Prayer for Today

I have always been broken, until I heard You call my name.

Those who knew me then scoff at me when I speak Your name.  I know I am still unworthy.

I still fall down, but You are here to pick me up, dust me off, and encourage me to try again.

I call myself a Christian, but people stumble over me, trying to get to You.

On my best day, I am still a sinner, unworthy of the love and grace You provide me.

I have carried Your name to places that I should have never been and I have used Your name for my own gain.

I am the voice that called out from the crowd for You to be crucified.

I have betrayed You like Judas Iscariot and have been the thorn in Your crown.

I am the sword in Your side and have been for far too long.

I pray now, Father, that You can touch my heart and cleanse my thoughts.

Make me long for the things that matter to You and forget the things I’ve longed for in this world.

Teach me to be like You.

Teach me love and patience, teach me kindness and generosity, teach me compassion and forgiveness,

Teach me the way YOU would do it…

In Your Son’s precious name, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Are you REAL?

In today's society, there are many hearts to harvest for Christ, but they tend to dwell in uncertainty.  (*Mathew 9:37) They see the most televised examples of "Christians" and decide they do not wish to be considered an extremist. They do not wish to participate in acts of hatred or discrimination, so they shy away from even admitting they believe in Christ.

When those examples, (those who are adamant they are proclaiming the gospel) steal the spotlight away from Christ's true message, the world sits in awe at how hateful Christians can be. Those examples are not Christian at all, but are twisting Scripture to mean what they would have it mean to support their own claims. This is not sharing the Good News.

As we rush to exalt ourselves, rather than Christ, we forget Luke 18:14*.  Our human selves enjoy the attention, the false prestige we feel when others see us as knowledgeable in Scripture. We are reminded in James 4:10* how are supposed to behave.

Reminding myself to be authentically available for others:

I must intentionally arrive vulnerable and remain transparent.
I must be inwardly objective.
I must not be absorbed with myself.
I must give without reward.
I must heal spiritually.
I must not measure success by whether I can jump higher or run faster, but do what He calls me to.
I must not assume, but ask "How can I bless you?"
I must explain application to Scripture, which will require diligent study on my behalf first.
I must not only seek my own personal interests, but put first the needs, concerns, and interests of others.



*Mathew 9:37 Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
 *James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
*Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Not all things are as they may seem

Around November 3rd or 4th, I got a headache that I could not shake.  Having a family history of aneurysm, I had already been advised to have an MRI with contrast done before I reached 35 years of age. Because we were in Korea at the time and the difficulty I had in getting it done, I put it out of my mind.  After about three weeks of this headache, I went to my primary care physician who ordered a series of MRIs (5 standard images and 3 with contrast injected).  The scans were run on November 20th...and then we waited.  The Sunday before this last Thanksgiving, the doctor called my house to tell me they saw no aneurysm, but they'd found a tumor.  Although I was expecting family for the upcoming holiday, and we live on a farm, I was told to take it easy and advised to not lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. The horses still must be fed, the ducks and chickens still required attention, the pygmy goats could not feed themselves...I did not heed the advice I was given, but put my faith in Him who is the great healer.  I told myself from the beginning that whether He healed me on earth, or took me Home for healing, I would exalt Him above all else.  November 26th, I went in for another series of tests that would focus on the pituitary gland (where the tumor was located) and they would perhaps be able to determine the size of the tumor.  In another call, the doctor said that it is likely this is only a cyst.  I scheduled with a neurologist and waited.  When I saw the neurologist, he told me that my most recent report stated the tumor was almost 2 inches across and it was very unlikely they could tell how rapidly it was growing after only six days.  He told me to go immediately to see an neuro-ophthalmologist to determine how much pressure, if any, this tumor is putting on my optic nerves.  Then we slipped into Winter. We had more snow than I can ever recall, an ice storm, and then much, much more snow.  I was unable to get out or get scanned for quite some time.

Almost two months later, I finally got to see the neuro-ophthalmologist.  He tested my eyes and the results were not great.  Fearing I was already losing my right eye and finding a spot on my left eye, he has now referred me for further testing.  The scans they've done thus far indicate the tumor has not increased since November 26th. Also, I told the neuro that the other doctor said it is likely a cyst and his response was that they could not know for sure unless they did a biopsy.  Today, I wait for more testing, but am confident that God is much bigger than a tumor or a cyst and that He is the ultimate Healer.  I have no thing or no one to fear, as He is with me always and He is always good.

Mental garbage...

As we age, the connections between our brain cells -- called synapses, which are formed during the process of learning -- begin to falter.  This means that we have increasing difficulty in retrieving memories as we get older.  Researchers believe that the deterioration of synapses is caused by extensive cell loss in various parts of our brain.

