30 More Days Results

Thank you to all of you who stood with us in prayer during this past month.  We know that prayer is the source of our strength and that if anything supernatural and spiritual is to be accomplished it will only be through prayer and petition.  We pray that God would be moved by your prayers and ours for the people, places and things that were prayed for over the past month.  However, we covet your continuing prayers for us and for these requests.  

Jesus told His disciples to pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out labors.  If we are sick James told us to pray.  When Paul and Silas were wrongfully imprisoned they praised and prayed.  Paul prayed for open doors and words to preach the gospel.  The apostles and the church came together for a prayer meeting to ask for boldness to preach and miracles to proclaim Jesus.  Isaiah and Jeremiah prayed for the restoration of a nation.  Elijah prayed for people to know that God is the true God.  Elisha prayed for eyes to be open and shut.  Jesus told us to pray for our daily bread .... the list could go on.

One missionary put it this way... is the language hard, fast and pray.  Are the people unresponsive, fast and pray.  Are you sick or tired, fast and pray.  Are there lack of resources, fast and pray.  Are you hungry, fast and pray.  Fast and pray.

Not to us, not to us oh Lord but to You alone be the glory...

30 More Days Participation

Like last year we wanted to share with you the results of our month in prayer.

This year we saw similar participation to last year.  We had an average of about 6 visits per day.  That means that we had as few as 4 visits one day and as many as 15 visits on any one given day.  Like last year we also offered to send out a daily email with the contents of the blog.  We started out with 5 and expanded to 7 who followed the blog by email during the month.  Therefore we had a daily participation on average of 11-13 people though the blog and email.  There were also some that have participated through printed versions that were unable to through electronic means.  The following then are the totals for the 30 More Days.

Visits

Total 247

Average per day 6

This week 43

Last year the totals were

Total 345

Average per day 7

This week 51

Blog

These blogs will remain online and will be available for encouragement and as reminders of prayer in God's word.  Many of these requests are also ongoing and can continue to be prayed for over the weeks and months to come.   We hope that this time in the Word and prayer have been encouraging and profitable.

God bless and Under the Mercy

The Howards

30 More Days... Day 30

Jonah 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly.
Jonah 2:2 And he said:
“I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
‘Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
Jonah 2:3 For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
Jonah 2:4 Then I said, “I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
Jonah 2:8 “Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own Mercy.
Jonah 2:9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the LORD.”
Jonah 2:10  So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

So now. Let’s follow Jonah overboard! Jonah is in a mess of trouble. He has run away from God. He has caused a lot of trouble for others. He has found himself overboard in a storm that turned sailors green. He has landed inside a great fish.

A lot has been said about Jonah’s experience inside the fish. It has been suggested that there were worse things involved in his “accommodations” than just discomfort. Aside from likely being dark, cramped and smelly there were likely a host of other unpleasantries. Jonah would have been trapped in a, likely, tight space. With every move of the fish it is likely that he also experienced a new discomfort. The dark and the smell would have been the kind that, especially after a couple of days (more likely a couple of minutes or hours), would have been felt and oppressive. Some have suggested that perhaps the stomach juices of the fish would have burned and splashed as the fish moved and swam. This would have left sores, wounds and marks that scarred the prophet for the rest of his life. All of this, a tiny picture of the suffering and horror of hell.

It is a frightful picture and yet that is only the part in the fish. As we read his prayer we realize that his experience prior to getting swallowed was no picnic either. First he fought the waves and the storm. He was tossed around by it until he sunk beneath them. As he sunk into the deeps, the waters closed around him and the pressure increased. He experienced being tangled in the seaweeds as they wrapped around his head. He felt their rough stringy surface around him. He felt his life begin to leave him and only then did the horror of the fish come into view, gapping maw ready to swallow him.

Jonah makes the statement “ I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction...” Actually, it is, perhaps, a bit of an understatement. It is amazing that it took Jonah so long. He seems so unconcerned. He is apathetic. He is apathetic to others and he is even apathetic to himself. How much God has to put him through to wake him up! How much he has to go through just to cry out even for himself. The sailors cried out at the storm alone. They made vows to God quickly. Jonah waits. He suffers. He is unmoved. Only then does he call out. Only later does his heart change at all that he prays and promises to pay the vows that he has made. Only then does he look for salvation.

It is extremely ironic that in all of this Jonah becomes the “sign of the prophet Jonah” to Jesus’ unbelieving (wicked and adulterous) generation. It is ironic that what we see here in this part of Jonah’s life is a picture of Christ’s burial and resurrection. It is ironic that what the prophet suffers for himself out of disobedience is a picture of what Christ would suffer out of extreme obedience to the Father and not for himself but for us. The very thing that Christ tells the pharisees and religious leaders is the sign for them to believe is the very one that showed the hardness of the prophet’s own heart. The ones that listened to the sign of Jonah, the Ninevites, would be witnesses against those that refused Christ because they believed Jonah’s preaching while the Pharisees rejected Jesus.

Even in the prophet’s stubbornness and apathy we see amazing grace. There is grace for the prophet. There is grace for Nineveh. There is grace for a future generation if they will just believe. Though prophet is slow to pray, though he is loathe to preach, though he is apathetic to grace for himself and the need of grace by others, still he becomes a picture of ultimate grace. God ready to sacrifice His Own for the world of “strangers”. God ready to extend salvation to a sinful people.

How often are we like Jonah. How often our compassion sleeps and our prayers for others slow to pass our lips. Yet Jonah for all his lack of compassion and grace was an great picture of God’s compassion, grace and salvation. He was a picture of God’s great salvation. His prayer reverberates with what Christ would endure for us, for an unbelieving world. The pain of suffering. The rejection of the Father turning away - being out of His sight. The journey into “Sheol”. The pain of death. Only, then, to rise again a testimony of God’s call to faith and repentance, a witness of God’s grace, mercy and compassion.

Jonah prayed for himself. Jesus prayed for us. Jonah cried out in affliction brought on by his own disobedience. Jesus cried out for us, Father forgive them. Jonah saw the salvation of God and his preaching became the opportunity for the salvation of others. Jesus, rose and became our salvation.

Often as believers we can get focused on our lives. We pray about our needs. We react to our afflictions. That is good. Jonah was also right to call out to God. If at no other time at least he cried out in affliction to the God who saves. But, we contrast him with the sailors and we see unbelievers with greater concern, care and compassion than the prophet. We look at him and see thankfulness for the great grace given him, but apathy and a lack of willingness to see that grace passed on to others. We see him as a sign of the Messiah and yet an anti-type in him as well. He is apathetic about other and angry about the death of a plant. We see him forgiven much and yet not loving much. As we look at Jonah it is good for us to ask how much like Jonah can we be, are we? Are we apathetic or concerned, are we stubborn or gracious? What drives us to prayer?

Prayer Request
* Please take time today to pray for the world. Pray for Maribor. Pray for Slovenia. Pray for your city, town or village. Pray for America and the coming elections. Pray for your pastors and your church. Pray for someone that you know who doesn’t know Jesus. Pray how you can be a witness and testimony to them and the place where God has placed you.

30 More Days ... Day 29

Jonah 1:10  Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Jonah 1:11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
Jonah 1:12  And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
Jonah 1:13  Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
Jonah 1:14 Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You.”
Jonah 1:15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows.

