We can spend our time thinking and worrying about the things in this life that are passing away just as quickly as we are, or we can spend our time seeing this life in the view of the next; and make decisions based on eternity rather than on the here and now.

Like many of you (I'm sure) I have some stressful situations that I have to deal with from time to time, and not all are related to my health. Sometimes it's family issues, sometimes it's difficult issues with friends within our church and outside our church, and sometimes it's issues with my own selfish desires...okay, mostly it's issues with my own selfish desires.

But regardless of the stressor, I must remain steadfast in the Word of God and in worship and prayer, lest I become consumed with my desire to find immediate relief for my stress, and forget there are other hurting souls near me. Today was one of those days.

I had an MRI today. Something I'm not ecstatic about, because it may mean I need another procedure or surgery I don't want. However, I've come to terms with this and wasn't very concerned about it. When I got to the imaging place, and had some time while I was waiting to be called for my MRI, I wanted to read an email regarding a stressful situation (unrelated to my health) that's been brewing for many months, and came to a boiling point last week.

Thanks be to God, that prior to my MRI, I was able to have a wonderful time of worshiping my Lord Jesus all morning and during my entire drive to the imaging place. As I worshiped, I also prayed, asking my Father God to keep me focused on His will rather than my own. I asked Him for patience and wisdom to do what was good, fitting and most pleasing in His sight. Then I chose to speak God's truth to myself by quoting Scripture to myself, rather than listen to myself and what my flesh most wanted to do to be comforted.

Because the Lord is faithful to do all He said He would, when His Holy Spirit led me to put my phone away and visit with the precious woman sitting next to me, I was able to take my eyes off of self and look to the tender soul God seated near me. Her name is Shirley.

Shirley was knitting a beautiful scarf, and as I commented on her scarf we began to talk about knitting, life, and why she was at the imaging place. Shirley is a loving mother, who traveled here from out of state in order to care for and help her 44-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with cancer three weeks ago. The doctors still don't know what kind of cancer she has and where it originated from. Shirley's daughter is still in the initial stages of testing and discovery before her doctors can begin giving her the proper treatment for her cancer. Her daughter is in excruciating pain and continually nauseated due to the cancer that has so far, been discovered in her hip, liver and pancreas. They're both weary of unanswered questions and desire so much to have a little glimmer of hope that all will be well.

As I listened to Shirley share her story, I prayed and asked the Lord to give me whatever was needed so that I might minister to Shirley somehow. We talked about the Lord Jesus and how we've both seen God's merciful work of healing in the lives of many around us. Then I asked her if I could pray with her and she said "Yes". I moved out of my chair and sat next to Shirley on the couch, took her hand and prayed with her as she wept. As she dried her eyes, I pulled out one of my ministry cards, wrote my cell phone number on it and handed it to her. I told her since I live in the same town as her daughter, I would love to minister to her in any way the Lord allows. Shirley was grateful and thanked me for taking the time to comfort her, pray with her and for offering help to her daughter.

I never did get to meet her daughter. As God would have it, just as Shirley and I were finishing our conversation, I was called back for my MRI.

I don't know if Shirley and her daughter are saved, but I've already been praying for both of them and now ask you to do the same. Please pray for their comfort, and healing for Shirley's daughter. Please also pray that if the Lord so chooses, that He would grant me the honor of sharing the Gospel with Shirley's daughter and serving her as the Lord gives me strength.

Prayer is a miraculous gift from God. We don't often think of it that way, but we should, because it is. 

In the 1828 Webster's Dictionary the word miraculous is defined as something, "Performed supernaturally, or by a power beyond the ordinary agency of natural laws; effected by the direct agency of Almighty power, and not by natural causes".

Even within a more modern resource like Dictionary.com, we find that miracles are attributed to, "an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause."

Prayer Is A Gift

This is why prayer, that is, the ability to communicate with the Almighty by approaching His throne of grace through prayer—is a miracle. Without God granting us eternal salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, no human being can approach God's throne of grace. Without being washed by the pure and precious blood of the Lamb of God, the only throne we can approach is the throne of God's judgment; where those who've rejected God's one and only Son, will be sentenced to the full wrath of God—eternal damnation in Hell.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

"but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life."

