Thankful for my "gospel posse"

I read this today and thought it was right on, so I am posting this for my "gospel posse," or what I will now dub my "gospel gangstas." ;) You know who you are.

Prayer of Rejoicing for a “Gospel Posse”
by Scotty Smith

For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Philem. 1:7

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Eccles. 4:9-12

Heavenly Father, I cannot imagine how raging storms can be navigated, heavy burdens borne, and crazy-making seasons endured without the company of a few good friends—a “gospel posse,” a few friends who keep showing up, no matter what. I praise you today for the gift of friendship—for the joy, encouragement, and refreshment given and received as we walk with a few comrades in grace and hope.
When we walk through certain seasons of stress and heartache, we’re often inclined to think, “No one can possibly understand what I’m going through. No one can begin to relate to my anger and confusion. No one is as messed up as me. Everyone would handle this so much better than I am.”
Those are the times when it’s easy to withdraw into isolation, fall into the pit of condemnation, and reach for some ill-chosen medication. That’s when the gift of long-standing soul-engaging friends becomes especially precious… and necessary.
Father, I praise you for the gift of hearing friends utter these two words: “Me too.” I praise you for friends who know how to “refresh the hearts of the saints”—including this saint. I praise you for friends who remind me of the truth and power of the gospel, of the love of Jesus, and of the bigger story you are always writing. I praise you for friends who share their lives and not just their gospel. I praise you for friends who offer tears and not just their answers. I praise you for friends who give life-giving wisdom and not just mess-fixing formulas. Lord, make of me a much better friend…
These kinds of friendships turn our hearts heavenward. They remind us that the foundation and fountain of all good friendship is found in you. We will eternally praise you for befriending us in the gospel. Nothing is more astonishing, settling, and comforting than to hear Jesus say to us, “I no longer call you servants; I call you friends” (John 15:15). “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). What wondrous love is this, indeed. Hallelujah, what a salvation! Hallelujah, what a Savior! So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ most glorious and gracious name.

a prayer for Gospel parenting

I read this prayer, written by Scotty Smith, the other day and just had to share it. I hope it blesses your heart as much as it did mine.

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Ps. 127:1–3

Heavenly Father, it is a liberating joy to address you today as the architect and builder of your own house—including the household of faith and our children’s place in your family. No one loves our children more than you. No one has a greater investment in their future than you. No one can teach us to parent them like you.

As I look back over the years of my pragmatic parenting, I’m saddened, for there have been consequences. But I’m also gladdened, for you’ve always been faithful to your covenant love, even when I was overbearing and under-believing. The move from parenting by grit to parenting by grace has been a fitful, but fruitful journey. Take me deeper; take me further.

You’ve rescued me from parental “laboring in vain”—assuming a burden you never intended parents to bear. Father, only you can reveal the glory and grace of Jesus to our children. Only you can give anyone a new heart. You’ve called us to parent as an act of worship—to parent “as unto you,” not as a way of saving face, making a name for ourselves, or proving our worthiness of your love.

Oh, the arrogant pride of thinking that by our “good parenting” we can take credit for what you alone can graciously do in the lives of our children. Oh, the arrogant unbelief of assuming that by our “bad parenting” we’ve forever limited what you’ll be able to accomplish in the future.

Oh, the undue pressure our children must feel when we parent more out of fear than faith; more out of rules than relationship; more out of and pride than patience; more out of comparison than covenant; more out of threats than theology. Forgive us. Free us. Focus us.

Father, since our children and grandchildren are your inheritance, teach us how to care for them as humble stewards, not as anxious owners. More than anything else, show us how to parent and grandparent in a way that best reveals the unsearchable riches of Jesus in the gospel. We want the gospel to be beautiful and believable to our children.
Give us quick repentances and observable kindnesses. Grant us confidence that you can redeem our past parental failures. Convict us quickly and surely when we don’t relate to your covenant children, “in line with the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:14). So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ faithful and powerful name.

 

Global Day of Prayer

“Prayer isn’t passive, it’s active. It’s really doing something. Prayer isn’t the least we can do, it’s the most. Prayer is supernatural. It’s reaching out of the visible world into the unseen world, and tapping into powers beyond this dimension.” - Randy Alcorn

Today is the Global Day of Prayer.

