“Do not act like the sinful people of the world. Let God change your life. First of all, let Him give you a new mind. Then you will know what God wants you to do. And the things you do will be good and pleasing and perfect.”  (Romans 12:2, NLT)

Your words have potential and kinetic energy. Luke 6:45 says that a heart that’s full of love will speak love. This is an inside-to-outside process where the condition of one’s spirit gets reflected corporeally (in this case, audibly). But we also read of another process in Romans 12:2, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Here we have an outside-to-inside process. The outer expression, controllable by a manipulation of the will, can change who we are as individuals.

If you express thankfulness, your heart of gratitude will increase.
If you express love, your heart of compassion will increase.
If you express praise, your heart of worship will increase.

Create reality? It sounds strange, but I’ve known it to be true in my own life. We can change our reality with the words we speak. We have the ability to create by speaking if we harness the potential energy of our words.

We are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27) and as we know, He created the universe by speaking. God spoke, and there was existence. So it shouldn’t surprise us that we can do the same. As men, many of us don’t do much talking. But let me encourage you: create a Kingdom of Heaven reality by speaking life-giving words. It doesn’t have to be a lot. What reality will you create with your words today?

Choose to speak of the good things in your day. You’ll have a better day.
Choose to praise the good qualities in your wife. You will have a better marriage.
Choose to focus on God’s goodness amidst the pain and praise Him. You’ll find a rich, full, and miraculous life waiting for you to step into.

Pray: God help me to use my words wisely.  Amen.

Question: How have you been affected by someone’s words?

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1. Understanding Your Relationship With Jesus Christ
2. Experiencing God’s Love
3. Power for Living
4. Growing in Your Relationship with Christ
Need prayer? How can we pray for you?

Don’t treat prayer like an oil change. Prayer is so much more than that.

“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it… In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 14:13-14 and John 16:23)

“It’s been good talking with you. I know You heard me. And by the way…in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Whether the prayer has been a simple conversation with God or was poured out from a breaking heart, how often we hurriedly tack on four words that we presume necessary to make it a “proper prayer”. It’s as if we believe that God must hear us now because we have finished the formula.

In Jesus’ agonizing time in the Garden of Gethsemane, His words were simple, a cry of His heart to a Father He knew loved Him and heard His voice. During heartbreaking, confusing times like those, formulas are useless because they involve only the mind. When hearts are breaking and minds slog through muddiness, words are from the heart, real, desperate and loaded with emotion.

“In Jesus’ name” is not a formula. Praying in His name means praying with Jesus’ authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers—in His time and way—because we come in the name of His Son. When we pray in His name, we are praying His will, as if in His stead, much like when we act on behalf of a loved one in a power of attorney situation. We are praying just as Jesus would.

Dr. Mark Roberts says that when he was young, praying “in Jesus’ name” was something like a magic formula, ensuring that God would hear his prayers. He goes on to say that it might be good not to use the words unless—or until—we have given serious thought to what we are praying: does our prayer in some way lie within the realm of God’s will? And for clearer understanding of that will, we must spend concentrated time in discovering the glorious God of the Bible and in careful listening to His Spirit. “In Jesus’ name” then becomes a powerful statement of faith.

Question: How does praying the way Jesus prayed affect your prayer life?

God had so much in store for Abram. He was going to change his name, and then make him the father of the nations. His descendents would be as numerous as the stars and they would be called the children of God. Abram was a major step in the process of restoring the relationship God had once shared with His people before the Fall.

Eventually from Abram’s seed would be born Jesus, the Messiah, who would fulfill that process. God had chosen Abram for all of this. But, Abram could look no further than his own wish to be a father. He said to God, “If you can’t grant me my heart’s desire then I don’t want anything else.”

Sound familiar? Is there something you have been fervently praying for which God has yet to give you? Are you so concentrating on getting that one thing that you are missing the big picture He offers? If so, then you may fall into the same trap Abram did. He tried to intervene with his servant Hagar and usher things along. “God said I could be a father. I’ll just help Him out by doing it my way. Surely He will bless that. I’m doing His will, right?” The result was Ishmael, not Isaac. Arabs and Jews have been in conflict ever since. They are still battling over God’s favor and promised land.