Jonah and the big fishy. A disobedient prophet, a ship, a storm, a fish, a revival and the only preacher that I can think of that wasn’t thrilled that his preaching brought revival. We pretty much know the story well. Jonah receives word from God that he is to go to Nineveh. He is to go and cry out against it for all the wickedness of its people. He doesn’t like this assignment. He decides to go the opposite direction. As he runs from God he takes to the sea. This is a big mistake as God sends a storm. It is a big enough storm to “freak out” even the sailors. Jonah goes/throws overboard. He becomes fish food. He has a “lovely” underwater hotel (terrible view) for a few nights. He goes to Nineveh, preaches, the people repent and everyone is “happy” except, of course, Jonah who sulks and pouts about his dead weed lean-to.

That can be, of course, our attitude as we read it. This is the story. We know it so well. Can you believe this guy? Of course, there is a lot in there. This is God’s word after all. It is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. It’s dangerous to play with knives. However, they can be most useful as well.

Often as we read this story we focus on Jonah. After all that is who the story is about. Ok. Jonah runs. Now he is in the ship asleep. Now the captain finds him in the deepest part of the ship. Jonah, your lucky today... the lot falls to you (oops). Jonah what do we do with you now. Jonah, “throw me into the sea!” And, in our rush to follow Jonah overboard we miss something. At least, I missed it a long time. I just never thought about it. I was focused on Jonah. However, the author leaves the floundering Jonah just a second to give us an insight into sailors. The sailors dilemma. The sailors struggle. The sailors compassion. The sailors fear. The sailors prayer.

What’s that? Prayer! From pagan sailors?

As we read these few lines we still can get a pretty good picture of these sailors. They are in the middle of a storm. They are afraid for their lives. They realize that the cause of the storm is supernatural. They have determined that Jonah is the cause and Jonah is good enough to confirm this. When they ask him what to do so that the sea will be calm he tells them. And as we look at them I think most of us would be quick to say, “ok, off you go”. These men, on the other hand, try in the middle of all this to row back to land. They get to the oars and put their backs and efforts into trying to save Jonah. It is only when the sea and the tempest become even worse that they give up on that.

Then, before they are willing to throw Jonah into the sea, they still pray. They pray to God, who they don’t know. They pray asking for grace at what they are about to do. It is an act that they know and feel is wrong to the depths of their souls.

Jonah was a terrible witness of God’s greatness to these men. He was running. He was the cause of their suffering and danger. Any loss they incurred was his fault. It affected their livelihood and their ability to provide for their families. Basically, he was unconcerned what effect his actions would have on them. Yet, we see them showing concern for Jonah. We see them praying for forgiveness for “his innocent blood”. We see a compassion and a concern for Jonah’s life that he has shown to neither the people of Nineveh nor these sailors. He is caught up in himself.

The prayer of the sailors is simple. Please don’t take us down with him. Don’t let his sin affect us. They realize something that Jonah, at least, hasn’t shown any concern about. The fact that our actions affect others. Our sins have consequences that go beyond ourselves. So, they pray for mercy not to get caught in his wake.

Then they also ask not to be charged with killing Jonah. They have an understanding that we sometimes have lost. The importance of a life. Many times our attitude toward life is “kill it if it isn’t convenient”. If it gets in my ways and in the way of my plans then it is okay to terminate. They know that this is not the case and so they pray that they not be held accountable for Jonah’s life.

Finally, they pray acknowledging God’s will. God, it is undeniable that this is what you wanted to be done. We have tried everything else we know and it hasn’t helped. So they were in the end submitting to God’s will. This was something that Jonah had not yet done. Here they were submitting to God’s will and Jonah is still in defiance.

Jonah goes overboard. The sea becomes calm. It is a supernatural storm and has a supernatural ending. The sea goes calm! God suspends His judgment. He answers the prayer of the sailors. God has heard and answered them. He is ready and willing to save. He has shown Himself glorious to these men. And we see an amazing reaction. They fear the Lord. They are convinced of His power and justice. They are amazed by His righteousness. They offer a sacrifice to God. They make promises to Him. They bind themselves to Him.

It is amazing that the prayer of the unbeliever can be so powerful and effective. It is amazing that it can be so Godly and true and that their reaction can be so sincere when they see God’s actions and answers. They didn’t just pray and forget. It has moved them into a new relationship with God. God has used the situation to show His greatness and grace to His beloved creations and brought them to Himself. Jonah could have learned a thing or two from these men about prayer and about promises. He could have learned a thing or two about knowing and fearing God and care and concern for others. We can too.

Prayer Request
* Please pray that God would continue to work in Maribor to prepare hearts and minds for the gospel. Pray that the hard rocky ground would be made ready and prepared. Pray for God to remove the strongholds that keep people apathetic to and skeptical to God and a true relationship with Him Pray that God would build His church here.

30 More Days... Day 28

Jer. 32:16  “Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying:
Jer. 32:17 “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
Jer. 32:18 You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
Jer. 32:24  “Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!
Jer. 32:25 And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”
Jer. 32:26  Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
Jer. 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

When I was in high school there was a comedian named Arsenio Hall who did one of those late night TV shows. About the only thing interesting on the show was a segment that was called “Things That Make You Say ‘Hmm’”. In fact, I don’t remember anything more about it, nor can I say that I really watched it. I guess it is just evidence of the kinds of foolish, useless stuff we get loaded with if we aren’t careful. Anyway. This segment was based on things that people said or did or signs or other things that when you looked at them they didn’t see quite right. They were strange. They were funny. They were anything but logical. Therefore, they made you say “hmm”.

This is one of those “hmm” situations. Jeremiah has been prophesying “gloom and doom” for a while now. Specifically, he has been saying that God is going to hand the city of Jerusalem over to the king of Babylon and that it will fall to the siege. Of course, this is hugely unpopular prophesying ... especially to the King of Judah, and he has Jeremiah locked away for it. While Jeremiah is in prison, God tells him that his cousin will come and offer to sell him a field and that he should buy it. This is exactly what happens and Jeremiah surmises that this is all from the Lord so he buys the field.

After having bought the field and sealed away the deeds of ownership, after having obeyed what God had led him to do Jeremiah prays for understanding.

Jeremiah was saying “Hmm”. He does it in a very respectful way, but there is still no doubt that he is saying “Hmm”. God there is nothing too hard for you. You have brought your people out of Egypt. You brought them into the land as you promised. They have disobeyed and refused to follow You. Now you will turn them over to the king of Babylon. The city is turned over to the king of Babylon. So, what is with buying the field? It doesn’t seem like a very good investment in a time of national crisis and poverty when everything is scarce and expensive, and money could be needed for other uses.

An amazing thing has happened here. Jeremiah has obeyed God when it makes no sense at all. God has given Jeremiah insider information. Jeremiah has the “inside track”. The city will fall. The real estate market is about to burst...collapse. Foreign interests are about to take over and claims to land and heredity is likely not to be recognized for very long. But God has also given Jeremiah a tip. Buy! So Jeremiah does it.

How often I want everything to make sense! How often I want to be able to see the logical outcome of a course or action! How often I hold back or can hold back because things don’t add up. Jeremiah was in just this position. He obeyed before he knew why. He acted before God revealed everything to him.

