We all desire to be known. We want to leave a heritage. We have eulogies at funerals to remember our loved ones. What will you be remembered or known for?
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Tells us that in the midst of life's turmoil and disaster around us, He wants us to be still and know that He is God. He says let the little children come unto Me in Mark 14:10, "But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God." Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork." So many things help us to know who He is, tells us He wants us to know Him!
The Lord allows me to counsel people for Him. Recently, I have counseled one that has so much pain and hurt and she blames God and is angry at Him. I have tried so hard to give her hope and advice, while letting her know that the only true hope is in my Lord and Savior. I desire her to know Him. For several sessions, I expressed, without being pushy, this was her true need. Every session, I departed burdened by her rejection of and anger for Him.
One cloudy, dreary day, we met and ended in the same way. She rejected Him. I prayed with her and gave her a hug. Knowing anytime could be her final time of rejection. I returned home heavy hearted and noticed that she was still waiting in her car. I went back out to check on her, and I could visibly see the battle raging inside of her. As she expressed the torment of the battle, God allowed the sun to shine brightly in her face!
This was a little after 7 in the evening! There had been no sun shining that day! Earlier in the session, He had spoken through me to tell her that even though we cannot physically see or touch Him, He gives her evidences to know that He is there and He loves you. Sometimes, He touches you through a pat on the back from someone. When rain drops fall, we can think of Him crying when we are hurting or when we have disappointed Him. When the sun shines brightly, we can think of His warm smiling face on us. So when He allowed the sun to shine so brightly, I was reminded of pastor's message out of 2 Kings about Elisha asking God to open his servant's eyes to see His hand working. I knew that I had prayed with her several times that He would show Himself to her! As the sun shined so brightly in her face, I said look He is shining His smiling face on you. "The heavens declare the glory of God." WOW! Praise God, He did!
What happened next? She asked Him to be her Savior! 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
Father, thank You for drawing us to You! Thank You for wanting us to know You! Thank You for by Your mercy and grace wanting to use me! May anything I say or do be used to draw honor and glory to You!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Fiery Impact
A small spark from a smoldering campfire dances upon the dry grass. Quickly the surrounding area is ignited into flames. The wild fire spreads out of control burning and igniting everything in its path. Although a fire is destructive and devastating, I pray that the Lord would ignite a passion within me (all of us that have a relationship with Him) that spreads like a "wildfire" in our midst!
The devastation of an out of control fire spreads quickly and unprejudicedly! What if our lives would spark a fire in the dry and thirsty lives of the poor, needy, and lost world~ and in each other! 2 Corinthians 5:14 "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;" The love of God should be that spark in our lives! It should compel us to move in action through love for HIM reaching others!
The truths of the quick, unpredictable, and severeness of wildfires has been seen in California. People evacuated from their homes and loss of so much both natural and man made. We need to be on "fire" in a way to be His tools to cause such devastation to the grip of sin and Satan on man.
John Wesley made a statement about him being set on fire and people coming to watch him burn. When there is a fire people will gather to watch it. We can be an impact by being a blazin' fire for Christ. Christ said in Matthew 5:14~16 "14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Let's be His light that has the powerful impact like the California wildfires.
In Jeremiah 20, Jeremiah faces persecution for delivering the message of the Lord. He decides that he will no longer even mention the name of the Lord. Jeremiah 20:9 "Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not. " He could not stop the burning fire in his heart to share the message that the Lord had for him to share! Wow! Only if we would feel the desire to share His message that deeply!
No matter what may come our way, may His purpose for our life be so compelling that we can not keep it in! Hebrews 12:29 "For our God is a consuming fire."
Father, set me on fire for you!
The devastation of an out of control fire spreads quickly and unprejudicedly! What if our lives would spark a fire in the dry and thirsty lives of the poor, needy, and lost world~ and in each other! 2 Corinthians 5:14 "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;" The love of God should be that spark in our lives! It should compel us to move in action through love for HIM reaching others!
