Here’s the verse I have written on my mirror:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3
More to come….
Rain on Us
It rained really hard in the middle of the night. It woke me up of out a dead sleep and I remember rolling over and praying, “Rain on us, Lord. Water Your land and wash Your people.”
Today I heard the song “Barren Land” by Shane and Shane. One of my favorites. Its summary message is we can do all kinds of tilling the soil and planting the seeds, but if God doesn’t rain on us – on His land – on the seed we’ve sown, nothing will happen. 
Nothing.
Thus said, I can’t believe all that God is planting these days. There are three books being flushed out and edited and refined. And a new worship CD with a shocking cover. (Heh heh heh.)
And I wondered. Will you pray for rain with me? Will you pray that God pours out all the help, all the funds, all the prayers and time it will take to bring a beautiful harvest?
Lord, You are the father of the rain. Please pour down on me and those who help me so that we might produce a harvest to feed many. Do what only You can do. Come and fill everything in every way. Amen
Let the Redeemed Say So
Somebody challenged me the other day, If God is so good, and so powerful, then why do Christians sound so miserable?”
Ouch.
I had to think about it. I mean, really. And you know, a lot of Christian music IS often about lost people getting saved, desperate cries of “God are You there?” and pleas of “Help me-help me-help me.” No offense intended. And yet. . . where are the testimonies of healing? Provision? Comfort and wisdom? Not just salvation, but everyday intervention in our lives?
Is God living and active in our lives or not? Do we see Him, acknowledge Him, give Him the credit He deserves?
Graham Cooke made this great distinction in his sermon “God is the Kindest Person I Have Ever Met.” He said that who we were Before we met God was our History. But who we are Now and what God has done in our lives Since we met is our Testimony.
And since you know how I love definitions: Testimony is defined as evidence or witness. And blow my hair back, look at what it used as examples of testimonies:
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a.) the tablets inscribed with the Mosaic law, the ark containing the tablets, b.) a divine decree attested in the Scriptures
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a.) the firsthand authentication of a fact, b.) an outward sign, c.) a solem declaration made under oath
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a.) an open acknowledgement, b.) a public profession of a religious experience
Can I get a Yes and Amen?!! A Holy Wow?
Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Lord, give us eyes, ears, and Mouths to be receive Your power and be Your witnesses of your goodness even in the middle of our circumstances.
Amen.
The Posture of Your Hands
Trying something new here. I hope I am savvy enough to pull this off, but I am asking you to watch a 3 minute segment of WGR class last night.
Click on this link:
Then forward to min: 1:13:46 through 1:16:30.
It is a real challenge to live open-handed before God and others.
What’s your posture?
When We Get Sick…
Okay here is a real stretch. Does God know what it is like to not know what to do? Does he know the feeling of being at the end of His rope? Does He even have a rope?
I would say in the Doctrine World the answer to all of these questions is a resounding “no.”
But when you have been up for two nights, your youngest has been crooping for three weeks, your husband has been in bed for two days, your oldest is home from school too with first stages of the same crud, your dog is yipping outside the door and you are cramping like crazy from PMS, it really helps to know that God understands.
Really understands.
I was laying on the couch in those first waking moments thinking, “God how am I going to do this today?” And Charis came and snuggled with me on the couch.
“Like this.” I felt Him whisper in my heart.
Just let Him hold you today. Somehow, no matter how bad it gets, it always feels better when you’re in Their Arms.
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…” Isaiah 66:13
Lord thank you that You are what’s at the end of my rope. Amen
Face Toward the Sun
Did you know that sunflowers follow the sun all day long? Their faces follow the pattern of the sun across the sky. If you have seen a field of them, like the one on highway 321 in Friendsville, it looks like the sun has dripped across the field leaving little puddles of sunlight on stalks.
What I love is the notion of faces turned toward the sun. Wherever the sun goes, the plant, without mind, heart or soul, follows. The flower knows the sun is where the nourishment is. The life. And it reflects the golden life so, so well. Then oddly enough, when the seeds are ripening, the sunflower faces only east to protect the seeds from scalding.
If that is not enough, the center of the flowers form circles. Like a crown.
Wonder what God is saying through this simple act of nature? Follow. Reflect. Glory displayed.
Father, I think You are so smart and so beautiful in how nature teaches us about You. Teach us to look and listen. Warm our hearts and minds, that we would follow You and find life. Amen.
The Master of mastery
Have you seen the new Karate Kid? There is a scene where the Kung Fu master tells the boy, “Hang up your coat, take off your coat, drop your coat, pick up your coat.” And repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Not until many days and hours of repetition later did the kid realize the brilliance of the master’s strength, discipline, and character building.
When you are working on mastery, praise and criticism are inevitable. But also irrelevant.
