Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Joshua; 1:9 " 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."
I was watching a movie with my young kids the other night called Ratatouille and even though I had seen the movie several times before, a certain line caught my attention.The little rat who was leading an aspiring chef's every move in the kitchen as he led him to a legendary status in the French culinary establishment was helping the young chef to overcome his fears and doubts that he had what it took to become a great chef. He told him " not everyone who wants will become a great chef, but a great chef can come from anyone." In other words, he shouldn't think that he couldn't become something he dreamed of being just because of his own fears and doubts. He should leave it up to others to decide if he was great or not and his job was to just try to do his best, and let the chips fall where they may. Although it wasn't stated this way, he was telling the young man to have faith and to trust in something greater than himself.
I started thinking of all of the times in my life where I have let self doubt or fear cripple my dreams before I even gave them a chance to come to fruition. The little voice that tells me that I don't have the pedigree or the background or the following to achieve something I desire has shipwrecked dreams before they have even taken root. That lack of confidence is capable of paralyzing even the most thoughtful of plans.
But the Bible is full of stories that should inspire me and you to try our best at whatever we endeavor to achieve and to leave the rest up to God. When we look at obstacles in our own strength and knowledge, it is easy to become fearful or discouraged. But when we look at things that stand in our way as obstacles that God can help us overcome, we are instantly aligned with a force in the universe that is so much greater than what we can imagine or understand. In our verse of the day, God is reminding Joshua to trust not in himself, and his capabilities or lack there of, but in God. God also has a still, small voice that says you can do it if you rely on me, through prayer, for strength and guidance. Philippians 4:13 reminds is that " we can do all things though Him who gives us strength." We see hurdles; God sees opportunities to glorify himself in our weakness. Isaiah 55: 8-9 reminds us that God ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts so much greater than our thoughts.
Can you imagine the complete shock and awe of Moses, David and Goliath, to name a few Bible heroes, when God let them know through various means and ways that they were to be vessels through which God would display his incredible strength and glory? Moses said to God, you must have the wrong man, I am a murderer and suffer from a speech impediment. How can you use me to lead your people out of slavery? David was the least likely of Jesse's sons to be chosen by Samuel as the one who was to be anointed King of Israel. So much so that he wasn't even included in the original bake-off. His brothers openly scoffed at him when he ran to the battle line to take on the giant Goliath. They told him to get them some food and to go back to the farm. They had known him only as their little shepherd brother, not as the man that God was going to use to crush Goliath and the Philistine's mighty army. Gideon was so shocked that the Angel of the Lord told him he was going to be the one who lead the destruction of the powerful Midianites that he needed a sign from the Lord himself. He then stood in disbelief as God whittled his army from 32,000 down to 300 and said to him now you are in a position to win. How? Gideon must have been stunned.
They, like you and I would, were thinking there must have been a mistake or they would be second guessing whether or not they were losing their minds. Certainly all of those around them could not grasp what was happening. They could do nothing else but doubt, mock and ridicule what God was doing in and through them. But all of these heroes of the Bible had a few common traits that they leaned on when being called by God, after they had gotten over their own disbelief. They surrendered to the will of God even though they didn't fully understand it. They were willing and available. They were humble and they ultimately saw the obstacles and battles not as their own, but as God's.
These stories should give us great hope. There is a Biblical road map and a process that we can follow to help us to overcome our own fears and doubts when tackling our own personal giants. We must surrender to His will, through prayer and time spent in His word. We must be willing to be used by God. We must be humble. We must not lean on our strength or understanding, but trust fully in His. We will not all be used in mighty ways to accomplish God's big purposes, but we can all be confident that God will be with us in and through our own personal struggles. God uses ordinary people like us to do extraordinary things so He can get all the glory. Ask Gideon. People will not understand it. We will not understand it. But He will accomplish His goals and do it in a way that makes the most people scratch their heads. Why did He do it that way? Why did He use that person? Someone whom I admire greatly told me the other day that the two words we will use the most in Heaven are " of course." Once we are able to have a greater vision of how God operates and how "He works everything out for good for those who love Him," as stated in Romans 8:28, we will then say of course that is why He did it that way. Of course that is why He used that person.
There are so many things that can enslave us in this world, be it addiction, abuse, abandonment, financial calamities or loneliness. There is only one thing that can set us free and that is to know and trust the love of the Lord and the plans He has for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 says " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you hope and a future." Our job is to trust Him even when all we can see are the valleys or the obstacles. It is then we learn to rely on Him alone and it is then we are in position to be used mightily by God to glorify Him. One day it will all make sense!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Too Blessed to Complain or a Life of Sour Hours
11-11-13
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Psalm 42:1 " As the Deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, Oh God."
How we look at the things that happen to us is of much greater importance than what actually happens to us. We can have the best attitude even when going through trying times and it will help us greatly in dealing with our difficulties. Likewise, We can be blessed beyond words yet still mope around all of our days feeling like the world still owes us something. In either case, the choice is up to us. We get to control very little in this world, but the things we can control can make all the difference in how we live our lives. The single most important thing we can control is our attitude. Our attitudes definbe our destiny's.
The Bible is full of stories that exemplify the truth of how our attitudes can shape our ultimate destiny. If anyone ever had a reason to be bitter or angry, it was Joseph; Sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused of hitting on Potiphar's wife, imprisoned in the horrible Egyptian jails. Man, did Joseph have a reason to be mad at God. But rather than spend his time grousing about his lot, he continued to praise God and keep his focus on the loving nature of the God he knew would rescue him someday. He refused to let himself spend his hours feeling sour, but instead focused on the character of God to sustain him and give him hope. What a role model Joseph is for us when we are doubting ourselves or are bitter with the circumstance we find ourselves in. Like Joseph, we can also choose to focus on our blessings in God rather than on all the things that we feel betrayed about.
Imagine Jesus, on the night that He was going to be betrayed, still stopped and found time to give thanks and even break bread with his guys, some of which He knew were about to let him down beyond belief. Impetuous Peter and sly Judas were still given the same loving treatment as all the other Disciples even though Jesus was fully aware that in a short time, Peter would deny him and Judas would betray him. Jesus was so aware of His Father's plans and purposes that nothing could come between him and his mission on this earth. He wasn't about to let some human frailties come between Him and his last few hours on this earth. He overcame his fears by casting his eyes on the Lord and giving thanks for what He had done and was about to do to reconcile the world back to the Father through His death on the cross.
