Climbing Ladders

“Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom…Don’t brag and deny the truth…But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit” James 3:13-17.

I cannot read this beautiful passage without my grandmother’s face coming to mind.  As far as I am concerned she embodied the words of these verses.  Anyone who knew her would describe her as humble…pure in heart…sought after peace…gentle…submissive…unending mercy for others and a life jammed pack of good fruit.  You didn’t even have to shake that tree for the fruit to fall.  If this is the definition of wisdom and understanding then she gets an A+!  The irony of that statement is that she would probably have graded herself a C because of her humility.

Had my grandmother had a Facebook page her status would have bragged on Christ and not her own life.  She would have tweeted about the lavish love that God provided for you and for me.  Her hash tags would have been unending in the blessings she described.  In the worlds eyes not many would have wanted to follow her on social media but in my eyes her words led right to Christ.  I can’t tell you how many status updates, tweets, and hash tags I read that paint a picture of freedom where I know there is oppression and joy where despair resides.  ‘People brag and deny the truth.’ (James 3:14)  We are all guilty of this to some degree but we can have freedom when we become a little less enamored with ourselves.  I love the statement from my Bible Study regarding wisdom being linked with gentleness.  ‘In my … flesh, I delude myself into thinking that harshness and severity are worth it if another person is fortunate enough to gain my superior perspective.  Wrong.  The gentleness that is linked to wisdom in this context means living out of the knowledge that I am not the priority here.’ James – Mercy Triumphs, p. 124.

What is the anecdote for this kind of gentle wisdom?  It is to consider that we are no better than another (Phil 2:3 – ‘Consider others better than yourselves.’) It is to recognize that Christ climbed up on that cross feeling the same amount of love for me as he did for you and for that person who makes our stomach churn.  (John 3:16 – ‘God gave his only son for whosoever believes in Him…’)  It is to strive to be peacemakers and gentle ambassadors to Christ striving for the righteousness for which we were created.  (James 3:18 – ‘Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.’)  We have a lot to strive for but we have the ladder of Christ to climb up on that reaches all the way home…ahhhh….Heaven.

#stillunderconstruction

Spiritual Tongues

“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” Acts 2:3-4.

I have written many times about February, 2006 being the dividing line of my life.  Before that date, my relationship with God was in my head but after that date my relationship with Him was planted in my heart.  I know that the date represents when my own Acts 2 was penned on my life.  The irony of that date is that I was physically sick with the flu but spiritually sick in my heart.  That day marks the day that the Holy Spirit enabled my spiritual gift of biblical application and writing.  It was nowhere within my own abilities, but was given to me as a means of communication…my spiritual tongue to speak to others.  Along with that gift He allowed situations into my life that would be a sense of encouragement to others as they experience the same pain.  Our gifts are our spiritual tongues and our experiences are the spiritual language we speak. 

We are to use the enabling gifts of the Holy Spirit and speak it into the lives of others.  Acts 2 neither misleads nor excludes anyone.  If we are Christ followers, we have the indwelling of His Spirit.  With the indwelling comes the enabling which gives us a spiritual language unique to each of us.  Many times we do not even know what our gifts are but can be certain that there is a plan and perfect timing when it is activated.

When we intentionally enter into fellowship with God our spirit connects with His giving us understanding of our own personal language with our Father.  Then the Holy Spirit translates it into our gift as we pour it out on others.   None of us should ever underestimate any of our gifts no matter how small or how large.  Each gift is precious because it was lit with the holy fire of the Spirit.

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms…he should do it 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 4:10-11.

Holding the Reins

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts…no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:3, 5, 8

Back in May Bruce and I went to a friend’s ranch in Georgia.  It had been decades since I had been on a horse but I had the desire to ride one.  I was very nervous and extremely tentative since my experience would be based on the combined efforts of my guidance and his discipline.  If I didn’t hold on tightly and firmly to the reins and bridle connected to the bit in his mouth, he could rear up and run wild anytime.  It all ended well because I was very intentional in my direction, and the horse was very obedient and disciplined.  It was a wonderful experience!

