In the face of disaster

Posted by Admin on May 13, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on In the face of disaster

…Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. 1 Samuel 23:26b

It didn’t look good; in fact, it was going from bad to worse. David, through no fault of his own, had riled the head of the government. He was being targeted for termination. The reason? Jealousy, pure and simple.

David had gotten some “breaks”; he’d made a lucky shot that brought down a giant; and now the entire nation was drawing to him. David’s new “privileged” status infuriated the king. David must die. Soon.

Several attempts to snare the man hadn’t succeeded. Even the king’s own son favored David and gave him a head’s up on the king’s latest scheme to do him in. David packed his bag and went into hiding, from wilderness to wilderness.

While bugging out in the hills of Ziph, the inhabitants ratted him out to the king. He escaped to the wilderness of Maon; the king found out; and soon David and his men were surrounded by government assassins. It didn’t look good.

In the middle of this mess, David turned to God. Psalm 54 was conceived in that tight place.

“Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your power. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me and violent men have sought my life; they have not set God before them” (verses 1-3).

David went to the Source; he didn’t embellish his need; he stated his case plainly.

“Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. He will recompense the evil to my foes; destroy them [silence them] in Your faithfulness” (verses 4-5).

Instead of withering in fear, David proclaimed the Lord as his helper and sustainer. Instead of obsessing over the evil done against him, he looked in faith to the One who would silence those who were seeking to silence him.

“Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies” (verses 6-7).

David, surrounded by those who sought his death, stood firm on the unseen Bedrock he had grown to trust. In the face of certain doom, David proclaimed that his hope and fablabjapan.org priligy ohne rezept deutschland future was in God: I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord.

He defiantly declared his end before it happened. He has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies. He chose to see salvation rather than defeat. I believe he would have uttered those words with his last breath, if need be.

First Samuel 24:26 sets the scene for this Psalm: …Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them.

And then, a seemingly unconnected interruption: But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape (verses 27-28).

David was delivered—not by a mighty sign or wonder; not by the power of his own bow or sling; not even by a spirit of confusion sent upon his enemies—David was delivered by a distraction!

• The king sought to kill David
• David hid
• David was ratted out
• David was surrounded
• David prayed
• David was delivered.

Whatever you are facing, remember that nothing—not jealousy, nor hatred, nor even governmental might—can squelch or defeat the one who fixes his faith on the living God.

Dorothy

This is the victory that has overcome the world: even our faith. 1 John 5:4b

Skim away the dross

Posted by Admin on Apr 27, 2016 in Everyday Observations, Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Skim away the dross

Take away the dross from the silver, and there comes out a vessel for the smith. Proverbs 25:4

I was reading Proverbs 25 recently and paused on verse 4: “Take away the dross from the silver, and there comes out a vessel for the smith.” I asked the Lord to remove any dross that might be present in my life…and then I got nervous for a couple of reasons.

First, dross is made up of impurities —non-silver particles that mar the value of silver. In my life, dross is anything I’m involved with or putting up with that’s not pleasing to the Lord—and I realized that I may have more dross tucked away than I bargained for! Was I really prepared for all the minor—and major—overhauls this dross-removal prayer may have initiated?

Second, the way in which those impurities are removed from silver is to super-heat the metal until it is molten hot. Only then can the dross be skimmed off the top.  Did I really want to undergo the fiery crucible indicated by this verse to remove soulish impurities from my life?

I read further in the Proverb as I pondered this, and I noticed several instructions and warnings. And it dawned on me—many of these were dross-removing instructions! If I followed them, the dross would skim right off. And as for the warnings—they were perfect dross-identifiers. I didn’t need to undergo fiery trials to remove the dross from my life—I merely needed to heed the Word.

I found the warnings—dross-identifiers—extremely helpful and eye-opening. Here are some:

Do not reveal the secret of another (vs. 9). Don’t open the door to trouble by telling someone’s secret to others. If you are a secret-blabber, you need to get busy with dross-skimming.

Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely (vs. 14). If you try to build yourself up in the eyes of others by stretching the truth about your gifts, talents, abilities, or accomplishments, you have some dross to get rid of.

Like a club and a sword and order rx levitra hoseitandkoelewyn.com a sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor (vs. 18). If you lie about someone…or stretch the truth to make them look worse than they are, you’ve got dross. You can’t be a pure vessel until it’s dealt with. This means you need to repent of it and ask for forgiveness from God. In turn, He will likely tell you to apologize to the one you lied to AND the one you lied about.

Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble (vs. 19). Follow through with your commitments to others…including those who have no ability to enhance your resume. When you are untrustworthy or unfaithful to your word, you have some undealt with dross marring the purity of your integrity.

Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda is he who sings songs to a troubled heart (vs. 20). As well-intended as your cheery songs may be, someone who is going through difficulties may view your upbeat treatment as a curse rather than a blessing. “Well, I just don’t want them to go around in the dumps,” you may say; but if you’re not sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the situation, you may find that your “ministry” is more self-serving than it is other-serving. If others tend to wince at your upbeat input when they are going through troubles, make sure that what you’re offering isn’t just a bit of dross you’ve pulled out as a bandage so you don’t have to deal more directly with their pain. This isn’t an easy impurity to identify in ourselves, but it’s certainly a hindrance to Christ-directed ministry.

Like a trampled spring and a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked (vs. 26). One type of impurity comes in the form of the fear of man. When you and I give way before the wicked—when we recognize wicked actions or attitudes overtaking boundaries set by God and do or say nothing about it—we have become like a trampled spring and a polluted well. How can we offer the pure water of life when we yield to the standards of wickedness set up to bring those we want to help into bondage? Are we willing to take a stand when it is unpopular to do so? Lord, help us.

It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory (vs. 27). When you search out your own glory, you tend to turn conversations back to yourself, your accomplishments, your blessings, and how God’s used you. Another verse takes it further: Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips (Proverbs 27:2). If you find yourself turning every get together into a showcase of how great (wise, spiritual, insightful, gifted, giving, ad nauseam) you are, chances are good that you’ve got some dross-skimming to do.

Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his own spirit (vs. 28). We all get annoyed at times. We all feel disappointed every now and then. Many of us have gone through a season or two in our lives when nothing goes right and storm clouds seem to hang over our souls. But if we lose utter control in the face of these things, we become like a city without protective walls. The good news is this: Even our own bad responses to trials can be treated as dross to be skimmed off and thrown away. Here’s how: Through all the messes, aggravations, disappointments, rejections and dashed dreams, you know there is an anchor. You know there is a Rock. You know there is a tower to which you can run and be safe. And knowing this—focusing on this—will bring stability to you when annoyances, disappointments, rejection, loss, or dashed dreams loom large. When your life seems to be going nowhere fast—or utterly falling apart—and you feel like you’re about to lose control, prepare to skim that dross by just saying to God, “I have no idea how You’ll fix this, but I know You are my anchor and my rock. I choose to run to You instead of losing control of my behavior or my mind right now. In You I find safety, relief, and comfort.” As you fix your attention on His ability and loving care, stability will start guarding your heart and will direct you in the way of peace.

The take away is clear: You don’t have to go through a gut-wrenching trial to remove the dross from the silver. All that’s required is for you to allow God to teach you from His Word, granting Him permission to meddle in your life, attitudes, and behaviors. He’ll show you the dross if you’re willing to see it, and He’ll lead you in the simplicity of skimming it off, once and for all.

If you wait for the fiery trials of life before you deal with issues, you are not only short-changing your growth, but you are also a fiery trial waiting to happen! Skim the impurities away now—as you become aware of them—and you will find you’ve become a vessel for the smith!

Dorothy

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:21

A lesson from Cameron

Posted by Admin on Apr 23, 2016 in Everyday Observations | Comments Off on A lesson from Cameron

Some of my more inspiring moments of revelation don’t come while I pray. No, more often than not, they alight during times of the mundane—and gritty—daily activities of my life. And if you know me, you know that part of my daily grit involves cats—and litter boxes.

So last night as I was scooping the litter pans, my darling Cameron helped to bring an ancient point home to me in a fresh way.

First some background. Cammie will be 18 years old in June. She’s a little slower, a little stiffer, and a lot more demanding than she used to be. Rowe, the eleven year old baby of the bunch, is 17 pounds of muscular energy who finds crotchety Cameron fascinating. He’s been known to stalk her as she wanders her way to the litter box, only to pounce on her just as she’s about to do her business.

Here’s my problem: Cammie refuses to use the litter pan without a human escort. So I take three daily trips downstairs to Litter Box Land, coaxing Cammie to wind her way to her pan. (Yes, her pan. She refuses to use either of the other two). After much (I mean much) coaxing, prodding, and encouragement, she goes. And that’s the short version.

