why pray?

Here is an outline of today's message...

1. Purpose of Prayer

a. Prayer nourishes the life of God in us
b. Prayer reveals God

2. Cost of Prayer

a. Prayer costs us nothing
b. Prayer cost God His Son

3. Result of Prayer

a. Prayer changes our attitude
b. Prayer changes our perspective

4. Enemies of Prayer

a. External Enemy - Satan
b. Internal Enemy - Self

Remember the little girl praying the "A...B...C..." prayer... God can make sense out of our prayers.

And don't ever forget:

God ALWAYS answers Prayers!

clay in the Potter's hand

"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. (Jer 18:6)

Because God is our Master Craftsman, and we the clay, we can be certain of two things:

One, God has specific PURPOSE for us - each one of us; and
Two, our value and worth comes from the Maker, not from ourselves.

There were (in Jeremiah's days) seven steps for a lump of clay to be made into a pottery.

In the CHOOSING process, a common clay is picked out from the ground. In and of itself, it is not useful for anything. Much work is needed.

In the CLEANING process, all impurities and foreign materials are removed, as well as air pockets that form in the clay by kneading it.

In the TEMPERING Process, water and other tempering agents are added to make the clay pliable for molding.

In the MOLDING Process, the clay is shaped into a pottery by working inside and out.

In the DRYING process, the clay pottery is laid to dry in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place.

In the DECORATIVE process, the dried pottery is painted and glazed.

In the BAKING process, the pottery is placed into a kiln that is heated to at least 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit for about 2 to 3 days.

God chooses us, not because we are so much better than others, but because He has plans for us; then he cleans us of all impurities and all things that get in the way of becoming what we need to be; afterwards, He adds grace upon grace, along with talents and ability to serve, but it is also in this process we are made pliable; then we are molded, not from outside in, but inside out - we don't change and become "good enough" for God to use us, but He works in us first; then despite all our great visions and dreams of serving God in specific ministry, He "leaves" us in a dark, dry, isolated place to "dry" us, preparing us for the final steps.

When God "paints" us, the color is not usually what we think should be, just as the paint color on the dried pottery will come out very different once it's been in the fire for a couple of days. We are often shortsighted and limited in our understanding to know why God chose these specific means to "color" our lives, but He knows what we will become.

And finally, He puts us in the blazing furnace, and ultimately, we come forth with amazing transformation in appearance and usefulness.

A lump of clay in the hand of the Potter can change into something beautiful and useful.

--from Nakwon EM Sunday Service April 22

interview with God

Watch & listen to this "Interview with God"...

Hope you'll be blessed!

There are more here. Scroll down to the list and click on the red or green highlighted titles you'd like to see. They are all very good.

friends of greater love

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:13-15

Remember David & Jonathan.

Remember Ahab & Jehoshaphat.

Two groups of two men who had two very different notion of frienship.

What is a true friend?

Do you have a friend who challenges you to strive to know God better? Someone who encourages you to keep going, and not give up? Someone who loves you enough to tell you even things you may not want to hear if only to help you turn your eyes back to God?

Do you have a friend who will understand you and accept you no matter what? Someone you never need fear being judged or misjudged?

Even if you do not have a friend like that right now, you can certainly have one in Jesus.

You will never find a friend like Jesus who knows your very heart and yet promises to never leave or forsake you.

...who knows every fault, weakness and shortcomings, and still calls YOU friend.

Take time this week to send your Project Jonathan partner a card or an e-card just to show appreciation and encouragement. Share a verse or a Q.T. that blessed you with your partner.

--from Nakwon EM Sunday Message April 15

resurrection

The year 1899 marked the deaths of two well know men - Dwight L. Moody, the acclaimed evangelist, and Robert Ingersoll, the famous lawyer, orator and political leader.

The two men had many similarities. Both were raised in Christian homes. Both were skilled orators. Both traveled extensively and were widely respected. Both drew immense crowds when they spoke and attracted loyal followings. But there was one striking different between them - their view of God.

