Deliberately Delivered

FALTERING

2012-01-24T03:27:00.000-08:00

Right now I am working through Lysa Terkeurst's Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl participant's guide sans video. My lesson a couple of weeks ago had me reading 1 Kings 18:20 -39.The story is about the showdown between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. It is a familiar story to me. I have read many times. Yet, in doing so, I somehow missed this -

And Elijah came to all the people and said,"How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Ball, follow him." (vs. 21)

See that up there in the bold? It has been with me since I read it.
How long will I falter between two opinions? How long will I stumble going between the two? How long will I allow the going back and forth to weaken me in my purpose? How long have I been doing this? How long will I let it keep going on?
I find myself running between the opinion of man, which changes on a dime, and the opinion of God, which is eternal truth. I worry what people think at times. I have let people's opinion define me. I have been nice and turned my head at sin because the world says that is how a Christian should act instead of speaking the truth from a heart saturated with the love of Christ as God has told us to.
To give you a minor example, the other night in life group (or house church or small group or whatever your church calls it) our leader ended our time together by reading a story from The Voice of the Martyrs about children from the Sudan who were beaten for not renouncing Christ as the Lord. C...H...I...L...D...R...E...N. Then we were asked, if we wanted, to pray out loud for our group and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sort of a round table time. I wanted to, I did, and I bawled like a baby through the whole thing. Tears freely flowing. Not a big scene mind you, but a steady stream of water running down my cheeks. We finished up, headed our separate ways, and it started. (Now let me tell you upfront we are new to this group and they don't know us very well and we don't know them.)
You are such a baby. They are going to think you don't have it together. They are all thinking you are just a big mess. You are an embarrassment to your husband. You made everyone uncomfortable. Do not EVER pray out loud again. You need to apologize to your leader and his wife.
That is how it goes, isn't it? I, mean, that was in the first 3 minutes after we got in the car to go home.
But while I was going back and forth in my mind, these thoughts came to me....
Do not apologize for your heart being broken for this. Your heart should be broken for this. Do not apologize for weeping while you pray for them.
Even now, I think to myself I sing the song lyrics that say break my heart for what breaks Yours and yet I felt the need to apologize when it happened? Because I was worried what my life group might think?
I could take on those words said by the enemy and could never speak again in the group. I could listen to what I think the opinion of man might be. Or I could keep pressing on seeking the opinion and truth of God, tears and all.
I don't know which two opinions you might be going between, but I do know this, you are faltering. You are stumbling. You are falling. Just like I am.
We need to choose today to stop it. We need to choose today to pick who we will serve. We need to choose Christ. We need to stop running back and forth, turn our faces toward Christ, set our feet to walking on the steady ground He provides and move forward!
With purpose.
Sure-footed.
Each step...
DELIBERATE.

Sweet Jesus, help us.

CONTENT WITH MY CROP

2012-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

Matthew 13:3-8

(NKJV)

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

I have told you before that we raised watermelons when I was a kid growing up in Arkansas. A 30 fold crop would have been nothing to sneeze at. We would have been happy with a 30 fold crop. Until we met the guy who had a 60 fold crop. Then we would have wanted more. Of course, the 60 fold guy would be happy until he met the 100 fold guy.

Now, good can come from wanting a bigger harvest. You can learn ways to improve your planting. You can learn ways to improve your watering and tending to your plants. You can learn ways to utilize what you have to work with to best of its potential.

Bad can come as well. The competitive drive can cause you to over work your land and your workers. You can damage the land for future crops in the drive for the one big crop.

The question that I had was am I as content with my 30 fold as I would be with 60 or 100? Am I satisfied to be the good ground that produces 30 fold? Is it enough? Or does the comparison to other's harvest get me? Does it cause me to stumble in my planting? In my laboring for the "number" instead of the harvest I was made for?

I think it is clear from this verse we are not all going to achieve the same harvest. But that doesn't make one better than the other. After all, it was all good ground. What I need to strive for, and ask Christ every single day to help me with, is making the most of my seed and the land I am to plant in. To work hard and diligently in the planting season I have. Nurture those seeds and then watch as the harvest is reaped.

And be content.

Because the crop He has given me is enough.

For Him.

And it's all for Him.

WARY OF THE IMMEDIATE

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Matthew 13:3-8 (NKJV)

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Two things in this passage have my attention and my heart right now.

Today, I'll just hit on the first one.

Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

How many times a day do I wish for immediate results? Immediate financial security? Immediate health? Immediate weight loss? Immediate fame? Our culture is all about immediate. Immediate status updates on Facebook. Immediate tweets. Immediate news coverage. Even in churches we have a desire for the instantaneous. The desire for immediate recognition or leadership roles sound familiar? Immediate "feel good" message from the pulpit that boosts my flesh and not my soul? Immediate acceptance of whatever lifestyle we choose to bring in?

As women, do we ever want immediate friendships? Especially with the popular people?

What I think this says, and what most of us have found out, is that "immediate" doesn't usually last. Immediate doesn't have what it takes to stick around when things get difficult. Immediate without any depth isn't going to cut it.

Don't misunderstand- I believe God can do immediate whenever and however He desires. And I believe He has, does and will. But man...well, man's track record is not so good.

And by man I mean me.

I am challenged by this in my own life to be alert to immediate. I need to seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in not only looking for times I seek the immediate, but also for the times I actually get it. Because getting it is sometimes much more dangerous than seeking it.

So while I am guarding my heart against my own flesh, I can be encouraged. Why? Because those times when I am having to dig deep into my faith are growing my roots. Those situations which force me to bury my head in the Word of God are only solidifying me in that very Word. I am encouraged to grow my roots in the good times as well as the bad. The roots I am planting are going to be what sustains me. They are what will keep me fed by the Bread of Life and watered by His Words.

Deliberate.

In digging down deep.

In securing my roots on Christ Jesus.

Roots that are not easily pulled up.

By this world.

By man.

By circumstances.

Deliberate Lord. Let me be, Lord, let me be.

REJECTING WHAT I KNOW...

2011-07-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge;

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Hosea 4:6a (NKJV)

WARNING! WARNING! Complete Rhonda thinking things out post ahead...Enter at your own risk.

Heard it a million times. Destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Cure, or preventative measures, for that....get knowledge of God. Get knowledge of Christ.

Rejecting knowledge though? I am thinking that is a different ball game. It is one thing for me to just not know. It is completely different when I know and I don't do. I reject the knowledge He has given me. Reject. As in my way is better than Yours Lord, and I am just not going to __________ like You told me to. You fill in your own blank.

Yep. That is a whole new deal right there.The question is how many times have I done just that? More than I care to count. More recent than I want to recall. Do I still have some things I am pretending I didn't hear Him about?

And when I do that, He rejects me from being priest. Not that I am rejected. That won't happen. But the ability for Him to use me to minister to others, that gets shutdown maybe? My ability to serve Him fully in impaired.

A lack of knowledge is not often deliberate. A continued lack could be. A rejection of knowledge is a choice I make. A deliberate choice.

The good thing about choice is when you have chosen wrong, the next chance you get you can choose right.

I can choose to not reject the knowledge Christ has provided.

I can choose to submit to that knowledge.

I can be deliberate about making my decisions based upon that and not my own knowledge.

I don't think it will be easy.

I am willing to bet it will come up soon.

I can guarantee that it will go against everything my flesh wants to do.

So I must be deliberate.

In order to be deliberately delivered.

MY PASTOR DONE GONE AND DONE IT NOW...

2011-07-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

The young whippersnapper we call Pastor Todd said something last Sunday that, well, I just didn't like. Not one bit. Not to take it out of context, or argue prosperity, he basically said that for some of us, financially this is a good as it is going to get. Some of us may very well be called to live by faith our entire lives. (FYI, you can listen to the sermon to get the full picture).

I can't say I disagree with him, but I can't say I liked his answer right then.

I thought on it all day Sunday and pretty much everyday this week. The questions that kept coming back to my spirit were:

What if he is right?

Will that be enough?

Will I be satisfied?

All questions that go right along with my memory verse for the past two weeks,

Proverbs 27:7

A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

What am I finding my satisfaction in? Is it food? If I am satisfied in Christ, then I won't need that brownie or third piece of pizza to "fill' me. If not? Then I go on one of those rampages where I want to eat everything, no matter how bitter it is. What about the other way? What if my satisfaction is in how small that scale number says? Am I willing to do anything, no matter how bitter, to get there? And what about that money? Is my satisfaction in having just a little bit more and am I willing to do the next thing to make more? Always looking for that next big opportunity. Or am I satisfied with what I have and commit to using it to the glory of God?

I didn't like what he said because it hurt. It did. It stung a bit. It caused me to look at my own heart and it wasn't pretty. I do tend to want more. I don't like having to worry about money. But there in lies the sin...the worry. When I give that area completely to Christ, the worry goes away. Sure it doesn't go away quietly, but it has to submit to Christ when placed before Him. When placed before Him.

For any area you want to apply this verse to, and I think I can safely say that is pretty much all of them, my satisfaction has to be in Christ. Satisfaction that comes from being confident in who He is, who I am in Him, submitting my all to Him and obeying. Following through with what He has called His followers , of which I do profess to be, to do.

Easy to do? Not always. It is a choice to say it is enough....food, money, fame, status....

It is a deliberate choice.

In that choice, though, comes a deliverance you will never get from any number on a scale or in a bank account.

And that is pretty sweet.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

Yea, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also that the honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them your servant is warned,

And in keeping them is great reward.

Psalm 19:9-11 (NKJV)

BATTLE READY...

2011-07-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

"These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any wars in Canaan (He did this only to teach warfare to the decedents of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)...And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses."

Judges 3:1-2,4 (NIV)

I have spent days trying to think of what to say with these verses. What clever opening can I use? What examples can I share from my own life? How can I relate it to you in a blog?

What I came to realize this morning was the fact I can't say it any better than the Word does.

So I will give you my two cents:

1. Some stuff, or people, are left in your life to prepare you for warfare. Not with them, but with our real enemy.

2. You are not going to get through this walk with Christ without engaging in spiritual warfare. If you have so far, maybe time for a gut check.

3. Some battles, as much as we hate to think of them as so, are tests. Tests to see if we will stick with the plan.Tests to see if you and I will stay faithful to Christ Jesus when things get hard or scary.

I guess here is my point. Look at your life today. Whatever you are battling may just be a strategic skirmish to help prepare you for warfare. It is beneficial. It is purposeful. Yep, it may be difficult, but most battles are. Stay in there. Stand your ground. Wield your sword. (Ephesians 6)

He is deliberate in preparing you. Be deliberate in letting Him.

He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Psalm 18:34 (NASB)

THE LEVITE PRIEST

2011-07-07T01:37:00.000-07:00

Judges 17-18 has an interesting story about a young Levite priest. Here are some thoughts of mine after reading it and the corresponding footnotes.
1. He wasn't where he was supposed to be.

The Levites had designated areas, and he was out of them. How often have I found myself in trouble while being out of my designated area? Times when I have literally been places I was not supposed to be. I am sure I am not the only one. Spiritually, as well. When I try to take over a role that is not mine. In my marriage. In my church body. In my relationships with others. I have designated boundaries in my life. Boundaries I don't cross because I am a wife. Lines I operate within because I am a mom. Boundaries I respect because I am a Christian. The word boundaries sounds so restricted, but it is really not. Those lines are laid out for not only my good, but for the good of the body of Christ, and as with everything else, laid out to bring glory to God. Within those lines I am free to act, free to live, free to serve and love.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. (HCSB, Psalm 16:6)

2. He settled for man's security.

He was wandering. He was just looking for anywhere to stay. Anywhere he could feel secure. Can we relate? How often do we just look for that place in which we feel secure? Security is a good thing, and you should feel safe in your life. The problem is when we settle for that security from man and not from God. When we elevate our need for earthly security above God's call on and in our lives. We are not called to wander aimlessly in this life looking for things that make us feel secure. Not relationships, and how many times have we done that, not churches, not jobs. I may love my job, but I cannot put my trust in that above my trust in Christ Jesus. I love my husband and family, but my security cannot be tied up into one man and two little men children. My church or your church may be the best church ever! It can not replace the security I have in Jesus. My security is to be tied up in One...Christ Jesus ... God our Father. Settling for anything else is compromising the very security I am looking for.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (NIV, Hebrews 6:19)

3. His let his ego rule him.

They promised him status. How much better to be over many than just one? So the priest's heart was glad...(Jud. 18:20). Listen, I think promotion is a great thing, when it is a God thing. When we do our jobs like we are supposed to, promotion will often follow. He did not get promoted. Keeping in mind he had already taken two huge steps away from God, he simply took the next one. When you and I step away from where we are to be, when we settle for security of man, our flesh gets a whole lot more vocal, and we end up listening. I end up listening. When that happens, my ego starts making decisions and that is never good. Never.

I can't tell you I would not have been tempted to do exactly what he did when they offered him "more". More people. More money. More influence. More status. I know my weaknesses too well.

I know my flesh too well. The good news, I am not my flesh's. It does not own me. It is a dead man walking.

And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:24 (NKJV)

However, I must stay diligent in my walk with Jesus Christ. I have to tune myself to listen for His voice over the loud shouts of my dying flesh. I have to do it from the start.

Deliberate.

In seeing what my true motivations are.

Deliberate.

In making sure I stay as close to Him as I can.

Deliberate.

In laying it all before the Lord.

Deliberate.

In trusting Him above all else.

He will deliver.

YOUR OWN DOT DOT DOT

2011-06-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

1 Chronicles 28:9-10 (NKJV)

"As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it."

"for the Lord has chosen you to ....."

...be in that particular office, even though it is a battle on some days.

...mother those kiddos even when the days are long and the nights are short.

...love that man even when he drives you absolutely insane.

...be single at this time in your life for a greater purpose that, right now, only He can see clearly.

...be the only saved person in your entire family, so that you may extend the love and truth of Christ.

...serve those women in ministry.

...pastor that flock.

...teach that class.

...witness to that friend.

...go through whatever hardship you have now.

...celebrate whatever joy is blessing your socks off today.

...be in this generation, this time, right now, to spread the gospel of Christ to the dying world.

"If you seek Him, He will be found by you..."

...any day.

...any time.

...any where.

"be strong and do it."

FRESH EYES

2011-06-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

One of the verses I often quote to myself is Psalm 4:8,
I will both lie me down in peace and sleep; For you alone , O lord, make me dwell in safety.
To lie down in peace. To have my mind shut off and stop with all the what ifs. To have all the anxieties and worries and taunts of the enemy silenced. I have laid in bed and not been at peace. I have laid in bed and had my mind go on and on and on. To have prayed for sleep. Safe sleep. Knowing that I am looked after by the Most High God. He alone is the What, and more importantly the Who, my safety depends on.
Earlier this week I started reading the Proverbs again. One day I asked the Lord to give me fresh eyes to read His word with. New revelation. New hope. I came across Proverbs 3:24,
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
In all my searching for passages about sleep, I don't remember seeing that one, yet there it is.
And it brought me peace. Sweet sleep gives me fresh eyes. Fresh eyes to see others instead of myself. Fresh eyes to see the goodness of God in my own life when the world wants to dish out a lot of bad. Fresh eyes to see needs I can meet, joys I can celebrate, and burdens I can help carry.

If you have tired eyes, eyes that have their vision blurred by any number of things thrown your way, ask Him for fresh ones. Ask Christ for sweet sleep so that you may wake up in the morning with eyes ready to see the glories of His creation in and around you.
He will deliberately deliver.

NO HEIGHT OR DEPTH (OF EMOTION)

2011-05-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

I have been reading about David the past month or so. Reading a lot of Psalms. David felt it all didn't he? Felt it all deeply. He mourned deeply. He praised deeply. When he was angry at people he deeply asked God to wipe them off the planet. Some of the angry prayers I am not sure I could pray for God to do to someone else, but our boy David is right there in the mix. He is so human. So flawed. So much in need of God. So in love with God. Knowing all of that brings me comfort. David is just a reflection of us. He was just as messed up as the rest of us. He acted out of fear at times. He showed great courage and restraint one minute and was a selfish pompous punk the next.

Yet while it brings me comfort to know we are so much alike, what brings me peace and hope is that God stuck it out with him. God never abandoned David, even in David's worst moments. God still loved him. God still shepherded him. God was still the Rock David could cling to, even in the middle of his own personal storm.

God chose to be there.

He deliberately made Himself available for David.

He does the same for you and I.

He chose to send Christ so you and I could be in relationship with them.

He deliberately set out the path Christ would walk which would end in His own personal pain for our salvation.

Nothing separated David from His love.

Nothing separates us....except us.

Turn to Him.

Kneel before Jesus.

Call on His name.

Tell Him everything.

It won't be too much for Him.

He will be more than enough for you.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

IT'S A NUMBERS GAME

2011-04-12T01:44:00.000-07:00

"And the Lord said to Gideon,"The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites in to their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying,'My own hand has saved me.' "

And He dwindles it down from 32,000 to 10,000.

"But the Lord said to Gideon, " The people are still too many;...." "

And He cut it from 10,000 to 300.

Can you imagine? Having an army of 32,000 men cut to 300? I would be a bit nervous myself. Imagine if it were 32,000 dollars cut down to 300?

Or 32,000 followers on twitter suddenly down to 300?

How about 32,000 church members down to 300?

Just put what ever you want in...32,000 _____________ cut down to 300___________.

32,000 of whatever you put your trust in.

Whittled down to 300.

Why?

The Lord will weed out your "security" in numbers, so that you know it was Him.

In this numbers game called life,

His number is One.

He is the One our security is in, not that bank account.

He is the One we should be following, and not following us.

He is the One we go to church to worship, not having them worship us.

He is the One we can trust.

He is the One we seek to please.

He is the One.

He should be my One.

Forgive me Lord when I have put other things in that position.

May I be deliberate in choosing to elevate nothing else above You.

