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