"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." 2 Cor. 2:14
A couple of weeks ago I experienced David and Goliath in 2009. It is a battle I had seen previously waged against my daughter. Her Goliath, drug addiction, had made its way to the landscape again taunting her, luring her, and daring her to approach.
She carried around her small waist a sling with the stone buried deep. She reached in her sling at first and brought out a white flag, a move towards surrender instead of battle engagement. She approached her giant half armed, half committed but no less God-armed somewhere deep in her psyche.
God saw her approaching the giant and allowed her to get very close, feeling the breath of the beast and reminding her of the destruction and loss of self. She got close enough to feel the shadow of the giant and the chill of his reflection but God would not allow her to cross. He reached His powerful hand deep in her little sling and pulled out that smooth perfect stone the day before Christmas and hurled it into the forehead of her giant and sent him crashing to the ground.
She still looks upon her slain giant wondering when his first approach happened, why she didn’t recognize him and how she could once again be deceived. She has much to determine, to ponder upon and to realize but one thing she knows for sure…on that day with a sling, a stone and a small child her God was mighty to save!
As you are taunted by your Goliath, stay strong in the LORD and know that you will follow Christ in triumphal procession.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
He Remembered....
“Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant…The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.” Exodus 12:36
I know that the Old Testament can be very intimidating to read and somewhat confusing but I have taken some of my greatest lessons from Exodus and the process of the Israelites being delivered from their slavery and captivity. It is not difficult to place yourself in the sandals of these slaves of Egypt. We are all prisoners of something that controls our lives with a destiny to be freed through Christ.
The first verse states that God remembered…not to say He had ever forgotten them but rather the perfect time of the covenant fulfilled was upon them. Whenever the Bible states that God ‘remembered’ there is always a move on the part of God to act on the behalf of the person for whom God is delivering. God not only delivered the Israelites from their slavery but He arranged a set of circumstances and attitudes among the Egyptians for them to allow the Israelites to plunder their riches. The Israelites owned nothing but were delivered with the best of riches possessed by the Egyptians.
God does the same for us as we are being delivered from our captors. Our riches may not be tangible items for which we can hold but they will be items of polished beauty such as compassion, humility, God-focus and a stronger faith. There will be plunder that we attain through the remembrance of God and the action He takes on our behalf. We will not be delivered from slavery to victory without the riches of God no matter what the length of stay in our slavery. Only through the remembrance of God and the timing of His deliverance are we able to live beyond our human responses in our wilderness and reside in the divine grace of His riches.
There will always be plunder to attain from our escape from slavery. Don’t just retake already surrendered ground – allow Him to expand your territory and enjoy the plunder.
I know that the Old Testament can be very intimidating to read and somewhat confusing but I have taken some of my greatest lessons from Exodus and the process of the Israelites being delivered from their slavery and captivity. It is not difficult to place yourself in the sandals of these slaves of Egypt. We are all prisoners of something that controls our lives with a destiny to be freed through Christ.
The first verse states that God remembered…not to say He had ever forgotten them but rather the perfect time of the covenant fulfilled was upon them. Whenever the Bible states that God ‘remembered’ there is always a move on the part of God to act on the behalf of the person for whom God is delivering. God not only delivered the Israelites from their slavery but He arranged a set of circumstances and attitudes among the Egyptians for them to allow the Israelites to plunder their riches. The Israelites owned nothing but were delivered with the best of riches possessed by the Egyptians.
God does the same for us as we are being delivered from our captors. Our riches may not be tangible items for which we can hold but they will be items of polished beauty such as compassion, humility, God-focus and a stronger faith. There will be plunder that we attain through the remembrance of God and the action He takes on our behalf. We will not be delivered from slavery to victory without the riches of God no matter what the length of stay in our slavery. Only through the remembrance of God and the timing of His deliverance are we able to live beyond our human responses in our wilderness and reside in the divine grace of His riches.
There will always be plunder to attain from our escape from slavery. Don’t just retake already surrendered ground – allow Him to expand your territory and enjoy the plunder.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Fact or Fiction?
“Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, ‘It is true.’” Isaiah 43:9
When my sisters and I were young growing up in Lancaster there were many times two of us would tease or mislead the other two. We would spin stories and situations that on the surface seemed unbelievable but our younger sisters seemed to want to believe. On many occasions they would yell that battle cry that we always tried to redirect or avoid, “Prove it!” This was when the fantastic stories in which we were weaving unraveled and the truth was exposed as false.
As we walk on our Christian journeys our actions will weave a story for others opposed to the story our mouths may tell. While walking on our paths of calm we spin our beliefs with the beautiful threads of our faith. But what will our actions show when the harshness of adversity hits? Many will witness our walk to see if we can prove that our faith can stand up against the storms or if it is nothing more than a game, a roust and empty stories of fiction.
If we are to display the splendor of Christ our walk must be able to bear credibility and authenticity like the manner in which Christ walked on earth. He provided the proof needed to authenticate faith over fear, love over ego and sacrifice over self.
When spinning our stories of faith are we weaving fact or fiction?
When my sisters and I were young growing up in Lancaster there were many times two of us would tease or mislead the other two. We would spin stories and situations that on the surface seemed unbelievable but our younger sisters seemed to want to believe. On many occasions they would yell that battle cry that we always tried to redirect or avoid, “Prove it!” This was when the fantastic stories in which we were weaving unraveled and the truth was exposed as false.
As we walk on our Christian journeys our actions will weave a story for others opposed to the story our mouths may tell. While walking on our paths of calm we spin our beliefs with the beautiful threads of our faith. But what will our actions show when the harshness of adversity hits? Many will witness our walk to see if we can prove that our faith can stand up against the storms or if it is nothing more than a game, a roust and empty stories of fiction.
If we are to display the splendor of Christ our walk must be able to bear credibility and authenticity like the manner in which Christ walked on earth. He provided the proof needed to authenticate faith over fear, love over ego and sacrifice over self.
When spinning our stories of faith are we weaving fact or fiction?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Bring It On!
“Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it. And at that time I told you everything you were to do.” Dt. 1:17-18
I have never read this verse before or if I have it didn’t carry the same weight in my heart as it did this morning. Another example of His daily bread being served to us fresh! It is so easy to judge people, to measure ourselves against others and to determine other’s responsibility in our circumstances.
I sometimes exhaust myself from trying to play judge and jury in dealing with my unmet expectation of others. Somehow I tend to lose myself in the middle between the altar and the door as the song from Casting Crowns states. I rise from the altar of humility, repentance and a fresh word from God only to lose it in my mind before my feet hit the pavement. Why does the mind of man have to be so deceitful? This verse tenderly states that in our judgment there will be instances that are too hard for us to reconcile and that God expects us to bring them to Him. He has all of the evidence and will hear our case. He will guide us into truth, action and resolve if we trust in His justice and faithfulness.
We are to maintain an open mind, a kind heart and a forgiving spirit towards others instead of being closed minded and unforgiving which threatens a spirit separated from God.
Through this verse I joyfully take comfort as I hear God saying, ‘Bring it on!’
I have never read this verse before or if I have it didn’t carry the same weight in my heart as it did this morning. Another example of His daily bread being served to us fresh! It is so easy to judge people, to measure ourselves against others and to determine other’s responsibility in our circumstances.
I sometimes exhaust myself from trying to play judge and jury in dealing with my unmet expectation of others. Somehow I tend to lose myself in the middle between the altar and the door as the song from Casting Crowns states. I rise from the altar of humility, repentance and a fresh word from God only to lose it in my mind before my feet hit the pavement. Why does the mind of man have to be so deceitful? This verse tenderly states that in our judgment there will be instances that are too hard for us to reconcile and that God expects us to bring them to Him. He has all of the evidence and will hear our case. He will guide us into truth, action and resolve if we trust in His justice and faithfulness.
We are to maintain an open mind, a kind heart and a forgiving spirit towards others instead of being closed minded and unforgiving which threatens a spirit separated from God.
Through this verse I joyfully take comfort as I hear God saying, ‘Bring it on!’
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Beetles!
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33
As many of you know, I love my roses. There is nothing like spying a large bud perfectly formed and anticipating the grand splendor of its opening. Each day I witness the tiny awakenings of that rose with great anticipation of its presentation. Sometimes my anticipation is dashed by the appearance of a small hole in the base of the rose – Japanese beetles! I hate those pesky destroyers of beauty! They steal the beauty of the rose’s full capacity and shorten the life of the yield.
God plants each of us so He may have a means to display His yield, His workings and His beauty. Our yield is recognized by the manner in which we grow ourselves up. Many of us do not protect our growth by covering ourselves in prayer and meditating in His Word. We bare ourselves to the elements of the brutal seasons without protecting our fruit.
We are like the beautiful rose whose growth is never fully realized because of bitterness that we allow to invade the very base of our growth. God has given us everything required to reach our destinies in Him and become recognizable as His children, His planting to display His splendor.
We must align ourselves with Him to protect our yield so it will always reflect the beauty intended by our Gardener.
As many of you know, I love my roses. There is nothing like spying a large bud perfectly formed and anticipating the grand splendor of its opening. Each day I witness the tiny awakenings of that rose with great anticipation of its presentation. Sometimes my anticipation is dashed by the appearance of a small hole in the base of the rose – Japanese beetles! I hate those pesky destroyers of beauty! They steal the beauty of the rose’s full capacity and shorten the life of the yield.
God plants each of us so He may have a means to display His yield, His workings and His beauty. Our yield is recognized by the manner in which we grow ourselves up. Many of us do not protect our growth by covering ourselves in prayer and meditating in His Word. We bare ourselves to the elements of the brutal seasons without protecting our fruit.
