That's Good To Know In Times Like These

A man's steps are established by the Lord,
 and He takes pleasure in his way.

Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, 
because the Lord holds his hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

Not My Responsibility

I have a difficult time accepting that I am not responsible for other people's walk with God.

I know it sounds foolish and simple, but it's not to me. I have such a burden and desire to see people grow in the Lord, that it frustrates me to no end. Then, what frustrates me even more is knowing that the same can be said for me. I remember the times that people told me something over and over about the Lord – His might, His glory, His love, His love, His compassion – but I didn't make the tough decisions in order to receive them fully. I also realize that I'm not there myself yet. I know I have a very long way to go in my relationship with God.

It's just that I burn with jealousy for them to experience Him in the ways I have been blessed with! The ways I know He desires to delight us with. I want to scream, “Make the tough choice. Stop making excuses. He's worth it- He's worth all of it!” But so many don't study His Word- they take the preacher's word. They don't listen to Him- they humbly demand. They don't ask Him to direct them in every decision- they whine that He needs to bless the ones they think make the most sense...

When will we understand? God doesn't make sense. He makes miracles.

It would be so much easier to understand and approach with the Truth if they knew nothing or little about God as pagans do. But they know nothing or little about God as Christians, and to be honest... it's by choice.

I'm not judging. Really. I'm pleading. There are so many around me who do love the Lord, so much. They are an inspiration and a blessing, but living in the “buckle of the Bible belt” I see way too many of those I described. They are who I cry out to God for. I ask the Lord to search my heart, to make sure that I've not fallen into the same stale trap. I know I could at any time and have to remain vigilant that I don't. But I've also had to realize that I can't do anything about others...except, tell them about the Truth whenever possible, try to be an example, and accept that God's got it all under control.

Because that would be a miracle.

I Was A Master

The Lord showed me something I didn't expect yesterday: I am a master escape artist.

Yea. I wondered what He meant by that too. Trust me, isn't not a compliment...

After a difficult, yet rewarding day with the Lord, I was beginning to become a bit overwhelmed. As I sat there trying to calm my brain and emotions down, I suddenly decided to go read a fiction book. That's when the Lord asked me in a surprisingly firm voice, "Why?"

"Uh... I don't really know" I thought. "To just get away for a bit and not think about it?"

"Stop escaping, and just come to Me with it." Before I knew it, He was taking me on a review of my life, showing me all the little escape methods I have used over the years: Books, movies, games, shows, others, boys, alcohol, a vivid imagination... There were so many! And they played on and on. I was so good at it! It's not that all those things are bad, the problem was with how I was used them at times. I even remembered as a teenager that my favorite part of the day was bedtime. Why? Because I could lay there for as long as I wanted making up any scenario and storyline I wanted. I didn't even have to be me!

Now that's not to say I never brought things before the Lord. I have many, many times, but not always in the right way. He showed me it was more like I threw them at His feet while running to my escape method- whatever it was. Now, if it got really, really bad I laid it at His feet the right way and spent my time begging....I mean in prayer...., but I did not honor Him with the first-fruits of my devotion.

As I practiced escaping to Him today I noticed a very pleasant difference. Not only was my reason for escape lessened, but He comforted and taught me as well. But you know what the most amazing part was? I received all this blessing and I still got be me!

Ask the Lord to reveal to you in what ways you've been escaping. I would never have thought they were there before He revealed them to me. He will reveal them to you as well.

Hearing

I have entered a time a prayer with the Lord. He is teaching me who He is and has invited me to listen to Him. Now, it's not as holy as it sounds to be honest. I've been talking to Him all day, true, but most of my time has been spent in reading fiction. I have read my Bible as well, but I've enjoyed listening to Him in the "everyday" stuff as well. There have also been quite a few people who have had the Lord speak through them to me as well, though they didn't know it. I'm relishing this time.

The annoying thing is that I and my daughter are also sick. She's had a fever and the stomach flu, and I'm on the verge. What's interesting is that God is speaking heavily even through that. I'm being saturated with Him and it's not how He usually does it. Before, when the Lord was teaching me so much, there was an excitement and a "high" of sorts. That's the best way I can describe it. This time it's more of a preparation. I can't really describe it other than it's a bit somber, yet comforting.

Hear some of the Words He has spoken to me...

Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

This Is Not A Test....

Why do we think of Christianity as a test? Yea! I marked the right answers God, and I meant it! Now I can relax and forget all I've binged on..... In Your Name, of course.....

