Sometimes, Say Nothing

“American culture is incredibly diverse. We don’t all watch the same movies or television shows in this country. We don’t all go to church. We don’t all read the same thing or listen to the same music. The one thing that we can all get into is politics, and that’s not healthy. Politics has become the national pastime that brings us all together, only so it can drive us all apart. The task of the church, in this polarized environment, is to slow down, set our minds on things above, and stick to our own script. To be sure, we should not always be silent. But neither should we be the noisiest people in the room, especially when the room tries to tell us what we should be talking about.

Brothers and sisters, it’s OK to have an unarticulated thought. It’s OK to go about our lives in quiet worship and obedience. It’s OK to do your homework, read your Bible, raise your kids, and make your private thoughts prayers instead of posts. Alison Krauss was right: sometimes you say it best when you say nothing at all.”

- Kevin DeYoung

Respect Without Affirming

"Christians cannot be tolerant of all things because God is not tolerant of all things. We can respect differing opinions and try to understand them, but we cannot give our unqualified, unconditional affirmation to every belief and behavior. Because God doesn’t." - Kevin DeYoung

The Gift of Faith

"Faith so completely takes God at his word that it is willing to do what he says and stay inside his boundaries. Faith is a response of your heart to God that completely alters the way you live your life. You don't just think by faith; you live by faith. ...But putting your entire existence in the hands of One whom you cannot see, touch, or hear is far from natural. This is why faith is only ever a gift of divine grace. You and I have all the power in the world to doubt and no independent power at all to believe. So if you are living by faith, don't proudly pat yourself on the back as if you did something great. No, raise your eyes and hands toward heaven and thank God for gifting you with the desire and ability to believe" - Paul Tripp, New Morning Mercies

The Next Big Thing

"The Next Big Thing is not another Pentecost or another apostle or another political or social cause. It is Christ's return. In demanding an immediate satisfaction of our heart's longing, we replace this event with manufactured spectacles. Ironically, the most faithful Christian life is one that embraces a pilgrimage rather than a conquest. The ordinary life - sustainable discipleship and disciple-making - is the order of the day, as we live each moment in eager expectation of The Next Big Thing on God's schedule." 

- From "Ordinary" by Michael Horton

Boldly Speak Truth

"The Bible tells us to, boldly and humbly, and without fear or shame, proclaim the Word of Truth. The unchanging Word of God always overrules anything any man has ever said which contradicts it – no matter how brilliant it may sound. As 1 Peter 1:24-25 says, all men are like grass and their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and flowers fade…but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Every book we read, every sermon we hear, and every piece of advice we both give and receive must line up clearly and perfectly with the everlasting Word of God." (from a blog I read recently but I'm not sure who the author is)

In Times of Darkness, Do Nothing

"What should you do in times of darkness? Actually, the first thing to do is nothing. This is a difficult thing for our lowly human nature to do. When you are confused and do not know what to do, do nothing. When you find yourself in a spiritual fog, do not run ahead, but slow the pace of your life. And if necessary, keep your life's ship anchored or tied to the dock.

The right thing is simply to trust God, for while we trust, He can work. ...Only the peace of God will quiet our minds and put our hearts at rest."

- L.B Cowman, Streams in the Desert


"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." - Isaiah 50:10

The Word of God Will Defend Itself

"The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose and the lion will defend itself." - Charles Spurgeon

Good reminder for me today. I tend to want to "prove" scripture with someone who disagrees but God doesn't need me to do that. It is not up to me to do the job of the Holy Spirit. The Lord only asks us to share the gospel and and He will do the rest. His Word alone is more powerful than anything we can say or do.

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12

Holy Exchanges

From the book Choosing Joy by Angela Thomas:

"The heart falls into despair when we forget.  When we forget who we belong to and how very powerful God is.  When the ways of evil seem to be winning and we forget that the victory has already been won by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet says that God promises to make holy exchanges for those who belong to Him.  He takes mourning and gives comfort and gladness.  He exchanges a crown of beauty for ashes.  And for every one of us filled with a spirit of despair, God promises to exchange our despair for a garment of praise.  A garment is a whole new outfit, not just a tiny handkerchief or a new tie.  A garment is a complete covering.   Only God could replace despair with a praise that becomes our joy."

God Sees My Potential, Not My Past

"I realize that God is in control of the universe, that the mistakes in my past, while dramatic to me, did not ruin God's plan beyond repair. God is sovereign, and His plans cannot be thwarted by someone like me. He can fill in the blanks of my mistakes, teaching my children what I failed to teach, restoring what I destroyed, rebuilding what I tore down, redeeming what I sold away.

And He tells me to stop looking back, to press on toward the prize...He knew my mistakes before I ever made them, yet He still planned to use me anyway.  He didn't see me as The Great Loser, but as someone uniquely gifted with something to be used in His kingdom work. Where I see myself as a disappointment, He sees me as an asset. He already knows the fruit I will bear for Him, and my future is on His mind so much more than my past.

