Afraid to touch heaven

           

 At a meeting with several key intercessors from across Oregon, I found myself face to face with something I had never seen before, jewels from heaven. Madeleine, our host, showed us a picture of these jewels, which she said she had been finding all around her home for several weeks following their first appearance.

 

            Madeleine said she vacuumed on a regular basis, so she knew these jewels weren’t the same as the ones she had been collecting. I have heard of this kind of thing happening, but have never known someone personally. Before I knew it, Madeleine asked us if we wanted to see them and brought two sandwich bags, one with amethyst and the other with citrines stones in them. As we marveled at the stones, she said she had them appraised and yes, they were real stones.

 

            Coming face to face with such a story made me question what I really do believe. I know God heals, and I know God created the whole world out of nothing. So was it so far fetched that God would bring semi-precious stones out of thin air? I realized as I thought about it that I do believe God could do this. As Madeleine showed us the earrings she had made with two of the amethyst stones, she asked us if we wanted to take two. In my spirit I wanted to take them, but in my flesh, I wanted to run away; in my soul, I long to see this happen in my own home, with my own eyes.

 

            I chose two of the amethyst stones. Madeleine put them into a ziplock bag then I put them into my bag and we went on to lunch and the meeting which followed.

 

         

   Days later God prompted me to take the ziplock bag with the two stones out of my bag. As I did, fear began to well up in me, and I realized I was still feeling the same fear I had felt as I looked at the stones.  In the silence of my office, I began to process my feelings. I was afraid to touch heaven. Often times when I touch things, I sense what someone is thinking and feeling, and because of this, I feared what I would sense when I touched these stones, but I was only beginning to understand why.

            As I processed my feelings more, I came face to face with questions. Would I find that these stones were a fake? Would I find that heaven wasn’t real? Was I afraid to find out that secretly God really hates me? All of these fears were there, but the strongest of these fears was that I would find out how God really feels about me.

            I took the stones out of the bag, trying to side-step my feelings by talking to God about where I should put them. God didn’t answer me, and in the silence, I came face to face with my fear of touching heaven. I suddenly began to cry uncontrollably as I felt the stones in my hand. I thought I had come to terms with my past, that I knew God really does love me. Yet again face to face with heaven, I was still unsure of God’s love and feared He would strike me dead for touching heaven. As I continued holding the stones in my hand, I felt only love, the same love I had felt as I stood in the cloud of his presence as a small child, the love which sustains me now and will do so unto the end of my days upon the earth. How silly were my fears, yet those fears were real and undeniable.

 

            As the tears ended, I got up and praised God for his love as worship music played in my office. I still haven’t figured out what to do with the stones, nor do I know if I ever will see jewels materialize with my own eyes. But I sure do hope so, and I believe I have taken another step to be ready for heaven and the day I have the privilege of being in the presence of my Lord!

 

            This chain of events got me thinking. Is the fear of heaven a reason why people reject or flee from entering into the moves of God that touch our lives as I almost did that day at Madeleine’s house? If I had rejected the gift, I would have missed out on such a rich blessing.

 

            Martin Luther, a man not afraid to touch heaven said this: “I would not give one moment of heaven for all the joys and riches of the world, even if it lasted for thousands and thousands of years.”

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart; replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet,  where you can read a personal prayer blog, find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

 

Maturing into Sons and Daughters of the King

            As we finish the series on Growing the Christian Life, I have begun pondering this question; do I want to be a child of God or do I want to be a daughter of the King? This question goes to the root of maturity, we need to camp for a while on the topic of maturity. I hope you with camp here with me.

 

The question about being a child of God or being a daughter or son of the King is interesting. At first glance, they seem to be the same thing, but they are actually very different. I have always thought of myself as a child of God and identified with the words of Jesus: “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” Luke 18:17.

 

 Yet a child always stays a child, while the image of a daughter or son provides the option to grow up, and thus enter into the intimate connections adult sons and daughters form with their parents.

