Thursday, January 7, 2016

Compelling Words


Good morning and Happy New Year! It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged! I guess I’ve been lazy, but in reality, I haven’t “felt” the material! Well, this morning that changed. This leads me to today’s subject matter. Compelling words.

Who of us remembers JFK’s compelling words – “Ask not, what you your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!” Or Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech? Pretty specific ideals right? Well this morning in Chronicles, in the subtext, I read where King Saul only sought God, when his (Saul’s) efforts failed. David, on the other hand, sought God continuously. David wanted to build the temple to glorify God, but God didn’t want or allow him to, David’s job was to be in the preparation. Then this specific subtext grabbed me, “It isn’t enough just to avoid wrongdoing. We are to pursue what is right!”

My question is do I? Do you? Do we condone wrongdoing just to play it safe and be politically correct? Do we pray with an agenda? Whose?

I received this “Healing Prayer” this morning from a friend.

“I hope you can do this with me…HEALING PRAYER. Try not to break it, if you cannot send it let me know…I know I chose twelve people well, may we receive strength and Divine Light. Our Father, Who art in Heaven, as You walk into my home, please take all my worries, diseases, fears and please protect my parents, brothers and sisters, my children, my friends and all of my family, in the name of Jesus! Amen. If God is first in your life, stop what you are doing and send this message! So that all of your friends receive this blessing today! There is no silence that God does not understand, nor sadness that He does not value. Dear God, bless the hands of the one that opened this post, also illuminate the eyes of those who read it and fill with love and blessings whoever shares it. Choose to send this to …Angels have learned that you are fighting something, they say it has already passed, please do not eliminate this message. Please know that tonight there will be resolution of two issues in your life and they will provide relief. Tomorrow will be the best day of all, I leave you twelve angels, one for each month, you must give this to twelve friends and great news will come. You cannot imagine the work it took to bring down these beautiful stars.

I love this friend, and this prayer possesses some key quality elements but then it breaks down for me because it becomes conditional, so I am lovingly (hopefully being received that way) addressing this so that others understand truth without conditions.

I recently saw the movie by the Kendrick brothers, “War Room.” It specifically deals with the subject of prayer and who we are fighting with. It also specifically tells us, Who is doing the fighting and while we may think it is us, it will only be us if we assume that we are the one in control! When we try to usurp God’s position in life, we wind up thinking/trying to “fix” what is wrong with someone else or something else. That isn’t our job! We are to serve God, not God serving us!

The prayer above states that we have to do something in a set amount of time – wrong! We should be doing what this prayer says ALL of the time! Inviting God into our homes, praying for our loved ones, asking God to show us His Grace especially when we are undeserving of it.

Tomorrow isn’t going to be the best day! Because today is the best day, we are not guaranteed tomorrow! So, stop banking on the future and start living today! Upon re-reading this, it sounds as if I am angry, I’m not, just passionate about not wanting anyone to not enjoy today!

Finally, who is to say how many resolutions we will see, it may be two, but why limit God? I believe and trust that God is All Powerful! We may not understand why things happen, but neither do we understand the full scope of the world we are living in! “We may be unable to see the results of our labors for God in our lifetime, but David’s example helps us understand that we serve God so HE will see HIS results, not so we will see ours!”

These chain “prayers’ do accomplish one thing, they make us think, even if incorrectly! Let’s not confuse God with a genie in a bottle granting wishes, instead let us pray that God continues to bless us with family and friends who genuinely care about us and who together with Him, help us in our daily struggles!

Anything that comes from God will not invoke the words “have to” because He has given us “free will” and that allows us to choose, even if incorrectly! Then Grace and forgiveness cover our poor choices – IF we believe!

Looking up!

Barb