Excited

I'm so excited today- and I don't know why!

Today the Lord has blessed me with a sense of anticipation, hope, and love for humanity that has in all honesty blind-sided me. Trust me- I'm not complaining! I wish this came more often :)

One thing I have noticed is a sense of community with this. We tend to get so bogged down in our own lives, friends, goals and ambitions that we forget every one of us in this world is really in the same boat. All humans struggle to survive and find a purpose. I am a human, you are a human, and the guy half way around the world is human too. And think about this- all of us were even created for the same reason!
We are here to be given a chance to glorify God.

That is something I know I need help with at times as I sink back into the selfishness of "Me-ism" that plagues the world today. But, that is also something I know you need help with, and so does that guy I'll never meet in some distant land. We can not do it alone. That means we need each other. So why wouldn't I love "him" and everyone else worldwide?

So, we love. We pray for and reach out to one another. I pray for salvation, hope, and purpose in the lives of all. I pray that they may come to know the blessed, personal relationship we can have with Jesus Christ so that they can continue to glorify God for all eternity. I pray they know don't know of Jesus, but know Him in a way that completely transforms their lives. And as I pray.... I'm excited for what I know He will do!

Tidbits

One great reason to read the Bible all the way through is to gather the tasty tidbits you will find scattered throughout. These are Scriptures that never make their way into typical devotionals, but offer us deep insight and clues that help bring these ancient stories to life. Often, they stand out as a side note, or afterthought by the writer of that passage, but they are certainly a gift from God to remind us these were real people in real situations.

My daily Scripture reading brought me to one of these tidbits today in the Exodus story of the plagues on Egypt as the Israelites tried to leave. Seventh of the ten plagues was hail- Immense hail. In between the warnings from God and threats from Pharaoh, is Exodus 9:31-32:

The flax and barley were destroyed 

because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding, 

but the wheat and spelt were not destroyed 

because they are later crops.

This gives us a few interesting details. First, it gives us a time frame. This plague occurred around the end of February or first of March. (See multiple commentaries here.) We do know that the Passover was established with the last plague and the Jewish year told to begin then with the month of Nisan (Exodus 12), but having this verse about the crops shows us that the plagues were in fairly quick succession. Second, we are told just what crops were important and were grown almost four thousand years ago! As people have excavated throughout the last few hundred years, they have time and again proven the validity of the Bible by matching up what it says by what they have "uncovered". Proof and comfort once again that God really does know what He's doing, and the Bible really is His Word.

As you read your Bible be on the look out for these tasty nuggets of seemingly random information. They give us greater clues into God's Word, His character, and His concern for us to know certain details. Who knows? Perhaps finding them in Scripture is good practice for those He plants in our daily lives!

Examples

Trust and obey.

I wonder if perhaps Abram (later renamed Abraham) wasn't privy to this old American hymn as he wandered around from Mesopotamia through Canaan to Egypt. Here he was, called out of his homeland who worshiped multiple gods as his family did (Joshua 24:2), to wander through a distant land following the "Start walking " command of a single God. That takes a lot of Trust and Obey.

This has made me start wondering why we think that all of the sudden God is going to start telling us only to do things that are reasonable and, in the end, entail very little trust in Him. Actually, the more I read the Bible the more I realize He asks us to do very little that is reasonable or logical by human standards. How often in Scripture do you see someone respond with, "Oh, yes Lord. That makes perfect sense!" Most the time they are scared to death and completely confused.

I like that... It helps to know I'm in good company.

Doldrums

You are not going to be passionate for God everyday.

Yes, I really did say that. Does it mean you don't love Him? No. Does it mean you need to question your salvation? No. It means you are human, and are still fighting the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12). It means you are still alive and have work still to do for His glory!

How do I handle days of spiritual doldrums?  I'm honest with God about them and I read His Word - the Bible - whether I want to or not: Especially if NOT. I ask God to help me draw closer to Him, and for a mindset that would bring Him glory. Then, I'm honest with those around me - like you, right now - and ask for mercy and grace from you to remember I'm still human as well. There are days I pray you can now come to me when you experience the same. Then, knowing we have all been in the same boat, we can pray for one another and help to keep accountable.

That's how I handle it. I fight the good fight whether I want to or not. It's not the "good fight" for nothing. I take time to remember it's not the "passion fight", "happy fight", or "enthusiastic fight". It's GOOD: True, righteous, genuine, and sound whether I feel like it or not.