If He can see me that way, why wouldn't I want to press on toward that goal, and wave good-bye to my fragmented, imperfect past? The future is so much brighter in Christ, and I have so many sisters and brothers who need strengthening.

Thank you, Lord, for seeing my potential instead of my past."

- Terri Blackstock

The Way We Like it Doesn't Change the Truth

Retired Church of Uganda Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said, "The moment you’re far away from your Bible and you are not making a difference with your Bible, then you are losing God’s wisdom to help you to walk righteously before Him." 

That is the source of the weakening of the church.  We rely less on personal study of scripture with the Holy Spirit guiding us to truth and more on questionable experiences and false signs and wonders, what the latest best-selling author or speaker is saying, or we rely on social media and form our opinions and even our theology based on what is going around on Twitter or Facebook.

As a result, we are lured into taking what God says is sin to not really mean that, and try to say scripture was misinterpreted, that it applied to a different people or time or circumstance and is irrelevant to us today, or that it isn't really what God meant.  We try to convince ourselves that if God really loves us that means he wants us to be happy even if it goes against his word. 

It sobers me because I know God is clear that not everyone who stands before him saying "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven.  He won't care what celebrity speakers on television told us, or what tens of thousands of people "tweeted".  He won't care what we read in best-selling books.  He won't care how human judges interpreted our rights in court. There will be no excuses, no debate we can give to convince him that we are the exception to what he told us in his word.

We can spin it any way we want but as Orombi says, "the way you like it doesn’t change the truth that is in the Scripture."

Simple Truth

"It may sound boring or out-of-date, but it just happens to be true: the way to grow in your relationship with Jesus is to pray, read your Bible, and go to a church where you'll get good preaching, good fellowship, and receive the sacraments. I'm not suggesting Christianity can be boiled down to a few external requirements. I'm not saying that at all. I'm arguing that if you want to be Christlike you need to have communion with Christ, and if you want communion with Christ you need to do it on his terms with the channels of grace he's provided. And that means the only way to extraordinary holiness is through ordinary means."

- Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness

The Hard Path of Discernment

"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. ...If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them."  Deuteronomy 13:1-8

This scripture seems to warn against more than worshiping false gods or idols. Could it also be warning that the other "gods" we sometimes chase after come in the form of a popular book or teacher that seems sound on the surface but when tested against scripture reveals unbiblical teaching? Could the claim by some ministries that certain practices or supernatural experiences are from God actually have elements of the occult or other religions mixed in and we are to "turn away from them"?

I can't help but be reminded that the original temptation started with the serpent's words "didn't God say?" as he mixed in enough of God's exact words to make it sound credible so that the lie was hard to detect. Satan is crafty that way. He always wraps deception in enough truth to make it look and sound right so we won’t bother testing it, yet 1 John 4:1-6 instructs us to test everything to see whether it is from God and promises when we do so, we will be able to tell the difference.

It's hard to not follow the crowd - especially when other Christians are doing so - but as this scripture points out, even if our family and friends are inviting us to follow something that isn't biblical, we are to turn away from them. That is a hard thing to do. Choosing the narrow path is lonely and difficult, but it's the path we are told to follow and it’s the path that leads to life instead of destruction (Matthew 7:13, 14). God doesn't ask us to take the less chosen path or to question everything so we can become targets for those who think we're just being judgmental, close-minded, or intolerant. He simply wants to protect us from the lies that can derail our faith. 

Discernment isn't always a fun companion because she asks us to stop and seek truth when we don't want to. She sometimes asks us to confront the wolves in the flock (Matthew 7:15) when we'd rather just look the other way. We are always to test and listen with a discerning heart and true teachers of God's word will welcome that and not be offended, just as Paul commended the Bereans when they wanted to verify what he taught with the truth of scripture (Acts 17).

Part of discernment is to determine if it is really false teaching or simply needing to clarify whether differences in denominational wording of doctrine can sound different than our own yet remain truth. That is sometimes a tricky thing to do but seeking discernment from the Holy Spirit and checking everything against what scripture says helps us separate one from the other so that we can embrace truth and turn away from lies.

*****

 “Among the gifts of the Spirit scarcely one is of greater practical usefulness than the gift of discernment. This gift should be highly valued and frankly sought as being almost indispensable in these critical times. This gift will enable us to distinguish the chaff from the wheat and to divide the manifestations of the flesh from the operations of the Spirit.” - A.W. Tozer

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."  James 1:5

"Beware of interpreting Scripture in order to make it suit a pre-arranged doctrine of your own." - Oswald Chambers

"Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness." - Luke 11:35

The Kind of Fear We Should Seek

From Note to Self by Joe Thorn:

"You don't need to be afraid of anything, but you do need to fear your God with a holy reverence. Such "fear" is an aspect of faith that responds to God's holiness, sovereignty, and transcendence. This higher form of fear is that which leads to awe, adoration, and carefulness of life because of the intimate knowledge of your Maker and Redeemer. What should you fear in life above a holy God who forgives the sins of unholy men like yourself? What can be taken from you? Your possessions can go up in flames, but you have treasure in heaven and stand to inherit the kingdom. Your reputation may be sullied, but you are justified in Jesus. You may be rejected by those you admire, but you are accepted by God. You may be hated, but your Father in heaven loves you with an undying love. What is there in this life to fear?

