40 Days to Live - Day 1

Luke 22 - Agonize with Christ

LIVE IT: Surrender to the Father's will at all costs.

Christ gave His life for me. How can I give less than my all to Him?

Lord, help me to serve you no matter the cost.

Help me daily to take up my cross.

My selfish desires, help me to deny.

Let me live for Christ, and to myself die.

THOUGHTS ON THE ARREST AND CRUCIFIXION

What would I do if all my friends forsook me?
Would I forgive them and love them just the same?
And if one of my best friends then denied me,
would I love him and then take on me his blame?
If the soldiers spit on me and mocked me,
then beat me and struck me in the face,
would I suffer, knowing I could stop it?
Would I take the pain to save the human race?
If they had me drag my cross to Calvary,
and I stumbled and fell along the way,
would I keep silent and not ask intervention
or complain that it’s too high a price to pay?
Would I lie down and let them drive the nails in?
Would I stay there though my flesh began to tear?
Would I endure the untold mental anguish
as the sin of all the world I had to bear?
For the friends who denied they ever knew me,
for the sinners who had not yet been born,
would I go through death and hell on Calvary?
Would I volunteer to wear a crown of thorns?
I wouldn’t do it for all the earthly riches.
I couldn’t do it; I don’t have that kind of love.
But I’m thankful that Jesus Christ went through it.
I’m so glad the Father sent Him from above.
For Jesus has that kind of mercy,
and Jesus has that kind of grace
that though His own men did forsake him,
He would suffer and die in their place.
And Jesus loved this unborn sinner
and bore on Calvary all my sin.
He suffered the penalty that I deserved,
rose from the grave the victory to win.
Because of His love, I am victorious.
Because of His mercy, I’m set free.
Because I’ve accepted Him as Savior and Lord,
I have joyous life with God eternally!

40 Days to Live - Day 2

Luke 21 - Lift Up Your Head

LIVE IT: Pray that you will persevere until the Day of Christ.

Will persecution come right here in America?

I do believe this possibility exists.

If persecution happens on my very doorstep,

will I be able to stand and resist

the temptation to give in, to deny my Lord?

Will my faith in Jesus Christ pesist?

Not by my own power, nor my intellect,

but by God's Spirit I will stand.

He promises He'll provide the words for my mouth,

and I don't need to worry beforehand.

So, Lord, I'm going to trust you to help me persevere.

Help me stand firm following Your command.

40 Days to Live - Day 3

Luke 20 - Fall on the Stone

LIVE IT: Fall on the mercy of Jesus Christ and confess your unworthiness.

A Circumcised Heart

I cannot follow my moral compass.
I cannot rely on religion or creeds,
Being born of a certain nation or race,
Or submitting to ritualistic deeds.
It is impossible to obey God’s law completely,
Never committing sin nor omitting good.
In my flesh, by my will, I cannot attain
To all of the rules I know that I should.
Only a circumcised heart can change me,
Only a spirit made new by the Lord.
Giving my life completely to Jesus
Is what will enable me to obey His word.
His blood has covered my many failures.
He gave His life to pay for my sins.
Accepting His precious gift of forgiveness
Frees me to live a life pleasing to Him.

“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly,
nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.
No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly;
and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,
by the Spirit, not by the written code.
Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”
Romans 2:28-29

40 Days to Live - Day 4

Luek 19:45-48 - Turn the Tables

LIVE IT: Cast out any false idols or empty religion in your life.

Sometimes we find ourselves going to church out of habit or feeling of obligation. Lord, help me hunger to know You, serve you wholeheartedly, and drop any religious pretense that gets in the way of a vital relationship with my Savior.

I was driving one day and passed by a U-Haul location with it's trucks neatly parked in a row. I said to myself, "There's a country song waiting to happen." When I got I home, that country song had to come out, and I wrote the following.

The U-Haul Song

I’m gonna rent me a U-Haul and fill it up

with all of the junk in my life that gets in the way.

Gonna give the keys to my heavenly Father.

Gonna wave good-by as He drives

that truckload of junk away.

‘Cause ain’t no junk gonna come

between my Lord and me.

I give my Lord permission to take it all

and set me free.

Gonna follow Him wherever He leads.

Won’t need that junk

‘cause He’ll take care of my needs.

Why don’t you rent you a U-Haul and fill it up

with all of the junk in your life that gets in the way.

