Chaos to Calm

My soul only waits for the Lord. In silence I sit in anticipation for the one who is my rock and my salvation.  Draw me out of the chaos of this world and into the calm of your intimacy. I breathe out chaos and breathe in calm; breathe out the chaotic experiences of living in an uncertain world and breathe in the calm of a peace that surpasses all understanding; breathe out chaotic personalities and breathe in the calm of a changeless Christ; breathe out ignorance and breathe in the calm of your wisdom that instructs me; breathe out my will and breath in thy will be done.

Calm me just as you have calmed the winds and the waves.

Speak to me just as you spoke to the storm.

Touch me in places I’d rather leave untouched.

See me and know what I thought was hidden from you.

Cross my inner threshold so that we are one.

Here I am Lord your servant is listening...and having heard your voice clearly, I go to stand boldly before my adversaries to speak truth to the powers that be; to bring about a future, your future that is a benefit to all, not some but all.

In Jesus Name, Amen

VMM

Beloved, just as there is an eye in a hurricane, you can find calm in the midst of any chaos swirling around you. Breathe deeply inviting the presence of God to preside over your day. Seek calm centers within that keep you focused and on task even when everything seems confused. Create the calm wherever you go!

Blessings!

Praycation - DAY THIRTY-ONE

Sometimes the things that keep us up late at night are more than dietary issues. An emotional hurt or pain, a disappointment, an attack, grief, a loss or the memory of a cruel injustice can sweep over us ruining more than one night’s sleep.

A young child wrote her experiences of wrestling with great agonies in the midnight hour. She wrote that when she cried out to God, she heard in response “Love covers all”. She began to pray asking God to cover all of her pain with the God kind of love that has the power to cover every issue. Then she mentally dug a deep grave. She buried the offense that had wounded her heart and covered it with dirt. Her testimony was that she covered the hole with green sod and planted white roses and forget-me-nots on top and walked away.

Restful sleep found her once again and the issues that wounded her so deeply healed without a scar. God’s love completely covered her pain.

Today in prayer, allow the love of God to cover every negative person, place or thing in your life. Bury it deep. Preach the eulogy. Pronounce the benediction and walk away. God’s love will bath you in its glory and grant you the peace to grow through troubling times. As the hymn writer sings: “When nothing else would help, love lifted me.”

“Love covers all wrongs”
Proverbs 10:12

Let us pray:

Lord, I bury all of the people, places and things that have caused me grief into your love that has the power to cover all wrongs.

PRAYCATION 2012 –THE TRANSFORMED LIFE

Beloved, it is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of our 31-day journey! It has been a joy. I pray that the experience has been a blessing. More than 7,000 people have prayed during our 31 day sojourn world-wide!!

It's not over, we've only just begun. 

Weekly prayers will continue to be posted on this site beginning September 1, 2012. At other times, devotions by different authors will also be posted. Weekly audio messages will begin again on September 1st at www.thisisyourwakeupcallonline.com. Subscribe today and new messages will automatically come to your email inbox. Invite others to do the same. It's free!

The next prayer intensive will be the season of Advent, those precious days leading up to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Please share your prayer experiences in the comment section on this site. If God has answered your prayers, please share your testimony. Also let me know if you will continue to practice your spiritual disciplines! The journey continues…

Blessings
VMM

Praycation - DAY THIRTY

Is there a sweet, sweet Spirit in your work, witness and worship? Invite the Holy Spirit into your life today. Listen for His promptings and urgings as to when it is time to pray, to be still, silent or speak in Jesus name. Ask Him to convict and comfort you as you breathe in the Spirit and are filled by the Spirit. Breathe in life. Breathe in peace. Breathe in joy. Breathe in the Spirit.

Try it now. Find a quiet place somewhere in your day. Breathe deeply. Breathe in life. Breathe out all dead things. Breathe in peace. Breathe out chaos. Breathe in joy. Breathe out pain. Breathe in love. Breathe out anger, arrogance and jealousy. Breathe in the Spirit. 

As the Spirit fills you, you will be better prepared to embrace the gifts of the Spirit. You will find that anger, arrogance and jealousy do not stand a chance against goodness, kindness, patience and self-control.

