days to talk to God our heavenly Lord. People might be really smart, but even the lowest people can communicate with God.

Introducing My Father to My Father

April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

- "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot

April is a month of rebirth or regeneration, when land frozen from winter begins to thaw. It is also the month during which Jesus' resurrection is celebrated. Why, then, does the poet claim that it is the cruelest month of the year?

I think it's just a matter of perspective.  We know that change is often associated with pain. But sometimes, the person who suffers most is not the person undergoing the transformation, rather it is the person who is witnessing the change.  Oftentimes, this bystander does not share the same faith as the one who is transforming, and thus does not understand the purpose of change.

I've always had a special relationship with my dad. He's a professor and quite a scholar, and ever since I can remember, I've been constantly picking his brain with all sorts of questions.

Once when I was a kid, I asked him if there was a God. He told me that he didn't know. I couldn't believe I stumped him! But he turned my question around and asked, "Did God create man, or did man create God?"

My dad and I were talking tonight about religious fanaticism and the ways militants use religion to gain power, when he asked me this same question. I was stunned. But he knows that I've become a Christian and thus didn't wait for me to respond. Instead, he began to express his distaste for religion. He even quoted John Lennon:

"Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace."

"So, what do you think? Do you think people would live in peace if there were no politics and no religion?" he asked.  I said, 'yes,' if there's such a thing as harmonious anarchy!  I told him that in the Bible, Jesus was frequently ticked off by the religious folk. I told him that it's not about religion, but about having a relationship with Jesus.

My dad then narrowed his focus to Christianity, and said that when he went to church as a boy, the thing that always bothered him about Christianity was its exclusiveness. By this, he meant the Christian belief that there is only one God, and that Jesus is the only one who can save us. "Is Jesus really the only way to heaven? What about the devout Buddhist who only does good? He won't go to heaven, but the hypocritical Christian will?"

I immediately panicked because I simply accept that there is only one God, He is full of grace, and Jesus is the only one who saves. I don't even understand the details of my faith. Besides, if I could understood it, would it really be faith?

Anyway, I mumbled something lame to convey that perhaps Christians believe that if they approved of other gods, then they would risk diminishing the awesomeness of the Lord.  The bottom line was simply, "I don't know."

He frowned at my answer and went on to express his fear that I would alienate myself from my childhood friends, none of whom are Christian. I told him not to worry, that I'm sensitive enough to know I would scare my friends away if I were to be dogmatic about my faith.

My dad then pointed out that "The more you try to share your faith, the more you risk driving away your friends."

Much to his surprise, tears started to stream down my face. "Why are you crying?" he asked gently. I didn't even know why I was crying! I explained that I desperately want to see him and my friends get saved, but it's hard because there's only so much I can say or do to make someone believe, and that if I say or do too much, then I risk driving them away.

His frown grew more profound, and he asked, "Do you feel guilty about not being able to save them?"

I started to get a little angry. I had to hold myself back from saying, "Who said they won't be saved?" But instead I told him that no, I don't feel guilty, because I know God loves me unconditionally, I just desperately want them to be saved.

He then reminded me to respect their disregard of the spiritual and their choice to live for the tangible things of this world. He told me that he worries about me because he can see the tremendous impact that trying to follow Jesus is having on my life.

But I told him that he doesn't have to worry about my relationships with people, because if Jesus has taught me anything, it is how to love others better.  Finally, he agreed that this change is good.  Hopefully he will come to see that this change is more than good, it's GOD!  :)

A Life with God: David

I'm excited that Jordan Seng is starting a series on the life of David...cool stuff to ponder. I hope we will also have some lively discussion and insights to share along the way here on the Faith Brothers and Sisters blog.

I've pulled-out my "Strengthen Yourself in the Lord" book, and my not-finished study**, "A Heart Like His".

**Shh, please don't tell anyone that I've been doing a Beth Moore, woman's in-depth study, as this may ruin any chance I have of ever getting married....LOL.

