It is an innate human drive to be understood.

It is an innate human drive to be understood. Even when someone


cannot help our circumstances, we feel a little bit better just

knowing someone understands. I think we feel a little less alone.



But what about those times when someone does misunderstand us?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _



Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her

voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How

long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." "Not so,

my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I

have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to

the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been

praying here out of my great anguish and grief." (1 Sam 1:13-16 NIV)



Prayer: LORD, even though people sometimes misunderstand me--what I

do and why or how I do it--I am grateful that You know my heart and

motives. Help me deal with the hurt and rejection I feel when people

do not understand me, especially when they are critical or

judgmental. Thank You for understanding me, listening to me, and

being the One I can always trust to be there, even when no one else

cares or understands. In Jesus' name, Amen.

mini-message about watching our words.

It's harder to make amends with an offended friend than to capture a


fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with

iron bars. Words satisfy the soul as food satisfies the stomach; the

right words on a person's lips bring satisfaction. Those who love to

talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or

nourish life. (Prov 18:19-21 NLT)



Prayer: LORD, help me choose my words carefully today as I interact

with others. I want to sow joy and encouragement into their lives.

Strengthen me and help me go back and reconcile and restore any

damage I have caused to others in the past by my words. Words can

hurt and cause emotional and spiritual damage, or words can heal and

bring life. I will choose healing and life today. Thank You for Your

words of life to me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

LORD, it is easy to overlook little things

Prayer: LORD, it is easy to overlook little things. A smile, a warm


embrace or handshake, or just a pleasant look does not take great

effort, but it can make a life-changing difference to someone. It

could be the only love they receive all day. Help me look beyond the

big, religious, deeply-spiritual-appearing things and share Your

love and presence in "little" things today. Smile through me to

touch someone because someone out there needs it today. Tomorrow, it

could be me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

some days I just do not feel like being joyful

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (1 Th 5:14-18 NLT)




Prayer: LORD, some days I just do not feel like being joyful in my

circumstances or thankful for them. When I feel that way, help me

override my feelings and remember that if I trust You and have

faith, You can work in everything for my good in the end. For that I

can be thankful, because I have hope that the way things are is not

the way they must remain. Thank You for making a way for me to have

real joy that does not depend on circumstances or my feelings. In

Jesus' name, Amen.

Building Up

When someone invests time in me, I have a choice.


I can keep everything for myself, close my fist, and hold it tight. Or, I can turn around and let wisdom, encouragement, and motivation trickle into others.

The best way to appreciate those who take time with me is to bless someone else.

We are all in a different place in our lives. There will always be someone ahead of me in the journey and there will always be someone behind me.

Turn around and look at the person following in your footsteps and take notice. Make time to ask about her about work and really listen. Save some energy to brainstorm his new idea. Encourage her latest achievement.

After all, picture this—you are standing behind the accomplished person ahead in the line. Isn't it great when they look back and smile?

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,
that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).

Build someone up today.

Judas, The Man Who Never Knew

From Max Lucado's book - Shaped by God




Judas, The Man Who Never Knew



I’ve wondered at times what kind of man this Judas was. What he looked like, how he acted, who his friends were.



I guess I’ve stereotyped him. I’ve always pictured him as a wiry, beady-eyed, sly, wormy fellow, pointed beard and all. I’ve pictured him as estranged from the other apostles.



Friendless. Distant. Undoubtedly he was a traitor and a quisling. Probably the result of a broken home. A juvenile delinquent in his youth.



Yet I wonder if that is so true. We have no evidence (save Judas’s silence) that would suggest that he was isolated. At the Last Supper, when Jesus said that his betrayer sat at the table, we don’t find the apostles immediately turning to Judas as the logical traitor.



No, I think we’ve got Judas pegged wrong. Perhaps he was just the opposite. Instead of sly and wiry, maybe he was robust and jovial. Rather than quiet and introverted, he could have been outgoing and well-meaning. I don’t know.



But for all the things we don’t know about Judas, there is one thing we know for sure: He had no relationship with the Master. He had seen Jesus, but he did not know him. He had heard Jesus, but he did not understand him. He had a religion but no relationship.



