October 30, 2010 Effective Grieving

The book of Lamentations makes a lot more sense when you read it right after Jeremiah.  Considering what had happened to Jerusalem, the siege and the exile to Babylon, it makes total sense to grieve.  Most of us are familiar with the "stages of grief" from psychology.  Instead of referring to that right now, I am looking solely at what I learned about grieving from what we've read so far in Lamentations.  Then we can evaluate the observations as we read the rest of the book and review what we've already read.

There are different points of view expressed in this long poem of grief.  It's not so confusing when you read it this way.  However, strong feelings of confusion are natural when experiencing grief, especially something so deeply affecting as what Jeremiah is writing about.  As we see Jerusalem personified as a grieving widow, and then enter in to her experience and the expression of her grief, we can learn a lot. 

There's Jeremiah's personal grief expressed here, too;  and sometimes it even seems that God is expressing His own grief through Jeremiah.  I came to the conclusion that God grieved as much as anyone for having to put His people through the stuff.  If you're a parent, you most likely know how painful it is for parents to do the needed discipline at times.  It is obvious that God did not enjoy the destruction and the resulting grief of His people.  He's a compassionate God.

So, my first conclusion is this:  if you've suffered loss, no matter what type, tell the story and express the grief as thoroughly and honestly as you can (and a creative medium such as journaling or poetry can help you do this).  At first, you don't have to think through the feelings, make sense of them, dissect them or judge them (they may seem irrational to you or others).  Just get them out in reviewable form.

If we are around someone who is grieving, being able to hear/see, etc. the feelings helps us share the grief with them-- helps us understand.  Reading this book, along with some of the Psalms and other people's expressions, can help us understand someone in extreme grief even if we haven't been there ourselves.  Being open to sharing our grief expressions with intimate others can open us up to sharing our grief with God, and to experiencing His comfort as well.  We understand from Lamentations that God does not hold Himself aloof from our grief, even if we have brought a loss onto ourselves (yes, I have been there). 

IMPORTANT: I want to note that we must not apply the discipline reason for loss to someone (even to ourselves, as in the throes of grief, we may become self-condemning) unless it is our own child we ourselves are disciplining.  It is up to the Holy Spirit to reveal the "whys" for things happening to people, and He may not always do so. It can be so terribly wounding to people for us to try to interpret their losses for them, even if we are correct-- and we most likely are not.  Please refrain from doing so (unless you're the prophet Jeremiah--and remember, he warned them in advance by God's orders).

Second, in the midst of the grieving process, it is paramount to remember what we know about God, review things He's done for us, and praise Him for His goodness and steadfast love.  Making ourselves read or listen to the Word is essential in this process.  If we have journaled about His work in our lives, this is a good time to go back to it and read it again.    We may be feeling really angry at God, and maybe we're blaming Him for stuff.  He can handle it, and He is OK with us expressing these thoughts and feelings.  But He also wants us to draw away from the feelings and the grief sometimes, and just meditate on Him.  Sometimes others can remind us of His love and goodness, and His good plans for us-- this must be done gently and with love.  Look how Jeremiah did this so tenderly in the middle of Lamentations.  Such a good example!

The third part is a melding process of the first two.  The Holy Spirit begins to work in us to compare and contrast our experience and feelings of grief with the realities of God.  The more we are able to immerse ourselves in Him and His Word, including fellowship with wise and loving believers, the quicker we are able to integrate what we've experienced and feel with our knowledge of Him and the truth He reveals to us.  Slowly, (and it's different for everyone in timing and the way the process looks), things start to clear up.  We see where we need to repent, and we are able to do so.  We see what God is doing in our life, and we are able to hear and accept His promises for the future.   He imparts His peace to us as we hold on in faith to what we believe about Him. 

The more solidly we are rooted into the Rock that is God, and the more thoroughly we have allowed His Word to change our thinking, the more equipped we will be to endure hardship, loss, and even disaster, and the more effectively we will be able to work through our grief and help others to do so as well.  Even if we find ourselves being disciplined for something, we will be secure in the love and goodness of our Father.  Perhaps we will even avoid said discipline by having experienced vicariously the loss and grief, repentance and restoration of another.  I believe this is God's hope for us all.  

September 13, 2010 Dissolved Into Strength

Every once in a while, I find myself in a place of absolute inability to function.  Whether it's my own fault or it's something that God is doing is impossible for me to tell, but I always come to the same conclusion: I am nothing without Him.  I could relate very much to this verse today: For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. 
2 Corinthians 13: 4

I decided a long time ago that there isn't any point in trying to do something in my own strength.  What little natural strength I have is easily used up, and what meager things I can do on my own are nothing compared to what the Lord can do through me.  I have learned (more than once) that the world goes on without me.  This can come as a big shock to anyone who has finally believed that "I am the only one who can be me and do what I do."  As true as this is, we still must accept that it is up to God to empower us.  He is Life, and there is no substitute for waiting on Him.

I see myself as a sailboat.  My gifts and talents are like sails.  When the wind blows I will go somewhere as long as my sails are oriented to being filled with the wind.  Just as in the natural world, sometimes the wind is just not blowing!  A sailboat cannot control the wind.  It cannot fake wind either. Why do we Christians think we have to fake the wind?  Do we control the wind?  No.  We don't control the Holy Spirit, and we do not fake His activity.  We just wait.  We actively wait, for at the first sign of movement, we get our sails hoisted and ready to be filled.