Living as a child of God is more like a journey. Just because I've been heading in the right direction most of the time doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be fine. I have to finish in the right spot. 2 Timothy 4:7

Dear Father in heaven, You know my weaknesses. You know where I so often fail. As Your child I am asking You to always lead me in the right direction so that I may finish well. Sovereign God, I beg and allow You to do whatever it takes to keep me there. Your Word promises me that when I am weak, You are my strength. There is much weakness here for You to show off Your strength! Use me as You will: Your beloved child and bond-slave. 

Listening

It's funny that when I think of listening to God, it either seems too simple or impossibly difficult. I can never decided just which, and I think that's because it's both. Simply put, I just have faith and take the time to seek Him. The difficult aspect comes in weeding everything that is not God, and obeying only Him. So that's what I've been practicing lately. I've been trying to make the conscious effort to ask Him about every decision and action I make within the day, and then figuring out which He prefers. And let me tell you- it's not easy.

The challenge isn't so much in knowing which thing to do or not to do, but in the trials He's giving me to face. I ask God to teach me to hear His voice and obey, so He's putting me in difficult situations where I can best learn. Who builds muscles without exercise?

So pray for my sore muscles as I build up. (My brain and heart count as muscles, right?) And I challenge you to start actively listening as well.

When you are tender and sore from the workout, I'll give you a bit of the Epsom salt He gave me to soak in:
The instruction of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.
Psalm 19:7

Being Jesus. Being Brad.

I want to tell you the story of a young man. Most of you will think this is made up to play on your emotions, but it's not. This is real life. This is the story of Brad...

When Brad was six years old his mother started pimping him out to grown men. At the age of twelve, he ran away to live on the streets and eventually became addicted to heroin. As Brad grew up fending for himself, he met a young woman who grew to love him. She was eventually able to help him get away from drugs and beat his addiction to this deadly drug. They fell in love and were soon married. Before long they had a beautiful baby girl and life was finally good. However, when their daughter was three months old, the family was in a car wreck and Brad's wife and new baby girl were killed. He was alone again. Alone with the screaming voices that taunted him as he developed schizophrenia.

Overwhelmed and overcome by grief, Brad found himself eventually living with a gay lover. But he was questioning everything. Then he met my cousin in a chat room. Though they never physically met, she tried to help him and told him of the never-ending love of Jesus Christ. How could a loving God let these things happen to him?, he wondered. Besides, the voices didn't like to hear about it, so the conversations were usually cut short. Yet he knew something....everything, was not right.
He wrote to her one night, "I am so dirty inside."

"Why  baby?"

"Because of Mommy's men."

Brad, the grown man, is still a hurt child inside.

Not long ago, he and his lover had an argument and the lover left Brad for several days, so he turned to the one thing that had taken his pain away before: Heroin. When the lover eventually came back, he told Brad that stuff was not allowed in his house and so he kick Brad out.

Brad has been missing for a week now.

As my cousin called me asking for prayer for Brad the other night, I was overwhelmed by the urge to pray, not only that he would come to know Christ and come home, but that someone, wherever Brad is, would be Jesus to him. We prayed that the Spirit would lead someone to him that could help him know what true love is, and that the truest love and the only cleansing, is in Jesus Christ. We prayed for Jesus to find Brad and love on him in his brokenness through the arms of one of His servants.

Then I started thinking. If I long for someone to be Jesus to Brad, am I willing to be Jesus to another "Brad"? Have I been Jesus to those around me who are hurt and suffering? Those who desperately need to experience a glimpse of the love of Jesus Christ in order to become more addicted to His love than he ever could be to any drug. To know again what it feel like to be clean.

It's easier to think of Brad's story if it's far away, but Brad lives in the plains of the United States of America. "Brad" is most likely in your town.

Will you please pray for Brad?

And will you be Jesus to "Brad"?

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when He heard this, He said, "Those who are well don't need a doctor, but the sick do. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Matthew 9:11-13

The Abundant Christian Life

Sometimes I feel like this is what a fruitful walk with God is like.

This is the life that produced a hundredfold crop. Matthew 13:23

This is the life I want.

Don't Do Something, Do Whatever

Why is it we always feel we need to do something before we do anything?

What do I mean?

