Focused Prayer

How do you go about praying? Do you have a routine you follow? Is there a specific location you prefer to go to pray? Is there a certain way you like to pray? Do you have a list you pray over?

I wonder how many of us set aside time to pray. After all, we live in a very busy world, and we fill our time with social media, streaming services, and games. Praying can quickly become a secondary option for us.

We may breathe short prayers in emergencies, and there is nothing wrong with that. We may be in conversation with God while commuting to work, which a good way to spend an otherwise monotonous time. But God also wants us to spend some dedicated time with Him in prayer, focusing on Him, focusing on our needs, even focusing on our desires, and asking for His guidance.

Jesus tells us in today’s passage to set aside time to pray. Not only are we to set aside time, but we are to set aside a place. Depending on the translation you use, it may say to go into your inner room or closet. The point is to be in a private place where you can spend quiet, focused time with God. When I see this passage, I am reminded of the movie War Room. A key character in the movie has set aside a room in her house for prayer. She teaches another lady to do the same, who clears out her walk-in closet and turns it into a prayer room.

Notice Jesus says not to simply babble along. In other words, we are to have a plan for our prayer. Having a list of topics to pray about is the idea here. Personally, I have book of prayer requests that have been given to me by others. I also keep a running list of things to pray over for my family and friends. This keeps us focused rather than babbling and not knowing what to pray about.

We also should allow some time in our prayer for God to answer. I doubt any of us will hear a booming voice, but we will hear the Spirit talking to us in a whisper. He will give us new thoughts we would not have thought of on our own. This requires us to learn to listen well. It also requires us to be in that quiet place, not being distracted by the noise of the world.

I pray we all set aside time to be in conversation with God. I pray we have a quiet place we go to focus on Him. I pray each one of us plan our time of prayer, keep a list of items to pray about. Spend focused time in prayer. Set aside a private place to pray. Listen for God to speak to you. Keep a list to pray over.

Matthew 6:6-7 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”

Image of Christ

Do you ever spend time thinking about what eternity will be like? Do you wonder what you will look like in eternity? Have you imagined being in the same body? Have you imagined it being in a different body?

Some people think their current body will be resurrected but will be made perfect. Others believe they will be given a new body. Some worry they will be given a new body, meaning they will not be recognized, nor will they recognize anyone from this life.

The Apostle Paul tells us we will bear the image of the heavenly man, meaning Jesus. Does this mean we will be given a different body? Not necessarily. Yet, it is a possibility. Sound a little wishy-washy? It sure does.

Paul goes on to say that we cannot inherit the kingdom of God with flesh and blood. He states the perishable won’t inherit the imperishable. It appears these statements are saying we will be given a different body. Again, not necessarily so.

When Paul says we will bear the image of Jesus, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and the perishable won’t inherit the imperishable, he is not referring to our physical bodies at all. He is referring to our hearts, minds, and attitudes. He is referring to our being like Jesus by being perfectly like Him in what is most important, which is not the physical.

In the end, we do not know what we will look like for eternity. Perhaps it is intentional. Perhaps we are to not worry about our physical appearance but what is in our hearts and minds, taking on the likeness of Christ in what is important.

I pray we all set aside our obsession with the physical. I pray we desire to be like Christ. I pray each one of us focus on changing our hearts, minds, and attitudes to be more like Christ. Set aside physical obsession. Focus on changing your heart. Focus on having the mind of Christ. Focus on eternity.

1 Corinthians 15:49-50 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Be Conformed

Would you like to have someone working for your good? Do you long to have someone powerful on your side? Have you chosen to have someone powerful on your side? Do you seek glory on your own or wait for it come as promised?

Most of us want to have someone who can help us achieve a goal. We may want to feel as though we achieved it on our own, but we also want assistance when needed. It may come in the form of guidance. It may come in the form of intervention on our behalf.