The truths of the quick, unpredictable, and severeness of wildfires has been seen in California. People evacuated from their homes and loss of so much both natural and man made. We need to be on "fire" in a way to be His tools to cause such devastation to the grip of sin and Satan on man.
John Wesley made a statement about him being set on fire and people coming to watch him burn. When there is a fire people will gather to watch it. We can be an impact by being a blazin' fire for Christ. Christ said in Matthew 5:14~16 "14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Let's be His light that has the powerful impact like the California wildfires.
In Jeremiah 20, Jeremiah faces persecution for delivering the message of the Lord. He decides that he will no longer even mention the name of the Lord. Jeremiah 20:9 "Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not. " He could not stop the burning fire in his heart to share the message that the Lord had for him to share! Wow! Only if we would feel the desire to share His message that deeply!
No matter what may come our way, may His purpose for our life be so compelling that we can not keep it in! Hebrews 12:29 "For our God is a consuming fire."
Father, set me on fire for you!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
One Door
"...One door and only one and yet the sides are two. I'm on the inside, which side are you?..." is part of a song that we used to sing in children's church. The song is filled with such an elementary truth that we as humans choose to ignore. There is only One Way to be redeemed, to be in the relationship with our Creator for which He designed us to be in with Him.
Our Heavenly Father has given us several object lessons beautifully illustrating His design to purchase us back. The first slaying of an animal to cover Adam and Eve after their first sin, disobedience to God. (Genesis 2 & 3)
How about Cain and Abel? (Genesis 4) Abel brought the one and only sacrifice that God had commanded and would accept. Abel was found right with God because he obeyed, but his brother Cain chose to come with the sacrifice that he wanted to bring and was rejected by God because he disobeyed.
The history of Noah and the ark. (Genesis 6-8) His diligent following of God's command to build the ark enabled him and his family to survive the flood. In order for them to be saved from the flood, they had to enter the only door to the ark. Those who refused to enter this door perished.
Continually, our Heavenly Father orchestrates history (His story) to bring us to Him, to give us visual lessons telling us His design. When the Israelites painted their door posts with the lamb's blood for the passover, they were spared the death of their firstborn because they obeyed God's command. (Exodus 11 & 12)
Christ laying down His life on the cross and His resurrection is the Sacrifice that God had been pointing to with all of these (and so many more) beautifully vivid descriptions in His Word. (John 14:6) As the book of Hebrews outlines, Jesus is the Way and the perfect sacrifice, the new covenant, the Holy Priesthood...
In my study and meditation of the book of Jeremiah, I saw this truth yet again. (Jeremiah 21) The LORD says that He is going to allow Babylon to conqueror the Israelites. King Zedekiah sends a messenger to Jeremiah to ask him to ask God to have mercy on them. Instead of granting this request, God tells them to defect to Babylon because He would not spare them. Babylon's captivity would bring more mercy than He would give them. Those who refused to defect would be diseased, killed, and find NO mercy. God was punishing those who did not obey. Their disobedience showed their rejection of Him, the reason He was pronouncing destruction on them in the first place.
Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? He is the ONE and ONLY WAY to eternal life, to NOT being separated from God, our Creator, for all of eternity! If you reject Him and do not come in the ONE and ONLY WAY that He has provided, He will reject you. You will be eternally separated from Him. (Romans 3:23; 6:23; Romans 5:8; I John 1:9; Romans 10:13...)
For the Furtherance of His kingdom!
Our Heavenly Father has given us several object lessons beautifully illustrating His design to purchase us back. The first slaying of an animal to cover Adam and Eve after their first sin, disobedience to God. (Genesis 2 & 3)
How about Cain and Abel? (Genesis 4) Abel brought the one and only sacrifice that God had commanded and would accept. Abel was found right with God because he obeyed, but his brother Cain chose to come with the sacrifice that he wanted to bring and was rejected by God because he disobeyed.