—Romans 1:18-20, 5:8-10 (ESV)

My salvation is a miraculous, gracious and merciful gift from the Lord, and so is any access I have to Him. That includes prayer.

How To Approach The Throne of Grace

Imagine if you were to meet with a CEO of a large corporation or royalty of any nation, would you approach him/her casually as if they were your equal, or would you approach him/her with the utmost respect? Would you approach them with an attitude of entitlement, or would you approach them with humility and jubilant gratitude that they would even give you an audience with them? Those of us who are in our right mind, would approach any person of importance with the utmost honor and respect and would be elated to have even a minute of their time.

So then, if God is greater than any human being, why do we approach Him with chumminess and sometimes, down right impudence; demanding the Lord to do our will? I believe one of the reasons is due to an often misused verse in Scripture: Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

The Greek word used for "confidence" in Hebrews 4:16 is παρρησία, transliterated "parrēsia" which specifically refers to the manner of someone's speech—how someone of common stature might receive gracious permission to speak freely before the presence of someone of great authority (e.g., a king, military commander, parent, etc.). It is not however, the same Greek word used in 2 Corinthians 3:4 where the Apostle Paul states that our confidence is in Christ and not in ourselves. The word "confidence" in 2 Corinthians 3:4 is πεποίθησις transliterated "pepoithēsis" means to trust; to have full reliance on.

Therefore, we ought never assume to approach the LORD Almighty with pepoithēsis (confidence) in self, because without being washed with the blood of His Son, we have no right to even dream of having an audience with the Most High God; except to receive His wrath. But for those who've repented of their sins and trust (have full confidence) in Christ alone for this life and the next, we are invited by the Father to approach His throne of grace and speak freely about our needs; knowing we'll receive mercy and help rather than wrath and condemnation (Rom 8:1).

How We Should Pray

Understanding who the Almighty God is—a holy and righteous consuming fire (Heb 12:28-29), it makes sense our prayers would be filled with awe, thanksgiving and exaltation. It makes sense we'd want to align our prayers with His will and what most pleases Him, rather than align them with our will and what most pleases us. After all, what most pleases God is righteousness. And what usually pleases us, is the desires of the flesh and the desires of our eyes and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16).

Though we ought to pray for physical health and healing, food, clothing, shelter, and all the things needed for this life; these prayers shouldn't outnumber our prayers for what's most beneficial—our spiritual health, protection and provisions.

The prayers of the faithful saints in the Old and New Testaments are vastly different from the prayers of the saints of the 21st century. Whenever we read prayer requests, share prayer requests, hear them announced corporately in church or elsewhere, unlike what's exampled in Scripture, the majority of our prayers are consumed with the cares of this world rather than the cares of God. Again, I'm not saying we ought not pray for these things, we should; we're commanded to. However, prayers for our physical needs shouldn't be the bulk of our prayers.

The primary focus of the prayers recorded in God's Word are for the exaltation of God's name (1 Sam 2:1-10); for God to search and test our hearts to see if there's any sinful way in us and lead us in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24); to remove from us falsehood and lying and give us neither poverty nor riches, but only give us what we need so we're not tempted to profane the name of the Lord with our pride and entitlement (Prov 30:8); to fill us with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, walking in a manner worthy of Christ, bearing good fruit, increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power to endure the temptations of this life with patience and joy (Col 1:9-12); and make us worthy of being called children of the Most High God, fulfilling every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power so that the name of Jesus may be glorified in our lives (2 Thess 1:11-12).

God said only when we pray His will, we will receive what we've asked for (Jn 16:23-24, Js 4:3). But if we want to pray God's will, we need to immerse ourselves in His Word; for that's where He's revealed His will for us.

Praying, that is, communicating with the Almighty without being immersed in His Word, is a foolish and fruitless work.

"My tongue will sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are right. Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts. I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise You, and let Your rules help me."

—Psalm 119:172-175 (ESV)

Rather than give yourself over to anger for insults (Prov 19:11), be mindful of the Scriptures when you encounter those who oppose you for staying true to God's Word.

On March 26, 2015, a monumental act was signed in the beautiful and picturesque state of Indiana. Since the signing of this act, ugly and false accusations have been hurled at Governor Mike Pence by the bullies of the LGBTQIA. I know in the news, you'll only see the acronym LGBT used, but it's not accurate since all hands are on deck when it comes to trying to ring the neck of Governor Mike Pence and anyone else who stands with him.