So…avoid mental trash.  Don't let your brain become a septic system for anything that does not feed your spirituality, stimulate your imagination, or make you a more compassionate peaceful person. Refuse to open your mind to other people's trash without investigating for yourself.  Tune out anything that promotes negativity or conflict, which spread cynicism and feelings of defeat.

Begin each day with something uplifting, intelligent, and motivational.  Do this for yourself and those around you deliberately.  This will set you up for a glorious day and you can easily saturate yourself with positive words from our Savior that fuel your energy and ignite your spirit.  He instructed us by saying “follow me” not “admire me” so take a few steps each day to follow His lead.

Saturation in Christ Part 1

Who do YOU think you are? Who do you think you are in Christ? 

He sees the struggle in your life. He walks with you through it. Even the days before you knew Him, before you acknowledged Him, He was there. He was there through all of the things you've done that you are ashamed of. Do you think He's disappointed in you? If He saw you the way YOU see you, your life would be in shambles, but because He loves you, you continue on. His forgiveness is there for the asking. However, understand that to truly mean "I'm sorry" is to mean "I regret what I've done and I will not do it again, with God's help."

Read some passages that will get you started on the right track: Ecclesiastes 2 (finding fulfillment elsewhere); 1 Peter 4 (living for worldly things); Romans 1(the results of sinful humanity)

When you're done, reflect on all those whom He called to do His good works. Have you ever heard of Moses, David, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Peter, or Paul? Feeling unworthy or unlovable is common among those who would otherwise be too humble to speak up and take the path He has designed for them. 

You can make changes in your life and begin today. You can decide to do something that will lead others to Christ, lead others to want a life like yours, lead others to seek a higher purpose. 

The world is filled with those who need daily affirmation of their worth, they need encouragement and they need the light of Christ. This is where you come in. Each day, plan to seek out opportunities to speak LIFE into those around you and those you pass on the street. 

Think about this: If your purpose is to reach only a single person and bring them to Christ and you are given just ONE opportunity to do it, are you going to fail? If you are not prepared to give an answer for your faith, a solid, believable answer, you could fail. 

Study some apologetic information,  prepare your answer in advance. Always be prepared to give an answer, ALWAYS. 

If YOU are that one person that was designed to reach that one other person, do you honestly want to fail at it? Be prepared to answer. 

1Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 

You can learn to do this. You can. I know you're busy, I get it! I wrote that book. However, if you start now, you can prepare yourself for that moment when you are asked WHY you believe what you believe. Start with any typical question from an atheist: "Why does God allow pain and suffering?" "I believe there are many ways to God. Christians are arrogant to think their way is the only way!" "Why aren't there more Christians? How can the majority be wrong?" "Christians are intolerant." "I'm a good person, I love my family. Why do I need your Jesus?" 

There are many, many more. But I will help you in this series to understand the Christian beliefs in these matters. Together, we will examine each of the questions we might be faced with from both believers and non-believers.  We will work through them until you are confident that you are prepared to give an answer.

Waiting on a sign????? How about the cross?

Want to know what’s stopping you? YOU ARE! If you can get out of your own way...He has this awesome, awesome plan for you! Stop wishing you had a little discipline and command it! You have a new future in Christ. You simply must decide to come up with a plan for you and your Brothers and Sisters that you care about. Then: fellowship with other Christians, be accountable for daily results that other Christians can monitor and measure. Your primary group of friends should be Christians who can challenge you, support you, and keep you accountable. IRON SHARPENS IRON! Are you sitting there dreaming up reasons why “you can’t”? I thought you said you were His child? Whatever your excuse is, it is NO match to the one true King who is your strength. It's time for you to stop saying “one day we’ll have enough money that I can help __________ …” Take it straight from Jesus, join me in Luke 21, 1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.3"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others.4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Seek His heart

Stop what you’re doing right now and say to yourself...I will never beat myself up again for past mistakes. He has forgiven me! Never again will I allow someone to let me question who I am in Christ. Never again will I let someone reject me and then dwell on it, for He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.(Mathew 10:34-36) When you asked Jesus to come into your heart, did you buy into the lie that being a Christian was going to be easy? This weekend a wonderful Christian comedian told us that being saved is like never again driving a car that breaks down all the time, leaving us on the side of the road….the car still breaks down, but NOW we’re married to a mechanic AND we have AAA!!!

Try saying this to yourself: NEVER AGAIN will I represent myself as a fake, shining smile that must pretend that everything is peachy and perfect. I will not be act like a victim, but better a triumphant (possibly wounded) soldier of Christ! I AM NO victim! I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me! (Philippians 4:13) I will still face tragedy, I will still feel disappointment, I will still have “those” days, but because I have a personal and meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ, I CAN overcome and I will!” AND THEN: Keep your chin up, WITNESS at all times, and if you have to open your mouth! Be that light for others, that example that says: I am His, He adores me, when I make a mess or draw an ugly picture, He STILL hangs it on His refrigerator J

-Rev. Cassandra Kaehn