Jordan posed some interesting questions, those "bothersome questions" that I'd like to look at right now:

Why is David's heart so great?

What does a great heart get you?

What does it mean to us?


So, what does it mean to a "man after God's own heart?" I mean, did God know that this is who David was already, or who David was becoming, or who David would one day become? Since God is timeless, from perspective did God see this?

Fascinating to look at because you and I can only look from the outside, into someone's past actions and/or their present actions and then "determine" their motives and heart from that....and how many times have we gotten that right?

GOD, on the other hand, does see the heart matters of our inner-lives, as well as knows what our future holds....

So, God must really dig our efforts and attempts at being in true relationship with Him, living out of that aspect will come a heart of worship, service, relationship, and a heart to the things that matter to God.

What does a great heart get you? Pruning to even have a greater heart is what seems to be the gig.... Jesus is recorded in the book of John to describe that He is the vine and we are the branches and that God prunes those true branches to produce even more fruit.

So that would seem to tell me, the virtues I have will be even more refined, as through the refining of gold and silver through fire will make them even more pure....that is hot, and that is difficult.

Looking, as Jordan suggests in his notes, at the anointing and selection of Saul and David as a compare and contrast study, we see interesting things. I also love what Bill Johnson has to say... Saul was immediately selected and positioned as King, whereas, David had to go through a long process of becoming King.

I think it was that period of time, when no one saw him as a King that David was shaped to be the great King of Israel. Those times of hardship and persecution were building blocks, honing stones, and chisels of character-building quality.

Well, we got some stuff to start chewing on, and I'll go back over my, A Heart Like His, study and see what may be gleaned from all this....

May the LORD our God ROCK YOUR WORLD!

Mission Story 1: Village Prayer Walk

One morning while at the Home of Love orphanage, I was hanging out with Appiah, a girl who is the same age as me.  We became fast friends, and I would seek her room as a refuge whenever I was exhausted from chasing or being chased by younger kids.  Although she shares her room with four other girls, she is the eldest, and everyone knows better than to bother her when she takes out her homework.  We were "studying" when Aunty Brenda, our InterVarsity leader, popped her head in and asked if I'd like to go on a prayer walk in the Hindu village with Jordan and Colleen, an American missionary who runs the orphanage with her husband.

Of course I said yes.  I was really excited because I had just seen God do amazing things when we prayed for the children (I'll write about that later!), and I was itching for a similar experience with the villagers.

We went first to pray for a Kajal, a fisherman who was suffering from problems with his kidneys.  To get to his house, we had to walk through a long, narrow alley that at one point was interrupted by a Hindu shrine.  I immediately felt claustrophobic - evil spirits in tight spaces don't make the most cheery environments!  By the time we got to his house, we had amassed a crowd of curious village kids and neighbors.  When the fisherman and his family came out to greet us, Colleen introduced Jordan as a healer, and the fisherman ushered us into his bedroom.  I sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed with Colleen and Jordan, distracted by the Hindu shrine that hung on the wall and by all of the children that were fighting to look at us from the window.  

The fisherman allowed Jordan to lay a hand upon him as he prayed.  Colleen translated and I prayed silently.  To my surprise, I felt the Holy Spirit.  I know I shouldn't have been so shocked. Of course God isn't afraid of idols!  At that moment, much of the spiritual wickedness seemed to have lifted, unmasking deep despair and sadness.  When Jordan finished praying, the fisherman's wife came in to greet us, which she did by bowing low enough to touch our feet. She had tears in her eyes as said how thankful she was that we would come to see her family.

She chatted with Colleen in Bangla, and when she left to bring us a snack, Colleen explained that the fisherman had fallen ill right after his daughter (from a previous marriage) had committed suicide.  After a fight with her stepmother, the daughter rebelled by hanging herself from the ceiling fan.  The fisherman was so heartbroken that he became physically sick.  I can't imagine the guilt and fear his wife must have been feeling, for if her husband dies, she'll have to wear a white sari (as a symbol of widowhood) and have to spend her life as her brother-in-law's servant.  She must have felt as though she cursed both her husband and herself.