We are like the beautiful rose whose growth is never fully realized because of bitterness that we allow to invade the very base of our growth. God has given us everything required to reach our destinies in Him and become recognizable as His children, His planting to display His splendor.
We must align ourselves with Him to protect our yield so it will always reflect the beauty intended by our Gardener.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The Inmost Place...
“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place…Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51: 6, 10.
I am sure that God would like a day off from creating. Just in my own life alone, I am constantly requiring the creation of a pure heart. Seems like my thoughts allow impurities to seep in and compromise God’s truth that He places in my inner parts. Some of my thoughts are habitual thoughts of being a victim and some of my thoughts are deceitful lies from the enemy that he is so successful in controlling me.
God’s goal for every one of His children is truth and wisdom in the inmost place. The word inmost means deepest, private, secret and intimate. God has access to each of these places and with our repentance and permission He will teach, create, renew and sustain.
Our thoughts primarily appear in the flesh and through choice we replace them in the spirit. We must recognize that the flesh thoughts will always be lies the enemy provides. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom 8:6. We must tear down the arguments in our minds that contradict God’s knowledge and truth. Once these arguments or justifications are imploded, replacing them with new truths is the essential key in a steadfast spirit that will hold up to the lies the next go around.
“Either our thoughts have control of us through the power of the enemy or we have control of them through the power of God.” Beth Moore. There is no middle ground and no compromise.
Every thought must be categorized as truth or lie according to the Word. There isn’t great difficulty in discerning which is which, just difficulty in possessing the self-discipline of the process. Some lies have kept us nourished for so long they have become somewhat of a comfort food for us.
I say, “Starve the flesh and feed the spirit!” as I once read and our Creator will not have such a big job ahead of Him!
I am sure that God would like a day off from creating. Just in my own life alone, I am constantly requiring the creation of a pure heart. Seems like my thoughts allow impurities to seep in and compromise God’s truth that He places in my inner parts. Some of my thoughts are habitual thoughts of being a victim and some of my thoughts are deceitful lies from the enemy that he is so successful in controlling me.
God’s goal for every one of His children is truth and wisdom in the inmost place. The word inmost means deepest, private, secret and intimate. God has access to each of these places and with our repentance and permission He will teach, create, renew and sustain.
Our thoughts primarily appear in the flesh and through choice we replace them in the spirit. We must recognize that the flesh thoughts will always be lies the enemy provides. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom 8:6. We must tear down the arguments in our minds that contradict God’s knowledge and truth. Once these arguments or justifications are imploded, replacing them with new truths is the essential key in a steadfast spirit that will hold up to the lies the next go around.
“Either our thoughts have control of us through the power of the enemy or we have control of them through the power of God.” Beth Moore. There is no middle ground and no compromise.
Every thought must be categorized as truth or lie according to the Word. There isn’t great difficulty in discerning which is which, just difficulty in possessing the self-discipline of the process. Some lies have kept us nourished for so long they have become somewhat of a comfort food for us.
I say, “Starve the flesh and feed the spirit!” as I once read and our Creator will not have such a big job ahead of Him!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Belonging to God...
“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding on to truth, for there is no truth in him…He who belongs to God hears what God says.” John 8:44, 47
I wish to begin this morning with heart felt humility and thankfulness of all of the prayers you have lifted on behalf of my family. It is been a challenging few weeks but one laced with freedom and truth.
In the past when drugs were a part of my daughter’s life Satan would continuously bombard me with his lies. “I was worthless… I was not a good mother… She didn’t deserve my love… This would end in death…. I should walk away…. I had done many things wrong… My other children will follow her…” The lies went on and on and I was truly held captive in my own prison.
It wasn’t until I pursued an intimate relationship with God that He tore down the wallpaper of lies in my mind and heart. He showed me who I was according to my Creator not some fabrication of who the enemy tried to convince me. 1 Peter 2:9 tells me that I am a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, and that I may declare the praises of him who calls me out of darkness into His wonderful light! These are my truths and they held up over the past few weeks. The enemy definitely came to wallpaper my mind again but this time God and I had another plan, a plan that matches His truth of who I am and not who the enemy says.
No matter what you circumstances are do not buy the lies! Take a few moments and write down the lies that wallpaper your mind and stack them next to Scripture. You will see that with each lie God has given us the final Word in truth.
Today marks Truth wrapped in flesh, being enough for all of us no matter what are we are experiencing and facing. We are a people belonging to God, holy, chosen, royal and saved!
What greater gift can we ever be afforded than Truth wrapped in love! Merry Christmas and love to you all!
I wish to begin this morning with heart felt humility and thankfulness of all of the prayers you have lifted on behalf of my family. It is been a challenging few weeks but one laced with freedom and truth.
In the past when drugs were a part of my daughter’s life Satan would continuously bombard me with his lies. “I was worthless… I was not a good mother… She didn’t deserve my love… This would end in death…. I should walk away…. I had done many things wrong… My other children will follow her…” The lies went on and on and I was truly held captive in my own prison.
It wasn’t until I pursued an intimate relationship with God that He tore down the wallpaper of lies in my mind and heart. He showed me who I was according to my Creator not some fabrication of who the enemy tried to convince me. 1 Peter 2:9 tells me that I am a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, and that I may declare the praises of him who calls me out of darkness into His wonderful light! These are my truths and they held up over the past few weeks. The enemy definitely came to wallpaper my mind again but this time God and I had another plan, a plan that matches His truth of who I am and not who the enemy says.
No matter what you circumstances are do not buy the lies! Take a few moments and write down the lies that wallpaper your mind and stack them next to Scripture. You will see that with each lie God has given us the final Word in truth.
Today marks Truth wrapped in flesh, being enough for all of us no matter what are we are experiencing and facing. We are a people belonging to God, holy, chosen, royal and saved!
What greater gift can we ever be afforded than Truth wrapped in love! Merry Christmas and love to you all!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
High Places
“Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.” Numbers 33:52
Throughout the Old Testament, God set up kings to rule over the Israelites. With each assignment God had one recurrent command – tear down and destroy all high places. High places were places of the worship of other gods literally up on high hills. They stood as representation of altars extending to the heavens. Many of kings served God but stopped short of this command. In every instance their reign was negatively impacted and their rule was cut short.
We do the very same thing in our approach to God. We build altars in our minds and hearts that we exalt above the focus of God. We elevate our thinking and consume our thoughts with fear, unforgiveness or bitterness. Even worse, we follow through on actions in an attempt to allow something to satisfy our needs in place of Jesus.
Each of us have in our lives these temptations of leaving that carved image on the high hill just in case we need to resort to our fall back plan. We must remove anything that blocks the intimate flow between our heart and the heart of our God.
He has given us everything we need to survive our situations and He is faithful in everything He does. In settling my mind over the past week God has given me many sweet verses but the one that keeps infiltrating my mind is Psalm 143:5. “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” I gave this to my daughter yesterday as she has revisited her high places and carved images. But, she too can use these truths of faithfulness to replace and tear down her places.
Once we destroy these areas of our lives and replace them with truths from the Father we will settle in to the land He has given to us and claim our territorial rights.
Throughout the Old Testament, God set up kings to rule over the Israelites. With each assignment God had one recurrent command – tear down and destroy all high places. High places were places of the worship of other gods literally up on high hills. They stood as representation of altars extending to the heavens. Many of kings served God but stopped short of this command. In every instance their reign was negatively impacted and their rule was cut short.
We do the very same thing in our approach to God. We build altars in our minds and hearts that we exalt above the focus of God. We elevate our thinking and consume our thoughts with fear, unforgiveness or bitterness. Even worse, we follow through on actions in an attempt to allow something to satisfy our needs in place of Jesus.
Each of us have in our lives these temptations of leaving that carved image on the high hill just in case we need to resort to our fall back plan. We must remove anything that blocks the intimate flow between our heart and the heart of our God.
He has given us everything we need to survive our situations and He is faithful in everything He does. In settling my mind over the past week God has given me many sweet verses but the one that keeps infiltrating my mind is Psalm 143:5. “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” I gave this to my daughter yesterday as she has revisited her high places and carved images. But, she too can use these truths of faithfulness to replace and tear down her places.
Once we destroy these areas of our lives and replace them with truths from the Father we will settle in to the land He has given to us and claim our territorial rights.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saddle Up!
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope…You, my brothers, were called to be free.” Galatians 5:1, 5, 13
Boy, do I need these verses this morning! Through the toil and strife of the night I managed to pick up my burdens of the past and allow them to take me to places of uncertainty and slavery. I know that some of you have heard that my daughter has relapsed in her slavery of drugs. It has been three weeks of devastation and dashed security landing me right back on old battlegrounds. I have to remind myself that Christ broke both my daughter’s yoke and my own yoke of fear and despair previously almost 6 years ago.
Satan has resurrected a powerful stronghold in the life of our family. He holds no power over the eternal for us so he must use the here and now to try to manipulate our circumstances and lessen our ministries. Satan attacks where success has been had before so the importance of me maintaining my freedom in Christ in this situation is paramount.
Upon leaving my daughter’s house yesterday pleading with her to go into detox, I received a phone call from a friend whom I haven’t talked with in about a year. Her husband had just relapsed on cocaine and will not leave the home. She has dealt with this off and on for over 18 years. As soon as she told me her situation I couldn’t help but to feel the presence of God in a mighty way. Oddly enough, her phone call resonated in my spirit that God is in complete control. He placed us together through similar circumstances in an effort to recognize that in our chaos there is perfect order.
