Links & Quotes

link quote

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

“The patience of hope does not turn men and women into monks and nuns, it gives men and women the right use of this world from another world′s standpoint.” —Oswald Chambers

The proper place of science in our culture: Science And Its Limits

Astronomers, cosmologists and physicists are always trying to explain the “missing” parts of their evolutionary theories: Missing Galaxy Mass Found

Very good! The Non-Physical Sides Of Sex

“You may think it out of place for me to say so, but in our churches today we are leaning too heavily upon human talents and educated abilities. We forget that the illumination of the Holy Spirit of God is a necessity, not only in our ministerial preparation, but in the administrative and leadership functions of our churches.” —A.W. Tozer

“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor.” —Seneca

“Selfish religion loves Christ for His benefits, but not for Himself.” —David Brainerd

“Few marriages can make it if both partners are hiding out from God. Show me a marriage without one partner that is close to Jesus, and I’ll show you a marriage with little chance of survival. At least one of the partners must be in daily consultation with the Lord. It is best when both husband and wife are talking to Him, but if one partner is running from God, it is all the more important that the other be able to run to a secret closet of prayer for help and direction. A praying wife can often save her marriage, as can a praying husband. Love alone is not enough to keep a marriage strong—only God’s power can do that. That power is at work right now, healing and keeping marriages. Where Jesus rules, the marriage can make it.” —David Wilkerson

Such Confidence!

Such Confidence“May God give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” (Psalm 20:4)

How confident David is! How bold! And yet through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David says exactly what Our Lord taught—

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. (John 15:7)

I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. (John 16:23)

This assurance to ask largely of our loving Heavenly Father looks to His provision alone. It believes and it asks. It knows that God can answer—“now I know” (Psalm 20:6)—and that He does answer—“You have granted all the desires of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips” (Psalm 21:2).

Oh, for faith to believe You and ask You for more!

How would your prayers change if you had the confident assurance of David?

Links & Quotes

link quote

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

Beat the flu: 10 Ways To Boost Your Immune System

[VIDEO] Better Google searches

For 20-somethings: 20 Things People Over 20 Should Stop Doing

“If Christians today want to find the right church, they must begin with prayer! No one is ever going to find God’s true Church by jumping on a bus, train or plane and racing around the world in search of it. We simply can’t get to His Church by any modern conveyance. The only reliable map is our secret closet of prayer!” —David Wilkerson

So President Obama, who has sworn to uphold the law of the land, won′t even uphold his own law?!? New Obamacare Delay

Truth: 10 Bad Reasons To Be A Pastor

“My greatest fear in life is standing before the Lord and hearing Him say, ‘I had so much more for you, but you held on too tightly.’” —Larry Burkett

Links & Quotes

link quote

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

“Once we receive the revelation of God’s glory, we cannot continue in our old ways of treating others. That must all change.” —David Wilkerson

“Do we regularly think ‘WHAT’S RIGHT WITH IT?’ instead of ‘what’s wrong with it?’ Do our opinions, as naive as they may seem to be, lift the spirits of others and promote thankfulness, joy and love? Is this how we approach our relationships, our jobs and our church? Do we look for the negative and annoying? Will we drive away from service tomorrow saying, ‘I didn’t like that song’ … or, ‘I thought that message lacked substance’ … or, ‘_______ was really rude today’ … or …  something else unkind or unnecessary? I’m guilty of negative opinions too… I’m not proud of this fact and I’m determined to see it radically change in 2014.” —Chilly Chilton

West Michigan is great place to live, and find a job, and get involved with a great church: Why Unemployment Is High In Parts Of Michigan

“No Christian and, indeed, no historian could accept the epigram which defines religion as ‘what a man does with his solitude.’ It was one of the Wesleys, I think, who said that the New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion.” —C.S. Lewis

Muslims are finding Jesus! A Wind In The House Of Islam

Stunning Photos Of Earth From Above

A touching story about Hockeytown′s famous #9: The Best Gift Ever Given To Gordie Howe

A great reminder/challenge from Max Lucado: Someday

Tim Elmore′s helpful advice for anyone working with youth: Six Steps To Prepare For The Coming Culture Shift

“I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me.” —Hudson Taylor

Singing Your Prayer

Be honest: have you ever crammed for an exam? You’re up late into the night “cramming” info into your brain, then chugging Coke or Mt. Dew or coffee the next morning to try to wake up.

You get to class and fly through your test, trying to get all of the information out of your brain before it evaporates. Perhaps you do well on the test, but if someone were to quiz you on the same material a week later, you’d probably recall very little of what you studied. If the teacher asks you the next school year what you remember from that exam, your mind might be blank.

Music & the brainYears later you might be flipping through the radio dial, and a song comes on that you haven’t heard for years. You turn up the volume, and start singing along to the song, recalling that this was the very song you were listening to the night you were cramming for that exam.

Why is it that can you recall everything about this song, and very little about what you studied? The answer is that music engages the whole brain. Both the left hemisphere of your brain (which remembers facts) and the right hemisphere (which remembers music) work together as a powerful memory tool.

Did you know this can be just as powerful in your prayers?

There is a  Hebrew word (tephillah) for prayer which means a prayer set to music; a poetic prayer; a sacred song. This is the word used heavily in the first 72 psalms.

In other words, the psalmists linked words and melodies—left and right brain hemispheres—together to help our songful prayers get locked into our memory banks. The more we remember what God has done for us in answering our prayers, the more likely we are to keep on praying and keep on trusting Him in the future. 

