He will make it beautiful

I was frantic!  The maroon wise man robe had gotten soaked when my church had performed a live nativity in the park and it had been thrown in a bag with several white costumes.  Now all of the white costumes had red streaks every where they had touched the robe.  In addition, due to the weather the bottoms of every costume was caked in clay mud.  I wasn't sure I could get them all cleaned before our next performance and there definitely wasn't time to remake any of the white costumes if I couldn't.

I offered up a prayer as I sorted everything and began washing.  Fortunately, due to some a wonderful laundry additive, all of the white costumes returned to their pristine state.  Unfortunately, the clay stains did not come out of all of the remaining costumes.  I was so heart broken that the nights presentation would have to include stained tunics and robes.  I just knew it would detract from the presentation.  But then I felt God begin to whisper...

Did you do your best?
Yes, but they are still stained!
Do you trust me?
Yes, but-
then let me take it from here...

So I packed them up and took them to the nativity.  It was again a rainy, muddy night.  Every costume ended up caked in clay mud again.  But, no one noticed.  And once the first presentation began, neither did I.  It wasn't about how pretty things looked.  God's message is for those of us who are dirty, imperfect, stained.

He came to be born not in the house of a wealthy man, but in a stable, among the animals.  He lived his life with those who got their hands dirty.  His ministry served the untouchable (Matthew 8:2-3), the disliked (Mark 2:15), the outcasts (Mark 5:1-20, John 8:1-11, John 4:5-32).  It wasn't a clean life, but it was beautiful.  Not because of how it looked, but because of what it was - love.

And that is what He asks from us in return.  No extravagant, expensive, perfect gifts.  He simply desires that we love Him, and that we share His love with others.  (Mark 12:30-31) He isn't asking for perfection from you, He only asks that you serve Him in love, which means your best effort all the time. (Colossians 3:23)  If you do, He will make it beautiful.  He will use it to accomplish His perfect will.

As for the Nativity, despite the pouring rain, many showed up to hear the story - and no one noticed a single stain.

Photo courtesy of One Eyed Jack's Photography

*Originally published on Coffee with Christ

Challenges Ahead

I have the privilege of coordinating the collection of shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse at my church.  This is a bittersweet thing for me.  On the one hand, seeing the congregation join together in the mission of providing children they have never met with toys, coloring books, and hygiene supplies that will open the door and allow those children to hear and experience the truth that Jesus loves them is amazing.  In five years the number of shoe boxes we collect has almost doubled.

But the flip side of this coin is the knowledge that there are children in this world that have never been shown this love, children who are devoid of hope, children that don't know or understand that what they experience in this world is not all there is, nor is it what it was supposed to be.  Each year as I go through videos and testimonials of how these simple shoe boxes impact children and communities my heart breaks and I hug my own children a little tighter.

As Stacie reminded us earlier this week, our calling doesn't have to be some "great" thing that everyone sees and recognizes as important.  Our great thing can be as simple as packing a shoebox for a child in another country, recognizing that our neighbor with the new baby is feeling overwhelmed and cook a meal for her family one night.  Maybe your calling is to notice the cashier that is scanning your items for your holiday meal isn't smiling and then really talking to him or her.  There are so many in this world that don't feel hope, especially at this time of the year.

I want to challenge you to make a conscious effort for the next month or so to really SEE the people around you.  Ask God to show you those who are hurting, who need to know they aren't alone, and then be His hands and feet.  This is going to take some preparation on your part.  Pray and ask God to show you how you should respond.  I have a blogging friend that carries candy canes around with her at this time of year with a little note attached to them thanking the recipient for their service.  She gives them to cashiers, buggy boys, nurses etc.  Others have made "blessing bags".  A ziplock bag full of items a homeless person might need such as hygiene items, restaurant gift cards etc.  I don't know how God would like to use you, but I do know He DOES want to use you.  All you have to do is open yourself up to that possibility, and allow God to move.

We would love it if you shared some of your ideas and experiences in the comment section!




*originally published on Coffee with Christ

Snowflakes

Image courtesy Pen Waggener, used under CC by 2.0

It snowed here today.  First time of the season.  There wasn't any accumulation, but seeing those fluffy, fat snowflakes falling from the sky was a beautiful sight.  You see, snowflakes always remind me of God.  They amaze me.

Did you know that although every snowflake crystal is unique, some say that there are not ever two snowflakes alike, each has six-fold radial symmetry?  This means that from the center out you can conceivably fold a snowflake 6 ways and it will be identical on opposite sides.  Rather amazing that God can create something so small, so alike others of its kind and yet so unique and different.  And yet, he not only did so with the snowflake, but with us as well.

We are all created in his image.  Most of the human race share similar lines of symmetry: 2 eyes, legs, ears, arms etc.  You get the picture.  And yet we are each unique.  Not just in what we see; eye color, hair color, weight, height.  but in our talents, our gifts.  God has hand crafted each and every detail of what makes us "us" with a plan in mind.  He knew whom we would come into contact with, how that would affect us on this journey; the scars we would form, the bonds we would make with others.  God knew what form we would need to be molded into in order to best show His workmanship and that is the form He gave us.  Then He breathed life into us and began our journey.

While an individual snowflake is beautiful in and of itself, alone it travels to the ground and leaves very little evidence, if any, of it's existence.  It is when snowflakes join together that we see their impact.  This is why God calls us to not stop meeting with other believers (Hebrews 10:25), why He reminds us that we are a part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12), and why each of us has a unique purpose within the body (Romans 12:4-5).

God has gifted you with a special talent, something that sets you apart and yet allows you to fit into a custom niche in His body, perfectly designed for this time, this place.  Do you know what yours is?  Are you ready to join with others and blanket the world with His love?

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

Pray without Ceasing

Image source: http://bit.ly/1paLJR1

Prayer is one of those things I struggle with.  I didn't grow up in a home that loved God, I didn't come to have a relationship with Him until I was an adult.  I don't have a problem talking with Him about things: "watch over us and keep us safe while we travel to_________," "guide me today to make the decisions that will honor You," "help me to control my words today so that they are a blessing to others and not a tool for the devil," etc.  I have the day to day conversations and I love that I can approach Him intimately like this. (Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 4:16)

Recently my small group Bible study began a prolonged group prayer.  God laid it on our hearts to join together and set aside a day every week to intentionally pray for our family and friends who don't have a relationship with Jesus.  That isn't to say that we haven't been praying for our own family members often, but we are trusting God when he says that when two or more of us agree on something it will be done by our Father. (Matthew 18:19)  While we realize that God will not take away the free will of those we are praying for and force them to surrender to Him, we also realize that our prayers can open doors, protect them from the devil's deceit, and soften their hearts to accept God's gift of salvation...but this can sometimes be a long process.  This is where I struggle.

