Spiritual Editing

One of my favorite characteristics of Jesus is that He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).  I have always thought of this as a "future" truth that Jesus is busy writing the next page of my faith... but as a writer, I began to view it more fully.  Whenever I write, I am always going back, making edits, moving paragraphs around, refining what I have said and deepening it.  Thinking about this helped me to realize that editing is a natural and necessary part of the process. 

As I sat before His Word this morning, I felt like I was going in for an edit.  Some rearranging needed to take place in my mind, some clarification and some renewal.  As a human author, I enjoy the process of reworking my words, strengthening what I have said, deleting confusing paragraphs, etc.  As the author of our faith, Jesus uses our time in His presence to edit us.

"Lord, how do you edit our stories?" The process He uses is called grace.  See we are a work of art, an entity. But within our being lies patches of confusion, misunderstanding and chaos. When we come in for an edit the Lord doesn't scratch the whole thing, nor does He get frustrated and disappointed that work needs to be done. Instead, I believe He smiles, grateful that we've come to work with Him and that He actually enjoys the process of filling in the gaps, removing sources of confusion, adding detail and understanding to truths that were already there. 

I know that there have been seasons in my life where I have dreaded going before His Word. Sometimes it has come out of fear of what I might hear.  Other times, it has felt like a lifeless duty. But the more I have grown in understanding God's great love I truly treasure these times in His Word and it has become as necessary for my ability to function as food and water. 

My prayer for this post is: if you've been absent from spending time in His Word for whatever reason that you would see His heart towards you and His call to come:

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In Christ,

 

P.S. If you are looking for a way to get into God's Word check out Daily Prayer.

Symposium of Psalm 103

My morning prayer this morning included Psalm 103.  This Psalm is all-encompassing of the Gospel message; for me it is centering and life-giving.  I've written on it several times and since it blessed me this morning, I am including my post that combines my reflections on this particular Psalm:


As you read, you will notice that this Psalm starts out with bless the Lord, O my soul.  In the beginning, it appears that the Psalmist is going through a hard time, a moment of confusion and despair and therefore he is telling his soul to praise the Lord and not forget all His benefits. He then goes on to list many of the benefits of the Lord.  You will see his mood change and accelerate so that by the end the Psalmist is excitedly telling everyone to praise God, from the heavenly hosts, to the angels, to his very own soul. His mood changes from a place of discouragement to the place of declaring, believing and understanding what is true: THAT HIS LOVE IS GREAT, so GREAT we can't help but praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 103 (AMP)

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

All that is "deepest" within me: In the past, there have been  places, thoughts and ideas in my heart that I've wanted to hide from the Lord. This Psalm has encouraged me to "bless" Him from every place. During my quiet prayers I'm learning to praise Him with all areas.

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,
4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption,
Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

I once wrote a post called Spiritual Wardrobe, which lists some of the clothes God offers to dress us with. I didn't include this one. I absolutely love the imagery in it - beautifies, dignifies and crowns - to have His loving-kindness and tender mercy on top of your head flowing down!!!

Life in the dumps by Wigstruck

Day 137 by Velo Steve

 5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

Who redeems your life from the pit... so that your youth, is renewed, like an eagle: I was driving past a dump the other day. It was a windy day and above the dump were hundreds of seagulls "soaring" around the dump. I began thinking in my mind about the differences between a seagull and eagle and I began to wonder how we as Christians actually tend to live.

Seagulls are scavengers. They like to live above the trash and look at it all the time. They don't want to miss out on any of the junk. Like eagles they can "soar" on the wind but they choose to stay close to the earth and all the trash.

Eagles, on the other hand, build their nests high on the cliffs. When they soar on the wind they soar high above the earth. They have been given keen eyesight and when they need to eat they see the tiny item that they need to attack and they can dive down, grab and attack it with the strength of their legs.

I think God is very intentional when He chooses analogies for our lives. He chose an eagle on purpose and I think it is important for us to compare our lives to see if we are operating in the fullness of what He purchased for us.

Do you act like a seagull or an eagle? Both birds soar on the wind (the wind in the Bible is often compared to the Holy Spirit). But where do you let the Holy Spirit take you? Do you only allow Him to raise you high enough to see your trash and the trash of those around it? Or are you like an eagle? Do you allow the Holy Spirit to take you to the heights, where the things of this world become strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace (line from "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus")? Do you soar in the glory of the Holy Spirit and in the strength that He has placed in you? There are times when we do become aware of the things of this earth, our prey and we return to the earth with great precision and insight because He has pointed out something for us to attack and take. We attack with strength; it dies and then we return to the heights.

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

I'd encourage you to pause here and reflect on that one powerful statement.  This is the heart of the Father - this is what He is doing.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

If you ask the average person walking along the street what is the God of Christianity like, do you think their answer would include: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, PLENTEOUS in mercy and loving-kindness?  If not why?

