Life’s Greatest Disappointment

August 14th, 2012 No Comments

I was thinking this morning about how much God enjoys being in relationship with us.  He loves to be in ALL aspects of our lives, big and small.  Since the beginning of time He has been concerned with our proximity with Him.  When He created man He took great delight in walking and talking with him in the garden.

We all know and can think of things in life that have been big disappointments for us.  We may have had ministry disappointments, let downs in relationships, children who have not walked according to our expectations, a failed marriage, financial disaster, etc.  The list of life’s disappointments is endless.  But what hit me today is the great disappointment God must have had to deal with when Adam and Eve chose to eat of the fruit therefore putting a huge chasm between them and God.  This incident brought shame and condemnation into a beautiful setting that God had dreamed up because He is so relational.  Now Adam and Eve, the ones created in the very image of Father God, did not dare meet with Him, fellowship with Him, or be real with Him.  They were ashamed and they hid.  They hid from all He desired for them.  What a great disappointment this must have been.

But as we all know, that is not the end of the story.  God worked out all things for good because He desired for us to rule and reign with Him.  He did not want to rule over the earth alone.  Jesus Christ, His one and only Son, was the perfect and complete sacrifice righting all that had gone wrong.  But disappointment still remains today because many who know and love Him do not understand how complete of a work was done on the cross.  We live ashamed, always trying to be better, when the truth is simple, there is no longer anything standing in the way of a close relationship with God.  Sin was dealt with on the cross and it can no longer separate us from an intimate face to face relationship with God.  We are clothed in righteousness, radiating the glory of God to a world He created for us to rule and reign in.

What is keeping you from understanding the finished work of the cross?  Are you trying to be a better person so God will accept you?  Are you believing you have to do more or know more so you can have that desired relationship with God?  Are you believing lies that you are not completely forgiven of past sins?  The simple truth is that there is NOTHING separating you from God anymore…except maybe…you.  He has done it all.  He has already dealt with His disappointment.  It is gone and in it’s place is the greatest hope imaginable.  A hope that you will know and believe He accepts and loves you completely just as you are.  A hope that you will turn your face towards Him and live your life face to face with Him.   You were created for this.

Imagine yourself right now turning your face and looking into His face.  He is right there waiting.   Take a moment and allow His peace and affirmation to penetrate.  Don’t wait a moment longer.  He wants this even more than you do.

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There’s a Light at the End of this Tunnel

June 28th, 2012 No Comments

The title of this blog is the name of a song by Third Day.   It’s the kind of song where the lyrics go through your mind over and over and you find yourself singing it without even realizing it.  As I was pondering this morning the past few weeks of my life I thought this song was apropos.  It reminds me of a promise God has gives us in the Scriptures.  He promises to not give us more than we can handle by always giving us a way to get through trying times in life.  The verse is I Corinthians 10:13 and it is one I have known for a long, long time.

I memorized the verse from the NIV, which is probably the wording most of us are familiar with.  It reads:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

In lieu of this wording I really only thought to apply God’s promise to provide a way of escape to the times I was facing temptation UNTIL the Holy Spirit kept bringing the verse to mind in everyday life as I was facing hardships, struggling with ongoing situations and even uncertainty about my future.  I certainly would have never considered these temptations.  But then I read the verse in a few other versions and the Amplified version opened my eyes to something powerful.  It says:

For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.  (You may want to read this a few times!)

The first part defines a temptation as a “trial regarded as enticing to sin.”  Recently I have learned that the definition of sin for us under the New Covenant is anything that keeps us or hinders us from walking in the new creation we are in Christ.  God considers sin to be that which disables us to see who we truly are in Him and live from that.  We are new creations!  So anything that keeps us from this is considered a temptation and therefore God promises a way out or a way of escape.  So basically God desires to provide the way out of any situation, mindset, thought pattern, trial, attack, etc., that we face in our lives.

This verse is rich for us in a few other ways too.  It reminds us that nothing we experience is unique to us alone.  The NLT says, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.”  So if you think that absolutely no one can relate to you, then you are believing a lie.  One of the tactics of the enemy is to isolate us and to make us think that no one else can understand what we are going through.  If you find yourself in this place and thinking this way you have to replace the lie with the truth.  The truth is: “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.“  Read it again slowly if you need to.  It is my desire to share truth that will allow you to experience Real. Life. Now.  I needed to deeply grasp this and you might too.  When you expose wrongs to the light the darkness has to flee.  The truth will set you free!

