We Need More Prayer

Scripture: Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. (Luke 4:1 NKJV)
Observation: After His baptism, and in the final preparation for His ministry, Jesus is led by the Spirit to the wilderness where He spends forty days in communion with the Father And where He is tempted by the devil.  Once this period of fasting and prayer is ended Jesus begins His formal ministry on earth.
Application: At times we read how the devil tempted Jesus as He was about to embark on His mission and forget that He had been preparing since birth.  Nevertheless, He had been working in Joseph’s carpenter shop, studying the Scriptures and praying, and He now spent a time of intensive, dedicated, undivided communion with the Father.  Jesus obviously sensed a need to spend time with His Father.  The attacks He would be subjected to, ending in His death, would go beyond what any human being would be called to endure, and it was this habit of constant prayer which sustained Him through the darkest hours of His life and ministry. I woke up early (the middle of the night, really), and read these words:

“It makes all the difference in the world with us spiritually whether we rely upon God without doubt, as upon a sure foundation, or whether we are seeking to find some righteousness in ourselves before we come to him. . .”

“The Lord loves us, and bears with us, even when we are ungrateful to him, forgetful of his mercies, wickedly unbelieving. . .”

“The plan of salvation is ample. It is no narrow, limited provision that has been made for us. We are not obliged to trust in the evidence that we had a year or a month ago, but we may have the assurance today that Jesus lives, and is making intercession for us. . .”

“ If we would refresh others, we must ourselves drink of the Fountain that never becomes dry. It is our privilege to become acquainted with the Source of our strength, to have hold of the arm of God. If we would have spiritual life and energy, we must commune with God. We can speak to him of our real wants; and our earnest petitions will show that we realize our needs, and will do what we can to answer our own prayers. We must obey the injunction of Paul, “Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”

“Only believe, and you shall surely see the salvation of God.” (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, April 22, 1884)

What beautiful promises!  What calm assurance we find in these words. I know I need more prayer, not so that I can “twist” God’s arm to get Him to do what I want Him to do, but so that I may know Him better and thus have a greater assurance of His plan of salvation for me.
Prayer: Dear Father, I want to know You more, I want to see a clearer picture of You, and I know that it can only happen as I commune with you each day.  I’m open to You and what You have to show me today.

God’s Covenant with the Family



Scripture: But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark; you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. (Gen 6:18 NKJV)

Observation:  God gives Noah the orders and instruction for the construction of the ark and informs Noah about what would be happening shortly – in about 120 years, which at the time, and as long as people lived, was relatively “shortly.” It is during this encounter that God also tells Noah of His covenant with Noah. This is the first time in the Bible that we read of God’s covenant with a person or people group, and what makes it interesting is that this covenant, like other future ones, is unilateral – God initiates it – and while there are conditions and requirements, God’s grace is its foundation and people are asked to respond by faith and obedience. That covenant provided not only for Noah’s salvation, but the same grace was extended to Noah’s wife, their three sons, and each of their wives.

Application: God’s covenant with us and our families has not changed and the conditions are the same. God initiates His search for us and extends His righteousness toward us lest sin consumes us. And just as Noah and His family were saved from universal destruction, today we and our families are offered salvation from the final destruction of the world and a place on the earth once it is re-created. The choice that we as parents make – to accept or reject God’s grace, and thus His covenant – can determine whether our children are saved or eternally lost.Father, I accept Your grace and Your covenant for me and my family today. Forgive us our sins, cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and helps us prepare for eternity.

Prayer:

Discipleship at Home

Scripture: And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52 NKJV)