How many times do we ride into a situation bare back?  We haven’t saddled up with thought, prayer and self-discipline.  We have chosen to speak on a topic that has never been tamed in our heart.  We gallantly gallop up to someone and use harmful words that pierce the soul of another.  Sometimes we invite others to jump on our horse as we run circles around the issue.  James teaches that without Christ our words have the power to destroy and tear down.   Christ teaches us that we are to speak as if we are speaking on God’s behalf.  Our words must be seasoned with the flavor of the Spirit instead of the distaste of the flesh.  ‘How strange that the tongue is able to speak praises to our Lord and Father at one time, and then it breaks out into curses against other people.  We should have the same attitude of respect for fellow human beings as we have for God, because they are created in his image.’ Life Application New Testament Commentary, p. 1082.

The more we can intentionally hold the reins of our tongue the calmer the ride will be in our spiritual pastures.  James tells us that our tongue is full of great boasting.  The definition for boasting is to glorify oneself in speech; talk in a self-admiring way.  We exalt and glorify ourselves by tearing down another.  

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world...what counts is a new creation." Gal. 6:14-15.

Children of Yes!

“‘The fire and wood are here…but where is the lamb?’  ‘God himself will provide the lamb.’  Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram” Gen 22:7-8, 13.

When we pull the curtain back on this scene and truly understand the foreshadowing we should all fall to our knees in humility and deep gratitude for Christ Jesus.  Abraham’s son Isaac was told to climb up on the altar.  As he tentatively climbed onto that hard surface his eyes must have met his dad’s with confusion and sudden realization.  Did his voice crack in that adolescent pitch as he asked that heartbreaking question to his father…‘but where is the lamb?’  Were his eyes tearful as he considered why he was laid upon that place?   

For every one of us walking on this earth, life will demand we climb up on that altar… that place where we seem to be losing pulse…that place where all looks hopeless…that place where we scan the horizon looking for the very thing that will deliver us from our present circumstances.  We cry for deliverance from our hard places, bound and oppressed…we look among the thickets for our lamb that will climb up so we can climb down.  We forget that we are asking for something that has already been received. 

‘Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross’ Mark 15:32.  But the Lamb said an emphatic No so we could be the children of Yes!  As He looked up to His Father in the same way Isaac did the difference was that He was the substitutionary offering.  It was us who should have been laid out on that slab.  It was you and it was me who deserved to to be separated from our Father instead of the One with perfection running through His veins.  But He chose to climb up so we could climb down.  So why don’t we trust Him with everything lesser than death?  He is our Redeemer from all things, and our Deliverer from everything.  He will never change and will always be the way out of any painful or frightening situation.  He will be faithful in His care and true to all His promises.  But we must look up from our knees to find Him instead of looking down onto our circumstances with despair.

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, who rider is called Faithful and True…He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God…KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Rev. 19:11-16.

Our Shuddering Faith

“You believe that there is one God – Good!  Even the demons believe that – and shudder ” James 2:19.

When our children were young one of my biggest fears was that they would get burned on the oven door as I was removing the food.  They had repeatedly been told that it was hot, but what they lacked was a healthy fear.  They believed it was hot intellectually but lacked the respect of just how hot it was until they experienced it.  And one by one they got burned.  After the burn they took action by staying away from the heat.  Their new found respect was prompted into active behavior...Passive moved to active.

Sometimes our faith is just an intellectual truth without the reverence and respect for God required for our faith to be made complete.  I love how James baits his audience into a compliment of their intellectual faith in God.  What follows is an assignment of the demons’ ‘spiritual leg up’ on us, insinuating that they have a greater grasp on the omnipotence and omnipresence of the extraordinary God.  My commentary states, “The demons have complete and thorough conviction that there is one God, but they are terrified by that truth.  They believe in God only to hate and resist him in every way they can.  Their ‘faith’ even moves them to a negative reaction.  The demons tremble in terror and demonstrate that their ‘faith’ is real, though misdirected.” Life Application – New Testament Commentary, p. 1080.

