Light the Darkness

Tell Your Prayer Story

Tomorrow we start 24/7 Prayer in the Prayer Room at Indian Creek.  Belinda and I took a peak today with the team who set up the room, Nancy Mitchell, Sydney Martin, Kim Sprague.  Patty Robb joined us for prayer to dedicate the space.  It is awesome! I can hardly wait to hear your stories of how God meets with you. 

Let's do this--after you finish your hour will you write a short note and put it in the Comments section of this blog.  The "Comments" section is directly under the blog post (in the middle of the line).  Click on it.  It will open and you fill out a short form to post comments.

I'll copy them into my blog.  For instance last time we had 24/7 Prayer in the Prayer Trailer Gregg Herbert went from skeptic to believer.  Gregg used to joke about the "prayer people" being out there.  Now he is one who regularly goes to the prayer room even when we are not scheduling time.  It was in the Prayer Trailer that I got the prompting to take on Project Partner.  I'll never forget that day.  One minute I was reading the prayer requests written on the map of China and the next minute I was crying uncontrollably.  I asked God, what is happening to me.  He said, you are feeling what I am feeling for the nation of China.  That was the beginning of what has become a very good decision.

What will you experience?  I'd love to hear it.  I'm expecting people to find healing, freedom from addiction, reconciliation, new direction and closeness to God.  Let's inspire each other and give thanks to God.  So take a few minutes and share your prayer story.  Thanks.

Tethered

Tethered - American Heritage Dictionary

teth·er       (těth'ər)  Pronunciation Key  n.  A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding an animal in place, allowing a short radius in which it can move about. A similar ropelike restraint used as a safety measure, especially for young children and astronauts. I regularly pray that God will guide me and gift me to be fruitful for Him.  Recently I was praying that way again and the voice of the Spirit spoke clearly into my heart with a thought that went something like this: Gary, I need you to stay tethered to Me.  I can't bless you with more or trust you with more if you don't. So I ask you, why do people call it the still small voice of the Spirit when so often He busts us across the noggin?  The background on this is that I've been fighting the good fight to keep a daily quiet time that is meaningful, unhurried, fresh and real.  It is a fight.  With a busy schedule and being an activist by nature I find it hard to be still before God when there is so much to do.  Most  days I make time devoted to waiting before Him.  That day I didn't.  I don't sense that God is a legalist about this or that he hands out blessings based on minutes logged in a devotional life.  I think He is a realist.  He knows that the more of His gifts He trusts to me the more important it is today, and every day, that I stay tethered to Him. One reason I believe I heard from Him on this is because tethered is not a word I use.  In fact I had to go look it up.  It's not very flattering (though the astronaut part is kinda cool).  Anyway, it  has launched me into a new level of seeking that I'll talk about on a different post.  I'm glad for the occasional 2x4 across the forehead.  I need it.  As Hebrews says, the Lord disciplines those He loves.  I'm glad He loves me.  I love Him too.

Grace

Certainly one of the reasons why the Gospel is Good News is because of grace. I'm not going to try to give the last word on grace today but I hope to start a conversation about it. Feel free to jump in. Here's what keeps happening to me, I keep running into people, Christ followers and Seekers, who don't understand grace.  Maybe it's the best kept secret in Christianity.

Ephesians 2:8 says, God saved you by his grace when you believed...it is a gift from God.  The beauty of God's grace toward us is that it is based not on what you DO but on what He has DONE for you.  On the cross Jesus paid for the sin of the world, yours and mine.  That is a DONE deal.  None of us could save ourselves or balance the scales of doing enough good to make up for our missteps and sin.  He did for us what we could not do for ourselves.  He did it because of His great love for us.  It is His very nature to forgive and extend grace. 

What He asks from us is that we BELIEVE that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin. When we humbly admit we've gone our own way (the Bible calls that sin) and ask for forgiveness the verse we just read says we qualify for salvation.  It is a gift but you do need to ask for it to receive it. 

Here is where it gets tricky.  Often we carry a "works" mentality into our relationship with God.  We don't feel worthy of being forgiven because we are so aware of our sin.  Or we think we can't keep from sinning so we don't want to disappoint ourselves and God so we don't accept salvation.  That reveals we don't understand grace.

Romans 11:5 and 6 says, I'll paraphrase, some in Israel have remained faithful because of God's grace--his undeserved kindness...and since it is through God's kindness then it is not by their good works.  For in that case grace would not be what it truly is, free and undeserved.

Here's what we do sometimes, we know we need forgiveness so we pray, God please forgive me.  Then we act like it is up to us to balance out our wrongs and rights and we treat ourselves like we are on a performance treadmill.  We can never do enough or get it all right. Consequently we feel like a failure and hesitate to press into a loving, vital relationship with God.  What happens is that the shame and guilt we accumulate over time keeps us from feeling God's love.  We might be right with God but feel far from Him.  I know a lot of Christ followers in this condition.

Some of us even put ourselves on a program for penitence.  If we don't get it right we make ourselves pay one way or another--missing out on the point of grace.  Grace isn't given so we will keep sinning.  Grace is provided because God wants to relate to us in a different way.  He wants us to turn to Him when we stumble not away from Him.  We are saved by grace into relationship with Him and we are kept right with Him by grace. 

Grace reminds us He's paid for our sin so we don't have to.  God relates to us on the basis of our desire to live in a relationship with Him.  His question is not, what did you do wrong, but what do you believe about my Son?  If you want that relationship, that desire is what pleases God.  If you don't always get it right, He's not surprised.  He's provided for your salvation ahead of time.  He qualifies those who believe.  You don't have to save yourself.

So let go of your shame and guilt it only holds you back.  Enthusiastically embrace His grace.  Take yourself off the performance treadmill.  If you think you're not good enough then ask for a better understanding of the cross.  Say with me today, God, I accept your grace and forgiveness.  Thank you.  Lead my life.  Help me know you better and love you more.  Amen!

Step by Step

Life is a series of steps just ask Kristin who attended the Alpha class.  Two years ago she met Jean who invited her to MOPS.  At MOPS she met women who had something intreguing to her, it was a vital faith and a knowledge of God's word.  They were able to translate their faith into a positive difference in their families.  That was Step 1.

About that time her grandfather died.  At the funeral the Pastor talked about how that you could come into a right relationship with God by asking for forgiveness.  It made sense to her, you could have a personal faith made possible by God's grace.  But there was so much she didn't understand.  That was Step 2.

She began attending Indian Creek Community Church this last Easter.  The services and teaching were down to earth and easy to understand.  She said she learned more in the next few weeks than she had learned in the previous thirty years.  That was Step 3.

At Easter she accepted the invitation to attend Alpha.  There she found teaching and a small group that led her to experience God's grace firsthand.  Now she has a vital faith of her own and it is transforming her life and her family.  That was Step 4.

I'm excited for Kristin.  When she told me her story I encouraged her that these are just the first steps, there are many more great steps to come.  She is at the beginning of a new journey.  My question for you is--are you taking the steps in front of you?  Don't stop on your journey.  You may not get to steps four and five if you don't take step two.  Keep moving forward.  What's next for you?