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“Fearfully and wonderfully made”


Psalm 139:13-15

13For You formed my inward parts;
You [f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My [h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

God created you and me, in my mind there is no disputing that. We are also all created different from each other. We are all impacted by external forces as well as by the way we were created. When we are born, we were exactly the way God intended us to be, without any environmental influences but it is not that way for long. As we grow and mature, we are bombarded by other people’s opinions, expectations, and judgements, not to mention situations beyond our control. We begin, little by little, to change who God created us to be.  These can be positive changes but, unfortunately, are often times negative. Most people seem to lose the childish, free-spirited, carefree nature that they were born with, and that God intended for us. These experiences and interactions can be the lenses through which we see and react to the world around us for the rest of our lives. For example, if we were verbally abused or neglected by family members, we can begin seeing the world through the lense of distrust or with expectations that others will treat us badly as well. This can lead to a lense of withdrawing from interactions with people that you don’t know well and ultimately believing that you are an introvert when the truth is that is not who God created you to be.

The only part of us that maintains all the attributes of who God created us to be is our spirit. We were created in God’s image so it’s not surprising that we are three-part beings. We are a spirit, we live in a body, and possess a soul.  The soul, which was alive at birth, is the part of us that we operate out of until we receive Jesus as our savior and redeemer. The soul is the part of us that has the lenses that were developed as a result of living in this fallen world. When we receive Jesus into our hearts our spirit is awakened and begins communing with God.  As we grow and mature in love and relationship with God our spirit strengthens, and we have the opportunity to begin stripping away those lenses and returning to who God created us to be. God, in His wisdom, knows how and when to bring up a wrong belief about ourselves, about people, or about the world so that we, in union with Him, can chose to return to the person God created us to be one lense at a time. However, we have to choose to operate out of our spirit rather than our soul. It is easy for me to shift between the two. For me, I can tell when I have slipped back into soulish behavior when I get frustrated or am not operating out of love. This is much more frequent than I would like to admit. I am a work in progress for sure.

He is gracious and gentle as He works with us. It is His will that we partner with Him and make steps toward becoming our true selves. For myself, I can say, that it isn’t only His will for me but my fervent hope that, before I die, I can look in the mirror and see the “fearfully and wonderfully made” creation that He intended. Can you imagine how affirming that will be? It makes me excited just to consider that possibility. How about you?

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God is love


God is love.

God is good.

Your experience might currently be contrary to these statements. I can’t know what is happening in your life, but I know that these two statements are true even when I don’t understand. They aren’t just true because they are in the bible. They aren’t just true because I, and perhaps you, have experienced the truth of them.

I have and yet I didn’t think I did.

There have been times when I experienced His provision or protection, or healing and I was so sure that He is love and that He is good.

But then there were other times that I didn’t. And I felt alone and forgotten and forsaken. I’m not going to lie. Those times were very hard and very confusing. I wish I could say that I never lost my faith and hope but I very much did. Maybe not lost but it seemed very small and shriveled like it would never recover. I drew very far from Him because I was angry and hurt that my prayers weren’t answered the way I thought that they should be and the way that I thought that He would. It took me several years to recover from the time that I felt thrown away.

4 years ago, I was at a bible school that very much believed in healing and operating in the gifts of the Spirit. They frequently taught on and had guest speakers that operated in the gift of healing. I saw people healed.  I had previously been healed of cervical pre-cancer, so I fervently believed in Gods power to heal. I guess I forgot about His omniscience, immutability, and sovereignty.  I forgot that sometimes the answer to prayer is not now, or even no. God knows the end from the beginning. He knows the plans He has for me and how He needs to help me achieve the level of maturity to be able to consistently and unwaveringly walk in all that He has for me.

I can look back over the last 4 years and see His hand moving in many areas of my life. While during that time He and I didn’t have the same level of intimacy and communication that I previously had, I can now see that He was calling me into another level of trust in Him and a deeper level of intimacy. Offering me the opportunity to overcome my disappointment and use it as the floor to my next level with Him. To “level up” as it were.  

Isn’t that what a good Father does? He loves us into new levels of maturity. So that we can walk in the confident assurance that He is good and that His love never falters or fails.

