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There were two prayers on my Facebook time line that I want to share with you. “Dear God, Fix me when I am the problem and protect me when I am not… Amen.” “Dear Jesus, Help me to be a little more like You each and every day. Amen.” I have prayed similar prayers each step of my long Christian journey. We are not the best one to judge our progress. We need God to give us a report card. When we pray, God’s Holy Spirit  does an inspection and helps with needed cleaning. With God’s help, we can eliminate the filth of sin that has been tracked into our life and sanitize the tiny germs of fear and doubt Satan uses to make us spiritually sick. It is then that God’s light can shine through us brighter for others to see.

Have you ever heard a preacher say that Christians are under Grace and not the Law? I even heard a minister with a large TV following say that the ten commandments don’t apply to Christians. That is not what Jesus teaches us.  Jesus actually expands the scope of those Laws given to Moses to apply to our thoughts and feelings as well as our actions. If we lust in our mind we are guilty of adultery and if we hate in our heart we are guilty of murder. Then Jesus adds His commandments to love each other, our neighbor and even our enemy. The Christian life has never been about Grace or God’s Law. My life for over seven decades has been under Grace for Salvation and under God’s Law for obedience to my Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit to give me strength to live under both.

What role does prayer play in the life of a Christian and how do we measure up? Paul encouraged Christians to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17). Wow! How can we accomplish that? He sure doesn’t mean speak to God without stopping, but what does he mean? One of my favorite old hymn is “Sweet Hour of Prayer” and even that sounds overly optimistic in today’s fast paced life. Sometimes we are lucky if it is just “Sweet few minutes of prayer first thing in the morning, before each meal and at bed time”.How can we pray without ceasing? By living in God’s presence obedient to His will for us. Prayer isn’t connecting with God’s answering machine leaving a message of thanks and needs, then hanging up hoping He will get back to us with an answer later. When we keep our entire life in God’s presence, He will will keep our actions, words, thoughts and feeling in line with His will.

I am writing this on New Year’s Eve. I am not normally a fan of New Year resolutions, but resolving to pray without ceasing from now on will be a real life changer.

I ran across this short story about 30 years ago, about old time Hollywood actor, director and producer, Charles Laughton. I want to share it with you. In 1926, he was just starting his career as a stage actor in London. A friend invited him to his manor for Christmas dinner. They enjoyed a delicious five course dinner and then moved into the parlor where the host announced it was a family tradition that everyone share their favorite scripture on Christmas. As the guest of honor, Laughton stood and dramatically recited the 23rd Psalm. Everyone cheered and applauded. Then each person shared their favorite scripture. Finally, they came to an elderly aunt who has dozed off in her chair. They gently woke her and asked if she had a scripture she wanted to share. She nodded yes and in a soft voice she began, “The Lord is my shepherd…” When she finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Later, as they were saying their goodbyes, the host mentioned to the actor what a different reaction he and the old lady received. Laughton replied, “The answer is simple, my friend. I know the Psalm – she knows the Shepherd.”

My friends, we can read the Bible from cover to cover memorizing chapter and verse, but until we know the Shepherd personally, it is just a mental exercise. As a new Christian at age eleven, the old English words of my King James Bible that had seemed so strange before suddenly were clear to me as the Holy Spirit guided me through it.

I am writing this post on Good Friday. There are several songs I like to sing during this season,including one Gospel song you may not have heard. I want to share the words of that song with you.

Now a man named Joseph gave Jesus his tomb. He cared so much for him it was the least he could do.He could have given him so many other things instead, but this is what Joseph said, “He’ll only need it for the weekend. He won’t be there long. He’ll only need it for the weekend then he’ll be up and he’ll be gone.” Jesus needed that tomb for just one weekend. He didn’t stay there long. Now he sits high upon his throne. He is coming back to claim his own. Soon we’ll be up and and we’ll be gone.

It has been said that children bear a resemblance to a parent. My brother resembled our mom’s family while I resemble our father. But family resemblance isn’t just genetic. I have noticed that couples married for a long time start to look alike. If that is true, I hope I changed over our years together, because she was already beautiful when we wed. I think it is our actions and our words that identify us to those closest to us.