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Did you know scientists today have still not found the ends of the universe?  So guess how far He's removed your sins... Do you live your life in light of that knowledge?

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

I again love the imagery in these verses: as a Father loves His children so the Lord loves us... We are imprinted on His heart.  What better or safer place is there to be than that?

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

As many of us know all too well, this life we live is so brief, but what a beautiful and precious reminder of the weight of who God is for all eternity. For me personally, it is a precious reminder that His love will never fade away and that He has promised to carry the message and benefit of His love to my children and my grandchildren.  The contrast between our frailty and His strength is astounding, so where should we rest - in our momentary troubles of life or in the everlasting mercy and loving-kindness of our Lord?

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

We've been invited to imprint Him on our hearts, just like He's imprinted us.

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

I love this - you who do His pleasure. As children of God, we have the opportunity to carry on the message contained in the Psalm of His love, mercy and grace to those around us!

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

Oh! I just love this Psalm. My thoughts only scratch the surface of this Psalm - I'd encourage you to consider meditating on it for a season. Your soul will be blessed.  By the time I'm done reading it, I always want to start this Psalm over again because it wraps up the immensity of our salvation into one prayer!

In Christ,

Symposium of Psalm 103

This morning, my daily prayer time included Psalm 103.  This is a Psalm near and dear to my heart and as a result I've written on it several times.  I went back through my previous writings on it and I decided to combine them together for today's post.

As you read, you will notice that this Psalm starts out with bless the Lord, O my soul.  In the beginning, it appears that the Psalmist is going through a hard time, a moment of confusion and despair and therefore he is telling his soul to praise the Lord and not forget all His benefits. He then goes on to list many of the benefits of the Lord.  You will see his mood change and accelerate so that by the end the Psalmist is excitedly telling everyone to praise God, from the heavenly hosts, to the angels, to his very own soul. His mood changes from a place of discouragement to the place of declaring, believing and understanding what is true: THAT HIS LOVE IS GREAT, so GREAT we can't help but praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 103 (AMP)

1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!

All that is "deepest" within me: In the past, there have been  places, thoughts and ideas in my heart that I've wanted to hide from the Lord. This Psalm has encouraged me to "bless" Him from every place. During my quiet prayers I'm learning to praise Him with all areas.

2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits--

3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,


4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption,

Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;

I once wrote a post called Spiritual Wardrobe, which lists some of the clothes God offers to dress us with. I didn't include this one. I absolutely love the imagery in it - beautifies, dignifies and crowns - to have His loving-kindness and tender mercy on top of your head flowing down!!!

Life in the dumps by Wigstruck

Day 137 by Velo Steve

 5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

Who redeems your life from the pit... so that your youth, is renewed, like an eagle: I was driving past a dump the other day. It was a windy day and above the dump were hundreds of seagulls "soaring" around the dump. I began thinking in my mind about the differences between a seagull and eagle and I began to wonder how we as Christians actually tend to live.

Seagulls are scavengers. They like to live above the trash and look at it all the time. They don't want to miss out on any of the junk. Like eagles they can "soar" on the wind but they choose to stay close to the earth and all the trash.

Eagles on the other hand build their nests high on the cliffs. When they soar on the wind they soar high above the earth. They have been given keen eyesight and when they need to eat they see the tiny item that they need to attack and they can dive down, grab and attack it with the strength of their legs.

I think God is very intentional when He chooses analogies for our lives. He chose an eagle on purpose and I think it is important for us to compare our lives to see if we are operating in the fullness of what He purchased for us.

Do you act like a seagull or an eagle? Both birds soar on the wind (the wind in the Bible is often compared to the Holy Spirit). But where do you let the Holy Spirit take you? Do you only allow Him to raise you high enough to see your trash and the trash of those around it? Or are you like an eagle? Do you allow the Holy Spirit to take you to the heights, where the things of this world become strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace (line from "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus")? Do you soar in the glory of the Holy Spirit and in the strength that He has placed in you? There are times when we do become aware of the things of this earth, our prey and we return to the earth with great precision and insight because He has pointed out something for us to attack and take. We attack with strength; it dies and then we return to the heights.

6The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

I'd encourage you to pause here and reflect on that one powerful statement.  This is the heart of the Father - this is what He is doing.

7He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

9He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

If you ask the average person walking along the street what is the God of Christianity like, do you think their answer would include: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, PLENTEOUS in mercy and loving-kindness?  If not why?

10He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Did you know scientists today have not found the ends of the universe yet?  So guess how far He's removed your sins... Do you live your life in light of that knowledge?

13As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

14For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

I again love the imagery in these verses: as a Father loves His children so the Lord loves us... We are imprinted on His heart.  What better or safer place is there to be than that?

