Days 12-14 of the 21 Day Challenge...Many, many days late

Clearly I got myself wrapped up in other things and never finished the 21-day-challenge on here. I was going to delete the previous posts where I had recorded Days 1-11, but then I realized that was wrong. You see, as we focus so much on what God did for us, I've been thinking and praying a lot about Peter. I keep reading what he did to Jesus for my Bible study (if you aren't enrolled in a good one, GO to Bible Study Fellowship. Seriously. They are everywhere and it's SO good), and my heart has changed so much for this guy.

Peter was the first disciple to call Jesus the Son of God. He was zealous, intuitive, and bold. He really got it. Sure, he made a mistake or two, but all of them did, other than Jesus. You know, the other disciples were not discussed as much as him and it's not because he was the only one messing up. Even before I was a Christian I preferred to live life making mistakes than fearfully avoiding them. Obviously that's been magnified since the Lord healed me. Now I'm completely compelled to go out and DO things for Him, not just talk about them (2 Cor 5:14). So, there's a special place in my heart for Peter because I see how he messed up. He had the right foundation--faith in Jesus. But instead of watching and praying in Matthew 26, he fell asleep (like they all did). And he pridefully declared that he wouldn't deny Christ even though the Lord knew he would. But can you picture that moment? They're all sitting around hearing about the awful things they would do. I would have jumped up with the guy and pounded my chest at the prospect of denying Him also. Peter and I would have taken turns chopping the servant's ears off when they came to collect Jesus (Mth 27, John 15 which is pasted below). I would have called it zealousness as I swung my sword, and only later would I realize I had allowed my own plans to take over. After the mistake had been made I would have cried and apologized and wished I had never done it.

So, because I do stuff like that, I decided not to delete evidence of the incomplete challenge from a few months ago. When I started it I felt the Lord suggest I post the 21-day challenge, which was to read a chapter from the book of John each day for 21 days. Then I forgot about my firm foundation and got lost in my own ways. So I might still wish I had never done it but might as well try and make things right now. His word will not return void and plenty of them will be posted below.

I'll paste the chapter here and then some comments beneath it. I'm not writing commentary but if something excites you enough to read more into it, post what you find!

Day 12

John 12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
    see, your king is coming,
    seated on a donkey’s colt.”

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Jesus Predicts His Death

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up[g] from the earth,will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.”When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews

37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40 “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

It hurts me deeply that people who walked along my journey with incurable cancer don't see the truth about the Lord in that. But when I read things like this I realize, the people back then saw every single thing Jesus did and they still didn't believe. It's so much more than believing in something or someone you can't touch. It's about humbling yourself enough to accept Him. To recognize that you NEED Him. That the fact that He is God matters. 

Day 13

John 13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him,and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’

19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

Oh, Judas. Everyone hates that guy. Now. It appears that he was always a slimeball, but there's no hint that the disciples noticed. Jesus knew everything so obviously he was aware, but Judas wasn't the creepy predator lurking in the shadows like we might expect from a guy like that. Sort of like we (yes, myself included) hypocrites who put on a good face but don't live it out. 

I wonder why Jesus told Judas to "go quickly". Did He want to hurry up and get it over with? I hate waiting in suspense for bad things, is it worse when you know exactly what's going to happen like He did? Or was it more of an acknowledgement that He knew what was going to happen and would not thwart the plan? 

As a side note, at the start of this chapter we saw that Judas already made a plan to betray Jesus before Satan entered him. That's different from being a helpless body possessed by evil.

Day 14

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 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. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

“Come now; let us leave.

How cool. The prince of this world (Satan) is coming. He HAS NO HOLD OVER ME...he comes so the world may learn that I love the father. The story had to go this way. The only way for us to see true love was for us to know that the perfect, spotless lamb willingly did exactly what His father commanded. He is the only one to ever do exactly what OUR father commands. And He is the only one of us who didn't deserve a brutal death. What an injustice for Him. It pains me so much to know what people just like me did to Him. We can all say we wouldn't have done that but the truth is we do awful things all the time. We get caught up in our own plans and allow someone to suffer. We don't fight the mob for fear of getting trampled. We sit idly by as hatred prevails.

