my wings are made of faith

Being the hands and feet of Jesus in Lima, Peru

One of the greatest gifts we could ever receive is the precious gift of being the hands and feet of Jesus in another country. Not because we can't do it here, because we should be doing it every day, but because it gives us an opportunity to see how blessed we really and  because we get to share the love of Jesus through a a hug, giving someone a healthy meal or clean water, praying with and for another precious human being who lives many, many miles from where we call home.

Lori and her son, Evan, are in Lima, Peru, this week. In this photo, Lori is with the young girl that her family sponsors. But i don't really need to caption this photo - it says a million and one beautiful things without saying anything at all. 

Please join Cynthia and i in praying for Lori and her son as the share the love of Jesus in Peru. Pray for safety and that all the people they come in contact with will see Jesus in them.

Heavenly Father, thank you, thank you for the opportunities you give that allow us to make a difference. You don't ask us to change the world, for such a task is to large for us. But, you ask us to gently touch one person at a time. Lord, i pray that you will give us all a heart to make a difference in one life, changing the world one person at a time. Lord, i pray for Lori, Evan, and the entire group that is in Lima, Peru, right now. Keep them safe while they are there and give them a safe flight home. Lord i pray that Lima will never be the same after they leave. Thank you for your presence there, God. May your holy will be done in Jesus name.

i want to live like that

Some songs really impress lyrics deep on my heart. Lately, the one song that's been really touching me is Live Like That by Sidewalk Prophets. 

 

Every time i hear this song, it gets me thinking about how i can live more like Jesus ... and wondering if everything i say and do points to Him and the way He's changed my life.

Sometimes I think 
What will people say of me 
When I'm only just a memory 
When I'm home where my soul belongs 

Was I love 
When no one else would show up 
Was I Jesus to the least of those 
Was my worship more than just a song

...

Am I proof 
That You are who you say You are 
That grace can really change a heart 
Do I live like Your love is true 

People pass 
And even if they don't know my name 
Is there evidence that I've been changed 
When they see me, do they see You

One line, Was my worship more than just a song, reminds me that the way we treat people is an act of worship. Worship is not just singing to Him on Sunday and it's more than spending alone time in prayer. Worship is treating others like Jesus did. Worship is showing others the same kind of grace, mercy, kindness, love, hope, and generosity that's been given to you. 

Lord, the more you reveal Yourself to me, the more i want to be like you. And, the more i want people to meet you through me. i'm human, and i fall short often, but i desire deep in my heart that you help me to be more like you. Show me what it truly means to worship you with all my words and actions. i ask this in Jesus mighty and glorious name!

The importance of fellowship.

i spent last evening with a dear friend, sitting on my couch with a cup of tea. Our conversation was filled with stories and journeys of healing, love and hope. It was a sweet, peaceful time of one-on-one fellowship where we shared our hearts and joy in the Lord. It was a brief gathering, a couple hours, you know life gets busy. But it was a precious time that i am most grateful for because God does not want us to do life alone. He provides friends and family so that we will always walk with someone during our time here on earth. 

This time together really reminded me that church is not a building or a place. Church is you + me, spending time together daily talking about our hopes, dreams, challenges, joys, heartaches, successes .... We are not confined to a big building with a steeple every Sunday. Religion says we have to go to church every Sunday. Relationship with Jesus says to go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus, spend time encouraging and loving people. Because more than likely, you aren't going to reach many un-churched people in a church. 

Life gets super busy. We are all spinning on the crazy cycle of the never-ending-to-do-list. But life is too short to not fellowship with one another. People are important and God wants us to invest our time in others. It's ok to put the to-do list off for a moment, go spend some quality time with someone you love.

Thanks for spending some of your precious time with us here on the blog. We appreciate you.

Imitating Christ’s Humility

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.—Philippians 2:1-4

If, as Christians, we claim to love Jesus and want to truly be like Him, we must die to self. Verse 3, in Philippians, tells us to do nothing out of selfish ambition, to put aside our own interests and focus on the interests of others. Another thing these verses tell us is to value others above yourselves.

At the moment, i can't think of two things are more difficult than putting aside my selfish desires for the sake of others and valuing all others above myself (no matter how bad they treat me). But, when i think about how different the world would be if we adhered to these few verses, i realized what a much more peaceful, giving, loving world we'd be living in. We would be so filled with the compassion, joy, love, peace, and tenderness—just like Jesus—that there's be no room for arguments, bitterness, jealousy, and unforgiveness. Because it's our own selfishness, and not getting what we want, that leads to all the bad stuff in this world. 

Is dying to self hard? Yes. Does it take a lot of extra work on our part to put aside our wants and needs for the needs of someone else? Yes.. If we try to do this, will we fall prey sometimes to our own selfish desires. Absolutely - we are human. But if we genuinely try to be just like Jesus, He will meet our needs and wants because we put them aside to care for the wants and needs of someone else. 

Life would be much sweeter this week if we really tried to imitate Christ's humility. Take some time to pray about how you can apply this scripture to your life. 

Forgiveness Means Freedom

Have you ever, for even a second, thought, "God, you could stop this from happening if you just would?" I know I have wondered why God seems to not have mercy in certain situations and just stop death and suffering and illness and hunger. If we are in the situation, we could develop resentment toward God for not doing something positive that we think needs to be done. Especially, if the results hurt us personally.  Being hurt requires forgiveness as a resolution, so this issue is one of 3 that Christ dealt with on the Cross requarding personal injury.  And the hurt was to himself.

When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying before he was taken, he prayed and asked God to let this cup pass from him, if there was any way.  The full realization of his emminent death, and the severity of how it was to occur was taking a tole on his human Psyche.  He had a desire that he would rather not suffer in such a way, if there was any way out.  He must have thought about the time God asked Abraham to sacrifice Issaac, but provided "the Lamb of God" instead and saved Isaac from the knife. Might there be a way, would God show Him something new in these final hours? They say that He sweated great drops of blood as he pleaded with God, enduring the stress that his human body most certainly was beginning to endure. Most pastors say that it was not the death that concerned him most, but that he was taking on the sins of the world.  The misjudgement of the world, the shame he did not deserve, the lies that were out there for anyone to believe, and the hurt of all our sins laid on him...were surely  more compelling to stress than merely wishing he did not have to suffer. He was wounded for our transgressions, inside and out.  But his parent, his loving Father, would leave him to this one act of maturity, to find his way through it, with no way out but to endure the unfathonable.  Jesus could have rejected his Father based on allowing him to suffer anyway, just as most of us would. Just this week I read or knew of at least 3 specific real life cases, where teens decided thier parents didn't love them, because they allowed them to suffer in some way.  Dr. Charles Stanley discusses in his book, "THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS," how anyone hurt by someone, because they didn't come through when you expected them to, must deal with the issue of the hurt and find a way to forgive. 

We aren't told that Jesus said, "I will forgive you anyway, Father,"  but he did say, "not my will, but thine be done..." He rose from his ordeal of pleading with his Father, accepting the Father's will, rather than his own.  Accepting the circumstances can be the first step to forgiveness.

Love and God's Family

Relationship.  It is what God wants from us. In many of Christ’s teachings, he spoke of God as his heavenly father.  He was deliberate in this because he was describing the way he wanted us to see God.  He didn’t use the terms of his forefathers which emulated God’s magnificence. He used a family term. Then he said, “ye must be born again.”  Teaching children about salvation is made simpler when we help them understand that concept of being born into God’s family.  The birth of the soul into the spiritual newness of life with God as our father is a simple form of the complex new union with God.  But the other element of family is about the intimacy of a couple, the pairing of two people and the deepness of love that should be unique to two people. Using that picture as a guide, Jesus also referred to the relationship of his Church family as a love similar to the union between husband and wife. He called himself the bridegroom, his followers, the Church, therefore referenced as his bride.

Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. Matthew 9:15(TNIV)

 In this example of relationship, the result would be the new birth generated in the form of new Christians born into the church family.  Our intimacy with God should produce new births into his family.  The family union as compared to the husband/wife relationship is complicated but full of the deeper things about our intimacy with God. The father/child relationship is more about our relationship one on one with God; while the husband/wife relationship type is more about our response and expectations as a member of the family, the church.  For Jesus the whole of the church was precious to him, singularly the most intimate union element of the God/people relationship.  For any who don’t believe in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, it would be helpful to consider the union between men and women as a reference for God’s relational expectations of his actual experience with us as members of the church.  The old adage of two become one, is often forgotten in our modern world, where it is often forgotten that once that union occurs, this is what God considers marriage.  This union was meant to bring increase to the family.  My intent here is not to discuss the implications of that, but to help us notice that Jesus effectively introduced us to the 3 members of the God-head and helped us see how they interacted with us by referencing the family as a familiar place of love. 

God the Father, Jesus his son and by proxy his father becomes our Heavenly Father as well, and the one who indwells us –the Holy Spirit.  As in any family, we are at once, the child of someone, and the parent of someone when the union is able to produce children. And just as in all the families of the world, not every union or every individual marriage is called to have children, not every individual Christian is called to a ministry of leading people to Christ, or has the gift of ministry.  Scripture clearly tells us that different individuals are given different talents and abilities.  However, at the same time, it was never intended that only the pastors, preachers, teachers or missionaries were the only ones able to lead the lost to Christ.  Our personalities come in to play in the gathering of people, thus the variety of Christian congregations. And the many different ways we reach out to the world to tell them about Christ.  But the objective and the result are the same - children being born into the family, because of an intimate relationship between the “church” and their God. 

Jesus furthers this image by expanding his own position in this image. He says he is also the best man at the wedding.

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. John 3:29 (NKJV)

 He is also the minister that oversees the legal issues of the union.  He in effect, leads the couple through the wedding process, and signs the documents when it is done > by his finished work on the cross.  He paves the way, doing all he can to be the grooms advocate, then he is present as all the legal items are dealt with.  He sees to it that the commitment is signed, sealed, and delivered.

What is significant, that once the covenant has been signed, the relationship in a real marriage between husband and wife is not sealed in public. Only the spirit of God is present in that intimate moment. Although many make their commitment to Christ in the presence of the Church family, what should always happen is that a very private, intimate decision and acceptance of the indwelling of the Spirit must also occur.  It is a simple moment, when we permit our God to become one with us, make the decision to become his child.  Often when individuals ask God to save them, they really don’t know that they are opening their hearts to the Spiritual intimacy.  But they know that a change has occurred.  There is some kind of process that leads to that moment, that decision to be united with the God who is as big as the universe.  But it doesn’t have to be a long one. I can in fact happen the moment we believe.

 I had a friend many years ago who told me she was married after knowing her husband only two weeks. I was appalled. All I could think of was, “How could you possibly know if you want to marry someone in two weeks? Her answer was, “You know Mark, wouldn’t you know he was the right person if it were you?” She was right.  Mark had a noticeable uniqueness.  My husband said that if we could have, he would have married me as soon as he met me. To him, knowing immediately that I was who he wanted to marry just happened.  When Jimmy was sent to Vietnam, I wished we had married sooner, when I knew he was the one, why wait so long?  I struggled with the possibility of instant love being true until I met my friend, and until I thought about my experience with salvation.  I spent almost a year of struggling with how to be saved, and then later wished I had understood all I learned earlier, so I could have been saved sooner. In fact, I knew I wanted Christ to be my savior, but it never happened until I fell in love with him. It would have been so much simpler to allow him to be my savoir so much sooner, and gain the understanding later.  I could have lived in the glow of his love, rather than where I was - in “the fear of his damnation,” if I didn’t figure it out. I, like so many, thought he was there to send me to hell, until I knew the truth that he was there to save me from it, and draw me into the security of his family.

 I am a great advocate for teaching children early in life the “understanding” part, so that when they choose to make that decision it is easier for them. Jesus said to allow the little children to come unto him. Do you think he believed that little children could or should understand the intimacy of the act. Of course not. (Yet teens would be wise to heed how God feels about intimacy.)  He wanted the focus to be on Love.  The binding agent of every family that functions as it should.  Last week, I spoke of Joy. This week God wanted me to share his view on LOVE. And in this case it is a choice we make. A choice to enter into the family of God focusing on LOVE. 

What is the Christmas story more than a story of love and family and new birth.  Jesus was born into this realm from the very start to tell us about becoming family.  The common man in the form of the shepherds, the wealthy man in the form of the Magi, and the angels from the realms we can only imagine, all rejoiced in the birth of a child who was born to emulate the one desire of God. That we would  be brought into a family style relationship with Him. It is the desire of his heart, and the purpose of being born as a babe.  His first advent was not as an angelic being, but as a babe.  Could he have come from the skies? Sure, and he will.  But Christ came first as a babe, that we might know the intentions of God, that he might call him Father, and then present him as Spirit. Desiring to open for us a way to a relationship and become a member of God's family.

“ All God has ever wanted is to make it clear that we are made in his image.  We are sentient beings, who love, feel, hurt, long for fellowship...etc. And so is God.  What God wants from each individual is relationship.  Jesus, God's Son came to earth, to try to make this understandable in human terms.  He called God his heavenly Father, in order to make it clear that God wants us to become a member of his Family. Not by filling out a card and joining a church. Jesus said: "Marvel not that I said unto you, Ye must be born again." St. John 3:7 (King James Version, New Testament) He is simply saying that it is not some list of works (honoring laws or philanthropies) that will take care of the sin issue. It is a life experience, a giving of life, by God, in a new way. You were born one time as a flesh and blood human; now you must be born, as a spiritual being, into a family relationship, with a real God as your Heavenly Father. Why does this sound child-like? Because it must be easy enough for a child to understand.” CW

 Father, make this real to someone who begins to wonder if the story of Christ is just a fairy tale.  And to some who never considered the real meaning and intent of relationships as God sees them.  Then help us all to choose love.  May the consequences of that choice lead us to an appreciation of how unique and amazing a relationship with someone who will not desert us actually is.  There is only one relationship that we are assured will not fail.  Even we fall out of relationship with you. So thank you Lord, that your relationship with us is never broken. Then help us celebrate Christmas in the spirit of that truth and in the spirit of Love. For all, who are lacking the family relationships, who have difficulty referencing family love, or who lost what they once had, or who long for and have never had, fill the void.  Help us see the birth of a child in the Christmas story, for what it is – a demonstration that you became a babe that we might know the desire of your heart is a relationship with us.Be the family some have never known, and help us pass that kind of Love to our own. AMEN

A Winning Team

Throughout the past six years in my walk with the Lord, I have become thoroughly convinced in the necessity of having a winning team surrounding me.  By the term “winning team,” I mean a group of solid believers who will support my journey.  

Over the past ten years, the Lord has graciously blessed me with friends who live Christ centered lives.  Women who study God’s word and apply it every day.  These sisters are not perfect but are motivated to become more like the Lord.  Along with their Godly walks, I see women who are not afraid to speak the truth in love, even when I don’t necessarily like it.  My friends live all over the United States, but are there for me with just a phone call or email.  

Friendships like this do not usually happen overnight but take months or years to develop.  These particular women have not led perfect lives and have all had struggles, heartbreaks, or strongholds but search for God’s hand every day in the midst of life.  We laugh, cry, and pray with one another carrying each other in prayer and love.  My sister chicks are on my team.

The other part of my team that has developed over the past two years is my health care team.  The Lord has led me down paths to find several excellent doctors who are all Christians and understand my need to pray and petition before taking medicine or having medical procedures.  I believe these medical professionals hear my concerns and value me as a human being.

As I’ve gotten older, I know that I need doctors who will listen to me and want me to be healed, but understand who the “Healer” ultimately is.  They view themselves as a facilitator of healing.  The health care providers I choose are on my team.

