Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 6:12 a.m. – The Lord began with this hymn:
Have Thine Own Way, Lord / Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934
George C. Stebbins, 1846-1945 / Tune: ADELAIDE, Meter: 54.54 D
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
We are still in Ohio at this writing of my journal of January 6th.
In a previous writing of October 26, 2008, entitled Because You Clapped Your Hands, the Lord had me share with you a situation at a church we were attending where a group from outside the church was brought in to entertain the seniors for the 100th anniversary of the church’s ministry in the community. Yet, the group mimicked old-time singers and dancers from the 1920’s through the 1960’s, and several of the numbers were sexually oriented. Yet, no one stopped the performance or said anything following the performance to apologize for what had just taken place.
The following evening at prayer meeting, the pastor, who had been at the performance and who had clapped for the sexually oriented numbers, was teaching out of the Bible on the subject of “evil” out in the world. The Lord had me share my (and his) concern, then, over the evil that was brought into the church the morning before. The pastor made no acknowledgement of what I had just said, and just moved on with his lesson concerning the evil outside the church as though I had said nothing at all. Then the Lord led my husband and me to stop attending that church.
Several weeks later, I sensed the Lord speaking to my heart that I needed to confront the pastor with his unresponsiveness to what I had shared with him, I believe in the power and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, so I wrote him an e-mail. A few more weeks passed, since it was over the holidays, and then he wrote back defending how he had responded, mainly under the premise of not causing anyone embarrassment. He acknowledged no responsibility of his own in the matter.
So, the Lord had me write back again to address some of the items he wrote to me about, and then I heard from him again. He said his conscience was clear, that he slept well at night, and that he could see that we completely disagree, and so he ended the conversation. Yet, I sensed that the Lord would have me respond one more time to a couple of things he presented in his “closing arguments.”
I prayed, “Lord, if you would have me to respond to him, I pray you will make that perfectly clear, or if you just want me to continue to pray for him daily, I will do that.”
Yesterday, Monday, January 5th, the Lord gave me an encouragement concerning that. After I had received the last e-mail from this pastor, I was reading the book, Overcoming The Adversary, by Mark Bubeck. In chapter 4, Mr. Bubeck relayed a story out of the life of D. L. Moody. He told of how two women had approached Mr. Moody at one of his meetings and how they had told him that they were praying for him. Mr. Moody proudly responded to the women that they might rather pray for the people (rather than for him), yet they insisted that Mr. Moody needed prayer for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in his ministry.
At first, Mr. Moody was annoyed by them, and yet they showed up at his meetings regularly, often sitting in the front row and obviously praying for him. Then, one day Mr. Moody began to hunger for the power of the Holy Spirit in his life and the Lord met him in that power. Mr. Moody said that the sermons did not change, but suddenly people were being converted to Christ by the hundreds – all due to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of a pastor, i.e. a minister of the gospel for whom two women prayed and did not give up.
The Lord’s timing is always perfect and he perfectly timed the reading of this chapter in this book with the e-mail response I received from the pastor with whom I had been corresponding, under the leadership and umbrella of protection of both my husband and the Lord, and for whom I had been praying. The Lord used this story of D. L. Moody and these two women who relentlessly prayed for him until God broke through, to encourage me to not give up on this pastor, but to keep praying for him and to let him know that I am praying for him.
I prayed, “Lord, I will continue to pray for this pastor and I pray that you will continue to remind me to pray for him. I will trust you for his changed heart and repentant spirit. Whether or not I am to respond to his e-mail to me, Lord, is up to you. Lead me and guide me I pray in your righteousness and your holiness. Guard my heart and mind and the words on my tongue in Christ Jesus my Lord. Give me an undivided heart to serve you and to praise you in the great assembly.
“’Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See what wicked way is in me and lead me in the way everlasting.’
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I am asking specifically what, if any, response I should give to this pastor.” I read James 1:5-8:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
The Lord led me to write back to the pastor. The Lord had me respond to this pastor’s “closing remarks” to me, and then I told the pastor that I believed the Lord would have me tell him that I am praying for him daily (or nearly daily). He wrote back and said “Thanks.” And, that ended it, other than the Lord continues to remind me to pray for him, as I have asked him to do.