Last night was no different. I called Cammie out of the little house I made for her out a doorless cat carrier and fuzzy towels and walked with her as she sniffed her way around the basement (I swear she’s part bloodhound). She paused often, looking this way and that to see where Rowe might be, and then continued with her sniffing. A 10-second walk to the litter pan takes five or ten minutes with her—but if I don’t escort her, she doesn’t go.

We finally made our way to the pan. Of course, she needed to sniff around the rim—some spots were so very interesting—and then of course, she couldn’t make up her mind which side of the pan she wanted to enter. As I waited on the queen, I thought to myself, “Might as well do something while I’m waiting!” and started sweeping the area around the three litter boxes, something I usually save for last—flying litter, and all.

Funny as this may sound, I instantly heard the Lord say inside of me, “That’s what you need to do while waiting on Me—get busy with other things.”

It hit me. Often we get so hyper-focused on waiting for the next thing or the next miracle that we do nothing while waiting. Sometimes a need or that next thing becomes our entire world. And that’s not what God wants.

Cameron, after circling in the pan several times, relieved herself, stepped out, and sniffed her way to a good spot under the table and waited to get her treats. And I finished sweeping, but with a little better insight into the whole waiting process.

So as you go through the mundane routine of your life, know that God’s not only with you but that He’s also liable to teach you a thing or two in the middle of your “same ole same ole”.

And as you wait for the next thing or that much-needed miracle—get busy. Live life, love God, and leave the care safely in His capable hands.

Dorothy

Fathers

Posted by Admin on Apr 11, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Fathers

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17; emphasis added

The forerunner, John the Baptist, was ordained by God to prepare the way of the Lord. Throughout church history, in times of spiritual drought, famine, and darkness, God has looked for men and women of similar passion and focus to once again prepare the way of the Lord. Every revival, renewal, reformation, awakening, and move that has poured out from Heaven upon a weary earth found its conception when some man, some woman, some child said Yes to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and entered into a targeted season of entreaty before God on behalf of others.

A bulk of the preparatory work of John in the days before Jesus entered His ministry involved three specific avenues: turning the hearts of fathers back to the children; turning the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; and to make a people prepared for the Lord. For anyone who wants to see God invade, change, and rearrange their culture, I believe that the “outline” John received from the Holy Spirit is still powerfully effective to use in intercession for any generation—especially this one.

…to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children…

So much has been said, written, and preached about fatherhood. Yet everywhere I look, I see children and teens suffering from negligent, abusive, or disinterested/absent fathers. And as those kids grow up, they do so without the tool chest that healthy fathering provides. Adults are living their lives bent in a way God never created them to lean, in great part due to the deficient and often inexcusable fathering they received. And unfortunately, many mothers have also fallen short as well.

Kids grow up scared, angry, or depressed into very troubled teens who make poor choices, and then they enter into a horribly dysfunctional adulthood where they find themselves scratching their heads—why am I so unhappy?—scared, angry, depressed. Then they produce children…and the sad cycle continues.

One irrefutable need in our generation is to radically overturn the fatherhood deficiency. Our inner cities ache for the stability of men of integrity. Our meth-pocked rural areas cry out for the steadiness of men of honor. And our suburbs secretly weep for men who value and live out their commitments to their wives and children in love.

Unless God intervenes, as Cher sang, the beat goes on. Therefore a key component to any awakening, move, or reformation of God is to transform fathers. Negligence, abuse, disinterest, and absenteeism must be repented of, one father at a time.

I can almost hear the Holy Spirit urging, “There’s hope! I will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children. But you, believer—take your stand. Pray. Dig deep. Intercede for the lost, broken, distracted, and wayward men of your generation who have turned—for whatever reasons—away from their families…from their kids. Pray that they will sense an irresistible pull toward Me, encounter Me face to face, receive forgiveness and cleansing, and then by the power of My grace, turn back to their children with humility and integrity…and restore peace, acceptance, safety, and love to their families once again.”

All of us have had a father. Many of us were blessed with good fathers. Far more of us have experienced a lifetime of pain in the short span of childhood due to irresponsible, irrational, or eruptive fathering. Is it any wonder why the first stated thrust of the forerunner in Luke 1:17 was to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children? Sweeping, irrefutable outpourings of the Holy Ghost must be accompanied by a massive move among fathers turning in humble love and repentance to their children. Deep wounds will be healed, bent lives will be straightened out and restored, and Jesus will be manifested openly as Lord once again—on city streets, in suburban neighborhoods, and in small towns, farming communities, and remote regions throughout the nation.

But first things first—Pray. May the hearts of the fathers be restored to the children.

