Have you ever really prayed for something, but when the answer came, you questioned it? You are NOT alone!
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00:00:43 --> 00:00:44 Over the recent holidays,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 our family gathered together to watch a number of movies.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 One of them was one of my favorites,
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 Miracle on 34th Street,
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 with a young Natalie Wood.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58
00:00:59 --> 00:01:03 She's raised by a very practical single mother whose neighbor is a lawyer
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 representing a man claiming to be Kris Kringle.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:09 The plot of the movie,
00:01:09 --> 00:01:10 without any spoilers,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 is giving this little girl a sense of whimsy in her life as she's far too mature
00:01:16 --> 00:01:16 for her age.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Chris tries to get her to believe,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:25 so he asks her to ask him to get something only he knows about,
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 and she delivers a very tall order.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:35 She tells him either he gets it for her or else he's just a very nice man like her
00:01:35 --> 00:01:36 mother says.
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00:01:42 --> 00:01:45
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 God is treated like a celestial bellhop,
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 providing excellent customer service,
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 ensuring the guest has a stellar experience.
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 We pop in currency,
00:02:02 --> 00:02:03 in this case prayers,
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 and out pops the answer we want,
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 like goods dropped into the dispensing tray.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12
00:02:13 --> 00:02:17
00:02:18 --> 00:02:22 Our preacher back in California used to say that the word worship comes from
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 the word worth ship.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 We want services to entertain us,
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 so we murmur about the music or complain about the need for more families,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:37 more activities,
00:02:37 --> 00:02:42 and are completely oblivious to the fact that he is the audience,
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 not us.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 We're like little Susie Walker,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 listlessly intoning,
00:02:48 --> 00:02:49 I believe,
00:02:49 --> 00:02:50 I believe,
00:02:51 --> 00:02:52 over and over,
00:02:53 --> 00:02:57 as if those are the coins that get us the goods in that celestial vending machine.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 It says in Isaiah 55:8-11,
00:03:03 --> 00:03:04 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 neither are your ways my ways,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:08 declares the Lord.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 so are my ways higher than your ways,
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 and my thoughts than your thoughts.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:21 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there,
00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 but water the earth,
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 making it bring forth and sprout,
00:03:25 --> 00:03:32 giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes out
00:03:32 --> 00:03:37 from my mouth it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that
00:03:37 --> 00:03:44 which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it you do not
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 havetheaerialview
00:03:46 --> 00:03:50 Though Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us,
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 not for harm,
00:03:52 --> 00:03:52 but for hope,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 he must be allowed to accomplish it his way.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 Sometimes our suffering and pain may be a consequence of someone else's
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 careless choices and sin in their lives.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:10
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13
00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 But where would be the learning of the lesson so it's not repeated time and again?
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 The true repentance,
00:04:22 --> 00:04:28 the knowledge of our condition and the utter reliance upon God and no one else.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31
00:04:31 --> 00:04:32 We win the battle,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 but lose the war,
00:04:34 --> 00:04:40 which is a victory over Satan and this world and gaining an eternal home with him.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:47 He tells us in Romans 8:28 that he will work out everything for our good,
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 for those who truly love him and diligently seek him.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 Though I've never seen it,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 I'm familiar with the plot of the movie Misery,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 based on a Stephen King novel.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 A woman forces an author to finish writing a book,
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 stripping him of his dignity,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 liberty,
00:05:05 --> 00:05:06 and free will.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09
00:05:10 --> 00:05:15 Not only is it cruel and certainly goes against those plans for hope and not harm,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 but does it mean anything if it was forced?
00:05:21 --> 00:05:26 Where do we get to show our devotion to God and let Him know we choose Him?
00:05:29 --> 00:05:30 Our meme for today says,
00:05:31 --> 00:05:32 trust and obey,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 even when it's hard,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:35 scary,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 and stormy.
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00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 Paid Substack subscribers get an additional weekend episode on Saturdays,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 as well as other subscriber-only perks.
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