Remembering that, and dwelling on it is often the little spark that gets the fire going....

Favorite Books of the Bible

My Pastor is soon going to begin a lecture series through one of my 3 favorite books of the Bible: 1 John. I have to say 3, because I just can pick between them as to my absolute favorite. It really depends on what I am learning and experiencing at the time.

One of the reasons I adore this book so much is that it shows such a beautiful balance in truth and  love. In fact, I would subtitle it, 1 John: Truth and Tough Love.  How delighting it is that this book teaches me to have a healthy, tough love from "the disciple whom Jesus loved". You know something interesting about that? It was John himself that wrote that down- 5 times (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20) . No one else did. I imagine he found comfort and the security to be bold for Christ in that knowledge. This is a trait I deeply desire.

What are some of your favorite books of the Bible?

Lessons From a Monk

My family have begun to love the T.V. show Monk over the last few months. Thanks to instant streaming on Netflix, we can watch all the episodes over the last 9 seasons whenever we have an hour to spare- which I admit we make in order to watch it. The show is about a former detective who is afraid of everything and has an extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder to name but a few of his issues. It's funny to watch him having to deal with life while at the same time being driven by the same issues in order to solve crimes.

We are watching the show in order from the beginning, and last night we found we had made it to Episode 1 of Season 5: Mr. Monk and the Actor. In this episode, an actor begins following Monk around in order to play him in a movie that was being written about a famous case which he had recently solved. Over time, this method actor becomes so engrossed in the personality of Monk that he can no longer separate his own past and personality from those of the man he was sent to imitate, and has a mental breakdown.

It's interesting that I have noticed that about myself. In the past I use to act just like whomever I was hanging around at the time. It got so bad that for a season of my life I didn't even know who I was apart from these different groups. I just so desperately longed to fit in as a teen and young adult that I automatically assumed the personality of those I was near in order to have something in common. It's only been in the last 10 years that I have grown out of that, but it was a real challenge and something I had to watch closely. I still do it to some degree with speech patterns- I pick up accents and dialects very easy. My husband loves to laugh that he can often tell who I'm on the phone with just by the way I'm speaking and with which dialect!

As I thought about this today I realized that this was not a curse, but a gift- when used in the right way. In the Bible, Paul tells us we should be imitators!

Be imitators of me, 

as I also am of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1

We are to pattern our attitudes and lives after Jesus Christ. (Philippians 2:5, 1 Peter 2:21) The more I started thinking about it, the more I realized how wonderful it would be to become so close to Christ that I loose myself in Him. 

Imagine the glory we could bring Him if we were that dedicated!

Believe

I had an "Ah-ha! CLICK!" moment just now.

For the last few months, we have been waiting on an email from someone. Both my husband and I knew that with the busyness of the holiday season, it would most likely be very long in coming, but that doesn't always help make it any easier. I'm always caught between "Send another email to let them know I'm still interested", and "Don't send anything else to bug them to death."
Patience and Passion don't easily mix together.

This morning, however, I was in Genesis when the Spirit threw some highlighter on a verse I was reading. I had just been talking with Him about knowing I had heard Him about this issue before and believing that He would bring it to pass, but I was beginning to need a little reassurance that I wasn't in the wrong somehow.
Not 10 minutes later I read Genesis 15:6.

Abraham believed the Lord,

and He credited it to him as righteousness.

"Alright," I told Him after pondering the consequences, "I believe. You said it- You'll do it."

When I got home hours later I realized something: The email came less than a hour later.

My God is an amazing weaver of our lives!

Covering

...the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God 

walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, 

and they hid themselves from the Lord God...

Genesis 3:8

It is the nature of the sin within us to hide from the Lord, as it has been since Adam and Eve first ate the forbidden fruit. We have the unnatural desire to run from Him at the first sign of His presence. Just as the evening breeze is a time of relief and respite from the heat of the day, our God comes to us when we most need Him- but still we continue to try and hide from His soothing presence for we know we are "naked" before Him.

Adam and Eve had recently become aware of their nakedness because of the fruit they had eaten. The first thing they did was sew fig leaves together to cover themselves, for it was this nakedness that caused them to hide from God. (Genesis 3:10) They instinctively knew that they needed a covering to be in His presence. But what they were able to create on their own - the fig leaves - was not sufficient. God had to kill a few animals and make skins to cover them, for they couldn't be in His presence knowing the shame of their exposure. The reason we still run from God when He comes to us in "the time of the evening breeze" is we know the shame of our nakedness before Him and instinctively, from the sin nature within us, know we can not stand before Him.

