Category Archives: Spiritual Formation

Slowing

By Judy Villanueva

1 Kings 19:9-13
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

My grandmother was one of my best friends. Before she died at age 98, she and I use to spend one day a week together. We would run errands to the egg store, the nursery, and often, to find a good banana split! Nana loved watching soap operas and it always made me smile that she would talk through practically her entire show, sneak in a snooze, and then talk a little more! I loved the sound of her voice, the sparkle in her dark, brown eyes, and learning about joy from being with her. I miss the experience of being drawn into a place of slowing just by being in her company.

How do we honor a pattern of slowing in our days so that we are ready when God passes by? Can it be done “on the way” to this and that with our hands full of life?

Take a deep breath—exhale. Do it again…slowly. It’s an easy way to pause and take in the peace of a moment slowed. It feels good! It poises us to find our souls, if we care to. The challenge of slowing down is that the things we try to stay ahead of…like, guilt, worry, pain, loneliness, boredom, fear…catch up with us! Conversely, the blessedness of slowing is that we come into fuller contact with all of the joys set before us, like the sparkle in a loved ones eyes, lessons hidden in simple presence…and, the voice of God in a whisper.

God delights with us in our doing but, without the habit of slowing, we risk becoming overly tired, overwhelmed, and unfocused. Worse, we may miss God as He passes by in our day. He does, you know, pass by every day!

Elijah had been through a battle! He had just taken a stand against the false prophets of Baal and witnessed the fire of God bring a supreme defeat upon their heads! When he finally arrived on Mount Horeb he was utterly depleted and had completely lost perspective. God listened. He knew what Elijah needed and invited him to come, stand in His presence. He invites us as well, to step out from our doing each day and fully experience moments of His passing by. Deep breath. After the wind, fire, and earthquake, Elijah finally heard God’s gentle whisper, covered his face and began to recover.

That’s what slowing does! It helps us hear God’s voice apart from the distractions and noise of life! It awakens us to One Who is with us…

To the One who passes by with light for our paths, healing for our souls, strength for our callings, and love to remind us that we are not alone.

“Father, I thank You that You know your children well and that You keep track of us in the battles, in the deserts, and on the mountain tops. Help me to hear Your gentle whispers that call me to attention. Lead me into slowing places where I can let go of my hurry and not miss when You pass by! Amen.”

What About You?

How often do you slow down?

Are you comfortable with quiet and stillness?

What helps you slow down?

Take time to slow and listen for God’s gentle whisper.

Click here to buy Listening for Love Kindle Edition

Worship

The Fear of the Lord by Tommy Walker

Rocks and Trees

By Judy Villanueva

“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;  From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121)

“…with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

I have a hundred pictures of trees growing out of rocks! It catches my attention like a burning bush and shouts “Hope” to my soul! My husband and I have literally planted over a hundred trees in the last ten years. We’ve watered them, fed them, and have spent hours weeding, pruning, and protecting them. To my dismay, maybe a third have survived! The large pine under the eaves, on the other hand, has been pushed completely over by ice sliding off the roof more than once and now stands taller than the roof. One of our healthiest aspens was severed in half by another ice slide and grew back with such vigor that it now also rises above the roof offering abundant shade each morning. I’m no arborist, but the common denominators seem to involve hardship and lots of water!

As for trees that grow out of rocks, I can only surmise that God loves life and can call it to rise up…even from the hardest places!

I stand before trees with rocky birthplaces in silence, awe and incredulity! I take pictures of them to remind myself that God can do anything! I come from a family that tends to be rather practical, which is a tremendous asset when it comes to making decisions, processing conflict or buying a car. But, as it relates to matters of faith, being practical seems to tether me to the possible when what I really want to reach for is the “tree out of the rock” impossible!

I want to hope beyond reason, pray for miracles, and watch breathlessly for God to interrupt my practical expectations with a divine thunder that initiates an impractical faith!

It helps me to remember, that once upon a time, a Father called forth life from behind a stone that covered a tomb…that held a beloved Son. Was it a whisper or did He shout, “Arise!”? The stone was rolled away and beneath the burial cloth, a heart began to beat and the sound of God breathing filled the air! Listen!

Can you hear the sound of God breathing over your life today?

