I was reading a Grace Livingston Hill book recently (old-fashioned fiction stories). In her book one of her characters is wondering about how prayer works. The character had recently come through a dangerous situation safely, and after a friend told her he had been praying for her, she was wondering if that friend’s prayers could have specifically worked to help keep her safe. This is what the character was thinking.

“Was prayer perhaps like the radio, just as sounds were stored up in the air, so perhaps prayers were hovering about on their way to and from God?”

What an interesting way this is of looking at prayer! I love the visual this put into my mind of millions of prayers floating around in the air on their way to the throne of God. Romans 8:26-28 tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, so we know that prayers are also directed to us from heaven. It’s a two-way street of prayers on a heavenly highway!

This quote on prayer from a fictional character really started me thinking about how God may use our prayers. I wonder if the prayers that are prayed on our behalf are at some point hovering around us in a hedge of protection. When we pray for our children or spouse, do those prayers envelop them as they go about their days? As we pray for other countries, do those prayers gather forces with the prayers others have prayed to “cushion” that country?

What must the heavenly airwaves look like with all the prayers of the saints?

I wish we could see it. What do you think?

Pray on!

Can we really make a difference in the world today?

Barry Rodriguez with some of his Haitian friends at Nehemiah Vision Ministry’s children’s home in Chambrun, Haiti.

Well, according to Barry Rodriguez, director of WorldNextDoor.org, yes, we can! Join Jane VanOsdol as she and Barry discuss how we can pray effectively for the huge issues of oppression and injustice in the world–and what we can actually DO to make a difference.

Barry travels around the world to spotlight the injustices he finds–not just to report about them, but to get people involved in changing lives. You don’t want to miss this podcast. If you’ve always struggled to get beyond the generic prayer that says, “Lord, please stop human trafficking,” then tune in today for some concrete things you can pray and do. Just click on the sideways triangle below to listen, or you can find Only By Prayer on iTunes.

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Here’s a few updates from Barry:

Web Site
First of all, if you haven’t seen our website yet, be sure to check out www.worldnextdoor.org.  In fact, next week will be a great time to start reading because we’re kicking off a collection of “2010 Favorites.”  And this spring I’ll be writing from Kenya, Haiti and Israel!

Random Stuff!
We have a Facebook fan page, of course.  Then there’s our twitter feed.  Oh, and my personal twitter feed. If you’re interested in joining our work financially, there are plenty of ways to give.

Flickr
Finally, in case you want to take a deeper look at some of the photos I used at the seminar, you can find some of my favorites on my brand new Flickr account.  I’ll be updating it with my best shots from each trip I take in the future.

Who doesn’t love that sweet little baby face? It’s hard to resist chubby cheeks, sparkling eyes and toothless grins! But what if we stayed as babies for our whole lives? Would it be quite so attractive?

We are smack dab in the middle of a series at church called Colossians: Living a Life Worthy of the Lord. It’s been a challenging series, not a feel good one necessarily. But one that is sorely needed. It’s all about moving beyond baby steps with Christ and growing and maturing in our faith.

A few Sundays ago, the scripture we were in was Colossians 1:24-29 and Colossians 2:1-5. Pastor David Bell was talking about how our maturity matters greatly to God, and how it is an expected privilege of all who follow Jesus. It got me thinking about the whys of it all. Why is maturity important in our faith? What would the world look like if we just happily accepted our salvation and never moved on from there?

Well, one way to look at this is to use the analogy of a baby. Babies are immature of course. They need to be fed, changed, cared for, loved and protected. They can’t stand on their own. They can’t do much for others yet. They are pretty much in the “taking” mode. Imagine how we would feel if our babies never grew up. We would forever be immersed in diapers, baby food, car seats, play pens and strollers. Now I know we all are nostalgic about the days when our kids were little, but there is something very satisfying about watching children grow up, reaching new milestones and independence, making mistakes along the way, yes, but ultimately becoming productive members of society—and God’s kingdom.

Now let’s imagine that this is similar to how God sees us. When we take our very first step of faith by accepting Jesus as our Savior, we are born into God’s kingdom. And for too many of us, that’s where we wallow. It’s a comforting, easy place to be. We’re loved, we’re fed—all our needs are taken care of. But, I can imagine God looking down and saying “Come on, it’s time to take those next steps. We need to get rid of the baby food and get some meat into us. I’ve got work waiting for you to do!”

It takes time and work to grow in Christ. Sometimes we have to give up other things to attend that Bible study or take that class. We need to devote time to prayer. We need to spend time with mature Christians who can encourage us. Often times, it’s far easier NOT to do those things. But where would our world be if we all took that attitude?

What if Martin Luther, George Müller, Amy Carmichael, Billy Graham, your pastor, the person who introduced you to Christ, what if they all had made different decisions, different choices in their lives? What if they had never grown up in Christ?

God doesn’t see each of us any differently. He’s got things that He prepared in advance, waiting for us to do (see Ephesians 2:10). What if we never get there?

This isn’t meant to be a guilt trip. If you are already growing in God, then don’t pile on anything else that He hasn’t given you to do or hasn’t called you to. But, if your Christian life hasn’t changed much since you started following Jesus, and you feel God is nudging you to grow up, here’s a few questions David left us with at the end of service that Sunday morning that may help you too.

1. Am I content where I am in my maturity in Christ?
2. Is God content with where I am?
3. Is there room to grow?
4. What areas do I need to grow in?
5. Am I willing to pursue what it takes?

What do you think about maturity? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Pray on!

“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 a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I can hardly believe that the holiday season is already over.  Most people look forward all year long to the feast that they can devour without judgment at Thanksgiving and the festivities of Christmas, but for my family this year, those traditions were moved to the bottom of our priority list.

