Late into the night, early in the morning, walking down the road, in the middle of his supper, at home, abroad, Jesus offers. His time, his words, his touch, flowing like the wine at Cana. To appreciate the reality of it all, remember, this is not Superman. Remember his loneliness, his weariness, his humanity. This is utterly remarkable—particularly in light of the fact that this is a man on a life-or-death mission. He is lavish with himself.
And that’s the key, right there—that giving of himself. That is what is so precious. Moses offered leadership, and tirelessly. Solomon handed out the rarest of wisdom free of charge. Pilot seemed willing to toss to the crowds anyone they wanted. But Jesus gives himself. This is, after all, what he came to give, and what we most desperately need.
(Beautiful Outlaw, 79)
Source: Ransomed Heart Ministries by John Eldredge
5.31.2012
5.07.2012
LIPS OF CHILDREN
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. Psalm 8:2
The lips of children lift up the greatness of God in praise and adoration. They do not know any better than to believe God and take Him at His word. They are trusting and pure in their devotion. It is the children that embraced the coronation of Christ in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They shouted “Hosanna in the highest,” while the proud religious leaders were indignant (Matthew 21:15). Humility praises Jesus, but pride is silent. Humility invites Jesus, but pride is threatened by Jesus. Humility wants to sit in His lap, but pride rejects His love and affection. Children remind us of the God we have forgotten. We’ve gotten so sophisticated with our Savior that we miss Him. We used to cry out to Him in gratitude over His overwhelming grandeur, but somewhere along the way we have taken Him for granted. Children remind us of God’s greatness. This is their lot.
Children live in a constant state of dependency. They depend on their parents for food, clothing, and shelter. Children look to their parents to teach them about God and religion. Hobbies, like enjoying the great outdoors, playing sports, or cultivating an interest in the arts become a committed interest of children with their parents’ prodding encouragement. Parents are a plethora of resources for their children. Boys and girls depend on Mom and Dad for direction regarding what they do well and how they can best excel. Parents are warehouses of wisdom for their offspring. Children who are compliant in learning from and depending on their parents are successful. They may, unknowingly, be building a solid foundation for living.
Our relationship with God is no different. We are His children in desperate need of His direction. We may spurn His discipline at times, but we come back because we know He is what we need. We need His wisdom. We need His forgiveness. We need His comfort, love, and hope. We need his perspective to be able to work effectively with people. We need His security found only in Christ. We need His courage in crisis. We need His grace in the middle of criticism. We need His humility to defeat pride. Christians who succeed the most are totally and utterly dependent on Christ. Otherwise, our pride drives us to self-sufficiency and shallow or patronizing praises of God. His greatness decreases as ours increases. Therefore, re-crown Him King daily. By faith, we step away from the throne of our life and humbly bow at His feet, as He sits enthroned and worthy of all praise.
Children are the conscience of adults. They remind us of our dependency on Jesus. We are but a grain of sand on the seashore of humanity. Jesus is Lord of all, and we serve and worship Him alone. The lips of children naturally lift up the glory of God. We do so supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot keep quiet because of His lavish love and abundant grace which He pours forth on the faithful. It’s in our childlike faith that God reveals Himself, but He hides the very same from the wise of the world (Luke 10:21). You are a child of God. Therefore, praise and adore His majestic name.
Taken from Reading #5 in the 90-day devotional book, “Seeking God in the Psalms”… http://bit.ly/bQHNIE
Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey
The lips of children lift up the greatness of God in praise and adoration. They do not know any better than to believe God and take Him at His word. They are trusting and pure in their devotion. It is the children that embraced the coronation of Christ in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They shouted “Hosanna in the highest,” while the proud religious leaders were indignant (Matthew 21:15). Humility praises Jesus, but pride is silent. Humility invites Jesus, but pride is threatened by Jesus. Humility wants to sit in His lap, but pride rejects His love and affection. Children remind us of the God we have forgotten. We’ve gotten so sophisticated with our Savior that we miss Him. We used to cry out to Him in gratitude over His overwhelming grandeur, but somewhere along the way we have taken Him for granted. Children remind us of God’s greatness. This is their lot.
Children live in a constant state of dependency. They depend on their parents for food, clothing, and shelter. Children look to their parents to teach them about God and religion. Hobbies, like enjoying the great outdoors, playing sports, or cultivating an interest in the arts become a committed interest of children with their parents’ prodding encouragement. Parents are a plethora of resources for their children. Boys and girls depend on Mom and Dad for direction regarding what they do well and how they can best excel. Parents are warehouses of wisdom for their offspring. Children who are compliant in learning from and depending on their parents are successful. They may, unknowingly, be building a solid foundation for living.
Our relationship with God is no different. We are His children in desperate need of His direction. We may spurn His discipline at times, but we come back because we know He is what we need. We need His wisdom. We need His forgiveness. We need His comfort, love, and hope. We need his perspective to be able to work effectively with people. We need His security found only in Christ. We need His courage in crisis. We need His grace in the middle of criticism. We need His humility to defeat pride. Christians who succeed the most are totally and utterly dependent on Christ. Otherwise, our pride drives us to self-sufficiency and shallow or patronizing praises of God. His greatness decreases as ours increases. Therefore, re-crown Him King daily. By faith, we step away from the throne of our life and humbly bow at His feet, as He sits enthroned and worthy of all praise.
