In step

[RiverOL]

How to Get Prayer Answered - Part II

"The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth."2

Pray for truth. When we have a problem, a habit that has us beaten, a conflict, or even some sicknesses, we tend to focus our prayers on the symptoms rather than on the cause or causes. As counselor Dr. Cecil Osborne explains, when we unconsciously cover a deeper sin or fault, we tend to confess a lesser one all the more vigorously [or somebody else's]. This is because we don't see or are afraid to see the often deeper cause or causes of our problems.

Whenever I have a problem, I acknowledge the problem but also ask God to show me the root cause of the problem, because often our problems are the fruit of a deeper root. In other words, we usually just see the "presenting problem," which so often is the symptom of a deeper problem.

This is why I ask God to face me with the truth of what I am or might be contributing to my problem, to give me the courage to see it, and the help to do what I need to do to resolve it. Praying for the truth is one of the most effective ways of praying I know. Sometimes I don't want to see the truth for fear it might be too frightening, so I tell God that I am willing to be made willing to see it—whatever it might be—and no matter how painful this might be.

Whenever I have prayed this way, I have always had my prayer answered. Sometimes the answer comes quickly, other times slowly. It usually depends on when I am ready to receive it.

Pray honestly. If I pray that God will bless my neighbor, but in my heart I hate my neighbor, which prayer will God hear? Obviously, what my heart is saying. The only way God will bless my neighbor in answer to my prayer is if I admit that I hate him and ask God to help me to love him.

Meaningless repetition doesn't mean a thing to God.3 The prayer he hears and answers is the one that comes from the heart. As today's Scripture says, "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth."1

Pray believing. Faith, too, is essential for effective prayer. As Jesus said, "All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive,"4 and "according to your faith will it be done to you."5

To be concluded…

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me always to pray according to the principles as found in your Word, the Bible, so I can be certain you will hear and answer my prayers. Thank you, too, that when I am truthful with you, you are near to help me when I call on you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

 

[RiverOL]

God Is Close
Morning Encounter:
Read:
You should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
help us to honour
your name.

Come and set up
your kingdom,
so that everyone on earth
will obey you,
as you are obeyed
in heaven.

Give us our food for today.
Forgive us for doing wrong,
as we forgive others.
Keep us from being tempted
and protect us from evil.
(Matthew 6.9-13)

Reflect:
One popular view of God is that he is distant, uninterested and irrelevant to our daily lives. Here, in this famous prayer, Jesus counteracts this view and reminds us that God is near. In Jewish cosmology, heaven is not a distant planet, but refers to the surrounding atmosphere, the very air you breathed. God is intimate, close and always with us wherever we are. When we live in the kingdom of God, we live in the realm of his constant power and presence.

Respond:
Reflect on this version of the Lord’s Prayer throughout this day:
Dear Father always near us,
may your name be treasured and loved,
may your rule be completed in us-
may your will be done here on earth in
just the way it is done in heaven.

Give us today the things we need today,
and forgive us our sins and impositions on you
as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.
Please don’t put us through trials,
but deliver us from everything bad.

Because you are the one in charge,
and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever-
which is just the way we want it!
(Dallas Willard)

Midday Meditation:
‘My starting point is that we’re already there. We cannot attain the presence of God because we’re already totally in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness. Little do we realize that God is maintaining us in existence with every breath we take. As we take another it means that God is choosing us now and now and now.’
(Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs)

Evening Reflection:
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
My anchor holds within the veil

Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all
He is Lord
Lord of all

 

[RiverOL]

How to Get Prayer Answered - Part I

"You do not have, because you do not ask God. And when you do ask, you don't receive because you ask wrongly, with wrong motives, for selfish reasons."1

An overcast sky made the country night intensely dark and a light drizzle made the highway dangerously slick. On my way home that night, as I passed a semi-trailer and pulled in front of it, my car struck a slippery patch of roadway and went slithering snake-like down the road out of control. Abruptly my car swung around and began careening down the road backwards with the semi-trailer barreling down on top of me!