WHINERS...YEP....THAT IS WHAT THEY WERE

2011-03-30T04:46:00.000-07:00

and so am I. My bible reading plan has me just finishing up Joshua. I couldn't help but notice a contrast between Joshua and Moses. When Moses was called out back in Exodus 3, he had every excuse possible why he shouldn't and couldn't be the one to deliver the people. Skip on over to Joshua and we see a different leader. Joshua seems to be a man of action. I read no whining by Joshua when he was called to be the leader. The Lord said do it and Joshua went at it. Full force. Right up until chapter 7, when Israel got their tails handed to them. Then we see a different Joshua. A tad bit of a dramatic Joshua. A whining Joshua. And Joshua said, "Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all - to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!" Joshua 7: 7 (NKJV) He is ripping his clothes, throwing dirt on his head, lying on the ground....whining. Echoing the complaints of the generation before. And the Lord had heard enough. So the Lord said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?" Joshua 7:11 (NKJV) Having kids, I can put my own inflection on those statements. I have said similar words to my own boys. I have been frustrated with them at times with their fits. I have been embarrassed by them. I get how He feels a little bit. These passages reminded me of several things. First, I am not alone in my pity parties. I am not the first to have them and I won't be the last. Second, the Lord gets tired of them. He gets to the point where He has heard enough of my whining and calls me to get up. Thirdly, even though He may be frustrated with me or embarrassed by the fit I throw, just like me with my boys, He always loves. In the very midst of my pity party He loves me. In His correction to get up, He loves me. Deliberately....

WHO NEEDS TO SEE?

2011-03-17T04:56:00.001-07:00

"And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments or not."

Deuteronomy 8:2 (NKJV)

Kinda stinks doesn't it. The thought that the Lord our God would deliberately deliver us into a "wilderness" to test our hearts. We have to admit, though, we can understand why. Why He needs to know if we have such a heart. Nevertheless, not exactly warm fuzzies. It should give us hope though. Hope that He is still working on us. Hope that the state of our heart still matters to Him. Hope that He is testing us, to see if we are ready for what's next.

The seeing, however, is actually ours. He already knows. We need to see that He is it. Jesus Christ is to be our overriding focus. We need to see we need Him. We need to see God doesn't leave us. Even in the barren land, when we can't see anything for miles, He still provides. In the thick forest, when we can't see anything 2 feet in front of our face, He is still leading. In either case, all we need to see is Him.

If you are feeling a wilderness season coming on, or perhaps are in the thick of it now, don't get caught up in what you don't see.

Be deliberate in what you do see.

See Jesus.

He sees you.

And every step you need to take.

SUCH A HEART...

2011-03-15T04:18:00.000-07:00

"...'I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all they have spoken. Oh that they would have such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all my commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!' "
Deuteronomy 5:28-29 (NKJV)

The more I read, and re-read, the Old Testament, the more I see how much like the children of Israel I can be. They acknowledged the awesomeness of God. They knew He was the only God. They said all the right things.
But in their hearts...
It hurts me when I find myself doing the same thing.
Recounting all the things I have head knowledge about regarding God, things I believe, but in my heart...
When I KNOW what the Bible has said about Him and me, but in my heart...
I can tell others what Scripture promises them, I mean us , but in my heart...
I can speak truth, but in my heart...
You will find past hurts and future fears.
Look closely and you will see worries, doubts and disappointments trying to speak up.
They are all saying something.
Speaking truth without actually speaking the Truth to my heart.
It is easy, I find, to be busting forth with boldness when things are good. When miracles are happening. To proclaim and believe with my whole heart the goodness and greatness of Christ.
But like the Israelites, when I become afraid, where does my heart turn?
When I don't get the answer I think I want, what happens to my heart?
Does it shatter and scar?
Become hard and hopeless?
Maybe seal off a piece of itself?
My flesh wants it to.
My enemy wants it to.
I, and you, have to be deliberate in those moments.
Deliberately choosing which way our hearts will go.
Not that we don't have broken hearts, but that we don't keep them that way.
Not the we don't feel hurt, but we don't stay that way.
We choose to deliberately deliver our hearts to Christ Jesus.
We lay them before our Father, pieces broken off by fear and hurt, and we let Him heal it.
We let Him restore it.
Trusting that He will.
Trusting that the brokenness He has allowed is for our good and believing, through that same shattered vessel, He will bring wholeness.

Holy Spirit, give us such a heart.

Lord, give us hearts like Yours. Hearts that trust You. Hearts that fear You in a healthy manner. Hearts that know You are for us and that You are working daily to complete the good work You have started in us, painful as it may seem at times. More than anything Jesus, give us hearts that love you above all else. As the song says, may we not raise our hearts to another. In Jesus Name, Amen.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

2011-02-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them." Numbers 13:1-2 (NKJV)

These were not cowards among the people. These guys were leaders. They were the brave, the honest, the true. Fearless. Wise. All that leaders should be. They followed orders. They went and spied out the land. They did what they were told. Then they failed. They forgot one very important part of what the Lord had said.

...which I am giving to the children of Israel...

When they returned, all but two, gave a fear filled report. We can't do it. It is too much. We won't win. They were looking for the wrong things.

I would like to think I would have been one of the two who stood firm.
I have a feeling I would not have been.

Stay with me here.

The MCs and I are reading the Silver Chair by CS Lewis. A statement by one of the characters has been with me a couple of days now. The main characters are in search of a missing prince. Aslan, the lion who is King, has given them specific signs to look for on their journey. They think they have just witnessed one, which involves releasing a savage young man.

"Do you mean you think everything will come right if we untie him?" said Scrubb.

"I don't know about that," said Puddleglum. "You see, Aslan didn't tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he's up, I shouldn't wonder. But that doesn't let us off following the sign."

The Lord told the Israelites the land was theirs. He made no other promises. No promises of ease. No promises of a conflict free take over. He just told them He was giving the land to them. All they had to do was follow the signs.

Find yourself in the same spot? The Lord has clearly called you to do something and you are wavering. The Lord has told you what to look for and to move when you find it. He makes no guarantee of an easy Christian walk, an easy marriage, an easy relationship with the other people walking around this planet with us, both inside and outside the church walls. If you say, no, He has not called me to anything, I would respectfully disagree. He has called us to love, our neighbors and our enemies. He has called us to care for others, the others we know and the ones we don't. He has called us to share the gospel, even when it is uncomfortable. He has called us to be a light in this darkness. So maybe you don't have a specific ministry calling. Our Christian walk is specific enough. He has told us what to look for and what to do. He has made no other promises. Except one....

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." John 10: 27-30 (NKJV)

Death may be upon us. Death of old ideologies. Death of pride. Death of relationships. Death to self. Death of our plans. In some cases, literally death.

But that doesn't let us off following the sign.

What are we looking for? The easy way out? The effortless victories? The approval of man? The right to be right? The path on which nothing that I want has to be sacrificed?

But that doesn't let us off following the sign.

May we, especially me, be deliberate in doing so.

WHAT DO I KNOW?

2011-02-15T18:03:00.001-08:00

Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
Exodus 2:11 (NKJV)

For the first time while reading this, I actually wondered if he knew. It seems he did. It reads as if Moses knew he was not an Egyptian. He knew he was a Hebrew. How long did he know? Who told him? How did he respond? How did he stay in the palace knowing what was happening?
It also got me to thinking about us.
Do we know who we are?
Do we pretend to be something else?
Perhaps something perfect, as Pharaoh's often marketed themselves.
Letting everyone at work, at school, and at church know we have it all together.
Our lives are great.
Our kids are perfect.
Our marriage is flawless.
We never struggle.
We never battle.
We never war.
We rarely stumble, much less fall.

For we all stumble in many things...James 3:2

Maybe someone wealthy, when we spend and buy and go and do to keep up with culture while driving ourselves deeper and deeper into slavery to the master called money.
Making sure we have the coolest clothes.
The coolest car.
The latest gadget.
For school.
For girl's night out.
For church.

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon... Luke 16:13

Maybe we try to pretend to be just like the world.
We don't want to offend.
We don't want to challenge.
We want to conform, just a little bit.
Just enough to not seem different.
We want to blend and have reasoned that by blending we can witness and draw others to Jesus.
Because Jesus Freaks scare people.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God....Romans 12:2

I have.
I know I have.
I have forgotten who I am.
I have forgotten that my little sin is just as much sin as her big one.

for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.....Romans 3:23

I have gotten caught up in the stuff.
The need for the stuff.
Stuff that breaks.
Or gets lost.
Tears up.
Gets stolen.
The stuff that is not going with me in the end.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal....Matthew 6:19-20

I have forgotten that when I gave my life to Christ I was called out.
I was pulled to the side.
I was set apart.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light....1 Peter 2:9

No, we don't go around lamenting publicly all our shortcomings.
Yes, when things are good we rejoice.
We don't forget, however, Who gives us all good things.
No, I am not against having nice things.
Yes, I like nice things.
We don't, however, let the desire for those nice things usurp our desire to serve Christ.
No, I do not believe we should isolate ourselves from the world.
Yes, I was called to be salt and light in this darkness, as were you if you are a believer in Jesus Christ.
We don't, however, let the world change us. We don't blend. Things that blend don't stand out. They don't witness. They are just there.

The question today is do you and I know who we are?
Who we really are?
Do we act like it?
Are we being deliberate about it?
We should.
He was and is and will be.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1

ABIGAIL

2011-01-29T10:23:00.001-08:00

I am participating in a study of the life of David at a local church. We recently read the account of Abigail, Nabal and David found in 1 Samuel 25. If you are not familiar with the story, I will let you read it for yourself because, well, you need too! However, after you have read it, come back and join the discussion. Two verses caught my eye. The first is after Abigail has come before David.

"So David received from her hand what she had bought him, and said to her,

"Go up in peace to your house,

I have heeded your voice and respected your person." "

1 Samuel 25:35 (NKJV)

Then , a few verses later, we find this...

"....And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife."

1 Samuel 25:39 (NKJV)

The NIV says David granted her request in verse 35, and he "communed" with her in verse 39. I'll be honest, I like NKJV better. It's more romantic; more Hallmark.

I want to be that to HH. I want him to respect my person. I want him to continue to respect my person fifty years from now. I want to be a wife and mom of integrity to him and the MCs. I want him to be glad he proposed and to not hesitate to do it again. I don't want to give up on that just because he put a ring on my finger. I want to keep striving to be that woman in Proverbs 31, bless her heart. As much as she gets under my skin, I want to keep working toward that. I want him to heed my voice, not out of frustration because I have nagged him to death, but because I have chosen my words wisely and spoken them with respect and love. I want to honor him even in our disagreements and end up, as Keith Moore has often told Beth, at a place where we both win (caught that little gem on Wednesdays with Beth).

I want to encourage you unmarrieds, young or old, to be women who your suitors will respect. Be someone to whom they desire to grant a request. A woman for whom it is deemed an honor to ask for in marriage. I believe what is in the bible is there for a reason and what is left out is left out for a reason. Just a few verses down we read where David took another wife (Ahinoam, verse 43). It makes no mention of David asking her or communing with her. Abigail was a woman who deserved to be asked. Properly. She had won David's respect and kept her dignity in the process.

In our present culture, maintaining your dignity and respect is becoming a difficult task, married or single. We need to turn to the One, the only One who gives it to us, Jesus Christ. He is the keeper of our dignity. He equips us to make the choices that preserve it.

Don't quit.

Don't stop striving for that.

Reagrdless.

As much as she wears us out.

Don't stop.

Encourage each other.

Remind each other.

Correct and build each other up.

Be deliberate.

And remind me that I said all this.

INTEGRITY

2011-01-10T13:36:00.001-08:00

This is going to be a painfully honest post.

It may make you think less of me.

If it does, all I can say is I'm sorry, and you shouldn't thought so highly of me in the first place.

Then his wife said to him," Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

Job 2:9 (NKJV)

I was reading this passage and the word integrity stuck out at me. I immediately thought of someone whose integrity I question.

Yes, I went there.

Oh this is a verse for so and so.

This person should really read this because I am not sure he/she holds fast to his/her integrity.

On and on I went in my pretty little head.

Then it happened.

The little voice that softly whispered,

What about your integrity?

What? Me? Lord, I hold fast to it.

In this area yes, but what about here? And here? And over here?

What? Ohhhh......ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Am I holding fast to my integrity in my relationship with Hunter Hubs?

Am I holding to it in my friendships?

What about my finances? Integrity there?

In my stewardship of my health, my time, my resources?

Am I holding fast to my integrity there?

What about those phone calls I dodge because I just don't want to deal with it or them?

As you can read, I have been getting a royal scolding, and rightly so.

Not because I questioned this person's integrity, but because I failed to look at my own.

Looking at my own gives me the humility and grace to look at his/hers.

To look at him/her through eyes of the love of Christ and compassion.

To pray for him/her sincerely that the Lord will grant discernment and correct his/her ways.

To address it with a heart that is humble and not haughty.

I believe in biblical correction.

With that said, this week has been a God reminder that my attitude better be in check.

I would be wise to take a good long look at my life (all the way around) and see where I fall short.

Then, and only then, do I broach the subject.

With the truth of God's word in one hand and the love of Christ Jesus in the other.

Honestly, I still question so and so's integrity.

I do, and I think it is a big enough deal to be concerned about.

Today, however, I question it with a heart that understands how quickly integrity can be compromised.

A heart that breaks for him/her.

A heart that prays.

So, I'm not perfect.

If you have been reading for anytime, you know that already.

If you are new, well, now you know.

He is continuing His good work though.

Long way from completion,

but He is working.

Deliberately.

Delivering me.

And you.

Let's allow Him do His thing.

His integrity never gets compromised.

TO DIE FOR

2010-12-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

Hebrews 9:16 (NKJV)

This is the spring board verse for where I am going.

Where there is a testimony, there must also be a death.

If I am going to have any sort of testimony in Christ Jesus,

there is going to have to be a death of sorts on my end.

To have a testimony, I will have to die to flesh.

I will have to die to addiction - of any kind (that means from drugs to chocolate, from hours spent gossiping to hours spent cleaning)

I will have to die to pride.

I will have to die to self.

Some of my dreams will die.

Many of the plans I had for my life may perish.

Even the plans I deemed good.

But the testament...

the testament left behind by Christ Jesus....

the testament HE died for so that I could even have a testimony....

is better than anything else.

The question is am I willing to let those things die for Him?

Or am I going to spend the next year of my life resurrecting them?

Over and over again....

So this week, as so many of us do, I am pondering these thoughts.

What do I not want to carry in to 2011 with me?

What do I not even what to carry in to tomorrow with me?

Perhaps even the next minute?

My testimony in Christ is one partly of death...

His, Jesus Christ, for my sins and my salvation.

To deliberately deliver me from sin and unto the Father.

To accept that testament is to die to myself.

My wants.

My needs.

My ideas.

My plans.

Same holds true for you.

Make no mistake.

We will have to choose.

We will have to be deliberate.

The life we gain, well, it is so worth letting those things, those issues, die for.

And this is the testimony:that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

1 John 5:11 (NKJV)

OUTSIDE/INSIDE

2010-12-10T10:44:00.001-08:00

I don't about you but at times I come across a sentence in the Bible that just hits me like a mack truck. I guess they all should, but some hit with more punch than others. Such was the case with 2 Corinthians 7:5.

For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.

Those last six words echoed within my heart and head.

Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.

As a woman, can I say how many times those words have described my thoughts and resulting behaviors. The number of times I have made a complete fool of myself because of those exact words. How many times have I seen it in other women? Sure, probably in men too, but more in women.

Gals, you know it is true.

Oh, I pray I do this justice. There are some conflicts that need to happen. They need to be addressed. They need to be resolved. However, there are a great many conflicts that are self-inflicted because of fear. Conflicts with our spouses because we are afraid of something. Conflicts with women at church because we are afraid they are going to fill our roles. Conflicts with friend's new friends because we are afraid we are replaceable.

At church.

At work.
In family.
At the mall.
Honestly, I have had conflicts with women I hardly knew. Hardly talked to, but every time I was around them, I felt the conflict rise up within me, even if I never verbalized it. These types of conflicts can't be resolved. They are only the symptoms. Outside manifestations of inside fear.
What are we afraid of?
What am I afraid of?
That my husband will wake up one day and not love me? That my role "in the church" will diminish, and so will my value and importance? That my friend will decide I am no longer important? How rational are those fears?
The scary part is sometimes they are very rational. We all know stories of women whose husbands have just decided to up and leave. We have probably gone through a time when our role at church did diminish, and that is hard to let go of.
High school trained many of us to believe friendships are fickle.
We see it in the world. We see it in our churches. We live it, and we get scared. We are afraid.
Afraid of letting go.
Afraid of being let go.
I pray this is coming across like He wants it to.
Even now, Lord Jesus, prick our hearts, even now.
The only thing I know to battle fear is faith.
Faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith in God.
Faith that whatever happens, He is there.
Faith that He has a role in the church for me, and He alone determines that.
Faith that when I lay it all down before Him, my marriage, my church, my friendships, He willingly takes them and works them to His glory.
I don't know that insecurities ever go away.
They are all about doubt, and the enemy loves to pedal those wares.
What I do know is I have to be deliberate in how I deal with them.
I have to purposeful in recognizing the fears before they manifest into conflict.
In those times I miss it, I have to be determined to lay it before the Lord so He can show me what the cause was. Determined to deal with the fall out.
We are not here to be beat up.
We are not here to be living in constant conflict, driven by our fears.
We are here, now, deliberately, for the glory of God.
Our celebration of Jesus birth is a celebration of that deliberate deliverance.
Gals, we can't win this alone.
We need Jesus.
We need the Holy Spirit.
We need the Lord God Almighty.
With them, our version can read,

Outside was peace, inside was Jesus.

Let it be so, Lord God, let it be so.

THE ONE...