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In a snit


snit noun\ˈsnit\: a state of agitation, in a snit (as defined by Mirriam Webster dictionary)

I woke up in a snit today. I woke up early and, rather than ponder life or look at Facebook, I decided to get straight up. I walked out to the back deck and sat down on the steps with a thud. Still snitting, if that’s even a word.
You see my life is, and has been, for the last 8 months, in a season of flux. No job, no place of my own to live, not many possessions, no plan…none of the things that society considers “stability” exist in my life. Some days I can put all this aside, fix my eyes on Jesus and carry on. Some days, not so much carrying on and very much questioning. This morning started out as one of those questioning days until, as I sat on the back deck, God reminded me that I am fine. Although things are not as I thought they would be, just after my 55th birthday, I am fine. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, I have a roof over my head, food for the day is provided, I am healthy, I have transportation, I am safe and all I have to do is live today. I don’t have to know what tomorrow will bring. I do have to be available to whatever He brings my way. To walk through the doors He opens and to not struggle against the doors He closes. I’m fine. My mood began to brighten and fill with hope and expectation of good.
I went in and got my coffee and bible and began asking what I should read. I hear Matthew 16. So I open up and begin to read. These verses are highlighted to me — Matthew 16:23-24 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. I feel convicted that I have been more mindful of things of this world than things of God.
There are several unfulfilled promises or calls on my life and sometimes I wonder if I missed out on them. If I made a wrong turn, procrastinated, or fearfully decided my abilities don’t line up with His call on my life. Presuming to know myself and my abilities better than the One Who created me. I hear preachers say that if a person doesn’t fulfill the calling on their life, within a certain unnamed amount of time, that God will move on to the next person to get the job done. It worries me. But then I remember my ABBA is a good Daddy and that I am sure I would have to willfully disregard opportunities set before me more than once before He would move on to the next person. He puts this scripture on my mind — Romans 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. So I wonder if there is any instance in which God will take away the call on my life? I say a resounding NO!! My God, my ABBA, my daddy will never give up on me. And I will continually be watching expectantly for the opportunities to partner with Him to prepare for the things He has planned for me.
While I am in this season of flux I will continue to increase in intimacy with Him so that I hear every time He speaks and every word He says.

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Traditions of Men


Matthew 15:1-9 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

The scribes and Pharisees taught the law to people adding many human safeguards so there would be no chance that someone might transgress a commandment by accident. Unfortunately, these initially well-intended additions to levitical law grew up around the law and eventually smothered it. The tradition came to be seen as just as authoritative as the actual words of Scripture, kind of like a study Bible in which the line separating the sacred text from the human notes is erased.
Jesus was not amused. A true disciple puts God’s Word first, not our interpretation of it. No matter how good or insightful an article, an institution, or a book may be, it does not carry the same binding authority as God’s Word.
Jesus answers their question—why his disciples don’t follow a particular tradition—with one of his own. Why do they put a tradition ahead of God’s command? The implication: God’s Word trumps human tradition. While some traditions are fine, according to Jesus, other traditions cause us to break God’s commands and must be discarded.
Understanding the letter of the law profits us nothing if we fail to grasp its spirit. Jesus is asking us to read the Bible with new eyes. He is asking us to not only know it, but also to interpret it rightly and apply it to our lives. Jesus was never satisfied with merely a rote understanding of Scripture, or a wooden application of its commands. Knowledge of God’s Word that did not lead to a transformed heart and a holy life was less than adequate. It was an idol that had to be smashed.

What are some traditions that we observe today that are religious but not biblical?
Leviticus chapter 23 tells us the feasts or holy days that the Jews were to observe. There is no mention of Easter or Christmas. It is my opinion that we should celebrate Jesus birth, crucifixion, and resurrection everyday not just once a year. The customs that have been adopted for these holidays are steeped in pagan customs and traditions.
Church buildings- I believe, based on the scriptures below, that the church is the body of Christ, the body of believers. I think mankind is putting too much emphasis on a building or denomination.
Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. I believe, as the scripture here says, that we should “not forsake the assembling”. I believe that we should come together to fellowship, praise and worship, encourage each other, and receive a biblical teaching that will help sustain us as we go out into the world and shine Jesus’ light. I’m just not sure that all the things we are doing today in church buildings are necessary. It seems to me that church buildings tend to separate people (by denomination or customs or traditions) rather than embrace them.

