Lechayyim!

You've probably heard the toast, "Lechayyim!" The word varies in spelling, but the meaning is the same.

 

Chayyim means "life" and le means "to." So lechayyim means "to life!"

 

Life.

 

That is what every mother wants for her child.

 

That is why praying moms bring their children to the Lord in prayer—so He will give them life. We want them to know and enjoy the richness of life that Jesus promises. He said in John 10:10 that He came so that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). (AMP)

 

So—

 

We pray from John 5:24 that our children will hear and believe the word of the Lord so they will have eternal life, passing from death to life now.

 

We pray from Proverbs 19:23 that they will reverently worship and fear the Lord which leads to life, and restful satisfaction.

 

We pray from Romans 6:13 that our children will not present themselves to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present themselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and their bodies to God as instruments for righteousness.

 

We pray from 2 Peter 1:3 that our Lord through His divine power will grant to them all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the full and personal knowledge of Him who called them to His own glory and excellence.

 

We persist in prayer because Jesus said in Matthew 7:14 that the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

 

We persist in prayer because we believe as did a leader of a synagogue in Matthew 9:18 that Jesus can bring our children back to life by His touch.

 

We give God praise and celebrate as did the father in Luke 15:24 for our children who return to life.

 

And we look forward to the celebration before the Throne when we will together toast and give honor to our Living Lord, the Giver of life.

 

 

Lechayyim!

 

 

Soaring Stones

Many interesting pieces of artwork are to be found on the Whitman College campus in Walla Walla, Washington. Some of these cause the "unsophisticated" to shake their heads perplexed. This is a photo of one of them, "Soaring Stones"—a series of 6 granite boulders in ascending heights on stainless steel (mirror-like) columns. A comment I found online said, "The stones ascend, as if taking flight."

 

With "soar" on my mind after a recent Moms in Prayer International Getaway, learning this sculpture's name gave me a new appreciation for it and brought to mind some Scriptures. Among them are:

 

Isaiah 51:1—tells us to look to the rock from which we were hewn, which many think refers to Abraham's and Sarah's faith to walk in covenant with God. The Wycliffe Bible puts it this way: "Hear ye me, that follow that that is just, and seek the Lord (Listen ye to me, ye who follow what is right, and seek the Lord). Take ye heed to the stone, from whence ye be hewn down, and to the cave of the pit, from which ye be cut down. Take ye heed to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, that childed you (who gave birth to you); for I called him, (when he was but) one, (or without an heir,) and I blessed him, and I multiplied him."   As Paul wrote in Galatians 3:7, all who live by faith in the Lord are children of Abraham—stones.

 

1 Peter 2:4-5—through our faith, we are called living stones.

 

My trail of thinking led me to the conclusion that our faith also makes us soaring stones.

 

Because it's faith—waiting in hope—that we read about in Isaiah 40:31, “...the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed. They will SOAR on wings like eagles...”

 

Faith opens up your wings so you can soar, even if you are a stone, since faith gives us the invisible support of the Father's wings. That's why those columns of the sculpture were made of stainless steel—to be like mirrors and, thereby, invisible.

 

Waiting with hope is an action of faith that believes the sovereign, loving character and promises of God, even when things look hopeless.

 

Praying mom, are you not yet seeing the answers to the prayers you've been passionately bringing to the Lord? Wait in hope by trusting Him.

 

When we humbly place our trust in Him, Jesus Christ is our strength. He has the power we need to live in victory, to soar, while we wait.

 

In fact, as 1 Peter 5:6 reminds us, it is when we actually act like stones, humble before God, that He lifts us up.

 

Soaring is a choice. Let's choose to SOAR!

Shadow of His Wings

Years ago, when my son was a toddler, my aunt and uncle gave us some bantam chickens. We had a large garden beside our garage at the back of the property for them to enjoy, which they did. Once when I was weeding the corn, mama chicken was following me with her little ones. I'd weed around one short stalk and then move to the next. But, when I would turn around, the stalk would be laying on the ground. I'd set it back upright and continue. This repeated itself a few times before I realized that mama was showing her chicks how to find yummy treats in the dirt and in the process was "felling" my corn.

This petite mama hen was not just a great teacher for her babies, but she was also their staunch defender. Our springer spaniel, Lady, was not allowed in the garden. Her digging would result in more than just a corn stalk laid down in the dirt. But, being a bird dog and not being blind, she knew those chickens were out there—unfair, in more ways than one.

 

One day, alerted somehow to a crisis, I ran back to the garden to find that Lady had cornered mama and her chicks in the little chicken coop. This mama had those little ones tucked up under her wings ready to give her life for them. Thankfully, she didn't have to.

 

As praying mamas, through our prayers we tuck our children under the wings of the One Who gave His life for them and now lives to intercede for them.

 

Israel's King David knew the Lord as his shelter from the enemy. He wrote in Psalm 61:4 that he trusted in the shadow of God's wings. The word, "Selah," that follows this verse suggests a pause to let these words sink in to our thinking.

 

The writer of Psalm 91:4 echoes David—"He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler." NJK

 

The Hebrew word for wings in these Psalms is "kanaph," which refers to a wing, extremity, edge, border, corner, or even a shirt. In other words, it is a covering. And, interestingly, Gesenuis's Lexicon Help says it can refer to care and protection, even such that an army gives, as seen in Isaiah 8:8.

 

My little hen was just one mama caring and protecting her babies. We know we would do just that for our children. But I can't help but think that giving them the care and protection of an army of praying moms is even better. Those moms' prayers take our children to our Great Intercessor where refuge is found in the shadow of His wings through His precious lovingkindness. (Psalm 36:7)

 

I am so thankful for the many moms who have prayed for my children these past almost 21 years in Moms in Prayer groups. I am confident that my God sees my children through those prayers. And I am assured that all those prayers are like an army battling for my children before the enemy.