Beloved, be led by the Spirit today. There is an incredible spiritual adventure waiting for you. Surrender to the Spirit of God. Ask Him to shut every door but the right one. Open every door to the opportunity prepared for you from the beginning of the universe. Trust the Holy Spirit to stop every step that is not of God and order the steps you are to take now.  Listen for the Spirit to be the voice behind you telling you which way to go.

Live in the Spirit today. Create the opportunity in prayer to be more aware of His presence.

Sing in the Spirit today:

Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Bring the presence of the risen Lord
To renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see;
Give me passion for Your purity.
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

Holy Spirit, come abide within;
May Your joy be seen in all I do—
Love enough to cover ev’ry sin
In each thought and deed and attitude,
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my striving into works of grace.
Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend (2006)

“If we live in the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit. Let’s not become arrogant, make each other angry, or jealous of each other.”
Galatians 5: 25-26

Let us pray:

Come Holy Spirit. I surrender all that I think, say and do today to You. In Jesus name, amen.

PRAYCATION 2012 –THE TRANSFORMED LIFE

If Praycation this month has been a blessing to you, please invite others to take the journey. Our 31-day sojourn may be coming to an end but weekly prayers and audio messages will begin again on September 1, 2012 at www.thisisyourwakeupcallonline.com. Weekly prayers will continue on this site. 

If you started late, you can still catch up. Scroll down through the archives to continue your own personal praycation. If the Lord has blessed you, your family, ministry or congregation, be sure to let us know in the comment section.

What more can we do for you?

Blessings,
VMM

Praycation - TWENTY-NINE

Luggage is an important item for those who travel whether it is across the country or around the world. It carries what you hope is everything you will need for your journey.

I must confess that I have often traveled with too much luggage. I have tried to pack too much into too many small places. You never know if it will be colder or warmer than predicted. There could be extreme heat or a hurricane and just like the post office you still must deliver the mail.

There may be only one scheduled event but  when you arrive you find out that it is actually two or three events. Sigh… and of course, who doesn’t like to have choices…right?

If you are flying now you have to pay for what you packed to go with you to your destination.

Confession number two: I have had carry-on luggage envy. There are people who are so organized that they can pack one week’s worth of clothes in carry-on luggage. There is a special place in heaven for them.

Let’s face it we all have excess baggage. We’re carrying around too much stuff and we’re paying for it. It's not costing us money but it is weighing us down physically and emotionally. What we really need to do is to get down to the carry-on level.

We pack so much into our daily lives. We carry around everything in case we must deliver under adverse circumstances. We fail to prioritize – that is saying no to carrying things that are not really our responsibility or saying no to carrying around other people's problems or worries and our own stress, regrets, grief, shame, or the sins that so easily beset us.

Our hands, minds and hearts are so filled with yesterday's issues and tomorrow's concerns  that we fail to say yes to the best things that God has to offer today. We may also fail to recognize the season we’re in so we carry everything around with us for all seasons and sometimes the load gets too heavy to bear.

We keep adding more and more stuff to our luggage because we’re afraid of not having enough or not having what we need when we need it; or not having the right thing for the right occasion; or we have gotten so use to some stuff we just can’t let it go.

The most talented among us can pack all their issues into their luggage and carry them around both day and night. Stop the madness.

Put your hands up, drop the baggage and back away. It may be overwhelming to drop the luggage and carry it no more all at once. But at least strive to get to a carry-on level.

Try this. Matthew 6:34 therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Ok each day has enough for us to deal with without us carrying overweight luggage filled with the worries or troubles of yesterday, last week, last month or last year.

I had to learn how to plan and organize better for my cross-town and cross-country travels. Some things are best left at home or left out. Some things do not need to be apart the  journey.

Whew, I’m down to carry-on luggage and getting better everyday. Every 24 hours has enough for us to deal without dragging yesterday’s issues and tomorrow’s worries in a set of suitcases everywhere we go. Lighten the load and enjoy your day.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

Let us pray:
Lord, help me to let go and let you handle what happens today! In Jesus name, amen.

PRAYCATION 2012 –THE TRANSFORMED LIFE

Beloved, we have enough to deal with on a daily basis. Try not to carry around with you today what already happened, what may happen or what may not happen.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6: 34 (The Message Bible)

Someone you know needs to read this message and pray today’s Praycation simple sentence prayer. Send it to them!

