"For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:12
How does one find this favor in the first place?
I did a quick word search in the NIV translation- do you know that the word favor shows up a lot in the Bible? Most often, it's used in a sentence along these lines "If I find favor in your eyes..." and it is used when talking to God, and when talking to kings and royalty. Esther used it when addressing the king.
I have a running commentary with some of the people at church. We argue playfully about each other being God's favorite, but I think that what we're really doing when we do that is trying to build up our faith to believe that we really could be favored of the Lord. Really? Plain old me? I yelled at my kids this morning because they weren't moving fast enough for me- how could I be God's favorite?
I shared the verse above this morning with someone who is going through a bit of a rough patch and is at a point where they can see the potential end, they just need God's favor to clear the path a bit as they make their way from point a to point b. Then I went looking about to see if there are a few secrets or hints in the Bible as to how to become favored of the Lord. And I found a few verses.
"He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state." Job 33:16
"Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard." Proverbs 13:15
In Job we see that praying to God is a way to find favor, and in Proverbs we see that good understanding wins favor. Where do we get good understanding? Well, that comes from the precious Word of God. And it comes from the Spirit, who breathes life into us.
"But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding." Job 32:8
So as I look at these verses, and read other verses that talk about favor, it seems to me that finding favor with God is not as difficult as it would seem. There aren't great works and deeds to be done. There isn't missionary work to undertake or alms to give. Although these are all good things in the eyes of the Lord, seeking and finding his favor is something that is done when we purpose to draw closer to Him in the first place. When we spend time in prayer with Him. When we spend time reading His Word, and when we spend that quiet time, just us and God.
Favor of the Lord is not some magical unattainable thing that we have to work our entire life to get a glimpse of. It's something that simply is. When we spend time with God, His favor starts to surround us and permeate us and it makes our paths smooth and silky. This verse has been on my mind as of late:
"when my path was drenched with cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil" Job 29:6
Just picture a path of cream, smooth sailing all the way. And it, too, can be ours, simply by spending time with Him. As we strive to spend more time with Him, He strives to spend more time with us, and that results in great favor. He makes our paths easier so that we can find more of that precious alone time with Him. Think about that- He makes our days go by easier for us, gives us extra pockets of time, so that we can take that extra time and spend it in His Word, or on our knees talking to Him, or hiding away in our quiet place for some one-on-one time. That thought is just so cool to me.
Favor is not unattainable. Favor is ours for the taking, He wants us to want that favor, because that means that we want Him. More than anything, we just want more of Him, and with that will come the favor. Favor is for anyone and everyone who desires it- and that makes us all His favorite one.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Monday, March 08, 2010
Passing It On
"[The God of All Comfort] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
I was thinking about this verse this morning, and I thought about my kids. You know, the longer we have the opportunity to be parents, the more I see that having children and being parents is a great way to get to understand more about God and who He Is. When one of my children gets hurt, whatever I am doing gets dropped instantly so that I can give attention to the hurt. Sometimes it's a physical hurt- a bump,bruise or cut. Sometimes it's a spiritual hurt- hurt feelings because a name was called or a turn skipped. But no matter what the hurt is, or what causes it, my first reaction is to provide comfort.
My job at that moment, my number one job when a child needs it is to provide comfort. I do that with my kids by providing myself. We snuggle, give hugs, maybe a few kisses, a rub of the hand to reassure them. Only after I've provided adequate comfort do we tend to the need at hand. We bandage up a cut or pull out a sliver. We try and provide a resolution to a conflict. But the first step is always the comfort.
I looked up the word comfort in the dictionary, where I found two definitions. The first one says "to give strength and hope to" and the second definition is "to ease the grief or trouble of". As a parent I do both of those for my children the second the need arises.
How much more does God do for His children? He loves us so much- He is the ultimate comforter. It says in our verse today that He comforts us in ALL our troubles. And just as with our children- sometimes those troubles may have been brought upon ourselves, but at the same time, that doesn't lessen my comfort when the need arises. I don't give less hugs because Zander chose to do something I told him not to. I still love him and do what I can as a parent to ease the pain and to help him to feel better.
But do you know what is even cooler? Seeing my children give comfort because they've received comfort when they needed it. A few summers back I had the opportunity to put both kids in a tumbling class. It was the only time their ages were just so that I could do it, so the very first week I sent a very excited Abigail and a very nervous Zander in to tumble. It didn't take long before the tears started flowing. Zander was just too nervous, and he was having a hard time doing everything they were asking of him. And do you know what Abigail did? She put her arms around him and comforted him, just as if I was there. She rubbed his arms and soothed his cries with kind words, and she dropped what she was doing to see to his needs. She took on the role of comforter before she was even seven years old.
Which leads me to a lot of what this verse is saying. What if, as we go through our trials and our times in life where we really lean on the Lord and His comfort...what if those times are meant for us, simply as a training tool? What if we go through those times so that later on, we can share what we've gone through with others and help them to learn from our errors and mistakes. When we've gone through a rough patch, where the comfort of God is what sustained us, we remember that, and people see that. Sometimes how we respond in a situation may be the entire reason for the situation in the first place.
I do know this. Nothing we go through is gone through in vain. God always has a purpose. The longer I blog here, the more I see that, because it seems like I come up with these stories from my past that I didn't really remember before. But then I look back, I see how a situation applies to something I'm reading in my Bible, so I share that. We go through times where we require comfort so that when the times come up, we can pass on that comfort. And I imagine that goes for a lot of things we go through in life.
Praise God for his constant provision! Not only does he provide and take care for our physical needs, but He plans ahead to take care of our spiritual needs as well. He is the God of compassion, and He has compassion for ALL His children- not just some of them. Thank God for that.
"But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15
I was thinking about this verse this morning, and I thought about my kids. You know, the longer we have the opportunity to be parents, the more I see that having children and being parents is a great way to get to understand more about God and who He Is. When one of my children gets hurt, whatever I am doing gets dropped instantly so that I can give attention to the hurt. Sometimes it's a physical hurt- a bump,bruise or cut. Sometimes it's a spiritual hurt- hurt feelings because a name was called or a turn skipped. But no matter what the hurt is, or what causes it, my first reaction is to provide comfort.
My job at that moment, my number one job when a child needs it is to provide comfort. I do that with my kids by providing myself. We snuggle, give hugs, maybe a few kisses, a rub of the hand to reassure them. Only after I've provided adequate comfort do we tend to the need at hand. We bandage up a cut or pull out a sliver. We try and provide a resolution to a conflict. But the first step is always the comfort.
I looked up the word comfort in the dictionary, where I found two definitions. The first one says "to give strength and hope to" and the second definition is "to ease the grief or trouble of". As a parent I do both of those for my children the second the need arises.
How much more does God do for His children? He loves us so much- He is the ultimate comforter. It says in our verse today that He comforts us in ALL our troubles. And just as with our children- sometimes those troubles may have been brought upon ourselves, but at the same time, that doesn't lessen my comfort when the need arises. I don't give less hugs because Zander chose to do something I told him not to. I still love him and do what I can as a parent to ease the pain and to help him to feel better.
But do you know what is even cooler? Seeing my children give comfort because they've received comfort when they needed it. A few summers back I had the opportunity to put both kids in a tumbling class. It was the only time their ages were just so that I could do it, so the very first week I sent a very excited Abigail and a very nervous Zander in to tumble. It didn't take long before the tears started flowing. Zander was just too nervous, and he was having a hard time doing everything they were asking of him. And do you know what Abigail did? She put her arms around him and comforted him, just as if I was there. She rubbed his arms and soothed his cries with kind words, and she dropped what she was doing to see to his needs. She took on the role of comforter before she was even seven years old.
Which leads me to a lot of what this verse is saying. What if, as we go through our trials and our times in life where we really lean on the Lord and His comfort...what if those times are meant for us, simply as a training tool? What if we go through those times so that later on, we can share what we've gone through with others and help them to learn from our errors and mistakes. When we've gone through a rough patch, where the comfort of God is what sustained us, we remember that, and people see that. Sometimes how we respond in a situation may be the entire reason for the situation in the first place.
I do know this. Nothing we go through is gone through in vain. God always has a purpose. The longer I blog here, the more I see that, because it seems like I come up with these stories from my past that I didn't really remember before. But then I look back, I see how a situation applies to something I'm reading in my Bible, so I share that. We go through times where we require comfort so that when the times come up, we can pass on that comfort. And I imagine that goes for a lot of things we go through in life.
Praise God for his constant provision! Not only does he provide and take care for our physical needs, but He plans ahead to take care of our spiritual needs as well. He is the God of compassion, and He has compassion for ALL His children- not just some of them. Thank God for that.
"But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15
Friday, March 05, 2010
Sowing And Reaping
"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" Deuteronomy 6:6-7
"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:6
Sowing and reaping. Boy, do we hear a lot of things about sowing and reaping, and it's almost always in connection with offerings- or giving money. They're fantastic messages, and I've been thinking a lot lately on giving. I have thoughts that I'm still musing and keeping an eye out for scripture to discuss, but today, I wanted to share some real life examples of sowing and reaping. As I mentioned, we hear these verses quite a bit, but it wasn't until recently that I heard the message that when the Bible talks about reaping and sowing- it doesn't just mean money.
Yet, I'm going to start with money, and then I'm going to move on to other money things. A few years ago, when we were in a time of transition with churches, we were in the pickle of needing a place to give too. We didn't have a home church for a time, and weren't sure where our tithes should be going. Should we tithe at every church we explore? Should we consider a charitable organization for a time instead? Well, I'll tell you, God laid a local ministry on our heart during that time- and that organization received our tithes and offerings for several months. Honestly? I hadn't thought about that until just this week, because I think God brought it to mind. Andy has been away for six weeks total now studying and learning things about construction. This is his last week for now, and as I thought about the times he's gone down, do you know I think people were giving him money every time he went? Some people gave him just a few dollars- some gave him more- but I don't think a week went by where someone wasn't pressing money into his hands.
I thought about that this week, because we've both come to the conclusion that the things he's been learning are going to have a direct impact on a path of ministry someday. And just as we sowed for a time into a new ministry, it's very interesting to reap the benefits of that sowing, as we seek direction from God for what we are to do with this new learning. This didn't occur to me until just now- that these people sowing into what Andy is doing could very well be a message from God that he is to take these recent thoughts he's been having and run with them... there will be more to come on this, I'm sure.
But what about sowing and reaping other things? I mean, I plant pea seeds and I reap a harvest of peas. I plant one seed- and I get a whole plant that gives me many peas- that's one of the beautiful things about the principle of sowing and reaping. Your harvest is always more than what you put in. Go to that verse above- sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow generously, reap generously. It's a simple matter of principle there. If I plant a whole package of pea seeds I will have a bountiful harvest of pea plants and peas. If I plant just a few seeds, I will get just a few plants.
But did you know that when you give something from the heart- it doesn't matter what it is- God keeps track and brings it back to you ten-fold? I have some wonderful examples that God has brought to light in recent weeks.
Some time back, we had company for dinner one night- a family who is just always on our hearts, and we just love them so much. They have kids younger than ours, and one night after dinner, just before they left, Andy felt strongly that we needed to give them clothing. Hey- that was awesome- Andy went to the basement and pulled out two totes full of clothes for their kids. We didn't give it another thought- we were just happy to pass them on to someone who we knew could use them. But if you'll recall, back around Thanksgiving I shared how God provided clothing for my kids. Those two totes of clothes we gave in love came back to us multiplied! We filled our kids closets with what was given to us in love. We sowed clothing, and we reaped clothing- how cool is that? God remembered when we gave, and when someone was looking to get rid of their children's clothes, he placed us on their heart and blessed us so incredibly!
There's also this matter of time. Ah yes, our old friend time- I have a big post in the back of my mind on time, but did you know that when you sow time you reap time back? Time is something that God gave to us- and yet so many of us let it control us. Again this week, I was thinking about this principle of sowing and reaping, and I was reminded of all the time that I have given to God in the past. At first I just kind of shrugged it off, because I didn't think it was that much time- but do you know, for about three years I cleaned our church weekly and diligently? I think in all that time I missed maybe four weeks. And while I was happy to do it at the time, what I didn't realize was that my heavenly time clock was adding up big time. Because as I sowed all that time, generously, I am now reaping loads of time.
And what do I mean by that? I mean that lately I've noticed that I always have time for everything- with time to spare. We had company one day last weekend, and we cleaned the house a bit, but it seemed like we had everything cleaned up in half the time, and then we had half a day staring at us with nothing to do. And it's like that almost every day it seems! School in the last few months has gone remarkably well, and we get done and it's like, huh, I have a long time until I need to figure dinner or we need to get ready to head out for one activity or another. And then! I can't tell you the last time we had to rush to go somewhere. We take our time getting ready for church or dance, and we head out the door with time to spare. Time is simply not an issue for us- there is always more- it seems that each and every day I have plenty of time to get everything done that I want to get done. And having time working for us means no stress! Take today as a great example! Andy's coming home tonight, and I always like him to come home to a fairly clean house. But on top of that, our landlord is showing our place twice- at two different times, and then, just for kicks, I thought it would be fun to have company over and make a turkey dinner. And you know what? I have a lot to do today- but it's going to run smoothly- like cream.