 

Being a son or daughter of the King brings with it a deeper understanding of the power and authority that comes from that relationship. We see this in 2 Kings 15:5: “Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.” In the New Testament, Jesus told his disciples in John 14:12-13, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” Jesus, who makes us members of the king’s family, giving us power and authority. 

 

Over the years, I have walked in spiritual authority as I ministered to people. Yet now, understanding spiritual authority in this new way gives me a greater appreciation of the gift God has given me.  I also see more deeply the responsibility I have to use this power and authority. And I guess that is what maturity is all about.

 

            Paul writes in I Corinthians 13:11 – 12: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

 

            I have come to the conclusion that I want to put childish ways behind me and embrace my place as a daughter of the King with its power, authority and responsibility. I know that God will reveal more and more as I grow, affording me to see who He is, preparing me to see him face to face.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart; replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet,  where you can read a personal prayer blog, find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

 

Maturity

This is the final of the blog series “Growing the Christian Life” inspired by the article “Growing” written by James Autry.

 

James reminds us: “A man grows from a baby into an adult in accordance to the pattern and timing that God has designed.  This pattern and timing is established and orchestrated by the genes within the cells of the man’s body.  There is no way that anyone can change the pattern or timing of growth that will occur in their body.  It is experienced as God has designed it to happen.  But man can help or hinder this process of growth through five different areas of his life experience.”

We have looked at breathing, eating, exercising, resting and bathing over this last month.

James continues: “To the extent that we do these five things in our relationship with God is the extent that we will grow in that relationship and become not only like Him but be close to Him.  The freedom comes in knowing that He is in control and that we are in the center of His will for our lives as we simply breathe, eat, exercise, rest and stay clean before Him. That is all that He asks of us, just be what He has created you to be!”

Maturity is the fruit of these five simple processes of your spiritual life. Just as your body grows slowly over a period of years, so does your spiritual life. Maturity isn’t something we can manufacture like a book. Yesterday I saw the story of the brain surgery and the team which included someone who was twittering about the events as they happened. Though thousands watched and twittered their questions, they could no more do brain surgery than the reporter who shared the story because becoming a brain surgeon takes time, effort and commitment, as does our spiritual life.

 

Trees are often found in Scripture representing human characteristics.  Jeremiah 17:8 speaks volumes about maturity: “He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

 

So never stop breathing, never stop eating, never stop exercising, never stop resting and never stop bathing.

 

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart; replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet,  where you can read a personal prayer blog, find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

 

Bathing

We are continuing this blog series “Growing the Christian Life” inspired by the article “Growing” written by James Autry.

 

            James writes: “Finally, for a body to maintain healthy growth and freedom from disease and sickness, it must be kept clean.  The truth is, that we live in a dirty world and we are going to get dirty.  But we should not stay dirty or allow dirt to infect the wounds that come from living in this world.  So must we constantly cleanse the dirt from our lives and confess the sins that we find ourselves in and repent, change our mind about playing in those mud holes again.  Nor should we allow the ways of the world to infect the wounds that life brings, but rather keep them clean and allow God to heal us and make us whole.”

 

            In Ezekiel 36:24-25, we hear God speaking to the people of Israel about how He will cleanse them of all impurities and idols, giving them a new heart and putting a new spirit in them. I believe that when we take time to spiritually bathe, we share in the Lord’s cleansing us of all impurities, removing spiritual dirt what Scripture calls impurities (sin: words we speak, thought we have or things we do) as well as what scripture calls idols (things of the world that we have allowed ourselves to attach to).

 

In verse 26, God promises to remove the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. Spiritual bathing does so much more than just clean the outside of the body, for it changes thing on the inside, which allows the body to become strong so we are then able to partner with God.

 

Verse 27 says this: “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness.”

 

We need to continue to be diligent and take our spiritual baths. — not once or twice a year at some spiritual conference, but rather on a daily basis, taking the time seeking the Lord so that we are as clean as possible. This is what the Lord taught James. I have watched him keep a short account, taking spiritual baths often as he confesses and repents. I have seen this in our weekly prayer meetings as he will repent right on the spot if needed.

