Rob Flood

In 1979, my father, Larry, was the manager of computer operations for a major oil company.

For no apparent reason, the computer room (at that time, computers took up rooms, not laps or desks) shut down – dead.

The computer operators were not able to reboot the computer and could not find any reason for the problem.

The room was full of operators, managers, and junior and senior technicians all scratching their heads.

The next day, an intern returned from vacation and wondered what the problem was. He strolled around the room to kill time and then asked, “Shouldn’t this button be pushed in?” He pushed it, and the computer rebooted.

The technicians and managers, my father included, had gone to great lengths to address the problems. Yet all the while, the solution was so simple; it’s just that no one stopped to think of the basics.

In the same way, as parents we are so willing to give our children all we think they need. We give them food, clothing, and shelter. We give them entertainment and enrichment. We sacrifice our own hobbies, preferences, and personal interests on their behalf. Most of us would give our own lives to ensure their success and happiness. Yet is it possible that we are missing their most important need?

As parents we should be asking ourselves, “Is prayer for our children a normal part of our daily lives … or is it something we do only when we feel helpless?”

The truth is, we can never pray enough. We need power from God to do all He’s called us to do, and so do our children. In addition, we are raising our children in a world with values contrary to our own – a world that seeks to attack and destroy our children. We can’t defend them against all of these attacks, but we can always pray!

A common misunderstanding

With all of the needs children have, many parents wonder if prayer is actually their greatest need. This often stems from a very common misunderstanding. As parents we fall into the trap of believing that we are the ones providing food, clothing, and shelter.

We think we are the ones giving them the love and care they need, building character into their lives, and teaching them spiritual truths. While we are often used by God as the vehicle for these needs, it is always God who provides all things, and it is God who is responsible for moving in their hearts (Matthew 6:25-33).

God is at work in the lives and hearts of your children. He is the One who restrains your children – and you – from being the worst among sinners. God orchestrates the events in their lives, and ultimately they will come to faith only when His Spirit draws them.

That’s why praying for our children must top our list of parenting priorities.

Praying for our children

Even when we realize the importance of praying for our children, we often allow ourselves to be deterred, even discouraged, in the process. Here are a few suggestions to help you pray for your children with effectiveness and power.

• A:Acknowledge before God that your children belong first to Him, then to you. Acknowledge that His love for them is even greater than your love for them. Acknowledge that He can and does influence them more than you do. Acknowledge your own dependence upon Him to fulfill the calling He’s given you as a parent (John 15:5).
• B:Be an example of Christian integrity for your children. Don’t be their excuse for not doing as they ought. Be available to pray with, and not just for, your children. Be trustworthy as a model of Christlikeness for them. Recall what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” The calling is this: Be what you desire them to be.
• C:Consistency is key. Don’t give up on them. Allow consistency to characterize your prayer life for them as well as your love and care of them. Consider using a prayer guide such as While They Were Sleeping or a book like How a Man Prays For His Family to encourage regular prayer. Don’t allow the behavior of your children to draw you away from praying. They will feel your lack of consistency; they will feel your consistency as well (Psalm 1).

It really can be that simple – and that challenging – all at once. As complicated as parenting can be, how sad it is to know so many who have forgotten the simple and uncomplicated blessing of praying as parents. As we pursue effective parenting techniques, we have to remember the basic call to pray … to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

There comes a time when our children may not express their love to us in the same way. It may seem as though they are pulling away. Don’t allow this tendency to create a distance. Pursue your children with great fervor. Pursue God on your children’s behalf all the more.

This is the type of sacrificial love and prayer our children need to see, feel, and experience from all of us. If our children succeed in life, let us thank God for His great work in their lives.

If they wander into the things of this world, let it not be because their mom and dad failed to plead with God on their behalf. And, if and when they return, let us again turn our thanks and praise to God Himself, who is the great Father of us all.

https://www.cru.org/us/en/communities/families/children-need-praying-parents.html

Jika saudara diberkati dengan Renungan di atas, silahkan klik pilihan di bawah ini :

Atau tuliskan komentar saudara melalui kolom berikut :

The post CHILDREN NEED PRAYING PARENTS appeared first on Multiplikasi.

by. Milt Monell 

What are you doing in your life to develop the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ?

In 1 Corinthians 11:3 the Apostle Paul says:

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

According to this Scripture God is concerned that we NOT be led astray from simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

In recent years the Lord has been drawing my heart ever closer to His.

It started a number of years ago when I spent 17 days as an on-site prayer warrior for one-year mission teams that were preparing for service in Russia.

During those 17 days my main responsibility was to spend time in God’s presence (reading His Word, worshipping Him, and praying for prayer requests coming from these teams as they prepared for their mission).

Can you imagine, my actual job was to spend time with God?

