Hi Friends, Lynn Donovan here:

I'm coming to you today in the midst of a very busy season and yet hopeful you will take five minutes to step along side of me and especially my husband, Mike. 

I would love to receive a short, one-to-two paragraph prayer, for healing. I want to pass these short prayers to Mike, one a day, throughout his treatment with begins December 13. Cancer Thanksgiving Faith

Please take a minute to login here and post in the comments, a SHORT prayer, from your heart, that Mike could pray to build his faith for healing. 

I am absolutely leaning on you and your love during this season. 

I love you. I feel surrounded by your goodness, your love and your faith. Hugging you with a full heart today, Love, Lynn

Photo by Nitish Meena on Unsplash

Hello everyone, Jeanne here with the post I planned to write last month.  I hope it’s worth the wait!

In the past ten years, I have had people ranging from family members to coworkers to people I’ve just met comment on my peaceful nature. Where does it come from, and how do I maintain it?

I have come to understand that just as “you are what you eat”, I become what I ingest.  In the computing world there is a very basic principle called GIGO: garbage in, garbage out.  Jesus says in Luke 6:45, “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” 

Scripture tells us to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1) and Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure… think about these things.  (Philippians 4:8)

We would all agree these are great goals, but the tasks of renewing our minds and focusing on excellent things are crazy difficult in today’s world.  Matthew 6:22 is another familiar verse that helps me.

The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

Modern translations use clear, or healthy, or good in place of the word single, but the sense of the verse is if you are focused on the one right thing, your life will be full of light. 

Imagine there is a 6-month-old child in your living room.  The baby is surrounded by toys and loving adults and safe things to explore, but he is determined to crawl over to the burning fireplace. Every few minutes someone has to pick up the baby, turn him around, and distract him.  Sometimes our thoughts are like that.  Like the baby’s toys, we have many good things to consider and explore in our lives, but instead we keep thinking about the unruly family member or difficult situation. We need to get into the habit of changing our thinking by picking up our thoughts, turning them around, and filling them with good things. Even better, we can focus on the one right thing: keeping our eye single, looking to Jesus.

We are constantly bombarded with bad news and harsh words.  I am incapable of being exposed to that without being affected, so I avoid most mass and social media.  However, avoiding the garbage is not enough.  I need nutritious content to actually nourish my heart. A coworker once asked me, “If you don’t watch TV, who tells you what to think?”  My response: the Bible and the Holy Spirit do a great job of telling me what to think, and what to think about.

Not only are we surrounded by innumerable negative influences, but there are also hundreds of good causes that compete for our attention.  This is where I must rely on the guidance of Holy Spirit.  There are countless situations in the world and in my community that desperately need attention.  But I have limited time and resources.  To maintain my peace, I have to stay focused on my calling, and trust that God is raising up others to do the rest.  I can pray and contribute widely, but I need to “stay in my lane” when it comes to where I invest my time.

Replacing media time with time alone with the Word and the Lord has worked wonders for me. It’s in this time that God’s promises have come alive, and the seed of God’s word has borne fruit in my life. In John 14:1, Jesus tells us not to be anxious, and then he tells us how.  

Let not your heart be troubled.  You believe in God, believe also in Me.

Believe means to fully trust in and rely on God. It’s not just mental assent.  In Philippians 4:6, we find more instructions:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…

If I’m still anxious I ask myself, “Did you skip the part about ‘with thanksgiving’?  Are you rejoicing in the Lord??” (Yes, I talk to myself like that. Don’t judge me!)  Because if I did it right, I have the promise of the rest of the verse:

…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I’ve heard it said that if you’re still upset after you’ve prayed, that’s not prayer, that’s just complaining.  When I have trouble getting out of a negative loop in my head, I find a way to play some worship music, stand up or walk and praise God out loud until I have recalibrated my perspective.  When I focus on the truth that God is on the throne, and he’s already provided a solution for every problem I’m ever going to face, I can truly be free of whatever burden I’m carrying.  I know there is joy in the presence of the Lord.  I can choose to get into his presence, or stay in my own miserable skin.

If you struggle with swirling emotions and negative thoughts, try changing what you feed yourself. Replace some/more of your media consumption with regular time alone with the Lord and his Word.  Drown out those negative voices with praises for our powerful, loving God.  In the comments, share what works for you to deal with worry and fear, or tell us about your favorite scriptures or songs that lift you up. See you

When I was in high school, my mother signed me up to teach a Christian education class to first graders.  The church provided a curriculum, a classroom, and a roster of students.  The first day of class I took attendance and began to teach the first lesson.  Almost immediately, one of the boys went to the back of the classroom and started playing with the art supplies.  I told him to go sit down, but he did not.  I ignored him and kept teaching.  Soon another child got up and went to the back of the room.  By the third session of this class, all I was doing was taking attendance and keeping the kids in the room. I stopped even attempting to teach. 