As Christians, I believe it is crucial that we develop a support group composed of friends and doctors who always point us to Jesus and cheer us on through our journey of sanctification.

Ephesians 4:1-6 says,

 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

My Prayer:  God, thank you for the winning team you have placed in my life.  I pray for those who don’t have a support group today to reach out to you and that you would begin to develop a Godly covering.  Lord, thank you  for being with us, but we praise you that you don’t expect us to walk through our lives alone.  In Jesus Name!

  

 

friends.

i finally got to meet Lori and we all got to hang out for a few hours last week. What a blessing to be around such amazing women and to do life together. i am so, so grateful for beautiful friends. 

A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.—Proverbs 17:17 

Breaking the Rules

2 Corinthians 4:17 says, 

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

As a parent, teacher, and woman of God, I recognize that there is a careful balance that has to align with the cross to maintain a healthy view of rules and relationship.  I am deeply concerned over believers that value rules and discipline over relationships with people.  I am also burdened for the lost or unchurched who are turning away from Christianity or the church because of this lack of regard for a person-the whole person-mind, body, and spirit who is in great need of the love of Jesus.

I admit that when I was a new believer I leaned toward being an extreme rule follower or legalistic. However, during the past five years of being a Christian, I have learned so much about the fellowship with Jesus.  

As we examine the life of Jesus, we see numerous examples showing us that He spent more time with sinners than “church” people.  He had fellowship with them, called them out to be His disciples, healed them, and loved on them.  Jesus also often broke the “society” rules in an effort to show His deep affection for others.

I Peter 4:8 says,

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

If we walk through our lives, keeping love and relationships as our focus, the churches would be overflowing with visitors.  If we laughed with one another or displayed concern over the hurting-whether churched or unchurched, we could begin a revival in our churches. 

Our challenge is to be like Jesus and break the rules of society, to live out our faith with love and kindness in a world desperate for a Savior.

My Prayer:  Lord, thank you for reminding me to live out my faith in love and light.  I choose to lay down the religious rules and walk like Jesus-carrying your light into the world.  Holy Spirit, remind me when I focus on rules instead of relationships.  Let my language be that of love.  Jesus, thank you for being the perfect example of a man here on earth.  I pray that those who read this will be motivated to make a change that will impact the world with such a force that it will cause a revival among Your people and many will accept you as their Savior.  Thank you for reminding me that the change begins with me.  In Jesus name!

 

“And now these three remain:  faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”

                                                                                      ~1 Corinthians 13:13

 

 

 

 

Turn About!

 

The word “repent” is illustrated in scripture, as having a boat whose very small rudder is able to make a very large boat turn about.  In the movie Titanic, we are told that the rudder was too small to turn the ship about fast enough to avoid the ice-burg, resulting in the infamous disaster.  Never the less, a very huge ship can be turned about with a very small rudder.  

 A second illustration of what repenting should be is travel.  With modern day GPS travel should be easy, (GPS - the tool that was supposed to revolutionize getting from point A to point B without stopping to look at the map, which is no doubt sending you back to the map, like it is me).  I will admit that for generally getting you there over a long distance, on major highways, I like the GPS, and for finding places when a map or computer are not handy, I like it.  But I turn it off when getting around in an unfamiliar city. I get very tired of being told to stay in the left lane, just moments before being told to make a right turn. What? Did no one tell them it’s illegal to make a right turn from the left lane? Both illustrations indicate to us that the Christian walk is a matter of navigation in God’s eyes.   Not a treadmill of choosing right from wrong, or trying to choose which religion is the best guide. (Spiritual GPS) Who ever actually gets it 100% right anyway?

Navigating the Christian walk is frustrating to seasoned, well-studied Christians, much less for newly saved individuals, who have way too many religions telling them what is the best way to go. Of all the Bible “dirty words,” as Lori calls them, “sin” has got to be the one that sends people away from the Christian concept more than any other word.  “Repenting of sin” sounds down right gut wrenching, to an adult who is contemplating Salvation, if it means a daily grind of self inspection, which includes trying to draw all the fine lines between RIGHT and WRONG.

Think about it.  If you take any subject, and you begin to use it to navigate according to it’s rightness or wrongness, you find yourself on a pendulum of swinging from one side of the issue to another, of “how far can I go without crossing God’s line?”  NOT that we are trying to sneak in a little sin, but that we are trying to not displease Him. (double negative intended.) Sometimes it seems even the Amish sin.  And by the way, they admit they do.  Do you get the point, that it is impossible to live by a right/wrong gage? The more you try to gage your sin, the farther you get into living under the law, and we are made free from the law by our salvation. It’s a ploy of Satan to keep us looking at ourselves, and take our eyes off Jesus.

To some people, this argument sounds like a total cop out to pretend we don’t sin. But properly labeling sin for what it is, and looking at repentance as God wants us to see it, makes the “repent” word down-right appealing. Sin is any thing we do that is taking us in a direction out of God’s perfect will for our lives. Sin is like driving to a destination and getting on the wrong road. It affects us in negative ways.  It adds frustration and stress to our circumstances. If it is the wrong road, it just won’t get us where we are going. The only way to resolve the situation is to turn around, or if traveling by boat, turn the helm by moving the rudder > to head in the right direction. Whether it is a total turn around, backtrack and start over, or is just a simple left or right turn -time is lost. But there is no getting around the fact that we won’t get to a northerly destination going south.

Living within God’s will is as simple as that.  It is not whether my pants are the right color, or if my tattoo is upside down.  Ridiculous? Well some of the things that people say are sin gages are ridiculous too.  If there is one thing I personally believe Christians need to repent of, it is falsely representing the Christian walk - as a list of rules God wants us to follow.  We have turned more people away from Christ by misrepresenting him and why he died. And that my friend is sin. 

Can we always avoid disaster when our ship is heading into sin even though we repent? Sometimes, we just don’t realize we are sailing headlong into the thing that will destroy us, until it’s too late. That is the sole reason for finding daily time to take a look at the map, turn off the religious GPS, and focus on the destination. And on hearing the still small voice of God. 

One last thing about repenting. For me it is most often an act of pulling up anchor.  I find my self anchored, going round in circles, as if dead in the water, unable to move forward.  Finding safe harbor, refueling, and restocking are all elements of the ship illustration of the Christian life. But the only time it is good to just sit idle in the water is for fishing, rest and relaxation, and research.  If your engine and equipment are sound, there always comes a time to pull up anchor and go! So repenting may not be a change in course, or a decision to stay on course, but a decision to set sail for a God given destination.  That too can require a change of mind or circumstances. Without making the change, sin will develop in your life.  Is God going to send you to Hell if you miss the boat? NOOO!  You just won’t receive the greater things God has in store that can be found at that destination. Why miss out?

See sin, from now on, as a going thing, not as a doing thing. See repentance as a change in course thing, not a sit down and cry cause I’m so bad thing.  Your self worth will rise, because you will begin seeing yourself as God sees you – as a friend with whom He can hardly wait to show how great things He can do in your life, which great places He wants you to go with Him to, and what marvelous things He wants to show you along the way. And why miss the gifts at the end of the journey. How simple to just realize you are sorry you're headed the wrong way, and turn about.

For Bible illustrative reading  - Paul talks of living strictly under the law and being converted to the Christian walk:

Acts 26 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+26&version=KJV

He then tells the story of being prisoner aboard a ship – as a free man held prisoner because he has determined to petition Caesar.  Paul is not in sin himself, but finds himself at the mercy of someone who choses to not heed Paul’s admonition from God for when and where to sail.  They sail into disaster, and yet God remains with them, and none is lost.

Acts 27 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+27&version=KJV

2 sets of verses: from this text I would leave with you:

Repentance in the hour of need - 

  ²²And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. ²³For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, ²⁴Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

 ²⁵Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Acts 27: 22 –25 &

⁴⁰And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoisted up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. Acts 27: 40

All the repentance in the world will not save you from the disasters that come into your life, but when they come, they will give opportunity to encourage others to believe.