As Satan worked his way around the table in the upper room, he needed a special kind of man to betray our Lord. He needed a man who had seen Jesus but who did not know him. He needed a man who knew the actions of Jesus but had missed out on the mission of Jesus. Judas was this man. He knew the empire but had never known the Man.



Judas bore the cloak of religion, but he never knew the heart of Christ.



We learn this timeless lesson from the betrayer. Satan’s best tools of destruction are not from outside the church; they are within the church. A church will never die from the immorality in Hollywood or the corruption in Washington. But it will die from corrosion within—from those who bear the name of Jesus but have never met him and from those who have religion but no relationship.



Judas bore the cloak of religion, but he never knew the heart of Christ. Let’s make it our goal to know … deeply.

accountabilty

9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (Gen 3:9-13 NLT)




Notice that Adam not only blamed Eve but also God by saying "It was the woman You gave me who gave me the fruit." In Genesis 2:16-17, God specifically told Adam before He created Eve, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." So from the beginning of time, people have not accepted accountabilty for their sin.



Prayer: LORD, nothing is new under the sun. We humans have been

trying to evade accountability for what we do since the beginning.

When something goes wrong, we blame circumstances, genes, parents,

spouses, ex-spouses, bosses, government, and even You! Help me stop

the blame game and take responsibility for my life and

circumstances. Help me admit my failures, confess them, and accept

Your forgiveness. Then I can move on and continue our "walk in the

garden" in our relationship. In Jesus' name, Amen.

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters.Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. 1 Peter 3:8-9

Prayer: LORD, some days it is a challenge to live in harmony with myself, much less with anyone else! I know I should exemplify Your character in the way I interact with others, but I let my "self" get in the way. Help me grow more mature in our relationship. Then, as I live in harmony with You first, I will better be able to live in harmony with myself and others. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God Listens

You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter his presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God—and he listens. He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the rest home. He listens to the gruff confession of the death-row inmate. When the alcoholic begs for mercy, when the spouse seeks guidance, when the businessman steps off the street into the chapel, God listens.

Intently. Carefully. The prayers are honored as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful fragrance to our Lord. “The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God.” Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God.

Then, the angel “filled the incense pan with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth” (Rev. 8:5). One call and Heaven’s fleet appears. Your prayer on earth activates God’s power in heaven, and “God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.”

You are the someone of God’s kingdom. You have access to God’s furnace. Your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don’t need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!

When you speak, Jesus hears.
And when Jesus hears, thunder falls.
And when thunder falls, the world is changed.
All because someone prayed.

prayer

God, Help me trust You to do what You have already done. You have made
ways for me when there were no ways. You have defeated enemies that
were unconquerable. You have stood for me when I couldn't stand for
myself. You have loved me and believed in me when I didn't love or
believe in myself. And You will always do those things. Help me
believe in You like You believe in me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

From Paul

I wrote a letter to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be in
charge, will not recognize our authority. (3 Jn 1:9 ISV)

Prayer: LORD, some people love to be in charge and enjoy having
authority over others. When I encounter such a one, help me avoid
being drawn into a conflict with them. I need Your acceptance, but
the acceptance of others is optional. If someone rejects me, help me
just move on and allow you deal with them as You see fit. In Jesus'
name, Amen.

10 Ways to Tell You're Slipping

It's surprising how God's people awaken one day and suddenly realize they have fallen away from the closeness they used to enjoy with the Lord. The signs have been there all along, but they were not paying attention.

Here are some tests for spotting signs of slippage in our walk with the Lord, evidence that we're losing the intimacy with Him that should mean so much in our personal life.

10. You know you're slipping when the big thing you look forward to on a Sunday is a football game.

9. You know you're slipping when reading the Bible no longer excites you, angers you, or challenges you.

8. You know you're slipping when you finally get up off the couch and get involved in some ministry the Lord has been laying on your heart and the first thing you do is start criticizing all the other couch potatoes who are only doing the same thing you have been doing all this time.

7. You know you're slipping when, after slacking off in your tithing over the past year, instead of feeling guilty, you find yourself criticizing the regular tithers for their self-righteous and legalistic attitudes.

