Troubling Pallbearers

“As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out…When the Lord saw…his heart went out…Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still.  He said… ‘get up!’  The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.  They were all filled with awe and praised God” Luke 7:11-16.

This story has such a tender impact on my heart as I was that mother many years ago.  When our daughter was caught up in heroin addiction she was living her life as if dead.  She allowed the evil of drugs to entomb her and was carried around by its power.  We sat by watching… praying… pleading…planning for the end.  Our circumstances convinced us hope was gone and our hearts were preparing for the worst.  But the Spirit stopped the evil processional and brought her back to life.  As my sister lay entombed in a body full of cancer her fears and dashed dreams carried her to the end.  How many times she must have laid there in the dark with an awareness of her life winding down.  In both circumstances, the Spirit of Truth went up and touched the coffins.  One healed on earth and one healed in eternity…but both still live.  There is only a fine veil between heaven and earth, with the two meeting as one someday, and don't you know that both sat up and began praising God.

All of us can find ourselves in spiritual coffins with troubling pallbearers – guilt…fear…anger …judgment…unforgiveness…status.  When we allow the flesh to carry us around in life we miss out on Jesus.  When the Spirit stops us in our tracks and touches our lives, we will be able to escape the confines of our coffin.  He will provide a way for us to get up and walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh. 

We cannot allow anything other than the healing hand of Christ to lead us on the journey home.  ‘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 Co. 2:14.

Let us not be carried out by the flesh but be carried away in the Spirit.

Perspective's Importance

“Jesus gave them this answer:  ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does’” John 5:19.

When my husband Bruce was a young child he used to go down in his dad’s workshop to watch him.  He learned a great deal by simply seeing how his father did things, and watching his father at work accomplishing the necessary tasks.  Bruce gradually began learning the same things through seeing things from his dad’s perspective.

The same is true in our Christian walk.  We are going to find ourselves in the middle of circumstances that we do not understand.  We are going to look at the emotions and attitudes of our heart and look for our own understanding and validation.  Our spiritual health will suffer if we do not look at our circumstances and challenges from God’s perspective.  When we are self-centered instead of God-centered our thoughts become bombarded with what was done to us…what rights we have in any given situation…what entitlement is ours.

This morning my Bible Study presented an interesting experiment that any of us would be fearful to perform.  The challenge was to see to what degree we truly deny ourself, take up God’s will and follow Him.  ‘The most challenging part of your relationship with God is being God-centered.  If you recorded a day in your life, you might find that your prayers, your attitudes, your thoughts, and your actions are intensely self-centered.  You may not see things from God’s perspective; rather, you may try to explain to God what your perspective is’ Experiencing God, p. 121. 

What if Jesus as He hung on the cross acted on His own perspective instead of doing what He saw His Father doing – saving mankind.  From His Father’s perspective, the cross made perfect sense… but from the perspective of the One who was unjustly treated, the cross would never make sense.  Looking from His own perspective, Jesus would have climbed down off that cross if given the chance.  However, Christ Jesus was all about watching His Father, adjusting His attitude to God’s perspective and following Him into whatever circumstance necessary…come what may.

While we can never be perfect we can certainly be watchful and prayerful.  God would never ask us to be something we could not be or do something that was impossible.  Through the Holy Spirit we can live a life looking through the perspective of God’s heart.  What would this look like in the life of a Christian? 

‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things…put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you’ Phil 4:9.

Doing the Next Thing

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Phil 4:6-7.

Have you ever had an itch that needed to be scratched but it couldn’t be reached.  It seems that the itch becomes all-consuming until relief comes.  Well, yesterday relief came.  Over the past couple months I felt God leading and confirming through many sources my next step towards His will for my life.  I still cannot tell you what it is because I do not even know myself.  All I know is that God developed a spiritual itch that I could not ignore.  Through prayer, study and meditation He encouraged me to reach out and offer my name for consideration in some type of women’s ministries.  Much like a golfer who concentrates on his swing instead of the outcome, I cannot look into the future.  I must have spiritual concentration on the next step which God reveals to me. 

