Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else. "Jesus told this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself. God I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast, and said, "God have mercy on me a sinner."
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself wil be humbled, and he who humbles himself wil be exalted.
When I read how Jesus reprimands the Pharisees it often makes me wonder how He must shake His head at the church today. I look around and see more Pharisees everyday. What is it that makes us turn into a Pharisee? Is it because we have a had a good week at keeping all the rules? Did we tithe our 10%? Did we go to church on Sunday? Did we join a small group? Did we have our "quiet time" in the morning?
Although those things can be of benefit to us they should not be a to do list to check off at the end of the day so that we can made righteous. All those things do NOTHING for you when your keeping score of it. When you come to pray to your Father in heaven He doesn't listen any more because of what you have done prior to your prayer time. He is not counting how many times we have picked up our bible that week or counting how much money we have placed in the offering. When we pray it should not be based upon what we can earn but it should be based on the mercy that we have already received in Jesus through the cross.
The Pharisees were constantly looking at themselves and how well they kept the rules. Their good deeds and their righteousness became their god. They were full of pride. They did not need a god they were doing just fine on their own. Instead of keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus they kept their eyes on all the sinners around them and in return would compare their righteousness to the sinners sins. Oh how I pray that we would not fall into that pharisee mentality.
We need to come to God like this tax collector did and just ask God to pour His mercy on us. We often come with an explanantion or an excuse for what we have done wrong. He doesn't need our excuses or our explanations but He does need our humble hearts so He can work on them. Humility is a beautiful expression of your love for the Lord. Humility is hard for us because it doesn't center itself around "I". It simply gets out there and serves others, sometimes sacrificially and sometimes no one knows. It doesn't claim rights but wants to do what is right. Humility is the complete opposite of what is pounded into our head day after day in this world we live in. Wow do we need to renew our minds on humility?
So today who do you look like from this parable? Are you more like the Pharisee or the tax collector? May it be our hearts prayer that our ways that are like the Pharisees be burned away and that our humble tax collectors hearts be the one that shines through! I pray that we will boldly approach His throne of mercy and grace with a humble heart. In the mIghty Name of Jesus! Amen!
December 1, 2008
My Jesus
This morning I heard this song by Todd Agnew called My Jesus and it really tugged at my heart because I wonder how many of us truly understand that our relationship with Jesus should not be about religion or what church we go to. We tend to go back to following rules of religion and not just following Jesus. My prayer is that we would get back to the basics of following Jesus.
Just read the words of this song and then pray and ask God to get you back into what He would have you do. Ask Him to show you how you have made your relationship more of a religion to follow than a simple realtionship with Him.
Which Jesus do you follow? Which Jesus do you serve? If Ephesians says to imitate Christ Then why do you look so much like the world? Cause my Jesus bled and died He spent His time with thieves and liars He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant So which one do you want to be? Blessed are the poor in spirit Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars He loved the poor and accosted the rich So which one do you want to be? Who is this that you follow This picture of the American dream If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins But the Word says He was battered and scarred Or did you miss that part Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him Cause my Jesus bled and died He spent His time with thieves and the least of these He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable So which one do you want to be? Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud I want to be like my Jesus! I want to be like my Jesus! Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me Can I be like You Jesus? I want to be like my Jesus
Thank you Jesus for putting up with us. You came here to show us how to love others. You came to show us that we are not the judge of anyone else but to look deep within our own hearts and work on ourselves. You are amazing and I pray that you would give us your eyes to see others with. I pray that we would take up our cross and follow you. I pray that we would accept the suffering as much as we accept your blessing! Show us Your Glory, Lord! Amen!!!!
November 8, 2008
Wow, what a week it has been! The elections are over and many are very pleased with the results and many are saddened even frightened with the results. There is going to be a lot of change that takes place in the next few years and I hope and pray that we will take this opportunity to change our hearts individually. We truly have been blessed in the United States of America. We have an abundance of stuff. Our cupboards are full and our stomachs are fat.
One thing that I did notice last week is how many Christians sought the Lord like we have not in a long time. They were taking their requests before the Lord to choose the leader that they would want in office. Whether you like it or not the right leader was chosen. The right leader was picked to get the job that God has planned done. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Barack Obama winning the election is not a surprise to God, it was His plan. What I pray and hope is that we will continue to be on our knees before our God getting ourselves right before our Creator.
It is time for the church to lay down her pride and get right before her God. It is time to look within our hearts and remove the idols that we have placed before our God. He wants to be first in your life and in mine. That is what makes our God jealous when we place material things before Him, things that won't even last or things can be stolen away from us. We have shown Him where we put our trust.
2 Chronicles 7:14 Then if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
Stay focused on the One who holds the whole world in His Hands. He is in control. Pray for our new President Barack Obama continually and pray for this great nation that we live in.
October 28, 2008
Which soil are you?
I have read this parable over and over again throughout my walk with the Lord but this morning it really moved my heart. Matthew 13:1-23 is where you will find the parable and I encourage you to read it in the Word as I will be paraphrasing it. Jesus is talking about a farmer sowing grain in his fields.The seed falls on four different types of soil. The first falls beside a path and the birds came and ate the seed and then some fell on rocky soil where there was little depth to the earth enough for the plants to quickly shoot up out of the ground but only to die off quickly because their roots did not go down deep enough. Other seeds fell among thorns which quickly took over. Then finally some fell on good soil and the crop returned to the farmer 30, 60 and even as much as 100 times what the farmer planted. Now you may be thinking what does this have to do with me and I say that because that is exactly what the disciples asked Jesus when He told them this story so He explains the parable to them.
The hard path where the birds came and ate the seed represents the person who hears the Word but does not understand it and then Satan comes and snatches away any seeds that have been planted. The shallow rocky ground represents the heart of the woman who hears the message and receives it with great joy but doesn't have much depth to her so when troubles come or persecution comes because of her beliefs her enthusiasm fades and she slowly loses her faith. The ground covered wit thorns represents the heart of the woman that is so caught up in the cares of this world that she does less and less for God. The good soil represents the heart of the woman who hears the Word, receives it and is changed which makes her want to share it with everyone and in return she brings many into the Kingdom.
For me I feel like I have been all four of these soils at some point in my walk with Jesus but I don't think that is why Jesus included this parable in His Word so that we would find comfort in wavering in our faith. I think He included this parable so that we could keep our faith in check. So that when we felt like we were getting on rocky soil we could get our eyes fixed back on Jesus. So that when the cares of this world come crashing in we would know to turn our eyes back to Jesus. I don't know about you but when I look at the world around me I have nothing but fear and anxiety. We have to admit at some point that the world is falling apart around us. There is very little security in anything in fact there is no security in any of it which is why we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We need to keep our hearts like the good soil clean and ready for the Spirit to lead us on whatever adventure he decides to take us on. It is not a coincidence that my husband lost his job last June is it the adventure that I would have chosen, probably not but with God all things are possible and I have to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus to get through this trial. Do we have a lot in the worlds eyes? No but we have the hope and the trust in Jehovah Jireh the God who will provide.
