A Dot in His Picture...

A few months ago my hubby and I were asked by God to change the way we were living our life.  We were already serving Him and doing His will as we knew it to be, but He threw a challenge out there to me.  He asked, “How much was I willing to trust Him? Was I ready to give everything up as I knew it, to follow Him to something bigger He had for my life?”  I am not sharing any of this to pat myself or my hubby on the back… all I can say is God woke me up at 2:30 in the morning knowing that this is what He had me to be doing at this moment rather than sleeping!  I guess… I can sleep anytime!

As a kid I can remember playing with a sliding tile puzzle… maybe some of you don’t even know what I am talking about. It is a hand-held plastic game board, about 3”x 3”, that had 15 interlocking tiles that you would slide around trying to put all the tiles in order to make a picture or to get the numbers in order.  Each tile was important to the puzzle, and each move you made could make it or break it.  There would be many times I would slide the same piece around in a “circle” trying to get it to go where it belonged. I must confess there were times I tried to cheat by popping a tile out so I could solve it easily… that never worked though because even if I could get it popped out I could not get it pushed back in!

That is how my life feels sometimes lately… like a sliding tile puzzle!  God has every piece of my life in His hands and He has to be the one to make the picture.  There are many days I try to slide a tile into a different position and that usually just scrambles things all the more.  I can only see one piece at a time… and some days maybe not even the whole piece… but God can see the whole picture. 

Okay, so here is my fleshly truth… there are moments or even days that I want to turn back from this path.  It seems too hard when I feel like I don’t know where I belong.  I feel lonely and isolated, and let’s face it… just plain impatient!  I know God knows what He is doing, but does He have to take so long to do it??? Really?!

And God’s truth… He knows the plans He has for me, plans for peace and not harm, and a future filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).  He also has promised never to leave me (Hebrews 13:5) He said, if I love Him I will be obedient to His Word ( John 14:23, 2 John 1:6).  And just like Jesus said to Peter when Peter wanted to walk on water to come to Jesus, but failed… “You of little faith, why do you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

That is it… there really can be no arguing with God’s truth! I cannot live by how I feel which changes from moment to moment! I have God’s solid truth to stand on.  I may be only a dot in His big picture, but it is okay… that is where faith and trust have to come into play.  I must trust Him enough to go where He says to go, move where He says to move, and speak what He says to speak.

When God asked us to make this change and we decided to follow… the first step He gave us was to leave the church where we were happy and content.  He was asking us to go to a smaller church that needed more people with hearts to serve… a church a distance from where we live and we didn’t really know too many people there.  We could have said no… but it was not about us.  If church was only suppose to be a “social club” than it would have been easy to say no.  What does church mean to you?  Why do you attend the church you do?  Are you investing your time and talents there? Is it for the people that are there… is it for the pastor… is it for the music… or are you where God has called you to be?  There have been so many people leaving their churches lately because they don’t like how things are changing or they have taken an offense of how someone was treated.  Are those good reasons to leave a church?  What would happen if we all chose to go where God told us to go… or stay where God told us to stay?  Are you unhappy in your church… make sure you check your heart before you do anything… the grass is not always greener, especially if God is not directing it.  We all are a dot in His picture, but if your dot is not in the place where He wants you… will His picture be distorted? Hmmm, I wonder.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

I don’t know what you are going through, but God does… He cares.  Cry out to Him and lay yourself at His feet.  When feelings start to overtake remember His Truth!  Lord, I pray for each person that reads this… help us to keep our eyes focused on You… the One that holds life in His hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Much is Forgiven...

Today being 9/11/2012… eleven years after that horrific day… two words came to my heart… forgiveness and honor.  How do we honor people that were taken away from us in such a heinous act?  Do we honor them by being filled with sadness?  Do we honor them by being filled with hate?  Do we honor them by not forgiving?  I did not have anyone close to me that was taken on that day, so maybe I have no right to even speak about this.  I don’t know how I would feel if my loved-one was gone.  I really contemplated about posting this because I never want honor and forgiveness to be simplified… it is a tough thing.

Thinking about the parable of the prodigal son… You can read about it in Luke 15:11-31.  The son went to his father and asked for his inheritance so he could go have some fun and live his life the way he wanted.  The father did as the son asked, even though I am sure the father knew it was not the best thing for his son, but he had to let him find that out for himself.  After the son burned through the money with crazy living, he realized what he had given up to enjoy himself for a season.  It is then you can see the brokenness in the son… his heart had to be broken to seek repentance.  A change of life-direction shown by his hunger for restoration… he could see his life of sin was leading no where; he longed to be home with his father.  He humbled himself to confess that what he had done violated his love for God and for others.  He cried out for mercy… he knew he deserved nothing, but he was willing to live as a slave just to be close to his father again.