Yesterday, although nervous and feeling insecure, I reached out and scratched that spiritual itch and boy did it feel great!  It matters not where it will lead because I know that He already has that worked out.  The relief of stretching beyond my fears and insecurities brought both peace and contentment.  In considering the ‘spiritual swing’ of yesterday I can have confidence that all I need is to watch for God to show me the next thing to do.  As I considered these words this morning…Do the next thing…I was led to an old poem which blessed me this morning.  I wish to share this poem with you written by Elisabeth Elliot.  As the words come into your mind and heart, I invite you to allow its meaning to relate to any anxiety you may be feeling this morning about your own future.  God is in complete control of every situation in all of our lives.   As we walk towards Him we can have the complete assurance of victory if we just watch for God and then do the next thing.

Do The Next Thing

"At an old English parsonage down by the sea, there came in the twilight a message to me.  Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven. And all through the hours the quiet words ring, like a low inspiration, 'Do the next thing.'

Many a questioning, many a fear, many a doubt hath its quieting here. Moment by moment, let down from heaven, time, opportunity, guidance are given. Fear not tomorrow, child of the King, trust that with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer, do it reliantly, casting all care. Do it with reverence, tracing His hand, who placed it before thee with earnest command. Stayed on omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing, leave all resultings, do the next thing.

Looking to Jesus, ever serener, working or suffering be thy demeanor, in His dear presence, the rest of His calm, the light of His countenance, be thy psalm. Do the next thing."

Confined to Our Mat

“Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic…they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and…lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’  He said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’” Mark 2:3-5, 11.

When my sister Beth was nearing the end of her young life Heaven’s gates were continuously being stormed on her behalf.  No longer able to get up and walk she laid there awaiting some type of healing.  Much like the men climbing up on the roof carrying their paralytic friend, we lifted Beth up for God’s miracle of healing.  People across the country stood with us as we ‘lowered her mat before Jesus.’  But just as in this story, Jesus was more concerned with Beth’s eternity than temporary earthly healing.  It was time for her to receive His very best.  We wanted a little more time with Beth on earth, but the One who created her and loved her most was ready to give her everything.  When Jesus called, she got up, took her mat and went home.

Obviously, we were left with a hole in our heart for ourselves and also her little girl.  It would have been easy to feel cheated and angry but that would have been to the detriment of God’s will.  I knew that my prayers had to shift to healing my own heart or my emotions would become a barrier between me and God.   I had to completely trust that God would carry everyone involved through the most difficult times and would turn it into glory for Him.  I had to believe in the deepest part of my heart that God would provide the grace Beth’s little girl needed as she needed it – I had to trust God for all of His promises – not just the ones I agreed with.

Testimonies are not made up of bitterness and anger, but rather the story of how God sustains us through our heartbreak.  Our words and actions will show if we have unresolved anger with one of God’s decisions.  Our attitude and behavior will display our lack of trust in God’s ability to heal the hearts of those who must walk through suffering.  Without surrendering our anger in any given situation, we become paralyzed in our emotions.  We allow ourselves to be the one who becomes sick and confined to a mat.  God wants more for each of us than spiritual paralysis.  He wants complete healing in the spiritual realm and will arrange a way for us to ‘get up, take our mat and go home.’  If we lack peace in any given situation, we lack the freedom to soar which God intended for each of us.

‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ 2 Co. 3:17.

 

What must you lay down to pick up your mat?

 

Planning to a Fault

“The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.  But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart though all generations.” Ps. 33:10-11

Have you ever noticed how the best laid plans end up in the weeds?  It doesn’t matter how much time has been invested, some plans never get off the ground.  What was good in theory lacks in execution.  Many times the reason for failure is because we never sought God’s thoughts on our endeavor.  Anything worthy enough for our investment of time is worth hearing God’s view on the matter.   Planning is a good thing when our plans support the Kingdom work which only God can reveal. 