Rest. He is. Truth is that sometimes all we can do is lean back into the hard places, drink in God’s presence, and wait for Him to help life break through. In the meantime, we can lift our eyes to the mountains, marvel at trees that grow out of rocks, and let them shout “Hope!” to our souls. We can trust that God loves us. He can do what we cannot and with Him, all things are possible.

“Lord God, breathe into our weary hopes and help us through our trials. Grow trees out of rocks and do the impossible according to Your good will! Help us to trust that You love life…our lives, each one! Strengthen us and sustain us as we wait for life to break through. Amen.”

What about you?

Can you hear the sound of God breathing over your life today?

Do you need God to do something that seems impossible?

What catches your attention and reminds you that you can trust God?

Do you have a practical faith or one that breathlessly waits for God to do the impossible?

Worship

(Dedicated to Steven, Trina Beaumont and my little brother)

Just Believe!

By Judy Villanueva

“Don’t be afraid, just believe!” (Luke 8:50)

“Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.” (CS Lewis, Screwtape Letters)

Pain, loss, and disappointment have loud voices and, over time, it can become near impossible to hear Hope over their cries. They seem to shout, “Don’t you dare hope because stuff happens…even when you pray.” It is an annihilating lie that likes to take up residence in crushed and weary souls. It starts by taking an inch but invades with the full intention of shrouding the truth about God and ruling with its message of despair. Before we know it, this trio is dictating the final word about God…a word that declares Him unfaithful, unable, and unavailable. But, don’t believe it…not for one minute!

God is good always and no matter what!

He is incapable of being unfaithful. Despite trials and tribulations, God remains God, and that means He remains perfectly good and perfectly in charge of our lives, our world and this very moment in history. I do not understand it and wrestle with issues of belief regularly because of the suffering around me. I admit that atrocities and sorrows devastate my heart and tempt me to doubt God. I wish I was stronger…but I am just me. God is helping me to accept that peace will not come from my ability to make sense of pain because I do not have that capacity! Rather, He woos me to keep looking at His face.

When I read the gospels and watch Jesus healing, washing feet, and dining with sinners, I get a glimpse. When I watch Him hurt with hurting people and feel compassion for widows, lepers and weary travelers, I get a glimpse.

When I stand at the cross and look up into eyes that look down upon me with a love that wraps all the way around me, I can see… and feel His face!

My soul receives healing and correction…and, somewhere deep within me, I feel a peace wash over the panic of worry and fear. At the cross, in His face, the dictations of disappointment are silenced, all matter of matters are brought to peace and I am able to “just believe!”

“Lord, I hear you exhorting me to trust You above any other voice that tempts me to doubt your faithful heart! Quiet the noise of dissonant voices and help me not to lean on my own understanding. Woo me to Your face and help me to rest in the beauty of Your good heart. Amen.”

What about you?

Have pain, loss and disappointment shrouded your view of God?

Are you weary and afraid?

Do you know how to look at God? If not, start by reading the Gospels and watch Jesus.

Have you seen the love of God looking down upon you from the cross? Stand there and let it wrap all the way around you!

Worship

“We Will Remember” by Tommy Walker

“Sovereign” by Chris Tomlin

Say You Are Sorry

September 30, 2014Knowing God, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practicesheyjudeev5@gmail.com

By Judy Villanueva

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

“Can you tell mom why you are being punished?” “I talked back and didn’t mind you.” (It amazed me how they always knew exactly what behavior had prompted the correction).“What do you have to say to mom?” “I’m sorry…” and then the tears would flow. It was interesting that as my little ones talked about what they had done they spoke in neutral tones, but when they actually said they were sorry they would cry. The act of apologizing moved their little hearts! It convinced me that not letting a child “get away with it” is not only good parenting because it reinforces the benefits of good behavior but also because it helps a child find their sorrow…the good kind of sorrow…the kind that God embedded in the human heart to help steer us away from the cliffs and toward His open arms of love.

It seems to me that part of being made in the image of God includes an interior sense of right from wrong. When we sin we can feel the sand-paper rub against our conscious and we will either hide from the discomfort of it or bring into the light of God’s love. Hiding and stacking our sins weighs down our soul and becomes a doorway to guilt and shame. Guilt and shame are great light-snuffers and work together to crush our spirit, and deceive us about ourselves and God.

