His Pleasure

About six years ago, I was in a different church than I'm in now. I can't recall how it came up, but mention was made of the movie, 'Chariots of Fire.' The crowd was probably, overall, several years younger than I am, and they all had the 'deer in the headlights' look. They didn't even know about this classic movie! I was shocked! I guess I thought every believer had seen this movie! (not realizing, of course, at the time, the age difference)

All this to get to one line in the movie that has always stuck with me, and which I love. The movie is about Eric Liddell, a Scottish Christian who ran for the glory of God. In a conversation with his sister, he says, "I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure."

Isn't that WONDERFUL??? to do something and feel His pleasure? Have you ever? Or, have you, and then given into the enemy's condemnation, instead feeling GUILTY for feeling that pleasure and mistakenly labeling it as your own, and not His? Oh, such robbery! God has placed gifts and talents within EACH of His children and when we operate in these, why would we NOT feel His pleasure? Maybe it's a craft you love, but consider it 'non-spiritual.' If you love doing it and are good at it, why should you consider it as NOT something He has put within you? Or maybe you love doing it, but never share it with others so they can benefit from it. Well, then, maybe you are 'hiding your light under a basket.' As Mark 4:21 says, 'Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?' Do you consider running 'spiritual?' Well, most people probably don't, but Eric Liddell did, because he felt God's pleasure when he did it!

I have had the thrill of feeling His pleasure and I am thankful. We are called to be co-laborers with Him, are we not? And He is full of grace. So, wouldn't it make sense that He would allow us to feel His pleasure when operating in the gifts and talents that He has placed in us? Oh, may you feel His pleasure! Ask Him what you can do that would allow you to feel His pleasure as you do it! (I dare you!)

Without Excuse

About six years before I invited Jesus Christ to come into my heart, I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time. Now, I had started to read the Bible when I was about 11, but I didn't get too far (certainly didn't make it to Romans!) It was Greek to me! (pun intended) But, I didn't have the Holy Spirit, so, of course it didn't make any sense to me! (but I didn't know that at the time) In my childhood, I'd decided, 'How could God answer everybody praying at the same time?' It didn't make sense to me, so I decided God couldn't be real. Then, in my early twenties, as I contemplated different things, I realized there HAD to be 'a higher power.' I just wasn't sure what or who that was, so I labeled myself an agnostic. But when I saw the Rockies for the first time, I said aloud, 'There just might be a God!' (and I wasn't joking)

Then, about a year before I became a believer, I saw the ocean for the first time. I wouldn't go out too far, as I'd seen HALF a fish on the beach, back end bitten off by another fish! But I walked out a little more than waist-high. I watched the mighty ocean, rolling in, then rolling back out, over and over again, and thought to myself, 'There is nothing man can do to stop this!' And I was impressed, but again, didn't know Who to be impressed by!

The Lord has always allowed me to remember these two incidents, and I am thankful. They are both very clear pictures to me of Romans 1:19 & 20 ~ 'because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.' I have since come to know Him and love Him. But, those verses apply to every person, whether they ever accept His free gift or not. NOBODY will be able to stand before God and say, 'But...' But my parents were abusive, but my husband was a jerk, but...fill in the blank. We can all fill in the blank with something or someone, but none of it will stand when we stand before Him. We are 'without excuse.'

His Eyes

In one of my recent quiet times, I asked Him to let me see into His eyes. Now, He doesn't always (seem to) respond to inquiries like this, (or perhaps I just don't hang around long enough), but this particular morning, He did. What I saw was much light...and people. Now, isn't that just like Him? In Matthew 6:22, He said, 'The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.' Well, Whose body could be more full of light than His? And in Ephesians 1:18, Paul prayed that 'the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,' so obviously, if He desires that our eyes be enlightened, certainly His are.

This was a beautiful thing to me. If someone really lets you look into their eyes, do you not see into their heart? Not fully, of course, but you can see a glimpse of their heart. And what could be more in His heart than people? He is the Light of the world and He died for the world...past, present and future. (to us, that is...He is not locked into time, as we presently are). It was a macrocosmic glimpse of His deep, deep love for every person who has ever been born and ever will be. It was also a conviction and an invitation. He desires that I love people the way He does. aarrgghh...I'm still so conditional in my love for others. I've gotten better at loving the unlovable, but how many people do I actually let into my life who are TRULY unlovable? sigh...I don't want to answer that question! Perhaps He's setting me up!