God will always use our intimate relationship with Him to reveal His nature, His purposes and His will.  God invites us to join Him as His plans involve the overall will for the world, not just for our little world.  It is through our intimate relationship with God that we discover the activities in which God is already working.  Once we are invited into His plans He will reveal His purpose in the plan so we can adjust our knowledge and actions.  Through shared time in the planning, He exposes His ways that best show the glory of God.  If we are unable to let go of our ways to accomplish things, people will see a diluted version of success in our endeavors.  The definition of foils is the prevention from attaining an end.  If the work of our hands does not match the plans of God’s heart, we will not be successful in its attainment.  To thwart is to oppose successfully and defeat the hopes and aspirations of some activity. 

God will do what He says He will do and accomplish it in the manner in which He determines.  God reveals Himself to show us He can be trusted and faithful.  God reveals His purposes to invite us into whatever work He is already completing.  God reveals His ways to us so we may know the path to take in completing our part of the work.  All of this together will accomplish a faith-based walk which broadens our testimony and shows the handiwork of God in all things.

Staffs, Bushes and Rainbows

“Gideon replied, ‘…give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.’  And the LORD said, ‘I will wait…’  With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and unleavened bread…When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, ‘Ah, Sovereign LORD!  I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!’” Judges 6:17-22.

As a mother, I have developed an individual relationship with each of my children, unique to them.  Through intimate encounters with each of them, I better understand how to relate when helping them through tough times.  My communication with one of them looks different from my communication with the other.  I wouldn’t go to my son to relay an important message for one of my daughters.  We have each built unique and intimate relationships through previous encounters.  If Caroline was confused about something I said, she would come to me for clarification.

Gideon wanted to make sure that he was not stepping out of the will of God.  God was calling him to an assignment, but Gideon wanted to be confident that it was indeed God who was speaking.  We can all relate to this passage when searching for the will of God for our lives.  The most important element of hearing God is the intimate relationship leading up to our encounter.  The more we know God through fellowship the more clearly we will recognize His word for our lives.  God used the tip of the staff igniting the offering to confirm the message He had already given him.  He used what was unique to Gideon – the offering he was preparing– to speak to him.  God used a burning-bush to speak to Moses.  God used a rainbow to speak to Noah about a future promise.

Our Father knows exactly how to speak to us in unique and personal ways.  We will recognize our encounters with God the more we seek Him.  The Holy Spirit affords us the privilege to experience God one on one, as our spirit connects with His spirit.  We can know when God is speaking, and understand the personal message He has for us.  We have a Father who seeks intimate encounters with His individual children, but we must do our part in the relationship.

‘He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him’ John 14:21.

So It Will Be

“The LORD Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’  For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” Isa. 14:24, 27.

In the past, I have looked for ways to serve God much to my own dismay as I experienced burnout.  I would have my calendar so full of service items that many days were met with dread simply out of exhaustion.  The older I get, the greater understanding I have that I am not the one to initiate service to God.  God has constantly been at work since the beginning of time.  He has the complete creation picture and has the wisdom, the power and the perfect timing for ‘everything under the sun.’  Eccl 3:1. 

God has an overall purpose for the world based on His love for us, and His desire to invite everyone into a loving relationship with Him.  He sets His purposes and plans in action, and then initiates and invites those of His choosing to help accomplish His goals.  His purposes will not change but whom He invites may be altered based on their response.  For example, a friend of mine was approached to serve in our church’s ministry for those 55 years and older…that was God’s initiation for my friend.  Whether she accepted or not would not have thwarted the plan for God to grow that ministry.  Her acceptance certainly blessed her and the members in that group, but God was going to do great things with that ministry regardless.  My friend’s desire to develop a more intimate relationship with God was the key to being invited into God’s work.  She pursued a deeper relationship with God, and through their love relationship He stretched out His hand inviting her to join Him in this ministry. 