After we said our goodbyes, we headed over to the other side of the village, where we were going to pray for a girl named Asha.  On the way Colleen explained that several months ago, she and her friend met Asha's elder sister.  Her sister expressed her desire to do well in school, and Colleen's friend agreed to pay for a tutor, so Colleen regularly visits the family to drop off the money.  On a chilly December day, while at the family's house, Colleen asked the girl if she had a sister.  The girl said she "sort of" had a sister.  "What do you mean 'sort of'?" Colleen asked.  The girl explained that her sister was retarded, and was thus "nothing."

Colleen asked to see the sister, and they brought out a little 9 year-old girl who, despite the cold, wore nothing but an oversized shirt.  The girl and her mother warned Colleen that if she touched her, she would bite, but Colleen insisted that she wasn't afraid.  The girl flinched when Colleen touched her, as though she had never before been touched gently.  Colleen asked the mother what the girl's name was, and the mother said she didn't have a name.  Colleen asked to name her "Asha," which is Bangla for "hope."  Each time Colleen visited, she would pray for and shower love upon Asha,  much to the confusion of the mother and sister.  Soon, they also began to call the girl by the name Colleen gave her.

When we got to the home, we were greeted by the mother and elder sister.  We found a naked Asha sitting in the entrance.  "This is my very sad family," the mother said to Jordan and me as she led us into the house, but we stopped to say hello to Asha.  She quickly clenched her hand around my finger, and in that moment, I knew my heart was broken.

We said a prayer for the elder sister, then for Asha.  We prayed for strength and healing in her legs, for though she could move and control her legs, she could not walk (although I personally feel that she would be walking now if only her family made an effort to help her!!!!)  Most importantly, we prayed that she would know God's love, for I am certain that she has NEVER been loved by her family.  After we prayed, the mother asked if we could take Asha away from her.  "Look at her!  She's never acted like this!" she said, gawking at how Asha clung to the three of us.  (Well freakin' hug her, and I'll bet she'll show you the same affection, I felt like screaming at her.)

How could they treat Asha like that?  Like she's not even human?  I left that house furious at that family.  The eldest sister held my hand as she and her mother walked us out, and the whole time I felt like slapping her.  I prayed desperately for God's grace and did my very best to love her.  

Even now, two weeks later, I still cannot stop thinking about Asha.  I wish I was back in Bangladesh so I could visit her!!  SHE is God's favorite child.  I am certain of that.

Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  For he who is least among you all - he is the greatest." - Luke 9:48

Faces of a Chittagonian Village

These are some portraits I took while walking through the village surrounding the Home of Love orphanage, where my InterVarsity mission teammates and I stayed for part of our time in Chittagong, Bangladesh.  (We took lots of pictures at the orphanage and in the city, not to mention during our outreach in Thailand, but we still need to collaborate and edit them.)  

I found that the villagers liked having their pictures taken and seeing themselves on the tiny LCD screen, especially the children.  In a land where joy seems to be rare, I was glad for any excuse to see people smile.  It was truly a double blessing

Repeated Petitions?

Keiger challenged me to write something for the blog. I don't know that I have a lot of wisdom to share on this subject, but you asked for it! :-)

(Random Thoughts)
Which is better, listening prayer or petitioning prayer? Where is the balance between the two? Some of the great revivalists in history spent hours a day in prayer. How in the world did they do it?? What did they do during that time? Where they all extroverts? Do introverts pray differently? Did they sit down the whole time? Pace? Jump up and down? These are just a few of the questions that came to mind when you asked me to write on this topic.

People have been telling me that I am an intercessor for much of my life. A part of me hated that label. I had no desire to sit and pray for hours on end. I pictured people droning on about the same thing for hours, whining, begging God to listen, lecturing God about why He should move in a given situation. I am a little too action oriented for this to be an attractive lifestyle. I have never been a successful "list pray-er", although I have known some powerful people who are. But I do find myself gravitating toward prayer meetings and nights of prayer. Why is that?