We must also realize there will be those days when even though we have taken a shower in the morning, we are filthy by the end of the day and in need of another spiritual bath. 

 

Over the years, as I worked with many wounded people, I have come home and had to spend time in prayer taking a spiritual bath, confessing how I felt about the events of a specific the ministry session. Once as I drove home from working with a woman who was drawn to homosexuality, I could feel the enemy attacking my thought life, so when I got home ,I prayed, taking the cross of Christ (in my mind) and putting it between me and the session’s events, severing all attachments they had to me. It was a blessing to be able to come home and receive cleansing from the Lord and then be able to care for my family with no ill effects.

 

On another occasion, this cleansing process helped me as I worked through my own trauma., I was so upset about the events I had uncovered in a memory of being raped by a stranger that not only did I take a spiritual bath, but I took a physical shower so I would feel clean inside spiritually and outside physically. As I took the shower, I allowed Christ to cleanse my body of all the trauma. I washed off the shame and guilt with the soap, and as I dried myself, I allowed the truth of God’s love to surround me. When I got out of the shower, I was able to go on and care for my family, knowing that even if there were more tears, I was spiritually clean.

 

I don’t know about you, but when I take a bath or shower, I always feel better equipped for the day. I believe there is a similar principle in the spirit. If we look further in Ezekiel 36 to verses29-30, we find this:

 

“I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.”

 

Spiritually clean men and women can expect God’s blessings to flow much easier because they are clean. Just as water flows over a clean surface with less friction than a dirty surface, so likewise does our ability to absorb God’s blessings increase because we are not spiritually clogged up with the worries (sin) and cares of the world (idols).

 

            We will be finishing up our series on “Growing the Christian Life”,  with our blog on “Maturity”, so join us next time.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart; replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet,  where you can read a personal prayer blog, find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests to be shared with my intercession team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

 

Resting

We are continuing this blog series Growing the Christian Life inspired by the article “Growing” written by James Autry.

 

About Resting James writes: “As a body requires rest from physical exercise, God will be silent and not give clear direction all the time because He wants you to rest in His presence and know that He is God. “

 

            So much of the time when God is silent we see it as something bad. We think we have done something wrong and we begin to do more rather then seeing it for what it really is a time of rest. We can look at how God worked and how he rested in Genesis.

 

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing;

so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed

the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all

the work of creating that he had done. GE 2:2-3

 

            Resting is a powerful part of God’s plan for our lives, allowing for our bodies to rejuvenate, it is when growth and healing takes place in our body physically, on the flip side looking at our spirit, healing and grow often comes when we are quiet and have time allowing God to work in us. I don’t know if you have ever taken time intentionally to rest. There is something very special about that time, God uses the word holy, and that is the word that comes to mind when I think of it. It is time set apart just to be with God. Your body is calm, your mind is silent and your muscles are at rest. It is a time of healing and refreshing as God fills up your spiritual and emotional reserves.

 

For me this time seems to expand and I am so much more aware of the beauty of the world around me. All the little things that normally pass me by I become keenly aware of during that time of intentional rest. My sabbatical was like that. Yet as I sat down to write, I am running full steam ahead and have almost used all the reserves God stored up in me during that time of sabbatical.

 

Rest needs to happen on a regular basis, just as our bodies require sleep where 6 – 8 hours of the day is spend asleep. We need to spend time at spiritual rest, when nothing spiritually is required of us. We spend 40 hours at work, then come home and do all the household things, from caring for home and family to spending time with our friends and other social commitments. Then if we have any time left we will attend church, a bible study and finally think of resting. I am just as guilty as the next guy of doing this. I have spend the last week on the run, trying to add exercise to my weekly routine, which is just another thing to add to an over taxed to do list.

 

Resting, which I have planned into my schedules every Saturday went by the wayside when we had a 90^th birthday party to attend. Needless to say, I am even more tired this week, not because I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep but rather because I have not allowed myself to spiritually rest. I need to take time to rest and rejoice in the Lord. For me taking an hour a day isn’t enough with all I have to accomplish. I need to take an extended time once a week to be rejuvenated. I know that about myself, yet I just didn’t do it. I let go of that time and now I am running at a deficit spiritually. Not the best planning on my part. I can’t get that rest back. I have to intentionally allowing myself to take that holy time with the Lord to rejuvenate me.