" when my path was drenched with cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil" Job 29:6
Our paths these days are like they are coated with cream and olive oil. They are smooth sailing- there is always extra time to get where we need to, and to do what we need to. It's amazing how the principle of sowing and reaping can be applied to something like time!
But I think I'm going to come back to money and the principle of sowing and reaping. Only this time, I'm going to share it with a twist. Last year at this time, I was on my way to dance with the kids when I felt a really strong prompting, like I needed to pay someone else's bill at the dance school. I'll admit, I kind of wrestled with God about that on that drive. While we could afford to do so, Andy also wasn't working at the time yet, and every penny counted for us. But when we got to the school, I obeyed, I went to the counter and got another family's account caught up to date. I was rewarded instantly with that warm fuzzy feeling, and thought that was that. I was happy to be able to bless someone in an unexpected way.
Fast forward eight months and at this same dance school, Andy learns that the lighting designer from years past is no longer with the school. Of all the things that could come up- it would be the one task that no one other than Andy knows how to do. Just like that, he is signed on as the lighting designer for the dance school- and oh, by the way, don't worry about paying for Abigail's classes. Talk about reaping what we've sown! When we figured out how much we haven't had to pay for dance classes- it works out to about ten times what I paid months before on someone else's account. And even better, for us, Andy also gets plenty of opportunity to bless this dance school and the people who work there- all while being a witness AND sharpening some of his skills that may have been getting a little rusty.
God is just so good!! And I'll tell you, just typing this all out this morning, I can't help but say that reminding myself of all these things is a great reminder that God is our provider. He truly is Jehovah Jireh at all times. All those times over the years that we may have sown something here or there- God remembers each and every one. He remembers every bag of groceries we take to the food pantry- and this past winter we received that back with an abundance in our pantry and freezer while Andy was not working. It's amazing! It also gets me excited, because as we're remembering these things that we're seeing revisited to us, we're also remembering a lot of other areas where we have sown, and we're excited to see how God is faithful. We're excited to add to our testimony of God providing through the principle of sowing and reaping. When you sow generously, you reap generously. It's a fact. If you sow stingily, you'll reap stingily. This is so much more than sowing your finances!
Okay, one more story because it just came to me. In years past, we have spent time over the Christmas season organizing giving gifts to the local Salvation Army. Oh, we always loved doing that. We would organize our church body to sponsor a family or two- and we'd also give some of the gifts. In fact, I remember taking gifts that I'd purchased for our kids and adding them to the gifts we were taking in, because I just felt such a need.
Well, we all know what happened this past Christmas. Christmas gifts for our children were pouring in this year from strangers around the country. God is faithful! We sowed Christmas gifts, we reaped Christmas gifts!
The goodness of God is never-ending, and the principle of sowing and reaping is one of the many tools He uses to bless His children. The moral of the story is to not ignore that nudging to give something. Whether it be your time, money, stuff, use of your car for a time- whatever it is, give it- and give it joyfully and generously. God will remember, and when you need a car to use, He will remember the time you shared yours and will provide in abundance. Isn't God amazing!
"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:6
Sowing and reaping. Boy, do we hear a lot of things about sowing and reaping, and it's almost always in connection with offerings- or giving money. They're fantastic messages, and I've been thinking a lot lately on giving. I have thoughts that I'm still musing and keeping an eye out for scripture to discuss, but today, I wanted to share some real life examples of sowing and reaping. As I mentioned, we hear these verses quite a bit, but it wasn't until recently that I heard the message that when the Bible talks about reaping and sowing- it doesn't just mean money.
Yet, I'm going to start with money, and then I'm going to move on to other money things. A few years ago, when we were in a time of transition with churches, we were in the pickle of needing a place to give too. We didn't have a home church for a time, and weren't sure where our tithes should be going. Should we tithe at every church we explore? Should we consider a charitable organization for a time instead? Well, I'll tell you, God laid a local ministry on our heart during that time- and that organization received our tithes and offerings for several months. Honestly? I hadn't thought about that until just this week, because I think God brought it to mind. Andy has been away for six weeks total now studying and learning things about construction. This is his last week for now, and as I thought about the times he's gone down, do you know I think people were giving him money every time he went? Some people gave him just a few dollars- some gave him more- but I don't think a week went by where someone wasn't pressing money into his hands.
I thought about that this week, because we've both come to the conclusion that the things he's been learning are going to have a direct impact on a path of ministry someday. And just as we sowed for a time into a new ministry, it's very interesting to reap the benefits of that sowing, as we seek direction from God for what we are to do with this new learning. This didn't occur to me until just now- that these people sowing into what Andy is doing could very well be a message from God that he is to take these recent thoughts he's been having and run with them... there will be more to come on this, I'm sure.
But what about sowing and reaping other things? I mean, I plant pea seeds and I reap a harvest of peas. I plant one seed- and I get a whole plant that gives me many peas- that's one of the beautiful things about the principle of sowing and reaping. Your harvest is always more than what you put in. Go to that verse above- sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow generously, reap generously. It's a simple matter of principle there. If I plant a whole package of pea seeds I will have a bountiful harvest of pea plants and peas. If I plant just a few seeds, I will get just a few plants.
But did you know that when you give something from the heart- it doesn't matter what it is- God keeps track and brings it back to you ten-fold? I have some wonderful examples that God has brought to light in recent weeks.
Some time back, we had company for dinner one night- a family who is just always on our hearts, and we just love them so much. They have kids younger than ours, and one night after dinner, just before they left, Andy felt strongly that we needed to give them clothing. Hey- that was awesome- Andy went to the basement and pulled out two totes full of clothes for their kids. We didn't give it another thought- we were just happy to pass them on to someone who we knew could use them. But if you'll recall, back around Thanksgiving I shared how God provided clothing for my kids. Those two totes of clothes we gave in love came back to us multiplied! We filled our kids closets with what was given to us in love. We sowed clothing, and we reaped clothing- how cool is that? God remembered when we gave, and when someone was looking to get rid of their children's clothes, he placed us on their heart and blessed us so incredibly!
There's also this matter of time. Ah yes, our old friend time- I have a big post in the back of my mind on time, but did you know that when you sow time you reap time back? Time is something that God gave to us- and yet so many of us let it control us. Again this week, I was thinking about this principle of sowing and reaping, and I was reminded of all the time that I have given to God in the past. At first I just kind of shrugged it off, because I didn't think it was that much time- but do you know, for about three years I cleaned our church weekly and diligently? I think in all that time I missed maybe four weeks. And while I was happy to do it at the time, what I didn't realize was that my heavenly time clock was adding up big time. Because as I sowed all that time, generously, I am now reaping loads of time.
And what do I mean by that? I mean that lately I've noticed that I always have time for everything- with time to spare. We had company one day last weekend, and we cleaned the house a bit, but it seemed like we had everything cleaned up in half the time, and then we had half a day staring at us with nothing to do. And it's like that almost every day it seems! School in the last few months has gone remarkably well, and we get done and it's like, huh, I have a long time until I need to figure dinner or we need to get ready to head out for one activity or another. And then! I can't tell you the last time we had to rush to go somewhere. We take our time getting ready for church or dance, and we head out the door with time to spare. Time is simply not an issue for us- there is always more- it seems that each and every day I have plenty of time to get everything done that I want to get done. And having time working for us means no stress! Take today as a great example! Andy's coming home tonight, and I always like him to come home to a fairly clean house. But on top of that, our landlord is showing our place twice- at two different times, and then, just for kicks, I thought it would be fun to have company over and make a turkey dinner. And you know what? I have a lot to do today- but it's going to run smoothly- like cream.
" when my path was drenched with cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil" Job 29:6
Our paths these days are like they are coated with cream and olive oil. They are smooth sailing- there is always extra time to get where we need to, and to do what we need to. It's amazing how the principle of sowing and reaping can be applied to something like time!
But I think I'm going to come back to money and the principle of sowing and reaping. Only this time, I'm going to share it with a twist. Last year at this time, I was on my way to dance with the kids when I felt a really strong prompting, like I needed to pay someone else's bill at the dance school. I'll admit, I kind of wrestled with God about that on that drive. While we could afford to do so, Andy also wasn't working at the time yet, and every penny counted for us. But when we got to the school, I obeyed, I went to the counter and got another family's account caught up to date. I was rewarded instantly with that warm fuzzy feeling, and thought that was that. I was happy to be able to bless someone in an unexpected way.
Fast forward eight months and at this same dance school, Andy learns that the lighting designer from years past is no longer with the school. Of all the things that could come up- it would be the one task that no one other than Andy knows how to do. Just like that, he is signed on as the lighting designer for the dance school- and oh, by the way, don't worry about paying for Abigail's classes. Talk about reaping what we've sown! When we figured out how much we haven't had to pay for dance classes- it works out to about ten times what I paid months before on someone else's account. And even better, for us, Andy also gets plenty of opportunity to bless this dance school and the people who work there- all while being a witness AND sharpening some of his skills that may have been getting a little rusty.
God is just so good!! And I'll tell you, just typing this all out this morning, I can't help but say that reminding myself of all these things is a great reminder that God is our provider. He truly is Jehovah Jireh at all times. All those times over the years that we may have sown something here or there- God remembers each and every one. He remembers every bag of groceries we take to the food pantry- and this past winter we received that back with an abundance in our pantry and freezer while Andy was not working. It's amazing! It also gets me excited, because as we're remembering these things that we're seeing revisited to us, we're also remembering a lot of other areas where we have sown, and we're excited to see how God is faithful. We're excited to add to our testimony of God providing through the principle of sowing and reaping. When you sow generously, you reap generously. It's a fact. If you sow stingily, you'll reap stingily. This is so much more than sowing your finances!
Okay, one more story because it just came to me. In years past, we have spent time over the Christmas season organizing giving gifts to the local Salvation Army. Oh, we always loved doing that. We would organize our church body to sponsor a family or two- and we'd also give some of the gifts. In fact, I remember taking gifts that I'd purchased for our kids and adding them to the gifts we were taking in, because I just felt such a need.
Well, we all know what happened this past Christmas. Christmas gifts for our children were pouring in this year from strangers around the country. God is faithful! We sowed Christmas gifts, we reaped Christmas gifts!
The goodness of God is never-ending, and the principle of sowing and reaping is one of the many tools He uses to bless His children. The moral of the story is to not ignore that nudging to give something. Whether it be your time, money, stuff, use of your car for a time- whatever it is, give it- and give it joyfully and generously. God will remember, and when you need a car to use, He will remember the time you shared yours and will provide in abundance. Isn't God amazing!
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Saying NO To Fear
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. " Joshua 1:9
About a month ago, I had a day where I truly felt terrified for a time. I was sitting at the table, teaching Zander his math, and absentmindedly rubbing the back of my leg. I have large and ugly varicose veins on the back of my leg, and sometimes they itch a bit. Well, this particular day they were itching, but as I rubbed, I noticed they were sore that day as well. No big deal, and normal- I would just try to take it a little easy that day. And then I found the bump.
About the size of a marble- and hard like a marble, right above where my knee bends. It hurt when I pushed on it, and I set Zander to work some problems while I headed to the bathroom to check it out. And sure enough, where one of the many big blue puffy veins were, there was a lump right in the middle- and the lump was a kind of bruised purple color.
My heart instantly started beating fast, and literally, my life was flashing before my eyes. Something akin to terror took over in my mind and all I could think about was how blood clots kill. They break off wherever they are in veins and travel to the brain or heart- causing death almost immediately. I set the kids to some projects and went to dial the doctors office.
I was on hold for a full hour. No lie! The whole time my leg is throbbing, and I don't know if it is better for me to sit and not move- or to keep moving. As I'm on hold longer and longer, I head to the computer to look this thing up and see what is to be said about it. And as I'm typing in the words varicose veins and blood clots, I was shaking pretty good (and of course, thinking unkind thoughts about the doctors office that had me on hold so long) when it felt like something hit me on the side of my head.
I knew right at that moment that God was watching out for me, and that all these thoughts of death and disaster and leaving my children motherless were from the devil. The fears I was experiencing were unfounded- God had plans for me and my family- and those plans included me. The internet confirmed exactly what God gave me. I was experiencing a blood clot- but it was superficial- since it was in a vein that already wasn't working, there was no danger of it breaking loose and causing problems. I would just be uncomfortable for a few weeks most likely.
It was THEN that I remembered that I'd already had one of these before- I had one when I was pregnant with Zander in a different part of my leg. It went away on it's own- and the doctor was so wonderful then in assuring me that it was going to be okay.
So I stopped waiting on the phone. I hung up, and I almost felt silly about the last hour, because I knew that God was with me, and I prayed for a few minutes. I assured the devil that he was not going to win this one- that I was not going to curl up into a ball and wither away. As I prayed, I recognized fully that this was an attack on me and my faith- and this verse above instantly sprang into my mind. Even if it were a blood clot that could cause problems- with God I had no worries. He would be with me and see me through.
I did eventually call the doctor again. I spoke with a nurse who really reassured me that I would be okay- she gave me some direction for taking care of my leg, and told me to call again on Monday if it hadn't improved. Of course I felt much better after that- but my mind still wandered a bit all that day. Then do you know what God did to reassure me? He had the nurse call back- she had spoken with the doctor and just wanted to let me know that he agreed with what it was and to feel free to call at any time over the weekend if I felt there was something urgently wrong.