Observation: Joseph and Mary go to Jerusalem for the annual celebration of the Passover and take Jesus, now twelve-years-old, with them.  When they begin their return to Nazareth they realize that Jesus is not with them and returning to Jerusalem they find Him, after three days of searching, in the temple, listening and asking questions to the teachers.  The family finally returns to Nazareth where Jesus remains subject to His earthly parents and where He grows physically and spiritually.
Application: The home of Joseph and Mary must have been a very special place, if God chose them to be the ones to care for His own Son.  Jesus did not come full of the knowledge of eternity but veiled His divinity in human flesh and was born as a baby.  And as a baby, He had to learn everything, like every other human baby.  His early, forming years must have been full of spiritual exercises, reading and study of the Scriptures and prayer began to open before His eyes Who He was and the mission His Father in heaven had entrusted Him with.  By the age of twelve Jesus could hold a very intelligent, probably even very challenging, conversation with the teachers at the temple so that they marveled at His depth of knowledge.  Joseph and Mary, also recognizing Who Jesus was. Must have been very spiritual-minded, but also very charitable.  They made sure Jesus received the best food, had the best health habits, and received the best spiritual nourishment possible.  And thus Jesus grew up “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” The home is the first and most important vehicle to help our children grow, as Jesus did.  The role of the parents is to be not just “people-makers,” as the famous psychologist Virginia Satir might say, but rather disciple-makers.  It is the primordial role of the parents to see that their children grow up as disciples of Jesus Christ and therefore to be daily conformed to His image until, at His second coming, we transformed into His likeness. The sad thing is that many parents have relegated that role to either the church or the school or both and completely abandoned their responsibility as disciple-makers.  I was doing a little bit of math.  Let’s see if you can follow this logic:
1. Total hours in one year (365 days X 24 hours) = 87602. Total hours spent at school (this figure varies according to state and country) = 11003. Total hours at church (this would include Sabbath School, Church service, prayer meeting, Pathfinders, and a few other activities. . . I recognize that this is a very generous average) = 6004. Sleeping (average of 8 hours each day) = 29205. Time with friends (average of 2 hours each day) = 730
Now, if we take all the above and subtract them from the total number of hours (8760 – 1100 – 600 – 2920 -730) = 3410.  This is the number of hours, potentially, that parents have to spend with their children each year.  This is the number of hours, potentially, that children can be at home, where they can, and should, have the greatest influence for Jesus.  Compare the number of hours a child spends at church (600) to the number of hours a child spends at school (1100) and you can quickly see that the school has a much greater influence, simply because of the amount of time the children spend there, than the church.  Imagine, if you please, if those 1100 are spent in a public school setting, and the family only attends the church service, or maybe even the Sabbath School, it would mean that the children would spend a mere 110 hours or so, compared to 1100 at school – and if it is a public school, it would mean the children spend ten times more time at school than they do at church – who has the greater influence on their minds and on their lives? Even if you have your children in church school (which I believe to be the ideal and best choice), and you faithfully attend and are involved in the life of the church, they would have about 1700 hours each year as part of their discipleship training.  1700 hours out of a total 8760!  I hope you’re beginning to see that those 3410 hours you as a parent have are critical and that you need to make every effort to spend them wisely, if you’re ever going to be the disciple-makers God intended for you to be for your children. As we begin this new year, make every effort possible to set aside at least a couple of hours each day to spend time with your children in the study of the Scriptures and in prayer, and in activities that help and benefit others.  I am not calling for sermonizing or forcing them to sit and listen to a long, boring reading of the Bible or some devotional book.  I am, suggesting a good conversation and practical application of selected passages and stories which they can use in their spiritual formation.  Borrowing from Home Depot: “You can do it. . . we can help.”  Contact your Conference’s Children’s or Family Ministries Directors and ask for help. . . that’s what we’re here to do.
Prayer: Father, help me to be the disciple-maker to my children that You intended for me to be, and to dedicate to them the time they need to become just like Jesus.

What a Way to Begin!

