Before I get into things - first off - I will be attending the Teen Community Bible Study tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Christian Church. I encourage everyone to come and check it out with me! This will be my first time going, so I will be sure to report back to you and give you more information this week. Hopefully we'll get a good showing of SJV youth at this weekly event throughout this year! It involves a meal, praise and worship music, a brief teaching (about 10 minutes to go over the reading), and then small group time to discuss. Please come tonight if you are able! Otherwise let's plan on next week…
Well, I usually leave the 'hard hitting' stuff for later in the week, since I like to leave Mondays as a day to recoup from the weekend…and I think I've made my love of Mondays pretty evident in previous posts! But, today, I've decided to be different, for several reasons that I will not bore you with.
Today, I'm going to be discussing prayer a bit - what we ask for during prayer, how we pray, etc. I don't know about you, but I know that there are lots of times when I kind of try to 'compromise' with God. I will pray and sort of give conditions in my prayer. Such as, "I'd like it to be sunny today, but if it can't be sunny, at least let it be nice enough out that we can do our outdoor event." Of course, this type of prayer isn't giving my will up to allow God's will to happen. And sometimes, when God responds to these prayers without giving me either of the conditions that I deemed 'acceptable', I get frustrated and upset, because to me, these were the only two conditions that I believed that I could be happy with…
I'm sure that many of you have done the same thing. Believe that we can only accept things in certain ways, and then get upset when God decides to do something completely different and not allow our pleas to be answered.
In today's world, we want to control everything - just look at our electronics with a million different buttons, and we are getting even MORE controlling, since now we need to be able to control even more than just the volume button, we also need to control how much bass or treble will be in the music…we need to be able to adjust everything to our own custom made items. No wonder that I sometimes come across my prayers that are custom made - I want God to create my life experiences into my custom made idea of perfection.
We want control, but we need to be able to let go.
So today, look at yourself, what do you have that you want God to custom make in your life? Are you asking him to have that special person notice you? Are you asking for that lead role in the play? Are you requesting an easier experience in your life?
How are you going to respond if God answers 'no' to these requests? Are you going to be bitter and blame God? Or are you going to see God's 'no' as an opportunity? Are you going to accept God's will, place your trust in Him, and say "Thy will be done and not mine"?
If you place your trust in Him, if you allow him to shape your life and do what is TRULY RIGHT for your life, I can guarantee that you will have no regrets. Do not let your frustration with God's 'no' cause you distress today…instead, channel your frustration into doing your best with what God has given you. In the end, you will see the opportunity that God placed before you that only could have happened through his 'no'.
I think this past Sunday's NT reading is great for considering the fact that we need to humble ourselves and realize that we are not the creators…even Jesus humbled himself…and we are called to do the same.
"Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
-Philippians 2:6-11
Well, I usually leave the 'hard hitting' stuff for later in the week, since I like to leave Mondays as a day to recoup from the weekend…and I think I've made my love of Mondays pretty evident in previous posts! But, today, I've decided to be different, for several reasons that I will not bore you with.
Today, I'm going to be discussing prayer a bit - what we ask for during prayer, how we pray, etc. I don't know about you, but I know that there are lots of times when I kind of try to 'compromise' with God. I will pray and sort of give conditions in my prayer. Such as, "I'd like it to be sunny today, but if it can't be sunny, at least let it be nice enough out that we can do our outdoor event." Of course, this type of prayer isn't giving my will up to allow God's will to happen. And sometimes, when God responds to these prayers without giving me either of the conditions that I deemed 'acceptable', I get frustrated and upset, because to me, these were the only two conditions that I believed that I could be happy with…
I'm sure that many of you have done the same thing. Believe that we can only accept things in certain ways, and then get upset when God decides to do something completely different and not allow our pleas to be answered.
In today's world, we want to control everything - just look at our electronics with a million different buttons, and we are getting even MORE controlling, since now we need to be able to control even more than just the volume button, we also need to control how much bass or treble will be in the music…we need to be able to adjust everything to our own custom made items. No wonder that I sometimes come across my prayers that are custom made - I want God to create my life experiences into my custom made idea of perfection.
We want control, but we need to be able to let go.
So today, look at yourself, what do you have that you want God to custom make in your life? Are you asking him to have that special person notice you? Are you asking for that lead role in the play? Are you requesting an easier experience in your life?
How are you going to respond if God answers 'no' to these requests? Are you going to be bitter and blame God? Or are you going to see God's 'no' as an opportunity? Are you going to accept God's will, place your trust in Him, and say "Thy will be done and not mine"?
If you place your trust in Him, if you allow him to shape your life and do what is TRULY RIGHT for your life, I can guarantee that you will have no regrets. Do not let your frustration with God's 'no' cause you distress today…instead, channel your frustration into doing your best with what God has given you. In the end, you will see the opportunity that God placed before you that only could have happened through his 'no'.
I think this past Sunday's NT reading is great for considering the fact that we need to humble ourselves and realize that we are not the creators…even Jesus humbled himself…and we are called to do the same.
"Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
-Philippians 2:6-11
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