One day, as I was walking across the university campus, I asked the Lord a question: “Lord, where do You want me to go?” I was just learning to attune my “spiritual ears” to hear His still small voice as He spoke to me.

Right after I asked the question, the next thought that came to my mind was to head to a certain place on the campus.

Since I was just beginning to discern His voice, I prayed, “Lord is that you?” I asked again, “Lord, where do You want me to go? Again, it was the same response!

So, I walked to that location on the campus, and for the next few hours the Lord brought people who had prayer needs to another intercessor and myself. It was very interesting, that as we prayed for these people, sometimes the Lord gave us immediate answers to prayer!

One man had issues with running a PowerPoint presentation. We had him turn off his computer; all three of us placed our hands on the computer and prayed. After turning the computer back on, he had no problems with running the presentation.

These 17 days had a huge impact on my life as I started a journey engaging in a deeper walk with God!

Not long ago a friend shared something with me that I found I could not get out of my thoughts. It concerned helping others to engage in a deeper walk with the Lord. They called it a 3G Life. They were not talking about the next generation of digital technology. It was related to three things about our relationship with God:

1. The first G related to being God-attentive.
2. The second G was about living God-dependent.
3. The third G had to do with being God-responsive.

Being God-attentive is focused on how we learn to have a lifestyle that is spiritually sensitive to His leading in our lives. John chapter 10 refers to God as the Good Shepherd and describes His sheep as knowing His voice and following Him.

How are you doing with hearing His voice?

There are so many voices to listen to in this age of technology. We do well to ask ourselves honestly: “Just how am I seeking to focus on the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ?”

Being God-dependent is focused on how we are learning to walk in the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5 Paul writes about the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Near the end of the chapter, it reads: “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” Another version speaks of “keeping in step with the Spirit.”

How are you doing in following the Spirit’s leading in every part of your life?

God-dependence is all about keeping in step with the Holy Spirit’s leading in our daily lives.

Being God-responsive is focused on how we are growing to walk by faith – to follow those leadings and promptings and learn to hear His voice clearly. 2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds us, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

How easy it is not to walk by faith! It is much easier to fall into walking by what we can see, trusting our eyes and physical senses more than we trust what God reveals to us.

Allow me to mention two final things critical to remember, as we seek God to develop in us a 3G way of life.

• First, we need to be filled with God’s Word if we desire to walk intimately with Him and hear His voice.
• Secondly, His Word and His Spirit will always be in unison with each other. So, walking in the Holy Spirit will also include allowing the Word of God to dwell in us.

Recently I came upon relevant words from Dr. Bill Bright, co-founder of Cru:

“Someone has wisely said, ‘Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when he sees the weakest saint on his knees!’ Prayer is God’s appointed way of doing God’s work.”

Prayer is at the heart of living a 3G life! Prayer is as much about listening to the Lord as it is talking to Him!

I encourage you to seek to learn to live out a 3G life. Seek to be attentive to His voice as He leads you. Seek to be in step with the Holy Spirit and learn to take steps of faith and obedience to respond to His leadings.

As you do, you may be surprised at how the Lord will use you to impact people’s lives with the Gospel.

Enjoy 3G as a way of life!

Milt Monell serves as the team leader of Global Prayer, a prayer ministry of Cru.

© 2014 Campus Crusade for Christ International

http://globalprayermovement.org/living-a-god-expectant-3g-lifestyle/

Jika saudara diberkati dengan Renungan di atas, silahkan klik pilihan di bawah ini :

Atau tuliskan komentar saudara melalui kolom berikut :

The post 3G : A WAY OF LIFE appeared first on Multiplikasi.

by Mary May Larmoyeux

We’re told in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in everything.

It’s easy for me to feel gratitude when I run my hands through a grandchild’s hair, or smell the damp earth after a spring rain, or gaze out of a frosted window at the new-fallen snow.

But what about the life of a newborn baby snuffed out before she took her first step, or the ears of my mom that can’t hear my words, or a loved one shaking a fist saying, “I don’t love you”?

Why should I thank God for those things?

I think it’s because giving God thanks for all things demonstrates a recognition that He is a good God (Psalm 118:29), regardless of whether I consider something to be a blessing or a burden.

Giving thanks expresses my trust that God is working all things for His good purposes (Romans 8:28), whether or not I understand how.

So, what am I thankful for?