Jesus said it is our love for each other that will show the world we are His follower. When we believe in and follow Jesus, His Spirit takes residence in our heart, producing fruit in us that is visible to the world. For 17 years,until I retired, I was the corporate trainer for a large family owned pest control company with five offices in the Chicago area, The general manager told me I got that position because I had more patience than anyone in the company, especially him. What he actually saw was that fruit of God’s Spirit growing in me.

Do our actions and words match our profession of faith and fruit of the Spirit within us? I”m reminded of the story of a woman who completely lost her temper in traffic. She screamed obscenities  at other drivers with vulgar hand gestures. A cop hit his lights and pulled her over.He ordered her out of the car, put her in hand cuffs and into the back of his squad car with her protesting all the way.  He explained to her that she was not under arrest, just in temporary custody for her safety and his while he investigated, He radioed the station with the vehicle serial number, licence plate and her driver licence information. When everything matched, he released her and apologized. “The first thing I saw when I got behind you were the signs ‘Follow Me To Church’ and ‘Jesus Is King’. Then I heard your profanity and naturally thought the car had been stolen.”

May our family resemblance as a son or daughter of God through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit always be evident to everyone around us.

For the last 8 years, I have written more about love than any other topic, because without love there would be no Christian life for me to write about. God loved us long before you and I were lovable, (John 3:16) Jesus didn’t leave heaven and become a man to replace the laws given to Moses. He expanded them to apply not just to our actions, but to our thoughts and feelings as well. When Jesus was asked which commandment was most important Jesus said there are two of equal importance, first love the Lord your God with all of your mind, heart and soul and then love your neighbor as yourself. All of the other laws are built on those two. Later in His ministry, he told his followers, including you and me, “I give you a new commandment that you should love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know you are my disciples, that you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Years ago, I remember a fad that had WWJD everywhere asking What Would Jesus Do? Christians used that question to keep their decisions Christ-like, while those without a personal relationship with Jesus used it to judge imperfect Christians. To find the answer to that question, simply read the account of what Jesus actually did. Jesus died in our place as a penalty for our sins; that is love! He was stripped naked,His feet and hands were nailed to a wooden cross and then the cross was raised so he was exposed to the crowd, and his entire weight was resting on those nail wounds. He looked at the crowd who had demanded His execution and the Roman soldiers who were carrying it out and He prayed,”Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” That is pure LOVE!!! It wasn’t the nails that held Jesus on the cross that day. It was His love for you and me that kept Him there until it was finished.

I’m posting this on Monday evening after several days to calm my heart and mind of any lingering worry or fear about what my next storm will be (and you can be sure there will be one). If you have been reading this bog for a while, you know how Christian song lyrics touch me sometimes. I went to a You-tube  play list to prepare my mind and heart for online worship. Sunday morning  The second song was a surprise, but it was definitely a message to me about the storms of last week and not to worry about any storm. He’s got me!

“When the storm is all around you and you don’t know what to do, stand still and let God move. Standing still is hard to do. But even though it seems you’re at the end of your road, God will make a way for you. Just stand still and let God move.”

It has taken me years to learn three simple steps when going through a storm with my Lord. 1. Believe and pray. 2. Trust and obey. 3. Stay out of God’s way.

A friend from my church just posted something very interesting. It is three steps to a  powerful and rewarding Christian life. Looking back over my 70 years as a Christian, I can testify that in this proper order these steps will always get you there.

STEP #1. Put God first! You would think for a Christian this step would be easy. We have heard or read the Gospel message; we have accepted God’s mercy and grace by believing in and following Jesus Christ as our Savior; and we have received God’s Holy Spirit of comfort and guidance as well as our own reborn spirit into our hearts; but we must never allow anyone or anything come between us and God.

STEP #2! Pray. The Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians (and us) to “pray without ceasing”. That doesn’t mean recite the same prayer over and over until your voice gives out, it means we should keep the prayer line open between us and our heavenly Father all day in Jesus’ name. It is the difference  between listening for God to speak to us and just leaving God a voice mail hoping He will get back to us later.

STEP#3! Leave it in God’s hands, relax and watch Him do the heavy lifting for you.  If God wants you to do or say anything, He will have the Holy Spirit prompt you, but I have found His ways are so much better than mine that I just need to get out of His way.