RTTBROS

Just Believe #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT

Matthew 21:22 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

Jesus' words here are both a beautiful promise and a powerful challenge. On one hand, He reassures us that when we approach Him in faith, our prayers have power. On the other hand, He challenges us to look deeper into what it means to truly "believe." Are we just going through the motions of prayer, or is there a deep-seated trust underneath? This verse comes right after Jesus shared his teaching on the power of faith following the story of the fruitless fig tree.

Think of our faith like an anchor for a ship. When the storms hit and the waves get rough, that anchor keeps us steady. But just as an anchor has to be firmly set into the seabed to work, our faith needs to be deeply rooted in God to stay strong when things get tough.

We see this firsthand in stories like George Müller's. He spent over 70 years praying for just two men to come to Christ—and they did, right before he passed away. That kind of unwavering faith is incredible. But I think it's also important to remember that faith isn't just about seeing miracles; it's about how we respond when those miracles happen. Think about Pharaoh's story, it's a pretty sobering reminder of what happens when we see God working, but choose to close our hearts anyway.

Ultimately, our prayers are more than just "shopping lists" for what we want. They are an expression of trust. When we pray with genuine faith, we aren't just asking for things; we're affirming that we believe in who God is and how He works. As 1 John 5:14-15 reminds us: "...if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

How to apply this today:

Check in with your heart. Take a moment to look at your prayer life. Are you asking boldly, or are you holding back? Pinpoint areas where you might need to lean more on Him.

Let go of the "how" and "when." When you pray today, try letting go of doubt about how God will do it. Trust that He can handle the impossible. Remember that faith isn't just about the outcome; it's about your relationship with Him.

Take one small step. Do something today that requires a little bit of faith—maybe it's offering encouragement to someone who's struggling, or taking that first step toward a goal you've been putting off.

Prayer: Lord, help me to deepen my trust in You. Give me the confidence to pray with real faith, knowing You are able to do everything I need. Let my prayers reflect that I truly believe in Your power and goodness. Amen.

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Learning To Listen 1 Sam. 3:1-20

The General Who Moved Mountains from the Summer Of The Patriot by Gene Kissinger

The story of a Boston bookseller who moved a mountain of cannons from fort Ticonderoga to the hills above Boston and the impact that had in the revolutionary war

The Summer Of The Patriot #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Mountaintops #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT

Mountaintops are wonderful. The air is clear, the view is wide, and for a moment everything feels easy. But nobody builds deep faith on a mountaintop. Faith is built in the valley, where the path is steep, the light is low, and God is the only sure guide.

Charles Stanley stated it plainly in Life Principle 29: We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops.

David knew that valley well. He wrote, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4, KJV). Notice what David does not say. He does not say he avoids the valley, or that God removes it. He walks through it, and he walks through it with God beside him.

James gives the same hard and hopeful truth: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience (James 1:2-3, KJV). Trials are not wasted time. They are training ground.

Here is how to walk your valley well:

1. Stay close instead of shutting down. When pain hits, the instinct is to pull away from God and from people. Do the opposite. Pray honestly, even if the prayer is short. Tell a trusted friend what is really going on. Valleys shrink when they are walked with others, and they grow darker when they are walked alone.

2. Ask what God is teaching, not only what God is fixing. It is natural to pray for a quick exit from the valley. It is wiser to also ask, Lord, what do you want me to learn here? Often the lesson is patience, humility, trust, or dependence, and that lesson becomes strength you will carry long after the valley ends.

3. Keep walking. A valley is a place to pass through, not a place to settle. Take the next faithful step, even if you cannot see the whole road. Make the phone call, have the hard conversation, read the next chapter, show up again tomorrow. Small obedience in a dark place is still obedience, and God honors it.

You may look back one day and realize the valley did not defeat you. It deepened you. The mountaintop gave you a view, but the valley gave you roots, wisdom, and a testimony that can help someone else keep walking.

Mountaintops give you the view, but valleys give you the roots.

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God Uses Small Things #NIGHTLIGHT #RTTBROS

Three Keys #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT

Three Keys: Shut Up, Suit Up, Show Up

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:10 — "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."

Reflection

I heard an octogenarian say there are three keys to life. I've been chewing on them ever since, and I think he's onto something.

The first one is shut up. Somebody always has it worse than you, so stop complaining and whining, because nobody wants to hear it. That stings a little, doesn't it? But it's true. We spend a lot of energy rehearsing our troubles to anybody who'll listen. And while we're doing that, somebody down the street is carrying something heavier and never says a word about it.

The second one is suit up. Organize your life. Prepare your life for whatever roles and goals you've got. You don't show up to a job you want without getting ready for it. You don't build a marriage or raise a child or serve a church without some preparation. Suiting up means you take your life seriously enough to get it in order before the moment demands it.