Dorothy

Forerunning prayer

Posted by Admin on Apr 8, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Forerunning prayer

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17

For every move of God there is a “back story”.

John the Baptist played a key role in the back story to Jesus’ miraculous time upon the earth. His calling? To prepare the way of the Lord. To be a forerunner before Him.

Did you realize that the preparatory work of the forerunner didn’t stop with John? It’s a calling that has appeared in every generation ever since Jesus walked the earth.

This weekend marks the 110^th anniversary of the outpouring of God at Azusa Street which began falling on April 9, 1906. This move came upon those souls suddenly—but it didn’t take all of them by surprise. No, concerted prayer on the part of a couple of local black congregations combined with those of others, including a white man named Frank Bartleman. Fervent prayer preceded this iconic move of God; without it, the Azusa outpouring would have never happened.

When you read about the various moves, revivals, renewals, awakenings, and sweeping reformations, they share one commonality—forerunners in prayer. Often for months or years—even decades—before the first trickle of the miraculous begins to rain down, these intercessors labor in the shadows, interceding before God on behalf of souls.

Preparation for a move of God typically requires that someone intercede on behalf of men, and Luke 1:17 reveals three specific thrusts of such preparatory prayer.

• To turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children
• To turn the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous
• To make ready a people prepared for the Lord

Preparatory intercession occurs during times of spiritual drought. It happens during times of spiritual famine. It also takes place during times of chaos, turmoil, and trouble. It’s going on right now, and I fully believe that the Lord is seeking to enlist you and me in this work. Will we hear—and heed—His call?

For the next few blogs, I plan to put a magnifying glass upon each of the three thrusts of preparation found in Luke 1:17. Hope you’ll join me.

Dorothy

I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land…. Ezekiel 22:30a

April Fools

Posted by Admin on Apr 2, 2016 in My testimony | 1 comment

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 1 Corinthians 3:18

I never would have planned it this way, but I was water baptized on April Fools’ Day. The last thing I would have ever dreamed of doing was to make such a serious act of commitment to Jesus on a day associated with pranks and practical jokes. But God sees things differently.

I had been saved barely three months; yet every time I turned on my newly-discovered Christian radio station, all I heard them talking about was water baptism. I soaked it up, but was utterly perplexed. How do I get someone to baptize me? I pondered. I didn’t go to a traditional church; my church was the Tuesday/Thursday night dorm Bible study. My pride was kicking in—I didn’t want to be laughed at for my ignorance about baptism—but nevertheless, I sought out a seasoned saint in the dorm. She was the ripe old age of 21 and about as learned as Moses. Sheepishly, I asked her to explain it to me.

Instead of teasing me for my limited knowledge, her face lit up. She got on the phone with Rick, the leader of our Bible study, and said, “We’re having baptism tonight. Get everything ready!”

The only problem: I was mortified that it was April Fools’ Day! Wouldn’t I dishonor God and open Him up to ridicule if—of all days—I was baptized on April Fools? I almost backed out.

When my wise counselor perceived my dilemma, she assured me that God would not be offended if I got baptized on April first. In fact, she shared, I was obeying Scripture—I was allowing myself to be foolish so that I could become truly wise (see 1 Corinthians 3:18). It was settled. I was getting baptized—that very night.

This was the first of many baptisms I attended while in college; every one of them was an event full of love, joy, camaraderie, and the first blush of commitment to Jesus Christ as new believers obeyed the command to be baptized in the name of Jesus.

Before I was saved I had watched this motley crew of Christians trek back to the dorm more than once after water baptisms late at night—that’s how I knew who the believers in the dorm were when I needed them later on—and here I was—on April Fools’ Day, 1975, doing the same thing. Who would have thought?

The group of fifteen or so of us hiked down to the rock quarry across campus. Some of the guys had gone ahead of us to build a huge bonfire on the bank. Several of the ladies were carrying towels and blankets. I invited three very special friends who didn’t attend our Bible study to witness my “burial and resurrection”—Linda, who was unsaved; Miriam, who was from a prominent family in her mainline Protestant church; and Carla, who was backslidden.

Rick shared on water baptism from the Bible: “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). By the light of the fire, I saw joy and expectation on everyone’s faces—except for Linda’s, Miriam’s, and Carla’s. Their heads hung low; none of them gave eye contact either to Rick or to me.

It was time. Around 8:30, with stars twinkling in the sky, I followed Rick (another Moses-type to me—he was nearly 22 and had been saved most of his life) into the quarry. The water took my breath away, it was so cold, but the joy I was experiencing warmed me to the core.

