Lord of the Ringless

National Day of Prayer Prayers

National Day of Prayer Thursday May 7, 2009

 

We attended the event at William Jessup University with 1000 participants. One by one each representative of a people group in America stood up. A soldier, for example shared and led prayers for our servicemen. A policeman shared and led prayers for the salvation of our police force. A politician, businessman, Eric Hoag led the prayers for the media in America.

 

Our Pastor Ray Johnson 87% of the Protestant churches in America are dying and stagnant. Average person invites someone to church once every 28 years. But Jesus said to “look up. The harvest is ripe” – he ended praying that there would be an “avalanche of compassion to every person at every church.”

 

A youth pastor and 3 twenty-somethings got up to represent the next generation.

They shared from Ephesians 1:17 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory give you wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.”

 

Their prayers were awesome. I leave you with what I can remember…

They prayed for, “Real encounters, real demonstration of the raw power of God.

“Real Jesus, real miracles.”

That prodigals would return and receive their worth and value

“Purity of teens- heal the ones who have broken purity, broken hearts.

Those who have shame and guilt.  Those who are lonely or frustrated. Come to gather with other believers.

That seeds of joy are planted

God breaks chains of heaviness.

That the Holy Spirit speaks to their heart."

Angel's Unawares

In this day and age, we need to keep our eyes open.

I just hung up the phone. My friend shared an amazing story. Bobby, the lady who runs the Welcome Booth at her Sacramento church on Sunday mornings was in the right spot at the right time God planned.

One Sunday morning she watched a well-dressed woman stoop over by the bushes near the church entrance and place a rolled up sleeping bag. Odd , she thought. The woman in her sixties was well-manicured.

"Oh this is my first time here..." she said sweetly minutes later. Bobby was puzzled.  It just didn't fit - the way she looked with..

"Is that a sleeping bag you were carrying?" Bobby asked the woman.

"I'm between homes," she said cheerfully.  God has always taken care of me." She headed into church and Bobby heard a voice. FRom Above. 

"Do not let her leave here." 

Startled Bobby told her husband of fifty years about the brief encounter.

After church they Invited the visitor to lunch. Over lunch they heard her story. Her husband left her, they were gettting a divorce and he was on the east coast. She was a housewife and mother all of her life except for part-time jobs at local department stores.

Bobby's husband whispered to her after lunch, "Bobby, we're taking this woman home."

Now , two months later she has become a great companion. Friends were alarmed.

"Oh, you can't do that. YOu can't take a homeless person in."  Now after they have all met the houseguest, they all love her. "She can stay with us next," they say.

So, we never know when we willl be entertaining angel's unawares as it says in Hebrews 13:2

The amazing thing is Bobby has worked homeless shelters for twenty years and never offered taken anyone home before. What was different this time?  She Heard From God. And, she Listened.

 

Vocational Prayer for Job Seekers

Neil Tobin, from Bayside Career Coaching, shared a wonderful story from his childhood with dozens seeking employment.

When he was five years old he recalled a prayer his Christian parents prayed with him at night for his vocation. He remembers repeating it often “not really knowing what it meant” until later in his teens.

His dad had been a pilot in World War Two. After the war he dealt with war crimes and became a defense lawyer for victims who resided in war camps. He knew the presence of God in his life.

Tobin was a typical sixteen year old, curious about fast cars and the high life. One day he told his dad all he wanted was a “rolex watch and a Porsche.”

His dad used this as a teachable moment. Many of his defendents once possessed all those worldly goods but when they were POW’s they were each stripped naked and sat in a yard together. “Even if their goods were taken from them, the guards could not take away their mind and spirit,” his dad emphasized. “These are the things you need to develop.”

His son never forgot that talk.  It left a forever impact on his impressionable mind.

And here is the prayer his Dad prayed with him as a child:

“God, grant that I may know, vocation which you from all eternity have chosen for me. Give me the courage to follow it generously and be faithful to it. Let me love you with all my strength and let me fulfill with a cheerful heart whatever is pleasing to you. Amen

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Prayer for Vocation...Waiting for the Right Job

Neil Tobin, from Bayside Career Coaching, shared a wonderful story from his childhood with dozens seeking employment.

