When I fall...

Ps 17:5 says, "My steps have held fast to Your paths.
My feet have not slipped."

Well, this morning my feet didn't slip, but I did stumble. I was walking on the sidewalk up to the building in which I work for TU. (NOT my House Mom job) I felt the toe of my sandal hit something and I went for a ways before I fell. I have no idea how long/short that was, but I do remember trying to regain my balance, then realizing that was NOT going to happen. It was a frightening feeling. I had my coffee cup in my hand and wanted to move it before I fell, but didn't have enough time. My head hit my coffee cup, so I now have a small 'goose egg' on my forehead, along with a skinned-up left elbow and a scrape along the side of my right knee. (How did I do THAT???)     Well, of course I wasn't too happy about this. But, as time went by, I realized how fortunate I was. I had my coffee cup in my left hand, my purse on my left arm and my work bag in my right hand. If I hadn't, chances are that I'd have put both hands out and I could have broken both my wrists. THANK YOU, LORD! And, had I not had my coffee cup 'in the way,' my head could have hit the sidewalk. I could have had (at least) a concussion, blacked out and/or TU would have a new crack in their sidewalk!

I guess all this is to say two things. Even though I did fall, it could have been SO MUCH WORSE. And, we all stumble from time to time...spiritually. I know I do! But He provided someone there to help me. She saw me fall and came over to help me. Then, later, after I'd immediately gone to the restroom, as my elbow was bleeding, and had told my co-workers what had happened, one of them suggested (strongly) that I go to the kitchen and get some ice on my forehead to discourage bruising. I thought it was a strong possibility I'd end up with 'raccoon eyes.' Well, it's rare that I ever see my supervisor's boss and he came into the kitchen when I was in there. He urged me (strongly) to go the TU medical center. I hadn't even considered doing that. One of my co-workers walked me over, just in case. Well, they told me to DRIVE to another medical facility, as there was no doctor on the premises. OK. I just fell and hit my head and they told me to DRIVE. Plus, being a House Mom on the TU campus is like being invisible. Even though they have shrunk the parking down to nearly nothing, they refuse to designate any parking for any of the six House Moms who LIVE on campus. AND they now have a batch of Teach for America students living in the dorms behind our houses who are also taking up parking for the next four weeks. So, not only were they telling me to drive to another medical center, this would also entail me giving up my parking space in the middle of the day! Well, Campus Security had to come and fill out a report since I fell on TU property, so they drove me to the other medical facility, then picked me up and brought me back.  Again, Thank You, Lord! Because of this, I ended up spending an hour and a half at the medical facility and missed my electrician that was going to come today. AAARRRGGGHHH! But...yes, it could have been SO MUCH WORSE! Even though He let me fall, He still protected me. Hmmm...8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. ⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." per Isaiah 55. Would I have fallen if I could have avoided it? YOU BET! But, again, it could have been so much worse. One more mystery to add to the list!   :)

Mud

As I attempted to get to my car last Saturday morning, I realized that as I slept the night before, it had rained...an answer to my prayers! However, living amidst MUCH construction on the TU campus, I don't have the luxury of a carport, a garage or even being able to park in front of my home. I have to 'hike' to the nearest parking lot and this time, right in the way, was a 6- or 7-foot wide path of MUD!!! I didn't have a lot of time to backtrack, so I contemplated doing that OR walking through the mud. I stuck in my left foot, on which I had a flip-flop, and promptly sank into about 2-3 inches of mud. Now I contemplated, "Do I continue on or backtrack after all?" Having no 'extra time,' I decided to finish what I'd started. By the time I got to the car, I had mud all over my sandals and even on my feet. GRRR!!! Fortunately, I had an old roll of paper towels in my trunk, so I got about 75% of it off so I could drive to my prayer meeting. I was angry! NOT the best place to be if you're going to pray(er)! So, as I decided to try to improve my attitude, the Lord reminded me of a cute Mary Engelbreit tin a friend gave me a few years ago. It has a little girl on it, in a garden, up to above her ankles in mud and it says, "If you pray for rain, be prepared to deal with some mud." DON'T tell me the Lord has no sense of humor! But, just as when we pray, sometimes we have to align our attitudes (& sense of humor) with His!

Our Purpose at Any Age

It's been so long since I've posted. So much has happened in that time but it would take so long to go into all of it. Anyway, I was asked to teach this week and next week at a Bible study I'm currently attending because the usual facilitator is on vacation. The ladies in this group are all older than I am and, most, by 20 years or so. They are darling, precious saints who have walked with Him for a very long time and have been students of His Word for a very long time. So, after praying and seeking Him as to what to teach this week (which is now past), here is what I put together. It's a little lengthy for a post, but our study time is usually about an hour. 