Are you brave enough to look into others' eyes? Are they brave enough to let you? I don't think it's that common. When we're in pain, do we allow others to look into our eyes? Rarely, would be my guess. It's actually a pretty intimate undertaking, looking into someone's eyes. And sometimes, when we do, and we see pain, we quit looking, don't we? We are afraid they might want us to help them and we feel inadequate for the task. It makes us uncomfortable. Heaven forbid that we should feel uncomfortable! Let that person wallow in their pain! I don't know how to help him/her! Sometimes, they are content with you just crying with them. You don't HAVE to have great words of wisdom or 'The Answer' to their problem. The Word says we are to weep with those who weep.

Yes, looking into another's eyes can be scary, can't it? It might take us out of our comfort zone! Well, is He not big enough? If we are afraid to look into others' eyes, does it mean we're afraid to look into His? Maybe that's the cure. His eyes are beautiful. If we will look into His eyes, more and more often, we'll be less afraid to look into the eyes of those He brings across our path. Go ahead, take a chance. It'll be worth it!

Presumption

Well, folks, I apologize for not posting since last Tuesday, but my internet access and landline 'went away' from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday afternoon! In addition to that, I've had a nasty cold since Tuesday afternoon. Ah, yes, life has its ups and downs, doesn't it? We take so many things for granted, don't we? 24/7 internet access, 24/7 landlines (for those of us that still have'm), 24/7 good health...for those of us who have it. Yet, think of so many around the world who'd be THRILLED to have any ONE of these things for, perhaps, even JUST 24 hrs continuously! We can agree with our Lord that we deserve NOTHING but Hell until we are deprived of something like this/these...then we realize how much we THINK we're entitled to. This makes me think of Psalm 19:13, that says, 'Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.' Wow...how many of us are far more presumptuous than we realize? (Yes, I'll raise my hand on that one...)

Well, this isn't even what I was going to blog about today. But, I just read in the last few days that many bloggers start out with great enthusiasm, only to quit after a short time. Going back to the last paragraph, I don't want to be presumptuous, but for those of you who are reading, and, hopefully, enjoying, my blog, I don't want to disappoint you! I feel a responsibility to you, so don't think I take this lightly. If only one person reads this, perhaps He had me blog just for you! Should I take that lightly? Nope! After all, if you were the only person who would ever accept His free gift of eternal life, He'd still have gone to the cross. Now, maybe you're thinking I'm REALLY being presumptuous now! But, if indeed, HE called me to do this, I must not quit. (or be a slacker) He's told us in James 4:17, 'Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.' So, there, I have committed myself!

I hope you have a marvelous evening...in Him!

Where have the lines fallen?

Psalm 16:6 is one of my favorite verses. Many years ago, even though I'd read that verse countless times, I REALLY read it as I never had before...like I'd never read it before...and I was madder than a wet hen! I verbally told the Lord, 'This is NOT true in my life!' I don't recall asking him to make it true. Maybe I did and maybe I didn't. But I felt that the lines had NOT fallen to me in pleasant places and CERTAINLY, my heritage was NOT beautiful to me! I felt 'ripped off' by the parents God had given me and lived the first 25 years or more of my life trying to overcome the deficits in my life which, in part, had been created by them and their self-absorption, which incapacitated them to love me or my sister much at all. I always felt she & I just 'happened.' We certainly weren't planned and didn't even seem wanted after we made our appearances. We were just another part of their droll paycheck-to-paycheck lives, which they didn't even enjoy with each other. They were married on paper only. There was no love in either of their hearts for the other.

Anyway, after expressing my anger to the Lord about this matter, some time passed. I really don't remember how much time passed. But, one day I was reading this psalm again, and I realized I was no longer mad about it! I could agree with the psalmist that the lines HAD fallen to me in pleasant places and that, indeed, my heritage WAS beautiful to me! WOW! Guess what? He hadn't changed where the lines had fallen and He didn't change my heritage...He changed ME! 'Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.' (which is verse 9 of the same psalm) Yes, in His presence is fullness of joy! (per verse 11)

I love the psalms and have prayed from them for years. I also love the psalms of Asaph, as my heart so agrees with his. I very much look forward to meeting him in Heaven! But, I must admit, it rather amuses me in Ps 79 how, for the first seven verses, he complains to the Lord (and justifiably so) about how horrifically Jerusalem has been treated by the nations and implores the Lord to avenge them, then turns around in verse 8 and asks Him, 'Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us' and in verse 12, 'And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.' Now, there's nothing wrong with him asking for the Lord to be avenged for the reproach brought on His Great Name, but I believe there's still much desire for vengeance for him and the Israelites as much, as if not more, than for the Lord's Name.

You might wonder why this amuses me. Again, because I'm so much like Asaph! Oh, yes, I strongly desire that He pour out His wrath on those who are evil, but when it comes to ME, my prayers are just like Asaph's...'Pour out Your mercy on ME, oh, Lord, but as for my enemies, GO GET'M!'