God doesn’t always reveal the whole picture to us right away. He takes us step by step looking for us to be obedient to Him. This puts Jeremiah in stark contrast with most people of his day. They wanted to see. They challenged God’s prophesies and warnings. Here Jeremiah simply obeys because God said so. He doesn’t have to know everything. Just have the assurance that it is from the Lord.

His prayer reflects his faith and at the same time his lack of understand. God there is nothing to hard for you, but this city is given over to Babylon. Both are true but I can’t make them fit together.

God answers Jeremiah. You have said it exactly Jeremiah! There is nothing to hard for me. You are right and that is all the answer. Yes I will give the city away. The real estate market will crash. Foreign interests will take over. However, that is not the end of the story. I will also bring Israel back to this land. I will establish them in it and give it to them. Jeremiah, because of his faith had secured for his heredity an inheritance in the land. It was a testimony, not only of God’s intention for the restoration of the people of Israel, but also of God’s blessing to those that in faith obeyed Him with a sincere heart.

Prayer Request
* Pray for the coming month. There will be many things happening. The University semester will start and with it new opportunities for our Student Bible Study, and prayerfully, opportunities for new outreach. Olya is planning on starting a mommy’s english group. Christian’s B-day will bring opportunities to see friends and invite people. We will probably have a couple of game nights. We will host Amy Hill and she will visit and help us during her “round the world ministry trip”. There will also be a host of other things as well. Pray for the activities and for us to make good use of those opportunities.

30 More Days... Day 28

Jer. 32:16  “Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying:
Jer. 32:17 “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
Jer. 32:18 You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
Jer. 32:24  “Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!
Jer. 32:25 And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”
Jer. 32:26  Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
Jer. 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

When I was in high school there was a comedian named Arsenio Hall who did one of those late night TV shows. About the only thing interesting on the show was a segment that was called “Things That Make You Say ‘Hmm’”. In fact, I don’t remember anything more about it, nor can I say that I really watched it. I guess it is just evidence of the kinds of foolish, useless stuff we get loaded with if we aren’t careful. Anyway. This segment was based on things that people said or did or signs or other things that when you looked at them they didn’t see quite right. They were strange. They were funny. They were anything but logical. Therefore, they made you say “hmm”.

This is one of those “hmm” situations. Jeremiah has been prophesying “gloom and doom” for a while now. Specifically, he has been saying that God is going to hand the city of Jerusalem over to the king of Babylon and that it will fall to the siege. Of course, this is hugely unpopular prophesying ... especially to the King of Judah, and he has Jeremiah locked away for it. While Jeremiah is in prison, God tells him that his cousin will come and offer to sell him a field and that he should buy it. This is exactly what happens and Jeremiah surmises that this is all from the Lord so he buys the field.

After having bought the field and sealed away the deeds of ownership, after having obeyed what God had led him to do Jeremiah prays for understanding.

Jeremiah was saying “Hmm”. He does it in a very respectful way, but there is still no doubt that he is saying “Hmm”. God there is nothing too hard for you. You have brought your people out of Egypt. You brought them into the land as you promised. They have disobeyed and refused to follow You. Now you will turn them over to the king of Babylon. The city is turned over to the king of Babylon. So, what is with buying the field? It doesn’t seem like a very good investment in a time of national crisis and poverty when everything is scarce and expensive, and money could be needed for other uses.

An amazing thing has happened here. Jeremiah has obeyed God when it makes no sense at all. God has given Jeremiah insider information. Jeremiah has the “inside track”. The city will fall. The real estate market is about to burst...collapse. Foreign interests are about to take over and claims to land and heredity is likely not to be recognized for very long. But God has also given Jeremiah a tip. Buy! So Jeremiah does it.

How often I want everything to make sense! How often I want to be able to see the logical outcome of a course or action! How often I hold back or can hold back because things don’t add up. Jeremiah was in just this position. He obeyed before he knew why. He acted before God revealed everything to him.

God doesn’t always reveal the whole picture to us right away. He takes us step by step looking for us to be obedient to Him. This puts Jeremiah in stark contrast with most people of his day. They wanted to see. They challenged God’s prophesies and warnings. Here Jeremiah simply obeys because God said so. He doesn’t have to know everything. Just have the assurance that it is from the Lord.

His prayer reflects his faith and at the same time his lack of understand. God there is nothing to hard for you, but this city is given over to Babylon. Both are true but I can’t make them fit together.

God answers Jeremiah. You have said it exactly Jeremiah! There is nothing to hard for me. You are right and that is all the answer. Yes I will give the city away. The real estate market will crash. Foreign interests will take over. However, that is not the end of the story. I will also bring Israel back to this land. I will establish them in it and give it to them. Jeremiah, because of his faith had secured for his heredity an inheritance in the land. It was a testimony, not only of God’s intention for the restoration of the people of Israel, but also of God’s blessing to those that in faith obeyed Him with a sincere heart.

Prayer Request
* Pray for the coming month. There will be many things happening. The University semester will start and with it new opportunities for our Student Bible Study, and prayerfully, opportunities for new outreach. Olya is planning on starting a mommy’s english group. Christian’s B-day will bring opportunities to see friends and invite people. We will probably have a couple of game nights. We will host Amy Hill and she will visit and help us during her “round the world ministry trip”. There will also be a host of other things as well. Pray for the activities and for us to make good use of those opportunities.

30 More Days... Day 27

Jer. 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.
Jer. 17:15 Indeed they say to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come now!”
Jer. 17:16 As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
Jer. 17:17 Do not be a terror to me;
You are my hope in the day of doom.
Jer. 17:18 Let them be ashamed who persecute me,
But do not let me be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed,
But do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of doom,
And destroy them with double destruction!

Have you ever had to be the bearer of bad news? You see it on the TV shows... the doctor coming out of the operating room to the family that hopes for the best and fears the worst. Or there are relationships... you are the friend that carries the dreaded “Dear John” message to rejected. The messenger that brings word of catastrophe or trouble.

This was Jeremiah. That was his job. That is what God had called him to do.

This was, kind of, the lot of a prophet. It wasn’t always bad news. Sometimes it was very good news. Sometimes the messages that came were very positive and promising. Yet, Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet and it is not hard by that to guess what kind of news he most often had to deliver. It was news of God’s judgement. It was news, as we saw yesterday, of God’s refusal to listen anymore to this people. It was news that Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians. It was not popular and no wonder. It was not the sort of thing that people wanted to hear. And as happens so often in these cases the messenger becomes the object of anger and ridicule, suffering and injustice.

Shakespeare expressed the idea of shooting the messenger in a couple of his plays. It was the tendency of people bearing bad news to get into trouble for the task given to them. It is such a common idea that it has become a set phrase in our language.

This was the position that Jeremiah finds himself in. He is a messenger. He brings the word of the Lord to the people. And lately what God has had to say has been mostly bad news. At the very least it has not been what the people have wanted to hear. For God’s word is almost always full of promise, but also calls on us to turn from our wrong ways and desires to do what is right. A lot of times people don’t want to hear about that part. Jeremiah has been faithful to bear these messages to the people, but he has also experienced the negative responses to those messages. He is an easy target. You can’t exactly argue with God, but Jeremiah is a good scapegoat for the anger and unease of the people. They label him a troublemaker. He disturbs the peace and incites unrest. At least that is the way they see it.