Remember to do the steps of Praycation: Silence, Solitude, Submission, Service and Selah! Scroll down the archives on this site for more details. Subscribe. It's free!

Blessings,
VMM

Praycation - DAY TWENTY- EIGHT

How long O Lord, how long? In psalm 13, the poet cries how long not once but four times. It reminds us of the cry of the lonely, lost and left out. It reminds us of those who are waiting for answers that have not arrived, yet. It reminds us of those who are waiting for retribution or those who are waiting for a sudden reversal of tragic situations. How long O lord, do we have to endure seasons of insecurity and lack; how long do we have to put up with policies that castigate and praxis that defame the huddled masses yearning to breath free!

What then do we do when what we want or need we cannot get? What do we do when what needs to change seems perpetual? What do we do when we’re ready to move on but are caught between a rock and hard place?

Imagine with me what it is like to have a mind fertile with ideas that need to be born but the ideas at worse are aborted or at best still born; an imagination pregnant with the things of which dreams are made; a consciousness that has been cultivated with the sperm of visions; feet equipped for running; hands have been crafted for doing; your heart has been constructed for compassion and there is no one to love; your very being overflows with the gifts to nurture but nurture goes untried; your eyes dance with insight; your mouth is full of wisdom and your arms ache to hold the harvest of blessings that are yours. And like the subject of our text God is silent. All you want to do is to raise your voice and cry how long O lord, how long?

The psalmist then prayed consider and answer me O lord my God lighten my eyes. In other words, bring me back to life again, let there be a gleam in my eyes again. What began as an anxious cry ends as the psalmist realizes that God’s steadfast love will never let him go. I know that my trust is well placed in a God who loves me even though I feel lost between rocks and hard places. The poet begins Psalm 13 with a cry and ends with a song.

Have you ever done that been there in prayer? You start out with a cry and end up with a song. You start out anxious or troubled and end up shouting.

Today, pray your prayers trusting God that no matter what, the Lord loves you too much to let you go. The answer or solution hasn’t arrived yet. The operative word is yet! It’s coming. Hold on a little while longer!

"How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?"

Psalm 13: 1 (NKJV)

Let us pray:

Lord, help me to hold on just a little while longer! In Jesus name, amen.

PRAYCATION 2012 – THE TRANSFORMED LIFE

Beloved, I don’t know about you but there are times when the answers just do not come fast enough. It seems like God has forgotten all about us. The psalmist is trying to tell us that no matter what it looks like God can help you rise above your enemies. Nudge your neighbor and say hang in there. Lord, help us to hang in there!

Encourage someone today to hold on until the answer or solution arrives. Send this message to them or post it on your Face Book or Twitter pages.

Blessings! You are already blessed with every spiritual blessing! 

VMM

Praycation - DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

When was the last time you did a little extra? A little extra these days can be difficult in our Google world of texting, scanning, skimming, retrieving, emailing, blogging, information-at-your-fingertip world. Oh, and this is on top of your regularly scheduled activities.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks about a little extra. If you have two coats give one away and if someone compels you to go one mile you go two – the extra mile.

The word “compel” carries with it the idea of “a readiness and willingness to submit to inconvenience or unreasonable demands.”

In context this has reference to the Roman army; if a Roman soldier demanded that a Jewish man carry his burden or equipment a mile, about 1000 paces, which was what the law specified, then Jesus said that he should carry it two miles.

But notice the wording that Jesus uses. He doesn’t say anything about a Roman soldier. He says, “and whosoever shall compel thee”. To you and I today this would mean, “If a teacher, supervisor, administrator, family member, loved one, friend, a neighbor” or a “co-worker” or a good doing “church member” would compel us to do a little extra something then we should do twice as much as they expect us to do.

Now if you are human, and we all are, many times when we are asked to the little extra, there maybe a little dragging of the feet, mumbling and murmuring, some resentment spread all over the task. After all we’re busy! Our agenda is already over crowded.

Going the extra mile may require a different attitude! Lord help!

Scripture tells us of another who was “compelled” as Jesus made his way to Golgotha: Matthew 27:32 "and as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross."

Simon had no choice but to carry the cross. However, Jesus infers that this extra mile thing will be up to our own volunteering efforts.

The extra mile will not be an enjoyable trip unless we do it as unto the lord.

