Posts by Dorci

Saturday Song – I Know

Posted on by Dorci
 
 
 
 
I Know
Big Daddy Weave
 
You don’t answer all my questions
But you hear me when I speak
You don’t keep my heart from breakin’
But when it does, you weep with me
You’re so close that I can feel you
When I’ve lost the words to pray
And though my eyes have never seen you
I’ve seen enough to say
I know that you are good
I know that you are kind
I know that you are so much more
Than what I leave behind
I know that I am loved
I know that I am safe
Cause even in the fire to live is Christ, to die is gain
I know that you are good
I don’t understand the sorrow
But you’re calm within the storm
Sometimes this weight is overwhelming
But I don’t carry it alone
You’re still close when I can’t feel you
I don’t have to be afraid
And though my eyes have never seen you
I’ve seen enough to say
I know that you…
 
Finally, brothers and sisters,

whatever is true,

whatever is noble,

whatever is right,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Sunday Praise and a Prayer to Keep Pressing In

Posted on by Dorci

Heavenly Father, we praise you.  We praise you for who you are and for all you do. 

Father, we need you desperately, and yet there are times when we press into you more, pray more, read more, that we then begin to feel attacks from the enemy. But you are with us, Lord.

Please give us focus and wisdom to “be alert and of sober mind. [Our] enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Give us strength to “resist him, standing firm in the faith, because [we] know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

We lift up our fellow believers all over the world who are facing severe persecution. Please, Holy Spirit, we ask that your presence would fill jail cells and other places where believers have fled, that you would fill them with your peace that passes all understanding when they are tortured, when they are hated, and rejected. We pray you would lift them up and encourage their spirits because the joy of the Lord is their strength. And remind them that their very great reward is with you. 

Help us stay focused, Lord. No matter how the enemy tries to throw us off course, discourage us, make us feel unloved, unneeded, and unwanted, remind us Who has called us. Remind us Who loves us, Who died for us, and Who gives us purpose every single day.

Remind us that when we feel the enemy’s breath, he’s there because we have become a threat to him, because through our prayers You, the Almighty God, moves mountains, changes hearts, and pulls souls back from the brink of hell.

Encourage us to keep pressing in, to keep praying, to keep reading, no matter what, and even more as the day grows nearer to your return.

Like Isaiah, we say “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near.” Isaiah 50:7-8a

We pray it all in the mighty, precious, holy name of Jesus, amen.

 

Time to Pray Big

Posted on by Dorci

There are many faithful and trusted believers who have studied the scriptures and find that we may very well have just entered the last decade before Christ’s return.  No, no one knows the day or the hour, but the year?  Quite possibly. 

If that’s so (and even if it isn’t, none of us knows when we’ll be called home), we don’t have a minute to lose.  More than ever I want to pray.

Now, I’ve never been a big thinker. I think in small details. Up close and personal. Which is great on one hand, but on the other, my small thinking can cause me to have a hard time praying big.

 

God-sized.

 

There have been times I’ve dared to step out to think and pray big, and many times there’s been someone right there, ready to tell me how ridiculous that is. That I’m just an idealist, a dreamer, living in a fantasy. 

There will always be those. But those are not thoughts from the Almighty God who created a universe, heals the sick, brings bodies back from the dead, forgives sins, redeems a people, indwells souls, and creates a future, eternal home for us.

Ours is a God who does miracles.

I recently asked God again to help me think and pray big, to not limit Him and what He may want to do in and through my prayers.

Of course, being the faithful God He is, He’s already given me some understanding about praying big, limitless prayers. You know, since we have a big and limitless God.

A couple of days after that I ran across this video again.  A friend sent it a few months ago, and the Lord brought it to my attention again, at just the right time. 

