The most powerful prayer....against your adversary....

How do you love someone who has hurt you?  A parent?  A child? A brother or sister?  A friend?  An ex?  What if they've completely stepped off the deep end and are doing everything God would hate.  Could we still love them?  Would God want us to?  And...if we 'love' them, aren't we associating with the evil God would have us stay away from?

Sometimes, ...we can love someone who is riding on the wrong train, without boarding the train itself.  We can wave at the train, pray and hope the one we try to love, gets off....without ever stepping foot on the train bound for 'bad news valley'.   The most powerful prayer against your adversary might go like this:  'Dear Lord, I pray that you would soften the hearts of my enemy....that they might come to know YOU and see things with YOUR eyes.  I pray too, that you would let me see them, through Your eyes.   Help me to love, the way you would have me love...that my enemy would know the gates of Heaven are open for them....Put people around them Lord, that whisper Your promises.'

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV
 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  

I've seen God do amazing things, when I've overridden my human desire to hate, and engaged God's mandate to love. 

Romans 5:8 NIV
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Refuse to engage 'Stinkin Thinkin'--Love One Another

(Michael W. Smith--Music Video)

Zig Ziglar, one of the greatest motivational speakers around, said this, "We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin 'thinkin' which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes."

If anything about Zig is greater than his motivational speaking, it would be his family. He, his wife 'the redhead', and their children, love each other in a way I've never seen before. Every single one of those kids (now adults) have a heart for each other and their neighbor like 'none other', as my daughter would say. They epitomize their father's saying, "You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want." As a result, it is just as motivational to watch and listen to them as it has been to listen to their father over the years.

Great seeds were planted in Zig's family, and the next generation is blooming. Zig, with the love of his Redhead behind him, has managed to plant good seeds... all over the world.

We all are planting seeds in our families, and in those around us. We are teaching our children how to plant seeds. We're also teaching them how to care for and plant seeds in their own children some day. The seeds we all plant WILL grow. The characteristics of the plants that bloom, will come to life again ...generation after generation.

Last year, when I planted my garden, I made the mistake of planting inferior seed. The result? I had to work harder and I harvested less. Two of my crops were so diseased they couldn't be canned. Needless to say, I'm paying attention to the quality of seed I'll be planting next year. Even with the best seed this year, I may have to work a little harder to work that disease I planted in, out of my soil. Fear not, I'm willing to love that silly soil back to life, no matter how much work it takes.

Plant good seeds in your family. Plant seeds of love. Love that silly soil back to brilliant awe inspiring life...for the next generation.

Seed your family garden with the thoughts you think, the words you speak, and the things you do. Love the Lord your God (the master Gardener) with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."  Ephesians 4:29 (NASB)

 
 
 
 

 

©2011 Rebecca Snell

All Rights Reserved



Tired of Doing What is Right?...Does it Seem Like Evil Wins?...

Psalm 119:121-128 I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. Ensure your servant's well-being; let not the arrogant oppress me. My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. It is time for you to act, O LORD; your law is being broken. Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.

Sometimes, we get weary...trying to do as God calls us to do, only to watch evil seemingly succeed.  Sometimes, for a moment in time, it doesn't seem like God weighs in.  I promise...He always weighs in.

It was a great thing for an Eastern ruler in David's time, to say he'd both been righteous (following after God's will) and just.  Some of the judges of his time didn't do their job at all.  They simply didn't perform their duty...in favor of their pleasures.  I wonder if they golfed?   Some, sold their 'judgments' to the one who paid the most.  Bribes, payoffs and political positioning often over rode justice.  David gave, probably at cost to himself, justice through righteous judgment.  Justice through the eyes of God's laws...for the eyes of God and the honor of God's precepts, not the eyes of man.  Not for profit as the world sees it, but for honor as God gives it.  You see, David understood that it wasn't for the eyes or opinions of man that we live, but for the eyes of God. 

As I speak more and more to men and women in blended families, I hear many stories about the 'unjust' situations in their families;  from the evil ex to attorneys not paying attention, to rulings based on false testimony.   This blog is for those of you who strive to respond well in a seemingly unjust situation. 

Hope for Broken Families....

I like to think of myself as a positive person.  I don't like to agonize over the effects of divorce on children.  Why?  Because I am a child of divorce, and as such...have lived through what those around me considered the 'mess'.   I like to find the hope in my circumstances.  I like to think that God can take a 'mess' and make it a message.  Why?  Because it is proven that a deficiency in hope is despair and leads to decay.  I'm not fond of decay.

