not as strong

Posted on September 5, 2002 by Dana

Rich Mullins wrote a song entitled, “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are”. How many times I have discovered this to be true! I thought I knew a little about prayer until I stood with those brothers in Benin who gathered before the sun rose to lift their prayers to our Lord. When I realized afresh that I was not as strong as I thought I was, I asked them to pray for me and the American Church.

In the year 2000, Samuel Lamb, a pastor in the underground Church in China, was asked how Americans could help. “Tell them to pray for us. Pray for revival; pray for more new converts; pray for more strength to stand firm because persecution is still severe.”

But perhaps those who have gone through the fires of persecution have something to teach us. They may know how to cry out to God. They may know something about intercession. They know what type of faith is needed to endure. And they know to pray for souls. When Moses came down from the mountain after fasting forty days and nights, he found his people in terrible sin. What did he do? For forty more days and nights he fasted. During this time he lay prostrate on the ground and begged God not to destroy His people.(read Deut 9) What brings such disregard for self and such concern for others?

John Hyde was an American missionary to India at the turn of the twentieth century. His constant prayer was, “O God, give me souls or I die!” Was he sincere? The Holy Spirit is the source of such praying. The passion we need comes from Him. It is a passion full of an uncommon love that offers the most precious possession for the souls of men. Anyone who desires such passion is invited to humbly come to the One who knows how strong we really are.

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” Revelation 3:17-19

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persistence

Posted on August 28, 2002 by Dana

My brother and his wife and son are arriving in Atlanta tomorrow morning. Each week day I try to pray for Brian’s family and the people we met in Capetown last Christmas. The devil tempts us to think such praying has little purpose, but Jesus teaches us to pray and never give up.

The Lord reminded me of this instruction last spring when a missionary my son and I met in Benin, West Africa came to Atlanta. Taylor and I visited Benin a little over four years ago when my brother was living there. We had the great privilege of meeting many Christians in the rural villages of the country. Some of these brothers make it a daily habit to rise before day break to pray to the One who has all power and authority. I sometimes had chills run up and down my spine as these men that some would call poor and uneducated prayed with great boldness in languages I could not understand.

Sometimes I was asked to pray. Brian interpreted the requests, and I prayed boldly like my African brothers. Though I knew God heard our prayers, I did not see answers. Each night Taylor and I wrote a short summary of our day for Susan and the girls to read when we returned home. I often recorded the things we prayed about in the villages on a piece of paper in my Bible. For about a year, back home, I used this paper to pray for Benin and the brothers and sisters we met. So often I would fight the discouraging thought that such praying was pretty much a waste of time.

But this past spring, almost four years after our trip, we got to see one of the missionaries we met, and he gave me a message from a certain village. “Dana, the brothers wanted me to tell you that all the things you were asked to pray about when you visited have come to pass.” I hate to admit it, but I was a little stunned. If this message was true, some incredible things happened. We prayed for healing in places where witchcraft is the common method of curing sickness. We prayed for deliverance for those oppressed by the devil. We prayed for salvation to come to those who did not know Jesus. We prayed for believers to have the faith to withstand persecution. We prayed bold prayers.

These things I wonder: What if I had given up when I saw no instant result? What if I had not prayed persistently after I came back home? How many prayers has the Lord answered that I don’t even know about? Am I alive today because of the persistent prayers of the saints? … How often I have failed in persistence! How I need more faith! May the Son of Man find faith when He returns.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ … However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8

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security

Posted on August 22, 2002 by Dana

A Chinese preacher observed two mothers in the animal kingdom. In a forest in southeast Asia, he saw a rather large monkey with several babies piled on her back like acrobats in a circus. When she would swing from one tree to another the little monkeys would lose their grip and fall to the ground. The mother would jump down, let the little ones pile on top of her and try it again.

In a village, a mother cat was observed. When danger was sensed, she quickly put a kitten in her mouth, ran to a safe place, then went to get another. There was no way any kitten would be dropped as the mother cat hid her babies.