I'll tell you, my faith really collided with my fears that day. And really, the days to follow. We had a busy couple of weeks ahead of us, and the last thing I needed was to have to take time to rest. But I think maybe God knew what He was doing, and I did need my rest. Every evening after the kids were in bed, I would just stop what I was doing, relax, put my leg up with some wonderful heat on it, and I could just enjoy my time with Andy- and when the Olympics were on, I watched a whole lot of that first week, because I was trying to rest and stay off my legs as much as possible. I really enjoyed my time resting!
And yet, I look back at those first few hours that Friday- when I found the clot, and I feel like I could have done better. My first thought was not as it should have been. My first thought should have been to proclaim myself healed and to banish whatever forces of darkness were trying to attack. But it wasn't. While I wouldn't say that I failed a test at all- I would say that I could have done better. That feeling like I got whacked on the head? Was probably my angel telling me to knock it off and know better. Teamwork- gotta love that.
The thing is, if you see a tornado coming at your house- what do you do first? You seek shelter. You run and hide, you gather your family and you say a quick prayer that you will survive and stay safe. But it seems to me that if I'm really going to be that supernatural housewife, my first thought should not be to seek shelter- it should be to rebuke that tornado. My faith should spring up and overcome what I see in the natural and take care of what is happening with the supernatural.
I clearly have some work to do on my faith- but right now, I feel like I've lived and learned a very powerful lesson- and I also have learned that it's okay for me to trust in God to heal me in His perfect timing of these veins in my legs. I've always thought that it was vanity that drove me to want to be rid of these things- but I think my health and peace of mind are also worthy of thought. Someday God will take care of them- and my legs will be free of defection, because after all, there are no gross and ugly veins in heaven.
"your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. " Matthew 6:10
On earth as it is in heaven. We are victorious every single time. Fear has no place in my heart because there is faith there. There will be no more fear- and I will rest in the promises of God.
About a month ago, I had a day where I truly felt terrified for a time. I was sitting at the table, teaching Zander his math, and absentmindedly rubbing the back of my leg. I have large and ugly varicose veins on the back of my leg, and sometimes they itch a bit. Well, this particular day they were itching, but as I rubbed, I noticed they were sore that day as well. No big deal, and normal- I would just try to take it a little easy that day. And then I found the bump.
About the size of a marble- and hard like a marble, right above where my knee bends. It hurt when I pushed on it, and I set Zander to work some problems while I headed to the bathroom to check it out. And sure enough, where one of the many big blue puffy veins were, there was a lump right in the middle- and the lump was a kind of bruised purple color.
My heart instantly started beating fast, and literally, my life was flashing before my eyes. Something akin to terror took over in my mind and all I could think about was how blood clots kill. They break off wherever they are in veins and travel to the brain or heart- causing death almost immediately. I set the kids to some projects and went to dial the doctors office.
I was on hold for a full hour. No lie! The whole time my leg is throbbing, and I don't know if it is better for me to sit and not move- or to keep moving. As I'm on hold longer and longer, I head to the computer to look this thing up and see what is to be said about it. And as I'm typing in the words varicose veins and blood clots, I was shaking pretty good (and of course, thinking unkind thoughts about the doctors office that had me on hold so long) when it felt like something hit me on the side of my head.
I knew right at that moment that God was watching out for me, and that all these thoughts of death and disaster and leaving my children motherless were from the devil. The fears I was experiencing were unfounded- God had plans for me and my family- and those plans included me. The internet confirmed exactly what God gave me. I was experiencing a blood clot- but it was superficial- since it was in a vein that already wasn't working, there was no danger of it breaking loose and causing problems. I would just be uncomfortable for a few weeks most likely.
It was THEN that I remembered that I'd already had one of these before- I had one when I was pregnant with Zander in a different part of my leg. It went away on it's own- and the doctor was so wonderful then in assuring me that it was going to be okay.
So I stopped waiting on the phone. I hung up, and I almost felt silly about the last hour, because I knew that God was with me, and I prayed for a few minutes. I assured the devil that he was not going to win this one- that I was not going to curl up into a ball and wither away. As I prayed, I recognized fully that this was an attack on me and my faith- and this verse above instantly sprang into my mind. Even if it were a blood clot that could cause problems- with God I had no worries. He would be with me and see me through.
I did eventually call the doctor again. I spoke with a nurse who really reassured me that I would be okay- she gave me some direction for taking care of my leg, and told me to call again on Monday if it hadn't improved. Of course I felt much better after that- but my mind still wandered a bit all that day. Then do you know what God did to reassure me? He had the nurse call back- she had spoken with the doctor and just wanted to let me know that he agreed with what it was and to feel free to call at any time over the weekend if I felt there was something urgently wrong.
I'll tell you, my faith really collided with my fears that day. And really, the days to follow. We had a busy couple of weeks ahead of us, and the last thing I needed was to have to take time to rest. But I think maybe God knew what He was doing, and I did need my rest. Every evening after the kids were in bed, I would just stop what I was doing, relax, put my leg up with some wonderful heat on it, and I could just enjoy my time with Andy- and when the Olympics were on, I watched a whole lot of that first week, because I was trying to rest and stay off my legs as much as possible. I really enjoyed my time resting!
And yet, I look back at those first few hours that Friday- when I found the clot, and I feel like I could have done better. My first thought was not as it should have been. My first thought should have been to proclaim myself healed and to banish whatever forces of darkness were trying to attack. But it wasn't. While I wouldn't say that I failed a test at all- I would say that I could have done better. That feeling like I got whacked on the head? Was probably my angel telling me to knock it off and know better. Teamwork- gotta love that.
The thing is, if you see a tornado coming at your house- what do you do first? You seek shelter. You run and hide, you gather your family and you say a quick prayer that you will survive and stay safe. But it seems to me that if I'm really going to be that supernatural housewife, my first thought should not be to seek shelter- it should be to rebuke that tornado. My faith should spring up and overcome what I see in the natural and take care of what is happening with the supernatural.
I clearly have some work to do on my faith- but right now, I feel like I've lived and learned a very powerful lesson- and I also have learned that it's okay for me to trust in God to heal me in His perfect timing of these veins in my legs. I've always thought that it was vanity that drove me to want to be rid of these things- but I think my health and peace of mind are also worthy of thought. Someday God will take care of them- and my legs will be free of defection, because after all, there are no gross and ugly veins in heaven.
"your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. " Matthew 6:10
On earth as it is in heaven. We are victorious every single time. Fear has no place in my heart because there is faith there. There will be no more fear- and I will rest in the promises of God.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Warfare Wednesday:Peace
" 'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country." Leviticus 26:6
I continue to pray for President Obama this week. I continue to pray for his safety and the safety of his family, but more than that, I pray that God just blesses him today for his willingness to serve. Every day as I read reports of what the president is doing, who he's talking to and what speeches he's giving, I can't help but think that he had no idea what he was in for as president. Really, he's been fighting an uphill battle- even before he was elected, and I think he really had no idea of the political mess he was inheriting.
So this week, I really feel like we should be praying for peace. And not the peace we usually pray for, but peace in our government. Peace between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Peace between Republicans and Democrats- and any Independent representative thrown into the mix. It's just getting out of hand. The bickering and the arguing between the two sides is simply not helping anybody. I just read last week that while the Senate had passed 290 bills, every single one of those bills were just sitting at the House of Representatives. 290 pieces of legislation that no one is acting on because they are too busy fighting.
Why are our representative leaders fighting each other? Don't they know our war is not with flesh and blood? You know, I hear things like this and I'm just embarrassed- like the parent of two school kids who simply don't get along and fight in the most public of places- I'm embarrassed that our government- our body of government which stands as an example for the rest of the world is at a place where it is not functioning correctly.
In the past several months, record-breaking snows have fallen on Washington DC. God sent down forgiveness and righteousness in the form of several feet of snow. It's time for the fire that follows. I am praying that God would send his Holy Spirit fire to cleanse the government in Washington. I pray that He will send down his spirit to quench the fires of war and tension and bring peace to the body that makes the decisions for this country. May they be filled with GODLY wisdom and see the decisions that need to be made to point this country back in the right direction.
And may all this fighting stop. May we stop fighting with each other and see that our wars are not at all against our fellow man.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12
Our wars are with the prince of persia and his dark forces. That is what we should we be fighting- not each other and our ideas. May God forgive us for all the horrible things we have said about and to each other. And may the fire of God be followed by a wave of love- a love unlike anything this country has ever experienced. The love of a Father- who adores His children and wants so much for them.
I continue to pray for President Obama this week. I continue to pray for his safety and the safety of his family, but more than that, I pray that God just blesses him today for his willingness to serve. Every day as I read reports of what the president is doing, who he's talking to and what speeches he's giving, I can't help but think that he had no idea what he was in for as president. Really, he's been fighting an uphill battle- even before he was elected, and I think he really had no idea of the political mess he was inheriting.
So this week, I really feel like we should be praying for peace. And not the peace we usually pray for, but peace in our government. Peace between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Peace between Republicans and Democrats- and any Independent representative thrown into the mix. It's just getting out of hand. The bickering and the arguing between the two sides is simply not helping anybody. I just read last week that while the Senate had passed 290 bills, every single one of those bills were just sitting at the House of Representatives. 290 pieces of legislation that no one is acting on because they are too busy fighting.
Why are our representative leaders fighting each other? Don't they know our war is not with flesh and blood? You know, I hear things like this and I'm just embarrassed- like the parent of two school kids who simply don't get along and fight in the most public of places- I'm embarrassed that our government- our body of government which stands as an example for the rest of the world is at a place where it is not functioning correctly.
In the past several months, record-breaking snows have fallen on Washington DC. God sent down forgiveness and righteousness in the form of several feet of snow. It's time for the fire that follows. I am praying that God would send his Holy Spirit fire to cleanse the government in Washington. I pray that He will send down his spirit to quench the fires of war and tension and bring peace to the body that makes the decisions for this country. May they be filled with GODLY wisdom and see the decisions that need to be made to point this country back in the right direction.
And may all this fighting stop. May we stop fighting with each other and see that our wars are not at all against our fellow man.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12
Our wars are with the prince of persia and his dark forces. That is what we should we be fighting- not each other and our ideas. May God forgive us for all the horrible things we have said about and to each other. And may the fire of God be followed by a wave of love- a love unlike anything this country has ever experienced. The love of a Father- who adores His children and wants so much for them.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Caring For The Temple
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
It should be no surprise to anyone that nutrition and diet have been on my mind lately. Well, okay, they're always in the back of my mind somewhere, and my real interest waxes and wanes, but lately, I've really felt a bit of...urgency... to learn more and to try and discover what is right for my body- and for the bodies of my family.
It's no secret that we love food. I cook often- and I cook well, we love to eat good food that tastes good. As the snow gives the appearance of getting melty and thinking about spring (hey- it's only March, we could have two more wintery months), my mind turns to the ground and the vegetables I so desire to spring forth from that ground. I look forward to the warm season because for us that means that it's easier to eat in healthier fashion. When I can just walk out to the garden and grab the vegetables necessary to make a salad- we do it so much more often than if I have to buy the stuff.
But what does the Bible say about being healthy? When you really dig in and look for the nitty gritty about what to eat and what not to eat, the first things that come to mind are the directions for the Israelites to avoid pork and seafood and insects and other animals. Then later on, God tells Peter that nothing He has made is unclean, so go ahead and eat. So you would think that one could just eat whatever- and the fact is, we can. Except that gluttony is a real and true sin, and sitting down to an entire pan of brownies, or a bowl of ice cream the size of your head is not being mindful at all of your body- your temple in which the Holy Spirit resides.
"Listen, my son, and be wise,
and keep your heart on the right path.
and drowsiness clothes them in rags." Proverbs 23:19-23
This last verse is especially interesting to me- because I know we've all experienced that. We celebrate with a delightful meal, maybe have a glass or two of wine to go with, and then we all sit around tired and drowsy. We've taken in too much- and our body is using all its energy to digest the excess of food we have taken in.
Have you ever seen a movie where there is a royal celebration? An old movie- with kings and queens and a royal banquet unlike anything you've ever seen. Everyone is feasting on sides of beef, legs of mutton, puddings and cakes, but they are joyous and full of frivolity- and there is something else they are all doing. There is usually dancing and merriment. Dancing is an amazing form of exercise- and if I'm going to take the time today to think on eating and taking care of my temple, I need to think about the evil E word as well- because it's equally important to taking care of this body.
Living where I live, exercise is tough- it really is. It is cold at least five months of the year, so if I want to be exercising and moving my body regularly, it has to be purposeful. I either need to suck it up and head out to the cold, or I need to head to a gym, or I need to find something to do inside my home that constitutes exercise. As it happens, I do have something that I enjoy doing in my home as a form of exercise... the problem would be that I have no idea when is a good time to do it.
Do I have the guts and the gumption to actually get up early in the morning to tackle such a project? Gosh, I don't know. I may need some help from God to get me motivated so early in the morning.