In general we feel we need to have a better education to know more, age and much life experience to have wisdom, material wealth to give, confidence to lead, a big heart to love, status to make a difference, and on and on... So before we feel we can teach, advise, give, lead, love, or any other noble thing, we have to do something. Perhaps we think it's a higher degree or job with better pay. Do we even use the excuse that it's just not our spiritual gift or who we are, so that it will take much time to develop?

Why? Now, I know that we can not be perfect. But if we are told by Scripture to behave in a certain way, or we sense a leading from the Spirit to accomplish some task, why do we think we have to go about it in a worldly manner? Ask God who gives to all who ask Him. Not for our own desires, but for the glory of God. Luke 11:1-13, James 1:5

It is your choice whether or not you have the faith to carry it through, not the ability. But God can, and will, give both.

Rise And Shine Woodchuck Chuckers!

I love the movie Groundhog's Day.

Why? The reasons are as numerous as the cold, gray mornings Phil the weatherman is forced to endure.

Truly though, this movie is lighthearted and funny, but at the same time there are so many practical applications to be gleaned: Even from a Biblical perspective. The biggest one is how many chances Phil Conners, the main character, is given to get it right. We laugh at him thinking that we would have not had to learn the lesson in such a hard way, but think about it. How many times has God given you a redo on that same old sin you keep falling for? Perhaps we are all not so different.

Here's another point I love. No matter how bad Phil messes up, how mean or self-centered he was, he started with a clean slate every morning. Isn't that what we are given when our sins are forgiven by God? Aren't we washed clean by the sacrificial blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God when we ask His forgiveness? Often, even though forgiven, we have to deal with the consequences of our sins or of those around us. Phil had to live every morning with the actions of every day leading up to that fateful February 2nd, but it was his choice after that as to what he would do with it. How he would succumb or overcome.

We have the same choice. Do we wallow in our self pity for what was done when we were a slave to sin? Or do we look at today as the day to set things straight and live a vibrant life as a slave to Jesus Christ?

TODAY is the day you choose. For everyday can be Groundhog's day.

Coincidence or Connected?

It amazes me that when you are paying attention to your life and  it's lessons, all of the "coincidences" that pop up. 

In the past week there have been so many I've lost count. And I'm not talking about little, "Hey, that's kinda like this!" type things, but the, "You know such-n-such that I just told you about yesterday and haven't dealt with in three years? It showed up today!"   

Those kind.

I know I'm being rather vague, but they are so specific I need to be. 

Do I chalk them all up to coincidence? Or do I acknowledge the fact that my God, who is the Creator and Orchestrator of the universe and our lives, is speaking to me, testing me, and reminding me that He is here. And that He cares. Deeply enough to put this show of His power together for me to witness.

What has He been teaching you recently in this way? Sometimes there are a million different things, and other times He is silent. Perhaps those are the times we need to be reflecting on the ones He's already shown us. 

There is always something.

Are You This Happy?

This video has always reminded me of a lot of worship services I've experienced.

Take some time today to read Psalm 150 and 1 Corinthians 3:16

And then let's take some time to worship Him.

Are You A Monkey?

This video also reminds me of many churches in today's society. We need to be like the Ber(o)eans (Acts 17:11), and search the Scriptures for every act we insist upon.

We all need to ask ourselves: Am I following a religion or Jesus Christ?

Famine

There is something that really struck me for the first time the other day when reading Genesis 41:53-57

Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end,
and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.
Extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh told all Egypt, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you."
Because the famine had spread across the whole country, Joseph opened up all the storehouses, and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 
The whole world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine was severe over all the earth.
(Emphasis mine)

Sometimes we have to endure suffering which has nothing to do with us personally, in order for God's glory to be shown and His will to be done.

Do you love Him enough to be willing without complaint?

...And That's How I Handle It

I'll be honest with you: Some days are so good they're bad. God has been teaching me so much lately and there has been so much going on that my nerves are raw.

There are a hundred different things I want to say to you, but I can't think of how to put a single one of them. Why? Who knows. Besides God, I mean....

My busy season is coming and I can see the Lord working in my life through the Bible studies I have with different groups of ladies, those I meet with, and a number of different aspects of my life. The funny thing is a have a peace about it all. Granted it's a raw nerves, running around like a chicken with my head cut off, exhausted even with two shots of vitamin D, type peace, but it's there. And it's prevalent. I know how to handle the ups and downs, but what about this? Complete peace and trust in the midst of chaos. It's kinda cool....and kinda not.

You know what I'm going to do about it? How I plan to calm down and focus?

I'm gonna go spend some time with God.

See ya later...