2010-11-23T04:52:00.001-08:00

I am in Acts reading about Saul's conversion.
I got tickled at the disciples not trusting him,
with good reason I might add.
Then I got to thinking about how we do the same.
Someone who has been a holy terror comes to Jesus, and we are skeptics.
Someone who has hurt us comes and repents,
and we seek motive.
So many times we look for them to stumble.
May not be intentional on our part, but we do.
We hope for the best and expect the worst.
I am sure the disciples hoped Saul, now Paul, had changed,
but who could blame them for doubting.
The man had gone after them with a vengeance.
But one had hope.
One brought Paul to the others.
We have the One who is our hope.
We have the One who brings us to Himself.
See, we have been the holy terrors also.
We have hurt Him and come back with repentance.
He never looks for motives.
He never looks for stumbles.
He graciously loves us through them.
He doesn't excuse us.
He doesn't lie to us.
He doesn't sugar coat it.
What He does is loves us.
Deliberately.
Praying I do the same for others.

DOCTRINE IT'S NOT....

2010-11-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

The following will not be supported by any commentary I am pretty sure.

Just how the verse struck me on a particular day.

Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

Luke 20:18 (NKJV)

The stone Christ is talking about is Himself. In the verse above He has quoted Psalm 188:22 back to the people.

I am not going there.

It hit me this way....

When I fall on Jesus, I will be broken.

My heart will be shattered for anyone else but Him.

My pride will be broken.

My life as I knew it will be broken.

My chains will be broken.

A million pieces I will become.

Pieces He will restore.

Pieces He will put back together.

Being broken because I fell upon Jesus is a good thing.

Maybe even a desired thing.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 51:17 (NKJV)

The other option is when Christ falls on me.

Then I am crushed.

I am devastated.

I am ground into powder.

Christ will only let me live in my sin for so long.

Then He will put His foot down.

May not be until the end, but He will.

The enemy of our soul will be crushed.

Saul was crushed.

The rich young man was crushed.

The better choice is to throw myself on the Rock of Christ Jesus and be broken.

We, I, don't always make the better choice.

Sometimes we become so hard breaking won't work.

We can still have hope.

In Christ Jesus, we are not crushed. (2 Corinthians 4:8)

Saul becomes Paul.

In Christ Jesus, we can be put back together again.

Pieces or powder.

Our God can restore us.

So, if you are aware enough to make the choice, choose to be broken.

Deliberately.

If you weren't or aren't, and you find yourself crushed, do not despair.

Jesus is still there.

Let Him have the dust that remains from your life.

He can breathe life into it again. (Gen. 2:7).

He can deliver you.

Whole.

Complete.

New.

BITTER WEEPING ALLOWED...

2010-11-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

If you have been around Christianity for pretty much any amount of time you have heard of Peter. Peter was so much like so many of us. Quick tempered, mouthy, flip-floppy, yet so desperately longing to be with Jesus. Before Christ was arrested, He told Peter that before the rooster crowed three times, Peter would deny Him.
Peter did.
Peter knew it as soon the rooster crowed.
Peter wept bitterly.
I think in my head I pictured Peter having a moment of clarity, realizing what he had done, and walking away to find solitude where he could cry.
Yesterday, I read the account in Luke and my picture changed.

But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him,"Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:60-62 (NKJV)

Peter was no dummy. He knew what he was doing the first time he denied Christ.
And the second.
Peter was scared.
Peter was unsure.
Peter was being sifted. (Luke 22:31).
Although I am not sure the sifting was in the denial, but the recovery from.
Imagine the hurt.
Imagine the failure.
Imagine looking into the face of Jesus right as you sin.
Knowing He loved you.
Knowing you hurt Him.
I am sure that Jesus looked on Peter with compassion, which I would bet only made things worse.
I, we, have, I hope, all had times when we knew immediately we had sinned.
Sometimes, I even get close to the fullness of how my sin hurt others.
Sometimes, I get how it hurts God.
But to have Jesus look at me.
To look back at Him.
It would break my heart.
As well it should.
I need to remember that.
My sin doesn't just hurt me or others walking around on this earth.
It hurts the very God who made us.
It breaks the heart of the very Christ who died to save me from it.
And the devil will remind you of that.
Can you imagine the torture Peter endured in his mind?
The thoughts.
The imagined implications.
I imagine he was pretty disgusted with himself.
I usually am when I realize what I have done.
I don't know if Peter remembered the other words Christ spoke to him.

And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to the Me, strengthen your brethren."
Luke 22: 31-32 (NKJV)

Christ, knowing full well what was about to happen, encouraged Peter.
He loved Peter.
He prayed for Peter.
Not that Peter's faith in Peter would not fail, but Peter's faith in Him.
In His love.
In His forgiveness.
In His grace.
When you and I fail, when we sin, we should weep.
Bitterly.
But in our weeping, let us remember who our faith is in.
Not in ourselves, that we were right, or that we will get it right.
Our faith is in Christ Jesus.

"...Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

Let those tears wash away the dirt the enemy tries to pile upon you.
Allow those bitter tears to fall on your tongue as you open you mouth in confession and praise.
And watch the Lord make them sweet.

For I am the Lord who heals you.
Exodus 16:22-27 (NKJV)

Deliberately.

I SEE MYSELF....

2010-11-02T01:50:00.000-07:00

in the Pharisee standing at the altar.
At least, I see who I used to be.
It wasn't intentional.
Pride snuck in while I was being good.
Doing the things I was supposed to do.
Knowing I had sin, but comparing it others.
Read the story again yesterday and I saw myself.
I am not sure it was that I even thought I was better,
just not as bad.
Saw myself in another story as well.
Priscilla Shirer shared in One in a Million that a rebellious sheep will have its leg broken by the shepherd.
Wounded, the sheep must now be carried by the shepherd.
Resting on the shepherd, the sheep learns his voice.
When healed, the sheep KNOWS its shepherd's voice.
The rebellion is gone.
I have had a broken leg.
I have been carried.
I know my shepherd's voice.
Reading that story made me think of the book of Ezekiel.
Time and time again the Lord says He is doing this or that so"they (or you) will know that I am the Lord."
We are going to know He is Lord.
We need to know He is the Lord.
We are delivered because He is Lord.

FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE....AND YOURS.

2010-10-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is what I wrote over Jeremiah chapter 42 in my bible.
The full caption reads:

DO NOT GO BACK TO THE CAPTIVITY THAT I HAVE DELIVERED YOU FROM

You need to read the chapter for yourself. Here is what I am going to say. When things get hard, either as a consequence of your actions or just because, do not go back to the captivity Christ has delivered you from. Sometimes things get rough just in our head. A comment that hurts a little, even when nothing was intended by it. A nod of approval neglected. Sometimes things really are difficult. Either way, do not go back to the captivity He has delivered your from.

Not back to old habits.

Not back to old thought processes.

Not back to old self-loathing or pride.

Do not run back to old friends if He has removed them.

Do not go back to old lifestyles.

Do not run back to the "good" if it held you captive from the best God has.

Face the difficulties under the wing of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will protect you. He will cause you to survive. He will cause you to thrive. You go back, it will be worse than before. It will be the death of you.

He is the One who delivered you from Egypt, for His name's sake.

To go back is to belittle that name.

To belittle the name He has given you as well.

Redeemed.

Precious.

Adopted.

Child of the Living God.

It may not be easy. Probably won't. Fear will knock and, at times, try to beat down the doors of your heart and mind.

You stand firm.

You keep focused on Christ Jesus and do not look back.

If you are going to fall before anything or anyone, you bow that knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You hit your knees in praise and prayer, and you keep those feet facing forward, planted firmly on the ground He has placed you on.

Do not retreat.

Do not concede defeat.

Do not think that I am talking just to you.

It is written in my Bible for a reason:)

Deliberate.

Delivered.

May we be so, Lord Jesus, may we be so.

YES I STILL HAVE A BIBLE...

2010-10-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

I know.

It has been over a month.

You have been asking yourself,

Does this girl even read her Bible anymore?

Yes I do.

Yes I have been.

I just finished up the Old Testament.

The people have returned.

The temple rebuilt.

The apathy renewed.

Just like us isn't it?

Things get turned around in the right direction.

We get lazy.

Maybe just me.

Stop being deliberate in my pursuit.

In my actions.

In my choices.

Now in the New Testament.

Reminding me of how deliberate our Christ was.

How deliberate He is.

How deliberate He will be.

He has, is and will deliver us.

He is deliberate about it.

He is deliberate toward you.

He is deliberate toward me.

With His grace.

With His love.

With His discipline.

God, our Father, knows exactly what He is doing.

Take peace in that knowledge.

You are deliberately delivered.

IS HIS NAME....

2010-09-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

I know the last couple of posts have been challenging.

Could even be down right depressing and discouraging.

So I wanted to encourage you today

with the same verse I have been encouraging myself.

Their Redeemer is strong;

The Lord of hosts is His name.

Isaiah 50:34(a) NJKV

We are not in this alone.

We are not depending on our own strength.

Whatever you are going through,

get this good news in your head.

Our Redeemer is strong!

The Lord of hosts is His name!

Glory!

CRUSHED

2010-09-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

...because I was crushed by their adulterous heart

which departed from Me,

and by their eyes

which play the harlot after their idols;...

Ezekiel 6:9 (NKJV)

I had to go back and re-read this verse a second time. The word that jumped out at me....crushed. God is talking to Ezekiel about the children of Israel. They have not had loyal hearts. I knew He was upset with them. I knew He was angry. Crushed though? I never think of God as being crushed. I have been crushed. It is a word I can relate to quickly. Heart-break in my youth, betrayal anytime. Crushed is a word many of us can relate to. Kinda feels like being kicked in the stomach. It is different than anger. More than being upset. It is deeper. To your very being.

I'll be honest, it is really hard for me to picture God crushed by anything. To picture my God broken. However, He clearly says in His word that He was (and is). The KJV (for my mama) says He was "broken with their whorish heart".

I always knew my sin disappointed God, but I think I pictured Him feeling similar to what I feel when the MC's disappoint me. I am upset, but not cut down deep. The idea that my "whorish heart" crushes Him, that puts a whole new weight on things. A mental and emotional image I can't seem to shake. I have seen parents who were crushed by the actions of their kids. I have seen spouses crushed by the infidelities of their significant others. I know what it looks like. I know what it feels like to an extent.

All this to say I now have a stronger desire to have a loyal heart. I want to be so very watchful for idols in my life, as small or large as they may be. I want to be sure I am loyal to Christ's calling above all else. If it means swallowing some pride, forgiving deep wounds, confessing secret sins, then fine. If it means stepping out of the comfort zone or speaking boldly into a relationship, fine.Whatever He calls me to, I desire even more for my heart to be loyal to Him alone.

Won't be easy.

Won't come naturally.

Won't feel good all the time.

But it will feel better than

the thought of causing God

to be crushed by my heart.

Deliberately Delivered.

My heart,

to God.

Loyal.

Faithful.

True.

Because

He was

deliberately

delivered

unto me

and to

you.

A LOYAL HEART

2010-08-10T20:30:00.001-07:00

I just could not get it.

What was the difference between David, who messed up in a big way multiple times, and the other good kings, who were obliterated for doing one thing wrong?

What made David different?

Then I found my answer in 2 Chronicles 25:2,

And he did was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart. (NKJV)

This passage is speaking about Amaziah and his reign in Judah, but it spoke so loudly to me in response to my question.

When many of the good kings messed up, even if only once, they rejected the correction of the Lord.

They got angry and responded in rebellion.

When David was corrected, he humbled himself before the Lord.

He had a loyal heart.

We can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.

To What is our heart loyal?

Looking good in front of others?

Convincing everyone, perhaps even ourselves, that we have it all together?

We can do them all for the right reasons.

Trying to please and honor the Lord.

It is easy to do right when it carries little consequences or inconvenience.

What about when we need to do right after we have done wrong?

When the Lord chastens us,

which we pray He does as it is a sign of His love for us,

how do we respond?

To What or Whom do we find our hearts loyal?

Our flesh or our God?

Like David, we are going to blow it.

We are going to mess it up at some point in time.

The test of our heart can come when we are corrected by the Lord.

Are we loyal to our flesh and demand we have done nothing wrong?

Are we loyal to Christ Jesus and repent then and there?

A work in progress, yes we are.

In that progress, let us (and believe me I mean ME in a big way) be deliberate in turning our hearts toward the Lord.

Let us deliberately raise up within ourselves loyal hearts to Christ Jesus.

He is deliberately loyal to us.

HOGWASH...

2010-08-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

is what it is. Before I ever start, let me warn you now I have a burr under my saddle. A big one. It has hit a nerve and I am fired up. That was your disclaimer.

Complete and utter hogwash. There is a trend moving within the church body (at least in this nation) that ticks me off like nobody's business on one hand and scares the fire out of me on the other. The belief that the Bible is not the complete Word of God. The argument that the Old Testament stories are just that...stories. Used by writers to invoke emotion about a deity, but with no real validity.
Adam and Eve just a parable.
Jonah impossible.
Jericho - no way.
It is a movement that has crossed into main stream denominational churches and seminaries alike, and it is wrong. Someone help us when we have pastors with their very fancy doctorates and seminary papers telling us from the pulpit that they do not believe that Bible is the absolute Word of God.
Excuse me?
When we have megachurches and minichurches alike full of people listening to men and women who argue the Old Testament is figurative more then literal.
Are you kidding me?

Let me tell you something right now, if you can't believe the "in the beginning" then you have nothing to cling to in the end.

I can not even wrap my head around how someone could believe in God raising Christ Jesus from the dead (which is a, if not the, chief tenant of Christianity) and yet finds it impossible for the very same God to put a man inside a whale. Or knock down a wall. Or make a aged woman have a baby.
Which is harder?

What is even worse is we are buying it. Hook. Line. Sinker.
Which is exactly what we are doing.
Sinking.
Into our collective pews. We open our mouths and we believe everything that man or woman behind the pulpit says. We read our scriptures from the screen. We listen without ever checking the scriptures out for ourselves. We take no notes. We ask no questions. We give away ownership of our faith piece by piece, little by little. Don't get me wrong. I don't believe for one second that we are to sit in our pews and challenge every word our pastors or bible teachers say. There will be issues that we do disagree with them on. Do they all merit beating down his or her door Monday morning? Most likely not. However, there are some that should be deal breakers for us. The validity of the Bible better be the first.

Here is the deal. God is either a liar or He is not. (He is not, Titus 1:2; Num. 23:19).

He can not lie in the Old Testament and then be truthful in the New. It is either all true, or it is all a lie. No in-between. You can not pick and choose the parts you want to believe in. It either happened as God said it did, or it didn't. Now I know the arguments. Well, the bible was written by man....there are so many different translations....we did not really know what all the words really meant. There is legalism out there that says I must keep the Jewish laws of the Old Testament. There are those who will say I am in the wrong writing this because I have usurped my role within the body and spoken out of turn according to the New Testament. Most likely the word hypocrite will come to mind, if not to the comments. Which is fine. Absolutely fine. Why? Because my faith does not depend on what the comments section says.

Here is what I know. Here is what I have lived. When it comes down to it. When the rubber meets the road. When I am in my darkest of darks, the Word of God is the ONLY light that can defeat it. It comes down to me and that Bible. It is those words that are my sword. It is those words that speak to my soul and encourage me. Those writings that have even allowed me to know how to be saved, actual salvation, and to share that with others, and if I don't have confidence in it, all of it, I am done for. Finished. My pastor can not help and my favorite bible teacher is useless in those times. No feel good message is going to cut it. I need to know the word, believe the word, and act upon the word.

I beseech you brothers and sisters in Christ, please, please, do not think for one second that the Bible is just a story book. Please do not diminish the sacrifice that Jesus made for us (whether you accept it or not) by saying it is only to invoke emotion. Use discernment. Study. Research. Learn.
Above all BELIEVE. Have faith in the God who wrote it. Exercise faith in the Christ who died for it. Stand up and stop sinking.

O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge- by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:20-21 (NKJV)

MERE WORDS OR MORE....

2010-07-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

The devil is a trash talker.
In case you had not gotten that one yet.
Especially when we are already afraid or anxious.
Oh - he is a fine master of words.
He knows how to play with the truth just enough to make us believe his lies.
He loves to make us doubt.
How he loves that!
Because doubt breeds fear, which will snuff out faith if we let it.
While reading about Sennacherib this morning, I could not help but think how his words could have come from the inner chamber of the enemy's strategy meetings.

..."Thus says the great king of Assyria: "What confidence is this in which you trust? You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?"
2 Kings 18:19-20 (NKJV)

The devil probably could not have said it better himself.
We speak of the weapons of our warfare.
We make plans for battle, but sometimes lack in the follow through.
We know we have the power of the Holy Spirit with us, yet we don't call upon it.
We think we can do this alone.
We trust in our own strength.
We boast in our own confidence.
In doing so, we fail.
When we speak out of our own strength they are but mere words.
He is right- how can we rebel against him alone?
We can't.
The good news is we don't have to.
We were never expected to.

"By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas; who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power; You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples."
Psalm 65:5-7 (NKJV)

The enemy is going to try to beat you and I up with his words. He will remind us of times we have failed. He will remind us of times we thought God failed. Times when things did not turn out like we had hoped or prayed.
When those whispers start to tickle you ears, silence them with truth. Not with mere words, but the Word of the God Almighty. The Word of Christ Jesus. He is your confidence. He is your strength. He is your power.
May we not only be diligent in planning for battle,
may we be deliberate in the follow through.
May we purposefully and intentionally submit ourselves to the Lord God in all our battles.
May we walk confidently in the armour of God, not because of us, but because of Him.
May we silence the lies of the enemy when he asks,
"And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?",
by responding with two words,
Jesus Christ.
Our deliberate deliverer.

HAND-CRAFTED SIN

2010-07-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

So these nations feared the Lord,

yet served their carved images;

also their children and their children's children

have continued doing as their fathers did,

even to this day.

2 Kings 18:41 (NKJV)

You can fear the Lord and still serve your own gods.

That is my handwritten side note beside verse 33 of the same chapter, which states the same thing.

I, Rhonda, can fear the Lord, and still, mistakenly, serve my own gods.

Maybe not little statues, but little issues, you bet.

Money.

Accolades.

Security.

Love.

Anything that I try to put above the Lord God and Jesus Christ will become a god to me.

A god that I myself have created. It tells us the people were serving "their carved images". Someone had to carve them. Isaiah says something very similar.