I don't think I can ever fully comprehend or approach that type of humility and faithfulness in my lifetime, but maybe I can stop and pause in my difficult times to focus on the things that I am aware of that I have been blessed with. The list is quite long, if only I would focus more on it; Freedom, health, a good job, a loving and beautiful family, a relationship that is ever growing with a loving God. Even the little things like a sunrise or sunset, the playfulness and loyalty of a dog, taking a risk and enjoying it, some good music and a nice glass of wine. I can choose to focus on these things or I can focus on all the things I which I had, but don't. That will only lead to a woe is me, this life is no good type of attitude. Who wants to be around that?
We attract people to us and likewise repel people from us based on out attitudes. We can witness for Christ most effectively when we are appreciative for what we have, or when we handle difficult seasons of our life with grace and dignity. People are always watching our behaviors and will want to know how we are able to deal with abundance or lack in the same manner and with the same consistency and joy. We will be able to then talk about how God is our compass, our rock and our redeemer and we are just focusing our eyes on Him.
Life isn't about having what you want, it is about wanting what you have. I can always choose how I respond to any situation in my life. Sometimes I get depressed and I make mistakes with how I respond to certain disappointments in my life. But through Christ, I am learning to enjoy the day's blessings for what they are, and trying to overlook the betrayals and my own shortcomings. I can look at anything that happens in my life and say I am too blessed to complain. I can carry the joy of my Lord and Savior deep in my heart for all to see, letting his light and love shine through me like an hour glass. Or I can spend my time bemoaning the sour hours of my perception of what the world owes me. In those instances, the list of things to complain about can also seem endless. The great thing about living this life is I alone get to choose how I view my life and the world, and so do you. Too BLESSED to complain or sour hours? The choice is mine. And yours.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Psalm 42:1 " As the Deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, Oh God."
How we look at the things that happen to us is of much greater importance than what actually happens to us. We can have the best attitude even when going through trying times and it will help us greatly in dealing with our difficulties. Likewise, We can be blessed beyond words yet still mope around all of our days feeling like the world still owes us something. In either case, the choice is up to us. We get to control very little in this world, but the things we can control can make all the difference in how we live our lives. The single most important thing we can control is our attitude. Our attitudes definbe our destiny's.
The Bible is full of stories that exemplify the truth of how our attitudes can shape our ultimate destiny. If anyone ever had a reason to be bitter or angry, it was Joseph; Sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused of hitting on Potiphar's wife, imprisoned in the horrible Egyptian jails. Man, did Joseph have a reason to be mad at God. But rather than spend his time grousing about his lot, he continued to praise God and keep his focus on the loving nature of the God he knew would rescue him someday. He refused to let himself spend his hours feeling sour, but instead focused on the character of God to sustain him and give him hope. What a role model Joseph is for us when we are doubting ourselves or are bitter with the circumstance we find ourselves in. Like Joseph, we can also choose to focus on our blessings in God rather than on all the things that we feel betrayed about.
Imagine Jesus, on the night that He was going to be betrayed, still stopped and found time to give thanks and even break bread with his guys, some of which He knew were about to let him down beyond belief. Impetuous Peter and sly Judas were still given the same loving treatment as all the other Disciples even though Jesus was fully aware that in a short time, Peter would deny him and Judas would betray him. Jesus was so aware of His Father's plans and purposes that nothing could come between him and his mission on this earth. He wasn't about to let some human frailties come between Him and his last few hours on this earth. He overcame his fears by casting his eyes on the Lord and giving thanks for what He had done and was about to do to reconcile the world back to the Father through His death on the cross.
I don't think I can ever fully comprehend or approach that type of humility and faithfulness in my lifetime, but maybe I can stop and pause in my difficult times to focus on the things that I am aware of that I have been blessed with. The list is quite long, if only I would focus more on it; Freedom, health, a good job, a loving and beautiful family, a relationship that is ever growing with a loving God. Even the little things like a sunrise or sunset, the playfulness and loyalty of a dog, taking a risk and enjoying it, some good music and a nice glass of wine. I can choose to focus on these things or I can focus on all the things I which I had, but don't. That will only lead to a woe is me, this life is no good type of attitude. Who wants to be around that?
We attract people to us and likewise repel people from us based on out attitudes. We can witness for Christ most effectively when we are appreciative for what we have, or when we handle difficult seasons of our life with grace and dignity. People are always watching our behaviors and will want to know how we are able to deal with abundance or lack in the same manner and with the same consistency and joy. We will be able to then talk about how God is our compass, our rock and our redeemer and we are just focusing our eyes on Him.
Life isn't about having what you want, it is about wanting what you have. I can always choose how I respond to any situation in my life. Sometimes I get depressed and I make mistakes with how I respond to certain disappointments in my life. But through Christ, I am learning to enjoy the day's blessings for what they are, and trying to overlook the betrayals and my own shortcomings. I can look at anything that happens in my life and say I am too blessed to complain. I can carry the joy of my Lord and Savior deep in my heart for all to see, letting his light and love shine through me like an hour glass. Or I can spend my time bemoaning the sour hours of my perception of what the world owes me. In those instances, the list of things to complain about can also seem endless. The great thing about living this life is I alone get to choose how I view my life and the world, and so do you. Too BLESSED to complain or sour hours? The choice is mine. And yours.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Deeper. Always deeper.
10-6-13
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Psalm 42:7 " Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
I have been going through one of the most intensive processes in my life of self examination and repentance in my walk with the Lord over the last few weeks and it has produced a myriad of emotions. I have asked the Lord, as King David did in Psalm 139:23-24, to "search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." God is always faithful and He has been revealing quite a lot to me during this period from some of the areas of my life that I haven't even been aware were in such desperate need of my repentance and His forgiveness. Some of the things He has revealed have been surprising, humbling, sad, joyful, liberating, energizing and hopeless.
