miracles – JLM in Euroclydon

How Do You Pray?

How Do You Pray?

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

James 4:1-6 1What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? 2You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

4You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? 6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

Last week our pastor spoke about prayer, the Lord’s prayer, in particular, illustrating this as a great template for how to format our prayers and reminding us with his sermon title (To Whom Do You Pray?) the identity of the One to Whom we pray.

We all have need of our daily bread being given, our trespasses being forgiven, and freedom from temptation and evil. But what about those other needs? Things like healing, financial assistance, family problems, and a myriad of other things seemingly not addressed in the Lord’s prayer.

The Bible gives many examples of people praying for things they needed and or/wanted. Today’s scripture references show us why we should pray.

Wouldn’t you like to see great and unsearchable things you don’t already know, as Jeremiah promises?

I doubt anyone reading this is a killer, but certainly we have all coveted from time to time. And, we have all quarreled or fought with someone in our lifetime. Those are things that our human selves cause us to do when the things we want or think we need are not readily available.

The next verse tells us we don’t have because we don’t ask AND our motives are wrong, we want to “squander” our answered prayers on earthly things.

What follows is an example of what I believe was a wrong prayer prayed by a “good person” that, to which for some reason, YHWH said yes.

I’ll preface this by reminding you that the northern kingdom of Israel had no “good” kings, and the southern kingdom of Judah had only 8 of its 20 kings who were considered good.

One of those was Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 says that Hezekiah was “good and upright and true before the Lord his God. 21He was diligent in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and the commandments, in order to seek his God. And so he prospered.”

Later historically in a parallel history of the nation of Judah located in 1 and 2 Kings, in 2 Kings chapter 20 we find that In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah, the same one who wrote the book of Isaiah “son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’” It sounds as though his death was imminent.

2 Kings goes on: 2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3“Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the Lord. 6I will add fifteen years to your life.

Did YHWH “change his mind”?

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”

Yet, there are many instances where it “seems” like YHWH has changed his mind, including the one just described about Hezekiah.

In fact, this “changing” of YHWH’s mind resulted in the birth of one of the most evil kings in Judah’s lineup of kings. In addition, due to pride in self and the blessings which YHWH had bestowed upon him, just a few verses later in the same chapter verses 12-13 “At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness. And Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.” Note, it was the king of Babylon to whom Hezekiah showed “his” treasures. The same Babylon who a few years later took the nation of Israel into captivity.

Trustworthy prophet of YHWH, Isaiah, was still in King Hezekiah’s corner, and he rebuked him, with the remainder of the verses of this chapter reading as follows: Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?”

“They came from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”

“What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked.

“They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Will there not at least be peace and security in my lifetime?”

So Hezekiah repented, but no other great kingly acts are recorded about him as chapter 20 concludes with these final 2 verses:

As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

And there it, the 4^th word from the end “Manasseh.”

His evil acts are described in the next chapter of 2 Kings beginning with verse 2 “he did evil in the sight of the Lord by following the abominations of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.”

Continuing with verse 3 “he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.”

And in verse 6 “He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.” In my humble opinion, the act of “sacrificing a child to the fire” for personal gain and/or comfort is not any different than the act of abortion.

For these reasons and others, Manasseh earned the title of “the most evil king in Judah’s history”.

However. . . and this is a big however. . . in the parallel version found in 2 Chronicles 33, Manasseh was captured and tortured by a foreign entity.

While in captivity, in what was probably the lowest point of his life in verse 12 “in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the Lord his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers.”

And verse 13 “the Lord received his plea and heard his petition; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.”

Manasseh’s life as relayed by 2 Chronicles concludes with verses 18-20 “As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. His prayer and how God received his plea, as well as all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself, they are indeed written in the Records of the Seers. And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried at his palace. And his son Amon reigned in his place.”

Because of YHWH’s grace, and Manasseh’s humility before Him, Manasseh concluded his life as a “good” king, and I fully expect to meet him in Heaven one day.

Romans 8:28 “we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”

Because of Manasseh’s repentance and YHWH’s grace and mercy, his son Amon was born who was an evil king, but Amon’s son, Josiah was the most godly king Judah had in the entirety of its history. Josiah’s story can be found in 2 Kings 22 through 2 Kings 23:30 and 2 Chronicles 34 and 35.

All of them, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah are in the Lord Jesus’ lineage!