It is the times that I am forced to rest that I see how very weak I am.  I feel overwhelmed at the idea of doing any of the things I had previously been doing with ease.  How much I need the Lord!  There is no shame in this.  If Jesus accepted this place of total dependency on God, then it good enough for me.  In fact, it is the only safe place to be.  I am reminded, with force, to be constantly dependent on Him and His strength alone so that I do not fall into pride and self-will.  Stripped of all that makes me feel acceptable to Him, I discover once again that He loves and accepts me "just because."  Everything gets distilled down to having a relationship with God and a more pure desire to please just Him.  Of course, this is the place of inspiration, where exploits are born.

Questions to ponder:
Are you naturally a "be-er" or a "do-er"?
What word-picture would you use to describe the way God empowers your life?
Do you ever feel you are trying to "do" your life on your own?  What do you do about that?
Have you ever felt a sudden shift in how the Holy Spirit was moving in your life?  How did you feel about that?  What was your response to this change?

August 5, 2010 When All Seems Lost, God Makes A Way

I was suicidal once, years back; for a month or more, I struggled with thoughts of how I could end my life because chronic depression had left me hopeless, and my circumstances seemed unchangeable.  I had lost connection with my faith in God, although I would not have denied it consciously.  The only thing that kept me going was that I needed to take care of my children.  I thank God for a dad who heard God, comprehended where I was at, and offered to pay for therapy.  This was the beginning of a long journey of healing and restoration for me.  That I now have abiding peace and joy in my life, and a stable environment and relationships, is a great example of the power of the cross of Christ.  It is in Him alone that I have found reality, sanity and purpose.

I share this because it is the first thing I thought of when I saw the heading for today's reading in Ezra: End of the Babylonian Captivity.  What I saw in the passage was that if God could stir up the spirit of Cyrus, He can do whatever needs to be done to rescue us from our distresses.  He did do that for me.  When I thought no good could come from my life (that was of course, a deception), God broke through my darkness and brought me out.  My sinful choices had gotten me into captivity in the first place.  God used it for good in my life anyway. 

When humanity had fallen into the depths of depravity, God made a way.  When Jesus went to the cross to die, He took upon Himself the whole of mankind's mess.  He came back from the depths of death bringing our deliverance with Him.  As Paul said, it sounds like foolishness to a lot of people, but I say, foolishness or not, it's wisdom and life.  I can testify first hand-- I'm only alive because of Him.

The Corinthians passages are some of the most powerful and hopeful I know of: I love them!  When you put them together with the Ezra account, the Psalms and the Proverbs, today's reading packs a powerfully hopeful punch! I completely embrace being a "foolish thing"!  It means I'm chosen to put to shame the "high and mighty" things of the world.  I just said to my husband this morning, that I didn't belong in the big, bad world-- that I just wanted to hide out "in a cave" and be a little girl.  The fact is, I am God's little girl!  I don't have to fit in with, or be accepted by, the world (that's perishing anyway); I don't belong!  I belong to the Kingdom!  I'm in Christ and Christ is in God.  I can be strong in the power of His might!  I  can glory in Him!  I don't have to be anything, because He is everything.  However, as I keep pressing into Him, the foolishness that is me gives way to the wisdom that is Him.  I begin to realize that in the Kingdom I have substance, significance, sustainability.

If you are lost, Jesus is the Way.  If you have been found by Him, Jesus is still the Way.  Along the Way you find Truth and Life.  These things are worth living for!  Whether you know it or not, Jesus already died for you and proclaimed you "forgiven."  Your future love relationship with God began at that moment.  Whenever you awake to this reality and say "yes," the adventure begins.  Never give up on your life!  You will be totally surprised at the wondrous things He has in store for you, even if you feel like a foolish thing right now.   

Bonus: Negativity is the beginning of the suicidal road; here's how not to get there, ever:

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD."
Psalm 27:13-14

Questions to ponder:
Have you ever struggled with despair or suicidal thoughts? How did you get out from under them?
If you have had victory in this area, have you ever shared it with others?
Do you know anyone who struggles with depression or suicidal thoughts?
How do you deal with that? 
Even if these things are far from your own experience, what have you learned that is applicable to you?

Truth: Whatever you've overcome in your life is what the Lord will use to minister life to others through you.

July 31, 2010 Suddenly

One of the reasons we're told not to judge others on "doubtful matters"-- things that aren't stated outright in Scripture-- is that we don't know what God is working on with someone else.  We don't even know that about ourselves so often.  Because Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith, it is His job to decide what needs to be changed when.  Our job is receive one another, accept one another, and live according to the law of love in order not to trouble others with our mode of life.  That is hard enough without trying to fix others.
If any correction needs to happen, let it be done by those with the authority to do so, and let it be on the clear doctrines of Christ, such as fornication.

When King Hezekiah-- grieved by the spiritual adulteries perpetrated by his predecessor-- desired to bring the nation back to a right relationship with God and reinstate the temple worship, he didn't seem to dictate exactly how that was to be done.  He exhorted the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and to cleanse out the temple.  He told them to take out the rubbish, but he left it to them to do the work.  Since we each are a temple of the Holy Spirit, and each of us kings and priests unto the Lord, it is the Holy Spirit's task to lead each one of us as to how to cleanse ourselves from dead works.  Some of the rubbish in our souls might be obvious to others, but some of it might look OK to someone else, but the Lord reveals to us that it's not OK for us.  "Whatever is not of faith is sin."  This is a basic key to walking in holiness (wholeness), but it really comes down to the individual working out their salvation with Christ's leading.  We are all in different stages of our growth and development.

