Prayer: It's Right in Front of Us

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountain to pray, and spent the night praying to God (Luke 6:12).

How many nights have you spent praying to God? If you’ve spent even one, I salute you. I can count on one hand the nights I’ve spent in prayer by taking one finger and one thumb…to form a great big zero!

I’ve never spent an entire night praying, but the number of nights I’ve lain awake fretting are too numerous to count. Dark hours of anxious fear, heart heavy with sadness and worry…I’ll bet you have, too.

How was Jesus able to pray all night long? He had religious leaders dogging him. They hated him and wanted him dead. Multitudes of the curious and needy pressed him daily for signs and begged for favors. A large group of disciples followed him everywhere, hanging on his every word, but they rarely understood him. In their spiritual shortsightedness he was larger than life, and consequently smaller than the Heavenly King he really was.

At the end of “one of those days” in Jesus’ life he did what came naturally. He prayed. Luke 22:44 says of Jesus, “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” The Greek word for anguish tells us that Jesus knows what it’s like to be in dire straits, crushed between a rock and a hard place. He suffered every distress we can think of and some we can’t even imagine.

Like watching a bad movie, we lie awake at night playing and replaying our grievances, anxieties and worst fears.

Loving Heavenly Father, through Jesus who knows, forgive us for neglecting your precious gift of prayer, and thank you for the peaceful rest that’s ours because of your active presence in our lives. Amen.

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas

Modesty

I have been recently conflicted about a Bible verse. I discovered the bead stores in Stephenville when my daughter, Kim, said “Come make a necklace with me at the bead store”. I don’t have many creative bones in my body, but I was willing to try. We each made a necklace; Kim’s was very pretty.  Her comment about mine was, it was very “Mom-like”.  I have improved since that first effort and now I really enjoy “bead therapy”, making whimsical necklaces as gifts for friends and family.  Now for the conflict:

   

 1 Peter 3:3-4   NIV

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 

I was hoping the verse I remembered prohibiting “putting on of gold jewelry” was in the Old Testament and had been made irrelevant by the new law. No such luck.

Is Peter telling us we should not wear jewelry; we should not braid our hair?  I am of the generation that did not wear makeup, jewelry, or nice clothes.  In high school I was most comfortable wearing patched old blue jeans and plaid flannel shirts. I didn’t wear jewelry anyway, so it was never a concern or an issue. When Doug and I got married, we were youngsters in college with part-time jobs. We didn’t spend money on things like fine clothes or jewelry.  It was simple to comply with Peter’s guidance to let your “adorning be the …imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”. Now, I am older with more wrinkles and laugh lines. Jewelry is designed to attract attention and deflect notice from other areas.

Peter is not prohibiting wearing jewelry, braiding hair, and wearing fine clothes.  He is suggesting that women should not become obsessed with worldly things. Women should win their husbands to Christ with a gentle and quiet spirit, inner beauty. The current U.S. society is as obsessed with physical beauty as the ancient Greek society.  Too many girls are having cosmetic surgery to change their bodies and attract male attention.  The clothing I see young women and wives wear is much more provocative than it should be. The immodest clothing generally attracts the wrong type of attention, anyway. Women of faith should only consider the attention of men who look at a woman’s heart and character. It is important to keep in mind marriage is a life commitment and your values will be passed to your children. I recently heard a quote that fits this discussion, “Don’t marry a man unless you would be proud to have a son exactly like him”.

When we were first married, my husband pointed out a blouse I was wearing was too low cut.  I would never have thought so, but since that was his opinion, it made an impression on me.  From that time to the current, I always consider whether the clothing I wear is modest enough for my husband’s judgment before I leave the house.  

I have adopted a more unconventional style of dress, recently. The new style is a little out of character for an accountant. I like the flowing skirts, shawls, scarves and layers of comfortable, light fabrics because they are reminiscent of my youth, and fun to wear with my newly created bead necklaces. Dare to be different!

Dear God, Please continue to walk with me each day. Help me to be a woman of gentle and quiet spirit. I want to be a respectable example to young wives and women, pleasing to you, and to my husband.

Sherilyn Svien

Stephenville, Texas

Jesus Waits for our Invitation

Luke 24:13-29 tells the story of 2 disciples leaving Jerusalem 3 days after the crucifixion of Jesus. They are 7 miles outside of Jerusalem walking down the road to Emmaus discussing everything that has happened. They encounter a man on the road, who appears to have no knowledge of the events. They share everything they had witnessed.  Then this same man tells them that they are slow of heart to believe and shares every prophecy that was ever made regarding Jesus.  Soon after, they reach the village and the man acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us...”

If you know this story, you know the man was Jesus himself. The men were kept from recognizing him.  In this story, Jesus had risen from the grave earlier that day and yet he does not force himself on anyone. He lays out the truth before the men and keeps walking. He leaves them with a choice and this day they choose Him. They urge him to come to their home.

I recently read the book, “Tortured for Christ” by Richard Wurmbrand. He tells of preaching the good news of Jesus in communist countries. One story he told, not of torture, but of a man’s conversion touched my heart and made me think. The man’s name is Piotr (Peter) and he was 20 when he heard the story of Jesus. Piotr had grown up under communist rule. He had been told what to like, what to dislike, what to do and what to believe. There had been no choice in his first 20 years of life. Upon his conversion, he was asked what verse in the Bible most influenced him to come to Christ. He said, “Luke 24:28 because, as the two disciples drew near to the village, He[Jesus]indicated that He would have gone farther”. Piotr said, “ Jesus is polite. He wished to be very sure that He was desired. When He saw that He was welcomed, He gladly entered the house with them. In contrast, the communists are impolite. They enter by violence into our hearts and minds. They force us to listen to them from morning to late in the night. They do it with our schools, radio, newspapers, posters, movies and atheistic meetings with godless propaganda everywhere we turn. Jesus respects our freedom. He gently knocks at the door of our heart.”

After Piotrs’ conversion he repeatedly risked life and liberty to smuggle Christian literature in for the underground church. His brothers and sisters witnessed so much evil from Satan through communistic brainwashing and torture of their friends and family they vowed not to let Satan enter even 1% of their heart. They are completely devoted to Christ.  

In our neighborhoods, in America, with much freedom and the ability to worship without being arrested, we must not take this freedom for granted. There is a war between Jesus and Satan. Let’s join our persecuted brethren and stand up for Jesus, always.

Rev 3: 20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

Terry Smith
Stephenville, TX

Mother's Day in 3D

“  An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than jewels.
   The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
   She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.

   Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
   She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
   She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
   Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her” – Proverbs 31:10-12, 25-28

Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life
so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.  

--Selected