The fear you need to maintain and cultivate is a fear of God, for in it you will discover wisdom and develop strength that enables you to persevere in faith to the end."




The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Psalm 111:10

Remember...

In my Bible study these days a thought keeps resonating: Remember.

It's a significant theme that appears many times in scripture as we are instructed to remember days, events, places, people, and teachings that speak to God's holiness, power, character, and sovereignty.

Without remembrance, we are in danger of listening to other voices that tickle our ears with promises of another Jesus who is more politically correct and gives us a pass on sin, a salvation where "love wins" and the cross doesn't matter, and special revelations and mystical experiences that aren't biblical no matter how spiritual they seem. Before we know it we have forgotten who God is, what He has done for us, and what He promises with protection and blessing when we obey...and dire consequences when we choose our own way over His.

He is a jealous God who will not share our affections for other things more than Him. He is a holy God who will not overlook our deciding to ride the fence on issues that He has declared sin. And He will not tolerate being mocked when we we ascribe to Him through the Holy Spirit words and manifestations He did not say or do.

But ultimately, I think what what we are in danger of forgetting is that the whole of scripture is one huge love story with the bright scarlet thread of redemption woven into the drab fabric of our fall from grace, leading to His perfect plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. I think that is what He wants us to remember most of all and it is the message being lost in the church.

Remember the cross and the empty tomb and why we need a Savior. Remember who you are in Christ. Remember what God has done and will do. Remember His holiness.

Remember.

Resting in God's Sovereignty

From When You Are Weak by Brian Cosby:

"The sovereignty of God is one of God's attributes that speaks of his complete control over all things, all people, and all time. Nothing happens apart from his providential governing, not even the death of a sparrow (Matt. 10:29).

Because God is sovereign, wise, and works all things for our good and his glory, and if he sees fit to give us many earthly possessions or very little earthly possessions, we can rest in the knowledge that he is in control. Whether we find ourselves in plenty or in want, the sovereignty of God should comfort us, humble us, and grant us a steady contentment in the outworking of his eternal plan." (p. 78)

Be Careful in Your Theology

This excerpt from Note to Self by Joe Thorn says well what's been on my mind lately.


Be Careful in Your Theology

"Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." 1 Timothy 4:16

"Dear Self,

Your views of God and self are not small ideas of little consequence. You must carefully do the hard work of building a theology that reflects truth. Do not merely settle for the study you have already done. This is more than laziness; it is carelessness with the truth of God. What you have already accomplished is not sufficient to have arrived at a perfect "body of divinity." You need to continue to study and articulate the truth throughout your life. As one who believes that sin has corrupted every faculty of a man, you must acknowledge that if there is corruption in your heart and mind, there is probably some error in your doctrine as well.

Don't settle for the teaching of one teacher or system because you like the leadership there. And do not blindly embrace a tradition because you believe it is simply the closest option out there to what the apostles gave us. While you will do well to listen carefully to those teachers who have gone before you, especially those teachers who consistently preached and taught the whole counsel of God, you must remain careful.

To be careful in your theological development is to be ultimately persuaded of the authority and the sufficiency of Scripture, as well as the worthiness of God. If Scripture is the only perfect and certain word from God, which alone is the flawless revelation of God, then read it, study it, and then articulate the truths it teaches carefully, so as not to misrepresent God or lead people away from the truth.

You do not get to rest just because you believe you chose the right theological tribe. You must continue to exercise due diligence in your investigation and articulation of the truth. By it you will both know God and make him known, or you will misunderstand God and lead others into error."


From Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself by Joe Thorn, page 121.

The Prosperity Deception

The Word of Faith “prosperity gospel” movement promises health, wealth, prosperity, and power - usually guaranteed when you give a financial contribution ("seed offering") to their ministries.

One look at the bookshelves in a Christian bookstore or online gives witness to the movement with titles like:

5 Steps to Release God's Power for Promotion and Increase in Your Life

The Laws of Prosperity

God Wants You To Be Rich 

The Power of I Am

Your Best Life Now

You're Supposed to be Wealthy

Speak What You Want and Receive it Supernaturally

Release Your Destiny

Prosperity is the Whole Gospel

and so many others.