According to Henry Blackaby, co-author of Experiencing God we are to pray for God to show us where He is already at work and then watch for His revelation.  Whatever God reveals to us is an invitation to join Him.  Once we have been invited to join God, we must make adjustments in our life to respond to that calling.  God will do amazing things that man cannot alter with those who love Him and respond to Him.

Searching for the Lamb

“...but where is the lamb?”  Gen. 22:7

These five haunting words were spoken from the mouth of young Isaac as he and his dad prepared the altar for sacrifice.  He couldn’t have known what his father was doing, but was following Abraham’s lead.  He trusted Abraham and completely believed in his father’s love for him.  But what about those silent moments as his father placed him upon the altar, bound him and the reality was revealed?  ‘He bound his son Isaac…’  What on earth could this young boy have been thinking as he watched the one he trusted most do something contradictory to love?

When my sister Beth lay dying with cancer, I cannot tell you how many times I looked to God and asked, ‘…but where is the lamb?’  When my father-in-law was in his final stage of Alzheimer’s living with us, I constantly cried out to my Father in heaven, ‘…but where is the lamb?’  Yesterday while on the phone with my dear friend whose husband is battling brain cancer, I listened through tears at the circumstances.  As I punched the end button on the phone, I sat down on the steps and cried asking God, ‘…but where is the lamb?’    Where is the deliverance from this season?

Although we completely trust God there are those silent moments when we do not understand what He is doing in our lives…why suffering is happening…why the lamb isn’t showing up.  Just as Isaac didn’t struggle or run away, we must crawl up on God’s will and surrender to His knowledge and His ways.  We may have seasons of silence feeling bound to a situation that we cannot understand and feels contradictory to love, but God will provide.  God will deliver us from the situation and will be on the other side to restore, heal and rebuild. 

Through our confusion in sorrowful circumstances, we can go to our Father with questions such as Isaac.  God will not waver from His will but He will never remove His loving and faithful hands from His children.  We will never be left alone in our circumstances and will eventually understand that Love never departed. 

“…and there in a thicket he saw a ram…And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided’” Gen 22:13-14.

Talking Banners

“Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, ‘For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD.’” Exodus 17:15.

Whenever the Olympics are scheduled to begin, the image of the opening ceremonies always comes to my mind. There is something special about watching these talented athletes walking confidently behind their own country’s flag or banner. The banner goes before them and marks the group of people to whom they belong.

Moses also walked in complete confidence behind his banner, the Lord. God brought victory in the battle against the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms in prayer (Ex. 17:8-15). When Moses became weary, Joshua and Aaron sat him on a stone and held up his arms until the battle was over. Moses knew to whom he belonged and accredited the victory – Jehovah Nissi (the LORD is my Banner).

We all march behind our own banner which represents our level of faith. Through one battle, our banner displays fears and unbelief in God’s deliverance. In another season, our banner may mark joy and peace. The banners we march behind through life will display where our confidence and attitudes lie. Does our banner mark a bitter person or a person who holds grudges? Are we cowering behind a banner of fear? Does our banner proclaim confidence in God’s complete victory in our lives despite the circumstances?

Satan will take every opportunity to lure us behind his banner which is marked with threats of failure, planting fear in the minds of God’s children. What fear is holding you captive behind Satan’s banner? God did not give us fear but gave us everything we need to be successful in all circumstances. 'For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline’ (2 Timothy 1:7). Like Moses we must seat ourselves upon the Stone and keep ourselves in a posture of prayer. 'As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood' (1 Peter 2:4).

We can march through life behind Satan’s banner of ‘WHAT IF?’ or march behind Jehovah Nissi who goes before us and fights our battles.

Our 'Moreover'

“‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’  The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.  So God said to him, Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked…Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for…” 1 Kings 3:10-13.

God came to Solomon in a dream and gave him the ultimate opportunity – to grant him his deepest desire.  He could have requested anything, but his desires were anchored in a shared purpose with God relating to His people.  His desires came from a selfless heart instead of focusing on his own needs and goals.  He had been chosen as king in the new temple, so popularity and power among the kingdom would have been a valid request.  But Solomon saw things from God’s standpoint instead of from the standpoint of his flesh.  His focus was aligned with God’s focus.