15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

17But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children--

As many of us know all to well, this life we live is so brief, but what a beautiful and precious reminder of the weight of who God is for all eternity. For me personally, it is a precious reminder that His love will never fade away and that He has promised to carry the message and benefit of His love to my children and my grandchildren.  The contrast between our frailty and His strength is astounding, so where should we rest in our momentary troubles of our life or in the everlasting mercy and loving-kindness of our Lord?

18To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

We've been invited to imprint Him on our hearts, just like He's imprinted us.

19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

20Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

21Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure.

I love this - you who do His pleasure. As children of God, we have the opportunity to carry on the message contained in the Psalm of His love, mercy and grace to those around us!

22Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!

Oh! I just love this Psalm. My thoughts only scratch the surface of this Psalm - I'd encourage you to consider meditating on it for a season. your soul will be blessed.  By the time I'm done reading it, I always want to start this Psalm over again because it wraps up the immensity of our salvation into one prayer!

In Christ,

5 more days for a chance to win a $25 Target gift card!  

The ladder of grace

The last couple of days I have been captured by Romans 5:1-5.  Here it is in the AMP version:

THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to [b]enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

2Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

3Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

4And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of [c]character (approved faith and [d]tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] [e]joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

5Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

As I have been sitting in reflection of these verses, I've been picturing a ladder of grace. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that are overwhelming. The LORD understands this and I believe these verses in Romans 5 give us a clear picture of the ladder we can climb as we work through these troubles.

The foundation of this ladder is justification.  Any difficult journey you embark on needs to be rooted in justification.  The AMP did a good job explaining justification for us: being declared right with God.  Because of that truth you can confidently grab a hold of the first rung on the ladder: peace with God.  This peace with God, means that we have been reconciled unto Him.  The second rung is access to God.  Because of our justification and our peace with God, we have complete access to God on our journey.

I'm going to skip for a moment to the very top of the ladder: sharing in God's glory.  Often as we climb ladders, we continue to look up to see where we are going and how far away we are from the top.  Romans 5:2 reminds us that God allows us to share in His glory.  There is a weight and a permanence to the glory of God so remember as you are walking through that the end result will be God's glory.  When His glory comes it will have a permanent change and He allows us a share in that!

The sides of the ladder, I have marked as grace and love.  I believe these are the stabilizers for the rungs.  Grace is God's enabling power given to us for the journey that we are on.  Love is how He continuously feels about us.

So now we can look back down to our ladder and see that we are on the third rung, joy.  If you see the last steps (justification, peace and access), and what you are surrounded by (grace and love) the immensity of situations begins to fade away and you can have joy, because you know that God is taking you somewhere and He is doing something.  This joy allows you to take the next step to patience.

As I'm sure you've learned by now, God's time table and our time tables do not always line up.  But when you see that God is up to something, He loves you and He is helping you, you can have patience in your circumstances.  The next step is character!  Yes, your character can grow and deepen as you walk through times of trouble.  And last of all there is HOPE.  Romans 5:5 says that the hope we get up this ladder will not disappoint us!  God has poured out His Holy Spirit upon us as we journeyed to the top.

If you've ever watched the Biggest Loser, you've seen the step ladder that continuously rotates.  Depending on your situation, it might not be a 1,2,3 and you are at the top.  Rather, it might be like the rotating ladder where we have to go back and immerse ourselves in these truths.  But I believe this visual helps us to see why we can have joy and hope as we walk in and through hard times.

In Christ,

PS Feel free to print out the visual and look back at the verses with the ladder in mind.

A Valuable Lesson

I read Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive by John Eldredge 8 years ago.  Reading this book laid a huge memorial stone in my Christian journey and it has had a huge impact on my walk of faith.  It is now 8 years later and I want to share with you one of the valuable lessons that I have taken from this book, applied to my life and seen the truth of it lived out:

The Enemy will always try to get you to do to someone

what he is doing to that person.  Heads up - it's not you, and being aware of it

becomes a very helpful diagnostic. (170)

I would like to take this thought one step further, by adding that the enemy, by getting you to agree with these lies, would like to prevent you from being able to be used as a tool of God for good in this individual's life. This understanding has had a huge influence in my life, especially in my ministry to women. 

If you are willing to admit it, there are some people that just annoy you!  You walk into the room and they are annoying.  Everything they say or do gets under your skin.  The best way to deal with it is to AVOID them, right?  That used to be my solution, but ever since I read this quote the Lord has challenged me to push beyond my initial reactions and learn to love these people through His eyes.  I would like to say that it is easy to do and required a simple prayer, and voila, everything was better.  But in my experience that wasn't always the case.  Often times, it required lots of prayer, denying and fighting against the agreements that my mind and the enemy wanted me to make about those people.

