Celebrating Our Risen Lord!

Thoughts to Ponder

By Charlotte Lowrie

This week, I'll share some of the thoughts, questions, and insights from recent prayers and studies.

• What have you done with what the Lord has given you?

• Creativity is the awakening of what God instilled within us.

• "Snow is silent because the weight has been lifted."

• When I think I'm not learning fast enough, the Lord tells me to, "Be patient. Make peace with waiting."

• We are never defeated. Times of trouble are the times to claim His victory; to restrain Satan by the authority in and of the name of Jesus.

• "It isn't a matter of you trying. It's a matter of you believing in My power to carry you through all things, and that those things will work to My glory."

• "You think that life centers within the mind. But the heart is where you hold your passionately held beliefs. The heart holds what is dear to man, not the mind. So it's the heart that must be cleaned. It's the heart that makes the judgment of what the mind knows and remembers."

May your Easter season be filled with His peace and joy.

I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are suffering persecution for His name's sake.

Praying Transformative Prayers

By Charlotte Lowrie

If you feel that your prayers hit the ceiling and go no farther, consider what you're praying for and the spirit of your prayers. Too often our prayers are like pulling up to the divine drive-through to order up what needs to be fixed, added to, or subtracted from our lives. We pray for quick fixes to prop up temporary problems in our lives. We lose site of the larger context of our part in God's divine plan.

If you want your prayers to be transformative, then I suggest two things. First, pray from the heart. To pray from the heart, you have to know what's on your heart. Usually what's on your heart is a lot more than a list of what you want the Lord to fix in your life. So before you say, "Our Father in heaven," ask yourself what's on your heart right now. Then pray from that space--the heart space. It makes all the difference.

The second thing to transform your prayer is to pray in agreement with God's will. Many Christians pray wanting to persuade God to do their will rather than them doing His will. But when we pray to do his will in our lives, that's when prayers get divine power. I personally think of this as a parallel to Matthew 6:33, when Jesus said to, "first seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be be given to you as well." The parallel is that if I pray to do the will of God in my life, then I know that He will take care of the rest of my needs.

Jesus knew how to pray in agreement with God's will. As he faced the cross, Jesus could have prayed for an avenging army of angels, but instead he prayed that he would glorify the Father. And He prayed for His disciples and the believers who would build the church on the foundation He laid. Jesus could have asked for anything, but he prayed in agreement with the will of God. Our prayers will be transformed when we also pray in agreement with God's will.

What is God's will? His will is always that His kingdom be advanced. The work of the kingdom is our work as believers and as the church. Our work is living lives where we share the Lord Jesus with others, where we serve others as our Lord served, and where we do the work of the church. It is His will that we use the talents and gifts that He has generously blessed us with for His glory.

With your next prayer, first know what's in your heart, and hold that thought. Begin your prayer with praise and thanksgiving. And then ask, "Lord what can I do for You today?"

Creativity and the Daily Walk, Part II

By Charlotte Lowrie

I continue to seek greater creative expression in my work. And in my daily walk with the Lord, I ask for insight and guidance on being creative. And the Lord often reveals more about the source and expression of creativity.

Here are some of the latest notes on creativity from my prayer journal.

"I instilled [creativity] in you from the beginning. It is from Me, and within you. Give it space and time. [Creativity] must be nurtured, allowed to breathe—to have breath. It cannot live otherwise. Breath is life in all things. Let it breath. Do not crowd out your creativity with too many thoughts. Our creativity works together—what I’ve instilled in you, and what I inspire you with. That is how the gift works."

"Through the gift of creativity, the creative process on earth continues beyond the [original] creation, for you are my agents. I work through you if you answer the call."

"The [creative] expression is yours. The Source is Me. You have the nuances of expression, and the content is Mine. [Creativity] flows from Me to you. Accept it. Expect it. Embrace it. Look for it every day."

The Lord has cautioned me to not block creativity. Following the crowd—following the popular trends of whatever creative endeavor we’re involved in, can block creativity. Instead, the Lord encourages us to seek His approval rather than approval from the others. "Don't focus on others; focus on what you can do, and do it well. You know what you do well…cultivate your uniqueness."

And for anyone who looks at what the Lord has created, this note will not be a surprise. "There is beauty in all [that I create]. Beauty and function co-exist in perfect harmony."