LORD, help us to be willing to turn about, even when it means heading into rough seas, especially when our circumstances have hindered our getting to your intended destination. AMEN

 

CONFIDENCE - when God Blesses faith

While under siege by the great nation of Assyria, Hezekiah stood firm as the king over Judah, a mere remnant of the tribes of Israel which had not been overtaken by the wars around them. And when pressed to appease the encroaching armies, he sent all the gold from the Temple, and from the coffers of the King’s house. When there was nothing monetary left to keep them from attacking, he continued to trust in the God of his forefather, David.  Hezekiah had made a great sacrifice in giving this gold to Assyria, for it was he who had overlaid the temple doors with gold; and it was he who cut it back off to give to the Assyrian representatives. The work of his life had been undone. Hezekiah didn’t put confidence in his life’s work; nor did he cling to it, and protect it at all costs assuming it was the source for his future.

The Assyrian King sent 3 men with a great host of troops out of Lachish to Jerusalem. And when they arrived, their leader, Rabshakeh, sent a message to Hezekiah asking him: “Thus saith the Great King, the king of Assyria: What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?”(kjv)  They went on to assume it must be Egypt. They mocked that trusting Egypt was like leaning on a staff which was sharp on both ends. If Hezekiah’s people leaned on it, they would be stabbed by the end on which they leaned.  Placing doubt, the Assyrians hoped to destroy the confidence this little nation had, and hoped to take them without a fight. But Hezekiah did not trust in Egypt -a type of trusting in the people and things of this world.

 Rabshakeh continued to deride them, saying, don’t say you trust in your Lord, because Hezekiah has already given up the altars, and said this is what’s left in Jerusalem as an altar!  (As if the altar only had value if covered in gold.) Hezekiah didn’t place his confidence in his money, or the importance of his church. Hezekiah didn’t place his confidence in his church, nor in the place where he worshipped.

Rabshakeh also taunted – “you say, but they are vain words, ‘I have counsel and strength for war.’ On whom do you trust that you rebel against me?” He spoke with a false confidence believing nothing could stop the Assyrian armies, because nothing had so far. Hezekiah didn’t put his confidence in the circumstances that appeared to prove nothing could withstand the power of these great armies. But Rabshakeh had wisely asked, “On WHOM do you Trust.”  “What Confidence is this wherein you Trust?”  He expected them to boast that another army somewhere was forming against them, for the sake of job security. But Hezekiah was not seeking job security for his armies.

It was then that the Assyrian leader began to be diplomatic (or was it “deceitful.”) He offered 2000 horses if they would join him, seeking to know the numbers of men they expected to muster, but also hoping to turn them against their own king. He railed on Hezekiah’s men, in their own language, that they should not trust Hezekiah to protect them. He offered to take them to a land where there were great riches and plenty of food, if they would become his soldiers. He went on to say, "Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he says the Lord will deliver you, because the gods of all these other nations haven’t delivered them." He even went so far as to say, that he had come in the name of the Lord. That he was whom God was blessing, (and perhaps he believed it might be true in some twisted way.) But Hezekiah was not swayed by the deceiver who set lures for his men.

Hezekiah knew ON WHOM he believed!!!

When I taught children, I found it was important to give them Bible words to learn and understand.  A study of the word confidence, reveals that it doesn’t mean the same as faith. Confidence is a result of faith.  But also a result of trusting the promises of God. It has to do with knowing what you believe, with understanding.  Then acting on it - but only after praying to seek assurance God wants you to proceed.  Confidence isn’t something to boast of or give reasons for; it is an attitude of steadfastness. It is a jewel, a gift, and John told his followers to not give it up.  Confidence grows and strengthens as we read and understand God’s Word. Faith is as a grain of mustard seed, a tiny hope on which we place trust.  But confidence is when faith takes root and is watered and tended. Each new endeavor requires faith, a point in time when we first believe. But confidence is gained only when we have tested faith.  We fail to gain confidence when we misplace our faith. When we believe that money, jobs, church, friends, supporters, circumstances, politics or what appears to be truth in the eyes of the world are our reasons for feeling safe – we have misplaced our faith, and cannot grow confidence.  Faith in God’s promises, security, holiness, and truth alone is the fertile ground in which the seed of faith can grow. And when it has grown, let us prize it above all the things of this world that we might have confidence to leave the battles up to God.

Hezekiah didn’t gather an army against the Assyrians, but asked those about him to join him as he prayed.  Sometimes, it sounds like a broken record when we ask people to pray, but that is where acting on our confidence begins.  And funny thing…that action is often to wait on the Lord to take care of the matter. Why do we pray expecting God to give our battles back to us? Our confidence comes from allowing God to use His power to perform in our lives. Hezekiah knew this, and it is why he was called the greatest king that Judah ever had.

This story comes from II Kings 18. The verses concerning Rabshakeh asking in whom Hezekiah placed his trust are verses 19 and 20.  But this is the verse I want to leave with our readers, for Hezekiah warned his people not to respond to the deceiver:

But the people held their peace and answered him not a word, for the King’s commandment was, saying: “Anwer him not.” II Kings 18: 36 KJV

Who is calling on you today to defend your confidence? God says you don’t need to answer. Just know in whom, and understand what and why you believe.  So you can stand fast in confidence against all odds. Testimonies are for leading the lost to Christ. Not for defending God or ourselves. God can defend Himself and us.

Father, once again it is focus on you that remedies life’s hardest questions.  Help us to respond out of confidence, which allows us not to answer to the deceivers of the world.  All who rail against us, even those who say they come in Your name, who know they have everything all figured out, and have unparalleled resources and accusations with them. All those are no match for just focusing on You. And in our confidence, help us not to be quick to act, but let us wait upon your almighty power, and sometimes only upon your power. Though the world screams loudly about us, sometimes you just want us to do nothing except pray, leaving the results up to You. Instead of responding to the din of the world, help us not be “should, ought must Christians.”  Rather help us know the difference, to be Confident Christians. AMEN

(P.S. Sometimes the railing assailant really wants our testimony because they are seeking a Christ.  If we share Christ rather than defend Christ, our words become a path to Christ.)

 

Just One

i had a really good conversation with a friend on Friday. He was telling me his view of God ... that He is a mean, judgmental God, sitting on His throne waiting to throw lightening bolts every time we make a mistake.

Sigh.

He asked me about my view of God ...

i believe God is a loving, kind, generous God who wants the best for us. Sometimes that means God applies discipline to our lives, but He also covers us with grace and mercy. There is no greater act of love that can be shown than that of God sending His only Son to die on a wooden cross so that we can have eternal life with Him (if we choose to believe).

My friend proceeded to share that His view of God has been distorted by Christians who claim to love Jesus, but act nothing like Jesus and who preach the Word of God but don't live it. hmmm.

So, it's been heavy on my heart that the church as a whole (and individually) is not doing a very good job of reaching people to share the truth. It's not enough to go to church on Sunday—this is not where we are going to reach those who have been told untruths ... they want absolutely nothing to do with church or Christians.

Sometimes i think the church gets too caught up in wanting to save the world—but only in masses of people to save time. The reality is that we reach people one by one ... and we have that chance every day.

We need less of huge, organized religious establishments who draw in the masses in hopes to share the truth and secure one's salvation—they have no means to walk with an individual through this life change and be a friend. We need more of people like you + me who has been touched by God's grace and who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior to reach those who have not.

The truth is that it can be overwhelming to look out into the crowd and see all the lost people who have no hope—there are millions. But if we have a goal to reach just one, we find it's an attainable goal. And once we reach one, we try to reach another ... and another. It becomes a beautiful ripple effect that has no end.