The history of Noah and the ark. (Genesis 6-8) His diligent following of God's command to build the ark enabled him and his family to survive the flood. In order for them to be saved from the flood, they had to enter the only door to the ark. Those who refused to enter this door perished.
Continually, our Heavenly Father orchestrates history (His story) to bring us to Him, to give us visual lessons telling us His design. When the Israelites painted their door posts with the lamb's blood for the passover, they were spared the death of their firstborn because they obeyed God's command. (Exodus 11 & 12)
Christ laying down His life on the cross and His resurrection is the Sacrifice that God had been pointing to with all of these (and so many more) beautifully vivid descriptions in His Word. (John 14:6) As the book of Hebrews outlines, Jesus is the Way and the perfect sacrifice, the new covenant, the Holy Priesthood...
In my study and meditation of the book of Jeremiah, I saw this truth yet again. (Jeremiah 21) The LORD says that He is going to allow Babylon to conqueror the Israelites. King Zedekiah sends a messenger to Jeremiah to ask him to ask God to have mercy on them. Instead of granting this request, God tells them to defect to Babylon because He would not spare them. Babylon's captivity would bring more mercy than He would give them. Those who refused to defect would be diseased, killed, and find NO mercy. God was punishing those who did not obey. Their disobedience showed their rejection of Him, the reason He was pronouncing destruction on them in the first place.
Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? He is the ONE and ONLY WAY to eternal life, to NOT being separated from God, our Creator, for all of eternity! If you reject Him and do not come in the ONE and ONLY WAY that He has provided, He will reject you. You will be eternally separated from Him. (Romans 3:23; 6:23; Romans 5:8; I John 1:9; Romans 10:13...)
For the Furtherance of His kingdom!
Monday, February 7, 2011
I Have A Purpose?
My father-in-law cannot sit still! He retired from his career after over 30 yrs of dedicated service. So he began to live this relaxed and so deserved lazy lifestyle, right? NO! He began another full time "career" that dealt somewhat with what he had experience in, not just a "fill your time" hobby like some would do. He needs to feel successful and needed.
On the flip side, I have known some that were not able to work any longer. They begin to feel useless and not needed. They mentally, emotionally, and physically begin to deteriorate.
We all want to be useful! We want to have a purpose in life. Often I communicate with people that are searching for their purpose. So what is our purpose in life? What were we created for? What is the intricate design that He fashioned us for?
Our Father, being the all-knowing, ever-present Creator, gives the prophet Jeremiah an object lesson that cannot be misunderstood but goes to the heart of this puzzling question. We find the answer strewn throughout Scripture. Jeremiah 13 is one such specific solution!
The Lord tells Jeremiah to purchase a girdle. He instructs Jeremiah to purchase this girdle and to wear it, but NOT to wash it. This seems simple, right? He then instructs Jeremiah to take this girdle that he purchased and hide it in a hole in a rock by the Euphrates River.
What? Lord, you instructed me to purchase this girdle, wear it (not washing it), and now You want me to hide it? We are never told that Jeremiah questioned God! Sometimes though, our Father gives us instructions that we do NOT understand. We need to obey by faith, just like Jeremiah did!
To finalize this object lesson, God tells Jeremiah to retrieve the girdle from the place where Jeremiah hid it. It should be no surprise that Jeremiah obediently drew the girdle from its hiding place to find that it was damaged and no longer usable for the design it was made for. How does this object lesson teach us about our purpose and design in life?
Our Father goes on to tell Jeremiah that the girdle was made to cling to the waist. He communicates to Jeremiah that the way the girdle was made to cling to the waist is the fashion in which His chosen people we designed to cling to Him! He tells the prophet that His people were made to be close to Him! WOW! Our purpose, the reason for which we were designed, is to have an intimate relationship with HIM, our Creator!
If we do not fulfill the purpose for which we were designed, we are damaged, rendered unusable. My challenge would be that we would fulfill the design that we were created for, have that personal and intimate relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ! He will lead you and show you His plan for you and make you successful (able to fulfill the design for which you were created) as you cling to HIM!