I know that some of the things I have said here are controversial but before you judge me harshly just think about it and do a little seeking on your own on the subject. Get your bible out and find out what Jesus had in mind for the church. Let’s do what will please Him.

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The fear of The Lord


Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.

Proverbs 16:6 In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.

Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.

Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.

I don’t know about you but I want all the things that come from fearing The Lord.

So what is it to fear The Lord?

I looked up all those scriptures in the Amplified Version and found that in almost every instance, it was restated as “the reverent and worshipful” fear of The Lord. Then I went to my Hebrew and English lexicon to look up the Strong’s concordance number (3374) associated with these instances of “fear” and found 4 definitions for the Hebrew word yirah. 1)Fear, terror, great fear. 2)A terror=object of terror. 3)Fear of God, reverence, piety. 4)The fear of Yahweh=the law as revered. The word that I keep seeing over and over is some form of revere so I looked it up in Webster’s dictionary. (Revere, reverence, venerate, worship, adore-To honor and admire profoundly and respectfully. Revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling. Reverence presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a similar depth of feeling in the one honoring)

Is it possible to love and fear someone/something at the same time?

Frankly, I was having a hard time with this question so I spent some time in prayer about it. The Lord reminded me how important fire and electricity are to our civilization. He asked me if I feared them. I answered I do and I don’t. I am also not exposed to them directly. There are always safety measures in place whenever I come in close contact with them. However, if I was exposed to the raw and potentially all consuming power of these two forces with no buffer I imagine that I would be very afraid. Right then it all clicked for me, my loving Father was showing me that He unselfishly sent my buffer, my safety measure, my intercessor, my savior, Jesus to me. Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Was this only relevant in the Old Testament or does it still apply?

Everything that is in the bible is truth. When Jesus was praying for us He said John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. The Lord didn’t make a mistake when He had the authors of the bible, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, write down every word that is in there. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, Our God didn’t change during the 400 years between the old and new testaments. Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
As you probably know, the Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, while the New Testament was written in Greek and Aramaic. Therefore, I couldn’t search the Hebrew word yirah (Strong’s concordance reference #3374) in the New Testament. However, I found a very similar Greek word eulabeia (Strong’s concordance reference #2124) which means reverence, piety, fear of God. It is only used once in the New Testament. Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.

I know I have given a lot of information in this blog but I feel like I have only scratched the surface of the topic. I think the bottom line is our God is mighty and powerful beyond our ability to comprehend. He is also loving, caring and concerned with every aspect of our lives. He created us for intimate relationship with Him. He gave us His Word so we could learn about His nature and character and grow in love with Him. We could spend every moment of the rest of our lives delving into His Word and still there would be Truths revealed.

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Fact vs. Truth


Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Three times in Matthew chapter 4 Jesus says to satan “it is written” proving that the bible is the key to all truth and is to be used, by us, to walk in the authority and dominion given back to us by Jesus through His death and resurrection. No matter what you are going through. No matter how hopeless, hurtful, or desperate it may seem we have everything we need to combat every situation. How do I know this, because Jesus said so in John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. There we have it…every power and ability Jesus had we have. You might say I don’t feel like I have power over anything. So now you are faced with a choice…Are you going to believe your feelings or the Truth of Gods Word?
I think the way that we appropriate the power is in what we believe and the words we speak as a result. Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Do you believe the bible is true? The whole bible? Do you believe it is relevant for today? Do you believe Jesus would tell us one thing and do another?

To illustrate I will show you an example of fact vs. truth.

Fact: The doctor has spoken a negative diagnosis over you. He has tested you and proven that you have a disease.

