What Does Jesus Really Think about Me?

How many of you would love to hear someone say to you:

I call you by name and you are mine (Isaiah 43:1)

I am enthralled by your beauty. (Ps 45:11)

I take great delight in you. (Zeph 3:17)

I rejoice over you. (Zeph 3:17)

You are wonderfully made. (Ps 139:14)

I know your inmost thoughts. (Ps 139:1-2)

I long to confide in you. (Ps 25:14)

I am your protector. (Ps 121)

I will fight for you. (Exodus 14:14)

I am your helper. (Ps 118:7)

I am your strength when you are weak. (Is 40:29/2Cor 12:9)

I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

You are more than a conqueror and NOTHING can separate you from my love. (Romans 8:37-39)

I offer no condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

There is no fear in my love. (1 John 4:17-19)

I have taken away your punishment. (Zeph 3:15)

I will not reject you. (Ps 94:14)

You are accepted. (Romans 15:7)

You are chosen. (Col 3:12)

You are my friend. (John 15:14-15)

Has anyone ever spoken this way to you? and it lasted?  There is someone who thinks all of these things about you. There is someone who loves you JUST the way you are! You don’t have to do anything to earn it! You don’t have to change 20 things about yourself first. You just have to believe him! That person’s name is Jesus!

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? When you stare at your reflection what is the first thing that pops into your head?  Do you look at yourself and say, “Wow! I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am accepted. I am God’s friend?” Or… when you look in the mirror do you cringe? Do you think, “Wow, I wish I was taller, skinnier, or I wish my hair was different.” Maybe you don’t think along these lines, but you see yourself and wonder, “My life is meaningless. I have no purpose.” or “will I ever be smart enough or fast enough to make the cut?” or in this world of CRAZY “perfect” Mommy blogs you tell yourself you don’t measure up because you fed your kids bread that you didn’t make from scratch, chicken nuggets that came from a box, and they weren’t reading at the age of 2!

Every day we are going to walk in either joy/freedom or stress/depression based upon what we allow to fill our head when we look in the mirror. It is a conscious choice the moment your feet hit the floor… EVERY morning! The first thing we must do is…

RECOGNIZE THE VOICE OF THE ENEMY!

We MUST realize that anything that pops into our head that does not agree with what the Bible tells us about ourselves is a lie!! It is not from God! In fact, John 8:44 tells us, “When (Satan) lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” When you listen to all those negative thoughts you repeat about yourself which contradict Scripture, you will start every morning the rest of your life with stress and not joy!  When you repent of your sins, confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead… You belong to God. Satan has no control over your eternal security. Therefore, he is going to try his hardest to destroy your joy and your confidence of who you are in Christ! He wants to make you forget ALL of what Christ says about you so that you will become completely ineffective for the Kingdom of God here on this earth.

The Bible tells us this truth in 1 Peter 5:8– “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. “ You see… Satan hates God. We are created in God’s image. Therefore, Satan hates us. He is taking the opportunity to devour you every time you look in the mirror or every time you compare yourself to others and begin to believe that you don’t measure up. Thinking negative thoughts about yourself every time you look in the mirror is not a “low self esteem” issue. It is a spiritual battle that we are CHOOSING to let Satan win!

That is why when we try to silence his voice through worldly means it never works out! We try to fix our insecurities by going to the right people. So we try to pick more popular friends, become the “favorite friend” in your class (or mom’s group). We try to get as many likes as possible on FB or Instagram. We try to see how many followers we can get on twitter or we place our value on how many texts we received in one day. When that doesn’t make us happy, because it won’t – we will never ALWAYS be the favorite or please everybody around us, we spend more money. We begin to believe that if we had newer or cuter clothes then people would like us. We begin to think that maybe if we showed more skin or were more fit and wore tighter clothes we would get more attention. Or we might work harder at our jobs, in exercise, etc… all to reach this “ideal” we have in our minds thinking if we could just get there we would be happy.

The problem is the world we live in is fickle!  One year plaid is all the rage. Other year’s neon is the way to go. Some years perms will make you a star, other times the fad is long wavy hair. The world is always changing! Nothing lasts! Some crowds will think you are awesome if you are the best musician. Other crowds think you need to be the best athlete. You are never going to please everybody. Remember, Satan’s goal is to make you forget WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST! THESE THINGS THAT CHRIST SAYS ABOUT YOU. Therefore, you are NEVER going be good enough, beautiful enough, smart enough, athletic enough, musical enough or skinny enough to silence his lies! Remember, he wants to devour your joy and ruin your confidence!!

