One of the things I love about the parables of Jesus is that they are so personal. He used things that the people understood; things that they worked with or experienced on a daily basis. One of the things I have been encouraged with while doing this blog, is that God very much is in the everyday. He time and again teaches me by what I am experiencing around me and then confirms it through His Word.
Recently while studying, I read in Mark 1:17 when Jesus calls to four of His disciples to follow Him. These men have been, or have been around, fishermen since the day they were born. Jesus doesn't call them to come and study under Him as He might to a student or apprentice. He doesn't tell them to pen His precises Words as He might have to a scribe. He tells them, "Follow Me,... and I will make you fish for people!" He calls them to a live for Him through who they are.
Remember the Samaritan women at the well in John 4? She came every day to draw water. Jesus didn't tell her that she should come and fish for men, did He? She may have taken that completely the wrong way with her background! (4:18) Instead, He speaks to her about asking for the living water so that she would never thirst again. (4:10-14).
Christ calls to us to start following Him where we are. It is then by His amazing grace and providence that we become so much more. Simon, the fisherman called to fish for people, became a Rock (Peter) on which the early church was helped to stand. The outcast woman, drawing water alone, became the catalyst for her town's understanding of the True Living Water. (John 4:39-42).
Take some time today to think about where the Lord has called you to follow Him from. Where is He calling you from now?
To what part of who you are does the Lord, Jesus Christ say, "Follow Me, and I will make you...............!"
Monday, September 7, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The Wrong Verse At The Right Time
Don't you love it when the Spirit teaches you through mistakes?
I was turning to a particular Scripture for a lesson and went to the wrong book of the Bible for some reason. Instead, I read Exodus 6:2-9. In this passage, God is talking to the Israelites through Moses, telling them that He has chosen them to be His special people and that He was going to rescue them and give them a good land to possess.
Verse 9 really spoke to my heart.
"Moses told all this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor."
Sometimes God is speaking to us, promising the desires of our hearts for His good glory, but we are too broken to believe. Have you ever experienced a time when you knew with every ounce of your heart and soul that what the Lord was telling you was true, but you just couldn't bring your mind to believe it? This was the Israelites at that point. They were just too tired to believe it fully.
The amazing thing about this is that the Lord did not say, "Fine. Forget it then. I'm going to go pick some people who will believe me fully. You blew it." No. God fulfilled His promises to them anyway. He loved them enough to bring them along to a place where they were no longer too weary to follow.
Right after that is when He gave them the Words I was suppose to read - Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Listen, Israel: The Lord our God is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."
Sometimes I believe we need to just meet our God with whatever strength we have, and He will aways provide the rest. What a loving God He truly is.
Have you met with God today with all that you are, no matter how little you may feel it is?
I was turning to a particular Scripture for a lesson and went to the wrong book of the Bible for some reason. Instead, I read Exodus 6:2-9. In this passage, God is talking to the Israelites through Moses, telling them that He has chosen them to be His special people and that He was going to rescue them and give them a good land to possess.
Verse 9 really spoke to my heart.
"Moses told all this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor."
Sometimes God is speaking to us, promising the desires of our hearts for His good glory, but we are too broken to believe. Have you ever experienced a time when you knew with every ounce of your heart and soul that what the Lord was telling you was true, but you just couldn't bring your mind to believe it? This was the Israelites at that point. They were just too tired to believe it fully.
The amazing thing about this is that the Lord did not say, "Fine. Forget it then. I'm going to go pick some people who will believe me fully. You blew it." No. God fulfilled His promises to them anyway. He loved them enough to bring them along to a place where they were no longer too weary to follow.
Right after that is when He gave them the Words I was suppose to read - Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Listen, Israel: The Lord our God is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."
Sometimes I believe we need to just meet our God with whatever strength we have, and He will aways provide the rest. What a loving God He truly is.
Have you met with God today with all that you are, no matter how little you may feel it is?
Friday, September 4, 2009
Perspective
Yesterday was yet another rough day for me in many ways. All day, I was concerned about different things going on in my life. At the same time, I've mentioned some pains I've been having. I don't know if any of you have ever dealt with chronic pain, but after two or three weeks of it building, one can get pretty cranky inside. I've also been preparing for a quick trip to Kentucky to see family for the day, and as much as I love them, that takes a bit of a toll in and of itself.