I know our Lord can do anything, yet I sometimes look at my life and feel fruitless. I don’t necessarily want to blame it on age, yet that seems to become a greater factor as I get older. It also causes me to return to an interaction I had with the Lord about four or five years ago.

I had gone with a friend to RavenCrest Chalet which is a Bible school and retreat center in Estes Park, CO. Every year they have a teaching time for women only. (It used to be a week, but they’ve since shortened it to just a weekend). At the beginning of the week, they gave each of us a book with suggested readings for each morning to prepare us for that day’s teaching. As I was reading this one morning, the Lord took me to Romans 12:1 and 2. Now, I had known this verse for years, but always focused on the part that says, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Now, prior to this week, for quite some time, I’d been asking the Lord to just take me home. I wasn’t in great distress or trial, but just weary of all the sin in this world and in my own life as well. Well, as I reviewed these two verses on that morning, the Lord got His laser pointer out and drew my attention to the part that says, “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice” and pointed out to me that I couldn’t do that if I wasn’t here! Good point, eh? Then He reminded me of how He prepared John the Baptist 30 years for a six-month ministry. He then asked me, “What if the last six months of your life are the main reason I put you here and you keep asking Me to take you home before then?” Then He quite clearly said to me, “Quit asking.” Wow! It was one of the times in my life when I heard Him so clearly, I never doubted it was Him!

And, interestingly, the most puzzling aspect of John’s ministry was that he had any audience at all. What was it that compelled residents of Jerusalem to leave the comfort of home to venture miles into the Judean desert to hear John? Some may puzzle as to why people brave the traffic and the sweltering afternoon heat to watch the Dallas Cowboys. But these people poured out in multitudes, miles into the wilderness to listen to John preach. It would not be stretching the truth to say that John’s sermons were more scorching than the blistering Judean sun. And let us remember that John is never reported to have performed so much as one miracle. Even Herod himself was strangely attracted to his preaching.

So many things here on earth make no sense to us and old age with its accompanying afflictions and ailments is often one of them. Ezekiel 37:3 says, “”He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”” In other words, rather than making up a hopefully correct answer to a question to which he clearly did NOT know the answer, Ezekiel humbly gave the right answer…“O Lord God, You know.”

There is a portion of a book I’d like to insert here. The book is “Hinds’ Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hurnard.

Sometimes the Shepherd and Much-Afraid walked over patches of thousands of tiny little pink or mauve blossoms, each minutely small and yet all together forming a brilliant carpet, far richer than any seen in a king’s palace.

Once the Shepherd stooped and touched the flowers gently with his fingers, then said to Much-Afraid with a smile, “Humble yourself, and you will find that Love is spreading a carpet of flowers beneath your feet.”

Much-Afraid looked at him earnestly. “I have often wondered about the wild flowers,” she said. “It does seem strange that such unnumbered multitudes should bloom in the wild places of the earth where perhaps nobody ever sees them and the goats and the cattle can walk over them and crush them to death. They have so much beauty and sweetness to give and no one on whom to lavish it, nor who will even appreciate it.”

The look the Shepherd turned on her was very beautiful. “Nothing my Father and I have made is ever wasted,” he said quietly, “and the little wild flowers have a wonderful lesson to teach. They offer themselves so sweetly and confidently and willingly, even if it seems that there is no one to appreciate them. Just as though they sang a joyous little song to themselves, that it is so happy to love, even though one is not loved in return.

“I must tell you a great truth, Much-Afraid, which only the few understand. All the fairest beauties in the human soul, its greatest victories, and it most splendid achievements are always those which no one else know anything about, or can only dimly guess at. Every inner response of the human heart to Love and every conquest over self-love is a new flower on the tree of Love.

“Many a quiet, ordinary, and hidden life, unknown to the world is a veritable garden in which Love’s flowers and fruits have come to such perfection that it is a place of delight where the King of Love himself walks and rejoices with his friends. Some of my servants have indeed won great visible victories and are rightly loved and reverenced by other men, but always their greatest victories are like the wild flowers, those which no one knows about. Learn this lesson now, down here in the valley, Much-Afraid, and when you get to the steep places of the mountains it will comfort you.”

 I must admit that I’ve often wondered why so many of our brothers and sisters all over the world must endure such deprivation, suffering and torture. What could possibly be the purpose? How does this bring glory to Him? How do they keep the faith in these conditions day after day, week after week, year after year? What about those who suffer with chronic physical ailments for years or those born with severe handicaps?   Let us go back to Ezekiel and say, “O Lord God, You know.” 