Jeremiah 13; Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139
For His glory!
On the flip side, I have known some that were not able to work any longer. They begin to feel useless and not needed. They mentally, emotionally, and physically begin to deteriorate.
We all want to be useful! We want to have a purpose in life. Often I communicate with people that are searching for their purpose. So what is our purpose in life? What were we created for? What is the intricate design that He fashioned us for?
Our Father, being the all-knowing, ever-present Creator, gives the prophet Jeremiah an object lesson that cannot be misunderstood but goes to the heart of this puzzling question. We find the answer strewn throughout Scripture. Jeremiah 13 is one such specific solution!
The Lord tells Jeremiah to purchase a girdle. He instructs Jeremiah to purchase this girdle and to wear it, but NOT to wash it. This seems simple, right? He then instructs Jeremiah to take this girdle that he purchased and hide it in a hole in a rock by the Euphrates River.
What? Lord, you instructed me to purchase this girdle, wear it (not washing it), and now You want me to hide it? We are never told that Jeremiah questioned God! Sometimes though, our Father gives us instructions that we do NOT understand. We need to obey by faith, just like Jeremiah did!
To finalize this object lesson, God tells Jeremiah to retrieve the girdle from the place where Jeremiah hid it. It should be no surprise that Jeremiah obediently drew the girdle from its hiding place to find that it was damaged and no longer usable for the design it was made for. How does this object lesson teach us about our purpose and design in life?
Our Father goes on to tell Jeremiah that the girdle was made to cling to the waist. He communicates to Jeremiah that the way the girdle was made to cling to the waist is the fashion in which His chosen people we designed to cling to Him! He tells the prophet that His people were made to be close to Him! WOW! Our purpose, the reason for which we were designed, is to have an intimate relationship with HIM, our Creator!
If we do not fulfill the purpose for which we were designed, we are damaged, rendered unusable. My challenge would be that we would fulfill the design that we were created for, have that personal and intimate relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ! He will lead you and show you His plan for you and make you successful (able to fulfill the design for which you were created) as you cling to HIM!
Jeremiah 13; Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139
For His glory!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Choose You This Day!
Have you ever come to an important choice in life? A pivoting point? A point of no return? Joshua was the leader of Israel. He followed Moses, who had a tremendous reputation and following. Joshua had seen and had been a useful tool of God's great and marvelous works through which God had blessed and protected His people.
Joshua gives his final instructions and farewell to the people before God takes him home to be with Him. He reminds the people of their heritage. He tells them that their forefathers worshiped false gods. How God called Abraham to go to a place that God would show him, a place that Abraham did not know.
Abraham had a choice. Follow God away from the things, people, culture, worship, and even his extended family to this place he did not know, or he could refuse to obey God. By FAITH, Abraham chose to obey.
Joshua also reminded them of Isaac, Jacob & Esau, Moses & Aaron, and how God had pulled them out of Egypt. He recalls the battles and people that God conquerored for them. The miracles and amazing signs that God had given them! He challenges them with all of these things in such a bold manner, a manner that only a respected leader could muster. Joshua reminds them of the bestowment of lands and resources, none of which they toiled or gave any energy in acquiring. God had given it ALL to them! They were/are HIS chosen people, set aside for the purpose of drawing all peoples of the world to the ONE TRUE God, the "I AM"!
Now this is where the opportunity , the choice of a lifetime comes in. Joshua gave this memorial of their heritage to challenge them to choose! You may ask, "What did they have to choose?" Joshua tells them to decide who they would serve. He tells them that he and his family (house) would serve the LORD! But that they could not say they chose to serve the LORD and continue to go their own way, worship false gods, and following those who did NOT choose to serve the LORD!