Too often we hear a message we know is from God—in a dream, in a sermon, in a hymn, from a friend—that seems to be an answer to prayer. We take it as a resounding “Yes”, then dash off to grab it without waiting for the instructions of how to obtain it God’s way. There may be steps He wants us to go through for our own good. But we jump the gun, then wonder why it turns out wrong. “But, God, I was so sure. . . .”

Or, like Abram, we are so bent on receiving that one thing, we miss out on all He is trying to give us along the way. We’ve squinted our eyes so tight in wishing we don’t see His presence in our lives and the little blessings He provides. Like a pouty child near Christmas we whine, “If you love me, really love me, you’ll give me this.” We miss the small ways He shows His love to us all the time.

We ask, “What will you give me?” instead of “Thank you for loving me so much  to give me _________. You fill in the blanks. Think of the blessings starting with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and ending with the last breath you just exhaled. Daunting exercise, isn’t it? If you can only come up with two or three, pray for God to reveal more to you. Then trust He will. It may take a while, they are so numerous.

Perhaps if we all concentrated more on His grace and mercy, and were thankful for what He has already bestowed upon us, then we’d be a step closer to receiving not so much what we desire, but what He desires for us, which is far better. And along the way, we just might get our “Isaac”—that which we so desperately wanted. Then, like Abram, even if God asks us to give it back to Him, we will have the faith to say, “Yes, Lord. Thy will be done. I trust in Your love and promise.”

Questions: What are you asking God for right now? Do you think you should also ask Him what He wants for you?

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  (Isaiah 55:11)

God speaks with a purpose, but sometimes it can be hard to know what that purpose is. Knowing the ways God speaks will help us determine if He is speaking to us, and what He is saying.

God speaks in various ways. One is called general revelation: through the world he made (water, colors, animals, etc.). This way of speaking will most likely come through something you enjoy about nature. If you love water and are amazed by its beauty and power, chances are God will speak to you through water.

He also speaks through His Word and the Scriptures. When God says who He is and what he desires of his people in the Scriptures, that never changes. Those recorded words can and do speak to humanity forever.

God also speaks through his people, the Church. Gifts of prophecy, encouragement, and exhortation can be God-given signs and messages that are often delivered on a very personal level.

God, thank you for speaking. I marvel at the many ways in which you speak to your children. Holy Spirit, keep me attentive to the ways in which you are speaking to me. Amen.

Questions: How might God speaking to you? In what ways can you be more attentive to His voice?

I heard Neil chuckle under his breath as we walked away from the elderly  couple we had been talking with.

“Did you just bless them?” he asked.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.  Very King James. “

Truthfully the words had just popped out.  But they’d been popping out a lot.  I had been blessing people right and left over the Christmas holidays.   Retail clerks, Walmart greeters, theatre ushers….it was getting kind of weird.    So I stopped – almost – saying it out loud.  But I still bless people in my head.

This morning I read Psalm 1.  It speaks of blessing.  It says we are blessed when we choose to follow God’s ways.  When we put God at the center of our lives.  It says when we live like that we are like trees planted by streams of water. Whatever we do prospers.

The accompanying devotional reading described being blessed as “divinely or supremely favored.  Fortunate.  Happy.  Content. “

That’s the blessing we pray over you – our Weekend to Remember alumni – as we enter 2012.  May you be blessed.  In your marriages.  In your families.  In whatever the year holds.  Remember, you are divinely favored.  That’s what the Christmas story is all about.  God so favored us that He gave us His only Son….

This year may you find your happiness and contentment in God’s outrageous love for you.  May you find happiness and contentment in your marriage.  In your family.  And may your happiness and contentment be contagious.

“Bless you.”

Along with our blessing comes a promise -  from all of us at FamilyLife -  to pray for you regularly in 2012.

“They saw the child and his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.” (Matthew 2:11)

Do you worship with your words and actions? Do you worship with your heart? Because we have eight grandchildren, we try to make part of our family Christmas gathering a time of focusing on Christ. One way we have found very effective is to act out the Christmas story.