Here's the thing. If my temple is not right with God- if I am physically out of whack, everything is going to be out of whack. Think about it. If I am not taking in the right foods, exercising appropriately, and taking care of my personal hygiene appropriately, my body is going to respond by telling me what's wrong. This time of year I take vitamins religiously, because I'm not getting as much fresh fruits and vegetables. I know this to be a fact- and I can really and truly tell when I'm not taking them. When I skip my vitamin D and Calcium I get physically irritable. I get crabby and I get tired and everything suffers- my housework, schooling the kids, and the motivation to get anything done. Sickness can come upon my body more readily if I am not eating the right things. When my diet is meticulous and good as gold- it is ready to fight of disease- and that's a fact! When I am uber-focused on my eating, I can walk through a room full of people coughing and sneezing and my body will brush it off. When my family has sickness after sickness, that's a sign to me that our diets need to be adjusted and we need to pay more attention to our vitamin intake.
When I take a season to splurge on foods I shouldn't, maybe my weight will fluctuate. This means that many of the clothes that don't fit me- so I have to go out and spend money on clothes that do fit. Now- clothing is necessary, but wouldn't it be better to watch what I eat in the first place so that I don't have to go buy new clothes, and instead I can use that money for something God would approve of? Maybe I could sponsor a child in a poor country if I didn't need a supply of larger clothing. But it's not just clothes. Excess weight can mean serious health problems that take our hard earned money- the money we could be using to further the kingdom of God- and force us to spend it on specialists, medications, doctors visits, just so that we feel better and our body keeps working in a fashion.
"Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." Philippians 3:19
Their mind is on earthly things. Food is a wonderful thing- God meant for us to enjoy it, or He wouldn't have made it so delicious! But we can be wise about it. We can actually listen when the dietitians and doctors tell us our plate should be half-filled with vegetables. If you're going to enjoy a steak, enjoy the steak, but keep the portion small, and eat the entire portion of broccoli that came with it- not just a stalk or two. And stop eating when full. There is no need to "fill in the cracks" as I've heard it said. Instead, fill in those cracks with the Holy Spirit. Talk to God, stir up your prayer language, and when you're struggling with whether or not to eat a little more- because you really want to, but know you shouldn't, that's when you turn on those tongues. Start praying in tongues to yourself and turn your mind off the earthly things and back on God. Don't believe me? I challenge you to try it out.
"When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
have the wisdom to show restraint. " Proverbs 23:1-4
Or, when I'm just not eating right things can run amok. The Bible tells us flat out that man cannot live by bread alone.
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." Deuteronomy 8:3
And while that has much more implications than just food- it also means food. Man truly cannot live on bread alone, he will be missing vital nutrients and things that keep the body flowing smoothly. The vitamins and minerals found in fruits and vegetables are essential to the human body. Proteins found in meat, beans, nuts, and dairy products are essential for body function- it's what give us the stamina and the energy to accomplish a task. You know, God gave us this body that he perfectly designed for us. It seems to me that if we can figure out the right combination of what to take in, we really and truly can walk in perfect health!
And we can do this by asking God for help in our task. Really- God wants to help us all with our temples. He wants to see us healthy- because that means we can do more for His purposes. He loves it when we tell Him that we are willing- but then when we turn around, eat the wrong things, make ourselves sick and tired and lazy, he doesn't love it so much.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. " 1 John 5:4-5
God wants to help us get things right with our body! I am as certain of this as I am certain that my children need to learn their basic math facts. I know I've talked before about our country and all the people that are suffering from diseases and ills that really, are caused by affluence. We have so much excess in this country, but rather than see it go to waste, we send it down the gullet. When we go out to dinner, it's not worth the price unless the plate is the size of Texas- and it's packed full to the brim.
But the good news is that we are waking up to what is good and bad for us. We are realizing that all that processed food is not really good for our bodies. God didn't design our bodies to take in hyper-processed ingredients that we cannot pronounce. He designed our bodies to take in whole foods- real foods that we can identify- and in the right combination with plenty of rest and exercise, we can fine tune our temples to be examples of righteousness. It IS possible!
Honestly, I could go on and on with this- for days on end no doubt. But I think I will stop here and save it for another day. But I wanted to re-iterate the key, I think to choosing to live a more healthy lifestyle- and that is found in 1 John 5:4-5. Ask God for help. He will hear you, and He will give you the strength to make the changes you want to make.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. " 1 John 5:4-5
It should be no surprise to anyone that nutrition and diet have been on my mind lately. Well, okay, they're always in the back of my mind somewhere, and my real interest waxes and wanes, but lately, I've really felt a bit of...urgency... to learn more and to try and discover what is right for my body- and for the bodies of my family.
It's no secret that we love food. I cook often- and I cook well, we love to eat good food that tastes good. As the snow gives the appearance of getting melty and thinking about spring (hey- it's only March, we could have two more wintery months), my mind turns to the ground and the vegetables I so desire to spring forth from that ground. I look forward to the warm season because for us that means that it's easier to eat in healthier fashion. When I can just walk out to the garden and grab the vegetables necessary to make a salad- we do it so much more often than if I have to buy the stuff.
But what does the Bible say about being healthy? When you really dig in and look for the nitty gritty about what to eat and what not to eat, the first things that come to mind are the directions for the Israelites to avoid pork and seafood and insects and other animals. Then later on, God tells Peter that nothing He has made is unclean, so go ahead and eat. So you would think that one could just eat whatever- and the fact is, we can. Except that gluttony is a real and true sin, and sitting down to an entire pan of brownies, or a bowl of ice cream the size of your head is not being mindful at all of your body- your temple in which the Holy Spirit resides.
"Listen, my son, and be wise,
and keep your heart on the right path.
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags." Proverbs 23:19-23
This last verse is especially interesting to me- because I know we've all experienced that. We celebrate with a delightful meal, maybe have a glass or two of wine to go with, and then we all sit around tired and drowsy. We've taken in too much- and our body is using all its energy to digest the excess of food we have taken in.
Have you ever seen a movie where there is a royal celebration? An old movie- with kings and queens and a royal banquet unlike anything you've ever seen. Everyone is feasting on sides of beef, legs of mutton, puddings and cakes, but they are joyous and full of frivolity- and there is something else they are all doing. There is usually dancing and merriment. Dancing is an amazing form of exercise- and if I'm going to take the time today to think on eating and taking care of my temple, I need to think about the evil E word as well- because it's equally important to taking care of this body.
Living where I live, exercise is tough- it really is. It is cold at least five months of the year, so if I want to be exercising and moving my body regularly, it has to be purposeful. I either need to suck it up and head out to the cold, or I need to head to a gym, or I need to find something to do inside my home that constitutes exercise. As it happens, I do have something that I enjoy doing in my home as a form of exercise... the problem would be that I have no idea when is a good time to do it.
Do I have the guts and the gumption to actually get up early in the morning to tackle such a project? Gosh, I don't know. I may need some help from God to get me motivated so early in the morning.
Here's the thing. If my temple is not right with God- if I am physically out of whack, everything is going to be out of whack. Think about it. If I am not taking in the right foods, exercising appropriately, and taking care of my personal hygiene appropriately, my body is going to respond by telling me what's wrong. This time of year I take vitamins religiously, because I'm not getting as much fresh fruits and vegetables. I know this to be a fact- and I can really and truly tell when I'm not taking them. When I skip my vitamin D and Calcium I get physically irritable. I get crabby and I get tired and everything suffers- my housework, schooling the kids, and the motivation to get anything done. Sickness can come upon my body more readily if I am not eating the right things. When my diet is meticulous and good as gold- it is ready to fight of disease- and that's a fact! When I am uber-focused on my eating, I can walk through a room full of people coughing and sneezing and my body will brush it off. When my family has sickness after sickness, that's a sign to me that our diets need to be adjusted and we need to pay more attention to our vitamin intake.
When I take a season to splurge on foods I shouldn't, maybe my weight will fluctuate. This means that many of the clothes that don't fit me- so I have to go out and spend money on clothes that do fit. Now- clothing is necessary, but wouldn't it be better to watch what I eat in the first place so that I don't have to go buy new clothes, and instead I can use that money for something God would approve of? Maybe I could sponsor a child in a poor country if I didn't need a supply of larger clothing. But it's not just clothes. Excess weight can mean serious health problems that take our hard earned money- the money we could be using to further the kingdom of God- and force us to spend it on specialists, medications, doctors visits, just so that we feel better and our body keeps working in a fashion.
"Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." Philippians 3:19
Their mind is on earthly things. Food is a wonderful thing- God meant for us to enjoy it, or He wouldn't have made it so delicious! But we can be wise about it. We can actually listen when the dietitians and doctors tell us our plate should be half-filled with vegetables. If you're going to enjoy a steak, enjoy the steak, but keep the portion small, and eat the entire portion of broccoli that came with it- not just a stalk or two. And stop eating when full. There is no need to "fill in the cracks" as I've heard it said. Instead, fill in those cracks with the Holy Spirit. Talk to God, stir up your prayer language, and when you're struggling with whether or not to eat a little more- because you really want to, but know you shouldn't, that's when you turn on those tongues. Start praying in tongues to yourself and turn your mind off the earthly things and back on God. Don't believe me? I challenge you to try it out.
"When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
have the wisdom to show restraint. " Proverbs 23:1-4
Or, when I'm just not eating right things can run amok. The Bible tells us flat out that man cannot live by bread alone.
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." Deuteronomy 8:3
And while that has much more implications than just food- it also means food. Man truly cannot live on bread alone, he will be missing vital nutrients and things that keep the body flowing smoothly. The vitamins and minerals found in fruits and vegetables are essential to the human body. Proteins found in meat, beans, nuts, and dairy products are essential for body function- it's what give us the stamina and the energy to accomplish a task. You know, God gave us this body that he perfectly designed for us. It seems to me that if we can figure out the right combination of what to take in, we really and truly can walk in perfect health!
And we can do this by asking God for help in our task. Really- God wants to help us all with our temples. He wants to see us healthy- because that means we can do more for His purposes. He loves it when we tell Him that we are willing- but then when we turn around, eat the wrong things, make ourselves sick and tired and lazy, he doesn't love it so much.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. " 1 John 5:4-5
God wants to help us get things right with our body! I am as certain of this as I am certain that my children need to learn their basic math facts. I know I've talked before about our country and all the people that are suffering from diseases and ills that really, are caused by affluence. We have so much excess in this country, but rather than see it go to waste, we send it down the gullet. When we go out to dinner, it's not worth the price unless the plate is the size of Texas- and it's packed full to the brim.
But the good news is that we are waking up to what is good and bad for us. We are realizing that all that processed food is not really good for our bodies. God didn't design our bodies to take in hyper-processed ingredients that we cannot pronounce. He designed our bodies to take in whole foods- real foods that we can identify- and in the right combination with plenty of rest and exercise, we can fine tune our temples to be examples of righteousness. It IS possible!
Honestly, I could go on and on with this- for days on end no doubt. But I think I will stop here and save it for another day. But I wanted to re-iterate the key, I think to choosing to live a more healthy lifestyle- and that is found in 1 John 5:4-5. Ask God for help. He will hear you, and He will give you the strength to make the changes you want to make.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. " 1 John 5:4-5
Monday, March 01, 2010
Humbleness
"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way." Psalm 25:9
"Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." Daniel 10:12
I hope you don't get tired of hearing the words here "I had a dream the other night" because it seems that lately, those have been on the increase. My dream the other night was very short and simple, but I knew it was from God immediately, and have been thinking on it ever since- because I think it was a warning dream of sorts- and that is not something I've had many of.
I had a dream that I was sitting in my living room folding laundry- it was late at night and I was watching TV. All the sudden a loud noise entered the room- and it sounded just like an automatic garage door being opened. Then I looked up, and it actually looked like a garage door was being lowered, only it wasn't a door, it was a curtain. And as this curtain was rippling and falling, I felt such a sense of major loss being imminent- and I feel to my knees, pressed my face to the floor, and started crying out to God. Instantly, the sense of doom left, the curtain was gone, and the warmth of God filled my body from head to toe.
I think the warning here is where my focus is and could be. In my dream I was folding laundry and watching TV- two completely normal activities- but I was focused on my activities- I was focused on my works. The works of my hands. And when I think about that- oh my, how true it is! We can get so focused on what we are doing- on the physical aspect of what we are doing that we forget why we are doing what we are doing.
Yesterday the winter Olympics wrapped up. Oh, I so enjoyed watching every minute of them- what an enjoyable Olympic festival to watch! But the whole time I was watching, in the back of my mind I was wondering how many of these athletes are praising God for what they are doing. How many of them, in their everyday conversations with people, are giving the credit to God for their athletic prowess? I think of a few prominent athletes from the summer games, who in years gone by have bragged to the world about how awesome they are- only to have the years go by and reveal drugs boosting their performance. Pride goeth before the fall.
"Though his pride reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds, 7 he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' " Job 20:6-7
When I do things... I'm trying to word this right... A few weeks ago we had a conference, and I always have people coming up to me telling me how much they enjoy the worship- and thanking me for what I do. I'll admit, I'm never quite sure what to say back- I thank them for their words, but I try to dismiss the praise they give, because without God, our worship team is nothing. Without the wind of the Holy Spirit stirring us up and causing the music to come out of us, it would just be another pretty music service at church. But it's the Holy Spirit who moves- who acts in us- but only because we say yes to Him. We say yes every time we are on that stage, instrument in hand, and then the Spirit takes over and breathes on the congregation through the music.
