Link on Prayer of Jabez from Beth

www.crossroad.to/articles2/Jabez.htm

For more info on prayer of Jabez that Beth was teaching on Wed go to above link.

Sledgehammers and Other Good News

Sledgehammers and Other Good News

I found myself sighing with something like relief one day after reading a comment made by C.S. Lewis. He was responding to a statement made by a scholar who noted that he didn't "care for" the Sermon on the Mount but "preferred" the Pauline ethics. As you can imagine, Lewis was bothered at the suggestion of Scripture alternatives between which we freely choose, and it was this that he addressed first. But his response also included a striking remark about the Sermon on the Mount, and this is what caught my attention. Said Lewis, "As to 'caring for' the Sermon on the Mount, if 'caring for' here means liking or enjoying, I suppose no one cares for it. Who can like being knocked flat on his face by a sledgehammer? I can hardly imagine a more deadly spiritual condition than that of the man who can read that passage with tranquil pleasure. This is indeed to be 'at ease in Zion.'"

To be "at ease in Zion" was the deplorable state of existence the prophet Amos spoke of in his harsh words to the Israelites. Reeling in false security and erroneous confidence from their economic affluence and self-indulgent lifestyles, the Israelites, Amos warned, would be the first God would send into exile if they failed to heed his words.

The Sermon on the Mount is as equally shocking as the threat of exile to those whose homeland is far more than an identity. Lewis's comparison of Christ's words to a sledgehammer is not far off. Those potent chapters are not unlike the electric paddles used to shock the heart back to life, back to the rhythm it was intended to have all along.

The Sermon on the Mount is like the keynote address for the kingdom Christ came to introduce, the very kingdom the Father wanted us to see badly enough that He was willing to send his Son to show us. On that mountainside, Jesus points out many of the mountains that blur our vision of this kingdom. He reminds us that we are not seeing as he sees, not grasping reality as it really is. "You have heard that it was so..." he says again and again, "but I tell you..." His words are hard and thorough, and even the simplest of phrases is permeated with the profound glory of a kingdom we see in part but ache to know in fullness:

"Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8).

Perhaps I have become at ease in Zion if I can read these words without wondering if I am among the blessed. When I lose sight of the kingdom behind the haze of selfish ambition, guilt, or fear, Christ's words become like a foghorn calling me to set my eyes on the one I follow and live up to the hope I embody: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men" (5:13). When I find myself making demands of God I am shown again just how much God demands of me: "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." (5:29).

For the crowds that gathered that day on the hillside, Jesus's words were equally demanding. If God's commandments were difficult before this sermon, they were now entirely terrifying. Who can stand in this kingdom Jesus describes? And how is this good news? And yet, in all of his wisdom, in his unfathomable love, in the middle of his sermon Jesus proclaims gently but confidently, "Do not worry." It is as if he says to those trembling with the fear of certain failure, "It is my life, truth, and way that make all things possible." This, he says again at the point of the Cross.

The Sermon on the Mount is a concentrated example of how Jesus lays down the law of God, even as he comes to fulfill it. It is clear that he expects us to build the houses of our lives upon his words, and he adds that only those who do so are wise and will be safe. His life cries out to all who are at ease in Zion, weary from self-indulgence, unaware of God at work among us, and in this his role is uncompromisable. He is both Lord to be obeyed and savior who bestows the possibility.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Love One Another

The Final Apologetic

If there’s a message that the Lord has been speaking to me over many years is it the crucial aspect of what it means to be a Christian community.

What Jesus would say to his disciples the closing evening before he would be arrested and tried is of such importance in our understanding what it means to be Christian. I’m beginning to see that is it not what it means to speak christianly per se, but rather, to be Christians. Jesus said in John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” The old commandment was from Leviticus 19, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Now here, Jesus raises the bar and says, the standard of your love for one another will not be your love for yourself; it’ll be my love for you: “As I have loved you, you must love one another.”

In John 15:9, Jesus says again, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” In other words, the standard of love for us within the body of Christ is the standard by which the Father loves the Son.

