Context is Everything

I recently read a tweet that intrigued me. “God doesn’t hear all of our prayers.” That was it. No scriptural basis. No explanation. Merely a statement. I immediately went into research mode. I could point you to dozens of scriptures that speak to the fact that God does in fact hear our prayers, but I have never come across support for the idea that God doesn’t hear all of our prayers. In fact, after spending a couple of hours scouring the Bible, I still could not find scriptural basis for such a statement (though I did find a few about what prayers He ignores – more about that another time). What I learned through my goose chase is the importance of context. The statement above was taken from a talk given at a Christian conference. I’m familiar with the man who spoke those words, and am confident that he did not just make up such a statement without some sort of basis. But I was not privy to the context. I merely got a 140-character-snapshot. Without knowing the context, the statement means very little to me.

How often do we look at scriptures like tweets? Merely a small snapshot. How often to we latch onto a verse without truly understanding the context, and therefore, truly understanding it’s meaning?

Let’s take one of my favorite scriptures for example. Psalm 37:4. “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Many people take that verse and read it to mean that if we love God, He will give us what we want. Not true. When we research the verse, and understand the context, we learn that the result of “delighting ourselves in the Lord” is that our desires align with His. It’s not about getting what WE want, it’s about getting what HE wants. A significant and crucial difference.

I challenge you to take reading the Bible one step further. Read it in context. Research the history and the original language. Use cross-references. When I incorporate all of these aspects into my Bible study, I glean so much more.

Lord, thank you for giving us Your Word. Thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit to help us interpret your Word. Lord, give me the discernment and wisdom to read your Word with your eyes and pure motives. I love you Lord.

Internal Wisdom

“For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

~ Proverbs 2:6

I am in a difficult season. My sweet boy has entered the infamous terrible-twos. “No,” “Stop it,” and flying hands and feet have become a norm in our household. So what do I do? Stock up on parenting books. Books about child-rearing, books about discipline, books about navigating these trials. As I was worshiping this weekend at church, I realized I was going about it all wrong.

Give me wisdom

You know just what to do.

As I sang those words, I realized that first and foremost, I should be going to God. I should be asking Him for wisdom in raising my children. I should be scouring His Word for guidance on how to discipline my children. I should be seeking Him for insight into how to navigate these trials. “For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

All too often we seek direction from external sources. Whether it be books, or blogs, or friends, or our pastor. Whatever it may be, when we turn to external sources, we are short-changing ourselves. While there is nothing inherently wrong with those sources, they will never be able to grant you the wisdom, guidance, peace, and assurance that we can get by going to our Heavenly Father.

If you are a believer in Christ, you have a guide that is far more valuable and wise than any external source. You have the ability to speak personally with the Creator of the Universe. You have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, interceding on your behalf. You have the gift of the Word of God at your finger tips. The precious gifts are far more valuable than any external source could ever be.

Lord, give me wisdom. You know just what to do. Remind me of the precious gift of the Holy Spirit you bestowed upon me when I gave you my life. Prompt me to seek you first, and trust that You are the source of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. I love you Lord.

Grace

This past weekend, my sweet husband took the kiddos out so I could have a couple of hours to get some things done around the house. It is AMAZING how much more I can get done without a toddler at my knee and infant calling for attention! As I scurried around the house with a dozen tasks on my mind, I had my iPod on shuffle. On came Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. It’s actually a secular song, but as I listened to the lyrics, I was inspired.

I need your grace

to remind me

to find my own

So simple, yet so profound. When I truly sit back and think about what God has done for me, about the ultimate sacrifice, I can’t help but be humbled. The God of the Universe sent His only Son to pay the debt for my sin. The sin that I committed before I believed in Him, and the sin that I have committed since. When I realize that despite the fact that every single day I grieve Him, the Almighty God still loves me, still walks beside me, and still welcomes me into His home, I can not help but be overwhelmed with inexplicable emotion.

I need Your grace to remind me to find my own.

If the Sovereign God can show us such grace, who are we to withhold it from those He has placed in our lives. Maybe it’s our children who seem to be continually defiant, or our husband who has disappointed our expectations again, or our friend who we see making poor choices despite the wisdom we spoke into her life. While the world around us may encourage us to write them off, or scorn them, or dwell on their insufficiencies, as believers we are called to react differently. When we truly understand the grace that has been extended to us, it reminds us to extend grace to those around us.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you give me a heart like Yours. A heart to love people, where they are. A heart to extend unmerited favor, even when my flesh tells me not to. Lord, I pray that I never forget or get numb to the grace you have given me. That I remember daily that You are my Savior. I love you Lord.

Details

One of the things I love most about Bible study is how God speaks through His word, whispering different things to different people, through the same text.

The other night, as Brian and I were downloading about our day, he began to share about what God has been showing him in his daily Bible reading. Brian is doing the One Year Bible reading plan, and had just read through Exodus. If you haven’t read Exodus before, here is a little taste.

“Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings.”

Wow. Talk about details. It may be easy to gloss over those words, after all, they aren’t quite as captivating as, say, the drama of Genesis that you know I love so much, but God used that text to speak to both Brian and I, in very different ways. You can read about what God showed Brian HERE.

As for me, as I pondered the inclusion of all those minute details, I had a moment of clarity. God cares about the details. God cares about all the different facets of our lives. He cares about what we do with our time. What we watch on television. The music we listen to. Who our friends are. What we wear. What we read. What we talk about. What we think about. How we care for our bodies. How we treat each other. How we spend our money. He cares about EVERY detail in our life.