Through the night I had to “take every thought captive and set itself up against the knowledge of God.” (2 Cor. 10:5) The Greek translation for set itself up is “to hoist up as a sail…to lift up the eyes.” Spiritual sails determine the direction for which we will guide our focus and power our minds. In order to stay free in adversities that enslave we must continue to focus and hope on the righteousness of Christ which will be present in all of our circumstances.
We must stand firm in our faith to receive the medal of freedom apart from our circumstances. As the song states, “Saddle up your horses, we have a trail to blaze!”
Please pray for our family and the victory will be ours!
Boy, do I need these verses this morning! Through the toil and strife of the night I managed to pick up my burdens of the past and allow them to take me to places of uncertainty and slavery. I know that some of you have heard that my daughter has relapsed in her slavery of drugs. It has been three weeks of devastation and dashed security landing me right back on old battlegrounds. I have to remind myself that Christ broke both my daughter’s yoke and my own yoke of fear and despair previously almost 6 years ago.
Satan has resurrected a powerful stronghold in the life of our family. He holds no power over the eternal for us so he must use the here and now to try to manipulate our circumstances and lessen our ministries. Satan attacks where success has been had before so the importance of me maintaining my freedom in Christ in this situation is paramount.
Upon leaving my daughter’s house yesterday pleading with her to go into detox, I received a phone call from a friend whom I haven’t talked with in about a year. Her husband had just relapsed on cocaine and will not leave the home. She has dealt with this off and on for over 18 years. As soon as she told me her situation I couldn’t help but to feel the presence of God in a mighty way. Oddly enough, her phone call resonated in my spirit that God is in complete control. He placed us together through similar circumstances in an effort to recognize that in our chaos there is perfect order.
Through the night I had to “take every thought captive and set itself up against the knowledge of God.” (2 Cor. 10:5) The Greek translation for set itself up is “to hoist up as a sail…to lift up the eyes.” Spiritual sails determine the direction for which we will guide our focus and power our minds. In order to stay free in adversities that enslave we must continue to focus and hope on the righteousness of Christ which will be present in all of our circumstances.
We must stand firm in our faith to receive the medal of freedom apart from our circumstances. As the song states, “Saddle up your horses, we have a trail to blaze!”
Please pray for our family and the victory will be ours!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Framing Life
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3
One process that I really enjoy is the process of framing a picture for which I have connected. I spend time looking deeply into the picture in an effort to draw attention to certain beauties within its landscape. The mats must be carefully chosen to bring out certain subtleties and the selected frame with the purpose of encompassing the beauty as a whole.
Our first verse talks about having a steadfast mind. The Hebrew translation for mind is “frame.” I cannot think of a better image for our mind as it relates to the level of peace in which we will experience. As we approach situations and circumstances we frame their contents with our thoughts, our ideas and our emotions. We build this “supporting structure” around everything based on how we think. Once we have framed the events of our lives, we hang them in the hallway of our hearts displaying the manner in which we have approached them.
The importance of framing these events through the mind and heart of God is paramount in obtaining peace in all situations. If every event is framed with the steadfast truth of God’s word we will align ourselves to obtain a constant peace and unwavering belief in resolution and deliverance. A steadfast mind is a “firm and unwavering belief in purpose, loyalty and resolve.” God promises all of this and more but we can only have this possession by following His word in framing our situation.
A former battle has arisen in my family again and my old emotions, fears and scars have been resurrected, but God has lay upon my heart and mind different framework this time around. My new framework has a Psalm 143 luster which will hang in the hallway of my heart through this battle.
“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails…Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go…lead me on level ground…bring me out of trouble.” Psalm 143:5-11
Framing your adversities with past graces and future faith will always create a picture of beauty!
One process that I really enjoy is the process of framing a picture for which I have connected. I spend time looking deeply into the picture in an effort to draw attention to certain beauties within its landscape. The mats must be carefully chosen to bring out certain subtleties and the selected frame with the purpose of encompassing the beauty as a whole.
Our first verse talks about having a steadfast mind. The Hebrew translation for mind is “frame.” I cannot think of a better image for our mind as it relates to the level of peace in which we will experience. As we approach situations and circumstances we frame their contents with our thoughts, our ideas and our emotions. We build this “supporting structure” around everything based on how we think. Once we have framed the events of our lives, we hang them in the hallway of our hearts displaying the manner in which we have approached them.
The importance of framing these events through the mind and heart of God is paramount in obtaining peace in all situations. If every event is framed with the steadfast truth of God’s word we will align ourselves to obtain a constant peace and unwavering belief in resolution and deliverance. A steadfast mind is a “firm and unwavering belief in purpose, loyalty and resolve.” God promises all of this and more but we can only have this possession by following His word in framing our situation.
A former battle has arisen in my family again and my old emotions, fears and scars have been resurrected, but God has lay upon my heart and mind different framework this time around. My new framework has a Psalm 143 luster which will hang in the hallway of my heart through this battle.
“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails…Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go…lead me on level ground…bring me out of trouble.” Psalm 143:5-11
Framing your adversities with past graces and future faith will always create a picture of beauty!
Monday, December 21, 2009
With Scarred Hearts
“For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God…But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.” 1 Peter 2:19-21.
The scene is a place called Golgotha (The Place of the Skull) and the event is the crucifixion of Christ. He hangs on the cross between two criminals as He is ridiculed, mocked and beaten. He suffers not for anything He has done but for what we would do. He is at the height of suffering yet He reaches out to one of the criminals to minister, to serve and to save.
Over the past year I have been the recipient of this “serving in suffering” attitude of Christ. Many people have reached out from their own crucibles to soothe, to comfort and help heal. I have had mothers who reached out in their own pain of losing children. I have had daughters of deceased parents who extended their loving hand of comfort. I have had sisters who had to bid farewell to a sibling in their community of childhood playmates who served as spiritual sisters in my time of grief. God even used the pain and suffering of my 19 year old daughter as she reached out to me to bind up my broken heart three weeks after her boyfriend had been killed. These are the indwellings of Christ as one Body, one Member and one Church. These are the sufferings in which we share that the Bible speaks of consistently.
With Christ in us and in those surrounding us, we don’t just ache in suffering but we do as Christ did and extend that scarred hand and heart to other suffering hearts who accompany us in our pain. We not only endure but we conquer our graves and our hearts are resurrected through our fellowship in suffering.
Some seasons you will be asked to extend your scarred heart and some seasons you will receive and endure. We must embrace all seasons as “God works all things together for the good of those who loves Him.” These words are not empty words but promises fulfilled.
The scene is a place called Golgotha (The Place of the Skull) and the event is the crucifixion of Christ. He hangs on the cross between two criminals as He is ridiculed, mocked and beaten. He suffers not for anything He has done but for what we would do. He is at the height of suffering yet He reaches out to one of the criminals to minister, to serve and to save.
Over the past year I have been the recipient of this “serving in suffering” attitude of Christ. Many people have reached out from their own crucibles to soothe, to comfort and help heal. I have had mothers who reached out in their own pain of losing children. I have had daughters of deceased parents who extended their loving hand of comfort. I have had sisters who had to bid farewell to a sibling in their community of childhood playmates who served as spiritual sisters in my time of grief. God even used the pain and suffering of my 19 year old daughter as she reached out to me to bind up my broken heart three weeks after her boyfriend had been killed. These are the indwellings of Christ as one Body, one Member and one Church. These are the sufferings in which we share that the Bible speaks of consistently.
With Christ in us and in those surrounding us, we don’t just ache in suffering but we do as Christ did and extend that scarred hand and heart to other suffering hearts who accompany us in our pain. We not only endure but we conquer our graves and our hearts are resurrected through our fellowship in suffering.
Some seasons you will be asked to extend your scarred heart and some seasons you will receive and endure. We must embrace all seasons as “God works all things together for the good of those who loves Him.” These words are not empty words but promises fulfilled.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
With Certainty...
“For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
I have never lived one day of my life without this truth being in my mind. Like many, it was one of the first Bible verses I memorized and it flows off my lips with fluidity and belief. The word belief means “the acceptance by the mind that something is true and real, often underpinned by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty.”
This definition is right on with my absolute belief in the sacrificial love of God as He surrendered His own Son for you and for me – no exclusions. So with this absolute belief which affords us everything in the eternal, I pose the question, “Why don’t we believe Him with a sense of certainty regarding the earthly?”
We believe in the grand principles of Christianity but we suffer from unbelief in the lesser things of this world. Do we believe when we lose a loved one? Do we believe when jobs are lost and children become wayward? Do we believe when that devastating phone call is received?
If we truly believe that all things come from God who works everything to our good then our walk should be one of peace, resolve and freedom. Our belief seems to be conditional at best based on what are circumstances bring. The definition of belief does not state that it is based on the heart which is powered by emotions. It states that belief is the acceptance by our minds apart from our emotions. Since God gave us His only Son then it makes no sense that He would withhold anything else from us that heals, holds and carries us through all of our circumstances.
Belief is not the acceptance that everything is going to be easy or painless but the acceptance that everything is going to be alright.
I have never lived one day of my life without this truth being in my mind. Like many, it was one of the first Bible verses I memorized and it flows off my lips with fluidity and belief. The word belief means “the acceptance by the mind that something is true and real, often underpinned by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty.”
This definition is right on with my absolute belief in the sacrificial love of God as He surrendered His own Son for you and for me – no exclusions. So with this absolute belief which affords us everything in the eternal, I pose the question, “Why don’t we believe Him with a sense of certainty regarding the earthly?”
