I'm Becoming A Heavy Drinker

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

John 7:37-38

The cup you see in the photo is the cup I use to drink water. It holds 44oz of water, and I try to drink at least 4 of these each day.  Yes, I know...those trips help me get my steps in. 

Why did I start drinking so much water?  Two reasons, the second reason is because my doctor advised me to do this. The first reason, is found in the verse for today.  I need Christ!  I need His living water and each time I drink from this giant cup, I am reminded of the living water Christ offers.

With the 100 degree days we're having, along with the South Carolina "air that you wear" of 1000% humidity, ice water is most welcome.  When we thirst, our bodies tell us to drink.  When our spirit's thirst, that would remind us to run to Christ and drink!

When I was writing the devotionals on Prayer, I took the challenge to pray boldly to heart.  I prayed, "Abba, dry my spirit so that I will run to Christ for refreshing water!"  And guess what happened?  I find myself running to Him!  Not waiting until I get home. Not waiting for the "right time." Not saying, "I'll pray later." I run to Him right then and there, regardless where I am or what I'm doing, I focus on Him.  It's not a good feeling with your spirit is thirsting. But when you drink from Christ, it is SO refreshing!

God is teaching and I am learning.

Prayer Inventory

I have a confession to make...when I read my devotion this morning and it reminded me just how sad my prayer life had become. Read this quote from this morning's devotion: "I had access to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The Great I AM. The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. The all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing God who can send fire from Heaven, shut the mouths of lions, calm a raging storm. Yet all I had been asking Him to do was keep me safe and help me have a good day."

You see, I had become "comfortable" with my status quo.  I had been swimming in the bucket instead of the ocean! I had, sadly, forgotten with whom I was conversing.  I need to change that!  Instead of asking God for a good day, I need to ask God to use me in ways I cannot even begin to fathom.  I need to come before His throne as His child and report for duty!

Let me put it this way, if you have a racing thoroughbred that has won the tripe crown, would you put that horse in a children's pony ride at the fair?  Or would you let that champion BE champion!  When we pray we have access to God! He WANTS to hear from us. So why do we whisper?  Why do we not say, "Abba, here I am! Use me! Take me where YOU want me! Let me BE Your messenger!"

Isn't it time we stopped being "safe"?

How Daring Are Your Prayers?

Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Psalm 139:23-24

"Take care when you dare to share in prayer, your soul He will dare into it to stare to find all that you have hidden there.  That which He finds, He will share with care to you. Thus, take care when you dare to share." - Anonymous

How daring are you in your prayers?  I admit that I have fallen into a rut of "comfort prayers" that have no power or oomph.  But God has been teaching me, if you want TRUE results, my prayers must be BOLD and DARING!  Because we are talking with the Creator of everything, who is capable of amazing things.  Want to see true miracles, pray BOLDLY for them!

John Wesley was crossing the ocean when the winds began pushing the ship off course. Wesley had been in his cabin reading when he felt the winds pushing the ship. He got up, went to his knees and prayed, "Almighty and everlasting God, Thou hast sway everywhere, and all things serve the purpose of Thy will, Thou holdest the winds in Thy fists and sittest upon the water floods, and reignest a King for ever. Command these winds and these waves that they obey Thee, and take us speedily and safely to the haven whither we would go." He then got up, got back in his chair and started reading again.  His traveling companion noted, “So fully did he expect to be heard that he took it for granted that he was heard.”

Wesley didn't wonder IF God would move, he KNEW God would move. As soon as He finished his prayer, the winds died down and they were back on course. John Wesley had NO doubts when he prayed. 

There is a caution we must take if we are to pray daringly...God will answer!  When we pray, as David did, for God to search us and show us anything displeasing to Him, God will show you.  When He does, what will your response be?  Are we daring enough to, then, ask God to wash us and cleanse us and remove from us the temptation to fall back into our rut of comfort?

I issue this challenge to each of us: Instead of watching all that our eyes see and getting upset stop, drop and BOLDLY pray. Then don't trust your eyes or the news...trust that God is handling everything!

How Bold Are Your Prayers?

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 4:16

How bold are you in your prayers?  I thought I was pretty bold when I prayed...now I'm convinced I was not.  You see, when I prayed God showed me that my words were words spoken from my safety zone...my comfort zone.  My prayers had become...weak!  How many times have our prayers been simply "Be with us. Comfort those who are sick."? 

I was prompted, pushed and prodded to re-read the Lord's Prayer, which I have recited so many times that the words seemed to have no power.  Until God showed me something: The Lord's Prayer is extremely bold AND powerful, it is WE who have lost that boldness and power in favor of recitation and comfort.

