The Response Prayer Gathering

As additional evidence that I don't know what I'm doing, I thought you should be aware that I neglected to mention a small, but significant part of what I wanted to say about Governor Perry.  Many of you may be aware that numerous people are saying of Governor Perry and his call to prayer, that this is a political maneuver.  But do you realize how many people he has alienated and the outrage it has caused?  We can be sure that anytime anyone takes a stand for righteousness, there will be opposition.

Our Life is Like a Symphony

“Our life is like a Symphony in which the Composer has given each of us a part to play.  When our notes have been played and our song is finished, may we hear the Great Composer say, 'Well done thy good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord.'”  Those were the words I heard in my heart yesterday just as I was waking up. 

Friends, you and I are the instruments in God’s orchestra and we all have been issued a part to play.  A question that has caused me to seek the Lord even harder and examine my heart more thoroughly is:  “Are we playing the notes that the Great Composer has assigned to us?  Or have we chosen to play our own song?”

More than anything, I don’t want to play my own song.  I want to play the piece that the Great Composer has assigned to me.  You know life is busy.  And there are many things that fight for our time and attention.  We have to fight off our natural tendency to seek our own way and to compose our own song.   Jesus gives us a sobering warning about playing our own song:  “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” (Mt. 7:21)

So how do we know the will of our Father?  How do we know the path that He has prepared for us to walk on?  “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Mt. 7:6-8)

One time I asked the Lord, “Why do I have to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking?  Why can’t you just answer me the first time?”  To which He revealed:  “Only those who are serious about Me will keep on asking, keep on knocking and keep on seeking.”

We must take the Lord seriously.  We must love Him wholeheartedly.  And we must seek Him fervently.  As we do, He has given us a promise that “those who seek Me diligently will find Me.” (Prov. 8:17)

"Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand." (Prov. 19:21)

What Exactly Is A Good Shepherd?

A good shepherd is one who tends, leads, guides, cherishes, feeds and protects his flock.  They will lead the sheep out to pasture for food, provide them water, and put their own life in danger to defend them from predators.  They will never run off or forsake the sheep when they are in need.  And when one of his sheep becomes weak, a good shepherd will carry them in their arms and nurse them back to health.  Additionally, if a sheep wonders away from the rest of the flock, out of his love for the sheep, the shepherd will leave the rest of the flock to go after the sheep that has strayed.

Jesus said, “I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

Sometimes, we just need to be reminded that Jesus is the GOOD Shepherd.  He is not an angry, frustrated, sick-and-tired, want to kick-us-out of the pasture Shepherd.  No, He is the GOOD Shepherd!  He loves us. He cares for us.  He provides for us.  He tends to us.  He cherishes us.  He nourishes us.  He protects us.  He defends us.  He intercedes for us.  He is the GOOD Shepherd!  And listen, He wasn’t just the GOOD Shepherd in the New Testament, although He was.  And He’s not going to be the GOOD Shepherd in the sweet-by-and-by, although He is.  He is the GOOD Shepherd now!

David lifted up a song to the Lord about the Father being a GOOD Shepherd and it wasn’t just a nice confession in hopes that it would be true someday or a wish upon a star.  It was what he knew and experienced out of a relationship with his Father.  My prayer for you and me today is that out of the abundance of our heart we would know - not in our head but in our heart - that Jesus is a GOOD Shepherd to us, and we can declare like David:

“The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.  He renews my strength.  He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.  Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.  You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You honor me by anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings.  Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” (Ps. 23 NLT)

What Are You Craving?

Craving:  an intense, urgent or abnormal desire or longing.  To have a strong inward desire.  To yearn for.  To want greatly.

On Tuesday night of this week I had a sudden craving for some frozen yogurt – at 9:00PM.  So guess what I did?  I snatched 20 bucks from my sweetheart’s wallet (thank you Honey!) got in the car, drove to the yogurt shop and bought me some cheesecake/mango yogurt!  It was super delicious and hit the spot just right!

I don’t know about you, but on more than one occasion, I have gone the distance to fulfill my cravings.  Literally.  For instance, during one of our road-trips to Tennessee, I began “to have a strong inward desire” for some sweet tea from Chick-Filet.  So I called on Destination Assist to ask where the nearest location of Chick-Filet was.  Much to my delight, they found one!  The only problem was it was several miles out of our way!  But I had a craving and wanted me some sweet tea!  So they downloaded the information to the car and we were well on our way.  We exited the freeway as Rosie told us to do (Rosie, by the way, is name we’ve given to the GPS), and continued to follow her instructions.  I should have known that something fishy was going on because the scene grew progressively worse by the minute.  At Rosie’s last command, we turned into the parking lot of a shopping center that was totally rundown – and no Chick-Filet in sight!   And to my great disappointment, Rosie kindly said, “You have arrived at your destination.”  Needless to say, I didn’t get any sweet tea, but we did get a huge laugh out of that one!

As human beings, one of the things we all need and crave is food.  Without it, we cannot survive.  But, have you noticed that when we get sick or are feeling under-the-weather we tend to lose our appetite for food?  Nothing sounds good, nothing taste good.  We don’t crave anything…we just want to lie down and sleep. 

