I Will See God!

I know that I am not the only one who is dealing with heartache over the news from Connecticut.  I know that I am not the only one who was praying for the destruction and loss of life that occurred when hurricane Sandy hit the east coast. I know that I am not the only Christian who has prayed and struggled to find answers to why our nation voted in a president who does not care about the lives of the unborn.  I know that I am not the only resident of Washington state that is disgusted over the new laws that allows people to openly use drugs, and to "marry" a person of the same sex.  I know that I am not the only one to have been praying of late, "Come quickly Lord Jesus!!" 
As I was reading in Job this morning, I was in a way comforted to remember that sin and suffering have always been around...well, as long as humans have been around that is!  When God created man and woman He expected them to follow and obey.  He expected them to love one another, to have children, and to live a care-free life in the beautiful garden that He had created just for them.  But they did not obey...they did not follow.  Adam and Eve thought they knew a better way, they thought that it was no big deal to disobey God's command.....But it was and it is a big deal to disobey God's command.
I find it strange that we, as a nation, have taken God out of every nuance of public life, but then the people of this nation who wanted Him gone, blame God when horrible things happen!!

Proverbs 19:3 A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.

As we can see from this verse it has always been so.  Man blames God for the choices that man makes!! 

I know that people do not choose hurricane force winds, and I know that the children in Connecticut didn't choose to die in such a horrible way, but God gives ALL men a choice!!  And (I hate that it is so) we ALL bear the consequences of anothers' CHOICE!!  That is why it is so important to make GODLY choices and to teach our children to make GODLY choices. For if we take God out of our day to day lives, then all we have left is......HUMANS!!  And humans, without God are evil!  They are selfish, mean, cruel to one another, back biters, haters, adulterers, murderers, sexually immoral, drunkards, liars, disrespectful of authority, war mongers, and they say that good is evil and evil is good!

 Lord Jesus, help us all!

When a Christian goes through a terrible time, when suffering is all around us, we need to know that God has a purpose and a plan for it.  Just as He had for Job.  Here was a man who in a matter of a few hours, lost everything that was precious to him.  He lost his home, his business, his children, and the respect of his wife.  He truly felt like he didn't deserve this kind of treatment from God.  As Job is pouring out his anguish, his pain, his heartfelt cry to God, the Bible says that he never sinned with his mouth!  This teaches me that God understands our heart's cry, He knows that we don't understand His ways, He knows that in our humanness, we feel like He is to blame for life's trials and heartache.  What I have found is that God allows me to go through times of heartache and pain so that I may bring glory to His name.  As I go through difficult and painful times with integrity and trust in my loving heavenly Father, people see that God is real, that He cares for me, that His love for me never fails.  It is in these times that I experience the peace that this life can never give to me.

I will end with these words from Job........

Job 19:25–27 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

 

As A Child

Mitch and I enjoyed having our four youngest grandchildren visit last weekend.  I love having the kids around, but it can be quite hectic at times!  They are a bundle of energy and they all love to play rough-house, board games, and thy really enjoy coloring or creating paper crafts.  We had dvr'd the movie, Spy Kids, and they loved watching that (and acting like spies later on...too cute!!) along with other cartoons.
To digress a moment, Mitch and I were not able to have this kind of playtime with our older grandchildren, because we lived in Colorado when they were young.  Now, we get to take them to lunch, or to the movies or shopping.  I enjoy having grown-up conversations with them, but feel a bit "cheated" for not being around when they were little.
Anyway, while the little ones were here, there was a point where they were all in the kitchen asking for a treat, yet they had just asked to play a game.  One of the littler ones, who is potty-training, said "I need to go potty Ninnie, will you help me?"  Then, one of them asked for a drink!!  I told them that I could only do one thing at a time, and needed to help the one on the toilet, before we had an accident.  The other kids patiently waited while I was in the restroom, and when I came out, I gave them their treat, and then we played a game.  I remember thinking to myself, don't they know that I can only do one thing at a time?  I even told them, "give me a sec....there is only one of me and four of you!" I can still see their sweet faces, expecting their Ninnie to grant their requests!  There was no hesitation to ask me for these things, they knew that I would give them all that I could give.
 It was in this moment that God brought to mind these verses:

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

God tells us to come to Him as little children. The Bible tells us that we cannot inherit the kingdom of God without being like a child.  It is an innocent child that trusts that the person they are looking to is eager to help and eager to grant their request.  This is how God wants me to see Him.

