control June 30, 2011

An excellent question was posed at bible study Tuesday night. We were discussing how Jesus tore the veil that separates us from God when he died on the cross;  how we have complete and unhindered access to God.  However, we allow things to come between us and the Lord. Here lies the question… what veil have I allowed to be hung in my heart? What keeps me from drawing intimately close to my God?

We took a moment to be silent and ask Him to reveal the veils that hide our hearts. God was undeniably clear with me. It is my fear of losing control over my life, loved ones, and circumstances that keeps me from being ever-close and abandoned to God.

The Lord has brought me a long way from the self-protecting, self-sufficient, controlling person that I became in my teenage years.  While I have learned to let God have more and more control, I have not managed to escape the fear that comes when I do yield to Him. I still have to wrestle quite a bit to get to the place of letting go. The enemy pushes my deep-rooted fear buttons and tries to convince me that giving up control is too dangerous.

This morning, God revealed a breakthrough truth to me:

Surrendering and yielding to God does not mean that I am powerless.

It does not mean that I am completely lacking control in the situation. It is MY choice to surrender to God. It is MY decision to let Him have control over my family, finances, and future. Surrender is not a place of weakness or powerlessness. I am choosing to put my trust in the One that makes the best decisions for me and the ones I love. The One that knows the perfect solution to my quandries. The One who has a full provision for all of my needs. I am choosing to rest in the embrace of the One who cannot be moved.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29

a done deal June 28, 2011

I was very intrigued by this verse that I read today:

“For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Heb 10:14 NIV

“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Heb 10:14 NKJ

This verse speaks of one thing that is done and one thing that is ongoing. By one action, one death, one sacrifice, my sins are atoned for. That business is done. The word “perfected” means completed, finished, accomplished. The never-ending forgiveness of my sins has been accomplished.

While the issue of sin and forgiveness is done and settled, I am still being sanctified. That business is ongoing. I am still being set apart, consecrated, transformed. I am still being shaped into Christ’s image and being used by Him in increasingly effective ways.

The enemy wants me to get the truth of this scripture mixed up. He wants me to think that the process of my atonement is ongoing. I have to perform in order to be worthy and forgiven. I am setting aside these lies and standing confidently in the truth that I am forgiven. It is done. The sins that you and I will commit later today and tomorrow are already covered. Praise God!

besieged June 20, 2011

We have a warrior God. I heard a pastor say once that when it comes to spiritual warfare, the battle is not against us, but over us.  We are the spoils of war. The Lord is ever warring with the enemy for the salvation and transformation of His children.

This truth came alive as I read Psalm 139. Verse 5 says, “You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.” I looked up the word “hem” in the original language, and discovered that it’s more of a battle term than a sewing term.

It means to press in, to confine, to besiege.  In His great love and passion, the Lord presses in to communicate with us. To protect us. To influence us.  His desire is to confine us to His presence so that we are never alone. He literally besieges our hearts, wanting to invade every empty and broken place so that He can bring healing and transformation.

The enemy wants to besiege us as well, with his lies and accusations. He wants to confine us with shame and bitterness. He wants to lay siege to our hearts in order to destroy us. What comfort we receive in knowing that God presses in first and foremost. We hold to the truth that we “are from God and have overcome (evil), because the one who is in (us) is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

pruning June 14, 2011

The Lord prompted me to go out to our rose garden this morning, so I grabbed the pruning shears and a bucket on my way. As I snipped off the dead blooms, He spoke to me about the pruning that He does in my life.

Pruning is necessary. Shriveled blooms must be removed to make room for new blossoms. Wayward branches must be trimmed back to keep the rose bush where it belongs. Diseased portions must be trimmed off to keep the plant healthy.

God has many reasons for pruning things out of my life.  He may see a relationship, job, ministry, locale, or habit as unhealthy, diseased, or beyond fruitfulness.

Pruning is painful.  As I trimmed off old blooms that were clearly dead, the green flesh of each stem was visible. The branches were still full of life! There was no “snap” heard when I cut off the dead flower because the stem was still tender. I was instantly reminded of times in my life when God’s pruning felt like a wound in the tender places of my heart.

God may trim something that seems perfectly healthy or fruitful. It may be very painful to let go. There may be serious grieving involved! In His wisdom, the Lord may remove something for no apparent reason than to make room for something else. We must trust His hands as the Master Gardener and let Him do the work.

I’m being pruned as we speak! I keep trying to talk the Lord into keeping this particular branch. I see life in it! This morning, He agreed with me that there was still some value in it. However, there is far more value in letting it go to make room for something new.

Bittersweet. The pain of letting go combined with the joy and anticipation of God’s faithful work in my life. He is worthy of my trust, so I will let go….

like Jesus June 9, 2011

Many christians would say that an important goal or mark of growth in their lives is becoming like Jesus. The Bible encourages us to cast off sin, to be loving, to forgive, to “walk as Jesus walked.” (1 John 2:6)

He has extended revolutionary love and grace to us.

