Isaiah 42:6 , Isaiah 41:13 , Psalm 37:23-35 , Psalm 16:8 , Psalm 139 (focus on vs. 10) (Click on references to read text)
My three year old and I were standing on the edge of the seashore as the waves were ferociously crashing at our feet. She took hold of my hand and held on as tightly as she could, but I quickly had her let go and I took hold of her hand. I knew she wasn't strong enough to hold on when the waves came crashing on the shore. However, I was VERY confident in my ability to hold on to her.
The Bible says in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33) and if you have lived longer than about 18 months, I am sure you will heartily agree! There are times in our life where we feel the troubles are crashing one after another, just like the waves on the seashore. We can easily become overwhelmed, easily feel like we are drowning, and quickly grow fatigued. However, our security is not dependent upon how tightly we can hold on! Our security and safety is not at all dependent on our abilities to cling to God.
Over and over, Scripture promises us that the Lord will take hold of our hand. Just like I grabbed hold of my daughter's hand, your Heavenly Father is holding tightly onto yours. When the waves become too strong for you and threaten to knock you down, He who commands the winds and the waves (Luke 8:25) takes hold of your hand and He will never let go.
Are you trying to stand on your own strength? Do you feel like you are sinking? Just like my three year old, allow your Heavenly Father to firmly grasp a hold of your hand. You too will soon find yourself laughing and kicking against the waves and resting in the safety of His presence.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A Sacrifice of Praise...
Genesis 29:21-35 (Click on reference to read text)
I have never read this story and felt bad for Leah. After all she is the nemesis, right? However, today my heart broke for her. She knew she was unloved. She knew she was seen as a mistake. She did everything in her power to win the love of her husband. Yet she could not succeed.
After every son was born, she says, "surely now my husband will love me" (vs. 32 & 34). Finally, after her fourth son was born she says, "This time I will praise the LORD. Therefore, she named him Judah" (vs. 35). She stopped looking at what she didn't have, and started praising the Lord. Leah learned the secret of Hebrew 13:15 - offering a sacrifice of praise. It is called a sacrifice because you are making the conscious choice to praise God before the circumstances change. In the midst of your pain. Your heart shifts from trying to manipulate the situation like you want it, to just giving God glory and submitting to His sovereignty. It is in the hard moments, where you lay down your desires and take on His, that He begins to change your life and give you the strength to keep going.
We all know that from Judah came the Kings of Israel, starting with David and going all the way to Jesus. What a sweet picture of Romans 8:28 - "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Praise that Lord that even when bad things happen to us, God is still in control and can turn those hurtful things into great blessing!
Whose affection are you trying to win? Are you striving with all your might to earn favor, to gain esteem, to feel loved? "Cease striving and know that He is God. The Lord of hosts is with you" (Ps 46:10-11). "How great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God" (1John 3:1). That is what you are... the beloved child of the King.
I urge you to start making your sacrifice of praise... TODAY. NOW. EVEN BEFORE your circumstances change. Those sacrifices, He will not deny. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise" (Ps 51:17).
I have never read this story and felt bad for Leah. After all she is the nemesis, right? However, today my heart broke for her. She knew she was unloved. She knew she was seen as a mistake. She did everything in her power to win the love of her husband. Yet she could not succeed.
After every son was born, she says, "surely now my husband will love me" (vs. 32 & 34). Finally, after her fourth son was born she says, "This time I will praise the LORD. Therefore, she named him Judah" (vs. 35). She stopped looking at what she didn't have, and started praising the Lord. Leah learned the secret of Hebrew 13:15 - offering a sacrifice of praise. It is called a sacrifice because you are making the conscious choice to praise God before the circumstances change. In the midst of your pain. Your heart shifts from trying to manipulate the situation like you want it, to just giving God glory and submitting to His sovereignty. It is in the hard moments, where you lay down your desires and take on His, that He begins to change your life and give you the strength to keep going.
We all know that from Judah came the Kings of Israel, starting with David and going all the way to Jesus. What a sweet picture of Romans 8:28 - "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Praise that Lord that even when bad things happen to us, God is still in control and can turn those hurtful things into great blessing!
Whose affection are you trying to win? Are you striving with all your might to earn favor, to gain esteem, to feel loved? "Cease striving and know that He is God. The Lord of hosts is with you" (Ps 46:10-11). "How great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God" (1John 3:1). That is what you are... the beloved child of the King.
I urge you to start making your sacrifice of praise... TODAY. NOW. EVEN BEFORE your circumstances change. Those sacrifices, He will not deny. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise" (Ps 51:17).