God was reminding me that He longs to hear my requests and that He wants to grant my every wish, so to speak, if it is good for me!  God loves to see my sweet face expectantly waiting on Him to do awesome things for me. 

"Fight On!"

I was contemplating our nation's last presidential election, and thinking about how we elected a man who is against quite a few of the things that are good and godly.  He is for abortion and gay marriages, he seems to be against Israel, and his ideas for our economy are totally "out-there."  I know that I need to exercise my right to vote, but more importantly, I need to pray!  For all of our country's faults and ungodliness, we still are blessed to live in a nation that allows us the freedom to worship and to serve our God.  I was reminded to be thankful to the Lord for being a US citizen, but also to remember that I am to speak the truth at all times. The battle that is being waged against godly values will continue until the day that Lord comes to take us home, But I am not to ever give up fighting for those values; therefore I must be about the Lord's work, I must be watchful in my prayers, and I must look for every opportunity to share with others how blessed I am to serve and be loved by Jesus.

Psalm 149:6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand.

A Time Like This

I was reading in chapter four of Esther this morning, the part where Mordecai is encouraging Esther to take a stand for her people.  Esther was afraid and rightly so.  If she chose to take a stand for her people, it would mean that she would need to tell the king that she was Jewish too.  Therefore, not only was she was putting her own life on the line by going to see the king uninvited, but the decree to exterminate the Jewish people would include her too!  Being the queen would not save her life!  As I read how Mordecai encouraged Esther to choose to save her people, I was reminded that I need to be this kind of help and encouragement to those around me.  Many times when a loved one is going through a difficult situation, or is faced with a life-changing decision to make, I will have a tendency to ask God for a quick and easy solution to their problem.  I forget that God is glorified as His servants go through difficult times.  It is so easy to allow myself to forget that I am to pray that they are strengthened for the trial, that God would show Himself strong to them; and not to just pray that the trial goes away.
There will be times that a loved one will need to decide if they are going to obey God or not.  So often in these times there are "extenuating circumstances" that make the correct choice hard to see, and even more difficult to make.  I can sympathize with this, for often this choice is mine to make too.  Still, God requires us to speak the truth, He asks us to be willing to make the hard choices, to be willing to obey no matter what.  God asks of us to encourage our loved ones to make the choice to choose the call that is placed on their life.
Mordecai told Esther that she alone needed to decide what she was going to do, Mordecai could not make the decision for her! Just as Mordecai encouraged Esther, I am to point others to Jesus!  He alone can give them the courage to say, "Yes, LORD."
I will close with a sentence that I have written in my Bible next to this passage in Esther.....
"Let us not weaken those whom we love by weak sympathy, but let us love them enough to detach them from ourselves and strengthen their hands in God."

Waiting on God

Do you ever wonder why God waits to answer you?  Are there times that a reply to a prayer seems long in coming?  Does it seem that the heavens are bronzed over, and that silence reigns?  I have found that unanswered prayers, are just that, unanswered prayers.  So, I need to keep on asking!  The Bible teaches me that God hears every word, every thought of mine.  Jesus Himself taught us that when we ask anything according to His will, we have what we ask for.  Prayer is to be something that I do without ceasing.  It is the way that God set up for us to communicate with Him.  God knows all things, and yet He asks us to talk to Him. It is for our benefit that we are to be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father.  I know, from past experiences, that I tend to try to live my life without God's help.  I was reading this morning in Job and Isaiah, and the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about this.  I so often think that I know what is best for me, I tend to think that I can do it on my own.  But, God is faithful to use my everyday life to show me that I should not be doing so. 

Job 35:10–14 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night,Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to empty talk, Nor will the Almighty regard it. Although you say you do not see Him, Yet justice is before Him, and you must wait for Him.

Pride in my heart keeps me from going to the Lord, I think that others can help me, I think I know how too solve my problems; these things keep me from going to God.  So often the answer to my prayers tarry, because God is teaching me just that!!  Gos alone knows what I need, God alone knows what is best for me, God alone can change my world. 