The last thing I want to highlight is that it is God who provides a way of escape and this requires us to seek Him and trust Him to come through for us.  I find it is so easy to think, analyze and come up with every possible probable scenario imaginable that just might fix things but this is not letting God come through for me with His promise.  I am learning to stop my mind from incessant chatter and supposed solutions, instead looking to Him, trusting Him, asking Him for His thoughts and wisdom and then waiting on Him to fulfill His promise to me.  He WILL provide a way of escape!  We are His sheep and we hear His voice.  We just need to give Him a chance and tune in to hear Him.

I hope you have been encouraged by reading this.  You are of utmost value to God and He wants to be your Father and provide for you and protect you from all that keeps you from being the beautiful person He lovingly created you to be.  He wants to make good the promises He has given you so that you can live Real. Life. Now.   There is ALWAYS a light at the end of every tunnel because God ALWAYS provides a way of escape because He loves you more than you can possible imagine!

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Whom Shall I Serve…

May 16th, 2012 No Comments

I was thinking today about the role we have as believers to serve God and the Body of Christ.  I have always been taught to serve God above all else.  As I pondered serving God I became aware that I was not quite settled with the concept and began questioning what I believed concerning ‘serving’ God.   Over the recent years as I have come to understand more fully who I am in Christ I have uncovered many, many things that continue to keep me from fully embracing who I am in God’s eyes.  I think this is why I was a bit disturbed at the phrase ‘to serve God.’

At dictionary.com the word serve means “to act as a servant, to render assistance, to be of use.”  Is this what God wants from us?  Does He want us to ‘act as a servant’ to Him?  Are we to continually come before Him to ‘render’ Him our assistance?  How many times do we even actually pray, “Father, use me.”  Do we even realize what we are saying?  Who of us likes to be used?  What Father would delight in ‘using’ his children?  Not a good one, that is for sure.  So why do we elevate serving God to the degree that we do?  I think it is a religious phrase that sounds good and makes us think we are on the right track when actually we have settled for something less than the best.

Under the New Covenant we are called sons and daughters of God, no longer servants, but friends.  So I looked up a few New Testament scriptures* and found that the original word used to instruct us to serve God actually was informing us to ‘worship’ Him.  As I thought about this I felt a fresh wave of love hit me from the Father encouraging me to let the truth of this sink in.  I am not called to serve Him but to love, adore and worship Him.  The word serve was probably the best word the translators could come up with when they translated the Greek words, lateuomen and lauteuo.  With this word choice many other things are attached, often long lists of duties and other requirements.  But God is not requiring this from us.  We are human-beings not human-doings.  We are loved for who we are not for what we do.  We are sons and daughters, not servants.  First and foremost God longs for us to know that He is our Father and that He wants to be in relationship with us.  He does not want us to fall into thinking that we must serve Him or do for Him, He wants our love and worship.  He just wants us.  If you never do one more thing for Him, He will still love you the same.

Take a moment and ask yourself this question:  Do I believe God loves me for who I am or for what I do for Him?  It really does matter what you believe.

 

*Hebrews 12:28, Romans 1:9, II Timothy 1:3 – This are the verses I looked up when I referenced serving God.  This is not an exhaustive list.

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Old Heart Wounds Exposed…

March 23rd, 2012 2 Comments

It’s so funny how often we do not understand what we are asking God for.  I have been asking Him to show me how to experience Real. Life. Now. and He revealed to me this week that He wants to remove from our lives things from our past that will hurt our futures.  A few years ago I took my daughter Bree to Mozambique, Africa, on a missions trip to serve at an orphanage run by Roland and Heidi Baker.  We joined up with a team of about 20 others from all over the world.  This past week I came across our trip pictures so I took some time to look at them.  I thought this would be a joyful time of reminiscing.  After looking at just a few pictures I was hit with a sudden realization that I had repeatedly chosen to pursue other people instead of investing my time with my daughter, who was only 14 at the time.  At this point I did not even want to look at any more pictures because of the pain I was experiencing.  God was so graciously allowing me to see that time and again I had passed over Bree to be with others whom I perceived to be important.  Aauugghhh!  How could I have done this???

I know it was the Holy Spirit revealing this to me because there was no condemnation, just an assurance that He wanted to give me an opportunity to have things restored.  I immediately sought His forgiveness, knowing full well that I had not behaved in a manner that represented His heart.  At this point I chose to let the pain of my choices hurt for a while.  I have learned over the recent years that letting myself feel this kind of pain is good.  For many years I stuffed it down not allowing myself to feel it because it made me feel weak and ‘bad’.  As the pain subsided I heard the Lord tell me that He makes all things new and that I had been completely forgiven.  A surge of hope washed over me.  I then sought Him as to what I needed to do next.

