You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might
go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name
the Father will give you. John 15:16
The first request of us from the persecuted church is that we pray for them.
And correspondingly, they are usually great models of people of prayer which we
can emulate. But we often need to be reminded that they do not ask us only to
pray for them but also to pray with them. If we only
pray for them, we will pray for their safety and the termination
of their persecution. They want us to pray with them which means
we will pray for: the advance of the gospel in their land; that they will bear
fruit that will last; and for perseverance and fearless courage in the face of
suffering.
Pastor Samuel Lamb from Guangzhou, China, has an interesting prayer for
severe situations of persecution which expresses his trust in a great God. He
prays: “Lord, I rejoice in how You are going to work this out.”
Moses Xie, a Chinese Church leader who spent more than twenty years in jail
for his faith, says that when asking visitors to pray for him he is really after
three distinct outcomes:
“First, I want them to experience the blessing of prayer for themselves. They
will go to God on my behalf, but they will receive a great blessing from being
in the presence of God.
Second, I know that as they pray, their burden for the persecuted will
increase, and as their burden grows, so their commitment to assisting us in all
sorts of other ways will increase also. Prayer alone makes them be the body.
Third, I want them to release more of God’s power into our situation through
intercession, since I know that God has bound Himself not to act until we
ask.”
Today is a great day to glorify God in our lives and those of the persecuted
church.
RESPONSE: Today I will not only pray for the persecuted but I will
also pray with the persecuted.
PRAYER: Lord, may my life glorify You today and may I be a lasting fruit
bearer who only desires that Your will be done.
His work: Since the man by the pool was an invalid, he may
have made his living by begging.
His character: His role in
the story seems almost entirely passive, perhaps in keeping with his character.
He showed evidence neither of faith nor gratitude after the miracle of his
healing and even went so far as to give evidence against Jesus to men who were
hostile toward Jesus. Sin appears to have played a role in his
condition.
His sorrow: To have been paralyzed for nearly
forty years.
His triumph: To have been instantly
healed.
Key Scriptures: John 5
A Look at the Man
"Do you want to be healed?"
It was an outrageous question to ask a man who had been paralyzed for
thirty-eight years, a man forced to beg for a living.
But there was a reason for the question. Perhaps, in fact, the paralyzed man
wasn't happy about the prospect of being healed. Maybe his disability offered a
certain kind of security, enabling him at least to make a living as a beggar.
His sudden cure would have undermined his many dependencies, his familiar
routine, his ingrained view of himself. He would have had to start life all over
again.
Or maybe he was offended by Jesus' warning against sin. Perhaps he thought it
would do Jesus good to receive his comeuppance at the hands of the religious
leaders.
The story of the man by the pool reminds us that displays of God's power are
not enough to create faith in a person's heart. Though the man had suffered for
many years, he showed no evidence of gratitude and no evidence of belief. We
expect him to fall on his knees when he is miraculously healed. But he doesn't.
We expect him to show some kind of curiosity about the person who healed him.
But he doesn't even ask Jesus his name until their second encounter. We expect
him to protect Jesus against his detractors, to be scandalized by their
blindness and self-righteousness. Instead, he reports Jesus to men he knew to be
hostile toward Jesus.
In Matthew's gospel, Jesus denounces the cities that had witnessed most of
his miracles, because the vast majority of people there had failed to repent (Matthew 11:20). His words remind
us that, even though miracles are evidence of God's power and compassion,
without faith we are still free to reject them, still free to conclude that his
offer of mercy is irrelevant or unnecessary.
Though none of us know what went on in the heart of the man who was healed,
we are troubled by the way he responded and the way he failed to respond to the
miracle he experienced. We may even wonder if by his own choice he finally
succeeded in placing himself beyond the reach of God's mercy. Only God
knows.
Reflect On: Psalm 86:1–8
Praise
God: For his grace, mercy, and the faith to believe.
Offer
Thanks: For the blessings of healing and
wholeness.
Confess: Any tendency you may have to blame
others rather than to admit your own sinfulness and receive Christ’s
pardon.
Ask God: To give you courage to stand, face those
crippling hurts, and live with freedom and hope.
Today’s Truth
As they began to sing and praise,
the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were
invading Judah, and they were defeated (2 Chronicles 20:22, NIV).