Choosing not to see yourself as God sees you, is not just an issue when you are young!! I think a lot of us believed that when we were no longer a teenager all of these insecurities or what we have labeled “Self-esteem issues” would just go away. How is that working out for you?  You have to decide right now if you are going to keep plugging away at this, going the worldly route to silence that voice, making yourself exhausted and never getting anywhere… OR if you are going to fix the problem once and for all!!!!  There is only one solution that really works. Contrary to what the world will tell you. The ONLY solution is to FIRST recognize the voice of the enemy and then…

BELIEVE THE VOICE OF YOUR LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER!

DO YOU KNOW WHO HE IS? Hebrews 6:18 tells us (and I LOVE THIS) that it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie. That means when he tells you all of these precious promises in His Word, when he tells you that you are beautiful, wonderfully made, that HE will never leave you nor forsake you… IT IS TRUE!!! Let that sink in! God cannot lie! Bask in WHOSE you are! The Bible goes on to tell us in Hebrews 13:8 that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Malachi 3:6 says, “I the Lord do not change.” King David tells us in Psalm 102:27, “But you (Lord) remain the same, and your years will never end.” The world will fade away, fashions will change, your friends will move, but OUR LORD who NEVER LIES also NEVER CHANGES already accepts and loves you just the way you are!

Okay… so we know who Jesus is, and what he says about us, and now realize everything else is simply from the Father of lies… HOW do we silence the negativity?  It is time to FIGHT BACK!!! 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

We must memorize Scripture that apply to what you struggle with. Only way to stop lies is combat it with the truth. This verse tells us that we have power from God to demolish, ruin, kill, any argument or lie that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We now know what God says about us… it is time to use the power of the Word of God and kill the lie!! Literally… even if you have to do it out loud, say, “No! The same God that made the Heavens and the Earth, that keeps our universe from spiraling out of control, the same God that withheld nothing - not even his own son - but allowed Jesus to die for our sins so that we might have restored relationship with him, the same God that sacrificed himself so that we might be the righteousness of God, THAT God says that I am “beautiful,” that I am “Fearfully and wonderfully made!“

If we can believe God for our eternal salvation… then why do we choose to NOT believe that He created us perfectly according to His great plan?! Finally, to combat the lies of the enemy we have to …

CHOOSE NOT TO REPEAT THE LIES TO OUR SELF! IT is a CHOICE!!! Time to move onto the second part of that passage, “Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.” Instead of repeating the lies to yourself, (you aren’t skinny enough, you aren’t good enough, you have no purpose), take it and cast it away from you! Cathy Horner stated something this year in Lambs that I will never forget. She said that when you repeat something you are actually memorizing it! Don’t memorize lies. Take those wrong thoughts and tell them where they can go!!!!  :o) SPEAK TRUTH!!!!

YOU WILL NEVER HAVE VICTORY over the negative thoughts that penetrate your heart and mind until you start recognizing that they are directly from the mouth of our enemy and then CHOOSING (even when you don’t feel like it – even when you feel like all your friends like someone better than you – even when you haven’t showered in three days because you are buried in spit up, diapers or homeschooling) CHOOSE to believe the voice of your Father!!

God’s word offers us a very precious promise in James 4:7. This verse tells us that when we submit ourselves to God (meaning we place our lives under His authority and the authority of His Word… these things up here) then when we resist the Devil, HE MUST FLEE!!!!! The power of the Word of God will always send Satan running! You may have to speak His Word over and over until you believe it!

An Aside… Mom: Let’s not allow our voice to be the voice of the enemy to our daughters or granddaughters! Proverbs 10:11 tells us that “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”  Those little “jokes/observations” that you think don’t mean anything – are NOT speaking life, but concealing violence!! We can actually allow Satan to destroy her belief in how God made her, through our own voice!!! It is serious how we use our mouth to those around us!!  Be careful that you are being a fountain of life! We also must be careful what we obsess over (Diet, weight, exercise.. even good things. If they see it as so important to us that it affects all of the decisions we make throughout the day. it will be important to them. What we do in moderation, they will do in excess). So let’s just be careful or what we are stating or acting like is the most important thing.  Finally, realize how we talk about ourselves. If we cannot learn to receive a compliment, or we are always putting ourselves down, our daughters are learning that is what they should be doing! Be a fountain of life!!! NOT the voice of the enemy speaking through you!