We believe in the grand principles of Christianity but we suffer from unbelief in the lesser things of this world. Do we believe when we lose a loved one? Do we believe when jobs are lost and children become wayward? Do we believe when that devastating phone call is received?
If we truly believe that all things come from God who works everything to our good then our walk should be one of peace, resolve and freedom. Our belief seems to be conditional at best based on what are circumstances bring. The definition of belief does not state that it is based on the heart which is powered by emotions. It states that belief is the acceptance by our minds apart from our emotions. Since God gave us His only Son then it makes no sense that He would withhold anything else from us that heals, holds and carries us through all of our circumstances.
Belief is not the acceptance that everything is going to be easy or painless but the acceptance that everything is going to be alright.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Let Freedom Ring!
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Cor. 3:17.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this short little verse. It is my battle cry when things get me upset and when my focus is taken away from the security of my God.
A person’s walk on this earth will have scatterings of unmet expectations, unresolved situations and extended seasons of suffering. Our journeys are determined but the challenge is how we respond to these scatterings of events. Do we approach them knowing that through the Holy Spirit that indwells we have freedom from despair and freedom from defeat? Do we move in and through our circumstances shackled and imprisoned only to carry the heavy burdens of our hearts? Or do we put aside our anguish and allow the flow of the Holy Spirit to navigate, guide and pilot our walk?
By learning how to loosen or release the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our lives we hand over the authority and the responsibility for the outcome to someone much greater than ourselves. Without this relinquished control we approach our situation in bondage dragging the weight of our burdens along the road wearing us down, depleting our strength, and saturating our spirit with doubt and despair.
We were not meant to live life enslaved, burdened and oppressed but were rather created to be free in Christ, through Christ and because of Christ. Only the places we allow the Spirit permission to move in and through will we experience freedom.
If I worry financially, I have withheld the Holy Spirit access to that place in my life. If I worry about my daughter’s sobriety I have placed that room off limits and denied Him residency. Any area of my life that holds worry and anguish carries the truth that I have not extended an invitation to Christ. I have hung a Do Not Enter sign on that door so I will never experience freedom in that area of my life.
Christ did not die for us to stay chained and shackled but rather for us to experience the freedom we have in Him….LET FREEDOM RING!
I cannot stress enough the importance of this short little verse. It is my battle cry when things get me upset and when my focus is taken away from the security of my God.
A person’s walk on this earth will have scatterings of unmet expectations, unresolved situations and extended seasons of suffering. Our journeys are determined but the challenge is how we respond to these scatterings of events. Do we approach them knowing that through the Holy Spirit that indwells we have freedom from despair and freedom from defeat? Do we move in and through our circumstances shackled and imprisoned only to carry the heavy burdens of our hearts? Or do we put aside our anguish and allow the flow of the Holy Spirit to navigate, guide and pilot our walk?
By learning how to loosen or release the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our lives we hand over the authority and the responsibility for the outcome to someone much greater than ourselves. Without this relinquished control we approach our situation in bondage dragging the weight of our burdens along the road wearing us down, depleting our strength, and saturating our spirit with doubt and despair.
We were not meant to live life enslaved, burdened and oppressed but were rather created to be free in Christ, through Christ and because of Christ. Only the places we allow the Spirit permission to move in and through will we experience freedom.
If I worry financially, I have withheld the Holy Spirit access to that place in my life. If I worry about my daughter’s sobriety I have placed that room off limits and denied Him residency. Any area of my life that holds worry and anguish carries the truth that I have not extended an invitation to Christ. I have hung a Do Not Enter sign on that door so I will never experience freedom in that area of my life.
Christ did not die for us to stay chained and shackled but rather for us to experience the freedom we have in Him….LET FREEDOM RING!
Friday, December 18, 2009
You Complete Me
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4
There are few movie scenes that are as familiar as when Tom Cruise stands before Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire and proclaims that she completes him. It is the final ingredient missing in someone’s life that keeps us from true happiness. We all search for this completeness when in fact we already have everything we need to experience complete satisfaction for this life.
This passage is chopped full of information regarding our level of satisfaction in both life and God. In a world that offers its own definition of satisfaction we reach out for the lure every time always searching for that something or someone who will complete us. God tells us through this verse that whatever we face will be met head on triumphantly through His divine power. The way we access this precious power is through getting to know Him and becoming more mindful of His character, His love and His ways.
He will never force His power upon us but will wait until we pursue Him for a better understanding of who He is in our life. The scripture states that we may participate through choice and that only through this participation will we be able to escape the many evils of the world.
God desires to complete us with the same passion we desire to be completed. With both pursuing the same goal why is it so difficult for us to live our lives with a complete sense of satisfaction? Why do we constantly search for that missing piece of the puzzle? God is that missing piece and we will live a complete and victorious life when we decide to seek Him, know Him and trust Him for every “great and precious promise” He has held in reserve for us.
There are few movie scenes that are as familiar as when Tom Cruise stands before Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire and proclaims that she completes him. It is the final ingredient missing in someone’s life that keeps us from true happiness. We all search for this completeness when in fact we already have everything we need to experience complete satisfaction for this life.
This passage is chopped full of information regarding our level of satisfaction in both life and God. In a world that offers its own definition of satisfaction we reach out for the lure every time always searching for that something or someone who will complete us. God tells us through this verse that whatever we face will be met head on triumphantly through His divine power. The way we access this precious power is through getting to know Him and becoming more mindful of His character, His love and His ways.
He will never force His power upon us but will wait until we pursue Him for a better understanding of who He is in our life. The scripture states that we may participate through choice and that only through this participation will we be able to escape the many evils of the world.
God desires to complete us with the same passion we desire to be completed. With both pursuing the same goal why is it so difficult for us to live our lives with a complete sense of satisfaction? Why do we constantly search for that missing piece of the puzzle? God is that missing piece and we will live a complete and victorious life when we decide to seek Him, know Him and trust Him for every “great and precious promise” He has held in reserve for us.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Calling Out for Clemency
“Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled and there was no one to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble and he saved them from their distress.” Psalm 107: 10-14.
Let’s face it – we all have sin in our lives. Even the mere mention of the word brings some aspect of our life to most of our minds. Even if we are not presently walking in sin we have all experienced the consequences due to our sinful choices in the past. We look at this passage with detachment since we know that we would never fall into the category of “despising” God. The original translation for “despise” was not to hate which was my first impression of its meaning. The translation for this word in its original context “contains the idea of disdain for one who formerly received favorable attention and then rebelled.” That would encompass both you and me and every person on this earth.
Our sin imprisons us and places chains around our lives that keep us burdened down and oppressed in our spirit. Oppression is the manner in which God pursues us to return to Him. He sits by our prisons patiently and faithfully waiting for us to cry out for clemency. He provides the only escape and allows us to sit in our darkness until we realize that He is the only way out and will always be faithful in pardoning our sins and flinging open the doors of our prisons. Many times He allows us to sit in wait until we have appealed to every means for deliverance in place of Him. He desires for us to know without doubt who is saving us. We need to see those hero moments wherein God sweeps in at the last minute once we cry out to Him and brands upon our heart who rescues, who saves and who delivers.
The key to our prison will always be repentance.
Let’s face it – we all have sin in our lives. Even the mere mention of the word brings some aspect of our life to most of our minds. Even if we are not presently walking in sin we have all experienced the consequences due to our sinful choices in the past. We look at this passage with detachment since we know that we would never fall into the category of “despising” God. The original translation for “despise” was not to hate which was my first impression of its meaning. The translation for this word in its original context “contains the idea of disdain for one who formerly received favorable attention and then rebelled.” That would encompass both you and me and every person on this earth.
Our sin imprisons us and places chains around our lives that keep us burdened down and oppressed in our spirit. Oppression is the manner in which God pursues us to return to Him. He sits by our prisons patiently and faithfully waiting for us to cry out for clemency. He provides the only escape and allows us to sit in our darkness until we realize that He is the only way out and will always be faithful in pardoning our sins and flinging open the doors of our prisons. Many times He allows us to sit in wait until we have appealed to every means for deliverance in place of Him. He desires for us to know without doubt who is saving us. We need to see those hero moments wherein God sweeps in at the last minute once we cry out to Him and brands upon our heart who rescues, who saves and who delivers.
The key to our prison will always be repentance.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Perfect Love
“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us…There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:16-19
The greatest love story ever told is the same love story that we can live out daily. It is a love story between a Father who sacrifices to save and a child who dies to live. The only unfailing and enduring love that can be deemed perfect is the Ambassador of Love – Christ Jesus.
His love remains constant and faithful never to lessen or grow. It is perfect from the start and will remain constant throughout eternity. It is the one type of love for which we never must question and never fear of losing or changing. It is perfect. Our capacity to receive this love is what is fluid based on the priority we place on this love. The more we align ourselves to receive His perfect love the less fear we will experience in all situations in our lives.
That is what is meant by the statement “perfect love drives our fear.” The more deeply we love God we less fear we will experience in our daily walk.
Our love for Him is our response to the love He first showed us. We will never be the initiator of perfect love but will always be the recipient.
The greatest love story ever told is the same love story that we can live out daily. It is a love story between a Father who sacrifices to save and a child who dies to live. The only unfailing and enduring love that can be deemed perfect is the Ambassador of Love – Christ Jesus.
His love remains constant and faithful never to lessen or grow. It is perfect from the start and will remain constant throughout eternity. It is the one type of love for which we never must question and never fear of losing or changing. It is perfect. Our capacity to receive this love is what is fluid based on the priority we place on this love. The more we align ourselves to receive His perfect love the less fear we will experience in all situations in our lives.