But here is the amazing thing... God has once again given us the perfect covering to be able to stand boldly before Him once again. This time He did not kill some animals, but His beloved Son. Sin can not cover sin, but righteousness and perfection can. This has only ever been found in one man: Jesus the Christ. He died in order to clothe us so that once again we could meet our Father and Creator in the cool of the evening breeze.

We no longer have to try and hide from Him, but can walk with Him side by side basking in His love, glory, and wisdom. What more could we ever desire?

Seperation

For those of you who don't know, I have two older, teenage children who don't live with me all the time. In fact, they don't for most of the year. They come for a month in the summer and a week at Christmas which are the happiest times of my year. The days counting down to when they come are filled with excitement in our house, and the younger kids give me a day by day reminder of just how long it will be till they are here. Then it's board games, big meals, and wrestling joy!

But the day always comes when they have to go back...

I have to be honest and say that I didn't know a heart could break that often or that much and still survive. For years mine almost didn't. If it weren't for my husband and the little ones, I don't think it would have. The pain has changed over the years depending on their age and understanding of what is going on - ever since they were three and one years old -, but it has never been any semblance of easy. Mother's Day is one of the worst. It's a day which, to me, celebrates my failures and pain while at the same time brings me joy that I have four wonderful children.

However, a gentle whisper from God taught me something yesterday in the midst of my turmoil as they left:

It really hurts, doesn't it? 

This is just a little of what it's like when My children leave Me...

I was a bit taken aback. Yes, we know that it grieves Him when His children stray, but I never had put the emotion to it. With as horrid as it is for me, I have the consolation that they are not choosing to leave me, but must. God doesn't. In fact, the pain is worse for Him knowing we don't care enough about Him to stay. Realizing this, how could we ever choose to cause Him this much pain?

Christmas and Easter must be a lot like my Mother's Days. They celebrate all He has done for us, while at the same time bring Him so much sorrow for those who are His but currently have only a care for the Christmas presents and pageants and new Easter clothes for that special appearance in church.

So I beg of you today. Never - never - allow yourself to stray from your Savior and cause Him this pain for you. When you find yourself becoming less dedicated or complacent to Him, throw yourself at His feet and ask Him to help you draw near. I know He will. He loves you so much...

Everyday

Being a Christian means that you have dedicated your life to following Jesus Christ. In order to do this, you must first believe in Him, what He's done for you, and why it was necessary. Today I want to emphasize something that is crucial: If you have dedicated your life to Him you need to know what He is saying to you. What if I said I had dedicated my life to the homeless, but only visited or thought about them once a week for an hour. Or say I had dedicated my life to playing the violin but picked it up to practice for 30 seconds a day? Is that dedication?

Then why do we as Christians - disciples and followers of Jesus Christ - think we can get away with throwing Him a token prayer once or twice a day and participating in a worship service every week where the only preparation we put into it was ironing our clothing to look acceptable? This is not dedication. It is putting on an appearance or a facade.

God's words to us were made flesh in Jesus Christ, but they were also penned for us to study through the work of the Holy Spirit in men who were dedicated to Him. These Words are our guidance, correction, comfort, and hope: The Bible. It is of utmost importance that we read them.

This doesn't mean you have to spend an hour or two reading everyday - though you sure would learn a lot! Just get into more than someone else's interpretation and same chosen passages. You need to read all of the Bible, not just the sections everyone likes to discuss.

So as this new year begins, dedicate yourself to reading the whole Bible. If you have a very busy schedule or the task seems too daunting, there are plenty of two years plans available as well. I would challenge you though to pick a one year plan and split it in half each day that you don't have time and try to read the full portion when possible. There is nothing to say that it has to be one or two years. You can do it in 1 1/2, 1 1/4, or even in only 9 months! However you choose, dedicate yourself to it in order to listen and learn from the One you have declared your Master, Savior, and Lord.

I've given you a few links to web pages that have different plans to follow. Some are printable so that you can keep it in your Bible and others will email you a section everyday. Enjoy, and may you see God EVERYDAY!

E-Word Today 5 Plans in over 50 Translations
Bible Gateway
ArcaMax Publishing Great Printable Version
Zondervan Bible Reading Plans This one is great with so many options!
Chronological 1 or 2 Year Reading Plan

Sabbath 2010

At the end of the week, God created a Sabbath day of rest. He - in all His great wisdom and love for our well being - knew we needed a day of rest. We need to fellowship, renew, and relax. Our brains and physical bodies even function better when we have taken this rest.