Okay… So we are looking in the mirror and we have fought against the voice of the enemy with Scripture. We have CHOSEN to believe the truthful , unchanging voice of our Heavenly Father… what now? How do we live in this crazy world? How do we dress to please him when all of our friends tell us that we need to look a certain way, act a certain way, etc.

Dress: The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” When you accept Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit chooses to live inside of you, and you become His home! Let’s make sure that when we dress, we are dressing to reflect that truth! Do you think Jesus wants His temple arrayed in super short dresses or low cut shirts that doesn’t leave anything to the imagination? NO! Christ died for that Body! Don’t sell it to the world by presenting it in a way that tries to sell sex and materialism and not the grace of God and His blood shed for you! Moms: Let’s start talking modesty now! It is a lot easier to cultivate a lifestyle of modesty starting at five and not fifteen! These decisions now can affect the type of boy that she attracts later. Let’s begin dressing her now to attract the type of son-in-law we want later!! Also, let’s watch how we dress. Our daughters will imitate us and usually go one step further. Is one step further from how we dress now, still acceptable?

Actions: Colossians 3:12 says: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, (REMEMBER THAT!!! THAT IS WHAT GOD SAYS YOU ARE!!) clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” We are to clothe ourselves with the attitudes and attributes of Christ! Every morning as we get dressed, literally as if we were putting on clothes, let’s put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. WE are Holy and DEARLY loved. We are to love others as we are loved by Christ! When our friends try to tell us that the only way to be popular is to be mean to that new girl, put on kindness. When we are sick of sharing and waiting our turn, put on gentleness and patience! Treat others like Christ wants to treat them through you!

We have learned how to conquer the mirror each and every day. We now know that any voice inside our head that is contrary to Scripture is from Satan and we can tell it where to go through His Word. We are now listening to TRUTH about whom and whose we really are. We are physically dressed in a way that reflects God’s indwelling presence in our life and we have put on HIS attitude. Time to go out that door and walk in the confidence that we are women who are unconditionally loved!! Remember the list at the beginning? You have nothing to prove! Believe God. Only by believing who you truly are… who Christ sees when he looks at you, will you ever be 100% at peace.

Faithful in the Silence...

Exodus 31 and 32:1-10 (Click on reference to read text)

Moses found himself on the mountain top with God receiving detailed instructions about Israel and Aaron's priestly line.  Aaron was in the valley alone.  He had been called by God too.  He had been used by God.  Yet while God was unfolding His plans to Moses, Aaron was surrounded by silence, except the voices of the Israelites saying, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him" (Ex 32:2).  How did Aaron so quickly forget and abandon His walk with God and create an idol to worship?  How do we so quickly do the same thing?

Sometimes we can become so immersed in our circumstances, what we can physically see, that we forget God is still moving and working.  He is working out a plan, a plan that may involve you, yet you don't know about it yet.  The question is are you, am I, going to be faithful where we are... in the silence?  Just because Aaron did not hear God's detailed plans for his life and the lives of his descendants, didn't mean that God was not speaking them. 

I became extremely convicted last night while at a missions festival at our church.  I realized this week that I was angry... very angry at my precious Lord because of what is happening/happened in the lives of my Dads.  I felt the silence of unanswered questions and great disappointment.  However, when faced with the awesome global size of my God and His purpose to bring the nations to a saving knowledge of Him, I wept.  I had belittled God to fit Him into the details of my life, instead of seeing my life in the details of His ETERNAL plan.  I had become the clay telling the potter what to do with me (Is 29:16).

We don't know why we find ourselves in the wilderness.  We don't know why sometimes God chooses to speak to others and not us.  We don't know why it seems the only voices we hear are pulling us into defeat and disillusionment.  However, we must cling to what we know.  God is working.  God is moving.  God is sovereign.  God is Good!  He who did not spare His own Son gave us everything we need to run this race with endurance (Ro 8:32).

Time to get our eyes off of what we can see and focus them upwards.  God just may be about to reveal His master plan.  Don't settle for an idol... settle for a King! 

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

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).

The Sweetest Sound I know...

Leviticus 16 (Click on reference to read text)

"...and behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split." Matthew 27:51

You probably do not describe the sound of cloth ripping as beautiful... especially if you are a mother of small children! However, the sound of the veil being torn in two was the most beautiful sound of all time.