Are you ready for some good news yet?  The good news is that it is worth FIGHTING through the "annoying" attitudes to get to God's perspective on the issues.  I can name at least 4 women (and for all you self-conscious friends of mine out there ~ yes, it was you - just kidding - maybe...:) that used to drive me absolutely crazy, but I applied and fought in this truth - that I cannot settle for what the enemy has to say about them, or over them.  I had to fight for friendship and for Christ's love.  As I look back over the last 8 years, those people whom I fought to love have now become some of my dearest friends and the Lord has bound us together to fight for some very significant areas of freedom.  What I now see, is that the enemy did not want us to become friends because he knew the significant roles we would play for freedom was dependent upon the bond of unity we discovered through God's love.

It is almost humorous to me now when I meet a woman who initially drives me crazy.  I often chuckle to the Lord, "what is it that you have for the three of us together?"  The enemy has also laid off in this area, I believe, because he knows it is not worth his time to try and disrupt this relationship through initial lies and attitudes.

So this post is written to share with you what I believe is one of the most significant, tried and true life lessons that I have faithfully put into practice in my life over the last 8 years.  As you know, I have a passion for the Lord and for people to experience the freedom that only comes through Him.  It is important to put on our spiritual eyes and recognize that not every attitude, emotion and initial response we have to people and situations is correct.  Instead, we need to fight for God's truth and learn to love people the way God loves them, even when it is hard.  Time will prove that it was worth the fight, worth the pain, and worth the denying of yourself to do this.

In Christ,

The Power of the Blood

If you've read my blog for a while you have probably gathered that one of my favorite Bible verses is:

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace

with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and

 find grace to help us in our time of need.



A couple weeks ago, I came to a deeper appreciation and understanding of why we can enter God's presence with confidence; it is because of the power of the blood.  I was reading in the book Birthright: Out of the Servant's Quarters into the Father's house by John Sheasby (which, by the way, is a book I recommend) and he brought up a passage of Scripture that somehow had never registered in my mind before.  It was from Exodus 24.  Moses is about to establish the first covenant with the people, by the sprinkling of the blood.  See what happens:

Exodus 24:6-11

Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls,

and the other half he splashed against the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people.

They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said,

“This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD

has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 

and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like

a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 

 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites;

they saw God, and they ate and drank.

This has been sinking in for weeks and I am still in awe of it.  Be mindful that this is the first covenant, this was only the blood of animals that allowed this to take place: because of the blood, 74 people were able to come into the presence of God and not only see Him but eat and drink with Him.  I think God was so excited back then that He was willing to give Israel a little taste of what the future would hold for the people of God.

Hebrews 10:19-25

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence

to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 

 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,

 having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and

having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 

 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Beloved, God has made a way for us to draw near to Him, to come into His presence whenever we are in need and it has absolutely nothing to do with our worthiness nor does our unworthiness prevent us from this gift.  The power of the blood of Jesus Christ, His once and for all sacrifice has made the way.  I pray that you are not missing out on the benefits of being in God's presence due to a lack of understanding or confidence in the new covenant, the power of the blood and the blessings that come with it.

In Christ,

Meditation on Psalm 85

Since I mentioned Bonhoeffer yesterday, I thought I'd let you know the biggest thing I took away from reading about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He emphasized the importance of reading and literally praying the Psalms EVERYDAY.  It really struck me as I read the book and it is something I have been doing since I read the book.

I've been meditating on Psalm 85 for the last week and a half.  I wanted to share it with you.  I've read it in several different versions so I'm going to share the passage with two versions combined.

Psalm 85:8-13 (NCV & Amplified)

I will listen [with expectancy] to God the Lord.

He has ordered peace for those who worship him.

Don't let them go back to [self-confident] folly.

God will soon save those who respect him,

and his glory will be seen in our land.

 Love and truth belong to God's people;

goodness and peace will be theirs.

 On earth people will be loyal to God,

and God's goodness will shine down from heaven.

 The Lord will give his goodness,

and the land will give its crops.

Righteousness shall go before God 

and shall make His footsteps a way in which to walk.

I will share the things that have stood out to me in these verses; first of all, the listening with expectancy to hear the Lord.  The idea that the Lord speaks into our lives and wants to direct the paths of our individual lives is an idea that is debated in the Christian community and within myself at times.  Meditating on this Psalm has confirmed in my heart that He does speak and I need and want to take the time to listen.

God has ordered peace for those who worship Him.  This has been powerful.  I want to be on the receiving end of something that God has ORDERED, especially when the order is for peace.  This verse shows the safest place to be is in the place of worship.  I am often tempted to do what the next verse says not to do, return to self-confident folly to fix my problems.  These two verses are reminding me to go back to the place of worshipping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and to wait on His plans instead of doing it my own way.

