The Cure for My Spiritual Stupidity...

Dear Jesus - Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me for Thou hast promised!

I've spent HOURS (HOURS I tell ya!) writing a blog post about a subject that is best summed up in a few lines from 2 different authors...  So - I figured - why not just post what they say?

Masters Over Us? Your Time is Short!

Dear Jesus - We just praise You for Your many words to us that speak hope...

What are some 'lords' or 'masters' in your life?  

Here are some in mine that I will NOT be sorry to see go!

Sugar / Sweets / Food Generally

Dissatisfaction / Judgement / Anxiety

Loss / Separation from Loved Ones

Fear

Oh this list could go on!  But it will never truly capture the list in our own hearts.

O LORD our God, masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.

They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to perish.

Isaiah 26:13-14

Hallelujah!

A Lamb, Some Egyptians, and Moses

Dear Jesus - You are the perfect Shepard.  Help us to know, to understand that in our deepest being - daily...

Moses writes of a rule Jacob defines and that the Israelites knew well.  We would do well to follow this rule in our person lives, our family lives and with all we come in contact.  It goes like this:

And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Genesis 33:13

I did a bit of Google research on the capabilities of lambs - but it was too much for me.  I'm not a farmer.  I don't even own a pet.  That any lamb survives and grows into adulthood is amazing to me.

In the early years of my marriage - we had a problem, but we didn't know exactly the root of that problem. We could see the evidences of the problem - but we didn't know what the root cause was. So - we periodically blamed each other, got angry, an inevitably the cycle would repeat. 

Then we had a baby.  Otherwise known as CYCLE INTERRUPTUS.  That's my Latin term for - the basket got turned upside down in our family life.

About a year or so ago, we were out spending a lovely day together as a family - when suddenly the PROBLEM popped up.  Rather - I began to get those familiar feelings telling me we were heading down a not-so-happy-path.  The Holy Spirit popped this verse into my head and I quoted it to my husband.  I added, "Honey, let's finish this day STRONG.  Let's go at the speed of the smallest lamb."  Of course, by this, I meant our son.  My husband considered my comments, and we wrapped a nice little bow on our day and headed home.  Got into bed that night - and we both agreed it had been a good, solidly good day.

A few months later - that story repeated with the same results.  The Holy Spirit had revealed the root cause of our problem early in our marriage!  It was our mutual inability to KNOW WHEN TO STOP.  Didn't matter the element to be stopped:  having fun, talking, playing, arguing - in all things we must KNOW WHEN TO STOP.

Today hubby and I were discussing this verse.  The image of Moses came to my mind.  Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt.  In that group were Israelite children, lambs, herds and even Egyptians!  All being led by Moses!  So to recap - the group consisted of:

• babies and children of all ages
• Egyptians knowing next to nothing of Yahweh except that He was saving them from plagues
• ex-Slaves
• Bones of Joseph, e.g. a dead man
• Moses - spoken to by God Himself

Wow.  You could not get a group representing a broader spectrum.  Do you want to consider the group by 'age'?  Diverse.  By 'ethnicity'?  Diverse.  By 'spiritual beliefs'?  Diverse.  By 'physical ability to walk or travel'?  Diverse.

Did they all escape Egypt?  Hallelujah!  Even the dead bones of Joseph!

Did they all come into the presence of God?  Yes, well - I'll grant you some of the herds may have been eaten or sacrificed along the way, but the encampment at the base of Mt. Sinai consisted of the same mix.

Did they all hear the voice of God?  Yes!  In fact, Exodus 19 is just an amazing picture of how intensely God yearned to speak face to face with His people.  Exodus 20 finished up God's conversation with His people.  And probably the saddest verse to me is verse 19.  The people couldn't take it.  They could not handle speaking face to face with God.

Here's my today takeaway for my life:

I am called to labor with God who works at the speed of the youngest child, the most ignorant soul longing for Him, and the most gifted with His presence student.  I am part of that group.  I may have started as the youngest child.  Joshua was young when he left Egypt, compared to Moses.  

But here's the lesson - nothing but ME keeps me at that starting point.  

Joshua committed to stay as close to God as he could.  In his life - that was by not letting Moses out of his sight.  In that decision, he too saw the face of God!

The leaders of Israel.  Scary thought.  They dined with God in Exodus 24: 9-11 and yet they died in the wilderness and never saw the Promised Land.  

Moses committed to never letting God out of his sight.  And he SAW THE FACE OF GOD!