But we have to say yes. We have to humble ourselves and say that God does it through us- we have to keep our focus on Him, and not focus on giving a perfect "performance"- that's not why we are there.
You know, as I'm thinking about this- what a thin line we are talking about walking here. There's such a fine line sometimes between self-confidence and arrogance- or pride. Yet we really and truly don't want to cross that line into pride- because pride causes so many problems, and as my dream indicates, it can cause a barrier between God and myself. Focusing on my works and my abilities can effectively block the communication that God and I are building together. Because I have to keep Him as my focus. And when I humble myself and submit myself to him fully- His warmth and His love flood me to my core, and I want nothing more than to remain right there in His presence forever.
What's even cooler about this though is that as I'm typing this out this morning, God is speaking to me about this dream. Today is the first day of March. I have questions- I desire answers, but more than anything, I want guidance, and I want to maintain the patience that I have without panicking about our current situation. The verse I posted in Daniel gives me a key.
"Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." Daniel 10:12
As I humble myself before God- as I take the time to set aside my "works" and focus on Him, with His love will come answers. I will get a response if I act in the first place. I can gain understanding by humbling myself before my God and waiting on Him and His perfect timing.
As I'm thinking on all this... I can't help but wonder how much more effective the church would be if we all began to put humbleness into practice. How many more people would we reach for God if we stopped patting ourselves on the back and started keeping our eyes on our God? God's love would come down from Heaven and fill us to our cores, and then, because we're so focused on Him, that love would start oozing out of us and reach out for anyone and everyone around us- a great big nexxus of love. If we keep our focus on Him, He will pour down so much love into His people that we will not be able to keep it in and it will overflow into the streets and the communities around us.
But first, we have to humble ourselves.
"Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." Daniel 10:12
I hope you don't get tired of hearing the words here "I had a dream the other night" because it seems that lately, those have been on the increase. My dream the other night was very short and simple, but I knew it was from God immediately, and have been thinking on it ever since- because I think it was a warning dream of sorts- and that is not something I've had many of.
I had a dream that I was sitting in my living room folding laundry- it was late at night and I was watching TV. All the sudden a loud noise entered the room- and it sounded just like an automatic garage door being opened. Then I looked up, and it actually looked like a garage door was being lowered, only it wasn't a door, it was a curtain. And as this curtain was rippling and falling, I felt such a sense of major loss being imminent- and I feel to my knees, pressed my face to the floor, and started crying out to God. Instantly, the sense of doom left, the curtain was gone, and the warmth of God filled my body from head to toe.
I think the warning here is where my focus is and could be. In my dream I was folding laundry and watching TV- two completely normal activities- but I was focused on my activities- I was focused on my works. The works of my hands. And when I think about that- oh my, how true it is! We can get so focused on what we are doing- on the physical aspect of what we are doing that we forget why we are doing what we are doing.
Yesterday the winter Olympics wrapped up. Oh, I so enjoyed watching every minute of them- what an enjoyable Olympic festival to watch! But the whole time I was watching, in the back of my mind I was wondering how many of these athletes are praising God for what they are doing. How many of them, in their everyday conversations with people, are giving the credit to God for their athletic prowess? I think of a few prominent athletes from the summer games, who in years gone by have bragged to the world about how awesome they are- only to have the years go by and reveal drugs boosting their performance. Pride goeth before the fall.
"Though his pride reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds, 7 he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' " Job 20:6-7
When I do things... I'm trying to word this right... A few weeks ago we had a conference, and I always have people coming up to me telling me how much they enjoy the worship- and thanking me for what I do. I'll admit, I'm never quite sure what to say back- I thank them for their words, but I try to dismiss the praise they give, because without God, our worship team is nothing. Without the wind of the Holy Spirit stirring us up and causing the music to come out of us, it would just be another pretty music service at church. But it's the Holy Spirit who moves- who acts in us- but only because we say yes to Him. We say yes every time we are on that stage, instrument in hand, and then the Spirit takes over and breathes on the congregation through the music.
But we have to say yes. We have to humble ourselves and say that God does it through us- we have to keep our focus on Him, and not focus on giving a perfect "performance"- that's not why we are there.
You know, as I'm thinking about this- what a thin line we are talking about walking here. There's such a fine line sometimes between self-confidence and arrogance- or pride. Yet we really and truly don't want to cross that line into pride- because pride causes so many problems, and as my dream indicates, it can cause a barrier between God and myself. Focusing on my works and my abilities can effectively block the communication that God and I are building together. Because I have to keep Him as my focus. And when I humble myself and submit myself to him fully- His warmth and His love flood me to my core, and I want nothing more than to remain right there in His presence forever.
What's even cooler about this though is that as I'm typing this out this morning, God is speaking to me about this dream. Today is the first day of March. I have questions- I desire answers, but more than anything, I want guidance, and I want to maintain the patience that I have without panicking about our current situation. The verse I posted in Daniel gives me a key.
"Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." Daniel 10:12
As I humble myself before God- as I take the time to set aside my "works" and focus on Him, with His love will come answers. I will get a response if I act in the first place. I can gain understanding by humbling myself before my God and waiting on Him and His perfect timing.
As I'm thinking on all this... I can't help but wonder how much more effective the church would be if we all began to put humbleness into practice. How many more people would we reach for God if we stopped patting ourselves on the back and started keeping our eyes on our God? God's love would come down from Heaven and fill us to our cores, and then, because we're so focused on Him, that love would start oozing out of us and reach out for anyone and everyone around us- a great big nexxus of love. If we keep our focus on Him, He will pour down so much love into His people that we will not be able to keep it in and it will overflow into the streets and the communities around us.
But first, we have to humble ourselves.
Friday, February 26, 2010
I Love My Kids!
"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Psalm 127:3
"But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Luke 12:18
I don't talk about my kids nearly enough on my blogs. Last night, as I was crawling into bed I was reflecting that every single day has ended exactly the same since I became a mom. Not a day goes by that I don't check in on my sleeping kids and thank God for them. Every day! They're just such cool little people! Someone was asking me about them the other day, their ages and such, and I told her, and then she asked if they drive me nuts sometimes. I was about to say, of course they do, but I had to stop and think about it, and you know what? They really don't. The things that they do that would drive the normal person batty, don't drive me batty, because I understand where they are coming from and why they are doing that.
For example. It would drive any person nuts to look at the toys that are scattered all over the house almost every single day. Seriously, at any given time the living room, the stairs and all the bedrooms can literally be smothered with stuff. That would annoy most anyone, except that in the last year, since we start homeschooling, I've watched with fascination as my children have been able to stretch their wings and really explore the art of play. They no longer sit and play in a tidy little box with one toy. They figure out the most amazing games and scenarios that involves almost all their toys. And these games can go on for days! Their minds are simply amazing.
And I am just so thankful to God that He placed this whole idea of schooling at home on our hearts. It's literally been life-changing for us. Yes, it's made me crazy busy a lot, but our relationship as a family is just indescribable. The kids are so much more happier than I would have thought possible and I know part of that is because they are at home learning with me every day.
The other part- and probably the bigger part is their own individual relationships with God. I am so thankful that God brought us to the church He did,where there are people who love my kids so much. They are walking them into a life of loving God that is nothing short of amazing. This past weekend at our conference I watched my little boy just praise and worship God with all his heart... it was just so awesome to see.
Children ARE such a blessing from God, but I think they key to enjoying them as a blessing is looking at them as a blessing. Sadly, I think so many people look at their kids as a burden- as activities need to be gotten to, money needs to be spent on them, time needs to be given to them. And I realize not everyone has the opportunity to stay at home like I do and spend all my time with my kids- but boy, when I look at my kids as the little treasures that God created, it boggles my mind! God had such a sense of humor when he put my little boy together. All those little pieces and parts put together to make this little man who cracks me up almost every single day. And as I look at my growing daughter, He certainly didn't hold back when he added on the beauty dust. It seems that every time I watch her dance, she gets so much more graceful and beautiful. It does terrify me that we're treading into that grey area of becoming a woman, but I know that with God's help, this time will be one full of love and understanding.
So I think I just wanted to say that today- how cool I think my kids are. If you are reading and this and you have kids- aren't your kids awesome too? Isn't that great how we look at our own kids and think that they are the greatest kids ever? Now think about how all these kids around us have at least one person thinking they're the best kids ever- that does a lot for that little person, whether we know it or not. Give some extra love on your kids this weekend and enjoy them for all the craziness they bring to your life.
"But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Luke 12:18
I don't talk about my kids nearly enough on my blogs. Last night, as I was crawling into bed I was reflecting that every single day has ended exactly the same since I became a mom. Not a day goes by that I don't check in on my sleeping kids and thank God for them. Every day! They're just such cool little people! Someone was asking me about them the other day, their ages and such, and I told her, and then she asked if they drive me nuts sometimes. I was about to say, of course they do, but I had to stop and think about it, and you know what? They really don't. The things that they do that would drive the normal person batty, don't drive me batty, because I understand where they are coming from and why they are doing that.
For example. It would drive any person nuts to look at the toys that are scattered all over the house almost every single day. Seriously, at any given time the living room, the stairs and all the bedrooms can literally be smothered with stuff. That would annoy most anyone, except that in the last year, since we start homeschooling, I've watched with fascination as my children have been able to stretch their wings and really explore the art of play. They no longer sit and play in a tidy little box with one toy. They figure out the most amazing games and scenarios that involves almost all their toys. And these games can go on for days! Their minds are simply amazing.
And I am just so thankful to God that He placed this whole idea of schooling at home on our hearts. It's literally been life-changing for us. Yes, it's made me crazy busy a lot, but our relationship as a family is just indescribable. The kids are so much more happier than I would have thought possible and I know part of that is because they are at home learning with me every day.
The other part- and probably the bigger part is their own individual relationships with God. I am so thankful that God brought us to the church He did,where there are people who love my kids so much. They are walking them into a life of loving God that is nothing short of amazing. This past weekend at our conference I watched my little boy just praise and worship God with all his heart... it was just so awesome to see.
Children ARE such a blessing from God, but I think they key to enjoying them as a blessing is looking at them as a blessing. Sadly, I think so many people look at their kids as a burden- as activities need to be gotten to, money needs to be spent on them, time needs to be given to them. And I realize not everyone has the opportunity to stay at home like I do and spend all my time with my kids- but boy, when I look at my kids as the little treasures that God created, it boggles my mind! God had such a sense of humor when he put my little boy together. All those little pieces and parts put together to make this little man who cracks me up almost every single day. And as I look at my growing daughter, He certainly didn't hold back when he added on the beauty dust. It seems that every time I watch her dance, she gets so much more graceful and beautiful. It does terrify me that we're treading into that grey area of becoming a woman, but I know that with God's help, this time will be one full of love and understanding.
So I think I just wanted to say that today- how cool I think my kids are. If you are reading and this and you have kids- aren't your kids awesome too? Isn't that great how we look at our own kids and think that they are the greatest kids ever? Now think about how all these kids around us have at least one person thinking they're the best kids ever- that does a lot for that little person, whether we know it or not. Give some extra love on your kids this weekend and enjoy them for all the craziness they bring to your life.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thankful For Shelter
"I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah" PSalm 61:4
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1
"You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall" Isaiah 25:4
Last night I had a simple dream. Well, actually I had many dreams that I need to sift through and see if there is something important there- but the one that sticks out to me the most is the one where I was with a group of people from church, and we were simply praising God. That's all. Nothing spectacular or crazy was happening, we were simply praising God- worshiping in one accord. When I woke up from it though, I had such a warm fuzzy feeling- like I had actually been praising God for a while. This is one of those instances where I believe I was. My spirit had a desire to worship God, so it did it in my sleep- and as a result I feel like my whole day got a boost, and I am reminded that in everything- I. Will. Praise. Him. In everything!
I feel like too much of me has been focused on our current situation of looking ahead to moving. I am so focused sometimes when I am praying, that I feel like I am missing out. This morning I spent sometime with some ladies online- I've offered to pray for a few people who are also looking for a home, and as one shared a bit of her story, I was really reminded that I should remember to thank God for the home we already have, before looking ahead to the next one. I should also be thankful for our new home before it's there- but really, I need to be thankful to God for the years that we have been sheltered where we are. This place really has been a blessing to us!
And I also need to be thankful for other means of shelter. Because the reality is that while we are believing that God has the perfect place for us, about to be revealed, should something get in the way of fulfilling that plan, we do have other options. We don't have to be worried in the least about having a roof over our heads, because we know that will be there. God will provide shelter in whatever way it needs to be done.
But in the meantime, while we're waiting for our physical shelter, I am thankful for our spiritual shelter. I feel this morning like I am nestled up in God's arms. I do feel like I am in a time of rest- and maybe it's to prepare me for the days to come- but maybe it's simply rest while I am waiting. And that is such a gift! These last few weeks I have felt such a peace- I don't feel like I am a slave to a clock at all, we get things done that need to be done- we go to the places that we need to go to- but we always have plenty of time to fit it all in- including some relaxing time as the day goes on. Boy, am I thankful for that. So thankful! I can't help but think that maybe a part of the reason why I am feeling such a time of rest is because I am placing my trust in God to be the perfect refuge and shelter. As long as I am dwelling with Him- He will meet our physical needs.