 

Even as I write this blog, I had to put the pen down so to speak and take a spiritual break to be able to finish this blog well. Without the spiritual rest, I have no joy. I find myself fighting against my flesh to see things from God’s perspective, for my flesh is not energized by my spirit. I realize my spirit drives my body, not the other way around. It is why for me the spiritual rest, must be intentional and systemic, renewing my soul and energizing my body.  I use to think this was silly until several years go when I took so many spiritual hits not by the enemy but because I was not resting. The normal wear and tear of life, literally tore a hole in my soul. Since then I am much more aware of keeping my rest in place.

 

These days I don’t take too many spiritual hits, only because the enemy can not attach himself to me, because my spirit is renewed in rest.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart; replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet where you can read a personal prayer blog, helpful prayer tips as well and current prayer opportunities along with posting your prayer request which will be shared with my intercession team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Exercising

We are continuing this blog series, “Growing the Christian Life,” inspired by the article “Growing,” written by James Autry.

 

            We will be looking at the third principle of exercising. James writes of exercise: “As a body requires physical exercise and movement to grow, so does our spirit.  We must be obedient to the will of God in life and do only what He commands us to do.  It is the enemy that will command you to constantly exercise and wear your body out with over exertion.  God will not command you to do something that will not strengthen your relationship with Him.”

 

            As we look at what Scripture says about exercise, we turn to 1 Corinthians 9.

 

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1CO 9:24-27

 

            I have heard this scripture used in reference to the Christian life. Often we hear that the prize is completing some task, from winning souls to some big project. In light of what James Autry is saying, we should consider seeing the prize differently. When the prize we are to seek is relationship with God, then we can have renewed strength and not be like a person running aimlessly about, as this scripture warns us…

 

            Just this last week, I found myself with this quandary about how to run the race of life. My pastor asked me to lead a Bible study on Wednesday nights because our women’s leader just finished a six-week series, so   he is now looking for a new leader. I am currently in another group on Wednesday nights. Because I understand relationship with my Lord is my priority, my prize, it wasn’t hard to tell my pastor no, I can’t right now. I had such freedom and joy knowing I was doing the right thing.

 

            Right now, the best thing for me is to continue in my study group, which helps me to get connected with others in my church, and complete the Genesis Process. God is building relationships within this group as we share from the depth of our lives, and this is the most valuable thing for me right now because I am new to the church and I don’t know a lot of the women. My ego would have been gratified if I was to lead the study and become known that way, but the witness to those in my Genesis class would become tarnished. This leads us to Hebrews and another Scripture passage that speaks so powerfully about exercise…

 

‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” HEB 12:1-3

 

            Jesus’ relationship with His heavenly Father was first and foremost in his life, and then as the crescendo of his life, out of the fullness of his relationship with God, he could give his life on the cross.

 

            It is my prayer that the Lord will reveal to you more and more t how to exercise without running aimlessly through your lives.

           

Please share with me your own insights as we grow the Christian Life!

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page, you can find a copy of the article by James Autry, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart; replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet where you can read a personal prayer blog, find helpful prayer tips and current prayer opportunities and post your prayer requests, which will be shared with my intercession team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Eating

        

  We are continuing this blog series Growing the Christian Life inspired by the article “Growing” written by James Autry.

 

Today we will be looking at the second of the Christian Life principles: Eating.  Like breathing, if we don’t eat, we won’t live. It is commonly accepted that a person can live 4 to 6 weeks without taking in nourishment.  ”As our body requires the eating of food to survive, so does our spirit require feeding on God’s Word,” James said.

 

          When I am not eating from the Word of God regularly, my spiritual life suffers. Many people focus on memorizing the Word of God as a way to take in God’s Word on a daily basis, but I believe that we need to be careful to read and meditate upon the Word as well. “Just as one can not eat all the time, but rather only several times a day, so must we feast upon the Word of God only what we can handle until we are in need again for nourishment,” James writes.