It is not so different today. People that stand for truth and goodness are often labeled in this way. How many pastors lately have been labeled as “agents of intolerance” simply for preaching the Word of God. How many Christian have been labeled as prejudiced for holding to their beliefs in God’s word. When people don’t like the message they tend to attack the messenger. It is an attempt to bully into silence. It is an attempt to sterilize from one’s life all that they don’t like or wish to accept.

As Jeremiah has stood up and delivered God’s word to the people, he has come under such fire. So he cries out to God. He asks for defense. He asks for deliverance.

As Jeremiah prays he recognizes that he has been hurt. He has suffered damage and fear at the hands of the people. He prays for healing and knows that God can heal. He prays for salvation, knowing that God can save. He has suffered the skepticism of the people. They question his words. Not all that he has said has yet come to pass. While this is good for them, still they mock and challenge. They approach him with disbelief. “Let it come”, they say challenging the veracity of his message. It doesn’t sound so far away from what we see in the world today either.

Jeremiah knows that God’s grace and patience is all that holds back His word from coming to pass. So he prays. He has not spoken his own words or his own opinions. He has been faithful to speak only what God has commanded. He has not been vengeful, nor does he seek vengeance on the people. He speaks not out so much out of anger as he does out of concern (not to mention command). But, he certainly does not “have it in” for this people. His conscience is clear that he has done what is right and has been faithful neither speaking from himself, nor failing to speak what he must.

Having done this he can now ask God to be his help, his protection. He asks God that they not be able to “shoot the messenger”. God is his only possible refuge. So he cries out asking God then just to be faithful to His word. It is for more than his life or protection that Jeremiah is pleading. He is asking God to fulfill His word so that the people may learn and understand the truth. They have held to the errors of their “fathers” believing them rather than God. They follow human ideas, philosophies and logic. Now may they see that God’s truth is above that.

It is the tendency of the world to mock. It looks for any excuse not to believe that what God says is true and best. Yet God says that He will confound the wisdom of the world with foolishness and the strength of the world with weakness. We have a responsibility to speak the truth in love and leave the rest to God. That is what God has called His people to do.

It is hard to Jeremiah to stand in the face of such opposition and disbelief. He has not sought this position or calling. God has placed it on him. But, rather than failing to speak and warn he stands firm. Even when it seems useless he continues to warn the people. So when the times get tough he also cries out to God for strength and deliverance.

Jer. 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.

Prayer Request
*Pray for Tamara. She has gone through a lot in the past years and has lost so much. She finds herself alone and often going without. But various believers have been able to find ways to help her. She is from a Russian background and so there has been a way for us connect with and help her as well. She has been attending the Baptist group and received a lot of help from them as well. Pray for her understanding of the gospel and for provision for her needs.

30 More Days... Day 26

Jer. 7:16  “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.

Jer. 11:11  Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.
Jer. 11:12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
Jer. 11:14  “So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.

Jer. 14:10  Thus says the LORD to this people:
“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the LORD does not accept them;
He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.”
Jer. 14:11  Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good.
Jer. 14:12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

It has been interesting how our days have come together. It has been interesting that the topics often seem to fall in order. Yesterday we looked at the praying of prayers over and over and how even in fall after fall, rebellion after rebellion God listens. He waits. He warns. He calls us back. He gives forgiveness after forgiveness and chance after chance. When we come to Him in repentance. When we come to Him openly and honestly He judges fairly but also with compassion. Yet we said that His mercy cannot be an excuse for us to increase evil that grace might abound. God calls us to repentance.

Now it is kind of hard to look at the content of these prayers... because there is none. What is not said in prayer is more significant. It is something that we see people fear at various times throughout the Bible...

In these 3 chapters we see it 4 different times. Jeremiah...

“So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.”

Those are perhaps some of the most frighting words that we have yet looked at. Those are perhaps some of the most frightening words we could hear. That God is finished listening to prayer. That trouble is more of less all that is left and there will be no help from prayer in it.

Yet it seems to go against what we talked about last time. How is it that God would not hear? How is it that God, whose name is “Our Redeemer from Everlasting”, could fail to hear, listen and redeem?

We get some insight into this terrible state in these chapters and also in Chapter 15. In chapter 7 we see God calling to the people to amend their ways. He calls them to do what is right. But the people are breaking the law and worshipping other gods and then coming into the temple as well, when and how it suits them. God has warned and they have not listened. They worship the queen of heaven. Then 4 chapters later again we see God speak this way again. Again he calls them back. He reminds them of the covenant He made with them and warns again. However, they have a god for each city and an altar for each Jerusalem street. Then again in chapter 14 the downward spiral has continued and God again speaks to Jeremiah not to pray for these people.

They have not at all repented. They carry a form of godliness in the temple and sacrifice but they are far from God. God says enough. In chapter 15 we find that God has reached the end of His patience. It has taken Him a long time to get there but it has come. God now says

Jer. 15:6 You have forsaken Me,” says the LORD,
“You have gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am weary of relenting!

He has been here so many times. Now there is no more time left. They have pushed and pushed. Even grace has its limits. But there is something that we need to notice. We see the reason that God is doing this.

Jer. 15:4 I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

And here is what we need to understand. Manasseh was a wicked king. Arguably, the most wicked Judah had ever known. He reigned a long time and did a lot of awful things. He supported idolatry and practiced sorcery. He set up altars and defiled the temple. However, God finally gave him over to his enemies. He was dragged off into captivity and in his captivity he repented. He cried out to God. God heard him and returned him to Judah as king! After this Manasseh instituted all kinds of reforms. He was a good king and followed God the rest of the days of his life. He tore down idols and altars and brought back proper temple worship. God was gracious to him. While he was alive Judah also reformed. Yet Israel is to be punished for the sins of Manasseh! How could Israel suffer for these sins when God had extended mercy to and forgiven Manasseh? Because, while the man had repented the people had continued in his sins and their influence. The man was forgiven and lived in repentance. The people only reformed for the time of Manasseh’s final years and then after his death they turned back to all his old ways.

God is great in mercy. He is abounding in love. But we can take his grace for granted. People ask, “how could a loving God send people to hell?” The answer is, of course, that He doesn’t. People in failing to obey bring such punishment on themselves. They receive the wages of sin, which is death. They get what they have earned by their own works. We can also fall into this. But, God is forgiving. That is right! He is very forgiving. The incredible thing is that God has been willing to hold out His hands “all day long” to a stubborn and obstinate people. Grace. Mercy. Compassion. They all have their limits. We don’t know exactly what those limits are, but it is important for us to know that they exist. There is a time that such a point can be reached. Don’t pray for them. I won’t listen. It is an awful place to be. God is patient “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. The Psalmist says, blessed is the man whose sin is forgiven and whose iniquity will not be held against him. This our God. Yet, God warns us not to harden our hearts, because there comes a time when He might refuse to listen.