For in that day every man should throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold - sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.

Isaiah 31:7 (NKJV)

Sin that I have made for myself. It might have started out innocently enough.

A man wanting to provide for his family.

A mom wanting her kids to be well behaved.

Just wanting to shed those few pounds.

Writing something and wanting people to think it was good. Insightful.

An employee wanting to make his or her boss proud.

All good things, but the moment they move up the ladder to the top and surpass my relationship with Jesus Christ, they have become gods.

Am I sacrificing my family to make money?

Am I enabling my kids instead of training them up?

Am I obsessed about my weight? Letting it define me instead of resting in who I am in Christ Jesus?

Do I seek the approval of man above the approval of God?

All easy traps to fall into. For me it is usually a slow fall.

Gradual.

A little compromise here, a little give there.

A second look in the mirror followed by a run down of all the things I don't like.

Bribing my kids to behave in front of company, all the time.

Checking my profile status to see how many people have visited.

Sin that I myself have crafted.

If that was not bad enough, sin that can be passed down for generations (note the plural).

If I am obsessed with my body, don't you think for a second my men children won't be with theirs.

If my husband works at the expense of these boys, he is marking the path they will be likely to follow, and pay dearly for.

Diligence is what is required of me.

Listening for the Voice that says this the way to walk.

Heeding the Holy Spirit's nudges.

Keeping my heart and mind grounded in the word of God.

Because I, and you, have been delivered from all of that.

Deliberately.

"NO" MEN

2010-07-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

We all have a desire to surround ourselves with people who encourage us, and rightly so. We need people who will lift us up. However, we must be aware of the pit of excess. We see it all the time. People become famous and are surrounded by an entourage of "yes" men. People come into places of leadership, and the "yes" men abound. Doesn't just happen in Hollywood. Happens right here in our own backyards. Successful coaches hung the moon, charismatic preachers can do no wrong, politically prominent men and women wield power unfathomable.

It can happen to any of us. Should we find ourselves in that situation we would be wise to make sure we get a healthy dose of "no" men as well. We need only to look at the story of Ahab, king of Israel, to see how deep the pit can be.

And Jehoshaphat said,

"Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him?"

So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,

"There is still one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord;

but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil."

And Jehoshaphat said,"Let the king not say such things!"

1 Kings 18:7-8

(NKJV)

The two kings were considering going to war together. Now keep in mind Ahab was an evil king who had turned from the ways of the Lord. His desire to go to war was motivated by pride and gain alone. Jehoshaphat had requested that they inquire of the Lord, so Ahab called together hundreds of prophets (his personal "yes" men). They all agreed....go to war... the victory is yours... you are the best... you can do anything... the world is your oyster... so on and so on. Yet even in hearing this, Jehoshaphat knew something wasn't quite right. Then there was that one guy...

Our "yes" men need to balanced with the truth of God's word. Which means, at times, they need to be "no" men. Any one of us, left to our own devices, and given a bit of fame, fortune or power, can find ourselves heading head first into a deep pit of pride and self-absorption. Doing what we want, when we want, how we want, regardless of what God wants. Truth be told, I can find myself doing that now (without the fame, fortune or power).

We need to be watchful that we, ourselves, don't become another person's "yes" man. "No" men won't always be popular. We won't always like them,or be liked if we are one, but if they are acting in the love of Christ when they say no, we will treasure them.

Take a look around your circle of friends today. Are you surrounded by "yes" men? Have you gone the other, just as damaging direction, and surrounded yourself with "no" men? Do you have a balance of the two?

Godly correction and discipline will be just as profitable as godly encouragement if we let it. Let us be deliberate in surrounding ourselves with both.

IF I ONLY HAD...

2010-06-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

I have recently started So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore. The chapter I read yesterday made mention of some"false positives" we carry around with us. You know them. They are the one thing or one area where we believe if we could just get that (or get it right) we would be secure and set in everything else. Must admit I have a couple of those.
At the same time I am reading about Solomon. The man had it all. Money, fame, favor of the Lord, adoration of his kingdom and other kingdoms. The dude was set. Yet it was not enough to keep him focused on God. He still turned from the God who had personally visited him twice.
He still turned to other gods.
My " false positives" are just like the gods Solomon chased. They can no more bring me security than, well, anything. It does not matter how much I have or don't have, the only security I can count on, that I can cling to, is found in Jesus Christ. What my false positives can do is turn my eyes from the God who loves me. They can make me blind to all the things I do have, all the things the Lord has been gracious to me with.
As I was reflecting after reading today I just kept picturing myself going back to Jesus daily saying " My security is in You". Not just about money, a job, or material things but in relationships as well. When I see someone at work promoted and I wonder why not me. When I see someone serving in the ministry in a manner I want to or would like to at least try. When I see someone with friendships like I want. Whatever it is, my security has to rest in Christ and in Christ alone. I have to trust that He has a plan, knows the plan, will execute the plan and that it is a good plan. That is what will make me secure.
For me, I will have to be purposeful about it.
I will have to choose each day.
I may even have to be audible in it.
Repeatedly.
I will have to, daily, be deliberate in my choice to be secure in and with Him.
After all, He was and is deliberate in delivering me.

THE TEMPLE

2010-06-15T11:30:00.001-07:00

I have been reading about the temple Solomon built for the Lord. The great detail with which everything was made. The great detail that is recorded in the book of 1 Kings and in 2 Chronicles. How every little thing was planned for and designed by God. Even the smallest thing. I often wonder why God had the specifics recorded with such great accuracy. Why do I need to know how many cubits the vestibule was or how each cart was made?
I think one of the reasons why is that we don't forget we serve the God of details, even the smallest ones. Yes He sees the big picture, but that doesn't overshadow the details. He is all about the details.
1 Corinthians 3:16 reminds us that we are the temple of the Spirit of God. Just as God planned for and designed the very details of Solomon's temple, He has planned for and designed the details of you. From that freckle that you hate to those dimples you love, He has cared for them all. He sees the big picture He has for us physically, mentally , emotionally and spiritually, but don't think for a second He has left the details for you to work out. He hasn't. He is on top of each and everyone of them. Are we co-laborers in building our temple? You bet, just as Solomon was with his temple. But we are not left to sort out the details on our own. He has the specifics. He has a plan.
A plan that is for your good.
Because you and I were deliberately delivered.
And that is a detail we must not overlook.
Be blessed dear ones.

MULTITUDE OF ANXIETIES

2010-05-31T08:37:00.001-07:00

I have battled anxiety for a few years now. Early on it was pretty bad. Now, it is just every once in a while, and I can usually tell when it is coming on. I know the cues for what sets it off. There are a couple of things that are sure fired triggers. I also know what reigns it in- for me it is scripture. I have a spiral set of "go to" index cards when I feel it building up. It is actually my second set because I gave the first one away:)
One of things I hate about anxiety is the feeling of being out of control. I can't control what is going on around me, so my mind and my body try to physically go out of control as well. I hate the shaky, nervous feeling anxiety brings with it. I also hate feeling like I am the only one. I know I am not, but when it hits, I kinda feel isolated.
In my quiet time the other day, I found this verse-
In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
Psalm 94:19
Now I have researched anxiety in my Strong's Concordance and managed to miss this verse.
I can not tell you how it comforted me to know the psalmist not only had one area of anxiety, but a multitude. Can I get a witness? Anxieties that he takes ownership of. They are not God's anxieties.
God brings a multitude of comforts.
For each and every anxiety I have, He has an answer.
That does delight my soul!

PLACE

2010-05-21T04:46:00.000-07:00

Hubs and I were having an *ahem* discussion about "place", mostly mine, and operating within it. More specifically, defining it's boundaries.
You know...

It's not your place to say

You spoke out of place

What place is it of yours to tell me blah blah blah

So here is the question for you (and oh how I hope you answer) :

What is our place?

I talked about calling out blatant, unrepentant sin the other day.
That is all our place in my opinion.
But what about things that are just tweeks? Things we see others doing that are damaging to the body that they may not even recognize are hurting anyone.
That woman or young girl at church whose skirt is repeatedly just a little too short or shirt just a little to sheer.
The young man who repeatedly is demonstrative in his play for girls or in his attempt to exercise his dominance over other guys.
That teenager who is popping off at their parents in front of everyone.
The mom who loses it on her kids A LOT.
What about people you know well who are acting out of emotion and the result is hurting others?
What about that group of women or men who went out for a night and things got a bit, just a bit, carried away?
That wife who belittles her husband at bible study. Or on the phone?
The husband who bad mouths his wife in front of others.
Where is your place to speak to those issues?
Is relationship the determining factor?
Does it matter how well you know them?
Or do you have a place as a woman and man of God to address it regardless of how well you know them?
So we don't spend time arguing over this point, yes the how matters.
Absolutely.
In truth and in LOVE.
You don't do it with either of these you are acting out side the bounds of your place.
So lets pretend we are all mature enough we can do address the issue with both of those.
Where is the line that you are not allowed to cross?
I would love to hear from you minister wives, as I am sure you have had your fair share in dealing with this.
Looking forward to the insight!

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF....

2010-05-18T05:11:00.000-07:00

You.
Me.
Them.
Us.
If you could look back over your life, your life exactly one year from today, what would you see?
Who would be standing there 365 days ago?
How is that person different today?
What struggles have you faced?
What victories have you had?
What new seasons of life have you embraced and which have you moved out of?
I can tell you the girl typing this is not the same as she was 365 days ago.
She was broken over the past year in ways she never dreamed of.
The places that have healed have made her stronger.
There are still places that are mending.
Decisions were made that she never saw coming.
She has many joys.
She has regrets.
She wishes she would have more quickly acted like Christ and not given so much time to the enemy.
She has a heart for the poor that was not there before.
Well, it was in theory.
Now it burns within her.
She has a heart that longs for integrity.
A heart that has been forced to trust.
She has been humbled.
She has exercised forgiveness.
She is aware of her resentments and not just justifying them.
She is more purposeful in her life.
She is making the choices instead of just letting them happen.
She is still afraid at times.
Days she would still like to run in a cave and hide.
But they are fewer.
Prayers for justification have been changed to prayers of mercy and grace.
Prayers for truth.
Prayers for integrity.
She still messes up, she still sins.
She has learned to repent quicker.
She has learned to obey sooner.
She still battles pride and self-seeking, but she recognizes it sooner.
She lays it down before Him.
So how about you?
What would be your testimony of the past year?
Are you different?
Better or worse?
Have you come to know Jesus more?
Do you even know Him at all?
Please share with us.
Your testimony matters.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
Revelation 12:11 (NKJV)

FOR OUR NATION

2010-05-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

Psalm 2

Why do the nations rage,

and the people plot a vain thing?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against His anointed,

saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces

and cast away Their cords from us."

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;

The Lord shall hold them in derision.

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,

and distress them in his deep displeasure:

"Yet I have set My King

on My holy hill of Zion."

"I will declare the decree:

the Lord has said to Me,

'You are My Son,

today I have begotten You.

Ask of Me, and I will give You

the nations for Your inheritance,

and the ends of the earth for Your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron;

You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' "

Now, therefore, be wise, O kings;

Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,

and you perish in the way,

when his wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

GOOD NEWS IN ACTION

2010-05-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

Psalm 106...you can read it here.
Over and over they messed up.
They failed.
They rebelled.
They ignored.
They turned away.
They suffered consequences.
Then verse 44 happens.

Nevertheless He regarded their iniquity when He heard there cry.
And for their sake He remembered His covenant,
and relented according to the multitude of His mercies.
Psalm 106:44-45 NKJV

The good news...regardless of how you and I have messed it up,
He hasn't.
In no way shape or form has He
failed,
rebelled,
ignored,
or turned away.
He is here today for you and for me.
Confess.
Repent.
Come to Christ.
He came for you.

THE GOOD NEWS

2010-05-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

The Gospel is the good news. We are to share the good news to this world. Here is my question - can there be good news if there is no bad news first? Don't people have to know the bad news before they can fully appreciate the good news?
I recently watched an interview on a syndicated talk show. The discussion was between a pastor, a former pastor, and a recording artist. What disturbed me the most was not their topic of discussion, but the idea that we, as Christians, are being judgemental and defying our faith when we call sin out as sin. If that is the case then every pastor in every church who is preaching the Good News should step down now. Because without the acknowledgement of sin, there is no good news. Yes, I know it is not my job to run around checking everyone's life, every little detail, and going "Yep that is sin....yep, that one too." It's not. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. It is however, my responsibility and our responsibility as the body of Christ, when obvious and/or blatant sin is apparent, to call it out for what it is. Do we do so condemning the person to hell? Without repentance and the acceptance of Christ, they were already condemned just as every other non-believer, including myself, was before they knew and accepted Christ. Do they need to know the bad news that they will go to hell without the acceptance of Christ? Most definitely yes. The darkness and despair of the bad news is immense and we fail as Christians if we leave people there. The depths of that despair sets them up for the glory of the good news, that Christ has already died for those sins and they can be set free. Without the acknowledgement of the bad news, the good news is simply a nice story.
We all mess it up. All of us. However, that can not be used as an excuse by us or against us to not call sin what it is. If being a sinner yourself somehow made you unqualified to speak into others lives, and I mean speaking in a manner that was both encouraging and challenging and at times confrontational, then Paul would have had nothing to write about. Peter - nothing to say. John - not a word. James; the writer of Hebrews; every one of them should have put down pen and paper. But that is not the case.
We are doing the body of Christ great harm when we are no longer willing to call sin out. When we no longer make the distinction between the ways and laws of God and the ways and laws of man. When everything becomes acceptable, salvation becomes relative. Salvation is not relative. It is absolute. Jesus Christ was, is and will always be absolute truth. It is in that truth that we are set free from the power of sin. It is by that truth we are able to overcome that sin. But we must first acknowledge it as such, and at times we need someone else to point out what we can not see right in front of our faces.
It is not easy - to be the one receiving the correction or the one giving it. Especially if you want to do it right. It takes a great deal of maturity. A great deal of wisdom. A great deal of prayer. Most importantly, a great deal of love.
But to not do it - the damage could be eternal.

Brethren, if any among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
James 5: 19-20
NKJV

AT FIRST GLANCE...

2010-04-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

These were the heads of their father's houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers' houses.
1 Chronicles 5:24

Sounds like a great group of guys doesn't it?
Men of valor.
Brave and courageous men.
Famous men.
Every person in the tribe knew about them.
Street recognition most definitely.
Heads of their fathers' houses.
The men in charge.
The men other men came to for advice and guidance.
The authority of that house.
The men with the power.

Who wouldn't want to be them?

And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

1 Chronicles 5:25

I don't want to be them.
Their unfaithfulness led to captivity.
Not just for them but for their entire tribe.
When I find myself desiring the riches of this world (even within the church)- fame, position, money- whatever- this verse serves as a reminder as to what the main thing is. When I find myself looking at others, thinking how great they are or their life is, I need to remember that what I see is a first glance. I need to make sure I look deeper to see where their faithfulness lies. Not to judge them, but to be aware for myself in order to avoid becoming a captive with them. I need to, by the help of the Holy Spirit, strive to make sure that when people take a second look at me and my life, they see faithfulness as well, because I don't want to be responsible for leading them into captivity either.

NOTHING

2010-04-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.
Not the most wonderful thing that I could even imagine happening to me.
Not all my dreams and desires coming to fruition.
Not the thing I fear the most.
Not the thing I am even afraid to speak.
Nothing compares to the promise I have You.
No high point in my life is more glorious than Your promise.
No low point in my life can destroy that promise.
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.
No worries I have are greater than Your promise.
No plan of the enemy is greater than Your promise.
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

That we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us,

to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,

and to remember His holy covenant,

the oath which he swore to our father Abraham:

to grant us that we,

being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve Him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness

before Him all the days of our life.

Luke 1:71-75 (NKJV)

DOUBLE DOSE

2010-04-12T10:37:00.001-07:00

I don't know how many of you read both blogs.
Well, besides my sisters and Q.
I was not for sure where to put this one, so you get it on both.
DO YOU REALLY?
Maybe totally just for me.
But knowing Him, I doubt it;)
Completely unrelated, can I just say that Judges finishes with a bang!
I have no doubt if they ever made an Old Testament movie straight from the text, an "R" rating would be an understatement. W...O...W.

I CAN'T CHOOSE...

2010-03-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

for you. I can only choose for me.
I just finished up the book of Joshua today.
Joshua gives his final speech and tells them to choose for themselves.
He knew what he was going to choose.
The tribes, the children, the kiddos, had to choose for themselves.
That is so hard.
It must have been hard for him.
To recant all that God has delivered them from.
To remind them how they were brought out of the "house of bondage", and how every good thing the Lord had spoken over them came to pass.
Then to say, okay, you choose for yourself.
But we all come to that point, don't we?
Either as the one choosing or the one allowing someone else to choose.
Just like the children of Israel, there will come a day when we (and our kids and family) will have to choose for ourselves whom we will serve.
A day when we have to make our faith our own. When that relationship with Christ goes from the head knowledge we received from others to the heart knowledge we have gained on our own.
One day we will have to choose to pick a side of the fence and quit trying to live on foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world.
Don't think for one second by not choosing you aren't choosing.
By not choosing Christ, you are choosing death. Plain and simple.
Sadly, not all of our loved ones will choose Christ.
Not just family, but friends we care deeply about.
I can't choose for them.
I can choose to pray for them. I can choose to continue bring them before the throne of grace and intercede for them, but I can't make that choice for them.
Even for my own boys, there will be a day when they must choose for themselves.
In college I had a dream one night that I knew I had to choose.
(Note I am not one prone to dreams and visions so when I have one that I have remembered for 20+ years it is a big deal)
In my dream I was lost in a world torn up physically. The road I was on was cracked and buckled. It was dark. It appears I was under some kind of tram track. I was calling out for my mom and she was no where to be found. I never saw His face in the dream, just the glory of His robe and a cross. His sweet voice said " I am going to put you at the foot of my cross". I knew. I was on my own. My mom could not do it for me anymore. It is me and it is Him. We are the ones who have to finally work this thing out.
There have been times over the past 20 years where that dream has been recalled to me. Troubles have happened that have sent me to the foot of that cross.
It has been my choice to kneel or not.
No other could choose for me.
Like the children of Israel there have been times of rebellion.
Times of forgetfulness.
Times that led to bondage.
The good news is that there have also been times of redemption.
Times of rescue and restoration.
I can't choose for you and you can't choose for me.
But this one thing I know...
We Are All Chosen.