This is the story of Rhonwyn Kendrick. She’s the mom of Stephen and Alex Kendrick who have given us movies like Courageous, War Room, and Overcomer. Her sons understand the power of prayer because she is a woman who prays big. Watching her story again, especially right after my prayer for bigger prayers, encouraged me and cemented my resolve to think and pray big. I hope it encourages you to let God out of that box and pray big, enormous, God-sized prayers. To pray bigger than our own minds can comprehend on their own. To pray in the Spirit, in God’s big, amazing, ridiculous, nothing-is-impossible will.  

To pray with faith, and with hope.  

I can’t wait to see what He’s going to do this year. 

 

 

“Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.”

Psalm 37:5-6

Heavenly Father, help us to let you out of the box in our minds. To throw the box away. Holy Spirit, help us to pray big and mighty prayers for our families, our neighbors, our churches, our country, and our world.  May we be known as a praying people, who pray to a big and mighty God. May your will be done in and through us. Help us redeem the time, O Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

 

 

The Shepherd’s Lamb, and Ours, Too

Posted on by Dorci

A couple of blogs ago I gave a link to the series, The Chosen.  

This time I want to bring to you the short film that started it all. 

Writer and director, Dallas Jenkins (son of Jerry B. Jenkins who gave us the Left Behind series and more), shares here the story of how God led him to make The Chosen through a short film (24 minutes) he made for his church’s Christmas Eve service.  How at the moment he felt like a failure the Lord led him to depend on Him to make a series that is defying all odds.

The Christmas Eve special about the birth of Jesus is told from the perspective of the shepherds, one in particular.  

Grab some tissue.  And maybe share with your family and friends.  I’m going to. Hearing all God did to bring it to pass, I can’t wait to see what He does through it. 

Merry Christmas! 

 

What Hope Looks Like

Posted on by Dorci

Not gonna lie, this Christmas has been a little bit more difficult than usual. 

I’ve needed more recuperating/decorating/planning/shopping time from Thanksgiving to Christmas and had less; we’ve had a storm of things breaking down over the past 8 weeks or so, sometimes two things conspire to break down at once; we’ve had multiple plans change beyond our control; and this Christmas season has been one of those I miss, well, a lot. But I know I’m not alone. 

The holidays are notorious for being stressful, wishful, mournful. We’re worn and weary. Family members can be difficult to deal with, and so can not having them with us. We can compare our lives to others and think theirs looks like a Hallmark Christmas movie or a Rockwell painting.

And then there’s the outside world with its constant fighting, crime, threats.  I can’t read the news without seeing words like hostile, accuses, attacks, and my personal favorite – throws shade.  (Where do people come up with these phrases?) So much pride, so much hate, so much despair.

With all that going on we can start to feel a little lacking in peace. In hope.

So where can we find hope?  What exactly does hope look like?

Hope looks like this. 

 

 

A young woman who humbled herself and answered the call of God on her life no matter the cost.

A young man who humbled himself, obeyed God, and married a pregnant woman.

And Hope Himself, The King and Creator of the world who humbled Himself, giving up all that was rightfully His – His throne, His equality with God, His divine splendor, His right to be treated like the King He was, and was born a helpless babe, for the joy that was set before Him…

And that joy was us.

To forge a relationship with us so that no matter what’s going on in our personal lives or in the world around us, He can be our Light in a dark and weary world, He can give us His peace that passes all understanding, and He can give us hope.

He calls on those of us who are weary to come to Him and He will give us rest. 

I know firsthand that’s true. It doesn’t always come immediately, but if we keep seeking Him, it will come.

I was walking around the house the other day, and though I’m not normally one to spontaneously break out in song (the very next gift I’m getting after my crown is a beautiful singing voice), I suddenly found myself singing a song I hadn’t even thought of in a while. And it made me smile.

My Lord, my Heavenly Father, had heard my cries, seen my weary heart, and turned my focus again toward what’s important – my relationship with Him, my eternal salvation, my hope in the life of the One who came to save me and all this weary world.

It may not be a traditional Christmas song, but it embodies the spirit of it as much as any. 