Incorruptable Beauty #1

A few years back, I was invited to speak at our church's "Mom's Group."  The theme for that year was about lasting beauty.  One morning, while getting ready for work, putting my make-up on and fixing my hair, the topic of my talk became clear.  I'll speak on Incorruptable Beauty, from 1 Peter 3.  On that morning, God spoke to me about a prayer, using the metaphor of putting on make-up and fixing my hair.  It is a way for me to consciously place my mind on the truth, and not believe the lie.  Each morning as I get ready for the day, I can take these steps, I can pray these prayers to God, so that I am a woman of Incorruptable Beauty, from the INSIDE out!!
As I have written in previous posts, I am getting older......yes, the wrinkles have come, and my hair is turning gray, and my body is certainly not like it used to be.  Recently, during my quiet time one morning, I was complaining to God about it all.....He reminded of the talk that I gave on Incorruptable Beauty.  God was telling me once again, that what was important to Him was a woman who feared Him, and who loved Him with her whole heart. The Bible holds many verses on the passing "glory" of man......woman.  We are here today, and gone tomorrow......our lives are likened to a flower, a blade of grass, that withers away.......smoke that dissipates into the air.
Maybe some of you are in the same place as I am, struggling to understand all of the physical and emotional changes that come in our 50s.  Maybe some of you are in the "prime" of your life, enjoying a strong and beautiful body.  Or maybe you have a physical ailment, that keeps you from realizing your body's full potential.......a disfigurement of your face, that makes you feel not so pretty.  Whatever the case, I hope that what follows will help, and bring comfort, and a renewed sense of your worth, in the eyes of our Lord.
I hope that you will be patient with me, for I will not be able to complete this in one post. So, please keep checking back for more.
As women we are taught from our youth that physical beauty is something of great value, far greater than even our intelligence or personality, even our society places great emphasis on the human body.  But God, does not.
In 1 Samuel 16:7, when the Lord gave instruction to the prophet Samuel in regards to anointing of the next King of Israel, the Lord spoke very clearly on this subject. "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him (speaking of David's older brother, Eliab).  For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Therefore, I must choose to think purely and in a godly fashion, about my appearance, and about my physical body.  I choose to not believe the lie, the lie that tells me that my face and form must be beautiful to be of any worth, of any value.
The Incorruptable Beauty Prayer.
The first thing that I do, before I put on any make-up, is to cleanse my face.  As a woman we know that dirty skin, full of bacteria and dead skin cells, causes clogged pores and then pimples.
As I begin my day, I must ask the Lord to clean my heart, and to clean my mind of sinful thoughts and actions, and of dead works. For if my heart is clogged with sin, dead works, and self, God can not use me.  The Bible teaches us that we can do nothing without Jesus, and Jesus also taught us that every issue of life comes from the heart.

Luke 6:43–45 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

 It is the work of the Holy Spirit in my day to day life, that brings about any lasting work or victory over sin, self, and dead works.
But, if my heart has become clogged, and full of sin and self, then my day will be full of sinful actions and thoughts, not full of the beautiful work of God.  Therefore, a clean and pure heart makes for a day that is joy-filled (not perfect), because we are in pure fellowship with Jesus.  It makes for a day that brings about actions that are pleasing to God, actions that will be blessings for me and for others. 

"And the Bride says, 'Come.'"

"Nothing is intolerable that is necessary.  Now God has bound thy trouble upon thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee.  These cords thou canst break; and therefore lie thou down gently and suffer the hand of God to do what He pleases."  Jeremy Taylor
My grandson, Adam, had a routine appendectomy a few weeks back.  The surgery went well, he was released from the hospital that same evening.  The surgeon sent the appendix to the lab for pathology, which is protocol when a organ is removed from a person's body.  The lab discovered a pea-size tumor in the appendix, and with further testing found it to be cancerous.  The doctors are confident that the cancer is out of his body, but my daughter and her husband are having more tests done......blood and urine tests, and a PET scan.....just to be sure. 
Cancer, I hate that word!  I hate the waiting to hear if all will be ok with Adam.  I hate the thought that it might not be ok.  I hate the thought that my sweet baby girl and her man, may have to go thru the most horrible thing any parent could imagine, the sickness, or the death of their first born son. I hate the thought that my grandson may need to go thru chemo or worse. And yet, in the midst of all this HATE, I have been reminded that there is LOVE.......the love of a Father in heaven Who sees all and is intimately involved in all of this.  A God, Who promises to bring good through ALL things.  A God, Who will never, ever leave or forsake us.  God's love for us is so great that He sent His first born, His only Son to make a way for us to remain ALIVE forever.  Yes, we are not getting out of this world, "alive."  We will all either die, or we will be taken-up in the rapture.  Either way, we will go to be with our loving Father; and all of this world's sickness and sin will be done away with.  There will be no such word as "cancer" in heaven.  There will be no such word as "hate" in heaven.  Love will reign there, and great will be our peace and joy.
"Come quickly, Lord Jesus."

