Francis Chan has a way of making us think, doesn't he? I know what you were asking here has to do with our relationship to God, ourselves and other believers. I thought about the fact that we often feel like failures when we try to love others in our own human power. But it occurred to me that if we have Jesus in us, when God looks at us, who does He see? He sees Jesus in us and there is grace for every human failure because of that. And having Jesus in us gives us the tools we need to love others with His love. Of course we should treat other Christ followers as precious to God. But then I started thinking about who non-Christ followers see when they look at us. Do they see Jesus in us? I've been feeling so burdened lately for those who think they understand who God is and yet speak about self-love being the path to peace. God, and what He did through Jesus is the only path to true peace. Every other kind of peace is manufactured and temporary. So my question and focus after this prayer walk is, how do I best live my life in a way that those who need a relationship with God that includes Jesus can see the difference in me that makes them want it for themselves? And along with that, how do I love other believers in a way that reflects my relationship with Him and the oneness we share in Christ? Good challenging thoughts, Donny. You always make me think - and pray!
I don’t know who Francis Chan is. I will research him however. This was a great walk. When you get emotional, I get emotional as well. It makes me think harder. I like to think that if I came across Mary and she was carrying Jesus that I would treat her the same as I treat other women that aren’t carrying Jesus. But I’m not sure that I think about people having Jesus in them. I guess I don’t think about that all the time. ButThere wouldn’t be a community Donny, if you hadn’t started these walks. God has brought you into our lives and therefore, we are all doing some serious soul searching. Thank You for this walk today.
Donny, I have to say I am right there with you on this one. I'm having tears right now because I absolutely hate it when I feel this way. It's not all the time, but I do fail at this, and I believe if we really take a hard look at ourselves, we all do. Like you said, we all fall short due to our sinful nature. I hate it when I do this, but thank goodness God granted us the gift of HIS amazing grace and Jesus took the ultimate sacrifice and took that to the cross for each one of us. Having said that, it doesn't make us feel any better. There is a song that a group called Phillips Craig & Dean came out with years ago, called "Crucified with Christ." It's based on Galations 2:20. Below is the spotify link to this song. This song pretty much goes along with this week's topic.
I do think we all should take a look at how we treat others and also see ourselves when doing so. I guess I could write more, but I think I will leave it here for now and just pray more about this for myself. I did want to share the link to that song in case you or anyone wanted to listen to it.
Thank you again Donny! God bless you and this wonderful community.
I thank you all very much , it has been a very emotional day for me . Nothing bad happened anxiety is real and it’s hard, I should been fighting from the point of victory and not the line of defeat. Anxiety, worry became a state of torment and I know it is no place that God wants me to be! He loves and cares for me. This is very good but challenging Prayer this week, Donny watching the video and hearing your voice my tears will not stop. I was already on emotional roller coaster . Saturday was a fun Poker Run Ride and we raised good amount to help a family for medical expenses. I got sick with food poisoning so no sleep Saturday night. Tuesday night my muscles spasm flare up after effect cramping next to all body parts from my donor harvested tissues and veins. I find myself just going through the motions of life collapsing exhausted . This is not the way God intended us to live. Donny this community you build have amazing humans ,they know how to lift my spirit up as I needed it earlier. I pray and read few quotes that my father has written to me when I struggle it said “ If the mountain were smooth… you wouldn’t be able to climb it “. Last week I meet a non Christ Followers and I don’t understand why they aren’t Christ followers but I spent sometime with them just talking. I didn’t bother to ask them last week but this afternoon after lunch with my Bible study group I run into to them and I couldn’t believe they approached me to bring them to my church . This I thought was God in me? Or in them? When you call out to God , he truly hears you - even the words you don’t say, he understand the pain you feel and is committed to giving you the most effective help whatever you’re facing. God has become everything to us. Our comfort, peace and joy all come from God. You mentioned Francis Chan I seen a few of his books in our local library but haven’t listen or read any yet. I might check them out and thank you, few of the verse you mentioned I read Roman’s 8:35-39 John 3:16-17 almost daily. I am so grateful to be part of this prayer community and to each of you thank you for all the prayers it’s after midnight here and I have no flare up Hallelujah !