(Actual Topic)
The simple answer to your original question was fairly simple, if incomplete. What place does faith have in our prayers? How often should we repeat the same request to God in a repeated petition? My simplistic answer is, we learn to listen. I don't understand how, but something is released, in us and in the spiritual realm, when we pray. Aside from getting to know God better, I believe this is a main reason we are called to pray. It really does make a difference. We get to partner with God.

When we pray for something, we pray in faith. We continue to believe that God will respond to that request. That faith should color every decision we make in regard to whatever was in that petition.

Do we repeat the prayer every day? I don't know that there is a right answer to this question. God is pretty graceful. So I will answer with "maybe." I think repeating a request rote-ly does little good, other than give us something to say during "prayer time." (Although having no idea how prayer releases stuff, maybe it does some good . . .) I think this is where interaction with God comes in. If you are a list person, it might sound something like this, "God, so where do we stand on seeing my dad get to know you? Anything I can do today to help that along? Anything you want me to partner with you and release?"

For someone who does not pray with a list, the prayer time might start out with simply asking, "Hey God, what is on Your heart today?" Once He brings things up, something akin to the above conversation might happen.

I think the key is to remember that prayer is a conversation, and not one we should dominate.

Wow, I said a lot. Maybe the other questions running through my head should wait for another day. . . :-)

Building a Great Relationship: Remain in Me...

So, let’s look at this wonderful passage from the book, The Shack, by William P. Young.

Without taking too much away from your own reading and discovery, Mackenzie is a man who is having a conversation with God, who has revealed Himself, to Mack, as a wonderful African American woman named Elousia… They have been discussing the triune nature of God, and how Jesus was limited to being totally human while on earth….

*** *** ***
“When we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human. We also chose to embrace all the limitations that this entailed. Even though we have always been present in this created universe, we now became flesh and blood. It would be like this bird, whose nature it is to fly, choosing only to walk and remain grounded. He doesn’t stop being the bird, but it does alter his experience of life significantly.”

She paused to make sure Mack was still tracking. While there was a definite cramp forming in his brain, he voiced an “okay…?” inviting her to continue.

“Although by nature he is fully God, Jesus is fully human and lives as such. While never losing the innate ability to fly, he chooses moment-by-moment to remain grounded. That is why his name is Immanuel, God with us, or God with you, to be more precise.”

“But what about all the miracles? The healings? Raising people from the dead? Doesn’t that prove that Jesus was God—you know, more than human?”

“No, it proves that Jesus is truly human.”

“What?”

“Mackenzie, I can fly, but humans can’t. Jesus is fully human. Although he is also fully God, he has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being. He is just the first to do it to the uttermost—the first to absolutely trust my life within him, the first to believe in my love and goodness without regard for appearance or consequence.

“So, when he healed the blind?”

“He did so as a dependent, limited human being trusting in my life and power to be at work within him and through him. Jesus, as a human being, had no power within himself to heal anyone.”

That came as a shock to Mack’s religious system.

“Only as he rested in his relationship with me, and in our communion—our co-union—could he express my heart and will into any given circumstance. So, when you look at Jesus and it appears that he’s flying, he really is…flying. But what you are actually seeing is me, my life in him. That’s how he lives and acts as a true human, how every human is designed to live—out of my life.

“A Bird’s not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image.”
*** *** ***

Great stuff!

Now, consider what Jesus is saying to us…

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
(John 15:5-6 NIV)

Let’s go out today and live truly human lives…in perfect relationship with God, to absolutely trust your life within him, and to believe in God’s love and goodness without regard for appearance or consequence. Remain in Him!

Looking Back: Where's Your Focus?

In addition to my daily devotions this morning, God pointed me to a few additional scriptures that I was asked to journal and ponder.

