When Squirrels Cry

“Behold the birds…and your Father who is in Heaven sustains them; behold, are you not better than they?” Matthew 6:26

I saw the oddest thing yesterday on my way home from walking with a friend.  As I rounded the corner I slowed down to witness a sight so strange I was unsure what to do with it.  I pulled into my driveway and looked back considering whether I really saw what I thought I saw.  As I slowly approached my drive, I saw a squirrel in the middle of the road bent over a squirrel that had obviously lost its life.  The squirrel actually looked up at me slowly approaching and hopped to the side of the road until I passed.  He didn’t run up a tree, or disappear into the woods or anything else I would have expected.  Instead he simply stood on the side of the road looking beyond my car to the other squirrel.  In considering this I am reminded that God’s spirit dwells in all living things.  All of creation desires to be loved, encouraged, and comforted.  Where there is life so there are needs even among the squirrels. 

It was only a few days ago when I was feeling emotionally unsettled, finding myself in intervals of tearful moments.  I had Daddy and Beth on both my mind and heart.  As I fought tears in public places I felt like that little squirrel looking beyond those around me. That day I didn’t care that tears streamed down my face in public.  I didn’t really pay attention to the drivers around me or the shoppers at the grocery store.  I felt numb to others and drawn to my emotional distractions.  I do not know what triggered my grief but that is the game of grief… ambushes and emerging sadness without warning.  After a while and with prayer, I felt the settling of the Spirit, and the peace of God that came to rest on me.  Upon seeing the squirrel I was reminded that all living things were created by the same hands who created me. 

I am so grateful that we have a Father who is so gentle and tender even towards the animals.  I am in awe that we have a Creator who reminds us through nature of how much we are loved and cared for.  I am encouraged to know that as God sustains even the squirrels in their sadness how much more will we be sustained in our pain.

Thank you, Father for caring for all of creation from the least to the greatest. 

An Enlarged Heart

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” 2 Ch 16:9.

I had such a sweet encounter with the Lord, and I will try to my best to put it into words for His glory and as a blessing to others.  Encounters with God are available for all of His children, and I am so thankful for these spiritual resuscitations.

A while back I had a conversation with a person who gave me every reason to doubt and fear the future regarding one of my children.  My heart wasn’t prepared for what seemed like an emotional assault, and I was left reeling with my arms flailing in the air like a drowning victim.  But thankfully the Holy Spirit raised a prayer for me as promised in Romans 8:26: ‘In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.’  He whispered into the Lord’s ear Psalm 25:16-18, ‘Turn to Brenda and be gracious to her for she is lonely and afflicted.  The troubles of her heart are enlarged; bring her out of her distresses.  Consider her affliction and her trouble…’

It was at that moment the eyes of the Lord saw my arms waving from the waters of a distressed heart.  He appeared instantly by my side to support and encourage me, rescuing me from a spirit of fear and helplessness.  He tossed one life support ring after another one to me:

-          ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline’ 2 Ti 1:7.

-          ‘My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare’ Psalm 25:15.

-          ‘Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you…because my hope is in you’ Psalm 25:20-21.

-          ‘My feet stand on level ground…’ Psalm 27:12.

-          ‘Therefore, my dear…stand firm.  Let nothing move you…know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain’ 1 Co 15:58.

-          ‘…the gospel of Christ…to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials’ 1 Th 3:3.

These are but a few of His precious words that drenched me that day.  I was overwhelmed that His attention was immediately upon me when there are so many disasters that call out His name in this world.  My heart was transformed and my hope restored that God is bigger than any situation my family will face.  My mind was renewed and my focus was returned on His promises…His power…His amazing works.  He took me from swallowing seas to quiet waters and restored my soul. ‘The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.  He guides me…I will fear not…’ Psalm 23:1-4.

‘Who is he, this King of glory?  The LORD Almighty…’ Psalm 24:8.  Whatever hopelessness or despair is taking you under this morning call out to Him, and He will comfort and nurture you in ways only a parent can.

Strange Ideas

“Then they took him and brought him to a meeting…‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean’” Acts 17:19-20.

