“Follow your heart.” One often hears this adage at graduation time but is it good advice? Can we trust in the leading of our own heart? To do today’s Bible study, My Facts or God’s Truth, please click on the link.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Welcome to Day 29 of our Lenten Devotions! For the rest of this week, we will be studying the topic of spiritual growth, looking at practices that will help us to grow in our faith. Just click on the link below to read today’s devotional, as we explore the topic of mentoring.
Thanks for joining us. May the Lord bless your day!
Who do you think of when you hear the word hero? Perhaps you think of our military. Maybe you think of the first responders who raced into the Twin Towers on 9/11. Or maybe someone you know is your hero.When my son was young, he used to spend hours playing with his superhero action figures as they battled the “bad guys.”
Well, last week my pastor Dave Rodriguez gave me plenty to think about in his third sermon in our Hero series. He said that heroes of the faith “are ordinary people with a deep conviction that spills over into extreme action for the love of others and the glory of God.”
I guess the emphasis on ordinary people caught my attention, because … that means that all of us are candidates to be a hero. As a matter of fact, the subject of his sermon that day was as unlikely a candidate for a hero, as ever has been: Rahab. If you remember Rahab from the Bible, she was a prostitute who ended up saving the lives of the two Hebrew spies who came to scope out the city of Jericho before the Israelites took it over. When the king’s men came knocking on her door looking for the spies, she sent them in the other direction, while she hid the spies on her roof.
Rahab had heard the stories of God and his people, and she chose to believe them and believe in Him. She went against the tide of what everyone else was doing, because she put her faith in the one, true God. Then she acted on that faith. As Dave said, “No one ever becomes a hero by just thinking about it. Intentions play no part in heroism–action does.”
A few weeks ago, Mary and I spoke at a women’s fellowship luncheon at the Foundation of Truth Worship Center in Indianapolis. Our topic was on Defeating Your Strongholds and Rahab’s story was one we used as an example of a woman who broke her strongholds. Her story is amazing, and it doesn’t end in Joshua 2.
Rahab is actually mentioned in Matthew 1 in the genealogy of Jesus (!), and she is listed in Hebrews 11 as one of the heroes of the faith, along with many others. Praise God that our pasts don’t keep us from doing big things for God. You see, it wasn’t that there was anything special about Rahab or the others listed in Hebrews. What Hebrews emphasizes was that by faith they each did their heroic deeds. Not faith in themselves, but faith in the great God we serve.
Rahab didn’t have a lot of time to decide or pray about her decision to hide the spies–heroes rarely do. It’s a risky faith that makes a person a hero, one that’s willing to act by faith when no one else is.
And like Rahab, anyone of us has the potential to be a “by faith” hero–because we serve that very same great God!
Pray on!
Mary Kane and Jane VanOsdol are excited for this new podcast series called Walking in Truth, A Study in the book of Colossians. Let’s learn and laugh together as we explore what it means to grow in our faith. In this first session, Preparing for the Journey, we’ll explore Colossians 1:1-8. We’ll start with a brief background and then jump right into the verses.
Here is a free viewer guide for you to download and print off so that you can follow along with us as we study together.
You can listen to the podcast below (see player at the end of this post) or download Only By Prayer from iTunes.
Thanks for joining us !
Jane and Mary
The summertime is one of my favorite times of the year, especially fresh, sunny mornings on the deck with my Bible. For me, prayer seems easier when I’m surrounded by flowers, singing birds and a warm breeze. I love to start the day this way–before I’m consumed by the distractions of my to-do list and job.
My morning time gets me grounded and ready for whatever the day may bring. However, I’ve noticed how easy it is to “lose” God in the busyness of the day. It’s not that He goes anywhere–He’s still there; it’s just me who has moved away. Lately, I’ve decided to be more purposeful about bringing God into all of my day–not just the mornings. As I was thinking about how to do this, I came across the Jesus Prayer in a book I was reading on spiritual disciplines. The Jesus Prayer is not a new idea; rather, it’s been around as a practice since the 5th century and has its origins in the Bible.
The Jesus Prayer is a simple, short prayer that says, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,” or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It probably sounds familiar to you if you’re read the gospel of Luke lately where the tax collector is praying in chapter 18, verse 13 “God be merciful to me a sinner!” Or perhaps you’ve read the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who called out to Jesus in Mark 10, “ Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd tried to shush Bartimaeus (I wonder; have I ever discouraged anyone from following Jesus? I hope not!), but he just yelled all the louder. Jesus blessed his faith by healing him and giving him his sight!
The Jesus Prayer is explained in an ancient book called the Philokalia, which had hundreds of pages of ideas on how to practice this prayer–rather surprising when you consider the brevity of the prayer! An anonymous Russian pilgrim in the middle 1800s also wrote a book about his experiences with the prayer and how it changed his life. This book is called The Way of a Pilgrim. Both books are still on the market, so if you want to read more about the Jesus Prayer, these would be some in-depth reading for you.
But, if you’re ready to jump in and start practicing this discipline, it’s very simple. To help you focus, start practicing this prayer in a quiet place. Breathe in and pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,” and then breathe out and pray “have mercy on me, a sinner.” Try to tune out any distractions, thinking about the words and praying them from your heart. The whole idea is to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Reminding ourselves that we are sinners is not meant to put ourselves down, but rather to help us not take for granted what Jesus has done for us and continues to do for us. Some people like to use prayer ropes to keep track of how many times they pray the prayer each day. To me that seems to become almost legalistic, but do what feels comfortable to you. As you become accustomed to praying the prayer, you can pray it wherever you are throughout your day to ground you and draw you closer to God.
That’s what I like about this short prayer. I think that praying the Jesus Prayer will help me not “lose” God as I go about my day, but rather help me to focus on Him–wherever I am.
What do you think? Do you think the Jesus Prayer is a practice you’ll try? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Pray on!
With a couple of simple words, “Follow Me,” the lives of a few fishermen were changed forever. Jesus still uses these simple words today to call all who are willing to follow Him. To do the study, Following Jesus, just click on the link!
Photo by Engeni Dinev Sunbeams in the Mouintains https://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Landscapes_g114-The_Balkans_p17835.html