Prayer Request
* Please pray for the training this weekend taking place for the Crisis Pregnancy Center. Pray for Sylvia who will be teaching this seminar for the first time. Pray for those attending that they would absorb the information and be equipped to use it in the lives of those know and meet and in volunteering at the center. Pray that all who wanted to attend would be able to come and would make the final effort to be there this weekend. Pray for Olya and I as we speak with others about our involvement and role in the center from Maribor (the center will initially be only in Ljubljana)

30 More Days... Day 25

Is. 63:7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD
And the praises of the LORD,
According to all that the LORD has bestowed on us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies,
According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.
Is. 63:8 For He said, “Surely they are My people,
Children who will not lie.”
So He became their Savior.
Is. 63:9 In all their affliction He was afflicted,
And the Angel of His Presence saved them;
In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And He bore them and carried them
All the days of old.
Is. 63:10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;
So He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
And He fought against them.
Is. 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old,
Moses and his people

Is. 64:5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.
Is. 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
Is. 64:7 And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have consumed us because of our iniquities.
Is. 64:8 But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
Is. 64:9 Do not be furious, O LORD,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!

Neh. 9:16 “But they and our fathers acted proudly,
Hardened their necks,
And did not heed Your commandments.
Neh. 9:17 They refused to obey,
And they were not mindful of Your wonders
That You did among them.
But they hardened their necks,
And in their rebellion
They appointed a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.

When you have a chance go back and glimpse through Isaiah 63:7-64:12 and Nehemiah 9.
It is these prayers which bring some confusion and great comfort. I read them and in so many ways they are similar. The people praying to God. They recognize His holiness, power, love, kindness, worth, goodness, mercy, grace, compassion, protection, guidance, revelation, provision, blessing, miracles, sovereignty and etc... They go back to their history. They go back and remember God’s acts on their behalf. They remember how God called Abraham. They remember Egypt and God’s mighty hand. They remember Sinai and the law. They are full of praise and remembrance. Yet they are coming at a time of moral low. They are coming when they have been sinful. They come, often, when they have been punished and then God punishes but even in that punishment is gracious. We hear their prayers and see their words. They show up often. They show up too often. It becomes repetitious and starts to sound empty. What more can be said about such prayers? We have seen them before. We have dealt with their content and ideas. We know them.

They are our prayers too. How often do our prayers look like this? How often do our prayers sound the same. We recognize all that the holiness and greatness of God entails. We remember His past mercies. We prevail on Him for the present asking for similar mercies. How many times?

How often have you prayed and felt that your prayers sounded empty. It was not that they weren’t sincere. It was not a formula. There is honesty and fear in those prayers. There is a desire to do better, to do what is right, to please God. There is a desire to live according to God’s design and desire. It is just that we find ourselves in that same place again. God we are here praying. We are here praising. We are here asking for forgiveness. We are here asking for mercy. We know we don’t deserve it. And after praying and praying. After petition followed by petition to God we wonder why He bothers with us. Why is His mercy is poured out again? Doesn’t it sound empty? Doesn’t it sound vain? We see these prayers over and over and we pray such prayers over and over.

It is confusing. Why should God hear us? Why should He listen and be attentive to such prayers when we have proven ourselves anything but faithful over and over again. It gets depressing and the weight of our sin and rebellion weigh on us. It doesn’t make sense. Yet, it does.

It is comforting to know that God is looking for us to return to Him. Fall after fall, sin after sin, God is waiting for us to cry out to Him. It is not that He looks lightly on our prayers, our words, our actions or our sins. It is that He loves us. He is full of grace, abounding in love, ready to bless, ready to forgive, ready to stand by those that call on Him.

They appointed a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.

Is. 63:15 Look down from heaven,
And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious.
Where are Your zeal and Your strength,
The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me?
Are they restrained?
Is. 63:16 Doubtless You are our Father,
Though Abraham was ignorant of us,
And Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, O LORD, are our Father;
Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.

They could say these things with confidence. Even though they didn’t deserve it, this is God’s character. Slow to anger. Abounding in love. Ready to forgive and redeem. “Redeemer from Everlasting” is Your name! It is not a matter of how many times, but that we come to Him. We are not trying to frustrate His grace... take advantage of it. It is not an excuse to sin so that “grace may abound”. It is not that we should not strive to “be holy as He is holy”. It is not a matter of making promises only then to break them. We need to keep our promises. We need to wrestle, to “bring [our body] under subjection”. But also we need to remember, as Solomon prayed in dedicating the temple...

“When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin)...”

that we can cry out to God and He will judge in justice and mercy, compassion and truth. Our biggest mistake would be not to entreat Him. Our greatest failure not to look to Him and repent before Him. So they come bring prayer of confession and contrition. They come remembering who God is and calling out to Him. They come before Him honestly, openly. We see once more the incredible grace of God. If there were any temptation to think that we could somehow obtain by ritual and religion what only the grace of God can provide it should be quashed here. If there were ever a temptation to parade some “good works” before Him we can see they are “filthy rags”. It is when we come to this point that it becomes easier to then admit

We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.

Prayer Request
*Please pray for Robbie, Svetlana and David and also for Igor and Katya (plus one on the way). They are Slovene/Russian couples that we have met and gotten to know a little bit. They are kind of special to us and we identify well with them. Please pray that we would be able to be an encouragement, help and witness to them. Pray that they would be softened to the gospel. Pray for Katya as she is due in another month or so for safe delivery and healthy baby.

30 More Days... Day 24

Is. 33:1 Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
When you cease plundering,
You will be plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
Is. 33:2 O LORD, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
Is. 33:3 At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered...

Is. 37:14  And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
Is. 37:15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying:
Is. 37:16 “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
Is. 37:17 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
Is. 37:18 Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands,
Is. 37:19 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
Is. 37:20 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone.”
Is. 37:21  Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me...

There is not one of us that doesn’t see times of distress in our lives. We have all had to weather various storms. There is not one of us that hasn’t been at one point or another in our lives treated unfairly. We have seen injustice. We have been attacked without provocation. We have had mean and hurtful words spoken to and against us. We feel those times deeply. We dread them and remember them with dread.

How did we get through those times? How did we weather the storm? When attacked did we counter-attack? When wronged did we repay? When schemed against did we counter-scheme? In what do we place our faith in times of hurt, heartache, attack and trouble? Are we ready to revenge ourselves? Are we going to fight or flee? Those may seem like the only 2 options. In fact, it is so against our nature to sit still and pray. It is so against our nature to “wait” upon the Lord. We have to do something. You can’t just sit. “God helps those who help themselves (this is not found in the Bible).”

In fact, we often see that it is when the people are most helpless, that God rises up in power. When the injustice seems unbearable, then we see God move. In Isaiah chapters 33 & 37 we see the people of Israel in distress. Nations have come against them. They have been threatened. They have seen injustice and experienced threats. While they still have their cities and their weapons, they are also faced with a superior force. All of their fight and all of their preparation still look like nothing compared to the odds against them. They pray.

It is important that we wait upon the Lord. We have seen that over and over again throughout these past days together. It is important that we rely on Him in prayer. Time after time, story after story, people and nations, tribes and armies have been brought to the end of themselves and cried out to the Lord and He has heard and answered.

What is most interesting to me here is not the need to cry out or that they did ... of course they should ... it is God’s timing that is interesting.

It is in these times of distress that we often have the most trouble with God’s timing. We remember King Saul when faced with a Philistine army, his own army frightened and fleeing and a prophet Samuel who was late to arrive. Saul offers the sacrifice that was not his to offer in a human attempt to hold the army together. God rebukes him for his presumption. There are many times when God seems slow in responding. He seems slow in keeping His promises. The people of Israel in slavery for 400 years. Throughout the Psalms we see phrase like “how long”. Habakkuk echos such cries when he sees the injustice around him. God where are you.