 

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”  Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

Luke 9.57-62 (NRSV). On three occasions in this short passage Jesus gives interesting replies to the men who are seeking to follow Him. To the first, Jesus tells him that, unlike the fox and birds, he has no home, no place to rest, and if this man were to follow Jesus, it would be the same for him. It seems like he is telling this guy that he just couldn't hack it. The final two men ask, respectively, to bury his father and to say farewell to his family. These seem like reasonable requests. However, Jesus is stern with both of them, and His reply convicting. For Jesus was able to see a problem with priorities, a problem with focus. These men had something that was holding them back, something they were looking back to. To the last man Jesus replied (and upon which I would like to focus), “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” In my travels I spent a good amount of time in Lancaster Pennsylvania, Amish country. Although perhaps slightly misguided, these people are to be admired (if for nothing else, their delicious smorgasbords). They work extremely hard, still most of them without the modern technologies available to ease their work. I learned a lot in my observations and discussions with these people, about God, about farming, about life, and about food. For them, this statement would seem as absurd as it must have when Jesus said it. Plowing a field is extremely strenuous work. The rows for planting seed needed to be straight and of the same depth, requiring strength, resolve, and focus. For farmers, this was their livelihood, and they took great pride in a field that was well plowed. To look back while plowing would have been a ridiculous thought. Three disastrous results come to the plowman who would look back while plowing his field. First, the plowman will lose power. He refrains from pushing with his full strength forward in order that he may turn around. For a plowman, the degree with which he looks back would be roughly proportional to the degree of strength he loses going forward. Second, the plowman will lose direction. Once he turns to look behind him, he is no longer steering the course of the plow. The oxen, which have no set course, now determine the plow’s direction. And third, the plowman will lose focus. In order to plow the straight lines necessary for a good harvest, the plowman must fix his eyes upon a point, look straight ahead, and not lose focus of that point. By looking behind rather than being fixed ahead, the plowman will be unsuccessful in plowing a field ready for planting.

 

We are called to be a people of vision, and Jesus will guide and direct us in the way we should go. See Psalm 32.8 (“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”) (KJV).  When we have a personal relationship with Jesus, are in communication with Him, and he is at the center of our lives, he becomes our Vision, we see with His eyes, and we can discern the path that God wants us to take. The trick is to stay focused!

 

But still there are things that continually make us look back – shame, guilt, pride, fear, something we love, someone we love – and when we look back, we lose our focus. Whatever turns our eye away from Christ is but a hindrance to our running the race that is set before us. What makes you look back? Pride, fear, guilt, something you possess, someone you love (see Matthew 10.34-39)? Give it to Jesus, lay it down on the altar of sacrifice, live life for Him. Only then are you truly free, only then can you truly live.

 

If Christ has become the object of the soul, let us lay aside every weight. In looking unto Jesus we get a motive and an unfailing source of strength. We see in Jesus the love which led Him to take the place for us. See Romans 5.8 (“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”) (NRSV). So let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12.2 (KJV).

 

I want to walk with God’s Vision for my life because I know He wants what is best for me, because He loves me, because He is faithful, and because He is good. When I make Him my primary desire and place him first in my life, above all else, I can walk with the vision and hope He has for me. May Jesus always be at my center, and may I never have cause to look back and lose focus of Him.

 

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Back to the Beginning ...

“I am waiting for you, Vizzini. You told me to go back to the beginning. So I have. This is where I am, and this is where I'll stay. I will not be moved.” ~ Indigo, The Princess Bride

God, I have come to you broken and in despair, seeking to mend my relationship with you and with others in my life. You have told me to go back to the beginning. So I have. You have told me that there is much I need to learn about relationships, about you, and there are many presumptions I have made that need to be corrected. There are many walls I have created in my life that bar me from becoming close to you, and these walls must now be taken down. This process will be difficult, will take time and hard work, but is necessary to restore you to the center and foundation of my life.

C.S. Lewis said, “What saves a man is to take a step. Then take another step.” So it is these steps where I begin, trying to understand more clearly my shortcomings as a human, a man and how I can rely and build upon the personal relationship Jesus has graciously offered to me.