Look to the Master. Let His voice alone be your teacher. Walk through your circumstances with an eye on what He is training in you. Don’t aim for a gold star. Aim for being like the Master. That’s sure His goal…
“A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40
Lord, I want You to be my first and foremost teacher. I want to submit to Your training, I want to work for Your loving praise alone. Thank You that You are working all things to make me more like you. Amen
Performance vs. Mastery
Tuesday night in WGR class we talked about Performance vs. Mastery.
Performance always drives us to be approved, by means of pleasing others. At all costs. Even at the expense of our own desires and often at the expense of following God. Performance always wants a grade, a score, pat on the back. When you have to get it right all the time, any criticism becomes an enemy that produces shame. There is no room for growth, experimentation, or lessons learned through trial and error because there is pending doom of a “hand” hovering over your every move, ready to swat you if you fail. Not fun.
Criticism is usually fatal to the performer’s growth. However, praise does not offer a much better prognosis. As performers, we have this deep, empty pit in our heart needing to be filled with God’s significance. Apart from His definition of worth, we try to fill this hole with the praise of others. Thus praise becomes the ever-out-of-reach gold ring that the performer continuously strives to get more and more of. Performance is not so good for our soul.
Mastery however, is the slow, strenuous journey of Learning.
Learning requires the right ingredients, the right recipe, the right goal, and the right teacher. Mastery is having your eye on the right model and then accepting that the “master” is using all circumstances to teach you how to do as she does. Over time. With repetition.
Mastery is not about proving value. That fact is established. Done. Settled. Mastery is literally about refining, unveiling, conditioning the valued person to walk in the master’s footsteps. One life experience at a time. One day at a time with new mercies every morning so that we begin with a clean slate to try again, to learn more, to practice, to improve, even to fail and get back up again.
When Jesus picked the disciples, “performance” would have them trying to validate His selection of them. Instead, He chose them out of His goodness, His significance. Just like He chose us. He said to them, follow in My footsteps, do like I do, and you will see the Father like I do. He says the same to us.
You being valued isn’t the question. You doing life like Jesus does is the life long journey The Master is after. And in.
Need a visual? This is the result of my fourth and fifth batch of bread. See the difference? Flat, heavy, “squished” vs. light, airy and yummy. Performance would have quit after ruined loaf number one. Mastery is continuing to learn, grow and try, try again. Only trying with more wisdom each time. My family is loving my journey into mastery. Smile.
Criticism and Praise
I heard a story a long time ago about a train conductor who would walk up and down the train punching people’s tickets. He came upon one grouchy lady who complained and ranted and loudly criticized his every move. As he punched her ticket, he raised his eyes and said, “You hear that, Lord?” And he moved on.
The people in the that box were astounded by his gracious response. So a man several rows back praised him on how well he handled the difficult moment. The conductor raised his eyes again and said, “Did you hear that, Lord?”
Which voice would have rattled you more? The criticism? The praise? Funny how some people languish over one word of criticism. Others are spun around by one word of praise. How loud is the voice of God in your life? Is His voice enough to silence the voices of criticism and praise from others?
The Great Divide
A lot of people have used this phrase to denote the great chasm between the saved and the unsaved. But I think it is a great description of what separates the Saved and the Living.
I hear lots of stories. What I see as the biggest hurdle for most believers is the notion that God is present, relevant and available in their lives.
Today. Tomorrow. Now.
He is important enough to save us from sins. Indeed, enough to punch a card for entry into heaven. Yet He seems irrelevant and even irrational for our daily lives.
Why is that?
Have we gotten so self-sufficient, so IN-dependent, that we don’t think to ask God for help?
Is He too busy?
Are we too broken, beyond His repair?
Are we unclear of what is ours to handle and what is His?
I was reading a book that lists many of the ways God introduces Himself to us. One is that we are soldiers and He is the King of Angel Armies. The other name and picture was of us being His sheep and He our Good Shepherd.
Don’t know about you, but a soldier and a sheep? In one package? My friend Meagan said she feels like a sheep holding a sword. That awkward and that foolish.
Or maybe it is precisely that need and dependence God has set us up for. We are part of the Great Battle Plan. We are also lowly, needy, sheep that can not cross running water, don’t know when to move on to other pastures, can’t get back up when we fall down unless helped, and who are the stinkiest farm animals around. That’s us. Snort. God’s sheep.
Today, instead of scraping to figure out how to make your life work, ask the Lord to be your Shepherd. Ask Him to lead you beside still waters so you can cross safely. Ask Him to lead you to pastures where there is good green grass. Make the metaphors work in your life. Just ask Him. And then watch and wait.
Begin to close the Great Divide by relinquishing your need for control, and acknowledging His Very Real Presence in your moment right now.
Psalm 63 says: “My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me.” O Lord, lead us in your way everlasting. Interrupt our lives. Realign our thoughts and needs to You. You are the Good Shepherd. We need You. Amen.