Tag: faith

Path of Faith

Posted on by Dorci

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 

But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary (against them).

Now in the fourth watch of the night (3am-6am), Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 

And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” 

And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:22-31

The changing picture at the top of this page always has some sort of path or road which represents the paths we take in the changing seasons of our spiritual lives. 

In this scene in the book of Matthew, we see Jesus telling Peter to come to Him on some undefined, invisible path on the water while the winds raged against them.

And Peter, precious Peter, has enough faith to step out of the boat and to actually start walking toward Jesus on this invisible path.

But halfway through, his faith moves from Jesus to the wind and the waves, and he begins to sink.

I can’t blame Peter too much.  Being willing to walk on water is amazing enough, but he got out of the boat when the wind and waves were so strong they were tossing them around. And this was no gentle rocking. The word “tossed” means pain, toil, torment.

Just as Jesus called Peter to walk a path of faith, He calls us to come to Him, to focus on Him and not the pain, not the toil, and not the torment.

When storms come and the winds of circumstance come against us, we might not see a clear path, and that is when, more than ever, we need to look to Jesus, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, walk toward Him a path of faith.

  

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Victory

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy and your precious name. We praise you for your grace and mercy, for your goodness and your faithfulness.  You are glorified above all. 

Father we confess our sins to you and ask you to forgive us, not because of anything within ourselves, not because we can earn it, but solely by of the blood of Jesus the Messiah that was shed for the forgiveness of our sin.

We humbly come to you today for victory.  Just as Jehoshaphat prayed when he was facing a force greater than he could humanly handle, we also pray – we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 

Father, we are helpless, and we need you. We ask that you would act on our behalf, Sovereign Lord.

We pray for wisdom for our leaders and wisdom and protection for all our healthcare workers. We pray for needed equipment, beds, testing, all they need in order to take care of the sick.

We pray for healing for the sick; we pray for peace for their loved ones;

we pray for protection for the remaining businesses, that those that have slowed you will keep afloat and bring them back again; we pray for businesses that have had to shut down, that you would lead those employers and employees to jobs and new businesses;

we pray for churches, for provision for the pastors and leaders, and that church families would continue to pray and trust you, and you would bring them back together again;

we pray for every believer, that you would keep us strong in the faith; we pray your Spirit would be poured out in and through your children to continually and boldly proclaim the name of Jesus as the only name by which we can be saved;

and we pray for every unbeliever, that you would soften hearts, open spiritual eyes, and grant repentance and belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

And we pray for your mercy, that you would remove the virus that has taken over this country and so much of the world. May you be glorified in the storm and in the victory. In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen. 

 

The Way Out is To Stay In

Posted on by Dorci

“For the Word of God is alive and active… Hebrews 4:12a

The author of the letter to the Hebrews implores its readers to not drift away from Christ, from His message, from their belief in Him as their Messiah, the final authority, and the only way to be saved. 

Many of us, if not all of us, will at some point come to a trial that will cause a crisis of faith. A turning point. A time when the pressure will be almost intolerable and we will either press in to Him all the more, or we will look for a way out, and turn away from Him. 

God’s Word clearly states that those who have been truly converted are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and I believe God will keep those believers in the faith through trials. 

And those who completely turn away, who choose unbelief and never come back to faith are the ones who never had a belief in Christ that resulted in conversion.  

But there is a third group, and those are the ones who have believed, who have been converted, but at that turning point choose to allow their hearts to be hardened and walk away, or step back to one degree or another, for a time. 

I think any of us can find ourselves in that category if we’re not careful.  

The author of Hebrews exhorts them to keep believing.  

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that runs away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”  Hebrews 3:12-13

Life can get pretty hard. And we can become disillusioned when we think God shouldn’t have allowed something so intensely painful, or that He should have rescued us in a certain way, or in a certain amount of time. 

Right now we’re all facing a trial together. Many are out of work, many are sick, and many have lost loved ones.  

We can choose to be angry and walk away from God, or we can choose to take our pain and our trials to the One who sits on the throne, who’s always sat on the throne, and who will always sit on the throne. The One who’s also taken up residence inside our hearts, and can heal our hearts and bring us through the trials. 

For that reason, God’s given us His word which is “alive and active…” 

Spending time in God’s Word is not like reading just any other book.