Truth: Matthew 8:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:“He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” Psalm 107:20 He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

So now you have a choice. You can believe and proclaim what the doctor has said or believe and proclaim Gods Word. The same applies to other situations in your life you just have to find the scripture that addresses your situation, read it, believe it is Truth, get it down into your heart and speak it. Speak it every time your situation comes to your mind. Every time you are tempted to worry and fret speak the scripture instead. It is also very important that you not waver and get into unbelief even for a second. Matthew 17:20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” In my opinion this is the hardest part because satan is going to combat your faith with doubt, worry, and unbelief. He will try to plant seeds like “this doesn’t work” or “Jesus has better things to worry about than your problems” or “you don’t deserve it” or “your doing it wrong”. But you will combat his efforts with IT IS WRITTEN!!! Just like Jesus did. Jesus loves you so much! John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. His will is for us to have a great life, not to just get by but to be blessed to the full, in every area of our lives. He has given us everything that we need for that to be a reality but we have to reach out and take it. He isn’t going to force it on us. Let’s do His sayings and be wise.

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I surrender all


 

Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

What does it mean to deny yourself?  It is different for each of us. I looked it up in the dictionary and the 4th meaning says “not to allow yourself something. to refuse to gratify your own needs or desires”.

Yep that pretty much sums it up. That is what Jesus is looking for. Some people who will refuse to gratify their own needs or desires in deference to the Lords will for their lives. He wants people that will TRULY surrender all. We have all sung the hymn before in church but probably not really thought about the gravity of what we are saying.

Are you sold out for the Lord?

Have you made the commitment to do whatever He tells you to do?

Or are you living on the edge of His will for you?

Are you settling for scraps when you could be sitting at the banquet table enjoying the lavishness of His destiny for your life?

 

Some people are scared to let go of (supposed) control over their lives. They think that if they were to give their lives, their plans, their goals, and their dreams over to Jesus He might send them somewhere they don’t want to go. I promise you that He loves you so much that He would never do that to you. He begins a subtle work in your heart when it is fully given over to Him. He puts desires in your heart that will line up with your destiny. He doesn’t do it overnight even though it seems like it sometimes. One day you will wake up and have a burning desire to do something that you never thought you would have a desire to do.

Mark 10:21-22 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Stuff is just stuff. He owns it all anyway. I’m not saying that it is His will for everyone to sell, or give away, all their stuff. I’m just saying that you must be WILLING to do whatever He lays on your heart to do.  A friend of mine recently gave me his laptop. He didn’t have to do that but when he found out that I didn’t have one he heard the Lord telling him to give me his since he was about to buy another one anyway. Another friend of mine had just bought a really nice purse as a replacement for one that got damaged. She was told, by the Lord, to give this purse to another one of our friends. It turns out that the recipient had been asking the Lord for this type of purse.

The Lord desires obedience over sacrifice. You never know how your actions could affect someone else’s life and walk with the Lord.

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Count the cost


1 Chronicles 21:24 Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.”

If you backtrack in this story and read a few verses back you see that the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The Lord did not specify that David was to buy the land but David was wise in the ways of The Lord. If you go back to the beginning of the story you see that satan started the whole mess by tempting David to number the people which was not Gods will.

Today is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for. So many possessions, so many friends, good jobs, good health, nice houses, loving families, the list goes on and on. But how attached are we to these things? How important are they to us? What is our focus? Is the reason we get up each morning and go to work so that we can keep our stuff and increase our stuff until we have to get a bigger house to contain our stuff? I’m not against having nice things but when their maintenance and accumulation becomes our focus, above all else, we have ourselves an idol. If there is something in your possession that you are unwilling to give when The Lord lays it on your heart to give to someone else then we have an idol. We must always be aware of the fact that everything we have is Gods. He gave us the ability to make wealth. He gave us the talents that we use to make wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Luke 14:26-30 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?    Why do you think He put these two trains of thought together? At first He is talking about what it takes to be a disciple and then He switches gears and talks about counting the cost of building a building. I think He was warning us, and the people He was talking to, not to commit to following Him without first knowing how “expensive” it can be. But the reward is much more. SHALOM. PEACE. JOY. REST. LOVE. HOPE.

Below are stories of people in various parts of the world, who have died or have been imprisoned, this week for their decision to follow Jesus.

11/27/2013 Nigeria (AINA) – Suspected Muslim herdsmen slaughtered 37 Christians in coordinated attacks on four Plateau state villages early this morning after Boko Haram terrorists killed at least 34 Christians in Borno state earlier this month, sources said.

