Category: Uncategorized

Faith, God, Jesus, Prayer, Uncategorized

My Prayer Closet

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Joshua made this card for me at church when he was seven. I love it because he made it, and because of the misspelling of “Lord”. That makes it all the more beloved. It shows the pureness of his heart. No spellcheck. No concern over spelling errors or perfection. It’s about the message, “Wait for the Lard”….I mean, “Lord”. He handed it to me with pride and joy for Mother’s Day. That’s the stuff that melts a mama’s heart. This precious card sits at the top of the bulletin board in my closet. I see it every single day.

My prayer closet is my actual closet. That sweet card sits among a few other little treasures that encourage me as I kneel and pray. There are pictures of my boys as toddlers, a picture of me and Tom as newlyweds, a few special cards from my husband, and a card or two from friends and family. It’s my hideout where I close the door and talk or cry out to God.

I have been flat on my face in deep pain asking God where He was. I have lifted my hands in praise thanking Him for His faithfulness. I have asked for wisdom, answers, direction, help, mercy, and forgiveness. I have laid on my back with tears streaming down my face. Looking up. Hoping for something from God to relieve the suffering. There’s plenty of room for me to stretch out. It’s all my space since Tom has his own closet.

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:5-8, NIV)

The Greek word tameion means “an inner chamber”. This doesn’t mean we all need to have a prayer closet or special “prayer room”. It means you need to be in a quiet, uninterrupted place. Praying to the Father requires focus and no distractions, if possible. There are plenty of times when we pray in crazy moments of chaos. We can and should pray at all times. “Pray continually,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV).

It’s important to set aside some time each day to pray. You can use a “prayer closet” if you’ve got the space, or almost anywhere can become that sacred space. When I commuted to work years ago before having children, I would pray in my car. Some people walk and pray. Many times I sit in my living room. Supposedly John Wesley’s (founder of the Methodist movement) mother, Susanna, would pull her apron over her face and pray.  The point is not where, it’s who you’re talking to.

When we first moved to Texas over six years ago we stayed in a hotel. There was no privacy, so I would go into the tiny bathroom to pray. Not pretty, but God knew my heart. He wants our heart. Not perfect, beautiful “prayer rooms” with the right Christian words in our prayers. “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8, NIV) Be honest with God when you pray. He already knows what we need and we can be simple and direct in our words with humility.

I have several scraps of paper on my bulletin board in my closet. Each with a Bible verse I scrawled out during our two months in the hotel. They remind me what God has done in the past and what He will do again. That is a nice benefit of having a designated prayer space. You can personalize it with scriptures or whatever is needed to keep focused on God. I also have a list I keep written out of things Tom and I are praying for that’s taped to the wall in my closet. I cross things out as they get answered.

The point to all of this is pray. Pray. Pray. Pray. And then pray some more. When we quiet ourselves before the Lord we have the marvelous opportunity to hear His voice. Listening to God is just as important as talking to Him. Expect an answer in His time. That’s always the hardest part of praying, at least for me it is. I want an immediate answer. We have to wait. Just like Joshua’s card, “Wait for the Lord”. So many times I have been praying for the same thing, and waiting, and waiting. Then I look up and see that card with the faith of a child and I’m encouraged.

Love you all,

Meghan

 

 

 

Bible, Faith, God, Jesus, Uncategorized

You Are God’s Poem

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This beautiful old mansion sits in Galveston. Built in 1859 by a wealthy businessman using only the finest materials. It has withstood many hurricanes. Like this mansion that was constructed with the best of everything, God did His best work when He created each of us. We are the pinnacle of His creation.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB)

Workmanship in Greek is “poiema“. This is where we get the English word poem. We are God’s poetry. How awesome is that! You are God’s poetry! Never forget that. No one can write a poem like our Heavenly Father. His works are perfect. You are perfectly made. No mistakes.

As I look closer at the old mansion I see rusty wrought iron, broken shingles, and cracks in the mortar. It needs some renovation, like me. God’s in the construction, and renovation business. He will restore the broken places in us.

Do you feel like He doesn’t even see you? He is El Roi, Hebrew for “the God who see’s me”. Haggar used this word after she fled from Sarai where an angel of the Lord met her in the desert (Genesis 16:13-14). God see’s you. He made you and knows everything about you. He loves you.

If you’re like me you might be thinking, “Great. He see’s me and all my issues and all my flaws. There’s no way He can use me.” He uses broken people like me and you. Broken people know we are nothing without Jesus. Broken means we are aware of our sin and we know what Jesus did for us on the cross. We are not worthy of the saving grace of Jesus, but we humbly receive His free gift. He’s looking for the willing and obedient, not perfect.

God used Gideon powerfully, and he was in no way perfect, or brave. Things were very bad for the Israelites. They had once again done evil in the eyes of the Lord, so He hands them over to the Midianites (Judges 6:1). They destroyed the Israelites crops, and animals, and impoverished them (Judges 6:3-6). An angel of the Lord shows up where Gideon is threshing wheat. Gideon is terrified of the Midianites and is threshing wheat in a wine press. Ancient wine presses were large pits dug in the ground and they were no place to thresh wheat. Gideon was hiding. The angel says to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior,” (Judges 6:12, NIV). 