Something To Say

Recently, I was finishing up a study in the book of Esther.  I had just finished reading the last chapter, and my attention was captured by these verses:
King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores.  And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?  Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.

In the OT, there are many references to the "Books of the Kings."  Yet I had not up to this point found written, a reference to a "commoner" being written about in these books.  So, I did a bit of research...

There are many "books" mentioned in the Bible.  The book of Moses, the book of Life, the book of the prophets, as well as the books of the kings.  Before the times of the printing presses, scribes were used to write history, they were used to record what went on in courts of law, and in the courts of kings and kingdoms. And all that was written, and not lost, has now become history.
As I was doing my little bit of research on the subject, I came across this verse:

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.  2 Corinthians 3:3

People write down what they want to remember, they write down what they think is important, and just as it was in the past, records are kept of what goes on in a court of law, and in a government.  People write letters to one another, sharing their everyday lives and concerns with those that they know and love. People write books to tell a story, or to share information, or to record history.  We write because.....we have something to say!

As I read the verse in 2 Corinthians, I was convicted of how I was not living a life that reflected what has been written on my heart!

You see, God has used my heart as a piece of paper (a tablet), and He has written a letter, (a book if you will) for the world to see.  Why?  Because God has something to say!! He wants my life to be a reflection of His life, of His love, and of His grace for people.  God wants to tell the world about Himself through me!

So often though, this book, this letter of my heart looses a person's interest, because they can't get past the cover!  They can't get past me! I know, we are not to judge a book by it's cover, but we all do it.......I know I do.  Also, we have it heard it said that when we meet a person for the first time we make judgements about who they are, or what they are like, in the first 30 seconds!  We know that we should give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but so often it is hard to get past that initial reaction to them. 

What has been written on the "tablet" of my heart, needs to be read. I asked the Lord right there and then, to make my "cover" be something that doesn't push people away.  I asked that my "cover" be something that draws others in and doesn't push them away.  I want them to want to know about my Savior.

Blessed Assurance

God keeps His promises.
He is not a man that He should lie or the son of man that He should repent.  Has He said and will He not do?  Or has He spoken, and He will not make good?  (Numbers 23:19)
This passage of scripture is written on the inside cover of my Bible.  I put it there.  It is a reminder to me that my God will always keep His promises to me.
I was reminded of this earlier this month, as I was driving home from my eldest daughter's home.  She has been ill with mono, and was needing my help to move into her new home.  Her children, my grand children, were a huge help to her during this time, but I needed to be there.  Momma to the rescue. What came to mind that day, as I drove the three hour drive home, was a portion of scripture that God had spoken to my heart many years before.  While my man and I lived in Colorado, and my two beautiful daughters lived in Washington state, there was a period of time that my eldest was ill from a food intolerance.  She struggled with this for many years. I can remember many a phone conversation with her, and of how I would hang up and cry......and pray.  I so wanted to be able to help her, but I was twenty one hours away.  I knew that God was there with her......but I am her momma.
My youngest went through a difficult time during this time frame too.  She wanted a baby, but that didn't happen for her and her man for eight years. I know, neither one of these issues were life threatening, but hard for them none the less.  I just hated that I wasn't there to help them. I hated that I couldn't wrap my arms around them, cry with them, and kiss their "boo-boos" away.  It was after one of these phone conversations that God led me to a portion of  Isaiah 60.....your daughters shall be nursed at your side....I can remember reading this verse, wondering if it truly would happen, would we ever be able to live closer to each other again? I missed my girls so much. 
This is what the Lord reminded me of.....Because here I am, living three hours from my girls, able to make the drive to help out if needed.
But this is not the only promise that God has kept.  He has kept His promise of help, and guidance, and grace.  The promise of the Holy Spirit's help and teaching each and every day of my life, the promise of His mercies that are new each morning.  The promise of protection, and of my daily needs being met.
I will end this with one of my all time favorite passages of scripture, and yes, it too is a promise to me.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

"I Will Live!"