We may be seeking to be in the spotlight. We may be looking for our ten minutes of fame…or much more. For what reason are we seeking the spotlight? Is it to feed our ego? Seeking to build our own ego can be an uphill challenge and may be a never-ending journey.

On the other hand, when we seek to fulfill the purpose we were designed to fulfill, we are glorified by God. Our journey starts with our love for God. Our love prompts us to seek His purpose for our life. As we seek His purpose, He works on our behalf and alongside us.

God knows us. After all, He created us. He has preplanned work for us to do. He desires us to be a reflection of Jesus. God has planned to have an extremely large family of brothers and sisters, starting with Jesus. Being part of His family includes blessings we cannot dream of. Those blessings include being justified before a Holy God and being glorified by Him.

I pray we all choose to love God. I pray we ask Him to work with us and on our behalf. I pray each one of us accept His justification for our lives and allow Him to glorify us in the name of Jesus. Love God. Seek His purpose for your life. Be conformed to Jesus’ image. Be part of the family. Be justified. Be glorified.

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Heavenly Citizenship

Where is your citizenship? Where do you belong? Does that sound like a silly question? Would you like to be a citizen of somewhere else? Are you a follower of Jesus? Do you know your citizenship is in heaven?

We may think it odd having citizenship in heaven. After all, we don’t physically live there. Living here on earth can make it difficult to think of our citizenship being anywhere other than here. Yet, we do have a citizenship in heaven.

In this world, we think of citizenship as the country where we live. Some of us may hold dual citizenships, meaning we are citizens of two countries. But we cannot live in two countries at the same time, even if we own a residence in each country. Perhaps, knowing it is physically impossible to be in two places at the same time, is why we have a hard time thinking about having a citizenship in heaven.

Much like having a citizenship in two countries, being in one at a time, we can be citizens of both heaven and earth. We can physically live on earth while holding citizenship in heaven. Our heavenly citizenship is a gift of God’s grace through His Son.

Not only do we have citizenship in heaven, but we know that our earthly bodies will be changed into a glorious body. I don’t know about you, but that is very encouraging for me. We all discover our earthly bodies breaking down over time. Parts wear out. Joints are replaced. Sometimes organs are replaced. When we are transformed to be like Jesus, we will no longer suffer the decaying we currently suffer.

I pray we all know we have a citizenship in heaven. I pray we remind ourselves of that citizenship regularly. I pray each one of us look forward to a glorious body like Christ’s. Know you are a citizen of heaven. Know you will have a glorious body. Know you will no longer suffer decay.

Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

No Longer Condemned

Have you been condemned by others? Have you condemned yourself? Do you feel unworthy? Do you feel doomed to failure? Do you feel imprisoned by a plethora of small infractions that have piled up to create walls?

We are often our own harshest critic. We know each and every tiny failure. We hold those failures against ourselves, remembering even the smallest infraction from years ago. We allow them to stack up until we are surrounded by high walls of them.

We may remember borrowing a dime from a fellow fifth grader and never repaying it. We may remember foolishly drinking ourselves into oblivion over a lost relationship. We may remember a violent reaction caused by anger. We may remember being extremely rude to a store clerk because we were in a bad mood.

What can we do about these past sins and memories? First, we can accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Second, we can take comfort that He does not condemn us for those past transgressions. We may not be able to forget them, but they no longer need to be prison walls that keep us from moving forward in our faith.

We must remember that Satan will continue to throw those memories in our face, telling us we are not worthy. We also must remember that Jesus says, “I know all about them, and I have forgiven you.” We no longer stand condemned but freed from our past. We can move forward with obeying Christ and living the life He wants us to live—a life of freedom.

I pray we all know we are no longer condemned. I pray we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. I pray each one of us lives the life Jesus wants us to live, a life in Him, a life of freedom. You are no longer condemned. You are free of past sins. Step out on a positive note. Follow the path Christ has laid out for you. Live a life of freedom.

Romans 8:1-3a Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.