Here is another excerpt from a message given by Joni Eareckson Tada in 2008.

When He cometh, when He cometh to make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels His loved and his own.
Like the stars in the morning His bright crown adorning,
We will shine in His beauty bright gems for His crown.

We used to sing that song—a Sunday school song it was—and the Bible talks about this very thing, glittering, dazzling, glorious. Malachi chapter 3, verse 16 describes how the Lord has a book in which all the names of those who love Him are written down. (Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.) And He calls these people His jewels. So how do we become jewels that glitter, and I mean really shine?

Well, I don’t think you ladies, this group, are into “bling.” But I know if I want a rock, let’s say my diamond wedding ring, to dazzle, I’ll ask my “get-up” girl in the morning to take my toothbrush and scrub my ring.

A real stone like this one can take a good scrubbing. Jewelry is not as delicate as we think. So God gets out His toothbrush and says in Zechariah chapter 13, verse 9, “I will refine them like silver, and I will test them like gold.”

That’s me. What can I say? I long, I desire, I want to be a jewel that does not cringe if God chooses to give my soul a hard scrubbing every now and then.

Now, I’m not glorifying the suffering it takes to polish my faith. But ladies, I am glorifying the God whose image is reflected on the surface of any smile, my smile, that might be hard fought for through pain or problems. If you want God’s glory to be your shine, girls, it will be on His terms. His glory will be the glow of His godliness in your life, His patience, and perseverance.

You know, this whole lesson was brought home to me through a special pair of earrings I have. They were gracing the ears of my girlfriend, Anne, who is one of our board members at Joni and Friends.

Her husband owns a couple of Mercedes dealerships back in Nashville. Anyway, we were at the registration desk of the hotel after the board meeting, and I just looked up at her and said, “Oh, Anne, what beautiful earrings you’re wearing!” To which she immediately began taking them off, and she put them on my ears. I said, “No, no, wait a minute!” I couldn’t protest very hard; my hands don’t work, “Oh, no, no, please don’t give me your earrings.”

Well, to put it shortly here, these earrings became my absolute favorites for one thing. They were precious because my friend, Anne, gave them to me. And oh, my goodness, they were $800 or $900 gold earrings! I couldn’t believe it.

I wore them all the time. In fact, I was wearing them at work, and down the hallway from where we are here is my office. I was leaning up against the telephone receiver. Now, my telephone, because it’s handicap equipped, is hooked to a gooseneck receiver and the receiver rests against my ear.

So I’m leaning against the receiver, talking, and all of a sudden, I feel the earring drop. But I keep talking, because I know when I’m finished, I’ll back up and find the earring on the floor or on my lap. Well, I did just that. I backed up my wheelchair, and it wasn’t on the floor, and so I kept wheeling around looking for it everywhere. I couldn’t see it.

I wheeled toward my office door to yell for my secretary Francie to come and help me find this earring on the floor, and as I wheeled I heard this, “Clunk-clunk, clunk-clunk, clunk-clunk.” I had impaled this gold earring on the tire of my wheelchair. I felt awful. I mean, these were expensive earrings. So Francie got down on her knees and she plucked the earring off of my tire.

It was, ladies, a mangled mess. I was devastated. Well, that weekend I took the set of earrings to a local jeweler at the mall, and I put the set right there on the counter and said to the jeweler, “Sir, can you please make this mangled earring right here look like this really nice earring here?”

And he rubbed his chin, and he looked at them, and he said, “Well, lady, I can’t make that one look like this one, but I can make this one look like that one!” I couldn’t believe it! I said, “Sir, no, I mean, these are good earrings! These are really expensive!” “Sweetheart,” he said, “don’t worry. I’m an expert at doing this.”

So there he goes in the back with my earrings, and I hear this, “Bang, bang, bang, bang.” When he came out, I couldn’t believe it. The earrings were beautiful.

I mean, because they had so many more crinkles and bends and cracks in them now, they really reflected the light so much more beautifully. Those earrings were never the same. Those earrings were changed into a different shape, and believe me, they are all the better for the battering.

In fact, I’m wearing them right here. I usually don’t wear earrings this big, unless I’m in Texas, but I thought I’d wear them today just to show you these earrings are unique. Like I said, they catch the light in a way that they never did before. They are unlike any other piece of jewelry I have, and that makes them all the more precious.

David Jeremiah recently said this quote about Moses:  God spent the first 40 years of his life teaching him he was somebody, the second 40 years of his life teaching him he was nobody and the third 40 years of his life teaching him that God can make a nobody a somebody.