Friend to Friend
They were surrounded, outnumbered.
Anyone could see it was only a matter of time.
A “vast army” closed the distance on God’s people. A cloud of dust swirled,
kicked up by the boots of a thousand of angry warriors. White with fear,
witnesses ran to King Jehoshaphat with warning.
The news no doubt caused parents to pull children closer and whisper about
ways of escape. The Bible said even King Jehoshaphat—a warrior himself—was
“alarmed.” Even so, rather than rouse his generals and arm his men, Jehoshaphat
turned his face to God and prayed.
"'O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? We
have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what
to do, but our eyes are upon you.'" (2 Chronicles 20:6, 12)
For years I’ve marveled at Jehoshaphat’s immediate response in crisis. I’m a
“get it done” girl. When faced with a problem, I get right to work, try to fix
it, resolve it, and make the problem go away. But pray? Sometimes prayer feels
too flimsy for a real life crisis.
Jehoshaphat knew otherwise. The best preparation he could make was of the
praying kind. Thus, he called men, women and children to circle up. There wasn't
much time, but there was time enough to pray. Food was refused and knees were
bent, until God spoke. And He did speak:
"Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the
battle is not yours, but God’s … You will not have to fight this battle. Take up
your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you."
(vs. 15, 17)
Face a massive army without a single weapon?
Seriously?
Once again, I marvel. Instead of fighting, God commands His king and people
to do nothing. To watch the gathering cloud. And to trust.
So that’s exactly what they did. The next morning, King Jehoshaphat and every
last Israelite stood their ground in the face of an attacking enemy. Instead of
warriors leading the way, a chorus of worshipers lifted their voices in
confidence to their God. Joy was the emotion of the day—not revenge, and
certainly not fear. In the end, not a single enemy was left standing.
I'm not sure which vast army you face - perhaps a tough marriage, a
struggling child, a chronic illness, or an uncertain future. Panic is
understandable in the face of impossibility. It’s tempting to roll up our
sleeves and try to warrior our way through our circumstances, I know.
But don’t forget: worship is a weapon far more powerful than a thousand
warriors. When faced with overwhelming odds, the best defense is joyful
offense.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I often struggle to trust your
deliverance when my circumstances appear impossible. Instead, I try to take
matters into my own hands, try to control all the details. Instead, give me the
courage and strength to stand in worship, even when I want to run. You are
worthy. And more than able!
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Today, when an unexpected
circumstance takes you by surprise, simply sing. It doesn’t matter the song, but
determine to worship God first before you do anything else.
More from the Girlfriends
Be sure to check out
Michele Cushatt’s book, Undone: A Story of Making Peace With An Unexpected Life. Join Michele on her quest to make peace with a complicated
life. It is an honest confession of a diagnosis of cancer and the joys and
disappointments of motherhood and marriage, ripe with regret over what is and,
yet, still hopeful for what could be.
Todo el que me oye estas palabras y no las pone en práctica es como un hombre
insensato que construyó su casa sobre la arena [...] y esta se derrumbó. Mateo 7:26-27
Hoy terminamos los veintiún días y sé que mi Dios nos ha dado tremendas
armas, instrucciones y doctrinas para que seamos felices mediante la obediencia.
Si no leíste estos veintiún días, léelos cuando puedas. Hay cosas sencillas y
prácticas que nos dejó Dios y que estoy segura que, si las aplicamos, daremos
mejores frutos.
Este último llamado de nuestro Padre tiene que ver con lo más importante: La
base de todo lo que hacemos, o sea, la estructura que determinará nuestra vida.
¿Dónde vamos a construir? ¿Sobre la arena o sobre la Roca que es Cristo? La vida
construida sobre la Roca resistirá cualquier ataque, tormenta y desafío que se
presente en nuestro diario vivir.
Por favor, dejemos la vida trivial. Dejemos de vivir a nuestra manera y de
tomar decisiones que distorsionen lo que Dios ya planeó para cada uno de
nosotros. Aprendamos de una vez por todas de las equivocaciones y de los golpes
que hemos sufrido. Luego, permitamos que nuestro Señor nos dé esos cimientos
para ser absolutamente felices en Cristo.
1 John 2:15-16 (NIV) [ On Not Loving the World ] Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
Read all of 1 John 2