God will come to us with blessings when our hearts are aligned with His purposes, His ways and His plans.  When our hearts are filled with our own desires God knows that our service to Him will be centered around our own selfishness.  God will lavish His blessings upon our lives when our hearts are bent towards His people and our focus is centered on His work.  We should all take note that God’s excessive blessings came as a result of Solomon’s focus on people other than himself. 

If God came to you tonight offering the same opportunity, what would your request be?  What unfulfilled dream consumes you and does it benefit the people of God?  Would your request be as unselfish as Solomon’s request?  Paul described in the New Testament what God demonstrated to Solomon in the Old Testament.  ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’ Ephesians 3:20-21.

When our desires are aligned with God’s, we are met with a power that brings glory to both God and the church.  Our spiritual focus on earth will bless the people of God and will create significance in the eternal.  God will give us our ‘moreover’ when we are looking towards the benefit of others.

Going Well With You

“‘While you were doing all these things,’ declares the LORD, ‘I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer…Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward’… ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the LORD its God or responded to correction.’”Jeremiah 7:13, 23-28.

Those last few words of our passage this morning leave a haunting echo in my heart. God’s patience and mercy is certainly long-running and enduring while dealing with the sins of His children. From the time of Adam and Eve, God has commanded and man has rejected…God has provided but man desired more. The cycle of sin-correction-sin-correction was put into motion in the garden. Over the centuries, God must have thought ‘Will man ever learn? Will there ever be a people who will not be led by the inclinations of their own desires?’

That question still lingers in the air like stale smoke as we look around at the focus of our lives. Every one of us has a war waging in our hearts – the flesh vs. the spirit…the things of this world vs. the things of God. We proclaim that we belong to God but we worship false beliefs and selfish attitudes. We talk about moving forward in faith but in the dark halls of our own hearts we are moving backwards living in fear and selfishness. God sees the heart of man and knows who is walking in His ways. God is speaking daily to each of us, but are we listening? Are we like the people in Jeremiah’s time who have turned a deft ear to the Lord? Have we gotten so accustomed to our own rights of entitlement we are not even aware when we rebel? We talk about her...we judge him...we refuse forgiveness...we fail to give mercy. All these things are the things that God will eventually correct in your life. We all know what we need to do in these matters, but do we do them?

When the flesh is speaking louder than God we will be unable to hear the whispers of our Father who loves us. God will eventually give us over to ourselves and the cycle continues. The only way to respond to the correcting and loving hand of God is to be aware of His commands, and obedient in living by them. Every desire we have must be measured against the will of God. Before we act on anything, we must be prayerful and attuned to God’s response. He will lead us through our decisions and reveal the path of our journey, and then our lives will pattern the life that God intended.

…and may it go well with you…

Up Ahead

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14).

Paul was very aware that the things of his past no longer were beneficial in helping him attain His goal for the future, which was now aligned with Christ’s goal.  Paul had every reason to be confident in his past…a Hebrew of Hebrews…a Pharisee…one of the God’s chosen in Israel…faultless in the law.  But as he walked the road to Damascus, Christ reached down and took hold of Paul.  He was struck down, temporarily blinded and his life was turned upside down.  For Paul to get his bearings he knew he could only do one thing…take hold of Christ.  It was that day that Christ Jesus revealed that everything in his past was null and void.  It was that experience that showed the truth of Paul’s life and how he would be transformed.

For the majority of my adult life there were attitudes and beliefs that I thought were moving me along in a positive way.  It wasn’t until God pursued a loving and intimate relationship in 2006 that awakened me from my ineffective and misguided behavior.  My insecurities had me press into the acceptance of others and the importance of their approval.  My fear of being rejected was always at the base of my heart and directed my decisions.  Once Christ took hold of my heart, these things in my past no longer worked.   It seemed that many of my former decisions were centered around what I needed, instead of what God desired.  Most days now I try to look ahead with the plans and purposes of God instead of my own.  Some days it is a strain to see how all of this will play out in the end as I look towards the future.  But as my confidence in Christ increases the confidence in my own abilities seem to decrease.  I know that as long as I reach out to Christ, I will be led and transformed as I move closer to the day when He takes me home. 