Now that is just disturbing!  That Satan’s church could have more demonstrative faith than God’s people.  We must sit up and be called into action which is prompted by our faith.  Satan and his legion have completely bought in to God’s power and abilities.  Their faith in His greatness and power prompts them to action in tearing down His church.  They are like my children who have touched the hot oven and respect the power of the burn.  Our belief in God is not what produces fruit…our humility and reverence to God is what activates us into action on His behalf.  Our faith was conceived through grace and our works should be prompted through our faith.  

What's Love Got To Do With It?

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law” Romans 13:8-10.

My husband Bruce has spent his entire life working extremely hard at whatever task laid before him.  His focus like many has turned from building a career into ending well in his career.  The goal is now retirement and one of the tasks is paying off our home.  We have been blessed with our home for almost thirty years, but it has been the largest source of debt in our life.  To assure the task of paying it off, we have laid out some intentional ways to pay off this outstanding debt.  Our debt cannot be fulfilled without our commitment to the goal, self-discipline in our daily walk, and the sacrifice of other things to accomplish the payoff. 

This morning I consider our verse as it aligns to this same principle.  God placed His commands in the order of importance, with loving Him above all people at all times.  He followed up with loving our neighbor which is the by-product of keeping the first commandment.  ‘All the laws…hang on these two commandments’ Matthew 22:40.  Our love for others reveals our love for God.  Our contempt for others shows secret contempt for Him.  If our goal is to keep God’s command then we must be intentional to our commitment to Him.  We must be self-disciplined in our daily walk such as paying down this debt with extra currency of love and grace.  We cannot window shop in the areas of bitterness and judgmental attitudes.  To keep love to ourselves or a small few is to keep our spiritual debt outstanding, never accomplishing God’s goal.  To accomplish the fulfillment of the spiritual promissory note for which we are indebted, we must sacrifice our own will and love all of those whom God loves.

Christ paid our debt in blood and we are to pay our debt in love.  What He asks for in return is to love Him first and everyone else second.  There is no caveat as the law does not give us exclusions or exceptions but rather instructions.  Love always works for the benefit of another just as Christ’s love for us gave us eternal salvation. 

‘But the greatest of these is love.’ 1 Co. 13:13.

Charging Others

“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.  Suppose… a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in…you say to the poor man… ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” James 2:1-9

If anybody had any entitlement to favoritism with Jesus it would have been his little brother.  They most likely laid in bed together at night getting in trouble, being normal boys and doing normal things.  I know for myself I love my sisters and value our relationship with each other.  I take pride in the fact that they are my sisters and claim it anytime the opportunities arise.  Instead we find James aligning his position with all believers in Christ, not pursuing entitlement but encouraging equality.  James could have looked down his nose at 99% of mankind and played the ‘brother of Jesus’ card.  He could have easily pointed everyone to that truth instead of God’s truth.  But, he fully embraced the humility that he deserved nothing from the brother Jesus but was given everything from the Savior Jesus Christ.  James understood that to determine a person’s value was to judge someone who God esteemed.  

There is no pecking order in Christ…the ground is level at the base of the cross.  I am embarrassed at past times when my secret attitude relegated someone to ‘sit on the floor by my feet.’ When we judge the guy at the stoplight holding up the sign we have placed him at our feet.  When we determine that people are where they are in life because of their own decisions we have judged and sinned.  God does not expect us to give financially to all people in all situations but grace did not cost us anything, so why do we charge others?  He does expect every one of us to give every one of His children grace and mercy. 

On any given day we are the woman who is judged or the man who is exalted.  You see, we are all just moving targets when measured against the world.  When we begin to see each other as spiritual siblings in Christ we tend to have a more compassionate heart, breaking down barriers and laying down entitlements.  It is not our place to condemn or exalt, but to take our place at the feet of Christ.

Now Choose Life!

“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless” James 1:26.

I have primarily considered this verse in the past as our vicious words against man having the power to eradicate our much sought after testimony.  What I am discovering is that the implications are much greater…that our loose words many times are against God, discounting our testimony.  Consider the person who voices the lack in their life instead of the abundance God has provided.  Consider the person who constantly echoes their fear of this…their anxiety of that.  What do these loose lips really communicate behind the masks of words and statements of emptiness?  They form inferences to God… ‘Lord, you are not enough.’ ‘God has taken away ______and left me nothing.’ ‘My problems are bigger than God’s deliverance.’ ‘I do not believe God has His best for me.’ Not only are we fooling ourselves saying we have faith but we are grieving the heart of the God and creating barriers to His joy, peace and comfort.