Before I continue, I want to clarify that I'm sure not everyone who is a lesbian, gay, transgender, etc. person, is part of this monstrous faction of LGBTQIA who, like bullies, purposely target and threaten those who are not like them. I'm sure there must be some who are a part of the LGBTQIA community who despise this hypocrisy, and truly aspire to allow all people to peaceably live as they choose, rather than impose their lifestyle choice on others.

If you're not familiar with the acronyms, I'll give you a quick update. LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. However, many who've chosen this lifestyle (yes, it's a lifestyle choice, not a biological race) feel LGBT isn't as accurate as it needs to be, and I agree. So the new acronym is LGBTQIA which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (or Questioning), Intersex (neither distinctively male nor female in physical appearance) and Ally (those not part of the LGBTQIA community, but are friends of the cause) or Asexual (someone who's void of sexual attraction).

It is the LGBTQIAs like the CEO of Angie's List, Bill Oesterle (an ally) who has banned with others to destroy everything our great country was founded on: Freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom to practice religion outside of government rule, freedom to live as God has ordained without immoral and questionable choices of man forced upon them. Freedom to protect ourselves and our right to live as civil people, one nation, under God, indivisible; thus, we are the United States of America. But perhaps we won't be much longer if those who know better sit idly by while this faction of the LGBTQIA strips every American of their freedom, and forces their agenda and their lifestyle choices on every citizen.

This is not love, tolerance or inclusiveness. This is tyranny. This is bullying. Once any individual forces their personal life choices upon another human being, you are no longer acting in love, nor tolerant of the life choices of others, nor inclusive of their beliefs. But you are now being an arrogant, hateful, intolerant and exclusive group of people who demand and impose your lifestyle choice on others.

There are more secular businesses (i.e., bakeries, tailors, sandwich shops, etc.) than religiously owned and operated businesses. But there's a faction of bullies in the LGBTQIA who target Christian businesses to try to force them to submit to their ways.

The act that disturbed the nest of the LGBTQIA Leviathan and all its comrades is called the the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Please read it for yourself rather than listen to and be frightened by the fiery bellows of those who participate in this faction. This act neither endangers the lifestyle nor promotes discrimination of anyone in the LGBTQIA community. Rather, it protects innocent people of all religions (whether Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc.) from being sued and forced to comply with those who disagree with their religious views and practices.

What that means is, if someone who's part of a white supremacists group shows up at a t-shirt shop owned and operated by a black person, that owner of the t-shirt shop is protected and can't be sued just because he/she won't make t-shirts that say "I Love the KKK". Likewise, it would protect a Muslim restaurant owner from being forced to serve pork, or a Jewish business owner from having to offer anything that's not kosher. This isn't a Christian law, it's an American law that protects the freedom and rights of all its citizens to practice their religion without fear of retribution. This is America folks.

Christians, let's stand up and let our voices be heard. After all, are we not commanded by God our Father to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8)? So let us protect those (e.g., Governor Mike Pence) who are being unjustly accused and abused with insults just because they want to keep our country free from any kind of tyranny.

My darling husband is writing to Bill Oesterle, CEO of Angie's List, to tell him why we're canceling our subscription with them. And I encourage all of you to do the same. Let our voices be heard where Mr. Oesterle can hear them...from the emptiness of his bank vault.

While we understand that during our short stay here on earth, we have to do business with and lovingly live and work alongside unbelievers, we can't partner with those who promote and fight for unjust causes. Causes that punish people, whether Christian, Muslim, Jew, or people from any other religion to lose their livelihood or to have it jeopardized because of bullies who demand every citizen to participate in their lifestyle choices. This is not America folks. This is tyranny—plain and simple.

We know the world needs the Gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). And no transformation of hearts or minds can be made without the new life in Christ. Therefore, let us diligently share the Gospel and lift our voices to protect the God-given freedoms of all men and women. Let us not sit idly by while states are boycotting states. The world is watching. And we all know—united we stand, divided we fall.

Let us be the bond of peace and the voice of reason in this great country the Lord our God put us in, no matter the cost, for just a time as this.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

~Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)