“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. (Matthew 25:1-4, ESV)

Abraham Lincoln said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” What is our responsibility as Christians? If we believe God is truly in control and it is better to yield our will to His, then we are to put our tomorrow and our today into His all-wise, all-knowing and loving hands. But, does that mean we should not plan for the future?

It is easy to slip into a carpe diem (live for today) attitude and lift our eyes heavenward saying, “God takes care of the lilies of the field, He will care of me.” There is great truth in that. Before that passage in Matthew 6 it says to not be anxious about anything in our lives. But, it ends with seeking His kingdom above all else. In other words, we are to actively seek, take action, and do our part.

I was watching the Christian movie Facing the Giants. A faith-filled man would go by the halls of this school every day and pray as he ran his hands along the lockers of the students. He told the coach he was plowing the field for these students’ future, praying that they would all come to know Jesus as their Lord. There were two farmers, he explained, who prayed for rain. But only one plowed the field in preparation for the rain to come. That was the farmer with more faith.

How can we prepare our fields in prayer? God may not always give us what we want, but He will always provide what we need. Our responsibility is to believe He will act. We need to PLOW:

P – Pray – through prayer we put it all back into God’s hands

L – Listen for His response. Too many times we turn our prayers into one-sided conversations. We hang up before we allow God to speak.

O – Observe the small ways He taps on you on the shoulder to remind you that He loves you, knows you needs and is working in your situation.

W ? Wait upon the Lord and do not give up hope.

The bridesmaids who prepared their lamps for the bridegroom were considered wise. They didn’t know when he was coming, but they knew that he would come. They stayed prepared. They knew their responsibility. It was the same one John the Baptizer called out- prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Heavenly Father, teach me how to rely on You but show me what I must do to prepare for the blessings You will bestow on me. In all things, good or bad, help me to give You the glory, to do my best at what is my responsibility to do right now, and to trust without reservation that You have plans to bring the rains in due season to bless my field. Help me plow in preparation with confidence. Through Jesus’ name – Amen.

Question: Are you willing to plow for as long as it takes to prepare for what blessing God will bring into your life?

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:11)

I was having a discussion with a friend the other day and she commented that she needed to put on the armor of God.  The thought occurred to me, and I shared it with her, “Why did you ever take it off?”  Is the armor of God something we should ever take off?  I don’t think so.

In Ephesians 6:10-18 we are instructed to ‘put on the full armor of God’ in order to stand strong against the devil’s schemes.  We are reminded that our struggle is not against other people. They are not our enemy. No matter how vile and evil a person might be, how horridly he might treat you or others, that person is not our enemy.  God loves and died for that person, the same as He did for you and me.

No, our enemy is not of this worldly plane.  The writer of Ephesians describes our enemies as ‘the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’. This brings to my mind all manner of movie-generated boogey-men, those hideous, repulsive, drooling monsters.  In truth, Satan and his minions are our enemy.  Satan is the trickster, the schemer, and the father of lies, and rarely looks like these Hollywood images of evil.

Since we are fighting a spiritual battle, we need spiritual armament.  Thus, we are instructed to put on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD, which includes everything from head (helmet of salvation) to toe (feet fitted with readiness of the Gospel of peace).  Plus we have our weapons, the sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith.  Then, when we are fully clothed in our armor, we are to stand our ground.

Even after we’ve done everything we know to do, we are to stand firm.  Our armor and our weapons enable us to stand and pray, for our greatest weapon against our enemy is prayer.  Have you ever gotten to the point when you think, “All I can do now is pray?”  When we reach his point, we are to stand firm in our armor, and continue to pray. We are to be ever diligent in our prayers.

Do not wait until you think you are going into battle to put on your armor, for the battle is ever around us.  Every morning when you rise, every night when you retire, and constantly during the day, check that your armor is in place. Put on your armor and leave it on.  Nowhere, here or anywhere else in His word, are we told that we can sit down, lay down our sword and shield and take off our armor and rest.  There will be plenty of time for rest when the battle is won.  For now, we are to ever be alert and always praying ‘all kinds of prayers and requests’.

Father, Remind me that the devil is always ready to destroy, help me to be ready to fight his lies with Your truth.  Amen.