It is “God-breathed…“

If we allow it, through His Word God will teach us, rebuke us, correct us, change us, encourage us, reveal to us, cleanse us, fill us with His peace and joy, and draw us closer to Him so that instead of drifting away when a trial comes, our faith will grow stronger than ever before. 

The way out of trials, is to stay in. Walking away from God does nothing but cause more heartache and pain. Stay in the trial, stay in the faith, stay in God’s Word, and let Him bring you out, or through, His way, in His timing, shining with faith.

Did you know it takes 725,000 pounds per square inch of pressure to turn carbon into a diamond? That’s a lot of pressure. But when they come through the process, they are one of the purest, most precious and most beautiful items there is, and because of that, they’ve become symbols of love. 

God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves.  Those trials full of pressure will purify our faith if we let them, if we seek Him and His heart-changing Word through them, if we allow Him to have His way in us. And when we come through it all, we will shine for eternity as treasures of God’s great and precious love. 

 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Confidence

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy name. We praise you for your unconditional love, for your grace and mercy, for your faithfulness, and we praise you for your provision.

Thank you, Lord, for your Word where you tell us “‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:5b-6, 8)

You are our Rock.  Help us to never forget that, no matter what. Help us remember that you are always with us, always helping us, always providing, always comforting, always strengthening, encouraging, leading, filling, always loving. 

Lord, I pray we will walk in this confidence every day. I pray we would not let anyone or anything take this confidence from us. We give you our whole hearts and lives, and we put all our trust and faith and hope in you. In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen. 

Saturday Song – Changed

Posted on by Dorci

“So I’m telling you this, and I insist on it in the Lord: you shouldn’t live your life like the Gentiles anymore. They base their lives on pointless thinking, and they are in the dark in their reasoning. They are disconnected from God’s life because of their ignorance and their closed hearts. They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.

– But –

you didn’t learn that sort of thing from Christ. Since you really listened to him and you were taught how the truth is in Jesus, change the former way of life that was part of the person you once were, corrupted by deceitful desires. Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.”  Ephesians 4:17-24 CEB

 

Do Not Worry

Posted on by Dorci

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what
you will eat or drink; or about
your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and
the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store
away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable
than they?”
Matthew 6:25, 26

Time to Exercise

Posted on by Dorci

Years ago we were going through something and my husband was talking to his mom about it.  Her response to him was, “Well, isn’t that what your faith is for?”  And of course she was exactly right. 

There are times when trials come and our faith has the opportunity to be exercised.

Not long before Jesus was going to leave His friends and this world, He told them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

He knew their lives would not be easy. Their world would be filled with suffering and danger and persecution and they could be tempted to fall back into their human emotions of fear and anxiety. 

Of course we’re no different today.

Emotions can be contagious, and if we’re not careful we can get caught up in the world’s anxiety.

But Paul reminded 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 passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil 4:6-7)

The word “peace” that Paul talks about is the same word Jesus used when He told His friends He was leaving them His peace. It means one, quietness, rest, set at one again,” and comes from a verb (an action word!) meaning to join.

As we join our hearts, spirits, and minds to the Lord in prayer, He will quiet our souls and give us rest. He will fill us with not just any peace, but His peace.

Jesus said His peace would be different than the world’s. The world can only have peace (maybe) when there is no trial, no suffering, when everything in life seems good.

But Jesus’ peace isn’t dependent on outward circumstances; it comes from within. Just as Jesus promised to send His friends the Comforter, He has filled us with His Holy Spirit so we can live in His peace no matter what’s going on, even if our flesh and the world wonders why we aren’t panicked.  We are gifted with His Spirit and can have His peace even when it makes no sense at all. 

We don’t have to be anxious.  As we take everything that concerns us to our loving and compassionate Heavenly Father, He will exchange our anxiety for His peace.

And as we’re filled with His peace, the light of Christ shines through us, and nowhere does the light of Christ shine more than in the darkness. 

While the world panics, we can pray to the One who knows all things and controls all things.  We can stop, pray, let the Lord quiet our souls from within, and be a beacon of Christ’s love and peace in the midst of trials and in the face of the unknown. 

And who knows just how many might see Christ shining through us, and ask us why we have such peace.

Who knows what God may do in answer to years of prayers for revival, as we determine to live with the peace of God in our hearts and our lives. 

I think about Jesus’ friends and all they went through all the way up to their deaths as they proclaimed Christ, spreading the gospel throughout the world, and I wonder how many times His words filled their hearts and minds and comforted them. We are their brothers and sisters when we do the same.

