Month: November 2018

November 27, 2018 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Jesus Prays for You

Jesus Prays for You

“Hey, I’ll pray for you,” he said. In the back of my mind, I wondered if he would.

On the flip side, I emailed a friend last week and said that I’d pray for his mom who was having heart surgery. When I saw my friend a few days later, I asked him about his mom’s hip surgery. Oooops.

I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving and giving ends of insincere offers for prayer. “I’ll pray for you” is the Christian thing to say. Praying is the Christian thing to do.

Jesus is praying for you.

“Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Romans 8:34 NIV)

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25 NIV)

That should encourage the socks off of you. It does for me. You don’t have to worry when a friend isn’t faithful in prayer, because Jesus is faithful. He is constantly praying for you. He is praying for you right now.

What is it that you need prayer for? Jesus knows it already and he is, at this moment, at the throne of the Father praying for you.

Are you seeking God’s direction? Jesus is praying about that.

Are you in pain? Jesus is bringing that pain to his Father.

Are you looking for work? Jesus knows it and is seeking the Father on your behalf.

Are you stressed? Jesus is praying to the Father for your inner peace.

You have the Savior on your side praying to God the Father, who is also on your side. It’s an unbeatable combination.

When you bring your prayer needs before the Father, Jesus is echoing those prayers to God, too. He might be phrasing them differently because he knows what is best for you, but that’s an even greater scenario.

And when you’re in so much pain you don’t know what to pray, God has sent his Holy Spirit to pray the words for you:

“We do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26 ESV)

Be encouraged today to know you are covered in prayer by Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

(From my upcoming book, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Incredible Prayer. Releases 2019.)

November 20, 2018 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Faith and Children

Faith and Children

Our home has several crawl spaces that are accessible on the second floor. Small doors open to a secret world kids love to explore. As adults, we know these spaces as the attic.

Our grandchildren are ready to crawl and walk through this secret world without reservation. In fact, one of our grandsons said, “Grandpa, you live in a castle!”

As for me, I enter these spaces cautiously. For some reason, I don’t trust the plywood and massive joists to hold me up. I envision falling through to the floor below. My fear is unfounded, but real.

All my grandchildren are less fearful that I am! They’ll play in the attic with no fear at all while I’m afraid to go in. How’s that for being humbled?

In my walk with God, I wish I had the faith of a five-year-old. A five-year-old believes, no questions asked.

The same “attic fear” creeps into my life. I’m sure you have some of that, too. These might be some of your fearful thoughts . . .

“Lord, are we going to make it financially this month?”

“God, my kids are turning away from you.”

“Father, please make this pain be nothing serious.”

Our God is trustworthy. We know that. So why do we doubt God when the stuff of life hits?  Why is our faith shaky?

How can I have the faith of a five-year-old?

I think the solution is to know God for who he is. That may sound simple . . . because it is.

We have a habit of making God in our image. We won’t openly admit it, but we think of God as limited.

Here is who God really is.

Eternal. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8 NIV)

Trustworthy and faithful. “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV)

Giver of everlasting life. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.’” (John 11:25)

Powerful. “For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” (2 Samuel 22:32 NIV)

Lord of all. “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” (Psalm 147:4-5 NIV)

Love and loving. “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love.” (I John 4:16)

Good. “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” (Psalm 86:5 ESV)

This is the God who is at the center of our faith. It’s dangerous when we wander away from these truths and see God as weak, incapable, finite and not worthy of our trust. How tragic.

Immerse yourself in the true God. Study the verses above. Think about them. Let the reality of who God is sink in. He is the one you can always turn to.

(From my upcoming book, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Faith. Releasing January 1).

November 13, 2018 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Prayer and Pain

Prayer and Pain

I just finished the morning listening to story after story of brokenness. The stories came from men and women who shared their experiences of broken lives. Then they went on to tell of other men, women and children all over the world who have suffered unspeakable pain and anguish.

We are all broken, aren’t we? Some more than others. A fallen world brings sin, pain and suffering. As you reflect on your past, I’m sure there are some pain points. Yet, as believers, we feel like we’re supposed to cover them up and live some magical Christian life.

That’s not why Jesus came. He came for the broken.

Jesus met the woman at the well who had gone through several husbands and was now living with a man who wasn’t her husband. Yes, she was living in sin, but did Jesus thrash her for her lifestyle? Sure, he brought it up, but he didn’t shove it in her face.

Instead, he offered her living water. He offered her eternal life. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14 NIV)

Friend, whether it’s your own doing or your pain has been caused by someone else, Jesus is there for you when you call on him. He heals from the inside out. He draws you to himself, the water. He brings life to your soul.

Isaiah describes Jesus in this prophesy:

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3 ESV)

Jesus knows your grief. He hung on the cross. He was betrayed. He was mocked, tortured, beaten. He was humiliated. Abandoned. He experienced the highest limits of physical, mental and emotional pain. He knows you and he knows your pain. He can relate.

He can also restore. He is your healer when you call on him in prayer. You may feel like God is distant right now because of the pain and abuse you’ve experienced, but he’s waiting for you to speak to him.

Prayer not only opens the lines of communication with God, but it opens the lines of healing. Your healing might take a long time and that’s ok. You’re not on a timer.

Do you need to cry out to God in your pain? This is a prayer from your heart, and it’s your heart that God wants to hear. And heal.

(From my upcoming devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Incredible Prayer. Releasing 2019)

November 6, 2018 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Faith and the 5,000

Faith and the 5,000

The feeding of the 5,000 is one of the most famous miracles in the New Testament. If you were there to witness it, wouldn’t your faith be solid and thriving for the rest of your life?

The disciples were there with front row seats, yet their faith waned in the future. But that’s another story.

Today, let’s look at this miraculous event as if you were there yourself. Among other things, Jesus used this to teach his disciples about faith . . . in him.

Here’s how the lesson progressed, as told in Luke 9 (NIV):

Stating the problem. The disciples saw the crowd and were helpless to feed the 5,000.
“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provision, for we are here in a desolate place,” they said.

Solving the problem. Jesus responded, “You give them something to eat.” I can imagine dead silence for a few moments as the disciples looked at each other, confused and bewildered. “In all due respect, sir . . .” would be today’s translation. They actually restated the problem and offered a solution, “Unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” In reality, they knew that was financially impossible.

Jesus comes alongside. We serve a loving God who doesn’t leave us on our own and say, “Get it done!” He joins us in our faith struggles. Jesus took the lead and gave this simple instruction, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” It wasn’t a mind-blowing, life-altering request. It simply showed the disciples that he was in there with them and that he had a plan. They needed that reassurance, so they followed his direction and organized this massive crowd.

Jesus performs a miracle. We know the rest of the story. The catering truck showed up out of nowhere and everyone was fed. Actually, we don’t know how Jesus did it. What we are told is that “they all ate and were satisfied.” Somehow, the supply of five fish and two loaves of bread never diminished. Show me that trick, David Copperfield!

Can you imagine the buzz in the crowd? Or the offline conversations the disciples had as they served the food?  “John, can you believe this is happening? I wonder what’s going on in Peter’s quadrant?”

Jesus wants to join you in your faith struggles. He loves to immerse himself in your problems.  He doesn’t want to be a spectator on the outside and leave you on your own.

Your prayer may sound something like this:

“Jesus, I have a problem. And I’ve been facing it on my own. Today, I want to let you in. I call on you to work your will and your miraculous power. I know you fed the 5,000 and I don’t know how you did it. Thank you for joining me in my challenge today. I trust in You.”

(From my upcoming devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Faith. Releases January 1).

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