The mysterious thing is how the Spirit works in each of us, deep inside our hearts, to prepare us for the next stage.  Sometimes we observe a brother or sister who seems to be wandering around in darkness, and then, voila!  All of a sudden they seem to have snapped out of it, moving forward in a level of glory that might even pass us by temporarily.  We should rejoice when that happens.  It gives me hope to know that if I'm struggling in life, God's got it under control, and He's leading me step by step out of the maze of confusion and darkness that I might be in.

I think we can anticipate a sudden "coming round the bend" for the Church in general.  God is doing a work in His people, much of it unseen.  Christ is still the head of His body.  He is still in charge of each individual's salvation process, and of the building of His Kingdom, living stone by living stone.  Maybe at this moment some of the trash is being taken out of the temple in one person's life, and another is getting their instrument of praise polished up and ready to go.  At the proper time, all will be in order and the glory of God will be seen in a unity, joy and love that is greater than has ever been seen before.  This verse will again be very relevant:  "All the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly." 
2 Chronicles 29:36   

July 26, 2010 Bridge Over the Chasm of Doubt

I often have to be reminded of what I already know.  Although I may feel ashamed for having "forgotten" something I had revelation on, and really felt I understood, I am grateful for the prodding I get from the Holy Spirit.  He gently reminds me, and somehow gets across His desire that I do what He's saying.

Today He used this passage to do that kind of prodding with me:
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:8-11 NKJV

I'm not suggesting that I used to be saved but now I'm backslidden and need to be reinstated.  No, there's more to salvation than becoming born-again.  We tend to use the term "backslidden" to mean "become unsaved," and that's a debatable concept anyway.  Just because I might get close to a slippery slope of sin doesn't mean I've lost my salvation!  But that's not what I'm talking about here.  What I mean is: I'm not walking in total salvation because I forget to cross the bridge from believing to overcoming.  What is that bridge anyway?  We see the chasm, if we're honest, but we can't see the bridge.

Perhaps we don't see the bridge because whenever we reach that chasm, there is no bridge.  We are put in the position of having to build it.  We build the bridge over the chasm of doubt by speaking the word of truth that we believe and walking on it until we reach the actuality of our faith.

I'll use myself as an example.  Through faith in Christ, I've overcome many obstacles in my life.  Depression is one of them.  Even though I was a born-again child of God, I still had chronic depression and bouts of severe and debillitating depression-- as I had suffered throughout my life-- until the last several years, where it has diminshed to only an occasional temptation.  Quite a process and lots of help from others helped me understand how to overcome the depression.  But I had to overcome it myself by walking on the bridge over the chasm of doubt. 

All the Word and faith about who I was in Christ, His love for me, His purposes in my life,  knowledge of the fruit of the Spirit, etc., wasn't going to defeat the darkness of depression if that truth stayed locked inside my heart.  Only by speaking out loud the truth I believed in my heart, and walking upon the bridge it created, would I be able to exit the gross darkness I lived in and into God's glorious light.  Declaring what I believed inside my born-again heart was the only thing that could dispel the lying reality that colored my mental and physical existence.  Every time I did this, I was able to take another step into freedom from depression.  Believing alone could not do it; faith demands action, and speaking is the first action we take.

Sometimes our cultural adages steer us away from believing the word of God.  All our life we hear "actions speak louder than words," and so we believe we don't have to speak, only act.  This is like saying "the car engine revving is louder than the turn of the key."  Well, of course it is, but try getting the engine to rev without turning the key in the ignition switch!  And just because the engine is revving doesn't mean we're getting anywhere.  We do have to shift gears, release the brake, and put our foot on the gas.  Our declared words of faith are like the key that gets it all going.

I'm saying all this to help you, as well as myself, so we can get our heart beliefs out where they can activate our salvation.  I'm believing God for healing and restructuring of some physical problems that are hindering my life progress.  The things I'm wanting to receive from God are stated clearly in the Word-- they are not gray or cloudy.  I have complete faith in their truth, and in God's will for me.  So why am I not getting saved in those areas?  Because I forget to declare the truth out of my mouth.  I forget to put the key into the ignition and turn it.  I forget to build the bridge and walk on it.

Understanding and practicing this concept can save us a lot of frustration, disappointment, shame and even anger with God.  The above Scripture tips us off as to how to get saved, and keep on getting saved.  We believed the truth, and we confessed our faith when we were born again.  We have to keep practicing that to get to where we're walking in all that Christ bought for us by His death and resurrection.  Christ is the Word, and He is the Salvation.  We unveil Him once again in our lives at every point of decision whenever we speak the truth we heard and believed.

What hinders you from confessing your faith?  Ask the Lord to show you the things that keep you from speaking the word that's in your heart, so that you can walk on the bridge of faith until you own salvation in that area of your life.

July 17, 2010 The Robe of Righteousness

God's ideas about righteousness are very different from the ones we come up with as human beings.  God says righteousness can only be received, by believing Him.  He says there's nothing we can do, even from the Mosaic law, to make us righteous.  If we want to be accepted by God, we're going to have to come to Him on His terms.  We can't go before His throne of grace in filthy rags (our own efforts to be righteous).  We have to go before Him in a robe of righteousness.  We are given this robe when we receive Christ as our savior.  His righteousness is placed on us, and then we are clothed properly. 