Hey Folks ~ I don't want you to think I'm a Whacko, but this prayer walk made me ponder: If Jesus, who is perfect, is in all of us, why aren't we better people? Why aren't we more naturally loving? Is the Jesus inside us a "passive" Jesus? Any thoughts?
Donny this prayer walk touched my heart the most of them all!!!! You are so right, we all fall short and then have that little regret of how we acted. But it’s a process , I’m not sure if you remember the story I told you about the customer who had a son that died. Nothing I made was ever good enough and she always wanted more than my normal work. Well the day her mom explained to me why she acted this way, my heart broke for her and for me because of the feeling I had allowed myself to feel towards her. I’m learning to face people with a more loving and open minded heart. Because I know we are all worthy of Gods love because Jesus is in us ALL.... I’m so thankful to be a part of this journey with you all!!! And I pray we all can offer each other love because we don’t ever know if one small conversation can be life changing for someone.. #bless our family🙏
Thank you Donny for these prayer walks. Today's has made me realise that I don't think about Jesus being in others and I forget that he is in me too. I need to meditate on these thoughts so that I remember to treat others and myself the way I know God wants me to and not put myself down all the time. I do appreciate the time you and thoughts you put into these prayer walks as they always make me think.
I like Francis Chan. However when you talk you’re more like EF Hutton, when you talk I listen. In this short time of getting to know you I have learned a lot about the heart. How seeing people through God’s eyes is so important. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies as planned. He healed the leper, the man born blind and raised Lazarus, He has raised you up for a purpose and we each need to find ours and help others find theirs. 🙏
I could be wrong, but I can't remember any scripture that commands us to love ourselves, the commandment is "love your neighbor as yourself". This doesn't mean we don't "have value", the biblical view is that we are God's unique creation, loved by Him and redeemed by Christ, therefore we must love ourselves (it's almost imperative)...
I confess that I have a big flaw: when I look at someone and I feel "I didn't like this person..." it's difficult to establish any interaction, this is bad and shameful, because I don't give the person a chance to show who they are... I changed one little, but it's still a challenge...
This reminds me of the parable of the Good Samaritan, only one of the three men managed to welcome the needy. The priest and the Levite refused to help. The failure to show love to the wounded man seems to me to be related to the fact that they loved each other too much and therefore put their interests first.
The Samaritan showed true love - he donated his time and resources without caring about himself. Jesus presented this story as an illustration of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:25-37). I pray that God will help me to have this good Samaritan character...
(I think my text had a lot of reticence which means I need to reflect on them... - lol)
Donny, this is the best prayer walk yet. I am so thankful God put you in my path right now. I will treasure this video and continue to watch and study the verses listed. You are such a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️🙏
Thanks for another wonderful and timely prayer walk Donny. My Bible study group read Until Unity by Francis Chan last year. Your walk reminded me that we are one in Christ. We are The Church. We are His. I need to remember to walk the walk, not just talk the talk!
I watched prayer walk #14 and prayed to live it just minutes before attending an online meeting to oppose a large airport development in my small farming community. I get all self-righteous and get armed with all the right lingo to throw at the planning commission but wait. They too are children of God. Made in His image. Took all of the wind out of my sails but made me stick to the facts in my comments. And facts are enough.
Blessings to all my brothers and sisters in Christ!
Well I hardly have had a few minutes of concentrated time to listen and watch this walk. Donny this one is certainly challenging! I think when you ask question would I treat Mary differently, I was quite saddened by my thoughts because in true confession I would treat her differently because it would be out of the need to impress her in the need for her.approval. And that is gross! Because God loves me and all of us no matter what! And we don’t have to do anything to impress Him or earn his love! And then when you asked what do I think about it when Jesus is inside of me, the first thought that came to my mind was, it’s an honor and humbling! Truly, I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have Him in me! That’s actually kind of scary thought! I’m rambling but thank you for challenging me and challenging all of us. I look forward to reading everyone’s comments, it is always so encouraging!. Blessings to all!