If we all have the goal to show the love of Christ to just one person, just think how many lives could be changed. All it took for me was one friend to say, Hey, would you like to go to church with me today?—that one person and simple question secured my eternity in heaven that day.

i encourage you to choose one person who doesn't know Jesus and to commit them to prayer and let God open up doors of opportunity for you to share the Good News. i promise that if you pray for it, God will move.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace ... —Isaiah 52:7-10

An Ugly Word

This past weekend I heard a refreshing sermon about the importance of confession of sins not only vertically with God, but also horizontally with others.  Too often these days the word, “confession,” is considered taboo among Christians because it seems old fashioned.  When we dismiss this simple principle, we are attempting to bypass God’s plan for a healthy relationship with his children.

The word, “confession,” means “to admit or acknowledge.”  In this case it fundamentally means admitting our sins to a Holy God.  No formal ceremony needed.  

I John 1:9 says,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

In my life, I try to take care of my confessions as the Lord brings them to mind by saying something like this, “Lord, I know that ____ was not the right thing to do.  Please forgive me and help me do better.”  This childlike act of confession clears my slate on a vertical plane.

On the horizontal axis, Matthew 5:23-24 says,

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.  First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”  

Confession of sins to others involves prayer about the right words and timing, but can be such a beautiful, Christ centered restoration when handled properly.

I love I Timothy 1:15-16 which says,

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

Let’s face it: we all sin which is why we need our wonderful Savior.  When we take care of our confessions, we can share in the fellowship and freedom that forgiven children can experience.  

My Prayer:  Lord, thank you for reminding me the importance of confession to you and to others.  Holy Spirit, make me aware when there is something I need to confess so that I can enjoy abundant life as a believer.  Jesus, thank you for covering my sins on the cross.  I pray that others will embrace the freedom of confession and live joyfully in your peace.  In Jesus name!

 

Life Application: Put feet to your faith

We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ—to bring the Word to life daily through our actions. Here are three verses in scripture that tell us to go out and serve others. i challenge you to choose one (or all three) and live out that verse in your life today (and every day).

1. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. —Ephesians 4:29
• Speak kind words today that are uplifting and encouraging. Even if someone speaks harshly to you, respond in kindness and love.
• Share a word of encouragement with someone who has been beaten down lately.
• You know that co-worker who works really hard, but doesn't think anyone notices? Tell them that they are doing an awesome job!

2. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.—Galatians 6:2
• Pray for a friend, family member, or even an enemy—that God would ease their suffering.
• Bring a meal to someone who's weary.
• Tell someone that they are loved.

3. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.—Philippians 2:4
• Let the mom with young children cut in front of you at a restaurant or grocery store.
• The friend who's worried about a medical test/procedure or other big event in their life—pray with them.
• Skip watching your favorite TV show and call a friend or family member you haven't talked to in a long time. Simply ask how they are doing.

xo

Looking Through God Glasses

What is your image of the disciples of Christ?  Do you see them all as fishermen?  Well they weren’t all fishermen.  Do you visualize them as all dressed in flowing robes of colorful cloths? Well they weren’t.  Have you ever envisioned even one of them with a sword hanging by his side?  Think about it….

In St. John 18:11 Jesus said to one of his disciples: “Put up thy sword into the sheath.”  You know this story well.  To whom was he speaking?  It was Peter of course.  Peter the bold, the strong, carried a sword which he used to cut off the ear of a temple servant in the Garden of Gethsemane, when they came to take Jesus away.  Now visualize the disciples again.  Can you visualize them with at least one carrying a sword? Have you ever?  I can’t think of a single painting that I have seen, which has disciples who look obviously different from one another, much less with one of them carrying a sword.

We do that when we visualize what a Christian should look like too.  One of my greatest pet peeves about the Christian faith, is that it frequently falls into a pattern of dictating what the followers of Christ should look, act, and behave like.  We have all known of whole churches that fell pray to “doctrines” of a bad leader, whom they trusted to their deaths. It is a lie of Satan that all Christians should fit some sort of mold. Or to follow one who claims to be called of God to an ever-tightening tiny image of who we ought to be. As a child, this little box image of what a Christian oughta be made me think I could never be good enough. In fact, my father once told me he decided not to be a Christian because he knew he could never be good enough.

Jesus consistently went to the person whom society had rejected and said: “ follow me.” How often was he rebuked for being somewhere the Scribes and Pharisees said men ought not to go? How many times was he eating with people in whose home pious Jews would never set foot?  He talked to women, of other than Jewish descent.  He talked to prostitutes. In fact, he talked to women, period. In some perversions of religion, it is and was forbidden to even talk to women. He let the children climb on his lap and rebuked any who tried to pull them away.  He fit no one’s mold, but His Father’s.

Now, as Paul said, all things may be permissible, but all things are not wise. I get that. But, Jesus had a definite reason for going to the unwanted of society in his day, because as he called them, they were “the lost.”  Any lost person you might encounter, will probably be seeking for direction, hoping to get to a place of knowing where they are in the world. Jesus had a short time to reach them.  He started off teaching in the conventional way, at age 12, in the temple. But in order to reach the lost he had to go where they were.  Jesus had nothing to fear of the people in the streets as it turned out.  It was the people in the temple who sought to kill him.  I can’t say as much for the situation today.  It is mostly out of fear that I would not approach just anyone on the streets today.  But equally, I would not trust just anyone in a pulpit.  So the question becomes how to reach individuals who are not accepted by the main stream, while we continue to portray the holiness of God. Jesus made it perfectly clear.  It is with our words - using His Word and rightly dividing the Word of truth, and by not creating molds that we ask others to fit into. 

One of my favorite ways to teach my 5 to 7 year old Children’s Church students in years gone by, was to tell them something I wanted them to challenge me on.  Now I had to teach them to dispute me, because society spends a lot of time teaching children to not rebuke their elders.  But that is actually dangerous if we don’t give them permission to use the brain God gave them as well.  My bright little students were willing to believe anything I told them. So I would say something, ridiculous and see how quickly they would call me on it.  For instance, I might say: “Today I am going to tell you the story of how Jesus told everyone that it was OK to beat people up.”  At first they were too shy to speak against me. But once they learned that I was expecting them to catch me lying, and I wanted them to say: “No that’s not right,” - they were quick and loud with their response.  I would say,  “I was just seeing if you were listening.”  So it became a game for them listen well enough to catch me telling them something that wasn’t true.

Three Things:

1.  We always made sure that we clarified when I had told them a deliberate lie, and that I wanted them to catch me in it and say with boldness, “Miss Cynthia, that isn’t true.” I told them not to believe everything they were told.  To find out for themselves what was true. I told them it was wise to listen and decide for themselves what they believed. I told them not to get in the habit of correcting their parents and other teachers, but to think about what people said, and if it didn’t seem right to ask questions.  I also told them if it didn’t seem right, to not believe it until they were sure whether it was right or wrong.  And sometimes, it would be OK to boldly say: “That isn’t right, I know it isn’t.” Or be firm when they say: “Don’t do that ‘cause it isn’t right!”
2. I made it clear that I wanted them to use their own brains. I told them they were never too young to know what they believed.  Jesus asked people to think about what they were being taught. To challenge it if necessary. To seek the truth.  To alter their vision, and break the mold of what they commonly believed to be truth. He asked them to challenge conventional truth, and test it with God’s truth. People argue at length about what that truth is, but they often do it like the Pharisees did. Satan can argue a good argument, by manipulating the truth. What is true in the whole scripture is what is true.  And sometimes the deepest truths are hidden in pictures and types, not out in the open, so we have to dig. They are jewels to be found, by exploring how God packages truth.
3. I challenged the children to boldly respond to me with “no, that is not right,” if I was wrong.  It was my intention to help them begin to make up their own minds what was right, and what was wrong, rather than depending on an adult for their morality.  Many adults have never done that for themselves. It amazes me sometimes how often leadership, especially in the church, directs its constituents to blindly follow their lead.  Wise leadership should be fashioned after Jesus’ example.  He challenged the acceptable, and sought the heart of the people, not as servants to a master, but as friends. (St.John 15: 14-15.)  He asked them to think, reason within themselves, and to make the subtle differences.