“…when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”  Titus 3:4-7

It doesn’t take much for us to understand that we need to be like Jesus and extend love and grace to others. However, we completely miss the boat when it comes to extending grace to ourselves.

I’m not talking about making excuses or justifying our selfish behavior.  It’s time to stop listening to the lies running through our heads. I’m a failure. I’m worthless. I’m not as skinny as so-and-so. Why can’t I get it together? If people knew the real me, they’d be shocked. Lies.

It’s time to start forgiving ourselves the moment that God forgives us. It’s time to start giving ourselves the opportunity to make mistakes.

If you want to be like Jesus, then give yourself grace. Right now. Today, tomorrow, and every day. Give grace to yourself because God always does.

anchored June 7, 2011

100th post today! I love what God is doing through this blog. When I started “a babe in the womb”, the birth of my son was drawing near. A season of teaching and preaching the word in group settings was drawing to a temporary close. I experienced tremendous grief over being led away from women’s ministry at my church. Yet something new was born! Not only my son, but a new ministry experience. I have been able to share His word through the internet while He has kept me at home caring for my baby (just turned 2) and my homeschooled girls (nearly 11 and 13). God is good!

Though the scenery and the venues have changed, His promises to me have not waivered.

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.  God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  Hebrews 6:17-19

We often interpret God’s promises to mean something specific (according to our own desires, of course) and we don’t leave room for Him to keep His promises amid changing circumstances. We forget the truth of Hebrews 6:18… God cannot lie! He absolutely never considers it. The scriptures tell us that He IS truth.

No matter what happens in our lives, God keeps His promises. We must give Him room to fulfill His promises in His own way and in His own timing.  We only have to wait and see what He will do. When we hold on to the Lord in faithful expectancy, our hope is like an anchor. Though the waves of circumstances and heartbreak attempt to toss us to and fro, our hope in the One who cannot lie keeps us anchored.

What has God promised you?  Are you confident that He would never lie to you?  Do you believe that He is fulfilling His promise to you even at this very moment?

We live in a consumer society. We can buy just about anything that we want, even if we don’t have the money for it!  We expect to receive what we’ve ordered in a short amount of time. Fast food. Express shipping. Instant streaming.

We forget how much preparation goes into the things that we order. Take dinner, for example. When we order our favorite meal at a restaurant, we are not mindful of the seeds that were planted months ago. The livestock that was birthed years ago. The aging of cheese or wine over long periods of time. Your meal takes more than just 15 minutes to prepare! In reality, it takes years.

God works in the same way. We are not mindful of the preparation, the cultivation, the planning that God takes in fulfilling His promises to us. When we cannot see our order coming out of the kitchen, we think He’s forgotten us. We think He’s angry with us. We forget that He is good. He never lies. He is always working for our good.

Put your hope in Him! Drop your anchor deep into the reality that He loves you and He is preparing His best for you. Wait in expectancy for Him to fulfill everything He has promised you.

marrow June 2, 2011

Loving my study in the book of Hebrews. One of the most commonly quoted verses about God’s word is found in chapter 4, verse 12:

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

God’s word gets right down to business. It cuts through our bone-hard self-protection to the soft inner marrow of our hearts. It exposes the root of our sins and problems: our thoughts and attitudes. We are always trying to deal with our sins from the outside, attempting to change our behavior with self-control. God wants to deal with the inner root of the problem in our hearts and in our minds. The disease of sin has infected the marrow of our hearts. The sin we see in our “outer” lives is only a symptom of the inner problem.

Beware…the enemy wants us to believe that God is always pointing fingers at us and frowning upon our sin. This morning, the Lord drew my attention to the progression of verses after the one we’ve been looking at. If we continue in Hebrews 4, we see:

verse 13  “nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. everything is uncovered and laid bare before him…” It is true that God’s word uncovers even the secrets in the marrow of our hearts. Nothing is hidden from Him. However,this is not the end of the issue.

verse 15  “for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have (Jesus) who has been tempted in every way, just as we are…”   What is revealed in my heart… what He finds there… Jesus understands. He walked this earth, fully human. He battled temptation. Someone challenged me with this question: Why would the scriptures say that He was tempted in the desert if it wasn’t REALLY a temptation? If it wasn’t temptation, then it would have been called something else. It was a temptation that He had to battle.  He understands how hard it is to face sin and overcome.

verse 16  “let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and grace in our time of need.”  He does not condemn us for our temptations and our sins.  He offers grace every time. So approach Him with confidence! He knows your struggle.  He has been tempted and angered. He has been rejected, judged, and gossiped about.  He has been desperate to avoid suffering (read Matthew 26 and Mark 14).  He handled all of these situations in a way that pleased the Father, yet He does not condemn you for being unable to do the same.

He loves you! He understands you! Do not hide from Him. You may fear that opening your heart will leave you judged and vulnerable.   However, opening your heart makes it possible for him to pour out his love and mercy. Uncovering the marrow of your heart is the only way to be transformed! He will bring healing where you need it. He will bring the inner change that you need. He will shower you with grace!

Open your heart to Him.