We have as many actors as there are family members (and others who have come for the Christmas dinner). Because we can have as many as 17 people, we have a lot of sheep. We put the names of the biblical characters and animals in a hat and everyone picks one. Then everyone has 10 minutes to find his or her costume and props from anywhere in the house. We gather in one room and the narrator begins to slowly read the Christmas story – usually from the Living Bible – so the children can understand.

The costumes are usually very creative – from the camels wearing real saddles, the kings wearing up-side-down silver or gold trophies on their heads and even our Dalmatian dog being recruited to be one of the sheep. One year a new grandchild was the Baby Jesus.

We have fun and laugh a lot. But when it comes to the part where the wise men come and see the Child and His mother and bow down and worship Him, we become quiet.  One year, one of our non-Christian guests, playing the part of a king, also knelt down and worshiped. As I watched him, I silently prayed that soon and very soon, he would worship Jesus with his whole heart.

He has not yet given his heart to Jesus. But I keep praying for him. The Bible tells us that when we pray according to God’s will, He will answer. Soon this man WILL worship the Lord with his whole heart. Who are you praying for this Christmas?

Father, there are thousands of people who have heard the Christmas story and have not yet begun to worship You. Father, we pray that this year, You would open the eyes and hearts of those we have been praying for. We pray that they would become true worshippers of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Question: Who are you praying for this Christmas?

Are you lonely this Christmas? Come talk to a mentor.

In 1962 I was preaching in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was single and it was Christmas time. I was heading home to Michigan to enjoy the holidays with my family.

It was an extremely cold day and it was snowing. The wind was howling out of the north, blowing thick clouds of fine flakes across the road – it was like a blizzard. The roads were icy in places and there was little traffic. Somewhere near Ft. Wayne, Indiana, I saw a soldier standing under an overpass.

He had a green army cap pulled as tight and low as possible over his head, his collar was pulled up around his ears, his hands were shoved down in his pockets and he had a stuffed duffel bag standing beside him.

Surely I can’t pick him up…

I was driving a Chevrolet Corvette and I was going very fast – faster than I should have been, considering the road conditions. As I sped by, the soldier jerked one hand out of his pocket and raised his thumb.

My Corvette had two seats – not a front and a back seat, but two seats side by side – and I was in one of them. The trunk was big enough to hold three loaves of bread and a pound of lunchmeat. Not only was my limited trunk space stuffed full with the clothes and boots I would need for my stay in Michigan, the front seat was stacked high as well, with the presents that I had purchased for my folks and my nieces and nephews.

When I saw the soldier, I was going much too fast to stop and I was well down the highway before I gave it much thought.

I told myself that I couldn’t possibly get him and his duffel bag in the car – I debated about the terrible inconvenience and delay it would cause if I did, and by the time I decided that perhaps I ought to at least offer to help, I was two miles down the road and out of sight.

But my Christmas conscience really went to work on me. It was so cold, traffic was almost nonexistent – he was a soldier – and it was Christmas. The inner battle raged for another three miles. Finally, I decided I would never get any peace unless I offered to help, so I made a u-turn and went back. I hoped with all my heart that someone else had picked him up. That way, I could satisfy my conscience and not be inconvenienced – wouldn’t that be great?

No such luck

But he was still there, looking more forlorn, lonely and cold than ever. I was disgusted. I pulled up and rolled down the window. He came running, stumbling on his numb feet, dragging the duffel bag. He leaned over and stuck his head in the window. His face was bluish, his teeth were chattering, his eyebrows and eyelashes were matted with frozen snow and he could scarcely speak intelligibly.

“Thanks so much for stopping.” He said. “I had about given up hope.” That was not what I wanted to hear.

“Where are you going?” I asked, hoping that it was in some direction that would alleviate me from further responsibility.

“I live in Michigan, in Taylor Township,” he said hopefully. That was really discouraging. It wasn’t directly on my way, but it wasn’t too much out of my way either.

“I’m going to Royal Oak,” I said reluctantly.

“Oh,” he said, “I know where that is. That’s great! If I could just ride with you to Ann Arbor, it would mean a lot to me. I’m almost frozen; I can’t feel my ears or feet any more,” he said plaintively.

“I don’t think I can possibly get both you and your things in.” I said.

“If you’ll let me, I’ll get in – I promise you. I’ve been standing here for three hours.”

