I'm kinda befuddled on what to write about today. Mark is heading in about 20 directions and I'm in one of my "yeah, but . . ." moods.
faith to move mountains
the power and sovereignty of God
spiritual warfare
going on the offensive
praying for Pharaoh (the person or organization standing in the way of your mission)
difficulties strengthening us
since I'm in a contrarian mood, I do want to pick a nit. (Yes Mark wrote a lot of great things and this might be minor, but the more I think about it, it is important.)
Mark talks about praying for Pharaoh asking God to change hearts, but in the original story, Pharaoh's heart stayed hardened to the very end.
And that brings up the delicate point - the debate over God's sovereignty versus our free will. Does God impose his will on humans or does God back off, giving us freedom to work things out, only intervening when asked?
Obviously, we should pray for Pharaoh. Jesus said we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But I am more inclined to believe those prayers change US - they give us a heart willing to reach out to those who are against us and that change in our hearts has the potential (not always the result) of changing Pharaoh's (our enemies') hearts(s).
Mark even talks about his own attitude changing towards his adversaries opposed to the coffee house. And I think that is the key.
In many situations with family, coworkers, neighbors . . ., the only attitude we have control over is our own. And when I say control, I mean surrender. The only soul we can surrender to God is our own.
If you are facing what look like immovable mountains, pray. Pray for faith. Pray for heart change. Pray that you might love your adversaries and your Pharaohs. And see what God can do with that.
Perhaps the boldest prayer of all is to ask God to change you.
4 comments:
Not a lot of people know my backstory(well practically no one). But I have with out a doubt I have seen God move mountains in my life that I thought would never move. And it came because He changed me. He showed me how to forgive. Now I had been under the mindset that if I forgave the people that hurt me and damaged me that I was saying "It's okay that you did these terrible things to me." But God showed me that they will be accountable to Him in the end. And over time God moved those mountains for me. The mountain of anger, the inability to forgive. God can move mountains! It may not be the mountains you can see. But oh, the change of heart is incredible and shows just how powerful God is.
Lisa great testimony! I am amazed at the way God has redeemed your life--stories like your are such a great reminder that God can do giant things!
thanks for sharing Lisa - perhaps the biggest mountain to move is our own hearts - a surrendered heart the greatest miracle. I think what you are sharing is that forgiving others brings true freedom and freedom brings joy so evident in your post.
Thanks for sharing Lisa. That takes great courage. But it speaks columns to thoses who need hope. Thanks.
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