Love and truth belong to God's people.  This concept has blown me away too.  My husband and I watch American Pickers a show where two guys travel around America going into people's barns and buying their treasures from them.  Sometimes, it is astounding to see the treasures people own and you would never believe it by the outside of their lives.  Often times, the people live in small run down houses and they look very poor but then you open up their garages and they have treasures worth thousands and thousands of dollars stuffed in their garages.  They will literally have garbage and treasure sitting side by side.  This verse showed me that I own two treasures in my life, love and truth belong to me.  Yet so often I walk around like I don't even possess them. I allow the garbage in my life to overwhelm and hide the fact that I own these two treasures.  The beauty of American Pickers is that it shows the value of an item is still there even if it is hidden beneath garbage.  It just needs to be pulled out and shown for what it is worth.  If people would look at your life would they know you posses these two great treasures or would they only see the junk?  It is time to go pull out what you own and display it for people to see.

Righteousness shall go before God and make HIS footsteps a path to walk in.  The final part on my series about grace talked about how we have been given the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ.  This verse states that concept in one incredible sentence.  Jesus says I AM THE WAY (John 14:6).  He goes before us showing us the way to walk in.  The question is, are we looking to follow?

My prayer is that you too will be blessed through meditating on Psalm 85.  It is a beautiful reminder that God wants to lead and guide you in your life and that Love, Truth, peace and goodness are all part of the package.

In Christ,

Whose Truth?

I was chatting with a friend the other day and she said, "God is supposed to be all loving and all kind.  If that is who He is, I don't understand why such and such happens."  As we talked, I had to stop her and point out that one of the main problems was contained exactly in what she said, "God is supposed  to be..., IF that is who He is..."

Her statement brought up the question, "whose truth are we going to believe and live by?"  Do we live by our reality and our assessment of what is taking place or will we choose to let the TRUTH of God be our main foundation?

As I've thought about our conversation further I've come up with 2 of the reasons why we allow our truth to supercede His truth:

One reason is because we have drawn wrong conclusions about what God's character means and thus when we face a trying circumstance we doubt God is who He says He is rather than doubting our conclusions. 

As I've walked through this season of suffering I have come to realize that in general the church in America has very little teaching to support people who are walking in a place of suffering.  Rather the overwhelming feeling people walk away with is, "the people suffering aren't living in the fullness of God and that is why they are going through a time of suffering."  The result of this conclusion, is that in the time when people need God the most they actually, with the help of the church, feel He is as far away as possible.  However, as I have read the Bible it is very clear that God is in exactly the opposite position that people conclude:

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

He also is an ever-present help in time of trouble (not instead of trouble).

Psalm 46:1-3

He always helps in times of trouble. 

So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes,

or the mountains fall into the sea,

even if the oceans roar and foam,
or the mountains shake at the raging sea.

We all love the Psalms and when we think of David's life we often view him when he was at the pinnacle of his life, often forgetting the many years where he had to run away from his enemies.  However, if you study the Psalms and the life of David you will see that many were written in the very times when he was at his lowest and his circumstances didn't line up with his understanding of who God IS.  In those times, David chose to declare "This is WHO you are God" even though his circumstances weren't lining up perfectly for him.

A second reason we choose our truth over His truth is because we want God to move on OUR terms not His.

When we come into a conflicting situation instead of standing upon His truth and walking through it His way, we spend our time arguing with God, "Prove to me that you are who you say you are because I'm not seeing it.  I'm not going to do another thing until I see you move."  While God in His kindness allows us to ask these questions we often don't get the results we are looking for.  Instead, we end up being very frustrated with Him.  What we can and should do instead is say, "Lord this IS who you are, my present circumstances are causing me to be confused, misunderstand and doubt that aspect of your character.  Help me to walk in the reality of who You are in THIS situation."

Psalm 46:10-11

God says, "Be quiet and know that I am God.

I will be praised in all the nations;

I will be praised throughout the earth."

The Lord All-Powerful is with us;

the God of Jacob is our defender.

We all have situations and circumstances in our life which cause us to question who God is.  The purpose of this post is not to condemn the asking of the question, rather it is to help us to take the next step when we are faced with a time of conflict.

My question to you is, "What do you do in those times?  Do you let the "truth" of your circumstances define who God is for you? Or do you declare His TRUTH and let His truth change your understanding of your circumstances?"  I personally have seen that despite my circumstances, (whether good or bad) I experience a greater reality of His presence, peace and joy in my life when I allow HIS TRUTH to trump mine.

Truth of God

I currently am reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas for a book review. I haven't finished the book yet (since it is 542 pages long) but I'm having a hard time being quiet about it until I reach the end of the book!

It is an excellent book full of beautiful nuggets for our Christian faith. I read the following quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer last night and I had to share it today:

Do not try to make the Bible relevant.

Its relevance is axiomatic (self-evident)....

Do not defend God's word, but testify to it...

Trust to the Word. (pg 261)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Be reminded this day of the foundational strength of God's Word. Our society has tried to shame us for being Christians and make us out to be fools for our beliefs. We do not need to cower or hold our heads down in embarrassment for what we believe. Testify to the Word, Jesus Christ:

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For by him all things were created:

things in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;

all things were created by him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church;

he is the beginning and the firstborn

from among the dead, so that in everything

he might have the supremacy.

