Clothed with Majesty

I was reading Psalm 93 this morning. I love verse 1, which says, "The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength;"

I love the picture of Him being clothed with majesty. That is a done deal. He's already clothed...with majesty! Then, in the 'b' part of the verse, the picture is that of Him in the process of not only clothing Himself, but GIRDING Himself...with strength.

Hmmm...so, does He change clothes, as we do? Is He ever NOT clothed with majesty? I doubt it, yet the Word gives us this picture of Him in the act of clothing Himself with majesty.

Then, there's the act of 'girding.' What does that mean? My 'Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words' says it 'is used (a) literally, of girding oneself for service, for rapidity of movement, (b) figuratively, of the condition for service on the part of the followers of Christ and (c) emblematically, of Christ's Priesthood, indicative of majesty of attitude and action, the Middle Voice suggesting the particular interest taken by Christ in girding Himself thus.' Aha! Since the psalm overall pertains to the majesty of the LORD, it must be definition (c) that applies here!

Isn't that an interesting word? I love it! (But I happen to love words, maybe you don't). Yet, don't you also love the picture this verse gives us of the LORD girding Himself with strength? We may wonder, why would He need to? He is always strong, is He not? Well, I also read this morning from Revelation 19. Verse 2 says, 'He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants' and verse 11 says, 'He judges and wages war.' Verse 14 says, 'And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.' Verse 15 goes on to say, 'From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.' That activity isn't exactly His everyday activity, is it? Or is it?

My mind goes to the passage in which the woman with the issue of blood touched His garment. I've always loved His response: Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me. (Luke 8:46) WOW! That woman, weakened by YEARS of blood loss and financial loss, touched the fringe of His cloak, with which He had clothed Himself that morning, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped! She didn't even touch HIM, just His cloak. Did He, per Psalm 93:1, clothe and gird Himself with strength THAT morning? I'll bet He did, in prayer, then with a simple garment. The garment may have been simple, but not after He donned it. (not to glorify the cloak). That woman was able to touch His cloak with her weakness and receive His strength in exchange. Are we not able to do the same? Would this not (possibly) 'justify' Him girding Himself with strength daily, or at least more often than we might think, upon 'first glance?' I'm not being dogmatic, just musing...but I prayed He'd show me what to write, and I believe He did. I've never thought of this corollary before, but it makes me weep in worship.

May we touch the hem of His garment today, and throughout the new year of 2011. Per verse 4 of Psalm 93, The LORD on high is mighty!

For God

As I was reading Revelation 5 yesterday, verse 9 arrested me. Let me share the entire verse with you: And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." I've read that verse many other times and and don't know that I've ever stopped to catch the phrase, "for God."

I think many of us ponder from time to time the fact that our dear Lord Jesus Christ purchased us with His blood, but how often do we stop to marvel that He purchased us FOR GOD? If I purchase an item for a friend (with my own money), is it not a gift? We are a gift from Jesus Christ to God His Father. That is a two-fold gift...one gift with many facets (the Body of Christ), yet each one of us individually is also a gift, all 'on its own.' What a cool gift, eh?

Yet, there are times when I feel like I'm a very poor gift. I'll bet you do, too. This reminds me of Ephesians 4:1, which says, "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called." Whew! Should we not recall that verse more often than we do? Should we not memorize it and 'make it our own?' Should we not constantly remind ourselves that we are a gift for God, bought with the highest price ever paid for anything?

Well, that brings me to verse 10 of Revelation 5: You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. Oh, my! This verse alone could take many blog posts! I'd love to know how many of God's gifts realize this! As blood-bought saints of The Most High God, we are kings and priests and we are to reign upon the earth! Now, frankly, most of us want that, but for all the wrong reasons. We wish to spend it on our earthly pleasures and desires rather than those things that will minister to the realm of eternity. Matthew 6:19 & 20 say, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth...but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." So, if we've been designated as kings and priests and to reign upon the earth, how much time do we even spend thinking about storing up treasure(s) in heaven? Let us actively and intentionally minister to Him for Whom we were purchases and to Him Who purchased us.

And may I end with Revelation 5:12..."Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"

Who is the King of glory?

Earlier today, I was reading Psalm 24. In verse 8, David pens, "Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle."

This time of the year, it seems most focus on 'the baby Jesus.' Yes, especially for those with a mother's heart, this is easy to do. Yes, I'm sure He was a sweet baby, in fact, the sweetest of all babies. But let's not forget to go beyond that. We all started out as babies (and certainly, some are sweeter than others). I have no doubt that God uses babies. They are a part of the sanctification of the mother. As they get older, they even moreso become part of the sanctification of the father and siblings as well. But, as with an oak tree, for the most part, the beginning is only the means to something far greater.

Who is the King of glory? It is the GROWN baby Jesus! The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle! Our Victor! The glorious Overcomer! Per Revelation 1:5, He is the firstborn of the dead...that's you and me before He reconciled us to Himself. Revelation 1:5 also declares Him as the faithful witness, the ruler of the kings of the earth (whether they know it or not), Him Who loves us and He Who released us from our sins by His blood! Oh, hallelujah!!!

David penned Psalm 24:8 because He KNEW Him as strong and mighty in battle, as a fellow warrior, yet the mighty warrior who delivered David so many times in battle, even just in Saul's pursuit of him. We may know OF Him as strong and mighty in battle as we read our old Testament, but do we know Him as strong and mighty in OUR battles? He wants us to. How many battles do we fight in our own strength, only calling on Him 'at the last minute,' when we are so exhausted we've nowhere else to turn? Ah...let us call upon Him at the BEGINNING of the battle and watch Him fight them for us. And as we ponder 'the baby Jesus' for the little that's left of this celebration, let us not forget the Lion that came forth from that precious little lamb.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you...for all the RIGHT reasons He's given us!

Beauty from Ashes

Tonight I saw Sam Rotman perform and what a performance it was! One of the things he shared was that Rachmaninoff suffered from depression for a time, so his music had much pain in it. What struck me about this, as he was playing some pieces written by Rachmaninoff, was how Rachmaninoff poured his pain into his music, how he took his pain and made it into something beautiful. I don't know that that was his perspective, but he did it either knowingly or unknowingly. And I don't know that he was one who'd put his faith in Jesus Christ. Now, frankly, I've never been a fan of Rachmaninoff's. I always considered his music rather dark, but now I know why. It's still not my favorite classical music, but I loved hearing the story behind his music. I suppose more than that, I loved how the Lord showed me that personal pain can be turned into something beautiful. Rachmaninoff's music may not be beautiful to me, but it certainly has been/is to many others.

Isaiah 61:3 says, (NLT) "To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair." So, we give Him the ashes of our life and He gives us in return a crown of beauty. Hence, the way I've heard it put before, 'beauty for ashes.' Such a deal! He makes something beautiful out of the ashes we've made of our lives! He alone can turn our mourning into joyous blessing, even if not to us, to others. And we may never even realize it here in time. If we'll give Him our despair, He can turn it into festive praise! Yes! He can! And He will! If we'll let Him.

It makes me think of Horatio Spafford, who wrote "It Is Well with My Soul." If you are not familiar with his story, Google him. He lost most of what he'd owned in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, then lost all four of his daughters. He wrote this song as he sailed over to meet his wife after their deaths in 1873 or 1874. So this song has ministered to probably millions of hearts in the last 136 years or so. What an example of giving Him your pain and letting Him make beauty from ashes. Isn't He wonderful?

Overwhelmingly Conquer

In my quiet time this morning, I reread Romans 8:37. It arrested me. It says, "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." Y'know, that's not a very 'big' verse, but it is PACKED.

First of all, we need to look back at what the 'all these things' are. In verse 35, Paul says, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" These are things most American believers know little about. These are things that are so much more intense than the things we face on a daily or weekly basis. Yet, they were not just coming through those experiences by the skin of their teeth. They were, according to Paul, OVERWHELMINGLY CONQUERING. Can we truly grasp the depth of this? I don't think I can. I do know some of the horrific things some of our brethren suffer in other lands because of their faith in Jesus Christ. I know of some of the things Nero did to the believers in his day. They were things no human being should ever inflict upon another human being, just as other atrocities today that are being committed.

Yet, do I/we overwhelmingly conquer in all these things we go through? Do we even 'just conquer' in these things? Do we consult with Him BEFORE we fret and worry about these things? For, if we did, we could just skip the worrying and fretting part. Right? When we lose our jobs, do we overwhelmingly conquer? When we're rushing to get somewhere and run into new construction (which seems to be at least a weekly occurrence in Tulsa these days), do we overwhelmingly conquer? That's just part of my list. What's on your list? Are you conquering overwhelmingly? I long to, but I'm not there yet. I'm not bad, really, on the joblessness, but the traffic seems to strip me of my conqueror status every time.

But, again, what a verse. What a passage. As The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, "These things--stated in increasing intensity--do not separate Christians from Christ; instead they are part of the "all things" (Rom 8:28) God uses to bring them to conformity to His Son." So, my dear friends, if our brethren, past and present, can overwhelmingly conquer in such intense situations, may WE OVERWHELMINGLY CONQUER in the things that come our way, whether large or small, whether traffic or the death of a loved one. May we allow this verse to be branded upon our hearts and minds, also remembering the rest of the verse...through Him who loved us.

Hardening of the Arteries

As I was praying earlier today, one thing that came to my mind was an analogy. When we have a buildup of plaque in our physical arteries, it restricts the flow of blood. This is called atherosclerosis, but it is also called 'hardening of the arteries.' This condition causes dastardly results, such as restricted blood flow to the heart, the brain and arteries in other parts of the body.

