I give you an invitation: If you are thirsty, come to the living waters. Do not waste your precious time digging wells that have no water in them. If you are starving and can find nothing to satisfy your hunger, then come. Come, and you will be filled. You who are poor, come. You who are afflicted, come. You who are weighted down with your load of wretchedness and your load of pain, come. You will be comforted! You who are sick and need a physician, come. Don’t hesitate because you have diseases. Come to your Lord and show Him all your diseases, and they will be healed! Dear child of God, your Father has His arms of love open wide to you. Throw yourself into His arms. You who have strayed and wandered away as sheep, return to your Shepherd. You who are sinners, come to your Savior.”

                                                  —Madame Jeanne Guyon, French author (1648-1717)

What a glorious invitation as we embark on a new year full of spiritual possibilities. Is there an element of this invitation that caught your attention? For me it was the reminder that God’s arms of love are open so wide to me that I can simply fall freely into them. Is there a more practical way to freefall than through a deepening prayer life? 

It has been so heartening to see prayer grow throughout our ministries in a very organic way. Intercession honors God, cultivates unity, increases evangelism, and matures our movements. Here’s a suggestion for you: Ask God how he wants to grow your prayer life in 2010. Take a day or a half day with the Lord, keeping that question as your primary focus. This can be done personally; as a local, regional, or national team; or in families. God just longs to answer the simple prayer, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). This month’s  Prayer Page offers practical suggestions for a half day with the Lord spent walking around the ongoing development of your prayer life.

Another suggestion is to begin 24-7 prayer rooms. Quite a number of our regions and campuses have started them and found the results to be nothing short of remarkable. Mark Gauthier and I met recently with the leadership of Campus America, an organization that is spearheading prayer rooms on many campuses. We found it to be a humble, godly group of individuals who simply long to see students pray for revival, purity, freedom, etc. We could have prayer gatherings for high school students, on college and university campuses, and with faculty. See the links below, if interested, for creative and inspiring ideas: 

http://campusamerica.org/sections/1-home/entries/89-video

http://campusamerica.org/assets/159/original/start_up_pack.pdf

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

                                                                                        —Luke 1:38

What strikes you about Mary’s response to Gabriel’s announcement that she would be supernaturally impregnated by the Holy Spirit with Jesus, the Savior of the world? Her calm acceptance of this extraordinary invitation? Or perhaps the fact that she never consulted her betrothed, Joseph, before agreeing to the proclamation?

All noteworthy observations. But what knocks me over is her submission to God’s will for her life. Although nothing is said in the text, it does not take a genius to ascertain what she was agreeing to: being found with child but not married, facing the awful gossip and false assumptions of her morality, and living under a cloud of suspicion for the rest of her life. We even have books and movies up to this day that question her character.

Mary simply said yes. “I am God’s servant. My life is in his hands, and I will do what he has asked.” That response reverberates through the centuries as the quintessential example of willing and joyful submission to our Lord.

Where do you need to say yes to God this holiday season? What is he asking you to do for him? The gift of a willing, obedient heart is a beautiful one to give our Lord, wouldn’t you say?

Have a joyful, Spirit-filled Christmas and a blessed New Years.

Christmas is God’s reminder that we are not alone. God revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus a reconciling love that rescues us from separation and loneliness. We are not alone; God has come down from Heaven to tell us He loves us! At this Christmas season you can be assured that Jesus is here. He is here to give us hope, to forgive our sins, to give us a new song, to impart faith, and to heal our spiritual wounds if only we will let Him.

                                                                                                    —Billy Graham

Many of us feel alone at Christmas—even in a room full of people. We don’t like to ‘fess up to our feelings of isolation, because we’re supposed to be “joyful.” All the songs we sing speak of the wonder of the season, and a wonder of a season it is! But there is another side.

My mother died this year. I miss her terribly. Not everyone in my extended family is on the best of terms, and that makes me sad and angry all at the same time. What is making you feel a bit out of sorts this Christmas? Have you thought about taking a piece of your prayer time this week to just talk to the Lord about it? Being honest and bringing him into the mix of our emotions cultivate intimacy—a gift he’d like to give you today.

