A Light that Shines in the Darkness

"⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God...⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 (NIV)

Sometimes it's easy for me to get frustrated with those around me who have heard the gospel, but refuse to believe it. I wonder if they're just stubborn or if I didn't explain it right or if maybe my life is so flawed that they look at me and doubt the validity of a life-changing gospel. I wonder how they can hear about the incredible love that brought Jesus to earth and sent Him to the cross to die for our sins...about His resurrection and still not believe.

This morning, during my quiet time with God, I read these two verses and it gave me a new understanding about those who don't respond to the gospel message.

According to verse 4 above, the enemy has blinded their minds, so that they can not see the light of the gospel or the glory of Christ.

So, how did we come to believe? I mean, hadn't that same enemy blinded our minds to the light of the gospel?

The answer is in verse 6 - God made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

It's God who opens our blinded minds and sheds light into our hearts, making it possible for us to see the truth of the gospel so that we might believe and accept Jesus as our Savior.

This information gives me another way to pray for those people I love who are not yet believers, because I'm sure that my salvation is a direct result of the prayers of those who loved me, those who had shared the gospel with me many times.  I can tell you their names.

Who was praying for you? Aren't you glad they did?  So, let's not neglect praying on a regular basis for those unbelievers that God has placed in our lives.  Without your prayers, it's doubtful their blinded minds will ever break free to believe.


Let's pray...


Prayer:
Father, God, I ask that you open the minds of those who have been blinded to the light of the gospel by the enemy. Let your light of truth shine brightly in their hearts, breaking through the darkness and the lies that they have believed - the muddled thoughts that keep them from seeing Jesus for who He really is.  Destroy the works of the enemy, that the glory of Christ will shine and that those who have been deceived will come to know the freedom that is Him. Amen

*If you have loved ones you are praying for, be specific. Insert their names into this prayer and pray for them on a continual basis. Never give up because each time you pray for them, God sends His Holy Spirit to speak truth to them. Remember..."When a believing person prays, great things happen." James 5:16 (NCV)



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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

You can go with this...or you can go with that.

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

Galatians 5:16 (NIV)

I love having choices. Choices means freedom. We can choose which car we drive, which college we go to, what kind of house we live in, what city/state we live in. We can choose what we wear, what we eat and even what we think.  Choices are great, but they also come with responsibility and consequences. We would be wise to consider our choices wisely.

In the book of Galatians, Paul talks about some choices that were facing the early church...choices of behavior.  He made two lists of behaviors - consider which list you prefer:

You can go with this...

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)

Or you can go with that...

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

If given the choice (and we are given the choice), I'm going with the last list...the fruits of the Spirit!

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Galatians 5:24-25

Prayer:
Thank you, God, for allowing us the freedom to make our own choices. You do not force us to follow you, to love you or to serve you. You simply lay out our choices and we are free to choose, but, Oh God, help us to realize the consequences of our choices and help us to make wise ones. For those of us who call ourselves Christians, may we always keep in step with the Spirit and may our choices always bring honor to the name we bear - the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.


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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Whatever you do...

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

glory: worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving 

The truest form of worship is a life that is lived to glorify God. From the smallest of our decisions, like what to eat or drink to the largest, like a career choice, selecting a spouse or the way we raise our children - if each decision is made with the one thought in mind...what will bring the most glory to God, we can't go wrong.

Prayer:
Father, help all my decisions today be ones that spring from a heart of worship, whose only desire is to bring you praise and honor out of a heart filled with thanksgiving for all you've done for me.


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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Doing Follows Thinking

^"Those who live following their sinful selves think only about things that their sinful selves want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about the things the Spirit wants them to do.If people's thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace." Romans 8:5-6

Do you ever watch the Food Network on TV? I do.

Do you have a weight problem or a health issue that requires that you stay away from certain foods? 
I do.

So, I've noticed that when I watch the Food Network, which I love, it's not long before I find myself poking around in the fridge or pantry for something to munch on...even if I'm not hungry. This results in a continuous battle with my weight and keeping my sugar levels under control.

As I read these verses this morning, I was reminded once again that we have two natures - our sinful selves who crave what we shouldn't have and lean toward self-indulgence.  And our spiritual selves, who...if we are Christians, have the desire to do what the Spirit (of God) wants us to do.  The Spirit leans toward self-control and leads us to life and peace.

What jumped out at me today was the word thinking in the verses above. If we "think only about things that their sinful selves want" then we end up doing the very things we don't really want to do. On the other hand, if we spend time "thinking about the things the Spirit wants", then we will find ourselves doing the things we really want to do - the right things.

It's clear to me that my doing follows my thinking, so from now on, I'm going to be paying more attention to my thoughts, knowing that what I dwell on is what I act on.

Bye-bye, Food Network!