Groan...it's still so hard for me to even WANT to love my enemies, let alone pray for them. Unless, of course, I can pray things like 'And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.' That way, it sounds like I'm praying that way for HIS interests instead of my own. (and I really DO care about reproach brought upon His Name, but there is admixture)

Now maybe I'm just projecting onto dear Asaph. He had good reason to pray the way he did and maybe he was purer in his prayer motivation than I am. And maybe you are, too. But, I think we do more 'game-playing' with the Lord than we often realize. We 'couch' things in prayer that we think will appeal to Him and His interests, when we have an underlying yearning of our own that is our REAL motivation! (hmmm...maybe it's just me...do YOU ever do this?) :)

Ah, well, this is getting rather lengthy. But, the other aspect of this prayer is that, once again, the nations HAD invaded Jerusalem BECAUSE they had turned away from the Lord. Oh, that we would realize the depth and length of the consequences of our sin BEFORE we commit it, then NOT commit it! I fear we often (silently, or 'in the back of our mind') think, 'Oh, He'll forgive me and all will be well. I'll just give in to this ugly sin this one time.' And, of course, at THAT point in time, we glibly forget His Word which tells us if we sow to the wind, we'll reap the whirlwind! We love the sin, but then moan and whine when we start reaping the consequences...may we be more diligent to remember His Word...at the right time!

His Depths

I mentioned before how the Lord has used my cats so many times to speak to me about my relationship with Him. I have two cats, Mazie, a female, and Percy, an orange & white Norwegian Forest Cat. As I mentioned before, he is often affectionate. But, he's still a cat. Several months ago, I'd just taken him to the vet and had spent a considerable amount of money on him. I reached out to pet him and he backed away. I said to him, 'You don't know what you cost me!' Well, I hadn't even finished saying those words and tears came to my eyes, as I felt the Lord was saying the same thing to me. 'You don't know what you cost Me!'

I've been a believer for over 30 years now, have a pretty good handle on The Word, but I still don't know what I cost Him. I doubt I ever will until I see Him face to face, and am not certain I will even then. Even in the realm of eternity, will we truly EVER be able to fathom what we cost Him? I'm not sure we ever will. Of course, we'll be able to fathom it much more deeply than we do now, but will we ever be able to fathom the deepest depths of His sacrifice? Will we be able to ever fathom the DEPTH of His suffering on the Cross as He was separated from His Father FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER? Was that suffering worse than the physical suffering He bore? I'm not minimizing His physical suffering on the Cross, but I really believe His separation from His Father was probably far worse, as He'd ALWAYS been in constant communion with Him, even as He lived in a human body here on earth. And then, there's the matter of bearing all the sin ever committed by mankind. Will we ever be able to fathom THAT? I doubt it. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for Him to bear ALL of my sin alone, let alone EVERY sin ever committed...from Adam and Eve to the last person who'll ever be born before He returns! We are somewhat desensitized to sinning, as we do it all the time (and 'justify' much of it), but He had NEVER sinned! It was as alien to Him as being a stone is to me, a human.

It will take all of eternity to enter in to even the tiniest measure of the (true) depths of the riches of the glory of our Christ Jesus! I thank Him for the glimpses He gives me/us even now in these mortal bodies! We have SO MUCH to look forward to!

Whose Tears?

I cannot recall having a conversation with ANYONE who ever said they really enjoy crying in front of other people. Well, I'm no different. I can't say it gives me great delight to cry in the presence of others, especially a lot of others! And especially people who don't know me well. But, I'm not as resistant to it as I used to be. Why is that?

Many years ago, I was praying with a group of people and I started weeping. So, I prayed silently that He'd either let or make me quit crying. It was one of those times when He replied immediately and said, 'What if those are My tears?' Oh, my gosh! Well, I haven't made that request of Him since. He longs for us to allow Him to live His Life through us, so why should we be surprised that He might actually cry through us? We are His body now, here on earth. He has removed His physical, personal body from earth and now we are 'it!'

So, I encourage you to not suppress those tears when they come, especially if they are tears for others or tears of worship. I somehow doubt my tears of self-pity were His. It doesn't mean He had no compassion on me when I cried those tears and, maybe, some of them were His. He cares when we're treated unjustly and/or abused. Perhaps we should cultivate this...allowing Him to cry through us. There are so many to cry for. He was deeply moved in spirit when He saw Mary weeping over the death of her brother and He wept. Any righteous compassion we have has its source in Him, not us. Doesn't compassion often prompt tears, as it did Him in this instance?