I was reading in the book of Numbers the other day, the account of the children of Israel and of the plague of fiery serpents that the Lord sent into their midst.  If you are familiar with the story, you will remember that God sent fiery serpents as a discipline for their faithlessness.  Numbers records that the children of Israel were placed in a position (AGAIN) to trust God, in regards to Him being the One who would take care of them.  Moses asked the king of Edom if he, and the children of Israel, could go through his land.  Moses told the king that he and the people would not be taking anything from him or the land; they were just going to walk through it.  The king said, no, and so Moses and the people had to go back into the wilderness and walk a long distance around the land of Edom.  The Bible records that they had to go by way of the Red Sea.....again!  The place of their past failure.....their sin of faithlessness.  When the people found this out, they began to murmur and complain about God and His care for them. Once again, God was orchestrating the lives of the people, and they became afraid; and therefore, they turned again to unbelief and distrust of God and His ways.  And so, because God loved them, He sent a discipline into their lives, one that actually killed some of them. 
The fiery serpents were sent to bite the people, and yes, I believe that they were real snakes!  When the children of Israel felt the bite of the snakes, they then perished. I am sure that as they lay writhing in pain, and breathing their last, that they truly regretted their distrust of God, but it was too late.  And please note that they didn't only distrust God, they also attributed something to Him that was so untrue; and that is, that He had brought them into the wilderness to destroy them.  They believed the lie, instead of the truth, which was that God was setting them free from the slavery of Egypt.  In essence they attributed to God what Satan wants to do in our lives.......destroy us!!  Therefore I see the loving hand of God in His discipline, for I know the sting of the bite of my disobedience and faithlessness!! Just like the children of Israel, I too, so often, go astray.  I too, attribute to God what the devil is.....a liar and a murderer, and I am ashamed to admit how often I do this!!  Let me just say that I am so thankful for God's grace and mercy!!
What we read next, is that the people of Israel went to Moses to appeal to him too talk to God on their behalf.  They admitted their sin, and asked Moses to ask the Lord to take away the serpents.  What occurs next has always been a puzzle to me, still not sure of all that it means.  God tells Moses to make a replica of the serpent out of bronze, and then he was to place it on a pole.  God then told Moses to tell the people that when they were bitten by the real serpents, if they looked toward the replica, they would be healed. Isn't that such a strange thing to do?  And yet, Moses obeyed and made the bronze serpent, and put it on a pole.  Moses obeyed God and told the people of God to do a very strange thing.....look to the bronze serpent if they were bit, and they would live.
As I was reading this, God spoke to my heart that I too, like Israel, am so quick to distrust Him and His motives.  I so often am tempted to want my own way, and when God doesn't agree with me, I feel that He has abandoned me.  Have you ever felt like God was putting you back into the same places that you thought that you had been brought from?  I do not think that the mention of the Red Sea in this account was just by chance.  I saw that God was giving the children of Israel another opportunity to respond in trust and obedience to Him!  In His grace and mercy He was taking them to the place where they had mistrusted Him in the past, and giving them a chance to do it right this time!   I also saw that the children of Israel had to look on their judgement (the bronze serpent) to be set free, to be healed!  Isn't that the same for us?  We need to recognize, to look on, our waywardness and lack of faith and see it for what it truly is.....sin.  I, we need to really see that our disobedience will destroy us, and then in trust, turn to the Lord in obedience and do what He has asked; even if it seems strange or frightening.  As the children of Israel looked to the replica of the judgement of God, we too look to the cross of Jesus that has set us free.  For isn't the cross just that?  A symbol of God's righteous judgement on mankind?  Jesus paid the cost of my waywardness and sin, He took on His body the justice of God.....for me!  Because of His great love for His people, God provided a way for them to be saved from the death of the serpent's bite.  Because of His great love for me, God provided a way for me to be saved from the sting of death; for Jesus saved me from my sin, and of living a worthless life.  And so, as I live my life, I am to turn and look to the symbol of judgement....the cross, when I sin and fall and repent.....and in doing so......I will live!