In terror I prayed, "God, help!"

With only moments to spare, my car suddenly flipped sideways out of the path of the oncoming semi! But it kept skidding sideways off the highway and down an embankment. Certain my car would now overturn, in terror I prayed again. Amazingly, my car didn't overturn. Neither did it stop. It swung around and then went forward bouncing through a field. "Oh no," I thought, "now I'll end up smashing into a tree." I thought my number was up. I prayed again.

Eventually my car stopped in front of some bushes. Miraculously, I missed every post by the roadside and every tree in the field. I backed up a few feet, turned around and drove back to the freeway without a single bruise to myself or a scratch on my car.

Was my safety a coincidence or does God answer prayer and help us when we call on him?

In my experience, I have found that God answers some prayers very quickly; others quite slowly. And some don't seem to get answered at all.

Effective prayer is not a lucky charm to gain special favors. Neither is it a pain-killer like a giant aspirin: "Take God three times a day and you won't feel any pain!" as John Powell put it.

Prayer can be effective. The key is learning to pray the right prayer. As the Bible says, "You do not have, because you do not ask God. And when you do ask, you don't receive because you ask wrongly, with wrong motives, for selfish reasons.1

How, then, do we pray the right prayers?

Pray responsibly. God won't do for us what we need to do for ourselves. Many a time, for example, when I was a student, I'd pray furiously for God's help at examination time—especially when I wasn't adequately prepared. I managed to pass my exams, but not because of any pray-instead-of-study prayers.

To be continued…

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you desire that I always come to you in prayer, and that you always answer my prayers—one way or the other. Help me to learn how to pray the right prayer and not expect you to do for me what I can and need to do for myself. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

 

[RiverOL]

The Kindness of God
Morning Encounter:
Read:
You, Lord, are my shepherd.
I will never be in need.
You let me rest in fields of green grass.

You lead me to streams of peaceful water,
and you refresh my life.
You are true to your name,
and you lead me
along the right paths.

I may walk through valleys
as dark as death,
but I won’t be afraid.

You are with me,
and your shepherd’s rod
makes me feel safe.

You treat me to a feast,
while my enemies watch.
You honour me as your guest,
and you fill my cup
until it overflows.

Your kindness and love
will always be with me
each day of my life,
and I will live forever
in your house, Lord.
(Psalm 23)

Reflect:
This Psalm is often read at funerals, but it’s not primarily a funeral Psalm. It is a beautiful, poetical expression of our life with God. The Psalm reminds us that God is kind and generous towards us. David, the author of this Psalm and a shepherd, had to daily care and protect his sheep. He also sees God as the one who protects and provides for us- one who invites us to rest so that our soul can be refreshed and renewed. Each day God pursues us with kindness and love.

Respond:
As best you can, live in this Psalm today and absorb these words. Consider how kind God has been to you.

Midday Meditation:
‘The greatest honour we can give to God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love.’
(Julian of Norwich)

Evening Reflection:
God our Father loves us. He is kind and has given us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope. We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father will encourage you and help you always to do and say the right thing.
(2 Thessalonians 2.16-17)

 

[RiverOL]

The Power of Vision

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."1

Author Marabel Morgan told how for three long months prior to the birth of her second daughter she was flat on her back in the hospital with no visitors allowed. She was bored out of her mind and longed to have something constructive to do but was too drugged to even read, let alone write. Eventually her baby was born and she returned home. Her life now was filled with things to do, taking care, not only of the new baby, but another daughter as well, her husband, household chores, and innumerable other responsibilities—not the time to write a book. But she did!

She said, "Once you set your goal, then picture it done. Without this finished picture in your mind, you'll give up halfway. With it, there's no limit to what you might accomplish."

Somebody else said, "Faith is visualizing what God wants you to do." Good point. Once we see what that is, it is so much easier to start doing it!