Intellectually I realize that God hears and answers prayer. (Psalm 65:2, Proverbs 15:29, Psalm 66:19-20, Mark 11:24, Matthew 21:22) But emotionally there are times that I question and doubt.  I love my family members, and I want them to feel the overwhelming love that God has for them; I want them to understand the acceptance and comfort and joy that comes from a relationship with Him - and I want it NOW.  We have been praying for months.  I wish I had a dramatic story for you about how one of the people we prayed for had a revelation and heart change, I don't.  That disheartens me sometimes.  But God is good and I know that He hears and is doing His part.

We have seen some of our loved ones step closer to God.  We have seen Him reveal Himself in miraculous ways, especially AFTER being challenged ("The only way this will work is if God does it!").  We have seen His hand of protection.  I know that He is orchestrating things in such a way that the hearts of those we love are being touched by His loving kindness.  So, while I may struggle with His timing, I continue to pray without ceasing.  After all, Augustine's mother prayed for him to know God for 32 years before he finally accepted Jesus' gift.  And Augustine went on to spend the next 44 years of his life in service, becoming one of the most influential writers concerning God since the apostles.  Who knows what God has in store for those we are praying for now!

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

Consider Your Ways

Ever had one of those days where every thing just seems to go wrong?  Your alarm doesn't go off, the coffee filter falls over and you end up with a carafe full of grounds (gasp!), can't find the car keys and when you finally do you realize that you are out of gas.  And that is just the beginning of the day!  I admit, I have had a few days like this this past week, and on those days it isn't easy staying true to Ephesians 4:29.  In my personal study time this week, God showed me something that made me step back and reevaluate.

I was reading Haggai, and I also must admit that I had to look up who this prophet was.  Apparently he was prophesying during a time in Jewish history that should have been wonderful for them.  They had been given a decree from the king, Cyrus, allowing them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.  All of the things that had been stolen from the temple had be promised to them upon its completion and the king agreed to finance the rebuilding.  What a sweet deal, right?

Only it came with some issues.  The retuning Jews were excited to be home again.  They set about building their homes, clearing their fields, building storehouses, etc.  They were going about their lives and taking care of their earthly business.  Haggai comes along and points out some truths that people had been overlooking.  God had opened the door for their return so they could rebuild the temple.  The temple is special, this is where God dwelt, where He could be close with His people.  Only His people were more concerned with doing their own thing than what they should have been doing.  Haggai tells them, "You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes." (Haggai 1:6) And it hit me....

We aren't much different.  Oh, it is easy to read these stories in the Bible and shake our head in disbelief about how they are again not doing what they are supposed to.  To wonder how they seem to miss what seems so obvious to us as the reader.  But if you had to step back and read your own life story, don't you think you might have the same thoughts?  Now I'm not going to say that every time you don't get that raise at work, or your coffee gets some grounds in it that it is because you aren't following through on God's will, but I will say, perhaps you should stop and take a moment to consider the possibility.

You, yes YOU, have a purpose in God's plan.  Just as the Jews were called back to Jerusalem to build a place for God to dwell, you have a mission to create an inviting place for God to dwell - your heart.  As you work on cleaning out the debris, laying a good foundation, and building according to God's plans He will reveal more and more to you about what He is calling you to do.  And when you veer away, when you become more consumed with building earthly things rather than spiritual, you are in effect walking away from His blessings.  When you walk away, things start to fall apart...

So when things start to fall apart, consider your ways.... are you spending time in His word?  Are you spending time talking with Him?  Are you listening for Him?  Are you about His business?  If you can answer yes to these, then keep on the path you are on.  Push through the obstacles and know that they can only make you stronger.  But if you answered no, perhaps He is trying to reach you and help you to see the truth.

"Be strong ... declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts."  ~Haggai 2:3

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

The Innermost places

We eat a lot of apples in my house.  They are a quick treat, portable, and yummy.  My youngest daughter particularly enjoys Golden Delicious apples thanks to her discovery that they were originally discovered in our home state.  As for me, as long as they are crispy, crunchy and juicy - I'm good.  

Because we eat so many of them I am very particular about picking them out at the store.  I look for apples that are well shaped.  I check for signs of bruising, I squeeze to ensure they are firm and not mushy.  And then I bring home what appears to be the perfect selection of apples.  But sometimes, I cut into one and discover this:

image from www.reddit.com

What I had thought was going to be a sweet treat was actually rotting from the inside out.  I'll be honest, I don't really know what causes this in fruit.  But I do know that fruit isn't the only thing that can appear beautiful on the outside and yet be full of decay on the inside.  Mark 7:21-23 tells us that the things that are evil - pride, foolishness, covetousness, deceit etc - come from within us.  More often than not we don't wear a big sign that announces these things about ourselves.  Instead we bury those things deep within us and try to look beautiful and pure on the outside.  Sometimes we hide the decay in ourselves so well that even we don't even realize it is there.

But God isn't looking at the outside, rather He is searching our heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)  And sometimes He has to cut open the apple to reveal the decay inside.  It isn't a pleasant process.  We often call them trials or hard times.  Now don't think I am saying ALL trials are a result of decay in our lives, but I am saying that we need to examine ourselves to see if that might be the cause.  Just because you cut an apple doesn't mean it is rotting inside. :)  

So the next time things get rough, and if you are following Jesus they WILL get rough, (read our post earlier this week for that lesson!) take a few moments in prayer and ask God if perhaps this is an attempt to reveal an aspect of yourself that isn't pleasing to God, a part of yourself that you may not have even realized was there.  Trials have a habit of bringing out the worst in us, actions that we may never have taken or thought otherwise.  Then, if God has revealed this is the case, start working to excise those decayed parts.  But you can't stop with that.  An empty spot begs to be filled.

Fill those parts of yourself with God.  I'll leave you with the same advice Paul gave the Philippians, "brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)  For when we fill ourselves with these things, we crowd out the decay.

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

A Sign

I admit it, when it comes to messages from God, I'm a billboard kind of gal.  I want God to throw up a BIG ol' sign with step by step directions and a map that shows the final destination as well as all the roads to avoid.  I want rays of light to shine on that billboard as the rest of the world fades to black so that I can't miss it... even if I tried.  Problem is, God seldom works that way.

That isn't to say that He isn't delivering messages to me (or you for that matter), He just doesn't tend to be that showy.  He's been there done that and wrote a book about it.  Sure, He parted the Red Sea, spoke through a burning bush, and even walked around in a superheated furnace and kept 3 guys from being incinerated at the same time and many other BIG displays of His power and might.  And He could definitely do it today if it suited His needs.  But God's plan doesn't include show, it is all about the heart.

God is looking for followers that take the time to get to know Him.  It's kind of like dating (hang with me for a minute).  In a new relationship you get to the person.  You go out of your way to discover what they like and don't like, what makes them happy, and what doesn't.  You pay attention to the little details and make adjustments in your own life to accommodate them.  The relationship deepens and becomes more intimate as you spend more time with them.  You seek them out, think about them when you are apart, you miss them and can't wait to be reunited.  You begin to understand who they really are.  You don't have to ask what they want to do with you for the most part-you already know.  THAT is what God is after with you!