Question: Have you put on the armor of God today?

How can we pray for you today?

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:16, 18) 

Knowing how to respond if your clothes catch on fire makes a huge difference in the outcome. Our natural instinct is to run or pat the fire out, which unfortunately intensifies the problem. On the contrary, the best response trained fire personnel teach is to Stop, Drop and Roll. As a precaution, it is highly recommended to practice this safety technique, repeatedly, in order to familiarize yourself with this life saving procedure.

Similar to our natural instinct to run if our clothes catch on fire, we might run from or try to fix our problems on our own or with help from others. When we exclude God, we run the high-risk of intensifying our problems. For this reason, it is wise that we adopt a similar technique as mentioned above…Stop, Drop and Pray.

If you need protection or provisions…Stop, Drop and Pray. If you need forgiveness or a breakthrough…Stop, Drop and Pray. If you need discernment or clarity…Stop, Drop and Pray. If you need healing, peace, joy, etc…Stop, Drop and Pray. God loves it when we pray. God loves it when we quiet our minds and listen to His still small voice. God loves it when His children cry out to him with faith and a contrite heart.

Furthermore, in our walk with the Lord, we battle against evil forces that seek to destroy our faith. In order to discern, avoid, and extinguish the flaming arrows our enemy launches we need to pray in the Spirit as Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Stop, Drop and Pray is a great safety technique to overcome the enemy, obtain victory in our circumstances, and see God’s promises come forth in our lives.

Stop – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mathew 6:33)

Drop – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Pray – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

May you learn to incorporate the Stop, Drop and Pray motto into your daily walk with God. He desires to protect, provide, and guide you in all circumstances.   

Father, It’s so tempting to hide when I’ve messed up, or when I’m scared about what tomorrow may bring.  Teach me to always run to You first. You are my hiding place.  Let me rest in the shadow of Your wings.  Amen.

Question: How can you incorporate Stop, Drop and Pray into your day today?

Learn more about how to live in harmony with others with Dr. Muriel’s Recipe for Peace.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

I grew up in a musical family.  My mother played the piano and mandolin.  Dad played the violin and drums. My brother played the trumpet.  And I played the piano, organ, clarinet, and saxophone. For some reason, they wouldn’t let me carry a piano in the high school band.

As a pianist I have often helped others to get their instruments tuned up to the piano.  With stringed instruments, every string must be tuned for the music to sound right. My father tuned pianos, and they have many more strings than hand-held instruments!  If several keys are flat compared to the rest, there goes the harmony.

If several strings can cause disharmony in an instrument, just think what a few disgruntled Christians can do to a church. Well, think about it.  Perhaps you can remember a church split of some kind that separated and scattered the people, and all because a few persons spread disharmony.

Do we listen?  Do we join the discord? How can we save the harmony in our church?

• When we first perceive the clink of a discordant note, we can get right with the Lord if necessary. Check Romans 12:1-2 and Psalm 51.  Walking close to the Lord enables us to hear His guiding voice of wisdom. He fills our hearts with love and concern for our fellow Christians–all of them. He restrains us from adding to the discordance.
• Abstain from gossip, criticism, or caustic debate.  As we walk with Jesus, we will know in our hearts just how we may contribute to harmony and not to the cacophony.
• Pray, pray, pray!  Often when a piano gets out of tune, moisture may be involved.  Well, when a church gets out of tune, the devil is probably involved.  Peter counsels the church, “Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

“Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9) The devil loves to tear up churches!

Ephesians 4:26 tells us, “In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”  We may get involved in church disharmony when we get up our “righteous indignation”.  (Well, hey, that sounds a little more “Christian” than anger, doesn’t it?)

Our Lord knows the right way to handle every situation with a minimum of ill feelings.  As we pray, God will show us His way to deal with anything–and He will help in the resolution.

God’s Word twice gives the following recipe for harmony:  “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.  He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.” (1 Pet. 3:10-12; Ps. 34:12-16)  And Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” (Matt. 5:9)

Lord, Help me to be a peacemaker in my circle of influence. Amen.

Questions: Are you part of the disharmony in your church? What steps can you take to become a peacemaker instead of causing disharmony?