Have Thine Own Way, Lord / Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934
George C. Stebbins, 1846-1945 / Tune: ADELAIDE, Meter: 54.54 D
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
We are still in Ohio at this writing of my journal of January 6th.
In a previous writing of October 26, 2008, entitled Because You Clapped Your Hands, the Lord had me share with you a situation at a church we were attending where a group from outside the church was brought in to entertain the seniors for the 100th anniversary of the church’s ministry in the community. Yet, the group mimicked old-time singers and dancers from the 1920’s through the 1960’s, and several of the numbers were sexually oriented. Yet, no one stopped the performance or said anything following the performance to apologize for what had just taken place.
The following evening at prayer meeting, the pastor, who had been at the performance and who had clapped for the sexually oriented numbers, was teaching out of the Bible on the subject of “evil” out in the world. The Lord had me share my (and his) concern, then, over the evil that was brought into the church the morning before. The pastor made no acknowledgement of what I had just said, and just moved on with his lesson concerning the evil outside the church as though I had said nothing at all. Then the Lord led my husband and me to stop attending that church.
Several weeks later, I sensed the Lord speaking to my heart that I needed to confront the pastor with his unresponsiveness to what I had shared with him, I believe in the power and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, so I wrote him an e-mail. A few more weeks passed, since it was over the holidays, and then he wrote back defending how he had responded, mainly under the premise of not causing anyone embarrassment. He acknowledged no responsibility of his own in the matter.
So, the Lord had me write back again to address some of the items he wrote to me about, and then I heard from him again. He said his conscience was clear, that he slept well at night, and that he could see that we completely disagree, and so he ended the conversation. Yet, I sensed that the Lord would have me respond one more time to a couple of things he presented in his “closing arguments.”
I prayed, “Lord, if you would have me to respond to him, I pray you will make that perfectly clear, or if you just want me to continue to pray for him daily, I will do that.”
Yesterday, Monday, January 5th, the Lord gave me an encouragement concerning that. After I had received the last e-mail from this pastor, I was reading the book, Overcoming The Adversary, by Mark Bubeck. In chapter 4, Mr. Bubeck relayed a story out of the life of D. L. Moody. He told of how two women had approached Mr. Moody at one of his meetings and how they had told him that they were praying for him. Mr. Moody proudly responded to the women that they might rather pray for the people (rather than for him), yet they insisted that Mr. Moody needed prayer for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in his ministry.
At first, Mr. Moody was annoyed by them, and yet they showed up at his meetings regularly, often sitting in the front row and obviously praying for him. Then, one day Mr. Moody began to hunger for the power of the Holy Spirit in his life and the Lord met him in that power. Mr. Moody said that the sermons did not change, but suddenly people were being converted to Christ by the hundreds – all due to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of a pastor, i.e. a minister of the gospel for whom two women prayed and did not give up.
The Lord’s timing is always perfect and he perfectly timed the reading of this chapter in this book with the e-mail response I received from the pastor with whom I had been corresponding, under the leadership and umbrella of protection of both my husband and the Lord, and for whom I had been praying. The Lord used this story of D. L. Moody and these two women who relentlessly prayed for him until God broke through, to encourage me to not give up on this pastor, but to keep praying for him and to let him know that I am praying for him.
I prayed, “Lord, I will continue to pray for this pastor and I pray that you will continue to remind me to pray for him. I will trust you for his changed heart and repentant spirit. Whether or not I am to respond to his e-mail to me, Lord, is up to you. Lead me and guide me I pray in your righteousness and your holiness. Guard my heart and mind and the words on my tongue in Christ Jesus my Lord. Give me an undivided heart to serve you and to praise you in the great assembly.
“’Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See what wicked way is in me and lead me in the way everlasting.’
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I am asking specifically what, if any, response I should give to this pastor.” I read James 1:5-8:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
The Lord led me to write back to the pastor. The Lord had me respond to this pastor’s “closing remarks” to me, and then I told the pastor that I believed the Lord would have me tell him that I am praying for him daily (or nearly daily). He wrote back and said “Thanks.” And, that ended it, other than the Lord continues to remind me to pray for him, as I have asked him to do.
