When you look at the letters below what do you see? Do you think you could memorize those letters in 1 minute?
J FKFB INAT OUP SNA SAI RS
Those letters just don’t make sense. There is no simple connection to connect the dots so it would be hard to memorize those letters. Sometimes we think that God has complicated the communication process. I know I have questioned along with countless others about the way God communicates with us. We want God to just speak to us plainly or speak to us like he did Moses (more on this on Wednesday) in a burning bush. If God (we might say) is such a great communicator why doesn’t He just tell me plainly? Why doesn’t He just email me, text me, call me or at least send a facsimile! Something!
Yet, God does communicate with us everyday in simple ways. Through our loved ones. Through His creation. Through the bible. Through prayer. Through silence. Through circumstances. He is calling you and wooing you to Himself everyday. Sometimes we just don’t see clearly. Look at these letters again.
JFK FBI NATO UPS NSA IRS
Same letters–different perspective. Today we need a different perspective. God is, God is, God is speaking to you today. Are you listening?
Write down the things that you God is speaking into your life. Maybe it’s to go on that mission trip. Maybe it is to carve out time to be with Him. Maybe it is that YOU BELONG to Him. Maybe it’s that YOU are FORGIVEN. Maybe He is calling you to quit your job and start your dream job. Maybe it is to forgive that friend you love so much. Maybe it’s to reconcile with your father. Write down what God is speaking into your life.
See you back here in 2 hours. Pray. Pray. Pray.
FUEL (12 pm)
I don’t know if God branded everyone with the love of fire or what. All I know is that there is nothing like putting gasoline on the fire! There is nothing like adding fuel to the fire and watch it burn. It’s fun. It’s fascinating. Each of us is in need to fuel that fire everyday. Our fire (our heart, our life, our joy) will go out if we don’t continue to add fuel to the flame. We add fuel through our dependence on God, our trust in His faithfulness and loving Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Listen to the prophet Jeremiah speak when he says,
But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot. -Jeremiah 20:9
Or what about the apostles after they have been severely flogged–
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. -Acts 5:40-42
What is stopping you from fueling the fire? What is stopping you from giving your all to God every minute of everyday? Right now, write down one of the verses from above on a 3X5 card and fuel your fire. Keep it in your pocket or purse and think about as you go throughout the day. And if you get the opportunity in the next 2 hours give it to someone. See you at 2 pm EST time.
PURSUIT (10 am)
One of the consistent themes in action movies is the pursuit. There is always someone chasing someone down on foot, in car or by helicopter. It never seems to get old. I have seen a thousand car chases but each one brings a thrill if done correctly. I wonder when we are watching these movies or TV shows if God is whispering in our ears–"I’m in pursuit of you."
God is constantly pursuing us. He is tilting the universe so that we might see Him as He is–King, Lord, Lover, Daddy, Friend, and infinitely more. God longs to be with His children.
Psalm 130:5-6
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
Are you seeking God with all your heart? Only you can answer that question. Are you even attempting to seek Him with all your heart? On a sticky note write down a short prayer like–Jesus teach me to find the joy in seeking you. Keep that with you and make it a constant prayer for the next two hours.
BELONG (8 am)
I don’t think there are enough words to describe our need to belong. All of us want to be a part of something larger than ourselves. All of us want to know that our life matters. The reality is that we belong to God. We are a part of His story, His family and His creation. We belong. You belong. Listen. Ponder. Enjoy.
John 1:10-13
He [Jesus] was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Contrary to popular belief that says "we are all God’s children"–this says that "we become" God’s children through receiving him and believing in Him. There is a beauty in becoming God’s child that is remarkable. The bible says that he adopts us as His children. Those of us who have been adopted know that this is a far more difficult process than having "birth" parents. It takes a deep desire on the new families part to want you enough, to love you enough to make you a part of their family. God loves you so much that He adopted you as His children. You belong to Him now.
Ephesians 1:4-6
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
Write down on a sticky note a reminder that you need to hear from God. Place it where you can see it for the next 2 hours. It might say:
I belong to God
God has adopted me.
I am His child.
I am His.
I am a part of His story.
The key is to write something that you need to hear. Continue to speak to God throughout these next two hours. Take every thought captive. Constant communication with Your God. See you in 2 hours!
THOUGHTS (6 am)
Those of you who have been around me for awhile know that I say, "I have a thought for you." After I say this I share my thoughts about what God wants to do in your life. Well, I have some thoughts for you. Grab your seat belt and hold on tight. What is going on in your (my) life that God isn’t #1? What is it about entertainment and stuff that subtly leads us out of a passionate relationship Jesus? It seems that the latest gadgets, the newest and the best have replaced the joy of our salvation. It doesn’t get better than what God offers us–CHRIST IN YOU!!! For the next 2 hours (actually the rest of your life) I want you to take this next verse seriously. I want you to consider this verse as if it was God speaking directly to you–because it is. This is God’s Word for us to live by and to shape our lives.
2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Make this your prayer to take every thought captive. Let me give you a picture of this for a moment. I was riding my bike with my son (Spencer) this weekend. We rode for a good hour before we hit a big down hill on a dirt fire road. As soon as he hit the downhill–he did a superman. You can see pictures on my FB (Danny Ray). He got cut up pretty bad on his side, hands, elbows and face! Ouch! For the next several hours he was very aware of every would. He probably didn’t get up that morning and thank God for the skin that protects his elbows. Yet, now he is painfully aware of God’s protection over every part of us.
I know I am not aware of all of the things that God is constantly doing to get my attention but that was a wake up call not only for him but for me. A wake up call to be aware and thankful for both the seen and the unseen things that God is doing. It is easy to go about life without any awareness that God is doing great things all around us. For the next couple hours capture every thought and make your thoughts obedient to Christ. In other words, every ounce of pain, every situations, every opportunity, and every ounce of worry needs to be filtered through the question: What is your will in this situation? Your will. Your will. Your will be done.
It has been said that "pain is God’s megaphone." May God use His megaphone to teach you to be obedient in every area of your life to Him.
See you in two hours. Between now and then open your bible and write down a verse to memorize. Share it with us in the comments below.
ACCEPT (3 am)
We are designed to worship God 24/7 but somehow in the midst of our crazy lives we simply get caught in our worries, our troubles, our joys, our success and our life. Today is simply a reminder that life is like jumping out of an airplane with no parachute. We are constantly in need of a Savior! Sometimes we appear to have it all together but that illusion can quickly disappear with one change.
We lose a loved one.
We lose a job.
We lose our temper and end up using an old vice.
We say yes instead of no.
We break a promise that cost us a friendship.
The list could go on and on. The reality is that life is more fragile than a glass in the hands of a toddler. The verse that I am about to share will hopefully shake things up for you. I know when I read this verse it shook me at my core. I had to ask God some deep questions. The verse is spoken by Mary in response to the life that she has been called to. An angel tells her that she is going to have a baby born of the Holy Spirit. She responds by saying something profound:
"I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants."
Wow! What if we made this our prayer today?
PRAY: Lord You know we are your servants. We know that You desire to give us hope and a future. We know that Your ways are better than our ways. Daddy, we are willing to ACCEPT whatever, yes LORD, whatever you bring our way today. We love you.
CHECK BACK IN 3 HOURS for the next update. Updates will be coming throughout the day. If you miss one–no worries. The idea today is that we take every thought captive to Christ. More on that later.
