Look Now

But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me..." ~ Genesis 15:2

Judah Smith spoke at the 2008 Hillsong Conference. One of the things he pointed out was our response to God. In Genesis, before getting to chapter 15, God had already made a promise to Abram, giving him and his descendants all the land he could see in all directions. Chapter 15 starts out by saying, "After this." After the things that God had promised and shown to Abram, after all that, Abram still said to God, "You haven't given me what I wanted, how I wanted, when I wanted it, in the package I wanted it...So what can you do for me."

Abram's statement seems like a pretty dangerous coming from one made from dirt to the Creator of the universe and all that is in it. But isn't that what we all do? Don't we look at our circumstances, forgetting everything that God did for us in the past years, months, weeks, days, and hours, seeing only what is ahead of us, we complain and whine. And when we do, God says to us, as He said to Abram, "Do not be afraid...I am your shield, your very great reward," (v 1). But to Him we answer sarcastically, "Great. Goody...so what." In his teaching, Judah Smith says that often, we can't see beyond our circumstances because we are looking at heaven from our earthly perspective. He said we need to look at earth from a heavenly perspective. Think about it this way: Can an ant see as far and wide as an elephant sees? No. If the ant is given the same perspective as the elephant, could he see it then? Yes. And we can, too. Far too often, we look at the world through our flesh and blood human eyes. If we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we no longer have to look at the world that way. If we will but ask the Holy Spirit to help us see things through God's eyes, from His perspective, I bet we'd complain less, pray more, love more, have more compassion, and be much more effective. Why? Because once the ant has the elephant's perspective, he won't go back to taking the long way around, following the crowd, standing in line whining and complaining about his opinion of what's fair. Instead, he'll take the smartest route to get the desired result.

That's exactly what God did with Abram. He took him outside of his ant perspective, and gave him the vast view from the top of the elephant. "Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be,'" (Genesis 15:5). Sometimes we have to be pulled "outside," outside our circumstances, outside our field of vision, if we are to grab hold of the things that God wants to do in our lives. Where in your life is God saying to you, "Do not be afraid; I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward; look now and see everything that I want to give you as a blessing"?

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, amen. ~ Ephesians 3:20-21

Fit us for heaven

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.

Away in a Manger is such a pretty Christmas Carroll. My favorite line is "And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there." The word, "fit," means "to adjust or make conform; to be adapted or suitable for; to prepare; to be be of the right size or shape for; to put with precise placement or adjustment; to provide, furnish, equip." Think about that, the Lord of all the nations, the Lord of all creation, will make us perfectly ready for heaven so that we may live eternally with Him there.

I love Christmas! I love Jesus! Happy Birthday, Jesus! And Merry Christmas to all!

Strength for the Work

They were all trying to frighten us... ~ Nehemiah 6:9

Upon hearing the current condition of his people, the Israelites, Nehemiah wept and prayed and fasted for them. For the Lord had given Nehemiah a burden in his heart for them. And out of this burden grew his desire to protect them by having the wall of Jerusalem rebuilt around them. So, Nehemiah prayed that the Lord would be with him and give him favor before the king. Because of the Lord's favor, the king granted Nehemiah all his requests, (see Nehemiah 1-2). However, "when Samballat the Horonite and Tobian the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites," (Nehemiah 2:10).

Have you ever noticed that when you have a dream, desire, or passion there are many who will try to stop you? Last night, we were watching the Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life. I thought about the character George and the defeat and frustration he felt every time he felt his dreams weren't coming true. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it's all a matter of perspective. Before his run-in with Clarence, the angel, George was miserable and thought his only way out of his mess was to kill himself in hopes that his life insurance policy would help to support his family and business. But after realizing what life would be like if he'd never been born, George realized how many wonderful treasures he had in his life.

That's what dreamers have: perspective. But that's also what the enemy wants to steal. He wants us to stop thinking about the vision and the dream and the purpose for our God-given mission and start thinking about all the problems and what-ifs. Nehemiah's enemies were the same. They threatened him and tried to distract him and said nasty things about him. If Nehemiah had thought about all the things his enemies were saying about him, he might have quit. But instead, he said, "They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, 'Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.' But I prayed, 'Now strengthen my hands,'" (Nehemiah 6:9). We need to keep that mentality and that prayer close to our hearts and ever on our lips, "Lord, strengthen my hands for the work you have called me to. Be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Help me to keep going and if I ever feel like quitting, remind me to keep going. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen."

So the wall was completed...When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this had been done with the help of our God. ~ Nehemiah 6:15-16

Any Thoughts?

Think about what you're thinking about! ~ Joyce Meyer

On a cold day, do you ever find yourself thinking about soup. Oh, how glorious soup would taste on a cold day; the warm broth going down your throat, warming you inside and out. In fact, the more you think about it, the more you're determined to have it. But how will you get it? Will you go to a restaurant and spend money you don't have? Will you borrow money from a friend, only to have to pay them back? Oh, now that you've set your heart and taste buds on soup, nothing will taste as glorious as that soup you've been dreaming about for the past 5 - 10 minutes. What will you do if you can't have that soup? Who will you be mad at? Who will you blame?

Does any of this sound familiar? What about at your job? Does your boss ever say one thing, only to change his or her mind later? Does it seem all too unfair to you? What about at home? Have you asked your spouse time and time again to help with the chores--to at least rinse the dishes before putting them in the sink? Why are you always the one getting dumped on? Even in volunteering, it seems to you that you are the only one who ever steps up, goes the extra mile, gives the extra hand, and is expected to do it every time...Right?

