Blog Archives: January 2010 — December 2010
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February 24, 2010
Out of This WorldMerritt Johnston
While it would be nice to transport all Christ-followers to our own personal Caribbean island, it's just not possible nor is it what is best. We cannot live inside our own Christian bubble and still expect to reach a lost and dying world. Christ knew this, so in the moments leading up to his arrest and death, He lifted up a prayer to His father on our behalf.
John 17:14-16 says, "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out ...
February 23, 2010
Criminal RecordMerritt Johnston
Our enemy has some pretty good attack strategies - one of the biggest and best being something I call "The Flashback Attack." You see, he has a way of replaying in our minds a movie reel of all our past mistakes. We watch our failures, and we buy into the lie that "God could never use someone like me." But the truth is that nothing could be further from the truth.
If we look at the life of Samson, we find a beautiful example of how God hears the prayers of even the biggest screw-ups.
Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "O Sovereign LORD, ...
February 22, 2010
Night and DayMerritt Johnston
I think I'd like to have Paul as a prayer partner. Read through his letters, and you'll often find him mentioning something like the following:
"I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers." (2 Timothy 1:3, NIV)
Imagine the comfort it had to bring to Timothy to get the news that Paul was praying for him constantly...both night and day. As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to pray for one another and to do so faithfully.
So take some ...
February 22, 2010
Media Overload?Some good insights from the Kaiser Foundation to help you and your family avoid media overload: 1. Start good habits early. Establish boundaries. Start when your kids are young by restricting access to media: Turn the phone off during homework. IM, too. And keep an eye on the clock. The secret to healthy media use is to establish time limits and stick to them. 2. Use media together. For older kids, talk about what you see, hear, and read. Whenever you can, watch, play, listen, and surf with your kids. Talk about the content, and stay ...
February 21, 2010
The Necessity of ConfessionMerritt Johnston
It's hard to admit when you've made a mistake, so most of just don't do it. But in spiritual terms, this prideful behavior will only serve to hinder our spiritual growth. I also believe it is directly correlated to God's favor (or lack thereof). When there is a spirit of pride, God simply cannot and will not bless. When there is a spirit of humility and a willingness to admit our sin, I believe God responds in full measure to our request for help. We see it in action in the life of the Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 1:6 says, "Let your ear be ...
February 20, 2010
The Prayer-Anointing ConnectionMerritt Johnston
I believe there is a direct connection between the anointing of the Holy Spirit in ministry to the quality of prayer in the life of the minister.
This ministry began with a foundation of prayer when a group of 12 girls got together and asked for the power of God to move in the midst of a simple, college Bible study. More than ten years later, I think our ministry's growth and success is directly attributed to the fact that it began with much prayer.
In December, we spent a month as a team praying and fasting for God's anointing for our ...
February 19, 2010
Soul SickMerritt Johnston
It's that time of year when sickness just seems to be attacking everyone. Most parts of the country have experienced an unusually strong winter, and with the cold has come an array of colds, viruses, and allergies.
But maybe you're experiencing a sickness far more threatening than a physical one. You see, without proper care, our souls can soon descend into a spiritual sickness. So what must we do to stay spiritually healthy? Well, one of the critical prevention steps is a consistent prayer life.
Alexander Cockburn once said, "A ...
February 18, 2010
Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny FeelsMerritt Johnston
Kate Moss has long been associated with fashion's elite, but now she is spinning off her supermodel success into a lucrative career as a fashion designer, perfumer, and hair care line collaborator.
And along with her fame and success, she has also given us what might be one of the world's worst mottos ever adopted by a woman.
In an interview, she said that one of her mottos is, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."
While I am sure this is meant to be a motivating tactic for the supermodel to avoid junk food, it unfortunately can ...
February 18, 2010
Prayer with ConsequencesMerritt Johnston
Most of us are familiar with the story of Daniel and the lion's den. Like David and Goliath or Jonah and the whale (or big fish), it's one of the most talked about tales in all of scripture. But we often forget what landed our man Daniel in that den in the first place.
If we go back to Daniel 6, we discover that a commitment to prayer was his only crime. Some shady political leaders convince the king to issue a decree declaring it illegal to pray to anyone but him, and then they sit back and wait for Daniel to defy the order.
Daniel ...
February 17, 2010
Stretching Those LungsMerritt Johnston
E.M. Bounds, an old-school preacher man from the 19th century, earned a pretty impressive nickname. You see, history sometimes refers to him as the "American prophet of prayer." Having had a few nicknames in my day, I can honestly say that none of mine come anywhere close to topping Mr. Bounds. He was a man who believed in the power of prayer, and everything about his life was a demonstration of that deep-seeded belief.
Because prayer was such a pivotal part of his daily faith walk, it was only natural that it would become the focus of many ...