Psalm 57:2 says, “I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me” and Ps 138:8 says, “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me.” Isn’t it great that it doesn’t say this only applies to those who are young?

Ps 92:14 ~ They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green. And you all are!

Glory, Splendor and Heaven

I was reading Ps 113:4 this morning, which says, 'The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.' So, this verse states that His glory is ABOVE the heavens. But Ps 19:1 says, 'The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.' And Habakkuk 3:3 says, 'His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.' Wow...these are just three verses that talk about how the heavens relate to or are used by God to show His glory and splendor. There are many more.

But as I read Ps 113:4, what I noticed is that His glory is ABOVE the heavens. I have to wonder if His glory is so permeating that it CAN'T HELP but 'break through' the heavens, causing them to tell of the glory of God, per Ps 19:1...to declare the work of His hands? that, as His glory is above the heavens, it is an intertwining of His splendor covering the heavens? Maybe you're thinking, 'Well, D-U-H!', but, really...have you ever pondered this?

And then, Ps 97:6 says, 'The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.' So, hmmm...now the heavens are said to declare His righteousness as well as His glory and splendor. Do you think there could be a connection? Do you think anyone could be excused from seeing His glory, righteousness or splendor when it goes on to say that ALL the peoples have seen His glory? Ok, you might say, 'What about those who are blind?' Well, obviously there is a link between the heavens declaring His righteousness and all people seeing His glory, but it still doesn't say, 'except those who are blind,' does it? What about Helen Keller? She was blind AND deaf, yet saw His glory. I once lived above a couple who were both blind. Yet, she sewed all their clothes and cooked all their meals! I can't sew and I have sight! Do you think they may have seen His glory even thought they were blind? I wasn't a believer when I lived above them, but perhaps I'll see them in Heaven. Yes, I definitely believe you can be blind but still see His glory.

In fact, Saul/Paul had to blinded BEFORE he could see His glory! In Acts 9:3, it says, 'As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.' Then, in verses 8 & 9, it says, 'Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight.' This was the beginning of his coversion, from Saul to Paul, and from darkness to Light...the True Light. John 1:4 says, 'In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.' It's interesting to me that I started off with His glory and splendor and how it related to Heaven, then transitioned to blindness and sight. I didn't mean to. Yet, the heavens, which contain the Son/sun, can either blind us or give us the sight we need to see His glory. In Acts 9:18 after Ananias prayed for Paul, 'immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight.' Ah...whenever we look at the heavens, (and even when we don't) may we marvel at His glory and allow Him to remove the scales we've allowed to build up and regain our spiritual sight!

Psalm 106

Ah...it's been two months since I've posted. Sorry! Actually, I've been so truant in my posting since the beginning of the year, I probably don't have any regular followers anymore anyway. But, let's move on.

Here are verses 37 & 38. 37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, 38 And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with the blood. Genesis 1:1 says, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' So He created the heavens and the earth before He created anything else. He created it to be a habitat for man, whom He would create five days later. How long did it take man to pollute this earth with the blood of others? Only one generation, for Genesis 4:8 says, 'And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.'

We take that lightly, don't we, that murder pollutes the land with blood? Do we even consider it pollution? Do we even see that abortion is no different than sacrificing sons and daughters to the idols of Canaan? Is it not the same as sacrificing the unborn to the idol of having a more comfortable life or the idol of convenience? Idols are idols whether you can actually touch them or not.

But let's go back to Psalm 106:40 & 41. It says, 'Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people And He abhorred His inheritance. Then He gave them into the hand of the nations, And those who hated them ruled over them.' So, do you think perhaps the Lord just might be angry with our nation, that has aborted more people than Hitler killed? Do you think just maybe, He would DARE to give our nation into the hand of the nations that those who hate us might rule over us? Every time I read figures about how many illegal immigrants have taken up residence here, it's different, but there are probably at least 19 MILLION. That's one figure I've read, but it increases daily. Do you think, just maybe, this MIGHT be a way in which the Lord is giving us into the hand of the nations to be ruled by those who hate us? They enter our country illegally, work without paying taxes and burn our flag. The list goes on. Do you think they love us? Does this type of behavior exhibit love? or disdain and contempt?