And the purpose of it is:

"To meet as God’s united church to worship Him, seek His face and intercede for the transformation of our city and the nations. We seek God for revival, intercede on behalf of our world, and collaborate with Him for the blessing and transformation of our cultures."

 Will you join me in praying for the peoples of the world, for the global Church and for the persecuted believers around the world? Will you pray that God would be glorified throughout the world and that this verse will be fulfilled?

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14

This is a portion of a prayer found on the Global Day of Prayer's website. Go here if you would like to see the full prayer. 

Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Together with believers all over the world, We gather today to glorify Your Name. You are the Creator of heaven and earth. There is no one like You, holy and righteous in all Your ways. We submit to Your authority as the King of the universe.

King of Glory, 

Come and finish Your work in our cities, our peoples and our nations. We lift our voices in unison with believers from Africa and Asia, from the Middle East and Europe, from North and South America, and from Australia and the Pacific Islands—together we cry: 

Lift up your heads, O you gates! Be lifted up ancient doors 

so that the King of glory may come in! 

As Your deeds increase throughout the earth, and as Your blessings abound to all the nations, they will seek You, asking, “Who is this King of glory?” 
Together we will answer: 

He is the Lord Almighty! 
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Come fill the earth with Your glory as the waters cover the sea. 

The Spirit and the Bride say: 

Amen! Come Lord Jesus!

~cheryl~

He is Risen indeed!

I pray on this Resurrection Sunday, that we will all celebrate like we do every Sunday. That we will celebrate because our hope is in Him who died on the cross and rose again the third day. Our hope is in a Savior who humbled himself to the point of death. Who took upon Himself the wrath of God so that we might have life, not only in the life to come, but also in the present. His kingdom has been ushered in, and for those who believe, it is to be experienced now. He is in the business of making all things new. Of redeeming lives that have been broken, all the glory of His name. There is hope for the weary. For those that know they need Someone to rescue them from themselves. Praise be to God for sending His Son! God bless you on this day as you remember what He has done!

CHRIST HAS DIED. CHRIST IS RISEN. 
CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN!

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

Philippians 2:1-11

~cheryl~

A Poem on Palm Sunday

This poem was on the Desiring God blog today and since it is Palm Sunday, I thought it was a perfect poem to reflect on at the start of Holy Week.

How awesome is that day to me-
O day of hallowed history!
Set time in God’s determined plan
To sacrifice the Son of Man.
What famous work that day was done
By Jesus Christ, His Perfect Son!
The Second Adam, sent to save,
Humbly obeying to the grave!

How savage is that day to me-
O day of pure brutality!
When Christ, the Son of God Most High,
Was fiercely whipped and hung to die.
And O the horror of my sin,
Seen there in His appalling skin!
For God struck down- as meant for me-
The sinless One, at Calvary.

How precious is that day to me-
O day of purchased liberty!
In Him, a freeman now I live;
My sins, through death, did God forgive.
No wrath at length looms o’er my head,
But lovingkindness there instead.
His righteousness, my guilt replaced,
And Love, this ransomed soul embraced!

O awesome, savage, precious day-
‘Tis God the Savior on display!
What peerless, holy, gracious Mind
Would fashion such a Grand Design?

Written by Kevin Hartnett who was selected in 2003 from a thousand candidates as the “Poet of the Year” by the Fellowship of Christian Poets.


How are you preparing for Resurrection Sunday?


~cheryl~

Judge Not by Feeble Sense

   I woke up this morning, took my vitamins and had my cup of coffee. Just like I do every morning. Then I thought about the people of Japan. They woke up, if they slept at all, to utter devastation. Homes, loved ones, a sense of security all lost. It is unimaginable. Literally, I cannot fathom it. I have seen the photos and the footage of the water rushing over the land and the boats that look like toys in a bathtub. It is hard to imagine, much less digest. I am pretty much speechless so I am going to use the words of others this morning. William Cowper's poem, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way," came to mind:

God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,

And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust him for his grace;

Behind a frowning providence,

He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain;

God is his own interpreter,

And he will make it plain.

And John Piper posted a prayer for Japan on his website yesterday. I would encourage you to go here to read it and to pray with me for the victims of the tsunami.

~cheryl~