I don't know what your adventure is, a struggling marriage, the cancer that is eating away at a loved one, overwhelming financial debt, a child that has gone astray, fear and anxiety that have attacked your mind and robbed you of your peace but my prayer is that your heart is on good soil so that you can take this as an adventure with God and you can trust and rely on His strength to get you through it.When the adventure is over you can go and tell the 30, 60 or 100 others what your God, your Jehovah Jireh provided for you and many will be won over to the Kingdom.
So which soil are you? I encourage you to dig deeper today within yourself and put your faith in check. Are you too shallow for the Word to penetrate deep within you? Are you allowing the cares of this world to crowd God out of your life? Are you open and ready to receive what God is trying to plant in your hearts? Does he need to pull some weeds so He can get down to the good soil? I pray that you would find the time to get with God and ask Him to reveal to you what soil your planting your life and faith on? Be ready for an adventure!!!! In the mighty name of Jesus AMEN!!!!!
October 21, 2008
God is a God of Mercy and Compassion
Psalm 145:8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all His creation. Just take a moment and take that in. For so many years of my life I did not know this about God. I thought the complete opposite and believed that He was always angry and that He wanted nothing to do with me. In the last few years I have really come to know a God that is very different that what I thought. I have realized the relentless pursuit that He has had for me my whole life. I have realized that I allowed other people's view of God to distort mine. When you are able to look back on your life and see Him pursuing you it is amazing. He already knows you exactly the way you are. He knows how many hairs you have on your head. He knows your address. He knows when you sit down and when you rise. He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you are happy. He knows when you are broken. He wants you to know Him like He knows you.
All of those great things about God we tend to forget. When things are not going exactly the way that we want them to or when life just gets BLAH. We can get so focused on what is not true about God that we start believing the lies that maybe God just doesn't care about me. If God was good then He would get me out of this horrible situation. Why would God allow this to happen to me if He knows what's going on in my life?
It makes me think of a scene in Evan Almighty when Evan's wife Joan has finally had it with her husband she believes he is loosing his mind, when he is just listening to the Lord and trying to be obedient by building an ark. She leaves and goes to her mothers. The circumstances look as if God is not involved but He is. But then Joan has her own encounter with God. She is sitting at the coffee shop trying to make sense of her situation and along comes God. God (played by Morgan Freeman in this case) shows His care and compassion by noticing something is wrong. She begins to tell him her problems but his answers are always filled with the positive that she had not even looked at. She is complaining about her husband listening to God asking him to do something crazy and then God changes her way of thinking by suggesting that she look at this crazy thing as an opportunity from God. If someone asks God for patience do you think that He gives them patience or does He give them the opportunity to be patient? If a person prays for courage does He give them courage or does He give them an oppurtunity to be courageous? If a person prays for her family to become closer do you think He zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings or does He give them opportunities to love each other? You see sometimes we need little reminders that if everything we asked for was handed to us really what we would be but spoiled little brats?? God knows what He is doing. We are women who want things and we want them now but God is a God who has His perfect timing for each and everything in our lives. He is so good to us. Earlier in the movie after Joan leaves and goes to her mothers Evan looks up to God and says I know you only do things because you love me but could you just not love me so much? We have probably all felt either that He loves us too much or that He doesn't love us at all through certain circumstances but we need to trust God that He is in control and He will work every bad circumstance out for good for those who love Him.
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and not on your circumstances and I will try to do the same and in keeping our eyes fixed on HIM we will have victory over our circumstances!!!! In the Mighty Name of Jesus!!!Amen!!!
October 13, 2008
Second Chances
Have you ever just felt like you have blown it with the Lord? He has asked you to do something and you somehow squirm your way out of it by making excuses or getting yourself consumed in earthly things instead of heavenly things. Or maybe you have just gotten tired of trying to walk this walk out. It seems like there are so many obstacles and that it is so much easier to act on the way your flesh reacts. I hope someone can relate to this because this is exactly where I am at on my walk. A year ago I had a clear picture of what God's plan was for me and my life and somehow I have gotten so consumed with earthly distractions that I had lost my heavenly perspective and now I am left with wasted time.
This morning I was reading in John 21 where Jesus appears to some of the disciples, Simon Peter being one of them. Peter is just the one disciple that I relate to the most. He was very impulsive and a little careless with his words. He was very close to Jesus. When they were together Peter would have done anything for the Lord. Peter never failed to follow but he often stumbled. My walk is so similar.
The last time that Peter saw Jesus, Jesus was being led away to be crucified and Peter had denied even knowing Jesus not once, not twice but three times. Peter was left broken knowing Jesus died and there was nothing he could do to protect Jesus. He had to live with the fact that he denied Jesus and the grief must have been overwhelming. So I can just imagine as Peter went out fishing that morning of how depressed he was, thinking of his betrayal to the Lord and then knowing that Jesus was dead and he could not make up for his mistakes. A voice calls from the shore, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" No, they all yell back but then John realizes that it is the Lord calling from the shore. Without any hesitation Peter jumps into the water and swims to his Lord. He probably could not believe his own eyes was it really Jesus standing before him? Did he really have a second chance to make things right with his Lord? Jesus welcoming all of them to sit down and have breakfast with Him. Peter must have sat so silently waiting patiently on the Lord to speak to him. Then the moment arrives Jesus speaks to Peter and He asks him three times, "do you love me?" Peter each time replied , "yes, Lord you know I love you." I am not sure why Jesus asked him three times the same question whether it was to remind him of the denial or to let him know that he was forgiven. Jesus has a way of getting straight into our hearts. I believe He was letting Peter know that he was giving him a second chance.
Our God is a God of second chances and He has enough grace and mercy to cover us in our stumbles. Sometimes we take our eyes off of Jesus and we focus a little too much on ourselves and that is where we lose our focus. We have to remember that this walk is not always going to be easy and that there will be bumps in the road but that He is big enough to carry us through the bumps. We have to go through the battles to win the war. So let us fix our eyes on Jesus and remember the road that He traveled not for Himself but so that we could be set free. Thank you Jesus for Second Chances!!!!