Like Smoke

I have been reading Exodus druing my quiet times with Jesus; and once again I was convicted, as I read about how the children of Israel were so apt to not trust God!  It seems to me that if God would have done some of those kinds of miracles in my life, I would not have turned to distrust as easily as they did.  But of course, God reminded me that I too, am like the saints of old.....a human being with a sin nature.
As I was pondering about the time that God's people worshiped the golden calf and partied like there was no tomorrow, it seems to me that after what they had been through, they would have seen how silly that was, and yet I believe that they truly thought that the golden calf was going to be their god, and that their tomorrows may never come.
If you remember, Moses was up on the mountain top, communing with God and  receiving the 10 Commandments, when God told him to go down to the people, because they were corrupting themselves.  I was struck with the fact that the Bible tells us that the people went to Aaron, the priest, and told them that they wanted him to lead them, since Moses was delaying his coming.  Maybe they thought that God had killed Moses, or maybe they thought that Moses had forsaken them.  Maybe they thought that God had forsaken them.  I don't know, and the Bible doesn't tell us why, we just know what they did.  It is written that the children of Israel were told, by Aaron, to remove their earrings, and the earrings of  their wives, and of their sons and daughters.......the earrings that were a symbol of their slavery (I am not totally sure if the Egyptians used earrings as a symbol of slavery at this time, but I do know that this is the case later on in Israel's history).  Then Aaron took the people's earrings and melted them down into a gold calf.
The Lord showed me that the people took the symbol of their slavery and made it into something they thought would help them in that moment of time, something that they hoped would lead them, and save them.
Isn't this so true of you and me?  When we became believers we were set free from being a slave to our sin, and yet we still have the tendency to take the things of our slavery, and try to make them into something that will help us today.  I so often use my own wisdom, and my feelings to lead me.  And weren't they the things that caused me to stumble and fall so many times in the past?  I try to make people be what helps me today, turning to them to take away my pain, turning to them to make my day, my life easier.  Now, I am not saying that we can't seek godly counsel or encouragement, but what if these don't help us?  What if the trial and the pain is still there? Will we attribute this to God?  Will we distrust Him and His word?  Will we then try to fix ourselves or our situation, telling ourselves that God's way didn't work?  This is basically what the children of Israel did.  They were so willing to trust God when they had the signs of the plagues on Egypt, and the sign of the Red Sea parting, and of the Egyptians perishing right before their eyes in that same Red Sea as the waters came crashing down.  And yet, when ever they were put in a position to trust without seeing, they failed miserably.  What would have been the outcome if they had instead choose to trust God, and thrown their earrings into the fire as an act of surrender and obedience, burning them up as a sign that they no longer considered themselves to be Egypt's (Remember that Egypt is a type of the world, and of the world's system) slaves?
You see I so often in the past (and if I am honest, I do this even today) put my faith in myself, in others, and even in a worldly way of thinking or acting.  But God came into my heart and changed all of that!!  He came to show me that He, and His ways, and His words are what I should be heeding and following.  God is trustworthy.  I know this in my head, and yet so often in the midst of a trying time I forget that He is there, watching over me.  The trial of faith is not so that God can see how I will respond, He already knows that!  It is so that I can see how I will respond, for this builds and strengthens my faith and trust in God.  Faith is like a muscle, it must be stretched and used in order for it to become stronger.  We all have been given a measure of faith, so what will we do with it?  Will we turn in trust to Jesus, or will we try and use the things from our slavery, to help us?  The choice is ours to make, but God will be faithful despite what that choice may be. 
So, for today I choose to take the symbols of my slavery and throw them instead into the cleansing fire of God's perfect love for me......may they burn and vanish into the air like smoke.

For the Birds

I love birds.....any bird really, but I especially like swallows and mourning doves. Our home in Colorado had a large picture window that faced our front yard, where two very large blue spruces were the home of two mourning doves.  Did you know that doves mate for life? And did you further know (that is a line from, Its A Wonderful Life. I have always wanted to be able to "say" it!) that doves will come back each year to the same nesting spot?  I so enjoyed watching the doves build their nest in the spring, and then I would notice that the two became three or four! Each year of the eight that we lived there, I would see the doves come back in the spring, and roost in our tree.  As we prepared to move to Washington state, I was bummed that I had to say "good-bye" to my feathered friends. 
Now we live in a newer housing area, and so there are not any mature trees yet.  We do have a maple tree in our front yard, and over the past four years, it has grown quite tall.  Last winter, I decided that it was time to "bring on the birds," and so I bought a feeder.  Since that day, I have been faithful to fill the feeder with a yummy mix of seeds and nuts, and the birds have been faithful to come and eat of the bounty. 
Up till this winter, I hadn't seen any mourning doves yet, and then one particularly cold day in December, there they were.  And it was not one pair of doves, but four!!  The doves have made our front porch their home......and I have discovered something that I had not known before.......mourning doves are MESSY!  They grab a seed or a nut from the feeder and then take it back to the porch to dine on it......then they leave the empty shells, and the other things that come from the back side of their feathered little bodies!  Needless to say, the porch is in constant need of a good sweep and clean.  But, I don't mind the work because.....I love birds.
The other day as I was sweeping up the mess, I was reminded of how Jesus told us to not worry about our lives, to not worry about what we are to eat, or what we are to wear on our bodies.  I am sure that you are familiar with the passage in Luke, where the Lord uses birds and flowers as an example to us about His care of us.  Jesus said that the birds of the air don't have to toil for their food, it is provided for them from His hand.  He also said that the flowers of the field don't need to worry about their pretty petals, that they are clothed with finer garments than a king is!!  All of this to say that we don't need to worry about our lives.  If God takes care of the birds and of nature, then He most certainly will take care of us......His most precious creation!
As I finished cleaning the front porch and refilling the bird feeder, here the birds came.....they landed in our maple tree and began to sing their songs.....the doves cooed at me, and waited until I went into the house before they moved to the porch.  I came away with the realization that I too am to "sing" at what is provided.  I am to "sing" for there is no cause to worry, God has never let me down, and I know He never will.  I am to "sing" because of His love for me, and I am to "sing" of how He so often has to clean up my messes.......He doesn't mind the "work" involved in having me around. And just as I love to hear the birds sing and the doves coo, I know that Jesus loves to hear me sing too. 