We all have things in our past that won’t work once we press into our relationship with God.  Whatever attitudes we must leave behind will be replaced with the renewal of our minds and the transformation of our hearts.  As long as we are on this earth, let us keep moving forward towards the purposes of God and away from the emptiness of the flesh.

The Call to Character

“I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Gen 12:2.

Did you realize that the timeframe between God’s call on Abram’s life and the actual fulfillment of the call was 25 years?  God did not come to Abram with an assignment for that day, but rather an opportunity for the future.  It was certainly a call on Abram’s life in the now for he would have to adjust his life for God to accomplish His purpose.  It was God’s initiation and promise to build Abram into the man of character required for this assignment.

God is all about relationship and character building when He fellowships with each of us.  He will seldom show us His purpose for our lives that require immediate action.  What action will be immediate when He speaks to us is our response in that experience.  Over a 25 year span, God built Abram into the character of God which would result in making a great name for God’s chosen.  But His chosen had to be willing to make some changes in his life to be in position to receive God’s best.

Every child of God is in position to receive a call on their life.  God wants to make all of us great in His spiritual kingdom, but we lack in some areas what is required.  We all have things that we need to lay down and walk away from to accomplish His plans.  We all have weaknesses in our character that God will need to work on for future accomplishments.  God will take whatever timeframe is required to build up our character, and work out our flaws.  ‘If you are not willing to be faithful in a little, God will not give you larger assignments.  God uses the smaller assignments to build character.  God always builds character to match His assignment.  If God has a great task for you, He will expand your character to match that assignment.’ Experiencing God, p. 47.

What adjustments do you feel God is asking of you?  What future blessings are being impacted by present weaknesses?  Ask God to reveal the appropriate adjustments He is requiring of you to make your name great for His glory in His kingdom.  We cannot be a blessing to others until we have allowed God to make the necessary changes to our character. 

Hearts Gone Astray

“So, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did …during the time of testing in the desert…That is why I was angry with that generation…Their hearts are always going astray…They shall never enter my rest.’ See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God…We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first…So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” Hebrews 3:7-19.

This morning’s passage is longer than usual but one worthy of our consideration. This entire chapter is dedicated to unbelief and speaks loudly about the missed blessings due to this sinful attitude. What strikes me most clearly is the explanation that their hearts were always going astray which invoked anger on the part of God. They had the information…they had the patience of God…they had the promise…but they lacked the belief. God made it transparently clear that through the testing of the desert will come the promised land. Their part was to simply believe, follow and be amazed by the working hand of the Lord.

What has God promised you that has yet to be realized? I know for me it has been two years of watching…waiting…anticipating. On this side I see delays, standstills and even stalemates. But God is working behind the scene and I must be faithful in my patience and belief in what He is going to accomplish. He set up the foundation of Emerging Life Ministries back in 2008 and I know He has the promised land for me. I cannot allow my heart to go astray with unbelief and fear that I am not going to accomplish His purpose for my life. The challenge is not the faith we have going into the desert, but rather maintaining our faith in the midst of the desert.

I am convinced that all unbelief begins in the hands of the devil. He turns our thoughts around and teases us with fear and is successful in making us waver in our belief of God’s provision and promises. If we will just hold strong to our faith, placing our confidence in God instead of the desert circumstances we will inherit His blessings in our lives.

So, see to it, my sisters and brothers…do not allow your faith to be manipulated by Satan. Place your faith in the hands of the One who will fulfill your God-given destiny.

Whatever You Do...

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:23-24).  