You might say, 'Oh, that's Old Testament and He was talking about Israel, not us.' Well, I say, 'Wake up!' He WAS talking about Israel, but do you really think there is no application to those of us who are New Testament believers? Of course there is. Psalm 104:32 says, 'He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.' Maybe you're not as old as I am, but have you not seen this in your lifetime? What about the tsunami in December of 2004? Do you think this was just 'a weather phenomon' or could it have been Him, looking at the earth? Do you think when the mountains smoke, it's merely a geophysical event? Yes, He can use those things, but just think what a brief look from Him CAN do. What do you think would happen to you if you could SEE Him looking at you for just a second? Your life would be changed forever. HOW it would be changed forever depends on the condition of your heart.

So, how polluted do you think our land is? Not only do we have the blood of abortions, but the blood of the Civil War, the blood of more murders than we can count, the blood of many abused children, whether they died or not. The list goes on. It's no wonder each generation is worse than the one before it. We 'accumulate' blood, sin, the sins of our fathers and grandfathers. It is an ABSOLUTE MARVEL and an act of extreme mercy that He breaks in on us and rescues us from this continuum of sludge! So, I'll end with the last verse of Psalm 106. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the LORD!

Hinds' Feet

Ah...time flies, doesn't it? The old saying implies it only flies when you're having fun, but I've modified that saying to this:  Time flies whether you're having fun or not! All that to say I can't believe it's been a month since I've blogged!

Since then, we've had nearly all days with well over 100 degree highs. UGH! And no rain until just the past few days. I also took a vacation to Texas, where, amazingly, in July, of all months, it was actually cooler in Texas than it was in Oklahoma! As Bob Dylan penned, "The times, they are a-changin.'" Is that an understatement, or what?

But, on to more spiritual things. I had a lovely quiet time this morning, OUTSIDE, on my back patio. It was only 77 degrees! WAHOO! And, it was wonderful! I read several things that inspired me, but one thing, from 'Hinds' Feet on High Places,' reminded me of an experience I hadn't thought about in some time. If you've never read this book, it's by Hannah Hurnard and I suggest you do so. Anyway, in chapter nine, Much-Afraid, the main character, comes face-to-face with very high walls of rock. Now, you might think, big deal! But...she's to journey over these foreboding mountains! She declares, 'I can't do it; I can't. I shall never get to the High Places.'

Well, many years ago, I was hiking in the Rockies with two friends. Now, we were on man-made trails, so it wasn't terribly dangerous or anything. Interestingly, before we sat down to take a break, I'd been at the back of the group, or third in line, as we were going single-file. We took our break just before scrambling up the side of a short waterfall to get to a higher elevation with a beautiful lake. But when we resumed our hike, I was in the middle. I got about half way up...and froze! I was terrified that if I put my foot in the 'next obvious place,' I wouldn't have enough leverage to move upward, but would fall backwards. Karen was above me & offered me her hand, to pull me up. But, I was afraid I'd pull her down with me. Sally was below me and offered to push me up. That also made me afraid I'd fall backward and possibly knock her down on the way. If I'd been at the back, as I had been previously, I'd have gone back to our break-spot and waited for them (never making it to 'the high places.') The Lord had positioned me right where He wanted me. I was MUCH AFRAID, so prayed, as they did, that He'd help me up that cliff and the next thing I knew, I was there...with both my friends and on we went to the beautiful lake in 'the high places.'

The book is a spiritual analogy of our journey to the High Places, but I was struck as I recalled this long-ago incident of the personal spiritual analogy He'd given me. It was so similar to Much-Afraid's, even down to the name. It's easy to read this book and kind of sneer at her fear, at least it is for me. Yet, He reminded me that, yes, I'm still fearful, too. Perhaps the fear I despise in her is the fear I despise in myself. But, praise His Name, that's not the END! The end is that He has promised us hinds' feet so that we might be able to navigate those steep trails on our earthly journey! Is that not marvelous? Let me end with one of my favorite verses from Habakkuk 3:19 The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places. Shall we allow Him to do so!

Let Them Lead Me

This morning I read and was arrested by Psalm 43. Verse 3 says, "O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places." Is that not beautiful? Let us ponder this verse. If you're in a very dark cave with no flashlight, but you see light, do you walk away from the light? NO. You walk toward the light, letting it lead you to the opening or exit of the cave so you can walk out of the darkness. Darkness can be pretty scary, yet we tend to walk in it quite frequently, don't we? So, the light leads us...out of the darkness.

And truth has become such a 'relative' thing, hasn't it? But, no, not really. We only want to make it relative to justify going our own way, don't we? And then we wonder why the world is in such a mess! If 'your truth' and 'my truth' are not the same, this could be like two trains traveling at high rates of speed on the the same track...but heading straight toward each other! NOT GOOD! Yet, if we embrace the Truth as it is in Christ Jesus, we'll all be traveling in the same direction even if we are going at different rates of speed. After all, Truth is one of His names. In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life;" so, He is the Way to the Truth which leads to (His) Life. Now we see truth leading...to the Life, as He went on to say that "no one comes to the Father but through Me." May we arrive there safely, having been led by His light and His truth.