It is a movement that falsely promises we can “name it and claim it,” and God will deliver, or that we will receive supernatural experiences by tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit as if he is ours to command and manipulate like a genie in a bottle to give us whatever power, experience, or material thing we want. Both teachings overshadow the true gospel of Christ and living a life in humble obedience and surrender to Him. 

The thing is, our requests are not promised to be granted just because we ask. What IS promised is that God will give us whatever we pray for that is in agreement with his will: "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." (1John 5:14-15)

He delights in giving us what will bring the evidence of his Holy Spirit into our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), but he will not say yes to requests that come from a wrong motive (James 4:3: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."), or when we ask out of a prideful sense of entitlement (James 4:6: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.").

If we are genuinely seeking God's will then our motives will be pure, our hearts will be humble, and our desires will line up with His. Even Jesus, who asked to be spared from being crucified prayed "not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:42), then responded in humility and obedience.

The Lord invites us to come to him with boldness and confidence (Hebrews 4:16) and to bring him our petitions (Philippians 4:6), but we must also make sure our hearts are in the right place; that we are coming before the throne of grace with an attitude of submission and glorifying God instead of elevating ourselves. 

The Significance of God's Affection

"Don't lose sight of God's holiness and power. Those very qualities make his love significant. Without a healthy respect for God's greatness, his affection loses value. ...The affection of a familiar, buddy deity is one thing; the love of the Lord of heaven and earth, the one who dwells in unapproachable light, is something else entirely. As Francis Chan wrote, 'The fact that a holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, fair, and just God loves you is nothing short of astonishing.'" - Drew Dyck, Yawning at Tigers

Resting in God

"When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.

“. . . O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.

There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.

We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him."

By Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Embracing a Manna Mentality

One thing I'm learning as I downsize and simplify home and life is to let God provide what I need when I need it instead of feeling I have to cover all the bases myself or prepare for every possible scenario.  I'm learning to live with a "manna" mentality.  The Bible tells of God's provision for the children of Israel in the wilderness after they left Egypt.  Each day he provided something called manna for them to eat.  It was fresh every day and in fact, except for taking extra for the Sabbath, it would spoil if they tried to take more than they needed for one day.   

I think it is wise to plan ahead and do things like stock a pantry, put money away in savings, buy extra when things we use regularly are on sale, etc., and I do those things.  But what I'm seeing in myself is a shift from fear and "what-if" thinking to one of common sense and balance where I trust God for my daily bread, both figuratively and literally, instead of feeling I have to provide for myself on every level.  There will always be what I need for the day.  I don't have to worry about tomorrow.  There's enough to go around.  They will make more.  God is already there.

What I'm finding is a renewed sense of peace and gratitude when I don't worry so much about provision and instead trust that the Lord will give what my family needs when we need it and often in more abundance than we expect.  When I focus on just today I'm able to be thankful for all that it holds without being distracted with what is around the corner whether real or imagined.

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:25-34

Simple Obedience

Faith Over Feeling

"Because of practices invading both the culture and the church that promote experience over doctrine and feeling over faith, Christians might get the idea that they are missing out on something and need "deeper" experiences with God. Although we have a Savior who died for us and we have the scriptures, which are "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3.16, 17), it is being suggested or implied that this is not enough.

Could it be that Christians are not immersing themselves in the study and learning of God's word, and therefore are trying to fill that void with ways to have spiritual experiences? We should remember the power of God's word, and that it is our spiritual nourishment. "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" (Hebrews 4:12)."

- Marcia Montenegro

A Test of Faith

"Our loving Father does not wish any child of his to have one moment's anxiety or one unsatisfied need. No matter how great our need may be, no matter how numerous our requirements, if we only "prove him" in the manner he bids us, we shall never have room enough to receive all the blessing he will give (Malachi 3:10).

...Why is it we find it so hard to trust him? Has he ever failed us? Has he not said over and over and over again that he will grant all petitions offered out of a pure heart, "in his name"? "Ask of me"; "Pray"; "Prove me"; "Try me." The Bible is full of answers to prayer - wonderful answers, miraculous answers - and yet somehow our faith fails us, and we dishonour God by distrusting him!"

From The Kneeling Christian by An Unknown Christian

Treasure of a Different Kind

One of my favorite devotionals is Peace For the Journey by Elaine Olsen. Here is an excerpt that spoke to my heart today:

"Jesus speaks to the pull that exists between temporal wants and eternal fulfillment.  He charges his followers with the "letting go" of the fleeting and with the "cloaking" of the lasting - an enduring purse filled with the unfailing, untouchable, and the indestructible treasures that await our arrival in our final rest.  Indeed, we may not be able to take "it" with us when we go, but we can be certain that "it" is waiting for us when we reach our final destination.

...We may not see the fullness of that inheritance in this day.  Rarely do we feel it and, even less likely, do we ever understand it.  We simply live in the certainty of it, knowing that our faith will soon be made sight.  And when it is, when faith gives way to the glorious rewards of a long and mostly unseen obedience, we will witness the bounty of our deliberate storing.  Only heaven is strong enough, deep enough, wide and completely vast enough to bank that kind of faith.

