Manger Seen?

My trip to Israel this year was really eye opening.  So many of the things that I had imagined about the land of the Bible were not at all like the reality.  Another pastor friend on the trip put it this way, "All these years I have pictured this place too flat."  That is a good description.  There are some flat places (like here in Texas) but, for example, in Bethlehem, there isn't a flat place to be found.  When people talk of Judah's hills, they do mean hills.

It is also a lot more rocky than I ever imagined.  Rock is everywhere.  That got me to thinking.  Now where I am going with this is not something I am saying you have to agree with, but it is something I wonder about.  Was the manger  that Jesus was placed in at his birth made of wood or was it made of stone?

Let me tell you why I wonder that.  Every where we went, my farm boy eyes were looking at the agricultural sights as well as the archaeological.  Many times they were both.  Everything I saw that had to do with agriculture of biblical times was made of stone.  Some of you may be saying, "Well of course all that remains from that time period would be stone, wood articles would not survive."  That of course is true but it is also part of my pondering too.  You want things that will last.

Our mangers here in the United States are largely made of wood, so naturally we would think mangers there and then would be too.  But I saw several  feeding troughs for animals made of stone.  I have included a picture that is something like a stone trough or manger below.  Stone lasts much longer than wood.  Stone there in Israel in general and Bethlehem in particular, is in great abundance; wood is much harder to come by.  A stone trough or manger would be much harder to turn over and when animals are feeding - things do get moved around in larger animal's eagerness and competitiveness for food.  So I wonder, was it wood or was it stone?  If I were there in that day feeding animals, I would have at least given stone a try.  We know for sure that Solomon's horses where fed in stone troughs, archaeologists have found them.  Could that have worked in Bethlehem too?

Of course it does not make one bit of difference whether it was stone or wood.  The fact is that Jesus was born and Mary and Joseph placed him in a manger. That was the sign the angels told the shepherds to look for and they found him.  If it was made of stone, then think of this,the first thing Jesus' body was laid in at birth was stone.  We know the last thing Jesus' body was laid in after this death was stone - a tomb.  From each, he rose in glory and in victory as it was  purposed by God for that time in his life  He may have started his life at rock bottom.  It surely appeared that his life ended at rock bottom, but there was more to the story.  There always is when it comes to Jesus.

May you and your family have a Blessed and Merry Christmas.

For the journey...

Tim

12-21-2012

If you are reading this, then the world did not end - not yet at least.  Yes, this is the day the Mayan caledar pointed to as the possible end of time, but obviously we go on.  Experts on all this tell us that the Mayans, who began counting time on August 11, 3,114 B.C., divided time up into 144,000 day periods.  Today is the end of the 13th such period and there was a stone tablet discovered in the 1960's that predicted that one of the Mayan gods, Quetzalcoatl, would come to earth and time would be no more.  He appears to have missed his appointment.

Do you remember all the fears about Y2K and the year 2000?  I can still recall vividly that I had some people set up a meeting with me to question why we were not making preparations as a church - such as storing food and fuel.  Y2K was a big let down too to those who were expecting the end.  It seems we, Mayans or Baptists, are not good at predicting the end.  Jesus said we would not be.

This week, the odometer on my truck hit 111,111.1 miles.  I watched for that moment, it came and went and  nothing happened.  It seemed significant to me but no one on the road I was driving seemed to notice.  We mark time like my odometer, we can count how far we have come but we do not know how long we have left.  We know that time, like my truck, will some day come to an end, but we can never be sure when.  The only thing we can know is who will bring it to an end.

Which brings me back to the Mayans.  Why did they start counting time on August 11, 3114 B. C?  We started counting our time when Jesus was born.  We can count how far we have come since Jesus was born but not how long until he returns.  We can also recount many of the acts of his love but we cannot count how much more love he will show us. We can know that he will keep loving us.  His love can transform how we look at time.  We know that he came to earth out of love and we can know that he will return to earth for those he loves, living and dead.  When we begin to see the unmeasureable scope of his love, it makes this day and any day, even the day he comes back again, less scary.  What is 12-21-2012?  It is another day to measure how far we have come by his love.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:17-19

For the journey...