Ingersoll was an agnostic and a follower of naturalism; he had no belief in the eternal, but stressed the importance of living only in the here and now. Ingersoll made light of the Bible, stating that "free thought will give us truth." To him the Bible was "a fable, obscenity, a humbug, a sham and a lie." He was a bold spokesman against the Christian faith. He claimed that a Christian "creed [was] the ignorant past bullying the enlightened present."

Ingersoll's contemporary, Dwight L. Moody, had different convictions. He dedicated his life to presenting a resurrected King to a dying people. He embraced the Bible as the hope for humanity and the cross as the turning point of history. He left behind a legacy of written and spoken words, institutions of education, churches, and changed lives.

Two men. Both powerful speakers and influential leaders. One rejected God; the other embraced Him. The impact of their decisions is seen most clearly in the way they died. Read how one biographer parallels the two deaths:

Ingersoll died suddenly. The news of his death stunned his family. His body was kept at home for several days because his wife was reluctant to part with it. It was eventually removed for the sake of the family's health.

Ingersoll's remains were cremated, and the public response to his passing was altogether dismal. For a man who put all his hopes in this world, death was tragic and came with the consolation of hope...

Moody's legacy was different. On December 22, 1899, Moody awoke to his last winter dawn. having grown increasingly weak during the night, he began to speak in slow measured words. "earth recedes, heaven opens before me!" Son Will, who was nearby, hurried across the room to his father's side.

"Father, you are dreaming," he said.

"No. This is no dream, Will," Moody said. "It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. God is calling me, and I must go. Don't call me back."

At this point, the family gathered around, and moments later, the great evangelist died. It was his coronation day - a day he had looked forward to for many years. He was with his Lord.

The funeral service of Dwight L. Moody reflected that same confidence. There was no despair. Loved ones gathered to sing praise to God at a triumphant home-going service. Many remembered the words the evangelist had spoken earlier that year in New York City: "Someday you will read in the papers that Moody is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. At that moment, I shall be more alive that I am now... I was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1855. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit shall live forever."

(excerpted from Max Lucado's The Applause of Heaven)

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:50-57)

--from Nakwon EM Easter Sunday Service at 10:00AM

passion week: friday

"With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" (Mark 14:37-39)

The centurion stood up from the rock and took a few paces toward the Nazarene. As he got closer, he could tell that Jesus was staring into the sky. There wa something in His eyes that the soldier had to see. but after only a few steps, he fell. He stood and fell again. The ground was shaking, gently at first and now violently. He tried once more to walk and was able to take a few steps and then fall...at the foot of the cross.

He looked up into the face of this one near death. The King looked down at the crusty old centurion. Jesus' hands were fastened; they couldn't reach out. His feet were nailed to timber; they couldn't walk toward him. His head was heavy with pain; he could scarely move it. But his eyes...they were afire.

They were unquenchable. They were the eyes of God.

Perhaps that is what made the centurion say what he said. He saw the eyes of God. He saw the same eyes that had been seen by a near-naked adulteress in Jerusalem, a friendless divorcee in Samaria, and a four-day-dead Lazarus in a cemetery. The same eyes that didn't close upon seeing man's futility, didn't turn away at man's failure, and didn't wince upon man's death.

"It's all right," God's eyes said. "I've seen the storms and it's still all right."

The centurion's convictions began to flow together like rivers. "This was no carpenter," he spoke under his breath. "This was no peasant. This was no normal man."

He stood and looked around a tthe rocks that had fallen and the sky that had blackened. He turned and stared at the soldiers as they stared at Jesus with frozen faces. He turned and watched as the eyes of Jesus lifted and looked toward home. He listened as the parched lips parted and the swollen tongue spoke for the last time.

"Father, into Your hands I entrust my spirit."

Had the centurion not said it, the soldiers would have. Had the centurion not said it, the rocks would have - as would have the angels, the stars, even the demons. But he did say it. It fell to a nameless foreigner to state what they all knew:

"Surely, this man was the Son of God."

Six hours one Friday. Six hours that jut up on the plain of human history like Mount Everest in a desert. Six hours that have been deciphered, dissected and debated for two thousand years.

What do these six hours signify? They claim to be the door in time through which eternity entered man's darkest caverns...

What does that Friday mean?

For the life blackened with failure, that Friday means forgiveness.

For the heart scarred with futility, that Friday means purpose.