We may not "count it all joy" now, but we will then, after we make one faithful choice after another, until we realize that every current, spirit-spoken "yes" in our hearts has reaped for us an eternal and resolute "yes" in our Father's." (p. 154-155)

What the Blind Man Saw

Sometimes Jesus passes by and a miracle happens but we miss it because we are blinded by things like problems, pride, fear, and preconceived notions.  Our pastor gave a sermon a while back on John 9 which tells the story of how a blind man was healed by Jesus but those around him remained blind to what just happened.  Here's how it goes (underline emphasis is mine):

"As He (Jesus) passed by, He saw a man blind from birth and His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." ... When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?"  Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one." 

So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?"  He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight." They said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." 

They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.  Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet."

The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner." He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."

So they said to him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?" They reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.  "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from." 

The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."

They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?" So they put him out. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him."

Jesus passed by and restored sight to a man blind from birth.  It was a miracle, something impossible, but what is also amazing is the response of those who witnessed it. 

The disciples were concerned about what sin caused the man to be blind in the first place.  They were blinded by the problem of why the man was blind instead of anticipating what Jesus was about to do.

The neighbors were concerned whether this could really be the one they knew as the blind beggar.  They were blinded by his past and status.

The Pharisees were focused on the fact that Jesus broke the law of the Sabbath by healing someone.  They were blinded by rules and regulations.

The parents were more concerned about what others might think.  They were blinded by pride and fear.

The only one who really "got it" was the blind man.  All he knew was he was blind and now he could see.  His eyes, physically and spiritually, were opened and he saw Jesus for who He was.  It is almost funny how he responds to everyone who questioned him (and what a grilling he endured!).  To the neighbors who seemed to be talking among themselves as if he wasn't there, he seemed to be jumping up and down saying "Hey! Over here! It's really me!"  To the Pharisees, I can almost sense the wry humor as he says "now here's an amazing thing...you have no idea who healed me yet I can see for the first time in my life, but you are more concerned about whether he was qualified to do it.  Smart guys, you are."  And the parents' response was likewise amazing.  They should have been thrilled that their son was healed but they were more concerned about offending the leaders and being kicked out of the synagogue than rejoicing in a miracle.

But I sometimes miss the blessing for the same reasons these people did.  We all do.  Jesus passes by and we let pride, rules, fear of what others will think, and preconceived notions blind us to the blessing of His nearness.  He performs nothing short of a miracle and we miss the point of it.

I want to live with eyes open so I see when Jesus is passing by and can take part in the great work He wants to do so that the Father is glorified.

What Joy Is

From The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life by Tommy Newberry:

"Being joy filled does not mean that your life is perfect.  Who could claim that? It doesn't even mean that your life is great.  What it does mean is that you emphatically trust God and believe that he has great plans for your life, regardless of what is happening right now.  Joy is the infectious and uncontainable fruit of divinely inspired growth.  It's a deeply entrenched, unshakeable belief, the result of sustained right thinking and dwelling on the nature and character of God.  Joy is an outward sign of inward faith in the promises of God.  It is a way of acting and it is evidence of spiritual maturity.  Joy is not a distant destination at which you arrive; rather, it is a path you choose to travel each day."

As I continue to read this book that definition of joy has convicted my heart. Joy is an outward sign of inward faith in the promises of God. 

Either I believe that God is who he says he is and can do all he says he can and will do, or I don't.  If I truly believe, peace and optimism despite any circumstance will be my companions.  If I don't, then hope for my welfare will fade.  It all depends upon what (or rather, who) I choose to set my thoughts on.

***

"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5

Values Matter

"In many ways our culture has lost its sense of values; I worry about a generation that's been brought up afraid to make choices for fear of offending someone. 

Multiculturalism teaches us that all cultures should be valued at the same level.  Society teaches us that there's no such thing as evil, it all depends on your environment.  School leaders try to tell us that boys and girls are the same, when any parent knows better.  We've become a culture afraid to make judgments and proscribe values to anything because of our overwhelming fear of offending. 

But something inside knows that's not true.  Some choices are better than others.  Some decisions make sense and others don't.

Values matter."

From One Big Thing by Phil Cooke (p. 69)

***

Right is still right even if no one else is doing it; wrong is still wrong even if everyone else is doing it.

What Home Reflects

"It comes down to this.  Your home is a reflection of who you are.  I don't mean this in the sense that you need a showy home to prove to the world how great you are.  Your home reflects your inner life.  How content you are.  How fulfilled you are.  How loving and loved you are.  Your home is the outward expression of what you value, what you enjoy, and what is important to you."  - Peter Walsh, It's All Too Much

Thinking about what my home says about me.  I think it says I'm someone who likes doing things other than housework.