Are you sure about that? Are you 100% sure that soup is the only thing that will satisfy you, that your boss is trying to jip you, that your family doesn't consider your needs, that those you volunteer with and for are trying to dump on you? Those are dangerous thoughts to have. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." If all of your thoughts are consumed with being mad at the world because you can't have your soup, then sooner or later you will lash out at someone because you didn't get what you thought you had coming to you, what you thought you deserved. But there's also a flip side to that: if you turn your thoughts, even ever so slightly, your whole attitude and demeanour will change. Think about your thoughts as a pattern of numbers. If you take 3 to the fourth power, the end result is 81. But, if you take 4 to the fourth power, the end result is 256. As you can see, a small change in your life can make a big difference. So ask yourself, "What am I thinking about?"

But because you say so

But because you say so, I will... ~ Luke 5:5

Picture this: You are working at your job or career--which is the same thing your father did before you and his father before him--when a man you don't know walks up to you and offers his advice. How would you take it? Most people wouldn't. Some might smile and nod, but not take the advice. Others might yell at him for offering the advice. So what would you do? Let's look at the story of Simon Peter, the fisherman. He and his men had been working all night, to no avail, and were tired. Jesus entered the scene, taught a little bit to all who were in earshot, and then offered this advice to Peter, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch," (Luke 5:4).

At this juncture, Peter had two choices; he could either take the advice or decline it. Now, Peter and his men were tired, but having heard Jesus teach, he could probably sense that there was more to this man, even if he couldn't explain it. So at Jesus' request, Peter replied, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets," (v 5).

We are all faced with situations we can't handle or do anything about. They are times that leave us tired and worn out. And just before we've completely given up, Jesus says to us, "Follow where I lead. Listen to what I say." When we hear Him speak to us like that, we have to make a choice: Listen and follow, Go my own way. When we listen and follow, we are giving Him our obedience and then the final results are His responsibility. It seems so simple: follow and obey, but when it comes down to it, you feel so torn. You're torn because these are what all the medical tests say; all the experts are saying the same thing; it doesn't make logical financial sense to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit; the checkbook is black and white... But Jesus said, "Follow me." The Bible spells it out like this: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well," (Matthew 6:33). If we listen and obey, if we follow God, there is no limit to what He can do in our lives!

When they had [let down their nets], they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. ~ Luke 5:6-7

Teaching

If you extract the precious from the worthless you will become my spokesman. ~ Jeremiah 15:19

This has become one of my key verses. It reminds me that it's not your past that makes you significant or unique, but what you do with it. Many people have suffered things, but only a few have come forward to make a difference in the lives of others because of it. Some have done it through career choices, some through better parenting, some through sharing their testimony. My mom's favorite verse is Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." My mom was another person who was determined to make a difference in someone else's life because of what she had seen, what she had experienced. My mom is a hero to so many because she didn't let the worthless events of her past keep her down. Instead, she extracted the key points that would help her grow and then dumped the rest.

Last night, my husband and I were preparing for a teaching we will give this coming Monday. It's a subject that's taboo to discuss in many settings. We were talking abut how we would present it and he asked me if I would give my testimony. I hadn't thought about it until that moment that this would be the first time I would share my testimony with people I don't really know. At the time when we volunteered to do this teaching, the group was a lot smaller and we had walked closely with the majority of the people for two years or more. Now, however, the group is much larger and there are quite a few people I don't know. But this morning, the Holy Spirit whispered, "extract the precious from the worthless." This is an opportunity, not to shine a light on all the ways the enemy targets and attacks our marriages and lives, but to give all the glory to God, because it is only with His help and His strength that we can even be able to have a testimony to share.

Thank you, Father God, for this opportunity to give hope to somebody who might be in the midst, to share Your wisdom with those who might be on the verge, and to share Your love with everyone there, because we all need it. Lord, give us clarity of thought and speech as we give our this teaching, in hopes that it might change, encourage, or inspire even just one life. Lord it's all for Your glory that I go. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

If God is for us, who can be against us? ... I am convinced that...[nothing] in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 8:31, 38, 39

Dry Bones

He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O, Sovereign Lord, you alone know." ~ Ezekiel 37:3

Imagine this: God is walking you through a valley filled with bones, bones that have been sitting there so long, they are now dry and brittle. That is the scene from which this scripture comes. When God walks with us through a situation, through circumstances, through life, He sees the world very differently than we do. Ezekiel looked at the scene and said, "These guy were once live soldiers, but now they are nothing but bones waiting to turn to dust." That's often times the way we look at circumstances, at people. We see their past or their present and we make a judgement call: little hope or maybe even no hope for them at all.

Fortunately for all of us, God sees with bigger eyes than that. He sees our situation and says, "Time and space mean nothing to Me. For Me, there is no past, present, or future. For Me the time is now." Because God can see all of that, and knows all of that, He does not lose heart; He does not give up. And neither should we, because if He lives in us, than He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world, (1 John 4:4). We need to remember that it may not be in our power, but all things are possible through Christ Jesus, (Matthew 19:26).

Where are the dry bones in your life that need God to breathe on them? Perhaps it's your marriage where communication and intimacy have grown so cold that they might as well be dead. Perhaps it's with your children who have stopped talking to you, trusting you, and respecting you and they act as if you don't exist. Perhaps it's another family member who is estranged. Maybe they said or did something, maybe you did, either way the relationship has grown cold.

But the Lord is asking us, "Can this dead relationship live? Can you believe in Me and trust Me enough to put your faith and hope in Me?" Remember, this is our God, "who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were," (Romans 4:17). With that in mind, will you trust Him? Will you believe that He will do as He says?

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them: they came to life and stood up on their feet ~ Ezekiel 37:10