Many times when I am reading Scripture, a song or hymn will come to my mind, and I pause to hum that melody. Maybe God will give you a new song to sing, or perhaps you will write your own personal melody as you pray. There’s no wrong way to sing your prayers.

However you do it, it’s a powerful memory tool when we sing our prayers to our Heavenly Father.

Links & Quotes

link quote

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

“C.S. Lewis wrote that the most dangerous ideas in a society aren’t the ones argued, but the ones assumed. For most of us—myself included—it’s tempting to take up arms and jump in the trenches every time a loud and headline-grabbing controversy breaks. But if Lewis was right, it’s not the moments of intense crossfire that are the most culturally significant. They come and go. But it is those times, like the Grammy Awards, when culture doesn’t react, that really signal where we are” (John Stonestreet). Read John′s full commentary: Why The Grammys Mattered More Than Miley

[VIDEO] Very fun: The Great Grasshoppers!

7 More Ways Husbands & Wives Injure Each Other Without Even Knowing It

“The best style of prayer is that which cannot be called anything but a cry.” —Charles Spurgeon 

[VIDEO] Amazing (and cold!!): Surfing Lake Michigan

 

Forethought Or After-Thought?

What is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him? You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet. (Psalm 8:4-5)

forethoughtafterIn mythology, humans are an after-thought, a nuisance, slaves and servants of the gods, and usually pawns in the gods’ scheming against each other.

But Jehovah God created man as a part of His creation. He created mankind in His own image and breathed His own life into him. After the first five days of creation, God said, “It is good.” But on the sixth day, after creating man, He said, “It is very good!”

Jehovah God has man at the forefront of His mind. He not only calls us into a relationship with Him, but the Trinity works in divine cooperation to make it possible for us to come to Him.

He doesn’t see a mass of humanity, but He sees each one of us individually and uniquely. And He is attentive to us—“For the Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer” (Psalm 6:9).

As David burst into praise with this realization of God’s forethought of us, let us echo this praise (Psalm 8:9)—

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Links & Quotes

link quote

These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.

Some thoughts on creativity: 8 Creativity Lessons From A Pixar Animator

Tim Elmore on how to connect with others: Who Do You Connect With When You Teach?

“Thy poor prayer would have no force with Omnipotence if force were needed; but His love, like a spring, rises of itself and overflows for the supply of all thy needs.” —Charles Spurgeon

[VIDEO] Comedy from Ken Davis: Why I Don’t Have A Cat

Insight from Mark Driscoll: 5 Things To Look For In A Good Bible Teacher

“Don’t pray for sermons, let sermons come from your prayers. So, as long as I’m meeting with God, I will always have something to say.” —Chilly Chilton

Michael Hyatt’s excellent advice to leaders: 5 Reasons You Should Smile More As A Leader

Encouragement from Max Lucado: A Passion For The Forgotten

John Stonestreet on the dangers of pornography: The Root Of Sexual Exploitation

Only a little time left to download a free song from U2 and help end AIDS: Fight AIDS With (Red)

“The fundamental issue for any of us is to feel loved. If we feel loved by the significant people in our lives, we are more likely to reach out potential for God and good in the world.” —Dr. Gary Chapman

An interesting study on missionaries and societal success: The Truth About Missionaries

Praying ‘Round & ‘Round

There are lot of different ways to look at the function of prayer, but please allow me to share one more with you. Perhaps this prayer cycle will help you see the value of each aspect of prayer.

Prayer cycle

(To download a PDF of this file, click here → Prayer cycle)

Each step in this cycle helps facilitate the next step. If any step breaks down, the whole cycle of prayer can grind to a halt. But as any part of the cycle is strengthened, the whole cycle expands and grows in potency!

  • We need to be be assured that God’s Word is true when it says to come to Him in prayer.
  • Once we are assured that God’s Word is true, then the Holy Spirit will illuminate His Word to our present circumstance, giving us the mind of Our Lord. This is called discernment.
  • Having discernment will bring us the peace that knows God hears us, and that God is working on our behalf and for His glory.
  • All of these steps flowing together allow us to pray and live in greater boldness, which fuels the whole cycle again.
  • At the heart of this cycle is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, who helps us at each step along the cycle of prayer.

Here are some Scriptures that correspond with the various steps in the cycle:

Assurance—If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7)

Discernment—But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

Peace—Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Boldness—After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

Holy Spirit Empowerment—In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:26-28)

The only way I know of to learn how to pray better is to pray more! Don’t wait for a better opportunity to begin to pray … Start right now!

Next Sunday I am continuing our series on prayer. If you are near Cedar Springs, please join us!

Sunday Recap

Another great Sunday worshiping with my church family and learning more about prayer! Here are a few take-aways that I hope encouraged you today.

Salt & Light - prayerPrayer isn’t supposed to look like this Jonny Hawkins cartoon!

In the cycle of prayer, your level of peace will determine your level of perseverance. This is why it’s so important to be immersed in God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to give you His discernment. Keep on praying!

“The worst of it is that we can believe God about everything except the present pressing trial. This is folly. Come, my soul, shake off such sinfulness, and trust your God with the load, the labor, the longing of this present.” —Charles Spurgeon

“God’s silences are His answers. … Some prayers are followed by silence because they are wrong [this is where we need God’s discernment], others because they are bigger than we can understand [this is where we need His peace].” —Oswald Chambers

God was going to give Hannah a son, but the time was not yet right. God needed a strong man in a dark time, and it wasn’t dark enough yet! (see 1 Samuel 1:1-17)

God feels & sees

In the meantime, remember this: God feels all of your infirmities, and He sees all of your tears.