The one truth that has constantly been present in my time with the Lord is the idea that there is always a deeper and more intimate relationship that the Lord our God seeks with us, His children. God is not jealous of us, but He is jealous for us and He desires that we spend more time in his presence so that we can begin to assume the character and traits of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. He gives us a glimpse of this desire in 2nd Corinthians 3:18 which says, "and we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
In order to be transformed by something or someone, we must first spend time with the thing or person that we wish to be transformed by. God wants us to spend time with Him alone so that He can reveal hidden truths to us. We are in bondage and He wants to set us free, but to be free from something we first must realize that there is a problem and truthfully admit that it exists. Alone time in the presence of the Lord is where God can do His surgical work on our hearts and souls. He can reveal deeper truths about His intentions, our understanding, or lack thereof, His level of forgiveness, our level of sinfulness. He can show us many things about how deep His love is, how He never stops pursuing us, how deep we need to forgive others as He has forgiven us. Spending time alone in His presence is like a getting a PHD in wisdom from the Creator of the Universe. He can quickly break into our kingdoms of selfishness and pride and reveal to us how far apart "His ways are from our ways and His thoughts are from our thoughts," as Isaiah 55:5:8-9 says.
I have been amazed at the subtle areas of my sinful pride that have been revealed during these alone times with Him. It is easy to spot anger, greed and lust, but my delusions of being in control of situations, which has led me to feel anxious as I am trying to accomplish things on my own strength or for others to validate me, rather than to bask in the Lord's glory and strength, has been revealing. Always deeper are His revelations, and always more humbling is the repentance required by me. But the deeper the humbling, the more freedom I find on the other side of that experience. We as Christians are required to repent on a regular basis. Not so God can humiliate us, but rather so the power of His grace can be seen and felt in our lives. James 4:6 says " God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Our sin can destroy our lives and our testimony, but His grace, mercy and forgiveness can restore us. I feel like the deeper I get with the Lord, and the more vulnerable I am willing to be, the more His grace can wash over me and bring new energy into my being. He alone can take an area of my life that is dead, and create new fruit and beauty out of the barrenness, once it has been healed by His amazing grace. That makes me crave my time alone with the great Physician. The deep revelations give way to greater wisdom and healing. He always wants what is best for me. I just need to show up to the appointments, so the healing and restoration can take place. Being honest with myself and admitting how great my sin is and how desperate I am for Him is the great struggle. He responds with Deeper love, mercy and grace than I could ever imagine.I find myself stunned by the depth of His love, which is endless. He implores me to trust Him more and surrender more, so He can take me deeper into our relationship. His goal is simple, yet profound. Always deeper!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Psalm 42:7 " Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
I have been going through one of the most intensive processes in my life of self examination and repentance in my walk with the Lord over the last few weeks and it has produced a myriad of emotions. I have asked the Lord, as King David did in Psalm 139:23-24, to "search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." God is always faithful and He has been revealing quite a lot to me during this period from some of the areas of my life that I haven't even been aware were in such desperate need of my repentance and His forgiveness. Some of the things He has revealed have been surprising, humbling, sad, joyful, liberating, energizing and hopeless.
The one truth that has constantly been present in my time with the Lord is the idea that there is always a deeper and more intimate relationship that the Lord our God seeks with us, His children. God is not jealous of us, but He is jealous for us and He desires that we spend more time in his presence so that we can begin to assume the character and traits of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. He gives us a glimpse of this desire in 2nd Corinthians 3:18 which says, "and we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
In order to be transformed by something or someone, we must first spend time with the thing or person that we wish to be transformed by. God wants us to spend time with Him alone so that He can reveal hidden truths to us. We are in bondage and He wants to set us free, but to be free from something we first must realize that there is a problem and truthfully admit that it exists. Alone time in the presence of the Lord is where God can do His surgical work on our hearts and souls. He can reveal deeper truths about His intentions, our understanding, or lack thereof, His level of forgiveness, our level of sinfulness. He can show us many things about how deep His love is, how He never stops pursuing us, how deep we need to forgive others as He has forgiven us. Spending time alone in His presence is like a getting a PHD in wisdom from the Creator of the Universe. He can quickly break into our kingdoms of selfishness and pride and reveal to us how far apart "His ways are from our ways and His thoughts are from our thoughts," as Isaiah 55:5:8-9 says.
I have been amazed at the subtle areas of my sinful pride that have been revealed during these alone times with Him. It is easy to spot anger, greed and lust, but my delusions of being in control of situations, which has led me to feel anxious as I am trying to accomplish things on my own strength or for others to validate me, rather than to bask in the Lord's glory and strength, has been revealing. Always deeper are His revelations, and always more humbling is the repentance required by me. But the deeper the humbling, the more freedom I find on the other side of that experience. We as Christians are required to repent on a regular basis. Not so God can humiliate us, but rather so the power of His grace can be seen and felt in our lives. James 4:6 says " God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Our sin can destroy our lives and our testimony, but His grace, mercy and forgiveness can restore us. I feel like the deeper I get with the Lord, and the more vulnerable I am willing to be, the more His grace can wash over me and bring new energy into my being. He alone can take an area of my life that is dead, and create new fruit and beauty out of the barrenness, once it has been healed by His amazing grace. That makes me crave my time alone with the great Physician. The deep revelations give way to greater wisdom and healing. He always wants what is best for me. I just need to show up to the appointments, so the healing and restoration can take place. Being honest with myself and admitting how great my sin is and how desperate I am for Him is the great struggle. He responds with Deeper love, mercy and grace than I could ever imagine.I find myself stunned by the depth of His love, which is endless. He implores me to trust Him more and surrender more, so He can take me deeper into our relationship. His goal is simple, yet profound. Always deeper!
Monday, September 2, 2013
The Great Paradox: Forever Hungry, yet Forever Satisfied
September 2, 2013
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Matthew 7:7 " Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
All of Christianity at it's core is paradoxical and that is part of the great mystery that God has prepared for us. The teachings of Jesus Christ from 2,000 years ago are still as relevant today as they were then and just as hard to comprehend, let alone to live out in the fallen world that we live in. We want to be satisfied, pleasured, catered to and taken care of on our terms and in our time. That is the truth. But the real Truth cries out for a different realty. Serve others first. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. The meek shall inherit the earth. We gain territory by yielding it. Love your neighbor as yourself. We can't do it by ourselves. Our power is made perfect in weakness. His grace is sufficient for us. Be still. Rest. Wait a second. What is the Bible telling us to do? Pretty much everything that is the polar opposite of what the world is telling us to do.