So, while Hezekiah’s prayer may have produced some bad things, in the end it all worked according to YHWH’s purposes and for the good of those who love Him.

So. . . returning to our original scripture in James, look at that last verse, verse 6 “He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Hezekiah’s pride hurt him and, indeed, his people. . . but when he humbled himself even though his motives may not have been 100% pure, he received grace. Manasseh also received grace.

WE RECEIVE GRACE.

Prayer is simply us maintaining our relationship with the One Who loves us the most. It doesn’t have to and, in fact, shouldn’t be filled with lofty words we don’t even fully understand. It doesn’t have to be lengthy. Listen to these words from Matthew 6 in the passage just before the Lord’s Prayer “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.“

That is not to say you should not ever pray in public. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing.” It is also suggested you look up the verse immediately preceding that one. Undoubtedly, some of the times you are praying, you will be in a public setting. But remember, although prayer in its most basic form is carrying on a conversation with YHWH, it should always be done in humility and worship of YHWH remembering His kingdom, His power, and His glory which will last throughout eternity.

Don’t Throw Out the Baby

Nicodemus & Mary Magdalene

“The Chosen” is a crowd-funded television series which seeks to narrate the ministry of Jesus when he walked with His disciples. It adheres to the Bible, but adds details which may or may not have been fully developed in stories of Jesus and his followers within the gospels.

I’ve only seen season 1, the first episode several times, and it arguably remains my favorite. Arguably because there are many others that are so good, too.

The 1^st two episodes of season 3 will be showing in theaters beginning in a few days, and I’m hoping to view these on the big screen.

In recent days, “The Chosen” has experienced controversy due to the following statement Jesus, as portrayed by Jonathan Roumie, makes.

“I am the law.”

Jesus does not say this in the Bible. What he does say is “″Do not believe that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come in order to abolish them, but in order to fulfill them.″ And in Romans 10:4 Paul states “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Even if this is more than a matter of semantics, which I’m not convinced it is, what bearing does it have on the fact that Jesus is Our Savior, Lord, Master, and Friend?

This is not a valid reason to discontinue receiving the great benefits of this wonderful series. The scene at the end of the first episode between Jesus and Mary Magdalene does not occur in the Bible, only its aftermath is referenced; however, any fringe person such as myself and many readers of this blog cannot help but be touched by the compassion displayed by the actor who so vividly portrays what I imagine Jesus would have done and said in just such a situation. It augments through the senses of vision and hearing what believers already feel in their hearts. If an unbeliever is watching, how could they not be moved?

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Over the past 40+ years I’ve experienced a variety of Christian ministries, both in terms of denominations and in terms of ministers/pastors/reverends. One of the sermons that left the most lasting impression with me was by an evangelist who visited a large church my late husband and I attended.

He revisited the story of Jesus after his resurrection having breakfast with his disciples on the lakeshore. This is in John 21.

The disciples had been fishing and had caught nothing. There was a man on the shore who told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Miraculously, their nets were so full they could not easily be hauled to the shore.

After this miracle Peter realized the man on the shore was Jesus. I love Peter. He made a lot of mistakes and got in trouble with his mouth, but when he realized Jesus was there, he jumped in the water rather than wait for the boat to transport him to the shore.

After they all reached land, verse 9 says “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.”

The fish on the coals could not have been the bounty the disciples had just caught because in the next verse Jesus says, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” (v. 10)

Where did the bread and fish come from? Was Jesus just carrying them around?

The evangelist next took us back to Matthew chapter 4:3-4: “³Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

⁴But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Jesus, having fasted 40 days and nights was hungry and certainly could have turned a stone into bread.

The morning at the lakeshore, satan (the tempter) was there, too. I don’t think he ever really goes away. The evangelist speculated that Jesus was “showing off.” He had turned stones into the bread that he and the disciples enjoyed that morning to spite the devil! Although the evangelist didn’t go there, it’s possible he caused the fish he had cooked to jump out of the lake and into his skillet!

There is nothing in the Bible to confirm these miracles, but they do correlate with what the Bible does tell us about Jesus.

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Other times, I’ve heard pastors make outright mistakes. One talked about Noah and his daughters and their husbands boarding the ark. Genesis 7:13 “On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.” Does this mistake make that pastor a heretic?

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

I’ve also had occasion more than once to ask pastors “What do you think about Jesus?” or “Do you believe Jesus is The Way to Heaven?”