When he was five years old he recalled a prayer his Christian parents prayed with him at night for his vocation. He remembers repeating it often “not really knowing what it meant” until later in his teens.

His dad had been a pilot in World War Two. After the war he dealt with war crimes and became a defense lawyer for victims who resided in war camps. He knew the presence of God in his life.

Tobin was a typical sixteen year old, curious about fast cars and the high life. One day he told his dad all he wanted was a “rolex watch and a Porsche.”

His dad used this as a teachable moment. Many of his defendents once possessed all those worldly goods but when they were POW’s they were each stripped naked and sat in a yard together. “Even if their goods were taken from them, the guards could not take away their mind and spirit,” his dad emphasized. “These are the things you need to develop.”

His son never forgot that talk.  It left a forever impact on his impressionable mind.

And here is the prayer his Dad prayed with him as a child:

“God, grant that I may know, vocation which you from all eternity have chosen for me. Give me the courage to follow it generously and be faithful to it. Let me love you with all my strength and let me fulfill with a cheerful heart whatever is pleasing to you. Amen

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After the Christmas Tree Comes Down

  

Yesterday my friend said, “I took the tree down today…I’m feeling depressed.”  I didn’t say anything. My tree is up and I’m feeling depressed…because I haven’t taken it down yet.

 

 

But, I do feel like Christmas is over. And I know tomorrow, Monday morning will be echoing the California Dreaming song once again. All the leaves are gone and the sky is grey. Winter is here with the New Year ; I have only to look through the bare branches of my ash tree.

 

 

It looks as brutally exposed to the elements as we can feel when we pick up the paper and read any headline whether the front page, business section or see a picture of a half-empty Arco Arena which once burgeoned with fans.

 

 

Yet, today I went to church and thousands of us worshipped with as much joy and love as we felt three years ago when our dollars danced through the seasons on a roll.  We know God placed us here in this country, in this decade by His grand design.

 

 

Joyce Kilmer once enshrined the words, “A tree that looks at God all day and Lifts her leafy arms to pray;” And just like my tree lifts her now bare arms, we lifted our hands to our Creator in trust and surrender and the peace and presence of God filled the sanctuary of our hearts.

 

 

I hope just as we left this morning filled up again with God’s word and wisdom, so must our week continue. No matter what the headlines say every day, I wish for all of us the sentiments sent from a friend this week : “May the Lord Bless each and every one of you this coming year and may you find peace knowing that God is in control of our future if we choose to let Him.”  

A Little Town in Texas

“There are no jobs.”

I have heard this comment alot lately. Last week I asked a woman what it meant.
“There are an abundance of jobs that pay around $10-12 an hour,” she explained. “But it’s difficult to find anything else.”

It reminds me of a conversation I had last week. And of a scripture Paul quoted.

I was speaking to a young man (my age) about his fathers hometown built in the twenties. His dad was thirteen when his father (the granddad) died during the depression.

He had two brothers and two sisters in their little town in Texas. The Mom and aunt both worked to help pay for the other kids. The kids walked to school with no shoes.

The teenager hunted squirrel and deer for food and they all fought over squirrel brains at the table. They made grits from dried corn.

I told him how my grandmother worked as a housecleaner during the same time. My Grandfather, the last accountant they let go from Rothschild’s in San Francisco, washed dishes at a restaurant.

The stories are starting…and that is good. It is a reminder a heritage tree later in our country, that we too, can do what is necessary for times as these.

“I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12,13

The Little Frog

Last night I awoke unable to sleep. At 2am I began looking for something I misplaced.

My lab, Sammy snored and schnauzer, Benji winced as I pulled out everything underneath the bath cupboards. Removing it all and shuffling it around I left it on the floor and headed for the closet. In the middle of the night, my room was a disaster. Hours later it was all put away again. (Both the dogs were gone, I didn't even hear them sneaking out, and the green carpet was clean again. )

Except for one thing. Something on my rug. I stooped to pick it up and jumped back. A little green frog. A very pale one, petrified. Immediately I knew it was the frog I saw on my bathroom cabinet 2 years ago. It wasn't a baby then and it's not a baby now. It is just a tiny frog. An adult.

