Go Back to the Word

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. ~ 1 John 2:27

I love books that teach and give tools. I think it's important that when God imparts a word to us, that we share it with others. But more important than any best-seller, is for each and every person to be in The Word. Everyone needs to know what it says for himself--relying solely on someone else's teaching may not hold up in your day of trouble. Do not worry about having the whole Bible--chapter and verse--memorized, or having read it cover to cover several times. Those aren't the important things. What is important? Spending daily, quality time with God and in His word; that's how you'll get to know Him better.

The Bible tells us that when Jesus was hungry and thirsty and weak, the devil came to tempt Him. To every enticement that the devil offered, Jesus answered, "For it is written..." (see Matthew 4). God knew that we were weak and would need help and a constant reminder. He remembered that He made us from dust and rib and that we would need help, so He sent us a helper: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit...will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you," (John 14:26). He is our Counselor, our Teacher, our reminder of the Word. He teaches us what to say in our time of trouble, (see Mark 13:11). He gives us peace and comfort by reminding us of all the things that God has said to us.


If you do not know what to say or what to do, ask God and, through the Holy Spirit, He will teach you and show you. Sermons are still needed, pastors are extremely important, books and group studies are excellent tools to help you and point you in the right direction. But, with everything you hear and learn--and the best teachings and teachers have said this--always take it back to the Word to make sure that their words line up with God's Word.

More Precious than Gold

Now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold...may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Christ Jesus ~ 1 Peter 1:6-7

When I was getting ready to start college, my parents came to me and said they didn't have enough money to pay for my schooling. But my mom taught me the ins & outs of financial aid and where and how to apply. They had been preparing me for this, so I didn't fret or ask, "why me," I just did what was necessary. I remember my grandpa telling me that I shouldn't take out any student loans if I didn't have to, so I worked hard and my sophomore year, I didn't need any loans. When I moved to Florida to continue my schooling, I needed to take out loans the first year. After that, God told me that I wasn't allowed to take out any more loans for school.

For the next couple semesters, it was fine, the money seemed always readily available. But, in my last couple semesters, money was tight and there weren't enough scholarships to cover all the costs. But God never let me down. I never had to withdraw from a semester due to lack of funds or supplies. Instead of rolling in money, things became creative. We cashed in savings bonds, borrowed books from friends, checked out books from the library. One semester, I had to go to school full time (while working full time) just to qualify for enough financial aid to pay for the classes I needed. Even though the answers were fleeting, the way was unsure, and the work was hard, God got me through it all.

I look back and know that the day God told me I wasn't allowed to take out any more loans was just another way He was grooming me, drawing me closer to Him, stretching my faith, and purifying my life. God is grooming me for greatness. He started in something small and provided large. He drew back a little to see if I would continue to be faithful to what He had commanded me. When I was, the reward was great! I have since graduated and am in a lot less debt than I could have been. And because I trusted Him in those things, He is blessing me with others.

How is God growing and stretching and purifying you and your faith? God's never let me down and He's never let me go. Though the way isn't always sure, we can be certain that He's always got us in His full view.

Security

In Genesis 12, when God told Abram to leave everything he knew to go to a place that the Lord would show him, God was asking Abram to "leave his security," (Word for You Today 10 July 2010). I wonder if it was a little bit more than that. What if God wasn't asking Abram to "leave" his security, but to "rethink" or "re-examine" what or whom he made his security? In the Psalms, David was talking about security when he said, "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, (40:4). The phrase "his trust" is from the Hebrew word "mibatch," meaning "object of confidence, security," (blueletterbible.org).

If we have our security, our confidence, our trust in earthly things, we're certain to be disappointed, for all earthly things will eventually fail us. Only God, who is eternal, will never let us down, because He is never changing and will always love us. And sometimes, when we put all our confidence or trust or security in things that are not Him, God will ask us to make a change, take a new job, go away from what is familiar so that we will have no other sense of security, but that which we have in Him.

"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust." Making the Lord my trust should be so easy, because He's never failed me, never left me, never betrayed me. Why, then, do I keep putting my trust, my security in things I see with my human eyes? Lord, forgive me for continually putting my trust into things that are perishing, for taking my eyes off of You, Jesus. Help me to remember, to know, to believe that you are the only One I need.

If God is for us, who can be against us? ...For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 8:31, 38-39

But Come

This past weekend, Pastor Charles talked briefly about the story of the ruler's dead daughter (see Matthew 9). I was reviewing it this morning, and saw something I hadn't seen before. At the beginning of the story, the ruler came to Jesus and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hands on her and she will live," (Matthew 9:18). Most of us, when we're talking to Jesus, talking with our friends, talking to our doctors, only say the first sentence: so and so has just died. But the ruler didn't stop there. He said, "But I trust you to make the outcome different than it appears. I trust that you have the power and the authority to overcome what everyone else says is hopeless."

Have you ever approached Jesus with such boldness? Often times, when the situation looks bleak, we approach Him weeping and wearily ask, "If you could, if it's in Your will, please make this change." The ruler boldly approached Jesus and said, "But come."

We need to be like the rich ruler. We need to look at situation and know that Jesus has the power to turn the situation completely around and we need to boldly approach Him with our requests. What situation in your life today looks dead? What situation have the statistics called "over." I don't know about you, but I'm not going to take the world's 3% success rate anymore. My God is bigger than any success rate, any statistic, any man-made authority. My God is bigger than the devil himself. Today, Jesus, I am coming to You, and I am saying: But come and make this change. I know you have the power. I know you have the authority. Come, my Jesus, and lay your hands on what the world calls dead and make it live again for Your glory! In Jesus' mighty name I pray, Amen.

