When Your Faith Hits a Wall – the Power of Fasting and Prayer

In 2 Kings chapter 5 we read the Story of Naaman, a powerful and revered general of the Aramean army. He has fame, fortune, power, favor with his king and with the people, he also has leprosy.

When he hears about an opportunity that might change his life and heal him from the disease that torments him, he jumps at the opportunity.

He makes his way to the prophet Elisha, who dosen’t even bother to come and meet him, let alone acknowledge Naaman’s position and power. Instead, the prophet sends a message telling him to go bathe 7 times in a very dirty river.

Naaman is furious, why not a different way…. why this way… why… why… why.

You and me are not so different from Naaman… we too have a prophet voice directing us, challenging us and calling us to act. The Bible is God’s Words that tell us God’s ways for life, success, health, prosperity, relationships, business and everything else.

Most of God’s ways require us to humble ourselves… forgive… give… turn the other cheek… pray for those who trouble you… etc. … Most often we settle into to this and adopt a lifestyle that to us is an acceptable resemblance of these ways. we forgive most people eventually, and we give a “fair” amount, and we turn the other cheek unless it’s an issue of justice or some other equally acceptable reason (bad day, enough is enough, etc).

But God being God has plans for us and thoughts about us that require increasing levels of obedience and we often find ourselves with very tangible experiences that shake our faith to the core.  In Mark chapter 9 The disciples found themselves faced with such an experience. After enjoying power over sickness, disease and demonic opposition, after they had settled into a way that was working for them, they were faced with a demon that they couldn’t cast out. No matter how they tried they were powerless… eventually Jesus himself handles the situation and the disciples, flabbergasted that what used to work for them now didn’t, ask Jesus about the whole thing…

Mark 9:26  28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

What kind is this… Scripture does not clarify a specific or definitive ”kind” of opposition represented here, but suffice it to say that that “kind” is the type of opposition you just cant seem to overcome. Be it bitterness, jealousy, forgiveness, pride, addictions, sickness, financial trouble, relational crisis, or whatever circumstance shakes your faith and causes your to question God about “what is going on here?”

This is the type of circumstance where “Fasting” is prescribed… There is no real Biblical “norm” for fasting either. There are single day fasts, partial day fasts, multi day fasts, fasts from food alone, fasts food and water, fasts from certain foods and fasts from certain behaviors, there were emergency fasts, public fasts, routine fasts, involuntary fasts ceremonial fasts and all kinds of fasts.

Matthew 6:16 presumes that we will fast.
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get.17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.18 Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

I’s like to draw your attention the the promise at the end verse 18… “reward”

A reward is usually an unknown benefit bestowed on someone for an act of heroism, or action “over and above” common duty.

The Reward of fasting can be help with decisions (Acts 13:2 and 14:23), Power to overcome temptation (Luke 4), and as mentioned above the power to move in greater faith (Mark 9:26-29)

So why wouldn’t we fast? Does it seem to hard or to simple or to strange to us?

When Naaman struggled with the prophetic direction to go bathe in the dirty river, he almost didn’t do it… his people urged him to obey

“Sir, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!”  2 Kings 5:13

Naaman did follow the simple instructions… His reward was a complete healing and a changed perspective on everything.

What about you?

Connecting with God by Fine-Tuning Your Beliefs And Thoughts

We Know that God Hears, God Answers, God knows what is going on…. He does not forget, he does not make mistakes and he does not neglect us… so why do we struggle for answers, or desperately look for signs that our prayers have been heard?

Remember that God is perfect in every way, so any communication breakdown or error in understanding is not on Him.. it’s probably on us.

Many people approach prayer as like they would a signal fire… a way to get God’s attention. We recite, we quote, we repeat, we follow the beads hoping they will focus God’s attention onto us.

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

The fact is we already have God’s attention – we are His children after all. He just can’t stop thinking about us and the life we are meant to live.