Oh dear Jesus!  Thank You that there are no laws of micro or macro economics with You!  Each of us makes a difference to You!  You reward those who seek You regardless of their age, ethnicity, or sin.  You know we were born in sin and You don't hold that against us!  You meet us right where we are!  We praise You for that today...

The Sweet Blessings of Obedience...

How my son Timothy came to be at Tualatin Valley Academy is a story already told. But suffice it to say it was NOT a foregone conclusion that he would attend that school for the 2013-2014 school year.  So why did he end up there?  In the end, the answer is pretty simple – Jesus asked me to send him there and then gave me strength to obey. And I’m so glad I did. This may sound simple – but to me it was a HUGE deal. My BABY! No school is perfect just as no church is perfect – because none of us IN it are perfect. But God IS perfect! And praise the Lord His love is so much a part of who He is that He cannot help but respond tenderly to us – His fallen weak creatures.

Why I Sent My Son to School...

In November 2012, I was sitting in a pew at church when I opened the bulletin and read “Kindergarten Roundup at Tualatin Valley Academy” with January 2013 dates listed. I shut the bulletin. My mind raced, my heart raced. I opened the bulletin again – sure enough the announcement was exactly as I had just read it. I closed the bulletin again.

When I Don't Understand What Jesus Said...

Dear Jesus - Please unstop our ears to hear You as You long to be heard...

John 11 records the story of Lazarus illness, death & resurrection.  Let's take a look and see if we can see ourselves in this story.  I'll omit a few of the verses so keep your eyes on the verse numbers:

Going to Battle Prayer - Part 3 Bootcamp

Dear Jesus - Help us, train us, equip us...

Prayer.  What comes to mind as you read that word?  My mind naturally goes to bedtime prayers, mealtime prayers, prayers of desperation (please HELP!).  This series has included powerful promises and how to use them to bring loved ones, colleagues, neighbors, into the loving embrace of God.  We looked at just a few promises here and here.  However, it is a fair question to ponder:  How does one 'train' in this type of prayer?

The Name (above all names) or the Word?

Dear Jesus - I praise You for Your tender communication that is individual, unique and specific to each of our needs...

2:12 a.m.  I had been awakened from some particularly sweet and peaceful sleep and felt particularly rested.  Hm...  Unusual.

2:30 a.m.  Thoughts have coalesced in my brain over the last 30 minutes and I realize Jesus is calling me to spend some personal time with Him.

You've been around this blog long enough to realize there is no simple realization that happens in my head.  This is no exception.  I purpose to do it.  Then I freak out thinking about not getting enough sleep for the day ahead.  My brain flits back to purposing to spend time with Jesus and I ask Him to help me do it.  I begin to praise in my mind...

Cords - Compare & Contrast

Dear Jesus - Thank You for Your cords of love...

So one day in March, I'm reading Isaiah chapter 5.  And I come upon verse 18 and the word 'cord' strikes a bell in my mind...  Doesn't Jesus say He's drawn us with cords of love somewhere?  So a couple of days later I get a moment and I check it out...

Sometimes, the Goodness of God is Too Much!

This could also be called, WHY SOMETIMES THERE ARE GAPS BETWEEN POSTINGS...  :-)

Going to Battle Prayer... Part 2

Dear Jesus - Please open grant us effectiveness as we work with You to reclaim our loved ones, friends and colleagues...

Yesterday, in Part 1 of this mini-series, we looked at the power available to us through God's Word to reclaim those we love.  I have to say - since I've learned about this, I've had to start asking for more patience.  It has become increasingly difficult to listen to generic prayers!  Have you seen 5 year-old boys who happen upon toy swords?  Those boys immediately know what to do.  They pick them up, aim, WHACK!  No hesitation.

Let's say I'm at a church prayer meeting and someone requests prayer for a loved one.  Then the individual praying says:  Dear Jesus - please save so-and-so.  And in my head I go nuts.  I want to shout - YA GOT A SPAGHETTI NOODLE YOU'RE WAIVING AROUND THERE!  PICK UP YOUR SWORD - GO AFTER YOUR TARGET!

So - uh - pray for me?  (Really, could my need for your prayers be any clearer?!)

The Battle at Work...

Dear Jesus - Today, please recreate our eyes to see our world, our lives as You see us...

Work.  There is a reason that is a different word entirely from the word 'VACATION'!  Ever had a work hassle?  Issue?  Ever been involved or responsible for a project that you could clearly see was headed south and it caused you anxiety?  If not - praise the Lord!  Hopefully my story will prepare you for that eventuality!