I think that those of us that follow Jesus try to live by the word, yet we fall short of that goal.. Jesus does tell us to to love ourselves as we love others such as Mark 12:31 "The second commandment is this love your neighbor as your self". There is no other commandment greater than these." Its easy for Satan to attack our self-image and that spills over to how we treat others. Though loving yourself is not putting yourself on a pedestal and being conceited, its caring for yourself, your thoughts, your body and your heart, being kind. When we can't or won't care for ourselves it reflects in how we respond to others. Satan knows this and uses this tool greatly which causes us to feel guilt another tool of Satan. We can be caught up in the evils of Satan or remember the grace God has given. "God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin." as the old hymn goes, that's where we need to focus.
Another powerful prayer walk, have spent time reflecting on it. Your question about how would I treat Mary was interesting. Have never really thought about it, after some reflection I feel I would treat her with extra care and love in same manner as other expectant mothers. I also believe she would want to be treated in that manner.
When interacting with others, I honestly don’t consciously remember that Jesus is in them, I try to treat others the way I would like to be treated. However today, I thought more about that when interacting with others, still followed love your neighbor as yourself. You talked a bit about self love, don’t we have to love ourselves to be able to show love to others?
Donny, I appreciate your prayer walks, each one has shown me more about my faith and challenged me to look and reflect on it, how I live my life while walking in faith. Thanks for bringing this community together, and helping me grow in my faith. Keep shining your light, sending prayers for you as you continue on your journey.
Francis Chan has a way of making us think, doesn't he? I know what you were asking here has to do with our relationship to God, ourselves and other believers. I thought about the fact that we often feel like failures when we try to love others in our own human power. But it occurred to me that if we have Jesus in us, when God looks at us, who does He see? He sees Jesus in us and there is grace for every human failure because of that. And having Jesus in us gives us the tools we need to love others with His love. Of course we should treat other Christ followers as precious to God. But then I started thinking about who non-Christ followers see when they look at us. Do they see Jesus in us? I've been feeling so burdened lately for those who think they understand who God is and yet speak about self-love being the path to peace. God, and what He did through Jesus is the only path to true peace. Every other kind of peace is manufactured and temporary. So my question and focus after this prayer walk is, how do I best live my life in a way that those who need a relationship with God that includes Jesus can see the difference in me that makes them want it for themselves? And along with that, how do I love other believers in a way that reflects my relationship with Him and the oneness we share in Christ? Good challenging thoughts, Donny. You always make me think - and pray!
I will write later I am so emotional right now , it’s my kind of rough night .
I don’t know who Francis Chan is. I will research him however. This was a great walk. When you get emotional, I get emotional as well. It makes me think harder. I like to think that if I came across Mary and she was carrying Jesus that I would treat her the same as I treat other women that aren’t carrying Jesus. But I’m not sure that I think about people having Jesus in them. I guess I don’t think about that all the time. ButThere wouldn’t be a community Donny, if you hadn’t started these walks. God has brought you into our lives and therefore, we are all doing some serious soul searching. Thank You for this walk today.
Donny, I have to say I am right there with you on this one. I'm having tears right now because I absolutely hate it when I feel this way. It's not all the time, but I do fail at this, and I believe if we really take a hard look at ourselves, we all do. Like you said, we all fall short due to our sinful nature. I hate it when I do this, but thank goodness God granted us the gift of HIS amazing grace and Jesus took the ultimate sacrifice and took that to the cross for each one of us. Having said that, it doesn't make us feel any better. There is a song that a group called Phillips Craig & Dean came out with years ago, called "Crucified with Christ." It's based on Galations 2:20. Below is the spotify link to this song. This song pretty much goes along with this week's topic.
