Sweet Whispers

“Blessed is she [he] who has believed that what the Lord said to her will be accomplished.” Luke 1:45

Let’s face it. The success or failure of any relationship that we experience will be determined by the level of trust in which we have for those involved. If we have a deep and intimate relationship with someone opportunities are frequently given to build this trust. When trust has been proven over time, belief and confidence in that person is born. The same is true of God. God is a personal and individual God who desires deep fellowship and intimacy with each of us. Over time He proves His faithfulness again and again, but are we really trusting Him? Do we honestly believe in our hearts the things that we say we believe or are they just Christian platitudes?

Our sweet verse this morning highlights a very important principle beginning with the word ‘her [him]’. This word is so very important because it proves that God speaks to us individually. He whispers things to us that are for our ears only. He speaks through His Spirit and gives us ears to hear if we are listening. He reveals promises and intentions for our present and our future. So, do we believe Him when He says we will not face our circumstances alone? Are we confident that nothing…illnesses...financial troubles… relational challenges…loneliness will separate us from feeling God’s love? Are we convinced in our chaos, God brings perfect order even when we cannot see it? Have we set our hearts on reliance that not only will God bring work, but He will bring purpose and prosperity? The list goes on and on so the question becomes ‘Do we want to be blessed?’

The person who is blessed is the one who believes God over her doctors. The man who is blessed is the man who knows God will deliver work. The blessed woman is the one who anticipates the prodigal child walking back down the driveway. All of us can fill in our own blank but we all have one thing in common that will bring about this blessing…Choice. When we choose to trust God for anything we give Him the opportunity to start building an trust in everything. He is faithful and He will come through in all ways, in all times and in all circumstances. What better deal can you get?

A Birthday Card to Heaven

Daddy, as I open my eyes this morning like I have a million times before, I find myself with overwhelming gratitude for you. This day, your earthly birthday, only comes around once a year but the gift of your life is experienced daily. You see, just as God promised, death was defeated and life won! I think about how you are winning right now as you gaze into the face of God – something for which I'm excited for you. I think about the way you are winning as you have no more tears, no more cancer and no more sadness – something I prayed for you. I think about how you are winning in ways I cannot comprehend on this side of Heaven. But I want to tell you that you are not the only one winning.

I won the day you accepted Christ as your Savior and I wasn’t even yet born. I won the day God placed me with you and Mother. I won the day you guys decided to give me sisters. I won each and every moment that we spent together for 49 years…the bicycles rides… the attempted tennis matches…the nightly devotionals…the rides to church. My past winnings go on and on but they continue every day. Because you showed me the kind of man you wanted for me I’m winning. Because you showed me how to love your children well I win every time I share time with mine. Because you exemplified what standing up for God looked like, it gives me courage when I need it. Because you lived every day with a resemblance of who God wanted you to be, I win because you gave me that picture.

So, on this precious day which would have been your 81st birthday, I celebrate your life and the fact that death did not win and we did! I love you and will see you again one day!

Our Groanings

“When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; and my soul refused to be comforted.  I remembered you, O God, and I groaned…I thought about the former days, the years of long ago… ‘Will the Lord reject forever?  Will he never show his favor again?  Has his unfailing love vanished forever?  Has his promise failed for all time?  Has God forgotten to be merciful?’ Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal…I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on your works and consider all your mighty deeds…What god is so great as our God?  You are the God who performs miracles; you display power among the peoples.  With your mighty arm you redeemed your people…’” Psalm 77:2-15.

Today’s passage is quite lengthy but one worthy of our consideration.  Life can be so brutal and unapologetic when doling out the circumstances.  Our psalmist lays out a scenario that is not that different for us thousands of years later.  He is wide awake in anguish when he should be asleep.  His brain won’t allow him to rest due to something he is facing in his life that seems hopeless.  He even groans when he thinks about God because he is fully aware that God can save and rescue because He has in the past.  His thoughts turn to rejection and abandonment when thinking of the One who could act if He chose to but apparently was not.  He began to doubt God’s favor and promise…began to question His love and mercy.  Then the beautiful shift was made as the psalmist, in his despair, CHOSE to remember God’s intervention in the past.  He CHOSE to focus on what God has done instead of what he is waiting on God to accomplish.  He CHOSE to reminisce about the beautiful days long ago when life was sweet, prayers were answered, miracles were revealed and God was faithful.  His shift of heart turns to the future of when God will again show up and show out!