It must be dead, I surmised, it was so still. And dry. Grabbing a clear bathroom plastic cup I placed it over the small lifeless figure through half-closed eyes. It sprung up the sides of the cup! Unbelievable! It was alive. I slid a magazine underneath the bottom of the cup and walked out into the night, toward the oleander bush in my backyard. And set it free in the bushes that are green like it is, in the fall night with stars of hope twinkling overhead.

How did that little frog live 2 years in my house? Stuck in all the bathroom paraphenelia under the sink? I don't get it. At times I wondered where he might have gone. That sleepy me barely spotted the little pale jad and yellow frog on my jade rug and didn't step on him... is one miracle. That it was the middle of the night, was timely. Benji loves to play with bugs and small things. He was fast asleep nearby.

That the little frog can be returned to the environment he was made for and not the bathroom cellar prison camp... is a miracle. (Maybe he's not the little frog that hopped off 2 years ago...but maybe he is.)

At any rate, after watching the electorial candidates debates this week and watching Wall Street rock, I fell asleep sure, that if even a tiny creature God created could withstand difficulties and survive until times can change again so can we. Human beings, the creatures created in His image can persevere through to better times no matter how upside down and crazy their worlds are now compared to what they were.

And there are always better times. I have never had a down without an up or an up without a down. A summer without a fall or a winter without a spring. God is with us in season and out of season. Just like He is with that little frog.

"Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. Psalm 118:5

Vets, PTSD and We, the Church, in this Economic Crisis

Today I read a story about a 31-year-old Army Ranger who fought al-Qaida in Afghanistan on a snowy peak called Robert’s Ridge…after the chopper he was in fell to fire. He lost three of his men, won a purple heart and developed PTSD, post traumatic stress syndrome which has afflicted 1 out of every 5 soldiers returning from the war.
PTSD signs include emotional detachment, nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance of people, places or things associated with a traumatic event. Suicide is double the general population.

He ended up so fearful he said he needed to take control. In doing that he turned his back on God which led to “almost losing everything and almost completely broken.” His wife said he seemed lost. He thought about suicide.

What pulled him through? He said, no particular technique or event. “It was just a combination of close family and close Christian brothers coming together.” Calling him, being there.

What does this have to do with us?

This morning I talked with a friend who received a call at her church yesterday. The single mom didn’t have gas to drive to her substitute teaching job, the cupboards were down to one day to feed her children and the dog hadn’t eaten in two. Her church wrote a check to help the immediate situation.

In a world where so few people have family, they are calling on the churches. Our churches, we the people, need to be talking to those around us and in tune to their situations, more than ever.

It is the combination of all of us asking God how we can be part of the solution and helping one another that we will all survive the economic disaster we are in. Instead of pulling in from fear, or pushing God away…now we need Him more than ever. WE need His love and concern to extend the arms of Christ, the body of Christ… to be there when it is our turn. Today, let’s look around courageously, knowing there is enough for all of us…if we share the load, and share the goods—the time, talents, food—He has given us.

2 Corinthians 3:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…”

** If you’d like to be a bridge to healing for a vet visit www.pstdhealing.org or email
info@ptsdhealing.org

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The Man Without Limbs- part 2

Nick Vusivic shared from the stage this past weekend, “Your life can be a priceless gift of hope for someone else.” We really understood this gift to the little boy he met who was born just like him.

When Nick was his age, he was struggling. “Tears are a language God understands,” he shared ministering to the hurting in the audience….and then adding, he hasn't always been strong as we see him. He has struggled with depression. “I thought I could never get married or hold someone I loved.” How could God use me? I wondered.”

“Life without purpose is life without meaning. Life without meaning is life without hope.”

His mind wars began young, each morning after he arrived at school. Having no arms or legs, he was a prime target for bullies.

"Mom would give me words of truth before school every morning, 'God has a special plan for your life,' She knew the power of the Word and that Nick needed to be deeply rooted in truth.