October 6, 2008
Communion
Once a month our church takes communion and yesterday was the day. It is always a time that we should take a moment to sit back and remember what it is that our Lord and Savior endured so that we could be set free. As I sat there yesterday in a time of prayer and just really concentrating on what took place on that cross some 2000 years ago I felt great sorrow. I felt sorrow for what I take for granted everyday in Jesus. I felt conviction over where my head has been lately, focused on all the wrong things.It was my thought life that saddened me and I know saddened the heart of my Savior. What we think about is so important because we start to act out on things that we think. I saw a really ugly side of me come out last week a side that I hadn't seen in quite awhile. I could easily justify it because of my gift of my discernment. I had become so angry over injustice that was being done to someone else so that another person could get ahead for themselves.The anger was not where I was in the wrong it was the way I reacted to the anger I was feeling that was wrong. In my anger I did sin. I focused on all the wrong instead of keeping my eyes on Jesus and my peace was taken from me. So yesterday as I sat and focused on the right things and really meditated on what Jesus did on the cross and how I proclaim that in my life that Jesus is alive and lives within me those reactions that I had seemed so little. I had realized that Jesus also died for that person that I was so angry at and that He bore that persons sin on the cross and that my job was not to be the judge but to show mercy and love towards that person just like Jesus shows mercy and love to me on a daily basis.
Communion was a ritual in the religion that I grew up in and I never really understood why we would take it. I was also never allowed to take it because I did not finish the classes required prior to receiving Communion so I have always felt a little awkward taking it. Today it is not a ritual at all. I take the time right before communion to really get with God and look at my heart. I invite Him to fill those dark places that still exist. I invite Him to show me where it is that I need His help in my day to day living. I confess what I need to confess and I remember what a sacrifice it was for Jesus to endure the cross. I ask Him to help me have the love and mercy towards others that He shows me everyday! I ask Him to help me keep my eyes focused on Him and not on me or my circumstances!!!!
We are doing a Beth Moore bible study at the Dwelling Place called "Living Beyond Yourself" and last night Beth was very passionate about us asking God to invade every part of our lives and she means every part not just the ones that we pick and choose. I have taken on the challenge and I encourage you to also. Let that be our prayer that we want God to invade every part of our being and that we would be open to Him taking over. I pray that His desires would become our desires. In the Mighty Name of Jesus!!!
September 22, 2008
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
There are times when I wish this verse was tattooed on me somewhere. Today everything is so uncertain. We watch the news and it is horrible. There is no peace in our world. From financial trouble to wars breaking out amongst us and against us it is frightening. There are so many uncertainties.
I am guilty of often leaning on my own understanding. I do okay when things are going well but the minute that things start to look a little uncertain I tend to worry about everything. Last June my husband was laid off from his job of 20 years. He had worked there ever since I have known him, we met there. My first reaction was Praise the Lord, He has something better for us and for our family but as each day passes the worries and fears of not having the stability of his job weighs heavy on my heart. I have to admit I have been stressing out a lot lately. Life is costing more than ever and we are uncertain of where our income will come from. So my big challenge of today is to start living out my faith. In fact my husband told me the other day you need to practice what you preach about trusting the Lord. He is going to take care of us. Sometimes I get too busy telling others to trust God that I forget it for myself. As I go through this struggle I thank God for it because I know that I will know Him that much more when this trial is done. I know in my heart that He will provide every need that we have. I have to remember that I am a daughter of the King and that He will supply all of my needs.
We live in a very uncertain, scary world right now so I am just going to share with you some verses that will help us to look up to our God, the one who controls EVERYTHING and put our trust in HIM even when things don't turn out the way that we thought they should.
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Psalm 40:4 Blessed is the woman who makes the Lord Her trust....
September 16, 2008
Martha, Martha, Martha
I think I know why the Lord has had me so focused on these scriptures in Luke 10:38-42 because with school starting and my new found freedom of all my kids being back in school I have been caught in the Martha syndrome which is why I haven't written in awhile.
I have found myself in both Martha and Mary's place and I wish I could say that it was Mary more than Martha but I can't. Let me explain. In these scriptures we find Martha who is only thinking about the details of dinner and how to best make her guests comfortable. She is so caught up in the food and the service part that she ends up frustrated with herself, her sister and even the Lord.
Then we see Mary. She probably rushed to Jesus and greeted Him at the door with her water and soap in hand to wash the dust from His feet. I can only imagine her sitting at His feet washing the dust from them when He started to speak and she became so enthralled with what He was saying that she forgot all about time and all about the details of dinner. She sat in awe of Jesus!
Martha lashes out at Jesus, "hello, can't you see my sister is just sitting at your feet doing nothing and here I am doing all of the work?" Can't you just picture Martha in the kitchen banging pots and pans around grumbling under her breath? I can't believe I have to do everything around here, I fix the meals, I clean the dishes it is always me doing everything and Mary is doing nothing! I can hear it clearly and that's probably because I can get the same attitude around my own house.
Mary and Martha were both serving the Lord but what Martha didn't realize was that in her desire to serve the Lord she was actually neglecting her Lord. After going to Jesus with her grumbling and complaining He gently responds not blaming Martha for being concerned about the details of dinner but that she needed to set her priorities straight. The focus is not so much a matter of service but of our heart. Mary had her heart in the right place. She saw what was important and that was to be still and know that He is God. While Martha was getting so caught up feeling sorry for herself that she actually missed quality time with her Lord.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Jesus said Himself that Mary chose what was better and He would not take that away from her. He wants you to sit at His feet. What details in your life are getting in the way of you sitting at His feet? Make time for you and Him!!!!
September 1, 2008
Finally Free
Oh how I love this story in John chapter 11. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. You can read the story in John 11:38-44. There are several points in this scripture. I love how it says that Jesus called out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out! I often wonder if he had not said Lazarus' name would all of the dead risen by the sound of Jesus loud voice of authority? There is such authority in the words of Jesus and how often we under estimate that power that resides right inside our very being. If we only had the faith to use it?
But what has really had an impact on my life is John 11:44. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped in strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." I know that Jesus was speaking to Lazarus who was physically dead but every time that I read these scriptures I think of all of us who are spiritually dead until Jesus calls us by our name. We all have a time when that happens for us. But what stands out to me the most is that the dead man comes out with his hands and feet bound with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus says to the people gathered around, "Take off his grave clothes and let him go." How many of us are walking around still bound in our grave clothes? We have heard Jesus call us by name and we have yet to take off our grave clothes!
For six years after I heard Jesus call my name I walked around bound in strips of guilt and shame of my past. I was dragging it around with me wherever I went. These strips were weighing me down making it very hard to see the freedom that came with hearing Jesus call my name. I was alive for the first time in my spiritual life but was still walking amongst the dead.
There is a transformation that takes place when we accept Jesus' call. Our old grave clothes fall off and we become a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17). You now stand holy and blameless before your God. (Ephesians 1:4) You are redeemed and forgiven of all your sins. (Colossians1:14) You are complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10) You cannot be separated from the love of God. (Romans 8:35-39) So why are we still walking around in those grave clothes? It is time to bury those grave clothes!!! It is time to walk in freedom girls!!! Freedom from your past, freedom from your mistakes, freedom from whatever it is that you just can't let go of!