Yet, here we see two instances of people crying out to God. They wait upon Him. Everything is looking bleak. How can they survive. If God doesn’t act, that will be all.

God knows the hearts of men. There are reasons for Him waiting. He is mighty to save and He does save, but sometimes it seems long in coming. He does it so that when He does rise up that there is no pride left for the honest person to hold onto. He does it so that His name will be magnified.

We have this bad habit of thinking that God should answer us on our terms and timetable. That we know what is best. At least what is best for us. Hezekiah prays and his prayer, as we read it, seems more (if not at least as) concerned with God’s glory and Him being shown to be the gracious and glorious God that He truly is. In Chapter 33 the prayer is consists of more about proclaiming who God is than it is about asking Him to be gracious. Often people are concerned most with what is best for them. God is concerned with more than that. He is looking not only for what is best for us but what is best for all around. He is concerned with what shows that He is God in heaven and we are just on earth. That He is infinite and we are finite.

Christian is at that age when he is able to do things. He is learning about safety. How he should act in a parking lot. How he should ride his bike. How he should cross the road. He is learning well. There are those times though, that he thinks he knows better. There are times when he wants to be more independent than he should be at this age. Mommy and Daddy really do know better, but he thinks he knows something as well. It can bring about a conflict of words (often) and (sometimes) actions. He doesn’t want to and doesn’t understand why he has to wait on us. It is not so different with us and God.

So there are times that God puts us in situations that place us in a position where he can teach us and help us to understand His glory and goodness, his wisdom and understanding. Sometimes He is just waiting for us to get to the place where we finally call on Him and recognize Him for who He is. Sometimes He is waiting for us to seek first that His name be hallowed. When we do He is ready to answer, to shake the mountains and to extend His mighty arm.

Prayer Request
*Pray for us as we bring up Christian and Julia. We ask for wisdom, strength and ability from God to bring them up in a manner that is pleasing to and honors God. Pray for us as we make decisions concerning their education and development. Pray especially for Olya. Pray for them as they grow up in multiple cultures and languages to find ways to thrive in them.

30 More Days... Day 23

Neh. 1:3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
Neh. 1:4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Neh. 1:5 And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,
Neh. 1:6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.
Neh. 1:7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
Neh. 1:8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;
Neh. 1:9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’
Neh. 1:10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
Neh. 1:11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.
Neh. 2:1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.
Neh. 2:2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid,
Neh. 2:3 and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
Neh. 2:4 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Ezra and Nehemiah, they kind of go together. They worked together and lived as contemporaries. They had a common goal and a common heart in so many ways. In fact, some just sandwich the two books into one.

Nehemiah, we find, was the king’s cupbearer. He was a person who potentially had the ear of the king. He had a relationship with the king, yet it was one that he couldn’t and wouldn’t count on. So when news comes from Judah and Jerusalem about the state of the city and the temple Nehemiah couldn’t help but be sorrowful.

The news that came to Nehemiah was the type that confirmed his worst fears. The news was the kind that was a sign to all of Israel and Judah that God’s patience with and grace toward them had been stretched to the limit. If the temple stood, then in the Jewish mind (right or wrong), that meant that He was still with them and that they had His favor..at least some. The temple for them was a sign that God was with them. Even though they didn’t worship as they should, even though they disobeyed God and failed to keep the law, if the temple was standing there was still a measure of reassurance and security that God was accessible and favorably disposed to them. But news comes that Jerusalem is in ruins and the temple is desolate, defiled and broken down. Nehemiah knows that what God had promised had finally come to pass. If Jerusalem and the temple were still in ruins for all to see and it was a testimony to the Jews and all the surrounding nations of the depth of Israel’s sin and rebellion.

Nehemiah prays. He praises. He petitions. He confesses. He intercedes. He remembers God’s warnings. He reminds God of His promises. He asks God to hear his prayers and the prayers of others who desired to fear the Lord. He knows that he might have an opportunity to speak to the king. He might be able to bring this situation before one who had power to do something about it. However, he knows also that he dare not trust his position. He doesn’t dare trust that he, himself, will be able to prevail on the king by some power, strength or eloquence of his own. He knows that God must move the heart of the king. He had every intention of bring this before the king and make petition of him, but God would have to bring the merciful favor of the monarch. Kingdoms had been God’s instrument of judgment and so they could also be His instruments of favor. Still the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord (Proverbs 21:1).

In chapter 2 we notice that 4 months have passed from the time that Nehemiah hears about Jerusalem to the time that he appears before the king and has his an answer to prayer. So often we can miss this waiting period that can exist. We see the prayers of people asked and answered. So often they seem to get immediate answers. Gideon got his over 2 nights. Elijah and Hezekiah got their requests within minutes and seconds of their requests. Abraham’s servant experiences God beginning to answer before he finishes speaking. Here, from chapter 1 to chapter 2 represents a period of 4 months. Nehemiah hasn’t prayed and forgotten. He has prayed and waited in faith for God to provide. But 4 months is a long time to mourn and be in sadness of heart even though it is just the “turn of a page” from prayer to answer when we read about it. We forget just how long it probably seemed to him.

Now he stands before the king and the king notices that he is sad. The king knows Nehemiah well enough that he knows something is wrong and he shows concern. Nehemiah’s sorrow has been strong enough to show up physically in his appearance. Again this is kind of amazing. A king that has the burden and weight of ruling an empire. A king that has demands from every sector. A king whose time is highly prized and demanded. This king notices Nehemiah and that he is sad. Not only that but he recognizes that it is a sadness of the heart... not just a bad day, not sickness. He takes notice and speaks of it to Nehemiah when he might have ignored and passed over it as king and master of all the realm.

Now, we would think that Nehemiah would be pleased. Now, finally, he had opportunity to speak and request. But we see that he is actually dreadful and fearful. The answering of our prayers doesn’t always bring about great peace or comfort. It was a frighting thing to speak of personal matters to a king. What would he say? How would he react? Would he extend favor? It was hard. Now he must speak. Now he must ask a favor of a king. It was a serious thing and he was afraid. He could have wavered in his faith and purpose. He could have failed to speak when the opportunity arose. He probably took a deep breath, perhaps suffered a moment of indecision and wondered if he should really speak his heart. As he begins to speak he again prays even as he speaks to the king.

How often does God bring us to the place of answering our prayers but we fail to take courage and go forward in faith. How often do we turn and go the other way out of fear or doubt? How often do we stay silent when we need to speak, stay still when we need to move?

The king is favorable. He says yes. But he also has some tough questions for Nehemiah. How long? What do you need? Nehemiah is prepared. He has thought and prayed about this moment. It wasn’t just a “blank check” situation. The king would want to know what this would entail and would he be willing to provide the time, resources and labor to accomplish this request. Nehemiah is ready to give details and specifics about what is required and he has a plan to move forward. It is not just a general request. He has thought about the specifics and he is ready with an answer for the king.

So often we can get so focused on the request that when the answer comes we can find ourselves in a place where we find ourselves caught by surprise. We don’t know. We haven’t prayed about it and thought it through. Perhaps that is part of the prayer of faith. Not just making the petition but also seeking God for His plan, the steps and the details. Certainly God doesn’t always give us all the details and certainly there are things that we don’t know and can’t foresee, but it is good for us to consider the future. It is good for us to be wise, and yet not let our designs get in the way of God’s work.