Most of the time I was satisfied with the answers. There was one man, though, a minister for more than 40 years, who answered the 2^nd question with “I believe Jesus is A Way to Heaven.” Articles are important!

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Pray for people, especially those in positions of authority within the Church, who make false and dangerous statements such as that made above.

Jesus is THE WAY.

Don’t throw them out. Again, pray for them fervently. Their souls depend on it. But be very careful with regard to everything else they attempt to teach you.

This is one reason the Bible advises not to follow a man. This is found in what many consider to be the middle verse of the Bible, Psalm 118:8 “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” Follow The Man (again, articles are important), Jesus Christ. You are known by Him. Know Him. Then you will be able to easily to discern what is good and true. (Phil 4:8)

God bless you greatly in all you do.

One Car, Seven Miracles

miracles
rear damage Miracle #2: December 2016, Raspberry Shortcake after being rear-ended, while at a dead stop waiting to make a left-hand turn, by a small white car with an impaired driver going full speed. The car had been following me on the 2-lane state highway for about 5 miles. Watching in my rear-view mirror, I noticed right away there was something wrong since the car was weaving all over the road. At first, I thought it was going to pass me on the shoulder. Then it pulled back in close behind in me in the correct lane. Over the next few miles the car would sometimes return to the shoulder and sometimes veer into the other lane. More than once this nearly resulted in a head-on collision. I continued my drive home praying this would not happen. As I approached my turn, I considered not turning there but going on to the next small town and taking the long way home. But this would still mean a left turn somewhere and a possible stop. So I put my turn signal on and started to slow for my turn. There was oncoming traffic, and I prayed the driver would not attempt to pass me. I could see in the mirror it was not slowing down; it was rushing at me much too quickly. I considered driving off in the ditch, but my car is a stick-shift with a small engine, and I didn’t think I could generate enough speed to get out of the way. Even if I did, what if she chose to follow me into the ditch? So I prayed for safety for both of us and braced for impact. It’s amazing the things that goes through the mind in what had to be a length of time of a second or less.

I heard and felt the impact. Then just sat there for a minute, trying to assess my injuries. There didn’t appear to be any! Hallelujah! Then I went into hysterics. Just like when my husband died, I couldn’t make my fingers dial 911. When they finally did, the operator had a hard time understanding me until I calmed. They had me go check the condition of the other driver. The car was being driven not by one who had consumed too many drinks and/or drugs but by a lady a little older than me. I didn’t smell any alcohol, but she appeared dazed. I asked her if she was all right, and she told me she was. The operator asked for my assessment of her condition. I told him she was impaired, not apparently by substances but perhaps by a medical condition. Could they please send an ambulance? While awaiting the arrival of emergency personnel, I strongly advised the woman to go to the hospital when they arrived. When they did, they checked us both out. She did not go to the hospital. The only injury I suffered was a nail avulsion to my right thumb, perhaps from gripping the steering wheel so hard at the time of impact. Amazingly enough, neither vehicle had airbag deployment.

While I sat there waiting for the police officer to complete the report, I began to think. Overthinking or normal thinking? What if the lady hadn’t hit me at that precise location? What if I’d made the choice to go on and make my turn later? It was easy to imagine her head onning a semi or perhaps a car filled with a family. And I thanked God that she had rear ended me! Miracle #3: We had both emerged from the collision relatively unscathed.

But I was worried about my car.

When I assessed the damage, it really didn’t look all that bad. The police report estimated it over $1500, but all I could see was the crack in the bumper. Then I noticed the hatch wouldn’t latch properly and suspected there must be more damage than I could see. So I started praying Raspberry wasn’t totaled. Yes, I was grateful that my life and the life of the other driver were spared, but I didn’t want to lose my car.

The body shop assured me it wasn’t totaled, and the original estimate was nearly $4000. But once they started working, they found the floor of the back compartment needed replacement. That took the total cost up to early $5000. Miracle #4: I wonder, if they had known about that damage to start with, would the car have been considered a total loss? Perhaps. In that case, God answered my prayer for the sparing of my car by having a large portion of the damage not be apparent until the repairs had already begun. A couple weeks later, I had Raspberry Shortcake back good as new.

***

front damage May 2017. Collision with a deer. On that same highway where the rear end accident occurred.

