April 10

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  John 14:16-17 (NIV)

The following is recorded in the study notes of the Full Life Study bible:

The Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of truth", because he is the Spirit of Jesus, who is the truth.  As such, he testifies to the truth, enlightens concerning the truth, exposes untruth and guides the believer into all truth.  Those who are willing to sacrifice truth for the sake of unity, love or any other reason deny the Spirit of truth, whom they claim lives in them.  The church that abandons the truth abandons its Lord.  The Holy Spirit will not be the Counselor to those who are indifferent to the faith or halfhearted in their commitment to the truth.  He comes only to those who worship the Lord "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
 

One of my big sisters in the faith calls the Holy Spirit the "Revealer of Truth".  The important thing about the truth is (1) Jesus said, 'I am the truth' and when you activate the presence of 'I am' along with the power of 'the truth'...(2) the opposite of a lie (an intentional untruth) and we all know satan is the father of lies and (3) the truth will set you free...whom the Son sets free is free indeed.  
The world cannot accept the Spirit of Truth because it's built on so many lies!  Everywhere we look...LIES!  McDonald's has us singing "I'm lovin' it"...lovin' the defiling of our temple with hypertension, high cholesterol and liquid diabetes aka sweet tea.  Beyonce "goes hard" telling b******* to bow down, when God explicitly said we should have no other before Him.  Women are told that they're not equal and they need empowerment; when God created us with the capability to reproduce life!  Men are soft if they live a life of worship or openly praise God; when in actuality, if God inhabits praise, why wouldn't a man want to enlist the creator of the universe into his situations! 

Father, thank you for sending us "another Counselor" to be with us forever!  Your word says that we are to renew our minds so that we do not conform to this world, but instead are transformed.  Thank you for the Holy Spirit abiding in our children.  Thank you for the foundation given to them in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.  Thank you for shining the light and revealing the truth, even right now, wherever he/she may be...in the middle of whatever he/she is doing!  We call forth the truth that dwells within our sons and daughters and we say BE FREE...THE TRUTH HAS SET YOU FREE!  In Jesus name, Amen!!!

April 9

Once our children have received the Lord, we must continue praying for their relationship with Him.  We want our children to always be "filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" and to "walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9-10) Power of a Praying Parent, Stormie Omartian

Study notes in The Full Life Study Bible said that Colossians 1:9-12 is "one of Paul's four great New Testament apostolic prayers, spoken under the inspiration of the Spirit (the other three are Ephesians 1:16-19; 3:14-19; Philippians 1:9-11).  From these prayers we learn how to pray for others, such as our children, friends, fellow believers, missionaries, pastors, etc.  We must pray that they may (1) understand God's will, (2) gain spiritual wisdom, (3) live holy lives pleasing to the Lord, (4) bear fruit for Christ, (5) be strengthened spiritually by the Holy Spirit, (6) persevere in faith and righteousness, (7) give thanks to the Father, (8) continue in the hope of heaven, (9) experience Christ's nearness, (10) know Christ's love, (11) be filled with God's fullness, (12) show love and kindness to others, (13) discern evil, (14) be sincere and blameless, and (15) eagerly await the Lord's return." 

Whew...that's a tall order on how and what to pray! Verse 11 says as we grow in the knowledge of God, we are "strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,..."  The key to it all is that "he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."   In my hopes and prayers for our children, my greatest desire for them is that they GET IT!  There is a reason that we are called a 'chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people'.  If our children would just GET IT, and gain spiritual understanding of what has already been done, I believe that our sons and daughters would not succumb to so many plots and schemes of the enemy.  I am persuaded that, if our sons and daughters truly grasp that the battle is already won; nothing can separate them from the love of God.  Even when the bully is bigger; you get bold when you see your big brother on the other side of the school yard!  #Thefightisfixed   

Lord, not that they have already attained or have been made perfect, but we pray that our sons and daughters follow after You.  We pray that they forget the things that are behind and reach forth to the things You have laid up before them.  Give them holy boldness!  Oh God...let them GET IT!!! In Jesus name, Amen! 