I have met so many women that are still dressed in their grave clothes, it breaks my heart! They have been saved for years and they are still exactly where they were when they heard Jesus call their name! Satan wants to keep us bound and one way he does that is to continually bring up our past. You don't have to listen to that voice anymore. If he can keep us caught up in our mistakes and not fully receiving all that we are in Christ then he still has control. We need to start believing who we are in Christ and know in our hearts that the devil and all his lies have been conquered.
Girls He has called you by name now TAKE OFF THOSE GRAVE CLOTHES!!!!!!!! In the mighty name of Jesus!!!!AMEN!
August 23, 2008
Luke 9:57 As they were walking along someone said to Jesus. "I will follow you no matter where you go."
I wonder how many of us have actually had that encounter with Jesus when we come to that place of surrender when nothing else matters but following Jesus wherever He goes. What conviction I have felt this morning. I haven't followed Jesus wherever He has gone. In my heart I want to be there but my mind always seems to get in the way. There have been so many times when I hear Him calling and I chicken out! There have been times when I have been obedient to Him and He is faithful to carry me through whatever task He brings me to.
Jesus response is what really hit me this morning. He responds with I, the Son of Man have no where to lay my head. In other words it is not going to be easy I don't have a home. I don't know where I will be sleeping even tonight. He walks further along the road and asks another and another to be His disciple and follow Him but He got excuse after excuse. I wondered how many times I have had an excuse when Jesus has asked me to follow Him! I know that I have been at that place of surrender with Jesus. I have given Him my life and I often say Lord, Here I Am, Send Me and then often act as if I don't hear Him when He calls.
What Jesus wants from us is total dedication. He wants all of us not half of us. It is not up to us to pick and choose what we would like to obey or what is comfortable for us to obey. He wants all of us. He wants our heart, soul, mind and strength. It is not always going to be about receiving the crown sometimes we are going to have to carry our cross. Walking with Jesus is never easy when we try to do it in our own strength but when we give Him our heart, soul, mind and strength He can do anything and we just need to go along for the ride.
More times than not Jesus has asked me to step out of my comfort zone to fulfill something of Him. I love my comfort zone and I love routine and I have missed many a crown by loving that comfort zone. Instead of focusing on my comforts I need to focus on the comfort that comes from my Creator who goes with me wherever I go and goes with you wherever you go. Jesus is a gentleman and never forces anything on any of us.
As I was praying God took me to Revelation 3:15-16 I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other. But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth. Jesus was speaking to the city of Laodicea which was a wealthy city but it always had a problem with it's water supply so their drinking water was often lukewarm. I don't know about you but when I take a drink of lukewarm water that if the first thing I want to do is spit it out. It is not refreshing at all it is quite disgusting! That is what He was comparing these people too. The Laodecian church was comfortable and complacent. They had a lot of material possessions. They had one foot in the world and one foot following Jesus. They were doing all kinds of good things but by doing them they were depending on themselves not on God which lead them to be lukewarm.
I pray that we would be on fire for you Jesus. Lord we ask that we would be sold out to you and that nothing would get in the way of us following you and where you want to lead us. Help us Lord that as we get called to things that are out of our comfort zone that we will know that we are not walking this alone but with you every step of the way. I pray Lord that we would be shouting everyday HERE I AM LORD SEND ME!!!!!!!! I pray that you would give us the strength to carry our cross and endure the sacrifices that we will need to make in order to receive the crown that waits for us!!! I pray that as we act like that Laodecian church that we would feel strong conviction so that we don't become lukewarm! In the Mighty Name of Jesus!!!! AMEN!
August 21, 2008
Interruptions!!! How do you handle them? We have a certain plan for our day but something or someone comes along and messes it all up.
I sometimes wonder how God who holds the whole world in His hands could possibly understand interruptions? Then He showed me a story in Matthew 14:13-14.
It had been a long day for Jesus. He was tired! He had been teaching parable after parable to city after city. He had been amongst the sick and performed many miracles of healing. He had been traveling from town to town and had had no or very little sleep. He now receives the news that John the Baptist has been killed. It was probably one of the saddest days of His life. He wanted to withdraw from the people and go to a place of solitude where He could grieve the death of John the Baptist so He got in a boat and went to to a solitary place. His plans were to get away, be with His closest friends and mourn the death of His cousin. When He landed at this place there was already a crowd of people there waiting for Him. You can imagine the noise that He found when He arrived not even a glimpse of solitude. You can just imagine the shouts of despair coming from the mouths of all the people that were consumed with depression, disease and broken hearts vying for His attention pleading for His Healing. I have often wondered didn't it bother Him that no one cared about His feelings or what He was going through? Did anyone care how tired He was? These are all questions that I have when I have been interrupted? Doesn't anybody realize that it is my turn for my time? When I am tired and have just fallen asleep but one of my children come in and wake me because they have had a bad dream? Jesus didn't have these questions going through His mind and I know that because of His reaction to that crowd that was already there waiting for Him. The bible says that He had compassion on that crowd and that He healed their sick. He was always dying to His own wants and His own needs so that He could be there for others. Compassion means a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to take away the suffering. I can' think of a better word than that to describe our Savior. He didn't complain, He didn't grumble, He didn't get mad He just met their needs. He allowed His feelings to be put aside to deal with His interruption. He is our amazing Savior!!!!
There is another time that He lays His wants and His needs aside for us. The night before He is crucified He has great anguish over what is about to happen. He was God so He knew exactly what was about to happen to Him. He knew that He was going to be betrayed, beaten beyond recognition, embarrassed beyond anything we could imagine, spit on, ridiculed, mocked and then killed in the most horrific way. He would be nailed to a cross and hung there to die the most pain filled death known to man. He knew that as He took on all of OUR sins that He would have to experience separation from His Heavenly Father and that brought Him agony. As God He knew what He had to do but as a man, in His human nature He struggled. Because of that struggle He can relate to our suffering. Jesus did all of that for YOU.
I pray that for those of us that already acknowledge Him as Savior that we would be reminded of that sacrifice and that we would not live our lives as though we don't know of the suffering that our Savior endured. That we would go back to the cross daily so that we can sit at the foot of the cross and surrender our lives to Him daily even when it means that may be suffering included in that surrender. That as we get interrupted in our lives that we would take it as an opportunity to be more like Jesus not as an irritation.
If you have never asked Jesus to come into your life I pray that today is your day. I pray that you will feel that compassion on your life and that you would realize that it doesn't matter who you are or what you have done in your life you can openly accept His invitation of the deep sympathy and sorrow that He has for you. I pray that you would feel His strong desire to take away your suffering! He can only take away your suffering if you allow Him into your heart. He is standing at the door of your heart knocking answer Him with this....Jesus I surrender. Forgive me for all I have ever done that has been wrong in Your eyes. Teach me and show me how to live a life that is surrendered to you. Thank you for enduring the cross for me. I love you Lord! In the Mighty Name of Jesus!!!!AMEN!