“Dorothy, have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” Rick asked.

“Yes,” I responded.

“Then in front of these witnesses, I baptize you in the name of Jesus!” And with that, he dunked me under the nearly-freezing water and pulled me back up.

On the bank, I heard whooping and hollering, followed by guitar and the sound of loud, jubilant singing:

“Break forth into joy, oh my soul! Break forth into, oh my soul!

For in the presence of the Lord, there is joy forevermore;

Break forth, break forth into joy, oh my soul!”

As Rick and I emerged from the water, both of us were greeted with blankets wrapped around our shoulders; and as I stood by the fire, I received joyful hugs all around. Everyone was beaming ear to ear, worshiping around the crackling bonfire—everyone, that is, except Linda, Miriam, and Carla. All three of them—the unsaved, the religious, and the backslider—were weeping uncontrollably.

God was touching each one of them, very deeply, that April Fools night.

Linda got saved less than a year later, getting baptized in the quarry herself in the dead of winter when we had to break the ice covering it—and now she is a prominent businesswoman in my area; Miriam wrote me a beautiful letter describing how the Scriptures came alive to her that night and how “newness of life” meant something new to her now, as well; and Carla went on to return to her first love, Jesus—and she has been winning souls to Him ever since.

As for me, I was through with trying to appear wise. I realized that the wisdom of the world was absolute foolishness to God; if I truly wanted to be wise, I must become foolish first—with the foolishness of God. And then—and only then—would I become wise.

And that’s no April Fools.

Dorothy

Offenses in election season

Posted by Admin on Mar 23, 2016 in Praying for America | 1 comment

Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” Luke 17:3-5

Have you noticed recently how touchy our society has gotten? Everywhere I turn I’m seeing verbal slap fights between all kinds of folks!

It’s gotten more intense lately because of the hotly contested primary season and soon-to-come presidential campaigns.

Even among believers: “I like this party and you like the other”. If you and I aren’t careful, we can come to blows verbally.

Or perhaps you and I share a general party preference. I like one primary candidate and you like another. Well, I’ve felt the “wrath of God” pour out against my audacity/stupidity/dullness-of-heart in supporting one person over “God’s chosen candidate”—and this from dear believing people! But one such friend confided in me that she’s feeling the same “righteous indignation” directed at her from Christians who support the candidate I  like. Oi vey!

Jesus told us to be on our guard. Life is weird, and there are many potholes and pitfalls along the way. And some of the most deceitfully dangerous snares to be found occur in our everyday interactions with each other—especially with those we love or are more closely connected to.

Why? Because none of us are perfect. You can rub me the wrong way with your words, attitude, or ways, and Lord knows I can do the same to you! Thoughtlessness happens; and you and I are both capable of sinning against each other in word or deed.

What is Jesus’ input when someone messes with your peace? Blast their credibility? Give them the cold shoulder? Brand them as a despicable reprobate?

No; Jesus directs you to go to them personally and address the sin (by the way, disagreeing on candidates is not included on the list of verifiable offenses). If they repent, then let it drop. Don’t hold it over their head for all of eternity.

And if they sin again, forgive them again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

And here’s the crux of the whole forgiveness deal:

The disciples didn’t say in response to Jesus’ forgiveness admonition, “Easy peasy; piece of cake.” Instead, they cried, “Increase our faith!”

In other words, the hardest thing to overcome won’t be a natural obstacle—a financial, material, or physical need; the hardest thing you’ll face is dealing with offenses! And trust me: Offenses are a dime a dozen—and they pile up, bloat, and stretch out with gluttonous tentacles that wind around the life of the person who refuses to let them go.

Back to the campaign trail. If you witness or are assaulted yourself by the zeal of political zealots during this election season, and you are determined to hold your own and refuse to give up ground…remember this: You live in an imperfect world with imperfect—albeit loved-by-God—people.

And although you have the right—and even the responsibility at times—to state your opinion about all matters politic, you are beholden only to One, the Lord Jesus Christ—not to Ted Cruz, not to Donald Trump, not to John Kasich, not to Bernie Sanders, not to Hillary Clinton.

If you feel the wrath and righteous indignation of others rising up against you—and your own rising up against them in return—step away for a minute, take a breath, look to Heaven and whisper, “Lord! Increase my faith!”

And because of the intensity of our current political climate, I want to offer a prayer for all of us:

Lord, help us as we navigate this weird, wacky, windy, wind-fest of an election season! Lord—Increase our faith!

Dorothy