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by man, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him shall by no means be put to shame."

1 Peter 2:4-6 (NKJV)

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

2010-03-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

"and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall have peace, even though I will follow the dictates of my heart' - as though a drunkard could be included with the sober."
Deuteronomy 29:21 NKJV

First this is not a post about alcohol.
Not even going to touch on it.
It is going to be about our hearts.
Well, mine, anyway.

I shall have peace, even though I will follow the dictates of my heart.

According to my notes, that phrase "follow the dictates" can be translated to mean "walk in the stubbornness or imagination".
All I have to do is think back to high school or junior high (or perhaps last week) to think of a time when I followed the stubbornness or imaginations of my own heart.
I just know he is the boy for me.
I just know we are going to get married and live happily ever after.
It didn't matter what sound advice others gave me, in my heart, I envisioned a glorious romance culminating in a Cinderella wedding and happily ever after. Oddly enough, I envisioned this with more than one Prince Charming. Seems my heart was a bit of a "playa". You want to talk about stubbornness of heart...
nope I am going to try to hold onto this person or relationship or job because I know in my heart of hearts I need to....I need them.
My heart kept telling me to do this or that and many times it backfired. Peace it did not bring. Many times I made an idol out of something or someone because "my heart" told me so.
Here is a little fact about my heart.

It is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9 NKJV)

My heart is fickle. When it feels loved, it loves back. When it is hurt, it pulls away. It guards itself viciously. It holds itself in high regard. It is self-seeking. It can be easily influenced. It can be pulled in many directions at the same time.
I think there is a reason Christ told us to love God with not only all out hearts but also our minds and our souls (Matt 22:37 NKJV). Our hearts will turn when we feel God has let us down. It is our minds that will speak the truth, our minds that will recall scripture to defend against the enemy. Our souls that know rock solid who we are in Christ and Who He is in us.
Yes, my heart has great capacity to love, but it can also have great capacity to hate. The other two keep it in check. Without the other two being lined up with God, my heart is on a self-destructive path, taking the rest of me down with it. I need all three (heart, mind and soul) working together serving the Lord.
Do I ever listen to my heart? Sure I do. However, I have to take what it says and compare it to what the Word of God says and what I know about God to be true. At times, I may have to take what it said and seek godly council.
Sometimes it is right on.
Sometimes it is broken as I allow the Holy Spirit to bring it in line with God.
I can't trust my heart.
I can trust the One who gave it to me.

FIGHT TO SUBMIT

2010-03-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

I have talked about my observations about my self- discipline on both blogs. The thing about self- discipline is that it covers so many areas of my life. SO MANY. It has been made clear to me during this time at home that this one stronghold is affecting so much in my life. In my mind, self-discipline meant getting it perfect everyday, all day, all the time. Always making the right food choice, always making the right financial choice, always making the right spiritual choice. A constant battle to be, well, perfect for God. If I should make a mistake, then just chunk the whole thing out the window because I failed.
2 Timothy 1:7 is a foundational verse for me. It is often my go-to verse. My choice of weaponry against the evil one. But honestly, I mainly use it when anxiety and vain imaginations try to take over. Not so much when I am tempted to make a poor financial choice, or tempted to be unwise in my food choices, or lax in my exercise or bible study. I, you, have been given the spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Not just a stable mind, but a self controlled, self-disciplined mind. According to Galatians 5:22, self-control is a fruit of the very Holy Spirit that dwells in me and in you if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior. This morning I was meditating on this as I started my day. This constant struggle within myself to get it right. To be a strict self-disciplinarian. As I was doing so , I felt the Holy Spirit say (synopsis),
"You are fighting against and fighting to get something that is a gift. I have given it to you. Just receive it. Stop striving to get it, to earn it, to do it. Just let me do it for you."
I know rocket science right. Stuff I already knew. In the heat of battle though, sometimes, I tend to forget what I already know and just start fighting. Anyone and everyone.
The thing I felt this morning was stop fighting to get it right and start fighting to submit. I know... I know. We Christians should do that already, and in many areas we already do. But tell me I am not the only one who has a few areas she keeps fighting in. If I am, well, yeah for me for the Lord making progress on me.
Self- discipline is a gift, a fruit. Yes it has to be nurtured. It has to fed the Word of God and watered with the Living Water, but it will grow. It will take time to grow, much like fruit. Can't plant a watermelon seed on day and have watermelons to eat the next. But in due season it will produce and we will reap.
It is not a fight to align my flesh up with what God desires.
It is a submission of that flesh to the Lord God Most High and allowing Him to align it.
Do I play an pivotal role? Absolutely.
It is my choice to submit.
It is my choice to heed the nudging of the Spirit.
It is my choice to educate myself so I can make wiser choices.
They are all my choices.
I know, Rhonda is growing up.
Aren't we all so proud.
She is getting some maturity on her.
I told my sister the other day I was getting upset at myself thinking when will I ever have this Christian walk down.
Truth is - I won't.
I won't ever on this planet walk perfectly, do it all right, never stumble or fall.
I will, however, walk stronger.
I will get up faster when I fall.
I will walk this out with the One who deliberately walks with me.
(you guys just get to come along for the show...woohoo for you!)

MONEY TALKS

2010-03-13T09:01:00.001-08:00

"So it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant- when you have eaten and are full- then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. "

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (NKJV)

I talked about my anxiety over re- entering the work force in some form or fashion back here. Lots of reasons why, but they seem to hinge on one factor - money. I'll be honest - money makes me lazy. As someone who is not a fan of cooking, money sure makes it nice to grab something to go. Meal planning? Why when I can fly by the seat of my pants and just pick up random ingredients from the store. Money makes me not value my "stuff" at times. Why should I because if it breaks I can just go get a new one. Money provides gas in my vehicle that allows me to run around town and go where I want, as many times as I want.
Over the past 7 months, the money has been removed. The Lord has provided, but the surplus has been gone. Come to find out... the problem wasn't with the money but with how I thought about and dealt with the money.
Self-discipline has been a key thing over the last few months, and I have had to work on it out of necessity. I have had to plan meals. I have had to plan my trips to town. I have had to make sure things last. It has been an eye opening experience.
What I don't want to do is exactly what the Israelites did. When my tummy is full and my house is full of good things, I don't want to forget the One who brought us here. I don't want to go back to the selfish way I was handling the provision He gave us. I don't want to be a poor steward again of the resources He provides.
I know myself.
I know how quickly I fall back into old thought patterns.
I know how I tend to forget when things are good.
But I know Him, too.
I know how He has used this time to rewire my head.
I know His Holy Spirit dwells within me and is a reminder of things taught.
He is a faithful teacher.
He is a loving teacher.
He is a good teacher.

Best of all, I know He has it all in His hands.
Going back to work or staying home, shortfall or surplus, He has it all.

KEEP WALKING

2010-03-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

"Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you;

go up and possess it,

as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you;

do not fear or be discouraged."

Deuteronomy 1:21 NKJV

We all have a "promised land" that the Lord has prepared for us. Some of us know what it is. Some of us don't have a stinking clue. The good thing is He does. He has set it before us. He has provided a path for us and lights the way (Psalm 119:105). We do not need to fear because it is good. We do not have to walk in darkness toward it. If it is taking a while, don't get discouraged. It may be the God is removing the unbelief that keeps you from walking in the full freedom your "promised land" offers. Your light may be very dim, get in the Word, and it will grow stronger. You may be taking tiny steps. Keep walking. Your steps will get stronger. He is the Lord your God. He is for you. He wants you there more than you do. He has gone before you and prepared, not just a place, but the place for you.

ALL THE WAY OUT

2010-03-10T07:57:00.001-08:00

Numbers 33:55-56

"But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you , then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorn in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them."

If you read the chapter you will find the Lord giving instructions to the nation of Israel as to how they are to conquer Canaan and claim their promised land. He is very clear - everyone has to go. Nothing left. Any remnant of it will only cause you harm.
The same is true for us. We have things blocking our path to our figurative promised lands, where we dwell in freedom with God and He dwells freely amongst us. Some things we have brought upon ourselves. Some others put upon us. Either way, the Lord can remove them. Either way, He is most likely to call for our cooperation. He will tells us what we need to remove ; we have to obey. There are times when sweets are a stumbling block for me. I can not even have them in the house - at all- they have to be totally removed. You may say well how does that impact you and God. Oh, it does believe me. Because when I go to them for comfort instead of Him, I have just set up a false god. Others are more serious. A group of "friends" you used to hang out with. A causal drink you used to have that turned into an addiction. That relationship with the opposite sex that is teetering on the edge of adultery or fornication. The show that occupies your time, or computer game, or social media. If the Lord has called you to remove those, remove them. No, you can not run around with them every once and a while and it do no harm. No, you can not have just one drink or one hit or one blow and think you can defeat the enemy. No, you can not see them "socially" and think you are safe from that pit. They have to be removed from your life and from your thoughts. Because if you don't, the destruction that comes to them will come to you as well. The death that those things bring, physical, spiritual or relational, will be yours. They have to go.
The good news - God is just as eager for you to get them out of your life as you are. More so. No child of Israel wanted in the promised land more than God wanted them in. Not a one. Same holds true for today. The same God who fought on behalf of Israel fights on behalf of you and me. All (as hard it is) we have to do is obey His battle plans. His plans that have already ensured victory. His plans that lead to the "promised land" He has for you and for me.

* I am going to add some thing here as I have mulled over this today. It does not always have to be a bad thing the Lord tells us needs to go. It can be a very good thing. A committee in church or the community. A volunteer job. Whatever. If the Lord tells you to remove it, do it. No "I'll just help with this one project". None of that. Because even good can block the best He has for you.

ESTABLISH THE WORK

2010-03-05T06:05:00.000-08:00

"And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,

And establish the work of our hands for us;

Yes, establish the work of our hands."

Psalm 90:17 (NKJV)

I have things I know I am called to do. For my family. For the Kingdom of God. I also have things I think I am called to and desire to do. My concern is that what I desire to do may not be what God desires for me to do. The thought that it is not hurts a little. Because I so desperately want to. I love doing it.
This prayer of Moses will become part of the prayer of Rhonda. I know God has good works for me to do based on Ephesians 2. I desire for God to establish that in me. That the work of my hands be for His glory and not mine. That my hands would do the work that has been prepared, and that they would be firm in doing so.
What work of your hands has God established for you?

WHERE'S THE BEEF?

2010-03-04T07:09:00.001-08:00

I know I had said we would talk about 2 Peter, but I am not there. It is not where me heart is right now. I don't want to force it. I don't want my writing about it to be contrived. Right now my heart is in Numbers 11. I encourage you to read it on your own, but I will give you the run down on the part that is so speaking to me.
The meat.
Israelites are out of Egypt, complaining against God because they have no meat.
Oh we should have stayed in Egypt...
Oh why did you bring us out here to die...
Oh if we only had meat our lives would be perfect (my interpretation)...
So the Lord says fine. You want meat - you got it. So much so that it is coming out your nostrils and you will despise it! And so it was.
This passage challenges me, and I hope you, to look at yourself. I had to ask myself what have I been complaining about? What do I think I need so desperately? Money? Girlfriends? Fame? What is it? Am I dangerously close to God giving it to me in such abundance that I despise it? Many of us can testify that the very thing we thought would make our lives perfect was the very thing that brought us down and made our lives worse.
Oh that I had more dates when I was single...
Oh that I had more popularity...
Oh that we had more money...
How many stories have you read of lottery winners whose lives were ruined by the money? How many stars would desire to be able to walk into a coffee shop and not be mobbed by fans or paparazzi? How many, men and women alike, have gone through so many members of the opposite sex they connect with no one? Just one night after the other. Sure it all sounds great and fun at first. I mean who doesn't want a little more money, a little more popularity and notoriety. I know there were and are times I do. But for me, those are desires of the flesh. If you read on you will find that the people who complained the most died and they called the place Kibroth Hattaavah, or Graves of Craving. Let me tell you when I saw that ...Graves of Craving... it hit home. I really don't know if I can put into words how it impacted me and has stuck with me. Whether I crave attention or cheesecake, those cravings can lead to death if they replace the one True God I should be craving. That is a term that will stick with me. Am I setting myself up for a grave of craving? Am I digging it myself?
I also saw a fine line between beseeching and complaining. We are perfectly within our rights as children of God to ask for things, and He is perfectly within His to deny or grant. The line is crossed when we don't accept that answer and our hearts turn away, even a little bit. He has to be enough, meat or no meat. Dates or no dates. Money or no money. Fame or obscurity. The kids of Israel, they did not accept the answer. Their hearts turned from grateful children to whiny brats. I have been a whiny brat myself. I understand.
So how about you? Any thoughts? Anything you want to share that you thought would make all things better and it ended up making all things worse? Any grave of craving you fell into?
Trust me those three words will be in my mind for a while. I hope they will yours too.

LAST THOUGHTS

2010-02-10T01:15:00.000-08:00

Just some final quotes from A Call to Grace by David Nasser.

"Grace never replaces God's standard, it fulfills God's requirement and enables God's standard to be lived out through our lives."

"Grace without truth can lead to liberalism. Truth without grace can lead to legalism."

"Grace is not safe, but it is always good."

"We have all to often confused grace with passivity, avoidance, or indifference. Grace is neither passive, avoiding of confrontation, nor indifferent. Grace is what it is. It is holy and truthful. Truth gives us convictions and the courage to confront, while grace allows us to speak these convictions with consideration and tact."

"As Christians, although we must lovingly live among people we don't agree with, this is not an excuse to compromise our own convictions (John 17:15-17)."

"He (Christ) never compromised the standard, yet He never acted in a spirit of condemnation."

Good words for this age in which we live.

DAY 35 - A Call to Grace

2010-02-08T01:15:00.000-08:00

Thought I had forgotten about you didn't you? Nope. Nor have I forgotten about 2 Peter. And I am finishing my grace book. Lots of stuff rolling around. So today we are gong to talk about day 35 of A Call to Grace.
This day is entitled Masterpiece. The entire book is referencing Ephesians 2:1-10. The passage focused on this day is,
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus..."
Nasser takes this day to discuss that you and I are masterpieces in the eyes of God. The two things that make us these exquisite works of art in the eyes of the Creator of the universe are:
first, the fact that we were created by the Master, and second, we are authentic works of art.
Nasser makes the point that we as Christians are all created to be different (authentic) yet we were all created by the same Person (Master), and thus bear the same signature.
That last bit to me is wonderfully freeing. We are all created to be different. To be our authentic selves. With authentic gifts, authentic talents, authentic roles to play in the advancement of the Kingdom. We are not supposed to be carbon copies of the hippest worship leader, or newest teacher, or the most grace filled lady we know at church. We are to be us - authentic us. The only one we carbon copy is Christ Jesus. Even in doing that, we would still be authentic. My church doesn't have to be like the church down the street and vice-versa. It is okay that we are different.
But in that difference some things are the same. One thing is the same for us all... Jesus Christ. We can disagree about a lot of things, but Jesus is not one of them. And that is freeing as well. Because when I get with people who are different, I can find the one common thing, Jesus. On Him I can focus. Him I can point to and draw from.
So in the freeing of being an authentic creation, there is also something unifying in being made by the same Person.
So many times we focus on striving to be authentic, we neglect the unifying factor. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the King of Kings, the Sacrificial Lamb, who sits at the right hand of God for you and for me.
What a masterpiece!

DESIGN? IDENTITY?

2010-01-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

Great post by Holly.
Really great.
Design versus identity.
Read it.
Please.
Click here.

CAN YOU CHECK FOR ME?

2010-01-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

According to Mr. Nasser, Jesus never used the word "grace" in the New Testament. I have checked and could not disagree. Would you mind checking?

Nasser says the reason Christ never used the term "grace" was because He was grace.

Interesting.

Hhmmm.

Ponder on that this weekend.

2010-01-14T04:48:00.000-08:00

I was catching up on my Wednesdays with Beth and guess what the first one out of the shoot was... How to deal with chastisement from God. One of the points she made was how God takes our consequences and makes them a teachable moment- that is chastisement. To supernaturally take over the consequences and use them to correct us for our profit and His glory.

Here is how I think I see it. We will all have things happen in our life and they are exactly that- things that happen. Divinely ordained, but happen from what seems out of nowhere from our perspective. We will have consequences of our decisions. If we are in Christ Jesus, the punishment is not ours. Yes, we will be chastised and corrected by God, and praise His name when we are. For it means He cares enough to make us more like Him. He does it because He loves us. We will not face the punishment though. Jesus has done that for us. However, if we are not in Christ Jesus, there will come a day when will have the punishment. A final day when we will no longer be teachable, be able to be corrected, when it will be too late. Breaks my heart to even fathom a day when it is too late. God, who is SO incredibly patient and kind and desiring for us all to repent, will draw the line at some point in time. That is what is weighing heavy on me today. For my family and the world.

I KNOW, I KNOW

2010-01-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

I know not everything that happens is a consequence of sin. Just wanted to clarify that before I started getting emails. Stuff just happens in life. But not everything is punishment. Trust me, for a gal who has spent 36+years trying to be good and follow the rules, the absence of punishment is a big deal. H-U-G-E. Still tossing it around. Will start 2 Peter soon. Thanks for reading my ramblings.

A CALL TO GRACE DAY 19

2010-01-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

I have made no secret that I am struggling with this book. I struggle with grace. I think today Nasser hit the nail on the head with one of my reasons why.
"The fear is that a grace message this radical will give people license to sin." (p. 137)
I think this is what I thought. That if I extend grace, people will be allowed to sin, like I am giving them permission. They are punishment free. They are consequence free.
Oh I hope this makes sense.
Today as I was reading it hit me. Grace is not punishment free. The punishment has been dished out, and Jesus Christ took it. That is the grace part. He took the punishment for me. Grace is not consequence free. Those still have to be dealt with. But in grace I can say, and it has been said to me, "Yep. You messed up, and there will be consequences. Those we will have to deal with. But I still love you, that hasn't changed."
I think I saw God as a punishment God. When things were going wrong, I was being punished from some sin. So I had to strive to be good, to follow all the rules, in order to avoid the punishment. Knowing in my head that the price for my sin had already been paid but not having a full understanding of it in my heart. I think we have broken through that today. God is not out to dish out punishment every time I fall. If I am in Christ Jesus, the punishment for that has already been handled. He does allow the consequences to come so I can learn. So I have the chance for remorse which will lead to repentance.
The flip side is that if I am not in Christ Jesus, if I don't know Him as Lord and Savior, then the punishment will come. If I am not a part of Him, then the punishment He suffered has no value for me. How that should break my heart for those that don't know Him. How I should be burning to share with them what He has done for me.
I am not done with this page so I am sure I will have more. I am meditating on it and asking the Lord questions.
I think we have a crack in the wall though, and I think I see the smallest of light rays invading the darkness.
Shine Jesus Shine.

WRAPPING UP 1 PETER

2010-01-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

"Therefore humble yourselves

under the mighty hand of God,

that He may exalt you

in due time,

casting all your care

upon Him,

for He cares for you."

1 Peter 5: 6-7

NKJV

Many of us, if not all of us, have things we want to accomplish. It could be professionally in your career of choice. It could personally. It could be in ministry. I know I have things I want to do. Things I want to accomplish. This I know. If I try to do what I want to do without God, I will fail. Oh sure I may accomplish what I set out to do, but it will still be a failure. It will be lacking. It will not be all I thought and hoped it would be. To be successful at anything, and I mean truly successful, God has to have done it. I have to lay it down before Him, give it over to Him, and let Him work it out. That goes for my work, my marriage, my kids, my ministry should there be one. Does not mean I am not an active participant or that I am not walking through doors He opens. I am just not busting my way through them or sneaking in. I am seeking Him and His guidance when to step and when to stop. It can be very frustrating and feel out of reach at times. That is okay. The rest of the verse tells me what to do with that. Cast my cares upon Him. Tell Him. Cry to Him. Vent to Him. MAINLY go to HIM. He can handle it. He wants to handle it. He cares about handling it.
So whatever you hope to accomplish, lay it down before God. Humble yourself and let Him open the way. Move when He says move and be still when He says be still. You have to be listening though. He tends not to scream. He tends to whisper.

1 PETER 4

2010-01-05T01:19:00.000-08:00

Really one verse just jumped all over me from this chapter.
Verse 15
"Bet let none of you suffer as a murder, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters."
It went like this in my head:
Don't be a murder - check
Don't be a thief - check
Don't be an evildoer - kinda check
Don't be an busybody in other people's business - whoa - hold the door.
Murderer, thief, evildoer....busybody. Check please.
Back in the day, I liked to be "in the know". I thought I had grown out of that until recently when I realized that desire was still there. To the point I have had to make a conscious choice to stay out of it. I mean an everyday, I will not ask, I will not read blogs or Facebook about it, I will not bring it up or seek it out. It has been hard to be honest. It is a decision I make everyday, sometimes every morning, noon, and night. It has been the best thing for me as well. It is not that I wanted to know to stir up trouble or spread gossip. I wanted to know just to know. To have the knowledge. Remember that tree of knowledge of good and evil? I know it was Beth Moore who talked about it, and I think it was in her Esther study, but she talked about the fact there are some things we don't need to know, and our desire to know all is something of a prideful god-complex. Sound like anyone we have read about before? Maybe someone who wanted to rule all of Heaven and Earth? The very person we don't want to be like.
So that is what is bouncing around in the noggin' of mine. What is bouncing around in yours?

THAT DREADED "S" WORD

2010-01-02T07:10:00.001-08:00

1 Peter chapter 3 contains the "s" word that makes many a woman cringe. For some it ranks right up there with the other "s" word for which I would wash my kids' mouth out with soap if they said it. To be honest, it made me cringe for many years as well; before and after marriage.

Submissive.

Some of you just got chills.

Don't be afraid of the word submissive. Remember, my blog, my point of view. It is actually intended for our good. Since I believe the Bible is inspired by God, then I must believe that if He let it in there, it is for a reason and that reason is good. The problem with the word submissive has been mankind (including women). Submissive has been twisted into complacent obedience at all costs. Many women have been browbeaten by men and doctrine that silences them as a marriage partner. Other women have been riled up by women to demand their rights and submit to no one. Both, in my opinion, completely unbiblical. Now remember, I am a right fighter. Submission is not easy for me, AT ALL. My parents raised my sisters and I to be very independent, self-sufficient, know what is right and fight for it, kinda gals. All great qualities, but ones that can, at times, makes marriage a wee bit tricky. None of us want to watch someone we love make a mistake, and we really don't like it when that mistake costs us. However, we sure do seem to like reaping the benefits of their decision when it blesses us. Those are the two sides of the submission coin. For better or worse. Good times and bad. Brilliant decisions and bonehead ones. I have found for me it is real easy to sit back and judge what my husband has done. To celebrate or complain. I have responded like my husband did not have the best interest of my family at heart. Notice I said my. At times I forget it is his family, too. His kids as well. His wife. His God-given burden to bear. I don't know much, or anything, about the psyche of a man. I know about my own psyche. I know for some odd reason I am hard-wired to clean house and nurture my kids. Honestly, I feel better after I have cleaned my house. Shocking I know. Does it make my husband's foot servant. Nope. It is how God has designed me. I also know my husband is hard-wired to work and provide for our family. He is not wired to clean house. God has placed the provision burden in his heart. Whether in be working or in his hunting, he wants to provide. Because God has placed that burden upon him, the responsibility is his as well. I am not negated of responsibility in providing for our family, I am just not it's chief bearer. I am the support team. It is how the Lord designed it. Me submitting to my husband does not mean I take over. It does not mean I demand my way or the highway. It does not mean I sit in silence. It means that I speak my peace in a timely and prayerfully considered manner, and then I zip it. I don't nag. I don't say I told you so with a prideful taunt. I pray. I pray and I pray some more. My flesh may scream;my mouth stays shut until the Lord prompts me to speak. Waiting is the hard part. Zipping that lip is the hard part. It is why we need the Holy Spirit, because our flesh does not die easily. It does not die easily for me and it sure ain't going down with out a fight for someone else. Jesus Christ is the only way. He must be paramount in my life first, and then in my marriage.

It is a struggle ladies, most definitely. The Christian walk is in many areas. Why else would Paul lament doing what he doesn't want to and not doing what he wanted to in Romans 7 verses 17-19. It is hard for all of us. So be encouraged if the dreaded "s" word strikes fear into your heart. Be encouraged if it strikes resentment. Many Christian women have been there. Many have had very valid reasons for feeling both emotions. They have experienced hurts of the Lord God Himself can heal. Let Him.
Now, please don't misunderstand and let me be very clear. Submission does not give your husband full reign to abuse you or your children, physically or emotionally, or to force into illegal or immoral activities. If that is your situation, get help now! Get you and your kids out and seek legal and Christian help. But just because his decision ticks you off, yeah, not reason enough to leave. Sorry. Same way he has got no grounds just because you made him mad. Covenant is a little more binding that that.
Don't be alarmed if you are tested in this area soon. It is the way it works. I am expecting it for myself. Be alert and prayed up. Recognize it, submit to God, resist the devil's prompting to respond in the flesh, and the devil must flee (James 4:7). Pick your chin up and keep on walking. You are not walking alone.

1 Peter 2

2009-12-31T07:48:00.000-08:00

Hope you are fabulous this New Year's Eve! Grateful for 2009, excited for 2010.
Here are my thoughts on chapter 2. Again we see the word "living". May we never, may I never, forget my God is alive! Jesus is alive. We are "chosen". Not because we are good, as my A Call to Grace book points out so well, we were sinners before we ever sinned. Not because we are weak and God likes to let us get beat up so we have to come to Him. He chose us because He loves us. He knows we are weak and He knows that in that weakness, if we allow Him, His strength can makes us strong. He will be glorified and honored. Lastly, and this was a tough one, honoring your bosses. Even the not nice ones. I am not talking about the ones who threaten you physically and emotionally. I mean the ones who are just rude jerks. Or insensitive. Or proud and take credit and quickly push blame. Not that we sit quietly and let them do whatever, but even in the disagreement we can honor them for the position they hold. I have failed at this many times. I am a right fighter.... for my rights or what I deem to be right or for someone else's rights...especially students. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge proponent of individual responsibility for learning. I think we do kids, especially high school kids, a HUGE disservice when we coddle them and baby them instead of holding them responsible for their actions, but I also believe in equality of opportunity. They should all be given the same chance. If the commit the same offense, they should receive the same punishment. Consistency in expectations and in discipline. One of my favorite lines form Remember the Titans is when the white coach is asking Denzel to back of the kids and Denzel replies something like " I may be a mean old cuss, but I am the same mean old cuss to each and every one of them." Yes please. Anyway, I have had bosses over the years I have disagreed with strongly and I did not always disagree with honor. At times I bad mouthed, I argued publicly, I sinned. So obviously I need to work on that one (even for my boss at the house).
Whew that turned into a mini soapbox.
Hope you have a safe New Year.
May Lord be gracious to you in 2010.
May He show Himself strong on your behalf and may you be drawn and wooed into a closer relationship with Jesus.
He loves you so. So do I.

1 PETER 1

2009-12-30T03:23:00.000-08:00

Hi there. Remember me? I finally have some thoughts on chapter 1. My sister gave me a MacArthur Bible Commentary for Christmas and I whipped it out for this chapter. Of course, I only got up to the "Background and Setting" portion of the introduction, so none of this comes from that. I did find it interesting that according to the MBC, Peter's wife ministered with him AND (according to tradition) he had to watch her be crucified. Just some trivia.
1. Verse 3 talks about our "living hope". Just another reminder that my God, my Savior, my Comforter are all alive. Living, breathing, full of life. Full of emotion for me and for you. Attentive to my every moment, my every prayer, my every concern. In the words of the song, "He's alive! He's alive! He is risen from the dead and He's alive!"
2. Verse 5 - I am protected by the power of God through faith. The scripture in the NKJV says "kept" and then translates that into protected. Like a military guard. Armed and ready to protect me.
3. Verse 6- My redemption was not cheap. MY REDEMPTION WAS NOT CHEAP. Christ's death was the greatest price that could have been paid. Flip it around, in the eyes of God, I was worth the price. That is how much He values me, He values you, and He values this world. Regardless of what the world tries to tell you and me, we are not worthless. We are not of no value. We are worth the very blood of the One True Son of God. Every drop. Every lashing. Every mocking. Not because we are worthy, but because He deemed us worthy. His grace deemed us worthy.
I am still walking through "A Call to Grace". I should say working through because apparently grace is a tough one for me. I am not even really sure what part of it is hard for me, but we are walking and working it out together.
Hope you had a blessed Christmas.
Get those Bibles out and let's talk about Peter. More importantly, let's talk about Jesus Christ.

1 PETER

2009-12-22T18:38:00.000-08:00

I am trying to read 1 Peter 1. Note the term trying. I can not get my head past the opening verse. So check back tomorrow. Maybe I will be around it by then.

ABOLISHED

2009-12-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

I am on Day 5 of A Call to Grace. So far so good with no facebook. I actually found myself getting "lonely" on Saturday because I had not been on. Day 5 returns to the theme "become who you are". Nasser uses slavery as an example. After abolition, the slaves were free. However, many of them continued to believe they were still slaves. They had always been slaves and knew nothing else to be. They believed those that told them you will always be slaves. They did not walk in the freedom they were given. Nasser goes on the describe our lives like that. Once in Christ Jesus we are free. Many of us, though, continue to believe the lies of the enemy that we will never be more that what we were. We have always been that way, will always be that way and there is no way we are going to change. We refuse, subconsciously or not, to accept the new identity we have obtained through Christ Jesus.

The last line of the day says this,

"Through God's pardon, we no longer have to act like who we were. We can become who we are" (p. 33).

The person I was before Jesus, the sin I carried, it has been abolished. It is no more in the eyes of the Lord. I am free from that. Whether or not I walk in that is my choice. Sometimes I think we stay with who we "were" because it is "safe" for us. It actually may not be safe at all, but it is safe in the sense that we know what to expect. We know how it is going to play out. The future of this "new person" is anything but safe. Especially this new person who has now given her life to Christ, and that includes everything - reactions, emotions, words. It is scary not knowing how people will react to the new you. Will they even let you be the new you? Will you have to leave your old friends behind? Will your old friends allow you to change? Will your family? Will your husband and kids?
While the future is uncertain, it is there. It is worth walking towards. It can be full of hope and life.
The person I was before, she is abolished. She is no longer. To try to return to her is to return to death. There is nothing there to go back to. It is time for me to start believing in the identity I
have in Christ Jesus and become who I am.
What about you?

A CALL TO GRACE

2009-12-18T03:53:00.000-08:00

Before we start our next book I wanted to share with you a book I am reading right now. It is written by David Nasser and is titled A Call to Grace (a 39 day look at how the grace-filled life is not about doing but about being...). My friend Lisa gave it to me years ago. We were supposed to go through it together, but stuff happened and we didn't. God's timing is perfect and I have picked it up again. It is a very interactive book. Questions, journaling, FASTING! Nasser asks the reader to fast from some "unnecessary daily activity". Facebook was on the chopping block. So for 2 days I have not logged onto facebook, and hopefully for 37 more I won't. I still get emails so if someone sends me a message that requires attention I can, but for the normal stuff I am not responding. It will 2010 before I log back on...w.o.w.
As someone who battles "being good enough" and "following all the rules" I am pretty sure this book is going to rock my world. I hope it does. I hope it draws me closer to the Lord and helps me cast off the "sin which so easily ensnares" me.(Hebrews 12:1 NKJV)
The first line of Day 1 really has me thinking. Four little words... Become who you are. Nasser says it is pretty much the point of the book. Become who you are in Christ Jesus. Become the person God has created you to be. Become the person He has called you to be. Become. Ever changing, alive, growing. Present tense. Now.
I am working on it. Becoming the wife I am created to be. Becoming the mama I am meant to be. Becoming the sister, friend, daughter, and woman God desires for me to be.
So, I will let you know occasionally how it goes.
Hope you have a great weekend. Fellowship with your church family. Don't have one...go find one.

JAMES 5

2009-12-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

Anyone else find it ironic after yesterday's talk about the "mula", James 5 would open with a warning to "rich oppressors"?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Bueller?
Bueller?

1. DON'T BECOME A RICH OPPRESSOR!
2. Guard my mouth against grumbling (especially at home for me)
3. If I have a need... tell people. Prideful sin is what keeps me from doing so.
No... everything is great.
Oh sure... I got this....
Nope I am super...
If I have a need, tell them!
4. I have a responsibility to the Truth. However, that does not make me the Truth police. I don't get to or need to run around checking if everyone is living according to the Truth of God's Word, but if the Truth is compromised or challenged then I have a responsibility to speak out on that.

ASKING

2009-12-16T05:00:00.001-08:00

I am going to stay on James 4 today. #1 from yesterday is still rolling around in my head. There have been things that I have asked for that I have not gotten. Now I know God knows all and there are things I ask for that would only hurt me. However, this phrase has me wondering if I have been asking for the wrong reasons. Searching my heart for the motivations as to why I was asking. Pride? Selfishness? Flesh serving reasons that I had hoped I had grown out of. Take money for instance. Like so many of you, times are tight. Partly due to my decision to stay home, partly due to factors out of my control. I have prayed and asked God for wisdom, for doors to be opened and closed, and honestly for money. Not so we can live lavishly, but so we can have some breathing room. Is that wrong? Is that selfish? Does it say more about me than I want it to? Or am I simply in a disciplining period where He is growing and maturing me. Maybe it is not even me. Maybe it is my kids getting used to the word "no" or maybe He is maturing my husband and we are along for the ride. Maybe they are going along this ride for me. I am not sure, but I am asking Him today. To reveal any wrong motives in me so that when I ask I may receive.

JAMES 4

2009-12-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a great weekend. We will pick back up today in chapter 4 of James.
1. Verses 2 & 3 -..."Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." My question is are we wrong when we do ask for ourselves? Are we wrong when we ask for things we want and we desire? Or should we only be asking for things to bless others?
2. Can't have my feet in both camps. It is Christ or the world, can't play both sides. It is a choice in the big and the small things, every single day.
3. I only have today to make that choice.
4. If I know the right choice to make and I don't, either by default or on purpose, then it is sin. The decision separates me from God and my fellowship with Him.

#1 is a flipping around in my head a good deal. I am not sure what to do with that. Any thoughts?

JAMES 3 REPLAY

2009-12-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

I went back to James 3 again last night and am going to throw out what I came up with.

1. Verse 13 " Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom."
I am thinking I need to be wise in the "works" that I do. There are lots of good things out there, but they may not be the wisest choice for me. Godly wisdom will point me to the works I am to do and recognizing that it is by God's design I am there should keep me humble.

2. Self -seeking & bitter envy = confusion and evil.
How true have I found this to be. Both in myself and in others. When I seek to serve myself, I do get confused and loose my way. I have been under others who were self-seeking and confusion was rampant under them as well.

3. Wisdom from above is full of good fruit. (vs. 17). What fruit do I have in my life? Am I being wise? Is it showing itself strong? Is it growing the good fruit?

Hope you have a great weekend. Be blessed. Go to church!

JAMES 3

2009-12-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

I am going to have to re-read James 3. I read it a couple of times yesterday, but I feel there is more than what I am seeing. Yesterday, I got this-
1. When I become mature in Christ, I can bridle my whole body (mouth and all). By His strength and my willingness it can be done. My willingness is a big part. I know there have been times when I knew to keep my mouth shut, and forged ahead anyway. There have also been times when I needed to speak and fear kept me silent. Willingness to obey, regardless of the cost.

A side note, unity of the body is on my mind today. Not uniformity, but unity. That we can agree to disagree and still love and respect one another. Heavy on my heart today. What thoughts do you have on the topic?
Have a great Thursday!

JAMES 2

2009-12-09T05:27:00.000-08:00

On a completely irrelevant note and totally a tad bit prideful, I was so pleased when watching this video from Priscilla Shirer where Kay Arthur was talking about Hebrews and I KNEW WHAT SHE WAS REFERRING TO. It completely made my day.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
James 2:
1. No partiality, to those I deem above me or below me.
2. Back the Smack (I have been waiting to type that)
Walk the Talk
Practice What You Preach

JAMES 1

2009-12-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

Nothing like diving from the frying pan into the fire. From Hebrews to James. Here are some thoughts on James 1.
1. God does allow the testing of our faith....uhm see Job... and it matures me.
2. I cannot waiver between belief and unbelief. I will not survive, much less thrive, as a Christian if I do.
3. Temptation is from within. I make the final decision as to if I will sin or not.
4. Verse 26 - If I think if myself as religious and can't or don't bridle my tongue, I deceive myself and my religion is useless. W-O-W!
5. Part of my pure religion is to keep myself unspotted from the world. I am concerned about our generation and culture. It appears to me that we are willing to look a whole lot like the world to save the world, and somewhere in the mix, we all get lost.

Your turn.

HEBREWS 13

2009-12-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

I have finished Hebrews. Here are some thoughts on chapter 13:
1. " I will never leave you or forsake you"
2. I can say the Lord is my helper!
3. PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE!

Hope you have joined in the reading. Next up... James. I have already read chapter 1 and oh what a blessing it is!

HEBREWS 12

2009-12-04T02:40:00.000-08:00

Hope you are getting in there and reading along with me. Your insight is invaluable and encouraging. Chapter 12...
1. "lay aside" - I choose to put it away, to cast off the sin that entangles me. I CHOOSE.
2. I NEED to be trained, to be disciplined, to endure and run this race. Believe me I need it.
3. I need to stand up and walk in the path that is lit for me and you need to stand up and walk in the path that is lit for you.
4. My God is A-L-I-V-E!
5. God is going to get into everything I am. He is going to get in all my business, consume me totally before He is done. Praise His holy name for that! No part of me can be held secret from Him that he won't eventually deal with.

We will resume on Monday. Have a great weekend!

HEBREWS 11

2009-12-03T04:31:00.000-08:00

I know Hebrews is a biggy in the rank of books. It is full of so much that you could go on forever about it, so please don't take my brevity as ignorance of the jewel that is Hebrews. I am just posting what speaks to me today. Honestly, I could go back and re-read these same chapters in six months and have completely different stuff jump out at me.

1. If I am going to come to God I MUST BELIEVE that He IS....
alive, faithful, just, caring, compassionate, patient, for my good, for His glory, and so on. I have to believe that He is all He says He is in His word.
2. I may not see the earthly reward. I may only see it far off, in my minds eye and the promises of scripture. I need to embrace the eternal, to know, accept, and delight in the fact that my reward, my praise, my accolades may not come to fruition in this life, but they will in the eternal one.
3. FAITH

All right, you are on deck...swing away!

HEBREWS 10

2009-12-01T07:15:00.000-08:00

As I continue my random blogs on Hebrews, I am now into chapter 10. Here are a few things that spoke to me. I would love to hear what speaks to you from this book:)

1. The law can't make me (or you ) perfect.
2. The law is dead. Christ offers a new and LIVING way. (Not that we don't keep the law, but keeping the law, well see #1)
3.I am to draw near with a true heart. A heart full of the assurance my faith in Christ offers.
4. I am to NEVER think of Christ's death as a common thing, never taken for granted.
5. I am to endure. Not just survive, but pushing forward with a hopeful expectation. Not backing down, not cowering.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Be blessed today!

FINISH FAITHFUL

2009-11-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Still in Hebrews. I have been reading chapter 3 over a few times. I found myself skimming 3-6 so I decided to go back AGAIN. Two verses that have struck me from this chapter are 3:14 & 19.
They go wonderfully together.
Verse 14
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

Verse 19
So we see that they (Israelites in the wilderness) could not enter in because of their unbelief.

It does not matter how far you run your race, you have to finish. It does not matter if you get to the edge of your promise land, you have to finish. It does not matter if you served the Lord as a child and walked away as an adult, you have to finish.
What causes us to not finish? Unbelief.Unbelief for the big stuff. Unbelief for the little stuff. Unbelief because things did not go how we thought they would have, or should have, or could have. Unbelief because the life we thought we were going to have did not come to pass. Unbelief because we got our feelings hurt, we got ignored, we got humiliated by man and we think God will do the same. Unbelief that starts chipping away at us from the get go. Unbelief that can be traced right up to the very start. Unbelief is sneaky. It may disguise itself as "realistic" or "grounded". It tells us that it is just the way things are and there is nothing we can do about it. It clings to our legs and weighs us down as we run our race. It tries to convince us we can not finish and there is no point in trying. But there is a point in trying. To become partakers with Christ. To see all His glorious works completed. To be standing there on that day and hear the words good and faithful. Unbelief tries to steal that from us. It tells us of a god who is not faithful. It tells us of a god who is not good. That is not God.
Is the race hard? Yes, at times it is. Are there hills and valleys? Yes, there are. We will be tempted to quit? Many times. Quit our marriages, quit our ministries, quit our kids and our families. We must hold onto to Christ as desperately as we did in the moment we surrendered to Him. Hold on till the very end. Our reward is on the other side of that finish line. We must cross it wearing the colors of our King. Bloodied and scrapped up, but clothed in His righteousness.
Finish faithful my friends. FINISH FAITHFUL!

SEEING

2009-11-05T04:59:00.000-08:00

I have been reading in Hebrews. I have read the whole thing but felt I needed to go back and reread it again. I had this great idea for a post, out of Hebrews chapter 2, verse 8, but when I reread the section, it was clear it did not mean what I thought it did the first time, at least not fully. However, it has sparked some meditation on my part.

7 " You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet ".
8 In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
9 But we see Jesus....
Hebrews 2:7-9 (NIV)

As I read this, I was reminded of was the fact that everything IS under Christ's feet. Everything. Everything yesterday. Everything today. Everything tomorrow. He is still the same God and He is still the same Jesus He was after He denied my request as He was before I made it. They're still the same Trinity they were after you got that bad, that life shattering, forever changing news as they were before. They are the same on Monday when your world fell apart or at the least got chipped away at a little bit as they were on Sunday morning when you were singing your favorite hymn or praise song. They are the same when I have had worry and fear bang at my door; the same when the way I thought was going to work out did not and I burst into tears.
Everything is under their feet. Nothing gets the upper hand with them. (If you have studied Esther with Beth Moore then that phrase "upper hand" will be familiar.)
This week that has given me peace. It has given me courage to take the steps He has called me to. It has given me hope.
I don't see everything subjected to my will, and praise the Lord for that, because I am yet to be perfected. We don't see the world as was planned out in the Garden of Eden. We see men fail and sin abound. However, that is not all we see. We see Jesus, and everything is subjected to Him for He is perfect.
With all we see in the world, let us be deliberate in seeing Jesus.

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9 (NIV)

PHILEMON

2009-09-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

I have written this blog post a couple of times. I could not quite get my head around what was bothering me about the book of Philemon. Why was one such short little letter causing my fleshy feathers to be so ruffled? I mean for crying out loud - it is a book of the Bible- God's truth for my life. My flesh (and my enemy) was going - you are so wrong for letting this ruffle your feathers. You are not in line with the Word of God. S-I-N-N-E-R!!
On second thought maybe it is good that it puffs up my plumage a bit, for that means Someone is working on the inside of me to make me more like Him.

There are two little parts that got under me. The first one was:

"In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ's ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn't hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary, but I'd rather make it a personal request." Philemon 8-9 The Message

Just seemed kinda bossy to me, at first. Like ole Paul was flexing his spiritual muscles, his authority. Then I thought about my own kids. How I have the authority to tell them what to do, to be bossy if you like, but how it delights me much more when they do what they are supposed to WITHOUT me telling them. Warms my heart, relationship spared, love abounding. So if this is true for my kids, I am pretty sure it is true for God and us. We have free will. We have God's ordinances for our lives, the rights and wrongs of how we are to believe and behave. Now God has all authority to tell us what to do and expect us to do it, but oh how He delights when we choose to do it because we love Him, not because we are forced to.

The second part that put a bur under my saddle was-

"So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature—Paul—and I stand behind it. (I don't need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?) Do me this big favor, friend. You'll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good. " Philemon 17-20 The Message

Can I honestly say it made me think of the mob. At least what I know about them based on the Lifetime movies (never watched the Godfather series). Sure I'll do this for you, but don't forget you owe me as well my friend, and should I desire to collect you will be sleeping with the fishes in cement boots. (Again this is based on my knowledge of the mob based on the riveting movies of LMN...if you are actually in the mob, I apologize if this is not how you do business. Please don't hunt me down.) As I have mediated on this passage (meaning I have thought about it and talked about it and thought about it over and over) I realize that this is exactly the case with Christ. God tells us in Deuteronomy 32:35 that vengeance is His. We have no need to hold anything against anyone. Christ will reward us and Christ will deal with them, and should we get high and mighty that we have the right to be begrudging them anything, we would be smart to remember that we are forgiven as well. For we had an account of wrongs we had committed that He had wiped clean as well. We owe Him our very life.

I think what upset me about it was the frankness of it. There were no soft words to cushion the very truth of the Lord. No pretty dressings, no soft pillow of fluff to build you up and gently correct you. Just the plain truth.

I would rather you do it out of love.

You have no right to hold anything against anyone.

Plain and simple. Shot like an arrow straight into my attitude and heart. For I have said I had forgiven, but had I really? I had said I had let it go and moved on, but was I dragging it behind me? Apparently so or I would not have been bothered by it so.

Praise God that He continues to work it out in me and in you. That He would use 25 little verses in an obscure book to reveal to me the hidden depths of my heart.

The exciting part is I can not wait to see what else is in store. About to jump into Hebrews. I feel an overload coming on! I am looking oh so forward to it!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 "Now may the God of all peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." NKJV

GOOD WORKS

2009-09-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

So I have been reading the Timothys and Titus the past couple of weeks. Finishing up Titus today, Paul makes a point about "maintaining good works". (Titus 3:8,14). So my question to you is what does that mean? What does it mean to maintain good works? I don't have my answer yet. Maybe after I read your responses I will:o) Looking forward to it!

PONDERINGS

2009-09-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoyed Deliberate. Well I don't know if hope so much you enjoyed it as much as I pray God met with you and dealt with you. That out of it came a deeper relationship with our Savior Christ Jesus and a burning desire to deliberately follow hard after Him, to touch the hem of His garment and to sit at His feet. To desire and choose a relationship with Him above all else.
Today I have a question for you. A point to ponder and I pray for some discussion.
I have been reading the letters to Timothy. One of the verses that I have heard often is verse 12.
"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
We appear to have an abundance of "young " pastors heading up or starting up churches across this land. I am not against "young" pastors. However, I think many of them forget the second half of the verse. To be examples in word, in conduct, in love... Arrogance seems to be very prevalent. Arrogance that dismisses the wisdom of elders, not just church appointed elders, but even elder men & women within the church. Arrogance that dismisses anyone who disagrees with them or challenges them on any point. Arrogance that presents a hip young leadership to the public. Full of compassion and grace to those who are lost. Yet it is a leadership that has the "my way or the highway" mentality. A leadership whose grace and compassion runs out when they are questioned or disagreed with.
I know there are many "young" pastors across this land who are doing exactly what Paul had instructed Timothy to do. Who are humbly accepting the great gift God has placed within them and acting in a manner that reflects that humility. I am not saying if you pastor is young (or older for that matter) that you should be disagreeing with them on every point and challenging their authority. But how your pastor responds when you do ask questions should tell you a lot. Arrogance on either side destroys relationships. Arrogance will always find its way out into the public eye. That is the thing about arrogance - it wants to be seen and heard.
So what do you think about this verse? Do you see it differently? Please share if you do. Otherwise it is just my ramblings. Granted I could ramble for a while but it is so much more fun if you join in.
Looking forward to hearing from you!

FOR YOU AND FOR ME

2009-09-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

We have talked this week about the choices Christ made. Growing up under the subjection of His earthly parents. Spending time alone with God and constantly pointing us back to God and His glory. Today I would like to sum it up in two verses.

1. Look up and summarize John 3:16 & Mark 10:45.

Everything Christ did stemmed from the Father's love for us. He did not need to rescue Rahab. He did not need to get His house in order. He did not need to be restored as our sinful woman did. We are the ones who needed that. Our Father in Heaven desired for us to brought back into fellowship with Him. He desired His Son to be a willing sacrifice and His Son obeyed. WHY?
So that the Father would be glorified!
This is the ultimate call on our lives. To choose to be in such fellowship with the Lord God that we willingly do His bidding in order to bring Him glory. No pride or self-serving motives. Only desiring to please our heavenly Father and bring others to know Him as well.

2. Look up John 15:13 and write it down.

When we choose to follow after God, to be trained by Him, to glorify Him, to lay aside our selfish needs and desires, we are laying down our lives for our brothers. May we choose today to be living testimonies of that.

Close today by looking up John 15:15-17. Meditate on that word today.
Choose Christ!For He has surely chosen you.

GLORY

2009-09-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we ended up by focusing on good or bad, God can and should be glorified.
In John chapter 8 verse 50, Christ tells us He is not seeking His own glory. He is seeking for the Father to be glorified in Him. The Lord's prayer ends with giving God the glory.

1. Please read John 12:28 & John 21:19. What was the purpose of Jesus going to the cross?

His very death was to bring glory to the Father.

2. Read John 11. Make note of verses 4 & 40.

One of saddest times in the life of Jesus. His dear friend has died and his siblings are distraught. Yet, even in the sorrow, Jesus points them back to the glory of God.

3. Look up Matthew 5:16. What is the two fold purpose of letting our light shine?

4, Please read John 15:8. Why is it desirable for us to bear much fruit?

5. Now read John 14:13. Why did Jesus say He would answer our prayers?

The point of our lives is to bring glory to the Father. When people see Jesus in us it points to His glory. In good or bad times, letting Christ reign in us will only draw people to Him.

Take a moment today and reflect on someone who pointed you to the glory of God. How did it impact your life? Feel free to leave a comment about it!

Then look for opportunities for you to be that to someone else today. Not only look, but be deliberate in acting upon them. Whether it is a child at home, a co-worker or a cashier, the light you shine has eternal ramifications.
Shine brightly, my friends, shine brightly!

ALONE WITH THE FATHER DAY 3

2009-08-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a good weekend. Mine had an unexpected turn of events, but was blessed by the Lord the entire time! You can click here to read about it.
Now let's get back to the Word - for it is good & timely!
The third time in Scriptures Christ goes away to pray is found in Luke 6:1-16.

1. Go ahead and read that passage. Jot down a synopsis in your notes (aka the short version).

Christ had just healed a man and was about to name the apostles. Again, He goes to the Father. He does not call a group meeting and ask for input. He goes to the giver of all wisdom. I am asking myself now - how often do I go to God after I have done some part of His will? How often do I go to Him before I start to name people? Do I go before Him when I have finished something He wanted me to do? Do I go to Him BEFORE I make a decision about people? Christ did, why don't I?
I am sure you could ask yourself some of the same questions.
Christ took timeouts in His day and His life to be alone with God. Christ was alone with God when things were bad. Christ was alone with God when things were good. Christ was alone with God when important decisions needed to be made.
See by drawing away with God, we put the focus back on Him. If things are good, it is to His glory. If things are going badly, they can be turned to His glory. We will be unable to see that for ourselves unless we get alone with Him and talk one on one.
I challenge you today (and everyday) to make time to be alone with Christ Jesus. No structure, no time limit, no agenda.
Just you and Him.
One on one.
Have a blessed week!

ALONE WITH THE FATHER DAY 2

2009-08-28T03:45:00.000-07:00

I hope you had yourself a good long time out yesterday. If not, try again today! Today we are going to look at the second time Christ takes a retreat.

1. Please read either Mark 14:32-42 or Matthew 26:36-46.
Summarize what is about to happen in your notes.

Christ has just finished the Last Supper with His disciples. He and Peter had gone through the whole denial bit. Jesus knew what was coming. He most definitely noticed when Judas left the table (John 13:30). He knew the end was near and things were going to get tough.
Did He stay in the company of His friends?
No.
He went to be alone with God.
I can think of a couple of times in my life when I have made that choice to physically isolate myself. To just be alone before the Father with literally no one else around. Before we had our oldest son, I miscarried a pregnancy. I remember telling my husband when I left the doctor's office I wanted to go to the church. I sat in the sanctuary all by myself. No one else around and just cried. I wanted to be alone with my Dad. Now, even with people around, I can be alone with the Father. This alone is different. This alone is gut wrenching, where you lay it all out. You don't care what people think or say, because no one is around to think or say.
When was a time you had an alone time like that?
Are you in need of one now?
Do you need to have yourself a good cry - a gut wrenching, cleansing cry?
Those tears are cleansing. Don't keep them bottled up.
Maybe you don't need to cry. Maybe you just need to withdraw from all the "good" you are doing and sit before the Good.
Perhaps you need to withdraw because you know the road ahead is going to be tough. Maybe you don't know the road at all, and that is the tough part.
Try to find time today to sit alone, not only before but with, the Lord Jesus. Sit with Him, fellowship with Him, talk with Him. He is waiting for you. He is longing to be with you. He will meet you where you are.
Have a blessed day.

ALONE WITH THE FATHER

2009-08-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

Hope you have had a good week so far. Sorry for the delay. We have had a few changes around here and that has caused some computer down time.
Let's dive in.

1. Look up John 1:1-2 and read it.

Imagine a time when you had to be separated from someone you loved very much. How hard was it not to talk to that person face to face? How hard was it to not be able to hug them or touch them or hold their hand?
Our Christ did the very same thing. He had been with God from the beginning. Him and His dad. Together. Inseparable. Then the Word became flesh (John 1:14). Jesus walked away from His home to dwell among us. I know He longed to be reunited with His Father. I am sure Jesus dialogued with God all day. However, like us, times to talk to God one on one were precious to Him.
In the gospels, I found three different times when Christ went off alone to pray. The first is buried in Matthew chapter 14 verses 23-26 and retold in Mark chapter 6 verses 30-52.

2. Choose either passage and read it. Write down a summary of it in your notes.

Christ had just performed a miracle and was about to do another. His prayer was kinda like a time out. How many times have you and I wished for a time out? I tend, and probably we tend, to go from one project to another, one meeting to the next, etc. How often do we stop to regroup? How often do we stop to get our bearings straight and our heads on right?
Christ made the decision right then to separate Himself from the multitude and His disciples to be with God. He removed Himself from the busy attention craving world to get before the throne one on one.

3. What do you need a time out from? When was the last time you took a time out with God?

Look at you answers and then put yourself in time out. Seek the silence of a time out that will allow the sweet voice of the Spirit to speak to you.
If you can, let us know what He says.

TEACHING AND TRAINING

2009-08-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Good Friday afternoon! Hope you all have had a good week! (Don't you get a kick out of how I talk to you as if there are hundreds. Seeing things as though they were!)

Grab your Bibles and let's get to lookin!

1. Look up the following three verses and read them. What is the topic of all three?
Matthew 4:19
Mark1:17
Luke 5:10

I am going to use the scripture from Mark for our study purposes. The main reason for this is because it says "become". I think if we look through the gospels, we can safely say that few of the disciples, if any of them, immediately became fishers of men.They were trained and taught. Every day, every opportunity, every parable was intended to teach them and us about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, the Last Supper, all intended to teach and train us in the ways of God. One of the Holy Spirit's many jobs is to teach us (John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 2:13).
In week 2 we talked about training the children we have influence over. We also go through training. I think we can try to follow God and miss the training. My children can follow me but that does mean they are trained to do what I do when they are on their own. Training takes time and effort. Training is painful at times.

2. Look up Hebrews 12:11. Restate it in your own words.

Remember the other day when we were talking about the fruit? Fruit vines require training to grow in a manner that maximizes the yield. We raised watermelons every summer when I was a kid. We planted the seeds in rows. However, the plants tried to grow in a big circle, encompassing the whole area. We had to go back and place the watermelon vines within the row. Those vines had to be trained as to where to go. If they were out of the row, they would be damaged when my dad plowed around them or when we tried to harvest them.
We need to be trained as to the narrow way to walk (Matt. 7:13-14). When the ground around us gets stirred up a little we don't want to get torn up. When the harvest comes, we want to have yielded the most fruit we could have for the Kingdom.

So how do we do that?

3. List some ideas on your paper as to how we can be trained.

Christ trained Himself in the ways of the Father. He trained the twelve to know His methods and how to utilize them to draw others. From your list today, pick a couple of things you are going to do to up your training. Circle them and write out beside them your plan to implement them.

Have a great weekend and a great time in the Lord!

DAY IN AND DAY OUT - Part 2

2009-08-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

I hope you let who you are in Christ Jesus sink deep down into your soul. It is a battle to remember who we are in Him, but a battle well worth fighting.
Here we go for part 2.

1. Look up Hebrews 12:1. Summarize it on your paper.

Running with endurance. The term endurance implies a long race, not a sprint. A lifetime of choices, not just on Sunday or Wednesday, but every day and to the best of our ability.
I will tell you right now my ability won't get me very far. The Holy Spirit is here to help us (Ephesians 3:15). Am I drawing from that well to fill me up? Am I tending the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness. generosity, and self-control?

2. Look up Galatians 6:9. What are some things that are making you weary? What fruit are you most in need of harvesting today?

After you have answered those two questions, write out a short prayer asking the Lord to help you in those areas. At the end of the day write down ANY victories, big or small, He has provided today! Have a great one!

Hebrews 12:3 (NKJV)

"For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."

THE HEIR

2009-08-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

Day In and Day Out

* Okay before we even start, let me tell you upfront that this week is more for me than for anyone else. Knowing what is about and where I am right now and what I saw today on Life Today, I know He is about to deal with me and get me back on track.
So if at any point in time you feel it is too hard for you then know that is was probably meant just as much for me.
No condemnation .....Just conviction to get it straightened back out:o)
Okay here we go!

This week we are going to look at the life of Christ. What did He choose to do? How did He choose to live?

1. Look up Luke 2:51-52. What do these verses say about Jesus while He was growing up?

The Bible does not tell us a lot about the childhood of Jesus, very little to be truthful. These verses, however, give us a small glimpse. He submitted to His earthly parents. He must have respected authority - I don't know many disrespectful people who "increase in favor with God and men".
What I would like to present to you is that while Christ was growing up - He did what He was supposed to do-day in and day out. Christ obviously knew who He was. Verse 50 of the same chapter finds Him as a 12 year old, in the temple, both listening and asking questions. When Mary and Joseph found Him. He made the statement that He was "about His Father's business". At any point in time He could have called down the heavens to do His bidding, yet He chose to continue the path laid out for Him.
The question is two fold:
First, are we confident in who we are in Christ? Do we know who we are in the family of God?
Second, are we doing what we need to do both day in and day out?

We are going to address the first one today. I am going to give you some scriptures to look up. I want you to jot them down and meditate (think about them) today as you go through the day. As you go to bed tonight, pray them as a prayer.

Romans 8: 16-17
Romans 8:37-39

Enjoy your day thinking over these and solidifying in your heart who You are in Christ Jesus!

THE SINFUL WOMAN WRAP UP

2009-08-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Just a few points for you to meditate on today.
1. Look up the definition of restore.
2. With that definition in mind please look up Job 33:26. Knowing the definition of restore, what does this verse mean to you?
3. I am going to help you on this one.
Soul - soul, self, person, mind, personality, inner desires & feelings.
(That covers a lot of territory!)
4. Look up Psalm 23:3. Knowing both the definition for restore and soul, how does the verse apply to your life today?
5. What one thing did you take from this week, if anything? I would love to hear from you in the comments.

He is in the business of restoration. Let Him do His job:o)

RESTORED

2009-08-17T01:50:00.000-07:00

You have just humiliated yourself in front of a large crowd. Instead of anyone addressing you, they begin to talk as if you are not even in the room.

1. Read Luke 7:39-50

Imagine that is you. Lying on the floor, kissing the feet of a stranger, crying your eyes out, and the two main party guests are talking about you. I bet no one spoke during that time. I bet her sobs echoed throughout that room. I'll bet nobody moved and nobody spoke.
I am going to make the stretch that this conversation has overtones of the one that is spoken over our lives.

2. Reread verse 39 and jot down what Simon thinks to himself.

3. Now look up Revelation 12:10. Who has been cast down? How is he referred to in this verse?

Day and night our accuser brings up our sin, shame, and humiliation before the throne of God.

4. Reread verses 48-50 of Luke chapter 7. What did Christ tell her?

5. Now look up the following verses and summarize them on you paper:

Ruth 4:15

Jeremiah 30:17

Joel 2:25

Our God is the God of restoration. Christ came to restore us. He lives even now to restore us (Hebrews 7:25). If tears come, they fall on the feet of a Savior who catches them (Psalm 56:8). If sobs come, they fall not on deaf ears (2 Chronicles 7:14). Just as in the restoration process of a house or a car, we have to be stripped down to the bare bones. Our woman cut through all the religious stuff and knelt her bare bones before Christ. He told her to arise and go in peace. We have that same opportunity. Do this so you may arise RESTORED!
It is your choice.
It is my choice.
Let us stand before Christ after out tears, empty handed, holding on to nothing, ready to follow His calling.

SHOWTIME - day 2

2009-08-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Good Friday morning! Hope this finds you well. Isn't God good? He really, really is! Jesus Christ is King and we are co-heirs with Him! Only a good God would do that for us!

Okay back to our study...

1. Read Luke 7:38 as a refresher. Jot down or draw out what you see in your mind's eye.

Utter humility. No regard as to what people thought or said. Focused on the one and only man in the room who could change her life forever. She chose to lay her past, present and future at the feet of the man she had heard so much about. The one man who could be and would be the lifter of her head.
How about us? How about you? Have you chosen to lay it all down? Have you chosen to allow Christ to be the lifter of your head?
For me, the past is a whole lot easier than the future. The present I pickup often, try to fix it, and then lay it down as past when I have messed it up.

2. Look up Revelation 1:4. Summarize it on your paper.

I think that pretty well covers it all. Again, it is our choice. Christ has been where we were, He is where we are, and He has gone where we have yet to go. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8). We just need to hand the luggage we have been dragging around with us over to Him.

3. On you paper, draw 3 good sized boxes and label them past, present and future. In the boxes write down things from your past, things you are dealing with now, and things you are worried about in the future.

4. Now give those boxes to Jesus. Refuse to pick them up again. Walk in the freedom that is the yoke of Christ and find rest for your soul.

" Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. "

Matthew 11:29-30 (NKJV)

SHOWTIME

2009-08-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited our woman preparing to bring her gift to Jesus. Today we are going to try to experience walking in the room with her.

1. Read Luke 7:36-38

She has heard Jesus is in town. She knew He was dining with the Pharisee. She has gone home, gathered her flask and her nerve. Now she is outside the door to the Pharisee's house waiting to go in.
Have you ever been in a school production? A band concert, a play or an athletic event? Remember what it felt like waiting to come out? Anxious, nervous, and excited are the tip of the iceberg. We talked yesterday about her emotions while deciding what she would do. I would like to believe that as she walked toward the Pharisee's house she became more confident in her decision. Each step gave her more confidence in this Jesus. Boldness to walk through those doors welled up within her.
I have felt like that at times with Christ. When I have chosen to follow what I believed God was calling me to do, I got a little bolder on His behalf with each step I took (writing this is a prime example).

2. Write down a description of a time when you experienced a boldness coming upon you as a result of walking in faith?

The curtain is up, the stage lights are on, and you have run through the tunnel. Now you stand exposed to all who came to see. This is our girl. She made her move. Although no one came to see her, you can bet the saw her! They took notice of her the moment she moved.
Now according to Christ, she moved when He arrived (verse 45). She had a one track mind. I know if it were me I'd be telling myself:

just look at Him

I know if I looked at anyone else my nerve would be shot! Their condemning glances would drive me right back to the darkness I was trying to escape. These were, after all, the religious leaders of the day, important people that knew what was right and proper.

Praise God she never backed down. She walked right up to Christ, and then the floodgates opened.

* Because of the length of today's section, I am going to break it up into two parts. Just let your mind dance around the picture we have so far.

See you tomorrow:)

SACRIFICE

2009-08-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Many of us have a savings account, a retirement plan, even insurance policies, all in hopes of securing our future. Those items are a sense of security and safety for many of us. Not things we would discard of very easily. We have seen in recent years the anguish brought on by the sudden loos of those items and how people's lives have been devastated.

1. Read Luke 7:37. What did the woman bring to Jesus?

An alabaster box filled with fragrant oils was a precious little item. It was often used as a dowry for a woman when she married. It could be traded for anything you could need. It, in essence, secured her future. I can just picture her looking at it on the shelf. Her ticket out, her future, all bottled up in a tiny little package.
The Bible does not tell us if she had a family, but I bet if she did, they thought she was nuts.
"You are going to throw your future away on Jesus?"
"You have worked so hard for that - why give it away?"
"You'll never get out now. You will stuck in this life forever!"
The devil has said those very words to us for generations.
Why waste you time and effort on someone you can't even see? You have worked hard to achieve your worldly status, you financial status, even your church status. If you follow Christ you will lose all of that. If you give your life to Jesus or if you follow His calling in this or that area, you will always be poor, shamed, humiliated. You apologize and they will think you are weak. You confess you sins and struggles and they will no longer respect you. The enemy uses friends and foes, family members and coworkers alike. We may even join him in our thoughts.
I have heard it said many times, perhaps you have too, that life with Christ is the freest gift in the world that will cost you everything.Our woman gave her past (her sin), her present (her shame), and her future (her alabaster box). She willingly laid these before Christ.
She restated with her life what David said in 1 Chronicles 21.

2. Look up this passage and read verse 18-24. Why did David insist he pay for the land and the offerings?

Both the woman in our story and David had the same heart. They were not going to bring to the Lord God something that cost them nothing. They chose to make a sacrifice. May we be as willing to pay whatever costs are required of us to draw into Jesus.
End today by asking the Lord in prayer what sacrifices, if any, He is asking of you. Maybe it is of your time, your pride, or your priorities. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you identify and make these sacrifices. Write out a short prayer describing these things.
Be blessed today! Thanks for studying. I do love ya to pieces:)

DO OR DIE

2009-08-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to take a little field trip. I tread cautiously here because I want to take you where the Bible doesn't - into the home of the sinful woman.
Have you ever gotten ready for a big event? Maybe a prom in high school, a first date, a dinner with a new friend, or a meeting with an old one you have not seen in a while.
1. Think back to how your nerves felt. Jot down the emotions that come to mind.
Most of us would be excited, a tad nervous. We would want to make a good impression, people to see us at our very best. Now imagine how you would feel if you knew the upcoming meeting would be confrontational at best. You know it can go bad and go there in a hurry, but it is something you have to do.
2.How would your nerves change?
I would venture that our woman felt the full range of this emotional scale. She felt compelled to go to Christ; I am sure wanting Him to accept her. She was also aware of the fact that the Pharisee knew who she was. He could have her dragged out of the house and thrown in to the street. He could publicly shame her in front of the very One she was coming to see.
Can you hear her arguing with herself?

This is the only way.

They know who you are.

They won't let you in.

This is what I have to do.

She was well aware of the costs. However, they were ones she was willing to pay.
3. Read Philippians 3:8. How does this verse apply to our story?
"that I may gain Christ".
No one took her pride this time.
This time she would deliberately lay it down to reach the only One who could give it back.

THE HUMILIATED - Small Towns

2009-08-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have lived in small towns almost my entire life. There are many things about small towns that I love: the sense of community, people helping others in times of need, and the sense of pride taken in each other's achievements. However, there is one aspect of the small towns that I have never liked- people knowing my business.
1. Read Luke 7:36-37. How was the woman described?
A sinner, as if that even needed to be stated. What woman in the town, or man for that matter, wasn't a sinner? Yet she is deliberately pointed out as a sinner. I am curious as to what sin she committed that merited such as obvious label.
I can imagine her life. As she walks about town people stare. People whisper as she goes by. Every story told about her includes "Oh you know her she's the girl that..."
The American Heritage dictionary defines humiliated as the following:

to lower the pride or dignity of;mortify

I am going to bet those words aptly described her. I doubt she held her head high as she walked around. I am sure she was mortified when her sin was found out. I know those words have described many of us. One of my most recent humiliations was at the mall. For some reason, I decided that I could carry my toddler, purse, bags, and stroller down the escalator and let my other child go ahead. Well, he went ahead, and I got stuck at the top. He fell and security was quick on him. He was okay, but I was trying to get him to come back up to me (you know climb the stairs). The security guard quickly corrected me and directed me to the elevator. Now I am a grown woman and should have known better. I have absolutely no explanation as to why I thought it was a good idea. I don't think I have felt that, well stupid, in a long time. Even now, I visualize them watching me on the cameras when I go tot the mall saying, " Here comes that lady who lost her kid on the escalator." I teared up, held it together til I got to the car and then I bawled. I was embarrassed and mad at myself for hours.
"I am such an idiot"
"I am the worst mom"
blah blah blah
2.Reflect on a time when you were humiliated (big or small). How did it make you feel emotionally & spiritually?
3. Go back to Luke 7 and read verse 39.
Whatever she had done, it was public knowledge. The Pharisee knew "who and what manner of woman" she was.
4. Read Romans 3:23. What does it tell us?
We have all sinned. However, we tend to get caught up in naming the sin. We, as a society, have a list of minor sins, big sins, and then the REALLY BIG ones. We tend to keep count and as long as we don't have very many of the "really big" ones we are okay. However, sin is sin, all the same to God. Luke could not have made her more relative to us today if he had tried. To say she was a sinner encompasses us all. Had he named her sin (adultery, gossip, murder, or whatever), it would have been easy for us who had not committed that particular sin to glaze over the story and miss the point.
5. Read Isaiah 53:11-12. Who was Isaiah talking about?
Christ was numbered with us, regardless of our sin, for our sin. Yes, we have all experienced sin and humiliation in our lives, but those were both taken care of at the cross. This week we are going to look at a woman who refused to let her humiliation keep her from the One who could restore her dignity.

Psalm 3:3

"But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head"

WEEKEND HOMEWORK

2009-08-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

I am going to wait until next week to start the next section of study. I really want to do this part consecutively because it is my favorite section. So I have some homework for you. This weekend, when you get the time, read Luke 7: 36-50. Study over it. Jot down anything that the Lord impresses on your heart. I would really love your feedback:) Have a great weekend!

WEEK 2 REVEIW

2009-08-06T05:50:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not we just finished up week 2 of Deliberately Delivered. We have looked at people who deliberately chose to seek after God in their lives and their homes. In closing out this section, I would like to look at the other choice.
1. Please read Job 2:7-10.

What was Job's wife encouraging him to do?

Now before we get all upset and question how she could do that, remember she lost her children and property as well. She is watching her husband being destroyed by his own body. How many of us have gotten so caught up in our circumstances that we lose sight of the Lord, if even for the briefest of seconds?
However, she, like us, had a choice to make. Sadly, she chose the wrong response.

Today, I would like you to meditate on Psalm 78 versus 1-8. Let them sink in to the marrow of your being. Let them speak hope that things can change in your family if they need to. Things can change in you if they need to. By God's grace, Christ's power, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we can start to change the tide of our generations.
We can start today. We can start this morning.
We can start now.