I hope you’ll come away from the stress of the season, from the world, from life and weariness, and embrace the Hope that was born that day in all humility for the joy of knowing you and giving you hope.

 

 

Treasure Hunting

Posted on by Dorci

This time of year we start seeing and hearing scripture about the birth of Jesus, and if we’ve been a believer long enough, or even alive long enough, they’re probably all words we’ve heard before…

 “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12

As beautiful as those words are, as amazing and miraculous as those events were and what they still mean for us today, we might start thinking we’ve heard it all before and there’s nothing new to learn. 

But that’s the amazing thing about God’s Word – it is chock full of buried treasure just waiting to be uncovered. 

Rabbi Jason Sobel gives us an amazing jewel that I’d never heard before about Jesus’s birth and the significance of being wrapped in swaddling cloths.

The series Rabbi Sobel refers to – The Chosen – is an amazingly well-done show that portrays the life of Jesus and how He radically changed those who encountered Him. 

I can relate.

Life is hard and I need God’s treasure, the seen and unseen. The treasure left for me in plain sight and the deeper, buried treasure that can only be found by those who are willing to hunker down and dig deep.

More than ever I want to go treasure hunting in the coming year. I want to continue encountering Jesus in new and precious ways so He can continue molding me into the person only He can make me to be.

I hope you come with me as we seek Him and His treasure together.

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of your Son.  Please lead us in the coming year as we seek to know you on an ever-deepening level. Change us into the men and women you desire us to be, and may we bring you glory as we follow you.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

The Spirit of Thanksgiving Past, Present, and Future

Posted on by Dorci

If H.G. Wells had been able to build a time machine, I wonder how many people would jump in the morning after Halloween, push the lever forward a couple of months and stop on December 25.  Eh, maybe the 24th. Jump from party to party, candy to presents, and skip Thanksgiving altogether.

I’ve never quite understood why some people seem content to forgo Thanksgiving.  Maybe because it’s not a commercial holiday it’s not as popular.

Maybe giving thanks doesn’t come as easy to us as getting gifts. Maybe people don’t understand how vital it is to our spiritual, mental, emotional, and even physical health to have a thankful heart. Maybe people don’t think they have much to be thankful for.  And maybe that answers a lot of questions about the state of our States.

Let’s jump in H.G. Wells’ time machine, pull the lever, and travel back to October, 1863, when Thanksgiving became a national holiday.

***

We’re in the middle of the Civil War.

It might seem a peculiar time to think about declaring a national holiday of giving thanks, but maybe it was the best time. A God-appointed time.

When we’re facing trials and hardships and pain and suffering is when we most need to stop…  and remember all we have to be thankful for, and most importantly, Who we have to be thankful for. 

So on October 3, 1863, roughly six months after he signed a Proclamation of a Day of Fasting, and a year and a half before the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed his Proclamation of Thanksgiving.

Of course, that’s only the beginning of Thanksgiving as our national holiday, but not the beginning of giving thanks. Other historical moments might also seem to have peculiar timing.

Let’s travel back a bit further…

***

After seeking the Lord and fasting, King Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, appointed men to sing these words to the Lord as they went into battle against their enemies:

“give thanks to the LORD,
for His love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21b

“As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” (2 Chronicles 20:22)

***

While fleeing from his enemies, David gives thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness. (Psalm 7:17)

***

In the darkened night as He faced being arrested, tortured, and handed over to be crucified, Jesus gives thanks.

***

And while in the chains of a dark prison, Paul exhorts all of us to “not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philip 4:6-7)

***

If praising God and giving thanks had the effect it did in the lives of all these who saw the Lord triumph in impossible situations, what could a heart of thanksgiving to the Lord do in our own lives?

While most of us aren’t facing a war, or prison, or death, we may be facing other, more personal trials. Could giving thanks not keep our eyes focused on our Father of the heavenly lights, from whom every good and perfect gift flows? And could giving thanks not be a gateway that would open our hearts to God’s joy and love and triumph in impossible situations?