Scripture: And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23 NKJV)
Observation: God performs the first surgical procedure by removing one of Adam’s ribs and creating out of it a lifetime companion, a helpmeet, one equal to him.  When God brought Eve to Adam, his reactions was one of great joy (Genesis 2:23), and thus begins the history of humanity, with the institution of marriage and the establishing of the family as God’s center for growth and propagation.
Application: This is the first day of the new decade – January 1, 2011.  Someone pointed out that in the United States the date is written 1-1-11.  Last year hundreds, maybe even thousands, of couples saved the day 10-10-10 to get married and there’s no doubt that many more will plan for their wedding to take place of 11-11-11 (November 11, 2011).  Such dates provide some sort of a “lucky charm” which will bring those couples love, life, and lasting happiness. I try to imagine what it must have been like for Adam. . . although Genesis 2 leaves little to the imagination.  By the sixth day, God had created light, had separated the water from dry land, created all vegetation, had made the sun, moon, and stars and place them in their celestial paths, had filled the oceans with fish, the air with all types of birds, and the land with all kinds of animals, and now He created His masterpiece – man.  When Adam was created he already had his speech patterns fully in place – thus he was able to name all the animals as God brought them to Him [I find it interesting that parents tell their children the name of every animal, and plant, and object. . . God, instead, brought the animals to Adam for him to name them. . . almost like a playful, proud Father, with a wide, please smile on His face, inviting, allowing, letting His newborn son had the pleasure of giving names to what He had created for him].     But maybe there as a deeper purpose in this “game.”  As Adam joyfully named all the animals he began to see a recurring pattern – every animal had a mate, a companion, one equal to the other.  Adam, intelligent as he was, fresh out of the hand of His creator, began to sense something missing in his life – he didn’t have that companion each of the animals did, but even before he voiced his wish, his desire, his prayer for someone to be his companion, God was already planing to meet his need for emotional and physical fulfilment. I think Adam’s reaction, as quoted in Genesis 2:23, is a typical male reaction to seeing his “woman.”  He probably shouted it, pumped his fists in the air, and jumped a couple of feet in the air – maybe he learned from the mating rituals of some of the animals he had been naming.  And as Adam and Eve rejoiced in their acquaintance and subsequent union, God, their Father and Creator, rejoiced even more with this great beginning. As we begin the new year and the new decade, I invite you to rejoice with the spouse God has given you with as much enthusiasm as your culture allows, but with as much pride and gratefulness as Adam expressed, knowing they were God’s gift to each other.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for my spouse, for the gift he/she is to me, for bringing him/her into my life, for giving him/her to me, as an equal, to complete Your creation in me.

The Most Influential Force

Scripture: Discipline your children, and they will give you rest; they will give delight to your heart.  (Prov 29:17 NRSV)
Observation: Vs. 16 and 18 of this chapter of proverbs refer to the discipline of children.  Discipline and discipleship come from the same root word and include education, training and correction.
Application: Several books I have read recently emphasize the fact that parents have the primary responsibility for the spiritual growth of their children.  Another way of saying this is that the responsibility for discipling children and preparing them for eternity falls on their parents’ lap.  As parents, we cannot relegate that responsibility to anyone else. And yet, more and more parents are doing just that – neglecting their role and delegating others to raise their children.     I did a little bit of math and was astonished at the results:
Hours in one year (365 days X 24 hours) = 8760

Hours spent in church each year =   200

Hours spent sleeping each year = 2920

Hours spent in school each year = 1100

Hours spent with parents/friends = 4540

Several things jumped at me immediately:

1. Even for those families that spend a lot of time at church (more than three hours each week), the total number of hours a child spends at church each year barely amounts to about 200.  That being the case, we cannot expect the church to have the strongest spiritual influence on your children, even if the sermons are good, even if Sabbath School is great, even if the church has a great youth program or even a youth pastor, even if the church has a lot of youth-oriented programs or activities.

2. Because children spend about 1100 hours a year in school, we can’t minimize the influence of the school in the spiritual life of a child – for good or for bad.  That’s why I have encouraged parents in previous blogs to have their children in an Adventist school where the opportunities to learn about God are greater than in public school where, and to not present their children to the public school altar where teachers, staff, and fellow students have such strong influence in undermining Biblical principles, doctrines, and beliefs.

3. Even adding time spent at church, at school, and sleeping, they don’t equal the number of hours that parents have to spend with their children.  Obviously, I don’t know that it would be healthy for parent or child to spend every one of those 4540 hours together, but if parents were intentional in spending just 1/4 of those hours, or 1135 hours, that would be about 21 hours each week, or on average 3 hours each day.  Those three hours could be spent in prayer, bible study, conversation, help with homework, work around the house (together), playing games, in some community project, visiting the sick, elderly, or house-bound, and in so many other activities together.  That’s probably what Moses referred to when he wrote: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. {7} Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deu 6:6-7 NIV)  Staring today, make an effort to spend time, quality and quantity, with your children.  You will influence them for eternity.

Prayer: Father, help me to spend time with my children and to not allow anything else to rob me of that special gift only I can give them which could mean their life and salvation.

The Luckiest Man

For many years I had heard the words of Lou Gehrig’s speech and thought they were very profound, particularly for a guy who was diagnosed with a debilitating and terminal disease.   Many of us could probably quote his words, “today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”  But recently I read the entire speech, which apparently was not written ahead of time, and was even more moved with admiration and appreciation.  Here are the words of Lou Gehrig’s speech, delivered on July 4, 1939, at Yankee Stadium:

“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

“Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.

“When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies – that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body – it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that’s the finest I know.