Over time, ignoring of the holy prompts that are designed to lead us to grace, has a numbing effect on our conscious and before we know it, our hearts are hard and we are lost.

I wonder if confession has become a neglected practice these days. Have we abandoned the habit of inviting the Holy Spirit to prick our conscious with awareness of our sin and then, allow ourselves to feel a proper sorrow…a sorrow that leads to repentance? Do we dare trust the Love of God enough to know the truth about ourselves? Because it is in the safety of God’s love that we can know our sin and it is in the act of confession that our hearts soften and a holy transaction occurs…guilt for innocence, shame for dignity, and death for life and darkness for Heaven’s arms of love!

“Thank You, Father, that You’ve made a way for me to be set free…the once and for all freedom as well as the daily freedom from sin’s tangles. Thank You for making me in Your image and giving me a conscious that helps me know when I’ve sinned and feel a proper sorrow. Keep my heart open and sensitive to the Spirit’s corrections. Thank you most of all for Jesus and the gift of love that He gave on the cross. Amen.”

What about you?

Is confession a regular part of your spiritual life?

Is your heart numb to the promptings of the Holy Spirit? Are you open and receptive to Him bringing an awareness of sin in your life?

Do you feel a proper sorrow over sin?

Do you labor under shame and guilt? Talk with God. You can trust Him. There is safety in His love.

If You Say So

By Judy Villanueva

Luke 5:3-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken…

I wonder how Peter felt as he agreed to let down his nets for a catch, even though he had been out all night fishing with nothing to show for it. I wonder if he rolled his eyes as he said, “Yet, if you say so, I will.” He had already cleaned his nets and must have been exhausted, so putting out into the deep with Jesus would cost him time, energy and maybe the nap he’d hoped for.

I wonder…oh how I wonder… how he felt when the nets filled with fish and began to break!

Or, when the boats began to sink under the weight of this unprecedented catch! Can you imagine that moment of bounty? It was a tidal wave of provision that knocked Peter right off his feet! It was also an announcement that Jehovah Jirah, Our providing God, was present and, in fact, next to Peter in the boat!

It amazes me to watch Jesus in this passage as He ministers to each need from the people gathered on the shore hungry to be taught to Peter in the boat — ready to be caught! At first glance, it seems like Peter is on the peripheral of this story until Jesus jumps into his boat and asks to go fishing. Don’t you love Peter? I love that he first tried to explain to God that he’d already “been there and done that!” I love that he did it anyways! And, I love Peter’s heart that, upon witnessing the bodacious power of God, fell down before Jesus awakened to holiness!

I find myself drawn to Jesus’ invitation to “put out into the deep waters”. What might that mean for me today in my life? Or, for you?

It seems to be a call to move away from the safety of the shore and all that I think I know, and point my heart and will at Jesus.

No matter how inconvenient or nonsensical, when Jesus speaks to me I want to pray, “Yet, if you say so, I will.” Do I dare put out into the deep waters of faith and trust Jesus to do the impossible for me? Can I let go of what I think I have control of and obey His every word? I don’t want to miss the chance to fish with Jesus and experience the wonder of Him touching my life — or any chance to witness our net-breaking, boat-sinking God!

“Father, forgive me for ever doubting that You are a good provider. I hear your invitation to put out into the deep! Help me to point my heart and will at Jesus and to do whatever You say. Thank You, that You cannot help but be faithful! Amen.”

What about you?

Do you want to go fishing with Jesus?

Are you available to follow Jesus and do whatever He says?

How do you respond to Jesus’ invitation to put out into the deep waters? What might that mean for you today?

Do you know God as Jehovah Jirah, God our provider?

Worship:

Abba Father

By Judy Villanueva

“I will be a Father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord almighty”. (2Corinthians 6:18)

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15)

The Lord your God in your midst,  the Mighty One, will save;  He will rejoice over you with gladness,  He will quiet you with His love,  He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

“Let’s go hunt for fire flies!” It was evening and bedtime was fast approaching but there was still time for one more adventure. My son alerted his children that the firefly walk was about to commence. “Grab your flashlights and let’s go hunting!” Off they ventured into the dark with magic on their minds and daddy to lead the way. “Is that one?” his little ones asked excitedly. “Maybe! Let’s go check it out!” their father replied. Flashlights in hand and eyes wide with anticipation, they laughed, told stories and skipped in the night under their dad’s watchful care. Of course, there were no fireflies to be found in this part of the southwest, but it didn’t seem to matter to these three exuberant hunters! Their little hearts were filled with an adventure that was all about being with their dad.