Isaiah 58:9b-14 states that IF we ‘do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk…and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD.’  Many times we are the ones who are oppressing ourselves!  We feel duped in life and see ourselves as helpless souls placing our own yoke of oppression around our necks.  We deceive ourselves!  We walk around with a Bible under our arm pointing out what is wrong in our lives instead of voicing our gratitude for what is right in our lives.  We are always in earshot of people…what attitudes fall upon their ears when we open our mouths?   What if our words fall upon a person who God intends to build up or encourage …was God’s purpose fulfilled?  Was our testimony displayed through our words?  Did our statements reflect our flesh or God’s spirit?

We must be intentional people with intentional Spirit-filled words.  We must be fragile with those we approach for everyone has wounds or might be presently suffering.  Every suffering soul is looking for people who speak of a Savior.  Our words will show where our heart and faith is.  The deceived man or woman is the one who has convinced themselves of their own despair.  They have chosen death instead of life.  Life provides pain and joy…ugliness and beauty…chaos and peace for every one of us.  We can live under the oppression of our pain or above our circumstances in the joy of God.  One of my favorite passages in the entire Bible is Deuteronomy 30:19-20a. 

‘This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.’

May our choice of life match our words today as we walk in this broken place called Earth.

Mirror, Mirror

“The one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does…this person will be blessed in what he does” James 1:25.

We have all done it…signed up for a Bible Study…watched the videos…completed the homework…finished the study and we find ourselves right back in the same despair with the same issues and behavior before the study.  To what gain were those hours of homework and prayer?  We are facing the same dilemmas with the same heart of stone or heart of suffering.  We wonder if we really can take power over our circumstances and live with freedom in Christ.  We should take note that James doesn’t promise freedom in our hearing and studying.  He doesn’t boast that the person who has the knowledge will be blessed by the knowledge.  He exhorts that it takes doing…persevering in it…working it to death to obtain the blessing.  Christ worked it to death!

Every experience with the Word holds up a mirror into which we all peer.  We receive revelation from God and our hearts and minds are temporarily blessed and encouraged.  We walk out the door and something triggers an earthly reality that steals our joy and peace.  Instead of persevering in the truths of God we give into our emotions and forget everything we heard an hour earlier.  We allow our emotions to guide our day instead of what God gave us that morning.  James cautions us that the blessing comes from the doing instead of the hearing.  We can hear that a hurricane is coming but the danger is in not doing something about it.  We must be moved into action by what we hear from God.  In the spirit of this devotional I wrote a little poem that most likely describes most of us in certain areas where we have yet to find freedom.

Mirror, mirror in my life

I hear what you say

But I still live in strife.

You boast of freedom, life without pain

But I turn away and push away gain.

I underline Scripture, I highlight verse

The mirror grows cloudy and I resurrect my curse.

The curse of my circumstances

My lot in life

It’s hard to let go of

Although, it cuts like a knife.

I wonder what day will finally be

The day I allow the mirror to take over me.

Its reflection will be beautiful

Its message divine

I will claim it with action, and

Blessedness will be mine.

Christ wants us to experience freedom in all areas.  May you claim your freedom in Christ today!

Playing Dress Up

“Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.  The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ Then he said… ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you…Put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.” Zechariah 3:3-5.

No doubt we all have beautiful clothes hanging in our closets.  If you could see what I grab at the end of each day to wear around the house you would be embarrassed for me.  It is the most unattractive and unflattering outfit which possesses a hole in the back of my shirt. Surely there is something that is more flattering which is also comfortable!  I don’t even search…I just throw on the same unflattering garments every night fully aware that I have more attractive things available.