I could cite any of several scriptures, but I believe this one says it best:

(Jesus said:) Woe unto you lawyers! For ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in, ye hindered. St. Luke 11:52

Dear Jesus, you challenge us to take a second look at our mental image of who and what we expect a Christian to be. To think for ourselves, and question authority, and hold our leaders accountable. Help us Lord, to teach our children balance, not blind obedience. Knowing we can obey You without question gives great peace of mind, and it is marvelous to be able to teach this to our children.  Let us begin with them, teaching them to open their minds to seek to see things from God’s perspective. Not as skeptics, but as seeing all things through “God Glasses”.  In your precious name, AMEN.

 

Promises of God

From the file box:

Prosperity = The Fulfillment of the Promises of God…

 In 1993, my husband had a surgical procedure done to clean a blocked artery and save his heart and life.  Seeking comfort, he ran across the verse: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

Followed by: 37:14:  And shall put my spirit in you and ye shall live…. 

Now these verses were taken out of context, but when you are facing something that might mean your life, you don’t care how the Lord gives you peace of mind.  The whole Biblical text is written to the Israelites who needed restoration as a nation.  This is the text where the “Dry Bones Parable” is found.  A promise is given by God to raise up the floundering nation and give it new life. Even though it is presumed to be as dead as dry bones, God promises to “resurrect” it, and give it full life once again.  

Ezekiel was a colorful writer, but God used him to give strong mental pictures of how God was able to do whatever was necessary to keep his promises to His people.  In the depths of these verses, so much more can be gleaned.  The resurrection promise itself was a “type picture” of Christ.  Jesus’ disciples would come to understand that the real resurrection for the nation of Israel was through their Messiah. Israel became, not just a great nation, but the ancestral parent of a greater work - the birth of a church, to which any who believed might be born. Through them God gave life to a family that would affect the world. But this great work would come only when His followers thought all hope was lost.  It would only occur if this long awaited Messiah died. Never did they dream he would be resurrected.  Yet the picture was there, just as Jesus said, in the very verses they studied and believed.

Jesus did not remain dead long enough for his bones to dry.  But the prophecy was about an Israel, which came to a place where they feared all hope was lost. They lost their ability to believe that God was able to give continued life to their failing nation.  Mmmmm. Parallels all around this one, but I am not going there.  (Yes the people of our nation would do well to seek the truths in these chapters.)  God does wish to give continued life to the nations he has blessed, even to the point of bringing them back from dry bones.  But my actual point is - these verses give us a visualization of the lengths to which God is willing to go, to give the people he loves the promise of life.  Out of that life was the promise of a savoir, and if Israel failed, would there be no savoir?

In a discussion with my son, recently, I asked him to use the litmus test of basic Gospel truths, against which to test the doctrines of various religious faiths as he studied. We talked about why one of the most important of these is the fact that God wants us to choose life in every circumstance. Life and the regeneration of life are extremely important to God.  But when you are facing a circumstance or illness, which threatens life, death, not life, can be the reality.  I have often thought that if I were facing cancer, I would not have the desire to fight for life. Mainly, the reason is that death is the better than life, because of Christ.  I see the after-life as my resurrection to the best form of life. But, I am not seeking death. Yet God prefers that I choose to love life.

For my husband - where he was, wanting to live, and who was facing a life-threatening event - any promise from God that He cared about life, which could give an assurance that life was really important to Him, was timely.  My husband loves life. He loves living every day.  He has a God attitude about life. He holds each day precious. Even before he was threatened by his blocked artery, he treasured life.

So when God gave him these verses, they were not out of context for him.  The “ye shall live,” of Ezekiel 37:14 was as if it were written to him and for him, because God was comforting his heart and giving peace to his mind. God was saying to my beloved, I care about YOUR LIFE.  It was personal. 

It is a wonderful thing that our Bible is so multifaceted.  My mind is opened to the vastness of God’s ability to use His Word to bless and inspire us in so many ways.  Every story, and parable bears a witness to the truths He wants us to focus on and in fact, to bank our hopes in the vaults of their promises. 

So Jimmy claimed those verses, and went to surgery with a renewed confidence that God would use this scary time in his life to give him not just renewed physical life, but renewed spiritual hope for a greater, longer, fuller life.

I have a flip-calendar of scriptures, given to me by my daughter, from Heartland Samplers, Inc., which is one of a Series called “Bless Your Heart.”  It is appropriate for me because I often use the southern phrase “Bless your heart.”  And not as a derogatory remark, but in the sense of this calendar, that the Lord can bless your heart in a spiritual way through the Word and Prayer.  Anyway, on February 4 of this particular year’s calendar, it says:

“God can mend a broken heart, but we have to give him all the pieces.”

Followed by the verse:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18.”  

On this page I scribbled: the year, a note about the surgery, and the verses my husband had claimed, so I could remember the day the Lord resurrected us to new life, when we could share in the second half of  Ezekiel 37:14 which says: 

“then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.” 

Thank you, Lord for promises to claim. For scripture, that calms our minds and spirits when the days of comfort are needed. Give comfort today to those who need it and seek a word from you.  Help us all to appreciate that You are the champion of life in all aspects of life.  You have made life a precious thing. Help us to live like we cherish it too.  In Jesus’ precious name, AMEN.

 

Stand Aside and Let the Spirit Guide

 

In Phillipians 1:12 Paul said: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,^[a] that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.”  NIV

 In the 4 or 5 verses following this one, Paul says that because he is in chains, some have become emboldened, (inflamed we would now say,) and speak of Paul who teaches of Jesus, without the fear they once had. He says that some teach Christ of contention, hoping to make Paul’s situation worse. Another he says, preaches in love, knowing that Paul is set for the defense of the Gospel. Many gained the confidence to speak boldly, without fear.  In other words, he felt that his being imprisoned opened the door for others to find a reason to go in his stead to preach the gospel, since he was unable.  In Verse 18 he said, “what then? Not withstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice.”

“Whether in Pretense or in Truth????”

What Paul was saying was that even when people teach of Christ with errors, and out of emotion, he is never the less being talked about.  People were becoming bold enough to discuss a man called Christ. And in spite of the inaccuracies, Paul was just glad they were talking about Jesus. If he was pulled back, they ceased to lean on Paul's knowlege, and found courage to seek their own. To someone like myself, who compares every scripture to the next trying to be accurate, it is hard to accept that anyway Christ is preached is OK.  But the truth is, when the people who have sought God’s truths for years, get out of the way of younger learners, who are left learning by the Holy Spirit’s guidance, their lessons are more personal, and they stick.  When I was a teen, I realized how important healthy discussion over the meaning of Scriptural passages was.  My pastor called it: “Rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”

My son recently said he wanted to investigate the different religious beliefs to discover for himself which of the church doctrines he actually felt he believed. As a parent you want your child to not be led away by false doctrines, but as a Christian, I want him to know what and why he believes it, because he was bold enough to trudge into the depths of God’s Word, with the Spirit as his guide. That is the key, seeking that truth in the word, not in the various doctrines.  I only wished to direct him to compare the beliefs of any religious group to the Word, not to find the beliefs that sounded as though they made sense and then find the Scriptures to uphold it. He went further to say, that he felt he should look to the oldest Hebrew and Greek texts to see if the accepted translations adhered to what he understood God was saying.  I agreed and suggested he find a Vine’s Expository to see the present translations of the words in the oldest texts.

 I looked into what every religion I could find believed, just so I could know why I believed what I believed, when I was very young. The end result was - I had to find a way to understand the Bible to know what I believed. Questioning the language, the concepts, the beliefs of people in my own religious title, strengthened my faith rather than diluted it.  I was bold enough to say, even to teachers, or in response to pastors over my own faith, “I don’t believe that because this verse says that God taught something different.”  As a result, I found a church where I believed they taught more of the truth, as the Spirit had revealed it to my heart.