 In Eden we humans abandoned relationship with God in favor of our own independence. Most men have expressed our independence by turning to the work of our hands and the sweat of our brow to find our identity, value, and security[1]. The woman’s turning was not to the works of her hands but to the man, and our response was to rule ‘over’ her, to take power over her, to become the ruler.[2] Before choosing independence, she found her identity, her security, and her understanding of good and evil in God, as did man. As a result of choosing independence over dependence on God, women in general will find it difficult to turn from a man and stop demanding that he meets their needs, provides security, and protects their identity, and return to God. We men, in general, find it very hard to turn from the works of our hands, our own quests for power and security and significance, and return to God. By choosing to declare what is good and evil I have sought to determine my own destiny. It is this turning that has caused so much pain.

The simple way out of this is to give up my ways of power and manipulation and just come back to Jesus. This past year there has been a huge power struggle for me, attempting to choose quests for power and security and significance through other means instead of resting in the loving relationship Jesus has for me. When these quests slowly failed, I became frustrated, bitter, and angry. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own, but at the same time I just couldn’t let go of the quest for power I became so accustomed to. God wants to come and live inside of me, so that I may begin to see with His eyes, and hear with His ears, and touch with His hands, and think like He does. But He will never force that union upon me. If I want to do my own thing, I can have at it. This I have done for a long time. It is time for change, and time is on God’s side, not mine. I need to abandon my quest for power through my own strengths and come back to Jesus.

Because we chose independence over relationship with God, we have completely missed the real purpose and joy of relationships. True relationships are not a chain of command, but a relationship without any overlay of power. Power is not needed over the other because we should always be looking out for the best interest of each other. Hierarchy is an invention of man. For us, it is almost incomprehensible that people could work or live together without someone being in charge. For me, business and law just doesn’t work without a hierarchal structure. It’s one reason why experiencing true relationship is so difficult. Once a hierarchy is established, rules are needed to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules and you end up with some kind of chain of command or a system of order that destroys relationship rather than promotes it. You rarely see or experience relationship apart from power. Hierarchy imposes law and rules and I end up missing the wonder of relationship that God intended for me. I desperately tried to keep this out of my relationships, and, to a large extent, succeeded. However, it is with God that I allowed hierarchy to ruin my relationship. For God, I viewed our relationship as a hierarchy. God is the Father, I am the little servant that he orders around. The problem started when I no longer wanted to be some small insignificant pawn that God moved around his giant chessboard. I wanted freedom. Looking back, that seems quite ironic. True freedom involves trust and obedience inside a relationship of love. That is exactly what Jesus wanted to give me[3], and that is exactly what my search for my own definition of freedom rejected. I thank my Lord and Savior that he is still willing to give me true freedom in a trusting and obedient relationship of love with Him!

If we had truly learned to regard each other’s concerns as significant as our own, there would be no need for hierarchy. The solution? Yield to God; get out of the hierarchy, and experience real relationship based on submission. Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when your choices are not helpful or healthy. Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect. God wants to share with me the love and joy and freedom that He already knows within Himself. He created me to be a face-to-face relationship with Him, to join his circle of love. Submission is not something I can do on my own; it must come from God living inside me. When Jesus is my life, submission is the most natural expression of His character and nature, and it will be the most natural expression of my new nature within relationships. Only then I am able to pour this wonderful expression into my relationships with other people. I have been trying to do this on my own, without Jesus living in me. This has resulted in broken relationships and a lot of pain and suffering for me and for those that I love. I must return to the center, my source.