When we have chosen to be Christ followers He hangs these beautiful garments of His character, His attitudes and His joy in our hearts.  He places within us the ability to know the mind of Christ, our spiritually clean turbans.  He clothes us in forgiveness, grace and mercy but our new wardrobe is optional.  We reach around Him for the same unflattering attitudes.  He stands beside us as we proclaim we have new identities in Him, all the while repeating hurtful gossip.  He overhears the dirty jokes that leave the very lips that praise Him in public.  He looks over our shoulder and sees what we are watching on television or searching on-line.  He is grieved by the way we are disconnected from compassion as others are hurting.  He is frustrated as He has given us revelation in our lives, and yet we continue to see ourselves as victims in our circumstances.

He has rescued us but still we live enslaved…He has indwelled us with His spirit but still we live in emptiness…He has transformed us to the new but still we reach for the old.  God provides the rich garments to be worn on this earth but do we reach for those?  Or do we throw on the old flesh attitudes where humility has worn thin and gratitude for present blessings now has holes in it?  ‘God reminds us that He didn’t plant His word in us just so we could divert it toward someone else’s conviction or deliverance.  We need humility to receive a word from God down into the soil of our humanity.  We tend to take God’s message to us and hang it around someone else’s neck, but its first target was our own souls.’ James – Beth Moore, p. 77. 

I can just picture God standing in my closet holding up a hanger of compassion saying, ‘Brenda, why don’t you try this on today?’  Tomorrow after I drink my coffee and return to my bedroom He is there with His sweet smile saying, ‘Look child, I laid out your clothes for you…today you will wear forgiveness and gratitude.’  Thank you Father for laying out our clothes and give me the passion to dress in them.

The Perfect Rose

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” James 1:17.

When my sister died, my precious cousin gave all of us a rose bush after the funeral.  The following spring I couldn’t wait to see the beautiful blooms and wasn’t disappointed.  The first bloom that appeared was on the morning of my sister’s birthday.  I couldn’t have anticipated what an amazing blessing this rose bush could be…but God could.  You see, since that day over four years ago, when she lost her earthly battle but gained her spiritual destiny, the first bloom every year has been on her birthday…now that is good and that is perfect! 

The translation for perfect in our verse means ‘which has achieved or reached its goal, objective, purpose.’ It is a perfect gift because of its beautiful achievement to bloom, marking a very important day of remembrance.  It reaches God’s goal for me every year…to remind me that He is in complete control and is faithful in watching over me.  ‘God’s gifts are given with goals.  They’re perfect because they’re perfecting.  They don’t just give today.  They give toward every tomorrow.’ James – Beth Moore, p. 62.

The key to gratitude is to know that everything that flows into our lives were gifts to begin with – not something owed to us.  We are not entitled to God’s best but He is committed to working His best in our lives.  Death tends to make us focus on the thorns instead of the beauty of the rose.  I know that while Beth’s journey seemed cut short to us it was the perfect and divine plan of her Father in Heaven…His great and perfect gift for her as her life had achieved what God had desired.  But God doesn’t leave us alone in our suffering but sends roses where there is sadness and beautiful fullness where there is emptiness.  It is our responsibility to recognize the good and perfect gifts.

 

Dressed For Readiness

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning” Luke 12:35. I rarely wake up already knowing what I am going to dress myself in for the day. It is one of the last things I think of and only when it is time to leave the house. There is no planning ahead… as a matter of fact I stand there in front of my clothes with a blank disinterested stare. I usually reach for the same thing based on its comfort…ease…and lack of needing ironing. We are told in our selected verse this morning to always be in a state of readiness when it comes to serving God. We must recognize that God has a purpose for each of us every day, and we must open our hearts and minds to receive it. We must put on His will for our day and dress in complete obedience in carrying out His plan. We must consider that the only way to accomplish all of this is to continue to stoke the fire within our hearts to keep the lamp burning. To reflect His light in our lives is to never let the lamp grow dim. We are told in Psalm 119:105 that God’s word ‘is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.’ Through spending time learning what God has to say about every detail in our life we will be more ready to carry out His plan. His plan always includes reaching out to those who are less privileged than we are. His service always involves dealing with all people through the compassionate and gracious heart of God. He gave us the Holy Spirit as oil for our spiritual lamps so that our heart for others will never grow numb or dim. It is when we lose our focus on fellowship with the Trinity that we lose our focus on our responsibility for the burdened and the broken. If every one of us considered the spiritual garments required for service as much as we consider the earthly garments for pleasure stomachs would be fed and widows would be nurtured. Children would no longer be fatherless and churches would not be limited to walls. Our verse is small but has huge implications challenging us to look within ourselves, and become more intentional with our spiritual wardrobe and fellowship with the Flame.