(Colossians 1:15-18)

Psalm 103

This Scripture ministered to me tonight. I thought I would share it with you:

Psalm 103

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-

with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Did you notice that this Psalm ends with the same phrase it begins with ~ Praise the Lord, O my soul? However, I believe there is a significant change in the Psalmists' heart from the beginning to the end. In the beginning the Psalmist is probably going through a hard time, a moment of confusion and despair and he tells his soul to praise the Lord and not forget all His benefits. He then goes on to list many of the benefits of the Lord. The list is long and beautiful: He forgives, He is compassionate, patient, kind, He loves us, He knows we are but dust yet so GREAT is HIS LOVE for us (If you have time I would highly recommend going back and rereading each benefit and take the time to pause, reflect and pray on each one. It's a pretty incredible list and it will refresh you). By the end of the list the Psalmist is excitedly telling everyone to praise God, from the heavenly hosts, to the angels, to his very own soul. The change that takes place from the place of discouragement to the place of declaring, believing and understanding what is true: THAT HIS LOVE IS GREAT, so GREAT we can't help but praise the Lord, O my soul.

Armour

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you know I'm an armour girl. I believe God gave us Ephesians 6 for our daily use. I believe it is an essential tool to be able to walk in the daily freedom Christ purchased for us. Lately, the Lord has been overwhelming me with deeper insight into the value the armour holds.

Have you ever noticed that by putting on the armour we are actually putting God on us? Let me share Scriptures with you that confirm this thought:

Helmet of Salvation
I Corinthians 2:16 "We have the mind of Christ."
Philippians 4:11 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
When we put on the helmet of salvation I believe it is an invitation for us to put on the mind of Christ. The only way we can walk in the freedom He has purchased for us is to think like Him:
2 Corinthians 10:5 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."

Sword of the Spirit: The Word of God
Deuteronomy 33:29 Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD ?
He is your shield and helper
and your glorious sword.
Who is our glorious sword? He is. Still not convinced? See how Jesus is described by John in John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Jesus is the Word of God. When we lift up the sword of the Spirit in times of battle we are lifting up Jesus Christ.

Shield of Faith
Genesis 15:1 I am your shield, your very great reward.
(Look back at Deuteronomy 33:29)
2 Samuel 22:31 He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
In the book of Psalms God is described as our shield 14 times.

Belt of Truth
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life."
John 15:26 When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

Breastplate of Righteousness
Psalm 97:2 righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Isaiah 45:24 In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.
Jeremiah 23:6 This is the name by which He will be called: The LORD our Righteousness.


Feet fitted with the readiness of the Gospel of Peace
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
2 Corinthians 13:11 And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
I Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

So there you have it. All the pieces of armour that God has provided for us are God Himself. He is our shield, our Peace, our Righteousness, the Truth, our Salvation and the Word. Why wouldn't you want to wear God? If I still haven't convinced you by now that there is great value in putting your armour on everyday, I give up (for today).

The Bible: God's Word

The Holy Bible by Wonderlane

Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?

I am not a theologian. I am not a philosopher. I am not an expert in any field. I am just a wife and mother. But from where I sit in this life, I would answer that question with a resounding YES.

The Bible to me is more than an amazing book of literature, a history book or a "self-help" book. If it was just literature would it have the ability to change lives? If it was just an accurate book of history, would people who read it learn how to live a better life? If it was just a "self-help" book would you be able to read it over and over and over again and still receive something new from it?

Let us say it is just a book of literature. What other book of literature has lasted thousands of years and its topics remain relevant? What other book of just literature can be translated into thousands of different languages and can still be interesting, meaningful and relevant to a poor beggar on the streets of India and a rich man on Wall Street?

If it is just a history book name one other history book that is accessible and interesting to little children yet can stump, challenge and astound scholars with their PHD's?

If it is just a "self-help" book for a better way of living why are so many people able to read it over and over and over again and still receive something new? What other self-help book would you be able to read everyday for 20 years and not get sick of it? Maybe you do have a good self-help book but could you really read it everyday for the rest of your life? And even if you could read it everyday could you find 100 or 1,000 other people who would be willing to read it everyday and still receive something new from it?

If you do not believe the Bible is God's word and contains something special to it I would challenge you to name just 1 piece of literature which can do all the things mentioned above? A piece of literature that has spanned cultures, age, race, time and economic status and has been able to reach, touch and change so many people lives.

What is the "secret" to the power of the Bible:

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword,

it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,

joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts

and attitudes of the heart.

The Bible has something attached to it that no other piece of literature has attached and that is the living, breathing, Spirit of God. The Spirit along with the Word gives the Bible the ability to be "alive" to you everyday. This is why you can read Psalm 23 100 times in your life and still receive something new, or have something jump out at you that you never had jump out at you before.