Yesterday I had a chance to talk to Bree and share with her what the Lord had shown me a few days prior.  The pain pierced me again as I vulnerably admitted to her that I needed her forgiveness for how I had seen past her needs and focused on the needs and approval of others.  What hurt even more was that she admitted she had been aware of my choices.  I asked for her forgiveness and she readily gave it to me.  It was powerful.  I felt released from any shame and guilt and my heart washed anew with love for her.

I share this for for a few reasons.  The first to give God glory for so graciously bringing something to the surface that could have harmed myself and Bree in the years to come.  Now it is all in the light and darkness will have no hold on it.  Secondly I want to point out that we do not need to go searching for things to be healed from.  God will bring things to light when we are at a place where we can deal with them and be victorious.  This is one of the fringe benefits of an intimate relationship with God.  We only need to ask and wait on Him.  He makes all things new in His time and He is always working on our behalf doing what is best for us.

Trust Him knowing fully that He desires for you to live Real. Life. Now.  He is good and He is gracious.  He always works things out for the good of those who love Him.  And that is YOU!

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Seeing from God’s Perspective

March 10th, 2012 No Comments

Today was such a beautiful day so I went on a walk, more of a hike actually, along a few different paths where we live.  God showed me some awesome things that I wanted share with you through a few pictures I took along the way.  This first picture will give you an idea of the terrain I was crossing.  I am hoping in showing you this you will feel like you are on the walk with me.

As I was walking I was listening to a teaching on my Ipod, but at the same time talking to God about some of the things going on in my life and in the lives of the people I love.  There are some huge mountains/hurdles that many are dealing with in their life paths and I have been asking God for wisdom as I pray for them.  I feel helpless to help them except to pray and lift them up.  As I walked I came up to a mountain of rocks that the path I was on led to.  This is what it looked like:

As I looked up at the mountain of rocks right in front of me I immediately wondered how I was going to climb them.  I saw Psalm 121 in a whole new light.  No wonder David said, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  He was probably standing at the base of a mountain, wondering how he was going to continue moving forward.  We all come to times in our lives where the mountain in front of us seems so big we wonder this.  But like David, we know that our help comes from the Lord.

I could see a path that kind of wound up the left side so I ventured forward choosing the best route possible.  As I ascended I was still thinking of all the things that hinder us in our lives.  A few of the rocks I stepped on were unstable and a few times I had to steady myself but continue to press onward and upward. When I got to the top I saw the path I had climbed.  It was even more steep than I had thought.  But the greatest reward was the view I saw all around me.  Here it is:

As I sat up on top I remembered that this is where we are supposed to be seated.  Ephesian 2:6 says that God raised us up and we are seated in the heavenly realms.  What if we would take ourselves out of our current circumstances and ask God to show us what they look like from a heavenly perspective?   The rocks, hills and mountains all looked much smaller and more manageable from up here.  I tuned into something else I felt, the wind gently blow over me, drying me from the sweat I had acquired in my climb up.  God really does meet our every need according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

I let the presence of God soak through me and cleanse me from all the doubts and fear that had tried to hinder me and my climb up.  I can do all things through Christ resonated through my mind.  I really can.  My eyes surveilled the lands below, both in front of me and behind me.  My heart was daring me to believe I could live and see things from this perspective, and not focus on the mountains but to picture the view from the top of them.  Oh the thrill of victory…the awesomeness of being at the top of the mountain verses being at the bottom questioning how, when, why, where???

As I climbed down and began to walk on the path again I stopped to look at the mountain now that it was behind me a ways.  The site amazed me..see it for yourself in the picture below.

The rocks I had climbed now took on the shape of a turtle.  I know and believe that with every mountain we climb, with every difficult situation we come through, God is shaping us and forming us into the image of His son Jesus Christ.  The before and and after picture of this same pile of rocks seen from a different angle, proves this.  Before my climb, my eyes were not opened to this beauty, but now it was as clear as day.

How awesome our God is!!!  How generous He is to reveal His heart and empower us with His truth.  He wants us to understand that we are seated in the heavenlies, that He has the whole world in His hands.  We can put all of our faith in Him and trust Him completely because He is known as The Faithful One who stands firm upon His words and promises.  He really does work out all things for the good of those who love Him… really.  Take a moment, share with Him the mountain that is looming before you, ask Him to show you things from His point of view, picture yourself seated in the heavenlies far above your current situation.  Now ask Him to show you how to trust Him with this and His peace will follow and completely surround you.  For His peace which transcends all knowledge and all understanding is yours right here, right now.  It will surround you because He is peace and He is with you ALWAYS.

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