“So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

Among the things and people he’s thankful and appreciative for are:

1. His mother-in-law.

2. His parents.

3. His wife.

4. The opportunity to play with and be surrounded by so many fine players.

We should stop and take stock of our lives, and when we do we might just find out we are more than lucky, we’re truly blessed to have the people in our lives who make us better people, the daily opportunities, and so much more.  Even in sickness, hardship, or pain we could conclude, “I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

Already Gone

A few months back someone recommended a book to me.  The name of the book is “Already Gone: Why Your Kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it” by Ken Ham and Brit Beemer

Among the things they write in their book, they state that since 1969, 1500 churches in England have closed.  They also quote George Barna:

“A majority of twenty-somethings – 61% of today’s young adults – had been churched at one point during their teen years but they are now spiritually disengaged (i.e., not actively attending church, reading the Bible, or praying).

Ham and Beemer conducted their own study which led them to conclude that:

“We are losing many more people by middle school and many more by high school than we will ever lose in college.” p.32

“Many parents will fork out big bucks to send these students to Christian colleges, hoping to protect them in their faith.  But the fact is, they’re already gone.” p.32

In their study, they found about those who no longer believe that all of the accounts and stories in the Bible are true, that:

- 39.8% first had doubts in middle school

- 43.7% first had their doubts in high school

- 10.6% had their first doubts during college

To what does they attribute this? Two reasons:

1. The acceptance of Theistic Evolution by the church.

Theistic Evolution basically teaches that God used evolution to bring the different life forms into being.  That evolution happened over very long periods of time, much longer than. . . seven literal days.

In the late 18th century and early 19th century the scientific community in Europe began to propagate the theory of evolution, and what happened next was that many leaders of the church of England led the churches to believe the idea that the earth is millions or billions of years old and to try to reconcile this idea with the Bible.

Obviously, the way to do this was to reinterpret the days of creation as long periods of time.  Others adopted the “gap theory” explaining that there was a gap of millions of years between the first two verses of Genesis.

So here’s Ham and Beemer’s conclusion on this point:

“Effectively, the church basically hands over the history of the universe to the secular educational institutions, and concentrates on the spiritual and moral aspects of Christianity.  The church actually disconnects the Bible from the real world.  The children . . . in the churches are really taught that in the church, one doesn’t deal with geology, biology, and so on – that is for school.  In church we talk about Jesus – we deal with doctrines and we study moral and spiritual matters – but anything pertaining to understanding geology, astronomy, anthropology, and so forth is left in school.” p.78

“Please understand this!  Ninety percent of children from church homes attend public/government schools.  There, by and large, they are taught a biological, anthropological, geological, and astronomical history of the universe that totally contradicts the Bible’s account of creation, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel.” p.78

[By the way, I strongly recommend you rent and watch the movie “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.  With and by Ben Stein]

2. Attendance to Sunday School.

“Sunday school is actually more likely to be detrimental to the spiritual and moral health of our children.” p.38

His argument is that in Sunday School children are taught stories from the Bible, but because what they learn in public school totally contradicts the creation account, children actually begin to accept the fact that the Bible is not credible and therefore it is irrelevant in their lives.

I don’t believe they goes far or deep enough in their conclusions.

On point number 2 – Sunday School by its very nature, being on Sunday, undermines the Bible.  We can’t conclude the same about Sabbath School because Sabbath School, by its very nature, affirms the creation story, and thus validates the Bible.

But point number is more troublesome because so many of our own parents are sacrificing their children at the public school altar and then, when they begin to show signs of disconnect with the church, they want their kids to go to one of our colleges or universities.  The majority, by this point, don’t even want to go to an Adventist college or university – they conclude they are too restrictive, too conservative, etc.  In addition, their friends are going to public colleges. . .

But even those that attend an Adventist college already face a huge challenge.  Ham and Beemer conclude:

“A Christian college experience can be a very positive thing for a growing Christian’s faith.  But the numbers indicate that parents must look at their children’s early years in elementary and middle school to make sure they are prepared to defend their faith.  Because if they don’t, before they even get to college, they are already gone.” p.91-92

Whenever I hear that we’re spending too much money at the conference for Adventist education or for Adventist schools I can’t help but think of this book and ask myself, what is the price for our children’s eternal salvation?

As parents, am I willing to provide my kids with a large screen, flat panel, high definition TV, but not with the opportunity and the environment where my kids will have the best chance at salvation?

