One of the WMA (Women's Missionary Auxiliary) groups I attend is about to study the Lord's model prayer found in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6). So I have been contemplating prayer.  

As is common with the Lord, at least in my life, if He is trying to teach us, the same topic arises repeatedly. I recently received an email from a Christian friend about prayer. He included this quote from J. Vernon McGee: "So many people get uptight in a prayer meeting or in a church service. They feel oppression in prayer-they want to say the right things and use the right words. Public prayer is alright, but let me suggest that you go aside and be alone with God."

Last week, my husband and I attended a meeting of several of our sister churches at a neighboring church, along with many of the brothers and sisters from those churches. One of the dear brothers recounted an incident that happened the last time he had been in that church building, and it reminded me of an incident that happened the last time I was there. I did not share with the entire group, but only my husband on the way home that evening.

I have now decided I'd like to share it with you.

As a youth, I enjoyed attending singing conventions and there was one almost every Sunday afternoon. This particular church was on the regular rotation schedule, and on the particular Sunday of this incident, I was in attendance. So, here is my recounting of the most beautiful prayer I've ever heard.

Most services held in church buildings, and many elsewhere, begin with prayer. This particular Sunday was no different. However, the president of the Sunday afternoon singing convention, the person who was about to call on the person in the congregation who would lead in corporate prayer, was unaware that his choice had a learning disability. You could almost hear the group gasp when he called the name. Everyone wondered what was going to happen. And what happened was amazing!

The person led out, speaking ever so carefully, and ever so slowly, "Lord, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Lord, I don't know how to put them all together the right way, but You do. Amen."

With not a dry eye in the church, and every heart melted, this was probably the most spirit-filled singing I've ever attended. And, this was by far the most beautiful prayer I've ever heard.

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan - Day 2

Genesis 2:3 "So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy . . ."  I've sort of become obsessed with word studies of late.  What would it mean for God to make a day 'holy'?  One definition Merriam-Webster gives is, 'devoted entirely to the deity,' Strong's Concordance says, 'set apart' and HELPS Word-studies says, 'different.' The Word says that God did this "because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation."

The earth's rotation/orbit was also part of the work of creation, so now we have time - 365.242 days in a year, and every 7th day, we are to set apart a day, treating it differently, why?  Maybe because we are to 'rest in the Lord,' contemplating all the work He did in creation?  If we did this more often, would we be more 'in awe' of Him?  I believe I would.

Genesis 1:10 "A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers." When I read this, I am reminded that we are to 'abide in him (Jesus)' and then in John 7:38, Jesus told us that Scripture says, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'  But why did it divide and become four rivers?  Four corners of the earth? Four gospels, same story, different approach? Could it be to remind us that we, after receiving the 'Water of Life' are to branch out and share that Living Water with the world?  

Matthew 2.  Why did Herod have all the male children in and around Bethlehem under the age of two killed?  If the wise men saw his star when it rose, and have how come to worship him, why would it have taken two years?  Why hadn't everyone is Jerusalem seen it too?  If there was something in the 'stars' that the wise men saw, did they see it as Gabriel was making the announcement to Mary?  Did they wait for nine months only to see another confirmation in the eastern sky at His birth?  Then, did it take a few months to get everything together to form a caravan and undertake the journey?

In Ezra 2, the part that jumps out at me is found in verses 59-62. "The following were those who came up ..., though they could not prove their fathers' houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel ... These sought their registration ..., but they were not found there, and so they were excluded ..."  What an example of those whose names are not written in the Book of Life.

And in Acts 2:42-47, I find such an admonition for me. "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles ... , they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Lord, help me keep a day 'holy' to you so that I might devote myself to your Word, receiving your teachings with gladness and praise.  Develop in me a generous heart, sharing the Living Water you have given me, so that those I come in contact with will not be excluded from your kingdom. Keep me in awe of You.

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan - Day 1

This is a first!  I have never used the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan (nor had I ever heard of it) until this fall when I purchased a new One Year Bible for my husband to use in 2015.  He'd wanted to try an ESV and this was the only one the store had in stock. So, I too, am using the M'Cheyne plan, but on Biblegateway.com.

In Genesis 1, we find the creation of the world, but specifically, in verse 1, it simply says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Logically (therefore, mathematically) there are implications here.  1) If there is a beginning, then there will be an end. 2) God was already in existence in the beginning, so will still be around after the end. 3) God took nothing, and 'created' something. 4) Since God is the 'Creator", He is also the owner/operator. 5) All creation is accountable to its originator, namely, God.

In Matthew 1, we find the genealogy of Jesus, through Joseph, the husband of Mary.  I find it interesting that there are 42 generations from Abraham to the Christ - three sets of fourteen generations. 42 = 3 x 14, 42 = 6 x 7, 42 = 2 x 21 , 42 = 2 x 3 x 7.  Wonder where else we will find 42 in scripture?  I know we'll see it again.

Ezra 1:1-2 "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah." Jeremiah 29:10, (the verse preceding the one we all know) says, "For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place." and Cyrus had obviously been shown Isaiah 44:28, written three centuries before he was born, "who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’"

And finally in Acts 1, we find the promise of the Holy Spirit and the ascension, and in verses 7-8, Jesus tells his disciples, "He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

What does all this mean for me?  
1) I am a creation of God, and God has 'created' in me a clean heart (Psalm 51:10 - same word as in Genesis 1:1).  
2) He has made something ( a heart that longs for Him) from nothing. 
3) Just like God planned the birth of Jesus, His Son, the Christ, through a certain lineage, and in His perfect timing, He planned mine.
4) God uses people to accomplish His purpose, just as he used Cyrus.
5) God has fixed 'times and seasons', and it is not for me to know when they are.
6) Since God has created a new heart in me, He is my owner/operator and I am accountable to Him. 
7) He provides the power to accomplish His will in my life.

What am I accountable for?  
All that I am, all that He has blessed me with, all that do/don't do for Him.