So I'm not having fun at work.  Wretched situation.  Fantasizing about time off - ANY time off.  Communication a big fat ZERO.  I'm frosted.  And the Mr. says to me:  We battle not against flesh and blood but against...?  And I think...

My Wits' End...

Dear Jesus - You are just SO cool!  Thank You for the practicality in Your Word!

So I'm losing my mind.  LOSING it.  I am seriously at my wits' end.  Picked that phrase up from my parents somewhere along the way.  A curiosity overcomes me.  I search for 'wit' in the Bible.  OK, 21 times.  Then I search for 'wits'.  Boom - there it is!

Psalm 107:27

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are 

at their wits' end.

Wowza!  In the BIBLE?!  Oh my.  And I go back up to the top and read all of Psalm 107.  There I am!  It is exactly my condition! 

Oh dear God!  Thank You for this creative way of reminding me that You have all the details - big and small - of my life in Your powerful and loving hands.  Please create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me that I may walk with You and not as a drunken man...

Going to Battle Prayer... Part 1

Dear Jesus - Give us Your strength to do the work You've given us...

Who is on your prayer list?  I mean - who do you pray for?  Maybe there are those in your life that you THINK about praying for, but really - is it more that you wish that God would save them or deliver them from a circumstance?  This describes me for 99% of my life.

However, (hallelujah!) recently the Lord has graciously swept away a lot of the deceptions clouding my mind with respect to praying for those I love.  And now I'm fired up about my list!  Here we go...

Beauty in the Word...

Dear Jesus - You who made each intricate snowflake astoundingly beautiful, approached the creation of Your Word with perfect creativity.  Open our eyes to see You...

Came across the verse below in the Song of Solomon a week or so ago and it triggered a memory of David...  Could it be that even in physical appearance David resembled Jesus?  Could there be ties between this verse and others?

Question: Hell. Why?

Dear Jesus - Speak to us from Your Word...

So - here's a question:  Why hell? 

Variation 1: 'Who' was hell 'created' for?

Variation 2: Did an all-knowing God intend hell as a place for humans?

Answer:

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matthew 25:41

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?  Ezekiel 33:11

Hell was never intended for humans.

Thank You Jesus, that when we dig in Your Word we are overwhelmed with the evidences of Your amazing love...

The Lie

Today I'm posting a part of a pamphlet that has blessed my life...

There is a lie out in the universe,
          and in your heart,
          and mine.

                                    A lie ... about God.

The Battle I'm In - Part 4 - Eve & Me...

Dear Jesus - speak to my heart this day of Your unfailing goodness to me.  Cause me to sing them over and over again - those wonderful words of life You speak in Your Word...

Recently, I heard someone describe a 'Columbus' journey like this:  he didn't know where he was going, didn't know where he was when he landed, and didn't know where he'd been when he left!  Of course, all along he THOUGHT he KNEW.  And because he THOUGHT he KNEW, he was COMPELLED to action.  Of course, in the end, he died never knowing the truth about where he'd been.  And this is something I very much have in common with Eve in Chapter 3 of Genesis...   Can you relate?

The Battle I'm In - Part 3 - Territories & Rules of Engagement

Dear Jesus - I praise You for the veil You have put over our eyes that protects us from the unseen.  What we SEE in life is often too hard for us to handle.  Today I ask that You will reveal to each heart that which You long for us to know most - a revelation of Your everlasting love...

We're looking at the Biblical paradigm of our lives in this series.  Thus far, we've looked at the creation of our world which was designed creatively by the Godhead and handed as a precious gift to Adam.  That's here in Part 1.  Then we looked at the antagonist in our story in Part 2.  So we know there IS an antagonist and we have an outline of how he works.  But is there more we can we know that will help us in our daily walk with Jesus - in our desire to see loved and hurting ones saved and healed?  The answer to these questions is an amazing YES!

In the previous parts of our series - we've established that our Earth was created to be the domain of Adam.  It was to have been ruled and overseen by him.  We've also seen that our adversary (Lucifer) was cast out of heaven to the earth.

In Genesis 2:9 we get a very interesting look into the idea of TERRITORIES in this epic battle between God and Lucifer:

Genesis 2:9 (CEB)
In the fertile land, the Lord God grew every beautiful tree with edible fruit, and also he grew the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Of course, Genesis chapter 3 recounts Eve's encounter with the tree - which we will look at in greater detail tomorrow.