I told him to try getting in and we begin rearranging things. The duffel bag was almost as big as he was and there was only one place for it – the passenger seat. No matter how he put it in the car, he couldn’t get in himself. I suggested that maybe he could hide it somewhere and come back for it later. He said he couldn’t possibly do that; it had his kids’ Christmas presents in it and he wasn’t going anywhere without it. I finally got out, walked around the car, and told him to sit in the passenger seat. As he sat there, I wedged the duffel bag between his legs and between the floor and the roof of the car. I sandwiched all of my presents around him – and I slammed the door. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t see out either the windshield or his side window – but he was in. I still don’t know how we did it.

Doing the right thing

Once he began to get warm, he began to talk. I found out he was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

“Didn’t I see you go by about five minutes ago?” he asked. I really felt stupid.

“Yes.” I said very matter of factly.

“You mean you turned around and came back?” I nodded an affirmative.

“Why would you do that?” I paused a long moment.

“Well, you see, I was raised in a home where helping people who were in need was very important. In addition, I’m a minister – actually, it’s more than that – I’m a Christian, and if it weren’t for that, I’d probably still be going. I have as hard a time doing the right thing as most folks. I fought with this decision for five miles – it’s Jesus who makes me do things like turn around and come back. When I don’t do the right thing, I have this feeling He’s looking at me and He’s so disappointed that I can’t stand it.”

Conviction sets in

“Oh!” he said. “You don’t know how that convicts me. I’m going to tell you something I never thought I’d tell anybody. I’m no Christian, but my wife is the best person in the whole world and she goes to church all the time and takes the kids. Truthfully, I’ve done everything I could to discourage her, but she just keeps going. She’s trying all the time to get me to go, telling me that someday I’m going to wish I had.

“Do you know why I’m here hitchhiking? Let me tell you a little story. I was turned down for holiday leave because I got drunk and caused some trouble at the base. I was sick about it. I haven’t seen my wife and kids for six months. A friend of mine, who’s single, found out at the last minute that his folks were coming to visit some relatives who live close to the base during the holidays. He went to our commanding officer and volunteered to take my duty, if he would let me go home.

“He gave me permission, but I had spent all my money buying presents, which I was going to mail home, so I decided to start hitchhiking. My family doesn’t even know I’m coming. I wasn’t sure I’d make it and I didn’t want to disappoint them. I’ve been standing there for three hours, thinking. I watched folks drive by and it occurred to me that some of them must be Christians and it made me feel pretty bitter – until I got to thinking about what a lousy person I am, and I knew if I was them, that I probably wouldn’t stop either.

“Let me tell you something embarrassing – I got so cold, so lonely and so desperate that I started to pray – honest to God I did – it was so humiliating. I told God that if he would help me, I’d do better. And you know what? About that time you showed up and you told me that you came back because of Jesus – now what do you make of that?

“Well, first I’d say that maybe there’s more to Christianity than either of us thought, and second, I’d say you’d better start doing better.”

I found out exactly where he lived and we agreed that I could get him pretty close before I had to go in another direction. I think I knew what I was going to do long before I actually said anything. As we approached where I was going to let him out, I told him that I had made up my mind to take him home.

Home for Christmas

About two hours later, we pulled up in his driveway. It was almost dark. He was really excited. He asked me to blow my horn, and I did. A few minutes passed and the inside door opened slowly. The glass in the outside door was frosted over and whoever was looking out could only tell that there was a car in the driveway. The outside door opened, and a five or six year old, barefooted, pyjamaed boy peeked around the door. When he saw my sports car, he came out on the porch and peered intently at us. His dad opened the door and stepped out.

“Hi David, it’s Daddy. I’m home for Christmas!” He started to say more, but the boy had seen the uniform and heard the voice.

The boy’s face lit up and he turned back into the house. I could hear him distinctly – “Mama, Daddy’s home,” he yelled shrilly. “Daddy’s home! Mama! Mama! Daddy’s home for Christmas!”

The door opened again and it didn’t open slowly this time – it was thrown open. A woman dressed in a bathrobe and house slippers came running down the steps, her hair flying in the wind, oblivious to the snow and the cold, eyes and mouth opened wide with excitement with joy etched in every line of her face.