Being a fully devoted follower of Christ means that every area of our life is His. In means we must ask Him daily to show us areas of our lives where we are not honoring Him. It’s not easy. It is sacrifice. The Bible calls us to choose to deny our fleshly desires every day (Luke 9:23). Certainly, that’s not easy. But we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). What are you holding back that you need to sacrifice to Him?

Heavenly Father, I know you love me so much that you care about every detail of my life. I desire so deeply to honor you in every area of my life. Lord, I pray that you reveal to me where I am not glorifying you, and give me the wisdom and strength to sacrifice those areas to You. Thank you for your patience and grace, as I strive to align my life with your guidance. I love you Lord.

Know Him, Love Him, and Live Life with Him

We recently went on vacation with my family. As we were leaving for the airport, I ran back inside to get a book. I haven’t read a whole book since, well, since before Caleb was born, but I figured with built-in babysitting for the week, this might just be my chance. I grabbed “The Shack.” I’m sure some of you have read it. It was very popular a few years ago...with good reason. It’s a really interesting book, peppered with lots of biblical principals and thought provoking conversation. But what stuck with me the most was the re-iterance that being a follower of Christ is about relationship. It’s not about routine. It’s not about tasks. It’s not about a checklist.

Being a follower of Christ is about knowing, loving, and living life with Christ.

All too often people think, “if I read my Bible everyday and pray before meals, I’m being a good Christian.” Or, “if I attend and serve at church every weekend, I’m doing what I should be doing.” But that’s not what it’s about. That is not what Christ wants from us. He wants relationship with us. And relationship doesn’t look the same for every person, or every day.

Some days, for me, living life with Christ means that I spend an hour in Bible study first thing in the morning. Some days it means that I listen to worship music throughout the day. Some days it means that I’m in prayer throughout the day. Some days it means that I spend extended time teaching my children biblical principles. Some days it means being still during nap time, and just listening to Him. Some days it is all of those things.

Being a follower of Christ is about knowing, loving, and living life with Christ.

The point is that it is organic. It changes. It is Spirit prompted, not “to do” list prompted. Bible study, prayer, fellowship, corporal worship, and serving are all very important. They help us grow. They help us know Him more. They are each forms of worship. But what is most important is that we live in concert with Christ. Follow Him.

Heavenly father, I pray that I don’t get caught up in the things that I think I should do, and instead, focus on having an authentic relationship with you. Help me to avoid being complacent and stuck in a routine of worship, but rather, show me daily how to truly know You, love You, and live my every moment to glorify You.

Choose to be Righteous

I was recently talking with a dear friend of mine. She was distraught about a broken relationship. As I sat there hearing her side of the story, I couldn’t help but notice the statements of justification peppered throughout. I was instantly reminded of a nugget of wisdom that has changed my life.

Choose to be righteous, instead of just right.

In her case, she was completely justified in the things that she did and said in the situation. The things she said were true, and her actions would be widely considered appropriate. But what did that leave her with? A broken relationship and piercing heartache. Sometimes we must choose to be righteous instead of just right.

God commands us to choose the righteous road. “If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.” Conventional wisdom would say that we would be perfectly justified in choosing to react differently. But we are not judged by conventional wisdom. We are called to be righteous, instead of just right.

Lord, give me the self-control to seek your wisdom and guidance before speaking and acting. Give me the clarity to recognize the righteous road and the strength to choose that road, even when my flesh is urging me elsewhere.

You are Needed

I experienced something new today. As I was holding Adalyn, staring in the mirror making faces at her, I noticed crow’s feet. I’m sure they have been there for a while, but I’ve never noticed them. In that moment, it became apparent to me that I’m getting old. Yes, I know at 30 years old, I’m still young. But I’m getting old. Time is flying. I suddenly became gut-wrenchingly aware that before I know it, I am going to be standing before our Lord, accounting for my life. Morbid, I know. But true. It really got me thinking about how I am using this life God has given me.

It’s probably not a coincidence that these thoughts came on the heel of Vision Night with Craig. If you joined us for Vision Night last week, you heard Craig say repeatedly that we are all ministers. We are all needed. We are needed to serve in our church. We are needed to serve outside the church. We are needed to pour into children. We are needed to pour into other women. We are needed to share the freeing news of Jesus Christ with those who don’t know him. We are needed to intercede for others.

Everyday the Lord places before us opportunities to serve him by serving others. I know I am missing opportunities. All too often I get caught up in daily activities (yes, I suffer from Martha syndrome) and don’t have eyes to see the opportunities He has blessed me with. People he has placed in my path. Situations He has placed me in.

So what should I do to stop missing the opportunities? For me, the first step is to pray for eyes to see. Before my feet even hit the carpet, I need to have my heart and mind focus on God. Maybe that means waking before the kids and doing my quiet time first thing in the morning. Whatever it means, it needs to happen. I am only given one life to live and I want to make my Heavenly Daddy proud of how I used it.

What about you? You are needed. What is God calling you to do? How are you using the life God has given you? What steps can you take today to start living in His will?

Lord, give me eyes to see the opportunities you place before me. I long for my life to honor you. Reveal to me the areas where I am not being a good steward of the gifts, experiences, and opportunities you have given me. I pray that one day you will look at me and say, “well done, good and faithful servant.”