FILL YOUR BUCKET LIST WITH TREASURE

If you're like 99% of the population you believe life is all about being happy. The magic formula to living that euphoric existence is to work hard at realizing your dreams. With so many options we spend countless hours getting a better education, so we can land the perfect job, then  make tons of money to buy lots of stuff, and eventually have a bigger and better bank account as the years fly past.   Finally, when we reach retirement we can kick back and enjoy everything we worked so hard to achieve to make us" happy."

Don't get me wrong...I'm right there with you, with my personal "Bucket List" overflowing.  But I found an old Arabian Tale that might shed some perspective on our priorities.

Three merchants were traveling across the desert on camels to a great city.  Suddenly they heard a heavenly voice say, "Stop riding!" The men stopped.  The voice continued, "Get off your camels and gather up some sand in your hands."  The men obeyed.  The voice continued, "Hold the sand in your hands for the rest of the journey."  The men did as the supernatural voice commanded.  As you can imagine it was not an easy ride, but they made it to their destination.  When they opened their hands they saw that the sand they were holding had turned into jewels!  They were ecstatic, but at the same time lamented, "If only I had known; we would have gathered up so much more sand while we had the chance."

Life is full of opportunities, yet sometimes we don't realize how valuable those opportunities were until it's too late.  Jesus tells us,"Don't hoard treasure on earth where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or -worse!- stolen by thieves.  Stockpile treasure in heaven where it's safe..."

Fortunately, it's never to late to start filling our "Bucket Lists" with eternal treasure.  The bible tells us no deed will go unrewarded - even a cup of cold water to a stranger, a kind word to a hurting soul, or a prayer for your enemy in the middle of the night.

How big is your Bucket?

Scripture Reading:  Revelation 22: 12,  Mark 9:41 
                                

WAITING FOR A MIDNIGHT MIRACLE

It's Christmas again and this year you might feel the magic and wonder of the season has faded, leaving you empty and disillusioned.

Maybe your life has taken a nose dive and you find yourself skidding out of control into the midnight hour, that black hole of hopelessness, where even your last chance has disappeared into a dark and disappointing future.

 We have all experienced setbacks from time to time that leave us feeling depressed and defeated. It's at that critical point of despair that we need a reminder that "nothing is impossible for God." Allow me to tell you a true story of a man who lost all hope and hit rock bottom.

Steven Lavaggi was a successful graphic designer, with a beautiful wife and young son. He was up and coming in the competitive business world with tons of talent and plenty of potential. He was a rising star until his life fell apart. One day, Steven's wife unexpectedly left him for a Rolling Stone magazine writer. Steven was left to raise their son alone, who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.With the challenges of caring for his child, Steven lost his edge and his budding business. As bills mounted, his life began swirling out of control. In desperation, Steven turned to God for help. He was abandoned, broke, and filled with worry; only a miracle could put his life back together.

So one night, sitting on his bedroom floor, he began searching the Bible for answers. As he read about God's love and His gift to the world ( His only son Jesus,) Steven Lavaggi gave his life to God. In that moment he was forever changed. As he began to follow God's plan for his life he developed a passion to create hope for people around him. Since he lived without hope for a while, he knew how powerful hope could be when it came flooding in. After reading Psalm 91:11 ("for He will give his angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways.") he used his talents to paint an angel.

A friend encouraged Stephen to make the angel three dimensional, so he worked with a sculptor to cast the image. The first edition of those sculptures were an instant sensation, but God had an even greater plan. Later, while speaking in South Africa as a guest of Parliament, Steven held up one of the angels to a crowd of 3,500 people. The sculpture had a black patina finish, and when the audience saw it they jumped from their seats in joy. He was told that a few days before a preacher declared, "One of the things we need is for international artists to express the love of God through art, perhaps even painting angels' in black."

