Blog Archives: February 2010
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February 28, 2010
Forgiveness: The Fruit of the DivineMerritt Johnston
Forgiveness is truly a divine ability, and one that we cannot hope to fully execute in our human nature. Perhaps we are most like our Maker in the moments when we choose to forgive those who have wronged us..hurt us...betrayed us. And in the moments when we allow forgiveness to govern our actions, I believe the heart of God honors our prayers.
The following prayer was found on a scrap of paper during the liberation of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany during World War II.
"Lord, remember not only the men of good will, but also ...
February 27, 2010
Mother Teresa's PrayerMerritt Johnston
When we reflect on our spiritual heritage, there are several spiritual "giants" who have lived such sacrificial lives that even non-believers admire their legacy. One of those "giants" is the small-statured Mother Teresa who spent her life caring for the forgotten in the streets of Calcutta. Her work was difficult, yet she endured without complaint. I think her prayer below reveals how she did it...
"Dear Jesus, Help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go, flood our souls with your Spirit and life. Penetrate and possess our whole ...
February 26, 2010
The Prayer of JabezMerritt Johnston
Nestled into an Old Testament book that rarely gets much attention is a short prayer from a guy named Jabez. We don't know much about him, but we do know that God liked his prayer. Check it out below:
Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked. (1 Chronicles 4:10, ESV)
So what does he ask for?
He asks God to bless him. Seems kind of ...
February 25, 2010
Spirituality of MillenialsMany assumptions are being made by today's church leaders regarding the millenial generation, and most are not positive. This generation has been blanketly labeled by many as apathetic, lazy, and worse. Some say that this generation lacks a moral compass or any passion for spiritual things.
However, a recent survey says something very different.
A few results of the survey are listed below:
40% (of millenials) say religion is very important in their lives, similar to 39% of Boomers at the same ages.
41% report praying daily, like ...
February 25, 2010
Acknowledging His CharacterMerritt Johnston
One of the best ways that we can grow our prayer life is to observe and study the prayers lifted up by the saints in Scripture. One such prayer is found in 1 Samuel 2 and is voiced by Hannah, the mother of Samuel. In 1 Samuel 1, we see that she prayed and wept before the Lord, asking Him to give her a son. And when God responded with the birth of Samuel, she promised to give him back to the Lord. This was no empty promise, for Hannah honored her word and brought her son to live with the priest Eli in the house of the Lord.
She then prays an ...
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 ...
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