I know that as I sit and wait on my miracles, I sometimes question if I heard God wrong.  I sometimes wonder if what I’m waiting on is ‘my will be done’ instead of ‘His will be done.’ Do I groan when I remember how He saved my daughter from death, knowing He has the power to do other things for which I wait?  Do I wonder if His promise to me was just a fabricated wish list in my mind and heart?  The answer is in this passage – yes, sometimes I do consider those things if I am honest.  But, the important part is that these considerations prompt my appeal.  I deny the notion that God has failed me.  I refuse to accept that I have lost favor with God, and His mercy and love have changed for me.  I reject that God no longer works miracles in our lives and fails to redeem.  I will continue to expect rescues, deliveries, and divine miracles because there is no other god like our God. Our minds and hearts have the ability to choose what we consider, so why wouldn’t we choose the good, the loving, the hopeful and the encouraging.  Why would we choose to wallow in doom, hopelessness and timidity when we are sons and daughters of the King who is just as much on the throne today as He was in the Bible.  He is still King and the tomb is still empty!

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you may live and your children.” De 30:19.

The Scarlet Cord

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

There are so many stories from the Bible that document this verse in not only theory but reality. One of the most unapologetic stories told is the story of Rahab, the prostitute who by her faith was essential in a major victory for God’s people. She heard how God had performed miracles on behalf of His people, and was certain that her city would fall. She was actively making a living as a prostitute when she entered into an oath to help God’s people escape while planning their takeover. The agreement went like this: 'Since I helped you in the planning of the defeat, please help me and my family when the city is taken over.' When they attached, her mark of inclusion would be a simple red cord that hung in the window. She could have easily felt that because of her imperfect lifestyle she didn’t deserve to live. She could have been riddled with such shame and embarrassment that she felt unworthy to enter into an oath. But thankfully, she allowed her faith to paint a different picture of who she was. She was worthy of saving...she was invited into deliverance...she was not defined by her past choices.  She bought in to the fact that God was God, and everyone was invited into His family. She didn’t wait until she was a cleaned-up version of herself to act on behalf of God. She came to the table with filthy rags…a list of sins stamped upon her life. She courageously hung a scarlet cord in the window to stand out that she belonged to Him.

It doesn’t matter what we have done in the past or in what activity we are still engaging. When we determine that enough is enough, we can fly our white flag in surrender. While we are still imperfect we are invited to seek deliverance and redemption. Through the blood of Christ, we are recognized as one of His beloved children. When Christ truly becomes our life, others will see the Scarlet Cord hanging in the windows of our heart through our actions. We don’t have to wait until we are best versions of ourselves to turn to God. That is the whole point: It takes God to transform us into the best versions of ourselves.

"For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3.

Our Cities to Seize

“Now Jericho was tightly shut up…Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands.’ Advance…March…Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!” Joshua 6:1-2, 7, 16.

When my grandson was much younger I would try to point things out to him that I thought he would enjoy seeing. I remember specifically sitting on the patio and trying to get him to see a bird up in a tree. It didn’t matter how I described where the bird was perched, his eyes couldn’t focus on the bird. It was easier for me see the bird because I knew what it looked like and where I was to focus my eyes. I can only imagine Joshua as he stood from afar overlooking Jericho seeing their walls completely shut up tight. The LORD was trying to get him to see a captured city…a delivered promise…a supernatural victory before the triumph. What Joshua was being asked to see was invisible to him with his human eyes. What Joshua was being asked to believe was that God’s ways would bring him this win. ‘This battle would not be won with muscle, but won with faith.’ Believing God, Beth Moore, p. 109.

