All In

“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar...Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided’” Genesis 22:14.

One of the most powerful displays of faith was when Abraham had to surrender Isaac on the altar.  God has promised Abraham that he would be the father of nations through his son.  So how confusing and heartbreaking it must have been when he realized that God was commanding he sacrifice Isaac as the lamb.  As Abraham approached the altar his actions showed what his faith believed… ‘God will provide …I completely trust God…I will be obedient God…His will, not mine.’  What followed was one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son’ Genesis 22:12.

Last Sunday our minister preached on partially living for Christ verses living a totally surrendered life. At the end of the sermon he invited people to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, and offered the opportunity to come down to the platform (which in our church is the altar).  He had laid a long blank piece of paper which ran the length of the platform, and if we so desired we were to write a commitment on the paper.  At the urging of the Holy Spirit Bruce approached the altar, picked up the marker and wrote three words…I’M ALL IN.  What makes this phrase so powerful is the fact that God has taken Bruce on an unknown career path, moving him away from everything he has known.  These three words remind me of Abraham when asked to surrender and trust God.  As Abraham walked up to his altar, Bruce walked up to our church’s platform.  Both men basically lifted the same message to the same Father… I’m uncomfortable but I’m committed…I’m saddened but I’m confident…I’m fearful but You are faithful…I’M ALL IN LORD…I’M ALL IN.

When we build altars before God and surrender our desires in the scariest of times, we hear the echoes of our faith rising to the throne room.  Whatever you are experiencing today, take it confidently and boldly before God and give it all to Him.  Don’t withhold anything but open your hands and allow Him to work.  There is nothing more pleasing to God than our offerings of complete trust and surrender.

‘On that day you must present a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the LORD’ Numbers 29:2.

Receiving Instead of Achieving

“After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Gal. 3:3.

After my 5 year service as caregiver with sick family members I found myself at a loss for what God had in store for me next.  Since the beginning of 2013 God has been very illusive in sharing His plan with me.  He has provided mere bread crumbs for His vision leaving a trail for me .  I have hungrily followed these crumbs in search of the complete filling.  I have involved myself in a ministry that I know came from God but still I’m walking in its shadows instead of its light.  I have even had two exchanges with God through dreams…visions…apparitions…whatever you wish to call them.  He communicated with me through His spirit and scripture that He was orchestrating everything to connect my different areas of service together.  Even after that powerful experience I found myself the other day considering that I should go look for a job and be done with it.  I thought of several companies that I could contact to attain employment.  I remember feeling a spirit of impatience and resolve that I would give it a little more time then apply for some jobs.  What had I done?  I had taken control of God’s plan for me and applied my human effort.  What began with allowing the Spirit to lead me morphed into meddling in my own ideas.

If we will just be still and know that God is God, He will speak to us in ways our spirit recognizes.  Any effort that comes from panic or impatience is our attempt to attain goals by human effort.  ‘Don’t try to make God speak.  Let Him speak.  He wants to, and He will when the time is right.  We don’t need to put words in God’s mouth.  Whatever the task at hand, it will not come down to achieving; it will come down to receiving’ Children of the Day, Beth Moore, p. 156. That phrase certainly resonates with me this morning…it will come down to receiving, not achieving.  My encounters with God always give me a sense of receiving something from Him.  In our achieving we will miss out on these encounters.  I must wait on His timing, His wisdom and His power to energize the things for which He has called me.  God has called each of us to a ministry in this world and we are all able to encounter God through His spirit and Scripture to follow His bread crumbs in our calling. 

'Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead…we pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something’ 2 Thessalonians 1:11.

What's For Breakfast?

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” 2 Tim. 3:16.

 

When our children were young most days were spent with at least one essential instruction during the day.  ‘Be nice…be truthful…play well…be careful.’  The commands went on and on but the motivation was pure love.   I am sure that I worried more than I needed to, fussed over things that didn’t require it and spoke more words than ever needed expressed.  Like you, I just wanted to know that I had equipped my children with the things that would help make them a successful adult. 

 

Our Father is no different when considering His plans for you and for me.  He breathed His commands onto the pages of Scripture and into our hearts with His spirit.  Between these two precious gifts we don’t walk this life alone.  We are led breath by breath to experience His nature and discern His wisdom.  I can’t tell you the number of times that He used the same Scripture to encourage me that He used to correct me.  I have been built up by His words, and humbled low by His words.  I have cried over His words and rejoiced in His words.  I have repeated His words to others to build them up, and have received His words from others to be built up.  I have frantically searched for an answer to prayer as if mining for a treasure in a cave.  His words have become life to me and exhilarating in my walk.  When I open my Bible each morning I expect to receive the food He wishes to give me. 