He has already given you all the clues.  What other relationship can you begin where you are given a book that gives you the inside scoop?  But how many of us pick up our Bible on a daily basis and take the time to really learn His character?  That is the first way God sends us messages.  It's a big ol' love note that we let sit on the coffee table and gather dust.  Is it any wonder we don't often get the billboard?

I want to challenge you to get a notebook and a pen before you sit down with your Bible.  Pray and ask God to reveal a part of Himself to you in your reading.  If you ask, He'll show you - I promise! (Deuteronomy 4:29)  And when He does, write it down.  It's your special journal between the two of you. The more you look to discover who He is and what pleases Him, the less time you will spend looking for billboards.  Why? Because you will recognize that He is all around you leaving love notes.  He is in the beautiful sunrise, the lone wildflower poking up from the sidewalk on your path, the perfectly timed word of comfort from a friend that didn't even know you needed it.  He has always been there, leaving these signs for you, you just didn't notice.

*originally published at Coffee with Christ

A Sign...

I admit it, when it comes to messages from God, I'm a billboard kind of gal.  I want God to throw up a BIG ol' sign with step by step directions and a map that shows the final destination as well as all the roads to avoid.  I want rays of light to shine on that billboard as the rest of the world fades to black so that I can't miss it... even if I tried.  Problem is, God seldom works that way.

That isn't to say that He isn't delivering messages to me (or you for that matter), He just doesn't tend to be that showy.  He's been there done that and wrote a book about it.  Sure, He parted the Red Sea, spoke through a burning bush, and even walked around in a superheated furnace and kept 3 guys from being incinerated at the same time and many other BIG displays of His power and might.  And He could definitely do it today if it suited His needs.  But God's plan doesn't include show, it is all about the heart.

God is looking for followers that take the time to get to know Him.  It's kind of like dating (hang with me for a minute).  In a new relationship you get to the person.  You go out of your way to discover what they like and don't like, what makes them happy, and what doesn't.  You pay attention to the little details and make adjustments in your own life to accommodate them.  The relationship deepens and becomes more intimate as you spend more time with them.  You seek them out, think about them when you are apart, you miss them and can't wait to be reunited.  You begin to understand who they really are.  You don't have to ask what they want to do with you for the most part-you already know.  THAT is what God is after with you!

He has already given you all the clues.  What other relationship can you begin where you are given a book that gives you the inside scoop?  But how many of us pick up our Bible on a daily basis and take the time to really learn His character?  That is the first way God sends us messages.  It's a big ol' love note that we let sit on the coffee table and gather dust.  Is it any wonder we don't often get the billboard?

I want to challenge you to get a notebook and a pen before you sit down with your Bible.  Pray and ask God to reveal a part of Himself to you in your reading.  If you ask, He'll show you - I promise! (Deuteronomy 4:29)  And when He does, write it down.  It's your special journal between the two of you. The more you look to discover who He is and what pleases Him, the less time you will spend looking for billboards.  Why? Because you will recognize that He is all around you leaving love notes.  He is in the beautiful sunrise, the lone wildflower poking up from the sidewalk on your path, the perfectly timed word of comfort from a friend that didn't even know you needed it.  He has always been there, leaving these signs for you, you just didn't notice.

Taming the Tongue

I was reading a devotion with my youngest daughter this morning.  Some days it feels like my biggest lessons come from these and I tend to have more "ah-ha" moments than she does!  Today was more a gentle reminder though.

In the devotion a young boy was working on a science project about sound waves.  He had read a book in which scientist believe that every word that has ever been spoken is kind of floating around in space and that one day it might be possible to hear them again.  Uh-oh!  There are LOTS of words that I have said that I pray no one ever hears again, including me.  Those grumbles I have let slip under my breath.  A lot of my speech before I came to know Jesus, and admittedly some afterwards.

Our words are powerful.  God used words to bring most of what we see today into creation.  Proverbs 18:21 tells us that words have the power of life and death.  They can turn away wrath or incite anger (Proverb 15:1). Our words can bring pain or healing (Proverbs 12:18).  Do a Bible word search on words and you will see that God devotes a lot of verses to what we speak.  And He promises that one day we will have to give an accounting of all of them (Matthew 12:36).

But it really isn't so much that you said some unkind words.  Our words are simply an outward reflection of our heart (Luke 6:45, Matthew 15:18), and that is what God is truly after.  James tells us that you can say you worship God all you want to, but if the words you are speaking are not a reflection of that, then you are simply deceiving yourself (James 1:26).  If you are deceiving yourself, you aren't really, wholeheartedly committed to God are you?

Now, don't think I am telling you that you are doomed.  Fortunately we live in a time of grace.  God understands that we aren't always going to get it right all of the time, he isn't looking at what you do as much as He is looking at your heart.  Are you truly and honestly trying to bridle your tongue and speak words that are encouraging, helpful, full of grace?  Are you allowing the Spirit to convict you when they aren't and as a result repenting?  Then you aren't deceiving yourself, you are learning.  God gives us the guidelines so that we would understand not only what sin is, but how it hurts others.  Jesus died and paid the price for every unkind word or deed we have ever or will ever say or do.  The act of bridling our tongue is an act of obedience, but more so, it is an act of love.  And considering how he demonstrated His love for us, it is such a small thing in comparison.

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

The Light Giver

 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ~John 1:9-12 NLT

I have to admit, it is really hard for me to grasp that God, who created billions of universes, paid attention to teeny tiny details of His creation, and for whom nothing is impossible, sent His Son down here to yet again give us a chance to be with Him.  And He did it knowing we would not only reject Him, but kill his human form in a horrible way.  I just can't grasp that kind of love.

I love my children with all my heart, but I would never send one to be tortured to save another, and yet that is what God has done....

for you.....

for me.  Let that soak in.   This wasn't something He did for your neighbor, or just for the ones who were trying to get it all right.  Jesus came for the drug addict, the pornographer, the liar, the thief, the mom who just wants to get away from her children, the father who abandoned his children, the murderer....He came for ALL of us.  That includes you and me despite the things we have done or are doing that are detestable to God.

You see, God isn't looking at us with condemnation in his eyes, but sorrow.  He knows the person we were created to be, He created us.  He knows what we are capable of if we weren't burdened down by all of the bad choices we had made.  That is the person He sees when He looks at us, and that is the person He wants to restore us to.  That is why He sent Jesus, and why Jesus accepted His fate knowing how difficult it would be.  Take a moment and read His words in Luke 22:38-39:

Then he (Jesus) said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 

 You see, not only did Jesus accept His fate, He loved us enough to follow through.  Read that again...He loved us enough to follow through.  Jesus died for you to be able to enter into a relationship with His Father and not only that, but to be able to stand before God pure and clean.  Jesus paid the price for every sin you ever thought or committed as well as those in the future.  And yet we go about our day and try to squeeze Him into our life....if we have time.....if we remember.....

Take a moment today and give Him the time.  Not because He has earned it, which He totally has, but because of who He is...because of how much He loves....because He deserves our all.

*originally published at Coffee with Christ

The Real Question...