Psalm 139:17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

Psalm 40:5 O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

We know God answers prayers – we have seen it in the lives of others and even experienced in our own lives… yet we often feel separate from Him and Wonder if he is with us…

Remember that God is perfect in every way, so any communication breakdown or error in understanding is not on Him. it’s probably on us.

Eph 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

His power is not in question… it us the “us” part of this equation that requires some attention.

The philosopher Anshelm described God as“That which nothing greater can be thought” -  If you are afraid of some problem or other power that might interfere with Gods plans for you, (curses or witchcraft, etc ) then that problem or other thing is your God. If there is nothing in your heart or mind that can overcome God’s plans – God is your God.

To adjust your thoughts and discover how to tweak the “you” part of the equation to maximize the God’s power at work in your life, I suggest watching the linked video of Pastor Mel Mullen, the founder of  our  Word of Life movement… take some notes.  http://wordoflife.ca/reddeer/?p=2692

Prayerful Surrender – Beyond Pretty Words

Word of Life Church is starting 2012 with prayer…At our 22 service locations around the world, the next several weeks will be focused on prayer as part of the ‘All Surrendered’ series.  We are praying for you, so I encourage you to email us your prayer requests and we will pray each day for you and with you.

I recently studied up on prayer in the Bible, and I found many powerful prayers spoken by many different personalities in scripture. I have assembled them into a running prayer here for you to read. As you read, make it your own prayer, some of it may just be nice affirmations, but certain excerpts may be profoundly meaningful to you.

Be merciful to me, for I am a sinner

Help me to accomplish the purpose of my journey; make things turn out well in this task I’ve been given.

We have heard all about you, LORD, and we are filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. And in your anger, remember your mercy

Remember, O LORD, how we try to be faithful to you and do what is pleasing in your sight.

Oh, that you would bless us and extend our lands! Please be with us in all that we do, and keep us from all trouble and pain!

Prove today that you are God, O LORD, answer us, so people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you would bring them to yourself.

How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you – there is no other God. We have never even heard of another god like you

Now glory be to you oh God! By your mighty power at work within us, you are able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May you be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.

We ask you God to give us a complete understanding of what you want to do in our lives, and we ask you to make us wise with spiritual wisdom.

And now, all glory to you God, you are able to keep us from stumbling, and you will bring us into your glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy. All glory to you, who alone is God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to you, in the beginning, now, and forevermore. Amen

These verses come from a few different translations and some have been adapted into first person. Take it is a challenge to discover who prayed each prayer and under what circumstance… send us an email if you think you’ve got them all…

Prayer – All Surrendered

Communication is our most effective tool in life, all of our relationships owe a majority of their success or failure to it. When communication is done correctly we are understood and we understand, when done poorly, we will think we have expressed ourselves clearly, but we’ve imparted a completely different understanding, or perhaps no understanding at all..

Have you ever had one of those conversations where the other person keeps trying to finish your sentences? most often their presumption of what you are saying is different than the point you were trying to make… it’s very frustrating, and any significant communication is skewed.

Prayer is best described as conversational reflection and interaction with God… that probably includes a lot of listening, but to really get the point, you need to try not to finish God’s thoughts with your own… they are probably not the same, and the result will be poor communication which yields poor results when you try to act upon the understanding you gained through prayer..

I like to say my part of prayerful communication with my own words, God I presume feels the same way… great news, He has given us a book full of His own words… The listening part of our prayer experience might have something to do with that.. after all “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16,17

Finish Well

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone it would be “Finish Well”

As we eagerly await a new year with it’s new hopes and new promises, we can forget to conclude the affairs of our lives. Leaving things unfinished is perhaps worse than leaving them un-begun.

Take this week and consider… “what do I need to finish?”

Put an end to strife, relational trouble and unforgiveness… Conclude all that you can, be humble and repentant, consider your own ways and get out of any funk or rut you may be in.