Do I want them to get the best education taxes can offer even if that means placing my kids in an environment where they will hear things which will cause them to question or doubt the validity of the Bible?

When I hear about the quality of education Adventist schools offer, compared to what the public schools offer, why do we still believe what they offer is better than what we have?

Every year I see the scores from national standardized tests and consistently they show that students in Adventist schools perform better than students in public schools, and yet many parents continue to buy into the lie that public schools are better than Adventist schools, and they have taught their children that Adventist schools are not as good as public schools and they are too expensive to boot. . . no wonder their children don’t want to attend our schools, following a myth instead of reality.

From the time our daughters were old enough to understand we taught them about the blessings of Adventist education, and we made it clear that they only had one choice until after college: Either they attended a church school, or they would have to have their mom and dad for their teachers.  Faced with that choice, they never, ever brought up the possibility of attending a public school.  Once you provide the choice of the “forbidden fruit” – public school – children will do anything to eat of that fruit.

I always said, when I get to heaven, if my girls are not there because they chose not to be, I want to face my God and tell Him – I provided them with everything they needed to have the best chance at salvation.  If I put them in public school, and don’t take them to church, and don’t spend time praying with them and studying the Bible with them at home, what will I tell my God?

We have our schools to provide our children with the best chance for them to come to know Jesus.  That chance, complemented with the work of the church and of the parents at home, will give them the best chance at salvation.

“Our ideas of education take too narrow and too low a range. There is need of a broader scope, a higher aim. True education means more than the pursual of a certain course of study. It means more than a preparation for the life that now is. It has to do with the whole being, and with the whole period of existence possible to man. It is the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers. It prepares the student for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come.”  {Ellen G. White, Education, p. 13}

“To restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul, that the divine purpose in his creation might be realized–this was to be the work of redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life.”  {Ibid, p.15}

True education, such as is offered in our schools – or should be offered, if it is not – should bring us all to the first four words of the Bible: “In the beginning GOD…”  because that is what everything is all about, to Him we owe it all, and to Him we’re preparing to go.  And no sacrifice is too big to make to ensure our children come to the same conclusion.

“In the beginning GOD.”

Matthew 18 and Internet Anonimity

I’m always fascinated by our attempts at circumventing what God tells us in His Word and still pretend we are following His will.  Matthew 18 is a case in point.  Just to refresh our minds, here’s the text as found in the New King James version of the Bible:

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. (Mat 18:15-17 NKJV)

The process for reconciliation, as set by Jesus, is very simple.

1. “If your brother (or sister) sins against you…”  This is the first qualifier, which is why Jesus begins with the word “if.”
2. “Go and tell him/her his/her fault between you and him/her alone.”
Jesus didn’t say: “Write him/her a note,” “Tell someone else to tell him/her,” “Print the offense in the local newspaper,” or anything of the kind.  Furthermore, Jesus didn’t say, “Send him/her an anonymous note.”  Jesus made it very clear that the offended party has the responsibility to “GO” and “TELL” him/her, and no one else, “ALONE.”
3. If he/she will not hear, then TAKE with you one or two.  The action of “taking” one or two others makes it clear again that the offended party must be intentional and take the steps necessary to deal with the situation personally.
4. If he/she refuses to hear them, TELL it to THE CHURCH.  It is not appropriate to tell anybody else, much less the entire world, of the other person’s offense.  Tell the church, deal with it among the community of believers, because the goal is not punishment but restoration.
5. However, if he/she refuses to listen even to the church, even then Jesus does not authorize spreading the news of the offense or the incident with anybody or everybody else.   The Seventh-day Adventist Commentary, volume 5, explains: “By refusing the counsel of the church the erring member has severed himself from its fellowship (DA 441). This does not mean that he should be despised or shunned or neglected. Efforts should now be put forth for the erring member as for any nonmember.”

