Being a Bridge Builder instead of a Wall Builder

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”   

 - Jesus in Matthew 5:9  NIV

    We have received righteousness as a gift from God through Christ and this righteousness has given us peace with God.  Peace with God makes it possible for us to enjoy personal peace as we confidently trust in the power, love and wisdom of our Heavenly Father.  We can have peace in all circumstances because we know that God is always working for our good.

    If we want to enjoy the blessing of peace to the fullest, we will share this blessing with others.  Because we know that God is working for our good and because we know God has our back, we can be peacemakers in this world full of conflict.  We don’t have to fight to get our own way.  We don’t have to worry whether or not we are being treated fairly.

    This week, start each day by asking God to show you where you can sow seeds of peace.  Here are some ideas, but be sure to ask God for ideas specific to your life.

•  Pray for an existing conflict in the world. 

•  Do something kind for a difficult person in your workplace.

•  Seek to connect with a friend who has been distanced from you.

Remember, God’s people are bridge builders, not wall builders.

Gratitude Makes Us Stronger

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.  We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.   

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3  NIV

    Being part of the people of God is a blessing.  We are part of a people who are eternally grateful for God’s love and the hope he has given us in Christ.  We know what it is to receive mercy.  We are the family of the forgiven.  We accept each other  because God has accepted us.

    Maintaining a faithful and humble walk with God is next to impossible without the encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We all have weak times, perhaps even times we feel like completely giving up.  But then God prompts someone to pray for us or to smile at us or to give a gift to us or to hug us or to speak an encouraging word to us.  And then we have energy again.  Then God’s light pierces our darkness.

   Who in God’s family has encouraged you?  Who has shown the kindness of our Heavenly Father to you?  Take time this week to thank them.  Send them a personal note or an email.  Buy them a small gift of thanks or thank them publicly on Facebook. Pray for God’s blessing to fill their lives.  Every act of kindness and every thankful response makes us stronger together.

The Blessing of Doing God's Will

 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.                     Luke 22:42-42  NIV 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.    

Matthew 6:9-13 NIV

    What better week to devote to praying the Lord’s prayer than the week before Resurrection Sunday?  When Jesus was facing the anguish of the cross, he prayed so earnestly for strength to fulfill the Father’s will that he sweat drops of blood.  Jesus understood that there was no better thing to do on earth than the Father’s will and he also knew we have a real enemy who tries to keep us from doing it.  It’s a battle!

     By praying The Lord’s Prayer, we can be proactive in pursuing God’s will.   In this way, we will grow in our desire to do God’s will.  We will discover that the greatest joy on earth is doing God’s will.  We will also gain strength to do God’s will in both good and difficult circumstances.  Sometimes we fail to do God’s will because we wait until we are tempted to ask for strength to do it.  Jesus teaches us to regularly seek daily bread from our Heavenly Father to do His will.  As we do, the Lord of The Lord’s Prayer transforms our hearts, minds and actions.

     This week, set aside at least two times each day to slowly and sincerely pray The Lord’s Prayer.  Ask God to give you the desire and the strength to do his will as it is done in heaven.

Overcoming Mistreatment the Jesus Way

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.        Colossians 3:13  NIV

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:28  NIV

         

    The curse and consequence of sin is death.  The blessing of righteousness is life.  Jesus took our curse and died for us.  In return, we received righteousness and life.  This is the same action that Jesus asks us to take toward those who mistreat us.  When we forgive others as Christ has forgiven us, we absorb the mistreatment that they gave us just as Christ was mistreated for our sake.  Understand this: Forgiveness always involves pain for the forgiver.

    How do we overcome this pain?  By blessing those who curse us and praying for God to treat well those who have mistreated us.  It is painful to plant seeds of forgiveness in the fields of pain, but the fruit of these seeds is grace and peace and a heart filled with more of God’s goodness.

    Have you been mistreated?  Have you been publicly insulted?  Have you felt betrayed?  Have you been intentionally hurt? Have you been neglected or rejected?  This week, pray for one or more people who have mistreated you.  Pray for God to bless them and to draw them to himself.  As you pray, think of the cross, where Jesus was mistreated for you.

Praying with Love for the Lost

 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only   Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9  NIV

    

   

   This week's SPA contains a very simple idea to help us grow in our love for the lost.   It's written by Margaret Snow, my friend from Community Alliance Church.

Scripture is very clear about God's love for every person in the world.  Help your love for people to grow by praying for the first three people you see when you leave your house each day this week.  It may be the mailman, the driver of the car beside you or your neighbor.  Whoever these three people are, pause for a moment and ask God to help them discover his love and put their full trust in Him.

Connecting with God's Global Mission

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.  For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord  endures forever.  Praise the Lord.        

Psalm 117 NIV

    

    

   We usually think about God’s love in personal terms.  What slips out of  our minds is that God loves every single person in the world as much as he loves us.  Every American.  Every Arab.  Every Russian.  Every Indian. Every man, woman and child. 