Say “no more” to habits and patterns that damage your health and well being

Say “Yes” to Overcoming Evil with Good.

Finish the year well, leave nothing undone, so your New Year can actually be New!

Carol of the Drum

The Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas songs… it tells the story of how we all feel when we consider God’s perfection and face our own iniquity..

Come they told me – each one of us will have a “they” in our lives, telling us, calling us, provoking us not just to consider God, but to come encounter him for ourselves

A new born King to see - most of us see God as intimidating, powerful and un-accessible. But here is a new way to see God, revered, but accessible.

Our finest gifts we bring - the best we can offer is our most prized possession… most prefer to offer something a little less than that, because the thing we value the most is our own identity… are we willing to submit that as a gift to God?

To lay before the King -  as an infant, he cannot be impressed by our offerings, nor grant us favor or reward, it comes as a sincere acknowledgement of our love and acceptance that He worthy, He is King… He shall rule over my life, I have given him that.

So to honor Him – We sometimes lose clarity when we bring our gift, our selves, to the Lord. we must remember that our gift is a response to Him, we didn’t give first, He gave us salvation, our gift is simply the fitting response that honors His.

When we come – every knee will bow and every tongue confess… that is a fact, we will all come before Him. Either for his offer, His gift of salvation, or His judgement.

Little Baby – the most non threatening form of life that demands the most attention and affection

I am a poor boy too – we can identify with Christ.. his sufferings, betrayal and human experience enable us to see God as accessible, one who understands us.

I have no gift to bring – really, what do we have that would be of any value to God, we all are inadequite, even in our own eyes, what would, what could please Him?

That’s fit to give our King – a king is worthy of the best, not just your best, but the best.

Shall I play for you! – we are to approach God like a child, the art my kids offer me are far from Rembrandt quality, yet I proudly receive what they have to offer because my love for them transforms each of those images into masterpieces.

On my drum – when we don’t know what to give, we give what we have, a drum represents the heartbeat, our little life is all we can give.

Mary nodded – those who know Jesus can offer their approval of every life-gift presented in this way.

The ox and lamb kept time – all creation celebrates, it has been waiting for the “sons of

I played my drum for Him - Play your drum, your heart beat for Him

I played my best for Him – this is enough

Then He smiled at me

Me and my drum.

Christmas Concert

Bring your friends and family to Church this Sunday… the whole service will be one giant Christmas Concert..

Amazing Musicians and Choir will perform a broad array of powerful and inspiring Christmas songs.

 

What is Worship Anyway?

I have a secret love for “folk music”.. I am a story teller type of personality, and I love the story’s told in song… it seems like such a great way tell it..

I love the worship service in Church the same way, the songs all tell the story that changed my life 20 years ago, and keeps shaping and sustaining me to this day.

I know what I think of when I hear the word “worship, but what is “worship” anyway?

Many people believe that worship is an act of devotion; a behavior, attitude or action that is uncommon and dedicated as special reverence. Things like lighting candles, special foods, ritual bathing, walking on fire or other efforts that are not part of the normal routine of life. When we engage in such behaviors we feel like we are presenting God with something special, set apart and hopefully pleasing to Him.

Others feel that worship is not found in action, but in calm, meditative reflection. Focused consideration of God should overtake self, and when we empty ourselves of ourselves a perfect harmony with God should be the result.

And other people feel like worship should take the form of suffering or sacrifice. If it costs nothing it is of no value, and if it costs much, it is of great value. For some it is monetary donations, for others it is a more physical tangible like animal sacrifices, or on a personal level, fasting or even self mutilation.

Many Christians feel that worship is the singing part of the church service, the more experienced  conclude it is really the slow songs only… the fast ones are praise songs.

There are probably as many ideas of worship out there as there are people. But is there any true form of worship?

John 4:23,24 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

What does that mean you may ask?  The Message translation adds a little clarity

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

It seems that worship is not simply an act of devotion, a place or a sacrifice or even a song…  Worship is the kind of life we live, the kind of people we are, in public and in secret… Moments of devotion are eclipsed by the rest of our life.