Tim

Unspeakable Joy

...though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  1 Peter 1:8 KJV

I saw that "unspeakable," unexplainable joy just after Christmas in 1981.  I was on a mission trip with a group of fellow college students in Matamoros, Mexico.  We were helping to build a church - spiritually and physically.  All of us had a part of the day that we worked on constructing a church building in a poor colonia on the edge of Matamoros; then we spent another part of the day surveying the spiritual interest in that colonia with a few Spanish phrases we were taught.

My team of three came up to a house and greeted the woman outside, she warmly welcomed us into her little home where  we met her grown daughter and her very sick grandchild.  She wanted us to pray for her grandchild but first the daughter told us her story.  I could gleam a word or two to get the gist of what she was saying and she would help  us out with an English phrase or two that she knew.

They were all Christians.  The child was given very little hope of living much longer.  The child and his mother had just moved there because the husband could not handle his child's illness and had left them.  It was a very sad story but all the time this young mother told us this, there was this incredible expression of joy on her  face, even through her tears.  She kept looking up as she spoke, her large brown eyes seemed to point to a higher place that that little, poor home.   I will never forget it.  We choked out a few prayers between us over the sick child, each of us taking turns as someone who had been praying got choked up.  We said our goodbyes and left information about the new church and took their names and the address for the colonia pastor.

We got out in the street, dried our eyes and talked about what we had just experienced - joy, in the middle of one of the saddest things I had ever seen.  Everyone on that team remarked about how we had just seen something we had never seen before.  There was such an expression of joy on her face even through her tears and even in her circumstances.

That evening our team tried to share what we had experienced during our mission team share time.  None of us could get through it without crying.  I am sure no one else really understood what we had seen but it did not change the fact that we had seen it.  It really was an "inexpressible" joy.

All of us would like to have that kind of joy.  None of us want the kind of circumstances that family was going through.  But perhaps that is where joy -this kind of joy that Peter was talking about - can best be seen and known, in places where it would not seem possible.

Sunday, we will look at the joy that is possible where ever we are, no matter what we are going through because it comes from Jesus.  Pray for me as we seek to understand this unspeakable joy.

For the journey...

Tim

Plumber's Peace

Note:  To more fully appreciate this post you may want to read the post from 7/28/2011 "I am Not a Plumber"

We had more plumbing adventures at our house last week, our kitchen sink faucet pretty much came undone.  Some important looking piece of gasket fell out of it and it would not shut off.  I was able to get it somewhat back together so that I could turn the water off but the whole thing left me feeling pretty uncomfortable.  The faucet had the look and I got the feeling, this could fall apart again at any time. 

Adding to my anxiety, it was Friday and after some phone calls I found there was no help available until the next week.  So I gave my family faucet first aid instructions of how to handle the handle very carefully and how to go under the sink to the cut offs in case we had a complete faucet failure. 

We made it through the weekend and decided we needed to replace our chipped and dented sink if we were going to replace the faucet so we got our new supplies and waited for the plumbers.  They came right on time and spent a couple of hours replacing faucet and sink.

I watched them work for a while and I was amazed.  There were no bent or leaking pipes, no skinned knuckles, no hopeless looks of frustration - all of the things that usually accompany my plumbing efforts.  There was just skilled work by a couple of guys who have done this before.

In an odd way, it was peaceful.  They fixed my faucet and sink quietly and efficiently and then left.  Everything was back in working order, even better than it had been before and all my anxiety was gone.  It can be funny how the experience of peace comes to us.  I was in over my head, called and waited on someone who could help.  They came and did their job and it brought me peace.

That is not unlike how peace comes from Jesus.  When we are in over our heads and we call on him, he comes and brings peace with his presence - for even bigger things than broken faucets.  He works peace into our lives by being able to fix broken things.  We are going to look at his peace this Sunday in Advent.  Do you have any "faucet fears" in your life?  I know someone you can call.

For the journey...

Tim

Growing Up in Hope

I grew up in Hope- literally.  I spent all my childhood in Hope, Texas.  But as I turned another year older last week and reflected on that this week, there is even a more real sense that I was conceived, born and grew up in hope.

I had an older brother who died as an infant.  He did not reach his first birthday.  I never knew much about him because when I would ask about him, it would make my parents cry.  As I look back on my life as an adult, I have found it somewhat amazing that I am here.  My parents already had two healthy daughters when my brother died.  They were no longer a young couple.  It sure could have been understandable and easier for them to say, 'We have two healthy girls, let's not try this again,' but they did.  And 53 years ago I was born - in hope, because of hope, out of hope and grew up in Hope.