Do we consider a hardening of our spiritual arteries any LESS dangerous? Since His love is already in us, what interferes with its outflow to others? It's not Him. If He lives in us, does He not also love in us? It occurred to me that I can ask Him to put His love in my heart, first & foremost for Him, then for others, but...it's already there. If it's not flowing out to others, it's not because He needs to supply me with more. It means I need to remove the blockage(s)...such as bitterness, unforgiveness, self-absorption. The list goes on and your list could be very different from mine.

So, why is this such a big deal? God has given us a most wonderful allegory between our human bodies and His Body...the body of Christ. His body, as ours, is made up of many members, which all serve in different ways, having (very) different functions. Some may be more important than others, some may be more visible than others, yet no less important. Some may be beautiful and some ugly...yet all are necessary. And they all need the supply of blood to fulfill their function(s). The blood supply brings needed nutrients, cleansing and LIFE! When the blood supply is cut off to any member of the body, it soon expires and ceases to be alive. So, as with our physical bodies, the members of His Body MUST HAVE that continual supply. He could do it all by Himself, but He's chosen to make the body an interdepent entity. We must all give and receive to and from the other members of the Body. If we do not, we experience a measure of death. If my foot is amputated due to a diabetic condition, I'm not dead, but part of me has died.

Another analogy is a pond. If a pond only receives inflow of water, it becomes stagnant due to the lack of outflowing. If a pond is a source of a stream, and only flows out, it eventually dries up. Neither situation is good. They both produce the death of the pond. There must be both...inflow and outflow.

So it is with us, as members of His Body. We must receive (with all humility) from other members of the Body AND we must give to other members of the Body...or death, in some form or measure, occurs. How are your arteries? Y'know, as with our physical arteries, they're not seen by others, or even ourselves, unless we have them checked out by an 'expert.' But, we rarely have them checked until we have some symptoms that indicate there might be a problem. Hmmm...any symptoms of artery blockage? Let's check in with the Expert to see if we have some unseen artery blockage for a diagnosis and proper treatment!

Dare we ask Him THAT?

How brave are you in the things you ask of Him? Do you ever ask Him to do something, anything that ONLY He can do? Are you afraid to? GO AHEAD! I DARE you! :)

I confess, I don't do it THAT often, but I do ask Him to do one thing in particular that ONLY He can do. I ask Him on behalf of my brethren who are suffering persecution to not let the beatings and torture weaken them, but that instead, they'd actually be STRENGTHENED in their faith. I believe with all my heart that ONLY HE can do that. And He can. And, I believe He is willing.

Think about it. Have you ever asked Him to do something that no human can/could do? Think about Joshua, when he 'spoke to the Lord,' then told (in the sight of Israel) the sun and the moon to stand still...and they did...for about a whole day, while Israel avenged themselves of their enemies. WOW! THAT man had faith! You and I have the comfort of asking something like that in the privacy of only His company. Therefore, if He doesn't answer the way we think He should, we won't be embarrassed. But Joshua did this 'in the sight of Israel.' And God honored him by granting his request. "There was no day like that before it or after it" according to Joshua 10:14. Now, of course, Joshua was in His will. He wasn't asking for something just for his own pleasure. God Himself was fighting the enemies of Israel alongside them before Joshua made this request. And guess what? God is no respecter of persons. (Now, I'm not encouraging you to ask Him to stop the sun for a few hours so you can finish an outdoor project or the like...) But, has it ever occurred to you that He'd LOVE for you to ask Him to do something that no human can do? In Malachi 3;10, He told Israel to quit withholding their tithes from Him and He'd open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing UNTIL IT OVERFLOWED! He actually told them to test Him in this! And this is in the middle of a rebuke! Sometimes I think we're like a person who has a Lexus sitting in the garage and takes the bus everywhere they go. Let's allow Him to show us His glory by asking Him to do something only He can do. (Let me know how it turns out!)

Marriage...or not?

I have never been married. During a conversation with a dear friend recently whose daughter made a very bad choice of a husband, I shared some of my insights about marriage. She asked that I post those. (I'll do my best to remember!)

Yes, when I was young(er), I would have loved to get married and have children. I always assumed I would. But, I've never really attracted the 'right' men. When I was younger, one reason was that I didn't deem myself worthy of the right kind! Sad, but true. So, even if a 'good guy' was interested in me, I'd end the relationship, knowing there must be something wrong with him if he was interested in me! But I still longed to be loved, in a marital way.

So, when I became a believer at the age of 28, I was so excited! I knew now that God had been 'saving' me for the right man! Well, year after year passed and it just didn't happen for me, while friend after friend married and had children. Yes, I got rather angry at God about this. Was I that fat, stupid and/or ugly? Undeserving? My father never exhibited much love for me, so this added fuel to the fire. At some point, I not only 'resigned myself' to singleness, but got over being mad at Him about it. He knows best, doesn't He? If I really believe that, and really believe He's perfectly capable of bring 'the right man' to me, if there even is one, why should I be angry at Him about this issue? And why would I want to be married if it's not His will for me? I grew up in a house (not a home) with a bad marriage and know it's not pretty. In fact, it's pretty ugly. And, over the years, I've heard many, many stories about marriages that did NOT turn out to be 'fairy tale marriages.' ..even among those who profess to love Him.

I'm not sure how or why, but even though I SO longed for marriage, I still wasn't willing to settle for less than 'the right one.' Oh, how many gals I've seen over the years want marriage (and the wedding!) more than being sure it was God's match. And most have paid the price. It's too long-term a decision to just marry the first one that asks! Especially if you're going into it with the Biblical perspective that it's for the rest of your earthly life! Yes, I was engaged once and 'woke up' BEFORE the wedding! Praise God! I won't even tell you how I KNOW that wasn't God's match, but I put out a fleece before the Lord and He showed me. I'm so glad I listened. I know I spared myself a few (or many) years of hell on earth.

Look at Abraham and Sarah. It's not the issue of marriage, but it IS the issue of being content with your circumstances. It's all about trusting God. If He wants you to have a baby, He's perfectly able to empower you to become pregnant. I just met a gal a couple of weeks ago who'd been told she'd most likely not be able to have children due to an operation she'd had. She now has two precious little girls. But getting back to Abraham and Sarah, I think most of us know the story. She decided she'd 'help God out.' We are still living with the consequences of her decison all these centuries later!

As Christians, we SAY we believe God, or that we trust Him. Yet, our actions often betray our words. And I think we miss that fact quite often. Do my reactions or responses line up with what I say I believe? Do we ask ourselves that often enough? I suspect not. And I think He sometimes puts us in situations to show us we really DON'T believe what we say we believe. (Or we'd never know it). He did that with me recently. When I had pneumonia, I could see NO purpose in it whatsoever. I forsook prayer, for the most part, rarely read my Bible and was, frankly, not too happy with Him! Well, guess what? I believe part of the purpose was to show me what my heart response was/would be in that situation. It was UGLY! I was a traitor to my Lord and to the very words I've told so many others about trusting Him when things aren't going quite the way we think they should. Yes, I've repented and He, as always, has been so gentle and true to His Word. It makes me love Him all the more, but I NEVER want to do that again! He is far too worthy. May we remember to trust Him in all our circumstances.

To us...or IN us?

I just bought a new shelf for my books, as I'd 'outgrown' my old one. In the process of rearranging my books, I came across one I read nine years ago. I read only the things I'd highlighted in chapter one and decided I need to read this book again. You're probably wondering by now what book it is. It's "Men Whose Eyes Have Seen the King" by T. Austin-Sparks. I'm now in chapter two and struck again by Saul's conversion. I'm going to quote from this book, so will put the quotes in blue. (That way you won't confuse what I'm saying with what Sparks wrote).



He wrote about the effect of being there for the transfiguration of Christ by Peter and how it carried him through to the end of his life and ministry. It is not that something has remained as the memory of an objective experience, but that something has happened in him.



We can get the 'truth' about anything and everything: all the truth that is available about the Lord Jesus Himself -- His birth, His life, His works, His words, His death, His resurrection -- all that there is; we can have all the 'truth' about the Church -- and what a lot there is available; we can have it all, know it all -- nothing fresh to know about it; and any other thing you like to mention, in the Scriptures -- and yet the fact can remain that nothing has happened in us as a result. That is not how it ought to be. True spiritual apprehension ought not just to be something in front of us -- it ought to be something in us.



In the next paragraph, he moves on to Paul. Here is this fact, that, on the Damascus road, Jesus appeared unto him in glory -- 'brightness above the brightness of the sun.' (Now I looked for this version of this verse in several different Bible versions a few postings ago and couldn't find it, but I knew I'd been taught at some point, that it was per above rather than just 'suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.' This so much more portrays our Lord Jesus...a Light brighter than the brightness of the sun! No wonder Paul had an eye problem throughout the rest of his life!) But as you know, when speaking of it years afterward, he says: "it pleased God...to reveal His Son in me" (Gal 1:15-16). It was not only to him -- it was something in him. The Apostle Paul's whole life and ministry was based upon and sprang out of that double event, to and in.


It very much reminds me of Romans 11:36 ~ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things to Him be the glory forever. Amen. So that's how it was with Paul, the new creature in Christ. Paul's life was from Him, through Him and to Him. Ours should be, too, but do we really live that way? Is the 'from, through and to' as evident in my life and your life as it was in Paul? If not, let us ponder anew this great gift He's given us and pray it will be.