When Paul traveled to Athens he was met with a culture where the majority of the day ‘was spent doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.’ (Acts 17:21)  You know the type of people… they check tarot cards…are guided by their daily horoscope…visit fortune tellers…follow new age philosophies.  Some things never change across the divide of time, and searching for wisdom in all the wrong places is one of them.  To say that Paul was bringing strange ideas to their ears is a great understatement.  Athens was a city of anything goes where altars were erected everywhere so not one of their gods would be offended.  They even erected an altar with this inscription:  TO AN UNKNOWN GOD just to cover all bases.  So when this newest teaching talked about the one and only God it must have blown their minds.  They were a city of extravagance, worldly views and freedom to practice immorality. 

I am saddened this morning to consider that over the past decade or two we have built our own Athens with the mantra anything goes.  Our country has torn down altars of God…public prayer…words removed from statements of belief…God Himself.  We have erected altars of self-indulgence…Scripture taken out of context to support our cravings…placing trust in things that are hollow and empty.  We sometimes fail to share the strange ideas of the great commission with others fearing we will offend them, when really they are hungry for the message.  The reality of people supporting anything and everything is the evidence that they are still searching for the One thing.  What are these strange ideas that we are to not only share with others but follow ourselves? 

The idea that we are here to serve others instead of ourselves.  Christ’s teachings that when we place ourselves last we will become first.  This strangeness in the kingdom of God includes that when we die daily to the flesh we will be resurrected daily into His spirit.  Included is the idea that if one betrays us and offends us we offer ourselves in grace and forgiveness without a spirit of entitlement or bitterness.  The strange ideas go on and on and live inside the 66 chapters of the only Book that has endured – the Holy Bible.  We must not miss out on our spiritual opportunities in the short time God has assigned to us on earth.  It is no coincidence where we live and who God has placed in our path to share the message. ‘…and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live’ Acts 17:26.   

We must remember that if we do not recognize Him before people we will not be recognized before the Father.  “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels" Mark 8:38.

Tomorrow's Search

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering." Romans 12:1, The Message

I cannot recall the number of times I have both heard from others and stated to others that God has a plan for our lives.  We go on and state how perfect that plan is going to be.  We pray in the direction of that future plan and we ponder upon the substance of that plan.  All of God’s plans support the purpose of His kingdom.  So why we do we act as if the plan is in the future? 

I love the version of Romans 12:1 from The Message. Paul’s words were meant for our hearts and activities to be based on the now…our todays instead of some futuristic mystical will of God.  We are to offer our time, resources and mental focus on God’s work daily instead of our work.  He has not assigned us time on this earth to recline in our faith.  We all have daily offerings to give to God regarding His ‘today plan’ for our lives.  To focus on God having a future plan for our lives without daily spiritual activity is like expecting future retirement funds without depositing money into our account daily.  How can we expect to receive God’s future harvest if we don’t plant the daily spiritual seeds today? 

1 Th 5:21 instructs us to ‘Test everything and hold on to the good.’ Our culture tests us daily with distractions.  We only need to look towards our phones and computers to see where our distractions lay.  What is ‘the good’?  It is the time we give to others in their trying times…it is the way we serve and volunteer in things that break God’s heart…it is the amount of time we spend on Jesus instead of the things we have decided are important.  All spiritual tests are meant for greater knowledge, spiritual growth and deeper devotion to God.  These tests are designed to see if we are ready for His ultimate plan.  God's plan for today will string together many tomorrows resulting in the very purpose for which we were created.  Will we exchange our daily reclining faith for a releasing faith, faith that releases God’s daily plan for our lives.

What if God’s perfect plan for our lives is dependent upon today’s spiritual activity?  May we all test our activities today and hold on to God's good plan for May 19, 2014.

Our Camps

“For the LORD your God moves in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy…” De 23:14.

It is so easy sometimes to feel as if God is far away, sitting comfortably on His throne in Heaven separated from the reality of this world. Since the beginning of creation through the breath of His own mouth we are told that God lives and moves among man. ‘Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden’ Gen 3:9. ‘As God has said: I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people’ 2 Co 6:16. ‘…the Spirit of truth…for he lives with you and will be in you’ John 14:18.

We do not serve a faraway God but a God who has taken up residence in our hearts through His spirit. Our hearts serve as our camps as we set up our lives while on this earth. God moves about in our hearts during the good and the bad seasons. He is constantly at work in us sorting out our emotions and transforming our hearts. ‘…in order to fulfill the word of the LORD – the LORD moved the heart’ 2 Ch 36:22. When we sin God grieves for us, ‘and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel’ Judges 10:16. When we suffer God delivers us, ‘…for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them’ Ex 3:7-8. He is a hands-on God who longs to protect and deliver us from temptation, but we must do our part by keeping our hearts holy. We must release bitterness and a judgmental spirit from our hearts. We must push away from that vice that seems to have control over us. We must accept the boundaries that God places around our lives and live within those boundaries. He is at work in the very areas of our lives that we work hard at controlling and managing.