 

 

"For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy."

Psalm 63:7

Surrender to Soar

Have you seen this insurance commercial on television? [You might have to wade through one commercial to get the "the" commercial. And, it is not my intention to promote either services/products.]

Are troubles and worries not leaving your mind alone?

 

Has fear gripped your heart?

 

This past week I read wise words written by an Arab Christian woman—

 

"If, by faith I am God’s child, according to His promises in the Bible, He will continue to take care of me. So, having [fearful] thoughts, I began singing, “You are my hiding place, You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance, Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you!” That was it, my fears were gone!"

 

Fearful thoughts, trouble, worry… Oh, we moms can often experience these with regard to our children.  And it's easy to allow them to overcome us.

 

But Oswald Chambers reminds us that "the one great crime on the part of a disciple, according to Jesus Christ, is worry. Whenever we begin to calculate without God, we commit sin." Ouch!

 

So, we need to make a daily decision. Will we surrender to fear? Or will we trust the Lord and surrender to Him?

 

Isn't it interesting how the Word of God connects trusting and surrendering with soaring? Isaiah 40:31 tells us that "those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint." HCSB

 

Seems that we can't soar unless we surrender.

 

A Scripture I learned as a child, Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." KJV

 

I love how the Amplified Bible puts it, "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths."

 

My Thomas Nelson Study Bible (NKJV) notes, "The verb trust is complemented by the verb "lean." Trusting in God is a conscious dependence on God, much like leaning on a tree for support." This sounds a lot like surrender to me. Gesenius' Lexicon help identifies the word used for lean, "shaan," as meaning to "repose confidence in." That makes me think of one of those team building exercises, "Trust Falls," where a person falls backwards counting completely on his/her teammate for their physical support.

 

That is what trusting God is—leaning on Him completely with the confidence that He will be there to lift us up.

 

The commercial ends with, "When it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance." Since all power and steadfast love belong to our God, when we take our children to the Lord in prayer, we are not leaving them to "chance."  Through our prayers, we are hiding our children under the wings of the Most High and trusting Him completely that He will catch them when they fall. This is where we make the decision as did the Arab Christian woman to "repose confidence in" Him. That is surrender.

 

And that is how we soar.

Industrious Waiting

Farming is hard work and lots of waiting. Even home gardeners recognize that. But, both know by experience that once the crop is in the ground that there is still much to do in the waiting time till harvest. Plants need water. They need de-bugged. The soil around them needs weeded. The better the care, the better the resulting harvest.

Oswald Chambers wrote, "The farmer does not wait with folded arms but with intense activity; he keeps at it industriously until the harvest."

 

As praying moms, we sow prayers into our children's lives. While we wait to see the harvest, we keep working. Our work is, of course, being persistent in prayer, but it is also persistent love. Both are not inactive but active. Both take time. Both take effort. And both may meet resistance.

 

Sometimes our children are resistant to our love. We open our arms to them and they turn their backs. There are times our children are difficult to love. They can be unkind, even cruel.

 

And we all know there may rise resistance within ourselves to persistent prayer. We want to see answers "now." And when we don't, we become discouraged and can convince ourselves that prayer isn't "working," that perhaps God doesn't hear or, worse, doesn't care.

 

We react with que sera sera—what will be will be. We turn away to put our time and effort elsewhere letting the crop tend for itself. We stop working for the harvest.

 

But industrious waiting doesn't have a defeatist attitude. Industrious waiting, instead, continues to nurture and watching over the crop carefully with more prayer and more love.  Waiting and working, waiting and working, until the golden harvest makes its appearance.

 

Industrious waiting in prayer believes that all the work will not be for nothing. Industrious waiting believes that in the time between the sowing and the harvest God is working.

 

May the words of the Apostle Paul encourage us all—

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)

Bumper Crop -- of Answered Prayer.

This time of year, green is the basic pallet color where I live—rolling hills of varying shades of green against the blue and white sky.

It won't be long, though, before those hills turn gold and harvest begins. This should be a bumper crop year.

 

Paul commended the Colossians (1:3-8) for their special bumper crop. In their valley, the Gospel was bearing fruit and growing—in them and through them—so much so that the news had reached Paul's ears (he'd not been to Colosse). These believers were an example of the blessed blessing others

 

What if God has a vision for a special bumper crop of answered prayers and we—you and me—are His farmers?

 

That vision, then, begins with us.

 

In order to make sure we harvest this bumper crop, it requires "proper preparation to prevent poor performance"—a plan. How will we keep ourselves saturated in the Word of God? How will we stay close to the Lord in prayer? And, so vital, how will we stay in praise and thanksgiving? These are all essential to a bountiful harvest of answered prayer.

 

We moms know that summer's haphazard schedule can do us in sometimes more quickly than the busy school months. Our children's schedules are all over the place with VBS, camp, swimming lessons, etc. And, our schedules have changed along with theirs. Bible studies, growth groups, and even prayer groups are on break while the children are out of school.

 

Successful farmers recognize that following a plan is the most effective method to give the increase needed for the harvest. So, we each have to be deliberate in our planting and watering. And, we have to stay intentionally close to the One who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3). Then, we will see the bumper crop of answered prayer.

 

My dear ladies, the enemy would have us. Prayer warriors are bulls-eye targets on his radar. Beware. As Beth Moore wrote, "Stay in the Word, Sister. Knees to the floor, eyes to the skies."

"For this reason [I] … do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."

Colossians 1:9-12