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me a vision of what you are doing in the world today, the world in which I live, and help me to see how I can be a part of that. Let your vision for me be my vision for you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

 

[RiverOL]

The God of Love
Morning Encounter:
Read:
He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Have you noticed this woman? When I came into your home, you didn’t give me any water so I could wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You didn’t even pour olive oil on my head, but she has poured expensive perfume on my feet. So I tell you that all her sins are forgiven, and that is why she has shown great love. But anyone who has been forgiven for only a little will show only a little love.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Some other guests started saying to one another, “Who is this who dares to forgive sins?”
But Jesus told the woman, “Because of your faith, you are now saved. May God give you peace!”
(Luke 7.44-50)

Reflect:
Jesus asks Simon (a Pharisee) if he has ‘seen’ this woman – not as an object or as a sinful person with a questionable profession and background, but as a woman, someone loved and now forgiven by God. She is indeed sinful, perhaps with many sins, but she is not beyond the love and grace of God. Certainly the woman ‘sees Jesus’ and recognises who he is. Her heart is broken with gratitude and love.

Respond:
Allow yourself to be loved by God today. We may be able to find all sorts of reasons why God shouldn’t love us. But sense his love and unconditional grace towards you today and enjoy his company.

Midday Meditation:
For those who feel their lives are a grave disappointment to God, it requires enormous trust and reckless, raging confidence to accept that the love of Jesus Christ knows no shadow of alteration or change. When Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy burdened," He assumed we would grow weary, discouraged, and disheartened along the way. These words are a touching testimony to the genuine humanness of Jesus. He had no romantic notion of the cost of discipleship. He knew that following Him was as unsentimental as duty, as demanding as love.”
(Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel)

Evening Reflection:
God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.
(1 John 4.8-11)

 

[RiverOL]

18

How to Get Prayer Answered - Part III

"If we ask anything according to God's will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from him."6

Pray specifically. Recently I had a need for office equipment and asked God to show me how to get the needed funds that month! That night I was unable to sleep so I got up and worked on balancing my finances. To my amazement, I found a mistake in my favor and was able to order the equipment the next day!

Pray persistently. Not all prayers get answered so quickly. I have prayed for some things for years before getting an answer. If our prayer is legitimate, sometimes we need to be as persistent as Jacob, who once said to God, "I will not let you go until you have blessed me."7 Jesus Himself said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."8The principle is to keep on asking and seeking until you receive.

Pray in harmony with God's will. As today's Scripture says, "If we ask anything according to God's will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from him."6

High on God's priorities for us is our growth and maturity. Prayers in harmony with this principle, and with all of God's will, will always be effective. Prayers outside his will are denied.

Pray sincerely. "Do you want to be made well?" was Jesus' question. In other words, if we want God to answer our prayers, we have to want the answer enough to be willing to pay the price. For instance, if we want to grow in faith, love, patience, perseverance, and maturity, we need to realize that all of these are acquired through experience, often painful experience. As the Bible says, "Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character."9

Pray in Jesus' name. "I tell you the truth," [Jesus said] "anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to [God] the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son [Jesus] may bring glory to [God] the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."10

Finally, come to God on his terms. Effective prayer is also dependent on our having a right relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only one through whom we can approach God. "Nobody can come to God except through me,"11 Jesus said. Because of our sin, our relationship with God has been broken. But because of Christ's death for us on the cross, our relationship with God can be restored by our responding to Jesus' invitation to receive him into our heart and life as personal Lord and Savior.* And then we can come to God in prayer through Jesus.

When we are living in a right relationship with God and learn to pray the right prayers, we can be certain that God will answer them. As Jesus said, "If you stay in [right relationship with] me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!"12

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you are always available to hear and answer my prayers. Like Thomas of old, please help me in my times of unbelief to know in my heart that you always hear and answer my prayers when I pray sincerely, in harmony with your will, and come to you through Jesus Christ my Lord and my Savior. Thank you for always doing this. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

 

[RiverOL]

God Is Holy
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Our Lord, no other gods
compare with you—
Majestic and holy!
Fearsome and glorious!
Miracle worker!

When you signalled
with your right hand,
your enemies were swallowed
deep into the earth.