Anything so different leaves you hungry for more. There are times I simply crave more of what Jesus says, does and teaches us. There are also times where breakthroughs happen and it all makes sense, totally relevant to what my current struggles may look like and or just the right word at the right time. In those moments, the satisfaction meter is 100%. I can't feel any more content. Nothing in the world would add to the wisdom of eternity falling down upon my shoulders.
But those moments don't ever seem to last for as long as I wish they would, no does my humanity allow me to humbly live them out the way I wish I could; the way that Jesus mirrored for us. And that leaves me hungry for me. More answers, more finding. more wisdom, more growth. It never really ends does it? The more Jesus teaches us, the more wisdom we gain, the more we see how it brings peace into our lives and satisfaction that we are loved by the Creator of the world and His Son, the more we crave more! SATISFIED, YET HUNGRY FOR MORE! Sometimes we can even learn to rest and "let the peace that surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." ( Philippians 4:7) Oh if only the "next thing" would stay away for just a little longer, so the peace of resting in Jesus could last a little longer. You know, the next sales call, the next lost deal, the next piece of news of the world falling into utter chaos, the next anxious boss, or spouse, or unhappy child. The next beer or numbing agent of choice to cover our pain. The next thought from the past that still finds space in our attic to haunt us. The next regret.
The Bible verse of the day speaks to our need for interaction with Christ on a regular basis as necessary. Why? For our own sanity and peace! When we ask, He does answer. When we seek, we do find. When we knock, the door is opened. Not always in the way we expect. Not always in our timing. Not always as a cosmic vending machine, given us all we say or think we want. But always does He give us what we need! Sometimes we need patience. Sometimes we need pruning. Sometimes we need discipline or to trust Him more. Sometimes we need to be still. But always do we need prayer time with Him. He desires us to pray without ceasing ( Thessalonians 5:17 ) Why? Because He loves us and desires us to spend time alone with Him in His presence so He can teach us, guide us, love us. Why is that so hard for me sometimes. Do I crave alone time with myself? Yes, even though there are many times when I can't even stand being around myself. My spouse, my kids, my friends? Yes. Then why not even more so with the God of the Universe, My Creator and Redeemer? My Lord and Savior. My Eternal Father who knows what I need from Him before I even think it?
When I seek Him with all my heart, I will find Him. I always do. He never moves. I know His address. He is like 7-11, always open. In those moments when I get it and put all my distractions aside and seek the best this life has to offer, His wisdom, peace and love, I can find true satisfaction. Satisfaction so great it leaves me hungry for more. Forever Hungry, Forever Satisfied. The great paradox of Christianity. A puzzle, inside a riddle, wrapped in an enigma. I wouldn't want it any other way. Oh wait a minute. Yes I would. I would want it my way. Frank Sinatra sang about it. Pride is a tough beast to slay. God, help me to truly want it your way. That is where true freedom and peace lay. Surrender begins when we admit we don't have all the answers, or even know all the questions. But you do Jesus. Help us to surrender to your marvelous mystery. Today!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Matthew 7:7 " Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
All of Christianity at it's core is paradoxical and that is part of the great mystery that God has prepared for us. The teachings of Jesus Christ from 2,000 years ago are still as relevant today as they were then and just as hard to comprehend, let alone to live out in the fallen world that we live in. We want to be satisfied, pleasured, catered to and taken care of on our terms and in our time. That is the truth. But the real Truth cries out for a different realty. Serve others first. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. The meek shall inherit the earth. We gain territory by yielding it. Love your neighbor as yourself. We can't do it by ourselves. Our power is made perfect in weakness. His grace is sufficient for us. Be still. Rest. Wait a second. What is the Bible telling us to do? Pretty much everything that is the polar opposite of what the world is telling us to do.
Anything so different leaves you hungry for more. There are times I simply crave more of what Jesus says, does and teaches us. There are also times where breakthroughs happen and it all makes sense, totally relevant to what my current struggles may look like and or just the right word at the right time. In those moments, the satisfaction meter is 100%. I can't feel any more content. Nothing in the world would add to the wisdom of eternity falling down upon my shoulders.
But those moments don't ever seem to last for as long as I wish they would, no does my humanity allow me to humbly live them out the way I wish I could; the way that Jesus mirrored for us. And that leaves me hungry for me. More answers, more finding. more wisdom, more growth. It never really ends does it? The more Jesus teaches us, the more wisdom we gain, the more we see how it brings peace into our lives and satisfaction that we are loved by the Creator of the world and His Son, the more we crave more! SATISFIED, YET HUNGRY FOR MORE! Sometimes we can even learn to rest and "let the peace that surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." ( Philippians 4:7) Oh if only the "next thing" would stay away for just a little longer, so the peace of resting in Jesus could last a little longer. You know, the next sales call, the next lost deal, the next piece of news of the world falling into utter chaos, the next anxious boss, or spouse, or unhappy child. The next beer or numbing agent of choice to cover our pain. The next thought from the past that still finds space in our attic to haunt us. The next regret.
The Bible verse of the day speaks to our need for interaction with Christ on a regular basis as necessary. Why? For our own sanity and peace! When we ask, He does answer. When we seek, we do find. When we knock, the door is opened. Not always in the way we expect. Not always in our timing. Not always as a cosmic vending machine, given us all we say or think we want. But always does He give us what we need! Sometimes we need patience. Sometimes we need pruning. Sometimes we need discipline or to trust Him more. Sometimes we need to be still. But always do we need prayer time with Him. He desires us to pray without ceasing ( Thessalonians 5:17 ) Why? Because He loves us and desires us to spend time alone with Him in His presence so He can teach us, guide us, love us. Why is that so hard for me sometimes. Do I crave alone time with myself? Yes, even though there are many times when I can't even stand being around myself. My spouse, my kids, my friends? Yes. Then why not even more so with the God of the Universe, My Creator and Redeemer? My Lord and Savior. My Eternal Father who knows what I need from Him before I even think it?