So let me ask you again. Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?

If your answer is "YES," does your treatment of the Bible reflect this belief? Do you treat it like it is the alive word of God? Do you take time everyday to open the treasure of life that lives within your home? You have the ability to have God speak directly from His heart to yours everyday, do you take advantage of that beautiful opportunity?

If your answer to the question is, "I don't know, or a resounding NO" I would challenge you to find out more about the Bible and the fact that it is considered by scholars to be a beautiful piece of literature and a respected historical document. When you walk away with more "facts"about the Bible it might prompt you to read it more, and I guarantee it will change your life if you spend your life sitting before it. If you want to hear more facts about the Bible check out Difficult Questions - Mad City Church on Facebook for more interesting facts about the Bible.

I believe finding the answer to this question is worth finding out.

You are loved

Today is my 100th post! Thank you so much for supporting me and encouraging me over the last 10 months. You have been a blessing to me. The Lord began burning today's post on my heart last night and I think the essence of it sums up the purpose of For His Glory: to know who you are in Christ and from that place to be able to walk in the freedom and liberty with yourself and towards others. May you be blessed.

I've seen so many Christians walk around with brokenness as their identity. They see all the ways they fall short of the Bible and they walk around with a heaviness that they are not good enough. They walk around like they need to pay God back for all the ways they fall short. This view not only causes Christianity to be heavy for them, but it causes Christianity to be a problem for those around them. They see all the ways their brother and sisters fall short of God and suddenly those people don't only owe God a debt but they also owe them a debt for the their sin.

Beloved, the reason this happens is because we don't understand what Christ did for us and what it means. As Andrew Wommack describes it we have 3 parts to us we have a spirit, a soul and a body. As Christians our spirit is NOW 100% complete before God. This is the part of us that God views us and our lives through. Our soul and body, however, are not yet what they will be; those parts won't be perfect until we are in heaven. However, our opportunity here on earth is to bring our body and soul into unison with our spirit. Sin is sin, it still has negative consequences here on earth and negatively effects our body and soul. However, we have the Spirit of God within us and the Bible says, "Greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world." Beloved, so many of us focus on the depth of yuckiness in our soul and are so overwhelmed by it that it causes us to focus only on ourselves and the enemy and to forget the truth that we have within us something GREATER than that. We have the Holy Spirit within us and we have our spirits within us that are 100% right with God. We need to begin walking around out of this place and bringing our soul and body into unison with our spirit man.

The foundation of this all is to understand that our God LOVES us with an everlasting love. He truly loves us as much today as He will in 10 years. He isn't sitting at some remote place tapping His feet waiting for you to get it and once you are there He is going to embrace you. He embraces you today just as you are. Jesus removed our sin, it is finished, it is paid in full, all our sins past, present and future have been removed.

2 Corinthians 5:19

God was reconciling the world

to himself in Christ, not counting men's

sins against them

Your sins are forgiven.

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a high priest

who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but we have one who has been tempted

in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and find grace

to help us in our time of need.

Do you see it? God removed the barrier between us and Him sin, so that we can now come into His presence confidently. He will help us in our time need. When you are feeling weak and sinful you need to turn to God. He is asking you to come to Him!

Okay, so now we know our sin is not a barrier between us and God anymore. We can't earn His love, we can't pay Him back when we mess up. The fact that we know how He feels about us should and can effect how we interact with others. This knowledge will cause us to love God with our whole hearts, mind and strength and then as a result we will be able to love others.

In Matthew 18 Jesus tells the parable of the unmerciful servant. In this parable a man owes so much debt he can't pay it back and he will have to go to prison. He begs for mercy and receives it. 10 minutes after he is released from his debt he runs into someone who owes him way less money. What does he do? He demands full repayment! He received mercy but gave no mercy. Do you not see? Our sin has been fully forgiven by God, yet when someone sins against us we hold it against them. We have great bitterness against them and we don't want to forgive them until they prove to us that they have realized the error of their ways and made amends if at all possible.

I truly believe that when you grasp how God feels about you about you and the freedom that it brings you than you will have the ability to love others well. Let us really take time to ask God to help us understand who we are in Him and then love others well.

Flipping for Jesus

Light Bulb No.2 by Caveman

Last night, I had my second session of Breaking Free. If you ever have a chance to do a Beth Moore study, I would highly recommend it! She believes in the power of being in God's Word and that is where she has you live during the study; being in God's Word brings life.

Last night we flipped back and forth between Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 61 to see what Jesus gave up so that we could have freedom! It was incredible. I've been a Christian for 23 years, went to a Christian school and had Bible class everyday, have rarely missed a church service and yet I had never seen these two passages discussed next to each other. I've heard of and read Isaiah 53, in fact Beth said that is the section of Scripture most quoted in the New Testament. I of course, love Isaiah 61. I think it is an incredible set of verses. But seeing the two next to each other, flipped another switch on in my heart.