I think so.

Another bit of peculiar timing I love is that Thanksgiving is just weeks before Christmas. Observing a time of giving thanks to God for all we’ve been blessed with might just keep us from allowing greed and materialism and self-importance to swallow up a pure and grateful heart as we (and our children) head into Christmastime, or any time.

Now, let’s time travel into the future just a bit…

***

We’re in heaven, living a life more full of love and joy than we ever could have imagined. God has wiped every tear from our eyes, and there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain. 

We’ve received the eternal inheritance we’d been promised could “never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:4-6)

Truly, we have more to be thankful for, more treasures in this life and in heaven – more than we can see with our eyes, and infinitely more than could ever be contained in this life – than we have time to voice them.

Go ahead, I dare you to try…

 

Heavenly Father, we are filled with thanksgiving for all you’ve blessed us with, and all the blessings you have yet to show us. Thank you for your immeasurably gracious love, for our salvation from certain death, for your continual presence, your faithfulness, and for our eternal home in heaven with You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Saturday Song – Holy Water

Posted on by Dorci

I was driving down the road minding my own business when a song I’d never heard before came on the radio.  It grabbed my soul by the shoulders, shook it and said “get your eyes off the world, off yourself, and back onto the gracious, refreshing, life-giving, life-renewing Living Water of Jesus Christ.” Maybe it’ll do the same for you.  God bless you today and always.

 

 

Holy Water
by We The Kingdom

God, I’m on my knees again
God, I’m beginning please again
I need you
Oh, I need you


Walking down these desert roads
Water for my thirsty soul
I need you
Oh, I need you


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
Like Holy water on my skin


Dead man walking, slave to sin
I wanna know being born again
I need you
Oh, God, I need you


So, take me to the riverside
Take me under, baptize
I need you
Oh, God I need you


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
Like holy water on my skin
(On my skin, on my…)


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips (Yes, it is)
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
It’s like holy water…


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
It’s like holy water on my skin
It’s like holy water on my skin
It’s like holy water.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You. We praise you for your goodness and faithfulness, for your love and grace and mercy, and for the joy you give even in the midst of adversity.  

Father, we lift up to you today the persecuted church. We pray for whole churches who must meet in secret. Help them to not give in to fear, but gain strength from You and each other as they encourage one another. We pray these congregations will only grow as your Spirit draws more believers.

We pray for those all over the world who are being persecuted – imprisoned, tortured, rejected by family members, because they have put their faith in you, the one true God.  We pray for your mercy toward them, that you would do amazing works through the your light that now lives inside them.

We pray your Holy Spirit would comfort them and fill them your peace that surpasses all understanding. May they know your love for them and may they live in confidence of it always, with all hope and joy. May they know that with you they will be strong and courageous.

Help them to know they are not alone, and they are not forgotten. We pray your will would be done, that they will be unharmed, released from prison, accepted by their families. And when they aren’t, we pray you would empower them to endure.

We pray for the salvation of those around them – whole families, guards, other prisoners, those who live near them, that they will see your love and peace in them and also come to know you as their Lord and Savior.

Help them to remain in prayer, and never let go of their trust in You. May you use these situations, and what the enemy means for evil, for your good and your glory.

Help them keep their eyes on You, and hold onto the words you gave to John “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.”

These are the heroes of our faith, Lord. Please remind us to keep praying for them.  In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen.

Are We Really Living a Christian Life?

Posted on by Dorci

I am so blessed to be able to sit in church on Sunday and worship the Lord with some beautifully composed music and be fed by pastors who love the Lord greatly and study hard to bring us Bible-based sound teaching. During the week there’s a Bible study and home groups. My social media page is full of pastors and messages that remind me about God’s truths. I have at least 15 Bibles in several translations, and more faith-based books than I will probably ever be able to finish.  On the internet I have access to teachings from some of the most gifted pastors and teachers from all over the world, countless commentaries, uplifting Christian music…

And I wonder how many other people are doing the very same thing Sunday after Sunday, week after week.

