By Cheri Bunch
“… let us strip off every weight that slows us down …” Hebrews 12:1 (NLT).
Past failures had gripped my heart with a stranglehold.
I couldn’t find relief.
My spiritual life seemed to be suffocating from the grip my past failures had upon me.
I had made mistakes. Now my children were making mistakes. It was a result of my failure, wasn’t it?
I wanted my guilt to cradle me with comfort, but I only felt a steely coldness from its gaze.
My help was not in my guilt.
My help was in my God.
Finally I took hold of grace and let go of my guilt.
Instead of asking the Lord for the “ump-teenth” time to forgive me, I began to pray a proactive prayer.
“Lord, I have made huge mistakes as a parent. My heart is breaking with regret. I lay my regret and my guilt at Your feet, Jesus. I trust that You have forgiven me. Now will you please take my mistakes and turn them into something beautiful? Touch the cracks in the foundations of my children’s lives that are present because of my inadequacies and bring restoration and healing. I am deciding at this moment to trade the yoke of my guilt for the yoke of Your forgiveness. I believe that change will come. There will be freedom in my heart and restoration in my children’s lives. Thank you for Your great love for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
I was restored and given a spiritual “second wind,” so that I was able to run and complete this race.
Now my gaze is fixed, not on my past, but on my Savior’s face!
At last . . . liberty!
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith,” Hebrews 12:1-2a (NLT).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Whole House
By Cheri Bunch
Cheri Bunch believes that W. A. R. (Wisdom And Revelation; see Ephesians 1:17) are what we as parents need to successfully prepare our children for the future. We need to be well equipped to fight against the enemy’s schemes to destroy the home and the next generation.
In order for Satan’s battle plan to be thwarted, we must be seekers of God, listening to and waiting for the guidance He is generous to provide. We must lay aside our carnal weapons and pick up the weapons of the Spirit that are mighty and will prevail on the spiritual battleground.
We must have faith! We must join in agreement for the next generation! We can be confident that this is the will of God! When we know that we have His vision for the next generation, we can be confident that the Lord will be our Commander in Chief and that we can defeat the enemy and win the war!
Cheri has been married to Scotty for thirty years. They have raised five wonderful children; Joshua, Ashli, Caleb, Luke, and Josiah. They have been on the frontlines of battle for this generation for many years. The Bunches live in Chanute, KS.
"The Whole House"
Isaiah 59:1: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (NKJV).
Is everyone in your family saved? How does that make you feel? If they are I imagine you are jumping up and down and praising the Lord right now!
I have a feeling that someone reading this devotion has a family member that has not made a decision to come into the Kingdom yet. Is your heart heavy with intercession for them?
How do you pray for your lost loved ones? I would be very interested in finding out. Please leave me a comment below if the Holy Spirit has taught you a way to pray for your lost family members and friends.
There are at least four ways that I pray for lost souls:
1. Pray for the Household. I pray that the whole household will be saved. Acts 10:24 says that Cornelius had called together his relatives and close friends to hear Peter preach. While Peter was preaching the Holy Spirit fell in that house and they were all saved and baptized with the Spirit and with water. Also, in Acts 16:31-33 (NKJV), Paul tells the jailer to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they were! I don’t know about you, but I get excited when one soul finds Jesus, but what about the whole house? Can we believe for that? I think that we need to start asking for whole households to be saved!
2. Make Haste. Many times in the Psalms David would ask the Lord to make haste. Let me paraphrase, “Lord, please hurry!” When it comes to souls, I think there is nothing that the Lord would like to do more than move upon men’s hearts and draw them into the Kingdom. The sooner the better. Ask Him for souls today!
3. “Get ‘em, God!” One prayer that I pray does not sound very spiritual. Many times I have prayed, “Get ‘em, God!” This means “God, please go after them with tenacity!” Believe it or not, this is a prayer that the Lord has answered many times.
4. Praying Pertinent Scriptures. Many times I find a Scripture that pertains to lost loved ones. Most often I ask the Holy Spirit to highlight a verse for me to pray and other times He just puts His finger on a verse for me. A verse that I pray for my children is from Isaiah 59:21: “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore” (NKJV).
I want this to be true of my family for generations to come. I ask the Lord to make this verse true for us.
Pray and believe with me and may the Lord save whole households!
Cheri Bunch believes that W. A. R. (Wisdom And Revelation; see Ephesians 1:17) are what we as parents need to successfully prepare our children for the future. We need to be well equipped to fight against the enemy’s schemes to destroy the home and the next generation.