What do you think of when you hear the word “daddy”? It’s a big word that sets off big feelings because dads play a very important role in our lives.

They are protectors, providers, mentors and guides. Dads are storytellers, dream-shapers, problem-solvers and hope-givers.

Fathers have enormous shoes to fill, for as they love, little hearts are tilled and readied to know their Abba Father. Is dad good, faithful, and kind? Does he rejoice over me with gladness? Can I count on him? The tricky part of this, of course, is that however good a dad might be, he will always be a human dad. At best, he is a humble man versed in kneeling before his Heavenly Father, confessing his failures and praying for strength, grace and power to love his family well.

Sadly, many didn’t have a dad “at his best” and may find their hearts tangled and wary of trusting another Father. If that’s you, I pray you’ll consider that our Heavenly Father is divinely different.

The Lord God is in your midst! The Mighty One who saves sings over you with gladness!

It is true! He calls us sons and daughters and rejoices over us! He knows our names and longs for us to know His name as Abba, our dad! The reality of His love surrounds us and is a place of welcome always and in spite of whatever other realities may exist. His arms are always are open, his ears always tuned, his face always toward us, and his heart always ready to give all it has…to have us. The Mighty One is OUR Father! And, He invites us to join Him in light-filled, firefly adventures and the discovery of a life loved and led by Him.

“God, bless dads. Help them to sing with gladness over their little ones. How desperately this generation needs dads and moms who will delight in them. Thank you for our dads and help us to be grateful, forgive them their failures and trust You to meet our deepest needs. Thank you that You are our ever faithful Abba Father! Amen.”

What about you?

What was your relationship like with your earthly father? Have you both celebrated and forgiven him for where he blessed or failed you?

Do you know God as a Father?

Can you relate to calling Him “Abba” or “Daddy”? Do you feel close to God?

How does it feel to know that God delights in you and sings over you with gladness?

Worship:

Bow Down

August 31, 2014Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practicesheyjudeev5@gmail.com

By Judy Villanueva

Nehemiah 8:6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Romans 14:11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”

Is it fair to say that we don’t bow down much these days as a culture, as a church or as individuals? I can’t help but wonder why? Today, I decided to bow down during my morning prayers and pay attention to what happened to my thoughts and feelings as I talked with God on my knees, with my head down. Bowing seems to invite surrender and reverence. It did…I could feel it! But, praying with my face on the floor also made me feel tearfully contrite and humble of heart. It felt corrective.

I suspect there is something about putting ones body in a bowed position that helps us to feel bowed, submitted, and more in touch with the reality of our finitude and our great need of an infinite and able God.

When I think of the things that literally drive us to our knees, four invitations come to mind: great need, sin, gratitude and God’s felt presence. When loss, illness, or trouble comes our way and we are overwhelmed, we often feel pushed to our knees in desperation. When we have violated our nature, created in God’s image, by behaviors that bring us shame, we may feel the need to lay prostrate in sorrow as we cry out to God for help and freedom. When the sun rises, or we slow down enough to notice beauty around us, when we receive our hearts’ desires or experience God’s provision, we may fall on our faces in gratitude. When God draws near and we feel His breath…when somehow we touch the Almighty or His goodness and love touches us, we may find ourselves waking up from having fallen face first in utter worship!

What’s the point? We need to bow! It helps us pray more completely. We were created for a yielded relationship with a wise and powerful God. It is no joking matter. It necessitates that we regularly lower our heads and accommodate prayerful face plants that can deal a blow to our pride at its roots. A blow that can lead our hearts to proper sorrow, and connect us to our brokenness. We need to fall to the ground in gratitude for the daily gifts of life that we take for granted most days.

Bowing down before God helps us to find our true selves and, astonishingly, the God who bowed down to save us!

Yes, there is a God who washed feet, prayed in a garden on His knees, and bowed under the weight of the cross He carried to Calvary. He hears our prays and cares about our sorrows, temptations and triumphs! In full surrender, Jesus lived, loved and died bowed down before God that we might one day be lifted up!