The third one is show up. Whatever is in front of you to do, whatsoever your hand finds, do it. Whatever you do, do it with all your might, do it heartily as unto the Lord. That's Ecclesiastes 9:10 talking, and it doesn't leave any room for half-hearted effort.

Now look at those three together. Shut up clears the noise out of your mouth. Suit up clears the clutter out of your life. Show up puts your hands to the work that's right in front of you. That's a simple life, friends. And simple is not the same as easy.

Here's what I love about this old man's wisdom. Not one of those three keys requires a special gift or a big platform. Any of us can stop complaining today. Any of us can get our life in order. Any of us can do the thing that's sitting right in front of us with everything we've got. That's not a formula for greatness. It's a formula for faithfulness. And faithfulness is what God has always asked of His people.

Takeaway

Stop complaining, get yourself ready, and do the work in front of you with all your might as unto the Lord. Three keys, one faithful life.

Prayer

Father, quiet my mouth when I'd rather complain. Help me get my life in order so I'm ready for whatever You put in front of me. And when the work comes, give me the strength to do it heartily as unto You. Make me faithful in the small things today. In Jesus' name, amen

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Redeemed #RTTBROS #Nightlight

KEEP #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT

Psalm 121:3, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber,"

I remember seeing a photo once of an old stone wall in the English countryside, where the stones weren't held together by mortar, but by the careful, interlocking placement of the rocks themselves. If one stone shifted, the whole section could crumble. It made me think about how we spend so much of our lives trying to be the mortar; we try to hold everything together by our own strength, our own willpower, and our own frantic effort to keep our lives from falling apart.

But the Bible speaks of a different kind of security. In Psalm 121, we find a word that changes the way we look at our struggles. The Hebrew word is shamar. In our English Bibles, it is translated as "keep," but in the original language, it carries a much more rugged, active meaning. To shamar is to hedge about with thorns. It is the image of a shepherd building a protective barrier around his sheep to keep the predators out and the flock safe.

When the psalmist writes in Psalm 121:3, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber," he is using shamar. He is telling us that we aren't just being watched from a distance; we are being guarded.

The beauty of this word is that it covers every area of our existence. In Genesis, Adam was told to "keep" the garden, which was a call to stewardship. In Proverbs, we are told to "keep thy heart with all diligence," which is a call to personal vigilance. And at the end of his life, Paul could say, "I have kept the faith."

But here is the grace that settles the soul: before we are ever asked to keep anything, we are first kept by Him.

We often treat our faith like a tightrope walk, terrified that one wrong move or one moment of weakness will cause us to plummet. We think the burden of "keeping" our salvation rests on our shoulders. But shamar reminds us that God is the Keeper. He is the hedge of thorns. He is the vigilant guardian who does not sleep.

Our security isn't found in how tightly we grip the hand of God, but in how tightly He grips us. If your foot feels like it is slipping today, or if the terrain of your life feels treacherous, remember that you are not the one holding the wall together. You are the one being guarded by the Maker of heaven and earth.

Rest tonight knowing that the Keeper of Israel is on duty. You can sleep because He doesn't.

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Handles for the Heaviness

Scripture: Job 5:7 "Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."

Reflection

There are some absolute certainties in this life, and one of them is that trials will come. So we need to have some handles to lift the heaviness that comes our way.

The Bible says so right up front in the Book of Job. Man that is born of woman is few of days and full of trouble. And then again in Job 5, man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. That's not a gloomy verse, friends. That's an honest one. Trouble isn't a strange thing that snuck up on you. It's part of life under the sun.

The Apostle Peter knew that firsthand. He was no stranger to trials and tribulation, and he wrote to the church, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." In other words, don't be caught off guard. Don't let the fire make you think God has forgotten you.

And so we've got to have handles. Handles are what let you pick up something heavy and carry it without it crushing you. What are your handles? The Word of God that steadies you. Prayer that keeps you talking to the Father. The people of God who come alongside and help you lift.

Some of you are carrying something heavy right now. You don't need me to tell you what it is. You just need a handle. And I got to tell you, the same God who promised the trouble also promised to be with you in it. He's not waiting for the trial to pass before He shows up. He meets you right in the middle of it.

Takeaway

Trials are certain, but you don't have to carry them alone. Take hold of the handles God has given you, His Word, His ear, and His people, and let them lift the heaviness.

Prayer

Father, You told us plainly that trouble would come, and You told us plainly that You'd be with us. Give me handles for the heaviness I'm carrying today. Steady me with Your Word, hear me when I pray, and send Your people alongside me. Help me lift what I cannot lift alone. In Jesus' name, amen.