Knowing ourselves

We take a walk up to our neighborhood park almost every evening. On one particular evening a few days back, as I was loading up a few things in our stroller, I noticed a very large rock in the bottom of the stroller's storage pouch. A few thoughts immediately came to mind: How did that get in there… No wonder this stroller is so heavy… How long have I been hauling that thing around… I wonder if this will become a fasting and prayer message. :)

We are all hauling some rocks around (perhaps you would prefer to think about them as planks in your eye). Some of them we don't know about. But there are some that we do know about but we choose to ignore them. Not all the pretenses we put on are to fool others. Some of them are to fool ourselves. I can remember lying about things when I was younger to the point that I didn't remember what the truth was. Our topic for this Wednesday is knowing ourselves. We want to be authentic with ourselves and we want to really get to know the depths of who we are. If we develop a thorough understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, God can more readily use us and Satan's attacks won't catch us off guard. God knows everything there is to know about us. He can help us discover the rocks we don't know about and then He can help us get rid of them. Before Jesus was arrested, Peter swore the following "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." But Jesus knew Peter better than Peter did. And Peter eventually came to understand this (read John 21:15-19). If we really want to know ourselves, it's essential to know that He knows everything about us. We can learn about ourselves from Him. And when we really know our weaknesses, we come to recognize His strength in our lives and the true miracle we are in Him. His power is made perfect in our weakness.

We can also learn a lot about ourselves from others provided we don't let pride get in the way. Proverbs 27:6 says "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Let's pray that we know who are friends are and that we can learn about ourselves through them.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Hunger

As part of a fasting and prayer group, it may seem a little strange to pray for hunger. However, that is exactly what we are praying for this Wednesday.

Matthew 5:6 says "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Psalm 27:4 says "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

The one thing we are to be hungry for is God. It is the one thing that truly satisfies… the one thing that doesn't disappoint. David knew this as he wrote the psalm. It was the one thing he asked of the Lord - that he seek Him. We want to have a true hunger for Him… a yearning to know Him and His ways… not just a hunger for the things He gives us. I heard a pastor pose this question: "Are you seeking His presence, or are you seeking His presents?"

When we develop a real hunger for Him, we become a vessel He can use. Proverbs 16:26 says "The laborer's appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on.".

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Our past

Psalm 103:12 says "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

This Wednesday, we are praying about our past. Many of us feel guilt, remorse, regret about things that we did before we were saved (or perhaps even after we were saved). And Satan uses that guilt to make us think that we are still that same person… "How could God or anyone else love you? Look what you did." But the truth is that the blood of Christ has covered our past. He remembers our sins no more (see Isaiah 43:25).

Now there may be people out there who were hurt by your past actions. People who don't seem to care about your "new creation" talk. People who will eventually surface. People who blame their misery on you and want to see you 'pay' for it. Satan can use them to bring you down or you can rely on God to lift them up. Someone who knows who you were should be uniquely positioned to recognize the authentic work Christ has done in you. They may not forgive you but they will know something is different.

Recall the incident where Christ raises Lazarus from the dead. As Lazarus walks out of the tomb, Jesus says "Take off the grave clothes…". When you and I were raised from the dead through the saving grace of Christ, we became new creations. Even though our old grave clothes may have left some ugly scars, we need to take them off and leave them behind...

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Zeal... Fervor... Passion

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." 2 Timothy 1:6

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" Colossians 3:23

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:11-12

The word tells us to be passionate about what we do. This Wednesday, let's all pray about our marriages, our families, our relationships, our ministries… that we approach all of them with the zeal and spiritual fervor the Lord wants us to have.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Consistency

This Wednesday we are praying for consistency in who we are. We are praying that who we are at church is the same as who we are at work. That who we are with our prayer group is the same as who we are with our golf group. That who we are on Sunday is the same as who we are on Monday.

In a nutshell, we're talking about authenticity… walking the talk… being the real deal… shedding the pretense.

Ultimately it boils down to this: there is no pious mask that I can put on that God doesn't see right through. So we are praying that who we are to God is the same as who we are to everyone else.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob