Reblogged from fuckyeahzombieproblems
365 Days of Prayer Challenge
Join me in 365 days of prayer. This blog is meant to encourage myself, as well as anyone who would like to join me, in strengthening (or starting) our prayer lives.
I LOVE DOING THINGS LIKE THIS AT NIGHT.
(via faithfullypatient)
“I really love you.” How often can we really say (or in my case, sign) this? Hang with me for just a second, k? “And there came to him (Jesus) a leper, begging him, and saying, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” And being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying “I will it to be so; be clean.” And staightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.” -Mark 1:40-42 How do you read that? Because up until today, I read it as Jesus is powerful, he healed the leper. I think we are totally missing the point though. The point isnt “straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.” That isn’t the moral here. “Being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him.” That is what it is about. Leprosy was a big deal. It was basically a skin disease that would sentence you to a slow, painful death, including extreme pain to the point of losing all feeling in the limbs. Because it was so contagious, people with leprosy were isolated from their families and the community, and forced to live alone, outside the city gates. The leper in this story is more than his skin disease. If you think about it, he was probably your average guy, with a wife and possibly some kids. Maybe one day he woke up with a blister on his arm. He goes to see the priest, who gives him the news that he’s going to die, and worse than that, he will die alone, away from the people he cares about most. He will never see them again. No one will ever touch him again. Until Jesus walked by. He did the most meaningful thing anyone could have ever done for this man. He stretched out his hand, and touched him. Then he said I want to heal you. Be clean. He said, “I really love you.”
I’ve always thought that the first couple books of the Bible were whiny. I mean, like toddler not getting the cookies he wanted in the grocery store kind of whiny. Eve ate the fruit, complains about being kicked out of the garden. Israelites make an idol because God doesn’t have the pillar of FIRE sent to them in a timetable that suites them. Oh, woe to me, for I have made an obvious mistake and God isn’t patting me on the back and making it all better. I mean seriously, they had a PILLAR OF FIRE. God sent manna from heaven, and carved the rules on stone tablets. The Old Testament had it going on! They have it so easy, and they still can’t get it right? Are they blind?? But tonight, I was just skimming through and got to thinking. What would they say about us? We think they had it easy. God was plain and clearly manifested in their lives, and they couldn’t follow him. It kind of gives us an excuse, right? Our every step is not directed by a pillar of fire, or a dry sheepskin on wet grass, etc. etc. But if the Israelites were to look into our lives, read a book written about us, wouldn’t they think the same thing? “They have it so easy,” they might say. “Look at the abundance, the opportunities He has just laid out for them. They don’t have to walk around for forty years to get to the promised land. They are born into it. Look at the technology, the ability they have to save lives and spread the Word to the masses. They have it so easy, and they still can’t get it right? Are they blind?” Maybe we should stop waiting around for the pillar of fire. God works in unlimited, mysterious, unpredictable ways. Let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves, how hard we have it, how difficult it is to follow God. Let’s realize that God is pursuing us, using us for His purposes, and He will get us there in time. Look around, and see that our “pillar of fire” is actually the gifts and talents He has blessed you with. The “dry sheepskin” is instead the blessing of friends to hold you accountable to your calling. Maybe we should stop complaining, learn from the Israelites mistakes, and let God work in our lives, running after Him with all we’ve got.
Pray that we can learn something from every person we meet, whether they have a different background, socio-economic status, gender, or political stance. Even if they rub you the wrong way. pray we can all grow a little bit in our humanity towards people. Amen.
Today, I took a class on suicide prevention. I learned some pretty crazy stats about the number of people, especially college aged kids, who contemplate or attempt suicide every day.
Let’s pause to pray for these people, that someone can come into their lives and speak truth and hope, so they know that they are never alone.
Today, something that has come up more than once, is people turning from Christ based on a bad experience with the church.
Not the capital “C” Church, the hands and feet of Christ, but the little “c” church, that is full of people that mistakes.
Let’s pray today that we can change the perspective that other people have about the church. Pray that we can be true representatives of who Christ is, and admit when we fall short.
Pray that those that have been burned by the church can be healed, the love of Jesus Christ through us acting as salve on their wounds.
Amen.
Thank God for your gifts and talents. What has he given you to use for His glory, and the furthering of His Kingdom?
[Personal answer blurb: I don’t usually answer my own questions, but in this case, I would love to share a bit more about my journey with Christ. I have been blessed in too many ways to count, but the easiest to explain would be my passion for Sign Language. Growing up, I never knew any Deaf people. None of my family signed, or knew anything about Deaf culture (or that there was a such thing).
I took a summer kids class on beginning sign, and I enjoyed it. Later on, a girl who was hard-of-hearing came into my life, and needed a reading tutor. Even later still, I was asked to teach a beginning Sign Language Class to elementary school students for an after school program at our church.
Still all through this time, I never considered it as a career, or even as a prominent hobby. Then one day all of these events, leading me to junior/senior year in high school, hit me. Oh. So, God has been preparing me for this the whole time? It was at this point I really dove in to ASL, learning what vocabulary I could online, signing “I Gotta Feeling” with some of my friends for a band concert, and eventually choosing my college based on it’s ASL Interpreting program. I have been involved to the point of obsession ever since. My friends have picked up signing, as I tend to do so while speaking. I’m entering upper level classes in sign this year. I’m involved in Deaf dinners, interacting with the Deaf community. And I have the opportunity to use ASL at a Special Needs program at my church, for both Deaf and Autistic children.
God has truly blessed me in ways I would have never imagined.]
Share your story. What has God gifted you with?
For something a little different, here is some food for thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF_7L9-XGmE
Where you go I go
What you say I say
What you pray I pray
Jesus only did, What he saw you do
He would only say, What he heard you speak
He would only move, When he felt you lead
Following your heart, Following your spirit
How could I expect to walk without you
When every move that Jesus made was in surrender
I would not begin to live without you
For you alone are worthy you are always good
You are always good
You are always good
Always good
Always good
(Bridge)
Though the world seems to forget
We will not forget
Who you are and what you’ve done for us
You are my God
This is a song by Jesus Culture, and as I was singing along, I realized the magnitude of what I’m singing.
Where you Go, I Go.
Christ went to the homes of the broken, to heal the desperately sick, to the righteous in the temple, and ultimately to the cross to save us. Am I ready to do that?
What you Say, I Say.
Christ said a multitude of things. He spoke truth into people’s lives, poured into them, even if it was hard or uncomfortable. He spoke to the heart of an issue, initiated discussion with the disciples, preached to the masses. Can I do that?
What you Pray, I Pray.
Christ prayed. He prayed for His daily bread, for God’s kingdom to come, for the weak, the orphaned, the widowed. He prayed that the cup (his impending death on the cross) be taken from Him. He prayed in such a way that exemplified His relationship with the Father. He petitioned, He asked, He thanked, He cried, He sweat blood. How can I pray with that kind of intensity and relationship with the creator of the universe?
Thoughts?