What tightly shut Jericho stands looming on your horizon? What is God asking you to believe when what you see is a city unable to seize? If God has asked us to move, we must believe Him and move. If God has asked us to sit and watch, we must believe that He will move. His ways are so mysterious and strange to us, but God has been rescuing and redeeming since the beginning of time. We must try to see things with eyes of faith, since that is most certainly the vision it will take. If God has promised us something, we must advance in that belief. If God has required action on our part, we must march into that action with complete confidence. When God asks us to shout, we must shout our testimonies to the heavens. We must believe that whatever He has promised, we have already received it in the heavenlies. Then, one fine and beautiful day He won’t have to ask us to shout…we will be shouting words of joy and gratitude.

"I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours." Mark 11:24.

Love Reaching Into Eternity

“Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you.” Exodus 34:10.

Since I became a mother, one of the things that makes my heart soar is to do things for my children. It might be to send them a recipe they’ve requested for the millionth time. It could be to answer a question for them, make a call for them, or do any other activity that blesses them. It is my pleasure and joy to have them included in everything they have time to enjoy. Our pattern for loving parenting is displayed in the heart of God. Since the beginning of time God’s heart has always been for His children. He wishes to spend time with us, show us things that astound us, teach us things that will grow us and reveal things to us that will bless us. How does God accomplish all of this? We can access all of these things and more by simply making the time to be available to Him. He invites us…we decide the rsvp. He seeks us…we decide if we want to be found. He whispers and calls to us…we decide if we have ears to hear.

You can certainly tell those who have accept the call…who have decided to be found…the ones who hear the message. Their lives display wonder after wonder of how God is working in their lives. He surrounds us with a sphere of influence in which He moves and works, showing His love for us. He wants our lives to display his wonders, and desires our friends and family to see all the things He does for us individually and collectively. He wants that with all of us. He is such a personal God of personal intimacy, but will we make the time? Will we rsvp to His party of two?

It doesn’t matter how long we run or how busy our calendar might be. He is a patient God and will wait for His children to respond to Him. His love reaches beyond eternity and His heart is ever beating for each of us. The more we slow down the more God speeds up in our lives. The more we decide to ‘be still’ the more activity we will see from Him. The more of Him we allow into our lives the more He acts on our behalf showing us to be His beloved.

“Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.” Jeremiah 33:3.

Going For Glory

“Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’" John 11:40

Bruce and I went to watch our grandson Carson play football on Saturday.  At one point in the game a player from the other team hoisted up the football and let it soar.  I could see the direction of the ball and knew it was going to come down close to Carson.  As I looked at Carson I saw another boy who was also anticipating the ball.  The two jumped as high as they could to intercept the ball both crashing into the other and falling to the ground.  Neither came down with the ball but they certainly prevented the receiver from making the catch.  After the game, my daughter asked him if he got hurt when they ran into each other.  He simply said that all he knew was that they were both just ‘going for glory.’ I absolutely LOVE that boy and LOVE his message. 

As Christians, we can have a life with God of excitement, adventure and wonder.  We can enter the game when the signal for us is called.  We were not created to sit on the bench and watch others leap for the catch.  God intended for us to participate with Him and share in His glory.  But sharing in His wonderful glory means we must work for it.  We must be intentional in the daily grind if we are to be effective when it’s our turn to jump for the ball.  We can’t be timid, lazy or complacent, but must enter the game with confidence and belief.  Carson went for the glory because Carson had two things that we also have with God.  He had authority to go for the ball, and the belief that he could accomplish the catch. 

Going for glory means believing in God’s promise when you don’t see your desired outcome.  Going for glory means keeping God’s commands when our culture does not.  Going for glory means obeying God and leaving the consequences to Him.  Going for glory means believing our loved ones can be healed when the doctor says otherwise.  It means putting on our expanded view of life and understanding that we will all be in eternity one day.  We go for glory when we accept that what has been lost on this earth will be gained in eternity. 

Whatever pass you are waiting to receive…leap…stretch…go for glory!  Keep your feet ready and eyes on the sky so when it is time you will have what it takes to come down with the ball and gain Glory!