In the country of my birth, India, I have often shared the gospel with Hindus and Muslims. And of course, you need to have an apologetic for them when you ask them to follow Christ because you are calling them out of a community. Hindus and Muslims have very strong communities. I’m now discovering in the Asia Pacific that Buddhism is also an equally strong community. But when you ask them to follow Christ, are you inviting them into a community or are you calling them out of their communities into a vacuum?

To be a part of the body of Christ is about constructing such communities. That’s exactly what Jesus is saying here in John 13-17. It has to be demonstrable. It has to be seen and felt by people that they would know that we belong to Christ.

The only way people will know that you are my disciples, says Jesus, is to demonstrate it, not individually, but by your relationships—for there can be no real apologetic without a community of love and relationships. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” After we have given all the arguments, the defenses and the evidences, this indeed is the final apologetic.

L.T. Jeyachandran is executive director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Singapore.

A Song Only I Can Sing by Amanda Jones

A Song Only I Can Sing

Scripture Reading: Psalm 139:1-18

Today's Treasure: "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be," (Psalm 139:16b).

Yesterday was my twenty-fifth birthday. It was a wonderful day and the Lord spoiled me with lots of love and gifts as He has done every year. There was something different about this one, though. Twenty-five years is a quarter of a century. At least one fourth of my life has already been spent. What a weird feeling!

When I woke up that morning I felt the weight of twenty-five years on my heart. Even if the Lord doesn't give me one more day, I've had a generous portion of years to live out. Don't worry, I didn't count the days. (But if I had, it would have been approximately 9,125.) I was wondering, but afraid to ask, What is the Lord's appraisal of my life? By now I have no excuses. I've known Him since early childhood and I've had plenty of time to grow in my faith and put it into action. Have I done enough for Him? How much have I missed because I was busy with lesser things? I wasted a lot of years between middle school and college. Are my growing years starting to outweigh the stagnant years?

I'm happy to say that as I bounded down the stairs on the way to my quiet time spot, the Lord changed my heart. Instead of thinking of all I have or haven't done in my life, the Holy Spirit began to give me thoughts about how much He had done in my life. I must say, He's a hard worker.

My heart suddenly began to flood with praise and gratitude to God. The fear I had of His condemnation was replaced with peace and worship. The weight on my heart changed from burdensome to pleasant. I was overwhelmed by God's goodness to act in my life and reveal Himself to me. It's not about what I have done, but what He has done. What freedom! As my mom and I often ask each other, Want He more praise? Yes!

My praise became so furious that I feared the friction of the pen on my prayer journal page might start a holy fire. I praised Him with big words, with simple words, with song phrases and with Scripture. I praised Him with the "5 statement pledge of faith" from Believing God. As someone who's crazy about His creatures, I even praised God according to Job 38:41 for providing "food for the raven when its young cry out to [Him] and wander about for lack of food." I realize this verse may not move everyone, but I'm pretty sure I had tears dripping off my face at this point.

Then thoughts started crossing my mind that brought my pen to a standstill. What praise can my feeble human mind give Him that has not already been given? He wants more praise! And I want to give it to Him! His mind is infinite; man's mind is not. Surely every wonderful thing a person can say to God has already been said. I know He doesn't mind hearing praises He's already heard before. I know He looks on the heart when we worship. But what if I want to offer a new praise? A different praise? A praise that's never been given before?

Do you know what He spoke to my heart? Amanda, your unique praise to Me is to walk out your life on the one-of-a-kind path I've given you. I have specially designed this path for My praise, from your life.

Everything He's laid out for your life and mine has been meant for His praise. Our individual lives are songs only we can sing to Him. If we fail to sing our songs to Him, He will never hear them. He picked us to live these lives, these paths and these circumstances. With new determination I want to live mine unto Him as worship.

This revelation was particularly timely because less than two weeks ago the Lord moved my husband and me to a new city. God has affirmed time and time again that we are in His will. Scripture tells me that He determined the times set for me and the exact places I should live (Acts 17:26b). He knew I would find myself here. I'm full of joy and very excited. Even so, it was my first time to be away from my mom on my birthday. I tried really hard not to let it bother me, but there was a lump in my throat all day. Mom said it's because the day of my birth mostly involved the two of us. That makes sense, doesn't it?