Spiritual Gifts

I had lunch with a friend yesterday. She was sharing something with me and I replied that I think (personal opinion only; I've not researched this to back it up) that people who have the gift of mercy are often easily duped and/or taken advantage of. I've seen it more than once. It seems that with the gift of mercy comes a desire to believe the best about anybody and everybody. Well, sad to say, that can be downright dangerous with some people, and even sadder, it also applies to some who claim to be members of the body of Christ. You may be scratching your head, so let me give you an example. Let's say a member of the Body has deep insecurity and exhibits very bad, even sinful, behavior. Now, if that member is young in the faith, perhaps they've just not gotten proper admonishment or even teaching about this. But, if that member has worn this insecurity like a badge for many years, sorry. It's not an excuse for sin. But, one who has the gift of mercy is likely to see it that way. I'm not condeming those with this gift, but I think many of them want to 'pat others on the head' and say, 'Oh, but he/she has such insecurity.' (or whatever the issue is). There often seems to be a lack of discernment with the gift of mercy. Therefore, we can help them be aware of this and encourage them to seek discernment OR, if they really struggle with it, then we need to encourage them to always seek counsel from others when making a decision that will affect the rest of his/her life, or another's.

From there, I went on to say that mercy is not the only gift that has pitfalls. I have the gift of encouragement. Well, before the Lord Himself showed me I have this gift, I used my mouth in terrible ways against other members of the Body...to the extent that, when He showed me I possess this gift, I had two reactions. The first was elation! I'd been praying and praying that He'd show me what my spiritual gift(s) was and He did! Finally! It seemed like I'd been praying about it forever, to the point that I almost didn't think I had any, even though I knew that wasn't biblical. So, I elated for maybe a minute, then I was struck with terror! Oh, my! I was convicted down to my toenails about the many UNencouraging things I'd said about and to others. AARRGH!!! This made me afraid to even tell anybody that He'd shown me I had the gift of encouragement, as I was afraid they'd laugh at me! So, my next thought was, "Ok. I've done some terrible things with my tongue, but I'm taking this bull by the horns! I'm going to use my mouth for blessing instead of cursing from now on." I'm sorry to say I haven't achieved that fully, but, for the most part, my mouth is used for blessing others. Praise His most holy Name, for it is by His grace alone.

I'll let you think about the 'pitfall(s)' of your spiritual gift(s), as this post is getting long. Again, I believe each has its own. But, the one thing I do want to share before signing off is this. Many years ago, I had a roommate. We were talking and she said something about how satan attacks us in our weak areas. As soon as I began this reply, I knew the Lord was speaking through me and to me, as I'd never even thought about this before. But, I said, "No, I think he really likes to attack us in our spiritual gifts, as what are they for? The building up of the body of Christ! So, if he can cripple us in our spiritual gifts, look how much of his work is done!"

I firmly believe that our spiritual gifts are part of our stewardship. So, my friend, beware of the particular pitfall that shadows your spiritual gift AND, USE your spiritual gift(s)! Don't sit alone at home all the time feeling sorry for yourself for whatever reason, but seek Him as to how He wants you to put that/those gifts to use to build up and/or equip other members of His Body! And don't retreat because you're afraid your gift's pitfall will overcome. HE is the Overcomer and has called us to be overcomers as well. (in His strength, not ours) <3

Instant Obedience

I was reading Acts 8 (much) earlier today and was struck by Philip's immediate obedience in four different verses. In verse 26, an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.) Verse 27 says, 'So he got up and went;' No delay, no whining about how hot it was or that it was a desert road, he just 'got up and went.'

Then, in verse 29, the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." Again, no rationalizing, but verse 30 says, 'Philip ran up...' He didn't stop because he didn't know the man in the chariot or that he (probably) looked like an official of some sort, or maybe even royalty. No, he RAN up...immediately. He didn't walk or shuffle his feet, scratching his head, wondering if this was really a smart thing to do.

Then, in verse 34, the eunuch said to Philip, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself of of someone else?" Again, verse 35 tells us, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him."

Now, I could stop there, but it goes on to say that as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" Philip's immediate response was to ascertain whether or not the eunuch believed in Christ. As soon as the eunuch said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," Philip ordered the chariot to stop, went down into the water, with the eunuch, and he baptized him. He didn't tell him to get baptized as soon as he made it back to Ethiopia, since he wasn't a pastor.

I'd never before been so impressed with Philip. In previous readings, I thought it was cool how the Lord used Philip, but I think I may have missed WHY the Lord used Philip so much in this brief window of time captured in this passage of Scripture. He was INSTANTLY OBEDIENT!

It reminds me of teaching I heard one Sunday a few years ago. The pastor said that delayed obedience is disobedience. Oh, my...it pierced me. And yet, a few years later, I have to wonder (or do I really?) how quick I am to obey Him. Oh, to be like Philip! I fear we are all too ready to have to 'weigh things out' before we obey Him. hmmm...interesting how I switched from 'me' to 'we,' isn't it? Perhaps I/we'd be much more used by Him if we were quicker to obey when we hear His voice. May I and may we.

Am I a Worshipper or Do I Just Worship?

The pastor who taught a few Sundays ago posed an interesting question, but put it in different settings. Some examples he used are: I fish, but am I a fisherman? (In other words, I might own a lot of fishing gear, but how often do I actually fish?) The other topics he used are: I run, but am I a runner? I golf, but am I a golfer? For each example, do I just do these things occasionally, or is it something I do a lot and/or think about a lot?

As he was teaching, what came to my mind is, do I worship here and there, or am I a worshipper? I reluctantly confess, I'm more in the first category than the second. It seems a lot of my worship is 'on the run.' I might be in the car and see a beautiful sunset which causes me to worship Him for maybe a minute or two. Then, hours later, as I'm praying before I fall asleep for the night, I might worship Him. How many times a day do I typically worship Him? sigh...not nearly enough...and there are SO MANY things in our periphery to cause us to worship Him! As I sit here now, I can look outside and see the sunshine. Yes, I can worship Him for sunshine, especially COOLER sunshine after a LONG, HOT summer! I can see trees, with varying colors of leaves which (can) cause me to worship Him...the Master Creator!

I suspect each of us have different things that are more likely than others to cause us to worship. I must say, my cats often cause me to worship, or a cloud-filled sky. My cat, Percy, is (in my eyes) a work of art. I believe God crafted him especially for me. He's on my lap now, being a little purr factory. The variegated colors of gold on him are beautiful, as are the adorable little tufts of fur on each of his pink and white paw pads. His hair is long and oh, so soft. He's JUST CUTE!!! It's those times when I'm AWARE of how much I delight in them that I stop and realize that, if I can delight so much in my critters, why would He not delight in me at least as much? Now THAT'S cause for worship!

But, I think, truly, what makes me worship Him most of all is His Word. Now, where would I begin on THAT one? There are so many marvelous passages of Scripture. And when I SING songs that tell of His attributes, oh...my heart softens and sometimes melts in worship. Oh, how I long to be a worshipper, rather than worshipping just 'now and then.' Make me, and all of us, Lord, true worshippers, for You are worthy!

Where Have I Been?

Hello...I hear I have at least one reader who has missed me, so I apologize to all for my long absence. In my last post, I said I'd be going on a trip to meet a dear friend. I did, but it turned out much differently than I expected. About four days before I left, I was VERY tired and sleeping A LOT! But, I felt fine, other than that, so, I took off Sunday morning as planned, assuming the Lord would bring any necessary healing as I drove, especially after all the sleep I'd gotten the previous four days. I did wake up coughing Saturday morning and coughed a lot that day, tho. Well, I got there Sunday afternoon and coughed my head off Sunday and Monday, to the point that my ribs hurt! My friend, Peggy, urged me to let her take me to urgent care, as she was afraid it could turn into pneumonia. As I laid in bed Monday night, coughing like crazy, with a washcloth over my mouth, trying to not keep her awake, I decided I would let her take me the next day.

So, Tuesday morning I told her that and she found out where the nearest one was and how to get there, (as we were both in a state other than the ones in which we live.) We went and I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. The doctor prescribed meds for me. We left the urgent care at about 10:30 a.m. We were going to pick up my meds and go back to the hotel. However, as we were driving down the parkway, not even five minutes after leaving the urgent care, an old woman RAN INTO US! Peggy's car was not drivable. Great...we spent the rest of the morning & most of the afternoon getting her car to a body shop and getting a rental car. We were, fortunately, able to pick up her car the next day. They did just enough repair so she could drive home and have it fixed at her local Lexus body shop, at her request. So, we went on to our next location, which is a timeshare that she and her husband own. We had a nice time there for two days, then came home, so I got back to Tulsa about 7:00 p.m. Friday.

So, Monday, I went to see my doctor and my chiropractor. I saw the accident 'happening' right before the other driver hit us, so tensed up. So, my chiropractor took x-rays of my back and my doctor took x-rays of my chest. I had more x-rays that day than I'd had in the last five years! Well, my doctor said I had 'a little bit of pneumonia' in my left lung. I ended up having it for a month, but then went right into allergies. It's been one heck of a fall! And what a vacation! After I got back from my trip, I spent most of my time being horizontal for most of September! I was SO wiped out! If that was just 'a little bit of pneumonia,' I have deep sympathy for those who've had it worse than that! I couldn't do much, except go to my doctor/chiropractor appointments, then stop on the way home and get some groceries. Needless to say, I bought food that was very easy to prepare!