There are 24 hours in a day…some days these hours feel like an instant, and some days they feel like a lifetime.  The difference lies in the attitude of our hearts.  There swings a daily pendulum between chaos and calm and we hold the key to our contentment.  God has given us a new day as a gift and an opportunity to serve the Creator of this universe.  He directs our paths in all we do, whether we are busy or bored.  It is all in our focus and how committed we are to His plans, and not our own.

We are told in Colossians that whatever we do daily is to be done with the passion of pleasing the Lord, doing His work and serving Him.   I am learning a lesson as I grow more deeply with Him.  If my day seems to stall and not hold much for me in earthly contentment I try to consciously think about the things of God.  I consider how God is at work all around me, and I know He wishes to involve me in His purposes.  I create some quiet space where I posture myself to hear what He wishes for me to accomplish for that day alone.  I try to adjust my attitude and heart around the important things of His kingdom, not the earthly things of my kingdom.  I try to stay alert to people He has placed in my path for that moment in an effort to take advantage of any opportunity He has given me.

He has given us 24 hours a day but how much time do we give in return?  What would our lives look like if we gave daily 1/10^th of our time to the Lord like we do our tithe?  What work could be accomplished in the spiritual lives of those around us if we used this tenth…2.4 hours… and gave it to the Lord?  Tithing financially is only one offering to give the Kingdom of God.  We can tithe with our time and our energy which will bring the kind of satisfaction and contentment this world cannot provide.

Whatever you do today, do it with a spiritual focus in view and recognize that our Father has deemed us worthy of another day.  If we are not the hands and feet of Christ, than who is?    In prayer today, ask the Lord to reveal where He is at work around you.  Provide some extra time for listening, anticipating His invitation to join Him. 

‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things’ Col 3:1-2.

Extraordinary by Association

“Elijah was a man just like us.  He prayed earnestly…Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain…” James 5:17-18.  “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” Acts 4:13.

Throughout time, men and women have done extraordinary things out of their ordinary lives through the empowerment of God.  Very rarely did God use the brightest and best to accomplish His works.  Most frequently God called ordinary people to accomplish things that were far beyond their abilities up to that point in their lives.

The same has happened in my life as I began studying Scripture, spending time in prayer and focusing on an intimate relationship with God.  I have never had any formal training in writing or applying Scripture.  This ordinary and unschooled gal finally got with the spiritual program 7 years ago and turned my face upon Jesus.  Amazing things have happened since I started being with Jesus…things far beyond my own abilities.  Many times when someone has sent me a comment on one of my devotionals I love to go back and reread it with their circumstances in mind.  I am always amazed at how the writing spoke directly to their situation, and how personal the message was from God to them.  It is at these moments that I know that our extraordinary God is doing so much through His ordinary children. 

I love the quote from Henry Varley which doesn’t omit any of us in dealing with our God extraordinaire.  ‘The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.”  God has a plan for each of our lives, not just a good plan but a great plan.  If we will just pursue Him with the passion of our hearts and open up our ordinary lives, we will be used in a mighty way.

…and all will be ‘astonished as they take note that we have been with Jesus.’

The Dance of Ambivalence

“‘How long will you waver between two opinions?  If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’  But the people said nothing.  Then Elijah said to them, ‘I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.’” 2 Kings 18: 21-22.

Elijah was perhaps one of the most courageous men throughout the Bible.  He was certainly one of the few who continued to worship the one true God in the face of unpopular belief.  He stood up against the kingdom administration and took on the entire region to exalt God.  Those in earshot had been attempting to walk a fine line between recognizing God and recognizing all other gods.  Through their unwillingness to choose, they stood for everything instead of standing for the One thing.

Sound familiar?  Elijah’s audience could have just as easily been you and me.  In our culture today it seems that to be socially and politically correct, anything and everything is tolerated.  The gods of the flesh are constantly being fed, stroked and appeased through our focus.   We balance the flesh and spirit everyday as we struggle between what we want and what God wants.  The Hebrew word for waver is also used for the word dance.  ‘Elijah speaks with biting irony:  In her religious ambivalence Israel is but engaging in a wild and futile religious dance.’ NIV Study Bible.