The Change

This past Wednesday, our senior pastor gave his annual Prophecy Update message. He spoke on world events, and on what is happening in the religious arena, in our world today.  I was once again amazed at how true the Bible is!  There are many Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled to day, and there will be many more to come.  At the end of the message, our pastor gave an alter call, and 15 people were added to the kingdom of God!  What has me thinking though, is a passage from 1 Peter that he read at the end of the message; it spoke of being, "sober" and "watchful." 
I am not that young anymore, I am in my 50's.  These past few years have been ones of major changes in my body, and in my life.  For those of you who are "with me" in this, you will totally understand what I am going through......I have experienced a loss of my usual stamina....I tire easily.  I don't seem to have the "mental abilities" that I once had, my memory is going!  And I am quit cranky at times, what little patient I possessed is gone.  Yes, I am going through........The Change.  And, on top of the physical symptoms, I have experienced something that I thought I would never "feel."  I want to quit ministry, I am ready to retire.  I want to move to the beach or to the mountains, and live in solitude.......waiting for Jesus to take me home. Over this past year, as I have been experiencing this, I have been faithful to talk to the Lord about it; and He, has been faithful to hear and answer me.  I have to say that I find it quite humorous to find out that there are quite a few verses in the Bible that speak of "old age."  There was this one time that I was feeling "dried up," useless to the Lord, and so I prayed, and right away a chapter in Isaiah came to mind.  It was talking about how even the eunuch would not be a dry tree in the house of the Lord!!  How funny is that???  I believe that the Lord was telling me that I would be full of life and vigor.....in serving in His house, the church.  So, no retirement for me just yet!
What follows is what the Lord has been showing me, as I have gone through.......The Change.
I am one of those people who have a lot of energy, and I also love to serve, it is my "love-language.  I can accomplish a lot of tasks quickly, and I don't need much instruction.  I also, have an excellent memory.  I do need to use a daily calendar, because life is very busy, but I do (or I did) have a good memory.  So, to have this part of me, in a sense, just go away, has been very difficult to say the least. I think the most important lesson that I have learned is that God is faithful to me , and to His word!  He has said that all of His promises are, "Yes, and Amen, in Jesus."  Through this time, He has shown me once again, that I can not do ministry apart from Him!  There must be a total dependence on His Spirit, not in my abilities.  And so, through this trial, He has given me another opportunity to trust in Him......alone.
I have found that God gives a supernatural ability to keep on going.  There have been many times over the past few years that I have literally "felt" God infusing me with strength and power.  God means what He says, I must stay "attached to the Vine," in order to "bear much fruit."  
At the Prophecy Update, I was once again reminded of how important it is to finish my race well.  You see, a runner knows that she must pace herself as she runs.  For if she doesn't, she won't have enough energy, or strength, to make it over the finish line. Also, she must watch the race track.  She must be watchful of anything that might trip her up, and cause her to stumble and fall, while keeping her eyes on the finish line. Through this message of "being sober, and watchful," I am once again reminded that I need to be about the Lord's business, and not mine!  I have been awakened to a few things about my personal life, things that have been weighing me down, and tripping me up as I have run my race........They are:
I need to be careful about my driving.  No more impatience with other drivers that I am sharing the road with!
I need to be more diligent in my finances.  My man and I are hard at work on this one.  I even found a $490.00 mistake that was made by an on-line company that they are in the process of refunding to us!
I need to be careful to, as much as possible, to take care of my physical body.  And, so I am exercising on a daily basis, and feel wonderful.  Also, I am taking natural hormones and feel great!
I need to pray with a greater awareness of what is going on around me.  I am asking Jesus to open my eyes to the needs around me.  I am praying about each situation and asking what He would like me to do, or if I can be of any help.
I need more of Jesus in my daily duties.  So often I just go through my day without speaking to the Lord at all!  Yes, I am faithful to start my day with prayer and reading of the Bible, but so often it ends there.
I need.......more of Jesus, every second of each day!
Now I know that most of us greet the New Year with a list of resolutions, things that we would like to change about ourselves, or change about our lives.  Maybe there are things that we would like to do over the upcoming year.  To be honest, I try not to do this, because I will have a tendency to "follow the list," instead of following the Lord; but, I still believe that there is room for self reflection, and there is room to do inventory on my personal life.  This is where I am today.  Asking God to, "search my heart, and know me, to see if there is any wicked way in me, and to lead me in the paths.....everlasting."
I have decided that I don't want to quit......just as I am ready to cross the finish line.  There are many things that I know need to change about me, and about my life; things that will help me to finish my race well.  I can't change the fact that I am in my 50s, but someday soon I will see my Savior face to face. So, until the day that He calls me home, I will keep running my race.......to win!