I do think we all should take a look at how we treat others and also see ourselves when doing so. I guess I could write more, but I think I will leave it here for now and just pray more about this for myself. I did want to share the link to that song in case you or anyone wanted to listen to it.
Thank you again Donny! God bless you and this wonderful community.
https://open.spotify.com/track/0aRZeOUF1ixT2C6oFX0lAZ?si=27ad1c47cbb2457d
I thank you all very much , it has been a very emotional day for me . Nothing bad happened anxiety is real and it’s hard, I should been fighting from the point of victory and not the line of defeat. Anxiety, worry became a state of torment and I know it is no place that God wants me to be! He loves and cares for me. This is very good but challenging Prayer this week, Donny watching the video and hearing your voice my tears will not stop. I was already on emotional roller coaster . Saturday was a fun Poker Run Ride and we raised good amount to help a family for medical expenses. I got sick with food poisoning so no sleep Saturday night. Tuesday night my muscles spasm flare up after effect cramping next to all body parts from my donor harvested tissues and veins. I find myself just going through the motions of life collapsing exhausted . This is not the way God intended us to live. Donny this community you build have amazing humans ,they know how to lift my spirit up as I needed it earlier. I pray and read few quotes that my father has written to me when I struggle it said “ If the mountain were smooth… you wouldn’t be able to climb it “. Last week I meet a non Christ Followers and I don’t understand why they aren’t Christ followers but I spent sometime with them just talking. I didn’t bother to ask them last week but this afternoon after lunch with my Bible study group I run into to them and I couldn’t believe they approached me to bring them to my church . This I thought was God in me? Or in them? When you call out to God , he truly hears you - even the words you don’t say, he understand the pain you feel and is committed to giving you the most effective help whatever you’re facing. God has become everything to us. Our comfort, peace and joy all come from God. You mentioned Francis Chan I seen a few of his books in our local library but haven’t listen or read any yet. I might check them out and thank you, few of the verse you mentioned I read Roman’s 8:35-39 John 3:16-17 almost daily. I am so grateful to be part of this prayer community and to each of you thank you for all the prayers it’s after midnight here and I have no flare up Hallelujah !
Hey Folks ~ I don't want you to think I'm a Whacko, but this prayer walk made me ponder: If Jesus, who is perfect, is in all of us, why aren't we better people? Why aren't we more naturally loving? Is the Jesus inside us a "passive" Jesus? Any thoughts?
Donny this prayer walk touched my heart the most of them all!!!! You are so right, we all fall short and then have that little regret of how we acted. But it’s a process , I’m not sure if you remember the story I told you about the customer who had a son that died. Nothing I made was ever good enough and she always wanted more than my normal work. Well the day her mom explained to me why she acted this way, my heart broke for her and for me because of the feeling I had allowed myself to feel towards her. I’m learning to face people with a more loving and open minded heart. Because I know we are all worthy of Gods love because Jesus is in us ALL.... I’m so thankful to be a part of this journey with you all!!! And I pray we all can offer each other love because we don’t ever know if one small conversation can be life changing for someone.. #bless our family🙏
Thank you Donny for these prayer walks. Today's has made me realise that I don't think about Jesus being in others and I forget that he is in me too. I need to meditate on these thoughts so that I remember to treat others and myself the way I know God wants me to and not put myself down all the time. I do appreciate the time you and thoughts you put into these prayer walks as they always make me think.
I like Francis Chan. However when you talk you’re more like EF Hutton, when you talk I listen. In this short time of getting to know you I have learned a lot about the heart. How seeing people through God’s eyes is so important. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies as planned. He healed the leper, the man born blind and raised Lazarus, He has raised you up for a purpose and we each need to find ours and help others find theirs. 🙏
I could be wrong, but I can't remember any scripture that commands us to love ourselves, the commandment is "love your neighbor as yourself". This doesn't mean we don't "have value", the biblical view is that we are God's unique creation, loved by Him and redeemed by Christ, therefore we must love ourselves (it's almost imperative)...
