by | Faith Lived Out
photo credit: flickr (creative commons)
From Sundi Jo: This is a guest post by Carl Jones. He is a former youth pastor and current friend of Jesus. You can read his daily posts here or follow him on Twitter.
Are you seeking a more intimate relationship with the Christ? Like any relationship, your connection to Jesus requires a commitment of time and effort. You must seek Him. You must follow Him. Read the guided meditation written below, or better yet, ask someone to read it to you. Close your eyes and soak in the things the meditation asks you to visualize. Move slowly. Be WIDE OPEN to what Jesus has to say to you in these moments. Remember this quote from Richard Foster as you begin: “Our adversary (Satan) majors in 3 things:
If he can keep us engaged in ‘muchness’ and ‘manyness’ he will rest satisfied.”
Get Behind Me
A Guided Meditation
Stop! Slow down! Take a breath.
Recall the events and activities that have filled your week so far.
How much of that time has been spent doing good for others?
How much of that time has been spent doing things for your own personal pleasure or gain?
Now imagine you have arrived at a peaceful place. It is a place you know well, a place you love. You are sitting and resting. Jesus approaches you. He sits with you. He begins to list all of the activities and events from your week. He takes your hand, looks into your eyes and says “Get behind me.”
Now think again of your busy week. Only this time, imagine that you are following Jesus as He leads you. Have your activities and choices changed? Are there things you did or said that you do not want Jesus to see or hear? Turn to Jesus. Ask Him what things in your life you need to change so that you may follow Him more closely.
Ask for guidance and courage to follow the Christ. Ask for direction, that you would know what path to follow. Tell Jesus you seek to go where He would lead you in life. Understand that you cannot follow when you are leading…
Get behind Jesus.
Be still and know that He is God.
What is one thing you can take our of your life, or decrease in order to strengthen your commitment with Jesus? Comment below…
by | Faith Lived Out
Photo Credit: Lel4nd (Creative Commons)
I was reading in Colossians the other morning and I came across verses 9-12 in chapter one. I began reading it out loud as a prayer for myself.
Then the thought came to me: What if I started praying this pray for others?
Sometimes I find myself wondering how to pray for other people, such as leaders, missionaries, acquaintances at church, and others. I often see people walking along side of the road and I pray a quick prayer of blessing over them. My prayers are often quick and general because I’m not sure what to pray.
Paul himself had never met the Colossians, but that didn’t keep him from praying for them.
Do you find yourself in the same situation as me? Let’s vamp up our prayer lives.
Here are 10 ways to pray for those we don’t know:
- Be filled with knowledge of His will
- Have spiritual wisdom and understanding
- They lead a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.
- They bear fruit in every good work
- Grow in the knowledge of God
- Be filled with His strength
- Endurance
- Patience
- Stay full of Christ’s joy
- Always giving thanks to the Father
What are some other Scriptural prayers you pray over others?
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
Calling All Toll-Free Peeps
I was visiting a friend recently and we were watching one of the Christian broadcasting stations. There was a gentleman promoting his latest music cd. As I watched closer, something stuck out to me like a sore thumb.
As video clips promoting his latest and greatest compositions played in the background, the toll-free number flashed across the screen. Of course there was the obvious, “But wait.. buy now and receive the kitchen sink for free.” (Exaggeration mine)
He closed out the promo by asking viewers if they needed prayer. So, perhaps you’re saying to yourself, “Get to the point already.” Okay, here’s the catch: the phone number for prayer requests wasn’t toll-free. Is it just me or does something about that situation seem backwards?
I sat back and wondered to myself just how many people tune into his show on a daily basis who perhaps aren’t in the financial situation to make a long distance phone call. I know it’s hard to believe, but not everyone uses cell phones. I just wonder how many people were held back from making an important prayer request.
It may seem like something small and I almost didn’t blog about it, but I changed my mind. Nothing is small when it contributes, or doesn’t, to the Kingdom of God. I have since been asking myself if I have my priorities in line. Am I focused more on myself or the needs of others? Do I offer more to people when I know I will receive something in return? Who are the toll-free people in my life?
Perhaps it’s something for all of us to think about.
Who are the toll-free people in your life?
by | Faith Lived Out
This is a guest post by Tracee Persiko. Tracee resides in the Northern VA area. She is a practicing private practice counselor.Tracee enjoys speaking on topics including: leadership development, cultivating character, second mile living, identity in Christ, and carrying the weight of your influence well. Her heart is all about empowering others to believe different and live different. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.
- Two Words That Change Everything
There are two powerful words in the English language that changes everything. These two words are expressions of a heart that is grateful. These two words fill the heart of another with appreciation. These two words change the hearts of all involved.
Thank you.
Thank you are the words of a grateful heart. Thank you takes the heart’s gratefulness from just feeling it to the next level of living it. It makes all the difference.
I have been camping out in a story of gratefulness in the bible that has been rocking my heart. This gratefulness comes from a man who had nothing, and who was also considered to be nothing. This man had no reason to be grateful as disease dictated his life and grief. He is the exact person that has changed my heart of gratefulness.
