Prayer Practice
Cup Prayer – This
prayer will help you pour your heart out to God (Ps. 62:8). Begin with your
hands folded together like an upside-down cup. Pour out before God all your
fears, anxieties, guilt, sin and shame. Tell Him what troubles you. Take time
to be specific. When you feel like you’ve poured out your heart, flip your
hands over, folding them like an open cup, ready to receive from God. Sit in
silence, asking God simply to fill you with His Spirit. If your mind runs back
to sin, shame, anxiety or concerns of the day, flip your hands back over and
pour it out to the Lord. When you are finished praying, read today’s Scripture
and listen as God shares His heart back with you.
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Challenging What We Think We Know
by Mary McGinnis
It might be like trying to describe beautiful a red tulip that comes up from the ground in the springtime to someone who was born blind.
Or can you remember a time that you were so confident you knew all the “facts” that led you to a certain conclusion, only to find out later that your assumptions were totally off base? Like those before the time of Columbus who assumed that the world was flat and venturing out beyond the horizon would result in falling off the face of the earth.
Jesus challenged the people He encountered to consider things from a different perspective, from God’s eternal perspective. He often used parables - stories taken from everyday life. He used things that people were already familiar with to describe things outside of their ability to see or understand.
These were the things that caused me to ponder while reading today’s passage, and these key phrases stuck out to me:
“Do you think . . . ? I tell you . . .” How is God asking me to rethink certain ways of looking at things? Am I depending on my puny little human brain to understand life, the world, and even my day-to-day life? What makes me think I know more than the God of eternity who created it all and knows all? Am I open to listening to Him and allowing Him to change me? Where do I need to put my reliance back on Him and not on myself?
“What is the Kingdom of God like? To what shall I compare it to? Jesus was speaking to them about things He knew and had experienced firsthand. He was with God the Father from the beginning. He had come from the throne room of heaven and had a vision of things far beyond our ability to understand or imagine. He even now sits at God's right hand.
Yet, He chose to come to earth. He chose to allow Himself to be misunderstood, criticized, belittled, betrayed, and even put to death. Why? Because He knew the bigger picture. He knew what God’s Kingdom was like! He came so all of us will have a chance to experience the GLORY of living in God’s Kingdom! Nothing we know could ever compare to living in that Kingdom.
"Make every effort to enter the narrow door." The word “effort” here really means “strive” or agonize toward. Like an athlete strains toward the goal of the finish line. The narrow door means that there are obstacles in the way, things that may trip us up and cause us to stumble.
Jesus was not saying we must strain toward figuring out how to gain entrance through that door through our own strength. He is saying that our human nature naturally wants to “do it ourselves,” and to strive toward throwing off the desire to trust in our own efforts and understanding. That sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it?
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
He is the One who is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. He has marked out the race for us, by going to the cross for us, washing us clean. He longs to gather us under His wings of His mercy and love.
Lord Jesus, forgive me for times I have, in my pride and
self sufficiency, stood as a stumbling block to what You were trying to teach
me. Lead me, by Your Holy Spirit, to release
into Your hands my need to be “right.” Let me instead be open to being filled up with Your cleansing, powerful,
all knowing purpose and will. Your Kingdom is so much greater that all I could
ever ask or imagine. Thank You for
paying the price to allow me to be a part of that Glorious Kingdom!
2 comments:
Good morning, Mary. You covered a lot of topics in your blog all of which are insightful and helpful. Thank you for the obvious efforts you made in time of preparation. All of you who write are a gift to the Body of Christ at UALC.
I am focused on your point about our need to be "right". Pride at its best, eh? C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity really hits the nail on the head when discussing Pride. He says it has at its core its "competitiveness"...I am smarter than you, I am better looking than you, I am richer than you, I am stronger than you.........
I can't count the times I couldn't wait to get my point across to let the others in the room know my insights and just how "right" I am. You would think at age 77 I would have no longer a need to prove myself. Wrong!
My hope is that the indwelling Holy Spirit will work in me to "will and act according to His purposes". Otherwise, my sinful nature will rise to the occasion and put me at odds with His plan and purposes.
Thanks again, Mary.
Robin Lorms
Thank you Robin. It does seem like the sin of pride is so persistent. So grateful that our Savior is so ready and willing to forgive us and teach us a better way! And empowers us through the Holy Spirit to create in us new hearts! Thank you for sharing your insights.
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