I confess that I have a big flaw: when I look at someone and I feel "I didn't like this person..." it's difficult to establish any interaction, this is bad and shameful, because I don't give the person a chance to show who they are... I changed one little, but it's still a challenge...
This reminds me of the parable of the Good Samaritan, only one of the three men managed to welcome the needy. The priest and the Levite refused to help. The failure to show love to the wounded man seems to me to be related to the fact that they loved each other too much and therefore put their interests first.
The Samaritan showed true love - he donated his time and resources without caring about himself. Jesus presented this story as an illustration of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:25-37). I pray that God will help me to have this good Samaritan character...
(I think my text had a lot of reticence which means I need to reflect on them... - lol)
Thanks for the walk!
Donny, this is the best prayer walk yet. I am so thankful God put you in my path right now. I will treasure this video and continue to watch and study the verses listed. You are such a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️🙏
Brutally honest
Brutally true yet with, as CS Lewis describes like
Velvet lion paws.
This message hits at the heart.
Deny myself and take up my cross. Daily.
The changes in the world have really brought many truths to the surface.
Comfort oh my do I even really know what it means to be really uncomfortable?
Now Jesus dying for everyone. Everyone, that annoys me and ulp even those who are nasty!?!
A lot to ponder.
Thank you Donny for taking us on these walks.
Thank you for being real.
Thanks for another wonderful and timely prayer walk Donny. My Bible study group read Until Unity by Francis Chan last year. Your walk reminded me that we are one in Christ. We are The Church. We are His. I need to remember to walk the walk, not just talk the talk!
I watched prayer walk #14 and prayed to live it just minutes before attending an online meeting to oppose a large airport development in my small farming community. I get all self-righteous and get armed with all the right lingo to throw at the planning commission but wait. They too are children of God. Made in His image. Took all of the wind out of my sails but made me stick to the facts in my comments. And facts are enough.
Blessings to all my brothers and sisters in Christ!
Well I hardly have had a few minutes of concentrated time to listen and watch this walk. Donny this one is certainly challenging! I think when you ask question would I treat Mary differently, I was quite saddened by my thoughts because in true confession I would treat her differently because it would be out of the need to impress her in the need for her.approval. And that is gross! Because God loves me and all of us no matter what! And we don’t have to do anything to impress Him or earn his love! And then when you asked what do I think about it when Jesus is inside of me, the first thought that came to my mind was, it’s an honor and humbling! Truly, I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have Him in me! That’s actually kind of scary thought! I’m rambling but thank you for challenging me and challenging all of us. I look forward to reading everyone’s comments, it is always so encouraging!. Blessings to all!
I think that those of us that follow Jesus try to live by the word, yet we fall short of that goal.. Jesus does tell us to to love ourselves as we love others such as Mark 12:31 "The second commandment is this love your neighbor as your self". There is no other commandment greater than these." Its easy for Satan to attack our self-image and that spills over to how we treat others. Though loving yourself is not putting yourself on a pedestal and being conceited, its caring for yourself, your thoughts, your body and your heart, being kind. When we can't or won't care for ourselves it reflects in how we respond to others. Satan knows this and uses this tool greatly which causes us to feel guilt another tool of Satan. We can be caught up in the evils of Satan or remember the grace God has given. "God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin." as the old hymn goes, that's where we need to focus.
Another powerful prayer walk, have spent time reflecting on it. Your question about how would I treat Mary was interesting. Have never really thought about it, after some reflection I feel I would treat her with extra care and love in same manner as other expectant mothers. I also believe she would want to be treated in that manner.
When interacting with others, I honestly don’t consciously remember that Jesus is in them, I try to treat others the way I would like to be treated. However today, I thought more about that when interacting with others, still followed love your neighbor as yourself. You talked a bit about self love, don’t we have to love ourselves to be able to show love to others?
Donny, I appreciate your prayer walks, each one has shown me more about my faith and challenged me to look and reflect on it, how I live my life while walking in faith. Thanks for bringing this community together, and helping me grow in my faith. Keep shining your light, sending prayers for you as you continue on your journey.