He really does want to impart faith, hope, and healing into your heart. He loves you that much. After all, he sent his Son to be our Savior. Not just for the day we’d invite him to be Lord of our lives, but for today, too. We all are still in need of a Savior to rescue us from our doom and gloom and to remind us that he is the light of the world. 

Last month I quoted from a must-read book, Longing for God, by Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe, a fascinating devotional that gives a sweeping perspective on the growth of Christian thought and theology. I was especially intrigued by the chapter on Thomas à Kempis (1379-1471), in which Beebe bullet-points 30 key contrasts of walking by “nature” versus walking by “grace.” I quoted 15 from the list last month and will quote the final 15 this month. Consider taking time throughout the next 30-day period for extended time of personal application.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature…” (Galatians 5:16-17).

• Nature turns all things to itself and pushes itself into the spotlight, while grace refers all things to God.
• Nature longs to know secrets and to have the inside story, while grace pursues what is useful for the soul.
• Nature is quick to complain, while grace endures all things resolutely.
• Nature wishes to be seen in public, while grace seeks to avoid vain displays.
• Nature longs to be steeped in sensual experience, while grace exercises restraint of the senses.
• Nature wants to be noticed by others, while grace wants to be noticed by God.
• Nature is ruled by sin, while grace is ruled by grace.
• Nature represents vice, while grace represents virtue.
• Nature attempts to judge between good and evil, while grace teaches us the eternal law of God.
• Nature does not act on what it knows to be good, while grace flees sin and evil.
• Nature relies on natural gifts, while grace relies on the gifts of God’s mercy.
• Nature succumbs to vice, while grace radiates virtue.
• Nature flees truth, while grace submits to truth.
• Nature runs on its own energy, while grace relies on energy from God.
• Nature ignores its failures and refuses to learn from them, while grace humbly embraces shortcomings and learns from them.

1.    I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.

2.    I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in. I can’t believe I’m in the same place, but it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

3.    I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall in. It’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

4.    I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the side walk. I walk around it.

5.    I walk down a different street.

                                              —An Autobiography in Five Short Paragraphs, by Portia Nelson

So, what deep holes swallow you time and time again?

I’ll name a few of mine: holding grudges, remaining unteachable, and feeling profoundly inadequate. I have not always been able to identify my holes. But I am seeing just a bit of light.

From one hole-dweller to another: Let’s seek to walk down a different road. That must begin with brutal honesty about the streets we traverse and the patterned behavior that follows. We may need the aid of others to clearly identify potholes that have gobbled us up far too often. Muster the courage and reach out for support.

For others, the wrong road has been clear for some time—we’ve just not hated falling in enough. Shall we commit to the different road? Shall we bring the ugly hole before the One who knows the exact road to revival that we need to travel? Isaiah 61:1-6 deserves pondering.

Consider walking your staff team through this “Autobiography in Five Short Paragraphs.” Read through it with your disciples, roommates, and children. Holes are everywhere, and a different street awaits.

This month’s “Prayer Page” will only grease the tracks to freedom.

The summons to live as forgiven and forgiving children is radically inclusive. The demands for forgiveness are so daunting that they seem humanly impossible. The exigencies of forgiveness are simply beyond the capacity of ungraced human will. Only reckless confidence in a Source greater than ourselves can empower us to forgive the wounds inflicted by others. In boundary moments such as these there is only one place to go—Calvary.                                                                                               —Brennan Manning

When I was speaking at a women’s retreat in Pennsylvania, a young woman I’ll call Connie approached me, asking if we could talk. We made our way to a private spot, and she tearfully unloaded her burden. It seems that her husband was hopelessly addicted to pornography and as a result had met a woman in an Internet chat room. One tragic mistake had led to another, and they had eventually met and slept together.

All this had come to light just days before the gathering. Connie’s husband, a Christian, filled with guilt and remorse, had confessed the whole sordid affair to her and begged her not to leave him. She was unable to sleep, unable to eat, but mostly unable to forgive. She was hurt and wanted to hurt him back. But the Spirit of God was softening her wounded heart. Overcome with the fact that she must forgive, she asked me what she should do next. Together, we went to our Source—we went to Calvary.  