Psalm 136:7 says, "To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness is everlasting." In our day and age, we have GPS's. Before those came out, we had compasses and maps. But prior to that, travelers looked to the stars to guide them, as the three wise men did. These are only part of 'the great lights' made by Him, but part of the reason He made them was to direct, or, lead us. And, where was that 'star in the east' (Mat 2:2) leading the three wise men? to the new little Life, who, even as a babe, was worthy of worship and would grant them eternal Life. That great light led them to His dwelling place. Oh, let's read the verse again! "O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places."

...for power is perfected in weakness...

Well, I'm not exactly starting off with something that would 'draw people in,' am I? Who wants to be weak? I must confess, I don't like being weak, either. Yet, at the same time, I desire His power to be perfected in me. We live in 'oxymoronism,' don't we? (Don't look it up. I just coined it).

That verse, 2 Corinthians 12:9,  arrested me yesterday. Let me give you the entire verse: And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”  As Americans, we were once a nation full of Christians who walked out their faith. Oh, yes, there are some today, but I suspect not nearly as many as there were 100 years ago. And I'm sure the reasons are more numerous than we'll ever know, this side of heaven. But I have to wonder how much of it is that we refuse to allow ourselves to be weak. And, by this refusal, how much of His power has NOT been perfected in us? Owww...this sadly applies to me as well as the rest of His body.

I've always been single. This is a great excuse for not allowing myself to be weak. What about the adult who was an abused child? the adult who was bullied in junior high? the adult male who wasn't into sports as a child, but preferred music or reading? The list goes on. Could we possibly meet ANYONE who has no reason to put on a tough exterior to hide their weakness?

Yet, He has said His grace is sufficient for us and His power is perfected in our weakness. Do we REALLY believe it? I'm jobless at this time. Do you think I want to appear to be weak, especially as I look for possible jobs and see few, if any, that truly 'fit' what I'd LIKE to do? We fear being taken advantage of if we exhibit our weakness...even by God...even by the Church.

Yet, He longs for us to allow Him to unleash His power in us. He longs, more than that, I suspect, that we would TRUST Him. I'm not sure we remember how, as we've been so self-sufficient. But, He is faithful, even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). Isaiah (11:3) said, "He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear." We westerners are not in the habit of applying this verse to ourselves. We, for the most part, trust our ears and eyes far more than we trust Him. We've trusted more in our 401K's than we've trusted in Him. Our brothers and sisters in Christ in other countries have much more experience at this AND 2 Cor 12:9, as they've had much taken away from them that has made them 'strong' in and of themselves. I fear this is the only way most of will let go of our 'faux strength' and let Him become our strength. He is, after all, no respecter of persons, is He? May we choose NOW to expose our weakness to the One Who is full of strength and longs to operate it in and through us, as, in Heaven, that opportunity (to choose) will be over. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth! (Ps 8:9)

No Expiration Date!

One of the verses I pray for the suffering church is Acts 16:25 ~ But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; so, I pray that my brothers and sisters who are in prison will pray and sing hymns of praise to God, that the other prisoners would hear them, and be encouraged and/or saved. I've prayed this many times, but today as I did, it came to mind that even though Paul wrote this verse some 2,000 years ago, it didn't expire. It can be, and probably is, as applicable today as it was then. Of course, this is true of most verses in the Bible, but it just hit me today in a way it hadn't before. (Don't you just love it when He does that?)

We're used to lots of things having an expiration date on them...food, prescriptions, hmmm...what else? But the Word of God never expires. It never has and it never will. Hebrews 4:12 (one of my favorite verses) says, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  God is eternal and so is His Word. Indeed, John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." So the Word is as eternal as He is, for the Word is with Him and IS Him. Wow...that's utterly amazing, don't you think?

Our present culture is defined well by two words: 'instant' and 'disposable.' We have become used to having most of what we want NOW! And, when we tire of it or use it up, we just throw it away. There is rarely much more thought given to it. We just buy a replacement. I grew up before life became so much that way and the generation before me grew up at the end of the depression. Therefore, they threw little away unless there was absolutely no value left in the item. Many never learned to throw anything away, as they'd had to do without a lot that we've since taken for granted .