Not Seeing is Believing

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” James 1:6-8.

The year was 2001 and our daughter was in prison.  The rest of the family had a scheduled vacation, compliments of Mother and Daddy.  Grandmother approached me and Bruce on vacation, asking if we could have a family prayer for Kristen.  Of course Bruce and I were both encouraged and welcoming of this prayer stand.  I opened my grandmother’s journal this morning to relive her impressions of that day.   I am honored to share her precious ink with you this morning to encourage everyone to pray with confidence when approaching our God for anything.

“July 23, 2001:  ‘Blessed be God!  I could never put on paper what happened in the family prayer for Kristen this morning.  I left the time when we would pray up to Brenda.  She decided on 9:00 o’clock.  Donald and Benita and all four of the girls and Bruce were there around the table.  Prayers for Kristen:  (1) That the works of the devil shall be destroyed in her life; (2) That Kristen shall feel old-time conviction for sin; (3) That Kristen shall be born again; (4) That Kristen’s life shall be redeemed; (5) That Kristen will be protected from the influence of the inmates ‘under the shadow of the Almighty, covered with His feathers and under His wings.’   The Holy Spirit so settled down that each person prayed in a broken spirit.  It was in every sense a defining moment for our family.” 

“July 27, 2001:  ‘Thank you, Holy Spirit, for answered prayers for Kristen exactly as we prayed.  Heavenly Father, I look up to you in faith for Kristen because this was the Spirit’s defining moment.’”

Grandmother followed up with a letter to Kristen outlining the prayer stance we took informing her that God had answered every one of them.  Prayer item by prayer item was answered in God’s timing.  I’m unsure when any of these prayer items were answered but I sit here this morning with a daughter who was redeemed and rescued from Satan by the power of God.  I am a mother whose daughter returned to her position in Christ.  I am the granddaughter of a woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer when claiming her prayer stand against evil.  I am a woman striving for this same faith of not just asking God for something but expecting Him to answer through His will and in His timing.  I don’t want to live my life double-minded…double-hearted…tossing between doubt and confidence.  I want to claim God’s best for me and my family, and leave all of the circumstances to Him regardless of what the horizon seems to display. 

It would be another 4 years before I saw the completion of answered prayers from that day around the table with 8 broken spirits.  But faithfully at that table was a woman of James 1:6 who sat down with prayer requests and arose with the confidence in God’s deliverance.  Praise be to God that we all can approach Him with this same spirit of expectancy! 

Expect Joy!

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to him” James 1:5.

Yesterday I wrote about true joy and the pursuit of a life walking it out.  I was amazed this morning when my commentary joined the hands of wisdom and joy.  The reason I was struck by this is because at the beginning of my friend’s journey I had asked her how I might pray for her needs.  Throughout the last year she just kept asking for prayers of wisdom.  In my loosely translation of wisdom I naturally considered that she was asking for the knowledge to make good and important decisions regarding their life.  God was faithful in answering that prayer daily but what is mind blowing is the benefit of wisdom according to my commentary.  Simply written it states, ‘Wisdom enables one to face trials with pure joy.’ Joy is the by-product of asking and receiving the wisdom of God!  Her respond to whatever was thrown at her permeated joy over the past year and a half.