 

          Nutritionist, Victor Lindlahr, a strong believer in the idea that food controls health, coined the phrase in the 1920’s, “you are what you eat. “Ninety per cent of the diseases known to man are caused by cheap foodstuffs. You are what you eat,” writes Lindlahr. I don’t know that we would all agree with this percentage, though in the spiritual diet, this is probably an accurate figure. So much of our spiritual disease from sin and idolatry to the soul ties and stronghold that exist in our lives is caused by the cheap spiritual foodstuffs we consume.

 

          So much of the spiritual stagnation we see in America comes from consuming cheap spiritual foodstuffs. We are too quickly swept into the seeker friendly services, forgetting that we who know Christ must eat the meat of the gospel to thrive!  In the book of Hebrews we read

 

“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14

 

          We must never stop eating the meat of the gospel. We must meditate on it, memorize it, share it with those who believe and those who don’t. Many of us would think nothing of sharing our physical food with a stranger, so we need to see that we should share our spiritual food that sustains us with the world, for it feeds our soul, renewing our spirits and is the key to thriving in this twenty-first century world!

 

            Never be afraid of the Word of God; rejoice that it is living is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating deep into the joints and marrow of your soul, Hebrews 4:12. Rejoice as the word of God judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Take comfort that nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight, and have confidence in your salvation, as everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account, Hebrews 4:13.

 

            Seeing the gospel as your spiritual food allows you to take it in, making it personal and allowing it to feed your soul and renew your spirit, making you more and more like Christ! I would encourage you today, if you haven’t been feeding on a regular basis, begin again today and let the Lord feed you from the richest of his bountiful harvest that we know as the Bible!

 

 I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. ^{1 john 2:14}

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a Bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.  

 

 Intercessors Heart replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet. Read a personal prayer blog, find helpful prayer tips, current prayer opportunities and post your prayer request which will be shared with my intercession team.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Breathing

The first thing God taught James Autry about growing in his Christian life was to breathe. Breathing from a physical stand point is the most critical of all processes we have. If we don’t breathe, we don’t live. 

 

James reminds us: “Breathing is a two part process, first inhaling the second is exhaling. As our body needs the free exchange of oxygen and carbon monoxide through breathing, so does our spirit require the free exchange of communicating with God, both a voicing of our heart to Him and our listening to his voice. Just as one can not simply breathe only once a day, but needs to breathe 24 hours a day, so must we commune with God always.” 

 

As I ponder this simple concept, I realize in the physical there are many types or kinds of breathing. At birth we have the breath which sustains us; then later, we begin to learn when, where and how to use the shallow quick breaths as well as those longer breaths designed and needed to expand the diaphragm completely.

 

 

     Early in our Christian lives, we begin by saying those simple prayer requests that come from the hearts of children before their father, only to find as we grow that we need to pray another way. We often feel we have been praying wrong, and therefore our connection and communication with God is wrong. However, this is not the case. Breathing looks different at different moments and stages in our lives.  When James shared this concept I was overjoyed because as we grow spiritually, our prayer looks different and in fact we can expect it to change, just as our breathing changes throughout life. We are reminded of this fact in I Cor.13:11:

 

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

           

            I know I began my Christian life saying those short prayer needs list, and as I have grown as a Christian, I have grown to a place where I am becoming a seasoned spiritual athlete who has learned to take those long breathes which expand my diaphragm, allowing me to run the race with endurance.

 

            We all know what those short quick breaths are, when we stop for a moment and shoot up a prayer to God, telling Him the needs in our heart. This is breathing, yet if we never grow from there, we will run out of spiritual breaths and those breathes of a child will not sustain us as adults.

 

            Not everyone is to become that star athlete, but, as Paul reminds us, we all have to run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  As we grow, God will show each of us how to breathe for the race He has marked out for us.