That is what is meant by the statement “perfect love drives our fear.” The more deeply we love God we less fear we will experience in our daily walk.
Our love for Him is our response to the love He first showed us. We will never be the initiator of perfect love but will always be the recipient.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Listen Up!
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn…The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins…Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing…Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations.” Isaiah 51:1, 3-5
I don’ know who I exhaust more – myself or God! You readers unfortunately are victims of my lessons as God “continues to work out my salvation.” There is one relationship in my life that spans 25 years that requires more work on my part than any other I have experienced (no, it is not my sweet husband). Once it gets reconciled something else will occur that takes me right back to my ruins - that place of deadness, bitterness and nothingness. It erects stones of resentment and beckons me to once again do the work required to forgive, forget and love again (which I can only do through Christ alone.)
My biggest hang up about this situation is my desire to see justice served and consequences experienced which is none of my business. I feel that God is constantly pounding the gavel when dealing with me saying, “I will have order in this court!” He tells me three times in this verse to “listen to Him and really hear” which indicates He is trying to get my attention. He wants me to recognize that only He will bring justice to all situations and for me to believe, to trust and allow Him the right to rule!
Why is this ruin so difficult to walk away from as I pursue righteousness and seek Him in every aspect of my life? I know that my concern should be the manner in which I am responding to this instead of the manner for which I wish Him to respond.
If I am not experiencing joy and gladness even in my wastelands, my ruins, I am not trusting Him to rule. I know He will help me get this right as I work out my salvation and am so grateful for a Savior that doesn’t save us once but keeps on saving.
Thank you Father for continuing to have compassion in my ruins.
I don’ know who I exhaust more – myself or God! You readers unfortunately are victims of my lessons as God “continues to work out my salvation.” There is one relationship in my life that spans 25 years that requires more work on my part than any other I have experienced (no, it is not my sweet husband). Once it gets reconciled something else will occur that takes me right back to my ruins - that place of deadness, bitterness and nothingness. It erects stones of resentment and beckons me to once again do the work required to forgive, forget and love again (which I can only do through Christ alone.)
My biggest hang up about this situation is my desire to see justice served and consequences experienced which is none of my business. I feel that God is constantly pounding the gavel when dealing with me saying, “I will have order in this court!” He tells me three times in this verse to “listen to Him and really hear” which indicates He is trying to get my attention. He wants me to recognize that only He will bring justice to all situations and for me to believe, to trust and allow Him the right to rule!
Why is this ruin so difficult to walk away from as I pursue righteousness and seek Him in every aspect of my life? I know that my concern should be the manner in which I am responding to this instead of the manner for which I wish Him to respond.
If I am not experiencing joy and gladness even in my wastelands, my ruins, I am not trusting Him to rule. I know He will help me get this right as I work out my salvation and am so grateful for a Savior that doesn’t save us once but keeps on saving.
Thank you Father for continuing to have compassion in my ruins.
Monday, December 14, 2009
This Little Light of Mine...
“But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.” Isaiah 50:11
Don’t ask me why this image came to mind but it did and as a mom it still makes me chuckle. It was Thanksgiving, 15 years ago, and I was hosting Thanksgiving for my husband’s family. My oldest daughter Kristen who was 12 at the time decided that she wanted me to take her to Harris Teeter so she could buy something – I cannot remember the item. I told her no and she would have to wait until everybody had gone. She continued to badger me to the point that she resorted to getting on her bike and taking herself. I decided to let her go knowing that it was about 4 miles (we live out in the country and at the time it was very safe!) About an hour later we received a phone call from her saying that she had abandoned her bike on the side of the road and walked the rest of the way due to her legs being too weak to continue peddling. In addition, she didn’t have the strength to even walk back home! I have to be honest and say that as I hung up the phone I laughed and said to myself, “Mission accomplished!”
She had decided to walk by the light of own fire, her own plan and agenda, without heeding the guidance of her parents. She lit her own torch by saddling up on her little bike and forging ahead. This is so characteristic of the way in which we live our lives. We don’t like some of God’s answers so when badgering God doesn’t work we just get on our little spiritual bikes and hit that bumpy road.
The beautiful thing about this is picture is that as we sit on the side of the road with abandoned plans we too can call Home and know for certain that God will come to where we are and rescue us. I don’t know if He chuckles and has a sense of satisfaction as I did but I know that He is happy when we reach for the Light of His fire to replace ours.
Don’t ask me why this image came to mind but it did and as a mom it still makes me chuckle. It was Thanksgiving, 15 years ago, and I was hosting Thanksgiving for my husband’s family. My oldest daughter Kristen who was 12 at the time decided that she wanted me to take her to Harris Teeter so she could buy something – I cannot remember the item. I told her no and she would have to wait until everybody had gone. She continued to badger me to the point that she resorted to getting on her bike and taking herself. I decided to let her go knowing that it was about 4 miles (we live out in the country and at the time it was very safe!) About an hour later we received a phone call from her saying that she had abandoned her bike on the side of the road and walked the rest of the way due to her legs being too weak to continue peddling. In addition, she didn’t have the strength to even walk back home! I have to be honest and say that as I hung up the phone I laughed and said to myself, “Mission accomplished!”
She had decided to walk by the light of own fire, her own plan and agenda, without heeding the guidance of her parents. She lit her own torch by saddling up on her little bike and forging ahead. This is so characteristic of the way in which we live our lives. We don’t like some of God’s answers so when badgering God doesn’t work we just get on our little spiritual bikes and hit that bumpy road.
The beautiful thing about this is picture is that as we sit on the side of the road with abandoned plans we too can call Home and know for certain that God will come to where we are and rescue us. I don’t know if He chuckles and has a sense of satisfaction as I did but I know that He is happy when we reach for the Light of His fire to replace ours.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Two Cups...One Choice
“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38
“’My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’” John 4:34
“My Father, if it is possible may this cup to be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:42
In a world where we seem to always be running from something or towards something, I can’t help but to think of how our example approached life on earth. Christ spoke throughout the New Testament about His one constant goal on earth – to do the will of His Father. These were not the mere words of a mere man but a man’s total heart surrendered to the authority of God- no aspect of His life was off limits. Jesus was sent to exemplify the manner in which we should walk and was not just some character in a story. His walk paved the way and provided a manual of how to live victoriously on earth as a shadow of what we can expect in the eternal.
His complete surrender afforded Him total access to God on earth even in suffering, fear, anguish and despair. He chose to drink suffering over not doing the will of His Father. His desire and love to accomplish God’s will outweighed His desire and will for Himself.
We all have a destiny for ministry during our short time on this earth poured specifically for us to drink. This drink may sometimes be bitter but will always nourish and fulfill its purpose. There will always be two cups on the table, one which God asks us to drink and one that we pour for ourselves.
Which cup will you reach for?
“’My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’” John 4:34
“My Father, if it is possible may this cup to be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:42
In a world where we seem to always be running from something or towards something, I can’t help but to think of how our example approached life on earth. Christ spoke throughout the New Testament about His one constant goal on earth – to do the will of His Father. These were not the mere words of a mere man but a man’s total heart surrendered to the authority of God- no aspect of His life was off limits. Jesus was sent to exemplify the manner in which we should walk and was not just some character in a story. His walk paved the way and provided a manual of how to live victoriously on earth as a shadow of what we can expect in the eternal.
His complete surrender afforded Him total access to God on earth even in suffering, fear, anguish and despair. He chose to drink suffering over not doing the will of His Father. His desire and love to accomplish God’s will outweighed His desire and will for Himself.
We all have a destiny for ministry during our short time on this earth poured specifically for us to drink. This drink may sometimes be bitter but will always nourish and fulfill its purpose. There will always be two cups on the table, one which God asks us to drink and one that we pour for ourselves.
Which cup will you reach for?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Losing Our Heads
“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all duties of your ministry.” 2 Tim. 4:4
How hard is this! How many times a day are we tempted to speak our minds and say what is on our hearts? It doesn’t matter whether there is justification or not, I know God expects me as a Christian to carry out His commands. The word discharge means to carry something out, to complete a duty, responsibility, or promise successfully.
I have promised things to God that will enhance, build and further His mission but those same promises are sometimes threatened by my attitude, my thoughts and my actions. It is so easy to feel justified in our emotions and in our entitlements.
We all are expected to be evangelists for God and we all have our own specific ministries for which God has placed in our hands for the benefit of others. Previously, we have seen very public ministries be destroyed through mismanagement and misappropriation along with other malfunctions of the heart (as I like to call them). Satan’s #1 job is to destroy the ministries for which we are called. We will never be put in a situation wherein God will not provide a way out. He is the Afforder of freedom – not the preventer of freedom!
Satan will always offer his counterfeit of freedom by convincing us that we deserve, are entitled, are justified...but know that his offering doesn’t last beyond today. Another definition for discharge is “to pay a debt in full.” I love this definition since we owe Christ our life in return for Him giving up His.
As we live in and live out our ministries let us not discredit them by losing our heads but rather enduring the situation knowing that "...the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed…the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack.” 2 Tim. 4:17-18.
How hard is this! How many times a day are we tempted to speak our minds and say what is on our hearts? It doesn’t matter whether there is justification or not, I know God expects me as a Christian to carry out His commands. The word discharge means to carry something out, to complete a duty, responsibility, or promise successfully.
I have promised things to God that will enhance, build and further His mission but those same promises are sometimes threatened by my attitude, my thoughts and my actions. It is so easy to feel justified in our emotions and in our entitlements.