The people you rescued
were led by your powerful love
to your holy place.
Nations learned of this
and trembled—
Philistines shook with horror.
The leaders of Edom and of Moab
were terrified.

Everyone in Canaan fainted,
struck down by fear.
Our Lord, your powerful arm
kept them still as a rock
until the people you rescued
for your very own
had marched by.

You will let your people settle
on your chosen mountain,
where you built your home
and your temple.
Our Lord, you will rule forever
(Exodus 15.11-18)

Reflect:
Moses and the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea and experienced the miraculous delivery from their enemies. This victory song reveals both the love and holiness of God and his judgement against evil. Holiness and judgement stand together because whilst God is love, he is also serious about sin. It’s easy for us to think of God’s nature as angry and vengeful, but this is the action of a holy God towards evil and sin, not his character. Holiness, beauty and love are his essence.

Respond:
Reflect on this quote today:
‘Love, not anger, brought Jesus to the cross. Golgotha came as a result of God's great desire to forgive, not his reluctance. Jesus knew that by his vicarious suffering he could actually absorb all the evil of humanity and so heal it, forgive it, redeem it.’
(Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline)

Midday Meditation:
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
(1 Peter 1.13-17)

Evening Reflection:
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

 

[sohbuckkong]

Care to explain how you know god is holy.

 

[RiverOL]

Look Again, Harder This Time

. . . and they shall call his name Immanuel
. . . God with us—Matthew 1:23

We men often feel alone. Even surrounded by family, friends, work colleagues, we can still feel very much alone. These feelings—not of loneliness, but alone-ness—are most acute, of course, in times of stress or struggle or suffering. You see, it’s when we’re most in need of help and companionship that we’re most apt to be convinced that no one’s going to help or no one’s going to understand . . . maybe not even God. Right? I mean, in those dark moments, it can feel like God’s just not there, or has turned away. In one of his dark moments, King David cried out: “I am cut off from your sight” (Psalm 31:22).

The truth is, God is always there, in every moment, bright and dark. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). God doesn’t abandon us in dark moments, even when our sin causes the darkness. So we must learn to see him, even in those moments. One great way to learn is to look backwards, at dark moments from our pasts, moments when we felt alone, and look for him once more, a bit harder this time.



Spend some time in prayer. Close your eyes. Quiet your mind. Now, drawing upon everything you know about him, get a picture of Jesus. Think about his goodness—and his heart for the weary, the worried, the wicked, the down, the downtrodden. Think about his willingness to go into tough places and tough situations . . . to redeem them. Next, recall a moment from your past. Call to mind a picture of a time when you felt alone. Visualize the details. Remember how it felt. Now, bring the two pictures together and imagine how Jesus might have (actually) been at work in the moment you chose.

 

[RiverOL]

God Pursues Us
Morning Encounter:
Read:
God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son.

The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light. People who do evil hate the light and won’t come to the light, because it clearly shows what they have done. But everyone who lives by the truth will come to the light, because they want others to know that God is really the one doing what they do.
(John 3.16-21)

Reflect:
Here John tells the amazing story of a loving God who sends his son to rescue us from darkness and separation and to restore a fallen and broken world. We cannot earn God’s favour and love; he comes, he pursues us and offers it to us. Just before these verses, we read of Nicodemus (a leader of the Pharisees) who came to Jesus in the night with doubts and questions. After witnessing the suffering and death of Jesus, God changes his darkness into new light. The light has overcome his darkness and his new, eternal living has begun.

Respond:
‘Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.’ (John 17.3)
Our eternal life with God has already begun! How has God pursued you and exchanged your darkness for light and life with him?