 

            Spiritual breathing for me is deep, the breath of an intercessor. People often ask me to teach them about my prayer. It is very simple.  I begin by inhaling,  seeking the Lord’s will about a specific situation, lingering deeply with the Lord in order to receive His will, then I exhale, releasing God’s will into the atmosphere. This type of breathing takes time and effort, yet for me it is the most fulfilling, and others may say, it gets the best result.

 

            On one memorable occasion early in my years as an intercessor, my boss, who was a dog musher in Alaska, asked me to pray for more snow so that she would get in more training because they were so far behind in their training schedule. I prayed, and as I prayed, the Lord opened the skies and she had enough snow to train her dogs. She was amazed, and from then on, even though she was not a Christian, she sent people to me for prayer right there in her store. I thought that was so strange at first, yet I know even this silent witness affected her, for as the years went on, she began to warm up to the Lord.

 

            I didn’t learn to breathe over night, nor was it learned in a year. I am like the seasoned athlete who has spent hours in training. These days I spend an average of 8 – 12 hours a week in prayer.  Some of that is in the corporate setting at a prayer meeting, some of it has a specific focus, but most of that time is spent just sitting in my office alone with the Lord. I am also often in prayer anytime I have a quiet moment during the day. It is just how spiritual breathing is for me.

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart this page replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet where you can read helpful prayer tips as well and current prayer opportunities along with posting your prayer request which will be shared with my intercession team.

 

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This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.

Growing the Christian Life

Living the Christian life can baffle us. We make it so complicated and complex that we can be tempted to give up. In this series, we will examine five simple principles of living the Christian life which correspond with the activities we do on a daily basis: breathing, eating, exercising, resting, and bathing. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be talking about these five principles, and as we do, I pray you find joy, peace and hope to strengthen you!

 

At our prayer meeting, my friend James Autry shared what the Lord showed him years ago while he was in college. Then a young college student, he desired to be the most he could be for God. He was reading his Bible every waking hour, thinking that would bring him into maturity quicker and get him on the road to fulfill the vision the Lord had given him for his life. During that time, God taught him what he needed to do, equipping him for the rest of his life. As I look at James, a vital Christian man who is affecting the world for Christ, I know these principles are worth investigating.

 

As we begin this series on growth in the Christian life, we will begin by listening to what James wrote, copied below:

         “A man grows from a baby into an adult in accordance to the pattern and timing that God has designed. This pattern and timing is established and orchestrated by the genes within the cells of the man’s body. There is no way that anyone can change the pattern or timing of growth that will occur in their body. It is experienced as God has designed it to happen. But man can help or hinder this process of growth through five different areas of his life experience. The first is breathing, the second is eating, the third is exercising, the fourth is resting and the fifth is keeping his body clean. To the extent that a man breathes, eats, exercises, rests and keeps his body clean is the extent that he will grow as God has designed for him to grow.

           In the same way our relationship with God follows the example of growth for our body. Just as God has designed the pattern and timing for our physical growth, he has also designed the pattern and timing of our spiritual growth, that is, our relationship with Him, knowing Him as we are known by Him. It is God’s responsibility and desire to draw us unto Himself, just as it is His responsibility and desire to cause our physical bodies to grow to adulthood. But it is our responsibility to work with Him in the process and not against Him. The only thing that God expects of us is our yieldedness, to be totally surrendered to Him and let Him bring us to Him.”

 To read the complete article by James Autry please visit my Mentor page and you will see it published there.

I hope you will join me in this series about Growing the Christian Life as we begin with Breathing!

 

Blessings and Complete Joy,

Mildred

 

Check out our monthly memory verse on the Equip page as well as a copy of SOAP a bible study method you can copy and print out for yourself.

 

On our Mentor page you can find a copy of the original article James Autry wrote, upon which this series of blogs is based.

 

 Intercessors Heart this page replaces the often visited Secrets from My Prayer Closet where you can read helpful prayer tips as well and current prayer opportunities along with posting your prayer request which will be shared with my intercession team.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This blog is part of the ministry of Complete Joy and is published each Tuesday and Saturday, usually by noon Pacific Time.