When I seek Him with all my heart, I will find Him. I always do. He never moves. I know His address. He is like 7-11, always open. In those moments when I get it and put all my distractions aside and seek the best this life has to offer, His wisdom, peace and love, I can find true satisfaction. Satisfaction so great it leaves me hungry for more. Forever Hungry, Forever Satisfied. The great paradox of Christianity. A puzzle, inside a riddle, wrapped in an enigma. I wouldn't want it any other way. Oh wait a minute. Yes I would. I would want it my way. Frank Sinatra sang about it. Pride is a tough beast to slay. God, help me to truly want it your way. That is where true freedom and peace lay. Surrender begins when we admit we don't have all the answers, or even know all the questions. But you do Jesus. Help us to surrender to your marvelous mystery. Today!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Lean into God
June 9th, 2013
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Psalm 43:1 " Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine."
We live in a time and place where there is plenty of fear to go around. All one has to do is to open up a newspaper or turn on the news to get an instant feel for the how messed up our world is. The U.S.Government spying on their own citizenry and using the IRS to target people who disagree with their agenda is reminiscent of George Orwell's futuristic thriller 1984, but it is no longer the future, it is the present, and it is scary because it is happening right here in the U.S.A. There are wars and rumors of wars all over the Middle East. North Korea threatens the destruction of S. Korea, Japan and the U.S. on almost a regular basis now. Terrorists want to destroy the freedom that we enjoy as Americans, and they seem to be doing a good job at chipping away at our liberties in both subtle and overt ways.
We live in a broken world, that is desperate for the truth of what will make it all better and will help us deal with our fears. But the Truth is right before our eyes and our real internal freedom from all of our fears is right there alongside the Truth in Jesus Christ, who says in John 14:6 " I am the way, the truth and the life; No one can come to the Father except through me." The most important question we can ever ask ourselves in this lifetime is, do we believe Him? Do we believe that Jesus is who He said He was? Because if we believe Him, and we trust that in Him we have eternal life that can never be taken away from us, then that makes all of our other fears seem insignificant within the scope of that promise. Don't get me wrong, as humans we will struggle with fear because our nature is to want to control things and as we come to the stark realization there are so many things in this life that are beyond our control, our natural reaction is to become fearful. We can't control what is going on at our neighbors house, or in the guy's car next to us on the freeway or the rogue employee at the office who has had a bad fight with their spouse. But each of these people and situations has a chance to spill over directly into our lives and can have a tremendous effect on us and we can't stop it. A drunk driver next to us could suddenly swerve into our car and cause major damage or worse. A rogue employee can decide to take out their frustration by committing violence on innocent people and their is nothing we did to cause that, nor is there anything we can do to control that. Those types of thoughts about our ultimate lack of control can make us fearful.
But those are external events. What about our ability to control fear and remove anxiety from an internal perspective? Luckily, God has given us a road map of how we can lean into Him to find some real and everlasting internal peace amongst the chaos that is happening all around us. Prayer is the biggest tool that we have in our arsenal to alleviate our fears. As a matter of fact, God promises us that prayer can directly lead to peace. In Philippians 4:6-7 it says " Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Again, the question is do we believe it?
Another thing that we can do is to get our hearts right before the Lord. He promises to forgive us of our sins if we repent and turn to Him for forgiveness. For He alone can forgive our sins. We must realize that we are only as sick as our secrets. When we have nothing to hide, than we truly have nothing to fear. Often times, however, our initial reaction when we do something we are not proud of is to hide. We run away from God, rather than leaning into God to help us through the mess we have created. We try to justify our running away by saying things to ourselves like"what I did wasn't so bad compared to what this person does" or " no one got hurt as a result of what I did" or " I don't even think what I did was sinful," like somehow we get to play God and make judgements on what is sin and what isn't. But here is the real truth: We can't trick our souls! Our souls are the feedback mechanism God built into us to know when we do something wrong. Even little 1 year old babies have the ability to know when they do wrong. They usually let us know because they start to cry even before we have ever said anything about what they have done wrong! A dog slinks around the house when they know that they shouldn't have eaten the stuffing out of the chair. A drug addict even knows when they use that it is a bad choice, even though they may feel powerless to stop.
Even before I became a Christ follower, I knew right form wrong. I just didn't take time to stop and repent before God and ask for His forgiveness and guidance the next time the same situation occurred as I do now. Therefore I had never dealt with the root problem, my sin, and that caused me to be fearful because I was hiding something from God ( or thought I was, not realizing that He already knows everything I HAVE EVER DONE OR WILL DO. ) I was trying to run from Him, afraid He was like an angry traffic cop behind a billboard just waiting to cast judgement upon me. Guilty He would surely say! I didn't know if I was ready or able to handle His harsh response. Little did I know at the time that " there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," as Romans 8;1 tells us. In fact, I know now that He alone can remove that heavy load of guilt that I was carrying on my back from my life of unrepentant sin. Not only is there no condemnation, but there is actually freedom and peace in the place where guilt and fear once roamed. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says " Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I WILL GIVE YOUR REST!" Rest not only for our bodies, but for our tired souls. Why would we ignore such a blessing?
God knew the desperation of our sinful guilt and resulting fear, and that it why after Jesus had died on the cross for forgiveness of our sins, He sent the Holy Spirit as an advocate for our lives to lead us in ways of real truth. He said in John 15:4-5 " Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. For I AM the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
How can we remain in Christ even though Jesus has left the physical earth for now? God sent the answer in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us in righteousness and in the way everlasting. We must pray to stay connected to God. We must read the Bible, the living word of God, to stay connected to God. We must fellowship with others to stay connected to God. We must love others, the way He has loved us, to stay connected to God. We must forgive others, including ourselves, as He has forgiven us. We must stop running and learn to lean into God when we make mistakes and fall in our sin. He is not surprised when we sin. In fact, I believe He is much more surprised when we don't! Repenting removes fear because it removes our desire to hide. It brings our weaknesses out into the open and it says, please God forgive me, for I am a weak and broken person and I am sorry. I want to lean into you and your strength, mercy and grace. God works well with humility. Humility aligns us with the Spirit of His Son, the most humble person to ever walk the face of this earth. He will work to restore our brokenness, heal our wounds and remove our fear. The question is, will we let Him?