We are deluged with messages from and for believers of every type, for every situation, every level of faith, and every age.

So why does the church, at least here in America, seem more anemic and ineffective than ever?

Why do we live our lives largely indistinguishable from the world?

Why do we get up in the morning and still feel like we’re being sucked under the trials of life, wondering where the joy is we’re supposed to be experiencing? Why we’re not feeling like an overcomer? Why we aren’t living that life Jesus talked about when He said:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”
(John 10:10)

That question has a lot of answers, but I want to tackle just one right now.  Could it be the thief is still working hard to steal, kill, and destroy as much of that abundant life as he can, and maybe he’s using busyness, even “Christian” busyness, to do it?

Could it be that we have so much all around us that we are kidding ourselves into thinking we’re living a Christian life that would lead to abundance without really living it?

Maybe all the doing – sitting in a seat on Sundays, singing along, having a Bible (and maybe even opening up from time to time), maybe listening to a Christian song every now and then or even reading a faith-based book, is causing us to think we’re accomplishing something.

But maybe all it’s become, if done in the flesh, in our own strength, is nothing more than a rote religion, or just another sort of self-help.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
(Galatians 5:22)

Jesus came to give us life, and when He went back to the Father He gave us His Holy Spirit to bring about the abundant life we desire and Christ died to give us.

All those things – the teachings, the worship (the music is not a warm-up concert for the pastor!), the studies, the reading, are all meant to draw us closer to Jesus as we walk through them with the Holy Spirit. He is the power in our lives. He will bring about the abundant life we all so desperately want.

We’re on a journey with Him to know God and love Him more, to grow in faith, not to just put in our time on Sunday morning. Walking with Him is not just part of our life, it IS our life.

God desires to do so much in our hearts, our minds, and in and through our lives, and He wants us to partner with Him – to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him – as we do those things.

Do we pray before going to church, asking and fully expecting to hear from God, to receive from Him what He wants to say to us? Do we use the time we sing together to truly worship the Lord, to enter into the throne room of God and praise and exalt Him and let Him prepare our hearts for His message? Do we pray for our pastors during the week, that He will speak to them as they prepare the teaching, and that He will speak through them on Sunday morning? Do we pray before reading God’s Word or other books, or before listening to teachings online?

Do we pray without ceasing, inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us and change us through those things?

Are we, the branches, clinging to the Vine, allowing Him to use all those things as nourishment for our souls, bringing its fruit in His time?

What all those things are meant to do, what they should do, is draw us closer to Jesus, reminding us of His love and grace and mercy so that we will continue reaching out to Him, reading and studying His Word and praying, inviting Him into every aspect of our lives. Inviting Him to leave no sin-stone unturned in the sanctifying of our souls. Inviting Him into every bit of suffering, every attitude, every decision, every joy.

Oh Church, we must leave the dead religion behind and get back to a living, breathing relationship with the One who died to bring us abundant life – to mold us into His image, to bring about the godly treasures we could never find in the world if we looked forever, and to be a light to the world.

Can you imagine if we invited the power of God into our lives every single day? If we let the Holy Spirit continually have His way in and through us?

If He changed the world with 12 men, what could He do with a nation full of Spirit-filled, God-fearing, mercy-loving believers?

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21)

.

Heavenly Father, thank you for not only giving us your Holy Spirit to be with us, but to indwell us.  He is an amazing gift and we are so grateful. Help us to always walk in the Spirit, to breathe and live and grow and speak in the Spirit. Help us to cling to you through Him so that He might produce the fruit and gifts in our hearts and lives that you desire so that we, as your church, your kingdom, can be effective witnesses and bright lights to the world around us that’s so dark and seems to get darker every day. Help us to have wisdom and discernment to know how to live in this world, but not to be of it.  Help us to glorify and magnify the name of Jesus.  It’s in His precious name we pray, amen.