The gospels tell a story about a man who brings his demon-possessed son to Jesus’ disciples.  To summarize, Jesus is on the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and when they come down there is a crowd waiting.  A man tells Jesus about the torment of his son, and says that his disciples were not able to heal him.  Jesus expresses frustration with this “faithless and unbelieving generation” and then heals the boy. Later,

… the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out but by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:19-21, NKJV

Different translations of this passage say “This kind of demon only goes out by prayer and fasting” but in the original language, “this kind” refers to the unbelief, not the demon.  Jesus is clearly telling them that the issue is their faith, or rather the lack of it. 

When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into convulsions and he fell to the ground, rolling around and foaming at the mouth.  I’m sure this was frightening for the disciples to witness, and though they knew Jesus had given them authority over the powers of darkness, they reacted with doubt.  The same thing happened to me as a teenager. I had the authority to place my hand on the wayward child’s shoulder and direct him back to his seat.  I lost control of the class simply because I did not exercise my rightful authority. In the same way, the disciples felt powerless even though they had the authority of Jesus himself.

These same disciples had successfully cast out demons and healed the sick in the past.  But in this circumstance, they had allowed what they saw to override what they knew to be true: that Jesus himself had given them the power to cast out demons.  It can be quite difficult to stand solidly on a spiritual truth when our flesh is screaming something contradictory. 

When Jesus stated that unbelief only comes out by prayer and fasting, he was referring to this tension between the facts (what we can see in the physical realm) and the Truth as defined and described by God. Jesus was always watching and listening to the Father.  He saw the same demonic seizure as his disciples, but instead of being intimidated, he focused on his Father’s will to heal and Holy Spirit’s power to invade the natural realm.  Jesus prepared for his ministry with 40 days fasting in the wilderness, and countless more late nights and pre-dawn mornings spent in prayer. Jesus got hungry and tired as we all do, but accomplishing the Father’s will was truly his life’s purpose.

To be honest, my flesh doesn’t always want to set aside my own agenda and spend time in prayer, and it surely doesn’t want to skip many meals. But look at the promise!  If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could move mountains… nothing would be impossible for you.

Jesus knows we can’t do this on our own. He is patient as we learn to follow his example, little by little.  If we increasingly trust him one minute, one hour, one day at a time, he will teach us to do what he did, and even greater things. 

Note: This story is related in Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, and Luke 9:37-43.

25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

—HEBREWS 12:25-28

Here are a few tips I learned while in the shaking:

*Through this process I reached out to people I haven’t spoken to in a while. Forgiveness came immediately. Weird, as I thought I’d worked through so much unforgiveness. But, I sat in the parking lot of a Home Goods store and I felt my soul release all bitterness, anger and unforgiveness. I’ve cried a lot these last few weeks. I could see how the devil kept me away from people who hurt me in the past. And in my avoidance, I was robbed of intimacy, love and goodness. Grrrrrrr.

Damn, the devil!!!!!!

Hear me now, crying heals the soul. So, let the sobs come. Stock up on Kleenex.

When you can’t pray. Just tell Father, I can’t pray. Help me.

*About the only thing I could pray was a three-letter sentence: HELP ME JESUS.

Over and again. This is enough when the ground had fallen away from our feet.

*Tell someone. You need to share with someone you trust. Let them know. Ask them to pray.

Having a few people hold me up while I walked through the earthquakes, was critical. You need relationships with those whom you are completely transparent, and they accept you for you. Rare, to find. And if you don’t have them, Jesus is enough. Truly.

*Remember the past.

I made myself call to my remembrance the encounters and experiences I’ve had with God. The miraculous, the tangible physical presence. These memory stones were my anchor when the devil was working to destroy my life.

Today, as I write, I'm returning to my fiery self. I know who I am and Whos I am. AND NOW..... It's payback time BABY!  Schedule a prayer session soon. I've got enough fire and authority for both of us!!

As I’m on the tail end of my shaking, I’m curious. What helpful lessons and steps can you share with me and others that helped you retain your sanity, faith and hope? Leave me a word in the comments.

Hi My Friends,

What did God reveal to you during your fast. It's time to share and encourage each other.

This is the day we give honor and worship God.

Post something in the comments you heard, felt, learned during the fast. I'll see you there.

On Monday, I'll post some of the messages I heard from God. 

See you in the comments. If you have trouble with Disqus loading. Click it a second time or reload the page. That usually works. Hugs, Lynn