“But when I’d get to school, kids would tease me. Nick felt like what happened to him was similar to the first Parable of the Farmer. “I felt like the birds came and ate the seeds.” One by one those seeds of encouragement were snatched with each taunt and jeer. t’s like the parable Jesus told of the Farmer and the seed...it’s how I interpreted it. The enemy is just waiting to snatch away the good seed God plants.” He would return home defeated and discouraged.

“I wanted to die by the time I was eight,” he stated. “It wasn’t just believing what others said either,” he shared. “It was how I talked to myself and what I believed.”
“I’m a loser; a failure. I can’t do anything”—“What good am I to God or anyone?” This thinking was killing him.

How did he overcome? He had to learn what truly counts.

"It didn’t matter what other people thought about me, or even what I thought about myself . Only what God said about me is truly true, and God said he made me for His plans and purposes…just the way I am. He framed me in my mother’s womb” he quoted Psalm 139:15. He quoted 2 Cor 5:20, 'I am an ambassador for Christ.' Lies lying in our mind don’t change the truth.”

“I learned to let God’s Word be true and believe it. And the truth set me free…”

“You must understand the power of God’s Word and be deeply committed to knowing it. How do you study? How do you read? You open the Bible. We’re at war. Going to war with the sword of the spirit!”

“I know who I am, why I am here and where I am going.” Nick offered others the opportunity to know Christ and many raised their hands. It was a full circle. “God gave me to give to you, so when circumstances don’t change and God doesn’t make sense” we can remember his story for encouragement.

“I travel 40 weeks out of the year,” he disclosed. “I would like to get married—but I’m not looking right now,” he flashed a grin while the audience laughed. “I’m too busy.”

The Man Without Limbs- part 2

Nick Vusivic shared from the stage this past weekend, “Your life can be a priceless gift of hope for someone else.” We really understood this gift to the little boy he met who was born just like him.

When Nick was his age, he was struggling. “Tears are a language God understands,” he shared ministering to the hurting in the audience….and then adding, he hasn't always been strong as we see him. He has struggled with depression. “I thought I could never get married or hold someone I loved.” How could God use me? I wondered.”

“Life without purpose is life without meaning. Life without meaning is life without hope.”

His mind wars began young, each morning after he arrived at school. Having no arms or legs, he was a prime target for bullies.

"Mom would give me words of truth before school every morning, 'God has a special plan for your life,' She knew the power of the Word and that Nick needed to be deeply rooted in truth.

“But when I’d get to school, kids would tease me. Nick felt like what happened to him was similar to the first Parable of the Farmer. “I felt like the birds came and ate the seeds.” One by one those seeds of encouragement were snatched with each taunt and jeer. t’s like the parable Jesus told of the Farmer and the seed...it’s how I interpreted it. The enemy is just waiting to snatch away the good seed God plants.” He would return home defeated and discouraged.

“I wanted to die by the time I was eight,” he stated. “It wasn’t just believing what others said either,” he shared. “It was how I talked to myself and what I believed.”
“I’m a loser; a failure. I can’t do anything”—“What good am I to God or anyone?” This thinking was killing him.

How did he overcome? He had to learn what truly counts.

"It didn’t matter what other people thought about me, or even what I thought about myself . Only what God said about me is truly true, and God said he made me for His plans and purposes…just the way I am. He framed me in my mother’s womb” he quoted Psalm 139:15. He quoted 2 Cor 5:20, 'I am an ambassador for Christ.' Lies lying in our mind don’t change the truth.”

“I learned to let God’s Word be true and believe it. And the truth set me free…”

“You must understand the power of God’s Word and be deeply committed to knowing it. How do you study? How do you read? You open the Bible. We’re at war. Going to war with the sword of the spirit!”

“I know who I am, why I am here and where I am going.” Nick offered others the opportunity to know Christ and many raised their hands. It was a full circle. “God gave me to give to you, so when circumstances don’t change and God doesn’t make sense” we can remember his story for encouragement.

“I travel 40 weeks out of the year,” he disclosed. “I would like to get married—but I’m not looking right now,” he flashed a grin while the audience laughed. “I’m too busy.”