6. You know you're slipping when you can read the Ten Commandments and give yourself a passing grade on all of them.

5. You know you're slipping when you can go a whole day without praying and it not bother you one bit.

4. You know you're slipping when you can have a dirty thought and justify it as "what normal humans do."

3. You know you're slipping when you feel a nudging from the Holy Spirit to speak to that person or give to this one or make a phone call to another and you squelch it.

2. You know you're slipping when you decide to reward yourself for doing well by skipping your Bible reading and prayer for that day.

1. You know you're really, really slipping when the problem of slipping doesn't cause you great concern.

min-message from April 12. 2011

Let a man go to a psychiatrist and what does he become? An adjusted sinner.

Let a man go to a physician and what does he become? A healthy sinner.


Let a man achieve wealth and what does he become? A wealthy sinner.

Let a man join a church, sign a card, and turn over a new leaf and what does he become? A religious sinner.

But let him go in sincere repentance and faith to the foot of Calvary's cross, and what does he become? A new creature in Jesus Christ, forgiven, reconciled, with meaning and purpose in his life and on the way to marvelous fulfillment in God's will.

Facing Decisions

Prayer: LORD, when I am facing important decisions or tasks, help me
remember to pray first. And in the absence of specific direction
from You, help me use sound judgment and wisdom. I trust You to
correct my path if I am taking a wrong turn. Thank You for putting
me in the right place, at the right time, in front of the right
people. In Jesus' name, Amen.

No Excuse for Hating Others

If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. 1 John 2:9-11 NLT

Prayer: LORD, it must grieve You to hear all the excuses people make
for hating others. There is no excuse, and anyone who tries to
justify it has just announced that they are not surrendered to You.
Help me learn to love You first, with all my heart. Then, help me
apply that same love to others, as You do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

mini-message - December 7, 2010

Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and
die. The wind blows, and we are gone-- as though we had never been
here. But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear
him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those who
are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments! (Psa 103:15-18 NLT)

Prayer: LORD, as quickly as time seems to pass here, help me take
comfort that You have a purpose for me in it. Help me not wallow in
regret over time wasted or opportunities missed, but trust that You
love me and can use me - even my failures - in the "big" (eternal)
picture. This time is brief, but eternity awaits with You. In Jesus'
name, Amen.

mini-message - Monday November 29

7 Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
But let them not return to their foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
so our land will be filled with his glory. (Psa 85:7-9 NLT)

Prayer: LORD, when You answer prayer, solve a problem, or meet a
need, I have a responsibility to change what got me in trouble in
the first place. Help me do whatever I need to do to change my
behavior, circumstances, or environment so the problem will not
return because of my negligence or failure. In Jesus' name, Amen.

mini-message

Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good
or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their
stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He
stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the
Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they
might kill Jesus. (Mark 3:4-6 NIV)

Prayer: LORD, some people are going to have bad attitudes no matter
what I do. Help me not be so vexed by them that I am distracted from
doing what You have for me to do. Give me courage and strength to do
it, knowing that my relationship with You does not depend on anyone
else's opinion. I want Your approval, whether anyone else agrees or
not. In Jesus' name, Amen.

mini-message June 21

And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. (2 Cor 6:18-7:1)

Prayer: LORD, putting away things that can contaminate my life and hinder our relationship begins with a choice. I know You forgive my sins, but I want to be clean in my body and spirit because I love You. Help me recognize the things that should not be in my life and give me strength and courage to get them out, whatever it takes. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Guilt

Guilt is a major weapon of Satan when one tries to walk closer with the Lord. If you ask God to forgive you of your sins and you do this in sincerity then he puts them as far away "as the east is from the west".

1 Lord, you poured out blessings on your land! You restored the fortunes of Israel.
2 You forgave the guilt of your people— yes, you covered all their sins.
3 You held back your fury. You kept back your blazing anger.
4 Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. (Psa 85:1-4 NLT)

Prayer: LORD, I cannot undo what I have done in the past, but I can determine what I will do in the future. I am grateful that You do not hold my past against me. Help me not hold it against myself. Give me courage to look forward with You and keep the past behind me where it belongs. In Jesus' name, Amen.