Our Father (Abba)

In Heaven (where His throne resides)

Holy Is Your Name (THE most powerful name ever)

YOUR Kingdom come (not the Kingdom we want)

YOUR will be done (Here we go...we have to release our will in favor of God's Will, EVEN if we don't like it or agree with it.)

On Earth as it is in Heaven (God's Will and plans are for OUR benefit and growth!)

Give us this day our daily bread (NOT yesterday, NOT tomorrow, JUST FOR TODAY!)

Forgive us OUR sins (We need this every single day)

AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS (we CAN NOT hold onto prejudices, hurts, anger, frustration, grudges! We have to let them ALL go and let God deal with them).

Don't lead us into temptation (keep us from straying off the straight path)

But save us from evil (defend us, pull us back even if we are kicking and screaming and fighting back because our nature craves evil)

Because the Kingdom, the Power, and ALL Glory are Yours (And HIS ALONE!)

Forever and EVER! (We are releasing everything to God forever!)

Amen. (This seals the prayer into the ear and heart of God)

When we pray boldly, we pray with the expectation that God has heard our prayer and that He is ALREADY answering. We MUST pray as described in James 1:6 - "When you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind."

We pray to the God how does miracles and is able to do WAY more than we could ever dream of asking. So why pray small?  Why pray safely? Pray BOLDLY!

Honor Others

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

- Romans 12:10

We love awards. The fact that someone notices our work is encouraging! But what about the people who work behind the scenes?

I read a story a number of years ago about a group of intellectuals who had gathered to ponder the question, "If you were shipwrecked on an island, what would you want most?" The discussion began rather simply with answers such as a good food source, clean and reliable water supply, sturdy shelter, books, reading glasses and the like.

But before too long the vision became quite grandiose. One wanted a stallion to ride in search of other people. Another wanted a palatial villa with views of the crystalline waters. Another required a vineyard that produced only the finest of wines. And the list became ever more spectacular.

During this discussion, the janitor came in to sweep up and empty the trash. The austere mental giants decided to poke fun at the janitor so they posed the question, "If you were shipwrecked on an island, what would YOU want most?" The janitor looked in amazement at this group of brilliants and answered softly, "To be rescued."

Be careful to outdo each other in honoring others for even the "simplest" are brilliant and deserving!

Jesus never taught us to sit on our haunches, He told us "as you are going into the world make disciples..." (Matthew 28:19-20).

Do You Abide?

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

I have to be honest, catch phrases are memorable because they are catchy.  My Bride have a bowl by the door where we put our keys when we come in.  The bowl makes it easy to find our keys when we need them.  Where did that come from?  We heard it on "The Big Bang Theory."  Sheldon stated that "We have a bowl. That's where we put our keys....in the bowl because that's what the bowl is for....for putting keys in."  That stuck with us.

One of my favorite catch phrases came from a movie I never saw, but I saw a clip where the phrase, "The Dude Abides" was used and it stuck in my mind.  I pondered it for a long time.  Then I read today's verse and it smacked me like tree limb!  The meaning of the phrase, "The Dude Abides" means the "Dude" will live on.

Look at today's verse: "Don't be afraid, for I am with you."  How's that for a reason to Abide?

"Don't be discouraged, for I am your God." Feeling more like the abiding Dude yet?

"I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my VICTORIOUS right hand." I don't know about you, but with God as my help, strength, and protector...This Dude Abides!

Transform!

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

If we take a good look around, we will see that our world is in a constant state of transformation. Nothing remains the same!  Water evaporates and is transformed into clouds which, in turn, bring rain.  We are born, and we transform into adults.  We are in a constant state of transformation, and we need God's help to transform into someone who willingly obeys Him.

Guess what?  There are people whose lives have been transformed by God from horrific to forgiven.  Have you ever read the story of Saul who met Christ on the road and transformed him into Paul?  How did God transform Saul into Paul? By changing the way Saul thought.  You see, our minds are immensely powerful.  What we think determines our view of the world and everything in it.

One argument I used to used to use was to simply say, "Well, everyone else is doing it!"  I stopped using that argument when I was 9 or 10.  My Mom answered my argument with, say it with me, "If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you jump too?"  My reply..."Yes, because I would land on them and not get hurt."  Mom's paddle swiftly and sharply applied very quickly transformed my way of thinking.

In my life on this rock, I have realized that my thinking is transformed depending on where I focus my mind.  If I am angry with someone, I'm not a very nice person.  If I have a rough day, I am not much fun to be around.  But when I focus my mind of Christ and His way of thinking, my thoughts change and so do my actions.  It's a daily quest to focus one's mind on Christ, and sometimes it is difficult to focus when we see all that's going on around us.

Remember Paul who used to be Saul?  He wrote a letter to the church in Philippi instructing them to focus their minds: "Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."  How about you?  Are you ready to be transformed?