~ "Lord, I lift my friend to you..."

I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. (John 17:15)

Last night, I attended a production at a local Christian theatre called "Lamplight Theatre" with the youth group from my church. The theatre does a number of different productions throughout the year and in keeping with the "season" did "Freak Show" last night. The story focused on young people, how Satan gets in and temps and twists us, making a choice and standing for Jesus! The one thing (aside from the obvious moral of the story) that stuck out was that the characters prayed for their friends to find the Lord.

My friends are very important to me. I pray for them daily! Sometimes there are circumstances that I can do nothing about, and in that situation, I ask God to find their hearts, to touch their lives, to help find their way to him, and to keep them safe from harm.

We all have circumstances in our lives that "cloud our view". We seek the wisdom of the Lord to guide us through whatever situation we are in. Remembering how much my friends mean to me, I know that they mean much more to God! That is why I "lift my friends" up to God in prayer! Sometimes it is the only thing I can do for them.

We are told to pray for others, commanded to by Jesus. We walk away and want certain people out of our lives because they do not possess the qualities of a "Christian", but do we remember to pray for them to find him? We don't have to "rescue" them from the world, in most cases we could not. The changes that take place in our lives when we have a relationship with Jesus come only through that relationship - no one but the Lord could have rescued me (which, he did). The expression that a "leopard cannot change his spots" is true; but the God of heaven and earth can!

Today I have two requests for you. First, I challenge you to pray for a friend or family member that doesn't know the Lord - lift them up by name to Jesus and ask that he come into their heart and take hold of their soul. Second, I will ask that you pray for one of mine, because "I've done all that I know to do"...

~ "Just a reminder..."

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

Many homes display a verse of the Bible, or a blessing or a prayer. In my kitchen is a little plate that belonged to my mother which has a "kitchen prayer" etched on it. In my hallway is plaque (broken and glued a few times) that also belonged to her which reads "God Bless Our Home". There are a few other treasures, but the one that inspires me the most it the verse painted on the wall over my front door. It wasn't something I bought, or something someone gave me, it's only sentimental value is that it reminds me who I serve.

No matter where we go in life, no matter what we do, we are responsible for our attitude and behavior. We can lay the blame for poor health on our environment or our genetics, we can blame our financial failures on the constantly changing economy, we can find an excuse for everything that is wrong in our lives, but we cannot shirk our servitude. We are commanded to serve but one God, the God of heaven and earth. The God who created us in his image, the God who brought a flood upon a sinful world, the God who brought the Israelites out of bondage, the God who sent his Son to die for all mankind, the God who will reclaim his people and lay to rest any doubts unbelievers may have!

God does not ask us for much, yet he asks us for everything! Confused? It's quite simple once you begin that journey. If you've ever been married, it's easy to say the words "I Do" but the feeling and meaning behind those two words is enormous. In that statement, we commit to love, to honor, to cherish, to lift up, to support, to defend, to praise, to share, to care for, to laugh with, to cry with that partner for the rest of our lives. None of us ever says the words "till divorce do us part" - the words are "till DEATH do us part".

The same is true for our statement of faith: "Jesus is my Savior". We are to honor him, to cherish him, to lift our voices is praise, to stand strong in his word. In that statement, we commit to love all as he did, to care for others as he did, and to serve no other. His promise to us is that he will not leave us, or forsake us and we are his! We are his bride! We are his beloved! The words "till death do us part" do not apply here, because upon our "physical" death, we will become one with him in heaven.

Understanding all of that gives us a bigger picture of what those four words really mean. Saying them is the statement of faith, acting upon them is what makes us faithful! All that I have today is by God's design. He's given me everything I need simply because he loves me! He knows the plans he has for me and until those plans are revealed, I will serve the him. He tells me he has plans to prosper me and not to harm me and give me hope and a future, so as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!