Then give the keys to your heavenly Father

and wave good-by as He drives

your truckload of junk away.

Don’t let no junk come

between your Lord and you.

Give your Father permission to do what

you need Him to.

Then follow Him wherever He goes.

Won’t need that junk

because your every need He knows.

40 Days to Live - Day 5

Luke 19:28-44 - Weep Over Your City

LIVE IT: Weep over your city today - pray for a spiritual awakening.

Recently I sang a song for my Sunday school class. I wrote "Prayer for Santa Fe" after a mission trip to that city with the youth group from Glenview Baptist Church. After I finished singing it, one of the class members said, "You could just as easily be singing about Fort Worth." How often do I weep and pray over other places I've traveled on mission trips and fail to weep and pray for my own DFW area?

Prayer for Santa Fe (or FW or Hurst or Bedford)

High upon a hilltop in the morning light we stood,
and from that view the city looked so clean...it looked so good;
but as we closed our eyes to pray, their faces filled my mind,
and the thing that I remembered most was the darkness in their eyes.

Darkness had filled their minds.
Myriad philosophies had made them blind.
They were searching for salvation but apart from Christ.
Could our words bring hope to them and bring them life?

Lord, I pray for Santa Fe, for all of her people who have gone astray,
who think they’ll find salvation in some mystical New Age.
I pray that You’ll shine down on them and show the way.

For darkness has filled their minds.
Their myriad philosophies have left them blind.
They’re looking for salvation, but they don’t see Christ.
Let the things we shared bring them to Your light.

Father, take the seed that we planted on that night.
Grow it in their hearts and minds, fill them with Your light.
Take away their darkness. Replace it with Your truth.
Than let Your light so shine in them that it draws more men to You.

Chase the darkness out of their minds.
Take the myriad philosophies that made them blind.
Replace them with salvation, the light of Christ.
Then let their lives help others see that You are life.

40 Days to Live - Day 6

John 12:1-11 Worship Richly

LIVE IT: Praise God in an extravagant way today.

Mary anointed Jesus' feet with an expensive perfume, the best she had. The fragrance filled the room, so everyone was aware of what she had done. Judas criticized her as being wasteful, but Jesus rebuked him.

Sometimes we are criticized for praising Jesus extravagantly. I remember in my youth being told that I sang too emotionally and must be just trying to draw attention to myself. I took that so to heart, that the next time I was asked to sing, I insisted that I be hidden off stage. I wanted the people to only be aware of the song, not the singer. I wanted them to focus on the lyrics, not my face. I know I have been distracted by singers who seem to be so carried away with their praise that they are unaware of anything else. I should not feel this way. I should be glad they have the freedom to give themselves totally to praise even when before an audience and realize they are not performing for me, but for the audience of One; and He may be most pleased with them.

Longing to Praise Perfectly

I am so weak;
I am so bad.
I know my actions
must make You sad.
And my inaction
toward the things I should do
must be a great
disappointment to You.
You gave Your all.
You died for me.
You rose again
so I could be free.
My greatest love,
my most sincere praise
cannot be enough
to merit Your gaze;
yet You look at me
with love ever true,
forgiveness and grace
that come only from You.
To be so incapable
frustrates me so,
and I cry bitter tears
because I want to show
a love that is perfect
in every way,
to stand without flaw
in the bright light of day…
But I just have to praise you
for loving me now
although I’ll admit
I can’t understand how
You could possibly claim me
with all of my sin.
Through Jesus, cleanse me
anew to begin.
Thank You for loving me
as I am tonight,
but I pray for the day
when we’ll live in Your light.
And then, up in Heaven
I’ll be able to give
the perfect love You deserve
as long as I live…Forever!

40 Days to Live - Day 7

Luke 19:11-27 - Leave Your Comfort Zone

LIVE IT: Follow Jesus into a day that is not safe or comfortable.

Two men in the parable risked losing the master's money in order to gain more for him. One hid the coin he was given for fear of reprisal if he lost he one coin. The master rewarded the servants who used what they had to the best of their abilities. He punished the one who sat on the money and did nothing. God has given all of us in America many blessings...not only monetary wealth compared with other nations, but also freedom to live for Him boldly. Much too often we sit on what God has given us, take it for granted, and don't use it to the fullest each day. We fear what people think or the loss of social or financial standing if we follow Christ to the fullest measure. Will our careful Christianity receive a "well done, good and faithful servant"?
I think not.