The Kind of Person God Uses

From Eyes Wide Open by Jud Wilhite:

"Here's a bit of reality. When we become believers, many of us think, Well, yeah, I have certain gifts and abilities. But then we begin to stall. We start thinking like this: You know, I don't have my life all together yet. I still have bad habits. I still have issues. If the people at church knew what they were, they just wouldn't believe how I keep messing up. I need a little time because right now God isn't ready to use me.  Or we think, After I get my life together, once I get perfect, then God will use me. Good luck with that!

That's not the way God works. Look through the Bible - God uses imperfect, broken, hurting people everywhere. Being broken and hurting and imperfect is the human condition. It's what being human means in a fallen world. Who else is God going to use?"


This is good news because it means God can use me now instead of waiting until I become perfect, something that won't happen until my life here on earth ends.  With that in mind, I need to get out of my own way and become more available for Him to use me.  I need to let go of my insecurities and rest in the confidence that He created me for a specific purpose and will give me what I need, when I need it, to accomplish that purpose.  I need to let go of my weaknesses and understand that in those weaknesses He is strong and will suppply what is needed for any assignment He sends my way so that He is glorified in it.

Following With Consistency and Confidence

One of my struggles in my faith is feeling that I'm not consistent in my walk with the Lord and I think that comes from my lack of confidence in who he is at times.  I've been focusing on the names of God because through them, I discover more about his character, and as I discover more of who he is, I am able to respond in faith.

I like how Renee Swope says it in her book, A Confident Heart:

"God's names are a promise of who He is.  We learn to trust Him as we come to know Him in the way He is described in the Bible, based on His character.  We will not know God as Jehovah Rapha, our Healer, until we experience and recognize His healing in our lives, whether spiritually, emotionally, mentally, or physically.  We cannot know Him as Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, if we are not in need.  We will not know Him as Jehovah Nissi, our Banner, unless we need Him for victory."

As I seek to follow God more consistently, my confidence to do so will come from knowing who He is.  My prayer needs to be, "Lord show me who you are as I seek to know you better."  I do desire to know him better because after all, he already knows me intimately and not only that, he also sees me as who I am becoming instead of who I am now.  When he looks down at me, he doesn't see me as just one of millions but rather as someone he already knows, and in a good way.  It's like recognizing a loved one across the way in a room full of people.  Just as we seek out those we love, so does the Lord seek me out.  The better I know him, the quicker I'll recognize His presence in every situation.

Submitting Self to God

"Submitting self to God is the only real freedom - because the deepest slavery is self-dependence, self-reliance.  When you live your life believing that everything (family, finances, relationships, career) depends primarily on you, you're enslaved to your strenghs and weaknesses.  You're trying to be your own savior.  Freedom comes when we start trusting in God's abilities and wisdom instead of our own.  Real life begins when we transfer our trust from our own efforts to the efforts of Christ." - Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels by Tullian Tchividjian

No Fear

"The biblical writers were all on the same page when it came to believing that God is in control of all things and that nothing can happen that he doesn't first review and allow. He's never in a position of wringing his hands in confusion; he's never surprised at what occurs on earth; he's never wondering what to do next." - From Your 100 Day Prayer by John Snyder.


This gives me hope because it means God is taking into account every detail and working things out for the outcome that he already sees. In fact, I have nothing to fear because whatever the future holds, God is already there. His plan is for my good and for His glory whether I cooperate or not; whether I think getting from here to there is how I would like to do it or not. How much better to rest in peace knowing that he is in control and everything will work out. It takes the burden of worry off of me and that's how God wants it all along.

What Have We Become?

Excerpt from an article by Paul Proctor:

"I continue to be both saddened and disturbed by how many professional Christians there are today that are more interested in advancing their own ministries and agendas than they are the Word of God – and frankly, it shows because far too many spend their time and effort talking about we, me and mine – promoting and defending themselves, their feelings, their visions and their experiences with one another, week in and week out, rather than contending for the faith with Bible in heart and hand. (Jude 1:3)

...The Great Commission has not changed since it was given even though the so-called “church” and its hirelings have. What would the Old Testament prophets say to us today if we could hear them? What would the Apostles from the New Testament say if they were still with us?

More importantly – what is our Just and Holy God saying to us right now?

Look around – look in the mirror – and then look in your Bible for answers – that is, if you really want to know what they are. They’ve been there all along."

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19-20

Nothing is Impossible

"The word impossible isn't part of God's vocabulary. It's a word we thought up on our own, and we think it carries lots of weight. But it does so only when we subtract God from the formula. If there's no God, the kind of God portrayed in the Bible, then we would have every right to think that there are all kinds of impossible things in the world." - from Your 100 Day Prayer by John I. Snyder

My Name is On God's Tatoo

"Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me."

"Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me." -  Isaiah 49:13-16

I read this in my devotional today and was reminded that no matter what happens, no matter how uninvolved God seems in my circumstance, He is still there and is actively at work.  He can't forget about me any more than I, as a mother, can forget about any of my children.

When God seems far away from my struggle, I just have to calm down and see that He is there.  It's usually my own worry that blinds me from His presence.  It's kind of like when a young child loses sight of her parent in Walmart and she panics, but her mom is just on the other side of the clothes rack and never lost sight of her child.  Once I am able to see past the anxiety of the situation, I discover the Lord never left and always had me within reach. 

In fact, this scripture says I am engraved on the palms of His hands and am continually before Him.  That's kind of like having my name permanently tatooed on His hand as a constant reminder that I am His.

That's a huge grace note for today.

A Little of What You Like Does You Good...

"Little luxuries are more conducive to sustained well-being and pleasure than big ones.  These days, this philosophy of happiness is gaining popularity and, while I don't believe that happiness is an absolute state to which we all have a right, I do agree that a little of what you like does you good.

I would hazard a guess that most relatively contented domestic artists subscribe to this philosophy (both knowingly and unknowingly) and treat themselves regularly in small but significant ways.  The gentle arts offer such a wealth of little luxuries that it's not difficult to create a chain of small pleasures that link together to make a necklace of non-precious gems to adorn your life.  Pretty buttons, trimmings, ribbons, lovely yarn, half a yard of a beautiful fabric, a good novel or a book of poetry, a few squares of chocolate, a box of French macaroons - all are strung on my personal necklace of luxuries."

- From The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket

God Has Backup Copies

Today I read something in my devotions that I hadn't noticed before.  It was in Jeremiah 36.  The Lord spoke to Jeremiah the words He wanted delivered to Jehoiakim, king of Judah.  These were words of warning of what would happen if the king and people didn't turn from their evil ways and come back to God.  Jeremiah dictated God's words to a scribe who then delivered the scroll to the king.

The king's response was to burn the scroll because he didn't like what God had to say.  He thought that would take care of the matter.  No scroll, no warning to heed - as if God's word could be undone by simply destroying the evidence.

What he forgot is that God's word is not dependent upon anyone believing it.  God will have His way and His word will always hold true no matter whether a person chooses to believe it or not and no matter what lengths people go to destroy it or discredit its message. In the case of Jehoiakim, God simply told Jeremiah to rewrite the words on another scroll and have that delivered once again to the king, only this time God added more.  It would have gone better for Judah if the king had heeded the first message.

God always has backup copies of his message.  If we don't hear it the first time, He will repeat it as often and in as many ways as necessary until we listen.  As Aldous Huxley said, "Facts do not cease to exist simply because they are ignored."  This is especially true where God's word is concerned.

Keeping Faith When It's Hard

I have no problem believing in God but I often struggle with believing that He will do all He promises in His word. It's a struggle between theology and reality, and faith is the only thing that will close that gap. I don't want to just say "I believe" I want to say "I KNOW" with an unfailing faith and conviction that stands strong even when my circumstances say otherwise. 

I believe what God says about Himself and to believers in the Bible. Either these things are true because God's Word is true, or they are a lie. And if I believe that God's word is true then I have to believe all of it. If He says He is my provider, then I must not doubt His provision. If He says He hears me when I cry out to Him, then I must not live like He doesn't even if the answer doesn't come immediately. If He promises I can do all things through Jesus Christ, then I need to take it and run with it.

If I trust Him with my eternal life and salvation - and I do - then I have no choice but to also trust Him with the daily things and the hard things in life.  I need to be able to trust Him with my friend Diane who recently completed months of chemo, radiation, and a mastectomy for breast cancer only to find out last week that the cancer has metastisized to her bones.  We don't know what the future holds for her but God does so that's where she and her friends and family need to put their faith.  (Update: Diane left this earthly life soon after this was written and is healed and whole in heaven.)

Faith is hard for me sometimes because I rely so much on feelings. If I don't "feel" God at work then I may doubt His presence, but scripture says in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." My favorite definition of faith is that it is taking God at His word regardless of what we think or feel. Faith is also important because as Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

So what do I do when my faith seems weak and I'm having a hard time believing God? I take God at His word regardless of what I think or feel. I meditate on Hebrews 4:12-16 that tells me the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, that God is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of my heart so He is able to take what I believe and help me with my unbelief; that I am not hidden from His sight, that in Him I have a great high priest who can sympathize with my weaknesses, because He Himself was tempted in all things as I am (yet without sin); and that I can draw near with confidence (boldness) to the throne of grace to find mercy and grace in my time of need. Those are powerful promises.

I am reminded of the centurion who came to Jesus, asking him to heal his daughter. Jesus was prepared to go with him but the man said if Jesus would just speak the word, his daughter would be healed because as someone in authority himself, he recognized the authority of Jesus' word. Jesus responded that he never found such faith in all of Israel.