Now the forgiveness part of the story… I believe that the father was ready to forgive his son before he even walked out the door.  The father had hopes and dreams for his child and he knew being angry and disgusted with his son would not help the situation at all.  The father could have tried to coax his son or cater to his son just to keep him close, but he knew he had to allow his son the freewill to learn life lessons on his own. That doesn’t mean that what his son was doing was okay with him, but that no matter he loved him and was waiting to welcome him home when the time came.  The father in this story represents the unexpected forgiving heart of God… he hopefully anticipated that his son would repent and be restored to his family.  He courageously humbled himself to receive his son with loving arms… the world may have seen it as weakness when it was actually the greatest act of love.  He gave mercy to his son because of his son’s repentant heart… he restored his sonship instead of making him grovel as a slave.  And finally, he celebrated that his son had changed his direction from death and destruction to life and reconciliation.

And the unforgiving heart… the older son was jealous that his brother was received back home with open arms after what he had done.  What does an unforgiving heart get you?  A hard heart… he felt justified in feeling outrage towards his brother and probably even his father… he would rather be angry by himself than choose to forgive and celebrate with his family.  A vengeful heart… his only focus was to see his little brother pay for all he had done to hurt the family… rather than show his brother love and mercy and thankfulness that his brother made it back home alive.  A prideful heart… he refused to have a relationship with his father and brother… he wanted to sit in his rightness rather than live in righteousness.

 

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.” Mark 11:25-26

I admit, I can be stubborn and rebellious… my pride and my flesh refuse to forgive, but then I am reminded that I also have received forgiveness for so much.  I came to God in repentance and drank deeply of His water of grace and mercy from the well of God’s forgiveness. (Luke 7:47)  I have to remember forgiveness is about my heart condition not the heart of the one I am forgiving… it is for me not for them.

Our unwillingness to forgive those who have harmed us reflects our failure to understand God’s love for us.  This ability to love and forgive can come only by first being forgiven by God.  Have you taken that first step?

 

Rejoicing in Truth!

Contented Dreams...

I always write from what I am going through and God really impressed this on me one night while I was sleeping.  For those of you that know me personally, you know I am pretty straight-forward. For you that don't know me... please keep in mind, many times what I write is so hard for me... God is working on me through all of this too! It is probably more for me than you, but I hope you can get something out of it as well.

 

What is the difference between dreaming and a dream??? Is there a difference? Is one done with discontentment and the other done already being content??? I was wondering, if we are not content in the life God has given us now, will He put a dream in front of us??? For instance, if we are not living our life to the fullest with the way it is right now… will God give us more?  Is a grateful heart the difference between dreaming and a dream??? I can dream that one day my prince will come and sweep me off my feet, yet if I show no appreciation for my husband, no matter how flawed he may be now, will my marriage ever get any better? 

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” I Timothy 6:6

We think when we are children and maybe even as adults… dreams are some sort of “magic.” Have you heard people say that their life is so much better when they are dreaming?  Dreaming is not real life… dreaming will never be reality as long as we never start really living in our own life… nothing will ever change!

So lets ask ourselves… “Am I content with my life?”  For myself, I have a great husband… a beautiful home… wonderful friends… a loving family… and best of all an unbelievable relationship with God!  What more could I want?  I am not saying my life is perfect, by any means… it can be a day to day battle that takes real effort to live a contented life.  Not always easy to do!

My hubby and I have really been stretched in our faith and obedience in the last 6 months.  I was thinking about that and asking God to show me why this is all happening to us… I feel so undeserving of all He is pouring out on me. As I looked back over all He has been doing I could see that there was a time when I believe God said, “Okay, it is time to step it up a little.”  A couple years ago God gave me this passage in 2 Kings 4:8-17… I knew part of what it meant in my life at the time, but more and more He is showing me that being contented with the life He has given me is another part of it too.

If you are not familiar with this story it is about a Shunammite woman, the Bible actually calls her “great woman.”  She was called to feed Elisha, the prophet, as he passed by her home. She and her husband even made him a room to stay in whenever he came by their place.  She took good care of God’s prophet. One day she was called before Elisha and he told her that her faithfulness would be rewarded.  All the kindness she had shown Elisha was not for reward, but because she knew he was a man of God.  Elisha told her what her reward would be and she did not believe him because she thought it was impossible.  But just like Elisha had spoken it to her, it happened at the appointed time.