All I hope to do

I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hands, lean back against you and breath, feel your heart beat. This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand, I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming.

We sing these words at church and if you can visualize yourself, with Jesus, doing those intimate things--being close, feeling comfort, drinking in His strength & gentleness...it's wonderful. Jesus never promised that the life of a follower would be easy, but then again, the lives of those who aren't followers aren't easy, either. We tend to think that just because we're on team "J" (for Jesus), our lives are suddenly going to be a cakewalk. But that doesn't happen--much to our dismay. Instead, we go through the Refiners fire, so He can burn off all the dross, so that our faces will reflect His glory. "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit," (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is one of my friend's favorite scriptures. She said, "All I hope to do is to reflect the Lord's glory."

And how do we get to that point? By being stretched, by being thrown in the fire, and then washed in the water, and then being worked some more. When we feel like we have been stretched and remolded too much, we cry out for Him to stop. "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand," (Isaiah 64:8). We have to be worked and shaped and molded and put through the fire, but pulled out just at the right moment--and only the Potter knows the moment--to make us into the beautiful vessels He is creating us to be, so that we truly can reflect His glory.

Thank you, Lord, that you are the Potter. With your hands, you mold us. You dip us in Holy water to refresh us, and immediately, you go back to working on us. With your thumbs, you smooth out the lumps. With your hands, you mold us into your masterpiece. With the perfect amount of heat and timing, you allow the impurities to be burned out of us, to make us stronger. But Lord, you don't put us into the fire and walk away. No, you stay and watch. You cry when we cry. You hurt when we hurt. But, you laugh when we laugh. You pull us out of the fire at the perfect time--in the instant the last of the impurities has left us, but just before we crack and break into a million pieces of dust. Thank you, Lord, for your perfect timing. And thank you, also, for the times you comfort us and hold us close. Thank you for allowing us to sit at your feet, lean back against you and breath, just so that we can feel your heart beat. Thank you for holding us close, even when we don't feel or see your arms around us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

More than Conquerors

There's a song they play on the JoyFM that sings, "She just didn't believe it could happen to me. I guess we're all one phone call from our knees," (Mat Kearney, Closer to Love). The song is about how things happen in life, but somehow they draw us closer to Love. It's when we're desperate, that we cry out to Jesus. Hopefully, we're crying out to Him anyway, but sometimes, that's what it takes. That song was in my head when I woke up this morning, after a long night last night, when we got one of those calls. And while we know that, "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose," you never want to get one of those calls, (Romans 8:28).

But the call did come. And what did we do? We prayed, we comforted, and we reached out to those special and dear--those God placed in our lives--for help, support, and encouragement. Romans 8:28-39 was written for times like these, because it was written in reflection of times like these. When Paul was going through the worst of it, he didn't feel strong either, so he turned to his best friend--Jesus--for strength, and then he wrote these words to be an encouragement to people everywhere, thousands of years later.

My favorite verse in all of Romans 8 is verse 37, which reads, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." The Bible says we are more than conquerors--we have surpassed even the greatest victory, it's bigger than that biggest ticker-tape parade for heroes--that's who we are in Christ Jesus. I love this verse because it reminds me that I don't have to depend upon my own strength, my own thoughts, my own knowledge, my own wisdom, my own anything to get me through. God knows we are nothing more than dust, that on its own will be blown about in the wind. No, it is through Christ's power and Christ's strength and Christ's might that we have the ability, the power, and the strength to get through this situation and still conqueror the next one.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Your words, which still give strength, encouragement, and wisdom, even some two thousand years after they were written. Thank you Lord, for hearing our prayers in our greatest hours of need. And Lord, thank you for sending us sweet friends to stand beside us and walk with us, because you never intended us to live this life alone. Lord, I pray that if anyone reads this and they are feeling all alone, that they would cry out to You and You would send them friends to give comfort and love and support, and to walk this life with them. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

Smoke & Mirrors

A few weeks ago, I was having a time of it and journaled that life is about perception and attitude. Perception, because your perception determines your reality and attitude, because how you respond to what you perceive determines your results and what happens next, right? Well, yesterday, I was reading TGIF from June 14 and it said, "Perception is not reality." I looked back at what I'd been journaling and realized I'd forgotten the most important element of life: the Truth. You can see the world anyway you want, it doesn't mean that it's real. "The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken," (Job 4:10). What we think we see in "our reality" and what is Truth, are not always the same thing.

Advertisers put a lot of time, money, and energy into getting you to believe or "realize" their reality. If you're not founded on the Truth, then any new reality that comes along might sway you into their perception. James 1:6 says that when we're not founded in the Truth, we are "like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

The Bible tells us that the devil is called the "Father of lies," (John 8:44). For him, reality is all about the way we perceive it. The Truth doesn't matter, only the way he spins it. It's like being at a carnival, in the house of mirrors, where each mirror makes you look a different way. If you spend too much time in there, you're likely to come out with a distorted view of yourself, regardless of the Truth you knew before you entered. My friend said that the devil's lies are nothing more than smoke and mirrors, they aren't real and we don't have to buy into that reality.

If you've been bouncing around a not-so-fun-house of smoke and mirrors, ask the Lord to reveal to you His Truth. He's always available to us, even if we aren't always looking for Him. Lord, thank you for this revelation and reminder that Your Truth is constant.