The story begins as Jesus was traveling on a road along the border of Samaria and Galilee. Along that road stood a community of men who had been thrown out of their homes and lives due to the disease of leprosy.
They say Jesus was approaching and shouted out to him for mercy and healing. That day they risked what was left of their hope and believed this man could heal them.
Jesus shouted back, “go show yourselves to the priests.”
If I were one of these lepers, I might have been confused by those words. “Was I healed because he didn’t really say….”
They took Jesus at his word and set off to find the priests. Along the road feeling started to come back to lifeless limbs. Their skin, which had been dead for so long, started to mend –fingers started to move again.
One of the men realized he was healed and returned to Jesus. He fell at his feet praising him for his grace. This man was filled with a thousand thank you’s of gratefulness. I wonder if he even made it to the priests before heading back to Jesus.
This wasn’t just a healing for this man. Jesus gave him his life back. He was dead and now alive again. This man was really seen for the first time in a long time. Life was restored to him.
All ten lepers were healed that day. Gratefulness is what made the difference between feeling something and expressing it. This man’s whole life expressed his thank you through the response of gratitude.
I am no different from this man. Jesus came and gave me my life back as well. I was once considered lost and now I am owned by my God. At one time my life looked aimless, grief stricken, and lost.
He has matched the depth of my pain with the depth of his matchless love.
I want my life to tell the story of gratefulness. A heart that responds out of gratitude looks and sounds different. A heart that’s grateful makes all the difference.
Your life has been given back to you. Does your life express that gratitude?
by | Devotionals, Faith Lived Out
Three Steps To Finding Guidance Through Impatience
Three Steps To Finding Guidance Through Impatience
from Come Away My Beloved – Francis J. Roberts
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Psalm 37:23
My child, hear My voice, and give no heed to the voice of the stranger. My paths are straight, and they are narrow, but you shall have no difficulty finding them if you watch Me. I am guiding you. You need not look to people for direction. You may learn much by fellowship with the saints, but never allow any to take the role that is rightfully Mine – to direct your steps. As it is written, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” – not by the preacher, not by some Christian worker, but by the Lord.
Trust Me to do it, and give Me the time and the opportunity to do it. Be not hasty, and lean not upon your own intelligence.
Rest in Me. I shall bring to pass My perfect will in your life as you believe and live in faith.
Comments:
How often do you look to others for guidance before seeking God’s direction? This is an area God is constantly growing me in. It’s easier to talk to someone sitting right in front of you, or call a friend on the phone for advice first, than it is to sit and talk to God. But that doesn’t make it the way it should be.
That doesn’t mean we cannot receive spiritual wisdom from those around us, but we must take the right steps first.
- Ask God.
- Talk to others.
- Go back to God.
I love this part in the devotion: Trust Me to do it, and give Me the time and the opportunity to do it. Be not hasty, and lean not upon your own intelligence. I too often lean upon my own intelligence, then quickly find myself question that intelligence with a what was I thinking slap to the forehead.
We must go to God and believe that He will answer us in due time. Sometimes I find myself going to God for direction and immediately turning around and taking the issue to someone. I haven’t even given Him time to answer me. I can imagine Him shaking His head at my impatience.
Next time you find yourself asking others for direction, ask yourself if you have talked with God about it first.
Do you struggle with impatience in this area?
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
Why Humor Is Necessary
Why Humor Is Necessary
Without humor there is no such thing as laughter. Without laughter I would quickly find myself asking the question, “What’s the point of being here?” Jesus laughed. I’m sure there were days he laughed so hard his stomach hurt.
Think about it for a moment. He was surrounded constantly by 12 of his best friends. There must have been nights they sat by the campfire telling crazy stories, chewing with their mouths open, passing gas, and rating their burps on a scale of 1 to 10. Jesus had to be surrounded by humor. It’s one of the greatest gifts of God.
Not only is laughter good for the soul, it’s good for the body. Here are a few reasons researchers say why humor is necessary for our health:
- Immune System – When stress shows up your immune system decreases. Studies have shown that using humor may actually raise the antibodies in the body and boost the immune system. You know what they say? “A laughter a day keeps the doctor away.”
- Blood Sugar Levels – Place a dibetic in front of a hilarious movie and watch his or her blood sugar level lower. The sweet taste of humor – there’s nothing better.
- Relaxation And Sleep – I’m working on this. Wear those stomach muscles out and head to bed with a relaxed mind, the ability to take the focus on any pain you may have for a while, and sleep soundly. If you try this and it works, let me know. I would love to hear about it.
Humor is my middle name. The feeling of making people laugh is wonderful. It fills me up to watch others smile and laugh.
I still have to be careful because I can quickly use humor to mask pain. I’ve done that since I was a small child and I still find myself struggling with it. My family has always dealt with tragedy through humor and that’s immediately where my mind goes. If something bad happens to someone, I instantly feel responsible to make them laugh. It gets me into trouble from time to time, as they may just want me to be still with them. I’m a work in progress.
Have you laughed enough lately?