Life-Giver

What does life mean to you? Is it a mere existence? Is life the pursuit of happiness? Is it loving someone, marrying them, and spending your life together? Is life climbing the corporate ladder? Is it living abundantly in love, joy, and peace?

We all share some common elements in our definition of life, and we have some differences. We have goals we desire to achieve. We have a plan in our head for our life. We may even be asked what we want to do with our life.

We typically define life as the years we spend on this earth. Our thoughts of life often focus on the day-to-day. Sure, we plan for next week, next month, next year, and perhaps the next five years. Unfortunately, we don’t do much planning for eternity. Nor do we spend much energy focusing on the One who gives us eternal life.

Jesus states in today’s passage that not only does the Father raise the dead to life, but He also gives life. He is not talking only about creating new life in the womb but eternal life for those who choose to follow Him. He is talking about giving life with the ability to eat, drink, and breathe so that we life this earthly life. He is talking about giving us an eternal life with Him. Jesus is talking about life in all its forms, both earthly and heavenly.

Isn’t it amazing that we have a Savior who did not only come to be a sacrifice for our sins, but also give us the life we desire? We have been gifted with life. We have been given a life we do not and cannot deserve. Yet through God’s grace, we have life.

I pray we all understand that God, the Father and the Son, give us life. I pray we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I pray each one of us choose to live the life God desires for us. Accept life from Jesus. Choose to focus on the Life-Giver. Be thankful for the life He has given you. Live the life He desires for you.

John 5:21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.”

Imperishable

Have you seen rotten fruit or vegetables? Have you smelled that rancid smell? Have you struggled to keep them from becoming rotten? If there was a magical way you could learn to keep them fresh, would you?

If you have been an adult for a few years, chances are you have seen fruit or vegetables that have gone bad, they have rotted. You may have even seen mold growing on them, especially if it is a sweet fruit. Cleaning up the mess they make is not a favorite chore.

We know the fresh fruits and vegetables we purchase to prepare for our meals won’t last forever. In some cases, after a few days they begin to deteriorate, and we know we must cook them soon or we lose the opportunity. In other words, those fruits and vegetables are perishables.

Though we don’t like to admit it, we are perishable, too. Our shelf life may be longer than fresh apples, but we are perishable nonetheless. Yet, we are also imperishable if we have been purified by the blood of Jesus Christ. Putting our faith in Jesus makes us imperishable, even if the body we currently have is perishable. It seems counterintuitive. How can something perishable become imperishable? Only by God’s will and His enduring word.

What are we to do as imperishable people? Love. We are to love one another, not with a lighthearted love, but a deep love that comes from within our heart. We are to love with the same love God has shown us. Learning to love as God loves is a process. We grow in our love for one another as we grow in our faith. The stronger our faith, the deeper our love.

I pray we all choose to become imperishable. I pray we live in the love God has for us. I pray each one of us grow a deep love for one another, just as God loves us. Become imperishable through God’s word. Grow your faith in Jesus. Feel God’s love for you. Show God’s love to one another.

1 Peter 1:22-23 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Seeds

What do you know about farming? Do you know the seed is far different than the plant that grows? Have you ever planted a crop of corn or beans? Have you watered and fed a seed or young plant in order to help it grow into maturity?

Planting seeds has been an ongoing task since the beginning of human history. The seed is often small in comparison to the plant and the fruit it produces. The seed is also typically considerably different than the plant.

If you have planted a garden with a variety of vegetables or flowers, you know the difference in the seeds. The corn seed is dramatically different from the petunia seed. The bean seed is different from the sunflower seed. Typically, each plant then produces both fruit and seeds. The fruit is enjoyed, either eaten as food or seen as beauty; the seeds produced are planted again the next year. But the seed itself must die to create the abundace.

Jesus came to be the seed of God. When He died for the forgiveness of our sins, He produced a large crop of new seeds. Those seeds are His followers. Each of those seeds continue to be planted and have the opportunity to produce additional seeds. Are we being productive seeds that produce fruit and new seeds?