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Argh... Nineveh!
Jonah 2:9-3:3 (Click on reference to read text)
We are all familiar with the story of Jonah. But did you know that the big fish did not spit Jonah up at Nineveh? Once he committed to obey God, he still had to walk a three days journey to Nineveh. This simple revelation has changed my life.
I realize that I can have a very Americanized view of obedience. We almost have a sense of entitlement that when we decide to step out in faith and obey God: it should be easy, it should be comfortable and we should receive great blessing from God because of it.
How quickly we forget Moses, who obeyed God by marching back into Egypt and cursing the family that raised him until they decided to let the Israelites go. Paul who obeyed God by preaching the Gospel to the known world, but spent more time in prison and getting beat up than actually doing sermons in the countryside! Finally, Jesus, the ultimate picture of obedience. He placed himself upon the cross and died so that we can have reconciliation with God. The cross was not comfortable and it certainly was not easy, but I am so glad that Christ obeyed.
When you make the decision to obey God, it often means that you will be stretched beyond your comfort zone, you may have to go to a place you don't want to go and talk with people you don't want to talk to. Most likely He will ask you to do something that is beyond your mental, physical or spiritual abilities, but He is not asking you to do it alone. Just like with Moses, He is the great "I AM" in your life, just like with Paul and Jesus, the Heavenly Father is right there with you. Remember what Paul proclaimed, "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10).
Are you a three days walk from your Nineveh? Put on your walking shoes and get going!
We are all familiar with the story of Jonah. But did you know that the big fish did not spit Jonah up at Nineveh? Once he committed to obey God, he still had to walk a three days journey to Nineveh. This simple revelation has changed my life.
I realize that I can have a very Americanized view of obedience. We almost have a sense of entitlement that when we decide to step out in faith and obey God: it should be easy, it should be comfortable and we should receive great blessing from God because of it.
How quickly we forget Moses, who obeyed God by marching back into Egypt and cursing the family that raised him until they decided to let the Israelites go. Paul who obeyed God by preaching the Gospel to the known world, but spent more time in prison and getting beat up than actually doing sermons in the countryside! Finally, Jesus, the ultimate picture of obedience. He placed himself upon the cross and died so that we can have reconciliation with God. The cross was not comfortable and it certainly was not easy, but I am so glad that Christ obeyed.
When you make the decision to obey God, it often means that you will be stretched beyond your comfort zone, you may have to go to a place you don't want to go and talk with people you don't want to talk to. Most likely He will ask you to do something that is beyond your mental, physical or spiritual abilities, but He is not asking you to do it alone. Just like with Moses, He is the great "I AM" in your life, just like with Paul and Jesus, the Heavenly Father is right there with you. Remember what Paul proclaimed, "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10).
Are you a three days walk from your Nineveh? Put on your walking shoes and get going!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Bloom Where You are Planted...
Jeremiah 29:1-11 (Click on reference to read text)
My husband and I are in the process of praying for the Lord's direction for our family. We desire His will and long to follow His leading. There are definite seasons in all believer's lives where we really are seeking out the heart of God and His will for our life.
However, often during these times of great seeking, waiting for the answer is almost debilitating. We may find ourselves no longer living in the present and being faithful where He has us now, because we are so wrapped up in where He wants us to be! I truly believe this is not of the Lord.
Although we are all familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, it is important to read and know the verses that precede it. The Israelites were in exile and they were definitely waiting for the Lord to give them a "go"! They were living for the promise that the Lord would bring them back to their home and prosper them, giving them a future and a hope! However, the Lord commands them to build houses (where they were), to live in them, to plant gardens, to marry and have children, to actually seek out the welfare of the city they were living in NOW (notice not their future city, but where they found themselves today), to pray to the Lord for that city they were living in NOW (vs. 4-7).
For lack of a better word, God wanted them to "bloom where they were planted." Where has God planted you? Is it in your ideal place? Are you waiting for God to fulfill His promise to you, "I have a plan to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope" (vs. 11)? Then start planting. Don't get so wrapped up in His potential future plans for you that you miss out on all the opportunity He has for you now. His promises always come to fruition. In His timing! We must not squander the time we have today, longing for tomorrow's promise.
So as I wait on His voice and leading for my family, I am going to spend my day going to the grocery store, taking my children on a walk with my neighbor, hosting events at my house to reach my community for the Lord, and if and when He opens that next door, I will be obedient and ready to walk through it.