August 14, 2008
Yesterday I took my kids to the free summer movie and it happened to be Daddy Day Camp. There was a line in that movie that I can't seem to get out of my head. "It is easier to remember the way you wished things were than to actually remember the way they were." It made me think of how many of us live back in our past or we live in the land of what could have been. Our mind is a powerful thing and we can do damage to our souls when we focus on the wrong things. When we have regrets and wished things could have been different we are not in God's will. The Word tells us in Phillipians 3:13 to forget what is behind and strain towards what is ahead. In Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. We need to forget the former things that hold us back from seeing the new thing that God is trying to do in us and through us. God remembers the good things and He takes our sins, our mistakes and the mistakes that have been done to us and He throws them to the deepest part of the ocean where they are never to be be remembered.
In Genesis we see what happens to a woman who looked back. In Genesis, God is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah but has found favor with Lot so He prepares an escape for him and his family. They were told to flee for their lives and do not look back. Lot's wife looked back and she turned into a pillar of salt. Her consequence for looking back was death. I don't think that we are going to turn into a pillar of salt if we look back longingly at our past or wishing things were different but I do think that our minds will be hindered from seeing the new thing that God wants to do in us
Girls we need to flee for our lives, the new life that we have in Jesus and stop looking back to our pasts. When we do get bogged down with past memories or in the what if things had turned out this way mentality we need to go directly to Jesus enter that throne room of grace and surrender those thoughts to Him there. Get out your bible and write down verses like Phillipians 3:13, Isaiah 43:18-19 and put them where they will help you (your bathroom mirror, right by the kitchen sink, in your car on the visor or on your desk at work).
Start putting into your mind what God thinks about you. Start focusing on His Promises to you His daughter. Start believing that you are chosen by God to do good works for Him. He has accepted you just as you are no matter what the past may hold. You are a new creation and the old life has gone and the new has come.
I pray that you would each be able to lay down your past and also to lay down what could have been. I pray that you would be open to the new life that you have in Christ and be able to press on towards what is ahead. I thank you Lord that You have taken away our old life and that You have given us a new life in You. I thank You that You take us just as we are and that You walk us through this new life cleaning up anything that is still hindering us from living out our new life in You. Help us to remember You and Your Word when we struggle with our pasts and what could have been! Help us to accept that you have us where you want us! In the Mighty Name of Jesus!! Amen!
August 9, 2008
The Faith Of A Gentile Woman
Matthew 15:21-28 tells of a story of Jesus and a Gentile woman. She came to Jesus pleading that He have mercy on her for her daughter who was possessed by a demon. I encourage you to go and read these scriptures as I am telling the story as I see it.
At first Jesus ignores her pleading. The disciples get irritated with her and urge Jesus to send her away because she was bothering them with all of her begging. You can just imagine this woman must have been screaming her pleading not just asking. She must have been acting out her pain over her daughter with moans and groans of agony.
Jesus then turns to her and says, "I was sent only to help God's lost sheep-the people of Israel." One of which she was not, she was a Gentile woman. A gentile woman who was considered unclean and untouchable by the Jews.
Although Jesus tells her no the first time she comes back and worships Him pleading again, Lord help me.
Jesus responds again, "It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." Gentiles were known as dogs.
She replies, "Yes, Lord but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their Master's table.
Jesus says to her, "Dear woman, your faith is great. Your request is granted and her daughter was instantly healed.
It took me several times of reading this story to really understand this story. It was the first time that I felt awkward about the way Jesus treated someone. I had to read it over and over again to see was Jesus really turning someone away because of her race. Absolutely not!!! He was stating the truth of why He came. He was stating His original reason for coming to the earth to reveal Himself to the Jews, God's Chosen People as their Messiah that they were waiting for. He was also testing her faith. He was determining her trust for Him.
It is not so much Jesus words that I want to focus on but the Gentile woman. We tend to come to Jesus with our requests but we also have a list of the way that we would like those requests fulfilled. When He fulfills those requests with His way or with the truth and not our way we back away from Him. We are hurt and sometimes we get mad at God. We get offended. We look for other options.
We should learn from this Gentile Woman. She did not give up when she didn't get the answer that she wanted the first time. She could have easily been offended by His words to her. She wasn't focused on the answer that she got she was focused on the ONLY ONE who could fix her problem. She kept her eyes fixed on Jesus. When she didn't get the answer that she wanted The Word says that she came to Him again and worshiped Him, pleading, "Lord help me." She went back to Him boldly and confidently to receive grace. When she got no for an answer she went to Him and worshiped. I can just picture her bowing at His feet maybe wrapping her arms around His knees pleading with Him. Nothing or no one could get in the way of her faith. Jesus was her only option. There was not another option for her.
Do you approach Him as just one of your options? If you don't get the answer that your looking for do you move onto your next option? Jesus needs to be our only option. She had faith in Jesus. She kept her eyes fixed on Jesus. She admitted that she needed help. She didn't waver when things didn't go the way that she wanted them to go.
I pray that we would have faith like that Gentile Woman. That we would know exactly what we are after and that our faith would not falter just because things don't look like we thought they should have. May we have the same boldness and confidence that she had and go to our Jesus bowed at His feet with our arms wrapped around His knees pleading with Him and that we would not waver from the outcome. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. May we stay focused on Jesus as our only option!!!! In the Mighty Name of Jesus!! AMEN!!!!
August 4, 2008
Psalm 103:1-5 Praise the Lord O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
I have been meditating on this verse in the last couple of weeks trying to memorize it so that I can bring it to my mind in this crazy mixed up world that we live in. Everything just seems backwards. It really feels like the world is falling apart. There are wars and rumours of wars. Earthquakes, hurricanes and tornados are happening in places that are unheard of. People are growing cold in their love for one another. Husband against wife and mother against child. Our Lord must look down on this earth with such sorrow. It is so far from what He created it to be.
Yesterday my family went to a Dodger game in LA. There is something about that many people in one place that always causes me to ponder how BIG our GOD really is. Just to know that He created each one of us and that His love covers us when we really don't deserve it. He has thoughts about each one of us that outnumber the grains of sand on the earth. His heart breaks as He watches one more child wander away and step out of His grace. But as I sat there and looked at the 50,000 people all around I wondered how many of them knew the benefits that they have in the Lord. I wondered how many of them knew that they had a Savior that layed down His life so that they could find forgiveness and healing. I wondered how many were stuck way down deep in their pits of sin. Some of us as believers don't even know these things.
I think we have made the benefits of God into our own comforts. We tend to think if we have wealth and prosperity in material things that we have received the benefits of God. We need to renew our minds to think like Jesus thinks and concentrate on the benefits that He describes are ours. Forgiveness, healing and deliverance. His Love and His Compassion! Where would we be without all of that?