In our days that could be filled with trouble, we've found peace and rest. God is so good!
"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:5
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1
"You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall" Isaiah 25:4
Last night I had a simple dream. Well, actually I had many dreams that I need to sift through and see if there is something important there- but the one that sticks out to me the most is the one where I was with a group of people from church, and we were simply praising God. That's all. Nothing spectacular or crazy was happening, we were simply praising God- worshiping in one accord. When I woke up from it though, I had such a warm fuzzy feeling- like I had actually been praising God for a while. This is one of those instances where I believe I was. My spirit had a desire to worship God, so it did it in my sleep- and as a result I feel like my whole day got a boost, and I am reminded that in everything- I. Will. Praise. Him. In everything!
I feel like too much of me has been focused on our current situation of looking ahead to moving. I am so focused sometimes when I am praying, that I feel like I am missing out. This morning I spent sometime with some ladies online- I've offered to pray for a few people who are also looking for a home, and as one shared a bit of her story, I was really reminded that I should remember to thank God for the home we already have, before looking ahead to the next one. I should also be thankful for our new home before it's there- but really, I need to be thankful to God for the years that we have been sheltered where we are. This place really has been a blessing to us!
And I also need to be thankful for other means of shelter. Because the reality is that while we are believing that God has the perfect place for us, about to be revealed, should something get in the way of fulfilling that plan, we do have other options. We don't have to be worried in the least about having a roof over our heads, because we know that will be there. God will provide shelter in whatever way it needs to be done.
But in the meantime, while we're waiting for our physical shelter, I am thankful for our spiritual shelter. I feel this morning like I am nestled up in God's arms. I do feel like I am in a time of rest- and maybe it's to prepare me for the days to come- but maybe it's simply rest while I am waiting. And that is such a gift! These last few weeks I have felt such a peace- I don't feel like I am a slave to a clock at all, we get things done that need to be done- we go to the places that we need to go to- but we always have plenty of time to fit it all in- including some relaxing time as the day goes on. Boy, am I thankful for that. So thankful! I can't help but think that maybe a part of the reason why I am feeling such a time of rest is because I am placing my trust in God to be the perfect refuge and shelter. As long as I am dwelling with Him- He will meet our physical needs.
In our days that could be filled with trouble, we've found peace and rest. God is so good!
"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:5
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Warfare Wednesday
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
for the salvation of the LORD." Lamentations 3:22-26
Do you know that there are over 1 billion people in the world who go to bed hungry most days? Over one billion people across the globe are suffering from hunger and starvation... I barely have words to take this further, because this just isn't right. In the U.S. alone, one in four households with children are suffering from a lack of food. One. In. Four. Look out your front door, count the number of houses you can see, and then do the math. Odds are really good that some of your neighbors fall into this "food hardship" zone, and no one knows anything about it.
Think about that co-worker who always says that they aren't hungry, so they skip lunch nearly every day. Think about those children down the street whose only meals are the ones served at school. I'm thinking right now about the fact that our local school district just started serving breakfast in the last few months. What a blessing that has got to be for some of those children.
You know, we've gone through some rough times with money, but we've never been to the point where we've skipped meals or sent kids to bed hungry because there was simply no food. There have been lean times, where we simply don't snack much, have treats, or I don't go grocery shopping for weeks at a time- but then we eat out of the pantry and freezer- our storehouse which God has laid in abundantly.
I have such a heart for people who are hungry. It just shouldn't be. People should not have to decide between paying the heating bill or buying groceries. There should not be children walking to school in the morning with a stomach that feels like its eating itself. I chose the Bible verse I did this morning because it gives me such encouragement when things seem like they are just in a downward spiral. But I wonder how encouraging even words from God could be when someone is facing an empty pantry and a child with an empty stomach. I simply cannot fathom that.
And so I pray this morning, as we pray for our country and for wisdom and safety for President Obama, I pray for an awareness. I pray for an end to hunger in our communities- I pray that our eyes may be opened to the need around us, and that God will provide the means to meet those needs. Yesterday I went grocery shopping and while I was there I picked up a few things to take to the food pantry, but as I looked at it, it just isn't enough. I have such a heart and feel so much compassion for those who are suffering from hunger- both here at home and abroad.
I don't know.... I guess it seems to me that there is something missing. Last November it was reported that about half of the US population was receiving some amount of food aid from the national SNAP program. Yet there are still one-in-four suffering from hunger. Something is missing here. Something in the chain is broken- and those families who are receiving assistance? Most of them don't receive enough to keep their growing children's bellies full. So as I'm praying this morning my soul is just weeping for those who are hungry, and I'm praying for wisdom and revelation. I'm praying that a solution will be found soon to help those who are truly, truly in need. There are just so many- and no one should go to bed hungry. No mom should have to tuck a child into bed hungry. No dad should have to skip dinner so that his children can have just a little more. Hunger should not be an issue in the world today.
May God move mightily. May he fill the bellies and fill the hearts. As a solution comes forth to help solve the worlds hunger problems- may the world know that the solution found is from God. Man truly cannot live by bread alone- and as the hungry find food, may they also find a loving and compassionate God who wants to heal their aches and bruises.
God is so good. May He fill our hearts with compassion so that we can reach out to those around us who are truly in need.
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
for the salvation of the LORD." Lamentations 3:22-26
Do you know that there are over 1 billion people in the world who go to bed hungry most days? Over one billion people across the globe are suffering from hunger and starvation... I barely have words to take this further, because this just isn't right. In the U.S. alone, one in four households with children are suffering from a lack of food. One. In. Four. Look out your front door, count the number of houses you can see, and then do the math. Odds are really good that some of your neighbors fall into this "food hardship" zone, and no one knows anything about it.
Think about that co-worker who always says that they aren't hungry, so they skip lunch nearly every day. Think about those children down the street whose only meals are the ones served at school. I'm thinking right now about the fact that our local school district just started serving breakfast in the last few months. What a blessing that has got to be for some of those children.
You know, we've gone through some rough times with money, but we've never been to the point where we've skipped meals or sent kids to bed hungry because there was simply no food. There have been lean times, where we simply don't snack much, have treats, or I don't go grocery shopping for weeks at a time- but then we eat out of the pantry and freezer- our storehouse which God has laid in abundantly.
I have such a heart for people who are hungry. It just shouldn't be. People should not have to decide between paying the heating bill or buying groceries. There should not be children walking to school in the morning with a stomach that feels like its eating itself. I chose the Bible verse I did this morning because it gives me such encouragement when things seem like they are just in a downward spiral. But I wonder how encouraging even words from God could be when someone is facing an empty pantry and a child with an empty stomach. I simply cannot fathom that.
And so I pray this morning, as we pray for our country and for wisdom and safety for President Obama, I pray for an awareness. I pray for an end to hunger in our communities- I pray that our eyes may be opened to the need around us, and that God will provide the means to meet those needs. Yesterday I went grocery shopping and while I was there I picked up a few things to take to the food pantry, but as I looked at it, it just isn't enough. I have such a heart and feel so much compassion for those who are suffering from hunger- both here at home and abroad.
I don't know.... I guess it seems to me that there is something missing. Last November it was reported that about half of the US population was receiving some amount of food aid from the national SNAP program. Yet there are still one-in-four suffering from hunger. Something is missing here. Something in the chain is broken- and those families who are receiving assistance? Most of them don't receive enough to keep their growing children's bellies full. So as I'm praying this morning my soul is just weeping for those who are hungry, and I'm praying for wisdom and revelation. I'm praying that a solution will be found soon to help those who are truly, truly in need. There are just so many- and no one should go to bed hungry. No mom should have to tuck a child into bed hungry. No dad should have to skip dinner so that his children can have just a little more. Hunger should not be an issue in the world today.
May God move mightily. May he fill the bellies and fill the hearts. As a solution comes forth to help solve the worlds hunger problems- may the world know that the solution found is from God. Man truly cannot live by bread alone- and as the hungry find food, may they also find a loving and compassionate God who wants to heal their aches and bruises.
God is so good. May He fill our hearts with compassion so that we can reach out to those around us who are truly in need.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
What is Holiness Anyway?
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." Romans 6:22
Here is Miriam-Webster's definition of holy:
exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness
as well as:
devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity
And of course, the actual word holiness means "the state of being holy".
I was thinking about holiness last night as I sat and read my story Bible for a bit. It had a little footnote in it that the generally accepted definition of holy is "set apart" and I thought that sounded like a great way to put it. I think Webster's first definition is holiness as God is most holy. God is exalted and worthy of complete devotion. Of course He is perfect in goodness, righteousness, and a million other character traits. God pretty much IS the definition of holy. But I think I have to disagree with that second definition up there- that holy can mean being entirely devoted to a deity OR the work of the deity. If I spent every hour of my life in service to God, but lacked any of the spiritual aspects of being holy, I think I would fail at achieving any kind of holiness. Basically, I mean that being holy, or becoming holy is much more than the physical. It's more than what we see with our naked eye- the state of holiness is more about what's going on on the inside.
And that's where I think "set apart" is a great definition, because how many of us have already been set apart for God? How many of us is God shaping and molding for the purpose of following His perfect will? I wonder if we would use that language- being set apart for God- if we would understand a little more about how as we go through life, we should be growing more and more In Him and learning to be set apart.
And what do I think of when I think of set apart? Honestly? My mind immediately goes to another time and another place. I actually think of the dark ages- the times of kings and queens and Godlessness, because there, in that time, one who was set apart for God was obvious. The people who worshipped the one and true God were very few and far between- but everyone knew who it was. They were truly set apart- they dressed differently, their homes probably had particular markings on them to identify that a Christian lived there- and everyone in a community knew who the God people were.
Let's think about that for a minute. Yes, that was a very dangerous time, there was a reason it was called the dark ages, and at any moment one who worshipped God could be put to death, and yet, they did not hide. How is it for us today? We live on a street surrounded by homes- and first of all, we don't even know all our neighbors. There are just some people who don't want to get to know their neighbors. But I'm thinking, if there was truly a community-wide crises of some kind, who would the people turn to? In their darkest hour and time of need who would they call for prayer or guidance from God?
If we are living truly set-apart for God, more and more people will see that in our everyday appearance. As we go about our daily life, people will look at us and wonder what it is about us that makes us different? As we become more and more like Christ, and more and more holy, our physical countenance will start to reflect that. Truly! Think about it- when someone is pregnant with a child- they are said to glow. And most pregnant women really, truly do glow- there is something on their face that just screams of the joy they are experiencing over carrying this new life inside of them. Think of a bride on her wedding day-glowing with excitement over marrying the man of her dreams. Right now- think of the joy and excitement on an Olympian's face as they realize that they just won a gold medal.
It is the exact same thing for those of us who carry the love of God with us each and every day. That love has got to go somewhere! So it comes out of our pores- it shows up on our faces. Have you ever received a hug from someone and as they walked away you really and truly felt like you were given more than a hug? That warm fuzzy feeling perhaps? That's the love of God that person is carrying with them! I think as more and more people accept the challenge of living for God truly and completely, and as more and more people start sharing the love of God in their everyday, that we'll start to see the results of that.
"When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel." Isaiah 29:23
As more people share the love of God in their everyday, and as more of us accept the idea that we can grow in holiness- that we were designed to grow more and more holy so that we can spend eternity in the presence of the one who is Most Holy- that the world around us will see this and will want to know more. They will see the influence of God on our lives and they are just going to want it for themselves as well. And that is the entire point. The point of being holy here on earth is to be an example for the world around us- and to take as many of them with us as we can. Holiness is for anyone and everyone who wants it.
Here is Miriam-Webster's definition of holy:
exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness
as well as:
devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity
And of course, the actual word holiness means "the state of being holy".
I was thinking about holiness last night as I sat and read my story Bible for a bit. It had a little footnote in it that the generally accepted definition of holy is "set apart" and I thought that sounded like a great way to put it. I think Webster's first definition is holiness as God is most holy. God is exalted and worthy of complete devotion. Of course He is perfect in goodness, righteousness, and a million other character traits. God pretty much IS the definition of holy. But I think I have to disagree with that second definition up there- that holy can mean being entirely devoted to a deity OR the work of the deity. If I spent every hour of my life in service to God, but lacked any of the spiritual aspects of being holy, I think I would fail at achieving any kind of holiness. Basically, I mean that being holy, or becoming holy is much more than the physical. It's more than what we see with our naked eye- the state of holiness is more about what's going on on the inside.
And that's where I think "set apart" is a great definition, because how many of us have already been set apart for God? How many of us is God shaping and molding for the purpose of following His perfect will? I wonder if we would use that language- being set apart for God- if we would understand a little more about how as we go through life, we should be growing more and more In Him and learning to be set apart.
And what do I think of when I think of set apart? Honestly? My mind immediately goes to another time and another place. I actually think of the dark ages- the times of kings and queens and Godlessness, because there, in that time, one who was set apart for God was obvious. The people who worshipped the one and true God were very few and far between- but everyone knew who it was. They were truly set apart- they dressed differently, their homes probably had particular markings on them to identify that a Christian lived there- and everyone in a community knew who the God people were.