April 8

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.  1Timothy 2:1-6 (NIV)

On Saturday, April 6, Rick Warren, the author of the multimillion-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life," said in an email to church staff that he and his wife had enjoyed a fun Friday evening with their son. But their son then returned home to take his life in "a momentary wave of despair."  Over the years, Matthew Warren had been treated by America's best doctors, had received counseling and medication and been the recipient of numerous prayers from others, his father said.  Matthew was 27.

For those of us in the faith, this news sent shock waves through our community and congregations.  After my initial thoughts of Pastor Warren and his wife Kay; I immediately thought about how the enemy might try and use something like this to attack Pastor Warren, his family and his ministry.  As I read some online articles; I could see that I wasn't too far off in my thinking based on comments made by some very ignorant people.

I always believed and was told that suicide was a sin almost as bad as blasphemy.  The reason being that if a person took his/her own life, that after the act was done; he/she could not ask forgiveness and therefore would have committed a sin  (in the last act of life) with no way for redemption.  Made sense then, but in light of this incident...I have so many questions and revelatory thoughts!

We sing, "Jesus paid it all"...in the scripture above from 1 Timothy, it says that Christ "gave himself as a ransom for all people".  I've heard many preachers proffer that while He was yet on the cross; "Jesus could have come down, but He decided to stay there for you and me"...in my pensive state; I wonder...was that not suicide?!?  Now please don't think I'm saying that Jesus committed suicide (I know somebody is already rebuking me).  I am well aware that Jesus was crucified at the hands of others, for the sins of others.  Vine's Expository Dictionary defines "ransom" in it's context as "provisionally universal, while being of a vicarious character."  It goes on to say  that "while the provision was universal, for Christ died for all men, yet it is actual for those only who accept God's conditions, and who are described in the Gospel statements as "the many." The giving of His life was the giving of His entire person, and while His death under Divine judgment was alone expiatory, it cannot be dissociated from the character of His life which, being sinless, gave virtue to His death and was a testimony to the fact that His death must be of a vicarious nature."  I understand this to say that once Jesus died for my sins, it is no longer necessary for me to physically die for my sins.  Nevertheless, I will say that Jesus has saved more souls over 2000 years after his death, than through his life.

Maybe the same will be said of Matthew Warren and what his death will mean to those suffering with mental illness.  Could this incident create a conversation for the church, social agencies and government agencies on how to serve people of faith?  What if someone learns the signs of a person anticipating suicide, intervenes and saves a life?  Maybe Matthew Warren's death will not be in vain. 

Lord, while it's hard to understand right now, I pray that you give Matthew's mom and dad some peace and understanding in this matter.  Although they serve a congregation of 20,000 people, during this time...they are broken-hearted parents.  Wrap your arms around them and hold them tight.  Let them know that we are praying for them and standing in the gap for them.  I pray that they are given and take time to grieve, because it is necessary.  Only You and Matthew know what he was going through and I pray that You were able to wipe away his tears on Friday.  I am thankful that he is no longer in pain on this side.  Help us Holy Spirit, in Jesus name, Amen!

April 4

Lord, You have said in Your Word, " If you declare with your mouth, ' Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).  Thank you for making salvation available for my child. 

Save translated in this context means to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.  I'm so thankful that with his/her belief my son/daughter is saved!  Meditating on what this scripture means, has me thinking of an old hymn..."Blessed Assurance".

We pray that our children will be able to declare unequivocally that 'Jesus is Lord' and He reigns with all power.  We pray that just like our sons/daughters know the name we gave them, they will know and receive salvation.  In Jesus name, Amen!

April 3

Lord, I bring my child before You and ask that You would help him/her grow into a deep understanding of who You are.  Open his/her heart and bring him/her to a full knowledge of the truth about You.  (Power of a Praying Parent, Stormie Omartian)

We sent our daughter and now our son to the Gloria S. Friend Christian Academy to be educated in a Christian environment.  We attend church regularly where we are growing in the word.  We talk with our children about who God is in our lives and why we serve him.  In the words of the Baptist Church Covenant, we "maintain family and secret devotions".  All these things we do to build a foundation for our children.  However, when the rubber meets the road; the children have to grow into their own understanding of who God is and accept His word as truth.  I asked our son to tell me some things about Jesus and he gave the talking points I expected.  Deciding to press him about his thoughts, I said, "So you just believe those things because somebody told you those things?"  He replied, "No, I actually believe it because the bible never lies...you have to believe it to see it!"  Now that blessed me!!!

Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me' (John 14:6 KJV).  In this scripture, when Jesus says he is the truth; he is saying "I am he in whom the truth is summed up and impersonated".  What I like about Stormie's prayer is that she asks for our children to come into a "full knowledge of the truth" about God.  This is important because the enemy uses lies and deceit.  A lie is an outright false statement.  In order to deceive, one has to first know the truth as deceit is 'distorted truth for the purpose of misleading'.  We know that satan knows the truth from his time as the chief worship leader and being in the presence of God.  The devil doesn't discriminate in which tactic he uses...as long as he gets results.  A lot of what's ensnaring our children is deceit.  

We will not allow our children to be misled or deceived.  We believe that the Holy Spirit will reveal every deception and perversion of the truth the enemy tries to subtly slide by as acceptable.  When my son/daughter is uncertain; I thank you Lord for bringing back to his/her remembrance that You are the way, the truth and the life.  I thank You that Your word is hidden in their hearts and when that word is brought back to their remembrance, when the truth is spoken; they will not sin against that word.  We speak truth to power!  In Jesus name, Amen!

April 2 - NO SOLICITING!!!

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."  Revelation 3:20 (KJV)

One of our neighbors, a few doors down, has a sign on their front door which reads, "NO SOLICITING".  I've never asked, but I assume the sign is there to discourage door-to-door selling, requests for signatures on petitions, proselyting etc.  When I first saw the sign, the first thing I thought was, "whatever...don't nobody want to come to your house anyway!" (I know...not very kind of me).  Then we started getting fliers from painters and lawn care services and security system companies and home improvement businesses and on and on.  Nothing like being in the middle of a good sleep and the doorbell interrupts on a Saturday.  There were a few times when folk were allegedly trying to sell alarm systems that could have very well been trying to determine if our house was a good target for burglary, so I understand the sign.  There's also the occasional guest who just happens to drop by unexpectedly.  This really used to get on my nerves!  Before I got married, if someone came to my house without calling, it was not unusual for me to leave them on the porch ringing the doorbell.  They'd pull out the cell phone and call me like, "I know you hear me ringing your doorbell", and I'd say, "yes, and the same way you just called, you could have called before you came"!  That was then...thank God for growth!  :-)
Even though Jesus was addressing the church in the above scripture; I had to think about my own personal peeves and not wanting to be 'bothered' by someone at the door.  What have I forfeited by not opening my door to one of God's children.   Even worse, when I do not repent, I have left Jesus knocking at the door of my heart. 

Lord, when You stand at the door of our hearts and knock; let us hear and let us open the door.  I pray that my child will hear Your voice and open the door.  Thank You for the promise of fellowship with us when You're accepted!  You said in Your word that if we open the door, you would come in and dine with us, well in anticipation of deliverance, restoration, healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, salvation; I'm setting the table!  GLORAAAAAY!!!!  In Jesus name, Amen!

April 1

I've felt grieved in my spirit all day and couldn't figure out why.  Truth be told, I still can't fully explain why I feel this way, although I have a couple of theories.

As a parent, I thought about how God must've felt on the fourth day...after the resurrection.  Although Jesus didn't ascend right away, the fact still remains that God's only begotten Son died.  He died for a lot of people that didn't believe in Him and also rejected Him, yet He still fulfilled His purpose for the sake of others like me.  Watching your child walk into the midst of hell, feeling like your hands are tied is hard--very hard!  The worst to have to go through, is knowing that your child is suffering (even if he/she doesn't realize it) and not being able to do anything about it.  Maybe that's why I'm feeling this way!?!  Then I thought, maybe I'm feeling this way because again, here we are just one day after celebrating the Resurrection...and my Facebook news feed is full of April Fools pranks and jokes.  *SIGH* 

Lord, help me in this plight as I search for Your  guiding light.  Show me the way and teach me each day to trust You even more.  It's your servant's prayer, in Jesus name, Amen!

Sometimes gotta remind myself!!!
http://youtu.be/2ElODIeB1mg