Letting Go

By Charlotte Lowrie

It wasn't until I let go

Not until I relinquished control

Did my life become whole.

I'd gone as far as I could go

Alone, under my own control

And still, I was not whole.

Not until I let go,

Not until I turned over control

And said, "I give up,"

Could He make me whole.

Because He knows me,

Because He cares,

I could dare

To let go.

Which Do You Love Most: Glory from Man or God?

By Charlotte Lowrie

As I was reading the Gospel of John, I came across a familiar passage that describes the reaction of many who saw the miracles that Jesus performed.

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so they would not be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” (John 12:42-43 ESV)

This passage made me stop and think. In a world of pervasive social networks where the goal is to collect the most “friends,” “likes,” “followers,” “+1’s,” or be in the most “circles,” I thought about how we chase the glory that comes from man now more than ever before. But more specifically, I questioned how much of what I do is to glorify myself rather than to glorify God.

So I asked myself questions. When I write articles or books, do I write in such as way as to glorify God, or do I write what I think will be popular with readers? When I make pictures, do I choose scenes and subjects that I think will gain recognition for me as a photographer, or do I photograph subjects and scenes that will help others “see” God? While I can honestly say that most of the time I want to glorify God through the work He gives me, it’s still tempting to slip into the popularity-contest syndrome, or to do what I or my client thinks will sell best.

And then there is the problem of experience and habit. Once I get deeply involved in a project or I’m facing a deadline, I fall back into my years of experience and forge ahead, neglecting His presence and leading. I hate it when that happens, so I’ve learned to do two things.

First, every morning, I ask for the Lord to guide me in all that I do. And, second, at the end of the day, I evaluate what I’ve done during the day. Almost always, I can pinpoint times when I went off on my own. So I talk to the Lord about why it happened and ways to keep it from happening tomorrow. For me, it’s an ongoing process of learning to be attuned to His presence in every moment.

Doing work that glorifies God begins at the outset of whatever work we do—at the stage of conception. With photography, it is looking for the light and subject that illuminates the stunning beauty of God’s creation. And the focus on glorifying God continues as I edit images with integrity toward what I saw and photographed. The same is true with writing, and with any work. From beginning to end, the goal is to glorify God in every step. The beauty of it is that if I ask for His help, He graciously and generously provides the ideas, light, subjects, and words that I need. And what the Lord provides is always far better than anything I could come up with on my own. (And while I'm talking about work in this post, glorifying God applies to all that we do in our lives.)

Earlier in the book of John, Jesus said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’” (John 12:27-28 ESV) Our work is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ so that He, in turn, can glorify the Father. And Jesus promised, “If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:26) It is for this purpose—to glorify God—that we have life.

Are You a Missing Note?

By Charlotte Lowrie

Are you a missing note in the song of the Kingdom today?

I believe that God has orchestrated His believers so that each of us has a part, or a note, to play in the Kingdom song — the song or work that is playing or being accomplished at this moment in time. And for the song to be complete, every note is necessary.

I recently questioned my part in the song. As I looked at the plethora of accomplished photographers and writers, I wondered if I had anything to contribute to the song, or was I simply duplicating the same note that many others were already playing.

The Lord reminded me that many people are blessed with the same talents that I have, but they cannot do what I have been – and what you have been – singularly anointed to do in the Kingdom of God. The Lord reminded me that, “There is only one you. And only you can do what I have given you to do. Do what I have given you to do.”

This message is for every believer. The Kingdom song—the Kingdom work—is not complete without your unique note. No one else can play your note, for it is ours alone—your unique calling. And that’s what not only makes the song complete, but it is what makes a difference.

By way of example, there is only one person in the world that has my, or your, testimony. This is the unique story that God has given each of us. Part of our work in the Kingdom is to share our story with others. Another part of our work is to uniquely use the talents and gifts that God has given us to advance the Kingdom.

You may think that your talents and gifts are so small or insignificant that they would make no difference. Sometimes, and even often times, it’s hard to see what, if any, difference our work makes in the Kingdom. But seeing the difference we make is less important than faithfully serving the Lord with the talents and the gifts that we have received.

When Jesus commissioned the disciples, He told them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. He concluded by saying, “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) And so it is with us. We are gifted—every one of us with our part. It’s our work to freely give back to the Kingdom what we have freely received.

Play the note that you, and only you, can play in the song of the Kingdom.