Request

You all probably know that I can be a little sensitive on the inside, but outside I am not as gentle...so, I'm not sure how to express this request that might be touchy. Basically, I am writing a fictionalized version of my story and want to include a godly character who died of cancer at a young age. I feel very moved to base that character on a real person. One whose family would be blessed to share truths about her (or him) and to (hopefully) see the story in print one day.I don't have an agent or publisher yet but if God wants it printed it will be.
So, if you know of a person whose family might want to be involved in something like that, please have them contact me. Ideally the character will be based on a young woman who died of breast cancer, but the Lord could have someone else in mind. I would love for you to pass this request to people you know who might be interested, but do so prayerfully. I want people's involvement to help them heal or to remind them of other special moments, not to just relive the pain of their loss. To be really clear, please don't contact me with someone else's name because for something that might be difficult I don't want to surprise them with the question. Just have them consider the opportunity and reach out if they want to be involved.
...And this probably doesn't need to be said, but let's not ask people who are still alive because the Lord might still heal them!
So...that's my awkward request. Thanks in advance!

1 Chronicles 16:12 "Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth."

Sometimes

Sometimes it's easy to see how good God is. He is everywhere. The sun is shining like only He can make it do, the birds are chirping the songs He taught them. Your children are behaving like the perfect little angels that only He (or the promise of chocolate) can convince them to be. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Always be joyful."

Other times we are awakened at 4 am by the "puppy" that is bigger than a miniature horse, clawing at us to go outside. Then maybe the day gets worse so our head aches and we feel that we're climbing up a mountain of infinite height the whole time. And when it's finally time to sit and rest we glance at our phone to see bad news. Really bad news.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks no matter what happens. God wants you to thank him because you believe in Christ Jesus."

This is a day with struggles like that. God is good no matter what, but I sure wish I hadn't just read that Kate died. I mentioned her on here before. She was really young (don't remember, mid-twenties probably), and had ovarian cancer. I met her when she was scared, sick, and seeking God. She prayed with us for her healing but not for her salvation. As soon as I left her I knew I should have pushed for her to pray for the Holy Spirit to envelope her life. But I didn't. 

Ecclesiastes 9:12 "Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them."

She was in town visiting this winter, and was about to return to Colorado. Since then we emailed a few times and she implied that she was involving Jesus in her life, but I don't know if she ever literally prayed a sinner's prayer and accepted the Lord. That's between Him and her now. I desperately hope that she did, and ask that you would all pray for her family to see Him through this tragedy somehow. Pray that her life and death would have a beautiful impact on the kingdom of heaven and that all who knew her would live for Him. And with Him, forever in heaven.

I'm just devastated that she passed away. She was really frail but was also on a strict diet so I sort of thought that was it. I can't believe someone who was able to fly here and get around just fine a few months ago was sick enough to die so soon after. You would think I'd be used to it by now but I'm just not. This girl did NOT want to die. There wasn't that lack of hope that would make her give up. And her poor husband actually married her after she was already diagnosed. They were newlyweds and never even spent a day of her marriage as a healthy person. She never got to have kids or to really celebrate the great things God gave her. 

Acts 14:7 "...and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."

It's really hard to see His goodness in all of this, but it's there. It's there in the little things, like letting her get diagnosed in time to appreciate the notice and share a lot of love and memories. It's there in the fact that at least as of a few months ago she wasn't in a lot of pain. It's there because He led her to seek Him before she died. So many people do that. I think on some level they realize that the emptiness they feel has a source, and it's not in the pleasures that healthier people enjoy so much. They start realizing that they aren't in control of their own destiny, and maybe eternal life isn't worth hedging your bets about.

John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except by me."

It's not enough to be a good person, or to help others. Anyone can do that. But not just anyone can go to heaven. I actually don't live for Jesus because of the promise of heaven, I do it because He has redeemed me and I am overflowing with that gratitude NOW and want to share it TODAY. But when it boils down to it, it doesn't matter what we do on earth, because it's less than a fraction of eternity. There is no end to eternity. No second chances, no do-overs. That's why a true Christian will love these non-believers enough to tell them about the Lord. He is the ONLY way. Honestly, I wish that wasn't so, but I'm not going to lie to you about it.

Ephesians 5:6 "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

There are a lot of reasons not to devote yourself to God. It can be embarrassing. You might have to give up your lavish lifestyle. You have to depend on Him instead of yourself. But...we are not promised tomorrow and you will likely not have a clue when you're about to die. I sure had no clue that I was dying at the time of my diagnosis, and I really thought I had a good handle on intuition. Hell is an eternal wrath, a complete separation from God. It's not worth it. 

Revelation 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

There is no official prayer to accept the Lord but I'm going to paste one from here. You just have to acknowledge the God is supreme and Jesus is the only way to get to Him. Promise to change your ways (then do! He will help!). You could pray this and if you mean it (or really, just try to mean it. If there are parts you fail at or don't understand you just pray for help!). If you do this, it's the first step in a relationship with Him. Most of us don't just "get" what to do next. If that's the case, read the Bible, pray, find a church and repeat. I can help you find resources so feel free to email me here if so.