This independence, my running from God’s wonderful offer of relationship, really boils down to trust and believing that God is good. The real problem is that I do not think God is good. If I knew God was good and that everything – the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives – is all covered by His goodness, then while I might not always understand what He is doing, I would trust Him. I don’t, evidenced by the need to try and do things myself (since I trust myself and know my intentions, thoughts, etc.). Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because I do not know that He loves me, I cannot trust Him. Of course I “know” God loves me in the sense that I have read it in the Bible and heard many people talk on the subject. But how do you really come to trust someone? Do you trust them merely because you have heard they are trustworthy (or worse, read they were trustworthy in a book)? Of course not, you learn to trust through relationships. I do not trust God and know that He is good because I haven’t taken the time to build a relationship with Him.

When I do not believe that God is good, I cannot trust him completely. When I do not trust him completely, I start to live a life controlled by fear. It begins with the imagination of the future, which Satan uses to remove Jesus from the picture. We fear the unknown because we do not fundamentally believe that God is good and has good plans for us. We then create in our minds the various situations we may find ourselves in (the situations we fear), and ways to overcome the situations based on our own strength. This is a desperate attempt to get some control over something we can’t. We fear the unknown, so we create the illusion of control in order to deal our fear. Fear has the destructible nature of forcing us to live in the future and forget about the power and strength we can find in Jesus.

But there should be no fear, for God is good, and has a wonderful plan for me. Because of this, I can be confident that even through the hardest of times He will see me through. The key is to establish a relationship with Jesus based on trust and obedience -- trust that He is good and that His instructions to me are good, and obey them! So instead of living in fear, live in confidence that Jesus knows what is best for me and listen to his voice.

The bad news is that I can’t change all of this, not alone. The good news is I don’t have to go at it by myself. Jesus’ arms out outstretched and together, with Jesus, the change can take place. For now, I just need to be with God and discover that our relationship is not about performance or me having to please Him. It is a wonderful relationship based on love. And it all starts with a conversation …

---

[1] See Genesis 3.17-19 (labor is our duty, which we must faithfully perform. Uneasiness and weariness with the labor are our just punishment).

[2] See Genesis 3.16 (The woman, for her sin, is condemned to a state of sorrow, and of subjection. He shall rule over thee, is but God’s command, Wives, be subject to your own husbands. If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness.).

[3] See 2 Corinthians 5.17 (“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”) (NRSV); Galatians 5.1 (“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”) (NRSV).

Much of what this excerpt discusses comes from a book I have just recently completed called The Shack. For an eloquent and in depth discussion of these topics in novel form, see generally William P. Young, The Shack (2007).

I got questions, you got answers

Hi Gang,

I've been on such an amazing quest for more of God and the filling and indwelling of the Holy Spirit in me, and as I have walked this road, I've seen things and experienced things that have made me go, "huh?". These are questions I have or have had, or others have shared with me... Before you answer them here on the blog, please pray to have fresh eyes and direct insight from the Holy Spirit.

Also, confirm Scripturally your answers where possible. Meaning, back your points with the Word of God--list the verses. And as you write if you have experiential stories and evidence, please share them too.

1) What is "holy laughter"?


2) What is "slain in the Spirit"?


3) What is "drunk in the Spirit"?


4)People claim to see angels, not with specific messages, just see them. What do you think of this?

5a) People claim to have visited heaven, what do you think of this?
5b) Do you want to visit heaven too?

6) Have you seen or experienced a creative miracle?
Please share:


7) Have you ever heard the audible voice of God?
Please share:

8) Are you open and willing to have your beliefs changed or adjusted?
Why/Why not?

9) Why do some people claim to have/see gold dust?

10) Are there things that occured in the NT that do not occur today and why/why not?

11) What gifts or "experiences" do you wish you had?

12) what gifts or "experiences have you had?

13) What gifts or "experiences do you not believe are of God?

14) What gifts or "experiences" do you accept and still make you feel alittle uncomfortable with?




I hope this "homework" will open up a great chain of discussion and personal probing and personal discovery... Now, if you would like extra credit:

Go back over every question you answered and write in support/defense of the opposite of what you believe, where appropriate, again supporting first through the Word of God and then by experiences...it can get real fun inside your heart and mind to do this....

God bless each of you!

God so rocks!