Jesus also changed when He died. He changed from a physical body to a spiritual, perfect body. We also will be changed when we die. The spiritual body isn’t an ephemeral, ghostly body, but a physical body. However, it is a different physical body than the one we know today. Do we know what our new body will be like? No, not really. We do know we will be like Jesus.

I pray we all bear good fruit from this life. I pray we produce new seeds with the life we have been given. I pray each one of us look forward to the new body we will have upon our death. Produce good fruit. Produce more seeds. Look to perfection. Look to being like Jesus.

John 12:24 “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

First Fruit

Have you spent much time thinking about the resurrection? Have you ever questioned if the resurrection is real? What do you think it will be like to be raised from the dead? Are you looking forward to it?

Think about the resurrection for just a moment. Someone dies. They come back to life! By our human rationale, that sounds absurd. I mean, how many of us have met someone who has died and came back to life?

Yet, that is the very hinge of our Christian faith. We believe that Jesus was crucified on a cross, shedding His blood for the forgiveness of sins. He was buried in a tomb. On the third day He rose to life and was seen by more than five-hundred people over the course of a few weeks.

Not only do we believe Jesus was resurrected, but we believe we will be resurrected as well. We believe when we die, we will be raised to live with Him. Yet, I’m not sure many of us are truly looking forward to it. It is almost as though we aren’t sure it is real. It is as if we question the resurrection.

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 15:6, Paul states that Jesus appeared to more than five-hundred people at the same time after He was resurrected. We know from putting together multiple passages from Scripture that Jesus appeared to people over the course of about forty days after He was resurrected. These all come from eyewitness accounts.

So, why do we question the resurrection? Is it because we have not seen it? We must trust God to fulfill His promises. He has fulfilled His promises and will continue to fulfill them, including resurrecting each of us. As Paul states in today’s passage, Jesus was the first, but He is not the last to be resurrected. More than we can count will join Him in the resurrection.

I pray we all spend a little time thinking about the resurrection. I pray we trust God to do as He has promised. I pray each one of us will look forward to the resurrection with great anticipation. Trust God’s promises. Trust in the resurrection. Know you will spend eternity with God. Know that Jesus was the first.

1 Corinthians 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

A Message To Deliver

What would be your reaction if you were visited by an angel? Would you be overwhelmed with awe? Would you remember what was said to you? What if the angel had a specific message for you from Jesus? Would that be memorable?

An angel gave a message to the women who went to visit the tomb. Mary Magdalene and another Mary likely went out of grief. Perhaps they went out of disbelief, hoping that something dramatic would happen. It did.

As the two Mary’s approached the tomb, a tomb that was being guarded by soldiers, a violent earthquake rumbled. It announced the coming of an angel, who then rolled the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. The soldiers were shaking in their boots and fainted. As Matthew records, they became like dead men. It is little wonder. We are told the angel appeared like lightning. In other words, he was shining brilliantly, perhaps to the point of blinding.

I can imagine the two Mary’s falling to their knees, shielding their eyes, and being in awe of what was happening. Then, to top it all off, the angel speaks to them. He knew why they were there. He knew they came looking for Jesus. But he has wonderful news for them, Jesus is not there. He is risen! I’m sure they were both overjoyed and in shock.

Not only did the angel give them good news, but he gave them a message they were to deliver. They were to tell Jesus’ disciples that He had risen and would meet them in Galilee. How would you react to such an occurrence? After standing there with our mouth open, looking completely dumbfounded, I would hope we would deliver the message as these two women did. We can still deliver the angel’s message today.

I pray we all listen for messages from God. I pray we are both in awe of messages delivered and the method by which they are delivered. I pray each one of us continue to tell others Jesus has risen and lives today. Be in awe of God. Listen for His message. Tell others about Jesus.

Matthew 28:5-7 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”