We all are expected to be evangelists for God and we all have our own specific ministries for which God has placed in our hands for the benefit of others. Previously, we have seen very public ministries be destroyed through mismanagement and misappropriation along with other malfunctions of the heart (as I like to call them). Satan’s #1 job is to destroy the ministries for which we are called. We will never be put in a situation wherein God will not provide a way out. He is the Afforder of freedom – not the preventer of freedom!
Satan will always offer his counterfeit of freedom by convincing us that we deserve, are entitled, are justified...but know that his offering doesn’t last beyond today. Another definition for discharge is “to pay a debt in full.” I love this definition since we owe Christ our life in return for Him giving up His.
As we live in and live out our ministries let us not discredit them by losing our heads but rather enduring the situation knowing that "...the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed…the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack.” 2 Tim. 4:17-18.
Friday, December 11, 2009
He Hungers....
"Yet, the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him." Isaiah 30:18
When my daughter Kristen lived in her world of drugs I couldn't imagine why she chose to rebel against everything she knew. I knew the life we could offer her along with the love of our family. I was hungry for her to experience what blessings I knew she could receive. I craved the opportunity to lavish love on her and take her in my arms and protect her as only a parent can protect. But instead, I had to sit on the sideline and watch as I would watch a horror film.
Rebellion is a powerful drug in every aspect of life. We all have some form of rebellion in our lives that displaces God to the sidelines. The word "longs" means to crave, to ache for, to yearn for according to the Thesaurus. God has this same hunger for us to be the recipient of His divine grace and never ending compassion in our lives. The verse states that God rises to show us compassion which indicates that He, too, has been sidelined in our lives by our actions much like a second string hero. The good news is how He sits by and waits on us always yearning for, aching for and anticipating our return to Him. When we turn to God calling Him into the game and away from our rebellion He cannot rise quickly enough to scoop us up and pour His lavish love over us and our lives.
We should be careful to pursue God instead of allowing our rebellion to pursue us!
When my daughter Kristen lived in her world of drugs I couldn't imagine why she chose to rebel against everything she knew. I knew the life we could offer her along with the love of our family. I was hungry for her to experience what blessings I knew she could receive. I craved the opportunity to lavish love on her and take her in my arms and protect her as only a parent can protect. But instead, I had to sit on the sideline and watch as I would watch a horror film.
Rebellion is a powerful drug in every aspect of life. We all have some form of rebellion in our lives that displaces God to the sidelines. The word "longs" means to crave, to ache for, to yearn for according to the Thesaurus. God has this same hunger for us to be the recipient of His divine grace and never ending compassion in our lives. The verse states that God rises to show us compassion which indicates that He, too, has been sidelined in our lives by our actions much like a second string hero. The good news is how He sits by and waits on us always yearning for, aching for and anticipating our return to Him. When we turn to God calling Him into the game and away from our rebellion He cannot rise quickly enough to scoop us up and pour His lavish love over us and our lives.
We should be careful to pursue God instead of allowing our rebellion to pursue us!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
On The Run
“Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.’” John 13:8b, 10
This was an exchange between Peter and Jesus after the Last Supper. Peter had rejected the gesture for which Jesus was making in washing the feet of all of the disciples. Peter felt that he was unworthy for the Master to wash the servant’s feet….a gesture for which any of us would probably feel undeserving and uncomfortable. Yet, Christ does this everyday for us as He kneels and bathes our sins with His forgiveness and wipes away any dirt our walk has accumulated.
When Jesus answered that our bodies are clean but it is only our feet that need washing, He was referring to the fact that we are once and for all pure in the eyes of God once we accept Christ. Spiritually speaking, we have been saved by His grace and there is no need for additional cleansing. Because of our natural tendency to sin, it is our daily walk that requires on-going washing to remove the areas of filth.
We cannot have any part of Christ on earth without allowing Him to wash away our sins. Through the humble act of Christ washing our feet we develop more humility in receiving this gesture.
We must take the time to sit in His presence and the humility to “bare our feet” and expose the dirt on them so He can brush away the dust we have picked up along the way.
It is tough for Christ to wash our feet when we are constantly on the run!
This was an exchange between Peter and Jesus after the Last Supper. Peter had rejected the gesture for which Jesus was making in washing the feet of all of the disciples. Peter felt that he was unworthy for the Master to wash the servant’s feet….a gesture for which any of us would probably feel undeserving and uncomfortable. Yet, Christ does this everyday for us as He kneels and bathes our sins with His forgiveness and wipes away any dirt our walk has accumulated.
When Jesus answered that our bodies are clean but it is only our feet that need washing, He was referring to the fact that we are once and for all pure in the eyes of God once we accept Christ. Spiritually speaking, we have been saved by His grace and there is no need for additional cleansing. Because of our natural tendency to sin, it is our daily walk that requires on-going washing to remove the areas of filth.
We cannot have any part of Christ on earth without allowing Him to wash away our sins. Through the humble act of Christ washing our feet we develop more humility in receiving this gesture.
We must take the time to sit in His presence and the humility to “bare our feet” and expose the dirt on them so He can brush away the dust we have picked up along the way.
It is tough for Christ to wash our feet when we are constantly on the run!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Being Rooted and Established
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Eph. 3:17b-19
I love my rose bushes and the beauty and fragrance for which they provide to me throughout the year. When I originally planted one of them I was fearful it wouldn’t make it since I have never had a green thumb. I planted it as a baby bush according to the directions and left a little of the dirt ball exposed. I cut into the thin roots and gently pulled them apart to ensure greater success in absorbing the water required to help the bush thrive. Years later that rose bush is very tall and produces the largest roses I have seen with a wonderful fragrance. As it ages, the fragrance gets stronger and the roses get more beautiful.
Such is the same with our relationship with Christ as we experience Him in our lives. We are planted as baby Christians with some parts of our self exposed while other parts are securely tucked away and protected in Him. When we plant ourselves deep in the rich soil of the Word we align our growth to be rooted in truth, established in love and be the conduit for His power to produce amazing bouquets of blessings and fruitfulness. As we mature as Christians we get on-going nourishment and saturation with His water ensuring constant and healthy growth. We are not immune to His pruning as we are cut back through our trials but have the endurance and strength on the branch to stay rooted and established as an important part of the total growth.
It is only through our planting of our total heart in Him that we may access the power and the fullness of God in our lives producing a beautiful fragrance.
I love my rose bushes and the beauty and fragrance for which they provide to me throughout the year. When I originally planted one of them I was fearful it wouldn’t make it since I have never had a green thumb. I planted it as a baby bush according to the directions and left a little of the dirt ball exposed. I cut into the thin roots and gently pulled them apart to ensure greater success in absorbing the water required to help the bush thrive. Years later that rose bush is very tall and produces the largest roses I have seen with a wonderful fragrance. As it ages, the fragrance gets stronger and the roses get more beautiful.
Such is the same with our relationship with Christ as we experience Him in our lives. We are planted as baby Christians with some parts of our self exposed while other parts are securely tucked away and protected in Him. When we plant ourselves deep in the rich soil of the Word we align our growth to be rooted in truth, established in love and be the conduit for His power to produce amazing bouquets of blessings and fruitfulness. As we mature as Christians we get on-going nourishment and saturation with His water ensuring constant and healthy growth. We are not immune to His pruning as we are cut back through our trials but have the endurance and strength on the branch to stay rooted and established as an important part of the total growth.
It is only through our planting of our total heart in Him that we may access the power and the fullness of God in our lives producing a beautiful fragrance.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Be Strong!
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Ephesians 6:10
This short verse has been what has powered my heart the past few days. On Saturday night, I spoke at a church for a Sunday School class Christmas party. I was both nervous and anxious leading up to this speech since the topic was courage, strength and faith in the face of deep adversity. The theme was ‘Be Strong in the Lord.’ Obviously, I would be speaking on the most difficult times in my life and was worried that I would end up broken apart. Upon many people praying for me prior to that evening, I felt the peace of God settle on me to give me the strength and courage to get up in front of everyone exposing my most private wounds. The audience was very warm and welcoming and the speech went well.
The next day at church I found out that the mom of a family we know has been referred to Hospice and given less than 6 months to live. She has 5 children under the age of 20, all who live together in a tiny rundown house. She asked if I would find out how to transfer to the Hospice organization we had used since I had gone on and on about the level of care they had given to Beth. I knew that meant going back to the Hospice House, the place where my heart broke on a daily basis last year.
As I was approaching Hospice I felt this heavy pressure fill up my car as if I couldn’t breathe and I began crying. I explained to the Lord that I had neither the strength nor the composure to accomplish this favor. I told Him that this was His idea so He needed to give me the tools necessary to accomplish the meeting. He was so faithful as He once again lent me His power, His courage and His strength. As I opened the door to Hospice I saw the friendly faces and the familiar hallways that I had walked almost daily this time last year. We visited for a bit, met with the intake director and I bid them farewell. As I walked down the hall towards the door to make my escape, I saw the Christmas tree in the lobby and smelled the aroma of cinnamon. These were leftover memories of last year. I had prayed by this tree, cried by this tree and had waited on Beth’s dear friends for a Christmas party by this tree. I felt myself getting ready to shatter so I hurried out of the door at which point I fell apart and sobbed the entire way home. The pain was as fresh as it was one year ago. It was at that moment that I realized how much pain God was holding back from heart and that "Be strong in the Lord" were more than just words.