Midday Meditation:
‘O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.’
(A.W. Tozer)

Evening Reflection:
Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you. I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom. Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Encouragement

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."1

Alexandra Kropotkin, in an article titled, "Homemade," described the death of her friend as follows: "One day a millionaire of my acquaintance, whose pride it was never to offer a tip for any service, faced an unforgettable tragedy. His chief accountant committed suicide. The books were found to be in perfect order; the affairs of the dead man, a modest bachelor, were prosperous and calm. The only letter left by the accountant was a brief note to his millionaire employer. It read: 'In 30 years I have never had one word of encouragement. I'm fed up."'2

It never ceases to amaze me that so many people don't bother to say thank you to the many people who help them or do something for them. I often hold a door open for someone who is following me into a store, the Post Office, or the bank, some of whom walk through without saying a word. Whenever I see our mailman, I always thank him and let him know how much I appreciate his service. I do this to lots of people.

And do we often say thank you and give a word of encouragement to our spouse, our children, our friends, our employer, and to our employees? If we all do this on a daily basis, we can make an impact on the world in which we live. Whether it is a kind word or a kind deed, in the words of Charles Dudley Warner, "It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."

In the Bible a man named Joseph was given the name of Barnabas because it means, "Son of Encouragement." Let's all be a Barnabas to someone today.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be a Barnabas in some way today (and every day) to every life I touch. May I also be known as a son or daughter of encouragement. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

 

[RiverOL]

Life With God
Morning Encounter:
Read:
The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said. Martha was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”
The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10.38-41)

Reflect:
All this week, we’ve been reminding ourselves that God is good, God is love, God is holy. It’s good to recall these good things about God- we need to remember who it is that we worship. But we are invited to move beyond knowing about God to knowing God. We are welcomed into life with God. This life with God cannot be lived in a hurry, with all the distractions and white noise of our lives. There has to be intentionality to it. Here, Mary choose what is best, to come away and sit at the feet of Jesus.

Respond:
How have you hurried through this week and lost connection with God? How can you carve out some moments, some space to just be with God today?

Midday Meditation:
‘The most important aspects of our lives cannot be rushed. We cannot love, think, eat, laugh, or pray in a hurry...When we are in a hurry--which comes from overextension--we find ourselves unable to live with awareness and kindness.’
(James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful God)

Evening Reflection:
But first, you must start respecting the Sabbath as a joyful day of worship.
You must stop doing and saying whatever you please on this special day.
Then you will truly enjoy knowing the Lord.

He will let you rule from the highest mountains and bless you with the land
of your ancestor Jacob.
The Lord has spoken!

(Isaiah 58.13-14)

 

[RiverOL]

Great Weddings or Great Marriages

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."1

"The glossy, coffee-table book was grandly titled, The Greatest Weddings of All Time. It featured media stars like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda."

As Mark Early of BreakPoint said, "Sadly, most relationships like those don't last very long—which is probably why the book celebrates great weddings instead of great marriages."2

Like far too many marriages, partners have little or no idea what qualities to look for in a spouse—and even more importantly—what qualities they need to have in order to find a suitable partner and to make a happy marriage.

I've taught in divorce and recovery groups for a number of years and over and over I hear the same question asked: "How can I find a good marriage partner?"

My answer is always the same, "By being a good marriage partner."

The reality is that like attracts like. If I want to find a mature partner, I need to be a mature person. If I want to have a happy marriage, I need to be a happy person. Only happy, mature people have happy, mature marriages.

And why should I expect God to give me a great partner if I'm an immature, self-centered, control freak or whatever? Trust me, he won't.

Before getting married, or to help save a poor marriage, or to make an even good marriage better, learn what it takes to make it happen. Read good books on marriage relationships.* Attend relationships and growth seminars. Join a recovery and/or growth group. Learn how to communicate effectively. Good relationships don't happen by chance. They take knowledge, understanding, commitment, and hard work on the part of each partner so that they become healthy and mature (spiritually and emotionally) and are thus able to build a healthy and lasting marriage.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to grow in faith and love and every grace so that I will become a mature and whole person and thereby be able to build mature, loving and lasting relationships. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

 

[RiverOL]

Walking with God
Morning Encounter:
Introduction
This week we are exploring the theme of ‘walking with God.’ It’s a term that refers to a number of people throughout the Scriptures who had an intimate, first hand relationship with God. People like Enoch, Moses, Abram (later known as Abraham) and the two disciples on their way to Emmaus who literally walked with Jesus – but didn’t realise it initially. To walk with God requires faith (above feelings), commitment and consistency. Walking with God is about habit and rhythm. It is something we learn to do continuously each day.