How much of this have we applied to other things that we should not have applied it to? How about human life? If you 'accidentally' get pregnant, you just toss it away and conveniently call that unborn baby a 'blob of tissue.' This helps ease your conscience. If you meet someone you're very attracted to, why wait to get married? You can go ahead and have sex now! Why wait? After all, why should we have to wait for anything? We're so special!

We apply it to the Word of God as well. Sadly, many of today's believers are unfamiliar with the Old Testament. So, if you use an Old Testament verse to exhort another believer with, they'll often say, 'That's Old Testament, so it doesn't apply today.' It is true that you need to look at the context of the verse, yet I find that many verses written to Israel (in the Old Testament) also have application to the Church of the New Testament. This is getting lengthy, so I won't give too many examples, but let's take Proverb 8:33 "Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it." And how about  Isaiah 55:8 "“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD." How about 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?" Do you really think these are not for the Church as well as for Israel? I do. Let us not put an expiration date on that which has none!

Obstacles

I'm currently doing a Beth Moore study called, 'Breaking Free.' Today, I was working on the day that deals with generational strongholds. The other day, I was reading Isaiah 57:14, which says, "And it will be said,"Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people." When you read the verse I just cited, did you notice the word 'every?' God is speaking in this verse and He doesn't say, 'Remove most of the obstacles out of the way of My people,' does He? No. He says, 'Every!' That means He's made provision for removing ALL the obstacles out of your life and mine! Does that excite you? If not, it should.

I'm delighted to be able to report that He has removed MANY of the obstacles that have been in my way. I'd love to be able to report that He's removed ALL the obstacles, or strongholds, in my life, but I seem to want to cling to one or two. Isn't that stupid? I know He can, yet I continue to allow condemnation to hover over me from time to time. I suspect this may be something He'll address with me as I go through this study.

Beth, as usual, is doing a great job of taking us through this study to set us free from the obstacles and/or strongholds in our lives, as she has been. Yet, even she has had to do the study over, having let one creep back into her life. Why do we so easily let these ugly things back in our lives to rob us of His victory in us? Have you dealt with any or some (or all) of these yuckies in your life? Why are they there and where did they come from?

Are you familiar with Exodus 20:5 & 6? It says, "You shall not worship them (idols) or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." You might say, 'But I don't hate Him!' or 'My parents didn't hate Him!' But, we all despised Him before we accepted His gift of salvation, didn't we? We all bring our baggage from those unsaved years into our lives as His children. That's why He wrote verse 6. He is ready to set us free from the strongholds we inherited from our forefathers but we are often blind to them or, sadly, unwilling to let go of them, even if they make us miserable! We tend to cling to that which is familiar, even if it's bad, rather than venture into the unknown.

May we all ask Him to expose the obstacles in our lives that hinder Him from having His place in us...ALL of it. He is willing. Are we? I've found myself at times asking Him to remove a stronghold in my life only to find myself hanging onto it for dear life when He tries to answer my prayer! I have a hard time understanding love that continues to pursue me in light of this behavior. But that's the only kind of love He has. Praise the glorious Name of the One Who shows lovingkindness to thousands! (per above verse)

Our Warfare

I was reading Ephesians 6 earlier today. In younger years, I was very familiar with verses 10-18, having been in a local assembly involved in much spiritual warfare. Yet, as I read verse 12 this morning, I thought to myself, 'So, we need to be praying that our God will SHAKE the spiritual forces of wickedness OUT OF the heavenly places!' Yes, I'll 'look up' the verse for you: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
 Now, you may have one of two reactions to my statement. You might think, 'YEAH! Let's pray against those suckers and be tough in the Lord!' My response to your response would be, 'Hold on! You don't pray things like that by yourself! This isn't an action movie where the good guys immediately recover from the hits they take. Our enemy is REAL...AND POWERFUL. If you're going to pray things like this, you need to be praying with a group of dedicated believers. If you 'go solo,' you'll be struck down by the forces you're praying against. And, if you read Ephesians 6:1-9, Paul is not speaking to them as 'an individual,' he is speaking to them as a group. Therefore, Ephesians 6:10-19 is also written as a corporate admonishment, not as to an individual. In other words, even though I've heard 6:10-19 taught as to us as individuals, I believe it's to be read and applied to GROUPS of believers. Let me apply it this way: Our nation doesn't send one man, or even a bunch of men individually, to fight a war, do they? No. They send an ARMY, a GROUP of men, who are trained to fight as a group, not as lone rangers fighting a foe. Even David, warrior that he was, didn't go out and fight the enemy all by himself. (The nine-foot giant was an exception). He fought with a group of 'mighty men.'