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, You’ve Already Won, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

In Lorne Cunningham’s book, “The Book That Transforms Nations,” he recounts the story of how God answered his question, “Where do we start?” Heavy on his heart was the need to see change in the nations and to see morality and goodness restored. Early one morning the Lord spoke to him: “There are seven areas of society that are like classrooms to disciple nations.” He then received and wrote down family, religion, education, arts/entertainment/sports, media,business/science/technology, and government. The very next day he met up with Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright, who had previously received the very same list from the Lord. Within a few weeks Mr. Cunningham once again heard this list, and this time it came from Dr. Francis Schaeffer, founder of L’Abri Fellowship.

The message was clear and confirmed. God was providing a strategy through which the body of Christ could work to bring change to our nations, by reaching people through the domains of our cities. This is the overriding strategy of Power To Change, and the framework Breakthrough Prayer uses to help you as prayer partners to reach your city. As you identify the domain that reflects your heart and the people you interact with on a daily basis, not only will your common ground make it meaningful and easy to pray for those in your circle of influence, but as you pray for them, God will give you opportunities to share your faith with them in personal and meaningful ways. As each of us becomes engaged in this way in our own communities, the gospel becomes available to people in every domain of the city.  

 So here’s what I want you to do – God helping you; Take your everyday ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life, and place it before God as an offering. Romans 12:2 (The Message)

Get to know God even better with our study Know Your God

“Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your strength”  (Deuteronomy 6:5).

“She only married him for his money.”

“I hope your wife can cook and likes to clean.”

“I couldn’t marry him because he didn’t wear the right clothes.”

We hear these sentiments all the time; we think these sentiments all the time.  What has happened to valuing someone for who they are instead of what we can get from them?

I think that we walk a fine line in our relationship with our Master.  It seems as though many people pray because they want something from God. However, we are missing the relationship part.  We need to love God because of who he is.  We need to love God because he is our ALMIGHTY Savior, he is our Redeemer and Friend.  Not because we want something and we think the way to achieve that is through God.

Why do you pray, read your Bible, go to church?  What is your motivation? Like I said, it is a fine line.  Be careful that you are on the relationship side, not on the other side.

My kids love on me SOOO much when they want something.  They draw me pictures, they snuggle up to me, they say and do sweet things.  As soon as I grant them whatever it is they want, they all of sudden forget my name!  Do you do this with God?  The interesting thing is, what He asks of us is our love.  What I ask of my children is their love.  I know that if they love me then they will do the other things that I ask of them to do.  Love is the best motivator.

Questions: Are you in love with God? What motivates you read your Bible or go to church?

“Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him because He always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

A single mom navigating the court system; an immigrant trying to get medical attention; an elderly person dealing with banks or insurance claims after the death of a spouse; a woman without mechanical knowledge needing to get her car fixed; a dad trying to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter; who hasn’t felt vulnerable, unable to defend themselves and in need of an advocate?

Jesus is our advocate.

He is more than just a lawyer who pleads our case, who understands the system and can stand up for us when we who are weak.

Jesus is our substitute.

Because He experienced every temptation that we face, yet did not sin, He is not only able to sympathize with our weaknesses but save us from our sins. (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus, the Son of God, stands before the throne of God on our behalf and asks for mercy.

He doesn’t say, “Cut her some slack, you know she’s just a weak human” or “Give him one more chance, I think he’s learned his lesson.” No, He says, “Let me bear the  of their sins.”

Because Jesus is alive – and lives forever – He always intercedes for us. He’s never too busy or off on a holiday. We don’t have to make an appointment or wait in line. He is able to save us completely because He always lives to intercede for us. He has made us acceptable before God.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Father God, thank you that through Jesus, I can come to You in confidence. I ask for Your mercy and I wait expectantly for Your grace.

Questions: What does having Jesus as your intercessor mean to you? What will you ask for grace for, knowing that you can have confidence in Jesus?

Related
Pray prayers that change lives and transform cities

Can we pray for you today?

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2).