My husband and I are in the process of praying for the Lord's direction for our family. We desire His will and long to follow His leading. There are definite seasons in all believer's lives where we really are seeking out the heart of God and His will for our life.
However, often during these times of great seeking, waiting for the answer is almost debilitating. We may find ourselves no longer living in the present and being faithful where He has us now, because we are so wrapped up in where He wants us to be! I truly believe this is not of the Lord.
Although we are all familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, it is important to read and know the verses that precede it. The Israelites were in exile and they were definitely waiting for the Lord to give them a "go"! They were living for the promise that the Lord would bring them back to their home and prosper them, giving them a future and a hope! However, the Lord commands them to build houses (where they were), to live in them, to plant gardens, to marry and have children, to actually seek out the welfare of the city they were living in NOW (notice not their future city, but where they found themselves today), to pray to the Lord for that city they were living in NOW (vs. 4-7).
For lack of a better word, God wanted them to "bloom where they were planted." Where has God planted you? Is it in your ideal place? Are you waiting for God to fulfill His promise to you, "I have a plan to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope" (vs. 11)? Then start planting. Don't get so wrapped up in His potential future plans for you that you miss out on all the opportunity He has for you now. His promises always come to fruition. In His timing! We must not squander the time we have today, longing for tomorrow's promise.
So as I wait on His voice and leading for my family, I am going to spend my day going to the grocery store, taking my children on a walk with my neighbor, hosting events at my house to reach my community for the Lord, and if and when He opens that next door, I will be obedient and ready to walk through it.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Seeing but Not Looking...
Luke 24:13-31 (Click on reference to read text)
My three year old loves riding her bike. One day as she was riding, she began to pick up speed and I could tell she was starting to panic a little. She did not know how to slow her self down and she cried out. I was not worried because I knew something she didn't know. First, that she has training wheels and it is SO hard to fall with training wheels, and secondly that I was jogging along right behind her with my hand ready to slow her down if she teetered. You see my daughter did not see my stabling hand, because she was not looking for it. She just saw how fast she was riding and she was scared.
In the same way, these followers of Christ did not see Jesus, because they were not even looking for Him. He was standing right in front of them, and all they could see were their fears and confusion. Max Lucado, writing on this account, says, "Rather than consult Scripture, they listened to their fears. Jesus corrects this by appearing to them and conducting a Bible Study" (vs. 21-27).
We so often do the same thing. We find ourselves in circumstances we never dreamed we would be in, life starts flying by really fast, and we get scared. Instead of looking to Jesus, the WORD (John 1:1-14), we begin to look at everything around us and miss out on the steadying hand of Christ in our life.
Are you lonely and afraid? The Bible says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid for the Lord your God is with you" (Joshua 1:9). Are you confused? The Bible says that "your ear will hear a word behind you, This is the way, walk in it, whether you turn to the right or to the left" (Is 30:21). Do you need wisdom? The Bible says, "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).
Jesus is right there with you, even when you aren't looking for Him. Don't miss out on His presence! Instead of looking at your fears and your circumstances, look for Him! He had promised, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20).
My three year old loves riding her bike. One day as she was riding, she began to pick up speed and I could tell she was starting to panic a little. She did not know how to slow her self down and she cried out. I was not worried because I knew something she didn't know. First, that she has training wheels and it is SO hard to fall with training wheels, and secondly that I was jogging along right behind her with my hand ready to slow her down if she teetered. You see my daughter did not see my stabling hand, because she was not looking for it. She just saw how fast she was riding and she was scared.
In the same way, these followers of Christ did not see Jesus, because they were not even looking for Him. He was standing right in front of them, and all they could see were their fears and confusion. Max Lucado, writing on this account, says, "Rather than consult Scripture, they listened to their fears. Jesus corrects this by appearing to them and conducting a Bible Study" (vs. 21-27).
We so often do the same thing. We find ourselves in circumstances we never dreamed we would be in, life starts flying by really fast, and we get scared. Instead of looking to Jesus, the WORD (John 1:1-14), we begin to look at everything around us and miss out on the steadying hand of Christ in our life.
Are you lonely and afraid? The Bible says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid for the Lord your God is with you" (Joshua 1:9). Are you confused? The Bible says that "your ear will hear a word behind you, This is the way, walk in it, whether you turn to the right or to the left" (Is 30:21). Do you need wisdom? The Bible says, "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).
Jesus is right there with you, even when you aren't looking for Him. Don't miss out on His presence! Instead of looking at your fears and your circumstances, look for Him! He had promised, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20).
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