Does my believing it, make something more true than what someone else believes. No.  This is mainly true because God shares His promises and his gifts to different personalities and persons, in various degrees of spiritual growth, in different ways.  Sometimes it seems he is telling us different things. Often, we are learning the same things, in different ways.  When my son and I finished our discussion about the various faiths, he said that it seemed all the Christian faiths basically believed the concept of Christ’s birth, death, resurrection, and that you needed to accept that by faith, and everything beyond that was various details about how to live.  A lot of it seemed the same basic thing to him. And I asked, “ You mean like they might all be a part of … one church… or something. And maybe they should call it “The Church?” 

In God’s eyes, we are under one umbrella, His flock, by one name.  We are members of the Church, no religion, just the beloved born again children of God. 

In Christ’s final days, when he prayed he asked the Father to make us all one.  When he spoke to Peter who was having great difficulty understanding what was happening, Jesus said, “feed my sheep.”  Then he seemingly repeated himself and said, “feed my lambs.” What was the difference?  Christ was saying that some would be fed having deeper knowledge of the old scriptures which told of a Christ.  Some would be fed as lambs, from the basics, as knowing nothing of the promise of a savoir, a messiah, never hearing the scriptures of old - starting from scratch.  He then said. Follow me. And when Peter said “Lord, and what shall this man do?” Jesus sort of said,  “What’s that to you? Follow thou me.”  (St. John 21)

Following Christ is an individual commitment. Regardless of how or under what circumstances we learn of our Savoir, it is up to us to follow him. Not the way someone else says to, but how the Spirit leads us.  If we find our courage to share Christ, because we are compelled to believe the Word says something different than what our church is teaching us, then follow the Word.  You shouldn’t have to quit your church.

Ephesians 2:18 For through him, we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.19 –Now therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.

3:14 For this cause, I bow my knee unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 15 – of  whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

16 – That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.

17-That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that being rooted and grounded in love,

18 – May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth and height;

19 – And to know the Love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 – Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

21 – Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through out all ages, world without end. Amen 

LORD, when you take my influence from my children and grandchildren, be their guide through the Word, by the Spirit. Help me rejoice when they seek You not me to find their way through the Christian walk. May I see as Paul did that they at some point just use us as crutches to lean on, not learning for their own spirit’s sake, what You would teach them if you were walking life’s path by their side.  Stand so close that they will trip over you if they don’t follow you, please dear Lord.  Help them not to look at what other’s say is truth, unless their words are soundly backed up by the whole Word of God, the Scarlet Thread of Redemption -  The theme of life and liberty that winds from Genesis to Revelation, speaking of the Son of God, and the Blood He shed for THE CHURCH. And that for all of us. AMEN

 

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Being a teacher, I am excited to get a new bunch of students every August.  The first few weeks, I spend countless hours training, teaching rules, and setting boundaries.  I remember that my expectations will be met-whether high or low.  Most importantly, I recall that my reactions and responses, too, am being observed by my students making it crucial to be “prayed up” when I step foot into my classroom.  As a matter of fact, my students hear my words, but they also watch my actions.

James 1:22 says, 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”

How often do we have the Christian “talk” down pat only to have an explosive moment with our actions that completely contradicts our words?  When I often have conversations with unchurched people about the possibility of attending church, they often comment on people being hypocritical.  Just like my students watch me, the world watches Christians every day and form opinions about what the church looks like.

No one, Christian or unbeliever, is perfect.  Everyone has moments of walking in the flesh with words and actions, but, as God’s children, our hearts should be to strive to have our actions line up with our words.

Billy Graham said, “Are you disappointed with society?  If you are, I challenge you to take the first step.  I challenge you to look at yourself.”

You may say, “I really blew it yesterday!”  We all blow it sometimes!  The good news is that God’s grace covers our biggest mistakes.  Jesus died for every sin we will ever commit.

Our challenge lies in walking with the Holy Spirit and allowing God to lead our actions and words so that they line up with His Holy Word.

My Prayer:  Oh Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight.  I pray that I would not only hear your word, but I would do what it says.  Father, I thank you for your grace that covers my mistakes.  I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would remind me that the world is watching my character and ask that you remind me to guard my responses so that they may line up with your Word.  Thank you, Jesus, for modeling the perfect example of a Christian.  In Jesus name!

 

 

A Cup of Comfort in the Coffee Pot of Life

Every morning I brew a pot of coffee and sit quietly as I sip out of my favorite mug allowing the warmth of the heavily sweetened delight to fill my body and awaken my spirit.  Just this simple act of relaxing while reading my Bible brings me such rejuvenation.  Even though I like my coffee (a lot!) the real comfort is poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says,

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

When I think about this verse, it makes me realize that every difficult situation that I take to the Lord is not only meant for my own personal testimony of God, but also I’m expected to participate in a ministry to other people who are experiencing similar circumstances that I’ve had.

Billy Graham said, “God doesn’t comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.”  

Our challenge is to allow God to help us through the miserable valleys of life and heal us so that we can effectively and healthily use our testimonies in the lives of other hurting people showing Spirit-filled empathy, compassion, and understanding.  We don’t have to share every horrific detail of our experiences, but we can just lend a listening ear and allow the love of Jesus and direction of the Holy Spirit to permeate our relationships.

I jokingly tell my husband that I’ve got to “meet the people.”  Although I am a talker, time after time, when I am having what appears to be a random conversation, I have an opportunity to minister or share my testimony.    I firmly believe those times are not accidental, but are opportunities provided by God to pour out a cup of comfort into the coffee pot of life.

My prayer:  Lord, I thank you for the comfort and compassion during the desperate valleys of my life.  I pray that every difficult situation would be used for your glory.  Use me to help others get through tough times.  Holy Spirit, give me the wisdom to know what details to share and how to effectively point others to Jesus.  Jesus, thank you for being the best example of comfort in your ministry.  In Jesus name!

"And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."                                                                ~2 Corinthians 1:7 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Miracles

I believe in the prayers of a child and people who are seeking God.  Once when one of my children prayed for rain, when everyone thought we wouldn’t get any, a storm came up suddenly in the afternoon, and it rained for 4 days.  Once when I was witnessing to a teen, who was full of questions and amazement at every thing the Bible had to say, a huge double rainbow fell across the road in front of us, - while we were telling him the story of Noah and the Ark, -because he asked us to share another Bible story.  Once when my sister saw me in terrible misery from a chronic condition I had which sometimes took weeks to heal, she prayed that God would heal me. By morning the only sign that an extreme episode had been there was a little redness.  What was the key to those miraculous answered prayers? Those praying were either children, or seeking to know God.  Jesus himself said we should have the faith of children. He promised that if we ask, it will be given, seek and we shall find, knock and it shall be opened to us.*

 I remember specific days when I could believe in magical, miraculous things. Everything on God’s earth was a miracle to me - amazing that it even existed. Even the blue of the sky, and the playfulness of the clouds called my heart to believe. I have often seen an individual who stood in church to ask Christian friends to pray, standing in weariness of having prayed themselves until they were slipping into desperation. I have been there, wishing someone would help me pray because I felt desperation. It is usually when our mind and body are not able to focus long enough to pray, much less seek what God is about in your life, that we are hit by our greatest need. Then we need friends to help our faith in God's miracles.

To have the faith that God can answer our prayer in a positive way is a struggle sometimes.  I am probably the worst, because I can believe easily for everyone else but myself.  Don’t know why that is, except that the prayer I prayed the hardest, as a child, was never answered with a “yes.” After years of hoping, I know that the person for whom I prayed was at fault, not God. God does not force himself on anyone. Nor does he reject anyone. And sometimes his answer is “NO” or “Not yet.”  That’s an answer we don’t like to hear.

Sometimes, the answer to our prayer should be no, and we may not know why for many years, if in fact ever. We used to teach a true missionary story to children, about a lady who prayed as a child to have blue eyes, because she did not like her brown ones.  That lady grew up to be a missionary saving little girls sold into slavery, in a land where everyone had brown eyes. 