God love you....just the way you are.  It's true.  He loves you when you hit snooze on your alarm clock rather than get out of bed and spend that time with Him.  He loves you when you choose to tell that "little white" lie rather than face the consequences of your actions.  He loves you when react in anger to a loved one, or turn a blind eye to the person on the side of the road that has obviously had better days.  He truly does love you in spite of all you do.  (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:19, Lamentations 3:22-23)

The real questions, is do you love Him?  Think about it, when you love someone you are eager to show them you love them by adjusting your life to make them happy.  You cook a special meal, you watch sports that you don't really like, you change your schedule, your life to make them feel special.  And then there is God.  He will understand that you broke your date to chat with Him....again.  You can apologize later for the lie and He will let it go because it kept you out of a little hot water and after all, He loves ya.....right?  See a problem here?

Yes, God absolutely, whole-heartedly loves you so much that He sacrificed everything  for you.  But remember, we were created in His image.  You know that feeling you get when the person you love gets wrapped up in something other than you and forgets to call?  Or when you and your best friend get in a fight?  Now remember we were created in His image....He gets those feelings too when we hurt Him.  And it does hurt Him.  (Psalm 95:10, Genesis 6:5-6)

All those "rules" you think we are supposed to be following because God said so, aren't really rules so much.  Think of them more as an inside scoop on what makes your beloved happy.  If you were dating someone and came across a letter that told you exactly what made him or her happy and what didn't, wouldn't you do your best to adjust your actions based upon that letter?  Especially when you had already been shown how madly that person is in love with you?  THAT my friend is what the Bible is all about.

Open yours to just about any page and you will find a revelation of God.  What He likes, what He doesn't.  Take the time to deepen your relationship with Him, to love Him back.  Make Him a priority  in your life (for the first time, for the 100th time-it doesn't matter!).  He longs for you to reciprocate His love.  When we view our relationship with Him as just that, a relationship, it becomes much easier to choose to do the right thing.

*originally published at Coffee with Christ

Perspective

Perspective is a funny thing, it can cause two identical things to look completely different. For example, in the picture above, do you see a woman's face, or man playing a saxophone?  Same picture - different perspectives.  I am expecting my first grandchild in about three weeks. For me and my daughter, it is going to be a mighty long three weeks. But for a momma who was just told that there is nothing more the doctors can do and her child only has about three weeks left on this earth, three weeks isn't nearly enough time. It's the same three weeks, but the perspective is different.

Paul encourages us to look at this life from a different perspective from the world. For those who don't know or understand the promise of eternal life with our Father, life on this earth is all there is. As a result, when hardships come they have nothing to look forward to, no promise of joy. (Romans 14:17, Psalm 71:23) It is hard to persevere when you can't see the silver lining. We, however, know how the story ends, our team wins. With that perspective, how can we possibly let the things on this world get us down for very long?

Don't get me wrong, I have my moments where I forget the ending and get lost in the conflict. Moments where I wonder how I'll get through, or if the battle is worth it. But then I look up, and not just up from my situation, but up to my Father who reminds me that there is a bigger picture. He helps me to regain my perspective on the situation.

You see, so often I catch myself living this life like the momma who is told she only has a few weeks left with her child, when in reality I should be living like the one expecting the new life, because that is the promise that we have. Yes, we will have to say goodbye to this one, just as the expectant mom must say goodbye to her previous life. But what awaits her is a love like she has never known before, a life better than she ever could have imagined. And that is what awaits us also.

So when things get you down, when the world and your situation just doesn't make sense, remember your perspective. Look up and be reminded that we win in the end!


*originally published at Coffee with Christ

Under Construction

Let each one take care how he builds upon (the foundation) 
1 Corinthians 3:10

It is interesting to me that Paul compares our lives as Christians to the building of a house.  I had not realized all of the thought and detail that is involved.  It is a pretty involved process, and when done well the end result will last for many generations.  When done poorly, problems soon arise that must be addressed and corrected for the house to continue to stand.

Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians that our foundation must always be Jesus, any other will surely cause problems.  A house built on a faulty foundation, no matter how well built the house is, will not stand.  But even given that every follower of Jesus has built their life upon His foundation, there is still lots of room for individuality, for a "house" that is uniquely ours.

How we live our life is how we "build" our house.  Our daily choices, our decision to show love to someone who doesn't deserve it.  The choice to give money to the person standing on the side of the road at the stop light.  The choice to think nasty thoughts about the frazzled mom who stands in the shopping line in front of you with her hot pink hair, a toddler on her hip and a baby in the buggy as she pays for her food with food stamps.  All of these things are how we build our house.

It is a good idea to occasionally stop and take inventory of your house.  When you live somewhere for some time it becomes familiar to you.  You become accustomed to the cracks in the walls and don't notice them anymore.  The weak spot in the floor gets pushed to the back of your mind once you recognize it and step over or around it instead of on it.  Over time the house falls into squalor and you don't even notice, until someone points it out to you.  Then you become defensive.  So what if it isn't the best house - it is your house.  And that is where we get it all wrong.  It isn't our house, it's God's house.

1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 tells us that our body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, it is where the Spirit lives if we have invited Him in.  When we forget that and start building a house that we think is best, we run the risk of  discovering that when it really matters, our house is nothing other than a tinderbox that will one day be burned up.  (1 Corinthians 3:15)

What we need to focus on is building our house with "gold, silver, precious stones".  What are these things?  These are the attitudes, the thoughts that our Lord finds pleasing.  These are actions born of loving God and loving others.  These are the times we choose to love even when the recipient doesn't deserve it, doesn't love us back, and doesn't live the life we think he or she should.  These are born of our choice to think the best and have faith that God sees the truth and only He can judge another because of that.  When we focus on building our house on the foundation of God's love for us by loving Him back and sharing that love unconditionally with others we build a house that will withstand the fire and will be pleasing to Him.

What kind of house are YOU building?  I know I have some demolition to do.  Fortunately we serve a forgiving God who gives second chances.

*originally published at Coffee with Christ

Standing on the Promises of God

Have you ever browsed through the discount rack at your local Christian bookstore?  Inevitably you will discover at least one volume entitled something like "The Promises of God".  The book is usually smaller than a paperback and usually rather plain.  Every time I see one it convicts me.

We so often overlook the promises of God in our life.  The Bible is full of promises, over 3,000 of them, and many of them are for you and me.  Yet when difficulties come do we turn to them for comfort?  Or do we sit and sulk?  Or seek advice from a friend?  Or complain?  I am ashamed to admit that God's promises are not always the first place I turn.

Russel Carter was a man who could probably relate to that, at least before he turned 30.  He was a young man that was a star athlete, successful student and eventually became an excellent teacher and coach.  He spent time as an ordained minister, completed med school, and then went on to practice medicine.  In his spare time he wrote and composed music.  All in all he was pretty successful, he believed and God and led a good life.

However, when he turned 30 he discovered that he had an untreatable heart and that his life would probably soon be over.  It was at this time that he realized that while he believed in God, he wasn't truly trusting God, he hadn't truly surrendered everything to God.  He reevaluated his relationship and finally gave God complete control.  At that time he began to trust God's word, His promises and he wrote the now popular hymn, Standing on the Promises of God.  Mr. Carter trusted God to heal his heart, and he went on to regain his strength and live an additional 49 years with a completely healed heart.