“Father, help me to bow down. I am aware of my pride and how it interferes with my ability to surrender my heart and life to You. As I bow in the mornings, I ask for correction, grace, and your hand of love to lift me up. Thank you for bowing down low to save me and for caring about my life and loving me every single moment of every single day. Amen.”

How about you?

What prompts you to bow down?

Are you aware of obstacles that keep you from bowing down before God?

How might bowing in prayer change the way you pray, think or act?

Bow and pray. Try it! Put your body in a bowed posture and notice what happens to your thoughts, feelings and prayer. God bless you as you bow before Him.

Worship:

“When I Don’t Know What To Do” by Tommy Walker

“Surrender” by 4 Him

“I Need You Now” by Matt Redman

Seasons and Surrender

By Judy Villanueva

Romans 8:38-39

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A friend’s daughter got married a few weeks ago. It was surreal to watch her come down the aisle, a beautiful bride on her daddy’s arm! What happened to that little one who, once upon a time, literally fit in the palms of my hands? That day I watched my friend say good-bye to the daughter she had raised, and to her family, the way it had always been. These milestone moments come upon us almost without warning! Sometimes seasons feel like they will last forever, but don’t blink because all seasons come to an end. Change. It is subtle one minute and shockingly bold the next.

What can we do but love well, feel our endings with joy and tears…and then, open our arms to whatever is next!

My mom has shown me what it looks like to surrender with grace to whatever is next in life. As she approaches eighty, her perspective on this last season of life is remarkable and bright! I don’t think I’ve ever heard her complain or lament growing old. Instead, she says things like, “Growing old sure is interesting!” She seems to be a student of every phase of life and, with a disposition of curiosity, stays positive as health, relationships and realities change. Most pronounced to me is the gratitude that keeps bubbling to the surface of her life. She is grateful for good blood flow, that dad doesn’t have any pain and that she can live these days with the love of her life next to her.

Accepting change isn’t always easy especially if we have loved the life that is changing!

Letting go and saying good-bye is an act of faith. We entrust our life to God each time we surrender to endings and new beginnings.

This seems to be the way of it. Seasons end and new ones begin. Children grow up and get married. Jobs change, friends move away, we all get older and one day, old. Loving and belonging to God is the strongest anchor in life, isn’t it? His love never ends! His hold on our lives is forever faithful. We can be curious and grateful for all of the seasons that come to us because we have a Father who does not change, who will not leave, and who walks with us through every change…all the way, and until we are in His arms to stay.

“Father, it fills me with joy to remember that nothing can separate me from Your love! Help me to be grateful and let go of the things that have ended so that my arms might open to receive whatever is next! Thank You for staying with me throughout my life. Amen.”

What about you?

How are you doing with the changes in your life?

Are you letting yourself feel your endings with gratitude and tears?

Are you surrendering with grace and looking forward with hope?

God is forever faithful. Nothing can separate you from His love!

Worship:

The Lord’s Prayer

August 15, 2014Knowing God, Spiritual Formation, Worshipheyjudeev5@gmail.com

By Judy Villanueva

Our Father, which art in heaven, 

We belong! We have a Father in Heaven! The One who made worms and flowers, oceans and mountains, goofy looking fish, giraffe, and elephants… is OUR Dad! Think about it! Our Father really is stronger and smarter than every other dad. He is the King of Kings and our very own Abba Father…Yours and mine!

Hallowed be thy Name. 

“Holy, Set apart, honored and praised!” Our culture does not hallow much and hard as I try, I find my hallowing efforts terribly lacking. Help me, Father, into Your presence because I know that anyone who glimpses Your beauty falls down in awed wonder! I want to be see You better and bless You with abundant and heartfelt praise!

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 

I can only imagine the fervor with which Jesus uttered, “Thy Kingdom come”! He knew the beauty and perfection of His Father’s kingdom first hand. He was teaching us to ask for that which we need most…our true home! Let Your kingdom come, Lord God, into our hearts, our heads, our choices, our dreams, our words, and our prayers. We want Your will on earth as in Heaven… and no other!

Give us this day our daily bread. 