So, when I watch the video above, I think two things.  One, the video is heartbreakingly true...and two....there is hope.  We are not some sort of unwilling by-products of our past, unable to stand in our present.  There is a way that all things can work toward good.  There is hope for healing.  There is reason for us to have a confident expectation of that which is desired.  I desire the peace that surpasses understanding, a peace only God can give.  I desire to walk with my eyes looking up.  I don't desire to wallow in the mess,, with my eyes on my sorrows and losses.  Above all, I never want to lose hope.  Dr. Gary Collins, a Christian psychologist, said, "When people lose hope in their country, in their fellow human being, and in themselves, they begin to fall apart psychologically and sometimes spiritually."

God wants all of us to fulfill two purposes; to love God whole-heartedly, and to love people unconditionally. (Mark 12)  I have discovered that when I do the above...when I'm on that road, hope in my circumstances is unlocked and revealed.  Step by living step....by God Himself.

The alternative?  Well, most people opt to bury their 'mess', and quite often after they've burried it, they erect magnificent tombstones to remember it by.  Aye!

Don Hawkins wrote, "...One of satan's most effective tools in derailing us is simply to plant the seeds of quitting in our hearts and minds, then sit back and watch them grow until they bring our growth, fellowship, and service for Christ to a screeching halt."

Are you believing the lie?  Are you giving up under the supposition that your life is a mess and there is no hope for you or your sweet children.  It is a lie.  Don't buy into it....God is not in the business of scrapping people, He's in the business of lifting them up, renewing them, and redeeming them.  Hop on board His train and love Him with all your heart and soul.  Then, watch and be amazed.....

©2011 Rebecca Snell
All Rights Reserved

Wanna Love Better?, Start With the One You Hate...Wisdom for Blended Families from the Mouths of Babes

Love is often not easy, though it is something most of us hope to get really good at.  Some of us have a difficult time not hardening our hearts to love, the older we get.  The problem is...when you harden your hearts toward each other, you not only keep others from getting in, you keep God from getting in.   Six year old Nikka figures that if she needed to get better at love, she'd practice on something really hard.  Here's another 'what is love?' answer...through the eyes of little Nikka.

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6

Jesus said:   "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High,because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful,just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:32-36

Jesus also said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven."  Matt 18:3

The greatest love of all...is the merciful love of our Father in Heaven.  Practice loving someone hard to love.  Lead with mercy..."because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" James 2:13

Lord:  Help us to dump our baggage and love hard.  Remind us how we used to be.

Is Their Name 'Safe' on your lips? Wisdom for Blended Families from the Mouths of Babes...

I received an email from a cousin of ours today. It was titled, "What Love Means to a 4-8 Year Old." I just loved it, as we all know that special wisdom comes through the mouths of babes. At any rate, I just couldn't resist blogging about Billy. He said in just one sentence what many of us struggle to understand. Look at what love meant to four year old Billy:

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

It's hard to imagine that we communicate so much by just saying a name. Jesus understood clearly what Billy meant. Jesus said, " For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matt 12:34b NIV)

Consider all the relationships in your family... Are you a Mom?, Stepmom?, Dad?, Stepdad? Grandparent? Step Grandparent? Aunt/Uncle? Step Aunt/Uncle....

Kids see and feel all sorts of things we never actually say. Is their name 'safe' in your mouth?  Do you say the names of those around you the way God says them?

Dear Lord: I pray that the names of those You have put in our lives would be 'safe' in our mouths, through the power of Your Name, Amen

The Power of Friendship....Keep Watch With Me.....

Picture from the movie 'The Passion of the Christ'

Wednesday January 12, 2011, Representative Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for her friends and husband.  She had been shot in the head just four days earlier and pronounced dead by some in the media.  Who would have thought she could have survived?  When friends visited her that Wednesday evening, Gabby was inspired.  Their visit encouraged her to try to open her eyes.  Her husband did the rest.  When she did, her neurosurgeon remarked, "We clearly witnessed the power of friendship here."  Later, when pressed about the odds of Gabby being able to do what she was doing so soon after a bullet had traveled through her brain, her surgeon Dr. Michael Lemole Jr. said, "Miracles happen everyday, and in medicine we like to attribute them to what we do or what others do around us.  A lot of medicine is outside our control.  We are wise to acknowledge miracles." 

I know one thing...many people across the nation have been praying for Gabby, not just me.....Many of us have been keeping up with the latest news....keeping watch with her.