Then, since, I just have had a different routine. I can't seem to get back to my old one and just couldn't get back to blogging. I'd want to, then I'd get sidetracked and/or run out of time. So, dear ones, that's 'where I've been.' Thank you, dear Julie, for telling me you have kept checking my blog, as it encouraged me to get back to it! ;)

Blessed...why?

I was listening to a song the other day. Part of the song says, 'Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.' As I was delighting in this song, it occurred to me that a man (or woman) can't be blessed unless they're blessed by the Lord. Now, this may sound silly to you, but I promise I'm not being silly. (as I can well be)

When we think about 'being blessed,' it seems to me that the focus is on US. It's one more 'all about me thing' that we do. Let's take it a step farther...yes, we know HE is the One blessing us, but how far do we go with that thought?

He is the only One that can truly bless. Yes, a friend may 'bless' us, but, if it's a true blessing, it's really Him blessing us through that friend. Have we ever stopped to think that HE is being blessed by blessing us? (I confess I hadn't until stopped by this song the other day). How precious He is! I'm not a parent, but I certainly know and have known many. Does it not bless YOU to bless your child? In most cases, YES! Therefore, why would it not bless Him to bless His children? I'm certain I've quoted this passage before, but I'll use Isaiah 30:18 to help prove this: Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you...would you agree with me that His being gracious to us and having compassion on us are ways in which He blesses us? Yes, the verse is written to Israel, but why would it pertain any less to His children (the Body of Christ)?

And, Psalm 41:1 says, 'How blessed is he who considers the helpless;' Is He not the One Who MOST OF ALL considers the helpless?

I could go on, but won't for fear of boring you. But, I will finish by saying it's perhaps like the water cycle. Ps 41:13 says, 'Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.' Now, don't you think that blessing upon our God by David blessed the King of kings? God blessed David and, as it should be, David returned the blessing to Him...just as the rain falls from Heaven, waters the earth, then returns to the heavens. YES! Let us bless Him, the True Blessor, from Whom all blessing flows!

Where Am I?

Hello, dear friends!

I have not been well for about three days now. Yes, it's been a drag...today, I've been coughing my head off most of the day (it's August in Tulsa...go figure!)...and trying to prepare to leave town tomorrow morning for several days. Lovely...y'know, it amazed me how much 'stuff' I had to do on the computer before leaving! Notifying necessary people that I won't be here for scheduled times of getting together. Well, one of the abilities that He has put in me is connecting, so there ya go! And I had to schedule payment of three different bills online. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up, especially when one isn't feeling that hot to begin with.

And, I still have to pack, BUT, I have already done my laundry. Yet, when I see my friend that I'm going to see, whom I only get to see about once a year, 'it will be worth it all.' We've been friends for over 35 years and have lived in different states for about 25 years, but we've considered our friendship of enough value to maintain it all these years! That is SO special! We can be apart for a year or more, yet when we get together, it's like we've never been apart! Yes, we miss 'chunks' of each others' lives, but we still know that inner person of each other. So, some things change, and some things don't. One of us might be discouraged or in a tough season of life, but inside, we're still the same (although growing in Him). That is a beautiful thing. I hope you have someone in your life that knows you like that. Our lovely God has made us to be connected to others, especially other members of His Body. I marvel sometimes at new things I learn about Him by connecting with one of His kids who know Him in a little (or very!) different way than I do!

And, likewise, whatever 'preparing' we have to do down here, some of which may be quite unpleasant, 'it will be worth it all, when we see Jesus!' Amen? Amen! So, it'll be a few days before you hear from me again and I wanted to let you know I've not forgotten you. :)

Who Am I?

It seems as though this past year, the Lord has had me on a quest to learn more about not just who I am, but who He created me to be. Now, one friend of mine has a concern that this may be drawing me away from more important things, like getting to know Who He is. But, I see them as going hand in hand. If He created me very uniquely (and He did), does that NOT teach me about Who He is? I believe it does. Also, in that 'package' comes a freedom, and that freedom gives me more incentive to know Who He is. Having had parents who 'squashed' the real me, I've 'fought' to know who I really am for many years of my life. And, this is answer to many prayers I've prayed that He would make me into the woman He created me to be, as most of my life, I've felt I've been light-years aways from that. So, as I've been in the process of becoming the woman He created me to be, I'm 'freed' from that search. I'm freed from self-condemnation for not being whatever it is I think I'm NOT being! sigh...we make things so much more complicated than I think He ever intended.

Anyway...it started with learning what my passions are, and that I even HAD/HAVE passions! Yes, me! I have passions! And guess what? I've had them for a while, just didn't notice them as such. Maybe that doesn't excite you, but it has excited me! Why? For so many years of my life, I just kind of drifted along, day to day, doing whatever 'happened,' like a cork floating on water. No intentional direction...yet, I see His gracious hand, even in that, as He knew me and my background. I don't say this in a hateful way, but my parents never taught me about goals. How could they? They knew little about goals themselves. Their main (only?) goal was to make it to the next paycheck. So, most of my life, 'goal' has been 'a four-letter word' to me. People who accomplish much don't usually have that outlook. At this point, you may be wondering what my passions are. Ok...I'll tell you. Prayer is a top passion for me. People are a top passion for me. Encouraging people is a top passion of mine. And, it's one of my spiritual gifts. In fact, it's the first one I discovered I had! (That's another story...)

Then, on June 5th, I took a one-day class called 'Your One Degree.' All my life, I've never known 'what I want to be when I grow up.' I've tried other 'classes' or online 'tests,' but I was never satisfied with the results. They always somehow seemed to 'misdiagnose' me, I felt. Well, there have been weekly followup classes since. They have really helped me to hone in on my God-given design. I've learned, not just what my spiritual gifts are, (as so many seek, then stop there), but those abilities and skills He's woven into me that ENERGIZE me! (Ok, so now you want to know what THOSE are, right?) Well, sit down, as I'm sure you'll be surprised. (NOT! Unless you don't know me well). I won't mention ALL of them, as many are very similar, but some are: communicating, connecting and empowering. Oh, yes! These are things I LOVE to do and am also GOOD AT! (Now, if you DO know me well, and disagree, PLEASE let me know!)

Now my big question is: How can I utilize these now-identified abilities to support myself? I don't know how to bundle these and drop them into a 'job-classifier' and have a perfect job description pop out! But guess what? There is One Who has already defined all the jobs there are and He's defined many that aren't listed on the job search websites. He's been preparing me and teaching me...now, because He is faithful (even when I am faithless), He will show me what, when and where...in His timing!

Kitty Tales

I've mentioned before how God uses my kitties to show me things. I doubt I'll remember all of them in this post, as there've been so many things. But, here are a couple:

Percy is very laid back EXCEPT when it comes to his mealtimes. He has an alarm clock in his tummy! Even if his last meal was much later than usual, his little tummy alarm goes off at the same time for his next meal. He expects to be fed at the usual time regardless of when he last ate. I might want to feed them later than usual since their last meal was later than usual. This is my prerogative as 'the human,' right? Well, when Percy is ready to eat, he often 'camps out' on my lap until I feed him. No, this is not affection. It's more like the widow and the judge in Luke 18! Verse 5 says, "yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out." I didn't know Percy knew Scripture, but he sure knows that parable! Sometimes I go ahead and feed him earlier than I planned or he WEARS ME OUT with his whining! So, am I willing to wait on God for that particular item when He wants to give it to me later than when I'm expecting it? Then, do I wear HIM out with my whining? (notice I didn't say 'praying,' but 'whining'...yes, there is a difference!)

And, my cats are indoor kitties. I've declawed both of them (front paws only) and for different reasons. I declawed Mazie because this little gal was DANGEROUS with her claws! I was SO glad I'd already had her declawed when I got Percy, or she'd have ripped him to shreds! I actually had Percy for a little over two years before I got him declawed, as he'd NEVER been aggressive with them. But, he'd unintentionally scratch me with them, knead the back of my couch with them and occasionally snag my clothes with them. He'd even get them caught in the rug sometimes! So, when I was able to afford it, I had him declawed, too. And, (partly) because they're declawed, I don't let them outside. But the MAIN reason I don't let them outside is because I don't want them bringing in fleas and/or ticks! What's the spiritual lesson in this? They, being cats, didn't understand why I had them declawed. It was a little miserable for them as they recovered. But they didn't know they'd be much happier without them! No more getting them stuck in the carpet! And, to my knowledge, neither of them know about fleas or ticks, as they've never had them since they've been in my care. So, when they think I'm a mean momma for not letting them go outside, they are unaware of the dangers on the other side of the glass sliding doors! They don't even know what fleas and ticks ARE or that they could get hit by a car (what's a car, Momma?) or attacked by another cat...on and on we could go. They don't know I'm protecting them! It just looks like a whole lot of fun 'on the other side!' Does this remind you of the prodigal son? It does me! How many times have we gotten angry at Him for not letting us do something that we REALLY WANTED TO DO, all the time never knowing the dangers associated with that activity? He's all-knowing and we are not. How many times has He protected us and we never even knew it?

I'm certainly not 'all-knowing,' but I know more than my cats do. Because I know more than they do, I can protect them from things they know nothing about. And I do it out of love for them. Our God has protected and will protect us from things we often know NOTHING about...because He loves us and is wiser than we are. Let us be grateful to Him for His protection rather than be angry at Him for not allowing us certain things He knows we're better off without.

God our Pilot

In my last post, I shared about my trip to Thailand and how that came about. Well, here's 'the rest of the story.'