 

He has words to nourish every one of us just as He did Ezekiel.  ‘Son of man…eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you…go…and speak My words to them’ Ez. 3:1-4.  Before we feed others through our ministries we must feed ourselves to ensure the words that we share truly come under the inspiration of God.  What we speak over others is a result of what we have digested that day.  If we feed on gossip, bitterness, and entitlement then that is what we breathe out.  If we feed on God’s word, His leading, His urgings then we breathe out the very breath of God.  May we all speak as God speaks and serve with the heart that God has.

 

‘If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen’ 1 Peter 4:11.

Born to Minister

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” Jeremiah 1:4-5. 

This beautiful passage is not a love letter addressed to this person or that believer.  It is a beautiful love story penned directly to the name in the front of your own personal Bible.  The words in your Book are as personable as you make them, and as applicable as you live by them.  If you are breathing God means this passage for you.  Not only did He think upon us before we existed but with His very hands and breath created us into existence. If that wasn’t enough He assigned us a purpose in this life more than just walking it out.  He tells us that every one of us has been appointed as a prophet.  The translation for prophet is ‘one who has been called’. That puts all of us and our lives on the hook for living out what God originally planned for our lives.  Ephesians 2:10 echoes this Old Testament reality.  ‘But we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’  God created us with special strengths and talents, but it isn’t activated in power and purpose until we have been created a second time by believing and accepting in Christ. 

Every experience in our lives builds into a spiritual crescendo when strung together for the benefit of others.  ‘If you are a child of God, you have a ministry.  Your ministry is the ever-accruing collection of your life works for the glory of God…it’s the means by which you live out your divine purpose’ Children of the Day, Beth Moore, p. 142.  It is such a blessing to blog because I can clearly see future ministry births by recognizing the labor pains.  When I write about those faithful women who have experienced infertility my blog is blown up with awesome testimonies about how they persevered.  When I write about my own cancer walk with my sister and dad, the comments go on and on about the faithfulness of God in their grief.  Labor pains…spiritual contractions…future births. 

We are not to experience our pain and suffering for nothing.  Every experience that life throws our way will be used by God to build foundations for future service…good works…callings to be walked out.  It is our responsibility to look over our past lives and connect the spiritual dots with our present lives.  God will be faithful in shaping your future for His calling when we open His word and expect His revelations. 

‘Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines’ 1 Co. 12:7, 11.  ‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’ Co. 12:17.  ‘See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord’ Co. 4:18.

He Surely Does It

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” 1 Thess. 5:24, ESV.

Growing up I used to look at the elderly with pity. I remember thinking how their aging bodies had limited them and how time had escaped them. Little did I know that my pity was misplaced due to ignorance. What I had not factored in was their ability to triumph over life and all it had presented them. Recalling some of those precious people in my past I am humbled to know that those represented 1 Thess. 5:24…those who believed that God was faithful and that He would sure do it.

What did He do and what did His faithfulness look like? He was faithful in providing financial resources when the depression hit. He was faithful when a couple had to stand hand in hand and say goodbye to their child. He healed the broken heart of a spouse as they had to walk out the remaining years alone. His faithfulness was apparent when physical suffering had overtaken them. I only have to look behind my mother’s eyes to see that He who called her to walk her journey was faithful in equipping her to endure. Behind my mother’s eyes is a Christian who not only sees the big spiritual picture but accepts that plan. Behind my mother’s smile is a heart that has shattered in a million pieces but gave God access to rebuild her life in a different way...embracing His purposes for her life...trusting that He would surely do it.

I want to be that aging woman who exemplifies a 1 Thess. 5:24 life. I have a head start as I consider how God was faithful in carrying me through the addiction of my daughter. God was there when I sat and held my sister’s hand bidding her safe travels to heaven. God was beside us as we watched Daddy take his last breath and open his eyes to Christ. God is surely doing it while Bruce and I are awaiting His plan for us to unfold. God’s calling on your life and my life will provide the paths of His faithfulness. As the lines around my eyes increase and fears of the future decrease I am happy to be one of those women with a peppermint in my pocket and a story of God’s faithfulness in my heart. He has surely done it…He is surely doing it…and He will surely do it in the future.

‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ Hebrews 13:8.

Nasty Disturbing Uncomfortable Things!

“You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day…So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart…Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it” 1 Th 5:4-7, The Message.

This morning I read something from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit that reminded me of our passage. Gandalf the wizard says to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins: ‘I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.’ Bilbo Baggins replies: ‘I should think so – in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things!’
I am amused at this fictional dialogue that is closer to the truth for Christians than we would like to admit. Including me no one likes to go through tough times. But when we claim with our mouths to be Christians we had better be willing to walk it out with our feet. When we are living a life pursuing God we will face adversity and challenges just like Christ. We will be invited to walk alongside the Savior and experience adventure after adventure. Our despair will be replaced with joy when it doesn’t make sense to experience joy…that’s an adventure. We will watch God stretch our resources beyond anything we could have imagined…that’s an adventure. We will watch our loved ones triumph over addiction…that’s an adventure. So why do we act like Bilbo Baggins expecting to just sleepwalk through life avoiding the adventures that could awaken our hearts and activate our faith? Why are we complacent with the mundane and pursue comfort over purpose…nasty disturbing uncomfortable things!

We are children of the Day and should act like we belong to the Light of God. What does this look like in the life of a Christian? It means we are to open our hearts to share the pain we have experienced. A son of the Day means to find ways to lead in the Kingdom. A daughter of the Light means to love, serve and sacrifice. God is looking for those to join Him in the spiritual adventures for which we were created. It is only through our commitment to follow Him and place His plans ahead of our own that bring us to this place of adventure. God did not create and awaken us to this life only for us to fall back asleep. There is work to do and God is looking for people to share in the adventures that He is arranging. I wonder if it is as difficult for Him to find anyone like it was for Gandalf.

Power of the Past

“The unfolding of His words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple” Psalm 119:130.

Growing up we lived in a beautiful Georgian style home with plenty of room to roam on five acres. Some of my most precious memories reside in the rooms and hallways of that country home. Eventually, Mother and Daddy moved into another home and the doors of my childhood closed forever. I don’t know why that was so devastating for me, but I carried the effects deep into my adult life. I would dream about moving back in to that home as the new owner. I even dreamed that I bought it and turned it into a restaurant. I cannot express enough how emotionally captive I was regarding the unavailability of that home. I even stopped in the current owner’s drive when I was in my 30’s with my children. I wanted them to see the most perfect place on earth. The owner came out and invited us to go through the home which was such a blessing, but also a heart break…a reminder that we can never really go home.

Fast forward 20 years and lean in to a discussion between me and my husband. We have lived in our home for 30 years and raised our children on acreage similar to my childhood. I have constantly drawn parallels between the two and have prayed that they experienced the same happiness that I experienced. The conversation was considering selling our home and moving to a smaller place in preparation for our ‘golden years.’ Nothing in me felt golden about that! I remember feeling like that little girl who had the locks changed on her decades ago. I was in tears and couldn’t continue the conversation, so I walked down to the swing in our back yard. I began praying that God would work in this area to set me free from this emotional stronghold. After time with God I wiped my face dry and continued with my day, but not the conversation. The following morning as I was turning the pages of Scripture, God led me to Psalm 119. Honestly, I had never read this chapter before because of the length of it, but this morning was different. I was looking for a key to my emotional healing that would be stronger than the key to my childhood home. As I turned the pages of Psalm 119 God unlocked this emotional topic forever in verse 54. ‘Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.’ There it was in black and white…the light in my darkness…the key to the lock. God showed me that when I make His plans for my life my plans then it doesn’t matter where I live…there will be freedom…there will be joy…there will be peace in my inner self. He shone light where darkness resided and gave me freedom where my heart was imprisoned.

We all have secret prisons in our hearts that need God’s releasing…fear for the future that paralyzes us …unmet expectations that have embittered us…past wounds that have defined us. The answer to all of these emotional strongholds lives in the unfolding of God’s word. He will release us from emotional challenges when we give Him the access to both heal and hold us.

‘Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me’ Ph 3:12.

Following Our Cloud

By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night” Ex 13:21.

When the Israelites were brought out of slavery, God manifested Himself in a cloud by day and fire by night. It didn’t matter whether it was light or dark the Lord could be seen. One of the things that I most love about the Word is the relativity in its message across the landscape of time. The Bible gives us snapshots of the lives of those who previously journeyed this earth. It is drenched with lessons on how we can experience the same God that others experienced.