"No Idols Before Me"

This posting is a companion to the post titled.......Iron Sharpens Iron.
The second lesson that I learned in marriage is: God must be EVERYTHING to me!
No man, no matter how awesome and godly he is, will ever be able to love me the way Jesus does. He will never be able to take the place of God; and biblically speaking, God will never allow it to be so. I have a guy who loves Jesus, and he is a wonderful husband, and father. Being blessed with a husband like this is one of the best gifts from the Lord!!
As I write this, I am reminded of Job. God gave Job many blessings, many gifts, and then He allowed them to be taken away. For what reason? For the purpose of refining Job, for the purpose of removing from Job's heart the impurity of pride. Also, Job had an incorrect view of God, and of the blessings that He gives. God wanted the best for Job, and He wants the best for me. God gives me blessings because He loves me, and because He loves me, He can take them away! I must never put the gift above the Gift-Giver!
I have found that God is faithful to His word, He will always give what He has promised. God said that He would not share His rightful place in my life with anyone! No idols at all on the throne of my heart will be tolerated. The beautiful gift of Mitch and my marriage, can be an idol to me; and today, as I write this, I will tell you that I still fight this on a daily basis. Here recently, I allowed this to happen again, and it was not a pretty sight!
I have discovered a curious thing about idolatry. We want so badly for the person we have idolized to love us, and to notice us, to serve us....to do something for us! We have this overwhelming need to be validated by this person; and if this doesn't happen, we wind up despising the one we had so loved before. Please, I don't mean to say that I fall in and out of love with my man. What I am saying is that if I am idolizing my husband, God will make sure to show me the error of my ways, and He does that by showing me my "idol's" feet of clay.
Idolatry is something that we in today's society are not as familiar with as the people of long ago were. I think that I can safely say that most of us haven't gone down to our local shopping mall and purchased a gold or silver figure of some god, and then brought it home and set up a center of worship to it in our home. I do realize that there are many cultures and peoples who do just that, but in America we don't see it as much. But, the practice of idolatry is something all of us can get into to, even Christians.
Idolatry in it's basic form is: Worship of false gods, it is the blind or excessive devotion to something, and reverence for some person or thing. An idolater is a slave to the ideas that the idol represents. Basically an idol is something that replaces the One True God! Idolatry extends beyond the worship of idols and images and false gods. I may not bow physically before a statue, but what I have discovered is that idolatry is a matter of my heart. Idolatry is anything that I become a slave to. It is allowing anything, or anyone the" place" in my life, that belongs to the Lord alone. So, what is this "place" that I am speaking of? First, it is my mind/heart. So often the Bible intertwines these two words, it is easy for us to misunderstand what is being spoken of. May I share with you a very basic explanation of the difference between the two?
The mind is the place where we "think," where we reason, where we make decisions. And the heart is the place where we "feel." It is the emotional part of us. Jesus said that out of the mind/heart come evil thoughts and then come evil actions. Therefore, if my mind and my heart are controlled by my flesh, then it is safe to say that I will be living, acting in my flesh. This to me is idolatry. Why? Because I am being a slave to my flesh, I am letting my flesh tell me what to do, instead of the Lord. The way that I think about things will determine how I act about things.
If I keep my honey in his proper place in my heart, then godly actions in my marriage will follow. Also, because I am keeping God in His rightful place in my heart/life, I have the assurance of His promises. The promises of grace and mercy, and of peace and love.......the promises to meet all of my needs. And truly, no man (no matter how wonderful) can promise that!