Let's think about that for a minute. Yes, that was a very dangerous time, there was a reason it was called the dark ages, and at any moment one who worshipped God could be put to death, and yet, they did not hide. How is it for us today? We live on a street surrounded by homes- and first of all, we don't even know all our neighbors. There are just some people who don't want to get to know their neighbors. But I'm thinking, if there was truly a community-wide crises of some kind, who would the people turn to? In their darkest hour and time of need who would they call for prayer or guidance from God?
If we are living truly set-apart for God, more and more people will see that in our everyday appearance. As we go about our daily life, people will look at us and wonder what it is about us that makes us different? As we become more and more like Christ, and more and more holy, our physical countenance will start to reflect that. Truly! Think about it- when someone is pregnant with a child- they are said to glow. And most pregnant women really, truly do glow- there is something on their face that just screams of the joy they are experiencing over carrying this new life inside of them. Think of a bride on her wedding day-glowing with excitement over marrying the man of her dreams. Right now- think of the joy and excitement on an Olympian's face as they realize that they just won a gold medal.
It is the exact same thing for those of us who carry the love of God with us each and every day. That love has got to go somewhere! So it comes out of our pores- it shows up on our faces. Have you ever received a hug from someone and as they walked away you really and truly felt like you were given more than a hug? That warm fuzzy feeling perhaps? That's the love of God that person is carrying with them! I think as more and more people accept the challenge of living for God truly and completely, and as more and more people start sharing the love of God in their everyday, that we'll start to see the results of that.
"When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel." Isaiah 29:23
As more people share the love of God in their everyday, and as more of us accept the idea that we can grow in holiness- that we were designed to grow more and more holy so that we can spend eternity in the presence of the one who is Most Holy- that the world around us will see this and will want to know more. They will see the influence of God on our lives and they are just going to want it for themselves as well. And that is the entire point. The point of being holy here on earth is to be an example for the world around us- and to take as many of them with us as we can. Holiness is for anyone and everyone who wants it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Healthy Fear
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
I read this verse this morning, and I felt a stirring in my heart. Fear. Man, is fear a tough thing to overcome! You know, as time has gone on, I've lost a lot of my fears that I had. I used to be afraid that I would look foolish or goof up when worshiping at church. Heh, I think anyone who's been to church with me in the last year would see that I am definitely over that fear. I've also overcome the fear that I had for the longest time regarding blogging. I used to be afraid that I would offend people with the things I said here. I am most definitely over that fear, and blog purely as the Spirit inspires me every single morning.
But you know, this weekend as I listened to testimony after testimony of God's goodness, I realize that I still have a fear or two, and I would like them to be gone. This verse above? Tells me straight out that the fears that I have are not from God- nor are they part of a fear of God. They're an irrational fear of man- a fear that the devil likes to point out from time to time- and I have no doubt that it's to try and and dissuade me from doing or saying something awesome for God. I'll be talking to God about those- and I hope that the opportunities will come up where I can just get rid of those fears and prove they are gone by stepping out in faith and telling fear to be gone.
But then I got thinking about the fear of the Lord, and maybe that fear itself could help me or someone else overcome the other fears that are holding us back. The verse above hints at that too- it says fear has to do with punishment. So let's think about this for a minute. See, one of the fears that I deal with is what people will think of me. I know it doesn't really matter- but the thing is, it's not so much what people I know think of me- its more the strangers- which probably doesn't make sense at all. If I walk up to a random stranger at a grocery store and ask to pray for their affliction- their response, and the response of those of us around us is the thing I fear. And why is that? If fear is the fear of punishment- what am I really afraid of? Am I afraid they'll say no or laugh at me? I'll never see them again- what does it really matter?
Maybe instead I should think on that idea that fear is the fear of punishment. Think along the lines of a child who is disobedient to their father. Now that is a fear of punishment- a child who follows the rules because they are afraid of being punished.
"But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love," Psalm 33:18
And it appears that is the healthy kind of fear that we are supposed to have. A fear of God- that fear of really wanting to do what is right and good because we want approval in God's eyes. God's eyes are the only eyes that really and truly matter. And I think... I think if we keep our eyes on God's eyes instead of mans eyes, we will be surprised at the results.
I've been reading a lot of history lately- and much of it has been church history. I was reading some accounts during the Spanish Inquisition and you know, all the stories I read of people being burned at the stake for speaking heresy all had something in common. Not one person went to the stake or the chopping block sobbing and pleading for their lives. Every single one of them kept their focus on God and lost their lives without a single regret. There are even stories of men who complained that the fire being lit under them wasn't hot enough... these people were so focused on God and doing what was right that the punishment from man didn't even affect them. They all knew that they had eternal rewards waiting for them- and that gave them the courage and the strength to stand for what they knew was right and good and of God.
Healthy fear is a good thing- the fear of the Lord. The fear of man can do nothing but hold us back from being pleasing in the eyes of God. I know which side of fear I want to be on.
"I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4
I read this verse this morning, and I felt a stirring in my heart. Fear. Man, is fear a tough thing to overcome! You know, as time has gone on, I've lost a lot of my fears that I had. I used to be afraid that I would look foolish or goof up when worshiping at church. Heh, I think anyone who's been to church with me in the last year would see that I am definitely over that fear. I've also overcome the fear that I had for the longest time regarding blogging. I used to be afraid that I would offend people with the things I said here. I am most definitely over that fear, and blog purely as the Spirit inspires me every single morning.
But you know, this weekend as I listened to testimony after testimony of God's goodness, I realize that I still have a fear or two, and I would like them to be gone. This verse above? Tells me straight out that the fears that I have are not from God- nor are they part of a fear of God. They're an irrational fear of man- a fear that the devil likes to point out from time to time- and I have no doubt that it's to try and and dissuade me from doing or saying something awesome for God. I'll be talking to God about those- and I hope that the opportunities will come up where I can just get rid of those fears and prove they are gone by stepping out in faith and telling fear to be gone.
But then I got thinking about the fear of the Lord, and maybe that fear itself could help me or someone else overcome the other fears that are holding us back. The verse above hints at that too- it says fear has to do with punishment. So let's think about this for a minute. See, one of the fears that I deal with is what people will think of me. I know it doesn't really matter- but the thing is, it's not so much what people I know think of me- its more the strangers- which probably doesn't make sense at all. If I walk up to a random stranger at a grocery store and ask to pray for their affliction- their response, and the response of those of us around us is the thing I fear. And why is that? If fear is the fear of punishment- what am I really afraid of? Am I afraid they'll say no or laugh at me? I'll never see them again- what does it really matter?
Maybe instead I should think on that idea that fear is the fear of punishment. Think along the lines of a child who is disobedient to their father. Now that is a fear of punishment- a child who follows the rules because they are afraid of being punished.
"But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love," Psalm 33:18
And it appears that is the healthy kind of fear that we are supposed to have. A fear of God- that fear of really wanting to do what is right and good because we want approval in God's eyes. God's eyes are the only eyes that really and truly matter. And I think... I think if we keep our eyes on God's eyes instead of mans eyes, we will be surprised at the results.
I've been reading a lot of history lately- and much of it has been church history. I was reading some accounts during the Spanish Inquisition and you know, all the stories I read of people being burned at the stake for speaking heresy all had something in common. Not one person went to the stake or the chopping block sobbing and pleading for their lives. Every single one of them kept their focus on God and lost their lives without a single regret. There are even stories of men who complained that the fire being lit under them wasn't hot enough... these people were so focused on God and doing what was right that the punishment from man didn't even affect them. They all knew that they had eternal rewards waiting for them- and that gave them the courage and the strength to stand for what they knew was right and good and of God.
Healthy fear is a good thing- the fear of the Lord. The fear of man can do nothing but hold us back from being pleasing in the eyes of God. I know which side of fear I want to be on.
"I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4
Friday, February 19, 2010
A Promise
"If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
My scripture passage is a little on the long side this morning. But if you kind of skipped over it a bit- don't. Go back and read it. Just read that! Look at all those wonderful blessings and promises straight from God. Read verse 9: The Lord will bless your barns and everything you put your hand to. Just think about that- it sounds so wonderful and, well, blessed!
I have it heard it said, more than once that much of the scripture found in the Old Testament is just that- it's old. That it applied to a land and a people before Christ came, and that now it's more a collection of stories. I completely disagree- there isn't a "story half" and a "applicable half" of the Bible. It's one complete collection of instructions, encouragement, and testimony to further our walk with the Lord.
So when I read passages in Deuteronomy like this one today- it gets me really excited, and makes me want to do better today to follow God's laws and to do better at sharing His Glory with everyone around me. There's more though, too. If you go to Deuteronomy, chapter 28, and keep reading, there's a second section- a section of curses for those who do not follow the laws that God puts before his people. I want to avoid those too! And I can avoid those by learning more and more what it is God wants me to do- and I learn those things by- you guessed it- reading my Bible.
It always comes back to that doesn't it! You know, there are a lot of days where I think I write that over and over because I need to hear it. If it benefits someone else- that's fantastic, but I can't tell you how many times it is a physical struggle to pull out my Bible and read it! Maybe part of my problem is because there is always something else vying for my attention. I always have a stack of magazines I could flip through, hundreds of books I'd love to read again, the Internet, just a few feet away- even relaxing in front of the TV beckons from time to time- although not as much as it used to. And yet... every single time that I pick up my Bible and read it, there is something there just for me. I even picked up a new Bible just a few weeks ago called "The Story". It's a completely different Bible, in that every verse has been put into chronological order. I love reading history, and seeing how the pieces are put together- and am excited about diving into this Bible. Yet it's been on the shelf for two weeks now!
Back to the subject at hand. The promises. That's what all those blessings are in Deuteronomy chapter 28. They are promises- it starts out with the words "If you fully obey, and follow His commands...then HE WILL bless..."
But wait. These are promises for the Israelite people thousands of years ago- could they really be for me today? Oh yes, yes, they are. Paul tells us this in Romans, chapter 4.
"Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." Romans 4:16-17
When I was my kids ages, we used to sing a song in Sunday school called "Father Abraham" and it really was just a fun and silly song. Yet, the more I think about it, the more I think that we were all really just being prophetic little singers- telling ourselves, exhorting ourselves to believe that Abraham is indeed, our father. For if Abraham really is our father, as Paul says he is, then those promises of blessings way back in Deuteronomy really do apply to me today.
Is that not awesome? When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we became one who is of faith with Abraham- these verse above are not speaking about being physically Jewish- but spiritually Jewish. And if we have accepted Christ, really, we are on the inside part Jewish- as we bear the DNA of Jesus of Nazareth in our very souls. That in itself is really fun to think on.
So this morning, as we head into the weekend, I'm going to be thinking about promises and obeying and following laws. You know, this is basic stuff here- it says if I follow, I will be blessed, so I can't help but wonder if there is something that is being missed. Am I missing something when it comes to walking in all those blessings listed out here in Deuteronomy. When I think of the greatest commandments- that I shall love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul and mind. As well as love your neighbor as yourself. I think perhaps I may have my answer. No matter how much I try, it seems I still keep coming up short in the loving my neighbor department. I know God's working on that with me. But until I can look at my fellow human beings and see them the way Jesus sees them, I know I fall short. And I pray that is something that can be fixed, because it would be wonderful to walk in every single one of the blessings listed here in Deuteronomy.
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them." Deuteronomy 28:1-14My scripture passage is a little on the long side this morning. But if you kind of skipped over it a bit- don't. Go back and read it. Just read that! Look at all those wonderful blessings and promises straight from God. Read verse 9: The Lord will bless your barns and everything you put your hand to. Just think about that- it sounds so wonderful and, well, blessed!
I have it heard it said, more than once that much of the scripture found in the Old Testament is just that- it's old. That it applied to a land and a people before Christ came, and that now it's more a collection of stories. I completely disagree- there isn't a "story half" and a "applicable half" of the Bible. It's one complete collection of instructions, encouragement, and testimony to further our walk with the Lord.
So when I read passages in Deuteronomy like this one today- it gets me really excited, and makes me want to do better today to follow God's laws and to do better at sharing His Glory with everyone around me. There's more though, too. If you go to Deuteronomy, chapter 28, and keep reading, there's a second section- a section of curses for those who do not follow the laws that God puts before his people. I want to avoid those too! And I can avoid those by learning more and more what it is God wants me to do- and I learn those things by- you guessed it- reading my Bible.
It always comes back to that doesn't it! You know, there are a lot of days where I think I write that over and over because I need to hear it. If it benefits someone else- that's fantastic, but I can't tell you how many times it is a physical struggle to pull out my Bible and read it! Maybe part of my problem is because there is always something else vying for my attention. I always have a stack of magazines I could flip through, hundreds of books I'd love to read again, the Internet, just a few feet away- even relaxing in front of the TV beckons from time to time- although not as much as it used to. And yet... every single time that I pick up my Bible and read it, there is something there just for me. I even picked up a new Bible just a few weeks ago called "The Story". It's a completely different Bible, in that every verse has been put into chronological order. I love reading history, and seeing how the pieces are put together- and am excited about diving into this Bible. Yet it's been on the shelf for two weeks now!
Back to the subject at hand. The promises. That's what all those blessings are in Deuteronomy chapter 28. They are promises- it starts out with the words "If you fully obey, and follow His commands...then HE WILL bless..."