My parents were not wild eyed optimists but I now have a great appreciation for the hope they somehow found - that was in someway given - that makes it possible for me to be here today and write these words.  God must have given them a hope that came out of losing a son.

We will look at hope this Sunday (not Hope, Texas) but the hope that God can give even in our losses - the hope also found in the Christmas story.  It may be that we discover that the greatest hope we can have is the hope that God gives; his hope that he puts into us when we face a situation where we have lost all of ours.

For the journey...
Tim

Five Minutes of Thankfulness

Today is the one of the busiest travel days of the year.  I have already seen some of the results on Facebook.  A friend posted that "Every crazy person in Texas is traveling (the road she was on).  Just shoot me now."

I remember traveling I-35 on this day years ago when we were in seminary in Ft. Worth and headed south for home and Thanksgiving.  We sat in stop and go traffic for hours north of Waco.  We thought there must be a bad accident because all the southbound lanes were diverted onto the feeder road.  It turned out to be there was a patch of broken concrete about 10 feet across in one of the southbound lanes.  It cost us and thousands of others, hours in drive time.

It's funny how many things can happen on Thanksgiving weekend to cause us not to be thankful.  I once heard the insight that the fruit of the Spirit are all grown in circumstances that could produce just the opposite.  In other words, love is more likely grown in place where it is difficult to love.  The same is true of the rest of the fruit - joy, peace, patience and the rest.

I know that thankfulness is not one of the fruit of the Spirit but it too can be grown in the situations that could cause us to become ungrateful and grumbling.  Are you going to let something rob you of your gratitude this weekend?  Why not try this experiment with me.  Can you give God five straight minutes of gratitude?  Can we just pray and thank God for five minutes without a request or intercession - just thanks?  Would you try that with me this weekend?  You can even do it while stuck in traffic.  Let's see what difference it makes.

For the journey...

Tim

Looking Back, Lessons Learned

I asked people to share what they had learned from praying for our country for 40 days.  Here are some of the comments I have received back about what God is teaching us:

 I feel Prayer is the only thing that will heal our country.  We Christians MUST stay in Prayer.  – V.

Praying for our country and its leaders over the last 40 days has made me less cynical towards people and decisions I don't like being made. It has driven me to pray more often for those who need God as their foundation. Why should I expect people to make decisions that don't line up with Scripture when they don't give heed to Scripture or the God I love and serve? They need Him first! God can and does work around their blindness to do His will but I want to be a person who cares for those I find tough to love (ex: someone who thinks differently than me) instead of only those who are like-minded. I see no way our country will be unified without God's people standing for what God says and praying for those who don't, without giving breath to hateful and sarcastic remarks.   - L.

I feel that we as a country have been more united in praying regardless of the outcome.  I believe that a spiritual turnaround will not happen without true repentance.  I believe that we as a country need to pray for true repentance and not tolerance.  – E.

 Conviction: to pray daily for President Obama, Michelle, and their daughters as I pray for my own family.  – K.

As we have prayed for our country and leaders, we were reminded of the many times God intervened for Israel but only when they repented. We began to realize it is not easy to repent as a Nation. As individuals, we need to encourage people to turn to God and to depend upon HIM not our feelings.  – M&J

While praying for our nation during the past 40 days, I was often confronted with the thought of what happens if my candidate doesn't win.  And then I received some amazing blessings through His word.  Old verses I have read many times like Eph 3:11-14, Phil 4:1-7, John 14:27 and Col 3:15 opened a new truth for me.  This truth is that no matter how much I may want the peace of this world, it cannot and will not ever give me the eternal peace of God.  World and human peace can never exist in conflict and there will always be conflict.  However God's peace is given to me as a free gift through the blood of Christ.   His peace exists in all times, good and bad, in fear and trouble.  I learned that if I will let the peace of God rule my heart by allowing the word of God to dwell in me, then this election is no longer a worry for me.   I choose to live in God's peace and not depend on this world for my peace. – G.Forty days of prayer for our country--we need to continue it for the next 325 days.  The USA prayer from Max Lucado really touched my heart.  I will continue to use it each day I pray but with the last line revised.