So, the next time the tears are ready to roll down your cheeks, LET THEM. Carry a handkerchief with you, if you must (I do), but if He wants to cry through you...don't be ashamed. Give Him that liberty. You might be surprised at how those tears will soften your heart and break up that fallow ground, per Hosea 10:12...and then perhaps you'll experience Him raining righteousness on you! YEAH!

051310 musings

In my quiet time this morning, I expressed to Him my fear of what may lie ahead. I felt He asked me, 'Am I not enough?' sigh...yes, He is, but I just don't know it yet. How much of our journey is daily coming into a greater awareness that He is enough...enough for today's troubles, enough for our future, enough to carry us through to eternity! There is a saying you may have already heard...You'll never know He's all you need until He's all you have. That could sound scary to those of us who aren't there yet, but what an honor. He's no respecter of persons and He, just like us, WANTS TO BE KNOWN INTIMATELY! Many years ago, knowing I wasn't to be led by my emotions, (and battling BEING led by my emotions), spoke to Him rather loudly, 'Why did You give us these emotions, anyway?' He came right back, and said, in His gentle way, 'I have all the same emotions that you have.' Whoa...now THAT's food for thought! Well, you might say, could He possibly have fear? I won't be dogmatic, but I think He may. However, His fear is sanctified. Perhaps He 'fears' I'll fall short of receiving the inheritance He so longs to receive from me and give to me. They are one and the same. After all, per Isaiah 30:18, '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.' How many of us who claim to know Him REALLY believe He waits on high to have compassion on us? May we believe it, that we may be more eager to hear His beautiful voice, then, do His bidding...for His glory, not ours.

Part of my reading this morning was Ps 12:8 ~ The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men. How true this is. I/we see it daily, on an ever-increasing basis. Maranatha! But, enough about that...

I also read from 'Heaven,' by Randy Alcorn this morning, give to me by my dear friend, Kat, for Christmas. On page 88, he talks about biblical words beginning with the re- prefix: reconcile, redeem, restore, recover, return, renew, regenerate & resurrect. The re- prefix suggests a return to an original condition that was ruined or lost. He also writes: These words emphasize that God always sees us in light of what He intended us to be, and he always seeks to restore us to that design. YEAH!!! This reminds me of a relationship I prayed for many years ago between a daughter & mother, that their relationship would be restored. A friend challenged me on praying this way, saying that relationship had never been one that would warrant being restored. My response to her was that it would be restored to what GOD had in mind for it before the foundation of the world. I believe that is HIS view of true restoration...not a restoration of what we deem as having been good, but what HE deemed good, before we were ever born...and of which we know very little. I believe even the best of relationships still falls FAR short of what He intended it to be...because of our finiteness and our sin. So how can we know a truly other-serving relationship apart from being glorified in our new, wholly redeemed bodies with wholly redeemed spirits? Impossible...but we should still strive for that, looking to Him, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, which is from Him, through Him and to Him!

First Post 051110

I've started this blog in honor of my friend, Lois, who has challenged me to write a book. She says I have a lot of wisdom and so many great examples that the Lord has given me, I need to document them. I was going to write 15 minutes a day, starting May 1st. Well, here it is, May 11th and I'm just now starting. I shared that with someone and they encouraged me to start with a blog. So, here I am. Now what?

So, here I am, just starting my blog, and my cat, Percy, decided he wants to be on my lap. It's hard to type with him on my lap, but he looks at me with those sweet gold eyes and I can't resist. And he's purring, and being affectionate. Now, he's not always as affectionate as he used to be, so I take advantage of every time he wants to be affectionate with me. Now, hmmm...who could that possibly remind me of? ME! The Lord has used my cats many times to show me things about my relationship with Him. Like this, just now. Am I as affectionate toward Him as I was when I first knew Him? I must sadly admit, no, I'm not. Would He like for me to be? Of course! Does He turn me away when I decide I want to sit on His lap? Never! Does my cat understand all my overtures to him to express my love for him? Nope! In fact, he doesn't even like them sometimes! Do I always understand all the Lord's overtures toward me that express His love for me? HA! I'm just like my cat! Sometimes, I don't even LIKE the ways He expresses His love toward me! I believe our Lord gives us many pictures throughout our days just like this one, but we are too busy to notice them, let alone 'get' what it is He's trying to convey to us. Yet, He keeps on loving us AND keeps trying to speak to us in whatever way He knows we can understand. He wants me/us to love Him, just like I want my cats to love me. He enjoys my/our expressions of love to Him, just like I love it when my cat(s) exhibit affection toward me. Isn't He wonderful?