About two months ago, my mom started getting really sick, and the doctors couldn’t find any source to her illness. They ran test after test, yet nothing made sense as to why she had a low blood count and was losing weight at an alarming rate. Christmas was right around the corner, and we decided to take a break from all the doctors’ appointments and just enjoy the season with our family. We would worry about possible causes for these symptoms after the tree had come down and the media had stopped showing all their Christmas specials.

This seemed like a great idea, but God had other plans. Plans that would rock our world… but then again, God seems to like switching up our plans, especially around Christmas time. The whole point of this season is that God flipped the script and sent His Son born of a virgin to save us. So when everything stopped going according to plan this Christmas, for me it was a lot easier to deal with, because I knew that God was still in control, just as He was 2,000 years ago.

About a week before December 25, my mom started coughing up blood. It wasn’t a lot the first day. But then it continued day after day, until her whole hand would be covered with the blood. Christmas was just days away, but it was time to act. We rushed her to the hospital to find out that she had lung cancer the size of a baseball in her left lung. The doctors had not thought to look for that specific form of cancer because my mother had never smoked or worked in a vocation that might contribute to lung cancer.

After that, things started going pretty fast. We were rushing my mom to many CT scans and biopsies. It was originally believed that she had stage three cancer, which would have given her about eight months to live. However, my God is bigger than doctors’ diagnoses, and after much prayer my mother returned for another doctors appointment to find out that the cancer was not spreading as fast as they had first thought and that they might be able to get all of the cancer with surgery. That surgery is still going to be very rough and we are all anticipating January 18, when my mom will have her entire left lung removed, but we are trusting God and know that He will protect my mom and continue to give us all peace throughout this difficult and scary experience.

On behalf of my mom, I am asking that any one reading this would please pray for her on January 18 as she goes into surgery. It would be so powerful and amazing to know that thousands of people are out there praying for her to have strength and to feel God’s presence throughout this time. My mom’s own personal prayer is that God be glorified in all of this. Thank you.

Pray on!

Brittany

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15

Sometimes being a Christian can appear complicated and confusing, especially when it seems as though Christians have always been battling between showing unconditional love and grace and speaking the truth boldly and without apology. Most Christians tend to take either one side or the other, but if we look at the life of Jesus, He had a balance of both.

He showed grace to those who needed an extra measure, yet to people such as the Pharisees He wasn’t afraid to have a stern hand and rebuke them. For Jesus, it was more about the heart of the people He was reaching and what method would bring them closer to Him and the truth. What really matters to Christ is our heart behind our actions, and I think if we were to focus on reaching people’s hearts, it would be easier to find that balance between truth and grace. If we have a bitter or angry heart, we are more likely to complain or argue with others. Once we get our hearts in line with Christ’s Word, we will start to become more like Him in all areas of our life, including in how we talk to and witness to others.

What different Biblical types of love are there?

In the Greek, phileo represented a friendship or brotherly love, and agape represented a God-like love. The type of love talked about in this passage is agape, reminding us that when we speak the truth, the love that needs to be shown is a love that says what others need to hear in kindness, instead of just saying what others think they want to hear.

Is there an example of Jesus being a witness by speaking the truth?

In the New Testament Jesus found Himself speaking the truth to the Pharisees on many occasions. One such confrontation that occurred took place in Luke 11:37-44. Christ doesn’t keep anything back, He calls the Pharisees greedy and wicked and compares them to unmarked tombs that others don’t even notice. The reason that Christ found it important to confront the Pharisees instead of just showing grace was because they knew the law and were twisting it to make themselves look good. The Pharisees needed to be confronted so that they would stop using the law to make others feel inferior and unworthy of the love of Christ.

Is there an example of Jesus being a witness by showing love?

One of the most beautiful examples of Christ showing grace in the New Testament took place in John 8:3-11 when Christ showed grace to the adulterous woman. The woman knew what she had done was wrong and didn’t need Christ to tell her how to change her life.  At that point she needed to know that Christ loved her despite her past, but that He loved her too much to allow her to stay that way.  So what Jesus gave her was hope and a second chance, which most others wouldn’t have given her.

What situations have you found yourself in where you had to choose between showing grace and truth?

When has someone had to be truthful with you when you would have rather just had grace, but later you were glad they were honest with you?

How have you grown from others’ loving honesty toward you?

How can you apply how they treated you into witnessing and talking to others?

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

About a week ago, I was sitting in my college church class when a common question for discussion was brought up: “What is the best way to reach others for Christ?”

Some students began to say that they had always been taught to show grace to others, and not necessarily approach them with the gospel, but let them come to Christ through watching our actions. Other students didn’t agree with this method, but instead believed in being more evangelistic and approaching others with the gospel in a more straightforward, confrontational manner.

After several minutes of discussion and debate, a common ground was reached and a realization was brought to light. If it’s all about grace, then eventually, no one will know the truth or the gospel; they’ll just think you were a good person for showing grace and kindness. However, if all we care about is truth, many people may feel as though being a Christian is all about rules and knowledge, and not about an action of showing love to others.

The real answer to the question is that it takes a balance of both grace and truth. This really hit me hard, because I tend to have a habit of caring more about rules then helping people. However, when I talk to someone who doesn’t know about Christ, I sometimes allow fear to rule my life and give an excuse that because I care too much about rules, I need to be careful and only show others grace. Yet, if I only show grace, then how are they supposed to ever know why I’m living the way I live and come to personally know the Lord of my life?

I need to balance both, focusing both on speaking the truth, and speaking it in love.

What side do you usually fall on? Do you tend to let your life speak for itself, or do you speak up and tell others about Christ? Or maybe you’ve found a good balance between the two? I’d love to hear your story!

Brittany

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.