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Psalm 43:1 " Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine."
We live in a time and place where there is plenty of fear to go around. All one has to do is to open up a newspaper or turn on the news to get an instant feel for the how messed up our world is. The U.S.Government spying on their own citizenry and using the IRS to target people who disagree with their agenda is reminiscent of George Orwell's futuristic thriller 1984, but it is no longer the future, it is the present, and it is scary because it is happening right here in the U.S.A. There are wars and rumors of wars all over the Middle East. North Korea threatens the destruction of S. Korea, Japan and the U.S. on almost a regular basis now. Terrorists want to destroy the freedom that we enjoy as Americans, and they seem to be doing a good job at chipping away at our liberties in both subtle and overt ways.
We live in a broken world, that is desperate for the truth of what will make it all better and will help us deal with our fears. But the Truth is right before our eyes and our real internal freedom from all of our fears is right there alongside the Truth in Jesus Christ, who says in John 14:6 " I am the way, the truth and the life; No one can come to the Father except through me." The most important question we can ever ask ourselves in this lifetime is, do we believe Him? Do we believe that Jesus is who He said He was? Because if we believe Him, and we trust that in Him we have eternal life that can never be taken away from us, then that makes all of our other fears seem insignificant within the scope of that promise. Don't get me wrong, as humans we will struggle with fear because our nature is to want to control things and as we come to the stark realization there are so many things in this life that are beyond our control, our natural reaction is to become fearful. We can't control what is going on at our neighbors house, or in the guy's car next to us on the freeway or the rogue employee at the office who has had a bad fight with their spouse. But each of these people and situations has a chance to spill over directly into our lives and can have a tremendous effect on us and we can't stop it. A drunk driver next to us could suddenly swerve into our car and cause major damage or worse. A rogue employee can decide to take out their frustration by committing violence on innocent people and their is nothing we did to cause that, nor is there anything we can do to control that. Those types of thoughts about our ultimate lack of control can make us fearful.
But those are external events. What about our ability to control fear and remove anxiety from an internal perspective? Luckily, God has given us a road map of how we can lean into Him to find some real and everlasting internal peace amongst the chaos that is happening all around us. Prayer is the biggest tool that we have in our arsenal to alleviate our fears. As a matter of fact, God promises us that prayer can directly lead to peace. In Philippians 4:6-7 it says " Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Again, the question is do we believe it?
Another thing that we can do is to get our hearts right before the Lord. He promises to forgive us of our sins if we repent and turn to Him for forgiveness. For He alone can forgive our sins. We must realize that we are only as sick as our secrets. When we have nothing to hide, than we truly have nothing to fear. Often times, however, our initial reaction when we do something we are not proud of is to hide. We run away from God, rather than leaning into God to help us through the mess we have created. We try to justify our running away by saying things to ourselves like"what I did wasn't so bad compared to what this person does" or " no one got hurt as a result of what I did" or " I don't even think what I did was sinful," like somehow we get to play God and make judgements on what is sin and what isn't. But here is the real truth: We can't trick our souls! Our souls are the feedback mechanism God built into us to know when we do something wrong. Even little 1 year old babies have the ability to know when they do wrong. They usually let us know because they start to cry even before we have ever said anything about what they have done wrong! A dog slinks around the house when they know that they shouldn't have eaten the stuffing out of the chair. A drug addict even knows when they use that it is a bad choice, even though they may feel powerless to stop.
Even before I became a Christ follower, I knew right form wrong. I just didn't take time to stop and repent before God and ask for His forgiveness and guidance the next time the same situation occurred as I do now. Therefore I had never dealt with the root problem, my sin, and that caused me to be fearful because I was hiding something from God ( or thought I was, not realizing that He already knows everything I HAVE EVER DONE OR WILL DO. ) I was trying to run from Him, afraid He was like an angry traffic cop behind a billboard just waiting to cast judgement upon me. Guilty He would surely say! I didn't know if I was ready or able to handle His harsh response. Little did I know at the time that " there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," as Romans 8;1 tells us. In fact, I know now that He alone can remove that heavy load of guilt that I was carrying on my back from my life of unrepentant sin. Not only is there no condemnation, but there is actually freedom and peace in the place where guilt and fear once roamed. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says " Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I WILL GIVE YOUR REST!" Rest not only for our bodies, but for our tired souls. Why would we ignore such a blessing?
God knew the desperation of our sinful guilt and resulting fear, and that it why after Jesus had died on the cross for forgiveness of our sins, He sent the Holy Spirit as an advocate for our lives to lead us in ways of real truth. He said in John 15:4-5 " Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. For I AM the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
How can we remain in Christ even though Jesus has left the physical earth for now? God sent the answer in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us in righteousness and in the way everlasting. We must pray to stay connected to God. We must read the Bible, the living word of God, to stay connected to God. We must fellowship with others to stay connected to God. We must love others, the way He has loved us, to stay connected to God. We must forgive others, including ourselves, as He has forgiven us. We must stop running and learn to lean into God when we make mistakes and fall in our sin. He is not surprised when we sin. In fact, I believe He is much more surprised when we don't! Repenting removes fear because it removes our desire to hide. It brings our weaknesses out into the open and it says, please God forgive me, for I am a weak and broken person and I am sorry. I want to lean into you and your strength, mercy and grace. God works well with humility. Humility aligns us with the Spirit of His Son, the most humble person to ever walk the face of this earth. He will work to restore our brokenness, heal our wounds and remove our fear. The question is, will we let Him?