Before the internet was invented, those who wanted to circumvent Jesus’ instructions would relay on either gossip, which is a clear violation of the ninth commandment, or they would send anonymous letters to confront, or rather attack, the receiver.  In this internet age when we don’t send letters or greetings cards but prefer an e-mail (or a text message), anonymity has gone to a new level, particularly when it comes to dealing with personal problems we have with other people.  As I look at Matthew 18, if Jesus were living in our day I don’t believe He would say, “if anyone says or does something that hurts you, send him/her an e-mail, but don’t sign your name or use your own e-mail account so they can’t tell who you are.  If they don’t listen to you, send an e-mail to anyone on your distribution list and tell them about what they did to you and tell them that you ‘confronted’ them.  And if they still don’t come to you to apologize and beg for your forgiveness, then post it on Facebook, MySpace, or any other social network site for the whole world to see; that should teach them!”  And yet, that seems to be the approach that followers of Jesus want to take today – anonymous e-mails, or posts in blogs like this, rather than a personal visit (Jesus did say “go”) or at the very least a phone call, telling the person they are calling their name and what particular situation they are speaking of, and giving them a chance to listen, to respond, and if warranted, to apologize and have a chance to make things right.

Throughout my career I have received those anonymous letters, but fortunately early on I learned not to even bother reading them.  I figure, if they don’t have the decency and strength of character to tell me their concerns to my face then they are not worth reading. . . so, if there was no name or return address they went straight to the round file (the garbage can).  Nowadays, occasionally I receive an e-mail or someone posts a message on one of my blogs, with no name from the sender.  Not only that, but as is the case when there’s a blatant violation of the Matthew 18 principle, they do not mention a specific incident or concern but rather they make a global accusation.  I have learned to not bother responding but simply deleting it and it’s out of my computer, out of cyberspace, and out of my mind.  However, for the person who sent it, it is still unfinished business before God.

My plea through this blog is to follow Jesus’ principles as found in Matthew 18 and not hide behind a screen and keyboard while feelings toward someone else are preventing you from having a close relationship with God.  After all, the Scriptures say (1 John 4:20 NRSV) “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.”

No Doubt

Make it a rule never to utter one word of doubt or discouragement. You can do much to brighten the life of others and strengthen their efforts, by words of hope and holy cheer.  {SC 119}

Our words have tremendous power to discourage or encourage others, to create doubt or hope, to bring sadness or joy.  We may think we’re venting our souls to friends and thus unloading our burdens before those we love and trust, but we may be inadvertently placing a burden on them which could weigh them down, if not crush them.

I think there is a time to speak with others, however, and that’s when we grieve and have sorrow as a result of a loss or pain.  During an illness, following the loss of a loved one, or during a time of crisis, it is important that we not bottle inside us the feelings we have but that we share them with a trusted friend or loved one.  Above all, we can unload our burden in prayer to God.  Ellen White, in the same paragraph quoted above, writes, “All have trials; griefs hard to bear, temptations hard to resist. Do not tell your troubles to your fellow mortals, but carry everything to God in prayer.”  Our God has bigger shoulders than any and all our friends or loved ones, and He’s not weighed down or bothered with our pain or sorrow.  But I also understand that sometimes the human touch is a wonderful healing balm for those whose soul is parched due to pain and grief.  Talk your pain and grief out, first of all with God, and then with a trusted friend or loved one, but be careful not to place on them a burden that will cause them to be weighed down, to stumble, or to fall.

The Prayer God Loves to Answer

For my morning devotional this morning I read these words:

The assurance is broad and unlimited, and He is faithful who has promised. When we do not receive the very things we asked for, at the time we ask, we are still to believe that the Lord hears and that He will answer our prayers. We are so erring and short-sighted that we sometimes ask for things that would not be a blessing to us, and our heavenly Father in love answers our prayers by giving us that which will be for our highest good–that which we ourselves would desire if with vision divinely enlightened we could see all things as they really are. When our prayers seem not to be answered, we are to cling to the promise; for the time of answering will surely come, and we shall receive the blessing we need most. But to claim that prayer will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. Then do not fear to trust Him, even though you do not see the immediate answer to your prayers. Rely upon His sure promise, “Ask, and it shall be given you.”  {Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 96}

We get so impatient when our prayers don’t seem to be answered the way we want to or when we want them to be answered.  But the words above remind us that God still answers our prayers, with the answer that He knows to be best for us, with the answer we would choose if we knew, like Him, the end from the beginning, the answer that, looking back, we know to be best for us and which brings us the most good.

I can recall so many times when I wanted something and yet it didn’t happen as I had wanted, which brought great disappointment,  only to receive later something many times better than what I had hoped for or prayed for.  If I had planned my life, it would most likely not be the way it has turned out; and yet, I’m very happy with the way it has turned out.

So, pray without ceasing and then watch to see what the Lord has in store for you.  Then, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.