By asking for wisdom we are guaranteed the settle assurance that God is in the details of our dilemmas, the quiet confidence that what we are struggling with is already worked out by God, and the determined choice to lay down our problems and praise God ahead of time for His solution.  Through these exercises we enable the peace, love and knowledge of the mind of the Creator of the universe!  Now if that doesn’t make our problems seem less daunting nothing will.  We must practice patience in waiting for God’s wisdom.  God doesn’t delay the answer because He doesn’t know it.  God could drop the solution into our mind the second we ask but what would this accomplish?  Instant solutions do not foster fellowship and intimacy.  If we received the answer as quickly as it left our lips we would miss out on God working things out in our hearts and showing us things about ourselves.  He relishes most being our Father, not the resolver of our problems.  ‘He wants us to connect with Him and communicate with Him as the dearest relationship in human existence.  He delights to be our sole and holy source for all things in life.’ James - Mercy Triumphs, Beth Moore, p. 49.  The outflow of that wisdom that He disperses in His timing is the peace and joy that is promised in the Bible.

Human nature is to take short cuts to experience the path of least resistance, but when we do we forfeit fellowship with our Father.  So ask God for wisdom in your pressing problem today, and be assured, confident and patient thanking Him for His desire to share intimacy with you, and…

…expect joy!

Walking Out Joy

“Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” James 1:2-3.

I was spending time with one of my dear friends whose husband was nearing the end of his journey with brain cancer.  I had spent the night with her considering her husband would be passing over to Heaven any day.  The following morning we read her morning devotional and she told me how beautiful their journey had been, and the joy she had in her heart in spite of all of the heart-breaking circumstances.  These were not just words…these were attitudes lived out every day of her journey.  You can tell when someone walks with James 1:2-3 in their heart. 

I read Kay Warren’s book a while back, Choose Joy which expanded my definition into a spiritual concept that gave me freedom.  Her definition for joy is as follows:  ‘Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life; the quiet confidence that ultimately everything will be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in all circumstances.’ This is now the definition my mind always goes to, and my friend’s face is the person I will always think of when I consider joy.  At a certain point, she graciously displayed the settled assurance that God was in their plan and working out His will.  Her gentle spirit showed her quiet confidence that God would be faithful in carrying her through grief.  Her constant praise of God’s blessings through this journey amazed me daily. 

When I think of the small details that we obsess over…the annoyances of life…the things that didn’t go our way…our entitlements…it is a wonder we ever feel joy.  That is why we must be determined people to live out this definition.  Otherwise, we will be people who are tossed by the waves of adversity never dropping anchor, constantly drenched by a new set of unsettling circumstances. 

My friend’s husband passed over into the arms of God Sunday night, and because of her joy and confidence in God it makes me more confident in Him.  She will suffer but she will praise…she will be lonely but she will never be alone in Him...she will reflect but she will be blessed.  She is a woman of James 1:2-3.

Spiritual Door Frames

“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?” Acts 15:8-9

When my children were young we would take height measurements with little marks on the door frame like most of you I am sure. It always made me laugh inside how the tallest child looked at the others as if they were second class citizens…as if they had accomplished something within themselves. Whoever the tallest was at the moment would look to me as if they had won and I surely must love them the most. Truth is my love and approval had absolutely nothing to do with their height accomplishment because they had nothing to do with it themselves.

The same is true with the manner in which God views His children. It seems odd to me that as we are building our faith we tend to measure the faith of others. As we expand our relationship with God we determine the lack of relationship in Christian acquaintances and even friends. In our hearts we mark our spiritual door frames where we stand taller than the others. We have a sense of pride that our faith is greater…our relationship with God is more solid…our walk is deeper. This is an easy trap in which to fall and all of us should be cautious. We place unrealistic expectations on friends and family when we can’t even live up to them ourselves. We judge the faith of this woman…that man…what she failed to do…what appalling thing he did.

The truth of the matter is that everyone who has the Holy Spirit inside stands on equal ground before God. Our passage states that when we measure our faith against the faith of another we are not testing ourselves against man, but rather against God. The Bible is clear…God does not have favorites. ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him…’ Acts 10:34-35. The Bible goes on to explain that if we show favoritism, a display of partiality toward a favored person or group, we sin against the law of God. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself…But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.’ James 2:8-9.

Our spiritual door frames should be marked with one line besides our own mark…the measurement of Christ. We should measure all of our actions and spiritual growth as it relates to whom we are striving to be instead of whom we think we have become as it relates to others.

