The same God of Ezekiel 1, came and lived as a man, washed the disciples feet, died on the cross and continually, patiently, waits for me. Though I repeatedly ignore Him, and even when I don't, can't quite seem to manage enough gratitude, and yet He wants my attention....
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*mind blown*
Sunday, November 20, 2011
A cry like Bartimaeus
Friday during our internship lead prayer room we were praying for revival in America, it’s a pretty common topic for our prayer, and a good one too. While we were praying I felt like the Lord reminded me of Bartimaeus. His story is in Mark 10:46-52, but also Luke 18 and Matthew 20, but he is only named in Mark.
Mark 10:46-52 “And they [Jesus and His disciples] came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And Jesus stopped and said ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up! He is calling you.’ And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ And the blind man said to Him, ‘Rabbi, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way, your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him on the way.”
I originally began thinking about this in context of healing, how Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus when he heard He was near. When others tried to silence him, he instead got louder, and more emphatic. Thinking of this in terms of my life, when society, people, strangers or friends, telling me I’m being “too religious” or or even my own flesh is growing weary, I should not let that stop me. If Bartimaeus had remained kept silent, Jesus would ahve walked by and he would have remained blind, but it was his emphatic fervent prayer that got Jesus' attention and His audience.(that is not to say that Jesus ignored him, didn't know him, or that our small quiet prayers don't matter. Mainly I was impressed by Bartimaeus' heart posture.) He knew that God could hear him, and He could help him, and he let nothing get in the way. We should know that as well.
I was mainly thinking about this in terms of healing, because that is the context of the story is presented, but as the morning went on, God broadened my understanding. As we were were praying for revival, I had to continuously decide not to let my tired mind and body quit me. I had to keep going for it, so like Bartimaeus I was praying that Jesus would have mercy on our nation and come reveal Himself to us. I almost missed when Beau began exhorting us to press harder, to all lift our voices and pray, "waring in the Spirit". I thought it was interesting that right after God was talking to me about crying out harder until God does what we need and only He can do, He led us to do it together. It brought confirmation to me that 1. the message was true, and 2. that the way the morning was unfolding really was good.
Mark 10:46-52 “And they [Jesus and His disciples] came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And Jesus stopped and said ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up! He is calling you.’ And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ And the blind man said to Him, ‘Rabbi, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way, your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him on the way.”
I originally began thinking about this in context of healing, how Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus when he heard He was near. When others tried to silence him, he instead got louder, and more emphatic. Thinking of this in terms of my life, when society, people, strangers or friends, telling me I’m being “too religious” or or even my own flesh is growing weary, I should not let that stop me. If Bartimaeus had remained kept silent, Jesus would ahve walked by and he would have remained blind, but it was his emphatic fervent prayer that got Jesus' attention and His audience.(that is not to say that Jesus ignored him, didn't know him, or that our small quiet prayers don't matter. Mainly I was impressed by Bartimaeus' heart posture.) He knew that God could hear him, and He could help him, and he let nothing get in the way. We should know that as well.
I was mainly thinking about this in terms of healing, because that is the context of the story is presented, but as the morning went on, God broadened my understanding. As we were were praying for revival, I had to continuously decide not to let my tired mind and body quit me. I had to keep going for it, so like Bartimaeus I was praying that Jesus would have mercy on our nation and come reveal Himself to us. I almost missed when Beau began exhorting us to press harder, to all lift our voices and pray, "waring in the Spirit". I thought it was interesting that right after God was talking to me about crying out harder until God does what we need and only He can do, He led us to do it together. It brought confirmation to me that 1. the message was true, and 2. that the way the morning was unfolding really was good.
i love my leadership
I love my leaders.
Jonny, Robert, and Collin. They're awesome. I tried to think of something I could do for them to show them love. So after several months of observation, much trolling through of facebook photos and a litle bit of imagination, this is what I came up with. I worked on these without them knowing, and posted last week on facebook.
Jonny plays drums in the prayer room, and has this "happy tick" he does when he gets happy. I kinda had to make it up, but I think I got pretty close.
Collin is a singer in the prayer room and usually wears this blue hat.
This is Robert our Core Leader. He's the big boss man who gets to call all the shots. His authority is usually displayed through his pointy finger, and has become a habit that many of us have picked up by accident. He loves to read and has several bookcases filled with books in his house. He hates bananas, which blows my mind, so I put one in, just to make sure he was paying attention.
Jonny, Robert, and Collin. They're awesome. I tried to think of something I could do for them to show them love. So after several months of observation, much trolling through of facebook photos and a litle bit of imagination, this is what I came up with. I worked on these without them knowing, and posted last week on facebook.
Jonny plays drums in the prayer room, and has this "happy tick" he does when he gets happy. I kinda had to make it up, but I think I got pretty close.
Collin is a singer in the prayer room and usually wears this blue hat.
This is Robert our Core Leader. He's the big boss man who gets to call all the shots. His authority is usually displayed through his pointy finger, and has become a habit that many of us have picked up by accident. He loves to read and has several bookcases filled with books in his house. He hates bananas, which blows my mind, so I put one in, just to make sure he was paying attention.
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