I mentioned in the last post that I'd never been to another country. Well, actually I had been to Canada a couple of times, but didn't fly into Canada either time. (and it's on the same continent). I KNEW that God had orchestrated this trip and my flights were reserved 3-4 months before the trip. So, I didn't have to face my fear until about a month or so before I was to leave. Fear? Fear of what? FLYING OVER THE OCEAN! I kept putting on a false bravado (mostly to myself, as I didn't really share this with anybody). To add to this, another friend of ours had flown over to see them in March of that year (I flew in late September) and said the flights and airports in Asian languages were very difficult to maneuver. And she's traveled all over the world! Oh, my! Was God big enough for THIS??? He'd already proven Himself able to set up the trip, but was He going to be TANGIBLE to me in foreign airports where I didn't know the language? Ooohhh...scary! Then another friend said, "Well, you're doing the hard one first. If you can do Asia, any other countries will be a piece of cake!" THAT was a real confidence-builder!

So, oh, was I PRAYING about the flights over there! And guess what God did? Karen, the female friend I was going to see (I was going to visit a married couple) told me she needed to come back to the States for a business trip in September! She said she'd try to work it out so she could fly back to Thailand with me! Boy, I was REALLY praying now! I was asking for even just one leg of the trip for her to be with me, as that close to trip time, I didn't DARE think she'd be able to fly the whole way back with me! Well, our God is GREAT!!! She and I flew all the way from Tulsa to Chiang Mai, Thailand TOGETHER and she booked her flights about three weeks before I was scheduled to leave for Thailand! And, in the almost four years she's been in Thailand, I can only think of ONE other time she's come back for business. I did fly back by myself, but I'd already been through the airports and came back the same way I went. So, it was a piece of cake! (And they DO, after all, have most signage in English). Thanks to Him! I came back through DFW and my friend that went in March came back through LA. (shudder) She said that was the worst part of her return flights!

So, may I remind you of Psalm 81:10? (You know I will anyway!) It says, "I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it." Yes, He did and He will!

Low Expectations

Today in my reading, I read this: One of our greatest spiritual shortcomings is low expectations. We don't expect much from God because we aren't asking for much." I'm inclined to rearrange that to say, " We don't ask much from God because we don't expect much from God."

Does this describe you? It certainly has described me for much of my life. Yes, I've been a faithful pray-er for all of my 32+ years as a believer, but for most of those years, I asked only minimally for myself. Now, I'm not in the 'ask for a gold cadillac' group, BUT...I do think that many of us who are His kids don't ask Him for NEARLY as much as He'd love to give us. And even in that, we must exercise humility. (one of those words not promoted much by our current culture)

Example: Almost four years ago, very dear friends of mine went to Thailand with a well-known ministry organization. When they knew for sure that they'd be going, they said to me, "You'll have to come and visit us in Thailand!" Now I'd never seriously aspired to even visit another country, but even if I had, it would never have been Thailand. HOWEVER, as I've always said about New York, I'd LOVE to go if I could go with someone who knew it! And, certainly, by the time I'd go, my friends would 'know' Thailand. So, I got online and starting looking at airfares. Well, AY YI YI!!! Even using the sites that shop for the cheapest prices, I was looking at about $4,000! No way could I afford that, so I 'crossed it off my list' and moved on with life.

Then, a little over two years ago, it occurred to me that I'd NEVER EVEN ASKED the Lord about going to Thailand! (Yes, I'm a little slow...) I apologized to Him for not even asking Him about this and told Him if He wanted me to go to Thailand to make a way. I then pretty much forgot about it, but not for long. A friend from Egypt had been here for about six months, was getting ready to go back and asked me to go to dinner with her before she and her family left. I happily agreed. Well, before the night of our dinner, I looked up fares for Egypt, thinking maybe they'd be cheaper than fares to Thailand. They were about $6,000! I nearly fainted and decided I wouldn't be going to Egypt, either. So, during dinner, my friend said, "You ought to come to Egypt" to another friend who dined with us. I said, "Oh, right! It costs about $6,000!" She said, "Oh, no. We're only paying $500 apiece to fly back." I asked her WHERE she got those fares and she said, "Consolidator.com." So, when I got home that night, I checked that site and found a fare to Thailand for only $2,000! (Now, this is still a lot of money, but it was HALF of what I'd found at first!) So I emailed my friends in Thailand and asked if they still wanted me to come. They did and I went! And not only did God get me to the site with the $2,000 fare, He also helped out with the cost (but I'm not at liberty to share how). All of this prompted me to wonder how many things I've maybe missed out on because I never asked Him! I would have missed out on going to Thailand if I'd never asked Him! And I'm sure it was Him reminding me that I'd never asked Him! After all, I'd 'crossed it off my list!'

Can you think of any desire you've 'crossed off of your list' because you don't think He'd EVER work it out for you? Has it ever occurred to you that, just maybe, HE's the One Who put that desire in your heart in the first place? Maybe He's LONGING to fulfill that desire but He's waiting on YOU to trust Him enough to ask Him for it! Well, you just read my story and He loves me NO MORE than He loves you! Go for it! ASK Him! (I dare you!)

'That Vengeful God of the Old Testament'

I've been reading Jeremiah. I love the major prophets. And I love how the Word can be new to you even when you've read it MANY times before. I know I've read Jeremiah 5:1 several times, but when I read it Friday, it was like I'd never read it before. It says, "Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her." Does this remind you of anything? Well, it never did with me before, but Friday it SO reminded me of when Abraham was discussing the overthrow of Sodom with the LORD. In Genesis 18:26, the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account."

How often do believers and unbelievers alike hear these accounts and refer to 'the God of the Old Testament' as a vengeful God Who is full of wrath? PUH-LEASE!!! In the Genesis account, it's a city full of extremely wicked unbelievers, with the exception of 'righteous Lot' and maybe his family. So God, Who has a RIGHT to judge wickedness (do we believe that?) is willing to spare 'the whole place' if He can find fifty righteous within the city! The stakes are a little higher here than in the Jeremiah account, but in Jeremiah, He is dealing with those who profess to know Him. So, for them, He is only requiring ONE! Instead of judging God as One Who is vengeful, why don't we focus on His willingness to spare ALL of them if ONLY ONE does justice and seeks truth? Is this too much for God to ask? Could this possibly be a reference to the 'only One' Who did justice and sought truth as He walked in an earthly body?

Jeremiah goes on to intercede for the people of Jerusalem and God recounts their many sins and their unfaithfulness to Him. He reminds Jeremiah of how they have willingly embraced the lies the prophets have told them and even says in verse 11, "For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me." Now when someone we love deals treacherously with US, we are quick to protest and tell everyone in earshot how we've been wronged! But when we wrong the Lord, well...that's another story, isn't it? He'll forgive us because Jesus came to die for all our sins, right? No big deal. ooohhh...we put a different standard up for ourselves, don't we? We care either nothing or very little about His feelings or even His right that we live righteously! We're quick to call Him vengeful, when, in fact, He's waited for a very long time on these people (both accounts and many more) to repent. Even with the Canaanites, Joshua and Caleb reported to the Israelites after spying out the land, "Their protection has been removed from them." (Numbers 14:9) This was after how many years of wickedness on their part? God gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites because He was TAKING IT AWAY from the Canaanites due to their great wickedness.

Let us be quicker to remember this about our great and loving Lord: "Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him." per Isaiah 30:18. May we teach ourselves to long for Him instead of accusing Him.

That Old Tongue...

There are so many things on my mind right now that I tried to take a nap & couldn't! (This could be a modern-day miracle!)

I have many friends, for which I am most thankful, especially since I've never married or had children. The only family I have is the Body of Christ, and I don't say that in a complaining way. Many of my friends have only known me for five years or less, so they don't know 'the old me.' (Good for them!) But, in younger years, yes, even as a Christian, I used my tongue in very hurtful ways. Some of it was because I was insensitive to others. Much of this was due to my self-absorption which was due to emotional and spiritual immaturity which was due to unresolved pain in my life. I don't say this as justification for my actions, but partly as an intro to what I'm going to say next. As members of the Body of Christ, we are exhorted to build each other up in Christ, not decimate each other with our tongues. Right? If you don't know even one verse that purports this, let me know and I'll get some for you. There are many.

Have you ever stopped long enough to consider how many people you've hurt, damaged or even destroyed with your tongue? sigh...I have and it's brought me much grief. It has also brought me to repentance. For several years now, I have tried to think BEFORE I speak, rather than afterwards. It's not usually hard for me to apologize to someone, but even if an apology is well-received, there may still be a scar left behind on the soul. How many scars on the souls of others have my name on them? sigh...Lord, please heal them and forgive me...

Why do we do this to each other? Are we afraid of silence, so we say something, anything, to fill up that space? Are we immature? In younger years, I would make snide comments about or to others, then say I was joking so I could make my point. groan...or are we trying to impress another/others with how wise we are? There's a very old saying I love (yet still probably don't heed yet often enough) that goes like this: It's better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.

You've probably heard plenty of sermons on the tongue, so I should probably quit while I'm ahead. But have we taken those sermons to heart? Have we let them pierce our hearts as needed or as deeply as needed? How often do we hear something, feel a slight sting, then walk away and forget it, rather than take it before Him and let Him do that deep work in our soul(s)? For well over a year now, my prayer has been: Lord, if that ugly thing I said wasn't first in my heart, it couldn't have rolled off my tongue. So, Lord, please cleanse my heart so there are no things that will come out of my mouth that offend You. I say a lot less things that are hurtful these days...Praise His glorious Name!

