In My Name

Kaye Smith is my friend. If I were to ask her to do something—knowing she COULD do it—what would that be? Well…I could ask her to write her name  mirror image. She’s left-handed and amazes people with that skill. I would ask her to make a cheesecake—because she makes the very best! I would ask her which wildflowers to plant together because she has beautiful gardens. I would go to her with ALL of my medical questions because she’s the best diagnostician I know!

What would I NOT ask of her? I wouldn’t ask her how to repair my car. I wouldn’t ask her about mountain climbing…and she knows nothing about building a roller coaster. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that she wouldn’t help me rob a bank! That would be unthinkable to her. 

Jesus told us in John 16:23 to ask anything in His name. The Hebrew means to ask in “the name used for everything that name covers.” I know what Kaye’s name covers—and what it doesn’t.  What does Jesus’ name cover? He owns everything and is over everything. What does it not cover? Anything illegal to His name—sin or selfishness.  

Kaye is a beautiful friend and is willing to help anyone who calls on her. Everyone who knows her knows her strengths and we’ve all called on her for some pretty amazing help. 

How much more can Jesus do?! Ask in His name…and all that His name covers.  

Abide

Just as these grapes won’t grow unless they’re attached to the vine, we won’t grow if we’re not attached to Jesus. In fact, John 15 says, “He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing.”

Think about that! If we’re not attached to Jesus with His life flowing through us, WE CAN DO NOTHING! (Not even one thing, according to the Greek.) In fact, Jesus said if we don’t abide in Him, we’re like a dead branch that’s cast into the fire. And if we DO bear fruit, He prunes us so that we’ll bear more fruit. Come to think of it—those hard things that happen in our lives may not be Satan attacking us.  It may be God using His pruning shears on us for a very good purpose—to create more fruit. 

We can do NOTHING apart from Jesus…but then He tells us that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we can ask for whatever we desire and it will be done for us. WOW! His desires become our desires. 

The Greek for “abide” means to remain, dwell, sojourn with, tarry, continue with, to wait for, to endure, to continue to be present, to last. Stay with Jesus. Stay in His Word. Walk with Him and remain with Him. Don’t leave! 

And then ask and it will be done. I love what the Greek says about this. It will come into existence, it will appear in history, it will come upon the stage!

There’s so much power and LIFE in abiding and asking!!

God is Greater

Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure. He’d told them that the Holy Spirit would come and teach them all things and that He wouldn’t leave them as orphans—He’d be back. And then He told them to ask the Father anything in His name, He would do it. And then He says this: “If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.”

I read that verse and wondered what it means that the Father is greater than Jesus. I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me. Blue Letter Bible says greater means greater. Jesus and the Holy Spirit both submit to the Father. Jesus said he only did what He saw the Father doing. The Holy Spirit said he brings messages from the Father and not on His own authority.  

I was driving to the grocery store this morning and was complaining to God about a situation that affects me. I’d gotten to a place of forgiveness and letting go, and God spoke to my heart, “My plan is greater than your plan. I am greater than you.” I actually started laughing!  The Holy Spirit has a powerful and quick way of teaching!!

God is good and only does good. God is greater. His plan is greater. Thank You, God!!

Dust

In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. Peter, believing it’s too servile a task for Jesus to be doing, exclaims, “You will never wash my feet!”  Jesus responds with, “If you don’t let me wash your feet, you will have no part with me.”  So Peter responds with, “Then wash my head and hands, too!” Jesus says, “He who is bathed, needs only his feet washed—not his whole body.”

I believe Jesus uses this as a metaphor for what happens to us as we walk through the world. When we accept God’s gift of salvation, our “whole body” is cleansed. We’re saved for all of eternity!  We are His and He will never leave us. But then our “feet” get dirty from walking in this world which is dominated by sin. Our spirit is saved and made new…but we still walk in the flesh. We still sin. And we need God’s forgiveness—and the forgiveness of others. That’s why Jesus told his disciples that they must wash one another’s feet. Forgive one another.  

Dust is so interesting. Genesis 2:7 says man was made from dust.  The Hebrew word is āpār which means dry earth, dust, ashes, mortar. So man’s flesh, his body, was made or built from dust. Man also creates dust when he sins (flesh).  Genesis 3:14 says that because the serpent (Satan) caused man to sin, he was cursed. He would now eat dust for the rest of his days.  Some scholars believe that through the years, the serpent has eaten so much dust that he has grown exponentially and has become the dragon in Revelation 12:9.  

Let’s not give the serpent dust to eat. Let’s keep our hearts pure and forgive one another quickly. Let’s wash one another’s feet.  

Hearing God

Twenty-nine years ago, Peter Lord came to our church and taught on “hearing God.” At the time, the Baptist leadership had asked him not to speak about it publicly—just to small groups. I’m sure they were afraid of the topic. So Peter complied and offered to teach a group of open-minded young people at First Baptist Church Borger how to hear God. I was more open than I’d ever been and eagerly approached him after the service.  I told him, “I know I’m not young (I was 40), but I really want to learn!”

