Mountains to molehills
if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ~1 Corinthians 13:2
A while back God really pressed upon my heart to pray for someone. I was in a broken place, a place where God’s voice and direction could not have been any clearer. And so I prayed. I prayed ferverently, both day and night, when I woke, when I went to bed, any moment I thought about this person, I prayed. Sometimes it was just a quick thought other times it was a long conversation but I have never prayed that hard in my entire life.
For 6 weeks this went on, day after day. And then one day I was given some information that forced me to a decision. You see, Satan whispers in our ears, and sometimes those words come out in our conversations with others. I should have seen this, looking back, but I took it and used to rashly. Simply put, I gave up on this person.
I wrote about this before, Daniel 10:12-13 talks about an Angel sent to Daniel as an answer to his prayers to God and how that Angel was caught up with a demon for 21 days fighting to keep him from coming. If Daniel had just given up praying on day 11 or day 20 would his answer have come?
I believe that part of the reason I gave up was because I gave up on God. Satan knew exactly what words would bring me to despair and drive me away from God. He knew what my prayers were doing, changing lives through the spiritual. And he would stop at nothing to make sure I stopped.
I pushed and pushed and pushed through the weeds that entangled me over the last several months. At times I felt like I was walking in knee deep mud in the pitch black. I couldn’t see Jesus but I knew He was there somewhere ahead so I kept on moving, even if at a snails pace. Something special happened. The closer I got the more the Lord pressed that same person on my heart again. I hadn’t blown it. There was still time. I had forgotten one thing, written here in Amos:
He who forms the mountains,
creates the wind,
and reveals his thoughts to man,
he who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads the high places of the earth-
the LORD God Almighty is his name. ~Amos 4:13
He formed the mountains and reveals His thoughts to me!! How much easier is my small little bump in the road for Him? My little hill… I had faith that He could change lives through my prayer and yet I gave up after only 6 weeks. In my world I lacked the true love needed for this person and gave up far to easy.
We serve such a BIG God. A God who formed the mountains and treads the high places. A God who told us if we only had faith the size of a mustard seed we could move mountains ourselves. When I was little I imagined this God fuming when I failed. As I’ve grown I’ve recognized His compassion and grace. I see Him now pleading and weeping for me to continue praying.
I’m beginning to understand the love my Savior has for me and the charge He’s placed on me to love others and continue to pray for them. My sins held Him to the cross and He still found it in His heart to love me and He intercedes for me dispite my shortcomings(Romans 8:34).
My point is, recognize how big our God is, how much He loves us and desires good for us, and how really simplistic the tasks He asks us to do are. Prayer can not only change lives, but the world.
FAQ
- Q: What’s with the name?
- Psalm 118:22 Names Jesus as the stone the builders rejected which has now become the capstone.
- Matthew 21:44 calls on us to fall on the Stone and be broken.
- 1 Peter 2:5 calls us living stones being built in to a spiritual house by the Lord.
A:
- The name stems from a couple of verses:
- Q: Why grey and red?
- Red: Hebrews 9:14 – The blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us from our sins.
- Grey: Matthew 6:24 – There is black and there is white yet we all try to live in this grey area of life which is unacceptable in God’s eyes.
A:
About
He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. ~Matthew 21:44
Would you rather be broken and molded into a bigger and better version of yourself or crushed under the weight of problems and circumstances which you have no control over?
That is the question I was posed with several years ago as I struggled to make my way in a world destined to destroy me.
I chose to be broken and made some drastic changes in my life. I didn’t want to live the same way, or make the same mistakes over and over. The Bible tells us not to be surprised at the painful trials we will face but to count it all joy to be suffering for the sake of Christ(1 Peter 4:12-13). I began to look at the situations I faced in a different light. Rather than moping around depressed at my situation I began trying to look forward to a reward greater than anything I could find on this earth.
My life isn’t near perfect and I continue to struggle with many things I thought would be far in my past. And that’s the point. Life is a daily struggle with which we all wrestle. I hope the vision God has given me for this site and movement among His people helps someone along the way, even if it’s just one.
We are all being built into temples of God. He molds us and shapes us and makes us bigger and better.
What better way, then to come together as Christians. Not different denominations, but ONE church, united to make a difference
As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5
Don’t play house
Therefore what God has joined together, let man not seperate. – Matthew 19:6
I feel I must get on my soap box after having a conversation a couple of days ago with several non-believers. Two are around my age, one around my dad’s age. It troubled me to the point I needed a few days to grapple with what it really means.
Recalling how the conversation actually started is difficult, and probably irrelevant, but we all somehow managed to get on the conversation of marriage. One spoke up and said he and his wife moved in together and then got married so marriage wasn’t a “big decision” for them. Another chimed in and confirmed, saying her and her husband even bought a house together before getting married. The older of the 3, in partial disbelief, said “what is the world coming to?”. And proclaimed that it was much different in his time. You would think that was enough for me to chew on but it gets better.
In the world we live in none of this was really a shock to me. It’s a part of every day life now, a passing thought in the minds of all. Then came this revelation: “Oh it’s the way to go. I’m going to tell my kids to do it.” Hold on, WHAT?! The logic itself was flawed. When pried for an answer as to why the response was “with the divorce rate so high why would you not want to test it out first? It only makes sense.”
Even a non-believer was questioning this. And it made me think how much easier it must have been 30yrs ago to live a more stringent Christian life. How disgusting is this world than even just 30yrs ago? It’s so hard to stay on course when all around you are things to tickle your senses.
Then it hit me. The world doesn’t have a moral and spiritual compass to guide them. They step out in to the woods unprepared and are confused when they get lost. Don’t believe me? Try convincing a non-believer that the big bang is impossible. Yes, logically it makes no sense but they don’t have any other answer for how we got here so it must be right. 2 Peter 3:3 says in the last days scoffers will come following their own evil desires. It’s so easy for them to scoff at logic in the face of doing what they want. Following logic would mean changing and why change when things are “ok” as they are?
You don’t need to read far in to the Bible to see the answer. Genesis 2:24: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. See, you want the divorce rate to go down? Don’t mess around before getting married. Sex is more than a feeling. It’s a union of two spirits, it’s something humans can not understand. Only God understands the complex union of two into one.
So you say, I’ve already had sex am I doomed? No, because the blood of Christ cleanses us of all sin.(Hebrews 9:14) When you except Christ in your life God only sees a blameless lamb, it’s the beauty of grace! In following a Christian life, divorce becomes a mute point. Through the power and glory of God He makes all things whole.
The divorce rate is so high because without a compass there is no guide to say “no that’s the wrong direction”. Unbelievers simply see it as a decision. black and white. Oh it’s sad, but you can find someone else. Not true. We should not break what God has joined together.(Matthew 19:6) It’s not just a decision. It’s a breaking of a union of two souls. Ever heard the saying “He took a piece of me with him.”? In a sense, this is true. If you give over to sex you have joined together as one and breaking that leaves a lasting impression.
I felt broken inside hearing that these children are going to be given no compass and be given misguided information on how to live their lives. I felt powerless, hopeless for them. I wish you could just shake someone into believing sometimes.
Remember, nothing is hopeless with God. He has a plan for each and every one of us. If you’ve stumbled, if your marriage seems irrepairable, if you’re a non-believer, don’t lose hope! Pour out your heart to God. He will hear you, he will pour out His blessings on you, even though we don’t deserve them. With God all things are possible(Matthew 19:26)!!