It takes faith to stand on the promises of God, especially when the world tells you that there is no hope.  Do you feel hopeless today?  Turn to one of God's 3,000+ promises and have faith that what God promised then, He stands behind now. (2 Corinthians 1:20, Hebrews 13:8)


{if you can't see the video please click here to view}

*originally published in Coffee with Christ

Press On

"I just can't do it!" my daughter cried with a tear in her eye.  She is learning to read, and I know that she can read the word she is looking at - she just read it on the previous page with no problem.  But right now, in her frustration, she is convinced that reading this word is beyond her.  My heart breaks for her as she struggles with her doubts and insecurities about her ability.  A part of me just wants to tell her that it will be okay, she has done enough for the day.  Instead I encourage her to push on, to keep trying, to read the word.

Once our reading session is over, I am reminded of the story of Joseph-the guy with the colorful coat not the one who raised Jesus.  This was a guy who encountered some serious difficulties in life and yet he didn't give up.  (You can read his story in Genesis 37, 39-48)  Joseph chose to not only persevere through his hardships, he chose to do it with a smile on his face and an eye to helping those around him.  Joseph's life, in my mind, is a wonderful illustration of 2 Peter 1:5-7.

Joseph obviously had faith, he was quick to brag to his family about his dreams that God was going to put him above his family.  What he lacked was virtue, knowledge and self-control.  Sometimes we have to learn things the hard way, and in my experience life lessons learned the hard way tend to stick the best.  God needed to shape and mold Joseph into the man that He could use to save a nation.  That wasn't going to happen if Joseph continued to live the life of a favored son.  If he never had to depend upon God for anything, would he ever truly trust God enough to follow Him completely?  Probably not.

Joseph had to learn how to deal with difficulty.  First with being betrayed by family, which helped him to understand that even when people abandon you, God never does.  Then with being a slave, which helped him to understand what is was to serve others.  Then he went to work for Potiphar where he learned to put the interests of others first while managing his household.  Once imprisoned for being virtuous and refusing Potiphar's wife he continued to put the interests of others above his own while managing prison affairs.  While in prison he learned patience after chief butler forgot about Joseph after being freed until Pharaoh also needed a dream interpreted.  And through all of this Joseph learned to persevere.

Joseph's ability to persevere, to be patient and bravely endure troubles, is what helped him to be able to show brotherly love when his family unknowingly came before him seeking food.  God was able to orchestrate Joseph's life in such a way that not only was he able to become the man he needed to be, but used his situations to place him exactly where he needed to be too.  As a result what began as 66 chosen people of God was tucked away in Goshen and kept safe until Moses eventually led over 600,000 of God's chosen people out of Egypt.

I wonder how many times we have given up and walked away from a difficult situation that God was actually attempting to use to shape and mold us for something great?  How many times I chose to have a pity party and cry "I can't do it!" rather than look to what I can do or who I can assist in my situation?  God knows we have it in us to overcome any situation we are in, we have only to call on Christ's power and listen for God's voice of guidance to do so.  We have to move past our own feelings of doubt and insecurity.

As for my daughter, she read the word, and continued on with no problems to finish reading the book.  She had only to push past that one hurdle.  Are you struggling with a hurdle in your own life today?  Don't give up!  God has a plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11)  Never forget that you are never alone, He is always with you! (Matthew 28:20)

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

Fuller's Soap

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.

~Malachi 3:2

When I hear this verse I start humming the chorus of "Refiner's Fire" (the Christy Nockels version at the end of My Delight is in You), can't help it.  But when I was reading it during a recent lesson I was drawn to the "fuller's soap" portion.  I am sure I have read this verse multiple times before, and I know it has been taught on multiple times in my church, but I had never picked up this reference before.  Just was is a "fuller" and how is his soap important?  So I went searching...

A fuller is a person whose profession was to clean, thicken and whiten freshly woven cloth.  Cloth at this time was typically woolen.  To create it, the fur was harvested from the animal and then spun into yarn.  Once spun it was then used to weave the cloth.  Often this yielded a material that was full of the animal's natural oils, which attracted dirt and impurities.  The wool fabric was then passed on to a fuller who began the labor intensive process of cleaning, bleaching and felting the fabric. 

This was accomplished by first wetting the fabric and then using fuller's soap, believed to be an alkali derived from the ashes of burnt plants.  The fuller then begins to either beat or walk on the fabric for quite some time over stones with frequent rinsing to remove the undesired parts.  Fuller's soap is used during this process.  It is believed that fuller's soap was derived from the ashes of certain plants once burned, creating an alkaline substance.  Alkalies are caustic if concentrated.  After walking on and/or beating the material to an even, felted consistency it is then stretched and shaped on frames and allowed to dry.  

So, what is the point here?  Actually it isn't all that different than the one often made about the refiner's fire- the process in which we become pure, what we were created to be, is not an easy one.  In this instance, we can expect to endure caustic situations, to feel beaten down, to be worked over, stretched out, and hung out to dry.  Not a pleasant process at all.  However, the end result, a beautiful, strong, clean, consistent and desirable product, is well worth the hardship to accomplish it.  

An interesting side note - a fuller's job was not done inside the city.  This was for two reasons.  First being that the process itself was not pleasant smelling, especially during Roman times when urine was often used as a part of the cleaning/bleaching process.  Second being that it required copious amounts of water.  Our preparation isn't much different.  It occurs outside of our home city (heaven) because it is indeed a very dirty and distasteful process.  And our purification also requires copious amounts of living water -  Jesus.  We can't do it on our own.  It is only through Him that we can become pure.

I don't know about you, but I'll never be able to look at a load of laundry the same way again!

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

Broken

It is an amazing thing to truly know that God loves us; to feel His love engulf us.  I wish I could live inside of that feeling all of the time, but we live in a broken world and I am a broken vessel.  That means that there are often times that I feel broken and alone.   It is a difficult, lonely place to be.  And yet we are called to reach out and love others with the love of God.  I struggle with being able to do that.  How can I help the broken around me when I feel broken myself?

This, I believe, is why God tells us that we should make every effort to join a body of believers.  (Hebrews 10:25)  When we are broken it is so easy to withdraw and allow ourselves to become focused on our own brokenness to the point that it consumes us.  When you isolate yourself, you begin to lose sight of the joy in the world, of the reality that you are not alone in your brokenness, that you may not even be as broken as you think you are.  The devil loves to take a small insecurity and blow it up into a big thing in your mind.  When we are around our brothers and sisters in Christ they can remind us of the truth: we are all broken (Romans 3:23), but God is very near to us (Psalm 34:18), and He will heal our brokenness (Psalm 147:3).  I believe that when we join with other believers we can find encouragement and they can help us to refocus; to turn from deceptive thinking to the truth of God's love.