While hanging on the cross, covered with the spit of his accusers, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). The apostle Peter, in his first epistle, tells us what was going on in Jesus’ heart while he was saying these words: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). All who seek to forgive the unforgivable must lean deeply into the heart and words of the Sinless One. Jesus did not fight back. He did not look for a way to get even. He forgave and trusted God to do the judging.

The implications of Calvary are found in Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Bottom line—we forgive because we have been forgiven. We will always live with the consequences of another’s sin whether we want to or not. The question is will we live in the freedom of forgiveness or in the bondage of unforgiveness? Only as God gives us grace and guts can we extend forgiveness to one who has broken our heart and damaged our trust.

So what’s your story? What faces pop up in your mind as you read this? What’s happened to you that’s been hard, even impossible, to forgive…parents who rejected you, a child who has run away, a violent crime against you or against a loved one, your own personal failures that haunt you constantly? Embracing and extending forgiveness are not for the faint in heart. Hold tightly to the nail-pierced hand; remember the love, sacrifice, and humility of Calvary; and ask him to empower you to forgive.

Thomas à Kempis (1379-1471) wrote the magnificent devotional, The Imitation of Christ. His simple, yet challenging, masterpiece still speaks loudly today to all who seek to deepen their devotion to Christ. The following excerpt is taken from Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe’s new book, Longing for God, which examines the profound teachings found in The Imitation of Christ. Beebe bullet-points 30 key contrasts of walking by “nature” versus walking by “grace.” As I read them for the first time, I was moved and immediately humbled by my need to grow in each area. These principles, composed in the fifteen century, still have remarkable applications to us in the twenty-first. I will quote 15 of the points this month and 15 next month. Would you consider praying through one every other day for a month and journaling the ways God would have you integrate its broad message into your life?

• Nature is crafty and seductive, while grace walks in simplicity.
• Nature is self-centered, while grace does everything purely for God.
• Nature is unwilling to be under a yoke of obedience, while grace moves beyond self-centeredness to minister for God.
• Nature works for its own benefit, while grace does not consider how to prosper for its own ends.
• Nature willingly accepts honor and respect, while grace attributes all honor and glory to God.
• Nature is afraid of shame and contempt, while grace is happy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.
• Nature is lazy, while grace joyfully looks for something to do.
• Nature seeks the unique and different, while grace delights in simple, humble and even shabby things.
• Nature keeps an eye on fashion, rejoices in material gain and is depressed at loss, while grace attends to eternal things and does not cling to passing ones.
• Nature is greedy and likes to take, while grace is kind, sharing and content with little.
• Nature focuses on the body, the vanities of life and worries of self-preoccupation, while grace turns its back on everything that stands in the way of God.
• Nature gladly accepts any comfort that gratifies the senses, while grace seeks comfort from God alone.
• Nature is motivated by selfish gain, while grace seeks no reward other than God.
• Nature revels in friends and relatives, while grace loves everyone and focuses on the wise and virtuous rather than the powerful and rich.
• Nature is quick to complain of want and trouble, while grace bears poverty resolutely.

Almighty, eternal, just, and merciful God, grant us…to be inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit…able to follow in the footprints of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

                                                                                                    —Francis of Assisi

This simple, straightforward prayer resonates deeply with me. It is precisely what I want to be true of my walk with the Lord. Meditating on this simple sentence has brought freedom.

I am choosing to keep short accounts with sin—not just the obvious, outward ones, but the inner sins I can hide from others: the evil triplets of envy, jealousy, and comparison; pride, racism, and judgmental thinking. Sin has a way of taxing my spirit and robbing me of the freedom Jesus died to give. What are some of your inner sins?

Join me in this commitment: “Lord Jesus, keep me inwardly clean. Illuminate any dark corners of my heart. Flush out all that separates me from you.”