Power Perfected in Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

I find it easy to read that verse and admire Paul rather than pray the same for myself. We hate being weak, I hate being weak. Our culture doesn't readily accept us when we're weak. Neither do we accept ourselves when we are weak. We join with the others in despising ourselves, rather than seeking that He might perfect His power in my/our weakness. He's actually done some very amazing things in those who are weak. Look at Joni Eareckson Tada. What a beautiful example of His power being perfected in weakness. She was once strong and athletic...and proud. Now, for many years, she has been weak, paralyzed...and humble. And God has used her mightily in the lives of countless individuals, especially those who are weak, as she is. They'll be more drawn to her than those who are still strong and athletic...and proud. She will most likely make them uncomfortable.

It's anything but common to boast about our weaknesses, unless, of course, it's in a whining, self-piteous way, hoping to draw out sympathy from the current listener. Why are we so resistant to allowing Him to impart His strength to us, that we might enjoy the inexhaustible supply of Divine strength and grace? We want that, but not at the cost of giving up our personal strength and whatever grace we've acquired along the way. We too much enjoy our status as stated in Psalm 139:14 ~ I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. We are, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully made. He said it and wrote it, so why should we want to lay that aside for something we're not totally convinced will come our way when we most need it? It's a gamble, isn't it? Or is it? Paul documented how God perfected His power in Paul's weakness, but will He do that for us? Why are we so unwilling to believe that God will treat us no differently than He treated Paul? Of course, you might say, 'That's ok. I DON'T WANT God to treat me the way He treated Paul! I've read his account of the many things he suffered for Christ!' Well, I'm right there with you on that, but how many people do you know who've suffered as many afflictions as Paul did? Let's focus on the power of Christ that was perfected in Paul. It was marvelous. I can't wait to listen to Paul recount his adventures in a glorified body, being thrilled at how God perfected His power in Paul's weakness! And don't you think Paul's eyes will have the very light of Christ in them as he retells his bio to us as we sit with him in glory? What will we have to tell if we disallow Him this honor? May we be brave enough to let Him perfect His power in our weaknesses, not only so we'll have great stories to tell in heaven, but here on earth as well, that others might do the same.

Questions for God

A book I was reading earlier today posed this question: We all have questions we've been saving for God, don't we? He also went on to label them as either benign or malignant. I thought that to be interesting. He also mentioned Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." I'd never really linked my questions with this verse before, but like the fact that he did.

It's certainly God's prerogative to keep certain things secret, but we don't always like that about Him. After all, we live in the age of instant information. 'What are you doing right now?' (then you'd better be on Twitter or have a cell phone). What do I need to know about X, Y or Z? Well, we can just Google it! We can pull up a map of someone's home on the other side of the world! And God DARES to keep secrets from us? Well, harrumph! Who does He think He is, anyway? GOD? Oh, yeah...He IS!!!

Anyway, have you dared to ask Him certain questions? And are they benign or malignant? I think the very same question can be either. It's our attitude that determines its category. The question, 'How could God let my spouse leave me like that?' is benign if asked with an attitude of humility, although I think it might be worded a little differently. When we are accusing God, then it's always malignant. A malignant rewording of the same question would be: God, You could have stopped him/her, but You didn't! How could You be so indifferent towards me? Don't You care about me? been there, done that...it's the victim mentality.

But, back to the lighter side of this issue. Do you have questions you're saving to ask Him? I've asked Him why he made cats so that they SHED!!! 'God, I KNOW You could have made them so they wouldn't! Is it just part of the curse?' (I'm sure it's necessary, but, really...He IS God! He could have done it differently!)

And, as I've mentioned before, why are so many of the sons of godly men in the Bible wicked, or just never mentioned? If they were never even mentioned, except that they were so-and so's son, they couldn't have been too great. Jonathan was certainly mentioned as Saul's son and he was a great man even though his life seemed rather short. Eleazar was mentioned as the son of Aaron, then his son, Phinehas was recorded as a godly man, but he seems to be the exception from my Bible knowledge.

What are your questions for God? Don't be afraid to ask Him. Don't you think He'll even laugh at some of the questions we have for Him? And I mean in a good way, not in a deriding way. I believe He'll laugh because He loves it that we dared ask Him and it was a valid question to us! Like, 'God, why did you make slugs?' 'Why did You put so much ice at the bottom and top of the world?' 'Why did You make ice cream so fattening?' One question I can't wait to ask Him is, 'How many descendants of David are roaming around on the earth today and who are they? Are they good, bad, ugly, handsome, etc? Could I be one of them? Do I know any of them?' Yeah, this list is getting longer all the time! What are yours? :)

Our Cool God

God is so cool! Have you ever thought of Him as being cool? Do you think that's irreverent? I don't. I think He is SO cool! Psalm 147:4 says, "He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them." Have you ever read any statistics on how many stars there are? Well, I'm not going to give them to you, but there are LOTS!!! Far more than my little pea brain can begin to fathom! Yet, He gives names to all of them. Now, why do we name things? It's usually because it's something dear to us, like your child or your pet. I have no children, but I was very picky about the names I chose for my two cats. And I still love their names. And, I keep coming up with new ones. Percy has a BEAUTIFUL belly! It's all white and he has long fur, so I LOVE to rub his tummy. Hence, the nickname 'Sir Beautiful Belly.' (among others)

Yet, even though He created ALL the animals, He let Adam name them. Is that cool or what? Yup, Genesis 2:19 says, "Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name." Now, God formed them, so it's 'only fair' that HE would name them, right? True, yet He relinquished that privilege to the first Adam, whom He also created. Don't tell me God isn't cool! And there's no record He ever changed those names. We're still living with those names to this day. Hmmm...hadn't thought of it before, but that makes those names part of Adam's inheritance, doesn't it? He got to do something eternal, right off the bat! Guess what...so can we. Think about something you can do in the next 24 hours that will be eternal. God put His very own creativity within us and His own eternality (minus deity). Yes, God is WAY COOL! ;)

Being Proven

Psalm 81:7 says, "You called in trouble and I rescued you; I answered you in the hiding place of thunder; I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Selah." Guess Who is speaking here? You guessed it! The Lord our God!

Now, we all like the first part and the second, but when we get to part C, we back up a little bit. What does THAT mean? Yes, He was speaking to Israel, but as Spurgeon says, "The story of Israel is only our own history in another shape." All too true! Who says the Old Testament is irrelevant? NOT!!! People who say that are among those who never learn from history.

Regarding 'the C part' of that verse, Spurgeon also says, "They had proved him and found Him faithful, He afterwards proved them in return. Precious things are tested, therefore Israel's loyalty to her King was put to trial, and alas, it failed lamentably. The God who was adored one day for His goodness was reviled the next, when the people for a moment felt the pangs of hunger and thirst." Are we any different? We praise Him Friday because we had a good week at work, then grumble at Him on Saturday because it's raining and ruined our plans.

But the part that catches my attention is "Precious things are tested." Ooohhh...that sounds so nice...at first. He calls us precious. But then we realize He tests us because we are precious. Then our attitude shifts a little. Can't we just be precious WITHOUT being tested? Well, let's think about that. What if we had been given electricity without it having been tested? That could be BAD!!! What if we'd been given medication that hadn't been tested? BAD!!! Or water? Yes, we could go on and on.

And we might STILL argue, but why do WE need to be tested? God knows what's in our hearts anyway, right? Yes, He does. So maybe He tests us so WE'll know what's in our hearts! Yeah, we can start thinking we're pretty good...we've really grown up in Christ...yeah, we are probably going to have a REALLY GREAT inheritance! And then He proves us at the waters of Meribah. Oh, boy...I guess I wasn't as far along as I thought I was, we lament. We can get puffed up so easily. His testing is merely a part of His grace. Each testing can work a little more humility into us...or a little more resentment. The choice is ours. But, yes, the testing is necessary.

A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

In a Bible I previously owned (that was stolen out of my car...) I had made a list of several verses that all mentioned 'a sacrifice of thanksgiving.' Now we know that He loves for us to give thanks to Him from cheerful hearts, but I've often wondered how much more it may mean to Him when it's a sacrifice. What about when you don't get the job you really wanted? What about when your heart's been broken by another, whether intentionally or unintentionally? It's much harder to offer Him thanksgiving then rather than when the ring's been put on your finger or you just got a great raise or bonus.

Let's take a look at just two or three of these verses, but there are many more. It might be a good little Bible study you can do later.

Psalm 50:23 says, "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God." Wow! Okay...the second part of the verse is talking about obedience, but He says we honor Him when we offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Don't we all want to do that? Does it honor Him when it's NOT a sacrifice? Yes, but He makes special mention here of it being a sacrifice that honors Him.

In the same Psalm, but verse 14, Asaph quotes God as saying, "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most high;" part of Spurgeon's comment on this is as follows: Not for want of bullocks on the altar was Israel blamed, but for want of thankful adoration before the Lord. She excelled in the visible, but in the inward grace, which is the one thing needful, she sadly failed. Too many in these days are in the same condemnation. Spurgeon's been home with the Lord for a long time and yet these words are sadly at least as appropriate today as in his time. Isn't a sacrifice of thanksgiving one of adoration?