 But it is also our role as a follower of Christ to step outside of the church and to share Him with the world.  (Matthew 28:19-20)  Not an easy task when we feel just as broken as the world.  Fortunately, we have something the world doesn't - Christ in us.  (Colossians 1:27)  That means that even in our brokenness we can call on His strength, His protection, we can lean on Him. (Psalm 18:2)  In our brokenness we need only remember how He sees us, and then it becomes so much easier to reach out to those around us so that they too can see themselves as Jesus sees them.
You see, our brokenness gives God an opportunity to shine in the world, then the world doesn't see us.....they will see God in us.  So how can we help the broken?  By first recognizing who we are in Christ.  And how do we recognize who we are in Him?  We turn to His word, we join His body, and we realize that His truth applies to us.  He isn't just a God of the world, He is a personal God.  We recognize that the Bible was recorded for us to read and internalize in this time, at this moment, in a personal way.  And once we realize that, we share it and watch His love spread.
originally published on Coffee with Christ

Yesterday, Tomorrow, Today

I came across something I painted about 10 years ago while cleaning out some closets that really hit me.  A simple keepsake box.  It isn’t especially important, just a craft I did with several other preschool moms while our kids were in school one day, a time waster.  The box didn’t really hit me.  It is what I wrote on the front.

For many of us, me included, it is difficult to remember that today, this moment is what matters.  Not what has happened before or what may happen later, now.  It's hard for me to live in the moment.  I have a tendency to be haunted by my past at times, or to focus on what is to come (can't wait to meet You, Jesus!), but the present......I seem to overlook it to often.


For those of us focusing on the past, let me first say that there is a time and a place in which we should examine the past.  Romans 15:4 tells us - The things written in the past were written for our learning.  I believe this applies to the things written in the past of our lives as well.  We should not forget them, but learn from the things of our past.  However, we should not dwell there.  Had Jephthah held a grudge against his brothers in Judges  11 he would not have saved the people of Israel.  He had been one of the sons of Gilead, only his mother was a prostitute.  His brothers forced him away from his home to prevent him from gaining anything from the family.  When the Ammonites attacked Israel the elders came and begged him to not only return and fight as commander, but to lead the people as well. He returned, defeated the enemy and led for 6 years.   He isn’t the only one in the Bible who could sing the blues and yet had to let go of the past in order to do what was right.  Joseph did, David did, John did, Jesus did.  It seems to be a theme that people experience hardship before God uses them to do great things.  Are you hanging on to hurts?  Are you hanging on to fears that are a result of things from your past?   Are they preventing you from stepping out and doing what you have been called to do?  Rather than hang on to the hurt, let it go and learn from what has happened.  Allow God to use it to prepare you for what is going on NOW and for what is to come.


Not all of us are hanging on to past hurts though.  Some of us are still living in the past, wistfully wishing that things were now as they were then.  This can be very dangerous.  Look at Lot’s wife, a woman who enjoyed her life and was blessed to have a life she felt was good.  Her husband was prosperous, they had a sturdy home, she probably had a place of esteem among her neighbors.  Then she was told she had to give up everything and leave it behind.  She couldn’t do it.  Rather than look ahead of her as she was told to do, rather than looking to saving her life, she turned back.  She paid more attention to what she had before than what she was doing at that moment.  As a result she was turned to salt.  She became something that prevents future growth.  If we dwell on what was, on what we had rather than what we are doing NOW we can’t grow.  The time for what was past has gone.  We have learned that lesson and we need to move on.  Dwelling there won’t change what has happened.  Lot’s wife staring longingly at what she was leaving, at what her life had been, didn’t stop the destruction.  It didn’t change the fact that she no longer had that life.  It won’t change it for us either.  All it can do is cause us to become like salt, a place in which nothing can grow.

There are also those of us that are living in the future.  I realized that this is where I tend to live when I'm not in the present.  The land of “One Day”.  "One day I will finish my degree." Or,  "One day I will get to spend time alone with my husband".  Or, "One day I will get to go to the bathroom by myself!"  (Those of you with young children will understand that!)  This thought process is just as destructive as living in the past.

The biggest example of how destructive living in the land of “one day” can be is the Jewish nation today.  As a people they have spent thousands of years examining prophesy and looking for the Savior to come.  They have already decided what it would look like, and how it would happen in their version of “one day”.  However, because they have spent so much time and thought about what it would be, they missed what it was when it was happening.  They still miss the gift of Jesus today as they continue to live in their "one day" land.  When we are so focused on what will be, we easily miss the gift of what is.  We miss the beauty around us, we miss the opportunity to join in on what God is doing.  We miss the miracles He has for us.  Jesus went home to minister to his own town.  They were so stuck in "one day" thinking that they missed out on what Jesus had come to do for them.  They refused to see what He truly was.  How many times have we missed our miracle because we didn’t see it, so focused on our "one day"?  How might our present be different had we been living in the moment in our past?


Let us look at Mary and Martha, a story familiar to most of us.  Luke tells us that Jesus arrived at the home to visit and Mary sits with Jesus and talks with him.  Martha rushes about trying to make preparations, probably trying to scramble up enough to eat for Jesus and his disciples, find places for them all to sleep.  You can imagine everything that needed to be done when a group of unexpected guests show up at your house.  Martha was focusing on providing for the future.  Martha missed out on the present.  She invited them into her home, they didn’t seek her out or even show up uninvited.  However, Martha couldn’t take the time to live in the moment and be with her guests.  Instead she was stuck in “one day” mode and was more concerned with what happens next rather than now.  Jesus tells her, when she complains that Mary isn’t flitting about also, that Martha was worried and troubled about many things, but Mary had chosen the good thing (to be in the moment with Jesus) and that it would not be taken from her.  Jesus wasn’t about to take away Martha’s worries and troubles for the future, He knew what the future held.  Jesus only wanted Martha to be in the moment with Him, because they only had that moment at that time.  Mary and Martha became close friends with Jesus.  I hope that Martha heard what Jesus said to her and stopped fretting about later.  I hope she sat down with him.  The Bible doesn't tell us of her choice.  What we do know is that they must have spent some time together because in John chapter 11 we learn that Jesus loved both Martha and Mary.  How many relationships with family and friends have we missed out on or weakened because we were making preparations for later rather than being in the moment with them?  If we live for “one day” we miss today.


People will get upset if you start living in the moment.  It goes against the world view.  That is nothing new.  Even Jesus and his disciples had to deal with it. In Mark 2 Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees because he and his disciples were living in the moment.  John’s followers and the Pharisees were fasting as was customary, a tradition of the past.  Jesus and his disciples were not.  Now they could have just held up the tradition, or they could have been worried about what people would say later when they found out, but they weren’t.  Jesus tells the Pharisees when he is confronted,

“ How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.  But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”  In other words, the disciples were living in the moment.  There would come a time that fasting would be appropriate for them, but for now, they needed to do what they were doing, they needed to be in the present.  Do you think that God would have been honored or glorified any more had the disciples fasted rather than spend time with Christ?  No.  Had they been focused on anything other than their present they would have missed what it was God had for them to do.  Had they fasted without Christ it would have shown that they trusted tradition more than Jesus.  