When we are in right standing with the Father based on our faith in Christ, we can then come before Him in our time of need (which is all the time, isn't it?).  Now that we have been given a right relationship with the Father God through Christ our Brother, we are going to have the opportunity to grow up in Him.  The end result is people who are just like Jesus, walking in righteousness that flows from the inside out because He lives in us.  This delights the Father, but it is never what makes us right with Him.   

July 12, 2010 What We're All About

This simple statement is so powerful on its own that I really don't feel the need to say much about it:  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 NKJV  It was the Apostle Paul's mission statement in a way, if I remember rightly what that term means.  It was what he was all about, in a nutshell.

After reading in Acts about the conversion and ministry of Paul, I am quite ready to learn from him (via the Holy Spirit) about the power and righteousness of God, the walk of faith, and the message of the gospel of Christ.  I want to have his heart, for truth and for souls, imparted to me-- you? 

I think I enjoyed, more than ever before,  vicariously going on those mission trips as I imagined sailing on the numerous ships to various places, seeing the miracles and rejoicing in the people who received Christ.  Now I am looking forward to sitting at that preacher's feet, in a way, and letting the things that motivated him to so lay down his own life get into me and motivate me.  There is no time barrier in the Kingdom of God.  It's just as real and alive now as it was then.  With this attitude, then, I plan on diving into the letters and coming out changed.  Want to join me?    

July 9, 2010 Trusting God In Someone Else's Ship

Have you ever felt frustrated when you feel the person in charge is making a serious mistake?  I have.  I've been a "voyager in someone else's ship" most of my life-- as a child dependent on parents in a troubled marriage, as a teenager in a ultra-restrictive boarding school, as a college student on scholarships trying to please a demanding professor, as a young new-Christian wife struggling to submit to her less-than-wise husband, as an employee attempting to do good work under a corrupt boss, and even as a church member trying her best to follow a confused pastor.  I'm sure there are as many tales like this as there are people.  The challenge is to stay true to our faith and keep our trust in the Lord.

Once we come of age, we often have choices about what we will do about a "captain" who is sailing off into a seemingly life-threatening storm.  I've had to make some difficult decisions, but the Lord was always with me through it all.  The Apostle Paul had a word from God to keep him staying on with a ship that was sure to sink. That takes some strong faith!  Sometimes marriage feels like a sinking ship, and if you're a wife, you may feel like jumping!  (Fortunately, we're not prisoners as Paul was, although it may feel like it sometimes.  Reminding ourselves of our desire to make the commitment can help us weather the storm.) Guys have a different problem: they are the ones who have to decide where to take that ship.  I'm glad I don't have to take the helm!  However, sometimes we have to say what we see, whether it's believed or not.  Paul did.  Then he just had to hold on to his vision and trust in God for the outcome.  I have to wonder what was going on in Dr. Luke's mind during all this, since he was on the ship too!

Prayer is always the first action we should take-- it should be automatic.  That's when we get our directions, and peace.  So often, things just seem to straighten themselves out when we pray.  Staying in the Word, too, keeps our eyes focused on the Lord:  isn't He really the Captain of our life anyway?  He knows exactly what's going on, and He's committed to our well-being.  He is the manager of our trials.  Even though being under the leadership of, or even being dependent on, another human being is probably one of the most difficult trials we undergo, we can be assured that the Lord is still watching over us for our benefit-- and for the other person's as well.

There are times we feel we must confront.  Emotional pleas just do not work!  I've tried it many times, and I simply give up.  My overwrought emotional state doesn't convince anyone of my ability to think clearly!  I will not be listened to, no matter how right I am.  Getting my focus on the Lord and seeking Him for peace is top priority.  Then, I may be heard by the "captain" if I present the information I have with calm and clarity.  It's up to him, then, to decide what to do with my intelligence (it's called intelligence for a reason-- you'd better know what you're talking about if you want to be listened to).  I must maintain in faith.

Even if you end up having to go through a shipwreck, know this: God is able to preserve you.  His ways are always redemptive, never forget.  He may be working with the "captain" of the ship you're in, to bring some level of change or repentance or growth; but even if it's mostly about them, guess what?  God's going to bring you to another level of faith, trust, backbone, maturity-- whatever it is you need to grow in.  He uses all things for our good, even shipwrecks.

June 1, 2010 How to Light Up the King's Face

"In the light of the king’s face is life, and his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain." Proverbs 16:15  The promises in this proverb are great, and they induce me to want to "light up the king's face."  So, how to do this??  I want God's life and favor.  I'm getting a picture of the glory cloud in the day of the latter rain!  I think I would like to walk in His glorious presence in this time.  Don't you?

Jesus' response to Thomas, after His resurrection, gives us a wonderful clue as to how to excel in pleasing Him: Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20: 29  When we believe His Word, even when it comes through others, we please Him.  He can work through faith.  Jesus didn't condemn Thomas for needing to have proof, He just indicated that he wasn't going to be as blessed as those who believed without seeing. 

The Apostle John was one of the disciples who believed Jesus had risen without first seeing Him in the body.  Later on in his life, he was given heavenly visions that showed Christ in His kingly glory, as well as many things about the future.  This is a kind of blessing that I would like to receive!  When we only believe what we see with our eyes, we certainly limit our spiritual vision.