Art Williams once said, “You beat 50% of the people in America by working hard; you beat 40% by being a person of honesty, integrity and standing for something; and the last 10% is a dogfight of the free enterprise system. If you want to win those dogfights you will have to learn do a little extra.”

In prayer today ask God what little extra should you do, when should you to do it, with whom, how and where. What would happen if you did a little extra before asked? Is it possible to do a little extra with a smile and a genuine desire to serve?

Pray and then put in a little extra time, extra research, extra study, extra help, extra concentration, extra love, extra hug, extra kindness, extra attention, extra work, extra rehearsal, time, extra training, extra practice, extra service, extra smile, extra filing, extra organizing, extra effort or an extra mile…maybe just maybe that little extra will go a long way.

Whatever extra you do today, the trip will be more enjoyable if you do it for the Lord. Remember to do all to the glory of God today and everyday!

“And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”
Matthew 5: 41

Let us pray:
Lord, show me when, where and how to do a little extra today. In Jesus name, amen.

PRAYCATION 2012 – THE TRANSFORMED LIFE

It’s hard to believe that we are down to the last week of Praycation 2012. For those who are taking this journey for the first time, welcome! For the veterans, you know that these 31 days of prayer intensive may be coming to an end but our prayers and other spiritual disciplines will continue. Our regular weekly audio messages, which will begin again on September 1st.

If you need to catch up, just scroll down in the archive section on the home site in the “Read” section. Subscribe and new prayers or messages will automatically come in your email inbox. It’s free!

Share this message with your friends, family and church members. Do a little extra today and let me know how God crowned your efforts with success.

Blessings
VMM

Praycation - DAY TWENTY-SIX

Every now and then God will send us a dream that we cannot shake. We wake up in the morning and the dream is right there shouting at us to respond. The dream may come in the middle of the night or it is a dream that comes to us in the day while praying, reading the scriptures or listening to the preached word. The dream may come tip toeing through the silence while we are listening for the still small voice of God to unravel the intricacies of the Kingdom.

There are at least 28 accounts of dreams in the Bible. They include the dreams of Solomon, the wise men, and Pilate’s wife on the eve of the crucifixion and Mary’s betrothed Joseph who was warned in a dream to run away with baby Jesus to Africa.

This is not the first Biblical Joseph to have a dream. The progenitor of our faith, Joseph of Genesis fame also had a dream that not only changed the direction of his life but changed the course of an emerging nation.

The Joseph in Matthew’s gospel had a dream that compelled him to raise the child in Mary’s womb. In the language of the faith …it is the Immaculate Conception born not of humankind but of the Holy Spirit… the Word of God made flesh that dwelt among us. Joseph’s dream was a call to action to mentor, protect, nurture and support the Christ child.

In Genesis, a young Joseph had a dream of a future that God had in mind, a future in stark contrast to his present reality. There were detours in the road ahead but the abuse of others did not abort the dream. He ended up with a prison record and was paroled into pharaoh's employ. The dream was delayed but not denied.

Listening and responding to the dream that God gave Joseph in Matthews’s gospel as well as in the book of Genesis made all the difference in the world. It made a difference to the lives of their families, in the lives of those who were apart of their community and the expanded community of the people of God.

What are God dreams calling you to do? Are you listening to the dreams God gives you?

Next time God gives you one of those dreams that won’t let you go, a dream that blows your mind or one that imagines a reality that seems impossible…listen, pray and then act. The Bible says whatsoever we bind on earth we bind in heaven and whatsoever we loose on earth is loose in heaven…so we pray those binding and loosing prayers today …because of a dream that won’t let us and because it just might make all the difference in the world.

"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 18: 18 (NIV)

Let us pray:

Lord, I bind whatever hinders the dream of great things to come for me and mine and loose the power of God in my life. In Jesus name, amen.

Praycation 2012 – The Transformed Life

I was glad when they told me it was time to go to church! Beloved, go to corporate worship today with a glad heart not begrudgingly or out of duty. Go expecting signs and wonders to follow the preached word of God!

Later in the day, do catch up on the Praycation messages and prayers. Invite others to the journey. It may make a difference in your marriage, family, parenting, relationships, career or congregation!

Remember the steps of Praycation! Go to August 1st for details.

VMM