In a very similar way, when our hearts have grown spiritually dull or sick, we tend to lose our spiritual appetite and we don’t crave or yearn for the Lord anymore.  We find that we have no desire to read and study His Word.  We have no desire to worship, no desire to pray and no desire to go to church.  The craving is gone.  The hunger is gone.  And consequently, we lie down spiritually and fall asleep

. 

Friends, you and I cannot afford to fall asleep; it could literally cost us our lives.  We must make a spiritual evaluation of the current condition of our heart by asking ourselves:  Do we crave the Lord?  Do we have an intense, urgent, abnormal desire or longing to be in His presence?  Do we have a strong inward desire to know Him, His Word and His will for our life?  Do we yearn for Him?  Do we want Him greatly above all else? 

If you can answer “yes”, then praise God and keep on keeping on!  If the answer is “no” and you have lost your spiritual appetite and no longer crave the Lord, His presence or His Word, or maybe you’ve never really had that craving before, I want to encourage you ask the Lord to rekindle the flame inside you.  Ask Him to give you the desire to crave Him once again.  Then set your mind on Him and begin to pursue Him with everything you are and with everything you’ve got.  If your Bible is buried somewhere, dig it out and begin to seek Him through His Word.  If you haven’t been attending church lately, this Sunday get up and go!  Pursue your Father.  Run after Him.  Seek Him.  Crave Him.   

“Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength;…seek and require His face and His presence [continually] evermore.” (Ps. 105:4)

The Response: A call to prayer for a nation in crisis

God said, "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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14)  


Our Governor, Rick Perry, has issued a call for God's people to come together and pray on August 6th at Reliant Stadium from 10AM - 5 PM. Now listen, it doesn't matter if politically you are to the left or to the right or somewhere in the middle.  What matters is that God's people have been issued a call to prayer for our state and our nation.  Here is Governor Perry's call:

Fellow Americans,

Right now, America is in crisis: we have been besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters. As a nation, we must come together and call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles, and thank Him for the blessings of freedom we so richly enjoy.

Some problems are beyond our power to solve, and according to the Book of Joel, Chapter 2, this historic hour demands a historic response. Therefore, on August 6, thousands will gather to pray for a historic breakthrough for our country and a renewed sense of moral purpose.

I sincerely hope you’ll join me in Houston on August 6th and take your place in Reliant Stadium with praying people asking God’s forgiveness, wisdom and provision for our state and nation. There is hope for America. It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees.

Sincerely, 
Rick Perry

Governor

My family and I plan to be there and I hope you will too!  There is no cost involved, but you will need to sign up.  Please go to http://theresponseusa.com/ for more information and to sign up to attend.

You Are Needed In The Body Of Christ!

Words cannot describe the awesome time we had at camp.  God showed up in a powerful way and touched the lives and hearts of the children at camp…and the adults too, me being one of them!

I must confess.  I never really feel qualified or equipped to serve in any capacity for God’s kingdom.  I go to camp praying that God would somehow use me to share His love, His heart and His character with these kids.  I pray that God would give me everything I need to serve the kids with all my heart and with the love that Jesus has for them.  And in spite of all my inadequacies, something amazing always happens to me as I step out in faith and trust God. 

As I went off to camp to serve Him by serving the children, He served me up a blessing that I am still trying to wrap my brain around.   My life has been impacted and my heart has been changed!  No vacation could ever compare to going off to camp with these kids and being a part of all that God did.  It was AWESOME!  God is AWESOME!  I mean, what else can compare to eating Vienna Sausage with chocolate syrup poured all over them?  Or a bucket of muddy lake water being dumped all over you?   It was priceless; simply priceless!

No joking, my life was tremendously impacted at Camp Marvel!  I would not have wanted to miss that camp for anything!  As I stepped out of my comfort zone, God stepped in and radically touched my heart.  Friends, life is all about serving Jesus and serving others.  There is nothing greater or more meaningful in the entire world.  We were created to love God and love others, and to serve God by serving others.  Friends, we need each other.

Do you know that someone needs YOU?  Do you know that YOU are a part of someone else’s miracle?  Do you know that YOU could be the only person to touch a life with the love of Jesus?  YOU are needed.   God needs YOU to make a difference in the lives of others.  You are part of the body of Christ, and without you, the rest of the body suffers.

Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t have any special gifts to serve God” or “I don’t really know how to love others” or “I don’t know very much of the Bible” or “What do I have to offer others?”  Listen, I can promise you, it’s not about how good we are, how gifted we are, how smart we are, how much of the Bible we know.  All we have to do is make ourselves available and God supernaturally does the rest!  He is the One who will equip you with everything you need to do His will.

God uses ordinary people like me and like you to do amazing things for His kingdom.  2 Chron. 16:9 says “His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him”.  All we need to do is be willing – He does the enabling! 

Like Isaiah, let’s make ourselves available to the Lord and say, “Here am I Lord, send me!”  And watch what amazing things God will do through YOU and to YOU!  You really can do ALL THINGS through Christ who gives you everything you need to fulfill His purpose for your life!