Leviticus 16 is a great reminder of the gift we have been given as we celebrate the Easter season. Before Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, we were not able to access the Father anytime we wanted (vs. 1-2), we could not come to God empty handed (vs. 3), we had to go through great ceremony before we could even enter His presence (vs. 4). Then, after all of this, only the high priest could enter the presence of God. In order to receive forgiveness of sins, a blood sacrifice of an animal, performed in a certain way and (vs. 11-28) at a certain time (vs. 29-31) had to be made.

Christ ripped open the veil. After His death on the cross, the Holy of Holies (symbolizing the presence of God) was available to everyone who called Jesus Lord. He became our high priest so that we could approach the throne of grace in confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:16). In Christ's death on the cross, we find forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-22), and no longer condemnation (Ro 8:1). Christ calls us to come, just as we are and He promises to give us rest (Matt 11:28).

Are you going through great ceremony to approach God? Are you hoping that you are doing things the right way in order to win his favor? Are you afraid to approach God whenever you want or need? Do you know rest? If not, you need to know Christ! He is the answer. We can offer Him nothing, yet He offers us everything (John 3:16, 2 Cor 5:21, Rom 5:8-9, Ro 10:9-10). You are imperfect (Ro 3:23) but Christ, in His perfect love, made the way for our salvation (John 14:6).

I am sure this is not new truth for you. It is not for me. However, in this time of year, as we are surrounded with bunnies, eggs and candy, let's remember the sound of cloth ripping. The sound of freedom. The sound of redemption. The veil was torn so that I can approach my Father, just as I am, and live in His presence.

Allowing Me to Fall...

Luke 15:11-24 (Click on reference to read text)

My daughter was on the patio of my husband's store when all of a sudden, she started running straight towards the parking lot and a moving car. I yelled for her to freeze, but she kept running, completely oblivious to the danger. As I took off after her, I watched as she tripped and fell flat on her face a few feet from the road. She was hurt, but she was alive. I was never so glad to watch my daughter fall. I explained to her, "Jesus loves you so much, He let you fall. You were running straight into danger, and although it hurt to fall, it hurt a lot less than running into a car. We need to thank Jesus for your fall." As I prayed with my little girl, I too began to thank Jesus for the times in my life He let me fall to save me from even greater danger.

The prodigal son is a story we are all familiar with, yet it is also something that each of us can relate to. How many of us have wanted to go our own way and do what we want to do? We may have been more subtle in our rebellion, but we have all chosen to do life in our own way. Our rebellion could be a calendar out of control and being too busy, making work your number one priority, or trusting in a relationship and not in the Lord. He may yell for us to freeze. Send us warning signs, but sometimes He must make us fall. It could be health problems that force us to slow down, job loss, or the end of a relationship. It may hurt at the time. Your heart may be broken, you may be confused, or you may feel abandoned. However, if you really take a close look, you may just see the Lord directing your steps to much better, and safer, places.

The most amazing thing about our Heavenly Father is that when we fall, we can run back to Him. Just like the father of the prodigal son, He is watching and as soon as I turn towards home, He runs to me and and embraces me. He is ready to run to you too. In what ways are you being rebellious and doing life your own way? Stop justifying your actions, and run home. He is waiting with arms open wide!

For further reading: Psalm 103:12, 1 John 1:9, 1 John 3:1, Proverbs 15:16, Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 3:1-26

Tuning Into Him...

Revelation 9:1-21 (Click on reference to read text)

This passage is heavy. Can you imagine the headlines during this time period? I know they would not say, "Attention all Believers: You are currently living in Revelations 9. Take heart, God is in control!" This sounds silly, but it is true. Prophecy coming to pass will never be portrayed with a Biblical World View in the media. This is why it is important to train our eyes and ears to recognize the hand of God in every situation, world-wide or personal.

Through the limits he places on His judgement, believers can read this chapter and see the overwhelming gracious hand of God. Instead of seeing the agony of allowing people to be tortured for five months, we see the mercy of God in giving them more time to repent! Instead of looking at the 1/3 of mankind that is killed, we see the grace in God allowing 2/3 of mankind to survive even in their extreme rebellion! No matter how bad it gets on Earth, we know that is nothing compared to the agony and eternity of Hell.