Then there's the verse that started it all for me: Hebrews 13:15 ~ Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. I love this verse! Wuest comments: The Rabbins had a saying, "in the future time all sacrifices shall cease; but praises shall not cease." Then does it not make sense to offer Him sacrifices now, while we can? Whether it be praise, or other kinds? After all, per Hebrews 13:15, we're to continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God through Him! Through the One Who was and still is the Living Sacrifice, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world! For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Rom 11:36)

The Aroma of Christ

Perhaps you already know, but I LOVE the psalms! They just touch on almost everything, every emotion. Have you ever thought much about Ps 45:8? It says, "All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad." Now isn't that COOL??? If you love fragrance as I do, wouldn't it be cool for your clothing to be FRAGRANT? When you walk, wearing something like a robe, to smell that beautiful scent, wafting about you as your robe flows in the breeze? (Of course, in Tulsa, in the summertime, the breezes are rare...) But maybe you're allergic to perfume...BUMMER! Ok, then, let's suppose you're NOT. Wouldn't it be delightful to open your closet and have your favorite smell(s) immediately greet you? (without an allergic reaction)

Now, the above verse pertains to our Lord Jesus Christ, and He certainly DESERVES these things. But, that doesn't mean we won't get to partake of the same once we enter into eternity. I'm not being dogmatic, but I do believe it's a possibility.

Getting back to Him, though, think of Jesus Christ, the second member of the Godhead, perfectly sinless, clothing Himself with a human body that He created, clothing Himself with the womb of Mary, sweating in the carpenter shop, walking the dusty roads over which He traveled in His earthly body, accumulating the dirt, dust and mire of the earth on His feet which would be pierced with nails made with elements such as iron that He created by hands that He created...He Himself was the first to be an aroma of either death to death or life to life. Yes, He DESERVES to be clothed with garments that emit a delightful aroma! I love what Spurgeon says: The excellencies of Jesus are all most precious, comparable to the rarest spices; they are most varied, and to be likened not to myrrh alone, but to all the perfumes blended in due proportion. Note that not only is Jesus most sweet, but even His garments are so; everything that He has to do with is perfumed by His person. To attempt to spiritualise each spice here mentioned would be unprofitable, the evident sense is that all sweetnesses meet in Jesus, and are poured forth wherever He is present.

Spurgeon says more that I'd love to share with you, but this post is getting rather long. I'll end with a prayer that you and I will bear His lovely fragrance wherever we go.

The Branch

Perhaps you noticed that I changed my picture. I started to post much earlier, but ran out of time after I changed my pic. I am blessed with the ability to sleep through just about ANYTHING! I got up this morning, having heard NOTHING between the time I fell asleep and the time my alarm went off. My usual routine is potty first, then to the kitchen and open the blinds. I opened the blinds and saw what you see in the picture. Wow! A tree branch had fallen on my beautiful coleuses! I went outside and pulled the branch off of them, but since it was sprinkling, left it on the grass instead of pulling it over to my trash can. I'd just come inside and a friend called me. She informed me it rained and thundered MUCH last night (or this morning), with accompanying lightning. Ok...slept right through it!

But...upon seeing the 'destruction' in my back yard, I was tempted to be angry. Why'd that branch have to fall on my beautiful plants and ruin them? But...I refused to give in to that temptation. YAY! Instead, I thanked Him that that branch didn't land 3-5 feet further south and land on my little table and/or my new umbrella! They could have been ruined beyond repair! My coleuses might actually grow back according to another friend who called much later in the day! That would be cool! So, the damage was minimal.

In younger years, I would have been very angry about this. So I was excited (not proud!) that I did NOT get angry, but chose instead to thank Him that it wasn't worse. Because it could have been SO MUCH worse! It could have been a much bigger branch. It could have damaged my roof. Instead, He just gave me a little test. I hope He's as pleased as I am. It's my desire to be thankful. The example of the ten lepers has come to my mind so many times over the last year or two. TEN lepers entreated Jesus, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" I'm sure you already know, but ONLY ONE turned back to give Him thanks! How sad is that? How much are we like the nine? aarrggh...do I really want to know? It could be different tomorrow. I might fail BIG TIME tomorrow on the same test, or a different one. But, praise His glorious Name, He isn't holding my next failure against me! Matthew 6:34 says, "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Isn't He wonderful?

Listening and Looking

In my last post, I referred to His overtures toward us in whisperings and looks. Have you ever really thought about that? How many times have we said, "I wish He'd just send me an email with instructions as to what to do!" I know I have! Maybe He would, if we'd obey! But, what we're really saying is that we want Him to tell us what His will is, then we'll decide if we'll obey or not. Well, it doesn't work that way, does it?

In Revelation 3:20, He writes, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." I can't tell you what that says in the original language, but what I've been taught about this passage is that He is speaking in a low volume. Now, that seems rather unfair, doesn't it? You might say, "Then how are we supposed to hear Him?" I believe it implies we are to be listening for His voice...have our ears trained to listen for His voice. Why is it that a TIRED, sleeping mother will instantly awaken when her baby makes a barely audible whimper? She's trained herself to listen for that voice, as she loves that baby and knows it is totally dependent upon her for its every need. We live in such a busy, self-sufficient environment that we haven't come to the realization that we are totally dependent upon Him for our every need, so we haven't trained ourselves to listen for His still, small voice. He is very unassuming, not barging in where He's not wanted, so we need to cultivate our ears to be able to distinguish His voice from all the others that shout loudly for our attention!

And the looks...Psalm 32:8 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you." I have prayed this verse MANY, many times for myself and others. But, as I was praying it one time, I came to the shameful conclusion that I wasn't taking time to look into His eyes. How could I receive the counsel He wanted to give me with His eye upon me if I wasn't even looking into His eye(s)? I've heard the example of a father seated at the dinner table with his family and not saying anything when a child misbehaved, but rather, just giving the child a look. The look said it all and the child was reproved. I have to wonder how many of His looks I've missed. And His looks are not only for reproof. He gives us many looks of love and approval, but I believe we miss most of them.

Let us keep our ears and eyes open for His whisperings and looks of love. We long for them, don't we?

His Whisperings

Do you ever doubt God's love for you? I think most of His kids do, at some time or another, even if we know better. You see, satan WANTS us to doubt His love for us. But we know it's foolish to give in. So, we will be TEMPTED to doubt His love for us, but we don't have to GIVE IN to that temptation to doubt. Yet God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it, per 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Now, I've mentioned before that He uses my cats to show me different things. Well, one day I was flirting with the temptation to believe He doesn't love me. I was loving on Percy and just delighting in him. (He is quite delightful most of the time!) All of a sudden, it occurred to me that if I could take such delight in a critter, which isn't even a human being that He died for, then why should I find it so hard to believe that HE delights in ME? He died for me! Yes, I sin! No, I'm not perfect! (by a long shot) But my cats do things at times that don't exactly endear them to me, yet I keep on loving them. If I, an imperfect human being, can do that, why would a perfect God not be able to keep loving ME when I do things that don't exactly endear me to HIS heart? Especially when He went to the extreme of dying, not just a peaceful death, but a brutal death for me? Who would have reminded me to liken my delight in my cat to His delight in me? Well, 'the Delighter,' of course!

How easy would it have been to overlook His loving reminder? I think you know the answer. I wonder how many times He has reminded me and I either missed it completely or immediately blew it off, taking credit for the thought myself! Our God is not loud. I think He enjoys whispering to us, as lovers do to each other when they're in public settings. They don't blare out their love for each other. They whisper or, perhaps, it's just a look. How many times does He give us a look and we miss it? Oh, I fear to know how many times! Let us keep our ears and eyes open to catch those sweet whispers and looks of love He sends our way! (and them return them to Him!)

Beautiful Covering

Galatians 3:27 says, "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." I love this verse! Think of when you are dressing to go somewhere very special...a wedding, a prom, whatever. One of your most important preparations is to plan what you're going to wear, prepare it (pull it out of the closet, wash, iron, dry clean, whatever), then put it on. Especially for us women, isn't putting it on exciting? (unless, of course, we find out it no longer fits or has a stain we didn't see when we put it away...) We want to look as pretty, beautiful (for some) or at least as lovely as we possibly can and our garment(s) plays a big part of that. The color, the style, the right season and other properties determine whether or not it's the right or best thing to put on and wear to the special event we'll be attending.

Well, when we clothe ourselves with Christ, it's a done deal! We don't have to worry about the accessories, they're all included! It's the PERFECT color, style, season, it FITS, NO wrinkles and is PERFECTLY flattering to who we are! In fact, clothing ourselves with Christ makes US beautiful, even if we're not the most beautiful person physically! Now THAT'S exciting! We need no makeup to cover flaws, our hair will be perfect, etc. When HE is our clothing, then WE become beautiful in correspondence to the clothing. Earthly clothing may make us APPEAR beautiful, but when we clothe ourselves with Him, He makes us beautiful, inside and out. WOW! And for those who only buy clothing that's on sale, this is the best deal you'll EVER find, as it's perfectly FREE...for US, that is. He paid a VERY costly price for this clothing and we merely accept it from His gracious, loving and generous hand.

So, next time you're trying to decide what to wear, don't forget to put on Christ! And if you love to wear fragrance, that's included, too! 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." That's the REAL 'Designer fragrance!'

Yes, He laughs!

I could have sworn there is a verse in the Bible that says laughter is good for the soul, but I cannot find it. However, I still believe the Lord loves to laugh and make us laugh...or me, anyway. I love a good laugh and I love to make others laugh. I've heard laughing described as 'internal jogging.' haha! I much prefer THAT kind of jogging to 'external jogging!'