11/27/2013 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a seven-year-old boy in northern India was brutally tortured and murdered because of his family’s Christian faith. This inhumane murder represents just one particularly brutal incident of Christian persecution as anti-Christian sentiments in India continues to grow.

Eritrean security forces recently raided a prayer meeting and arrested 185 Christians in Maitemenay, a northern suburb of Asmara. VOM sources say the believers had apparently gathered to pray about the worsening exodus of Eritreans from the country.

Matthew 10:34-39 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

The cost is high but the rewards are higher.

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Not about me…or you


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Mark 11:1-7 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethpage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.

In the other gospels they identified this animal as a donkey but not in this one. I picked this one because it specified that this colt had never been ridden before. I looked online to see if donkeys were super easy to allow a rider for the first time. I found that they are not any easier to train or break than a horse. In fact, they say that you can’t break them by force but instead they must be coerced or bribed into submission. So, naturally, I’m curious about why Jesus picked a colt that had never been ridden before. I know that every prophecy about Him was fulfilled and it was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” And He did just that.

Several months ago, maybe last year, I was talking with my friend, Jana, about the women’s center I am helping her with. And while I was telling her how I am always thinking of how the people I come in contact with can help with the women’s center The Lord told me I was the donkey. I was like…really?! A donkey? Couldn’t I be something a little more glamorous…I don’t know like an eagle or something? But no, I am the donkey. So then I started praying about what that meant. The first thought was the donkey that Balaam rode in Number chapter 22 because it talked and that was what I was doing…talking to everyone I met about the women’s center. But I never got confirmation from The Lord.

Then I was listening to James McDonald one day that week and he was recounting something that happened to him. There was a lady that was upset with him and called him a donkey in a letter. He prayed about it for a week and never got clear understanding about how he was a donkey and what he should do about it. On Friday, of that week, he went to lunch with a pastor friend of his. James did not tell the pastor friend about the letter. As they were walking back to the car after lunch, the friend said The Lord is pleased with all the ways you are serving Him and helping people into the Kingdom. Then the man said, you know even the donkey knew it wasn’t about him. So there it was. That was my answer. It’s not about me. My job is to bring The Lord in…in whatever way I can. Through this blog, through the women’s center, when I begin to preach and teach, and through every ordinary, mundane, daily interaction with people. And it’s your job too. As christians we are the Lords emissary on earth. We are His designated agent. And Who better to represent?

Are you representing Him in the way He would have you?

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Authority


John 19:10-11 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

Election day…albeit a small election. Just two candidates for the seat in congress that was vacated by Jo Bonner. It is our responsibility, as Christians, to pray about who God would have us elect into office. To get out and vote even if it seems to be between the bad and the worse candidate (not to say that is the case in this election). We are blessed to live in a democratic society and we should not take that for granted.

We may not like the authority we are under but we can be sure they would not be there if it wasn’t Gods will for them to be there. (Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.) This scripture is why I try to stay out of conversations about the current government. If I don’t like what they are doing I try to remember that I serve the God that put them in office and that I need to pray for wisdom and discernment for them. I also pray that their hearts will be softened to accomplish that which my God put them in office to achieve. Sometimes it is really hard but I believe that His plan and purpose will come to fruition.

Sometimes when we are going through a situation we can see what God is doing. Sometimes when we are going through a situation we wonder where God is, but after we get through it we can look back and see what He was accomplishing thought it. And sometimes we never understand why we had to go through a situation. I think this last circumstance is the hardest to accept. I heard a sermon once that helped me accept the times when I can’t understand why I had to go through hard times. The pastor was using a motorcycle game at the arcade to illustrate. He explained that there were 4 perspectives that you could choose to view the course as you “rode” the motorcycle. The first was just the road as if you were actually driving a motorcycle. The second was pulled back so you could see the rider and a little more of the road. The last perspective was the entire course, the terrain, the other participants, upcoming twists and turns etc. I liken the 4th perspective as Gods perspective. He can see everything, everybody, and how each action is going to affect His plan. This makes it easier for me to live by faith. To trust in my God, Who has a plan.

It’s a choice.