In order to run the race marked out for us as believers, we must believe and live by the truth that God is gracious and good no matter what the circumstances around us look like. That one truth of who God is must permeate our belief system so deeply that nothing we see, hear, or feel could change it. Through this chapter in Revelation, we begin to understand that it is not "how can a loving God allow people to suffer," but "how long-suffering and loving God is that He will go to extreme measures to cause people to turn to Him!"

God will take extreme measures in our life as well. As Christians, we too can be rebellious within individual circumstances. If we take a close look at our life during our own times of judgement, we can see the grace and mercy of God within those situations. Often times, upon close examinations, we discover that we have placed ourself in a bad situation that will bring us ruin or have allowed habits to form in our life that will ultimately hurt ourselves or those around us that we love. God loves us too much to leave us! He cares more about eternity than our present comfort, and will go to extreme measures, if need be, to bring us back to Him! Are there any areas in your life that you need to repent of? How will you respond: like the men in vs. 6 will you long for the end/death of the circumstance or will you return to the Lord?

Take a close look at your circumstances. Train your eyes to look for and see the hand of God in your life. Just as we can see the ultimate control and sovereignty of God through every verse of Revelation 9, he is sovereign and in control of your life now. It is only when we practice and train our eyes to see the movements of His hands, will we recognize His character no matter how the circumstances look around us. He is in control. He is sovereign. He is gracious and He is good.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things... put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Phil 4:8-9

Life Giving Water...

John 4:7-27 (Click on reference to read the text)

The Lord overflows into our life His presence, grace, compassion, and mercy not based upon our own merit, but based upon our own need.

Jesus is our living water and He is our unfailing stream. Everything else will dry up eventually, everything else will stop satisfying our souls, but Jesus is seeking you out just like we see Him seeking out a lost woman in order to offer her something she cannot refuse: Himself!

The First thing we see is that Jesus seeks out those that need Him the most. This woman was not a woman that we would have found in the temple worshipping God. She was from an area that people avoided and she was living in sin. In verse 9 the woman is clearly confused that Jesus, whom we know to be the Mesiah, is even speaking with her: "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." You see, Jesus forgave when everyone around Him would have called Him crazy. He showed grace to everyone, regardless of their situation, nationality, or sin. He knew the woman's situation and the grievious sins she had committed against Him before He ever uttered a word. Yet Jesus chose to go against cultural norms to bring about the reconcilation of this girl and her family. Which leads me to ask...do I go to this trouble? Do I seek out the one that is lost?

Second we see that Jesus asks us for what He doesn't need so that our greatest need can be fulfilled in Him (vs. 7-9). He is God. He could have made it rain, he could have called down the angels to supply Him with water...but He didn't. He chose to ask this woman so that her life would forever be changed. The only thing she had to offer Him was a drink of water that would eventually no longer satisfy His thirst. Yet He could offer a living water that would satisfy the deepest needs of her, and your, soul for all time. All God needs from us is a receptive Spirit (vs. 11). We must come to Him with nothing. We can't tap into His overflowing Spirit with any talent or possession. He must do all the work.

Finally in verse 13-18 we see what life is like for those that try to get an overflowing satisfaction in their life apart from Christ. Her life is a story of broken and failed relationships, abandonment, and instability because everything apart from His grace and salvation is bondage. Ray Stedman writes, "Jesus breaks the shackles of evil habits in our lives. He sets us free from the dependencies that we have allowed to harrass us, to shackle us, and limit us... We are all sinfully dependent people. We have all been shackled by evil of some sort or another." Sin does not offer you freedom. Sin offers you an illusion of freedom. Sin always always creates dependency. You will always crave more (i.e. drugs always make you crave more drugs, an idol of a relationship always leaves you craving for more attention or affection, a Starbucks Latte will always leave you wanting more, etc. Sorry, that last one was a little too personal!) Ask yourself this, is there anything in my life that I am dependent upon in order to "make it through the day" or in order to make me"happy?" If the answer is anything but Christ then that is a clear indication of a sin or idol in your life!

No matter where you find yourself, know this... The Lord will overflow into your life His presence, grace, compassion and mercy not based upon your own merit, but based upon your own need. Galatians 5:1 states, "It is for freedom that Christ set you free. Stand firm then and do not be burdened again by the yoke of slavery." Just allow Him to set you free. You have nothing to offer Him, but everything to gain.

An Alarm Clock from Christ..