Children are the conscience of adults. They remind us of our dependency on Jesus. We are but a grain of sand on the seashore of humanity. Jesus is Lord of all, and we serve and worship Him alone. The lips of children naturally lift up the glory of God. We do so supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot keep quiet because of His lavish love and abundant grace which He pours forth on the faithful. It’s in our childlike faith that God reveals Himself, but He hides the very same from the wise of the world (Luke 10:21). You are a child of God. Therefore, praise and adore His majestic name.
Taken from Reading #5 in the 90-day devotional book, “Seeking God in the Psalms”… http://bit.ly/bQHNIE
Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey
5.03.2012
PARENTAL PRAYERS
“I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.” 1 Samuel 1:27-28
A parent’s prayers for their child produce the best results: both in the short-term and the long-term. Smart prayers include their salvation, future spouse, and a sensitive heart to the Spirit’s leading. Faith-focused prayers penetrate pride, dissolve selfishness, and give wisdom. Satan flees in the face of just prayers. Spiritual battles rage for the family’s soul and wise are the parents who engage in a prayer offensive.
Indeed, when we pray with our spouse our own hearts are strangely warmed to God, our children, and to each other. There is a mutually compounding benefit when you make prayer an investment priority for your progeny. A child who knows they are prayed for by their mom and dad is confident they are cared about. We build our son or daughter’s self-esteem when we petition heaven on their behalf. Prayer produces confidence.
“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.” Acts 14:23
How would your heavenly Father have you pray for your children? Perhaps you begin by praying with and for them at meal times and when you tuck them in at night. Obligatory and rote prayers lack spiritual intensity—they even tempt the Lord—but your fervent and righteous prayers rock the worlds of their recipients. Pray boldly for your child to live boldly within a culture of unbelief. Pray they will stand alone when others forsake the faith.
Have you given your child over to the Lord in a simple and trusting prayer? You cannot control your child, but you can entrust them to Christ who is all controlling. You must not seek to manipulate your son or daughter, but ask the Holy Spirit to lead them away from temptation and into His path of peace and wisdom. Pray for godly mentors to come into their lives and reinforce what you have taught and modeled for years. Be hopeful and persevere, as your parental prayers offer wisdom and revelation of God!
“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Ephesians 1:16-17
Prayer: Lord, what prayers can I direct to you on behalf of my child?
Related Readings: Genesis 25:21; 1 Chronicles 5:20; Colossians 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:2
Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey
A parent’s prayers for their child produce the best results: both in the short-term and the long-term. Smart prayers include their salvation, future spouse, and a sensitive heart to the Spirit’s leading. Faith-focused prayers penetrate pride, dissolve selfishness, and give wisdom. Satan flees in the face of just prayers. Spiritual battles rage for the family’s soul and wise are the parents who engage in a prayer offensive.
Indeed, when we pray with our spouse our own hearts are strangely warmed to God, our children, and to each other. There is a mutually compounding benefit when you make prayer an investment priority for your progeny. A child who knows they are prayed for by their mom and dad is confident they are cared about. We build our son or daughter’s self-esteem when we petition heaven on their behalf. Prayer produces confidence.
“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.” Acts 14:23
How would your heavenly Father have you pray for your children? Perhaps you begin by praying with and for them at meal times and when you tuck them in at night. Obligatory and rote prayers lack spiritual intensity—they even tempt the Lord—but your fervent and righteous prayers rock the worlds of their recipients. Pray boldly for your child to live boldly within a culture of unbelief. Pray they will stand alone when others forsake the faith.
Have you given your child over to the Lord in a simple and trusting prayer? You cannot control your child, but you can entrust them to Christ who is all controlling. You must not seek to manipulate your son or daughter, but ask the Holy Spirit to lead them away from temptation and into His path of peace and wisdom. Pray for godly mentors to come into their lives and reinforce what you have taught and modeled for years. Be hopeful and persevere, as your parental prayers offer wisdom and revelation of God!
“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Ephesians 1:16-17
Prayer: Lord, what prayers can I direct to you on behalf of my child?
Related Readings: Genesis 25:21; 1 Chronicles 5:20; Colossians 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:2
Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey
5.02.2012
Did Jesus Get Dirt on His Robe?
You might think that keeping Jesus all mysterious and heavenly is the proper thing to do, but consider this: When he came, he came as presented in the Gospels—very much human, a person, a man, with a very distinct personality. This is the primary witness we have of him, recorded for all who would know him. This is how he chooses to make himself known. This is the “self” he presents to us. Be careful you don’t push him away with your religious delicacies.
“Jesus was so obviously human,” notes Eugene Peterson, “but this has never been an easy truth for people to swallow. There are always plenty of people walking around who will have none of this particularity: human ordinariness, bodily fluids, raw emotions of anger and disgust, fatigue and loneliness.”3 Did you think Gethsemane was the only time he sweat? Or maybe we assume his sweat smelled like lilies? And what is with the snowy white robe? Every movie I’ve seen costumes Jesus in an immaculate white robe. He never got dirty? Those were not paved roads he walked for miles.
(Beautiful Outlaw, 65)
Source: Ransomed Heart Ministries by John Eldredge
“Jesus was so obviously human,” notes Eugene Peterson, “but this has never been an easy truth for people to swallow. There are always plenty of people walking around who will have none of this particularity: human ordinariness, bodily fluids, raw emotions of anger and disgust, fatigue and loneliness.”3 Did you think Gethsemane was the only time he sweat? Or maybe we assume his sweat smelled like lilies? And what is with the snowy white robe? Every movie I’ve seen costumes Jesus in an immaculate white robe. He never got dirty? Those were not paved roads he walked for miles.
(Beautiful Outlaw, 65)
Source: Ransomed Heart Ministries by John Eldredge
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