Without the proper focus on and fellowship with God we will go through life dancing a wild and futile religious dance.  When we remain ambivalent about God, our silence displays a dance of its own.   Our faith is wrapped with colored veils, looking more like the hues of the flesh.  The music of the world plays and we dance to its rhythm.  We must take off our dancing veils and stand up for God in a world where so many seem to be seated at the feet of the flesh. 

Hot or Cold?

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:21.

When I was a little girl my sisters and I would play a game where an item was hidden, and the winner was the one who located that item.  As each of us would begin moving around the house, the one who hid the item would tell us if we were hot or cold.  The success of finding the hidden treasure was to stay on the one step until we were told which way to move.  Was my step to the right hot or cold?  If I moved backwards was I closer or further away?  It was imperative to only focus on one step at a time.  The hidden treasure would be located by the patience and obedience of moving step by step.

This children’s game speaks volumes relating to discovering our God-given destinies.  We cannot be like impatient little children, running around aimlessly guessing at the hiding places.  We must stay on our step until God instructs us to move to the other.  Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit we will hear, ‘You are moving away from your destiny with that step’… ‘You have just gotten closer to the calling on your life with that move.’ 

Throughout the Bible, God rarely showed the complete picture when calling His children to their God ordained purposes.  Instead, His call was given with vague invitations… ‘Come… Follow me… Go… I will show you…’   God’s primary desire is intimacy with each of us and not the end results.  God doesn’t need us to accomplish His purposes, but invites us to fellowship and participate with Him in accomplishing His purposes.  Like any game, the real adventure is in the pursuit and the interaction between the participants.

We must allow God to be master over every step we take as He leads us to our spiritual destiny in His kingdom.  So whether you step onto the next stone keep the other foot grounded until God tells you whether you are hot or cold.

Heavenly Stories

“Saul, Saul, why are you attacking Me?” Acts 9:4 (The Voice)

This morning I am amazed that I have never noticed the implication of Jesus’ question to Saul.  Saul had gone to the high priest in Jerusalem to gain permission to rid the synagogues in Damascus of the followers of the way of Jesus.  His plan was to arrest and chain any of Jesus’ followers—women as well as men—and transport them back to Jerusalem. (The Voice commentary)

I never noticed what implications this tiny verse has for each of us as we walk our roads in this life.  Jesus never said, ‘Why are you watching Stephen being stoned with such approval?  Why are you leading the revolt against Peter, John and James?  Why do your plans involve hurting my children?’  No…this loud booming voice of Divinity and Trinity thundered, ‘Why are you attacking Me?’  Jesus taught His disciples this truth through Matthew 25:21-36 before He was crucified and resurrected.  He told of a time when He would come into His glory and sit beside God.  Both the righteous and the unrighteous would approach Him with their lives laid bare before the King.  Their actions on earth will be their story told in Heaven.  Saul got the short version of this story as he was struck by a blinding light.  Saul’s attack on God’s people was the same as Saul attacking the Trinity.  I only have to look as far as my children to see the anger that arises when they are being treated unfairly.  You mess with my children and you have just messed with me – same passion.

Jesus made it very clear that the manner in which we treat others is the manner in which we treat Him.  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (Matt 25:40). “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’ (Matt 25:45).

When we look into the face of those who irritate, injure or wound us we are looking into the face of Christ.  Our attitudes towards those people whom we would just as soon avoid may be the very attitude that God takes offense.  Just as Saul felt entitled and justified towards treating certain people certain ways, sometimes we tend to be no better.  When I am speaking against another, I am attacking the Trinity.  When I withhold kindness from one, kindness was withheld from my Father. 

Through the grace of God we are empowered with the fruit of the Spirit when dealing with everyone, but it is a choice we must make. “The Holy Spirit produces a different kind of fruit: unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” Gal:22 The Voice.

How will we treat Christ today?