When he heard this Lavaggi grabbed a white angel and held it over his head and said, "These angels were created to be like brothers and sisters, as we are supposed to be." Later, as he thought about that moment , he decided to call the sculptures The Angels of Reconciliation. That set of angels was sold at auction and were presented as a gift to Nelson Mandela. Today, Steven is known as the "Artist of Hope", and his work is seen all over the world.

God has a plan and purpose for each one of us. Your problems may be mounting along with the bills but God is bigger than anything you might be facing in your life right now. ANYTHING. Luckily for us, God does not sleep during the dark midnights of our lives. He does some of His best work when all hope is gone. Every day is a new beginning with God and the possibilities are endless. Miracles' still happen to ordinary people like you and me. The thing is, we stopped expecting them.


 PRAYER...
Lord God and Heavenly Father, I come before you today broken and afraid. I turn my life over to you and trust that you have made a way for me through the darkness. I'm open to your plan, even if it's not what I envisioned because I believe nothing is too hard or wonderful for you to accomplish in me.
In Jesus name. Amen

Scripture reading
John 3:16
Psalm 3:2-6
Luke 18:35-43
Psalm 91

PRAYER DOES MATTER

Each of us has an opinion on what we believe our country's future holds. Presidential candidates tickle our ears with their words of wisdom hoping to entice us to jump on their bandwagon. Like many Americans, I'm wishing for a miracle before our nation crumbles before our very eyes.

As a christian I know we can debate our political views all we want but without faith in the one true God and a desire to pray nothing will change. Unfortunately our current situation in this country will get worse unless we stand united as One Nation Under God. Below is a prayer for our government. Each sentence is taken from scripture making this a prayer for all denominations. If God's people (You and I) will humble ourselves and pray, and seek God's face, turning back to Him and realizing our sin He will forgive us and heal our land. Please pray the following prayer often, our future depends on it. 

Heavenly Father, I give thanks for our government......1 Tim. 2:1
I pray for all men and women having authority over us in any way........1 Tim. 2:2
Pour out Your Spirit upon them and make Your Word known to them.....Prov. 1:23
Cause them to be men and women of integrity, obedient concerning us.....Ps. 25:21
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty......1 Tim. 2:2
Let wisdom enter their heats, and let knowledge be pleasant to them....Prov. 2:10
Let discretion preserve them and understanding keep them.....Prov. 2:11
to deliver them from the way of evil and from evil men....Prov. 2:12
Make their hearts and ears attentive to godly council.....Psalm 1:1
doing what is right in Your sight....2 Chron. 20:32
Let the upright dwell in our government.....Prov. 2:21
Cause there to be a shaking in all areas....Heb. 12:27
Let those complete and blameless before You stay....Prov. 2:21
and cut off the wicked. Let the unfaithful be rooted out....Prov. 2:22
Bring to light what is hidden in darkness....1 Cor 4:5
and expose the secret aims of the heart....1 Cor. 4:5
Let this nation remember from where they have fallen, ....Rev. 2:5
repenting and returning to doing their first works....Rev. 2:5
setting their hearts and their souls to seek the Lord...1 Chron. 22:19
humbling themselves, praying, and turning from their wicked ways....2 Chron 7:14
Then hear them, O Lord, and forgive their sin and heal our land....2 Chron. 7:14
Open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light....Acts 26:18
Soften the hearts that are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin... Heb. 3:13
Deliver them from their destruction's..... Psalm 107:20
Father, You have been long suffering toward us....2 Peter 3:9
not willing that any should perish....2 Peter 3:9
but that all should come to repentance...2 Peter 3:9
Raise up a standard in this nation....Isa. 49:22
Cause the rains of the Spirit to flood this land....Zech. 10:1
and revive Your work in the midst of us.....Hab. 3:2
Raise up intercessors for this nation....Isa. 59:16
to pull down strongholds over this land....2 Cor.10:4
And let the glory of the Lord be revealed!!!!.Isa. 40:5

Print your own copy at prayinginvictory.com

Lessons from Nature... GROWING PATIENCE IN LIFE'S GARDEN

Remember Veruca Salt, the spoiled rich kid in the movie
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?  I hate to admit when it comes to having patience, I totally understand her.  She wanted everything life had to offer and she wanted it NOW, and if she didn't get her way ...look out.