Miracle #5: Again, no injuries to me. Not sure about the deer. Again, no airbag deployment. Another call to 911. Since there were no injuries, a policeman was not sent; instead, they conducted a telephone interview. Miracle #6: While we were talking, a man who lived in a nearby house and had heard the collision came out to make sure I was okay. I tried to get out of the car to look at the damage. Some of it was readily visible from inside the car, but I wanted to see its extent. Getting out of the car was not all that easy. The driver’s door wouldn’t open. So I made my way awkwardly across the gear shift, and the good Samaritan helped me out of the car.

I was heartbroken when I saw the damage. Surely, if that minor damage from the December accident had been so close to a total loss, this one would be. The man could see I was upset by this possibility and raised the hood to look at the inside damage. He reported that nothing appeared to be damaged in the engine compartment; there was no leaking of fluids or other obvious damage. It looked like the damage was all cosmetic. I thanked him but was still believing I was going to lose Raspberry Shortcake.

The body shop could not believe I was back so quickly with more serious collision damage to my beautiful car. Miracle #7: Amazingly, this time the estimate was less than the first time, only $3500. There were no hidden issues that arose, and the car was back in my possession this time in less than a week.

***

fixed car

I have been the blessed observed and receiver of several miracles through this car.

The first was simply owning it!

Miracle #1: Rod’s last gift to me.

After paying for his funeral, there was about $11,000 left. I was driving a high-mileage car, the last in a long line of them, and was doubtful about its ability to see me through the remainder of my driving days. My grandmother drove until she was nearly 80! So I began to look for something small (good gas mileage), less than 5 years old with fewer than 50,000 miles on it.

Let’s backtrack a bit here. Several years ago, there was a television show called “Psych” that my kids and I liked to watch–okay, that I liked to watch. One of the main characters drove a little blue Toyota Yaris. I wasn’t crazy about the color (wouldn’t neon green or sunny yellow have been better?–I never even considered a car in my favorite color, hot pink!), but I liked the look of it. Maybe it came in other colors. Maybe I could even afford it! I went to the dealership and looked at that car. It was just as cute in person, but way out of my budget. That was a good thing because just a few years later I married Rod. At 6 feet 2 inches and 350 pounds, I don’t think it would have been very comfortable for him.

Now, with the $11,000 I started my search for the perfect used car. I never was able to find any used Yaris’s, so I started to look for similar cars. Something like a Honda Fit or Chevy Sonic. Every time I found one in a pretty color, like yellow or green, it would be sold before I had a chance to even look at it. My brother-in-law suggested I check out the Mitsubishi Mirage. I might even be able to get a brand new one of those for the price of a used one of the others. I was already familiar with the Mitsubishi make. In 2001, shortly after my divorce was final, my father co-signed a loan for a 1998 Mitsubishi Gallant. (He passed away 7 months later.) It had 51,000 miles on it and was absolutely beautiful. My car at the time was a 1986 Nova which was on its last legs. I drove that wonderful car until 2010 when it had over 250,000 miles on it. It died, and no one could seem to figure out why. It became the first in that succession of high-mileage vehicles.

One Tuesday I had free, I went to several large towns in central Illinois to look at some things in person. I’d made appointments at several dealerships to look at specific cars, but at each one when I arrived the car I wanted had already been sold. My last stop was the Mitsubishi dealership.

The salesman told me he could get me into a new car for less than $11,000. First, we took a test drive in a red one. It was nice but didn’t have cruise control. I have a heavy foot at times and need that to avoid possible tickets. Red would have been okay. After all, it’s not black, white, or silver. But 2 of my last 3 cars had been red, and something different would be nice. Plus I wasn’t thrilled with the lack of cruise control.

Just a couple stalls away sat a hot pink one. He asked if I knew how to drive a stick. Yes, the car I drove up in was manual transmission.

So we hopped in that car and took another test drive. I was in love. Not only was the car new, I could pay cash for it, but it was fuschia! I bought it on the spot, knowing that it was one last gift from my generous husband.

It has been a fantastic car, protecting me through two accidents (with the help of God), getting gas mileage of about 40, and able to hold my precious granddaughters’ car seats in the back.

Just last Friday, I took it in for its 30,000 miles checkup. While helping me complete the paperwork, the technician told me there was a recall on the car due to the Miracle #8 airbags system needing its computer adjusted. I was surprised having heard nothing about it, but it was free, so I told them to go ahead.

Later, though, it occurred to me that had those airbags had to be reset after either of my accidents, the estimate would probably have gone over the total amount limit. So, by there being a flaw in the airbag system, now fixed, I had been able to keep my last gift from Rod.