I rushed the kids to bed so that I could get a few more things done and enjoy the oblivion of sleep. They were exasperating me with too much energy, to be honest, as I tried to get the list a bed-time stuff done. We brushed our teeth, took medicine, practiced our Bible verses and then it was time to say our prayers and go to sleep.
That's when my youngest, Elijah, closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and prayed, "God? Thank you for giving us so many chances to be good."
I was floored. All my frustration and worry vanished as I praised the Lord with him in that simple prayer.
"Lord, thank you; for giving me so many chances to be good."
I rushed the kids to bed so that I could get a few more things done and enjoy the oblivion of sleep. They were exasperating me with too much energy, to be honest, as I tried to get the list a bed-time stuff done. We brushed our teeth, took medicine, practiced our Bible verses and then it was time to say our prayers and go to sleep.
That's when my youngest, Elijah, closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and prayed, "God? Thank you for giving us so many chances to be good."
I was floored. All my frustration and worry vanished as I praised the Lord with him in that simple prayer.
"Lord, thank you; for giving me so many chances to be good."
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A Place To Praise
Yesterday I had horribly difficult and absolutely wonderful day.
Physically, my day was a bust. I was in a lot of pain from many different things that have all peaked at the same time. I've also had very little sleep and the cure for that seems to be nowhere in sight. But over all, it was a great day.
My Wednesday morning Bible study group started up again after breaking for the summer: How I've missed those ladies! Afterwards I met with a sweet woman I've wanted to get to know and the Lord has placed in my path recently. I was also looking forward to choir practice at night because I get to sing to the Lord for a whole hour, and afterwards was meeting with another lady who has a heart for women's ministry as well.
On the way home, I realized that everything bad on the day was surpassed by the things of the Lord. How wonderful to have such a joy in the Lord when so miserable otherwise. It was so interesting to see the two co-exist in my life today. The children had stayed at home with my mother that evening, so as I was driving home from church I opened up the windows, blasted some great praise and worship, and praised God all the way home. There was no one else in the car, so I felt free to sing with all my might and it was wonderful!
I'd like to challenge you to find a place to worship God this week where you can loose all inhibitions. Then blast some of your favorite songs and love your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.
The only thing I discovered would make it better would be a convertible to raise my hand better toward God and speed control to keep me in check!
Physically, my day was a bust. I was in a lot of pain from many different things that have all peaked at the same time. I've also had very little sleep and the cure for that seems to be nowhere in sight. But over all, it was a great day.
My Wednesday morning Bible study group started up again after breaking for the summer: How I've missed those ladies! Afterwards I met with a sweet woman I've wanted to get to know and the Lord has placed in my path recently. I was also looking forward to choir practice at night because I get to sing to the Lord for a whole hour, and afterwards was meeting with another lady who has a heart for women's ministry as well.
On the way home, I realized that everything bad on the day was surpassed by the things of the Lord. How wonderful to have such a joy in the Lord when so miserable otherwise. It was so interesting to see the two co-exist in my life today. The children had stayed at home with my mother that evening, so as I was driving home from church I opened up the windows, blasted some great praise and worship, and praised God all the way home. There was no one else in the car, so I felt free to sing with all my might and it was wonderful!
I'd like to challenge you to find a place to worship God this week where you can loose all inhibitions. Then blast some of your favorite songs and love your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.
The only thing I discovered would make it better would be a convertible to raise my hand better toward God and speed control to keep me in check!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Old Glue
I have to admit that I am very tired right now. There are a few things contributing to this, but the most annoying are some persistent pains I'm having. As I flopped down a few minutes ago trying to decide what I should write about for today, an old poster my mother brought from her 1st grade classroom in Florida rolled over to me. On the back was some old glue from a hot glue gun which held it to the wall for a few years. Peeling it off, I started playing with it while my laptop thought about starting up. It was one of those moments where the very simple things in life - like playing with old glue - can be very comforting.
Now when I am very tired and hurting I tend to get contemplative. While fiddling with the old glue, I began to wonder where it had been and the things said and done around it. What were the children like who sat in that class, and where are they now? Who was the janitor that cleaned up the room where it hung? Were there extremes in temperature so that it expanded and contracted? Then it hit me that sadly, I bet no one ever noticed that glue - for years. This stuff that I was so intent on at the moment, was never given a thought by anyone it was around. No one even knew it was there.