I pray that as believers we would transform our minds to really soak in all the benefits of God. His Forgiveness and His Healing for our lives and as we fully understand those things for ourselves that we would pour that out onto others so that they could see the benefits of God. I pray that we not allow our circumstances to crowd out the benefits of God. In the Mighty Name of Jesus! AMEN!!!!
July 26, 2008
Phillipians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. For so many of us we look at dying as a sad time and yes it is full of grief for those of us that get left behind here to miss our loved one. But what could be better than meeting our Savior face to face? Because when we die here if we know Jesus that is where we go immediately in His presence. Oh how I long for that day!
I write this devotion with such mixed emotion. For most of you that read these devotions you have followed along with all of us about Lindsey Sowles and her battle with cancer. Her amazing parents that have been such an example of what true faith is. They have truly stood on the SOLID ROCK through this battle. In fact in the guestbook Ginger shares a great story about Debbie Sowles, Lindsey's mom completely trusting the Lord with her daughter. I encourage you to read it.
We can get so caught up in the why or how could God allow bad things to happen to good people? That is why God says in Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. We can't even begin to understand why God does what He does or allows what He does allow but we can focus on what a great God we do have. We can focus on His love, His mercy, His forgiveness and His great sacrifice of His Son Jesus.
Lindsey went home to be with the Lord Thursday evening and what a great gain for her! She is sitting at Jesus feet in awe of her Savior. She has no more pain and no more fear. I am sad to say that I never had the chance to personally meet Lindsey but have been deeply moved by her life and the love of her family not only for her but for our Lord. The Lord truly healed Lindsey maybe not in the way that we would have thought it should happen but that is when we need to go to Isaiah 55:8 again and again.
Two years ago my family also had a great loss. My cousin Frankie was in a serious car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He should not have survived the car accident but did and lived another six weeks. In that six weeks my cousin and I continually prayed the same as the Sowles family to heal Frankie whether that be here on earth or in heaven with Jesus. In that six weeks Frankie accepted Jesus as his Savior and we all had some really great memories in those times of him being in the hospital. Was it the ideal place where you would like to make memories? No! But if we hadn't of had the time in the hospital with him we wouldn't have the memories! Those are little miracles of God working through these trials that we have here on this earth. He had started to recover from the other wounds but one night he went to sleep and didn't wake up here but in eternity. Frankie can now run in heaven and I know that he has been shooting hoops with Jesus ever since he arrived. He loved basketball.
Although we have a great loss with Lindsey and Frankie and many others going home at a surprising young age. This was not a surprise to God. They have experienced a great gain!They are exactly where He wants all of us to be in His arms. Pain, disease, accidents and harm cannot reach them now.
So as we miss our loved ones that have gone on to eternity before us let us keep our faith and concentrate on the love, forgiveness and mercy of our Savior. When the grief floods in let us turn to the Comforter. I pray that we would not let our minds wander to the why but focus on where they are IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS SITTING AT HIS FEET IN AWE. Let us cherish the memories of them and hold them close to our heart until we get to see them again in eternity.
July 22, 2008
Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and test you in order to know what is in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.
Do you feel like you have been wandering in the desert? Do you feel like God may be a little quiet these days? This is always a hard season to be in with God. We think we are being punished for something that we have done but I don't think it is a punishment at all. I believe these are the times when God takes the time to clean our hearts out.
Before discovering this scripture I automatically shut off in these dry seasons with God because I felt like I was being punished. Just like a toddler does when they are being punished they stop, drop and throw a tantrum in that same place until they feel the punishment is over or until they get their way. I stomp my feet and stay in that exact position fighting God instead of going with God and trying to figure out what it is that He is trying to purify out of me. He does this to test us and to humble us and see what is in our hearts. He wants to know if all of His work is paying off, if we will truly follow His commands. It sounds all too familiar with our own parent child relationships.
If we didn't have these dry seasons how could look at our lives and see what needs to be cleansed from us? Deuternomy 8:3 says He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. We can't really relate to being fed by manna but we have many other comforts that we run to in these dry seasons. Shopping, food, our spouses, friends or our careers! But just like the Israelites He is trying to teach us that we can't survive on manna alone (our manna being shopping, food, spouses, friends, careers) but we have to go straight to the word that comes from the mouth of the Lord, THE WORD OF GOD. In our dry seasons we need to be more in the word than ever. That should be where we are running to is straight into His word because it is alive and active and it convicts our soul and it shows us what we need to clean out of ourselves. These dry seasons are for our own good. Just like in Deuteronomy 8:7 says for the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land that is what God desires that we arrive in that good land with abundance not in the dry desert lacking and without!!!!
I encourage you to get into the word the next time you feel like you are wandering into the dry desert. Seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him. Instead of throwing the tantrum look at it as an opportunity to get closer to your Savior.
July 16, 2008
Micah 6:6-8 What can we bring to the Lord? What kind of offerings should we give Him? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer Him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you; to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
These verses are in the Old Testament so it might be hard for us to relate to the sacrifice part. Praise the Lord that we don't have to bring sacrifices to the Lord! Jesus was the Ultimate Sacrifice and through His blood we no longer are under the Old Covenant.We are privileged to be under the New Covenant that the acceptance of Jesus blood is the only sacrifice that is needed for us to be forgiven and be in right standing with God. Micah was speaking to Israel, God's Children and these same words can be a great reminder to us God's children. It looks like Israel was getting caught up in the religion more than they were caught up in the relationship. Sound familiar? We tend to get caught up in our religion and we lose Jesus in it. We often pray a certain prayer, listen to certain music, show up to church every Sunday morning sing a praise song just because it has become the routine of the Christian life. We can go a whole day without truly depending on God, repenting of our sin and worshipping Him. We miss out on the most important part to Him the relationship.Having a relationship with Jesus is much more than the routine of the Christian life. He longs for much more out of us. He wants to talk with you all throughout your day. He wants to be included in your life everyday not just the days you go to church. He wants to share all of your life with you. He wants to show you the things that He delights in and He wants to give you the desires of your heart.
The Jews missed out on Jesus when He arrived here on earth because they were so caught up in the religion and earning their way to God. They weren't willing to surrender to the Savior and have a relationship with Him. Instead they picked apart all of the things that He did right, they looked past His ability to love mercy and they were so caught up in the rules and regulations that they missed how closely and humbly He was walking with His God.
Are you walking humbly with your God or are you just walking through the motions of your religion? I encourage you to get as close as you can to the Savior! Make Him a part of your every second. Go to Him with your day and seek Him. He is waiting!!!
July 12, 2008
Today I just want to share an excerpt from Beth Moore's book Breaking Free. I think we can all relate to this. God has such a great plan for our lives and He wants the very best for His daughters. This really made me sit and think how many times I have wandered off His path or looked at someone else's and coveted their path. How many times have I concentrated more on the regrets that just accepting that God has a plan for those regrets and that I need to move forward!