“Oh, Carl,” she said. “Oh, Carl, you’re home. Praise God, you’re home. The kids and I have been praying every day that, somehow, God would send you home.” She was followed by a skinny, fair-haired, ten-year-old girl.

They kissed and hugged and laughed and cried, and they danced in the cold and the snow until the soldier finally disentangled himself from them long enough to introduce me.

Incredible reunion

“This is John,” he said. “He’s a minister and he’s also a Christian, and if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. And I’m going to tell you something, Sandy right here and now. I told John that I promised God that I was going to do better and I am. I’m going to stop drinking, be a better husband, a better father – a better man – and we’re going to start going to church together.”

I have never witnessed such gratitude in my life. They all had to hug me and kiss me – even the two-year-old – and they told me what a blessing I was to them and that they owed me a debt they could never pay.

Carl was home.

I think at that moment, home meant more to him perhaps, than it would ever mean again. Home was somehow brighter, warmer, more dear to me than it had ever been before.

Every human longing – bound up in the inherent yearning to be loved and to be “home” and to experience the peace and security that “home” signifies – has found its fulfillment in Jesus who said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Everything we ever dreamed of home being – what it was or was not – is in that place. Jesus has given purpose, even to the dream of death, because for those who know God – that is the way home. Jesus comes to us in many ways. He came to me in the form of a freezing soldier trying to get home for Christmas. He came to a freezing soldier in the form of a young minister trying to find his way to God. Either one of us could have missed Him. Jesus will come to you this Christmas, too, and His coming will be in an unexpected way – don’t miss Him.

Do you want to know God and have him heal your life? God wants to meet you right where you are, He loves you, and wants to be in your life. He wants to heal you and to give you and abundant life. Why don’t you pray the prayer below and ask Jesus to be Lord over your life?

Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to You and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.

Timothy describes our day as “perilous times” in which people will be lovers of themselves, boasters, disobedient to parents, lacking self-control etc., having a form of godliness but denying its power (2Timothy 3:1-5). It is in the face of our permissive “you can believe anything and still go to heaven,” politically correct society, that we the people of God are called to take a stand for truth and righteousness. That is a challenge for us all, but particularly those who are called to stand on the front lines in very public ways.

As our schools continue down the slippery secular slope, leading our children to greater confusion in relation to spiritual truth, sexual orientation, and the very nature of life itself, it is significant and important that there are those who are continually standing in the gap through prayer.  Equally important are those who answer the call to be on the front line and to offer the truth, and speak up for that truth in the face of what can often be great opposition.

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with David Spencer who works with the Professional Learning community of Faith. This is a group of educators, administrators and admin staff who share a common faith in Jesus Christ. Their call is to encourage their colleagues in their Christian faith journey, learn effective ways to nurture the students, and
deliver curriculum from a perspective that aligns with the Word of God as presented in the Bible. They are located in the Peel Region of Ontario and are committed to making a difference for Christ in the schools of their province.

It is important that we stand together with those who are on the frontlines through prayer.  When we invest in another’s work in this way, we will reap the same blessing in our own areas.

For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know I will not be ashamed. Isaiah 50:7

What did the apostle Paul mean when he wrote,”pray continually”? For one, he was indicating that we can live in an attitude of prayer even though we are engaged in everyday activity. This does not mean we walk around mumbling prayers to God, though there will be days when we pray much more than in others.

Instead, the indication here leans to one of opportunity. We can have a natural attitude of prayer surrounding our lives. Prayerfulness is a sign that we are dependent on the Lord and not on ourselves. Should you pray about trivial matters? Yes. God listens to every prayer. A prayer to find lost glasses or to mentally retrieve forgotten information are worthy requests.

God has called us to be people of prayer. Communication on this level is one of intimate fellowship with the Savior. It is through prayer that we discover the goodness and personal devotion of God. Though taking time to be alone with God is the ideal, we don’t have to limit ourselves. God hears our prayers no matter where we pray.

Oswald Chambers writes: “So many of us limit our praying because we are not reckless in our confidence in God. In the eyes of those who do not know God, it is madness to trust Him. But when we pray through the power of the Holy Spirit we realize the resources of God — He is our perfect heavenly Father, and we are His children.”

Question: When do you pray, and what do you usually pray about?