 My version:

Unite us!

Strengthen us!

Anoint our now appointed president, abundantly!

 Thanks for all the memory verses. We do know who really reigns!!

 My God reigns, my God reigns!!

- M.

Thanks to all of you who responded,  We do need to continue to pray for our country.  Our country needs it.  We need it.

For the Journey...

Tim

40 Days of Prayer for Our Country Wrap Up

Let me thank all of you who have prayed with me for our country over these last forty days.  I don't know about you but I have come to the realization that I need to keep praying for the spiritual renewal of our country.  Going into this, I realized beforehand that a spiritual turnaround  was not going to happen just because of an election, I now realize the burden of praying for my country is not going to end just because of an election. 

There is much I have learned in this process and I have a feeling there is still a lot more that God needs to teach me.  Perhaps a lesson might come from you.  I usually don't expect comments to my blog and I appreciate the occassional comment, but let me ask today, to hear from you.  We don't need to talk about what we like or dislike about who was elected or not elected.  I do want you to reflect upon what God may have showed you or told you in these 40 Days of Prayer. 

Reflecting on what we have learned and writing it down is always a healthy exercise, but it is exercise.  I would really appreciate your effort to give this question some thought and reply as you feel led, "What did you learn from praying for our country for 40 days?"  I look forward to hearing from you.

For the journey...
Tim

Day 40

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 40

Thought for the day:

"Prayer penetrates doors we will neve enter.  Prayer breaks hearts that have been hardened by the most ruthless pursuit of position.  Prayer bridges the gap between the modest den of the meek and the highest places of government. where laws are made and bills are signed and officials wrestle against impossible odds."  Beth Moore

Scripture:

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.  He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. 1Timothy 2:1-5 (Message)

Prayer Points for Today:  (as we prayed through the ballot, let us pray through some of our newly elected).

President Obama/Vice President Biden
Senator Ted Cruz
Congressman Blake Farenthold
State Congresswoman Geanie Morrison
(Who else comes to mind as needing prayer)?

Prayer:
Father, teach us to pray for those in authority over us as Paul was inspired to instruct the people of his day.  You are a God who cares about everyone - powerful or powerless - the same.  Teach us your love to guide our prayers.  In Jesus name, Amen.
Memory Verse for the Week:

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.  Psalm 47:8

Challenge:  Read Max Lucado's response to the election below.

Let others lose sleep over the election.  Let others grow bitter from party or petty rivalries.  Let others cast their hope with the people of the elephant or the donkey.  Not followers of Jesus.  We place our trust in the work of God.

How many kings has he seen come and go?  How many nations has he seen stand and fall?  He is above them all.  And he oversees them all.  So, while others get anxious, we don’t. Here is what we do:  we pray.
“First of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  (1 Tim.2:1-4 NIV).
It is time to take this job seriously.  Over the next hours and days ahead, turn your heart toward heaven and ask God to:

• Unite our country
• Strengthen us
• Appoint and anoint our next president

God’s promise is clear:
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  (2 Chron. 7:14 NIV).

Dear Heavenly Father,
You have given us this promise: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
So, we pray to you. We turn from evil and look to you, our God. Please:
         Unite us
                 Strengthen us
                         Appoint and anoint our next president
In the name of Christ we pray,
Amen

Day 39

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 39

Scripture:

Here then is my charge: First, supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings should be made on behalf of all men: for kings and rulers in positions of responsibility, so that our common life may be lived in peace and quiet, with a proper sense of God and of our responsibility to him for what we do with our lives.   In the sight of God our savior this is undoubtedly the right thing to pray for; for his purpose is that all men should be saved and come to realize the truth. And that is, that there is only one God, and only one intermediary between God and men, Jesus Christ the man. 1Timothy 2:1-5 (Phillips)

Prayer: 

Lord, when Paul wrote these verses to Timothy on how to pray, he was telling the church to pray for those that they had not elected.  Teach us how to apply this instruction in our day for those we have had a voice in electing.
Prayer Point for Today:
- Pray for those who have been elected nationally, on the state level and on the local or regional level by using Paul's instruction to Timothy.  (Tomorrow we will take this a step further).

Memory Verse for the Week:
God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.  Psalm 47:8

Challenge:  Read Dr. Jim Denison's commentary from yesterday.