At first, it was a little annoying flipping back and forth between Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 61, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61... you get the point. But then excitement began to arise as I understood what was taking place and then I couldn't wait to see what took place between Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 61!

Below, I will give you the benefit of seeing what glorious things Jesus did, what He gave up so that you could have FREEDOM! So if you have a minute please print out these verses and do the flipping yourself, you will be amazed:

From Breaking Free by Beth Moore pg. 29
1.Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 61:3 Christ was like a root out of dry ground so we could be a planting of the Lord.
2.Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 61:3 Christ's beauty was veiled so ours could be revealed.
3.Isaiah 53:3; Isaiah 61:1-2 Christ was despised and rejected so we could be favored and accepted.
4.Isaiah 53:3; Isaiah 61:3 Christ became a man of sorrows so we could become a people of gladness.
5.Isaiah 53:7; Isaiah 61:1 Christ was imprisoned and oppressed so we could be released from prison.
6.Isaiah 53:5; Isaiah 61:3; 2 Cor 5:21 Christ was crushed by our iniquities so we could become His righteousness.
7.Christ remained silent so we could proclaim his great salvation (Isaiah 53:11; Isaiah 61:1-2)

Beloved, I pray this hits your heart like it hit mine. We all know what Jesus did on the cross. We know that we are saved by grace. But He also did so much more! Do you see the many things He intentionally chose to suffer in order that you could have specific areas of freedom here on earth? He paid an incredible price for our freedom. He is offering you so much more than a mundane life of “being a good Christian.” He is offering you beauty, favor, joy, gladness, freedom from the chains, His righteousness and the opportunity to proclaim who He is and what He has done to others!

He alone is worthy to have full access to your heart today. Give it to Him and see what He will do!

Did you know you are naked?

So yesterday, I was listening to someone re-telling the fall of Adam and Eve. I was only half-listening because I've probably heard the story at least 500 times (side note: What I love about the Bible is you can always get something out of the Bible; it doesn't matter how many times you have heard the story). Well, as I was listening, I tuned into the fact that before the fall Adam and Eve were naked and without shame. Then after they sinned God comes looking for them and says, "Where are you?" And they answer, "We were hiding because we were naked."

So what? Well think about it. They were obviously naked since day one and it never bothered God. After the fall, Adam and Eve realize they were naked and they decide to hide from Him. They tried to fix their problem on their own by making their clothes out of leaves. When God finds them, He fixes them new clothes through an animal sacrifice and sets them straight.

What does that have to do with us? Well, we really are not that different from Adam and Eve after all these years, are we? The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.

Everything is uncovered and laid bare

before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

We are still naked before God. He sees all of our sin, everyday! Yet when we realize our sin, what do we do? Like Adam and Eve we still run away from God and hide. We try to fix our problems on our own. "I can't believe I just did that! God must be so ashamed of me." [He probably is saying, "You've had this problem for the last 10 years but now that you've finally recognized it we can start getting down to do something about it]. We choose to hide in guilt shame, and condemnation. But what does God want us to do? What did God want Adam and Eve to do? He wanted them to come out of hiding and allow Him to fix the problem. And guess what, just like He fixed it for Adam and Eve, He has ultimately fixed the whole problem for us through Jesus on the cross. Read what directly follows the verse from above; it will thrill you:

Hebrews 4:14-16

Therefore, since we have a great high priest

who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,

let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable

to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but we have one who has been tempted in every way,

just as we are—yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and

find grace to help us in our time of need.

I pray that we can really get this! Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He came to earth, He walked where we walked and He experienced temptation! He overcame and as our great High Priest He offers us all of Himself! Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence! Adam and Eve ran away in shame, but because of Jesus the second Adam we can now approach God with confidence in our time of need and what do we receive: mercy and grace!

So if you have found yourself down and out, stand up and approach Him with confidence because Jesus has made the way for you to come.

In Christ,


If you liked this you might also like:
Why Do I Throw Out the Good?
Breaking The Cycle with TRUTH

Familiar Places

Old familiar places.

Old familiar faces.

Why do you return?

To open doors that have been shut?

You lead me to a place I did not want to return.

You leave me in a place of

desperation.

So Lord I return to you with my head hung low

asking for you to RISE

again against those old familiar places.

To speak your words of truth to those

old familiar faces.

To close the doors that they shall not open again.

Then you take my by the hand and lead me to

a place I did not know before.

A place of your glory, a place of your light.

You lift my face and I gaze into the eyes of the

One who holds me tight.

So whether this fight ends today or not

I thank you for holding me by your side.

You never let me go or out of your sight.

You are my Saviour, the One I love and need.

Show me your grace again tonight.

Let your arms take me to the new familiar place.

Let your eyes be the new comforting face.

May I never leave this place.