Imagine going to heaven and standing by God as He lovingly shows you His plan for your life. It begins with the day you are born. Once you received Christ as Savior, every day that follows is outlined in red. You see footprints walking through each day of your life. On many of the days, two sets of footprints appear. You inquire: "Father, are those my footprints every day, and is the second set of footprints when You joined me?"
He answers, "No, My precious Child. The consistent footprints are Mine. The second set of footprints are when you joined Me."
"Where were you going, Father?"
"To the destiny I planned for you, hoping you'd follow."
"But Father, where are my footprints all those times?"
"Sometimes you went back to look at old resentments and habits. Sometimes you chose your own path. Other times your footprints appear on another person's calendar because you liked their plan better. Sometimes you simply stopped because you would not let go of something you could not take with you."
"But Father we ended up OK even if I didn't walk with You every day, didn't we?"
He holds you close and smiles, "Yes Child, we ended up OK. But, you see, OK was never what I had in mind for you." By Beth Moore......."Breaking Free"
Take some time to really ponder her message here. I cannot wait to stand face to face with our Savior. It is something my heart longs for every day but this definitely helps me to look at my walk with the Savior. Every step, every day counts. I would like to see two set of footprints when I look back, how about you?
July 8, 2008
It is amazing to me how much we focus on the outer part of ourselves and focus very little on the inner. We all get up each morning and put on our masks of make up and spend hours in our closets making sure we have the right outfit on. We will try on 5 or 6 different outfits before choosing the right one.There is nothing wrong with us taking care of our outer appearances but there is a problem when your not taking care of the inner appearance. 1 Samuel 16:7 says Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.
So how are you doing in this area? Are you working on your inner self? Our world is so consumed with the outer appearance of things that we can so easily get caught up what the latest fad is and really make our outer self shine while the inside light is growing very dim. We all will someday stand before our Lord and He will ask us some real questions about our lives. He is not going to be asking what size we were, how much we weighed, what our homes looked like, if we wore designer clothes or not? He is going to ask us how did we treat people? What did you do with the marriage I blessed you with? He is going to go down deep inside our hearts and want to look at the motives of our hearts.
I encourage you to take these verses and pin them up somewhere. Maybe on the mirror in your bathroom where you get ready every morning, in the kitchen or maybe on the visor of your car but somewhere where you will be reminded to clothe your inner self.
Romans 13:14 Clothe yourselves with the Lord.
Isaiah 52:1 Clothe yourselves with strength.
Colossians 3:12 Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
1 Peter 5:5 Clothe yourselves with humility towards one another.
Psalm 30:11 God has clothed us in joy.
Colossians 3:14 Put on love.
Ephesians 4:24 Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Are you spending time with God and allowing Him to work on your inner self? Are you praying that God would be working on your inner self as hard as your working on your outer self? Are you putting on those clothes of strength, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience? Remember that when we go to stand before our Jesus at the end of this life the only clothes He is going to worry about us wearing are going to be the clothes of righteousness, kindness, patience, gentleness and of course the most important LOVE.
July 2, 2008
I am doing the Beth Moore study Believing God with a group of girls at my church. We have been doing it for two weeks now and it is an amazing study. This is my second time doing it and already I am learning so much more than I did the first time.
On one of the study days Beth Moore says, "Sometimes our problem with God is that we don't like the rules. I can remember trying to hang onto both God and my idols." Wow we are so like that we want our cake and eat it too. We want to put on our masks and come to church on Sundays maybe attend a bible study but then live our life any way that we want to when we are not in those two places. God is always with us and He sees everything that we do. We may think we are hiding but there is no where that we can go that He is not. Read Psalm 139.
So after finishing my lesson for the day I took my kids swimming and I just kept asking God do I have any idols?
Immediately God reminded me of the Israelites wandering in the desert. They grew very impatient waiting for Moses to come back down from the mountain and tell them God's instructions. They had just been delivered from slavery in Egypt and already were forgetting their God. The more impatient they grew the more complaining took place and Aaron had had enough so he creates a golden calf an idol for them to worship. They are happy and worshipping a golden calf.
Your probably thinking the same thing I am. Well I don't have a golden calf in my living room so I am doing good. I don't sit and worship a figure. Then God spoke softly to my heart, Tiffany your idol is not a golden calf but you have grown impatient waiting on me and as you've grown impatient you have found comfort from investing in earthly things.
For the past six months or so I have been feeling like the Israelites wandering in the desert just waiting for some direction from the Lord. And as I was wandering I wanted something to make me feel better for the moment. Whenever I would get impatient I would run to Target or the mall and take my mind off of the wandering by buying something to make me feel better for the moment which had become an idol.
So as God is pointing out what my idol is I was already trying to justify my idol. You know how we can make excuses to God. I never spend much money it's just a little bit. Once again that oh so soft voice of God it doesn't matter if your spending $5 or $500 you are finding comfort and going to something other than me for comfort. When things get rough and tough I want to be the one that you are running to. Not temporal things that don't even mean anything to you. I am more than enough.
You see an idol is anything that we place before our Lord. What is constantly on your mind? What are you focused on the most in your day? What one thing can make you take your eyes off of Jesus? SO what has become your idol? Your looks? Your weight? A Habit? Earthly possessions? Your career? Your friends?
Going back to Exodus 32 Moses gave the Israelites a choice either lay down your idols and surrender to your God or die. It sounds harsh but it is the reality. We will end up spiritually dead if we don't lay our idols down. I believe that anytime we place something or someone in the place where God should be we miss out on Him. We miss out on all He wants to fill us up with and that feeling of being filled up the with the Lover of Your Soul is far better than anything this world can offer!!!!
June 11, 2008
In Matthew 25 once again Jesus is speaking in parables. He is talking about the ten bridesmaids that were going to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five of them were wise. The foolish ones were not prepared to meet the bridegroom, they did not bring enough oil to keep their lamps burning so that when the time came to meet their bridegroom their light would have burned out and He would not be able to see them. The wise ones had prepared themselves and were ready to meet the bridegroom. They had plenty of oil in their lamps because they had planned ahead, they were anticipating His arrival. As the foolish ones heard that He was coming they wanted to run to the wise bridemaids and borrow their oil for their lamps. The truth is we can't borrow anyones oil. We have to buy our own oil. We have to be ready on our own. We can't expect someone else to be ready for us. We have all been invited to this wonderful celebration of meeting our Savior , our Bridegroom Jesus but we are the only ones that can make ourselves ready for His arrival. Are you ready? What do you need to do as the time draws near in preparation for His arrival? What plans should you alter? What are some details that need to be attended to? What habits need to be removed?
It amazes me how far in advance we plan for earthly affairs. For instance our own wedding day we eagerly await the day preparing everyday a little more awaiting that beautiful day. We attend to so many outer details.We make sure that we have the perfect dress, the perfect flowers, the right colors that our hair and nails will be perfect. We tend to get so focused on the outer details that we ignore the inner details? Am I ready to be a wife? What is it going to take to be his wife?