Have you heard that old saying, “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away”? I have heard it whispered in hugs when tragedy hits. Not extremely consoling. Neither is this verse—at first. It says that any part of my life that God considers to be dead, He takes away. Then, even if it isn’t, He may still clip it away. Where is the giveth part? What if the part of me that isn’t producing Godly results is something I actually love to do? It may be a hobby, a little pleasure, or even an attitude or habit that has amused me.

Isn’t it interesting that the word “amused” also spells “am used”? Just because it is something I am used to doing or enjoying, doesn’t make it good. That doesn’t mean it will bear fruit, i.e. point to God working in my life. It is an area in my life that the Spirit will not touch because it doesn’t serve God. It isn’t being spiritually fed.

If we are to be grafted into Christ so we can be His hands and feet on this earth, then the rest of the body should follow suit. That includes our minds, our actions, our pleasures. If it isn’t serving a purpose unto Heaven, it will be cut off from the life-giving Spirit within us. God may take it away. He may rip it from our hands, and like a child who grabbed a candy bar, we wail that He is not being fair.

There may be another part of our lives that is a bit more of a gray area. Perhaps it won’t be as noticeable at first. But we will slowly lose interest in that task, pleasure, or hobby. Or we will reach a turning point which, as Christians, makes us realize that we are not serving God as well as we should. Something has to change. It may be an attitude, a habit, or even a ministry that has become a duty thing instead of a joy. Whatever it is, it is stifling our growth in Him.

Here come the pruning shears. Whack. So we will bear more fruit, God doesn’t want that particular thing sapping our time and energy. The Master Vine-dresser knows what is good for the vine, and what has potential to do good. And, if we stop to think about it, maybe this thing that is stifling our growth can be turned around to be used for God’s purpose. Perhaps it doesn’t need to whacked away, just trimmed a bit so it becomes more life giving and fulfilling.

What things? Things like habits or pastimes that amuse us like knitting all the time, wherever you go. Or watching DVD movies. Or reading. Playing video games. What if you knitted baby booties for the preemies in the neonatal ward, or for unwed mothers who choose not to abort? What if you had a family movie night in your home and invited in the neighbors to watch wholesome films? What if you read to underprivileged children, or help an adult learn to read? What if you helped organize a summer program where kids could play video games that are wholesome, get them up and moving and interacting with each other?

Where is the giveth part? It comes with the warm glow inside us when we know God has used us, and that humbling reality that He loves us enough to want to do so—that we matter to Him. It is when He makes us feel worthwhile enough to be used to His Glory.

Questions: What area of your life might need a bit of reshaping in order to be more useful to God? Will you let Him prune it?

Can we pray for you today?

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37-39) .

We seem to have experienced more natural disasters in the past two years than ever before. Thousands have died in hurricanes, typhoons, fires and earthquakes.

Recently we watched with horror on live television and then played over and over the disaster in Japan. First it was an earthquake, then a tsunami and then a nuclear catastrophe. The power moved the coastline of Japan eight feet and shifted the position of the earth’s axis about 6.5 inches, causing the earth to rotate slightly faster, shortening the day by 1.8 microseconds. As I listened to the reports, I realized that the news without knowing it was describing that which is to come as prophesied by John the Revelator while exiled on the Isle of Patmos. I thought of Luke 21:28 which says, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because redemption is drawing near.” The world today remains mostly oblivious to all that is happening, not just with natural disasters, but economically and socially. As in the days of Noah, people ignored all the warnings and they did not understand even until the flood came and took them all away. God is trying to get our attention. Sometimes God speaks to our heart, emotion or intellect through his Word, our prayer life, dreams and visions, reflection or meditation. God also speaks to us through the people in our lives.

God also uses circumstances good and bad to get our attention and call us to his agenda. Anything that happens to us in life can work for good if we engage our circumstances as opportunities to be conformed to Christ’s image (Romans 8:28-29) So we are admonished to look up and look around at what is happening in the world, listen to others and most importantly, listen to God. Look at the world and see the signs as we listen to what God is trying to tell to his people. Think of the flood, of the earthquake and other ways God uses his awesome power to get attention. Recent events have been cataclysmic, but for those who have read Revelation, we haven’t seen anything like it yet. Redemption is drawing nigh.

Questions: How is God trying to get your attention? Why is he trying to get your attention?