Being inwardly enlightened follows right on the heels of confession. When the foul odor of sin is cleansed by the blood, the Lord can shine his pristine light in me and through me. Jesus put it this way: “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). People will see a difference in my life—how I love in the face of opposition, forgive when it is undeserved, serve the poor—and that is sure to have evangelistic results. Do people see Jesus in you?

Join me in this commitment: “Gracious God, let your glorious light shine brighter through me each day so that those who do not know you may be drawn toward the Jesus they see in me.”

My only hope for fulfilling these commitments is the enflaming power of the Holy Spirit. He convicts me of sin, he enables me to shine like a star in this dark world, and he grants me the ability to follow the Lord all the days of my life. Keeping the Holy Spirit at the very center of my life is a choice I make many times a day. Worries, fears, irritations, financial concerns, health issues, or dashed dreams want to force their way to the middle. I fight daily to keep God first in my life. Do you?

Join me in this commitment: “Holy Spirit, thank you for taking up residence in me. I want you and you alone to have first place on the throne of my life. Help me to fight the obstinate and hostile usurpers that seek the place that belongs only to you. Fill me now.”

He not only breaks the chains that bind me, but also leads me out of prison into sunlight and liberty. He delivers me from the twists and turns of my own deviousness, from surliness and selfishness, from prejudice and hate, from dismal doubt and unbelief, from oppression by Satan and my own ego, and from my inner lustings and cravings. By the time God is finished with me at the end of my life, I will recognize that He has done an amazing work in me…”         

                                                                                     —W. Glyn Evans

I needed to be reminded of the bigger picture of my sanctification process last Saturday when surliness and selfishness ruled my inner world. I did not want to talk to anyone, including the Lord. I was enveloped in fatigue and frustration that I couldn’t wish away. It was a dark day. And when days like this kidnap me, I don’t do a very good job of reaching out for help. I cannot find within me the strength to send a text, tweet, or talk.

But someone reached out to me: my husband, Bob. I can be a bit prickly during my melancholy moments, but his acts of kindness, gentle words, and easy humor won out over my sullen spirit. I am so grateful he pressed into my heart, bringing the hopeful words I needed to hear. God used him to “lead me out of prison into sunlight.”

Truth is, we all face challenging days (weeks? months?), so how can we navigate through them?

First, keep God in the mix. I did read a few Psalms and acknowledged the Lord’s love hadn’t left me because I was in a bad mood. To be honest, my prayer was not one full of great faith! But Psalm 88:1-3 hit me right between the eyes: “O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble.” I put my feeble prayer before him, and there was, as always, something freeing about being totally honest with God.

Second, remind yourself that adversity and moodiness are a part of the natural rhythms of life, and God is big enough to use these days to conform us into the likeness of his Son. “By the time God is finished with me, at the end of my life, I will recognize that He has done an amazing work in me.” Amen!

Sunday was a much better day, so I sat down to journal what I had gleaned from my surly Saturday. I learned how weak and vulnerable I still am. I’ve been a follower of Jesus for 36+ years; shouldn’t I be beyond all this by now? No! I am still a work in process. Humility grows best when I am reminded of this truth. I also learned how I need to let others help me when I am quite convinced I am beyond help. The result of letting Bob help me on Saturday? He and I grew closer, and I felt safe and understood—all keys to getting me back from the dark side.

How can you prepare now for the inevitable “bad day”? Who will you call for help? Where in the Word will you go to gain perspective? How can you learn to pray in the dark? Take a moment and journal what comes to mind.

Today, O Lord, I yield myself to you.

            May your will be my delight

            May your way have perfect sway in me.

            May your love be the pattern of my living.

~~~~~~~~

I surrender to you

            my hopes,

                        my dreams,

                                    my ambitions.

Do with them what you will, when you will, as you will.

~~~~~~~~

I place into your loving care

            my family,

                        my friends,

                                    my future.

Care for them with a care that I can never give.

~~~~~~~~~

I release into your hands

            my need to control,

                        my craving for status

                                    my fear of obscurity.

Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish your kingdom on earth.

For Jesus’ sake.

Amen.  

                       -Richard Foster