We the Purple

Now that President Obama has been reelected, I'd like to offer some reflections on [the] election.  The Washington Post called the day our "civic holiday." Whether your candidate won or lost, what America accomplished Tuesday is truly remarkable.

Our country is the world's oldest democracy.  Today, nearly three-quarters of the world's nations elect their heads of state through some kind of democratic process, but it wasn't always so.  The vast majority of people in human history had no opportunity to do what you and I did yesterday.  Many still cannot.

I have been to Cuba seven times; its Communist Party must approve all candidates and controls all elections.  I was in Beijing two years ago; the world's most populous nation has never held free elections for its national leaders (except for a brief period in the 1920s).  Many of the countries that make headlines today, including Iran and much of the Middle East, have no free elections for their heads of state.

By contrast, we held [our] election with decorum.  Republicans are not mounting a coup; Gov. Romney has conceded rather than contesting the results.  Such behavior places America in the distinct minority of nations in world history.

Now that our election has been decided, how do we move forward?

As of today, we are no longer red or blue states—combining the two colors, we are now purple ("We the purple," to rephrase the Constitution).  Unity is possible without unanimity, a fact proven by Christians when we gather for worship every seven days.  Democrats, Republicans, and Independents share space in our sanctuaries.  If we can find fellowship on the weekend, we can find it during the week.

I pledge to pray every day for President Obama, in obedience to Scripture: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  I pledge to work for spiritual awakening and moral renewal in this nation I love.  And I pledge my highest allegiance not to any president but to our King.

I recently read the autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.  When the group held its first vote for the leader of their order, Ignatius was the unanimous choice of the members, with a single exception—Ignatius voted for "whoever gets the most votes."  That's who gets my vote this morning.

What about yours?

Day 38

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 38

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphans, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."  Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

Lincoln spoke those words in the aftermath of the Civil War.  It is strange how appropriate those words still are after a contentious election.

Scripture:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.  Romans 13:1,7

Prayer: 
Lord we believe that you still reign over the nations, now bind our divisions because we confess we are a divided people this day.  Many are happy with this election, many are unhappy.  We have many disagreements.  Help all of us who call upon your name to be brought to unity in calling upon you to rule in our land and in our hearts.  We pray Lord, that we may be the messengers of your peace in our nation and among the nations.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:
- Pray for our president and his advisors.  Pray for the divisions we face as a country and the problems we must address together regardless of how we voted.
- Pray for President Obama and the difficulties he faces and the challenges that remain in our nation's future.
- Ask God to bring a spiritual revival to our nation that would begin in the churches of America and spread to those who are not now a part of the body of Christ.

Memory Verse for the Week:

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.  Psalm 47:8

Day 37

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 37
Election Day!  Today I want us to read a post that Janet Denison, wife of Dr. Jim Denison put together.  (Remember, we will keep on praying after the election for a few days, so look for a post tomorrow).

Frank Tanabe has become an internet sensation - and he should be!  Mr. Tanabe, a decorated World War II veteran, made news at the age of 93 - because he wanted to stay alive long enough to cast his vote in this year's election.  He was a young man when his family lost all they had worked for and were placed in an internment camp, simply because they were of Japanese descent.  Frank was in that camp when he signed enlistment papers and entered the war.  He spoke fluent Japanese and English and was used as an interrogator in the war.  He was diagnosed with liver cancer and fought a different kind of war for the last months of his life.  He exercised in his bed, trying to stay alive long enough for his ballot to arrive in the mail.  One of the last things Frank Tanabe did before his death, was vote.  He had never missed voting in an election and he didn't miss this year's either.  Technically, because he died before the election date, his vote isn't supposed to count...but the news that surrounds this story means his vote counts more than he could ever have imagined.  I am going to think about Mr. Tanabe when I head out to vote.  More than any other election in my lifetime, I feel that my vote matters.  So does yours.This election appears to be a nail-biter.  It is hard to say who is going to win.  But the sobering thought is, no matter who wins, half of our nation will agree and half will disagree with the decision.  Blue, red, or undecided - your vote counts and your opinion matters.  Christian or non-Christian, your demeanor and words matter as well.  Our country is divided, and much of the division is a result of differing values.  We will have named a president in a week - but we will also show the world a very ununited United States.  What are God's answers to division and differing values?2 Chronicles 30:12 -  "Also in Judah, the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of God."  When God is present and at work among people, his hand of power provides unity.  But God is present and at work when those "kings" have issued orders that follow his word.Romans 15:4-6 - "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of Scriptures we might have hope.  May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves, as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."   Our "hope" is not in an elected official, as important as that person is.  Our hope is in the God of the universe who will be sovereign regardless of the man in an oval office.  Our unity is not going to be found in the president we choose to follow.  Unity will be found as we collectively follow Jesus Christ.  And our calling is not so much to influence an election and call attention to a candidate - it is to make certain that our hearts and our mouths glorify God, the father of our Lord Jesus. 

