That’s the question that was on my mind when I saw little John without his twin in church Sunday. I knew he looked familiar, but I hadn’t taken a good look at him in a couple of weeks and seeing him out of context, I honestly couldn’t identify him. At that age, looks change quickly.

How quickly do you change? 

Speaking to a woman recently, she was commenting on the fact that she wasn’t as disciplined as she wished. She compared herself to others in the church and said, “I am just not a disciplined person.” Neither am I. But if I could step back from my life, I might see that I am more disciplined than I used to be.

Generally discipline is considered a fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5). Several of those, mose clearly self-control, are related to self-discipline. They are fruit.

Since they are fruit of the Spirit, then they are there by the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. And since they are fruit, they probably don’t appear spontaneously, but come to be through activities such as planting, growing, cultivation, weeding, feeding, and watering — all of which take time.

I think a key to self-discipline is having a determination to never give up. And if you are to remain steadfast, then you have to believe you are growing — that you are developing in the area of discipline. Seeing self-discipline as a process is a good start.

It would also be good to observe that you are indeed growing. As a child, my parents let us mark our height on the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. I remember marveling at how much I had grown through the years. It’s tough to remember where we were in the area of spiritual discipline, so maybe it would be helpful for us each to note the growth we’ve seen in one another. And maybe it would be good to take a risk with a trusted friend and ask, “Do you see places in my life where I have grown?” Such a risk might encourage us more than we expect.

Little John will only be little John for a few more years. Then, I have a feeling, he will be John. And eventually, maybe Big John. If only our spiritual development were as easily recognizable as the physical development of a baby — we might just find ourselves encouraged to lean forward and grow even more.

I have been listening to Erwin McMannus in recent days, specifically his podcasts in his sermon series Artisan. When talking about Job, he said something that struck me.

Bitterness usually doesn’t set in because of what happened to you; Bitterness usually sets in through your interpretation of why it happened to you. The brokenness that settles deep in your soul — I know this is going to be hard for you to believe but it’s not there because of what you experienced — of what happened. It is there because of your interpretation of your conclusion of why it happened to you.

It can cause you to take on a filter, a mindset of victimization for the rest of your life which will cause you to live a life of powerlessness for the rest of your life. It will cause you to misdirect your strength, trying to control the outside world that you have no control over, while relinquishing responsibility and control for your inner-world which you have full control over. ~Erwin McMannus, Artisan: Interpretation – Translation of Life, 2012

To come through adversity in life in a manner that’s healthy, it’s essential we grasp this reality.

This winter, Laurel was leading a small group on Becoming a Woman of Love.

Early on, she started to write devotionals for the women in the group. Although the group meetings have come to a close, she’s still writing devotionals. You can find them here at http://curwensvillealliance.org/laurel/

Feel free to subscribe and pass the site along to anyone you feel would benefit.

~Steve

“Send some prayers my way,” Joey said. “I am applying for that job tomorrow.”

I have heard this kind of thing innumerable times through the years: “I am sending some prayers your way today!” It’s a nice sentiment, but technically, it’s not biblical.

Where are prayers sent? To God. David illustrates this in places like Psalms 142 where he says, ¹O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. ²May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Even though he later states in this psalm that his prayer is against his enemies, David affirms from the start that the prayer is addressed to God and it’s going to God.

Likewise, Revelation 5 speaks with beautiful imagery of our prayers when it says this of the Lamb that was slain: ⁸And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Where did those prayers go? They became as incense in heaven — in the presence of God.

I feel confident that when people say this kind of thing — I’ll send some prayers your way — they intend it as a blessing. I would guess that they say it with pure hearts. But, without meaning to, they essentially leave God out of the picture. And frankly, when I hear someone say it, it sounds… pagan. It’s like saying that you’re sending some mojo. Christians don’t send mojo. We speak to God himself and ask him to send healing, deliverance, correction, life, and at times, himself — all of which are blessings.

Prayer is a great privilege. It’s essential to understand that by it,we enter the presence of the Most High God. And frankly, I’d rather have someone speak personally to God on my behalf than to “send some prayers my way”!

So send some prayers God’s way for someone in need. Trust God to send the blessing needed in response to the prayer.