    

   It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that God so loves the WORLD.  What can we do to keep God’s love for every person in the world in the forefront of our minds and in the center of our hearts? 

    

   One simple step we can take is to pray while looking at a map of the world.  This week, take a few minutes each day to pray in front of a map of the world.  Pick any one of the almost 200 countries in the world and then pray for it’s people.   Use the Lord’s Prayer to guide your prayer for this country.

• Pray for people to come to peace with their Heavenly father through Christ.

• Pray for people to see the unique greatness (hallowedness) of God.

• Pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done in this country as it is in heaven. 

• Pray for believers to have the daily bread they need to do God’s will

• Pray for believers to confess their sin and to forgive others.

• Pray that believers would not be led into temptation

• Pray for believers to be delivered from the evil one. 

    

   After you have done this for a week, make a plan for how you will regularly pray for people in the rest of the world to know and trust God’s love.

A Helpful "Centering Prayer"

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.    

Romans 15:13  NIV

   From time to time it is good to be reminded of the practice of “centering prayer”.  A centering prayer is a prayer that brings trust in God back to the center of our heart.  When trust in God gets pushed out of our heart, anxiety or anger take its place.  If we “catch” ourselves being anxious or angry, we can use a centering prayer to reaffirm our trust in God, so that His joy, peace and hope can refill our hearts.   Below is a good example of a centering prayer.

      “Father in Heaven, I trust You.  I believe that You love me and that You are always working for my good.  I believe that You are working for my good right now and that You will ultimately make all things good for me and for all of your people.  Please give me grace to trust You and please fill me with Your joy, peace and hope.”

   Write this prayer down on an index card.  Carry it with you and pray it at various times of the day throughout this week, especially if you sense anxiety or anger rising in your heart.  In some situations, you may need to pray the prayer several times to help you focus your attention on God.  Keep in mind that these are not magic words.  Your prayer must be a sincere expression of your heart.  

Surprised by Temptation

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.      Ephesians 6:12   NIV

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’    

Matthew 6:13  NIV

   We make four big mistakes when we face temptations and trials in life.

       1.  We are surprised by them.

       2.  We underestimate our enemy.

       3.  We fail to see that our temptation or trial is part of a bigger battle.

       4.  We turn to God last instead of first.

   

   Scripture makes it very clear that the struggle we have in this life is not just about flesh and blood.  We are in the middle of a spiritual battle between the forces of God and the forces of evil. This is why Jesus taught us to pray that we would not be led into temptation and that our Heavenly Father would deliver us from the evil.

   This does not mean we need to look for the devil behind every bush.  It does mean, though, that we need to expect difficult times and be prepared to persevere in the fight.  If we expect life to be hard, then it is much easier to keep a clear head and trust God and do his will in the face of difficulty.

   This week, pray through the Lord’s prayer at the beginning of each day and make sure you are aware of the last sentence of the prayer as you pray it.  Ask your Heavenly Father to lead you away from temptation and to protect you from the schemes of your enemy who desperately wants to devour you.

Prayer, Temptation and Loving God's Will

With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!      Psalm 119:10  ESV

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.                John 6:38  ESV

   Jesus came to the earth to live as a human and do the will of God.  He loved the Father and delighted in doing the Father’s will.  This was the source of Jesus’ joy, peace, love, hope and goodness as he lived on earth.  If we want to enjoy life (Doesn’t everyone?) and live it with purpose, our best hope is to follow this path of Jesus in doing God's will.

  It should be clearly understood however, that if we are intent on doing God’s will like Jesus was, we will also face opposition like Jesus did.  We have a very real enemy, which Peter described as a roaring lion that prowls around seeking for someone to devour.  He seeks to devour us by luring us with temptation and  by deceiving  others into opposing us.

  People often pray for protection as they travel or for health just for sake of being safe and healthy.  Have you ever prayed for safety and health SO you can do God’s will effectively?  Have you ever asked your Heavenly Father to lead you away from temptation so that you can succeed in doing God’s will?  This week, pray the last phrase of the Lord’s prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, every morning, and even other times throughout the day.  If this becomes a regular practice in your life, you will discover that your desire to do God’s will will increase and so will your strength to resist temptation.

The Freedom of Confession

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.      Proverbs 28:13  NIV

    

   When kids do wrong to each other, it’s common to see an adult bring them together and demand that they say the phrase, “I’m sorry”.  The response is often a half-hearted and mumbled repetition of the required words.

   While the intent behind this is noble, it’s not very helpful.  It’s more helpful, especially in the long run, if the offense is named and forgiveness is requested.  “I’m sorry” is often repeated to get the situation over with as quickly as possible.  “Will you forgive me for stealing your cookie?” brings the humility necessary to rebuild  trust in a relationship.

   The same is true in our relationship with God.  We can say, “I’m sorry for sinning” without really admitting that we were wrong.  When we say, “Father, please forgive me for lying to my boss”, we open our hearts to God’s grace and take an important step towards the good character that will make us more honest in the future.  This week, take two steps to help you grow in confession.