When we love Jesus enough to obey Him, this is when our faith can work  (Gal. 5:6).  We don't get proofs of His Word, most of the time, until after we have carried out His Word.  We just have to obey.  If our faith doesn't operate without signs or proofs, then our love is small and we will end up being  disobedient.  This, of course, is a way to NOT please the Lord, and then we don't have the flow of favor we are hoping for.

I realize that some of what I'm saying here could be taken as if God shows favoritism: but giving favor and practicing favoritism is not the same thing.  God doesn't have "favorite children."  He gives reward and disciplines us depending on what we need at any given time.  Really, His discipline is favor, it just doesn't feel like it at the time it's happening.  All His children have His favor (and this means His "born-again" children, not just His human creation).  He still blesses everyone with His overflowing goodness, even unbelievers-- "He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good." (Matthew 5:45)

Here's a verse that makes it clear that there is a way to "light up the king's face": "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6  There's reward!  Who doesn't like reward?

In order to diligently seek the Lord, we have to believe there is more than what we can see, and that God is desiring to give it.  "Seeking" is looking for something we haven't found yet.  If I were "seeking employment" or "seeking a soulmate," that means I believe there is a job out there that I could do, or a person with whom I could  happily spend my life.  I don't seek for things I don't believe exist.

The more I know God, the more I seek for Him, because He keeps telling me about things I haven't seen yet, things that are in Him.  When I believe His Word-- whether I read it in the Bible, I hear it in a sermon, or the Holy Spirit whispers it in my heart-- I begin to "ask, seek and knock" for the thing I heard about.  This is when I can receive.  This is when I am blessed with that favor that was waiting right there in heaven with Christ.

The disciples were wonderfully blessed by having the opportunity to walk around with Jesus, see His miracles, and hear God's Word straight from His mouth.  But we are even more blessed!  Why? Since we don't have evidence of constant "seeing" and "touching," we have a greater opportunity to believe by pure faith (which is itself the "evidence of things not seen" Hebrews 11:1).  Therefore, WE have the opportunity to "light up the king's face" with our faith in Him and His Word.  This opens the door to greater blessings and favor than you or I can even imagine.   

May 25, 2010 A "Yes" Like David's

Sometimes I like to just sit and ponder a scene, such as we have here, with God and David discussing who's going to build who a house.  If you want to know what real humility looks like, check out David's response.  He didn't argue with God's plan, and he didn't get puffed up either.  He simply acknowledged God for Who He is and praised Him for what He had done; David took God at His word and thanked Him.  He gave God credit for the greatness, and he didn't say, "you shouldn't have." 

This should be our response when we hear a promise from the Lord, no matter how far-fetched it might seem to us:  “And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”  2 Samuel 7:28-29

Solomon was the immediate fulfillment of that promise, but Jesus was the complete and eternal fulfillment of it.  Because of this, we are included in God's promise to establish his kingdom and his throne forever, for the Son has the Father's blessing.  Jesus' Kingdom will be established forever, and He shall build a house for God's name.

So then we see Jesus beginning to do this very thing:  "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." John 14:23 I suggest reading again Jesus' words today and taking them personally.  These promises are for you!  Promises aren't activated in your life until you hear them, acknowledge them to be true, accept them for yourself and thank God for them.  They are no less real for you than for the disciples who were sitting with Jesus at the time they were spoken.

God was building Christ's Kingdom through David.  He is still building a holy temple for the dwelling place of His glory.  He wants you to be part of this temple, this Kingdom, this royal family.  The Spirit of Truth is here to bring this revelation into our hearts and make it a reality.  He will help you to see it.  When you do, may your "yes" be like David's.

April 26, 2010

Empowerment: that is the word that comes to me through the readings today, and yesterday's too (I'm sure you've noticed, I'm not writing on Sundays).  I see the theme of God rising up through His faithful people to come against evil and oppression.  "For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth." Psalm 96:13  Yes, Jesus is coming again as the Righteous Judge and King!  Come quickly, Lord!  In the meantime, He does call people to rise up and lead people to fight against wickedness, as we see in Gideon, and yesterday, in Deborah.

I often wonder how often the Church is responsible for what goes on in the world.  How many times is it our turning away from God that allows evil to work, and how often is it our prayerlessness and lack of vigilance that allows evil to continue?  Righteouness and judgment are part of God's nature.  How does that affect us?  Whenever the Israelites started serving other gods, they got overrun and oppressed by enemies.  When they called out to God in repentance, they were given judges to help them overcome.  You never know-- you might end up to be a Deborah or a Gideon whom the Lord might call and empower to fight evil.  And like Jael, you might be a stay-at-home mom who the Lord uses to fight evil, right there in her own home!

It is so significant that Gideon's revelation of God was Jehovah-Shalom:  The Lord is Peace.  Did it ever occur to you that Jesus, always knowing what was in people's hearts and what would happen, told the disciples to bring swords so that He could teach them (even while He was being arrested) that God's battles are not fought with human strength, and that we must seek His strategies.  Peter's lack of internal peace caused him to act impulsively out of fear and anger, cutting off a servant's ear.  Without this on-the-field training, he could have become the next anti-Roman revolutionary. [A bonus spiritual insight:  if we speak, even the Word of God, impulsively and without a love motivation and the leading of the Spirit, we can wound people and hinder them from being able to hear God's voice for themselves]. 