God has granted Lucifer a TERRITORY on the planet Earth.  The ruler of Earth is aware of this and is educated by God about the risks surrounding it.  We recall from Part 1, that rulership of Earth is handed to Adam.  Adam is also instructed that there is this tree he is never to eat from - to ensure his own happiness because in the day he eats from it he will surely die.

In fact - as we take a moment to consider things - we can even see that this new planet is considered a TERRITORY UNDER DISPUTE.  At this point in the story, we know the Godhead is the creator of the planet and of Adam.  We know that Adam is the ruler of Earth.  However, we now see that this planet is part of a larger, overarching story line.  This storyline is one of disputed rulership.  Will beings created by God with free will choose God as their Supreme Ruler because they believe He is Love or will they choose Lucifer out of belief in his charming deceptions that in fact God is NOT love?

Yipes!  This suddenly puts us all in an uncomfortable position of being aware we are part of something much larger than my daily struggle with the alarm clock, my daily commute 'nightmare' or my battle with the M&Ms.

In this scenario - what are the key elements you can see?

• A planet is a TERRITORY
• The battle of Good vs Evil predated the creation of the planet Earth.
• Earth was a planet/territory UNDER DISPUTE
• Lucifer has limits corresponding to that territory under dispute e.g. after the war in heaven he was cast out...  Revelation 12:9 makes it emphatic stating he was cast out / cast out / cast out.  Yup - 3 times that is stated for us.
• A human heart is a TERRITORY - Lucifer went after Eve just as much as he went after Adam even though she was not designated the 'ruler' of earth.  

Now as we consider this epic battle between good and evil, let's revisit some scriptures and see if the Holy Spirit reveals more to us about the details of the conflict.  Let's go:

Job 1:6 (KJV)
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

Revelation 12:7-9 (KJV)
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Luke 8:30 (KJV)  *Note:  beautiful story of the demoniacs here...
And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

Matthew 26:53 (KJV)
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

John 18:36 (KJV)
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Sometimes, I think I get caught up in the culture and details of my life and I forget something super important.  I'm part of something bigger than myself and my own issues.  And as I ponder that, I am reminded once again of the blessings of God that veil my eyes to the truest extent of evil.  He is such a God of love He sends the rain on both the just AND the unjust.  

Check out the story below - but now with your BATTLE GLASSES on!

Luke 10:17-24 (CEB)  The Seventy-Two Return After Jesus Has Sent Them Out...
The seventy-two returned joyously, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit themselves to us in your name.”

18 Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Look, I have given you authority to crush snakes and scorpions underfoot. I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.20 Nevertheless, don’t rejoice because the spirits submit to you. Rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.”  

<Just gotta interrupt here for a second:  Beautiful view into the heart of God here don't you agree?  See - Jesus MADE the angels, even the angels that are now with Lucifer.  There was a point in time where He had loving personal relationship with each and every one of them.  He had given them their names!   Oh beautiful spotlight on Divine Love!  Here we see how even in the midst of the great evil they have done, His heart of love still aches over their long-ago loss.  He sees our human hearts rejoice in victory over evil - and He understands that.  Never forget - He sent OUT the 72 with that very intent!  However, we get a glimpse into the overall battle as we, with the disciples, get our perspective straightened out here:  Focus on the battle - that your name is in and that you can wage war in the battle too!  Hallelujah - Jesus is OURS!>

21 At that very moment, Jesus overflowed with joy from the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you’ve hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and shown them to babies. Indeed, Father, this brings you happiness. 22 My Father has handed all things over to me. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him.” 23 Turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Happy are the eyes that see what you see. 24 I assure you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see and hear what you hear, but they didn’t.”

Dear Jesus - I just want to praise You for Your unfailing love towards me.  I want to recommit myself this day to actively reminding myself that ALL Your ways are unbounded love towards me - especially when I don't see beyond the immediacy of pain.  Thank You Jesus for the gift of Yourself...

The Battle I'm In - Part 2 - Two Powers

Dear Jesus - Glorify Yourself today as we seek to understand the basic dynamics of the universe we are a part of...

For Part 1 of our series - go here.  The Bible presents two opposing forces:  good and evil.  The Bible clearly states that only God is good.  In fact, when Jesus was in sinful human flesh on the earth, He Himself clearly stated:

Mark 10:18 (CEB)  (see also Luke 18:19 for the parallel story)
Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God.

And here are just a few of the many other scriptures we could use to bolster our tenet that God indeed is good: