WARY OF THE IMMEDIATE

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...

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...

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...

"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

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

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

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.