A few days ago I was reading Isaiah in my quiet time and was struck by the importance of immediate prayer when I receive bad news or my day doesn’t go according to my plan.  Let me explain.

In Isaiah 37, Sennacherib’s messengers tell Hezekiah not to trust in God.  Sennacherib is the Assyrian king who has conquered all the nations around Israel.  He assumes he will conquer Hezekiah and Israel as well.

When Hezekiah receives the messengers’ letter, he “spreads it before the Lord.  Then Hezekaih prayed to the Lord” (Isa 37:14-15)  He didn’t talk to his trusted advisors. He didn’t cry.  He didn’t try to solve the problem himself.

WOW!  King Hezekiah’s first instinct was to PRAY.  In my imagination I see Hezekiah spreading the pages of the letter on the floor and kneeling!

O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth.  you have made heaven and earth.  Incline Your ear, O Lord and hear…

Hezekiah recognizes our Lord’s sovereignty and His ability to work through “bad news”.

I was greatly convicted of my initial response to bad news.  Do I immediately go to prayer and trust God to take care of my problems.  Sooner or later I will pray, but prayer isn’t always my initial response.

What is your initial response to even small pieces of bad news during your day?

On yeah, God does answer Hezekiah’s prayer.  God recounts what He has done for Israel and concludes that Sennacherib will not enter the city.  In fact, 185,000 soldiers of Sennacherib are killed that night.  When Sennacherib returns to his palace, his sons kill him.

I guess God took care of Hezekiah’s bad news.

Even if you don’t have really bad news, spend time this week in prayer when your day doesn’t go smoothly…when your kids don’t respond the way you desire…when small emergencies arise and mess up your schedule.

Blessings,
Kerry

ps.  This lesson of immediate prayer is exactly what young leaders need to learn. Are you raising a leader that will turn to God in prayer?
Leadership Education

I read these verses today and they are a good reminder for all of us!

And in that day you will say:
“O Lord, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’”

Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation,

And in that day you will say:
“Praise the Lord, call upon His name; 

Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.

Sing to the Lord,

For He has done excellent things;

This is known in all the earth.

Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,

For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

Isaiah 12

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

….one of my favorite and most convicting verses!

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress:
My God, in Him I will trust.”

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-10

When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2

Lord, please make me humble.  I desire to be wise through You.

A Call to Worship and Obedience

1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial[b] in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
11 So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.”

Psalm 95

Daily Easter Bible Readings

As you prepare for Easter, these daily Bible readings should help your entire family review or learn the stories leading to Christ’s death & resurrection.

Sunday, March 16 - Palm Sunday
Luke 19:41-48, 1 Timothy 6:12-16

Monday, March 17
2 Corinthians 1:1-7, Mark 11:12-25

Tuesday, March 18
2 Corinthians 1:8-22, Mark 13

Wednesday, March 19
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11, Mark 14:1-31

Thursday, March 20 - Maundy Thursday
1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:27-32, Mark 14:32-72

Friday, March 21 - Good Friday
1 Peter 1:10-20, John 15

Saturday, March 22
Hebrews 4:1-16, Romans 8:1-11

Sunday, March 23 - Easter: Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ
John 1:1-18, Mark 16

Let us then, be up & doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
-Longfellow as quoted by Churchill

Leaders must take decisive action.  So, why do so many not take action?  Why don’t your children take action?

1.  They lack the will. 
Churchill knew that victory graces those with the attitude of action and strength rather than meekness and vacillation.

2.  They lack a plan
As Churchill puts it, “It is better to have an ambitious plan than none at all.”  He was prepared for crisis such as Hitler, German bombs, Russian Communism because he planned for them.

3.  They want perfection
All policies and battle plans need to be tweaked along the way.  If you wait until they are perfected, you will never get anything done.  Churchill once said, “The maxim, ‘Nothing avails but perfection, may be spelled, Paralysis.’”

If you want to raise your children to be leaders, start teaching them these 3 principles.  It is imperative your children have the will, have a plan and don’t expect perfection.

For more ideas on raising your children to be Godly leaders, get this free report and audio workshop.  Raising Leaders Not Followers

Some of my favorite verses:

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness,
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Psalm 37:3-6

Too often we read these verses and just look at what God will do for us.  Insted we should see the qualifiers.  God gives you the desires of your heart, when?  When you delight yourself in the Lord.  When you spend time with Him regularly.  When you are saturated in His Word.  That is the time your desires and God’s desires for you match up.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 37:18

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

These are 2 of my favorite verses and I was claiming them this morning.  It’s interesting that I started reading the Mitford series this past week.  At Home in Mitford uses Philippians 4:13 often in the conversations and reminded me how much I appreciate Paul’s words in that verse!