Prayer Request
*We have a number of acquaintances with people that we have met, yet don’t know them well or have a lot of contact with them. There are people like Bojana and family, Joze, Dani, Natasha, Mateja, Boris and others. Please pray that God would give us the opportunity to get to know them better and open doors to share the gospel with them.

30 More Days... Day 22

Ezra 9:3 So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.
Ezra 9:4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
Ezra 9:5  At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.
Ezra 9:6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
Ezra 9:8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.
Ezra 9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,
Ezra 9:11 which You commanded by Your servants the prophets...
Ezra 9:13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this...
Ezra 9:15 O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”
Ezra 10:1 Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.

There are things that when we hear about can cause a variety of reactions in us and among people. For example, when I was in studying at the University. It was election time and the first George Bush was running against Bill Clinton. It was a tight and hotly contested race but in the end Bill Clinton became President. I was on campus the morning after the election and one of my first classes that day was in the Humanities department. I believe the class was American Literature - though not quite what I had expected. It was American immigrant literature and most of it, quite frankly (in my honest opinion), was not terribly good. The mood on campus was pretty dark. There had been a lot of Republican supporters among the students and teachers. Most students were in a kind of stupor. A lot of the teachers were quick to grumble. Then there were the Humanities teachers. They were bright and cheerful. They were exuberant. Finally after 12 years there is another Democrat in the White House. On one side they sang a victory song, on the other a funeral dirge. Very different reactions.

Reactions though don’t have to be completely opposite to show the differences in emotion to an idea, event or action. For example, when was the last time that you (or I) fell on your face or tore your clothes, or pulled out some hair or trembled or fasted because of sin. When was the last time that we expressed shame and humiliation for our actions or the actions of our people before God.

I know, for myself, that I often comfort myself with the idea that these types of displays of sadness, contrition and so on were common and expected in that day and time. For us, in today’s culture, society and our understandings of acceptable behavior, we know that such displays would be looked upon as strange and excessive. We have a different way of expressing ourselves. We have a different way of expressing grief. We tend to be more reserved, less expressive. At least that is probably what we tend to think.

But, all cultural differences aside when was the last time we really felt bad, expressed grief and poured ourselves out before God. Don’t we tend to live in the comfort of grace? Don’t we tend to lean more on that and feel less remorse and less sorrow for the wrong that we do?

In Ezra’s day I don’t think it was all that different despite the cultural and social differences. They had gotten used to living the way that they did. They had become hardened to the lifestyles they saw around them. They had justified their sins and the sins of others. It didn’t really bother them all that much. It didn’t bother them as much as it should. Well, at least not until Ezra came on the scene.

I wonder if there weren’t some (and it seems that there were) that thought “Ezra, aren’t you over-reacting just a bit?” I wonder if there weren’t those that believed that and hated the things that were being done in contravention to the law of God, yet their reaction was far from that of sorrow or repentance. It was a shame. It was wrong. It was someone else doing these things, but that doesn’t concern me. If they want to do that and live that way ... well they have to answer before God.

This is not what we see in Ezra. He hears and sees and it really bothers him. He takes deeply to heart the sins and rebellion of the people. He sees it has not just affected “those sinners” but the whole nation has been displaced and ruined. He bears his own responsibility in the sins of his people, he does not push them off. He is brought to a place of mourning. He is brought to a place of grief and his inward and outward reaction testifies to that sorrow and repentance. How often do we do this? How often are we affected like this?

It is not popular. I admit it. It is hard and we don’t like to think about it. We like the grace. We like the mercy. But, we have forgotten how to mourn. I don’t like it. It is not me. I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to feel that way. I want to live in the grace, mercy and promise of God. And thankfully we see that here in great measure as well.

There are times when it is appropriate to cry out and tremble. There are times to consider and be astonished at the depths of our sin and rebellion. There are times to admit to God that we have failed terribly and to be ashamed.

It is not that Ezra forgets grace. It is not that he doesn’t recognize God’s mercy and compassion, nor does he forget that need toward other people. He admits that God has been gracious. He knows that just being back in the land is a great gift of God. The people are being blessed even as he considers all of this. However, he just cannot ignore and wave away the responsibility he and the people have for their actions and attitudes either.

We see as he mourns and prays and confesses that many people take notice. They see his repentance, sorrow and mourning and they join him. They realize, react and take action. They join to Ezra and yield to his judgment and authority (as a priest who knows and follows the law), ready to put things right and obey. What can happen when people are ready to grieve, cry, mourn and repent. Some might mock. Some might think it is an over-reaction. Some might join and cry, repent and revive.

Prayer Request
*Please pray for Sandra, Ales and Julija. Olya has had a relationship with Sandra for a while now. They visit and we have done many things together. She has a “religious” background but needs a relationship with Jesus. Pray for the softening of their hearts and an openness to the gospel.

30 More Days... Day 21

1Chr. 5:18  The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war.
1Chr. 5:19 They made war with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.
1Chr. 5:20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him.
1Chr. 5:21 Then they took away their livestock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep, and two thousand of their donkeys—also one hundred thousand of their men;
1Chr. 5:22 for many fell dead, because the war was God’s. And they dwelt in their place until the captivity.

As we noted yesterday, this passage is one of those things that is just kind of sandwiched into a genealogy and you might miss it if you blinked. God kind of gives a parentheses within the lists of names and records for us there a little gem for us to mine.

This is one of those little passages in scripture that is pretty obscure and sometimes when you first look at it you kind of scratch your head and wonder “why is it here?” What can I get out of this? Why would God even bother with it? It seems so insignificant.

We have what we so often find in these genealogical accounts. We have some names, some numbers, some facts and figures. But here we also have a picture.

When the Israelites came into Canaan, before they crossed over the Jordan, they had already engaged and defeated an enemy. They had taken a land. When they did the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had asked to inherit the good land on that side of the Jordan river because it was good land for their flocks and herds. They had not failed to go over and help Joshua and the rest of the children of Israel come into their inheritance. And when they had returned to their land after the conquest of Canaan they had gone to great pains (and almost civil war) to insure that they would continue to be counted among the tribes of Israel, the people of God for generations to come. They showed a devotion that when exercised later ... at this instance ... served them well.

At the time of this particular passage then these tribes were still a force to be reckoned with. They were still a powerful military force. We see that they were a standing army of 44,760. They were skilled warriors, powerful and knowledgeable in the use of weapons and warfare. They were not just capable. They were trained. They were “commandos”. They have strength. Apparently they thought they had enough strength and advantage to go to war. They went to war against four peoples...sons of Ishmael, tribes of people. We aren’t really told how the war went. We aren’t told that the fighting went back and forth. We aren’t told whether they were in danger of losing or not. What we are told is that in battle they cried out to the Lord and He heard them because they trusted in Him.

Great. Good for them. We have about 100 stories like this. Israel calls out to God in battle and He hears them. So what is the point?

Well, these men were capable. They were trained. They were skilled. They were able-bodied soldiers. They were many, a fighting force. Despite that they called out to God. They put their trust in Him. Whatever their abilities and strengths they still cried out to God and He heard them. They may have been strong but they didn’t trust in that strength.