Say what? Gideon is called a mighty warrior and he’s hiding. Ultimately God uses Gideon to defeat the Midianites (Judges 7). What is God calling you to do? He sees a great warrior in you too. Gideon was terrified and hiding, yet God used him greatly. He can use you and me too.

God does not look at us the way we see ourselves. He sees us as we should be. He knows how the story ends. He wrote it.

“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” (Isiah 46:10, NIV)

To get us to where we need to be, we go through trials, and pain, and suffering. God is making us like Jesus. But we must surrender to His work in us. If everything was peachy keen hunky-dory we would remain selfish, terrible people. We are created to need God. We can do nothing apart from Jesus (John 15:5).

Maybe you’ve had things spoken over you and you believed the words. “You’re not smart, you’re not pretty, you’re not handsome, you’re not strong, you’re a waste, you’re a mistake.” Lies! All lies! Let’s just bring the truth into this. It’s time for change and freedom.

You are loved. “We love because he first loved us.”  1 John 4:19

You are chosen. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Ephesians 1:4

You belong to God. “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3

You are God’s perfect creation. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14

You are set apart. “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace.” Galatians 1:15

God is not mad at you. God loves you, and you are His beautiful, perfect creation. You are God’s poem! There is only one person like you in all of history. God wants to use you for His Kingdom purposes. God loves you. God chose you. Take some time and ask Him what He see’s when He looks at you.

If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior today would be a great day to change that. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, NKJV) Jesus is the only way to God, your creator. Sin separates us from God until Jesus takes up residence in us. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NIV) Please leave me a message if you want to know more about how to get saved and what that means.

 

 

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your overwhelming love! You are perfect and all your works are perfect. Let all those who don’t feel your love, begin to feel that love now. Remind each of us every day that we are your poem. Shut out the lies of the enemy and bring truth to the broken places. We humbly receive your amazing love.

In Jesus mighty name,

Amen

 

 

Love you all,

Meghan

Bible, Faith, God, Jesus, Trials, Uncategorized

The Storm

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August 24, 2017 we were dropping our oldest son off at college, about 5 and half hours north of our home. I was eating breakfast at the hotel and the news was on. I saw weather maps, and the words “hurricane” and “Houston” got my attention. Wait a minute, that’s where I live. “This is real?” I thought to myself. Everything quickly changed from focusing on getting Dylan settled in his dorm, to focusing on buying water and supplies to survive the impending storm, before we left his little college town. I hated saying goodbye to my son but knew he was in God’s hands. We had to get back home and prepare for a historic hurricane. My first ever. There were large lit up signs along the freeway, “Avoid the Texas Gulf Coast”. Unavoidable for us. We live in the Gulf Coast Region. We were headed straight for the storm.

The storms we face in life can be unexpected or we can see them coming from miles away. It doesn’t seem to matter how much warning we get before life’s storms, they still can cause so much pain as the winds and rains beat down on us. When will it end? How much damage will we experience? Why God? Have you forgot about us? Do you hear our cries for help?

     “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

    He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

     He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

      They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

(Mark 4:35-41, NIV)

The disciples and I have more in common than I would have thought; Fear and doubt at times. I am surprised that the disciples, who had already at this point witnessed many miracles by Jesus, were so terrified. He healed many sick, diseased, and demon-possessed people, (Matthew 4:23-24). A leper was healed by Jesus, (Matthew 8:1-4), and he healed the Centurion’s servant, (Matthew 8:5-13).  A paralytic man was healed by Jesus, (Luke 5:17-26), a widow’s son was brought back to life by Jesus, (Luke 7:11-17). The disciples were with Jesus when he was performing all these miracles. They must have had amnesia when the storm hit their boat.

A squall comes down on the lake and it’s frightening for these guys. The waves are coming up over the boat and they may have thought, “This is it. We are all going to die.” Things were looking pretty bad. The boat is filling with water and about to sink, or so they thought.

Jesus was not afraid. He is never afraid. He was sound asleep on a cushion, in the stern of the ship. That’s not the picture of a worried, stressed out person. He knows who is in control and He knows there is no need to fear the storm.

The disciples aren’t too happy that Jesus is sleeping through the storm. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38). They are in full blown panic mode and assume that Jesus doesn’t care what happens to them.

“He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm,” (Mark 4:39). Only Jesus can do this. Only Jesus can calm wind, waves, and raging seas with His words. He is God. Infinite in power.

“He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Jesus knows our hearts. He knew they were doubting what He could do even after seeing so many miracles before they ever got on that boat. He still loved them. Just like He still loves us when we have doubts. He patiently teaches us and shows us who He is and what He can do.

Ultimately the disciples are so scared at what just happened they don’t know what to think. “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:41). I can relate to them. I have times where I forget what God has done in my life and the storm is raging. “Don’t you care Lord?” I have asked. But my God always, always is faithful. He always shows up, always makes a way. He either stops the storm or He gives me peace in the storm.