Have you ever faced something that had your life spinning out of control?  Something that just left you 'undone'?   Something that left you without answers?  Something you were certain didn't stand a chance of coming out well?

I remember a time when I was quite undone by a post divorce, blended family trial in my life, though I hadn't been hit by anything so terrible as a bullet throught the head.  Still, to be perfectly honest...in the situation I'm speaking about, I felt like there was no way of avoiding destruction.  There didn't seem to be a good path through it, which would produce a decent landing.  I felt the pressure and wondered how I might possibly stand up under it.  Thankfully, a very sweet friend of mine (sweet but quite the tiger) had made an offer. during one of our lengthy girl talks prior to that,  "Rebecca...we need to pray for each other.  We need to pray hard.  Anytime you feel like you want to pray like that...you call me.  I'll get in my car and will be at your door...no matter what time of day or night it is."  When she offered that help,  I didn't think I would really need it.  I couldn't see myself feeling so low that I would have to wake her up in the middle of the night.  Still, I chuckled and thanked her.  Perhaps like you, I've always considered myself a strong and level headed person who could think things through and navigate life logically.  I have always been one to think, "Okay...let's be real here...what is REALLY going on."...then take corrective action.

Not a whole lot of time passed  before I found myself dialing that friend's phone number in desperation, and yes...it was at some obnoxious hour of the night.   True to her word....my dear friend was on my doorstep in minutes.  She showed up with her husband.   To make a long story short, collectively all four of us (Dan and I...she and her husband) stormed heaven for a particular trial we were walking through.  Ironically, our friends were also in the midst of their own storms, so we prayed for each other.  While the waves of a huge storm were washing over our families, friends joined hands in prayer....effectively (and miraculously I thought) forcing the waves back and averting the oncoming shipwreck.  Life around us changed after those prayers.  The affects of our collective prayers were immediate.  It was as simple as that.

Both my friend and I had walked many roads together.  We were in a small group Bible Study together, and  both of us were struggling with blended family trials.  We both had an understanding for what the other was going through. I was her wingwoman, she was mine.

I had forgotten about that crazy night until I read a piece of scripture this morning.  Jesus, right before his crucifiction...went to a place called Gethsemane.  Gethsemene means 'oil press,' and indicates a garden area among the olive groves on the Mount of Olives where oil was prepared.  I don't know how much you know about the ancient process of squeezing oil out of an olive...but suffice to say it involved serious pressure and squeezing forces from all sides.  The olives were crushed under pressure or 'pressed upon'.   Sound familiar?   'Pressed upon' would perhaps be a good way of describing Jesus' state at the time He was there.  He was about to bear the weight of all human sin.  He knew what was ahead, and He asked his friends to 'keep watch' with Him. 

Ancient Olive Press- The juice from the fruit of an olive is brownish/red.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."  Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Matt. 26:36-46 NIV

I've heard this story several times, but never considered before the power of a friend 'keeping watch with me', had.  I never related Jesus' request that His friends keep watch with  him to the fellowship I shared with my good friends.  My thoughts, this morning when reading that scripture, flew immediately to the night my friend and her husband 'kept watch with us.'....  I thought again, about the POWER of our prayers.  I thought about Representative Giffords friends, keeping watch with her.  I began to look carefully at the scripture passage and was amazed to see why Jesus asked his friends to 'keep watch' with him when his own soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Has your soul ever felt deep sorrow like that?  Have you ever been paralyzed in your fear for your children, your family, your lives, or the next court date?  The power of friendship is indeed a wonderful thing, but I can't help but believe that when you combine the power of friendship with the power of prayer...the strength and power of Heaven join in...  Oh what the disciples could have witnessed had they been available to Jesus, had they been able to stay awake and keep watch...joining their prayers with His.  Unfortunately they fell asleep....which is what we all tend to do with our friends.


"Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."   Matt 26:41


He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"


Sometimes when we are squeezed and pressed upon by the events around us, we isolate ourselves and try to muscle through trials on our own.  If Jesus needed His friends to pray with him and watch with Him, why shouldn't we?  Go find or make a really good friend....one that you can call on in the middle of the night.  One you can call upon God with.  But more than that...BE a friend willing to keep watch over your brother or sister.  While it may not be convenient and may take you away from your beauty rest...the visual of God's hand at work...is worth any discomfort you may endure at the moment.  My guess is that you might very well witness a miracle.

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matt. 18:19-20