Is there something in your life that you surrender to God on a constant basis only to take back the reigns? Is there an activity in your life that separates you from the holiness of God? We should all ask God to reveal the very toxins in our camp that keep us from holy living. God will be faithful in building up the very temple in which He dwells.

‘Then…everyone whose heart God had moved…prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD’ Ezra 1:5.

Messy Lives

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” 1 Th. 2:8.

Let’s all face it…life is messy and we all have mud on our hands. The Bible is filled with story after story of families whose lives intersected with not-so-pretty moments: murder (Cain and Abel), sibling betrayals... (Esau and Jacob), parental favoritism (Rebekah), family members’ jealousy (the prodigal and his brother), and marital disharmony (Abraham and Sarah). Fairy tale living didn’t splash its way upon the Holy Writ because the Bible is God’s truth, and the truth is that ministries are born in the  unselfish transparency of life.  Hiding behind a well-placed mask for the sake of image provides no gain to others. Instead it alienates people from those who God could use if they would allow their prideful mask to fall. God could have chosen a million different stories to inspire in the Bible, but He chose the messiness and failure of man over and over again.

Personally, over my adult life I have desperately needed those honest people to share with me their failures and painful journeys as an encouragement that seasons do change and situations will improve. I have been that broken person who needed another’s testimony opening their heart and rehashing their pain for my benefit. Never once have I been truly lifted up by a person whose life seemed to be perfect. I read one time that true love works for the benefit of another.  I have never forgotten that statement and have found it to be true. God calls us all to true and perfect love in Him. While there are much needed boundaries in the details of our experiences, we are called to share those messy times through which we have advanced to comfort and encourage others. When we sit on top of our secrets we place ourselves outside of the reach of helping others. To genuinely fellowship we must put our hearts and experiences out there for God to use for others. We benefit daily from the transparency of the Bible and the messy lives that are exposed to us for our benefit. 'We're called by Christ to serve people. We each get to decide how vulnerable we're going to be in the process.' Children of the Day, Beth Moore.

Like Paul, we are all called as Christians to share not only the message of God with others but to also share our lives as well…the pretty…the ugly…and the messy. God will guide us through the details of our experiences, so that what we share will both edify and encourage the Body of Christ. Our weaknesses and failures continue the story of man and how he needs a Savior before a watching world.

Wrong Turns

“The Lord’s message rang out from you…how you turned to God from idols to serve” 1 Th.1:9.

I remember when I was a little girl Mother and Daddy took us to the mountains several times. On occasion, we would stand in an area and yell only to hear our voice come back in an echo. I always thought it was interesting how my voice sounded realizing how it must sound to others. Have you ever heard your voice on a recording and cringed at how it sounded? Our passage this morning has more meaning than we might think. ‘The Greek term execheo – translated ‘rang out’ is derived from the Greek word echos…In Paul’s day, the word might be used to describe a clap of thunder or the blast of a trumpet. The word emphasized reverberation like that of an echo’ Letters to the Thessalonians Gene L. Green.

As we are walking out this life our behavior and actions become living proof of our faith. When our faith is small the echo from it will be mere whispers where on-lookers must strain their ears to hear. When our faith is great the spiritual reverberation will sound like thunder and those near and far will hear its message. How do we ensure our faith will be heard as echoes instead of whispers? The same way as the Thessalonians did long ago – we turn away from the idols of our hearts …money… power …fame…relationships. Idols are those things deeply imbedded in our heart that we have elevated to worship status. Whatever we focus on most will become our idol where we offer our time, resources and passion. Worshipping an idol serves the flesh while worshipping God serves the spirit. One benefits our flesh while the other benefits the kingdom.  The only way to have faith that echoes the spirit is to turn away from our idols and turn to God. That is when the Lord’s message will echo across the horizon of our lives instead of the world's message.

‘Every turning to automatically involves an inherent turning from. That’s the nature of a turn. With our deliberate turn to God comes a deliberate turning away from our old life and our previous attempts to remedy the restlessness of our souls’ Children of the Day – Beth Moore, p. 35.

‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ Romans 12:2

Eagerly Awaiting

“We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Thessalonians 1:3.

As many of you are aware, my grandbabies’ dad suddenly went to be with Jesus two weeks ago. His service was one of a life of gratitude mixed with a life of challenges. All of the speakers did a wonderful job in capturing the spirit of Wayne during that service. The last speaker was one of his best friends and co-workers who reminded us of how Wayne lived his life to the fullest, reaching out to help those in need. Little did that friend know that he would see his best buddy at the gates of heaven just two weeks later. I am confident that the other employees/friends at AAA Tree Experts are still reeling from these two losses. Their company is an extension of family so this double blow must be devastating.

Let’s face it, when we are hit with painful circumstances in life faith is work and even love can be labored. Hope doesn’t come easy and we must endure in our attempt to locate it. While we limp towards this love and hope, God has placed His Spirit within us so we may lean on Him. He reminds us that this world is temporal and we are not to cling to it. He enlists us to rise above our own circumstances and love others through theirs. He insists that we endure through our pain and cling onto the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ. What does this hope look like?

It is the hope in a future spouse when no one is on the horizon. It is hope in healing when the treatments don’t seem to work. It is hope in a job when no one is responding. It is the hope of seeing those we have lost to this world when there are empty seats around the table. This is our faith – to share in the suffering that Christ suffered on our behalf. This is our love – to labor through our own season sharing our testimony with others. This is our hope – to remember that we are not citizens of this world, but just passing through until we come face to face with God and all those who have gone before us.

‘But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ’ Philippians 3:20.

Up-Drafts of the Holy Spirit

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You" Isaiah 26:2-4.

This morning in my Bible Study I read a convicting statement referring to our times of trouble and despair. Author and Dr. Sam Peeples, once wrote, ‘The circumstances of life, the events of life, and the people around me in life, do not make me the way I am, but reveal the way I am.’ It is very easy to determine a person’s steadfastness when the storms of life appear. Those people who seem to operate above their circumstances are those who are rooted in the Lord. Others who focus on the situation will be tossed about by the onslaught of challenges. We are promised peace if we will seek God in all we do. When we devote our mind and heart to Him daily we are promised the only peace that this world offers…His peace…perfect peace.

We must take this day and determine will we bend or will we break? Will we be seen as people who are walking out our inheritance of peace granted by the Prince of Peace? How we respond in tough circumstances is usually the by-product of how we pursue God in the calm times. We are all called to be Isaiah 40:31 people who because we hope in the Lord will have ‘renewed strength…will soar on wings like eagles…will run and not grow weary…will walk and not be faint.’ An interesting fact about eagles is that in order for them to soar they use rising currents of warm air and up-drafts. Soaring is accomplished with very little wing-flapping, enabling them to conserve energy.

We have the privilege and provision of the up-drafts of the Holy Spirit to carry us above our suffering and pain. When we focus on our circumstances instead of God we will approach each day and every situation with a panicked and wing-flapping spirit. Today let us make the decision to pursue God with all of our hearts, and climb up on the back of our Divine Eagle, soaring above our circumstances.

Ringing Out

“…you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit…The Lord’s message rang out from you.” 1 Thessalonian 1:6-8.

Over the past 10 days the curtain has been pulled back and what has appeared is the object of sorrow and pain for many. Life has a way of drawing a line in the sand distinguishing between ‘before and after’…the day that this happened or that occurred…...life’s message. Time stands still when we make that discovery or we get that phone call. Life ushers in a new situation, whispering in our ears a new message that many times we do not want to hear.

What do we do when we see the unforeseen…how do our hearts respond when we realize the fear and loss? We pray for our hearts to embrace the message received with joy that can only be experienced through the Holy Spirit. Alone, we lack the ability to take the message of suffering and walk it out with joy. But the Lord’s message is how He responds to our circumstances. We do not walk it out with a limp or on one foot but with the provisions of the Holy Spirit. His love, peace and comfort will illuminate from those who allow the comfort of the Trinity to reign within their hearts. Our testimonies will ring true as we reach out with the same comfort we are given. Our message will be authentic when we embrace whatever circumstance in which we are experiencing. To embrace is not to be glad of the circumstance but to accept it and apply God’s grace to the situation.

We must claim the power that God has assigned to His children and approach our season with confidence. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7.