We need You! How vast are our daily needs for bread, drink, fellowship, love, work, health, dreams, adventures, comfort and safety! Hear our cries for provision! We lack joy. We are hungry for peace! We ache for Love. We grow weary for lack of knowing that we are Yours!

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

Help us to be sorry. Open our eyes to our failures and give us courage to know ourselves in Your presence. It is unsettling to to see our sins, but Your grace becomes our safe place. Help us to forgive any who has sinned against us. How easy is the temptation to receive Your grace and then to hold offenses against our neighbor. Fill us with the wonder of Grace and let it fill us with grace for others.

And lead us not into temptation,  But deliver us from evil.  

Around every corner there seems to lurk temptations that mean to steal life from God’s beloved children. Jesus came that we might have life to the full, but evil lays traps that siphon off life as it pollute our souls. Lord, have mercy! You can see what we cannot…make a victorious way for us to defeat and overcome temptation. Deliver us from evil!

For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever.

Yours is the kingdom…absolutely! Yours is the power! Above any other, You reign victorious! Yours is the glory, the wonder, the awe-inspired beauty that never, never ends! We rest in Your power and rise up with praise that Your Kingdom is now and forever! It will not end! It will last forever and ever…and ever!

Amen.

It is true! So be it! Let it be so!!! We agree! Do it!

What about you?

This is a great exercise! Take each part of the Lord’s Prayer and let your mind and heart pause, ponder, and pray. Think about each part, talk it over with a friend, and then, respond to however it speaks to you. Let this prayer become your own.

Worship:

“The Lord’s Prayer” by Tommy Walker (Generations Hymns)

“Victorious” by Donnie McClurkin.

Taking Up the Cross

August 14, 2014Knowing God, Spiritual Formationheyjudeev5@gmail.com

By Judy Villanueva

Luke 9:23

Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Kneeling together, our three little ones sound asleep upstairs, we prayed for more of God. “Do whatever you must, Father, to make Yourself Lord of our lives.” I remember a hush coming over the room and looking at my husband with a sense of foreboding at what trial this prayer might usher into our young lives. What had he just prayed? What would it cost, and did I really want more of God at any price?

Following Jesus. It sounds so adventurous, so noble, and good! As Christians that’s what we are on the planet to do, right? To learn how to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Weeell yes, this is the goal and certainly it was the inspiration behind the prayer I said “Amen” to that day. But, let’s face it, Jesus leads His followers to mountain tops that, while glorious in their view and magnificent in the beauty they etch in the soul, require traversing some pretty rugged terrain. To coin a phrase, soul-shaping isn’t for cowards!

God’s refining fire burns as it purifies and presses as it fashions His likeness in us.

The next several years brought extraordinary challenges. They were years of holding on by our fingernails and trusting God in the dark. Strangely, on one of the harder mornings, I remember waking up aware that the birds were singing! It seemed an odd thing to notice at such a time, and yet, opening my eyes to the reality of great disappointment, I was also aware that our little ones were safely tucked up in their beds, that love had not left our home, and that somehow,

God was still faithful…regardless of whether or not I understood what He was up to!

He never gave us a blueprint or explained His methods, but God answered the prayer we prayed that day so long ago. Somehow during the trials, He had become Lord of our lives more fully! He had stretched out our capacity to take in more of Him and had helped us to want Him more than our comforts! Suffering loss was oddly freeing and helped us to understand, a little better, that what we need most in this life is Jesus!

“Thank you Jesus, that You hear our prayers and are faithful. Even when we do not fully understand where our prayers may lead us, You do. Teach us to follow wherever You lead. Give us strength and help us to trust You every step of the way. Amen.”

What about You?

What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does that look like on any given day?

How is self denial and cross bearing part of your life in Christ?

Is there a connection between prayers you’ve prayed and what has happened next?

Do you know that you can trust the God who hears your prayers? Do you believe in His good heart and wise ways?

God is faithful always.

Worship:

“Find Me Faithful” by Tommy Walker

“Follow Jesus” by Selah and Nicole C. Mullen

ListeningForLove

Learning to Hear God's Voice

Category Archives: Spiritual Formation

Slowing

Rocks and Trees

Just Believe!

Say You Are Sorry

If You Say So

Abba Father

Bow Down

Seasons and Surrender

The Lord’s Prayer

Taking Up the Cross