Our life tells a story… our life sings a song..

Does the song of your life tell your own story, or does it tell God’s story?

I was in the Dubai airport last year during the Christmas season.  I was shocked to see the dedicated décor that celebrated in such a big way the whole concept of Christmas.

While the western world is pandering to non Christian sentiment and taking away the Christ from Christmas, the non Christian world is expressing Christmas as Christmas. There was no generic “happy holidays” here, it was clearly and distinctly Christmas.

As Christians, this is our season to shine… the rest of the world expects it and has even paved a road for us. They are awaiting our caroling, our church programs and our invitation to include them in our celebrations.

Today as I am writing this, I am watching my family assemble our Christmas tree and decorate our home. We live in a nation where Christians are a miniscule minority, and where hostility to our faith is a reality. But somehow our décor and our message are welcome at this season, like the world makes room for it, revering it, as though they accept the truth of Jesus, and honor its representation.

People on my side of the world don’t have Christmas traditions of Santa or other common imagery. They know it is about Christ. What they don’t know is “who” is Christ,. If they did, they would accept and follow Him, in fact if anyone really understood what and who Jesus was, there would be no conflict  or resistance.

Many of us who know Jesus, who have experienced the life changing, life saving revelation of WHO this Christ really is, have failed in how we express it to the world. The most common error in communication is “telling” in such a way that we understand what we have said, but not in such a way that others do.

Maybe it’s because we really don’t know enough about Him.

That’s why for the next 6 weeks at Word of Life Churches around the world we will be teaching, discussing and experiencing the “who” of Jesus in an inspirational and powerful way. As you connect with these messages, your Christmas lights and decorations will shine more brightly in your own eyes, and the people of your life will see it’s reflection in you, more clearly telling the Jesus story at the time when they are already most open to hear it with our words and lifestyle.

Some Facts About Jesus

John 21:25 offers the opinion that if all the things that Jesus did had been recorded, there would not be enough room in the world to hold the books.  That’s a lot of stuff…

Here are some basic facts about Jesus that will take only a few moments to read, but a life time to consider.

1. Jesus was a real person who actually lived in history.  The Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, devotes 20,000 words to the person of Jesus Christ and never once hints that He didn’t exist. Many Non-Christian references also mention Jesus:

• Tacitus, a Roman historian (55-120 A.D.): “Christus (Christ),… suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate.” (Annals 15:44)
• Josephus (38-97 A.D.) wrote, “Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die…. His disciples… reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive.”

2. We have reliable eyewitness testimony to Jesus’ life in the New
Testament documents. There are 8 writers who claimed to be either eyewitnesses or to have had contact with eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James and the writer of Hebrews. These men claim to have written carefully researched accounts of their testimony:

3. Jesus  himself claimed to be God. He said;

• To know Him was to know God (Jn 8:19)
• To see Him was to see God (Jn 14:9)
• To believe in Him was to believe in God (Jn 14:1)
• To receive Him was to receive God (Mt 10:40)
• To hate Him was to hate God (Jn 15:23)
• To honor Him was to honor God (Jn 5:23)

4. Jesus proved WHAT and WHO He was by rising from the dead. No other religious leader pulled that off. There are 4 facts that have forced even skeptics to accept that Jesus rose from the dead:

• Jesus was buried in a tomb—both His friends and His enemies knew where it was (Matt. 27:62-66)
• The tomb was found empty,  Matthew 28:11-15 tells is how Jesus’ enemies cooked up a story to try explain it.
• Jesus’ disciples and a lot of other people saw Him ALIVE after they had seen him killed and buried (1 Cor. 15:3-9).
• Jesus’ disciples believed that He had risen. So much so that they were willing to die for their belief. (Which is amazing when you consider that Peter had already proved he could crack under very little pressure—see Matthew 26:69-75)