As I pulled into my driveway, I heard the song by Sidewalk Prophets, The Words I Would Say. The chorus basically says, ‘Be strong in the Lord, never give up hope, He’s going to do great things, I already know, God’s got His hand on you so don’t live life in fear, forgive and forget but don’t forget why you’re here, take your time and pray, and thank God for each day, His love will find a way. These are the words I would say.’ When the song was over I had a flashback of Saturday night at the party. The placemats at our table said Be Strong In The Lord.
Whatever you are facing in your life, ‘Be Strong In The Lord!’
This short verse has been what has powered my heart the past few days. On Saturday night, I spoke at a church for a Sunday School class Christmas party. I was both nervous and anxious leading up to this speech since the topic was courage, strength and faith in the face of deep adversity. The theme was ‘Be Strong in the Lord.’ Obviously, I would be speaking on the most difficult times in my life and was worried that I would end up broken apart. Upon many people praying for me prior to that evening, I felt the peace of God settle on me to give me the strength and courage to get up in front of everyone exposing my most private wounds. The audience was very warm and welcoming and the speech went well.
The next day at church I found out that the mom of a family we know has been referred to Hospice and given less than 6 months to live. She has 5 children under the age of 20, all who live together in a tiny rundown house. She asked if I would find out how to transfer to the Hospice organization we had used since I had gone on and on about the level of care they had given to Beth. I knew that meant going back to the Hospice House, the place where my heart broke on a daily basis last year.
As I was approaching Hospice I felt this heavy pressure fill up my car as if I couldn’t breathe and I began crying. I explained to the Lord that I had neither the strength nor the composure to accomplish this favor. I told Him that this was His idea so He needed to give me the tools necessary to accomplish the meeting. He was so faithful as He once again lent me His power, His courage and His strength. As I opened the door to Hospice I saw the friendly faces and the familiar hallways that I had walked almost daily this time last year. We visited for a bit, met with the intake director and I bid them farewell. As I walked down the hall towards the door to make my escape, I saw the Christmas tree in the lobby and smelled the aroma of cinnamon. These were leftover memories of last year. I had prayed by this tree, cried by this tree and had waited on Beth’s dear friends for a Christmas party by this tree. I felt myself getting ready to shatter so I hurried out of the door at which point I fell apart and sobbed the entire way home. The pain was as fresh as it was one year ago. It was at that moment that I realized how much pain God was holding back from heart and that "Be strong in the Lord" were more than just words.
As I pulled into my driveway, I heard the song by Sidewalk Prophets, The Words I Would Say. The chorus basically says, ‘Be strong in the Lord, never give up hope, He’s going to do great things, I already know, God’s got His hand on you so don’t live life in fear, forgive and forget but don’t forget why you’re here, take your time and pray, and thank God for each day, His love will find a way. These are the words I would say.’ When the song was over I had a flashback of Saturday night at the party. The placemats at our table said Be Strong In The Lord.
Whatever you are facing in your life, ‘Be Strong In The Lord!’
Monday, December 7, 2009
"I Do"
“My lover spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. ‘Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.’” Song of Solomon 2:10-13
Although Bruce’s actions after 25 years together show me his love for me I cannot picture him saying these words to me. I find it hard to believe any spouse would say these words to their beloved after so many years together. (It does make me smile to picture the words coming out of Bruce’s mouth in my mind!)
This morning after 48 ½ years Christ still speaks these words to me in such a tender way through Scripture. He knows the winter I have had and rainfalls that have drenched me. He brings me flowers each day through His blessings and I can sense the fragrance of His emerging presence.
Christ is that lover of unconditional love for each of us and for His eternal bride – the church. He wants His bride to know that even in the cold and rainy seasons He will burst forth with flowers of blessings, singing songs of joy over us and satisfying our deepest desires when we are living in His land – His will. He calls to us with His tender spirit extending His arms like a groom as He welcomes His bride.
How can we pass up this offer and not take our place beside Him?
Although Bruce’s actions after 25 years together show me his love for me I cannot picture him saying these words to me. I find it hard to believe any spouse would say these words to their beloved after so many years together. (It does make me smile to picture the words coming out of Bruce’s mouth in my mind!)
This morning after 48 ½ years Christ still speaks these words to me in such a tender way through Scripture. He knows the winter I have had and rainfalls that have drenched me. He brings me flowers each day through His blessings and I can sense the fragrance of His emerging presence.
Christ is that lover of unconditional love for each of us and for His eternal bride – the church. He wants His bride to know that even in the cold and rainy seasons He will burst forth with flowers of blessings, singing songs of joy over us and satisfying our deepest desires when we are living in His land – His will. He calls to us with His tender spirit extending His arms like a groom as He welcomes His bride.
How can we pass up this offer and not take our place beside Him?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Here Comes the Bride
“I remember the devotion of our youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert through a land not sown.” Jeremiah 2:2
Remember when we first married our spouse? Everything seemed sweeter, everything seemed more joyous and everything seemed exciting! We had each other’s undivided attention and adjusted our desires according to what the desire of our spouse was for that day.
Bruce would always take me to the movies knowing how much I loved that and I would always help him with projects even if it meant crawling under the house with him as he put in a french drain system. I can only imagine the look on my face if he approached me with that request 25 years later as I sit in my recliner watching television – I don’t think so, stallion!
The same is true with our relationship with Christ. The Bible describes us as brides preparing for our Bridegroom as it relates to the anticipated intimate relationship between us and Christ. We are to prepare ourselves for Him as He receives us as His bride only to lavish His unconditional love and protection upon us. This marriage of two spirits will span over the course of our lives and must be kept alive and passionate just as required in our earthly relationships.
Christ asks us to follow Him anywhere He leads and to trust that His desire for us will never be harmful to us. He will never ask us to go where He is unwilling to go ahead of us to assure we will be completely prepared and protected.
We must recapture that early passion and excitement of knowing our Bridegroom and passionately following Him to the ends of the earth. So get your veil, adorn yourself and let that sweet music begin!
Remember when we first married our spouse? Everything seemed sweeter, everything seemed more joyous and everything seemed exciting! We had each other’s undivided attention and adjusted our desires according to what the desire of our spouse was for that day.
Bruce would always take me to the movies knowing how much I loved that and I would always help him with projects even if it meant crawling under the house with him as he put in a french drain system. I can only imagine the look on my face if he approached me with that request 25 years later as I sit in my recliner watching television – I don’t think so, stallion!
The same is true with our relationship with Christ. The Bible describes us as brides preparing for our Bridegroom as it relates to the anticipated intimate relationship between us and Christ. We are to prepare ourselves for Him as He receives us as His bride only to lavish His unconditional love and protection upon us. This marriage of two spirits will span over the course of our lives and must be kept alive and passionate just as required in our earthly relationships.
Christ asks us to follow Him anywhere He leads and to trust that His desire for us will never be harmful to us. He will never ask us to go where He is unwilling to go ahead of us to assure we will be completely prepared and protected.
We must recapture that early passion and excitement of knowing our Bridegroom and passionately following Him to the ends of the earth. So get your veil, adorn yourself and let that sweet music begin!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Child, Come Out!
“Lord, if you had been here…Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying…Take away the stone…Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out’…The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face…’Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” John 11:32b, 37, 39, 43-44.
I have lifted several verses from the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This story brings fresh truth for me this morning as Christmas is approaching. Christmas is about new birth, new hope, and new life in Christ.
Like many of you, my family experienced great loss this year as Beth was called to her eternal home. I am sure over the past 8 months my heart has beat once or twice to the same drum as Martha and Mary’s – Lord, where were you? Couldn’t you have done this as you have done for others?
I had a marathon lunch with a dear friend from high school the other day who has experienced such levels of loss and grief it amazes me how she still has such a level of joy. She lost both brothers, her father to cancer only to be followed up with her mother’s death to cancer. She spoke of moving between the two hospital rooms of her parents in an effort to be there for both. But she does seem happy and joyful thanks to the relationship for which she experiences with Christ. She continues to believe that God loves her, He is working for her good and He is ever present in her life. With so much loss it would be easy for her to be the one in the tomb, in the darkness, in the aloneness of her circumstances. Her stones of loss could have easily entombed her but Christ stood at the opening and removed the stone.
No matter what or who we have lost, Christ stands at the door of our hearts desiring freedom for us and calls out to us knowing we are on the other side of that tomb needing a resurrection. Notice that when Lazarus came out he still was bound with the grave clothes and his face covered. It was only when Jesus commanded the clothes to be removed that full life was experienced by Lazarus. Upon the devastating loss of something or someone we must not die with them for Christ came to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free! We must remove the grave clothes that bind our hands and feet, and the cloths that blind our sight from experiencing abundant life. I have watched my mom especially remove those grave clothes and experience life in Christ through her heartbreak. She did not allow her circumstances to entomb her but rather allowed Christ to embrace her and carry her out of the depair.
The real miracle is living through the impossible and still seeing possibilities!
I have lifted several verses from the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This story brings fresh truth for me this morning as Christmas is approaching. Christmas is about new birth, new hope, and new life in Christ.
Like many of you, my family experienced great loss this year as Beth was called to her eternal home. I am sure over the past 8 months my heart has beat once or twice to the same drum as Martha and Mary’s – Lord, where were you? Couldn’t you have done this as you have done for others?
I had a marathon lunch with a dear friend from high school the other day who has experienced such levels of loss and grief it amazes me how she still has such a level of joy. She lost both brothers, her father to cancer only to be followed up with her mother’s death to cancer. She spoke of moving between the two hospital rooms of her parents in an effort to be there for both. But she does seem happy and joyful thanks to the relationship for which she experiences with Christ. She continues to believe that God loves her, He is working for her good and He is ever present in her life. With so much loss it would be easy for her to be the one in the tomb, in the darkness, in the aloneness of her circumstances. Her stones of loss could have easily entombed her but Christ stood at the opening and removed the stone.