Taking God at His word is where my faith needs to begin and end. Scripture says heaven and earth will pass away before one stroke of God's word will pass away. That means the world will have to end before God's word is not true. That's what my faith must be grounded in regarless of who is president, what is happening economically, in sickness or health, in good times or bad.  What the Lord did for anyone in scripture He can do for anyone today. I just need to rest in the authority of His word, who He says He is, what He says He can do, and who He says I am in Him.

A Perfect Moment

The realist in me wants to say there is no such thing as a perfect moment. But, I found one filed away in a childhood memory.

First, some background. I was born in Illinois on an Air Force base and we soon moved to another base in Texas. When I was about three years old, my parents divorced and my mother, who was pregnant with her fourth child, packed up her other three children and moved us back to her hometown in Indiana. We lived in a tiny cinder-block cottage on my grandparents' property. It was my third home in three years of life.

The moment I remember must have been when I was close to four years old and was in early fall because my older brother and sister were at school and the leaves were still green with just touches of color beginning here and there. The sky was as blue as one of my crayons with cotton ball clouds. I had awakened from a nap after lunch and sat playing on the steps to the door of the cottage. On a rare day, my mother was home instead of at work so I had no apprehensions of being left with a babysitter and my baby sister was napping so there was no opportunity to coax her into a smile. I was left to the company of my constant companions, a stuffed panda and a handmade bear that had been my mother's. Both were dressed up in doll clothes and sat unmoving in my second-hand toy baby carriage. We had finished our tea party with painted metal teacups, saucers and teapot neatly stacked on a plastic plate that served as the tray.

My grandparents' property was part of a nature preserve so I was surrounded by the woodland sounds of wind in trees, birds and chattering squirrels. The field between our cottage and my grandparents' home had been left to grow tall with grass and wildflowers and on this warm autumn day dozens of butterflies came out to play among the blossoms. The whirring sound of cicadas, or locusts as some call them, ebbed and flowed.

Sitting in a combination of the shade of a sycamore tree with its huge leaves and sun as the branches parted in rhythm with the breeze, I remember looking at the sparkles of light between the leaves and releasing a sigh. I was warm, fed, rested and safe and remember feeling totally at peace.  No one required conversation of me, no siblings were there to tease. The stitched on smiles of my teddy bear friends seemed to concur the bliss of the moment.

I still have those teddy bears. Now and then I take them out and recall that perfect afternoon.

Strength For the Moment, Trust For What's Ahead

"God does not give us overcoming life - He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment."
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

This is probably the hardest lesson for me in my faith walk. I forget that God works best in my trials, giving what I need for the moment. Often all I can see is how impossible the situation is and wonder why He isn't doing anything or why I’m not making progress. I want to fast-forward to the end even if means I learn nothing along the way. I end up exhausted because I try to work it all out in my own power, lacking the patience to let Him lead me through it one step at a time so I emerge from the valley spiritually stronger and wiser. Often my short-cuts end up being the most difficult route to the destination.

A scripture I often meditate on to help keep God in my moments is Psalm 119:105: "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." The lesson in that verse is that God lights each step for me, one step at a time, no matter what the situation. It's like walking along a dark path with a flashlight. It doesn't do any good to shine the light too far ahead because I might miss something right in front of me that may cause me to stumble. Or, by looking too far ahead I may see things I don’t understand or fear and be tempted to turn the other way, going right back to where I started. Instead, I keep the flashlight shining closer to my feet and the next few steps so I can see what is there.

That's what God wants to do in my walk with Him. He wants to light my path one step at a time, one strain or trial at a time, and trust Him for what I can't see further down the road. I can have confidence that He is a trustworthy guide because He has already been there.

Homesick

"Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you've never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground." - Judith Thurman

Sometimes it is hard to draw the balance of living between the anticipation of heaven and the reality of life on earth when one has a strong faith in God. I do find myself homesick for heaven even though I have not been there and don't know what it really is like other than what scripture tells me. All I know for certain is that being in heaven means being with the Lord and that is enough of a reason for longing for it.

Until that time, I need to live fully engaged here on earth even though my real home is elsewhere. That means living in a way that glorifies God and reflects His love to those I encounter whether it be my own family or random strangers. It means living with anticipation of the joy to come while dealing with the things on earth that maybe aren't so pleasant, knowing that it is through pain, hardship and disappointment that I am refined and my faith is made stronger. But I also know that amidst the negatives of life there is a lot of joy to be found. God is glorified when I seek those tokens of love from Him from the awesome wonders to the smallest things that almost go unnoticed but are no less awesome.

The Bible has much to say about the question "how should we then live?" but the verses that speak to where I am today are:

Deuteronomy 6:5 - "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

Micah 6:8 - "And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?"

I Thessalonians 4:11 - "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands."

Colossians 3:23-24 - "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men."

Ephesians 4:29 - "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."