In order for Satan’s battle plan to be thwarted, we must be seekers of God, listening to and waiting for the guidance He is generous to provide. We must lay aside our carnal weapons and pick up the weapons of the Spirit that are mighty and will prevail on the spiritual battleground.
We must have faith! We must join in agreement for the next generation! We can be confident that this is the will of God! When we know that we have His vision for the next generation, we can be confident that the Lord will be our Commander in Chief and that we can defeat the enemy and win the war!
Cheri has been married to Scotty for thirty years. They have raised five wonderful children; Joshua, Ashli, Caleb, Luke, and Josiah. They have been on the frontlines of battle for this generation for many years. The Bunches live in Chanute, KS.
"The Whole House"
Isaiah 59:1: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (NKJV).
Is everyone in your family saved? How does that make you feel? If they are I imagine you are jumping up and down and praising the Lord right now!
I have a feeling that someone reading this devotion has a family member that has not made a decision to come into the Kingdom yet. Is your heart heavy with intercession for them?
How do you pray for your lost loved ones? I would be very interested in finding out. Please leave me a comment below if the Holy Spirit has taught you a way to pray for your lost family members and friends.
There are at least four ways that I pray for lost souls:
1. Pray for the Household. I pray that the whole household will be saved. Acts 10:24 says that Cornelius had called together his relatives and close friends to hear Peter preach. While Peter was preaching the Holy Spirit fell in that house and they were all saved and baptized with the Spirit and with water. Also, in Acts 16:31-33 (NKJV), Paul tells the jailer to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they were! I don’t know about you, but I get excited when one soul finds Jesus, but what about the whole house? Can we believe for that? I think that we need to start asking for whole households to be saved!
2. Make Haste. Many times in the Psalms David would ask the Lord to make haste. Let me paraphrase, “Lord, please hurry!” When it comes to souls, I think there is nothing that the Lord would like to do more than move upon men’s hearts and draw them into the Kingdom. The sooner the better. Ask Him for souls today!
3. “Get ‘em, God!” One prayer that I pray does not sound very spiritual. Many times I have prayed, “Get ‘em, God!” This means “God, please go after them with tenacity!” Believe it or not, this is a prayer that the Lord has answered many times.
4. Praying Pertinent Scriptures. Many times I find a Scripture that pertains to lost loved ones. Most often I ask the Holy Spirit to highlight a verse for me to pray and other times He just puts His finger on a verse for me. A verse that I pray for my children is from Isaiah 59:21: “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore” (NKJV).
I want this to be true of my family for generations to come. I ask the Lord to make this verse true for us.
Pray and believe with me and may the Lord save whole households!
Friday, October 2, 2009
What If?
By Cheri Bunch
“What ifs” wear me out and wear me down. They steal my joy and my hope. Thoughts of “what ifs” want to control my life. It is totally up to me whether they have their way with me or not. The Lord gives me the authority to say “NO” to them, but I don’t have to. I can welcome “What If” thoughts into my mind, entertain them, let them multiply, and allow them to make me miserable.
What-if thoughts are prudent with their timing knocking at the door of my mind:
When my child is on his motorcycle and is late returning home.
When I have a writing assignment due and the words will not come.
When my child is sick, fighting a high fever.
When the money is short and the month is long.
When I don’t know what to fix for dinner!
And the list goes on and on into oblivion!
Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 10:5 empower me. “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (NASB).
The Message says it this way, “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”
Do what-if thoughts try to take over your life and steal your hope? Join me in asking the Lord to make you aware of them, and ask Him for the grace to help you take them captive at the door of your mind. We have authority, friend, to take those thoughts captive before they destroy our hope and faith. What do you say, let’s pull out our “God-tools” and get busy “smashing”!
“What ifs” wear me out and wear me down. They steal my joy and my hope. Thoughts of “what ifs” want to control my life. It is totally up to me whether they have their way with me or not. The Lord gives me the authority to say “NO” to them, but I don’t have to. I can welcome “What If” thoughts into my mind, entertain them, let them multiply, and allow them to make me miserable.
What-if thoughts are prudent with their timing knocking at the door of my mind:
When my child is on his motorcycle and is late returning home.
When I have a writing assignment due and the words will not come.
When my child is sick, fighting a high fever.
When the money is short and the month is long.
When I don’t know what to fix for dinner!
And the list goes on and on into oblivion!
Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 10:5 empower me. “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (NASB).
The Message says it this way, “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”
Do what-if thoughts try to take over your life and steal your hope? Join me in asking the Lord to make you aware of them, and ask Him for the grace to help you take them captive at the door of your mind. We have authority, friend, to take those thoughts captive before they destroy our hope and faith. What do you say, let’s pull out our “God-tools” and get busy “smashing”!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)