But wait. These are promises for the Israelite people thousands of years ago- could they really be for me today? Oh yes, yes, they are. Paul tells us this in Romans, chapter 4.
"Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." Romans 4:16-17
When I was my kids ages, we used to sing a song in Sunday school called "Father Abraham" and it really was just a fun and silly song. Yet, the more I think about it, the more I think that we were all really just being prophetic little singers- telling ourselves, exhorting ourselves to believe that Abraham is indeed, our father. For if Abraham really is our father, as Paul says he is, then those promises of blessings way back in Deuteronomy really do apply to me today.
Is that not awesome? When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we became one who is of faith with Abraham- these verse above are not speaking about being physically Jewish- but spiritually Jewish. And if we have accepted Christ, really, we are on the inside part Jewish- as we bear the DNA of Jesus of Nazareth in our very souls. That in itself is really fun to think on.
So this morning, as we head into the weekend, I'm going to be thinking about promises and obeying and following laws. You know, this is basic stuff here- it says if I follow, I will be blessed, so I can't help but wonder if there is something that is being missed. Am I missing something when it comes to walking in all those blessings listed out here in Deuteronomy. When I think of the greatest commandments- that I shall love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul and mind. As well as love your neighbor as yourself. I think perhaps I may have my answer. No matter how much I try, it seems I still keep coming up short in the loving my neighbor department. I know God's working on that with me. But until I can look at my fellow human beings and see them the way Jesus sees them, I know I fall short. And I pray that is something that can be fixed, because it would be wonderful to walk in every single one of the blessings listed here in Deuteronomy.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Potential
"Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you." 1 Timothy 4:14
"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." 2 Timothy 1:6
Over the years, I've been witness to many of those occasions where people are given prophetic messages. Whether they be messages that another person delivers, or a minister, these kind of messages are always exciting and usually welcome. They are often words that speak about the future possibilities for someone- they can offer encouragement when someone is having a rough spell. Sometimes they are words of instruction, or sometimes words of caution- information to change a situation. But no matter what the meat of the message is, they all have one thread in common. They all speak of potential.
When a teenager goes away to Bible camp and they come home and say "I've been called to be a missionary or a Pastor" that teenager has been shown a glimpse of their potential. They have been told by someone or by God that within them is the potential for them to be a missionary or a pastor when they grow up. But then what happens with that teenager? I can tell you that if all the missionaries were active who had been "called" when I had gone to camp, there would be so, so many more missionaries on the field today- witnessing to every corner of the earth. So what happened?
So often, when people receive one of these messages from the Lord, they don't realize that those are words that speak of their potential- and that now that they have the information, it's up to them to do something about it. A teenager who is told they are called to missions, should, if they want to follow up on God's potential for them, should spend their years researching colleges who offer missions as a major. They should spend time going on short term missions trips, studying anthropology and even basic geography. When the time comes, they choose the college that best fits and they go through the proper steps to become a missionary- thus fulfilling the potential that was spoken into their life all those years ago.
The same is true for those called to pastor. People who have been called to the pastor ship have been called because of the potential that is inside of them- and if they want to see that potential fulfilled, the person must physically take the steps necessary to become a pastor. Bible college is usually the first step for that one. The thing about this potential is that it can potentially be wasted. Someone comes up to a young lady at camp, puts their arms on their shoulders, looks into her eyes and says "you are going to be a youth pastor someday". The young lady tells everyone she knows that she's been called to be a youth pastor, but when the time comes for college, she either makes a different choice, or college doesn't work so well for her. As life goes on, the young lady ages, and still remembers those words spoken, but seems to think that there is a magic moment when someone will come up to her and proclaim her a youth pastor. The truth is- she was given the words of potential, and she wasted them. The potential is still there to be a great youth pastor- but she needed to take the steps to fulfill that potential.
I was the recipient of my own word that required my action. I had a woman come up to me one time during a time of worship and tell me that I was supposed to be a part of the worship team. (Read more about that here!) At the time I was really wondering what I was supposed to do. Being on the worship team at our previous church had really just been something to do- it was more of a lark, but ended up really helping the team get organized. I wasn't so sure, though, that I was qualified to be a part of the worship team at our new church. After I had received my word of potential from this woman though, I had a choice to make. I could wait, and I could tell myself that I should pray about it, and just wait for an opportunity to be invited, or I could be proactive and see just what potential there was hiding inside of me. The very next time I saw the worship leader, I went up to him, nervous as all get out, told him I played percussion, and asked if they ever had practices.
I went to that very next practice and have been a part of the team ever since. But it took me taking physical steps to fulfill the potential that was inside of me. I'll tell you- the things that I am doing with the congas today... I had no idea I had inside of me to do! That's not said to brag, but it's said to prove the point of potential. Had I not stepped out in faith and taken action to fulfill the potential, I could still be sitting in my seat, waiting for an invitation.
When God speaks to you and gives you a goal to strive for, then by golly, you need to strive for it! If you are told that you have the potential to be in ministry, but you don't know what that is yet- then you need to, at the very least, start digging into God's Word over and over. In multiple translations and multiple commentaries. Once you show that you are in earnest, that you are a willing vessel and are willing to do the work required, maybe another piece of the puzzle will fall into place.
I posted the verses above about Timothy because he is an excellent example of potential. In Paul's letters to him, he's encouraging him, helping Timothy shape his own ministry- because Paul knows the potential that is inside of him. And God knows the potential that is inside of us- every single on of us. Whether we received that potential from the laying on of hands, or from another way- we all have our own potential of all that we can be in Christ. It's up to us to USE that potential. The last thing I want is to get to heaven and have God say to me "What about that potential I told you about? Why did you never use that." What would my response be? Because I was too lazy? Because I couldn't be bothered to pick up my Bible and read it? Maybe it was because it doesn't make sense to me- but if we take the steps- even baby steps to fulfill that potential, God will help us through. But until we take even one step- that word is just that- a word of potential. It's not a promise- it's potential, and it's up to us to see that potential become a reality.
"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." 2 Timothy 1:6
Over the years, I've been witness to many of those occasions where people are given prophetic messages. Whether they be messages that another person delivers, or a minister, these kind of messages are always exciting and usually welcome. They are often words that speak about the future possibilities for someone- they can offer encouragement when someone is having a rough spell. Sometimes they are words of instruction, or sometimes words of caution- information to change a situation. But no matter what the meat of the message is, they all have one thread in common. They all speak of potential.
When a teenager goes away to Bible camp and they come home and say "I've been called to be a missionary or a Pastor" that teenager has been shown a glimpse of their potential. They have been told by someone or by God that within them is the potential for them to be a missionary or a pastor when they grow up. But then what happens with that teenager? I can tell you that if all the missionaries were active who had been "called" when I had gone to camp, there would be so, so many more missionaries on the field today- witnessing to every corner of the earth. So what happened?
So often, when people receive one of these messages from the Lord, they don't realize that those are words that speak of their potential- and that now that they have the information, it's up to them to do something about it. A teenager who is told they are called to missions, should, if they want to follow up on God's potential for them, should spend their years researching colleges who offer missions as a major. They should spend time going on short term missions trips, studying anthropology and even basic geography. When the time comes, they choose the college that best fits and they go through the proper steps to become a missionary- thus fulfilling the potential that was spoken into their life all those years ago.
The same is true for those called to pastor. People who have been called to the pastor ship have been called because of the potential that is inside of them- and if they want to see that potential fulfilled, the person must physically take the steps necessary to become a pastor. Bible college is usually the first step for that one. The thing about this potential is that it can potentially be wasted. Someone comes up to a young lady at camp, puts their arms on their shoulders, looks into her eyes and says "you are going to be a youth pastor someday". The young lady tells everyone she knows that she's been called to be a youth pastor, but when the time comes for college, she either makes a different choice, or college doesn't work so well for her. As life goes on, the young lady ages, and still remembers those words spoken, but seems to think that there is a magic moment when someone will come up to her and proclaim her a youth pastor. The truth is- she was given the words of potential, and she wasted them. The potential is still there to be a great youth pastor- but she needed to take the steps to fulfill that potential.
I was the recipient of my own word that required my action. I had a woman come up to me one time during a time of worship and tell me that I was supposed to be a part of the worship team. (Read more about that here!) At the time I was really wondering what I was supposed to do. Being on the worship team at our previous church had really just been something to do- it was more of a lark, but ended up really helping the team get organized. I wasn't so sure, though, that I was qualified to be a part of the worship team at our new church. After I had received my word of potential from this woman though, I had a choice to make. I could wait, and I could tell myself that I should pray about it, and just wait for an opportunity to be invited, or I could be proactive and see just what potential there was hiding inside of me. The very next time I saw the worship leader, I went up to him, nervous as all get out, told him I played percussion, and asked if they ever had practices.
I went to that very next practice and have been a part of the team ever since. But it took me taking physical steps to fulfill the potential that was inside of me. I'll tell you- the things that I am doing with the congas today... I had no idea I had inside of me to do! That's not said to brag, but it's said to prove the point of potential. Had I not stepped out in faith and taken action to fulfill the potential, I could still be sitting in my seat, waiting for an invitation.
When God speaks to you and gives you a goal to strive for, then by golly, you need to strive for it! If you are told that you have the potential to be in ministry, but you don't know what that is yet- then you need to, at the very least, start digging into God's Word over and over. In multiple translations and multiple commentaries. Once you show that you are in earnest, that you are a willing vessel and are willing to do the work required, maybe another piece of the puzzle will fall into place.
I posted the verses above about Timothy because he is an excellent example of potential. In Paul's letters to him, he's encouraging him, helping Timothy shape his own ministry- because Paul knows the potential that is inside of him. And God knows the potential that is inside of us- every single on of us. Whether we received that potential from the laying on of hands, or from another way- we all have our own potential of all that we can be in Christ. It's up to us to USE that potential. The last thing I want is to get to heaven and have God say to me "What about that potential I told you about? Why did you never use that." What would my response be? Because I was too lazy? Because I couldn't be bothered to pick up my Bible and read it? Maybe it was because it doesn't make sense to me- but if we take the steps- even baby steps to fulfill that potential, God will help us through. But until we take even one step- that word is just that- a word of potential. It's not a promise- it's potential, and it's up to us to see that potential become a reality.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Warfare Wednesday: Olympic Edition
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24
We've been watching the Olympic in our house the last few days. It's really been a wonderful time sitting with my kids watching sports we never get to see, and just cheering on whoever we feel like cheering on. Along the way there are the amazing success stories- and we really love hearing about them too. Then there are the moments where you just feel so awful for someone- someone has a bad run or wipes out or doesn't get their jumps in when they should. Even though we all know there can only really be one winner... It's still heartbreaking to see the tears and the discouragement.
But we don't have to be discouraged in Christ! This week as we continue praying for President Obama, I am also thinking of the example put forth by the Olympic athletes in Vancouver. Because no matter how well or poorly they end up doing, the athletes all have something in common- they all bring their very best to the table. They try to do their very best- striving for the prize with every move they make. But more than that, even though they are competing with each other, they still are competing as a team- cheering each other on. They are celebrating each others victories, and supporting those with disappointing results.
Think of the nation who can follow the athletes example and strive for the prize of glorifying God! Think of the success that could come if we as Christians started lifting each other up and working towards the common goal of lifting the name of Jesus on high! The country that keeps God at the head of state is the country that finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. Let us continue to lift up our country and the leaders around us. We will continue to pray for President Obama, but let's also pray for our local leaders- our city government and state governments. Let us pray for the Senators and Representatives who work so hard to make the laws that make sense. Let us pray for the Supreme Court justices who must uphold these laws, and let us pray for the Commander-In-Chief and his cabinet. May his advisers advise him that God is the answer for this struggling country. May he realize that God is what is best for this nation- and may God get the glory for that decision.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1
We've been watching the Olympic in our house the last few days. It's really been a wonderful time sitting with my kids watching sports we never get to see, and just cheering on whoever we feel like cheering on. Along the way there are the amazing success stories- and we really love hearing about them too. Then there are the moments where you just feel so awful for someone- someone has a bad run or wipes out or doesn't get their jumps in when they should. Even though we all know there can only really be one winner... It's still heartbreaking to see the tears and the discouragement.
But we don't have to be discouraged in Christ! This week as we continue praying for President Obama, I am also thinking of the example put forth by the Olympic athletes in Vancouver. Because no matter how well or poorly they end up doing, the athletes all have something in common- they all bring their very best to the table. They try to do their very best- striving for the prize with every move they make. But more than that, even though they are competing with each other, they still are competing as a team- cheering each other on. They are celebrating each others victories, and supporting those with disappointing results.
Think of the nation who can follow the athletes example and strive for the prize of glorifying God! Think of the success that could come if we as Christians started lifting each other up and working towards the common goal of lifting the name of Jesus on high! The country that keeps God at the head of state is the country that finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. Let us continue to lift up our country and the leaders around us. We will continue to pray for President Obama, but let's also pray for our local leaders- our city government and state governments. Let us pray for the Senators and Representatives who work so hard to make the laws that make sense. Let us pray for the Supreme Court justices who must uphold these laws, and let us pray for the Commander-In-Chief and his cabinet. May his advisers advise him that God is the answer for this struggling country. May he realize that God is what is best for this nation- and may God get the glory for that decision.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)