1. Faith (John 3:16): Almighty God, thank You that I don’t have to earn my way to heaven. Thank You for the gift of faith. I know that I have been made right with You because of my faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ.
2. Family (1 Timothy 5:4): Thank You, Father, for creating families. Thank You for giving me my family as part of Your plan for me.
3. God’s Word (Hebrews 4:12): Jehovah God, thank You for giving us the Bible — Your Word. It guides me, comforts me and gives me hope.
4. Prayers of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27): Sometimes I just don’t know how to pray, Lord. I don’t know what to ask for and I don’t know what to do. That doesn’t surprise You, does it?Thank You that the Holy Spirit understands my weaknesses and that He prays for me according to Your perfect will.
5. Love (1 John 4:16): Abba Father, when I read that love is patient and kind… not jealous or boastful… not seeking its own… keeping no record of wrongs… I feel so inadequate. But when I remember that You are love and that You will love through me, I have hope. Thank You for wanting to shine through ordinary people like me.
6. Daily problems (James 1:2-4): Jehovah-Jireh, You are my provider. If I didn’t have problems, my focus would grow inward. I thank You, by faith, for the trials of this life because they draw me to You and remind me that this Earth is not my home.
7. Suffering (1 Peter 2:22-24, 1 Timothy 1:8): How can a good God allow helpless children to endure great hardships and faithful saints to be persecuted?
   
   O, Lord, I know the answer. It’s in Your Word. I only have to look to Jesus (1 Peter 2:22), who committed no sin, yet was crucified for my sin.I remember also the apostle Paul (2 Timothy 1:8), who accepted his suffering for the gospel, believing that You would work it all for Your good purpose.
8. Creation (Revelation 4:11): Lord, as I see a golden sunrise filling the morning sky, watch a hummingbird outside my kitchen window, or gaze from the top of a mountain, I can’t help but praise You. Thank You for the beauty of nature and the promise that the best is yet to come. How great You are!
9. My inadequacies (Proverbs 20:24): Lord, there is much about life that I don’t understand. But You didn’t ask me to understand, did You? You asked me to trust You, and You are trustworthy.
10. I am not in control (Psalm 103:19): Jehovah-Nissai, the Lord our Banner, You go before me, and I am so glad. You know the many times I’ve prayed for specific things only to be grateful later that You responded, “No.”You have the big picture. So often You’ve answered my prayers with something much better than I could have ever imagined. You are in control, not me. Thank You for that.

This Thanksgiving Day, and every day, I want to give thanks in every circumstance.

(From: https://www.cru.org/us/en/communities/families/10-things-thankful-for-today.htm)l

Jika saudara diberkati dengan Renungan di atas, silahkan klik pilihan di bawah ini :

Atau tuliskan komentar saudara melalui kolom berikut :

The post 10 THINGS YOU CAN BE THANKFUL FOR TODAY appeared first on Multiplikasi.

by Mary May Larmoyeux

Ellen, a friend who is in her 40’s, was recently driving to work when she suddenly felt an overwhelming chest pain. Knowing the symptoms of a heart attack, she drove herself to a nearby hospital, where her fears were confirmed.

After her surgery, her doctor said that she was one of the “lucky” ones. She had suffered and survived the type of heart attack that he called a “widow maker.”

Now there’s another type of hidden killer, but instead of attacking the body, it strikes the soul. We are told in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”

What are the symptoms of this type of heart disease? Discontentment … self-righteousness … bitterness … envy … if the initial signs are ignored, the ultimate result may be death – of a relationship, a marriage, a family.

The older I get the more I realize that my heart needs daily examination.

Although I’m a Christian, I naturally lean more toward sin and my heart is proud. Psalm 101:2b admonishes, “I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”

If you’re like me, it may be time for a “heart” check-up. Here are ten questions that I want to regularly ask myself, to be sure that I have a healthy heart:

1. Am I beginning this day realizing that I am a sinner, saved by grace?
   For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8, ESV)
2. Will I pray about everything today, knowing that nothing is too big or too small for God’s counsel?
   Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
3. Will I ask God for His help today?
   I seek Your precepts. (Psalm 119:45b)
4. Am I really aware that not only will my family and friends be naturally sinful today, but so will I?
   For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
5. Will I give grace to others today in the same way that I want to receive it – quickly and without restraint?
   Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
6. Do I want understanding that leads to wisdom, or answers based on incomplete knowledge?
   My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge. (Proverbs 5:1-2)
7. Am I consciously aware that my citizenship is in heaven and that we live in a fallen, imperfect world?
   For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20)
8. Will I put Jesus Christ on the throne of my life today, allowing Him to work and love through me, and giving Him all of the glory?
   For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
9. Am I going to follow Jesus’ example today and not demand my rights?
   Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!(Philippians 2:5-8, NIV)
10. Will I weigh my responses on eternal scales—does a particular thing really matter?
    Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.(2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

(From: https://www.cru.org/us/en/blog/spiritual-growth/devotionals-quiet-times/ten-ideas-do-you-have-a-healthy-heart.html)

Jika saudara diberkati dengan Renungan di atas, silahkan klik pilihan di bawah ini :

Atau tuliskan komentar saudara melalui kolom berikut :

The post DO YOU HAVE A HEALTHY HEART ? appeared first on Multiplikasi.