I've noticed two particular extremes of thought and behavior: 1) activists who want to take on every evil they see, and seem to do it passionately and with every means possible, righteous or not; and 2) "separatists" who want to think only of our future in heaven and who don't pay any attention to what is going on here.  I really don't see the leading of the Spirit too much in either of these stances.  The way I see it, if you're stuck in a "program", it's the program leading you, not the Lord.  Our mindset needs to be: know the Lord and do what He says. 

I'm not trying to get into a debate about war here, and I'm not answering questions about whether nations should go to war or not.  What I'm talking about is individuals and their response to God.  I'm talking about spiritual warfare, not natural.  It should be clear, by now, that the Israel in the Old Testament was a living parable about spiritual things.  God's not telling you to take a tent peg and hammer it through somebody's temple!  He's not telling you to bomb an abortion clinic or to assassinate someone.  But that doesn't mean we're supposed to sit around and do nothing.  "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke 18: 7-8

Jesus went to the cross because mankind needed to be delivered from the power of darkness.  He now sits on the right hand of God, in power and authority.  Satan is defeated, and yet, he seems to be running rampant in the world.  What to do?  What to do?

I don't claim to have answers for everything.  I know that there are end-time things that are happening, absolutes that have been prophesied and cannot be changed.  Satan will be allowed to do things, and we won't be given power to stop him, not until the Lord comes back and we fight Satan together.  However, one thing I know:  we, each and every Christian, have been given authority to put an end to all demonic activity and oppression in our own life.  If every Christian alive on earth never allowed Satan to do anything in their own areas of dominion, starting first and foremost in their own mind, what would this do on Earth? 

This is one goal of mine, after being led at all times by the Spirit of Truth, and that is not to give the devil a single opportunity.  If every Christian walked free, as Christ means for us to do, the level of freedom in each of our nations would rise as well.  If we desire to fight spiritual wickedness in high places-- principalities and powers that have a hold over many areas of influence, people and nations-- we must first win on the personal front.

Gideon was not expecting the visitation he received.  Gideon had never been to war as far as I know-- he was a farm-boy.  Yet the angel of the Lord greeted him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior."  Gideon saw himself, in the natural, as a weak nobody.  But he could apparently hear God, and maybe he was an intercessor.  "Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel." 

Do you think of yourself as weak, or a nobody?  God sees you differently!  If you have received Christ and are born-again, then you have the Spirit of God in you!  You have the Word, the Sword of the Spirit!  Jesus, the King, is mighty in you!    Your next battlefield is whatever comes up in your life that fights against the Truth!  God has called you to be an overcomer.  And whatever you overcome in your own life will be what God can work through you in to deliver others.  No need to use a fleece.  You've got more than Gideon did: you've got a new nature, and the internal leading of the Spirit!  Go in this might of yours and conquer!

April 16, 2010

I woke up today feeling kind of old, wondering how I was going to ever be able to do all the things the Lord had put before me to do.  I was wishing I had done them when I was young, thinner and much more energetic.  I'm so glad I read the Scriptures today, for they really spoke to me about all this.

Even though I heard my call when I was 14, in an unmistakeable way (not an audible voice, but one that couldn't be missed), I wasn't in the place to walk it out.  In fact, I outright rejected it, more intent on my own way of doing things than worrying about what God wanted.  The next seven years was pitiful indeed!  Since then, every seven years has brought a new fresh call, a renewal of the very first call, with an increase.  God has never given up on His vision for my life.  He has never given up on His vision for yours, either.

I was so impressed with Caleb, who went to Joshua and asked for the inheritance that the Lord had promised him.  "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.” 13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Joshua 14: 6b-13

At first, I was reading that thinking, "That sure doesn't fit me!"  But the Lord showed me otherwise, for two reasons.  One, I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me-- it's Christ's righteousness and work in me, not my own, that makes me worthy and gives me the ability to carry out God's will.  Only faith and obedience is necessary.  That is all.  I haven't always been so great on the obedience part, and that's the only reason I am still struggling to take my inheritance.  But I see now that the faith part has always been there, although many times as good as dead from lack of corresponding action.  But I am still believeing.  In my spirit, I am more vigorous than ever, and because I know my God more than I did when I was 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 50, and 57 (everything gets refreshed at the 50th year, the Jubilee), I think I am able to say:  Now, then, give me this mountain!

We saw Jesus teaching that men ought to pray and not give up.  Yet, He wanted to know if, when He showed up, would He find enough faith so that we could receive the answer to our prayer. 

Jesus has shown up over and over again to answer my prayers, and yet, I was still not ready enough to keep exercising my faith in His promises to stand firm when the giants came to try and steal it.  I am determined to see it though this time, with His help.  He's not going to do my life for me, or without me.  But when I take my Sword up and my shield of faith, He's going to be right there strengthening me, and fighting for me.  I think I even have enough faith in His creative power to get back my youthful vigor! 

What about you?  What's He promised you?  What's your inheritance in Him?  Are you just going to stand there and wait another 7 years?  I don't think so!  It's time to act out our faith and say:  NOW, THEN, GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN!

March 30, 2010

I would rather put my efforts into trying to touch Jesus with the faith that it takes to be completely healed, than to spend all my time and money on physicians, only to be disappointed. 

These passages are a pivotal part of the Scriptural core that holds together my belief that Jesus is our Great Physician who we can always turn to for healing of all types.  Of course, we all have to walk in what we have faith for.  The woman above had faith in the doctors, until she realized they couldn't heal her.  When she finally turned to Jesus in faith, He did what they could not do.  I opt to just go to Him.