A Sinner's Prayer:
"Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.

Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.

Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.
Amen."

Passover Hope

Naomi turned three last week. THREE! She wasn't even a year old when I was diagnosed with, and then miraculously healed from, stage 4 cancer. Since then she learned to crawl, walk, run and talk. She's so much fun I can't help but smile when I look at her, and the days that I do so with sadness because of what is coming for us are long gone. God has restored our family and allowed us to move on, with a stronger faith and love than we had before it all began. But I will admit that as the time has passed I am farther removed from cancer, and more focused on normal daily struggles. I am giving my testimony next week and realized that is the very first time since it all began that I haven't had another opportunity to do so on my calendar. I have become less of a cancer survivor and more of a woman and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that.

I passionately promised God that I would never forget, never stop bragging about His awesomeness. Not in an attempt to "make a deal" with Him, but because I truly don't want to. I don't want to become the person I was before. To move back to my old definition of hope, which was more like "accept and except that bad things will happen but really want good ones" and back to the biblical definition that I learned, "the urgent expectation" that we all need. That we should all cling to.

I just read about the four different ways the word and concept of hope is used in the Bible. They are all awesome, so check it out here. The most interesting one to me is with Rahab in the Old Testament. In Joshua 2 we saw that Rahab was a prostitute who hid God's men for Him. When they destroyed the city later, they had her hang a scarlet cord out the window to show they should pass over her place. That scarlet cord is a tiqvah, which is actually an unbreakable cord, symbolizing our unbreakable hope in God. And I'm sure it's not coincidence that of course, during passover, God had His people put scarlet blood over their doorposts so the angel of death would pass over those homes...and that Jesus was celebrating the Seder meal from passover during the last supper, when He demonstrated how He would actually bear all our scarlet sins on the cross. And when it comes to judgment, our sins are passed over if we put our hope in Him.

Now that I've so smoothly brought this post about hope around to passover and Easter, I would like to invite all of you locals to a teaching Yaacov is doing about passover on Thursday, April 17 from 6-8 pm at Four Oaks Community Church. It will have elements of a traditional Seder meal that Jesus and the disciples were celebrating for the Last Supper (Lk 22, Mth 26, etc), and he will show how the things He said were explaining how His actions fulfilled the rituals his predecessors hadn't understood. It is always a good time and this one will be shorter than many. You don't have to be a Four Oaks member or have any idea what passover is about to attend. You might be able to see a description here, and if not email me to RSVP or for more info.

1 Peter 1:3-9
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

A Gift from God

The Lord is so lovely. He has answered many of the prayers I've posted over time. I am not good about keeping them updated. One that so many ask about is my friend with the brain tumor. He brought her through surgery with flying colors and no cancer and she is doing very well. He heard our prayers and had compassion on all of us. Thank you for praying!

I've been praying more deliberately for people lately and there are so many times I don't know how to pray. I think of the Lord's prayer as an example but still struggle when I'm not as aware of His presence and words. But suddenly tonight as I was struggling, I found the answer! In the most precious words, words that were in the gospel of John that I have read many times, were these hidden words that I previously didn't notice. Yesterday I began praying Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." I began praying this for someone else, but He knew I had these things I don't know. Life changing things that I needed to hear.

So, He answered my call, because that's what He does. He promises to do it, time and again, yet oftentimes we fail to believe He really will. But He is faithful, faithful, faithful. Patient and faithful. In John 17 we are invited into the private conversation between the perfect son and the perfect father. We don't deserve to be in their presence, but He invites anyway. That perfect son (as well as the Holy Spirit) is the only one who truly knows the full majesty of our Lord, and He loves us enough to spend time pleading for us...

In John 17:20;23-26 Jesus said, "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you... Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

Jesus isn't being arrogant, He is literally perfect and the One who knows all knows that the absolute best thing for us, the most important prayer that could be said, is that we would have Jesus within us. So, this is how we pray. It is more important than the little issues we have going on, because if we become more like Him, we will know how to deal with them. We will have the faith to listen to His word, and the authority to command and expect the impossible. He also refers to us as "those you have given me", because we are precious gifts for Him. I learned today also (from 1 Peter 2:24) that we should "live for righteousness" and it is clear that a gift given to the most amazing man who ever lived (who is, of course, fully God as well) should be living for righteousness. I think it's time to up the ante with our standards and live today for righteousness, to be "worthy" of being called not just a child of God, but a gift of God.