It's the end of the year and my body, spirit, and mind need that Sabbath. My "everyday" with God is going to be nothing more than praise and thanks for the rest He gives me. I am going to finish my read-through-the-Bible tomorrow, and plan on going back and looking at the verses that spoke to me until January 1st. I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to this!

I plan on posting only whenever the Spirit presses me to do so. This means I may not "see" you till next year! If that is the case, I'd love to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

I'd also like to leave you with the new goodbye I plan on using this next year. Instead of ending my letters/emails with "God Bless" I plan on saying something different. I've learned that while God is always willing and wanting to bless us, we often are not ready for it to give Him the proper glory for it, or it just may not be His will the "bless" us in a way we would consider qualifying as a blessing. So from now on - to both Christian and non-Christian alike - I plan on saying, "May you see God today". I want everyone to have no explanation other than God for the things that happen in life. I want us all to see just how much He cares for us and is involved in every aspect of our daily life.

So, until I write again-
May you see God today.

What's the Difference?

Is this you?

Good deeds, kindness, charity, and love for our fellow man is admirable- but anyone can do that. As we go - and do these things - we are to teach them about the real and eternal difference: Jesus Christ.

Without Him, this life is the only "heaven" they, even in this state, will ever know...

Make Disciples

Most anyone who has grown up in the church knows The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20...

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the 

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 

teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. 

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

   

We have rallied behind these verses as the battle cry of spreading the Gospel for centuries. And for good reason- We are suppose to spread the life saving good news of Jesus Christ to all the world. My whole life as I thought of mission work in all the nations, it has been that of the old V.B.S. song my grandma had every year on picturesque cardboard: Tell the Good News that Christ has come! Being a missionary meant telling people that Jesus Christ existed.

Recently I realized that this view was way too narrow. 

First, let me say that we are all called to be missionaries of Jesus Christ. The definition of Missionary is, "a person who is sent on a mission", and if you truly follow Jesus Christ your mission is to bring Him glory. We do that by sharing Him with those around us in many different ways- one of which is telling others about Him.

Knowing this, I felt that was what "Missionaries" do, but read the first part of verse 19 again. Jesus said we are to ...make disciples of all nations. Making disciples takes a much longer time, for the one who helps to makes disciples has to invest in people's lives. They have to be there to guide, correct, and encourage. 

Paul was preacher of the Good News. Timothy was a disciple maker. He stayed in areas longer than Paul did and helped to mature the people that region. In fact, that's what the letter Paul wrote to Timothy (1 Timothy) was all about. He was encouraging Timothy in which ways to mature the people he was living with at that time. Many knew about Jesus Christ- Timothy was there to help them know Him personally.

I had been wondering how to explain the calling the Lord has placed on my family's life, and these verses have answered that. We have been called to focus on helping others to know Jesus Christ in a vibrant and personal way. Yes, there are millions around the world who have never hear about Him, and we certainly need more to go to those people groups and share. But there are also millions upon millions who have heard, yet have never been taught how to be His disciple. 

That is what we are called to do.

Mulling

Just as cider does this time of the year, I am mulling over a well known Scripture that I'm seeing in a different - perhaps deeper - light. I planned on bringing it to you today, but don't think it's ready yet. That is the beauty of God's Word. It means so much and is so rich, but yet there are still times we are pleasantly surprised by a new richness. What a Master artist and author He is!

What verses have you been mulling over recently? If you don't have one....find one! :)

Here To There

If I were to say I'm going on a trip to a distant land, what would you say must be done? Some people call a travel agent first while others research it on the internet or call friends who have been there before. Purchasing new luggage of the appropriate size might be a good idea, while using something old and beat up might be as well. Perhaps you think finding maps and tourist destinations is a must, but there are some who believe going with the flow works best. Which ever way you always do it and feel is best, in reality there is only on thing you must do: Get up and go.

Living a Spirit filled life for the glory of God the Father and Jesus Christ is much the same. Some say we are required to do specific things such as tithe 10%, worship in a certain way, or be accepting of some things while disapproving of others.

In reality there is very little that we must do:

He has told you men what is good 

and what it is the Lord requires of you: 

Only to act justly, 

to love faithfulness, 

and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

When we follow these principles of our Savior and Master, it allows Him room to use us in any way He deems best in order to glorify Him. That is how we get from here to There!