Father, move me out of my safety,

away from my comfort zone.

Help me use all that I have,

my talents allow you to own.

Use my writing as you will.

Help me to risk my feelings

by submitting my work to publishers

that others might find healing.

Lord, help me to speak more boldly,

sharing You with the lost.

Remove all fear of rejection,

all worry about the cost.

May my reputation not matter.

May all be done to glorify You.

Let me know You more deeply

and to Your calling be true.

40 Days to Live - Day 8

Luke 19:1-10 Eat with Sinners

LIVE IT: Intentionally enter the world of someone who is not in Christ.

This one may take me a couple of days to do unless I do it via email or facebook. On Sundays I go to the grocery store. Most of my sack boys are Christians but occasionally I get to interact with a muslim young man who carries out my groceries. Last week I mentioned to him that I was going to a 5th Sunday sing that afternoon, and he shared with me that his mosque does that too! I didn't even realize they sang at mosque. He asked me how many hours I spent at church Sunday morning, so I told him a little bit about Sunday school and worship service. Perhaps this week I can try to check out where he's sacking and share more of Jesus with him.

Christ commands us to be His witnesses both at home and abroad. Much of the time I expect Jesus to bring the lost person to me when He has clearly told us to go out into the world and seek out those who need to hear about salvation. Although my going out is clearly limited right now, I can still watch for opportunities to share Christ at the store, the beauty shop, the bank or in line at the post office. Even though I might not have the freedom to invite them to my mother's home, I can invite them to this blog or to email me in order to share more of Jesus with them than our brief face to face encounters allow.

Lord, you came to this earth to serve,

to seek and to save the lost.

Help me to pour my life into others

no matter what the cost.

Open my eyes to see those in need

at the bank or the grocery store.

Help me to do more than smile and nod.

Open my mouth to share more.

When strangers share their pressing needs

as they often seem to do,

help me to say more than "I will pray."

Enable me to point them to you.

40 Days to Live - Day 9

Luke 18:35-43 - Be Healed

LIVE IT: Trust God for healing today - physical, emotional or spiritual.


While Dad was in the hospital following a major heart attack, God enabled my mother and me to encourage and witness to many people who came through the ICU waiting room. One mother even asked me to go into her daughter’s ICU room and pray over her, a request I’d never had before. I did pray for the young woman, as did several of my friends; and although the doctors said she had less than a 5% chance of surviving a severe illness stemming from a fungus in her lungs, she completely recovered and was able to go home for weekend visits within 5 weeks. God answers prayer! Daddy also survived triple bypass surgery a few days later even though the doctors thought his heart was too damaged to make it. Then he went on to live a fairly active life until cancer took him home on January 28, 2001 at the age of 75.

Trust Him
Karen Sue Hale
January 9, 1988

I serve a great and mighty God.
He knows my hurts and needs.
He places me in places
where He knows I need to be.
He works the worst of circumstances
to glorify His name.
He allows my life to touch others
so they’ll never be the same.
It’s not always easy to trust Him
when it seems the picture’s dim.
I must constantly remind myself
things are focused well for Him.
He sees the total picture
as clearly as can be.
All I can do is trust Him
through dark times when I can’t see.

40 Days to Live - Day 10

Mark 10:35-45 - Lead by Serving

LIVE IT: Commit yourself to serve in every relationship and circumstance.

Too many times we approach a personal, business, or even church home relationship with the attitude, "What can this do for me?" According to Jesus, the question should be, "How can I serve the Lord and others here?" Even those of us who are in the spotlight as preachers, teachers, and worship leaders, need to approach those responsibilities with humility and not for the praise of people. Do I enjoy applause when I sing or speak in a service? Certainly. It gives me the feeling that I've performed to the best of my ability. However, if the applause of people is my only motivation, I have fallen far short of what the Lord has gifted me to do. All glory needs to be given to God and my talents need to be a service to Him and to the hearers/readers. If the attention has been drawn to me rather than to my Lord, I have failed. If I step off the stage or climb off the piano bench and fail to care about, pray for, and if possible meet the needs of my brother or sister, I have failed. The good leader is the servant of those she leads. Father, help me to have a servant's heart today!

Thoughts on Philippians 2:6-8

Humility, servitude, obedience…
Lord, you epitomize all three.
I’m instructed to have the mind of Christ.
Lord, develop these attitudes in me.