Isaiah 55:8-13 (Click on reference to read text)

I am not a morning person. I praise the Lord that my husband and daughter are not either, but then my son entered into our family. From day one he has always woke up at 5 am. It was like clockwork and it was killing me! After a year of his schedule I was praying to the Lord for his mercy to rain down on my household. I needed a good nights rest. I needed to have my sleep to be the best mother possible! (You can tell you are desperate when you start giving God all the "holy" reasons you need him to answer your prayers!) Then in that still small voice, I heard, "What if I want you to get up?"

We learn in this passage that God's ways and thoughts are so much higher than our ways and that He has a purpose in all things. Psalms 119:91 states that "all things serve you (God)." That includes our circumstances! Nothing ever takes the Lord by surprise, but instead He takes everything and uses it for His glory and out ultimate good (Ro 8:28). He has a purpose in everything.

When trials come our way, no matter how big and overwhelming or small and wearing, if we give God control and seek his higher plan, we will see results that we could have never imagined. He promises in his word that in every rain shower in our life He will pour out his blessing. "As the rain and snow come down from Heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seeds for the sower and bread for the eater, so will My word be which goes forth from my mouth; it will not return to Me empty without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it" (Is 55).

Well, long story short... once I started getting up to spend time with the Lord, surprise surprise, my son started sleeping in most days. Half the week I have to wake him up! God knew that He needed to be this drastic to get me out of bed... it only took me a year to listen! What circumstances in your life are wearing you down? What situations are you begging for the Lord to remove? Have you asked for his perspective? I know it seems scary. I would have told you that to ask me to set my alarm for 6 a.m. you might as well have asked me to climb Everest with the kids hanging on to my legs! However, now this early morning time is my favorite part of my day. I promise though, that once you accept God's perspective and plan, He will provide the means and way for you to accomplish it. Remember, it is for your good! Maybe you will be wise enough to not let it continue for a year before you obey!

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed." Isaiah 55: 12-13

The Love of the Father...

1 Corinthians 13 (Please click on reference to read text, just for refreshment)

We learn in 1 John 4:8 that perfect love drives out all fear. I think we would all agree that 1 Corinthians describes perfect love. I have often read this passage longing to be able to pour out this perfect love to those around me, however, I often fall short. Only Christ and His love for us is truly and consistently perfect. The love of my Father was a lesson I learned intimately this week.

I found myself at my Dad's graveside kneeling before the Lord pouring out my heart on behalf of my family. We had received very troubling news and I was beseeching the Lord to show mercy and reveal the movements of His hand mightily to my family. I sat praising Him for His sovereignty, asking for His will, asking Him to change the hearts of His children to mold us into His will and image. When I was finished, a well of tears later, I sat and looked at my Dad's grave and I thought, you know, six months ago he would have been praying with me and claiming scriptures for our behalf. I lifted up a quick prayer that the Holy Spirit would intercede on my behalf, when my Heavenly Father reminded me of a very important truth.

Hebrews 4 teaches us that Jesus Christ, the very son of God, is our great high priest. He understands our trials, and because of this, we can approach the throne of grace with confidence to receive mercy in our time of need. What better intercessor can we ask for than the very son of God?

Our flesh often forgets about the spiritual realm and only focuses on what we can see. My eye sees a missing piece of someone who used to pray very powerfully over me that is no longer here. However, in reality, now I can, and always should have, turn to Jesus Christ to pray with great authority over me.

Maybe you have forgotten too. Maybe you feel like you are all alone and that there is no one left who loves you, who would pray for you, you can claim spiritual authority over you. You are not alone. THE great high priest is interceding on your behalf. The great high priest loves you perfectly. Your Father in Heaven loves you patiently, is kind to you, is not jealous of your successes (He gave them to you!), he is not rude or self seeking. He is not easily angered and He keeps no record of wrongs. His love always protects you, always trusts you, always hopes in you, and never gives up on you.

That is the love of your Heavenly Father. That is the love of my Heavenly Father. I praise the Lord that in my case, I have a precious husband who prays for me and with me. However, I am glad I am learning at an early age, to not place my dependence and security on those around me, but only on Christ. No matter where you find yourself as you read this, know this:

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

You have a Father who loves you perfectly. Stop fighting and fall into His loving arms!

Jesus is Alive...

