Pray that God would remove Satan’s blinding influence . Unbelievers have been blinded by Satan and will only ever be able to see and appreciate the gospel if God works within them. So pray that God would give them sight—spiritual sight. “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Pray that God would open their hearts to believe the gospel. Once more, God must initiate and people must respond. So pray that God would open the hearts of these unbelievers so they can in turn believe, just as Lydia did. “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14).
Pray that they would come to Christ. If unbelievers are to come to salvation, there is just one way. They must come through Christ and Christ alone. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6). Remember, too, that he is the one who calls them to come and to be relieved of the burden of their sin (see Matthew 11:28-30).
(Thanks to Tim Challies. I did not agree with all of his prayer suggestions, but these are good ones with which I can join him in prayer for Tue.)
Father God, You know that my heart is heavy with concern not only for this young man Tue but for my daughter Julie as well. Please--please!--soften both hearts toward You. Your people are not doing very well in representing You, the Gospel, and Your great love to a lost and frankly evil-controlled world. Help me not to be judgmental (I know I have prayed that before, and recently, and I will likely have to pray it many times more and frequently) and help me not be a bad ambassador for You. May I represent You not only to Tue--supremely importantly for his salvation--but also to Julie as one touched by Your unconditional love and eager to touch others with Your unconditional love. In Jesus's name~~Amen.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Wishing Prayer Worked Sooner
Dear Heavenly Father, I wish that we did not have to wait so LONG for our prayers to be answered. Of course, in this particular instance I am referring to Tue. And Julie, too. For a long time, I have worried about Julie's negativity in general and toward church people in specific. I have wished, and prayed, that she would find a place in Your body where she felt at home and loved and accepted and respected. That does not seem to have happened, at least not yet. I don't know how to plead with You to intervene here. You know it is not Tue that is the real problem; it is, rather, that Your people are not doing a great job being Your ambassadors. Yes, I just realized how judgmental that sounds--and is. There are also big spiritual enemies battling for their souls and lives. Maybe I also need to confront my disappointment in good people believing dumb things.
I want to get back to not knowing how to beg You to step in. This is what brings me to tears. Again, it isn't Tue. It is what is represented in their relationship and in the lack in the church: few high-quality Christian men. The Audible book I am listening to, Lord of the Rings, addresses the treason of Saruman, a formerly good and honorable wizard. (Is that what he and Gandalf are? Something about their "order.") This concept hit me squarely today in my travels, bringing to mind the people of the Christian faith who have sold out for power to the current administration. Wow. And the damage being wreaked on our evangelism! How can I invite people--thinking, honorable people--like Tue to places that treated him as the Alton Bay congregant did? He deserves better. Julie deserves better, and she has been denied good experiences for many years now, probably since middle school.
I beg You! Please step in! Do something!
And after all that, I recall the devotional I stole from Facebook and sent to Julie today:
May 1
I want to get back to not knowing how to beg You to step in. This is what brings me to tears. Again, it isn't Tue. It is what is represented in their relationship and in the lack in the church: few high-quality Christian men. The Audible book I am listening to, Lord of the Rings, addresses the treason of Saruman, a formerly good and honorable wizard. (Is that what he and Gandalf are? Something about their "order.") This concept hit me squarely today in my travels, bringing to mind the people of the Christian faith who have sold out for power to the current administration. Wow. And the damage being wreaked on our evangelism! How can I invite people--thinking, honorable people--like Tue to places that treated him as the Alton Bay congregant did? He deserves better. Julie deserves better, and she has been denied good experiences for many years now, probably since middle school.
I beg You! Please step in! Do something!
And after all that, I recall the devotional I stole from Facebook and sent to Julie today:
May 1
YOU ARE ON THE PATH of My choosing. There is no randomness about your life. Here and Now comprise the coordinates of your daily life. Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived. They avoid the present by worrying about the future or longing for a better time and place. They forget that they are creatures who are subject to the limitations of time and space. They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present.