The other reaction you might have is, 'Ooohhh...I'd NEVER do that!' (because you don't know your standing in Christ). As with so many facets of the spiritual life, balance is needed. We can be either 'too brave' or 'too afraid' of our enemy. If you're in the group who are afraid of the enemy, let's look at Revelation 21:8. "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Now, truly, this verse is not referring to believers, BUT...notice that God lists the cowardly FIRST! If God lists this trait as that despicable to Him in those headed for the lake of fire, do you think He likes it any better in those who have His Spirit living in them?

I'm not encouraging you to start 'attacking' the enemy. But, if he assaults you, as Paul said in verse 13, stand firm! Again, balance is needed. There is a measure of 'standing alone' we need to do, yet not really alone, as we must stand 'in Him' or failure is certain. But, God has designed us as the army described above. As Paul stated in verse 12, 'our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.' Do you really think you can battle against this vast array of foes alone and not suffer deadly blows? Please don't! Let's couple these verses in Ephesians 6 with John 17:20 & 21: "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You." Even if you're not being assaulted by our enemy, please always remember that, as members of His Body, we are members one of another. We can't make it alone. And He designed it that way!

Captivity and Pride

Yesterday I was reading Jeremiah 13 and was arrested by verse 15, which says, "Listen and give heed, do not be haughty, For the LORD has spoken." This reminded me of Proverb 6:16 & 17, which says, "There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood." (Yes, that's only three, so, if you want to know the rest of them, get your Bible or online, look up verses 18 and 19). What I want to focus on in this verse is not being haughty. Many years ago, I was in a church that, I'm sorry to report, was haughty. We thought we were the 'spiritual elite' and that most other churches were carnal and Laodicean. Well, that's 'real spiritual,' isn't it? What an oxymoron!

Anyway, after leaving that church (after the discovery that the pastor had been engaged in activity that was anything BUT spiritual or elite), and entering into the awareness of how sickeningly arrogant my/our attitude had been, Proverb 6:16 came to mind several times. Please note that of the seven things which the Lord hates, the very first one is haughty eyes. We do a lot of things (especially nowadays) rather haphazardly. If we made a list of seven things we hate, they might not be in the order that we hate the most to the least. Not so with the Lord! He listed haughty eyes FIRST because it's the thing He hates the most.

You might ask, 'The Lord hates haughty eyes more than lying and killing?' I'd say, 'Yes.' Why? Because haughty eyes equals PRIDE. Does not lying and killing come forth from pride? Most of our lying is to either cover up a wrong or to make ourselves look better in another's eyes. This is pride. Killing is extreme pride! Unless it's self-defense, what makes you think you have the right to take another's life? That is God's place and His alone!

So, I repented of looking down my nose at other believers (and unbelievers) with haughty eyes. And I prayed that the Lord would put His love in my heart for others instead of my conditional, shallow love. Which makes me think of another verse I'd memorized many years earlier...Matthew 5:⁴⁶ "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" Ouch...
 
Well, I've since been delighted at how He has answered my prayer. I'm still far from perfect in this realm of my spiritual walk, but it's SO MUCH better! And, there is an 'overflow' that results from this...others I (choose to) love, love me back!!! WOW! Such a deal! Don't tell me God isn't cool, ok?
 
But, if you glance back at my title for this post, I mentioned captivity. The first Scripture I mentioned was Jeremiah 13:15, but let's go on to verse 17. (I'd show verse 16, too, but this is getting lengthy. It'd be worth your time to look it up). But if you will not listen to it, My soul will sob in secret for such pride; And my eyes will bitterly weep And flow down with tears, Because the flock of the LORD has been taken captive. Wow...read it again. What is the end result of pride? CAPTIVITY!
 
You might think this is presumptuous on my part, but, having been held captive by pride, I say it's not and I'm trying to get you to see this in His Word. After all, just because I believe or say something doesn't make it true. But His Word is ONLY truth. Indeed, Truth is one of His names. Did He not say, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life?" in John 14:6? (The answer is 'yes').
 
So, my friend, let's not allow ourselves to be blinded any longer to our captivity if we wallow in pride and try to justify it. The One Who created us and redeemed us didn't allow Himself to be crucified merely to save us from Hell, but to save us from captivity and pride. (Can you say, 'Sanctification?') He longs for us to be captive only to Him...and we can't do that if we're captive to anything else. And, even in our captivity, we can be blind to the fact that we are! The best thing to do is ask Him to show us any captivity in our lives, then, as He faithfully shows us, ask Him for His deliverance from it. This is what He's been waiting for! He has blessings for us that are much better than what we are grasping in our hand(s) if we'll only let go.  In His Love, Lois