I encourage you to really spend some time working on the inner self in preparation to meet your King, your Savior, your Redeemer and your Bridegroom. Are you ready? Are you putting oil in your lamp daily by being in His word? By seeking Him in all that you do? What is your main focus of the day? Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. He loves you and He is greatly anticipating the day that He meets His bridesmaid. HE wants you to be ready for Him, ready for the celebration!!!
The foolish bridesmaids waited until the last minute and then ran out to buy some oil. But when they returned they were too late He had already come and taken the bridesmaids that were ready!!!! Be ready girls!! Take the time now to prepare!!!
May 28, 2008
There is a parable in Matthew 20 where Jesus tells His disciples about some vineyard workers. He is trying to explain how the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be. There is landowner and some workers. The landowner goes out early one morning and hires some workers and sends them to work. A little later in the morning He goes and finds more workers. Then at about noon and then again about 3 o'clock He goes and hires more workers. Once again at 5 o'clock the end of the work day He finds more workers and sends them out to the fields to work. As he calls everyone in to stop working for the day and is ready to pay them He calls the last ones hired first and pays them the full wages. You can imagine the first ones that started in the early morning were expecting to get more pay but as their turn came they got the same day wages.They started to grumble and complain to the landowner well we worked all day in the scorching heat and they only worked one hour that's not fair.
This doesn't seem fair in our finite minds does it? We want more because we earned more. But God is the one that determines those rules. He gives His final answer. Some may stumble in their walk because they get caught up in the fairness game. Well that is not fair I have been a Christian all my life and I have all these trials and that person just accepted Jesus and they have no trials. That is not how God works. We are all on different paths and He is using each one of our paths to make us more like Him. His fairness may not look anything like ours but isn't it fair that everyone get a chance to get into the Kingdom of Heaven and we all have our time planned out by God. If we spent less time worrying about others and comparing our walk with others then we would have time to focus on God's will in our lives and what He would have us do in our day. The simple truth is none of us deserve His grace and mercy. Instead of focusing on your neighbors faults or how their walk is going how about thanking Jesus for enduring the cross and being beaten beyond recognition so that we could experience His grace. Thank your Lord Jesus for His death on the cross that set you FREE! In Jesus name, AMEN!
May 23, 2008
As I read more and more about the Israelites and their walk with the Lord I just cannot believe how much they waver back and forth in their faith. One minute they are seeking and wanting God in their lives the next minute they are grumbling and complaining and I think how could they be so up and down but then I realized we are just like that. We like to be in the good spots with God. We like it when everything is going smoothly in our lives but whenever things get a little rough we want to grumble just like the Israelites. As I was reading in Exodus 3 and 4 it says over and over how God was watching over the Israelites and He was watching what was being done to them and He was concerned about their suffering. Even when we are going through trials God sees what we are going through. He walks through the pain with us in fact I believe that He carries us through those times.
While they were still in bondage by the Egyptians it says in Exodus 2:23 that the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out and that their cry for help went up to God. Exodus 2:24 says God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham 2:25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. He is concerned about our suffering. Even when we bring on the suffering to ourselves. He cares about His children. What is it that your suffering with? What are you a slave to? People, money, cancer, debt, divorce, insecurities, worries about today, worries about tomorrow, fear, fear of this world that we live in? Friend our God hears your cries to whatever slavery your in right now. He hears you and He is concerned about you. God is listening to your cries. Have you cried out to your God? He has a plan and He will deliver you from your slavery.
When the Israelites found out that God had heard their cries and knew that the Lord was concerned about them they bowed down and worshiped. They surrendered, they waved their white flag and they had hope. What holds us back from bowing down and worshipping God? DO we not realize that God sees us and that He sees our misery? Well now we know He does see our misery. He sees everything from the morning til night and He wants to rescue us from our suffering. We cannot give up even when the trial is long. We have to keep our white flag of surrender held high and keep our eyes focused on The One Who Sees Our Suffering because He cares and He will deliver us!!!!!!
May 15, 2008
IN CHRIST
I am God’s child {John 1:12} I am Christ’s friend {John 15:5} I have been justified {Romans 5:1} I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him {1 Corinthians 6:17} I have been bought with a price, I belong to God {1 Corinthians 6:17} I am a saint, a holy one {Ephesians 1:1} I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit {Ephesians 2:18} I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins {Colossians 1:14} I am complete in Christ {Colossians 2:10} I am free from condemnation {Romans 8:1-2} I am assured that all things work together for good {Romans 8:28} I am free from any condemning charges against me {Romans 8:31-34} I cannot be separated from the love of God {Romans 8:35-39} I have been established, anointed and sealed by God {2 Corinthians 1:21-22} I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected {Phillipians 1:6} I am hidden with Christ in God {Colossians 3:3} I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and discipline { 2 Timothy 1:7} I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me {1 John 5:18} I am God’s workmanship, created for good works {Ephesians 2:10} I can find grace and mercy to help in time of need {Hebrews 4:16}
Did you know that if you have made that decision to make Jesus the Lord of your life these scriptures are your new identity? That your old life is gone and your new life in Christ has come? These are amazing truths that I pray you will renew your mind in and be able to replace the lies of your past with these truths. When I discovered these truths in scripture they changed my life. I thought that my past was what defined me and it did until the day that I met Jesus. I wasn't a horrible person so I thought I was doing okay. I was nice to everyone and I helped anyone that I could. I was a pretty good daughter obeyed my parents (well maybe wandered a bit in my teenage years) but I was pretty good. I had made some wrong choices that led to me dragging around with me guilt and shame everywhere. I did not save my purity for my husband. I used alcohol to numb my feelings of guilt and shame and both of those things led to me to being a single mom by the time I was 22 years old. It was not the life I had imagined and that guilt and shame was getting really heavy! So when I found the truth about Jesus and what He thought of me I quickly grabbed a hold of Him and His word. I exchanged my guilt and shame for love and forgiveness. He did just that He took away my guilt and shame and He can do it for you as well. You just have to hand whatever it is that you struggle with over to Him. It probably will not be as easy as one time because we tend to take it back a lot. But if you give Him your struggles and replace them with the truth that you are Gods creation and HE created you to do good works, that He has enough grace and mercy to help you in your time of need, that your past or anything else cannot separate you from God's love, that you have been forgiven of ALL your sins and that you are complete in Christ your life will start to change day by day.
Take whatever it is that you struggle with and lay it at the Lord's feet now. Lord I give you my pain, my guilt and shame and I am exchanging it for your truth that I am complete in You and that I lack nothing because You are my life. I am forgiven. I am whole because You died on the cross for me. In the mighty name of Jesus, AMEN!!!