Every moment is alive with My glorious Presence, to those whose hearts are intimately connected with Mine. As you give yourself more and more to a life of constant communion with Me, you will find that you simply have no time for worry. Thus, you are freed to let My Spirit direct your steps, enabling you to walk along the path of Peace.
Luke 12:25-26
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"
Jude VV. 24-25
To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more! Amen.
To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more! Amen.
Luke 1:79
To shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
To shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
(Jesus Calling devotional by Sarah Young)
Friday, May 3, 2019
Blockbuster News
Julie loves Tue and Tue loves Julie.
That is not the blockbuster news.
What *is* the bombshell is their joint concern about "hurting" us because Tue is not (yet) a Christian. I think that is sweet and just a bit scary. The scary part is the uncertainty I have about how to respond.
Lord, I am tempted--not in the best way--to say "Has the Lord really said...?" I know what You say. I also know that there are misinterpretations that demonize unbelievers. (In fact, that is one of the several things that Julie and Tue react to so negatively in certain churches.) Where is Your love? Your oh-so-welcoming LOVE?
And Tue has made all the right promises about attending church with Julie, about raising their prospective children as Christians, about continuing to seek. He is just not ready to "convert." His father's faith seems to be something of a barrier, although Tue does not observe it (at least to my knowledge and outwardly).
It is about You, Jesus. Can we make it about YOU and not about stupid Christians?
...but I digress. This is also about Julie and Tue. In fact, Lord, it is in great measure about Tue, and in another perhaps equally great measure about Julie. Individually and separately, their faith journeys have been rocky. You don't have a lot of good ambassadors around the United States today. (Let me be one.) How would You address this sweet couple? How do You want to use me in Your work here? And, more importantly, how will You step in? It so seems to me that they are inviting You. Please, please lead them. The path they have been taking to find a good (or good enough) church has been torturously twisted.
Will the Alpha experience help? I have done what I could. Now, Lord God, I leave it up to You to nudge them toward it. I see much about it that awakens hope in my heart, but they have to experience it. All I can do is pray...which is, of course, not "all" in the sense of "so little."
Can You and I make an agreement that I will document, if on my phone app, prayer every day for Tue's salvation and Julie's recommitment? For the number of days that You choose, Lord. Then I will welcome Tue into our family. He is already in our hearts, or mine, at least.
(And do I email CityLife? Emailing churches has not been good for me.)
That is not the blockbuster news.
What *is* the bombshell is their joint concern about "hurting" us because Tue is not (yet) a Christian. I think that is sweet and just a bit scary. The scary part is the uncertainty I have about how to respond.
Lord, I am tempted--not in the best way--to say "Has the Lord really said...?" I know what You say. I also know that there are misinterpretations that demonize unbelievers. (In fact, that is one of the several things that Julie and Tue react to so negatively in certain churches.) Where is Your love? Your oh-so-welcoming LOVE?
And Tue has made all the right promises about attending church with Julie, about raising their prospective children as Christians, about continuing to seek. He is just not ready to "convert." His father's faith seems to be something of a barrier, although Tue does not observe it (at least to my knowledge and outwardly).
It is about You, Jesus. Can we make it about YOU and not about stupid Christians?
...but I digress. This is also about Julie and Tue. In fact, Lord, it is in great measure about Tue, and in another perhaps equally great measure about Julie. Individually and separately, their faith journeys have been rocky. You don't have a lot of good ambassadors around the United States today. (Let me be one.) How would You address this sweet couple? How do You want to use me in Your work here? And, more importantly, how will You step in? It so seems to me that they are inviting You. Please, please lead them. The path they have been taking to find a good (or good enough) church has been torturously twisted.
Will the Alpha experience help? I have done what I could. Now, Lord God, I leave it up to You to nudge them toward it. I see much about it that awakens hope in my heart, but they have to experience it. All I can do is pray...which is, of course, not "all" in the sense of "so little."
Can You and I make an agreement that I will document, if on my phone app, prayer every day for Tue's salvation and Julie's recommitment? For the number of days that You choose, Lord. Then I will welcome Tue into our family. He is already in our hearts, or mine, at least.
(And do I email CityLife? Emailing churches has not been good for me.)
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