Read:
When Jared was one hundred and sixty-two, he had a son named Enoch. Jared had more children and died at the age of nine hundred and sixty-two. When Enoch was sixty-five, he had a son named Methuselah, and during the next three hundred years he had more children. Enoch truly loved God, and God took him away at the age of three hundred and sixty-five.
(Genesis 5.18-24)

Reflect:
Enoch doesn’t get a lot of air time in the Scriptures. All we really know about him is that he lived a long time and then somehow avoided death because God took him away! What we should notice is that Enoch truly loved God. In other Bible translations he is described as the first person to have ‘walked with God’ at a very dark time in human history before the flood. Walking with God is a metaphor for intimacy and consistency.

Respond:
Reflect on how you can make it your aim to consistently and intimately walk with God today. What might this mean for you?

Midday Meditation:
Author of the world walk with me
Ruler of the earth walk with me
Calmer of the storm walk with me
Healer of my heart walk with me

How I need You, how I need You
Oh Jesus, walk with me.
(Walk With Me – Jesus Culture)

Evening Reflection:
Direct me by your commands! I love to do what you say. Make me want to obey you, rather than to be rich. Take away my foolish desires, and let me find life by walking with you.
(from Psalm 119)

 

[RiverOL]

Thinking Makes It So

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."1

William James, the father of American psychology, stated that, "the greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind [your thinking]." He also said, "If you change your mind, you can change your life."

While what William James said is true, this truth wasn't discovered by his generation. Two thousand years ago God's word pointed out the importance of right thinking.

It is true; we can change our lives by changing our thinking—either for good or bad. If we harbor and dwell on negative thoughts, we will act in negative ways. On the other hand, if we harbor and dwell on positive thoughts, we will act in positive ways. What we think about comes about.

As another has said, "What the mind dwells on the body acts on." Think of temptation for instance. First comes a thought and, if we entertain it, it hooks our feelings, and the stronger we feel about it, the more we keep thinking about it, and the more we rationalize about doing it … and unless we nip that thinking in the bud, we give in to the temptation and act it out.

So as an unknown author also wisely said:

Watch your thoughts; they lead to attitudes.
Watch your attitudes; they lead to words.
Watch your words; they lead to actions.
Watch your actions; they lead to habits.
Watch your habits; they form your character.
Watch your character; it determines your destiny.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your Word that admonishes me to guard my thinking. Please help me to discipline my thought life and learn to dwell on 'whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, and whatever is excellent or praiseworthy.' Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

 

[RiverOL]

Walking in Obedience (18 June 2019)
Morning Encounter:
Read:
The Lord saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. He was very sorry that he had made them, and he said, “I’ll destroy every living creature on earth! I’ll wipe out people, animals, birds, and reptiles. I’m sorry I ever made them.” But the Lord was pleased with Noah, and this is the story about him. Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God.
(Genesis 6.5-9)

Reflect:
Walking with God for Noah meant obedience. Sometime after Enoch, the world was increasingly disintegrating. Noah was the only person left on the face of the earth who still walked intimately with God. He was given arguably the most outrageous and time consuming task of any other person in the Bible. God told him to build a large ship – in a place where there wasn’t a great body of water for hundreds of miles. This was not a quick build; instead it became a 120 year project! Noah is a great example of obedience and holiness over the long haul.

Respond:
Reflect on how God may be inviting you towards obedience today. Is God prompting you about a specific action or issue that needs attention?

Midday Meditation:
‘We assume that if anything can be done at all, it can be done quickly and efficiently. Our attention spans have been conditioned by thirty-second commercials…There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.’
(Eugene Peterson A Long Obedience in the Same Direction)

Evening Reflection:
You, Lord God, have done many wonderful things,
and you have planned marvellous things for us.
No one is like you!