He took us through a simple exercise of asking God questions and then listening to that still, small voice in our hearts for the answer. It was transformational in my life. 

But back up a few years…I had gone through a time of examining many old teachings and belief systems I had held—asking God to reveal truth about each of them. It had been a painful process. So I wasn’t inclined to just accept anyone’s teaching without comparing it to scripture. I was careful. So I began the process of examining this teaching of “hearing God.”

Some of the scripture that God led me to were these:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.“ John 10:27

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”

Isaiah 30:21

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-14

This last passage convinced me that we SHOULD hear God’s voice (or the Spirit’s voice—He & God are one!). Some of the functions of the Holy Spirit are to teach us, guide us, counsel us, and help us. We must HEAR him for those things to happen. 

**IMPORTANT NOTE: What the Spirit speaks to our hearts will never contradict what the Word of God says. Satan imitates everything God does. He will speak to you and try to deceive you.  You MUST be a student of the Word of God to know the difference. Always examine whose voice you’re hearing.  

How do you hear God’s voice? As you read the Bible, ask the Spirit to teach you. Your eyes will be opened to truth. Very often, one verse will “jump out” at you and you can stop and ask the Spirit to give you understanding. And then listen. You won’t hear an audible voice (although some have)—but a voice in your heart or mind. It takes practice. (I often compare knowing God’s voice to learning to differentiate Andy [my husband] & Phil’s voices. They are identical twins with identical voices. But after being married almost 50 years, I can easily tell them apart because I’ve spent so much time with Andy.) I practice hearing God’s voice the same way—with repetition. I usually journal my conversations with God. 

There are times when you need a specific answer which may not be in the Bible. For instance: Do I move to Pampa or Borger? You’ll find principles in the Bible (such as God will light your path). But this is when hearing God’s voice is so helpful. The verse above in Isaiah says God will tell us to turn right or left. Trust that He wants you to KNOW!

One other thing…you WILL mess up!!  I’ve messed up over and over. But God doesn’t beat us up for trying and failing!!  He’s a gentle Father. He wants you to hear His voice. Just like you didn’t spank your child for falling when he was learning to walk!  Oh no!  You cheered his successes!  God will do the same for you.  Admit to God, “I messed up.” And then get up and brush yourself off and listen again. Satan very much wants to stop this process. He knows the power that comes from you hearing God’s voice.  

Ask God questions and then listen. Be still.  You can’t rush God…just like you can’t rush a new and budding relationship with a potential spouse. The fun is in the time you spend together getting to know one another.  God’s greatest desire is to fellowship with you. He may have put you in a place of questions so you’ll come to Him for answers. He delights to spend time with you. He wants to do more than give you directions. He wants to tell you the secrets of His heart!

Be still…and listen!

Secret Disciples

There have been secret disciples since Jesus was alive! Jesus even talked about them in John 12. There were rulers who believed in Him, but didn’t confess Him…because they feared man more than God. They were afraid they’d be kicked out of the synagogue if they followed Jesus openly. He said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness.”

There are still secret disciples in 2025. There are people who believe Jesus is the Son of God but want to follow at a distance. They’re afraid that if they publicly affirm Jesus as their savior, they might lose their marriage, their job, their country club golfing buddies, their roadtripping/shopping girlfriends, a seat at the dinner table, or their standing in the community. They fear man more than God. 

Jesus didn’t ask us to be secret disciples. He went on to say, “I speak whatever the Father has told me to speak.” That’s the kind of disciple He desires. Bold ones. Those who will speak truth openly. Those who spend time with the Father, know His heart, and share His message. 

It takes fearing God more than men. 

Take Me to Ephraim

Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead and the Pharisees were plotting to seize Him and kill Him. So Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews but retreated with His disciples from Bethany to Ephraim (which means “double fruitfulness.”).   

How long were they there? Maybe up to six weeks. What did they do there? I’m just guessing…but I bet they did some of these things:

•Played games and laughed their heads off! They’d come from a very stressful situation and needed a stress reliever. Sometimes we forget they were very human and had fun together. Laughter is good medicine. 

•Sang & prayed. They wanted to hear the Father. They NEEDED to hear the Father. And they met God as they worshiped Him. 

•Rested. Things had been very intense. The time for ministry was over. Their bodies, minds, and emotions were spent. They needed deep rest.  

•Embraced privacy. They needed alone time. People had clamored for their attention for three years. These were Jesus’ final days and He wanted to spend this time investing in His disciples.  It was a time of intimacy. 

I don’t think God tells us what they did during those six weeks for a reason. It was their time alone with Jesus, meeting their specific needs. 

Have you been through a stressful season? Ask God to take you to Ephraim.