Hide and Seek

"And the Lord said, 'Yes, he is hidden among the baggage.'" 1 Samuel 10:22b

The other day our grandchildren were playing hide and go seek. Whenever it was Kherington's turn she would hide but never truly stayed concealed. She would make some noise everytime revealing where she was hiding. Intellectually she wanted to hide but in her spirit she wanted to be found so she could return to fellowship and fun with her brother.

We are no different than Kherington. We want to hide behind self constructed masks and dress up in custom tailored illusions. We are wounded...we are disillusioned...we are downright broken. We refuse to reveal the emotional messes that we work so hard to conceal. But our hiding places are lonely because we were created for fellowship. We were formed to love fully and be fully loved. There is only enough room for one in most hiding places. Like Kherington, we really don't want to stay concealed so we make some noise in the confines of our hidden places.

We really do desire to be found by God and return to the joy of intimacy with Him. We all have a Father who will never abandon His pursuit of us. He might count to 100 instead of 10 before He comes looking for us, but like Kherington's older brother, Carson, God already knows where we are hiding.

Enough Is Enough!

“Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.  Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.  He has made us competent.” 2 Co. 3:4-6

The word competent in the original Greek language in this passage is the word hikanos.  Translations of this word are sufficient, able and enough.  What Paul is saying is that we are not enough within ourselves…but God is enough.  He makes us enough in every circumstance apart from ourselves.  For a girl who has always been driven by being enough for everyone, doing enough for all and performing enough to gain approval…THIS IS FREEDOM!  The real truth is that God never intended on us being enough for anything.  His plan was that our lack filled with His abundance was enough to face anything.

‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me…’ Phil 4:13.  We can fill in the blank.  Because Christ is enough…I can face life without my loved ones.  Because Christ is enough…I choose hope for the future instead of the despair of the moment.  Because Christ is enough…He will fill the lonely places…the broken dreams…the fearful future.  Because I am not enough…He is!

‘So, in striving to be enough, we are striving against the will and plan of God.  Lord help us!  We have been duped!   We have come far from God’s original plan.  We have learned how to become depressed, discontent and insecure trying to be polished, perfect and poised.  We have become ashamed if we are not perfect.  We have learned to both believe and live by these lies.  Perfection is the lie, performance is the lifestyle, and depression, insecurity, discontent and fear are the outcome…We can learn to press through our old feelings.   Getting a spiritual perspective can set us free and enable us to walk through the dysfunction in our thinking to the other side, even stronger than we were before.’ Deeper, Debbie Alsdorf.  We must not return to our former thinking and believe in our own enough, but live in the present enough of God.  ‘Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?’ Gal 4:9.

‘Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.’ Col 3:2.  ‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ John 8:32.

...And Darkness Came...

“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land…for the sun stopped shining.  And the curtain…was torn in two” Luke 23:44-45.

Throughout the Bible we have a set of train tracks that run alongside of our own journey.  They are a set of tracks that show how God has been faithful leading His children home.  One of the most identifiable seasons is our season of suffering…our darkest days…our own personal ‘Good Fridays’ which are filled with despair like the original Good Friday.  It was named ‘good’ only in hindsight as it measured against Resurrection Sunday.

Our personal good Fridays are seasons filled with darkness where we cannot see our way.  It is a time in our life when we must take everything our faith has taught us and apply it to our future.  It is when our days feel dark and our nights seem to extend forever.   We have been torn in two by our circumstances and the sands of the hourglass seem to be dropping so slow.  When will our Sunday come?  When will life be resurrected and joy realized once again?  When will the dark clouds recede revealing the brightness and fullness of God’s healing rays?  Hold on dear friend and take heart – Sunday is coming!  The despair of our ‘good Fridays’ will be replaced with the joy and hope of the resurrection of our beautiful Sunday. 

For that spouse who was rejected…Sunday’s coming!

For that parent whose child has chosen a life separated from God…Sunday’s coming!

For that woman who must whisper goodbye to her loved one…Sunday’s coming!

For that child of God who sits in the darkness of her circumstances…Sunday’s coming!

Our Fridays hold no power in relation to the confidence of the plans that God has laid out before us.  If you are in your ‘good Friday’ hold on because your Great Sunday is coming!