I want my candidate to win next week.  I think this election is incredibly significant.  I will remember Frank Tanabe who stayed alive because he thought voting was that important. I will vote my convictions - but then I pray that my convictions will show the world who is truly the sovereign power in this world.  To close, think on these words by George MacDonald this week.  He said, "Division has done more to hide Christ from the view of men than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken."  May all of us register our vote and then, in unity, give glory to the God of the universe, forever sovereign over the affairs of this world.

Prayer: 
Father thank you for the freedom we have in this nation to vote on those who will lead us.  What a great priviledge and responsibility.  Help us to use it wisely.  Give us strength to remember that you are on your throne.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:
- Pray for a clear and fair election.
- Turn the memory verse below into a personal prayer for you and for our country today.
Memory Verse for the Week:

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.  Psalm 47:8

Day 36

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 36
Tomorrow is a big day in the life of our country.  But no matter how much things may change or no matter how much they may remain the same, we can know that God has not changed nor has his rule over the nations.  This week's memory verse is short and sweet and to that point.  Let it be what we focus on today.

Scripture:

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.  Psalm 47:8

Prayer: 
Unchanging God, help us to always know that you reign over all.  No matter what happens, you are still on your holy throne, your power, your might, your plan for me and my country have not changed.  Help me to walk in faith of your unchanging love for us and to be prepared for the outcome of this election.  Give me a will and strength to keep on praying even after the election is over.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:
- Pray for the election process, that it would go correctly in this very tight presidential election.  Pray for election officials and those who will be working at the polls.
- Ask God to guide people as they vote tomorrow and to prepare our future leaders for the tasks ahead of them.

Memory Verse for the Week:

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.  Psalm 47:8

Challenge:
Prayerfully consider setting aside a time to fast and pray between now and the election.  It can be a day or it can be just a meal but let me encourage you to take that time or an extra time to pray in the next few days.

Day 35

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 35

Today's thoughts come again from Dr. Jim Denison and a recent commentary on "Is Hurricane Sandy God's Judgment?"

Why has Hurricane Sandy been so severe?  Is this God's judgment against the Northeast, as some are claiming, or does the storm have a more natural explanation?

Meteorologists say that "Frankenstorm" is the combination of a hurricane that collided with a winter storm, a cold front, and high tides from a full moon.  The resulting hybrid storm has affected more than 60 million people. 

Before we decide that the hurricane is God's judgment on the Northeast, we might consider those it has already affected.  I've been to Cuba six times and find the believers there among the strongest on earth.  More than a million Cubans have come to Christ in the last decade.  Yet Hurricane Sandy killed at least 11 Cubans and left thousands homeless.  One of the pastors on the island called our office yesterday.  He wept as he described the worst devastation he has seen in his lifetime.  Is the hurricane God's judgment on these suffering people?

In my view, we should be slow to attribute natural events to supernatural causes.  As the result of Adam and Eve's sin, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" (Romans 8:22).  In the Garden of Eden there would have been no hurricanes or earthquakes.  God clearly caused Noah's Flood and the plagues in Egypt, but most of the natural disasters we experience are the result of living in a fallen world.

While the Fall caused Hurricane Sandy, God stands ready to redeem all he allows.  When Jesus' disciples were battling a storm of their own, their Master walked on wind-tossed waves to their battered boat (Matthew 14:22-25).  When the winds died down, "Those who were in the boat worshiped him saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God'" (v. 33).