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Baby in a basket
June 3, 2013
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Proverbs 4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
If I am perfectly honest, I say that I am a devoted follower of Christ and that I am "all in," but in many instances my actions tell a completely different story. Oh, I indeed want to follow Christ and seek him with all of my heart and soul, its just that I keep letting the world and all of its worries, get in the way. It is like I want to have all ten toes in the water with Christ, but I keep finding myself with like 7 toes trying to hang on to something in this world. I want to give myself credit for "doing it my way", as Frank Sinatra used to sing about so proudly. But why? My way never works out so well and the things of this world that I still find myself distracted by and drawn to only leave me empty, frustrated and angry. Why can't we all get along and love each other the way we're supposed to? Why does our Government act as if they are above the people, instead of for the people? Why does the media endlessly promote all the negative news at the expense of the hopeful things that could make people feel more positive. I tell myself I am over all this, it saps my strength and leaves me depleted and that the peace that I find in Christ is an obvious oasis where I should spend all of my time. Psalm 46:10 exhorts me "to be still and know that I am God" and I have felt this calmness and crave to bottle it up and keep it always by my side.
Yet when opportunities come up to serve his kingdom and to bless others, many times my own fears or lack of convictions keep my from doing the vary things I wish to do. I can fully relate to Paul in Romans 7: 15 when he says " I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do." My heart screams "yes", this is the opportunity I have been waiting for to align myself with the Lord's servant heart. I know that if I act on these feelings, the reward is a connection to a loving Savior that is pleased with my compassion and which leaves me feeling euphoric and meaningful, for I have felt this on many of those such occasions. But many times, my mind and my body are tired, lazy or fearful. Instead of seeing opportunity, I see inconvenience.
I want to so desperately be free from the shackles of conditional servitude, but many times I play that game with God that if I do this for you, then what are you going to do for me? Will I get instant payback and have the laundry list of perceived wants fulfilled? Like God is some cosmic deal maker in the sky, like a Monte Hall: should I take the box or the curtain? of course not, because God loves me too much to give me what I think I want. Instead, He always gives me what i need and in His perfect timing. One thing I have finally started to realize in my walk with our gracious Lord is we do not do deals with Him. His word promises us that we will be richly rewarded for our acts of loving others with kindness, forgiveness and patience, but that it is best to serve in secret. Matthew 6:3-4 says that " when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that all of your giving may be in secret. Then you Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." I struggle with this one mightily because of my pride that fuels my need for recognition. Hey, did anyone see what I did today for this orphan or that widow? How about a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t for going out of my way to help someone or to give some of my hard earned money to a charity which I don't even really know about. I could have done a lot more with my time or resources than that. Of course, in all honesty, that was the best thing I could have ever done with my time and resources and it also made me feel better than anything else I could have done.
That is the amazing thing about God; He never let's us down and His words are always true and always will be.It is just we struggle so much in our broken humanness with the paradoxes. It is better to give than receive? The last shall be first? If someone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles? The meek shall inherit the earth? What happened to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth? What about I deserve to have all that I can get because of.... fill in the blank. I mean, these things are so counter intuitive to the way I have been raised in this world, it requires total surrender of 48 years of human experiences in order to comply and of course, no one ever fully has or will except for Jesus himself. But here is the rub: When we fully trust in God through Christ Jesus, He can take away all of the fears and doubts and actually make us see the great value in His ways, which he reminds us in Isaiah 55:9 are so much higher and greater than our ways. When we learn to trust the way that the Mother of Baby Moses did, when she placed her baby in a basket, and sent him floating down the Nile into unknown territory with all of her hope and dreams resting solely on the large shoulders of her God, then we are truly free at last.
There are things that happen to us in this world that we simply were not designed to handle. Luckily, God tells us we don't have to. He is big enough to handle them for us. The question is do we trust Him? I have come to the firm belief that we are all one giant, faithful decision away from seeing His glory manifest itself in our lives in a tangible way. I mean He is a present God and He cares deeply about all of the details of our lives. He loves the world and everything in it, which by inference means He loves us and cares about us. He is not distant; he is present, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, as we struggle to pay our bills or as we plant flowers in our garden or as we work in technology to help develop a new way of speeding up our lives.That is a discussion for another day. Why do we really think that if we speed up our lives, we will somehow blow right past all of our problems, when in reality we need the complete opposite? We need to repent and ruthlessly eliminate all hurry in our life and spend time alone in the presence of our King, so we can hear His still voice. He is pleading with us to trust him. Why is it so hard for us to let go of whatever is holding us back? Psalm 127: 1-2 says " Unless the LORD builds the house the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late toiling for food to eat- for he grants sleep to those He loves." I see the Lord pleading with me in this verse that I don't need to work harder or to stay up later toiling, I NEED TO PRAY MORE! I NEED TO TRUST MORE.
I occasionally get a good glimpse of my prideful condition that keeps me from given Him all the glory in my life and it both saddens and sickens me. it shows me a glimmer of my despair and it is uncomfortable at best. Pride is the biggest threat to our fruitful relationship with Christ because it cuts off the source of all good fruit, the Vine which is Him, and offers a cheap substitute which can never last, which is us, the branches. No wonder why Proverbs 16:18 warns us that "first pride, then the fall." We have heard it said that for every 100 people that can handle failure, only 1 can handle success and that is because of our prideful condition that longs to feed the flesh. The battle that rages between Flesh ( evil ) and the Spirit ( God ) is a fierce one that every person is constantly engaged in. Love, hope, peace, kindness, vs lust, anger, pride, greed. It is spelled out it Galatians 5 and it is a battle that we can handle on our own. Many times, we don't even realize that we are in it and certainly not until we become a Christ follower.
When Christ is at the center of all of our lives, he starves our need to feed the fleshly desires we crave. When we truly align with Christ's heart, we find that we are able to do things that would be unimaginable on our own. We are able to forgive those who have hurt us badly in the past, be it in love or finances or abuse or whatever the situation. Sometimes, we are even able to forgive ourselves for the messy areas of our lives and the destructive wakes we have left behind. For when we truly believe that Christ loves and forgives us, and that the love is so deep that He was willing to die for forgiveness of those sins, then we are free to live the lives that He intended for us all along. We can become the earthly vessels through which His grace, love and mercy can flow. We become stewards in all the gifts he has given us, freely able to let them pass through us to grow and bless His kingdom. We can't fully comprehend a love so deep in our human condition. But we can learn to trust it.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Proverbs 4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
If I am perfectly honest, I say that I am a devoted follower of Christ and that I am "all in," but in many instances my actions tell a completely different story. Oh, I indeed want to follow Christ and seek him with all of my heart and soul, its just that I keep letting the world and all of its worries, get in the way. It is like I want to have all ten toes in the water with Christ, but I keep finding myself with like 7 toes trying to hang on to something in this world. I want to give myself credit for "doing it my way", as Frank Sinatra used to sing about so proudly. But why? My way never works out so well and the things of this world that I still find myself distracted by and drawn to only leave me empty, frustrated and angry. Why can't we all get along and love each other the way we're supposed to? Why does our Government act as if they are above the people, instead of for the people? Why does the media endlessly promote all the negative news at the expense of the hopeful things that could make people feel more positive. I tell myself I am over all this, it saps my strength and leaves me depleted and that the peace that I find in Christ is an obvious oasis where I should spend all of my time. Psalm 46:10 exhorts me "to be still and know that I am God" and I have felt this calmness and crave to bottle it up and keep it always by my side.