Take it from 6-year-old Cameron Brundidge:  

“But God did not give me a spirit of fear, but power, love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Amen, sweetie.

 

Oh Almighty God, Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, we come to you and ask that you fill us with your peace that surpasses all understanding. Help us walk in the Spirit and not in our flesh.  Help us think about things that are true, and noble, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable, and excellent, and praiseworthy…  Keep reminding us to pray for one another, and to pray that the world will take notice of the love and peace we have, and remember that we are also people who have put our faith in you, and we pray you would draw people to you through our faith.  Help us to be a light right now, Lord. We pray you would give us the words to tell anyone who asks about the reason for our hope.  May you pour out your Spirit on all people, and bring revival to our weary world.  In Jesus’ holy and precious name, amen.

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

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. 

 

 

How God Can Put Together the Broken Pieces of Our Heart

Posted on by Dorci

Last weekend our church had the distinct privilege of hearing this man give a little bit of his testimony about what happened on the day this photo was taken and afterward.  You might be familiar with this image of Chris Fields and Miss Baylee Almon that was taken, unbeknownst to him, on April 19, 1995, the day of the Oklahoma City bombing.

He described a little bit about that horrific, rainy day that would end the lives of 168 people, 19 of them children, and injured more than 500.  How rows of first responders dug their way through rubble, 5 gallon buckets at a time, passing each one behind him or her until late into the night, looking for people, dead or alive.  How they had to try to match body parts to the rest of the body. How they came across a woman, barely alive, and were able to get her to safety, only to learn later that she and her unborn baby didn’t survive.

And how another firefighter handed Miss Baylee (the name her family called her) to him for a few moments while he went to find something to lay down so they wouldn’t have to lay someone’s precious child directly on the ground. Even how the Pulitzer Prize winning photo itself caused a lot of grief and controversy.

Chris struggled hard to deal with all that had happened.  Sometime later, when the smell of wet cement triggered a flashback of that day, he began to realize just how much the events were affecting him.

Chris talked about the fact that his mom had always been the family’s prayer warrior, and she told him God had a plan for him.  But Chris didn’t see it, and he decided to make his own plan, and he moved away from his wife and young sons.

Chris’s wife, Cheryl, talked about the fact that she didn’t grow up in a Christian family like Chris had.  Still, when her husband left, she turned to the Bible. People encouraged her to read the Psalms, and when she didn’t understand something, she called Chris to explain. And she began to pray.

She didn’t try putting on pretenses with God. She was honest. She prayed that if Chris wasn’t coming back, the Lord would take away her love for him.

Some people might not dare pray a prayer like that. Some people might just get mad at God and not pray at all.  And they might miss out on all God wants to do in their lives because of it.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

Cheryl kept praying, and never once did God turn her away for praying that prayer. On the contrary. Sitting in the presence of God, over and over, allowed God to work in her heart. Of course, God didn’t take away her love for Chris. He strengthened it.

God filled Cheryl with His amazing grace. And when Chris called one day about a year and a half after he’d left, Cheryl said, “Come home.”

And he did.

I’m sure the road since hasn’t been easy. There’s been counseling, and Chris still gets emotional talking about it. But with God they’ve persevered.

Since then Chris and Cheryl have spoken to many groups about PTSD, and about the hope that God gives. Looks like Chris’s mom was right (as moms often are).

The enemy does not have the last word. he will not have the last word as long as we sit with God and pour out our hearts to Him. He will never turn away someone who’s genuinely seeking Him, no matter what the prayer.

God’s not one bit surprised at the thoughts we have. He knows our hearts better than we do and already knows the thoughts we have. He just wants us to be honest, and know we can go to Him with anything. He’s our loving Father, and He wants us to know that no matter how broken our hearts are, if we’ll offer up those pieces to Him in prayer, He can put them together even better than they were before. If we abide in Him – cling to Him – through the good, the bad, and the ugly, He can fill us with His love and grace and mercy, fulfill His plans for us, and set us on a path we never dreamed possible.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for all you do.  Thank you for loving us through everything, for giving us your strength and courage as we go through trials.  Help us to give you our hearts, no matter how dark they seem or how many pieces they’re in, so you can heal them and fill them with your light. Help us to daily abide in Christ. Help us hold onto Him, to pray without ceasing, no matter what. Make us more than conquerors, Lord, and we pray that you have the last, victorious, glorious word in our hearts and in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.