Today Jesus' followers are his hands and feet (1 Corinthians 12:27).  Hurricane Sandy is our opportunity to go to those in the storm, proving the relevance of our faith by our compassion.  How will you pray for those affected by this disaster?  How will you give money and time to relief efforts?  Who will see God's love in yours?Prayer: 
Heavenly Father, help us not to be quick to believe you are judging those in a catastrophe that does not directly impact us.  We do not want to miss a sign of your judgment but we don't want to express something that you have not expressed either.  Father, show us your truth and help us to tell your truth to hurting and lost people.  In Jesus' name,  Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:
- Pray for churches in the North East today.  It is one of the most unchurched places in our country.  Pray that they may reach out and show God's love in a great time of stress and that hurting and lost people would respond.
- Pray for impacted states as they try to provide for people's needs and prepare for an election.

Memory Verse for the Week:
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

Challenge:
Prayerfully consider setting aside a time to fast and pray between now and the election.  It can be a day or it can be just a meal but let me encourage you to take that time or an extra time to pray in the next few days.

Day 34

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 34
Today, we finish praying through our ballot.

Scripture:

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

“Who is this that obscures my plans
    with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand."  Job 38:1-3

So often in times of crisis or difficulty, we come to God with questions - like Job.  And sometimes, like Job, God brings questions back to us that remind us how big his plan for us really is and how much more there is to what is going on that what we see right now.  We must answer, like Job, 'I don't understand.'  We may not be able to find answers, but we can always know that God is with us and he has a plan.  We can trust him without knowing the plan fully.   Tim


Praying through the Ballot:
President/Vice-President
Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan
Barack Obama/Joe Biden
Gary Johnson/Jim Gray
Jill Stein/Chen Honkala

Justice, 13^th Court of Appeals District, Place 2

Tom Greenwell

Nora Longoria

                                       

Justice, 13^th Court of Appeals District, Place 4

Bradford M. Condit

Nelda Vidaurri Rodriguez

Justice, 13^th Court of Appeals District, Place 5

Doug Norman     

Gina M. Benavides

District Judge, 24^th Judicial District

Jack W. Marr

Sandra McKenzie

Prayer: 

Lord, there is so much that I do not know about you and your plan for us, but God help me to trust what you have revealed to us about yourself.  You have given us enough to believe and trust you.  There is so much we do not know about these people that we vote for, so much that we do not yet see, so help us to seek you with all our heart and know that you will be found.

 
Prayer Points for Today:
- Ask the Father  to reveal his will and his ways to use every day, but especially during this election.
- Pray about what it truly means for you to seek God with all your heart today.
- Pray for those listed above and on the ballot - from the national level to the local level - that they would seek God.

Memory Verse for the Week:
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

Challenge:
Prayerfully consider setting aside a time to fast and pray between now and the election.  It can be a day or it can be just a meal but let me encourage you to take that time or an extra time to pray in the next few days.

Day 33

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 33
We continue to pray today through the ballot and for the massive clean up and recovery efforts along the East coast.

Scripture:
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.   When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”   1 Kings 19:11-13

At this point in the recovery process, many people who have suffered a loss are questioning, seeking, searching for something more.  Pray that they, like Elijah, will hear that still small voice that speaks to them and shows them something more than what they see and feel right now.  Pray for those people and the Christians who are working with them right now.

Praying through the Ballot:

President/Vice-President
Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan
Barack Obama/Joe Biden
Gary Johnson/Jim Gray
Jill Stein/Chen Honkala

Member, State Board of Education, District 2

Laurie J. Turner

Ruben Cortez,  Jr.

Lenard Nelson

State Senator, District 18

Glenn Hegar     

State Representative, District 30

Geanie W. Morrison       

Alex Hernandez, Jr.

Chief Justice, 13^th Court of Appeals District

Roy Valdez

Prayer: 
Lord, we need to hear that still, small voice that speaks clearly to us.  Help us to see where you are and where you are not in the chaos that is going on around us in this world.  Help these that we vote for to hear your voice as well.   In Jesus' name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:
- Pray for those who are still undecided today about their responsibility to vote.
- Ask God to speak clearly to those who are discouraged and disheartened in our country about where our real source of help comes from.
-Thank God that he comes to us in our time of need and speaks to us above the wind and fire and shaking earth.

Memory Verse for the Week:
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

Challenge:
Prayerfully consider setting aside a time to fast and pray between now and the election.  It can be a day or it can be just a meal but let me encourage you to take that time or an extra time to pray in the next few days.