So my distinct challenge for ALL of us is that we don't ride the fence! We make our choice! Make it based on the facts that God created us to commune in an intimate relationship with HIM. Even in our complete and devastating rebellion, we chose to sin- to separate ourselves from Him and His design for us. He still provided THE WAY of salvation- JESUS (John 14:6)! He has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139)! He loves us (John 3:16; I John 4)! Know these crucial, yet only "tip of the iceberg" evidences. We have a choice to make. What is your choice?
"...As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD..." Joshua 24:15
Choose Him, today!
Joshua gives his final instructions and farewell to the people before God takes him home to be with Him. He reminds the people of their heritage. He tells them that their forefathers worshiped false gods. How God called Abraham to go to a place that God would show him, a place that Abraham did not know.
Abraham had a choice. Follow God away from the things, people, culture, worship, and even his extended family to this place he did not know, or he could refuse to obey God. By FAITH, Abraham chose to obey.
Joshua also reminded them of Isaac, Jacob & Esau, Moses & Aaron, and how God had pulled them out of Egypt. He recalls the battles and people that God conquerored for them. The miracles and amazing signs that God had given them! He challenges them with all of these things in such a bold manner, a manner that only a respected leader could muster. Joshua reminds them of the bestowment of lands and resources, none of which they toiled or gave any energy in acquiring. God had given it ALL to them! They were/are HIS chosen people, set aside for the purpose of drawing all peoples of the world to the ONE TRUE God, the "I AM"!
Now this is where the opportunity , the choice of a lifetime comes in. Joshua gave this memorial of their heritage to challenge them to choose! You may ask, "What did they have to choose?" Joshua tells them to decide who they would serve. He tells them that he and his family (house) would serve the LORD! But that they could not say they chose to serve the LORD and continue to go their own way, worship false gods, and following those who did NOT choose to serve the LORD!
So my distinct challenge for ALL of us is that we don't ride the fence! We make our choice! Make it based on the facts that God created us to commune in an intimate relationship with HIM. Even in our complete and devastating rebellion, we chose to sin- to separate ourselves from Him and His design for us. He still provided THE WAY of salvation- JESUS (John 14:6)! He has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139)! He loves us (John 3:16; I John 4)! Know these crucial, yet only "tip of the iceberg" evidences. We have a choice to make. What is your choice?
"...As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD..." Joshua 24:15
Choose Him, today!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Why Broken China
Ethan and his fiance were choosing their China pattern for their wedding registry. The store representative showed them what he called one of their more elegant and newer patterns. They laughed and asked to see another. He presented a more gross "elegant" pattern. This was repeated one more time before they saw the plate that was exquisitely suited to them. Simple, with delicate purple butterflies seeming to dance around the white back drop. This was theirs. As she asked the cost per setting, the representative without any reservation replied $350 per setting.
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled a drawing from his pocket. It was a drawing that he had been presented with earlier that day. He walked with his mentoring pastor through the inner city of hurting, lost people. The picture was given to him by a little daughter of a family that lived in an old office above the beauty shop. It was a picture of her horrid memory colored on a flimsy canvass of a paper plate. This recollection was of men with guns pointed at her family. As Ethan peered at this site, his fiance asked to see the rest of the pieces to the setting and remarked that they had to have something for their rich friends to buy them. At this time Ethan realized that China was not important when others were struggling as the family of this little girl was. It was at this climax of the movie "The Second Chance" that it hit me. "Broken China!"
You would have to know about a couple other things in order for you to know why this was such a great impact on me. It was like my Heavenly Father hit me with a Mack truck to tell me that this is it. My Heavenly Father has carried me along this journey of life. A journey to which I have been told that one does not understand how she could hear a smile on my face as I recalled some history of my life to her. My answer was that my Father gives me the strength, and I rely on Him to work all things for HIS good! (Romans 8:28-29) He has taught me the things of this earth don't matter. When He has allowed us to steward things, they are blessings for us. It is also for our good when He allows them to be taken away.
I have, as all of you probably have, experienced times of having nothing, times of deepest felt loneliness of human relations. (Not to say that I did not have the sweet companionship of my Heavenly Father!) These times beckoned me to draw even closer to HIM!