We hear story after story where Israel faces impossible odds. We see time after time that God helps this people from a position of weakness and foolishness to be the come-from-behind victor. They are the underdog that we root for. They are the “Davids” standing in faith before their “Goliaths”. They are the ones crying out to God for salvation.

This is not the case here. Here they are a mighty, highly trained fighting force. They are taking the war to their enemies. They are not the underdog. They are not the weak. Yet, we see them cry out to God. They are not trusting in themselves and their own strength and training. They trust in the Lord.

In many ways, this is also the point of our 30 Days of prayer. No, it is not that we feel capable, highly trained, mighty, powerful or any of those other things. It is the fact that no matter what we do whether in weakness or in strength the battle is not ours. Verse 22 says the war was God’s. Really it was always God’s. He was the one that brought them into and gave them that land. He was the one that told them to drive out the idol worship before them. There is no doubt that these peoples were great idolaters because later these tribes fall into those same patterns and are rebuked and judged for it. But here their trust is not in the strength of their own arm (though they have some strength) but in God. They go to battle and they cry out to Him in battle. He gives them great reward and they dwell in the land.

All too often we can trusts our strengths. We can trust our eyes. We trust in our programs and our plans. We trust in our strategies, our abilities our education. We trust financial resources (if we just had enough money we could...would see...) We trust degrees and the ideas of men. We try in our might. There is a spiritual battle going on. No matter how often we realize that we are weak, we still tend to look for the plan, the idea, the strategy that will give us the advantage... the victory. Even when we know that we are outnumbered we can look to think, plan, strategize or muscle our way out of it. If I just fight. If I just endure. If I just find the right approach. Success will come.

We can learn a lot from these tribes. No matter what their strength or weakness they somehow kept in view that the war was God’s and they cried out to Him and He heard them. That is one of the many reasons that we are doing these 30 Days as well. We want to and need to cry out to the Lord. The mission is His. The “battle” for the soul is His. We pray that He will hear us and that we will be faithful to put our trust in Him.

Prayer Request
*Please pray that God would expand His work here in Slovenia. Pray that He would build His church. Pray for us to be faithful and trust in His strength and plan. Pray that He would bring people to us that are open to the gospel. Pray that He would soften hearts that are hard spiritual things. Pray for us to have boldness and wisdom to share Jesus, that God would stretch out His hand to do mighty things.

30 More Days... Day 20

1Chr. 4:9  Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
1Chr. 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

For the next 2 days we are going to look at genealogy prayers. I call them that because, frankly, most people just aren’t into genealogies. When I spent time at JAARS we would show a video each week about a Bible translator to a tribe in the Philippines and how God worked to bring the people of the tribe that she worked in to Himself. She explains that her tribal “father” had been looking through her little New Testament that she had in her hut. He had started thumbing through it and came to Matthew 1. He was surprised to find a genealogy there. Her initial reaction to his finding was to tell him “yeah skip over that and get to the good part!” But for him the genealogy (for which their culture has 3 words) was a good part, a sign that what he was reading was real...that it was truth and not made up.

I can’t say that I get too very excited over genealogies. Reading lists of “the son of...” and “he begat” the rhythmic droning of the data streaming by my eyes ... it is as likely to put me to sleep as anything. However, I have found them worth reading. Often name after name bounces off my brain and I find little meaning, but occasionally I make a connection I never understood before. But, there is another reason. Every once in a while God slips a little narrative into the droning name. He places a gem that can be mined to the one diligent enough to look. That is how we find Jubal, Enoch and here, Jabez.

Jabez is now well known. Back in 2000 a book by Bruce Wilkinson based on this prayer hit the presses and sold huge numbers. Of course, not having read the book, I risk perhaps being repetitive and boring you. On the other hand I may also risk the negative reaction some people have had to statements or perceived statements made by Mr Wilkinson about this prayer.

Still this is a notable prayer in the Bible and it is one that falls within our 30 days of study together so ... let’s take a look.

We know almost nothing about Jabez. Everything we know about who he was and what he did... they are right here in these few verses. It isn’t much. However, for the little that is said about him, his prayer has made an impact.

Jabez has one of those great Old Testament names. I often wonder who would name their children this way if that is what the name really means. You are Jacob ... the deceiver. You are Jabez ... you cause pain! Then again we do have people in our life time who name their kids “Moon Unit”, “Dweezil” or “Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen”. Maybe Jabez wasn’t so bad after all.

We find that he was more honorable than his brothers. What this means is not really explained. How was it that he was more honorable. We can’t really say for sure, but he did pray... especially at a time when it seems possible that many were not. At a time when he was perhaps setting out in life and he shows dependence not on himself but rather on God. Perhaps it was that because of his name he was sensitive to the pain of others. We can only speculate. Whatever the reason he was more honorable than those around him. He had some kind of character.

We don’t know the circumstances or the occasion of his prayer. But we do have his words retained for us.

Oh that you would bless me indeed ... there is nothing wrong with praying for blessing. Each time we pray we are looking for some kind of blessing. If we praise we are blessed. If we ask we seek blessing. It is the nature of a relationship with God. We remember the priestly blessing from back in Numbers, “the Lord bless you and keep you...”. But as we read this I believe it is more than just a prayer that he would be blessed. It seems that he has blessing in mind that he might be a blessing to others. Some render it “Oh that blessing, You would bless me...” God let Your blessings flow to be true blessings indeed. He knows that every good and perfect gift comes from God. God is the source of any blessing and if we are to be blessed at all we must seek it from Him and not in ourselves.

He asks God to enlarge his territory. God expand the area of my influence. Again we have to ask with what aim? If he is asking for blessing indeed then the expanded area of influence should be one of extending that blessing to a wider area, a larger population. He is not just looking for “land, lots of land under star sky above...” If he is more honorable then his request is probably more honorable as well. He is looking to God’s promises to Israel and since he is praying to this same God then he should be seeking God’s will, plan and blessing not just for himself but for his people Israel.

He asks God to be with him. God I can’t do this in my own strength. Like Moses, perhaps he is saying God if you won’t go with us then we cannot go anywhere. We don’t want to go anywhere without you. God dwell with us. Again as we look at scripture from front to back we see that this was God’s intention all along. That He would dwell among us, among His people.

Keep me from evil and causing pain. What are the greatest commandments? Love the Lord you God... and love you neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm and is the fulfilling of the law. He is basically asking God to turn away the reproach of his name. I may be Jabez but that is not what I want to be known for. God let me fulfill your law and please your heart.

How could God not grant such a request? He prays within the boundaries of God’s express will. His heart and ambitions are right before God. His intention is not placed on himself alone.

As in every prayer we need to examine our heart. What is it that we are asking for and why. Are we asking with God’s heart. Are we asking according to God’s will? Do we have in mind the things of God or will we receive a rebuke like Peter’s. “Get thee behind me... you are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men”. The prayer is short. It is simple. However, it also carries with it a deep passion for God and spiritual truth.

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!”

Prayer Request
*Please pray for Pastor Justin and his wife-to-be, Erin. They will be getting married 2 weeks from today. Pray for them as the complete the details and preparations for their wedding day. Also pray for them and the church through this time of transition. Pray for Erin as she moves into a new language and culture plus a new role in ministry. Pray for Justin as he will be caring for his wife and helping her to adjust and learn here while continuing to serve God and minister/shepherd the church.