After sharing these stories, the preacher would ask, “Which illustration best fits our relationship to the Heavenly Father? Are we to hang on with all our might, wondering when we might fall? Or are we in a grip that cannot be broken?”

In John 10, Jesus talked about being the Good Shepherd of His sheep. Before He spoke of being a Shepherd, He claimed to be the gate for the sheep. “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” Many listeners thought this Teacher had gone off the deep end. “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

But Jesus is no lunatic. He knows He is the only safe place and He wants His sheep to know they are eternally secure in Him. Only faith in Jesus brings such a position. I have learned I have no strength on my own. Without His grace, I could have never been saved and without His grace, I will not be able to finish the race. Thankfully, hope does not rest in me. Hope rests in the secure grip of a Father and Son. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 24-25

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miracles

Posted on August 14, 2002 by Dana

I told Susan last spring, “If I can make it through a summer of camp then we’ll declare it a miracle!” We run camps during the summer at Greater Atlanta Christian School and the work can be quite draining. We had a great summer! I had full energy and I am so thankful.

So is it a miracle? Yesterday, one of my neighbors told me that when she sees me walking around the neighborhood, she wants to get down on her knees and thank God for the miracle He worked. Is that a proper response? I have two other neighbors who are nurses at Emory, where I had the stem cell transplant. They know all the doctors who worked with me and they understand the medical procedures I endured. Would they say my health is a miracle?

I guess I should not speak for them, but I know they believe they often see the hand of God. They prayed for me with unique understanding as I was sick. Not only would they visit me when I was at Emory, but they would check on me at my house or give me rides to the hospital on their way to work. They know the medical reasons I have health again, but I suspect they would still call it a miracle.

In our theologies we sometimes argue about miracles. Our definitions are often rigid and limited. It doesn’t make much difference to me how someone defines a miracle, I just know I was once quite sick and now I am quite well. And I know Who is responsible!

“But what if your next report says the cancer is back?” What if it does? Nothing will take away the miracle of this past year. We don’t know too much about Lazarus after he was raised from the dead. But we can be confident of one thing… he died again. Does that negate the miracle Jesus performed? What if he died of the same sickness that led to his first death? Would it matter?

If we pray in faith, it seems to me, we all believe in some type of miracle. Is it not a miracle that I can utter words out loud or in my mind and the Creator of all things hears and answers? Lord, increase our faith! I want to pray for the sick with a faith that believes God will bring instant healing. But if God has a different timetable or a different plan, we’ll let Him be in control. That’s the great challenge – to always believe our perfect Father is in control. He is.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

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thanks

Posted on May 30, 2002 by Dana

This is the last day of the school year and a good time to express thanks. I am grateful for your constant encouragement throughout the year. Some are surprised a math teacher can put a thought into words, but God is a God of wonders!

To my knowledge, our kids haven’t read anything I have written. I told Susan that perhaps one day these things we’ve learned will be of benefit to them. When the late Rich Mullins (who was not married and had no kids) was asked what he would say to his child in this day and time, he wrote some thoughts that led to a song entitled: “Bound to Come Some Trouble”. Here’s the first verse:

There’s bound to come some trouble to your life, but that ain’t nothing to be afraid of
There’s bound to come some trouble to your life, but that ain’t no reason to fear
I know there’s bound to come some trouble to your life, but reach out to Jesus and hold on tight
He’s been there before and He knows what it’s like
You’ll find He’s there

These words are true!

I also want to thank you for all the prayers you have prayed for me, my family, and our two friends, Sybil and Suzette, who are battling breast cancer. I don’t think God ever expected us to fully understand one another or even agree with one another at every turn. But I do know He expects us to love one another. When we pray in faith and match our words with action, God smiles. The greatest sign of God in this world is the special love He puts within His children.

It looks like I have a busy summer ahead. If a stirring thought comes to mind, I may send out a note or two, but until then – let us courageously live the life of love God calls us to live and let us give continuous thanks for Jesus… who shows us what love really is.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” I John 3:16-18

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” I John 4:7-12

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