We also have a cloud that guides us when looking to pursue a lift of righteousness. Hebrews 12:1 beautifully illustrates that ‘we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses’ who exemplified a life of fixing their eyes on Jesus. Personally, my cloud was very visible whether times were filled with light and joy or times were filled with darkness and despair. My cloud included my grandparents who walked their faith out in such passion and purpose. I witnessed my dad choosing sacrifice over comfort and service over convenience. I still see my mother who is my cloud on earth who has chosen acceptance over bitterness and joy over despair. I still have a long journey to walk out but my hope is that my legacy will be enveloped in a cloud for those whom have witnessed my faith. I certainly do not have a completed or perfect faith, but I do have a passion to follow the cloud. I do want to continue to consider those witnesses who have traveled before me and exhorted me to float above my circumstances. I know that keeping my eyes on Jesus means Jesus keeping His eye on me.

As we consider the people with whom we surround ourselves we must make sure that the cloud we are following is the cloud that leads to heaven. We should be able to see the same pillar both night and day …in stormy times and calm times…in joy and in despair... 'the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows' James 1:17.
 

Gently Awakened

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope…We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” 1 Th 4:14.

When I was around six years old I had to be hospitalized for surgery regarding a kidney blockage. One evening before my mother left the hospital she informed me that Holdie, her mother, was coming to be with me the next day. I loved Holdie so much and could hardly sleep that night. The next day about an hour before she was to be there I went and sat on the floor between the elevators. I couldn’t wait to see her, but fell asleep while waiting on her. I can’t remember whether a nurse awakened me or whether Holdie did but I do know that when I opened my eyes she was there!

I think that this must have been a similar experience for the Thessalonians. The believers were so convinced that Jesus Christ was on His way back to earth they were worried for those believers who had just died. They were fearful that the deceased would miss out on the big event, so Paul encouraged them with this beautiful passage. His words were not telling them that they should not grieve their departed ones, but they didn’t have to grieve with the same despair as those who were not Christ believers. He reminded them of the beautiful truth that because Christ died for the believers, when He did return those who had already died would be gently roused out of their sleep. So many people believed in God but not in Christ, which is the cornerstone for being reunited with our loved ones in eternity. Without the cross there would be no forgiveness for us…without the Christ there would be no salvation for us…without the resurrection there would be no reunions.

As I sit here between my spiritual elevators awaiting my Savior I am just as excited as I was at six. I know that most likely I will fall asleep again but this time I will be awakened by the One who climbed up on that tree to save me.

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am’ John 14:1-4.

An 'Even More' Love

“Now about brotherly love…you do love all the brothers. Yet we urge you…to do so even more. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business…so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders…” 1 Th 4:9-12.

In our passage Paul was writing to the Christian converts in Thessalonica, reminding them of the most important call that God commands…...love. This was a letter written after he had spent time with them, loved them by example and had brought this group of people to Christ. He had received reports, that since his departure, their behavior didn’t resemble love like it should. Paul was very aware that their failure to love threatened the very message of Christ for those people yet to be converted. His message confirmed that the congregation did love each other but this love could be improved upon when dealing with each other. What was his blueprint for loving more? Basically, it was to set a daily goal to not draw attention to themselves by arguing, debating and confronting their brothers. Dr. Leon Morris compares the phrase ‘ambition to lead a quiet life’ as seeking strenuously to be still. This echoes a direct command from God, ‘Be still…’ Psalm 46:9. The second was for them to mind their own business thus limiting the temptation to judge their own brothers in the faith. Both of these commands would have been crucial in ensuring their mouths matched their behavior. Not much has changed over a few thousand years, has it?

What does this blueprint look like today in our churches and communities? Loving others even more means taking the higher road when opportunities present themselves. Loving even more means having an ambition to express God’s heart on things instead of our own desires. To love another even more is to be still before the Lord each morning to access His love to give away. Expressing the love of God even more means that we do not participate in talking about or tearing down other believers. These are the things that can authenticate our faith or diminish our faith as unbelievers stand by watching. We sometimes get so caught up looking inwardly towards our spiritual siblings we forget that others are watching from the outside. No one is going to try to pattern their behavior after those they do not respect. A testimony is only as good as the people who are willing to listen. Without respect there are no ears to hear.

Our words, our focus and our activity must match the love of God or our message will be null and void without gain. We all have a daily calling to get up off our couches and from behind our desks, to engage with others in love, service and sacrifice…now that’s an even more love.