Mark 16:1-7 (Click on reference to read text)

"Jesus is Alive!" These were the precious words of my two year old the other day. Talk about making a Mama's heart soar! The greatest act the world has ever known, the crux of our entire faith, the one point in history that changed things forever... Jesus is alive! Yet, as Hebrews tells us, the Word of God is living and active (Heb 4:12), and as I have been reading this story often recently, the Lord has really challenged me in new ways.

In the very beginning of this chapter, we see these dedicated women going to a tomb (vs.1). I can just picture them huddled together, talking in low whispers, doing what they knew they needed to do, walking to a place that seemed like the last step of a failed mission. This was not the way it was supposed to turn out. The Messiah was supposed to come and set them free from Roman oppressions. However, even though things did not turn out exactly like they thought, they did not turn their back on Jesus. They showed Him the honor He deserved. As we think about these women, we must ask our self, "do we have a tendency to turn our back on God when things don't look like we want them to?" Do we walk towards Christ during these times, or turn away?

Second we see that these women had correct priorities. They came as soon as possible... "very early on the first day of the week" (vs.2). They did not delay in honoring Christ. They did not stall until they got the dishes done, laundry washed, children fed... they went first thing. Where is God in our priorities? Is He the first thing to be neglected?

Third, these women teach us to come to Christ before we have it all figured out. They were walking to the tomb and they didn't know how everything was going to fall into place. As they were walking, they were asking each other, "who will roll away the stone for us?"(vs.3). So many times I want to wait until everything is lined up perfectly. Every detail is hashed out and prepared for. Every scenario has a plan and solution. However, these women obeyed and honored God, and then trusted Him with the details, and guess what? He came through! When they got to the tomb they saw the stone rolled away (vs. 4)! Do we give God the opportunity to roll away the stones in our path? If we never take the first step in obedience, we can never see His hand provide the way!

This leads us to our fourth lesson... when God provides the way, go for it! We don't see them hesitate at the tomb, email all their friends about the options and if they should go for it, and they don't have a prayer meeting. They knew they were supposed to be with Christ, they were walking in obedience to Him, so when He made a way they went on in (vs.5) looking for their Savior (vs.6). When we know God is calling us to something, do we obey or hesitate? If God calls you, He will equip you and provide the way.

Lastly we see the sweet hand of our wonderful Savior. The angel told them where to find their Jesus (vs.7). God wants those looking for Him to find Him. God tells us in Proverbs 8:17, "I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me." Jeremiah 29:13 says, "you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." God does not hide himself from those seeking Him. However, we must search for Him in such a way to find him... with our whole heart. Go where He is, even if it seems like a monumental task. These women weren't seeking God's hand, what He could do for Him, they were just seeking Him, His presence, in order to bring Him honor and respect.

Did these women know that 2,000 years later another seeker of the Savior would read about this walk to a graveyard and contemplate their courage, their faith, and their perseverance? No, I am sure that didn't even cross their minds. They were just seeking out the man that offered everything, even though they didn't understand, they knew they had to be near Him. May I have that same desire, that same drive, that same need that calls me to His side.

The Fire...

Daniel 3:1-27 (Click on reference to read Scripture)

If you are like me, you have read this story 100 times, taught it to various children about 300 times, and seen a cartoon depicting this story many times as well. However, as God's Word is Living and Active (Hebrews 4:12), this story took on a new meaning to me this week.

We all pray for deliverance. We want to be delivered from trying times, health issues, trying people, etc, and we often get frustrated when we don't see the Lord coming through. As we read about the lives of these three men, I wondered what they were thinking. They were so bold, truly believing that the Lord could save them, but EVEN IF HE DOES NOT (vs. 18), they were still going to trust the Lord and act in obedience.

It would have been perfectly within the Lord's power to keep them from having to go into the fiery furnace... but that did not happen. They were bound and thrown in. However, the most amazing thing happened... not only did they survive, but they were able to WALK with Jesus, IN the fire, and when they came out... THE SMELL OF FIRE WAS NOT UPON THEM (vs. 27).

It would have been a miracle to survive, but to not even smell like fire... that is above and beyond. Yes, God could have kept them from the fire, but what blessings would these brave men have been robbed of? They would not have literally walked with God, they would not have seen the overwhelming faithfulness of God so much that they did not even smell like smoke.

So I ask myself this... am I willing to go through the fire in order to see the Glory of God? Am I going to get mad and blame God for not keeping me from the furnace, or am I going to trust that He will meet me there and give me His peace that surpasses all human understanding? Do I have an "even if He does not" mentality?

Isaiah 43:2, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you."