I would never be able to tell all you have done.
Sacrifices and offerings are not what please you;
gifts and payment for sin are not what you demand.
But you made me willing to listen and obey.
(From Psalm 40)

 

[RiverOL]

Go Small to Go Big

So then, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to everyone—Galatians 6:10

Once we’ve decided to do something, we men often like to “go big.” We think to ourselves: if we’re going to do this thing, let’s really do it. We can bring this kind of thinking, this “go big” mentality, to all kinds of work, even the work God calls us into—that is, the work of loving and serving others. Great things can result, of course. But the mentality can backfire, too—for example, when we set our ambitions too high, get overwhelmed, and can’t follow through. It’s interesting that, knowing us as he does, our King, Jesus Christ, suggests an opposite approach:

“This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice” (Matthew 10:40-42 MSG).

Start small! Why does something rise up in our hearts, against that approach? Well, it’s mostly because by “going big” we hope to grab a little glory for ourselves. We want others to see us and think well of us. And if we don’t “go big,” they might not actually see our accomplishments. But, Jesus reassures us: “You won’t lose out on a thing” (Matthew 10:42 MSG). We must trust his words and trust that God the Holy Spirit can do amazing things within even our smallest, most ordinary acts of love and service. And that’s plenty big for any of us.



Look around, today and tomorrow, for people in need. People are hurting, people right around you. “Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood” (Matthew 10:5-8 MSG). Pick one person and blow them away with some help.

 

[RiverOL]

Walking in Faithfulness
Morning Encounter:
Read:
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. But as the saying goes, “The more they were called, the more they rebelled.” They never stopped offering incense and sacrifices to the idols of Baal. I took Israel by the arm and taught them to walk. But they would not admit that I was the one who had healed them. I led them with kindness and with love, not with ropes. I held them close to me; I bent down to feed them.
(Hosea 11.1-4)

Reflect:
Hosea is arguably one of the most emotional books of the Bible. God asks the prophet Hosea to marry and love a prostitute called Gomer and to care for her despite her unfaithfulness. Hosea experiences on a human level what God is experiencing on a divine level. In today’s passage, we understand something of the anguish God feels- the heart rending rejection from people he loves. God is like a thwarted lover or a deserted parent - his people who have stopped walking with him and yet he cannot give them up.

Respond:
As you reflect on these words today – what is stirring? What might God be prompting you to do in response?

Midday Meditation:
"Father in Heaven! You have loved us first; help us never to forget that you are love so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts over the seduction of the world, over the inquietude of the soul, over the anxiety for the future, over the fright of the past, over the distress of the moment. But grant also that this conviction might discipline our soul so that our heart might remain faithful and sincere in the love which we bear to all those whom you have commanded us to love as we love ourselves." (Soren Kierkegaard)

Evening Reflection:
Lord Most High,
Today was a difficult day for some of us. For others it was good and pleasant. Regardless of what this past day brought, Lord, we come to you tonight in need of your peace. As we sit in your presence this evening please give comfort and encouragement where needed while also instructing and training us where necessary. You are our hope and our joy! Help us to place all of our trust in you. We can't do it all on our own. Help us surrender the things to which we cling so tightly. We trust you, Father. Amen

 

[RiverOL]

Ryan looked up from the pages of the how-to-code book with a sigh. This was sooooo hard! His eyes wandered out the window to where his brothers were throwing a ball their father had given them. Why couldn’t his father have given him something easy to use too? He was frustrated…and afraid of failing.

“I gave you just what you need.” Ryan’s father’s voice startled him. Ryan had forgotten his father was sitting right there.

“It’s just so hard,” Ryan muttered.

His father smiled. “Of course it is. You know, I never expected you to do it alone. I’m right here and can help you.”

Ryan looked back at the frustrating coding pages. He would try again…this time, with his father’s help.

The book was still tough, but it made such a difference to do it with his father! A strange thing began to happen. He began to actually enjoy his coding assignment and become thankful his father had given him it. Truly, his father had known what was best!

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17 (NASB)

“Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11 (NASB)