And for the soul looking into this side of the tunnel of death, that Friday means deliverance.

Six hours. One Friday.

What do you do with those six hours on that Friday?

--Excerpted from Max Lucado's Six Hours One Friday

passion week: thursday

"...Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:50-54)

He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind.

Men clad in soldiers' garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed.

Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought, by killing this false one.

Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn't leave. "I will stay," she said softly. "I will stay."

All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.

"It must be done..." He said, and withdrew.

But as He stepped back in time, He heard the cry that He would someday scream: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" He wrenched at tomorrow's agony.

The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful..."

The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love."

From In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado

passion week: wednesday

The Gospels record nothing for Wednesday, the day before Jesus' arrest.

He is about to face death, and nothing, apparently, worth recording took place.

We don't know what He said, what He did, where He was, but we know He was never out of communion with God because otherwise He would not have been able to endure all that would follow.

Our moments of silence - perhaps even spiritual dryness - says a lot about our true spiritual state.

And it is in these moments of silence that we truly come to know God.

This below devotional by Oswald Chambers ties in Monday's posting about the waiting...

"When He [Jesus] heard that he [Lazarus] was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was." (John 11:6)

Has God trusted you with His silence — a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible — with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him — He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes. The actual evidence of the answer in time is simply a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you may have said, "I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead" (see Matthew 7:7-12). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the "bread of life" (John 6:35).

A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious — it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, "I know that God has heard me." His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy — silence.

passion week: tuesday

In Daily Walk, Chip Ingram mentions how King Solomon began so well, but ended foolishly. He started by asking God for wisdom (then getting it), but ended with a life separated from God through indulgence and compromise.

Surrounded by idol-worshiping foreign wives, Solomon went from being tolerant to accepting to finally worshiping the very idols God despised and specifically forbid.

We talked on Sunday during seminar about Jesus cleansing the Temple and we reflected how the merchants and money-changers probably came right back the next day and set up their tables again inspite of what had happened the previous day.

So why did Jesus bother with demonstrating such anger that probably did little in the way of reforming the populace?

It really is a warning, isn't it?

It starts from being tolerant to the wrong we see around us.

Then at some point, perhaps not immediately, but in subtle and small ways, we begin to accept them as reality.

Then it is almost inevitable that we will begin to worship it. We not only simply "let sleeping dogs lie," but we espouse the wrong deed.

The Jews who came to the Temple three times a year for sacrifices in obedience to God's command must have felt a sense that something was not entirely right about the way the Lord's House was becoming a marketplace. Some must have felt - at least in the beginning - that something was not entirely godly.

Is there something in your life which started as something seemingly insignificant, though you know it to be something that God is not pleased with? Could be a thought or a habit or an attitude toward something or someone.

Beware of coming to a place where you will begin to not only tolerate it, but accept it as some un-fixable, irreparable fact of your character.

Because soon, you will worship it and woe be to anyone or anything that challenges the way you think or act, because you will see it as a direct attak on your very character.

passion week: monday

This Passion Week, I want to challenge you...

...To think outside the box. To step out of your comfort zone and take a glimpse at things Jesus says and does during this week that may seem irrational and baffling, and even seemingly unedifying.

Of course we all have the benefit of hindsight; we can see how His words and His actions resulted in displaying God's glory.

But put yourselves in the place of these men and women who walked the same ground Jesus did in the first century A.D.

But let's think back to what happened before Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding the foal of a donkey.

Let's go back to the time He raised a close friend from the dead. A man from Bethany who had two sisters who believed Jesus was more than a mere Rabbi.

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. (John 11:1-6)

Have you had a time when it seemed Jesus, in a sense, "stayed where he was two more days" although you needed His saving grace yesterday?

How do we, as Christians, deal with such baffling ways of God?

How do we come to terms with God's timing?

Is God just being capricious?

What would you tell a friend who asks you such questions?

Yes, Lazarus was raised from the dead after four days of being in the grave. Yes, God's glory was displayed ultimately. And yes, many believed on Jesus because of this. But what do you tell the sisters who are still waiting for Jesus to come and save them during days two and three as they grieve over their dead brother?