What would have to happen in your life for you to think of yourself as someone who is truly and genuinely blessed?

What will it take for you to feel like God is smothering you with kindness today?

I want to laugh. If I could have a rolling on the floor, unable to breathe, can’t stop crying, deep belly laugh, I’d feel blessed.

Do you have an “if list” or a “God to-do list”? Something with a deliverable like mine or something that covers your health, job, finances, relationships, struggles or emotions? Something that’s 9/11 related or something that requires God to come through for you?

I’d be surprised if you don’t. But that’s not the way you should be thinking. God has already blessed you.

If you’ve trusted Christ there is no one who is more blessed by God than you. And that blessing is for all time. Even if you don’t feel it.

Feeling blessed is a relative thing. When we focus on what we don’t have it’s difficult to feel blessed. But you have been blessed.

You are being blessed right now, and you will be blessed as you follow God.

Live your life from this position. Don’t focus your mind, time and energy on, “I hope God blesses me.” That’s an approach that will produce unwelcome results in your spiritual life.

In your walk with God, it makes a huge difference when you view yourself as already blessed. It makes a huge difference when you view your future blessings as a sure thing.

If we view ourselves as “blessed with every spiritual blessing” our spiritual life. God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, and ultimately, it’s not about God convincing us, it’s about us choosing to believe Him.

Ultimately, it comes down to whom we’re willing to believe.

• God. Who says,
  

  I’ve given you everything you need. You are blessed. Walk with and follow me. You will not regret it.

• Our world. Which says,
  

  That’s not enough. What you really need is this thing. When you get that, you’ll be happy and know He loves you.

Every day, whether it’s 9/11 or not, we wake up and have to decide who to believe. God or the world.

What will it take for you to feel blessed today?

Special thanks to Jonathan Cleveland, the Discipleship Pastor at Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado Springs, who also contributed to this post.

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Names are important. They have power. They define us.

They’re more than a bunch of letters grouped together to sound pleasant to the ear. Names are more than a convenience allowing us to talk to each other. Names are a gift from God. They contain His power. They define things. They define us.

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” – Proverbs 22:1 (NIV)

God said, “Let there be light.” And there was. He named it into existence.

God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” And there was. He called it sky. And He called the dry ground land.

From that land, God made man. He made Adam (Earth). Then God gave the power to name to Adam.

Adam named the animals. And he named Eve (Mother of All). And that power has been given to us.

Consider the freedom that comes in naming a fear you have, or the cause of shame you hide, or the root of anger strangling you. When I own my fears, say them out loud, identify them, then I loosen the controlling grip they have over me. That’s power. That’s the power of a name.

When I was born, my mother gave me a name — Christopher. It means Christ-bearer. My Father gave me a name too. It’s a bit different. It came later in my life. It’s my “true name,” the name He calls me. And it’s a name I’m still trying to grow into — Love Giver and Teacher.

When God gave me a name, like He did with Abraham, Sarah and Jacob, He said to me,

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” — Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)

When God gave me my name, He said I am a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. God’s Word is helping me to understand my name. It tells me to surrender self, to imitate God, and to live a life of love.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” — Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)”

I recently saw a story from eastern Indonesia about a mother in our Child Survival Program (CSP) that highlights the significance of a name. This mother, Yudea, is 21 years old and has been part of the CSP for three years. She has two children.

Before enrolling in the CSP, Yudea “didn’t know the importance of having a healthy environment. She didn’t know the benefit of boiling water before drinking it, or washing hands before touching meals. She never asked her children to take a bath or wash their hands and feet after they play. She didn’t know that if someone doesn’t clean up his or her body, he or she can get sick easily.”

When Yudea gave birth to her first child, “she couldn’t buy milk or vitamins to boost her daughters health, so her daughter got sick easily.” After enrolling in the CSP, this changed.

“She received nutritious food, vitamins, milk and a lot of information that supported her as a pregnant mother. She also was able to go to regular pregnancy checkups at the doctor without having to think twice about what she and her husband would have to pay.

“After giving birth to a healthy child, Yudea showed her thankfulness to God by naming her son Cisipi . . . Cisipi regularly receives additional food, vitamins, milk and other programs that are essential to healthy growth. Cisipi doesn’t get sick easily, like other children in his neighborhood.

“As Cisipi plays with friends his same age, Cisipi looks different. He is more active than the other children. When other children don’t have extra energy to run around, Cisipi can run everywhere without feeling tired at all. Cisipi is a fast learner and he loves to ask his mother questions.”

Cisipi is the acronym of our Child Survival Program (CSP), with an “i” added between each letter. The name means “grateful to God.”

“It is a form of my gratitude because the CSP has made my son grow as a healthy and smart child.”

Names are important. They contain meaning. They define who we are. And usually we’re not who we think we are.

What does Compassion’s name mean to you? Is it a good name

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“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” – Ephesians 6:18, (NIV)

Imagine this.

You’re at work and you run into a coworker. You ask them how they’re doing. Their aunt has just passed away, and they’re having a hard time dealing with it.

Then you’re sitting in a meeting at work. You look around and realize that every single person in the room has had a loved one die in the past month. One a cousin. One a pastor. One a father.

Now imagine that you haven’t slept in your own bed for one month. 30 full days.