The example of my sweet, loving, and all-knowing Father allowing something to be taken away from me that came to mind during this scene of Ethan and his fiance is about broken China. It is how the name and idea for this blog was presented to me.
We had just gotten married and did not have any "elegant" earthly possessions. My mom's neighbor had a set of China that she wanted me to have. This was a set that I had never dreamed would be mine and had never even thought to ask for any possession of its kind.
I was blessed to have this possession for about 22 months. This was our 3rd move since we had gotten married. We were packed and on our way to Pueblo, CO, from Kansas City, MO. We arrived at the parsonage, and my mother-in-law was unpacking the kitchen boxes. She discovered a shattered plate, then another and so on until we found all of the China, save a divided serving bowl, had broken.
This was a reminder to me that He blesses us and continually provides for us. But earthly treasures and possessions come to go! The reason for my contentedness is found in Matthew 6:19-21. Lord, please give me Your treasures in heaven. Don't let my focus be on things of this world. Please remove any uncontentedness or distraction from You that can be found in my life, in my heart. Let me seek Your face, Your will, and the abundance of life that only You can give!
So as I begin to share with you the things that my Heavenly Father lays on my heart, may you see the joys of Broken China and may He use me to draw you ever so close to Him!
HIS Broken China!
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled a drawing from his pocket. It was a drawing that he had been presented with earlier that day. He walked with his mentoring pastor through the inner city of hurting, lost people. The picture was given to him by a little daughter of a family that lived in an old office above the beauty shop. It was a picture of her horrid memory colored on a flimsy canvass of a paper plate. This recollection was of men with guns pointed at her family. As Ethan peered at this site, his fiance asked to see the rest of the pieces to the setting and remarked that they had to have something for their rich friends to buy them. At this time Ethan realized that China was not important when others were struggling as the family of this little girl was. It was at this climax of the movie "The Second Chance" that it hit me. "Broken China!"
You would have to know about a couple other things in order for you to know why this was such a great impact on me. It was like my Heavenly Father hit me with a Mack truck to tell me that this is it. My Heavenly Father has carried me along this journey of life. A journey to which I have been told that one does not understand how she could hear a smile on my face as I recalled some history of my life to her. My answer was that my Father gives me the strength, and I rely on Him to work all things for HIS good! (Romans 8:28-29) He has taught me the things of this earth don't matter. When He has allowed us to steward things, they are blessings for us. It is also for our good when He allows them to be taken away.
I have, as all of you probably have, experienced times of having nothing, times of deepest felt loneliness of human relations. (Not to say that I did not have the sweet companionship of my Heavenly Father!) These times beckoned me to draw even closer to HIM!
The example of my sweet, loving, and all-knowing Father allowing something to be taken away from me that came to mind during this scene of Ethan and his fiance is about broken China. It is how the name and idea for this blog was presented to me.
We had just gotten married and did not have any "elegant" earthly possessions. My mom's neighbor had a set of China that she wanted me to have. This was a set that I had never dreamed would be mine and had never even thought to ask for any possession of its kind.
I was blessed to have this possession for about 22 months. This was our 3rd move since we had gotten married. We were packed and on our way to Pueblo, CO, from Kansas City, MO. We arrived at the parsonage, and my mother-in-law was unpacking the kitchen boxes. She discovered a shattered plate, then another and so on until we found all of the China, save a divided serving bowl, had broken.
This was a reminder to me that He blesses us and continually provides for us. But earthly treasures and possessions come to go! The reason for my contentedness is found in Matthew 6:19-21. Lord, please give me Your treasures in heaven. Don't let my focus be on things of this world. Please remove any uncontentedness or distraction from You that can be found in my life, in my heart. Let me seek Your face, Your will, and the abundance of life that only You can give!
So as I begin to share with you the things that my Heavenly Father lays on my heart, may you see the joys of Broken China and may He use me to draw you ever so close to Him!
HIS Broken China!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)