We live in an "On Demand" world and want life to operate like the click of a remote button.  Truth be told, I allow this same attitude to spill over into my prayer life, and when I have to wait on God I can get anxious, impatient and discouraged. 

Unfortunately, God does not operate on Central, Pacific, or Eastern time zones so if you  are waiting for a prayer to be answered you might as well take a lesson from nature.

The amazing Chinese Bamboo plant starts from a tiny seed, just like most plants, but here is where the similarities end.  You water it, protect it, and care for it and nothing happens.  Nothing.  Not the first year.  Nothing the second or third year.  Nothing the forth year. 

But WAIT.  The fifth year the little seed begins to grow.  In fact, it grows 90 feet in just 6 weeks!!

Life often works in similar ways.  We can pray and work for years on a dream, a relationship, a job and nothing seems to get better.  Instead of having faith we start to second guess ourselves.  We might be tempted to dig up the seed and plant it somewhere else, wondering if all our nurturing is worth it.  We begin to think our hope will be realized in greener pastures.  HOLD ON! 

Realize you can trust God with your most heartfelt desires if you don't give up.

God promised Abraham and Sarah a child in their old age but they had to water their bamboo seed for 25 years before God answered their prayer. They waited long past the time where this miracle was biologically possible.  A young shepherd boy was anointed to become a king but David watered his bamboo plant 20 years before he finally sat on the throne of Israel.

  God loves us enough to want us to grow deep before we grow tall.  Like any good parent his main concern is what is growing within our heart so when our prayer is answered we are mature lacking nothing.  Patience is not easy to grow and cultivate but if you want God's best you will learn to wait patiently and keep watering your bamboo seed.

Scripture Reading: 

 Isaiah 40: 28-31
Psalms 25:  3-5

 

LESSONS FROM NATURE....Deep Roots

After the long winter we finally had a beautiful warm weekend. It felt like I walked out my door into the Land of Oz. Overnight our back yard burst open with emerald green grass, colorful spring flowers and fresh budding trees.  Suddenly, I was delighting in warm sunshine, sporting bare legs, wearing my favorite flip flops,and sipping herbal tea on a lounge chair.

You can imagine my surprise when a weather alert appeared on my cell phone. Tornado Watch!

This type of storm is extremely rare in our State making the news flash seem impossible.  Yet, the report on my husbands weather scanner confirmed the prediction and warned everyone in our area to stay indoors for the next few hours.  I walked back outside and looked into the early night sky. A host of twinkling stars spread a canopy overhead until a flash of light caught my eye.  Creeping across the horizon to the west was a huge black mass.  Heavy grey clouds, full of lightning, intermittently broke through the darkness.  What struck me with fear was the eerie, dead silence of this thunderstorm as it moved forward in all its power.

 The swiftness of the unexpected made me realize how important it is to be prepared for life's storms. Before disaster strikes we need to be rooted and grounded in our belief system.  Jesus needs to be our trusted friend and counselor when the sky is still crystal clear and blue.

Z. Randall Stroope put these words of hope to song from fragments of Jewish text found on a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany during World War 11.   It is believed to have been scrawled by a child hiding from the Nazis.

I believe in the sun,  even when it is not shining.
And I believe in love, even when there's no one there.
And I believe in God even when he is silent.
I believe through any trial, there is always a way.
But sometimes in the suffering and hopeless despair
My heart cries for shelter, to know someone's there.
But a voice rises within me, saying hold on my child.
I'll give you strength, I'll give you hope,
Just stay a little while.

If your caught in the "eye of the storm," be encouraged.  God said, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, because the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you."  Deuteronomy 31:6

Making Ordinary...EXTRAORDINARY

Inside the gardens of the Hampton Court Palace grows the world's oldest and largest grape vine.  The plant began as a small cutting and was planted in the castle gardens around 1768 where it is still growing strong today. This amazing plant is known world wide as the "Great Vine."