Because of the Lord's design, I was able to offer a unique praise to Him yesterday as I celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday through laughter and tears. The path ahead of me may bring a lot more laughter, or it may hold an abundance of tears. He only lets me see a few steps at a time, so I don't know. In view of the uncertainty of the life ahead, it encourages me to know that living my life unto Him is unique worship. I may not be creative enough to come up with original words, phrases or emotions to praise Him with, but He is creative enough to ordain unique praise from my one-of-a-kind life.

Lord, thank You for being active in the lives of men. Thank You for revealing Yourself to us and for handcrafting our lives. Please help me walk willingly and faithfully down this path You've created. Thank You for being my companion as I walk. Receive my life as a unique song of praise, for Your glory alone. In Jesus' name, amen.

© Copyright, Amanda Jones, 2004

The Struggle with Perspective

The Struggle with Perspective

I must confess to a certain curiosity with why things turn out as they do. I read a lot of history, biographies, and stories of human successes and failures. Being a child of a particular age, I was raised with a certain degree of optimism. The bad times—World War II, the Korean War—were behind us, and once again we could get back to the normal business of pursuing happiness and success, which I was led to believe were easily within my reach.

Optimism is not hope, yet it is a recurring feature of life in good times. It is also a feature that all too quickly vanishes and reveals itself for what it is when bad times return. As a European, I lived through one of history's great turning points, a turning point powerfully demonstrated in the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. The wall was not simply a physical reality, which had divided families, a nation, and a continent for decades; it was a symbol of the clash of visions and worldviews that battled for a season, not only for Europe, but for global dominance.

I can well remember the astonished newscasters as Germans embraced each other on top of the despised symbol of separation. Europe and the world seethed with the euphoria of change. The brave new world was being born, and optimism was the mood of the day (1989-1991). I heard breathless gurus of the age proclaim the dawn of unfettered freedom, and one, even wrote shortly thereafter about "the end of history and the last man" in the sincere belief of the triumph of free market capitalism and liberal democracy.

Yet wisdom bids us to stop, look, and listen. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, we have witnessed 9/11, bombings in Spain, Bali, and London. We have seen the debacles of Enron, WorldCom, and the fiascos of "Bear Stearns" (USA) and "Northern Rock" (UK). Optimism has met its match. Perhaps for some, they are seeing the collapse of hopes and the fulfillment of fears. The movie scene is reflectively filled with apocalyptic and nihilistic visions.

When hope fades, cynicism is often waiting in the wings. And this is indeed one of the great challenges of our time. Skepticism (there is nothing good and I know it) and cynicism (I can't trust anybody or anything and I know this) seem reasonable choices. But is this a necessary outcome or orientation for us? I think not. Yet, if we have bought into a rationalist vision, if we have embraced the vision and values of our age uncritically, if the Christian faith is merely a part-time investment in an over cluttered life, then we don't have the necessary orientation or resolve to face the issues and challenges of our time.

The Scriptures open up for us a view of the world that is very different. There is a God. This God is the creator, and He is personal, loving, willful, and particular. We see that despite being a good creation, a disruption and disorder has occurred and the drama of redemption unfolds. But the central character here is God! It is what God does, whom God appoints, and what God decides that makes the difference. Now please don't go rushing to theological dictionaries or well-entrenched beliefs to determine "whose" side I'm on in terms of God's purpose and human will. I'll tell you. I believe in both.

I have seen too much, experienced too much, read too much, and pondered too much to believe that my choices are determined, socially conditioned, or illusory. I believe they are real. However, I have also seen too much, experienced too much, read too much, and pondered too much to believe that they are, as Lewis would say, "the whole show." History is not a fatalist's game. Humans do act, and often with serious and sad outcomes. The good news is that we are not alone! Writing to the Romans, the apostle Paul reminded them that hope is real because it is anchored in one who is able to carry it, sustain it, and fulfill it (Romans 8:24-25; 28-30). History is moving to an end, and the Bible offers a good end. Thus, the difference between optimism (short term and easily overcome) and hope (eternal and anchored) is where they are rooted. One leans on human effort; the other rests in God and God's promises.

Stuart McAllister is vice president of training and special projects at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

This 9 minute video is a MUST SEE!

www.skitguys.com/store/detail/188/