As Christ followers we belong fully to Jesus. That means He promises to take care of us and all of our needs. “So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).  Storms will rage and sometimes we will have losses, and sometimes He will calm our storms. There is a bigger purpose in our storms. He wants us to grow in our faith, just like the disciples. And the only way we grow is through struggle. We need Jesus to get through the storms in life.

When I look at the satellite image of Hurricane Harvey it’s menacing. It appears to want to swallow up all of Texas. When we focus on the size of our storm and how much damage can possibly take place we will stay afraid. If we focus on Jesus and that He is bigger than the biggest hurricane, our faith grows and the storm gets smaller.

We can’t control the storms but we can control how we respond to them. Who is Lord of your life? If it’s Jesus then give it all to Him. Write down every time God has taken care of you in the hard times or when He has stopped the storm completely. When the rains and the wind are coming down remember His faithfulness.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your faithfulness. You are perfect and your power is unlimited. You’re love for us is overwhelming. I lift up all those who are in the middle of storms. Remind them that they are not forgotten by you. Give them peace and calm their storms, and may their faith grow. Comfort them, protect them, and provide for their every need.

In Jesus mighty name,

Amen

Love you all,

Meghan

Bible, Faith, God, Uncategorized

Holy Fear

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“The fear of God is the death of every other fear. Like a mighty lion, it chases all other fears before it.”

Charles Spurgeon

 

Copperheads, Cottonmouths, Rattlesnakes, and Coral Snakes make their home in Southeast Texas, which is also my home. And yes, we’ve got alligators. You’d think with the danger of  venomous snakes and alligators I’d never leave my house. My husband loves alligators so we tend to go searching those out. I’ve learned to respect the gators since I usually see them from a safe distance. I really don’t want to encounter a snake though. Every time I am working in my yard I pray that God will protect me from snakes and any other scary creature or enormous insect.

It’s one thing to be afraid of snakes and alligators, and all sorts of other things, but what about the fear of God? Is God just waiting to take us out? Should we all run and hide and fear his wrath? Should we live in constant terror just waiting for lightning to strike us? No! To fear God is to show respect, reverence, awe. The Hebrew word “yir’ah” means fear, terror, or fearing. It also means reverence, respect, holy wonder, or awe.

At least 300 times the Bible mentions the fear of God.

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord,” (Joshua 24:14). 

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you,” (1 Samuel 12:24).

“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil,” (Job 1:1). 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise,” (Psalm 111:10). 

“The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love,” (Psalm 147:11).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline,” (Proverbs 1:7).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding,” (Proverbs 9:10). 

“A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless,” (Proverbs 14:16). 

“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation,” (Luke 1:50).

“Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers , fear God, honor the King,” (1 Peter 2:17).

“Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!” (Revelation 19:5).

There are many more verses on fearing God. I think you get the picture of just how important the fear of the Lord is. But What does it really mean to fear God? It means He is on the throne. God is Lord over all. There is none higher than God. There is no equal to God. Satan and God are not battling it out for control. They are not counterparts. God has no counterpart.

Fear of God means I know what God is capable of. I know He rules over all. I know I deserve death and hell, but He saved my life. And yes, God does have wrath. Read Revelation. Those of us in Christ, are saved from that wrath because of Jesus taking our place on the cross. Jesus died for all and paid the price for our sins.

When I fear God, I humbly bow to the one who holds it all in His mighty hands. It keeps me in my place and reminds me that God is always in His place, on the throne. Then as a daughter to The King I can come boldly to His throne of grace. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need,” (Hebrews 4:16). 

I don’t have to shudder in fear that God will strike me down any time He’s not pleased with me. I’m covered in the blood of Jesus and I’m a co-heir with Christ. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if we indeed share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory,” (Romans 8:17). 

The one true God loves you and loves me. He wants a relationship with us and we get that privilege because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. So don’t cower in fear but come humbly to the cross. Give God the praise He deserves. Let’s worship Him, and thank Him daily for who He is. Awesome, Holy God.

Love you all,

Meghan

 

All scripture is from the New International Version © 1978.

 

Bible, Faith, God, Jesus, Uncategorized

Please Join Us in Supporting Hand to Hold — DELUSIONAL FAITH

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In honor of Sophia and in memory of Nicholas, we will be participating in the Austin Marathon (completing the 5k and half-marathon) on February 17, 2019, a week after our babies’ 6th birthday. Please help us raise money for this awesome organization that helps families like ours! https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/teamh2h/elizabethbobe?utm_campaign=oc&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=crowdrise

via Please Join Us in Supporting Hand to Hold — DELUSIONAL FAITH

I am re-blogging this post from a fellow blogger. Please pray for this family and consider a financial contribution to this important cause. Click on the link for more details.

Team Hand to Hold supports Hand to Hold’s mission to provide navigation resources and comprehensive support programs to parents of preemies, babies born with special healthcare needs and those who have experienced a loss due to these or other complications.

Thank you so much for your time. Let’s lift up this family in prayer!

Galations 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Love you all,

Meghan