Prayer:
Father, thank you for your word. It's always relevant, always wise and always steers us in the right direction. And this is my prayer: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14) Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Beware of FFPP !

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

Today I was working on a craft project while listening to Chuck Swindol on the radio.  My project is hand embroidered words of affirmation in cute little 4" hoops. I'm focusing on words that uplift and encourage. Words like...grace, forgive, laugh, love, joy, believe, adore, sing, life, praise, hope and serve.  These words exemplify the character traits that we should embrace as Christians. My aim is to put these little hand-crafted encouragers up for sale in my Etsy store so that others can hang them in their houses or office to brighten their day.

While stitching away I heard Chuck say four words that caught my attention...fame, fortune, power and pleasure.  He went on to explain that when our focus is on obtaining any one of these four things, our pathway is leading us into sin.  How true, Chuck, how true!

I thought of other words that get us into trouble...envy, strife, greed, pride, self, hate, prejudice.  Yuck!

Now, I'm even more determined to fill my home and the world with words that build up, not tear down, words that remind me who I want to be and who I want to encourage others to be.  I took a short break from my embroidery to write these words to you, hoping that you would pause a moment to think about the words that describe your life.

Are they words you're proud of? Words that portray the real you? I hope so.

Now, back to my embroidery....must fill the world with good words!

Prayer:
Father, remind me to examine my life on a regular basis to see if the words that describe my life are ones that would make you smile.  Help me to encourage others to reach for the highest goal...a life that pleases you.  Amen


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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Falling Flat on my Face

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."  Ephesians 4:22-24  (NIV)

I remember reading these verses over thirty years ago when I first surrendered my life to Christ.  I wanted to leave my old self behind. I wanted to be free of the desires and attitudes that I knew weren't pleasing to God.  Oh, how I tried to be my new self. I tried being righteous and holy...but I often fell flat on my face!

Someone would say something offensive or hurtful to me and my old self would rise up and fling ugly words right back at them. I'd see something I knew I couldn't afford and didn't need and I would ignore the fact that what money I had was slotted for paying bills - I'd charge it and worry about it later. I'd see a movie trailer that titillated my senses with it's horror and I'd rush right off to see it just to feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Or I would glance at someone, give them the once-over and make a snap judgment about their character, based on their appearance. Nothing righteous or holy in any of these things!

Nope, I wasn't very good at squashing the desires and attitudes of my old self.

One day in frustration of yet another failure to behave in a way that pleased God, I cried out to Him that this righteousness and holiness thing was just too hard.  "There is no way I can do it, Lord. I'm just not strong enough to be the person you want me to be!"

And then He opened my eyes and heart to the truth...there is no way we can do it on our own!

The only way to put on your new self (the one that was created to be created to be like God), is to begin each morning in His word and on our proverbial (or literal) knees, seeking His strength, His wisdom, His guidance and then to walk through the day with an ear inclined to His voice, so that when He prompts us to make the right choice, or say the right thing or respond the right way, we can clearly hear his prompting and then be swift to obey.

It's a daily, step-by-step process that allows us to put off our old self and become the kind of people who behave in ways that please the Lord, because that pesky old self is not so easily put off!

Prayer,
Father, thank you for creating me to be like you - righteous and holy in character and thank you for making it possible, because in my own strength, it's an impossible task, but your strength is made perfect in my weakness. Help me to stay tuned in to your voice and to be swift to obey your leading, that I might be all that you created me to be and that I might be a good witness to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. And thank you for forgiving me on those days when I still fall flat on my face!

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

How Can I Pray For You?

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."  Ephesians 1:17

"How can I pray for you?" my friend asked.

Wow - what a great question!  First of all, it means so much to me when I know that someone is praying for me. To know that a friend is taking a little time in their day to ask God to touch my life tells me several things...

One, they care about me
Two, they want to be involved in my life
Three, they know that the very best thing they can do for me is to ask God to meet my needs

To me, the greatest expressions of friendship are lending a helping hand and praying for another. So, when someone asks, how can I pray for you? my first response is to quickly scan my brain for what I need.  Money, healing, wisdom for decisions...all these come to mind, but what I really want, what I truly need, what my heart cries out for most is to know God better.

I want to be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that I will be able to sense His presence, know His will, see His hand moving in my life and know the next step that He wants me to take.  I want to know his character, I want to know...really know God.

So, if you want to truly bless your friends, pray for them as Paul prayed for those in Ephesus - pray and keep on praying that God will give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they might know Him better. If that happens, everything else in their life will fall into place.

And now, let me pray for you!

Prayer:
Father, I do ask that you would stir your Spirit within those who have received you, that we might be given wisdom and revelation, so that we might know you better. And I pray for those who do not yet know you, those who have not yet received your Son, Jesus, those who have not yet received your Spirit at the moment of salvation - that you would reveal yourself to them, that they might believe on you. I ask that all who read this might be stirred to know you better. Amen
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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)