   1. Whenever you sin, pause and ask God to forgive you of  the specific sin you committed.

   2. Set aside a brief time, 10-15 minutes, to sit quietly before God. Read 1 John 1:8-10 and  Psalm 139:23-24 and then ask God to show you if there are any specific sins you have overlooked.  As he brings them to your attention, ask for his forgiveness and be confident that he will forgive you. 

Praying for God's Will

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.    Colossians 4:12  NIV

   Epaphras was the founder of the church in the city of Colosse.  As its first leader, he cared deeply about the strength of their faith in God.  This verse tells us that he wrestled in prayer that his people would stand firm in God’s will.  Strong churches need leaders and people in the church family who wrestle in prayer for the church to be strong in God’s will.  When a church is not walking in God’s will, it becomes weak.

  

   This week, spend at least 5 minutes on at least two separate days praying that your church stands firm in God’s will.  Pray for your church to be a church that does God’s will as it is done in Heaven.  Pray that you are a church family who lives in joyful harmony with God, who loves to do his good, pleasing and perfect will.  You may want to use these Scriptures to guide you as you pray: Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 28:18-20; Micah 6:8; Hebrews 13:20-21.

(If you are not part of a church, your first step in God's will should be to get connected to one.  It might meet in a home or a hotel or a fancy building.  It might be small or big.  It's not the size of the group or the type of building that matters.  A church is a gathering of people who are committed to to Christ and to doing life together with Christ as their King.)

Praying for the world is good for us, too!

It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known.   

                                                            - The Apostle Paul in Romans 15:20  NIV

    

   Our church is part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and that gives us the opportunity to partner with over 2000 other churches in the United States and over 600 international workers around the globe in bringing the good news of Christ to people who would never hear it if it were not for our passion for praying, giving and going.  The legacy of Alliance missions is to plant the gospel in unreached places, establish a national church that can grow on its own and then reach out to new unreached people.  It is a tremendous privilege for us to give to and pray for God's work through the Alliance around the world.

  What we often forget is that praying for missions benefits us, too.  When we pray for God's work around the world, we  are reminded that the world is bigger than us and this, in turn, reminds us that our problems are smaller than they sometimes feel.  It's also encouraging to remember that God is sovereignly working in other places around the world even when it is hard to see him working in our own little spot of the world.

  Let a passion for God's Kingdom work throughout the world bloom in your heart by watering and feeding it with prayer.  This week, pray for missionaries you know and the work they are currently seeking to accomplish.  If you do not personally know any missionaries, visit  www.cmalliance.org and click on the word “Pray” in the middle of the page for more information on how you can pray for the work of the Christian and Missionary Alliance around the world.

Seeking God's Face

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.                 Psalm 27:8 NIV

    We are all born with a hunger  to seek God’s face.  It’s what the early church father, St. Augustine was describing when he said, “Oh God, you have made our hearts and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

    Everyone feels this hunger, but not everyone understands that only God can satisfy it.  Many try to satisfy this hunger by seeking the approval of others, some form of comfort or any of a multitude of other things.  Time spent seeking satisfaction from other sources only builds up our resistance to seeking God.

   It’s important to note that God calls us to seek his FACE.  Why his face?  It’s because knowing the face of someone is a description of a personal relationship.  We often spend time seeking God’s hand, which indicates we are more interested in what God can give us more than we are interested in having a relationship with him.

   How do we seek God’s face?  God gives us instructions for this, too, and it starts with praising him.  When we praise God, and do this not just as a means to butter him up so we can get what we really want, we are focusing on his goodness, greatness and love.  This week, set aside some time to praise God without asking for anything from him.  Don’t even expect a certain feeling or experience.  Simply praise him with a sincere heart.  As you pray, contemplate the meaning of what you are praying.  What does it mean that God is faithful, patient, good or kind?  Think as you pray.  As you do, you will be satisfying your deep hunger to know God.

Increasing Your Awareness for Sharing the Good News

I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.          John 4:35  NIV

   

    Jesus spoke these words to his disciples so they would open their eyes to see the people all around them who are ready to respond to God.  It’s very easy to think that people are not open to the message of God’s grace, that they won’t want us to share God’s kindness with them.  The truth is that there are many people who are open to God and would love to talk with us about trusting him.  It doesn’t mean they will trust God immediately, but we may help them move closer to trusting him.

    Sometimes a short, often-prayed prayer can change the way we look at the people around us.  This week, pray this one sentence prayer for the people around you.

      “Father, please help this person discover your goodness and trust your

       wisdom.”  [Use their name if you know it.]

You can pray it for your coworker or for the person in the car next to you at a traffic light.  You can pray this prayer for a believer or a nonbeliever.  No matter where we are on our journey, we all need to discover more of God’s goodness and trust more of his wisdom.  Pray it as often as you can.  You can pray it many times for the same person.  Simply pray it for anyone and everyone that crosses your path this week.