Jesus is Life.  He can restore life to anything that needs it.

March 13, 2010

Reading the Luke account of the story of Zechariah's visitation in the temple, I saw a different scenario than I had ever seen before.  Not that anything different happened, but I saw it in a different way. 

The angel Gabriel says to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard." Luke 1:13.  Gabriel went on to tell him that his wife Elizabeth would finally bear him a son.  I had always assumed that Zechariah had been praying for that son; but then I realized that, since he was standing before the altar of incense in the temple doing his priestly duties, when "the whole assembly of the people was praying outside,"  vs 10  that his prayers were for Israel: that God would "turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God." vs 16.

If bearing a son had simply been a private matter for Zechariah and Elizabeth, perhaps Gabriel would have visited them at home.  But the angel's visit to the temple during worship and prayer marked a significant turn of events for Israel.  I don't think Zechariah would have been quite so terrified when the angel showed up if it was usual then for the glory of God to appear in the temple.  This must not have happened to him before, and was unexpected. 

I also don't think that Zechariah had an expectation of receiving an answer to prayer about finally having a son.  His reaction to the news, and Gabriel's response to it, indicate that he had given up having faith about that.  I think it was Elizabeth who had the faith to have her womb opened.  Her statement was, "This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people." vs 25  I don't believe she had ever stopped entreating the Lord about her barrenness.

God's goodness and wonderful timing are showcased here, answering two separate prayers concerning barrenness: a woman's and a nation's.  God had a plan to not only bless a righteous couple who served Him, but to prepare His chosen people to receive the promised Messiah and the redemption He would bring. 

I see an application for us personally.  When we see the trouble around us, and take our cities and nations before the Lord in intercession, He will find a way to make us part of the answer.  It may just be that the long-awaited answer to the deepest longing of our heart is part of God's plan to bring His redemptive power to work in our own personal area of influence.  Isn't God awesome?

March 10, 2010

Lately, I've been contemplating the concept of "mainstream."  Wouldn't it be a great thing to reach so many people?  And yet, as in today's reading, following the crowd can lead to direct opposition to God. 

Having God's opinion and outlook, and standing up for it, can often put one into direct opposition to the crowd.  Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who saw the Promised Land with eyes of faith.  As it turned out, they were the only ones, of their generation, who were allowed to enter.

This makes my choice clear.  Rather than seek to appeal to the masses, I must continue to seek for God's perspective and approval.  As lonely as that can feel at times-- for someone like me who enjoys having people's approval-- I'd much rather have God's approval than "to win the whole world."  I'll have to leave the winnings up to Him.   

  

February 22, 2010

The Leviticus passage seemed strange and irrelevant until I looked at it from a spiritual standpoint.  Then it reminded me of our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is working to make His Bride pure and holy and without spot or blemish.

I think it's pretty normal to notice every little blemish or wrinkle, pimple or rash, wonder what it is and want to get rid of it.  This is true in the natural, and in the spiritual too.  We are built to want perfection, aren't we? 

I used to get so frustrated with my imperfections, when I was younger-- so much so that I became anorexic trying to "control" my body.  But the more we try to control things and fix our imperfections, the worse they seem to get.  For one thing, we often can't even tell what are actually imperfections, as many of us don't accept ourselves the way God made us.  This goes for our physical bodies as well as our psychological and spiritual make up. 

Often we can't discern whether something is a serious problem, or just something that will go away on its own.  We tend to run to an expert for a diagnosis to assuage our worries.   I was also a very anxious hypochondriac as a young woman, until I learned to go to Jesus for a diagnosis.   This was very necessary for me, as I was always having one problem or another, and it was very expensive and embarrassing to go to the doctor and find out nothing was wrong with me-- except nerves!!  I got a LOT of practice listening to the Lord, and getting His reassurance that I wasn't going to die that day!

I think we have the same issue with sin-- and I'm talking about "missing the mark", not just something obvious spelled-out in Scripture.  Whether we have an overbearing conscience and always think we're doing something wrong, or we have a blurry concept of right and wrong which allows us a lot of "sloppy grace", we tend to run to people to get their opinions on whether we are OK or not.  This can really get us into trouble, depending on whose opinions we are seeking!  There are lots of sources for false guilt, and well as many opportunities to feel justified when we are not.

Sure, we should be able to receive correction if we need it, and know how to get help when we are struggling, but as we grow, we should be finding it easier to be corrected by the Scriptures and by the nudges the Holy Spirit is constantly giving us.  The best pastor or counselor is the one who teaches people to seek and hear the Lord for themselves.

What it comes down to is that Jesus, our faithful High Priest, who can scrutinize us closely without violating us in any way, is the only One who is authorized to decide if we are OK or not, including ourselves!  We may hear something from another person through which the Holy Spirit may point out an issue and give help towards healing, but it's the Lord and the Spirit of Wisdom and Counsel that will speak to us.  When we are His, we will know His voice.  When we go to Him with something that's bothering us, He will show us what the problem is and what to do about it.  That is part of intimacy.

Once we get used to the idea that Jesus sees everything about us, and stills loves us and accepts us, we will be quicker to go to Him and let His light reveal all.  Sometimes He'll reveal that the thing we don't like about ourselves is something He created and will use.  But if He reveals a problem or blemish, He will have the clear discernment of  what it is and what is to be done about it, and He will treat us with love.