February 16, 2010
Draw NearMerritt Johnston
Virtually every religion in the world incorporates the discipline of prayer into their spiritual practices, so some might ask what makes our prayers so special. Deuteronomy 4:7 (NIV) has the answer. It says,
"What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"
As Christians, our prayers are not to a wooden statue or to a dead prophet - they are spoken to a living God who has sent His very Spirit to indwell us. While that may feel too close for comfort sometimes, it's ...
February 15, 2010
Not Your Mama's DietMerritt Johnston
A recent study revealed some disturbing findings related to teen girls' diets. For instance, girls today are consuming 20g a day of chocolate and other sweets, more than twice the level their mothers consumed at their age. Don't forget to add in 248g of sugary soft drinks each day, and it's not shocking that 37% of teen girls are overweight.
The other extreme, which includes toxic behavior like fad dieting and binging and purging, is equally frightening. 46% of girls today are suffering from a defiency in iron, magnesium, and selenium, ...
February 15, 2010
Strength in NumbersMerritt Johnston
It's good to have friends - people who have your back, who understand your heart, who will stand in the gap with you in prayer.
One of the most beautiful gifts that we can give one another as followers of Christ is to intercede for each other. The word intercede is defined as "intervening on behalf of another." So in spiritual terms, this means that we can approach the throne of God on behalf of a friend. We can beg for His power and grace to be revealed in a friend's life. But intercession doesn't always have to be a solo act. In fact, I ...
February 14, 2010
Snakes and StonesMerritt Johnston
While I'm relatively new to this whole parenting thing, I am smart enough not to hand my son a snake...ever. While some of that has to do with my personal fear of the slithery things, most of my hesitation would stem from concerns for my son's safety.
Likewise, I don't hand my son a bag full of rocks come snack time. Besides the obvious choking hazards, I try to make sure he gets to eat things that actually taste good, and I'm fairly certain that rocks wouldn't make the Food Network's greatest ingredients list.
Thankfully, our Father in ...
February 13, 2010
Trust IssuesMerritt Johnston
I'll be honest. I have trust issues sometimes. Not really with my family or friends, but sadly with Someone who is quite incapable of disappointing me. He has yet to do anything to warrant my distrust, yet somehow I am still wary of giving Him my complete faith.
If you are honest, maybe you'd admit to having the same struggle. It's that fierce self-reliant streak that many of us cling to. We just want to take matters into our own hands rather than trusting them in the most capable Hands of all.
But Psalm 37:5 tells us, "Commit your way to ...
February 12, 2010
Overcoming WorryJenny Worsham
God most recently answered my prayer with the healthy birth of my first child! I often have difficulty trusting God and tend to live more with fear and anxiety, rather than with peace and trust in Him. I realized this even more so during my pregnancy!
There were so many things I worried about...when the doctor at first couldn't find his heartbeat...when I was in a minor car accident at 18 weeks...when the swine flu broke out and my doctor told me lots of pregnant women were dying from it but no one knew how safe the vaccine was either...and ...
February 11, 2010
Where God and Human Beings MeetMerritt Johnston
Prayer is our blood-bought opportunity to engage the God of the Universe in a conversation. Crazy to think about, right?
But as often happens in relationships, there can be times when we just don't want to talk to Him. Maybe we're mad at Him...maybe we think He is mad at us. Maybe we're struggling to hear His voice, or maybe we just don't like His answer. Maybe we're giving God the silent treatment, or maybe we're spilling the beans of our daily life in detail. Our relationship with God can certainly be complex, and the complexity of the ...
February 10, 2010
Too Busy to PrayMerritt Johnston
We live in a busy culture. There's an unspoken (and sometimes spoken) rule that activity equates to productivity, yet I challenge the idea that busy-ness translates into fruitfulness for the kingdom.
If we look at Christ's example throughout the gospels, we find that most of His ministry happened in the margins of unplanned time in His life. As He traveled from city to city, He was often stopped along the way by someone desperate for healing. And I can't seem to find any part of scripture that shows Christ denying them help because He ...
February 09, 2010
An Answered PrayerSami Elder
Prayer is one of the most humbling and wonderful ways to connect with God. It also is one of the most challenging areas in my life, where I often struggle the most. It means that I must lay myself down and go to God. I have to trust Him and go to Him with the things that are on my heart.
Lately I have been memorizing a little bit of scripture at a time. I take those words in scripture and turn them into prayers to God. It's proven to be a great way to share with Him.
Girls, I want you to know that God is so faithful. He knows the depths ...
February 08, 2010
When There Are No WordsMerritt Johnston
Life can be hard...really hard. In fact, life can get so hard that we're rendered speechless. We know we should call on God for His help, but we cannot even manage to speak. If you've been there (or you are there now), I've got some good news for you.
Romans 8:26 (NIV) says,
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
When we're lost on how to even pray through our circumstances, the Holy Spirit shows up ...
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