You’re not sure your home is safe, so you, your spouse and your kids are sleeping in a tent outside. At night you hear the dogs bark and cars roaring up steep hills. You don’t remember the last time you got a full night’s sleep. You duck inside your home in the mornings to shower, but other than that, you stay clear away from those uncertain walls.

Now imagine you have also just had your brother and and a good friend both pass away on the same day.

You haven’t had the time or space to grieve. You go to work each day and the day is jam-packed. There are so very many things that need to be done.

You and your coworkers try to keep up each others’ spirits. You play hangman at lunch, laughing together to relieve some stress. The busy-ness and the laughter help you get through each day.

I’m not trying to be dramatic or to emotionally manipulate you. I’m just trying to paint a realistic picture of what our brothers and sisters in Christ in Haiti are going through right now.

Will you continue to pray for our staff, the saints, who are being used but are being put to the test?

It’s been beautiful to see how the Body of Christ has been raised up through this tragedy. Christians in the Dominican Republic have been volunteering every day for weeks to help. Christians around the world have been raised up to pray and give. The church in Haiti itself has raised up to be a light in Port-au-Prince.

One month after the earthquake, Christians in Haiti held three days of fasting and prayer, gathering at the Champ de Mars near their destroyed presidential palace to beseech God. They spilled into the streets wearing white and black in remembrance of loved ones.

Wess will be visiting Haiti at the beginning of March to speak to our staff and to speak to the church in Haiti, encouraging them to continue being a light, being the ones stepping in to help the hurting.

Though this is a time of grief, it is also at time, a time such as this, for which God has prepared the Church.

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There is one vital action that is always open to us: Prayer.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” – Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

If you’re trying to find someway to respond, consider calling together a prayer group. Spend the night praying for Haiti and make one of the most traditional Haitian dishes, Soup Joumou, which they use to celebrate the new year.

Things to Pray:

• For the safety and rescue of David Hames and for peace and encouragement for his family
• For those still trapped in the rubble
• For those working to rescue people
• That roads would be passable to get in water, food, medicine, and other aid
• For our staff, church partners, and children
• That reliable communication channels can be established
• For efficient and strategic responses to the crisis
• For God’s will to be done
• For God to get all the glory

Ask your friends to each bring $5 or $10 to help pay for the soup and give the rest of the money to relief or rebuilding efforts. You can cook the soup together and use it as a time to build relationships, share prayer requests, and support one another.

Soup Joumou (Pumpkin Soup)

4 cloves garlic
1 t thyme
¼ t black pepper
1 t salt
1 c sliced green onions
1 pound of stew meat
3 quarts water
1 whole scotch bonnet or habanero pepper
1 pound pumpkin (or winter squash such as butternut), peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium turnips, cubed
4 potatoes, cubed
1 pound cabbage, finely chopped
4 ounces vermicelli pasta (or any thin pasta), broken in half
2 limes, juiced
salt and pepper

Combine the first five ingredients in a large plastic bag. Add the stew meat and shake to coat the meat. Leave in the bag for an hour. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, and add the meat and chili pepper. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours. Remove the meat and set aside. Remove the pepper and discard.

Add the pumpkin and carrots, and cook covered until very tender, about 20 minutes. Puree the pumpkin and carrots in the broth, using an immersion blender. Or puree in a standard blender and pour back into the pot. (You may need to do this in several batches.) Add the meat back to the pot.

Add the celery, onion, turnips, and potato to the soup, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Thin the broth with as much water as needed—it should not be too thick. Add cabbage and cook 15 more minutes. Add the vermicelli and cook until it is tender. Thin again with water as needed. Stir in the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe reprinted from Passport to Prayer: A Journey of Compassion by Michael and Amber Van Schooneveld with permission from the publisher.

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Wouldn’t it be nice if I could tell you that faithfully every morning now I have kneeled to lift up Sarath and his two teenage sisters and unemployed mother? Too many mornings (and nights for that matter), I’m rushing and distracted and have forgotten the one plea Sarath made of me. Not “send more money.” Not “send more gifts.” Pray for me.

“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” – Ephesians 6:18, emphasis added (NIV).

How seriously do we take prayer? I know I certainly don’t take it seriously enough. It’s the Sunday school answer to the issues we hear of plaguing the children we minister to.

How quickly and easily does the phrase, “I’ll pray for that” run off our tongues? But do we see prayer for what it is — crying out to the omnipotent God for His incomparable power to work in the lives of these children?

For we don’t just throw money at a problem. Our weapon against poverty isn’t cash. Our weapons “have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4, NIV).

As Eric Alexander says, “The great business of the church is prayer. And the greatest need of a needy world is a praying church.”

“In all our thinking about Christian service, prayer needs to become fundamental instead of supplemental … Prayer is the work; it is the essence of the task to which we are called, and apart from it, all other work, and I mean Christian work, is a sheer waste of time and energy divorced from the basic work of prayer. Everything else is insignificant.” – Eric Alexander

Oh my soul, when will I take prayer as seriously as I ought?

My husband and I just wrote a small group study that is all about learning about the issues in this world and responding to them in prayer. But I still fall so short in this ministry of prayer to the children we sponsor.

So tell me — what do you do to be alert and stay alert as Ephesians 6 says?

How do you keep on praying for all the saints?

What stories do you have of the power of God through prayer in your sponsored children’s lives, or your own life?

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