Anyway, I have to recount to you a couple of times He made me laugh. About two or three years ago, I had laryngitis. I could only barely whisper. I could NOT talk. Well, our church has classes on Wednesday nights and dinner before in the gym. Well, this particular night, I sat with my friend Laurie and her daughter, Maggie. Another friend, Zee, sat down with us. Now this may be the onlye time I've ever had Wednesday night dinner with these particular friends. Maggie, I learned, after Zee sat down, was going to be singing a song in an upcoming children's musical at church. For whatever reasons, both Laurie and Zee had gotten up and I whispered to Maggie, "What are you singing in the musical?" She said, "I can't hear you." I whispered, "I'm sorry, I have laryngitis." She said to me, "No, that's the name of the song." I cracked up, even though I couldn't make any noise. Now, come on...there are millions of songs in this world, and the night I have laryngitis, this is the name of the song she's going to sing! LOL!!! I think He set me up on that one and had a good laugh Himself!

Then, a few days ago, I got in the car and a song was playing on the radio that I didn't want to listen to. I looked at the radio and it said 94.1, so I changed it to 93.5. Well, the VERY SAME song was playing and even in the same place! I thought, "Now this CAN'T be!" and changed it back to 94.1 to make sure I wasn't living in the Twilight Zone. Upon looking at the radio, I realized the TIME was 9:41...not the station! LOL!!! Again, I think He set me up! I cracked up and I'll bet He did, too!

Does He make you laugh, or do you not take time to notice? Pay a little more attention and let me know the next time He sets you up for a good laugh! Even Sarah said (Gen. 21:6), "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."

The Lord our Light

During my quiet time yesterday, a thought came to my mind that hadn't visited there before. I've always loved Ps 104:2, which says, "Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain." Well, as much as I love that verse, I don't think I'd ever really taken time to behold it for very long. So, yesterday, I thought about Him, covering Himself with light as we would put on a coat. Wow...can you imagine the glory? Another favorite verse of mine is 2nd Peter 1:17, in which Peter refers to Jesus Christ as "the Majestic Glory." Don't these two verses 'hold hands?'

But, then I thought about the account in Acts of Saul's conversion. In Wuest's expanded translation of Acts 22:6, he translates the verse this way: And it came to pass that as I was proceeding on my journey and nearing Damascus, about noon, suddenly out from heaven there flashed around me like lightning a great light, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice...(etc) But what I want to point out from that verse is, what blinded Paul? It was not 'just any old light,' but, I believe, that same light that He covers Himself with as a cloak. I'd never put those verses together before and no wonder Paul was blinded! Yes, the sun alone could have blinded him, but this light was unexpected and knocked him off his horse! Yes, verse 7 says, "and I fell to the ground and heard a voice..." Then in verse 10, Jesus the Nazarene says to Paul, "Get up and go on into Damascus..."

John 1:4 says, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men." John 1:5 says, "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Paul didn't comprehend it, at first! He certainly did later, but having had THAT experience, he had been blinded that he might be able better to see! spiritually! Then, John 1:7 says, "He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him (John the Baptist). Yes, our Lord said in John 12:46, "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness." Aren't you glad He has covered Himself with light?

Who's on Your List?

Something I was reading yesterday sparked a question in my mind. So, I'll ask you the question. Who (after Christ Jesus, of course!) are you MOST looking forward to meeting in Heaven? Now, when this question came to my mind, I was thinking of people in the Bible, but for you, it may be your grandmother, or other family member, or, or, or...So I'll narrow it down for you. OTHER than someone you knew here on earth, and not necessarily from the Bible, would you like to meet 2nd, after Jesus Christ?

Tough question! I've always thought I'll love to sit with Paul...and not necessarily talk, but LISTEN! But there are so many others, as well! I've always loved Samuel! And David, of course! The master psalmist! I've logged many hours in his psalms, but then another psalmist I love is Asaph! Now I've read that Asaph, as the designated psalmist of Psalm 74, lived long before this psalm was written, so it could have been written by one of his descendants or to a choir guild that bore his name. But Psalms 50 and 73 through 83 all say they were written by Asaph, so I always like to think of Asaph as one man, the composer of them all. But, we'll find out when we get there!

The above assortment certainly leaves out MANY others I can't wait to visit with. I mean, aren't you looking forward to sitting down to dinner with Ruth? Here she was, a Moabitess, but comes back to Judah with her mother-in-law and ends up in the line of Christ! WOW! AND she was David's great grandmother! Yeah, I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to meeting HER!!!

But then, think of all the saints who are already home with Him who aren't in the Bible, but who God used to greatly impact the Church! George Muller, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the first Christians who crossed the Atlantic to live in America, and on & on. Then there are contemporary saints to look forward to meeting: Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah, Steve Green, Ravi Zacharias, Erwin Lutzer ...please don't tell me you're not looking forward to Heaven! It's gonna be GREAT!!! :)

Longing for Home

Many years ago, for a period of time (can't remember how long), I would ask the Lord to please take me home. Now, life wasn't bad here, but I just longed (and still do) to be in my FINAL home, with Him, free of all the ugliness down here which will prevail until He returns.

A dear friend of many years and with whom I'd been a prayer partner for at least 18 years (neither of us could ever remember when we actually started) invited me to accompany her to Ladies Week at Ravencrest in Estes Park, CO. The topic that year was prayer, which, obviously, was dear to both our hearts. So I joyfully accepted the invitation.

At the beginning of the week, they gave each of us a book with suggested readings for our quiet time each day that we would be there. Well, one morning the suggested reading led me to another verse that He was directing me to read. I really can't remember the suggested verse, but I ended up at Romans 12:1 & 2. Now I've known those verses for most of the past 30 years, but had, for the most part, focused on verse 2..."do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Well, that particular morning, the Lord got out His laser pointer and directed my attention to the part of verse 1 that says, "present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice." He then proceeded to point out to me that I could not do that if I was not HERE! Hmmm...good point, Lord!

Then He reminded me of John the Baptist, who prepared 30 years for a six-month ministry! He then posed the question to me that, what if the last six months of my life were to be the main reason He put me here? So, by asking Him (repeatedly) to take me home before the time appointed by Him, I would be missing out on that! "Wow..." I thought, as one of the first verses I fell in love with as a believer was Jeremiah 29:11, "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Then, He very sternly told me to quit asking! Whoa! That was and still is the firmest reproof He has ever given me! I still long for Heaven, but I have quit asking Him to take me home. :)

My Lord and my God

One verse I've loved for many years is John 20:27. It says, "Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." But I also love the next verse, which says, "Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" It makes me exclaim the same thing every time I read it or recall it.

It arouses many responses in me. How often do I really stop and acknowledge Him as my Lord and my God? I mean REALLY acknowledge Him as my Lord and my God? And how often do I stop long enough to take note of His tenderness and patience toward me? Thomas had been one of His disciples for THREE YEARS, yet when the other disciples told him they'd seen the Lord, his response was, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." We might be quick to say, "Hellooo?" but can we honestly say we would have had a different response? Maybe not...

But let's go back to the passage. Thomas made some very specific requirements that would have to be met before he would believe the others' report. Well, our Lord met Thomas in each demand he made. He didn't have to. He could have just said, "Ok, Thomas, here I am. NOW do you believe?" He could have reproved him for his unbelief. But He didn't. Even though Thomas may have backed off from those demands when he saw Him, He told Thomas to do the very things Thomas had said he needed to do to believe. Our Lord met Thomas 'where he was.'

Then, He goes on to make a promise to us! Verse 29 says, "Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." WOW! That's for you and me! (as well as those who trod the earth the same time as He did, yet did not get to see Him).

All of this takes me back to the beginning of the book where, in chapter 1, verse 14, John describes Him as 'full of grace and truth.' Oh, isn't He? Even in this one, tiny little episode of what is recorded about Him, in His interaction with (doubting) Thomas, He was full of grace and truth. And He still is...always has been...and always will be. My Lord and my God!

Children & Mirrors

I just found out that ANOTHER friend of mine is pregnant! I've been a believer for a little over 30 years and NEVER in my lifetime have I known so many people having babies all at the same time (like in a span of one year, maybe a year and a half). I find this incredible. The couple I just found out about today did not plan this. They've only been married for not quite six months. And another couple I know didn't plan their current pregnancy, as their third child is less than a year old! I think God is up to something!

Psalm 127:3 & 4 says, "Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth." Well, I'm thinking this is one of the WORST times to be having babies in light of the state of our nation, but obviously, He disagrees! (I didn't tell that to those having the babies). Therefore, I'm thinking He must be planning for all these babies that have been born in the last year and that will be born in the coming year to be like arrows in the hand of a warrior! Him being the warrior, of course!

So, please join me in praying for all these little warriors He's raising up. They may never know the pleasures of life that we have known and may have to pay a higher price to be called by His Name than we have. America is changing rapidly, and not for the better, sadly enough. We are in the phase of reaping what we've sown and it's not pretty.

But I don't want to end this on a glum note. Going back to verse 3, He tells us children are a GIFT of the LORD! HIS personal gift to those who have them! That is precious. So, for all the mothers of those children who are difficult, yes...they are God's GIFT to them! I've heard that the things that cause the most tension between parents and their children are the things the parents see in the child that is most like them. So, it sounds like God uses children like little mirrors that the parent can't easily walk away from! And why wouldn't He, when He tells us in James 1:23 & 24 that if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of person he was? That's a lot harder when you have a child that is a mirror! So, even if you've never had a child, join me in praying for those parents who are having a hard time with their little mirrors! That they'd 'get' what it is He's trying to show them through their child/children...instead of just being angry at them.