I am not saying that we don’t need to think about the future.  We do.  We need to put money aside for retirement, we need to make plans for our children’s future or for dinner later tonight even.  We need to look to the future, to the day Christ returns for us.  We need to learn from our past and prepare for our future, but LIVE now.  It is when our now becomes a less important than the past or the future that we have problems.  When our lives become entangled in the snare of the past or future that we stagnate.

Galatians 5:17  You have to live by what you KNOW, not by what the flesh feels.  I know that God will use the past for good (Romans 8:28) and that He has the future in His hands (Jeremiah 29:11).  The flesh tells you to worry about how the past is going to affect now, or to worry about how the future will turn out.  God tells us to not worry about those things because HE will take care of us.  When we focus on and worry about the past or the future WE AREN’T TRUSTING GOD.  Either we don’t believe that He can handle whatever life throws our way, that He doesn’t have plans for us, that He can’t overcome our mess ups and make them good, or that He just isn’t who He says He is.  Are you trusting Him?  Are you living in the moment?

Patience

“In your patience possess you your souls”

~Luke 21:19  KJV

Patience isn’t something we naturally have, or at least I don't.   I struggle with waiting whether it be waiting for something good to happen, a bad situation to end, an answer to a question, traffic to move, or a line to end.  If only I had the patience that Paul describes Jesus as having: limitless patience. (1 Timothy 1:16)  I'm glad that His patience is limitless.  Especially when I think about how patient He has had to be with me.  He waited for me to finally realize I need Him.  He waited for me to start giving Him control of my life.  He waited for me to trust in His plan (many times!).

Acts 14:22 tells us that life is going to be hard, not just occasionally, but often.  Peter tells us not to be surprised by trials (1 peter 4:12-13) we should expect them.  Why do I talk about trials?  Because we experience trails so that we may gain patience (Romans 5:3)  We all know the story of Job, a man who had it all, lost everything, went through a terrible ordeal emotionally, physically, financially etc.  He remained steadfast, he is even referred to as patient in James 5:11 (KJV), and in the end he was rewarded.  Let me point out that Job complained.  He cursed the day of his birth, he begged for death, he complained in the bitterness of his soul.  Kind of goes against our modern definition of the word patience (the quality of bearing misfortune, provocation, annoyance, delay, hardship, pain etc with fortitude and calm and without complaint anger or the like)  Even God complained when the Israelites repeatedly turned from him.  Patience is not putting on your big girl or boy britches and your happy face and pushing through it.  Patience is hanging in there and making the best of it without sacrificing your faith, your purpose, your beliefs, your trust in God.  Did you get that?

  Patience is trusting that God has a plan in your life and that He knows what He is doing.  

In the end Job received much more than he had to begin with.  It wasn’t the same, it was better.  He gained twice as much as he had before he was tested, his daughters were the most beautiful in the land.  We too have a reward for our patience.  Matthew 24:13 tells us that “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”  James 1:12 tells us that “blessed is the (wo)man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised them that love him.”  2 Timothy 2:12 tells us that “if we endure, we will also reign with him (Jesus)”

You abide under all circumstances because you know He is in control.  You strive for patience because you are an imitator, a follower, of Christ - who is Himself patient.  And you remain patient in trials because you know that this world is fleeting, and our reward will be great!

* originally published on CoffeewithChrist.net

What is Worship?

Tuesday Stacie reminded us that God "wants you to worship Him- and not in a deity way but in a Godly way, as in a way that doesn't separate you from Him but draws you closer," and that is absolutely true.  I don't know about you, but I struggled with what worship was.  How do you worship?  What is the "correct" way to worship?

When I was serving with Proverbs 31 Online Bible Studies I was introduced to a study method that I have become very fond of, a word study.  It's pretty basic in how it is done but it really helped me to grasp some important Biblical concepts in a much deeper manner than I might have otherwise.  Let me share the process with you.

First, you pick the word you want to study, in this case 'worship'.  Look up the modern definition for the word as a starting place.  "1. the act of showing respect and love for a god especially by praying with other people who believe in the same god : the act of worshipping God or a god   2. excessive admiration for someone" according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Next, we turn to Strong's Concordance.  This is a concordance in which every usage of a word in the King James Bible is cross-referenced.  In addition to discovering every mention of the word in the Bible, it also gives you the original Greek or Hebrew word and its definition.  In this case the word 'worship' is used 108 times in the KJV and those words stem from 6+ different words.

• Strong's H7812 - to bow down.  
• Strong's H6440 - to be in the presence of. 
• Strong's H5457  - to lie stretched out on the ground with your face downwards as a sign of respect or special honor.  This is the type of worship referred to in Daniel.  
• Strong's G4576 - to revere.  
• Strong's G3000 -  to serve.  
• Strong's G2151 - to act piously or reverently

Then, read each of the instances in which the word was used.  I'll leave the looking up of all 108 instances to you.  Write the verses down.  Read how it was used.  Listen for God to speak to you heart about it and write that down also.  I tend to do this over a period of time.  My pastor actually keeps notebooks for different words in which he records the verse and God's whispers to his heart as he comes across them in his personal study time.  I love this idea as I have found that God speaks differently to me depending upon what I am dealing with, my maturity in my relationship with Him, and what I am seeking at the time.  

So what is worship?  My take away is that worship is a physical act of showing respect to God.  It is bowing down and at times even laying down before Him as an acknowledgement of who He is.  Worship is a heart condition in which I revere God, where He takes His place as being King of Kings and Lord of Lords and my Saviour.  Worship is an act of service, in which I chose to do His will rather than my own, or rather it is a choice to make His will my own.  And worship is how I chose to live my life - in reverence of who He is, what He sacrificed for me.

Does God desire our worship?  Absolutely.  And when you chose to worship Him it will draw you closer to Him, you will begin to discover just how awesome He is and to understand the depth of His love for you.  

* originally published on CoffeewithChrist.net

You've Got Mail, part 2

I don't know about you, but I get a lot of email.  I have several email accounts, one for close friends and family to use, one that I share with the world, one for work, and one that is supposed to serve as my junk email.  You know, the one you use when you enter contests online or you sign up for something and you just KNOW you will get a lot of unwanted email from them.  Most of my accounts I have imported to my computer using an aggregate email program.  This allows me to keep everything in one place rather than get lost flipping back and forth.  As an added benefit, even my accounts that aren't "junk mail" accounts have spam filters.  Still, even with my efforts to keep all the junk mail confined to a junk email address or a separate folder, the spam gets through.

Those lovely emails that tell me that I have won a million dollar lottery overseas.  They are from someone with a familiar first name asking me to click a link leading who knows where.  They tell me all about this exciting product to 'enhance' my life.  At first, they just trickle in.  One or two in my spam folder.  Not a big deal.  But the more I use an email account, the more I share my email address, the more junk mail I get.