That's when I felt the Spirit whisper, "I knew."
He brought these verses to mind from Matthew 10:29-31. "Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet none of them falls to the ground without the Father's consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Don't be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows."
We have a mighty and awesome God, and truly can't wrap our minds around how all-knowing He really is. To think that He knows everything that is going on everywhere. He loves us and has spent so much time and effort on us.Yet, some people don't even know He's there.
I thought of it this way: The Creator of the universe - of all time - knows all the details of that old dried up glue on the wall. He even took the time to place it next to me tonight, knowing that this lesson would comfort and encourage me. He loves us so much and is so detailed, that He worked it all out for me, to share it with you. And yet that God, is totally ignored by millions today. Some because they don't know He's there. Other's because they can't see Him "behind the poster holding it up". But most, I fear, because they just don't care; thinking it doesn't have anything to do with them.
Let's take some time today to marvel at who He is..., and then share Him with others who haven't really looked.
Now when I am very tired and hurting I tend to get contemplative. While fiddling with the old glue, I began to wonder where it had been and the things said and done around it. What were the children like who sat in that class, and where are they now? Who was the janitor that cleaned up the room where it hung? Were there extremes in temperature so that it expanded and contracted? Then it hit me that sadly, I bet no one ever noticed that glue - for years. This stuff that I was so intent on at the moment, was never given a thought by anyone it was around. No one even knew it was there.
That's when I felt the Spirit whisper, "I knew."
He brought these verses to mind from Matthew 10:29-31. "Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet none of them falls to the ground without the Father's consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Don't be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows."
We have a mighty and awesome God, and truly can't wrap our minds around how all-knowing He really is. To think that He knows everything that is going on everywhere. He loves us and has spent so much time and effort on us.Yet, some people don't even know He's there.
I thought of it this way: The Creator of the universe - of all time - knows all the details of that old dried up glue on the wall. He even took the time to place it next to me tonight, knowing that this lesson would comfort and encourage me. He loves us so much and is so detailed, that He worked it all out for me, to share it with you. And yet that God, is totally ignored by millions today. Some because they don't know He's there. Other's because they can't see Him "behind the poster holding it up". But most, I fear, because they just don't care; thinking it doesn't have anything to do with them.
Let's take some time today to marvel at who He is..., and then share Him with others who haven't really looked.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Set Apart
I thought of something interesting about Rahab when reading in the book of Joshua the other day. She was a industrious prostitute in the city of Jericho when the Israelites came to conquer the land. She harbored the spies Joshua secretly sent, and helped them evade the kings soldiers so that they could report to Joshua that a fear of the Lord and of His people had fallen on all the inhabitants.
When the time came for Jericho's destruction, these are the instructions that Joshua gave the people: "...'Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone in her house will live, because she hid the men we sent. But keep yourselves from the things set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart he camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster on it. For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord's treasury." Joshua 6:16-19.
Everything in Jericho that wasn't destroyed was to be set apart for the Lord. I think that He included Rahab as well. Matthew 1:1-17 is an account of the lineage of Jesus, and verses 5 and 6 say, "Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David."
Rahab - the Gentile prostitute of a doomed nation - was in the lineage of the Messiah. It was by faith (Hebrews 11:31) she was set apart by the Lord and given the honor to be named, forever, as a grandmother to Jesus. Pretty cool, huh?
We can never fall too far to be set apart for the Lord's work. By faith, we are set apart, too.
When the time came for Jericho's destruction, these are the instructions that Joshua gave the people: "...'Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone in her house will live, because she hid the men we sent. But keep yourselves from the things set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart he camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster on it. For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord's treasury." Joshua 6:16-19.
Everything in Jericho that wasn't destroyed was to be set apart for the Lord. I think that He included Rahab as well. Matthew 1:1-17 is an account of the lineage of Jesus, and verses 5 and 6 say, "Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David."
Rahab - the Gentile prostitute of a doomed nation - was in the lineage of the Messiah. It was by faith (Hebrews 11:31) she was set apart by the Lord and given the honor to be named, forever, as a grandmother to Jesus. Pretty cool, huh?
We can never fall too far to be set apart for the Lord's work. By faith, we are set apart, too.
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