I have failed God so many times. Every day I try to remain faithful even when I am angry and don’t understand what He is doing.  I search in His Word to find exactly what He has for me for that day… on the days I do not take that time… my day is usually a flop until I seek God’s face.  I know that being renewed through His faithfulness makes it easier for me to be faithful to Him.  I find it is impossible to be content unless I am trusting Him.  If I can’t trust Him to meet my daily needs or to fulfill His promises I will never be content.  

“Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

Okay, so here is the question… Are you living a contented life? It has nothing to do with circumstances, finances or what you don’t have… it has only to do with who you are allowing God to be in your life as your life is right now.  It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to do better… it just means every step we take forward needs to be done with contentment. Choose to live a life of gratefulness, even when you don’t see all the good!  Contentment, faithfulness, trust will lead to God’s path with the big dreams He has for you!

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5

Praise Him for His loving kindness!

Rejoicing in Truth!

Showing Love...

How do we as humans show love to others? Do we try to do things that make them happy? Do we try to be respectful of their feelings and their likes and dislikes? Or do we do the opposite of what we know they would want? Is that how to show someone love? I am not saying you wouldn’t still love a person that disappointed you or purposely did things that they knew would hurt you. What I guess I am wondering is… how do you express the love you feel inside for someone???

When my hubby and I were first married, I thought the way to show love was through food. I liked to cook and he loved to cook. Needless to say I think we both put ten pounds on in our first year of marriage! Yep, not the healthiest way to show love!

But real love from the heart has to be done with a death to selfishness. Death… selfish… those aren’t very pretty words!  Yes, we are still human so selfishness will still rear its ugly head from time to time… I just don’t believe that is ever the intention of real love.

As Believers we are to live by Christ’s example… right? Ephesians 5:2 says, “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” Was there ever a time Christ was selfish? Was there ever a time He was disobedient? Even when His Father told Him He would die a horrible death on the cross… He was obedient! Selfless obedience! Wow, that just really struck my heart… how many times has God asked me to do something small and yet I have drug my feet to do it or did not do it at all? I am not meaning this in a condemning way… this is a wake-up call to my selfishness! It is not about me… it is all about Him… that is what it has to be about! I believe that every opportunity God puts before me is not only to grow my relationship with Him, but even more importantly it is to bring others into a relationship with Him. I am not talking about good deeds to win God’s love… I am talking about being selfless to win others to Him because I love God. It is a beautiful circle… if I am willing to help complete it!

I know for myself I have spent a lot of time comparing how I am or what I do to others. I would think, if so and so isn’t doing it why should I have to? I know I wasted many opportunities squabbling in my head and heart about the things God wanted me to do. Nothing like a good wrestling match with God! I was making it all about me and how I would look or how uncomfortable I would be… and using other people as my excuse not to! God has shown me that what He is asking me to do is for me to do… He is asking me, not so and so! Why am I so stubborn sometimes? Flesh vs. Spirit… that great battle I fight daily!

Do you know, showing kindness… speaking truth… encouraging someone with a smile… those are small things that we can do that could change someone’s perspective. I may not be the one who prays the prayer of salvation with that person, but obedience in those small gestures could be what points them in the right direction.

When I sat down to write this, the verse that got me started thinking was… “If the death of His Son restored our relationship with God while we were still His enemies, we are even more certain that, because of this restored relationship, the life His Son lived will save us.” Romans 5:10  You are probably wondering how this verse ties into what I just wrote… what it boils down to for me is there can never be life (restoration) without the death of something… self… pride… ideas! How bad do I want it? Am I willing to let these things die to achieve it? The Great Love that God gave me through His Son is enough reason for me to put aside my selfish agenda. God has just been stretching me so much in the area of obedience and I wrote this and I’m sharing it with you… in obedience! God, shine the light on those selfish areas in my life, in Jesus’ name.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Here It... Do It!

“But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” - James 1:22

Are you a doer or a hearer only?  Even though I might read God’s Word every day, many times I know I don’t do it. I was thinking how it is like sitting down at a beautifully set table to have a fabulous meal… you know, where all the forks, spoons and knives are in their proper place… shiny, polished crystal glassware… heirloom china… oh, and cloth napkins, of course. You are seated in your chair ready to take that first bite of a scrumptious meal… you place that bite in your mouth and chew it and chew it and chew it, but then instead of swallowing it you spit it out. Do you ever get the nutrition you need from that food? It might have satisfied your taste-buds, but it will never fill your belly!

Our physical bodies need food as fuel to keep us going… just like our spiritual bodies need nourishment from God’s Word to keep us on His path. We might open our Bible and read the precious words on the page… we can read it and read it and read it, but if we don’t ingest it and do it… we never will receive the “nutrition” we need from it.

I have really been challenging myself a lot for the last few months to be a doer and not just a hearer. I know I have lived so much of my life looking “good” on the outside, but my motives have not always been what they should have been… living and doing things in a prideful way. I have to daily check my motives… is it to honor and glorify God first and foremost??? Don't misunderstand... I am not saying you need to always be doing. What I am saying is we need to live out what we are gleaning from God's Word. Hear It and do It... let that be my passion! Will you join me in this challenge?

Rejoicing in Truth!

Tested to Be Trusted...

Thinking a lot about testing… not the kind in school that tells you how much you know, but the kind in life that shows you how much you don’t know.  With the way my life is right now, in waiting mode, I can see many moments of testing. 

This morning I was reading in Deuteronomy 8 and in verse 2 – “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.” Hmmm… humble and test! Not the most fun words!?

When I was in school, before I could move onto a new class or a new subject or a new grade… I was given a written test.  Why test us before we can move on? I now can see a test is like giving us a “practice” before real life.  Like a person that goes to medical school… wouldn’t you want them to be tested before they are able to actually work on real, living bodies???  During a big test in school, I doubt I ever got all the answers right… I had to be willing to admit I don’t know it all!  That is humbling.  I see it the same way when God tests my faith… my will… my motivation.  Ah, motivation… now that is really hitting home. Realizing… if my motivation is not right then I will get tired of the battle and give up.  No matter how aggravating at times it can be to wait… wait… and wait some more… that is truly when God can see what is in my heart, but more importantly He shows me what is in my heart!  The test!  

Here is a quote by Adrian Rogers, “A faith that hasn’t been tested can’t be trusted.”  Let me ask you… would you want a surgeon operating on you that had never been tested?  It gives me a whole new way to look at being tested!

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10

Rejoicing in Truth!

Set Apart?... Really?...

We all spend so much time of our life just trying to fit in!  I am pretty sure most people want to be accepted.  They want to have a place they belong.  I was studying about living a life being set apart.  Really, God, You want me to be set apart?  The truth is as soon as I accepted Christ into my life… I was set apart! The tough part comes when I am faced with the question… Am I willing to live my life honoring God by being set apart?

I can remember growing up, I had incredible parents (they still are)… they worked hard to meet all our needs, but many of our wants were out of reach.  I was blessed to have a mom that sewed (although as a kid I did not see it as a blessing!) so until about the 5^th grade many of my clothes were homemade.  I always felt like that made me not fit in with the other kids that had store-bought clothes.  I can remember when I was in junior high the Jordache jeans were the big thing.  Of course, my parents would not spend that kind of money on a pair of jeans, and honestly I didn’t want them to… I just wanted to have something that looked like everyone else’s.  I can remember finding some knock-off designer jeans at a store called “Foxmoor”… they were only $20 and they actually fit!  Surely this would be my answer to feeling like I fit in. Needless to say it really had nothing to do with my clothes why I didn’t fit in… it had to do with Christ living inside me.  Many of the kids around me thought differently… acted differently… spoke in ways I would have never.  Looking back now I can see it was my Heavenly Father setting me apart, it was hard then but now I am thankful.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 

God has set us apart to be His witness. He has set us apart to bring Him glory.  Are you willing to fight to live a life set apart?  Think about the women of the Bible that chose to live a set apart life… Rahab, Ruth, Esther, Mary… to name a few of my favorites.  Just common people, like you and me.  Their beginnings might not have been ideal, but when they took that first step down the path God had for them… I am sure they had no idea where it would all lead.  There is no way they could even fathom what impact fighting to be set apart would have on the world… just like we have no idea where a single step towards God will lead. 

“But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased” Galatians 1:15

 
I know where I fit in now… it is by being set apart that I fit in through God’s grace.  I do not really care about pleasing people very much, but I do live to know that I am pleasing God.

"Know that the Lord has set apart His faithful servant for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him." Psalms 4:3

Ok, here is the challenge… you are set apart, chosen by God to stand out as His witness to bring Him glory.  Now is the time to find a way to be comfortable in this lifestyle of being set apart.  Accept who God has chosen you to be… you can make a difference in every area of your life.  It is the right time to become more watchful about your walk with God.  Remember, common people do great things for God when they choose to walk the path of purpose.

“We have been set apart as holy because Jesus Christ did what God wanted Him to do by sacrificing His body once and for all.” Hebrews 10:10

Rejoicing in Truth!