There are prayers we should not pray, carelessly. Once my sister prayed that her car would not die until she could pull into her own driveway, from a destination over a hundred miles away.  When she pulled into the station for gas, her car would not cut off.  But it dramatically died when she pulled into her driveway. She did however praise God for getting her safely home. Sometimes, God gets our attention by answering our prayers literally. And perhaps He has a little laugh with us as well. LOL

  Sometimes I don’t have the energy to be a seeker before I pray, I need the faith of a child. Believing that, simply because God is in it, miracles do happen. Children can believe that imagining can alter the truth.  So their faith comes more easily. When God alters my absolute truth in an instant, when I least expect it, I call these incidents “daily miracles”. And I love when they occur. I feel God’s presence, His closeness.  Often, I have not asked for His intervention, when these little miracles occur.  Every prayer God answers is not meant to be a miracle (a stand alone EVENT.)  But sometimes, a tiny daily miracle can strengthen our ability to believe, and instead of seeking God, see Him clearly. Instead of being on the seeking side of the fence, we find ourselves on the found side of the fence. My faith is bolstered.

As a praying adult, I most love the times when God tells me the same things he tells someone else. Then, when that person and I come seeking, and find one another, God has already prepared our hearts. When the two of us share our prayer, it is as good as done. When the prayer is prayed, then faith should spring forth. If you didn’t have it before you asked God, then follow your prayer by telling yourself and God.  “In this moment Lord, I can believe. Please count it as if I were planting my mustard seed, for in the next moment I may be struggling with faith again.”

 When all of us come together - my friend(s), myself, and God - cool miracle. How long since you noticed one of God’s daily miracles.  Let us open our spiritual eyes so that we may see God’s hand in our life, today, and everyday.

My Prayer for you today is:

Lord, bolster our faith each day with a tiny daily miracle.  Just to keep us focused on you, to remind us you are active in our life every minute, and to give us something to look back on and say: "This is what God did on that day, that let me know without doubt that He Is and He cares about my faith."

 In the comments box today I wish those reading this would feel free to finish the sentence: “Once when…(God did something unexpected in your life)…”

Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened.   * Luke 11:9-10  KJV updated

 also: James 4:2-3 (caution - lest you ask amiss)

You might enjoy this video:

 

by Mercy Me, uploaded by OkiOdOkie

 

 

 

Time for Change

One of the most important things i've learned in the last 3 years during a difficult journey in my life is that God did not create us to go through life alone. We were created to:

bear each others burdens:
• Galatians 6:2  Bear one anothers burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

look out for one another:
• Philippians 2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

help those in need:
• 1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

treat others like we would like to be treated:
• Matthew 25:35-40 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

bind together in the strength of Christ:
• Ecclesiastes 4:12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

i have never been a witness to a more beautiful thing than experiencing the love of Christ through others. God has called me to share that here and make this a place where we gather to learn truth, hold hands in our journey, share what we've learned in our experiences and to pray for each other.

i find that it's all about investing in other people. Letting go of our own personal interests and agendas and to love one another unconditionally. Perhaps that is one of the most difficult things to do and it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that we may struggle with this our entire life. But, we can strive for it and help each through it. This space is a product of what God has put on my heart to invest in other people.

With that comes changes in this space. You've seen new photos, new links and a new design, all of which are being tweaked. But the most important change is the new people you will meet. God has laid upon my heart two amazing women (so far), along with me, who will be sharing their life journey with you. We are all at different points in our walk with Christ and different ages, but we all share compassion, love for people, and most importantly love for Jesus and what He has done in our lives. They are truly amazing and i can honestly say that as i've gotten to spend time (virtually) with them over the last several weeks planning sweet things for this space, i've come to really love and adore them. They both inspire me and lift me up and i know they will do the same for you.

i would like to take some time to introduce myself (for new readers), and the new contributors. Please join me in welcoming them here. i have asked each of them to write a little introduction so that you can get to know them a bit better.

Cynthia Wilkerson
I was born once in 1951, and was born again at about age 9.  By 23, I was married to a Vietnam vet, and had all 3 babies I had always dreamed of, 2 boys and girl. I have been an artist and lover of flowers since birth. I marvel daily at the creations of God. When I play, I go birding, take pictures, and trek for  the tombstones of my ancestors. Then I write about it all. My story and prayer blog is A Garden Called Gethsemane.
 
My life's work has always revolved around 2 things:
• What I can make out of anything God provides;  &
• How I can best share the greatness of Who God is.
When I owned a small shop in Georgia years ago, I saw God use both things to His glory.  I long once again to meld the two, to make art and use it to bless someone's heart. I was fed the word in my teens by a church where they sought truth, and God's heart. Starting there and in church homes since, I taught children those truths, and developed materials that helped me better convey them. I am most thankful to have been used as a counselor and to have seen the spark of rebirth in the eyes of many children.
 
I continue to be married to my high school sweetheart from Georgia. I am alive when I spend time with my children. I have two wonderful grandsons who've captured my heart. I am abrasive and colorful, creative and long winded. And I love that Jesus was too. I passionately look forward to the new thing God is doing in my life. I am thrilled that there is an opportunity for like-minded people to support one another, and lift up the name we adore: Our Jesus. I believe that Christ is where two or more are gathered in His name and those are the best times spent among friends.

Lori Cole
I am a wife and mother of two children, ages 12 and 14.  I have been a teacher for 13 years, teaching preschool, middle school, and high school.  My hobbies are walking, aerobics, gardening, reading and writing. I frequently write about my life story at "Dancing in the Rain" at loricole.blogspot.com.

I became a Christian ten years ago and love to study God's Word. My heart is for freedom in Christ. What I am most passionate about is ministering to women.  I believe in being transparent in my walk with the Lord in hopes that I can minister to someone else through my life and experiences. I'm excited to sharing my walk with Christ here because we can learn so much from one another.  God never wastes our situations or troubles, but instead He wraps them up in a package that we can share with others for encouragement. "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.  It's about learning to dance in the rain."

Christy Eggert
Many of you know me as the originator of this blog, but for those of you who don't know me, i would like to introduce myself.

Shortly after my husband, Luke, and i got married in September 2008, God laid it on my heart to start a blog. Inside i was kicking and screaming about this because i didn't think i had anything worth saying—at least, not to the point of people being interested. But, i reluctantly followed His desire, blogging about everything in my life—from moving to a healthy lifestyle change, my artsy background, to my love of God.

But, after six months of being married and into this blog, my world was turned upside down when Luke became terribly ill due to a pharmaceutical to help control seizures. He lost his job, company car, we had just signed the papers to a brand-new house, and the economy was going down the drain. All of a sudden my blog became a place where i shared my greatest struggles, fears, sorrows, and joy. And i now see God's timing and perfect will for this blog. He intended this space to be one where i rode the roller coaster of life while holding on tightly to Him. i could glorify Him with the joy i've found through my greatest tragedy. Most importantly, though, i've been able to show how i've followed His will for my life, regardless of what the majority thinks of the path i've taken. We've taken a Godly, natural path to healing, utilizing the things that God has put on this earth and trusting that God will heal Luke in His perfect time.

You see, life is not perfect. We will all experience tragedy and heartache, probably multiple times in our life. But the reason happiness can still be found is because of the cross. There is no greater pain, heartache, or bloodshed than what happened on the cross. That day that Jesus surrendered to God's will, He took all our pain, all our sin, burdens, etc., and nailed them to the cross.

Maybe this was the hardest thing for me to realize ... that i didn't have to carry all the burdens of life's struggles and pain. Jesus already did. And, now that my heart knows this, i can freely move forward, persevering, believing and trusting in a God who loves me. That my friend, is true happiness. And in the midst of pain, this happiness outshines the most terrible things we could ever go through. It gives life, when it otherwise seems meaningless.

_____________

So, my prayer and hope is that this space will be a place where you can find rest, joy, hope, and great love every day. A place where we can share each others burdens and joy all while soaking up Truth and being inspired to live out our best life.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31