 At 229 years old, this magnificent plant measures 12 feet around it's massive base and the longest rod stretches beyond 120 feet.  This giant  produces an average of 700 bunches of sweet black grapes each year, weighing in at a staggering 705 pounds!
 
In the early years, the grapes were used only for the pleasure of the Royal Family, but in 1930, George V began sending the grapes into local hospitals. By 1933, visitors to the gardens could purchase the grapes and part of the proceeds were used to buy specialty baskets made by soldiers blinded during the first World War.

So what makes this extraordinary?   A branch does not grow fruit for itself but for others.  

On the last night  Jesus spent with his disciples before His death, his final instructions to his friends was the parable of the Vine and the Branches.  "I am the Vine; you are the branches.  Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much fruit." So what is this fruit we are to bear as disciples in 2015?  Simple things; like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

On the surface we might be tempted to believe we have this covered.  But in reality do we love those who are different then we are?  Are we kind to anyone who disagrees with us?  Are we faithful to our commitments?  Are we in charge of our appetites or do they rule over us?  I personally can say" No Way" to each of these unless I'm connected to Jesus, the Great Vine. I have found when I make a conscious effort to begin each day reading the Bible or watching my favorite preacher online I grow a little more fruit each day.

Like every lesson Jesus taught, this is only part of the lifestyle he asks us to live.  He tells us to grow so we have fruit to give away.  Ordinary people live for themselves....EXTRAORDINARY people learn to abide in the vine so when the harvest is ripe they have much to give.

Scripture Readings:

John 15: 1-17
Galatians 5: 22-26  

SOUL FOOD

Our bodies are a lot like a city and the circulatory system is the superhighway that keeps our metropolis running.  Blood is the vehicle that transports life giving oxygen and nutrients to its destination.  If these highways are blocked our vessels stop working. Thankfully we know what it takes to keep our bodies healthy so we try to exercise, eat right, and have regular check ups.

1 John 1:9 draws a spiritual parallel  that teaches us  how to keep our souls healthy.
 "If we admit that we have sinned and confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness."

What an awesome promise!
Yet how many of us in the 21st century  consider ourselves sinners?

 In an  article published in USA Today, Cathy Lynn Grossman asked the question, "is sin dead?"  Her report raises some important issues about what many people believe about sin.  The people interviewed tend to toe the traditional line of thought "that there is sin" but interpret that reality in their own way -I have to do what's best for me; I am not as sinful as most.     We like to point our finger of judgement at those who make us feel better about ourselves but look at our own failures as harmless mistakes.  Many of us know what sin is; we just don't believe it applies to us anymore.  The new spirituality is happiness, not holiness, and God is no longer our reference point.

Maybe we need to do some soul searching by asking ourselves a question and answering it in our minds once and for all.  If we no longer recognize ourselves as sinners and are too sophisticated to need God's word (the Bible) as our moral compass why did Jesus have to die on the cross to atone for our sins?

Instead of making our own rules and judgements let's rethink the parallel and take advantage of the promise.  The same way our physical blood cleanses our body of poisons, the blood of Christ continuously purifies us of sin every time we confess our weakness.  Admitting we have sinned keeps our spiritual vessels open.  You don't have to wait for an appointment to talk to God.  He listens to us, anytime or anywhere. Whenever we mess up God is ready to forgives us, even when it takes years or a lifetime to get it right.  Don't make the mistake of believing you are too far gone for God to forgive you.  Abortion is NOT the unforgivable sin.  Homosexuality is NOT the unforgivable sin.  Murder, lust, envy, greed etc. are NOT unforgivable.

Pride might be the unforgivable sin.  Don't allow it to hold you back from a healthy relationship with God.  His mercy is new every day.

Scripture readings:
Romans 3:23
Romans 8:1
Proverbs 28:13