It is so easy to become overwhelmed by all these emails.  I stop looking at the subjects when I visit my spam folder and just hit 'delete' repeatedly.  But spam filters aren't perfect.  Occasionally an email gets mislabeled and is placed in my spam folder.  If I let it go, it can get to the point that I miss an important email from a friend who is struggling in her marriage, or a reminder of an important meeting that I can't miss, or a message from a family member that wants to share the news of the blessing she received.  Before long the spam begins to overtake the important messages and that is all I see, everything else fades into the background.

Our prayer life can be like that too.  We segregate our world into neat little compartments and choose which ones we will allow God to work in.  Last week I wrote about how we can pray but not be looking for God's responses, totally ignoring what He is trying to communicate with us.  That isn't the only way we can miss it though.  Sometimes we are looking for His answer and yet it gets lost in everything else we have going on, our worldly spam.

For me this tends to be a battle of the mind.  A little thought wiggles its way into my head: doubt, fear, unworthiness - spiritual spam.  At first they are easy to identify as spam, messages that don't belong and aren't intended specifically for me.  They are messages intended to sidetrack me, to harm me, to draw me towards something I don't really need or want.  I delete them.  But when my vigilance drops, when I stop deleting them, they can easily overwhelm me and I begin to miss the real messages, God's truths.  This is why God tells us to take every thought captive.  (2 Corinthians 10:5)

You see, Satan doesn't have to get you to "click" one of those messages.  He doesn't even have to get you to believe one.  He simply needs to get you to miss the important messages: you are loved by the King (John 3:16), no sin you have ever or will ever commit can change that (Romans 5:8), nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:35-39).  If we don't take the time to filter out those 'spam' messages, we can easily end up 'deleting' one of these.  The truth gets lost in a sea of lies.

This is why we need to spend time with God, with the Truth.  It prevents our spam filter from getting confused and resetting, allowing the lies into our inbox.  We need to examine our thought-life and purge those that don't belong - immediately.  The longer we allow the distraction thoughts to linger the more tempted we are to open, examine and dwell in them.  Let them go.  When you do, you will find those important messages from God, and you will be able to focus on those.  

* originally published at CoffeewithChrist.net

You've got mail

I was going through my email recently and stopped to marvel at this invention.  What once used to take weeks now takes place in seconds.  With the click of a few buttons I can write a letter to a friend in another city, another state, or another country and share what is going on in my life.  Almost instantly it is there for them to view.  I can open my inbox in the morning and be updated by friends and family, read my devotional, and get updates from various organizations I am a part of.  It's an amazing invention!
 
Our ability to communicate with God isn't much different.  We have a direct line to contact Him, a dedicated email address if you will.  Many of us tend to use it as a one way form of communication-sending prayers out but never checking our inbox to see what He has to say.  This tends to leave a person lost and confused.  Imagine reading a long stream of email messages in which one party never reads the responses of the other:

~Dear God, my friend is really hurting right now, can you please remove them from the situation they are in?  Thanks!

      ~Beloved Child, I hurt with your friend too, but there is a lesson in this situation for her that she must learn to be able to grow closer to Me. (James 1:2-4)  This lesson will enable her to be such a blessing to others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) and when she looks back she will be thankful for it. (James 1:12)

~Dear God, I don't get it! She is such a good person and she loves You so much! Why would you do this to her?!?!

  ~Beloved Child, did you not get my previous message?  I love your friend even more than you. (John 15:13) I wish there was another way she could learn this lesson that did not cause her pain, but this is what is best.  Trust me, I know that in the end it will be good for her (Jeremiah 29:11) and so many others that will be touched as a result.  

~God!  Aren't You even listening!  Don't you even care!

I'll be honest.  I've had several conversations with God that went a lot like this.  I'm praying, but not taking the time to look in His word for the answer, or to be still and allow Him to speak to my heart, or worse yet - simply not trusting Him.

The truth of the matter is, a relationship with Jesus must be a two way conversation.  He initiated it, He sent the first message on the cross.  Have you responded?  If the answer is "Yes" then you have an open line of communication available to you.  Are you listening?

Listening involves taking the time to search His word for everything that pertains to your situation.  In today's day that is as simple as typing in "Bible Verse about ____________" in your search engine.  The Bible is God's first line of communication with you.  Many of the issues you might be facing have already been addressed there.  If you take the time to look and allow God to speak to your heart while you read you will often see His side of the conversation.

Listening may also mean being open to the words of friends.  Keep in mind that even the best, most God-fearing friends can give advice that goes against God's will for you in a situation.  So how do you know if what they are saying is a nudge from Him?  Their words will speak to your situation and will confirm what God has already placed in your heart.  Their words will line up with God's word, it won't go against scripture.

If you are still feeling unsettled after that, look for what we like to call "God Winks", those little moments or things that may seem insignificant to the world, but have special meaning for you.  That one thing that speaks to your heart.. It reassures you that God has heard you or that you are on His path.

Don't miss out on the richness of a two sided conversation with God.  Take the time to listen.


originally published at CoffeewithChrist.net

The God who is near

Have you ever had a day where you feel like all the odds are stacked against you?  You know the ones, you wake up and the coffee filter has fallen over and your coffee is full of grounds, the car won't start, you realize you have double booked some doctor appointments, or you get the phone call with the worst news.  Whether it is a first world problem, a real world problem, or a personal problem, on those days it is hard to feel hope.

But God promises that we aren't alone when we choose to follow Him. (Deuteronomy 31:6)  We have the knowledge that this world, and the troubles in it, are temporary and that we have an eternity to look forward to where we will feel no sadness or pain.  That rescues has already been accomplished through His death and resurrection.  I realize, though, that knowing that truth doesn't always help us to feel that truth.

This is when we need to turn to His word even more than usual.  I love that God has included accounts of people who went through just about every hardship I can imagine.  Their stories include more than just the happy ending, but all of the dirty, depressing details.  Hannah begged for a child to love and endured quit some time before her request was fulfilled.  Esther was elevated from a peasant life to being queen of her people and yet she discovered no more joy there than previously.  In fact she learned that doing the right thing may require her very life.  We see liars become father's of nations.  Joseph is abandoned, enslaved, and imprisoned.  Paul is beaten and imprisoned multiple times.  If a person can experience it, God has shared it in His word.

He does this for a purpose.  Sometimes we need to see that we aren't alone in this; that even if we can't see God with our eyes, He is near to us-just as He was for all of those in the Bible.  Our hope is not in that God will remove us from the situation, that He will make our day better or our situation go away.  Our hope is in the knowledge that we are not alone on this journey.  God is with us in the battle, shielding us and in the end we will be rescued.  That may mean a rescue like Joseph's in which all of the bad is put behind us and we move on to great things here on earth, or it may mean a rescue like Stephen's in which the troubles on this earth are put away as we enter eternity with Jesus.  Either way, in the words of Natalie Grant, "we win in the end".

As a side note, do you know that there is a special name for God in which He is called "the God who is near"?  It is Elohei Mikkarov and it literally means the God who is near.  No matter how bad your day or your situation is, find hope in the knowledge that He is always near.
*originally published at CoffeewithChrist.net