Yet when opportunities come up to serve his kingdom and to bless others, many times my own fears or lack of convictions keep my from doing the vary things I wish to do. I can fully relate to Paul in Romans 7: 15 when he says " I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do." My heart screams "yes", this is the opportunity I have been waiting for to align myself with the Lord's servant heart. I know that if I act on these feelings, the reward is a connection to a loving Savior that is pleased with my compassion and which leaves me feeling euphoric and meaningful, for I have felt this on many of those such occasions. But many times, my mind and my body are tired, lazy or fearful. Instead of seeing opportunity, I see inconvenience.
I want to so desperately be free from the shackles of conditional servitude, but many times I play that game with God that if I do this for you, then what are you going to do for me? Will I get instant payback and have the laundry list of perceived wants fulfilled? Like God is some cosmic deal maker in the sky, like a Monte Hall: should I take the box or the curtain? of course not, because God loves me too much to give me what I think I want. Instead, He always gives me what i need and in His perfect timing. One thing I have finally started to realize in my walk with our gracious Lord is we do not do deals with Him. His word promises us that we will be richly rewarded for our acts of loving others with kindness, forgiveness and patience, but that it is best to serve in secret. Matthew 6:3-4 says that " when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that all of your giving may be in secret. Then you Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." I struggle with this one mightily because of my pride that fuels my need for recognition. Hey, did anyone see what I did today for this orphan or that widow? How about a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t for going out of my way to help someone or to give some of my hard earned money to a charity which I don't even really know about. I could have done a lot more with my time or resources than that. Of course, in all honesty, that was the best thing I could have ever done with my time and resources and it also made me feel better than anything else I could have done.
That is the amazing thing about God; He never let's us down and His words are always true and always will be.It is just we struggle so much in our broken humanness with the paradoxes. It is better to give than receive? The last shall be first? If someone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles? The meek shall inherit the earth? What happened to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth? What about I deserve to have all that I can get because of.... fill in the blank. I mean, these things are so counter intuitive to the way I have been raised in this world, it requires total surrender of 48 years of human experiences in order to comply and of course, no one ever fully has or will except for Jesus himself. But here is the rub: When we fully trust in God through Christ Jesus, He can take away all of the fears and doubts and actually make us see the great value in His ways, which he reminds us in Isaiah 55:9 are so much higher and greater than our ways. When we learn to trust the way that the Mother of Baby Moses did, when she placed her baby in a basket, and sent him floating down the Nile into unknown territory with all of her hope and dreams resting solely on the large shoulders of her God, then we are truly free at last.
There are things that happen to us in this world that we simply were not designed to handle. Luckily, God tells us we don't have to. He is big enough to handle them for us. The question is do we trust Him? I have come to the firm belief that we are all one giant, faithful decision away from seeing His glory manifest itself in our lives in a tangible way. I mean He is a present God and He cares deeply about all of the details of our lives. He loves the world and everything in it, which by inference means He loves us and cares about us. He is not distant; he is present, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, as we struggle to pay our bills or as we plant flowers in our garden or as we work in technology to help develop a new way of speeding up our lives.That is a discussion for another day. Why do we really think that if we speed up our lives, we will somehow blow right past all of our problems, when in reality we need the complete opposite? We need to repent and ruthlessly eliminate all hurry in our life and spend time alone in the presence of our King, so we can hear His still voice. He is pleading with us to trust him. Why is it so hard for us to let go of whatever is holding us back? Psalm 127: 1-2 says " Unless the LORD builds the house the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late toiling for food to eat- for he grants sleep to those He loves." I see the Lord pleading with me in this verse that I don't need to work harder or to stay up later toiling, I NEED TO PRAY MORE! I NEED TO TRUST MORE.
I occasionally get a good glimpse of my prideful condition that keeps me from given Him all the glory in my life and it both saddens and sickens me. it shows me a glimmer of my despair and it is uncomfortable at best. Pride is the biggest threat to our fruitful relationship with Christ because it cuts off the source of all good fruit, the Vine which is Him, and offers a cheap substitute which can never last, which is us, the branches. No wonder why Proverbs 16:18 warns us that "first pride, then the fall." We have heard it said that for every 100 people that can handle failure, only 1 can handle success and that is because of our prideful condition that longs to feed the flesh. The battle that rages between Flesh ( evil ) and the Spirit ( God ) is a fierce one that every person is constantly engaged in. Love, hope, peace, kindness, vs lust, anger, pride, greed. It is spelled out it Galatians 5 and it is a battle that we can handle on our own. Many times, we don't even realize that we are in it and certainly not until we become a Christ follower.
When Christ is at the center of all of our lives, he starves our need to feed the fleshly desires we crave. When we truly align with Christ's heart, we find that we are able to do things that would be unimaginable on our own. We are able to forgive those who have hurt us badly in the past, be it in love or finances or abuse or whatever the situation. Sometimes, we are even able to forgive ourselves for the messy areas of our lives and the destructive wakes we have left behind. For when we truly believe that Christ loves and forgives us, and that the love is so deep that He was willing to die for forgiveness of those sins, then we are free to live the lives that He intended for us all along. We can become the earthly vessels through which His grace, love and mercy can flow. We become stewards in all the gifts he has given us, freely able to let them pass through us to grow and bless His kingdom. We can't fully comprehend a love so deep in our human condition. But we can learn to trust it.
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