No matter what or who we have lost, Christ stands at the door of our hearts desiring freedom for us and calls out to us knowing we are on the other side of that tomb needing a resurrection. Notice that when Lazarus came out he still was bound with the grave clothes and his face covered. It was only when Jesus commanded the clothes to be removed that full life was experienced by Lazarus. Upon the devastating loss of something or someone we must not die with them for Christ came to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free! We must remove the grave clothes that bind our hands and feet, and the cloths that blind our sight from experiencing abundant life. I have watched my mom especially remove those grave clothes and experience life in Christ through her heartbreak. She did not allow her circumstances to entomb her but rather allowed Christ to embrace her and carry her out of the depair.
The real miracle is living through the impossible and still seeing possibilities!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
A Kiss Is NOT Just a Kiss
“If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship…” Psalm 55:12-14
Betrayal goes back to the beginning of time and will span future generations. This passage was the anguish David was experiencing when he realized that his close friend, King Saul had betrayed him and was trying to kill him.
Betrayal is one of the most difficult pills to swallow and hurts more than anything that our enemies could ever dish out. For me, I endured betrayal after betrayal from my daughter who was being held captive by heroin addiction. On the flip side, I betrayed my husband’s trust when I secretly mounted up debt earlier in our marriage. I am sure everyone has had some form of betrayal that has shattered hearts.
Christ experienced the ultimate betrayal when Judas gave Him that incredulous kiss on the Savior’s cheek. Judas premeditated and sought out the plan to betray Jesus, his close teacher and loving companion. “From then on, Judas watched to hand him over.” Matt. 26:16.
These words brought chills to the back of my neck this morning so I ask myself as we go into this Christmas season, “Do we betray Jesus without realizing it?” Do we plant that kiss on His name by holding grudges against others, being unforgiving and selfishly seeking our own will? Are we holding grudges against others for their betrayals as we carry our Bibles high?
It is easy to lose sight of the fact that Jesus was the recipient of such a betrayal that the cost was His life. We may be betrayed in this life but it will never be as great of cost as what our sweet companion in Christ paid. When He lost His life on earth on that cross all sins were swept away including the betrayal of Judas.
Christ Jesus, please help us to be imitators of You instead of initiators of unforgiveness.
Betrayal goes back to the beginning of time and will span future generations. This passage was the anguish David was experiencing when he realized that his close friend, King Saul had betrayed him and was trying to kill him.
Betrayal is one of the most difficult pills to swallow and hurts more than anything that our enemies could ever dish out. For me, I endured betrayal after betrayal from my daughter who was being held captive by heroin addiction. On the flip side, I betrayed my husband’s trust when I secretly mounted up debt earlier in our marriage. I am sure everyone has had some form of betrayal that has shattered hearts.
Christ experienced the ultimate betrayal when Judas gave Him that incredulous kiss on the Savior’s cheek. Judas premeditated and sought out the plan to betray Jesus, his close teacher and loving companion. “From then on, Judas watched to hand him over.” Matt. 26:16.
These words brought chills to the back of my neck this morning so I ask myself as we go into this Christmas season, “Do we betray Jesus without realizing it?” Do we plant that kiss on His name by holding grudges against others, being unforgiving and selfishly seeking our own will? Are we holding grudges against others for their betrayals as we carry our Bibles high?
It is easy to lose sight of the fact that Jesus was the recipient of such a betrayal that the cost was His life. We may be betrayed in this life but it will never be as great of cost as what our sweet companion in Christ paid. When He lost His life on earth on that cross all sins were swept away including the betrayal of Judas.
Christ Jesus, please help us to be imitators of You instead of initiators of unforgiveness.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The One Who Sees Me
“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13
In Genesis, we have this wonderful encounter between Hagar and the LORD during her moment of intense heartache. Hagar is Abraham and Sarai’s maidservant who has fled from their home. She had fled into the desert after becoming impregnated with Abraham’s baby at the manipulative hands of Sarai. It is her private moment when she encounters and embraces God as her very own. It is no doubt that she grew up in a culture that worshipped many gods so this was a very defining moment for her.
Hagar was a chess piece used by Sarai as a means to have a baby since Sarai seemed to be barren. Once Hagar became pregnant, Sarai’s bitterness overcame her and eventually caused Hagar to flee. Hagar did nothing to deserve this but was being obedient to her masters ending up being a victim of circumstance. As she was brokenhearted, scared and feeling all alone in the desert, an angel of God appeared to her and gave her direction and a clear picture of the one and only God.
There are “God encounters” for which we can only experience in the sacred aloneness with God in our deserts. Yesterday, I learned that one of my long time friends lost her brother unexpectantly on Thanksgiving Day. That dear family has just journeyed into the desert as they are experiencing the suffocating heat of grief. It is a heat that prevents us from thinking clearly and can only be relieved through seeing the One who sees us. God knows what it is like to lose someone in our heart whatever their departure involves as He had to separate Himself from His Son in order that we may experience eternal life. He had to choose between His son and mankind as His heirs resulting in sacrificing one to save the other. But then there is the good news! He gave up the temporary life on earth of His Son to provide the eternal life in Heaven for all of His sons and daughters!
It is inevitable that we experience intense seasons of heartbreak but we can be assured that God sees us and will act on our behalf in the desert with such an amazing experience that we will know that “we have seen the One who sees us!”
In Genesis, we have this wonderful encounter between Hagar and the LORD during her moment of intense heartache. Hagar is Abraham and Sarai’s maidservant who has fled from their home. She had fled into the desert after becoming impregnated with Abraham’s baby at the manipulative hands of Sarai. It is her private moment when she encounters and embraces God as her very own. It is no doubt that she grew up in a culture that worshipped many gods so this was a very defining moment for her.
Hagar was a chess piece used by Sarai as a means to have a baby since Sarai seemed to be barren. Once Hagar became pregnant, Sarai’s bitterness overcame her and eventually caused Hagar to flee. Hagar did nothing to deserve this but was being obedient to her masters ending up being a victim of circumstance. As she was brokenhearted, scared and feeling all alone in the desert, an angel of God appeared to her and gave her direction and a clear picture of the one and only God.
There are “God encounters” for which we can only experience in the sacred aloneness with God in our deserts. Yesterday, I learned that one of my long time friends lost her brother unexpectantly on Thanksgiving Day. That dear family has just journeyed into the desert as they are experiencing the suffocating heat of grief. It is a heat that prevents us from thinking clearly and can only be relieved through seeing the One who sees us. God knows what it is like to lose someone in our heart whatever their departure involves as He had to separate Himself from His Son in order that we may experience eternal life. He had to choose between His son and mankind as His heirs resulting in sacrificing one to save the other. But then there is the good news! He gave up the temporary life on earth of His Son to provide the eternal life in Heaven for all of His sons and daughters!
It is inevitable that we experience intense seasons of heartbreak but we can be assured that God sees us and will act on our behalf in the desert with such an amazing experience that we will know that “we have seen the One who sees us!”
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Got Room?
“She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
I just finished reading an article entitled A Homeless God which triggered the image of Christ’s birth. The article was speaking more of finding God in churches but it got me thinking more on an individual level.
God was about as far from home as He could get when He wrapped Himself in flesh and stepped down from heaven to become the Sacrificial Lamb. God desires for each of us to build a home for Him within our hearts for Him to take up residency. This home should be holy, honoring and glorifying Him as He becomes Head of this household. He is not looking for a place to visit – He already has many places from which He moves in and out of lives but He rather desires those homes that will not only invite Him to move in but give Him full authority to arrange things the way that He most desires.
I love the following excerpt of this article but I will replace church with individuals.
“If God ‘visits’ the heart of an individual, it betrays the fact that it doesn't belong to Him. A homeowner doesn't visit his own home. He lives in it. In a divine visitation, God will bless His people. But He will eventually move on and search for a home that He can call his own. Thus if the headship of Jesus Christ is not fully yielded to any given place, the best the Lord can do is visit. He cannot take up residency.” From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God - Frank Viola.
As we turn our calendars from November to December and approach the Christmas holiday let us be reminded that not much has changed. Christ is still looking for a place to lay his head and call home.
Will you make room in the inn?
I just finished reading an article entitled A Homeless God which triggered the image of Christ’s birth. The article was speaking more of finding God in churches but it got me thinking more on an individual level.
God was about as far from home as He could get when He wrapped Himself in flesh and stepped down from heaven to become the Sacrificial Lamb. God desires for each of us to build a home for Him within our hearts for Him to take up residency. This home should be holy, honoring and glorifying Him as He becomes Head of this household. He is not looking for a place to visit – He already has many places from which He moves in and out of lives but He rather desires those homes that will not only invite Him to move in but give Him full authority to arrange things the way that He most desires.
I love the following excerpt of this article but I will replace church with individuals.
“If God ‘visits’ the heart of an individual, it betrays the fact that it doesn't belong to Him. A homeowner doesn't visit his own home. He lives in it. In a divine visitation, God will bless His people. But He will eventually move on and search for a home that He can call his own. Thus if the headship of Jesus Christ is not fully yielded to any given place, the best the Lord can do is visit. He cannot take up residency.” From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God - Frank Viola.
As we turn our calendars from November to December and approach the Christmas holiday let us be reminded that not much has changed. Christ is still looking for a place to lay his head and call home.
Will you make room in the inn?
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