We can't fix ourselves or the rest of the Church, and make a Bride worthy of Him.  But we can proclaim His purposes and His goodness and lead the way in pursuing His revealing truth.  We will be brought into  perfectly-pleasing-ness  if we remain in Him.

February 21, 2010

I noticed some different ways of receiving healing in today's Scripture:  it all had to do with people's faith, of course, since He often said " your faith has made you well" Mark 5:34

Sometimes people will be in a place where they will press through whatever, on their own, and come into Christ's presence, touch Him and receive His power to heal them.  Others will come to Jesus for help, but will need Him to accompany them and reassure them, touch them  or the person who is sick, and defend them from whatever will hinder their faith. 

So many times we need a healing touch, and an encouraging word-- and we need it to come to us through a touchable person.  I want to be the kind of person who can give these things, to take someone's hand and help them up, whether it be physically or emotionally, since that is what Jesus so often did.  He is still moved by compassion, and He wants to heal through us.  I want His power ("virtue") to go out from me, don't you?

February 19, 2010

I'm holding on to these promises: "For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away." Mark4:22-25

One of the hardest things in life, for me, is to keep up with something on a daily basis. I am so right-brained! I get lost in my projects and lose track of time. Sometimes I don't even know what day it is. I don't often get out of touch with the Lord, I'm just not a very "habitual" person. And I can be very verbal, but sometimes, I'm really not. So disciplining myself to read the One Year Bible every day-- and then write something-- is not always an easy task. But I am determined to keep trying, and when I don't manage to write here (I'm being pretty good on the reading part), I will just jump in and try again. I don't always have something brilliant to say. Sometimes I just feel like saying, "I'm here, are you?"

What I got from the verses today was, that I will get out of my devotional times what I put into them, and more. Now that's a good deal if you ask me. Plus, when I come across mysteries in the Word, if I ask and listen, the Lord will speak, as He delights in revealing. It's easy to get in "task mode" and forget to listen. That's why I don't often write anything early in the day. Sometimes I just have to listen for a while. And sometimes what I hear is just too personal to write on a public blog! I'm sure you can relate.

I think if we have faith to receive something from the Lord in His Word-- and we have all been given a measure of faith-- then we will receive if we put in our part. But if we have no faith in Him, we end up losing whatever of the Word that we had once gotten, because we end up letting something steal it from us, like in the parable of the sower. I don't want that to happen to me, so I am determined not to let the "cares of this life," good or bad, choke out the Word so that it's not fruitful in me. I want to excercise my faith and be faithful. And since faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit, the more I abide in Him and His Word, the more faithful I will be.

January 26, 2010

Today's readings really spoke to me of God's compassion. Powerfully! In the face of how the world is slandering God (e.g., the movie Legion), I think we'd better get to know Him a whole lot better! Hold on to your faith!

Why did Jesus say "You faithless and perverse generation?" when the disciples couldn't cast out a demon that was tomenting a boy? He said they couldn't cast it out because their faith wasn't even as big as a mustard seed. Matthew 17:17, 20. Why was their faith so small?

I saw something today I hadn't seen before. I think they had all forgotten that God was all about deliverance. They forgot He was compassionate. They had forgotten their nation's deliverance in the past. They weren't on the same page with God.

In Exodus 3:7-8, God said to Moses: "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey."

God came down then, and then He came down in Jesus. Why? Compassion.

Jesus was teaching Peter that they were under religious oppression, and that as long as they were, He would provide--e.g., the tax. But Jesus did more than just alleviate the temporary suffering. His mission was to set everyone free from the oppression. He released people from spiritual bondage, from Satanic oppression. "The children are free," He said. Fact. vs 26 We can't be free on the outside if we're not free on the inside.

Psalm 22 is such a moving prophetic expression of the sufferings of Christ on the cross, so that we could be free. He entered in to our oppressions and bore them Himself. "In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them." vs. 4 David knew and trusted in God's deliverance, and so did Jesus.

The Proverbs 5 section reminds us that sometimes the oppression we suffer is because we were disobedient. But that doesn't mean God won't deliver us, it just means we need to repent first.

If we're lacking in faith to trust God for deliverance from oppression, or unable to help others get free, we need to meditate on the Scriptures once again and rediscover God's heart of compassion and His track-record of deliverance. He hasn't changed.

God will again "come down" to set His children free from what is working up to be the most horrendous, tyrannical oppression ever to be seen on earth. Jesus Christ WILL come again and do away with the oppressions of evil forever. Have faith in God!
 
Let's not be a "faithless and perverse generation."

January 22, 2010

When I read the Matthew passage for today, I couldn't help thinking of Haiti. Jesus had compassion on the multitudes and healed their sick. Then when they needed food, he multiplied the loaves and fish. I think we don't have much trouble seeing Jesus doing these things, if we believe in Him. But what if we could see ourselves doing these things?

Some people act like that's heresy, to say we could do what Jesus did. But He told the disciples, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." Matthew 14:16  He was trying to get them to see what He was passing on to them-- what He could do through them if they would just believe. Peter walked on the water-- he got a little glimpse.

Sometimes I think I have a little glimpse, but I'm not doing it yet. I see it though, and if we can see it we can go there! In a world so wracked by disasters, famine and pestilence the children of God are the ones who can deliver: everything that God is and has. I know this to be true. I am praying for it to come to fulfillment.